kennethsch

I have flown at nearly 400 lbs, with seat belt extenders, and they have never charged me for an extra seat. I am over 80 lbs down now, and flew last week for the first time since starting this journey. No extender, and I had about 6 inches to spare once I snugged up the belt. Wow what a good feeling. I think you will be fine, based on your ticker stats, and just think of all that you have to look forward to. Best of luck, hard work, and have fun on vacation.

It has been years since I have gone to Cedar point, but I actually would prefer to try the seat out front, than wait in line all the way up to getting in the car, and having the attendant ask me to leave. I had that happen, and I would much prefer the seat out front from now on. The good news is I am down almost 80 lbs, and my kids are asking if we can go this summer. If the trend continues, I will schedule something in Aug I think. :thumbup:

I don't know your background, and although I am a Christian, I am not suggesting that you "find religion" as your solution. But many, many churches (you may have to check around) have good, kind, caring people who will reach out to you in tough times like you are going through. Some churches many even have a counseling pastor/staff member who you can talk to, work through the emotions of the loss, and what to do next. As suggested above, we can try and be there for you, talk to you through this site, or PM, or email, but sometimes, there is nothing like someone reaching out to you, and just comforting you, listening as you cry, hand you the tissues, and then helping you to the next step in life. As for the fill, well, keep checking more doctors, in a wider circle around where you are, to see if you can find a more favorable situation. If you can't find any other options, then focus on maintaining. Now may not be the time to "get back on track" or try and loose the short term gain. But maintain, control portion sizes, make better choices on what you do eat, clear out the comfort food/junk food that creeps back in. Walk 10 minutes, 3x a day, if you can't get started on the 30 minutes + kinda of exercise. Once you are back into the 3 ten min walks, see if you can stretch one of them into 15, and then 20 mins, etc. Just put on those shoes, and do it, friend.

If you are eating a balanced diet, and loosing weight, and you don't feel like you need a fill, then I think you are doing the right thing and waiting a few more weeks. I called my Dr. office before my last fill, to see if they had one two more weeks out, and they were full up, so I kept the one I had, and only got a tiny (.5cc) fill this time, and booked my next one for 6 weeks out instead of 4 weeks. We will see how I feel at that time. Two lbs a week, you go girl, keep up the good work.

As many people have said in other posts, it is a sliding scale of how much is the "right amount". It varies from one person to the next, it varies with one person from one month to the next. It varies for many people, you and I included, from morning to evening. PB'ing, or being too tight will not help you in the long run. But being afraid of getting a fill, because you don't want the momentary pain, can work against you, in the mind games we play with ourselves, blaming your desire for no pain, on not getting a fill. Both, and sometimes, neither. We all know, at least I have been there, and working hard not to go there anymore, that you can have a really "bad" food choice that you manage to get into 1 cup or less. And tracking just calories, leaves out the whole spectrum of that part of the discussion around food quality, food nutrition, balanced diet. Many Dr, and many people here on the forums say eat your Protein first, your veg second, and then whatever else fits into your meal without making you uncomfortably full. Nowhere in that guideline do I read how many calories that should come to. It is talking about stopping before you are uncomfortable, so I guess that falls in the "amount consumed" gauge. But you know, intellectually, that you need to plan your meals, and work toward balanced, good choices, whatever that looks like in your world, let the band help you limit the amount of food you are eating, and then look at the big picture. If you are eating small portions of good quality, balanced food, and still not loosing weight, then maybe a fill will help you eat less. You also need to keep your food journal handy, and review with your NUT/DR/friends who help you stay accountable, your food choices. That is where the calories side of the gauge comes in. There might be ways you can cut out 100 cal here, or there, and stay within the balanced, eat a comfortable amount, and the weight will start/keep coming off. This whole discussion is not taking into account exercise, but we will leave that for another post, since that is not what you asked about. Just my 2 cents, worth about $.01 in today's economy.

I love seeing my scars every morning. It is a constant reminder, every day, to eat right, chew, take small bites, plan my meals that day, plan where I am going to get the exercise in that day. And, as others have said already, they are fading, and healing nicely, and are way better than the body that I am leaving behind. There is a great song, by Point of Grace I think, Heal the wound, but leave the scars. I know, that song is not talking about surgery, but I somehow apply it to my situation anyway. "the wound" being my head hunger, the mental games, the over eating, the late night eating, and even now, when we sometimes eat around the band, all of those things I need "healed". The scars are a reminder, both to me in my situation, and in the song that they sing.

I used to drink 7 liters of Water a day, now I drink 2-3 liters a day. Yes, I still "drink all day long", but more sipping now, where I used to guzzle/gulp/consume alot more at a time. :thumbup:

Congratulations, great job on the 75 lbls lost so far. I don't care how you lost it, that has to feel good You are doing great. Most doctors, and even people here on LBT will agree, that loosing weight slowly is healthy for you, probably good long term results, etc. But as far as him not giving you any additional fills, you might have to explain that to us. Is there any additional information behind that? If you feel that the band is not working for you, and you talk with him about how you feel, why you feel that way, I think most of us would agree that ultimately you are in charge of your body, and your band, and unless there is other information, or extenuating circumstances, you should be able to request another fill. If it is just this doc, then are there other options where you live, something where you can talk with another fill doc, maybe see about changing doctors? I think many people are in that boat, that they realize that they own this body, and that they want, not just numbers on a scale, but a new level of fitness, and a lifestyle change for the better. I am so proud of you for "owning your body" and for going down that path, both with the band, and with healthy choices. And for all the people in your local YMCA area, you should be a hero, for helping them "see" that sometimes, it is more than just joining a gym, it is about making the program MO friendly, staff training maybe to help them, help us. Keep up the great work, and hopefully, soon, you will get some fills, getting to the point where you band is a tool that you are able to use as well.

Oh, that was good for a chuckle. But seriously, some people need a catch, motivation to pick up those weights. And as long as you were not using them where others would see you, and be cracking up, it might actually work. It does represent actual weight, and the PRINCIPLE behind the shaking, where your muscles are contracting etc, is probably valid. I just can't imagine people using them in a gym setting, where other people might be around. I like your idea Btrieger, make a video that way more people will smile, and be happy

That looks much easier than the way I have been manually looking up and creating playlists based on BPM. It looks like that software is just for the MAC. In my searching, I found this link (below), which has several other 3rd party type applications that might get the same results (with some effort it looks like on some of them). I will have to check it out, and come back here with my thoughts/opinions on the various software available. BPM Detection information

I am pretty new to this as well, but for me, it helps if you stand up. Sometimes raising my arms above my head helps. Bringing your arms back down sometimes increases the pain, but if you raise your arms back up and down and up and down, it seems to help the feeling go away after a bit. I have read on LBT that other people have used an papaya enzyme, but I have not picked those up yet. Once I get closer to restriction, I may have to give those a try. It did not take but one or two stuck episodes for me to learn to chew better (like my doc and NUT told me to do in the first place), and to cut my food up on the plate into smaller sizes, and to take smaller bites. Sometimes I hate it that I have to learn for myself what I should have done in the first place. Best of luck to you.

Ice cleats, boot chains, or just shoe screws? I have now worn out my second pair of boot chains, similar to: Quest for stability on the ice. Oh, by the way, I always use walking/hiking poles, and during the winter, they have the ice spike tip.