LoseIt!

One thing this Band New Life is teaching me is patience. I was never one to have much of it. It will happen if we keep at it! Good luck!

Three cheers to you! Your results are fabulous, but your attitude is beyond. Yay, yay, yay for you!! And thank you always for your support of the rest out here. You are an inspiration!

I quit about 6 months before I had the surgery. It's almost funny because I kept thinking that I would go back to it after the surgery, but I haven't. Learning to cope without eating badly has helped me to cope without smoking. They were both crutches to me and I'm learning to live without them. It sucks, dude. I won't tell you different. But once you are done with them, truly done...you will be a happy girl. Best of luck!

Glad to hear that things are going well! It's hard not get impatient and frustrated, but when you step back and look, it is clear how positive the changes are. Keep it up!

I had my 2nd fill last Monday. I had very few issues before that, but now I'm finding that I have to be very careful. I have to take extremely small bites and chew A LOT. It is easier to eat mushy foods like soup and ice cream, but I'm trying very hard to eat the solid protein like we are supposed to do. I cannot eat beef (except ground beef) or pork right now. I can do chicken and fish if they are moist. Good luck!

I think that you need to make the decisions that are right for you. I am not able to keep secrets at all, so pretty much everyone knows about me. It definitely adds some pressure, so sometimes I regret it. Good luck to you! You are doing great!

I have finished 3 weeks of my 8 week exercise committment. I lost 5.2 lbs last week and 6.6 lbs since I started 3 weeks ago. In addition to losing the pounds, I also feel better! This weekend, I had little desire to sit around and do nothing which was my favorite pasttime before. :wub: Monday - went to personal trainer. Tuesday - 1/2 hour on the elliptical. Wednesday - no work out. Thursday - 1/2 hour on the elliptical. Friday - went to personal trainer. Saturday - 1 hour of Jazzercise. 5 workouts for a total of 4 hours of dedicated exercise. Not bad. I had wanted to do more, but with the fill on Monday, I wasn't able to eat much at all and had little energy. This works. Speaking of my fill, I was super tight...too tight, until Saturday evening. By then I could start getting down water and other liquids without much difficulty. I didn't log anything foodwise last week because I wasn't eating anything. I did well with choices until Friday night. By then, I was so tired of not being able to eat solids that I started in with bad choices. Now that I can eat again, I have started logging again today. I think that I was starting to get dehydrated a bit, but I drank a lot over the weekend so I feel that I'm back to normal. For some reason, my smoothie tasted horrible to me this morning so I could only eat about half. I might have to take a week or so hiatus from the protein shakes. I was thinking I could do a couple of eggs with some cheese in the mornings. At least for a little while. All in all, a very good week! This week, my goal is to work out at least 6 times for a total of 5 hours. Have a great week everyone!!

Monday was my second fill. My first fill provided for some restriction, but more maintenance restriction. I could tell immediately that the 2nd fill was different. I drank my water after the fill and I had to do it very slowly and almost concentrate on it. After my first fill, by my evening meal, I would be able to eat salads. And after 2 1/2 weeks, I could eat anything. I was doing a pretty good job of not gaining anything, but I wasn't losing. With this fill, I spent Monday and Tuesday on liquids. Yesterday, I had a smoothie in the morning which after a cup of warm coffee. For lunch I had about 1/4-1/2 cup of baked potato. For dinner, I had fish. I went to Razzoo's and ordered something that I thought was grilled but it turned out to be fried. The breading didn't go down smoothe, but I was able to scrape most of it off and eat the fish inside. That was it for the day. Today, I had my coffee and smoothie. For lunch I again had about 1/2 cup of baked potato. Potatoes aren't my favorite lunch since they aren't high in protein, but it just happened that way. I just had a snack of 1 Wheat Thin flatbread cracker with Laughing Cow cheese. Around 5:00, if I need it, I will have another cracker with peanut butter. Tonight I have a crab cake to try. Hopefully I will be able to eat it! I feel like I'm taking small bites and going slowly, but I still feel like there is a knot in my chest (stuck) most of the time. I don't think I could handle it any worse, but I'm okay as is. Last time, I lost enough in a couple of weeks that it loosened up, so maybe that will happen again. One way or the other, I will learn to live and be successful with this band! The exercise plan is still going strong. I have decided that as my reward for sticking to my 8 week Jumpstart plan, I will buy myself a Tiffany key. I have really wanted one for a while and quite honestly would have bought one for myself eventually. This way, I will feel like I earned it. :blushing: Have a great day!!

