Crishell

It's been an interest of mine for several months. I had heard that it's good exercise and I need some additional work on my stomach and back areas. Plus, it's supposed to be fun. I wanted something new to try in addition to Curves. I had been in search of a class in my area (Richmond, VA) for quite a while with no luck. Last week finally stumbled across one and new class was starting Tuesday, April 22. After i found one, I became scared with all the self-doubt. But I did not let my fears of something new get the best of me. I went & had a great time. There are 10 of us in the class. All different ages, sizes, back grounds. Everyone was cool. The teacher seems great. I am looking forward to going back. It is every Tuesday for an hour for 6 weeks. It cost me $45 but I think it will be worth it. You can also buy tapes of the music so can practice at home. And boy did I get a workout!! This was the first night so it was basically getting used to one another and she took us through a few individual movements along with warm up and cool down exercises. I was so sore the next day. Could definitely feel it. Moreso than when i first started Curves. We were forwarned by a lady, who had taken the class before, that would be sore but I kinda dismissed it. Figured it couldn't be that bad. We were sweating. I def got a good workout. Looking forward to going back.

I used to love them before my band. I tired one a few months ago and it was not pretty. Needless to say, egg rolls are now on my No Way List.

I can slowly eat the Lean Cuisine and South Beach and a small piece of other frozen pizzas but not the fresh made one's like Pizza Hut or Papa John's. Have not tried the thinner crust restaurant ones. Have been avoiding that for both fear that will not work (and got to make a mad dash for bathroom to PB) and fear that will stay down & I will unleash the demon.I eat ground beef with no problem. Usually try to get the lean type. I can eat breads as long as hard or toasted. So no regular sliced bread, hamburger or hot dog buns for me. Have not ordered steak in a restaurant since being banded but I can eat that which I or my mom cook. Just has to be a good cut. There is actually not alot that I definitely can't eat as long as I go slow. I just try and make a choice not to eat it because of carbs or higher calories. My biggest problem is with trying to eat reheated leftovers. Definitely not easy.

Congratulations on your success!! My 2 year bandiversary is not until Jan. 19 so I have about 7 months to go. My surgery day weight was 300.5. This morning I was 225.6. Been on an extended plateau that seems to finally be starting to end (Hopefully. Scale started moving down again last week after 3 months "vacation"). My goal is to see Onderland (at least 199 but preferably a more comfortable 195) so less than 30 pounds away.

I know what you mean. It has been about 14 months for me. I am currently about 40 pounds less than what I was at age 16 when I got my driver's license (so you can see I have been overweight ALL of my almost 40 years). I feel sexier & I look better in my clothing. I have this new found desire to date, go out and socialize more with men in general. I get more compliments from men. They hold doors open more for me. i would like to think that it's my imagination but it's not. It's just totally different now for me. The sad part about it is that I have this boyfriend who is a work-a-holic police officer and I don't get to see him that often. That along with my new desire to date, socialize more with men and actually wanting more sex does not mix. I have been in great conflict over this issue. He and I have discussed my needs and wants but not alot has changed. He just doesn't understand the impact this is having on my life because he has not been fat and shy all of his life so he cannot relate to that. He met me when I was at my heaviest and was supportive of me having the surgery. I really like him and we get along well when we do get to see each other but I now feel like I have been missing out on something & have become curious.

Initially I stayed away from straws because that's what I was told to do. But I have found that I drink more when I use a straw as opposed to sipping. I have always struggled to get required 64 oz. of fluid in daily. Using a straw helps me. Has not effected me.

It's different for different people.My insurance, Anthem BC/BS, required me to stay overnight for observation. Had the surgery around 11:00 that day. No beds available after my surgery so it was around 5:00 p.m. before I got in an actual room from the recovery room. That next morning, did some walking, had barium swallow, doc saw me around 9:00 a.m.and said I could go. Of course it was not that easy. The doc forgot to sign in all the right places and since it was a Saturday, they spent a half day trying to track her down because would not release me without all paperwork signed. Finally got to leave around 3:00 p.m. Looking back on it now, no regrets.

The nurse practitioner at my surgeon's office told me to try Smooth Move tea. Found in vitamin/nutrition shops. Has worked for me.

I'm in the same boat. I am stuck. Has taken me 4 months to lose 10 pounds. While that is still better than gaining and I am grateful for that, I feel as if I should be doing better. All I want to really be is 199 and I got 30 pounds to go. Seems my body has given up no matter what I do to try and jump start things. I set the 199 goal for myself coming from a all-time highest weight of 368 (abaout 10 years ago) and 300 on surgery day 1/19/07. I'm not ready to be finished yet. Getting a fill on 5/27. Hopefully will do some good.

