Jul

Hey girls! I don't have much to report today. Except that I did start looking into "Diet sabbotage" there are some very interesting articles on the Prevention web site. One of the articles mentioned a book called Fatitudes. It talks about all sorts of different reasons why we hide behind our fat. I think I'll look for this book, because the article helped me understand myself a little better. Basically about the way I grew up, the way my parents were. Their love was very conditional most of the time, so it was saying that someone like me gains weight almost as a way to rebel against people who only accept you when your "normal weight". My whole family my whole life always taunted me and harped on me about my weight. And about a lot of other things. Anyway that's a little depressing to talk about when we have a 3 day weekend to look forward to! Lil'missdiva, Give yourself a big pat on the back! You deserve it. Your determination is very inspiring. It's been quite awhile for me too since I was in the 100's. Before I got my band I was convinced I would never get out of the 200's, and I knew I was headed for the 300's. Then somehow I heard about Lapband and looked into it. Boy am I happy I did! Are you still considering the sleeve? I hope the band is it for me, my husband would totally freak if I said I wanted another surgery. I hope your next fill works out better for you. Everybody have a safe, peaceful and fun weekend! If you fall off the horse this weekend just dust yourself off and get back on. We're alowed to have days that aren't all about diet or rules and restriction. As long as we don't look at those days as failures. Think of them as vacations, then it's back to reality the next day.

Alright Ezma! Every effort adds up. It's amazing When you actually start logging what you eat how sometimes you actually turn down some stuff because when you have to look at it in writing somehow it seems worse. Know wonder you resisted your cookie! Yay! That is awesome Shinyhappymommy, you avoided the 200 range. I had to laugh to myself when you said weighing after "exercising and bathrooming etc." I do the same thing, I get up at 5:00am to workout, then I go to the bathroom, then I strip down anything and everything I can remove from my body then weigh myself. Once I eat and drink then I feel like that's not my true weight. Tapshoes, What your doing is great. Don't downplay any efforts you make. Walking to and from work is excellent, and of course monitoring your diet as best you can will make a difference. As for myself I hit a new low, 198. I am thrilled, I'm hoping by Saturday I can say 197 or 196. I'm just glad the scale is moving in the right direction again. I have been extra careful with the goodies. For some reason I'm not craving that type of stuff right now. I'm not sure why, but I'll take it!

SLG I'm glad to hear there is some light at the end of the tunel for you. I have heard it is possible for the band to go back into place after being emptied. That would be great! But if not at least the insurance will pay for re-banding and you can continue your journey, hopefully trouble free! Do they or you know what caused your band to slip? Lil misdiva, that is so great that WW has given you so much inspiration back. I have gone to WW in the past and it really is a great program. But that was before being banded and I use to get so hungry I couldn't stand it. One of many reasons why it was too difficult to lose weight on my own. Now I just try to eat as healthy as I can. Some days are better than others as we all know. Right now my band is really working in preventing me to eat too much. I hope it lasts. And of course all the VV's support is AWESOME!!!

Sorry SLG. I think most of us bandsters always have the fear in the back of our minds that something like that could happen to us, and it has to some. I sure hope whatever you decide on works out well. Best wishes to you. As for the rest of us we just need to keep on truckin'. Maybe there's not just one right answer, maybe always trying different things can lead to success. Maybe when you burn out on one thing just move on to something else instead of thinking you have to start whatever your doing again feeling like a failure. Just a thought. Let's keep climbing this mountain together!

Okay, lets just say I was weak over the weekend and ate a lot of crap I shouldn't have. I gained 3 lbs back. But I got up this moring, I did an hour work out, I'll be more careful with eating today. Hopefully by the end of the week I'll be back on track. I seem to do this a lot. I make great progress, then I sabbotage it. There's probably some mental-psychological thing involved. Whatever it is, I wish I'd stop doing that to myself. Hope everyone else is well.

Ezma, I think I'm doing better. Last night I just had a total snack attack and ate a few chips and nuts. I didn't overdo it, so hopefully I didn't hurt the good I did. I only worked out 3 times this week, but I'm still recovering form my surgery, so I'm trying not to beat myself up too much. Tomorrow is a challenge, were going to a baseball game, they have tons of good food there. I must be strong! Especially against the waffle cones! That's great! I'm glad the scale was good to you this week. Tomorrow I'll find out my weigh in for the week. Anyway hope everyone has a great weekend.

Hey stlouis Gal, The best of luck to you. I hope all goes well for you. I wouldn't want to be without my band either. If not is the gastric sleeve an option for you? Keep us posted.

Yay!!! I can't wait till I can say the same! But congradulations, that is truly awesome.

It did happen to me recently after my last fill. I even vomited one morning. But I've just been more careful about the amount I eat and make sure I'm up long enough before going to bed(no less than 2 hours). I even started sleeping with an extra pillow so my head is more elevated. I've been doing much better since. Try those things, and if it's still happening you may need an unfill.

Shinyhappymommy, what you said is so true! It is very important to look back at where you were to remind yourself of all the progress. (I'm not saying I'm good at doing this!:thumbup:) But I think I should more often. It's so easy to get lost in being focused on whether or not you've lost for the week or focusing on the fact that I'm not at my goal yet. But like my husband tells me when I'm feeling down on myself, he's like"Do you want to weigh 258 again?!" :ohmy:It makes me think. Although my progress has been slow, and I wish I lost more, I am proud of where I am. Not only the weight loss but also I just feel proud of exercising and eating more healthy foods. Lilmiss diva, You will reach onederland. You sound very deidcated and determined. Dedication+determination=success! :crying: A high five to everyone's efforts:thumbup:

I relate to this so much! My last fill has made it so that I can stop eating so I've been eating way less. So over the weekend I had ice cream, yesterday I had a big piece of pie! Now I'm like I need to stop before I ruin my new progress! :blushing:

Hey everyone. Ezma, that is so horrible. I wasn't aware your husband died. I'm so sorry. I teared up when I read that. Just the fact you're able to go on is impressive, never mind about gaining weight! That is so scary about the slips, and problems with scar tissue and being too tight. I feel terrible for everyone going through that. All of you seem to be handeling it well. My prayers go out to all of you. I'm always so afraid of those things happening to me. I never was afraid of those things until I started reading about it online! It seems to happen more than some of the stats admit. Do any of you wonder what it will be like after we've had the band like 20 years or a really long time? Have any of you had surgery to remove extra skin? Do any of you think you will need to? The surgery on my keloids has gone well so far, now it's a matter of time to make sure they don't come back. I made it to onederland! Just barely, I'm 199. but I'm still excited to oficially be out of the 200s. That's great that WW is working so well for you lil'miss diva. How much have you lost since you started that? I'll talk too you guys soon. Take care

Congrats to blessed twice!! How exciting to go clothes shopping and have such a drastic change in size! That would put a smile on my face! Angie, your goal is absolutly great too! I hate the term obese. It makes a person sound like a disgusting beast, like Jaba the Hut or something. So that is wonderful you are out of the "obese" cloumn. Hey lil miss, what are these special magic shoes you got? how are they different from regular shoes? Are you finding it easy to follow WW? Well on Monday I have to have a surgery. it is scar revision for some very large keloids on both of my shoulders. So due to the location of the surgery I will be restricted from a lot of arm movement, bending and stretching. Which means, you guessed it! It will interefere with my working out. Maybe after a couple of days I might be able to do my stationary bike (Minus the arms) but I'm so worried about gaining. especially since I was just starting to make progress! Do you guys think it's possible to lose weight without working out, just in case I'm not up to it for a week or two. I suppose I could walk. But is that enough? I'm really bummed about this, but I can't stand the damn keloids anymore either. i was tempted to put it off, but I might as well get it overwith. Are any of you having problems with extra skin from your belly? So far I haven't lost enough in that area to make a good decision as to whether or not I'll need surgery to remove it. But if I do I found a good surgeon. We just bought a new computer. YaY!, but we havn't set it up, I'm not sure when that will be for sure. So just in case you guys don't hear from me for a little while, you all take care. Keep up the good work! But I will try to check in, even if I have to go to the library! I need the support!

Hey everyone! Sounds like a lot of exciting stuff has been going on. This past week is the best one I have had in a long time. Last year was extremely rough for me with 3 deaths in our family and various other problems. But for the first time in a long time I feel like the black cloud has moved over. I hope it moved far away! First of all my last fill was just magic! I am able to stop eating with no effort. I'm eating the small amounts I had expected when I got the surgery. For awhile I was wondering if the band just didn't really work for me. Well after this last fill it is! Like I said I'm eating small amounts, feeling very satisfied for a long time. I feel good. I reached anew low. 201!!! This is big for me. I am soon to be out of the 200's. I'm just thrilled about that. We went to an amusement park over the weekend and i know what you guys were talking about. How great it was to get on rides and not be embarassed because they can't strap you in a ride. I felt great. It was the first time in a long time i felt more like a "normal" person, and not an obese patient. And we got a puppy. She is 3 mths old and just loveable! I don't mean to come off as bragging or me, me, me. I'm just so happy, I really feel I have much to be thankful for right now. I'm just basking in it because I can't remember the last time I felt this way. Ok enough about me. Angie, that is amazing! That is truly something to be proud of. Not just that you ran the 2 miles, but that you have improved your health and fittness level to be able to do it. Awesome! Lilmissdiva, how is it going since your unfill? Are you feeling a lot better? How many fills did you have prior to it? Tapshoes, I'm glad to hear you have many interests. I guess sometimes it's just hard to be motivated when life can just be so busy. I missed my workout the past couple mornings and feel a little guilty, but I'll get it back. Did eating get better? I know when I go through my eating whateve phases I get mad at myself. But eventually it works it's self out. Ezma, I know what you mean about those articles that say things like "to lose weight you need healthier habbits" it's like DUH! Why didn't I think of that. Do they really think so many people would have weight problems if it was that simple?!! Hey Lori, how are you? Well time to go back to work for me. talk to everyone soon.