Monday was my second fill. My first fill provided for some restriction, but more maintenance restriction. I could tell immediately that the 2nd fill was different. I drank my water after the fill and I had to do it very slowly and almost concentrate on it. After my first fill, by my evening meal, I would be able to eat salads. And after 2 1/2 weeks, I could eat anything. I was doing a pretty good job of not gaining anything, but I wasn't losing. With this fill, I spent Monday and Tuesday on liquids. Yesterday, I had a smoothie in the morning which after a cup of warm coffee. For lunch I had about 1/4-1/2 cup of baked potato. For dinner, I had fish. I went to Razzoo's and ordered something that I thought was grilled but it turned out to be fried. The breading didn't go down smoothe, but I was able to scrape most of it off and eat the fish inside. That was it for the day. Today, I had my coffee and smoothie. For lunch I again had about 1/2 cup of baked potato. Potatoes aren't my favorite lunch since they aren't high in protein, but it just happened that way. I just had a snack of 1 Wheat Thin flatbread cracker with Laughing Cow cheese. Around 5:00, if I need it, I will have another cracker with peanut butter. Tonight I have a crab cake to try. Hopefully I will be able to eat it! I feel like I'm taking small bites and going slowly, but I still feel like there is a knot in my chest (stuck) most of the time. I don't think I could handle it any worse, but I'm okay as is. Last time, I lost enough in a couple of weeks that it loosened up, so maybe that will happen again. One way or the other, I will learn to live and be successful with this band! The exercise plan is still going strong. I have decided that as my reward for sticking to my 8 week Jumpstart plan, I will buy myself a Tiffany key. I have really wanted one for a while and quite honestly would have bought one for myself eventually. This way, I will feel like I earned it. :wub: Have a great day!!

I totally had last meal syndrome before my surgery, or rather before my preop diet started. I had to do liquid for two weeks prior to my surgery and I was paranoid with what would happen if I cheated, so I didn't. But before that? Oh nelly. I had ALL my last suppers. I don't regret it really, but I also realize now that it wasn't necessary. You can do everything in moderation later. People told me that before though and I still did it, so no judgments here!!

Hey chica! I got my fill yesterday and I can tell there is restriction even with the liquid diet I'm on today. Hopefully this will last a few weeks! Good luck with your fill!

If you have been reading my blog, you know that I was banded on 1/27, had a good start but stalled after a month. I had my first fill on 2/19, started working out that week as well and gained weight each of the next two weeks. So, two weeks ago, I started what I was calling an 8 week Jumpstart. Basically it was a committment on my part to focus on nutrition and to spend more time working out. I have completed two weeks of my little program and after losing 1.6 pounds last week, I haved gained 1.2 pounds this week. Sigh. Recap of the week: Monday - Did 40 minutes of cardio at Jazzercise and 50 minutes with my personal trainer. I ate just under 1,500 calories for the day, including 100g protein. Tuesday - Did 25 minutes on the elliptical. I ate 1,600 calories, including 119g protein. Wedneday - No work out. I ate 1,500 calories. Thursday - Did 25 minutes on the elliptical at lunch and 40 minutes of cardio at Jazzercise after work. I did have 1,900 calories this day. Friday - Did 50 minutes with the personal trainer and ate 1,800 calories. Saturday - Did 60 minutes of cardio and strength training at Jazzercise. Did not track food this day. Sunday - No exercise and no food tracking. I went back today and tracked the best I could (because I did think I ate a lot and even adding an extra 400 calories for things I might have forgot, I was still under 2,000 calories!) I took a metabolism test that said that if I was totally inactive, I would maintain my weight by eating 2,000-2,200 calories a day. I would lose moderately eating 1,800-2,000 per day. I felt that my goal of 1,500-1,800 would be sufficient. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't completely on target with that, but by all accounts, I should have lost SOMETHING! I'm telling myself that a lot of it is muscle and I have no doubt that some of it is. But it is clear that I'm going to have to eat less which gets me to today. I feel that I have been doing the best I can foodwise, so I'm hoping today will help. I would like to get to a point where I only need 1,000-1,200 calories a day. Although, it is hard for me to imagine woking out with that little...but that's what the doctor's say, right? I will be sure and ask today Each week is a new one and a renewed comittment. It took me many years to get this way and it will take a long time to get where I want to be. I do not like being negative, so I won't be. I feel strongly that eventually everything I'm doing will kick in and help me, I just have to be patient. Hope everyone has a good week!