The instructor has the coin scarves that you tie around your hips. They jingle when you move. I have not bought one yet because I'm trying to work on getting a little better first.They are also a good reminder when you are working on isolating your upper body because if you hear jingling, that means something is moving too much below the waist. I'm sewing challenged but if you are good at sewing you can get your own piece of material and buy some of the coins from a fabric store or Walmart and make your own. They actually have a name but I refer to it as a hip scarf.

We just wear regular workout clothes. No shoes. Everyone stays in their socks or a couple of ladies have bought little slippers or the socks with the grip stuff on the bottom. I'm not very graceful and very uncoordinated so has been very interesting seeing myself in those mirrors. Very hard isolating the upper and lower body. Definitely takes a lot of pratice and for most, it does not come overnight. The instructor emphasized that on day one. I bought two DVD's off of Overstock but I'm at work right now so can't tell you their titles. Both are geared towards beginner level and had high ratings. They came in the mail yesterday but i was busy after work and didn't get chance to check them out last night. The whole experience has been very enlightening to me as I had no idea I had so little actual body awareness especially when it comes to positioning & posture. Don't know if part of it is because there is now less of me or if I never really had it because I just kinda floated along not thinking about it.

The teacher is really great and encouraging. Once this six weeks end I think I am going to repeat it. She also does an intermediate class but I'm not ready for that yet. The mirrors in the room are what we refer to as "wishful thinking" mirrors. They make everyone look waaay smaller than what they actually are. I look like a size 10 in them. Needless to say I get distracted looking at smaller me. That too is motivating although realistically I don't expect to ever get to a 10. But then again, I never expected to fit in a 16 but I do now. Anyone that is interested in belly dancing should definitely join a class if there is one in your area. I am really enjoying it. We work out consistently the whole hour and the time flies by.

Most favorite is my shoulders on up. My face & neck are thinner, I have more of a chin and collarbones which makes my whole upper area look way different. I even cut my hair in a bob to emphasize it. My least favorite is my thighs (look all saggy now) and butt and hips are gone. I got bat wings too. But I still like NOT being 300+ pounds even better.

Congratulations! I can't wait to join Onderland with you all. I have been stuck at 230-232 forever. I get so frustrated. I am wearing mostly 16's now which is a blessing since I started out in 26's. I have an appointment on 5/27 and hopefully will get a fill. I definitely need one (this past weekend was proof of that) but took six weeks to get an appointment. Poor scheduling on my part too. My goal was 199 by my 40th birthday on 8/14 but have to ammend that considering only three months away and have a cruise in July. I would be ecstatic with 215 by my b-day given my extended plateau.

Hey everyone. Tonight is session 4 for me. Hard to believe it has already been 4 weeks.So far things are going well and having alot of fun. There are 13 of us in the class; all ages, shapes and sizes. I'm glad I joined. In my class, we are working on basic things such as isolating upper (shoulder and chest) and lower (waist and hip) muscles and she throws in a few basic steps. The class meets only one day a week for six weeks so not expected to be an expert in that short time span. I'm rather uncoordinated and feel as if I'm not very graceful at times (not the only one in the class that has this issue and makes it fun) but instructor says that with practice and time, that will come. She has been doing since 1997 and of course does not expect us to be able to do a routine but competitive me wants to be the expert so have to work on slowing myself down and not getting frustrated when I feel clumsy. Plus she has mirrors in the room so you get to see yourself which has actually helped since I also have issues with body awareness. This class has proven to be an eye opening experience for me. I have ordered 2 belly dancing DVD's from Overstock.com so I am awaiting them so that I can workout more at home. It is a very good workout. She starts with a warm up and ends with a cool down. At first I thought there was no way what we were doing was going to make a difference but I can really feel it and I do get tired and work up a sweat. Moreso than when I go to Curves. Looking forward to continuing and getting a routine started for home.

I just had the diet Snapple pink lemonade. Will have to check out some of the other flavors. Especially the berry.

I almost passed out during my first fill. It was because I had not eaten before, I had to get stuck several times (port was tilted and unable to align needle with porthole) and my blood sugar dropped. I have had three fills since then and no problems.

I am a year post op and still have problems with constipation. I guess it is from not eating the grease/oils that used to. I am doing good with my fluid intake. I am lucky to have 2 small BM's per week. I have taken Correctol as much as 2x per week. My doc office suggested this tea called Smooth Move. Seems to help.