Hey Girls! First I want to say I'm so sorry to hear about your cat Lori. I think at times like that, you feel bad enough about your loss, so don't beat yourself up about eating a little more on top of it. Feeling the way you do is not silly AT ALL. I have 2 dogs, soon to get a third. They are really my babies. I had to have a hysterectomy in 2005, I don't have children, so they are my children. I know how devistated I will feel when they pass. So a big hug to you. Tapshoes, I know how you feel about the exercise. I felt that way for a long time. I use to just stick to one or two things and have to force myself. But now I do a pretty good variety of things a nd now I actually don't mind working out anymore, and even enjoy it, when I'm not tired wishing I was in bed! (I work out at 5:00am, it's the only time I have. What type of work out are you doing? Is it just working out you have to "force yourself to do" or is it a lot of things? Is it possible you can have depression? I don't really know anything about you so I hope that question doesn't offend you. But just keep trying different things, you might actually stuble upon something you enjoy. As for the cookie demon, I just fought a long hard battle with the ice cream demon. Luckily the fill I had on the 24th has seemed to cure it for now. Knock on wood! I don't want to speak too soon, but I'm thinking I may have actually reached my sweet spot/green zone. I'm thrilled. I hope this is it. I hope everyone has a great evening, give all the little demons a good swift kick!

I'm so sorry to hear that. I have to say that is exactly what I have feared since I've been reading about people on this site having slips. Do you know if your surgeon sutured the band? At a recent visit with my surgeon I asked him about slips and he told me that he sutures the band to prevent slips. He said (knock on wood) he hasn't had any slips yet. My surgeon is Dr Michael Lara. I think if you keep working out and keep your portions small you could keep the weight off and depending how much you work out I think you have a chance in losing more. How much did you lose? Again I'm sorry, that really is tragic. I hope you have a speedy recovery. Let me know how things go for you. Take care

Hi all, just checking in, this will have to be short and sweet because I need to leave work. I don't have a computer at home yet, boo hoo. Anyway I want to thank lil miss for the great advice. Shinyhappy, losing 100 pounds is amazing! That is a whole person! I wish i had more time to write right now. I did decide to go through with my fill tomorrow. It will be my last for awhile. I will get 1cc puting me at 5 1/2 CCs total. I'm starting to get hungry only after 3 hours after I eat. I feel I should be safe with this last fill, but after that I will have to be more careful as to whether I really think I need one or not. Anyway I'll check in soon. Everyone take care. And remember we are all sucessful and should be proud of our progress!

Okay, after reading some of these threads i'm getting affraid of having another fill. I mean I think I need one, because it seems I can still eat more than I should. Food isn't getting "stuck". Unless I eat too fast and don't chew well enough then it kind of feels a little stuck but not bad . How can you tell if it's too tight? How can you tell when you're at your sweet spot? I'm at 4 1/2 CCs. What do you guys think?I also think I need to switch up they way I'm working out. I think I've been puting more time into resistance training and not enough cardio. I know when I've had the best weight loss it was when I was doing more cardio. But tha's great lil' miss diva, That must be an awesome feeling being at your sweet spot. I want to thank every one for the warm welcome. I feel like I found a home. Oh yeah I read something interesting. Someone did a study (in Japan) and said when you work out it actually helps if you take a little break in the middle of it rather than going straight through non stop. Like lets say you normally work out for one hour. Do a half hour of your work out, stop and sit, rest for 10 minutes then go back and finish the rest of your work out. i just started trying this this morning. I'll let you guys know how it goes. My last question for everyone is do any of you still drink soda? I said it the bad "S" word.