Thanks for the support!! My morning smoothie has 39g of protein, so that always puts me off to a great start. Also, if I have some bean & turkey chili for lunch (29g) and a McDonald's chicken salad for dinner (33g), I'm at 100g for the day without eating anything else. After my fill yesterday, I don't think I will be eating the quantity I did before. So, less calories, but less protein. I weighed today and I am down 3.8 pounds. Some of that is from the liquid diet yesterday (for my fill), but I think I must've been bloated Monday morning. That makes me feel much better!! Again, thanks for the encouragement!!

God bless you, your grandmother and your family. Grandmothers are truly special.

If you have been reading my blog, you know that I was banded on 1/27, had a good start but stalled after a month. I had my first fill on 2/19, started working out that week as well and gained weight each of the next two weeks. So, two weeks ago, I started what I was calling an 8 week Jumpstart. Basically it was a committment on my part to focus on nutrition and to spend more time working out. I have completed two weeks of my little program and after losing 1.6 pounds last week, I haved gained 1.2 pounds this week. Sigh. Recap of the week: Monday - Did 40 minutes of cardio at Jazzercise and 50 minutes with my personal trainer. I ate just under 1,500 calories for the day, including 100g protein. Tuesday - Did 25 minutes on the elliptical. I ate 1,600 calories, including 119g protein. Wedneday - No work out. I ate 1,500 calories. Thursday - Did 25 minutes on the elliptical at lunch and 40 minutes of cardio at Jazzercise after work. I did have 1,900 calories this day. Friday - Did 50 minutes with the personal trainer and ate 1,800 calories. Saturday - Did 60 minutes of cardio and strength training at Jazzercise. Did not track food this day. Sunday - No exercise and no food tracking. I went back today and tracked the best I could (because I did think I ate a lot and even adding an extra 400 calories for things I might have forgot, I was still under 2,000 calories!) I took a metabolism test that said that if I was totally inactive, I would maintain my weight by eating 2,000-2,200 calories a day. I would lose moderately eating 1,800-2,000 per day. I felt that my goal of 1,500-1,800 would be sufficient. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't completely on target with that, but by all accounts, I should have lost SOMETHING! I'm telling myself that a lot of it is muscle and I have no doubt that some of it is. But it is clear that I'm going to have to eat less which gets me to today. I feel that I have been doing the best I can foodwise, so I'm hoping today will help. I would like to get to a point where I only need 1,000-1,200 calories a day. Although, it is hard for me to imagine woking out with that little...but that's what the doctor's say, right? I will be sure and ask today Each week is a new one and a renewed comittment. It took me many years to get this way and it will take a long time to get where I want to be. I do not like being negative, so I won't be. I feel strongly that eventually everything I'm doing will kick in and help me, I just have to be patient. Hope everyone has a good week!

Way to go on the 18 pounds! That's awesome.