Spring cleaning & yard work!! Ordinarily I would not think of this as fun. But I had a great boost of motivation & energy (due to my weightloss I'm sure). I live alone & last week made 13 years since I bought my house. For years, I had been so unhappy with the looks of my kitchen. It was very cluttered with no organization & just not functional at all. Over the years, I just let it go. Like I did so much other things in my life like my weight and enjoying life. Since it is just me, my kitchen table was a work station w/ junk mail and you name it. Everytime I saw it, I just sighed, shook my head, left the area in frustration & wishing things were different in there. The job just seemed to be so much & I was overwhelmed & ashamed to ask anyone to help me. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't of the caliber of needing Dr. Phil or someone to come in, but it was nowhre near what I wanted it to be. Well guess what? Something got into me & I did it! Took me parts of three days but the first day I worked for 3 hours straight. The time just flew by. I was not tired or anything. I am so proud of myself. I went through all cabinets & threw out stuff. I think I lost at least 150 pounds in clutter & plastic shopping bags. My kitchen feels like a kitchen now & looks great. I vow to never let it get out of hand again. One of my goals is to experiment with low carb/fat band appropriate cooking. I dream of dinner parties & inviting my closest most supportive friends & family. Now I see that as a possibility. I bought new placemats, pots/pans, chair cushions and curtain. And if that wasn't enough, Saturday morning I got up early, went to Walmart, loaded up and spread 11 bags of mulch in my yard all by myself. That was another project I had on my wish list. It felt so good looking at my accomplishments after i was finished. Felt even better than when I got in my first pair of jeans out of the Misses Dept. I just had to toot my own horn because I am still in shock that I did it alone. Last year this time there would have been no way.

I know how you feel. I am so sick and tired of all these d##!! girl scout cookies floating around!!

Congratulations!! Isn't it such a great feeling? I felt the same way the first time i officially ventured into the Misses dept. at JCPenney. I am soon to be 40 and have never been able to shop in the Misses dept in my adult or even late teen life. I kept thinking someone was gonna tap me on the shoulder and say that Women's World was over there. Even felt like a traitor until I tried those size 16 jeans on and they fit. While I am not totally out of the plus size dept, I can now fit into more clothes in Misses in a 18 (even have one pair of 16) or XL tops. There are not alot of people that I can talk to either. While I have some overweight friends & family, they have not been overweight ALL THEIR LIVES so they still cannot totally understand my situation. I was always the "biggest of the big" so to speak even as a child, teenager and now adult. I now detect some jealousy or anomosity because I am losing/have lost my title of "the biggest of the big" and I am now the same size, if not already smaller. They are constantly monitoring what they see me eat, trying to keep up with every new stitch of clothing they see me in and ask what size i am now. I even have one cousin who continuously asks me "aren't you done yet?". I just continue to do what I do and not let them discourage me. I did this for me and to improve my life.You have your lapband friends here.

I buy less expensive jeans/pants and tops from Walmart, Target, Ross & Marshall's. Some of my exercise pants and t-shirts are rather big but I don't really care about them. I got some nice things off of the clearance rack from JCPenney. Throughout my journey, I have bought some smaller things at good prices that were snug or I could not pull over my hips at the time w/ the anticipation of it fitting in the future. A month or two later, I would go back, try it on and it fits. Has been very exciting & helps me to see my progress & feel good about myself. I get even more compliments when I wear something new w/ a good fit & I can see the difference myself. Especially noticed a difference up top when I got the right size bras. I cannot stand big baggy jeans and shirts. For past couple of months, I have been losing more in the hips, legs & butt, Initially I was losing more on top. So now my smaller shirts are holding up good as far as fit but I am now having to buy more bottoms especially for spring/summer. Last summer I was down to a 22 from a 26 and so far looks like my summer size for bottoms this year will be 16's.

Have you consulted a dermatologist? Sorry about your hair loss. Hopefully it will resolve itself soon. I have heard so many stories about hair loss post surgery. I don't want to sound as if I am bragging because I have been fortunate to not have hair loss. I just want others to know that some people actually are fortunate to have improved hair.

I was terrified about the prospect of my hair thinning or breaking off because I had heard so many stories. Right before my surgery, in preparation, I decided to stop cutting it and putting color in it. After my surgery, I was so paranoid and constantly in the mirror looking for the first signs of thinning. I made sure I took my multi-vitamin and got in good protein. Luckily, it has been 13 months with no hair loss. In fact, my hair is longer, thicker and healthier. I don't think there is no guarantee what will happen to anyone.

I was banded 1/19/07. I work in a state psychiatric hospital and we are required to renew our CPR certification every two years. Yesterday was my day. While I know knowing CPR is very important and it is required for my job, I have always hated it with a passion and dread when it is renewal time. I hate "performing" in front of people, I hate having to get down on the floor and manuevering around while doing the compressions and breaths. The last time I had it was 2/06 which was way before I started my lap band journey. Needless to say I have lost close to 100 pounds since the last time I took the class. It was a breeze. I was able to get down on the floor, manuever around and complete the compressions and breaths with ease. I was so shocked. In the past, I have always passed the class but would struggle trying to reach down to do the breaths in the mannequin & would be very nervous and stressed out throughout the whole experience. I was so nervous about taking the class yesterday that I never even thought about the possibility that things could be that different. I was so proud of myself. I think I no longer hate CPR!!:biggrin: