arkansasbandster

I'm always surprised at how often your posts pop into my head throughout the day and I find myself thinking about them! This one has me scratching my head. For the life of me, I cannot figure out how in the world you're getting 1700 calories in a day - with a very small breakfast, say half a cup of chili for lunch, 6 potato chips, and half a cup of crab salad type stuff for supper!! I eat WAY more volume than you do, weigh and measure everything, and I'm between 800 and 1000 calories every day. Maybe this is where I keep missing the point. I read on here quite a bit that people just aren't losing weight, they state what they eat (which, when I add it up, is very few calories), say they exercise almost every day for a very long time, but don't lose a pound for months. What am I missing here??

The "liquids for one or two days, mushies for one or two days, and add in regular foods after that" is my doctor's recommendation. I kind of thought that was pretty standard, but I guess it's not the way your doctor does it. I just want to be really extra careful after a fill and kind of test the waters, take it slow, and make dang sure I'm not going to get a big surprise out of the blue and get something stuck. That would definitely be a damper on your Thanksgiving Day!

I felt the exact same way, as I'm sure we all did. You're not alone. You're right to understand that it really IS a big deal. Your question of "has it really come to this" just nailed it. We've all just had it with losing and gaining, losing and gaining. We've all gotten to the point where we just surrendered the hope of getting thin, after all of our failed attempts. It breaks us down. It makes us lose hope. It makes us lose faith in ourselves. The main thing the band did for me was to give me the hope to try again. Everybody's right when they say the band doesn't do the work for you, but it certainly helps as a reminder to be reasonable with our food. Only you can now if it's really right for you, but we've all had those same doubts. And I'm really, REALLY happy that I did it.

I wonder if anybody out there can say exactly "why" there are so many people that lose restriction like you've done. It's really confusing to me. I mean, really, like where does it go??!! I understand that when you lose weight, you'd need to get filled because the stomach fat flap is getting smaller. But besides that circumstance, I just don't understand! Does anybody out there get that part of it?

Good for you for choosing exercise over pills!! And oh my gosh, how crazy that a stupid little chunk of tomato did all that to you! It seems like just a matter of time before something happens. I'm just waiting for the other show to drop, 'cuz things are going pretty well for me now. But so glad to hear that you just stuck to your guns and now you're on new territory again! Very inspirational!!

A lot of purging since your last fill isn't normal. I think it's definitely a good idea to contact your doctor. I've read others with the same problems as you, and they needed a slight unfill to alleviate their purging and burning. Oh, and I have to say -- I vacations on the Kenai Peninsula this summer (first time to Alaska) and it was SO beautiful. You live in some awesome awesome country, for sure!! Good luck with your difficulties, and I hope you can get some relief ... SOON!

BIG CONGRATULATIONS on your 15 pounds gone forever!! You're doing really great and are really informed and realistic about weight loss fluctuations and goals. Good for you!!

Will wonders ever cease??!! I just got back from a mini-vacation (five days) to Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. We stayed in one of those all-inclusive hotels that have 24 hour room service of anything you could ever want to eat and the buffets are ROOMS full of food. I purposefully did not get my third fill on schedule and chose to delay it until after my trip. I definitely didn't want to end up getting "stuck" down there. I felt like I was wide open, and was a little leary about gaining weight. Although to be honest, my goal was just to have a great time and enjoy eating whatever I wanted. Well, I'll be danged. Turns out that what I wanted was just fine! I ate what I wanted, didn't fret over good foods vs. bad foods, amount, etc. I just ate and enjoyed all that I wanted, and didn't give it a second thought. Now that I'm home and analyze it, I can see that I was still automatically choosing proteins first (a lot of great shrimp, crab, and fish choices), and then going from there. You guys, I ate like a "normal" person for probably the first time in my life! I got on the scale yesterday, fearing the worst, because honestly, I did feel like I overdid it quite a bit. Hah, and glory be! I had LOST 1/2 of a pound in those five days. Really, though!! This gives me great hope for the future, and I'm thrilled. (Oh, and by the way, my husband gained seven pounds in those five days - ack!) :confused:

Will wonders ever cease??!! I just got back from a mini-vacation (five days) to Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. We stayed in one of those all-inclusive hotels that have 24 hour room service of anything you could ever want to eat and the buffets are ROOMS full of food. I purposefully did not get my third fill on schedule and chose to delay it until after my trip. I definitely didn't want to end up getting "stuck" down there. I felt like I was wide open, and was a little leary about gaining weight. Although to be honest, my goal was just to have a great time and enjoy eating whatever I wanted. Well, I'll be danged. Turns out that what I wanted was just fine! I ate what I wanted, didn't fret over good foods vs. bad foods, amount, etc. I just ate and enjoyed all that I wanted, and didn't give it a second thought. Now that I'm home and analyze it, I can see that I was still automatically choosing proteins first (a lot of great shrimp, crab, and fish choices), and then going from there. You guys, I ate like a "normal" person for probably the first time in my life! I got on the scale yesterday, fearing the worst, because honestly, I did feel like I overdid it quite a bit. Hah, and glory be! I had LOST 1/2 of a pound in those five days. Really, though!! This gives me great hope for the future, and I'm thrilled. (Oh, and by the way, my husband gained seven pounds in those five days - ack!) :smile2:

I especially love the pumpkin "moon". Happy Halloween!

Thanks, BG -- I know you've lost a bunch, too! I guess I'll repost this next week for a true update. I'm leaving to Mexico tomorrow for a week's vacation. And I put off having my fill until I get back to make darn sure I don't experience problems down there. So I'm pretty wide open at the moment - ack! : ) Actually, I'm not worried about weight gain. I'm going to go have a ball, not have a care in the world, and just chill on the beach. If there's a small weight gain, I'll just deal with it when I get back and get my next fill. : ) Happy Halloween, everybody - see ya' in a week!

No Pre-Op Diet Surgery (8/11/09) 232 lbs. 1 Month Post-Op (9/14/09) 207 (-25) 2 Months Post-Op (10/12/09) 197 (-10) Today (10/27/09) 193 (-4) Total Weight Loss To Date - 39 Pounds So far, so good! Anybody else care to share your stats with us all? It motivates me to read about everybody's successes! :crying:

No Pre-Op Diet Surgery (8/11/09) 232 lbs. 1 Month Post-Op (9/14/09) 207 (-25) 2 Months Post-Op (10/12/09) 197 (-10) Today (10/27/09) 193 (-4) Total Weight Loss To Date - 39 Pounds So far, so good! Anybody else care to share your stats with us all? It motivates me to read about everybody's successes!

I do Oh my gosh, Yes, I do - I need my coffeee!! I do I do Follow your doctor's recommendations Absolutely! Absolutely!!

Now THAT'S motivation and what it's ALL about! Yay!!

I know exactly how you're feeling, because I felt the exact same way before being banded. But my fear of giving up my "friend" (yeah, right) had become less than my fear of not living my life to the fullest, not being active, always being insecure and self-conscious. What I found after being banded (almost 12 weeks ago) is that it's not near as bad as I thought it would be. Of course, right after being banded and after fills, you're on a liquid diet, then mushies, then you slowly introduce other foods. But after that, it really is to where I can still enjoy most, if not all, of the things I once did before. Before I got banded, I read some of the posts on here and got the impression that I would just NEVER be able to enjoy food again. It was very depressing, and I wondered how I would deal with my emotions if I couldn't find comfort in my old ways. It has really become so much more of a non-issue for me than I ever thought. I even wondered if I would need psychiatric care if I didn't have food to lean on!! That makes me chuckle, because really, with a balanced diet, I feel much more on an even-keel than ever before. What the band is for me is a reminder. A reminder to eat slowly, a reminder to make food choices from the "wise" column MOST of the time. It has taken a majority of the focus off food, and has allowed me to focus on much more important things in my life. AND, after losing almost 40 pounds, it's allowing me to move about more freely, suffer less joint pain, and feel better generally. I know that not everybody is this way, but personally, I CAN eat bread, rice, tortillas, etc., when I want. The difference is that now I eat them in moderation. I used to live almost entirely on carbs, now that I look back, and wondered why I felt so tired and wrung out all the time. Now that I'm eating a balanced diet, my energy level is much better and I'm more motivated to try. Banding's not for everybody, for sure -- but so far, I'm really grateful that I have my band!

So glad you've reached Mushies! Hah, I just never knew cottage cheese and fat-free refried beans could taste SO good!! Way to go!

BIG CONGRATULATIONS!!! You're going to have SO much fun in Hawaii in all your new regalia. Onederland's gates have opened - come on in!

HAPPY BANDIVERSARY DAY! You've come a long way, baby : )

Hmm - seems like my sweets cravings have gone seriously down since being banded. I do know that carbs make me crave more carbs (and sweets are the queens of carbs!!), so I'm thinking my lower carb diet really helps that. Are you for sure getting the right balance of protein first, fat, and carbs? Also, I've found that the sugar free jello puddings are SO good. I look forward to them like I would look forward to cake in the old days! And it always comes as a really funny surprise to me, but when I'm craving sweets and give myself a fruit, it really helps me (I never think it's going to, but it always does!). Maybe there's something you could find that would be satisfying, but not so harmful to your success. Keep on' truckin'!

A LOT of great information there! Thanks for letting us know what you're doing about it. I honestly wouldn't have had a clue before reading your post. I hope it gets better for you quick!

How inspiring you are!! I walk quite a bit, but am waiting for my weight to get down a little more before I start the Couch to 5K, which I think is a great program! I'm 195 now, but was kind of thinking about not doing the jogging part until maybe around 185 -- my joints hurt a lot, and I feel like it would be so much weight to be jarring around. But I'm so proud to hear how you did on your race -- and maybe I'll start it sooner than I think! Thanks for sharing it!

I was banded on 8/11/09. As of today, 10/20/09, I'm down 35 pounds and feeling really great. I'm well into ONEDERLAND, and I'm ready for the next 35 pounds to go find a new home! No problems yet - have had two small fills, I have some restriction but I'm not strangulated. I watch my calorie intake, along with protein, fat, and carbs, and just feel better than I have in a very long time! Yay us!!

You know - from one of those girls that had my "nice" male friends, but dated the wilder, maybe not-so-nice, but handsome guys -- as I look back on my choices in high school and college, I realize I'd made HUGE mistakes. Those "friend-only" males were really the ones that I should've gone out with. I really believe that many times it's a total lack of security on the GIRLS' part -- our self-images were fragile enough that we had to pair up with somebody of a certain type. It wasn't anything lacking on your part! But after a few years (okay, now - a LOT of years!) many of those are also the guys that I still talk to, who are still a part of my life, and men who have made something of themselves -- men whom I admire today. So yep, let go of the fat guy part, but keep the nice guy part. I believe that in the end, NICE GUYS FINISH FIRST. : )

Good luck to you!! It sure sounds like your goal of ONEDERLAND by the New Year is attainable. Feels so good, for sure -- let us know how it goes!!