I'm not a patient person and I know that. I work at it and I have become better, but there is a long way to go. I am one of BG's certified scale whores. I'm typically good about keeping things in perspective. For instance, Tuesday morning I was down two and a half pounds. I know that some of that probably isn't "real", so when I was back up a half a pound on Wednesday, I was fine with that. As long as my net weight is down each Monday, the in between doesn't matter so much. I had thought after losing 12.5 pounds on my preop diet, then losing 6.8 pounds in the two weeks post op (total 19.3 pounds), that I would be a fast loser. I truly thought that I would be another 10 pounds down by the end of February and another 10 pounds down by the end of March. Yeah, that didn't happen. I've lost 6 pounds in the 5.5 weeks since then. [interestingly, I originally wrote "only 6 pounds" and dropped the "only" after I decided that wasn't so bad. ] Six pounds in 5.5 weeks was disappointing to me this morning, but after some thought, it is not. Six pounds in 5.5 weeks is WAY better than I was doing before surgery...which was packing on the pounds. I promised myself that as long as I was doing what I was supposed to do and if the scale was moving in the right direction, I wouldn't be as concerned with the actual numbers. That is a bit easier said than done, but I'm glad I have a place to talk it through with myself! As far as my 8 week Jumpstart plan goes, I did work out during lunch on Tuesday, but I skipped Jazzercise that evening. Yesterday was a day off, so we will see how I do today. The goal is 25 minutes on the elliptical at lunch and 40 minutes of the aerobic portion of Jazzercise. I can do it! On a completely different topic, LB has giving me something else...new friends, in addition to all of you wonderful ladies and gents. I have been attending a local support group and at the last one, I met two ladies that I have since become friends with. One lady and I email several times a day talking about how our LB lives are going. It is GREAT to get another real time perspective and hear what she is going through. Plus, she has great recipes! :eek: The second lady and I have been texting and we ended up going to a concert together last night. They are both wonderful people and I would have never met them if I wasn't going through this process. Life (particularly life with LB) is an interesting journey!

I'm not a patient person and I know that. I work at it and I have become better, but there is a long way to go. I am one of BG's certified scale whores. I'm typically good about keeping things in perspective. For instance, Tuesday morning I was down two and a half pounds. I know that some of that probably isn't "real", so when I was back up a half a pound on Wednesday, I was fine with that. As long as my net weight is down each Monday, the in between doesn't matter so much. I had thought after losing 12.5 pounds on my preop diet, then losing 6.8 pounds in the two weeks post op (total 19.3 pounds), that I would be a fast loser. I truly thought that I would be another 10 pounds down by the end of February and another 10 pounds down by the end of March. Yeah, that didn't happen. I've lost 6 pounds in the 5.5 weeks since then. [interestingly, I originally wrote "only 6 pounds" and dropped the "only" after I decided that wasn't so bad. ] Six pounds in 5.5 weeks was disappointing to me this morning, but after some thought, it is not. Six pounds in 5.5 weeks is WAY better than I was doing before surgery...which was packing on the pounds. I promised myself that as long as I was doing what I was supposed to do and if the scale was moving in the right direction, I wouldn't be as concerned with the actual numbers. That is a bit easier said than done, but I'm glad I have a place to talk it through with myself! As far as my 8 week Jumpstart plan goes, I did work out during lunch on Tuesday, but I skipped Jazzercise that evening. Yesterday was a day off, so we will see how I do today. The goal is 25 minutes on the elliptical at lunch and 40 minutes of the aerobic portion of Jazzercise. I can do it! On a completely different topic, LB has giving me something else...new friends, in addition to all of you wonderful ladies and gents. I have been attending a local support group and at the last one, I met two ladies that I have since become friends with. One lady and I email several times a day talking about how our LB lives are going. It is GREAT to get another real time perspective and hear what she is going through. Plus, she has great recipes! The second lady and I have been texting and we ended up going to a concert together last night. They are both wonderful people and I would have never met them if I wasn't going through this process. Life (particularly life with LB) is an interesting journey!