Yay! I found my 2008 bandsters. I was reading Lilmiss divas message, I totally relate to the new addiction to sweets. Before I was banded I wasn't a big sweet aholic either, but now I'm always craving ice cream and candy. My biggest problems before being banded was fast food and soda. What sucks is I still want them too on top of my new Ice cream addiction. URGH!!! In fact today I'm just having one of those days where I feel like saying who cares anymore! I feel so tired of making so much effort and getting so little results. I get up at 5:00am everyday to work out, overall my diet is healthy. Not perfect, but certainly a major improvement than my non banded days.My portions are waYYYYYY smaller than before my surgery. I still feel I can eat kind of a lot for being banded though. I get another fill on 7-24-09. I only have 4 1/2 CCs so I don't think I'm in danger of being too overfilled yet, so I'm gonna tell my doctor, fill er' up baby! So I'll have 5 1/2 CCs, hopfully that will give me a boost. I was so sure I would lose 100 pounds my first year. Here it is one year and 5 months later and I've only lost 55-51 pounds (the scale seems to fluctuate a lot lately) I've been stuck at this weight about 3 months now.I can't decide if there is something I can do better, if my next fill will make the difference. I don't feel physically able to work out more than I do (1 hour /day, combined aerobics and strength training). I know I'm in better physical shape than I was before, but not as much as I would like to be. I'm sure I'll eventually be reinspired, but for today and maybe tomorrow and maybe the next day? I'm having a pitty party!!! All are invited and welcome! Anyway thank you to whoever bothered to read my self pitty.

I was wondering how much people have lost in their first year. I've only lost 53 pounds, I exercise like crazy. I do very well with my portions, although sometimes my food choices could be better. I just wondered if I'm in the average range for the 1st year or is there someting I can do to improve my progress. I WANT MORE PROGRESS!!!!:thumbup:

I'm stiil trying, I seem to be on the worst platau ever!!!

At this point I don't feel I will contact them again. I mean the last time we spoke was when my husband had lost his job and we needed a place to stay temporarily since the apartment we had was too expensive on one salary. Keep in mind she has a 3 bedroom house, with an empty bedroom no one is using. I asked if we could stay there until we fix our situation, and even offered her some money. She did her usual huff and puff and was like "oh well I don't know, I have to think about it" the next day she had my older sister leave a message on my answering machine saying "we're not happy about you wanting to stay here, you better stay out of our way". I was just crushed. It took me so much courage to ask for help in the first place because she has always been so terrible about it in the past and always made me feel guilty if she did help me. But I was desparate. We ended up having to live in the middle of my in laws livingroom for a little while. My in laws are so selfless, and will help in any way they have the ability to. Obviously it wasn't ideal since we didn't have our own bedroom, but we were extremely grateful for their help. Then on thanksgiving night my father in law passed away of cancer. I was devistated since he was the only one who ever really showed me how fatherly love could be. I was so thankful to have him in my life for the 11 years I knew him. He and my mohter in law left the house to me and my husband. They are truly incredible. I'm so thankful I was at least fortunate to have such wonderful in laws, and my brother in law is great too. In my mind, I think if they were to contact me I would want to turn them away. Unless they had a complete sincere apology and I could actually see a change in them. My therapist who I have been seeing for 13 years on and off thinks it would be a big mistake to reconnect with them,she thinks they do more harm than good for me. She doesn't think they will ever change. I don't either. It's a little easier to accept my situation if I accept they are who they are and that's it. You don't owe your mother anything for taking care of you. It was her decision to have you, you didn't ask to be born. It was her respsonsibility to care for you. The fact that she saw taking care of you as a sacrifice is proof she shouldn't have had kids. It's one thing to be there for your parents because they treated you well and you want to take care of them. But since she was not very good to you, don't feel obligated. especially out of guilt. I hope you are able to make things toloerable between you and your mother. Because it is very hard, even when it's neccesary to be apart. But if it starts doing you more harm than good to be around her, maybe you need to rethink your situation. Good luck, God Bless and take care.

Have a healthy snack, don't feel guilty about it! Also another way to add protien to oatmeal is by adding a package of the instant carnation breakfast. It looks a little weird, but it tastes like a chocolate oatmeal cookie. Yum!

It's a relief to hear those replies from such successful people. I've been doing the samething for the most part. Only now I'm trying to make healthier choices more often. Also I'm noticing the bandsters that have lost the most have more CCs in their bands. I'm getting another fill the 24th. YAY! I hope it makes a difference.

I don't think it's too late at all. I think you should go to the new fill office explain your situation and ask them how to get established in their office. Get your records from mexico ASAP because they will want to see records at your new office. Do you have medical insurance? Also start now, get back on the horse. Start exericising at least 30 minutes/day. Even if it's just walking. Start watching your portions again. Just try to make the best food choices possible. A fellow bandster suggested sparkle people.com to me, they have tons of nutrition and fitness advice. Good luck. I hope things work out for you.