LeighaMason

My family all carry their weight in the middle too. In the past I have dieted down to my current weight but I still had a belly. This time I have used diet and exercise and my belly is almost gone. But I had to burn it off, not walk in the park type of exercise but oh my god I cant breath and I may pass out type of exercise. When I am done my ponytail is even wet from sweat. Crunches help tone the muscles under your fat layer but you cant see them until the fat layer is gone so I am trying to burn it off first and then I will see if I can tone them into a six pack. Good luck. :party:

Ice cream heaven!

Day 10 really sucked. I ate the last of the cottage cheese last night and I was already out of Greek yogurt so this morning I had the idea that I should have a bagel thin with peanut butter for breakfast. BAD DECISION! Then I had an argument with my husband (stress really tightens my stomach) then I got on my bike my food started swelling in my stomach and I started sliming, when I got to the park I had to throw up slime. So its hotter than hell, humid like you wont believe and I am throwing up in the bushes. Now its 4 hours later and I am sitting at my desk spitting in my trash. :smile: The pity party is on. Here is what I was suppose to do: As many rounds as you can do for 30 minutes: 4 minute run/walk with a purpose 10 push ups 20 squats 20 sit ups Here is what I did: Ride my bike to the park .99 miles Puke in the bushes (Any ideas for calorie burn?) Ride my bike home. :tt2:

Like a car dealers advertisement.

Congratulations!

WTG, Mommy of 2! I am down 2 to 136. 6 to go!

I'm glad your comfortable with them, I was going to stop by and see you if you were in Tyler but since I have to work tomorrow I cant make it to Lufkin but I will be thinking of you.

Amanda, Good luck tommorow! In Tyler or Lufkin?

Every Sunday I sit down and look over my food and exercise journal and decide 1 thing that I could improve on. Then I implement that 1 improvement for the next week. This gives me constant improvement without the shock of having to change my whole life at once like you do with a new years resolution. Its like the couch to 5K running program, just get better a little at a time until you are where you want to be. And have a positive attitude. If you believe you are going to do well you will. Its like the old saying "Whether you think you can or think your cant, your probably right" Good luck.

For those newly banded or about to be banded: Don't be scared of not being able to eat, as long as you don't keep your band too tight you can still have all your favorite foods. I can eat anything if I use my new eating techniques except bananas and white bread. And I can make a smoothie from bananas and toast from the bread and then eat that. So technically I can eat anything in small quantities. (I am referring to after your post-op diet, when you are back to regular foods)

Hey everybody. I am going to have to beg to differ on Bob's liquid diet. I have lost 2 pounds in 3 days because I stopped drinking wine. The 2 pounds before these took 21 and 25 days. I now have hope again that I can get to goal by my 1 year bandiversary in October. Isn't it funny how we can be so stubborn? I tried everything else before I finally admitted to myself that the wine was the problem and then here is the kicker, it really wasn't that I wanted the alcohol. The night I stopped, I found myself wandering around the kitchen, so I ended up drinking half a G2 Gatorade (25 calories) that I buy for the boys and found that satisfied me just like the wine did. I was really just looking for a flavored drink not necessarily an alcoholic one. As the boys tell me, DUH.

I know y'all are all going to be shocked but I stopped my nightly glass of wine about a week ago and I have lost 2 pounds in the last 3 days. It took 21 and 25 days to lose the last 2 pounds and now 2 pounds in 3 days. I found that my desire for a glass of wine was really a desire for a flavored drink. I usually drink a cup of black coffee in the morning and then just Water all day. When I stopped drinking wine I found myself wandering around the kitchen so I substituted a half bottle of G2 Gatorade (25 calories) and I was satisfied with that, so I really wasn't craving alcohol just a flavored drink. I start week 4 of my cross training tomorrow morning and that is going well so now I have hope again that the last 6 could be gone by my bandiversary. I hope everyone is doing well.

Have faith, I actually gained weight between my surgery and my first fill. Trust me once you start getting fills it will get much better.

like.........

I was fired from a dealership by a guy who was able to buy our dealership just because he inherited money from his grandfather, I told him if he kept running it like he was, it would close in a year. He fired me for saying it. (I was wrong, it took 15 months to close.) But you know what, sometimes depriving someone of your services is the worst thing you can do to them. There is a report in the car business called the cross sell, it tells how many cars are sold from every car dealership in your area. His new car sales went down 15 cars a month immediately after I left and never recovered. That means he lost an average of $45,000 a month in sales profit because he fired me. How is that for cutting off your nose to spite your face? Its the same for you, if you were a hard worker you would have increased productivity at work and therefore increased her profits, since she doesn't have you it will cost her money. You may not have a cross sell to show you how much but trust me it will hurt her. You are doing the worst thing you can to her, by not helping her.

Seriously? Who exactly would you be cheating? Thats right, you will be cheating yourself. "last favorite meal"? Are you planning to never eat again? You will be able to eat your favorite meal again, just not for a couple of months or so. My Dr actually had me sign a form that said if he started the surgery and could tell I had not been following the pre-op diet based on stomach and intestine contents, he would stitch me closed and not install my band. Plus he would get to keep my $10K I had paid for the surgery. These restrictions are in place for your safety during surgery not for weight loss. He needs your insides to be a certain way for the band to be installed correctly. So is it worth risking having your surgery canceled, or have your band placed too high or too low, just to eat your favorite meal? I hope you do not take this as me being mean to you, I am being very blunt because I think this is a non-negotiable issue. Your safety is at stake, this is a major surgery, give your surgeon every chance of installing your band correctly and safely. Be strong, don't give in! You can do it! You will eat your favorite foods again, I promise! (Just in smaller quantities) Plus, because you will be thin, you wont feel guilty while eating it so you will enjoy it more. I am pulling for you! :blushing:

The band is actually a behavior modification tool. It makes you eat slower and eat less food. Then you modify what type of food you eat. So saying you should make all the changes before surgery or you will be wasting the money is a little misinformed. I have made a ton of small changes over the past year, as a matter of fact every Sunday I sit down and decide what the change will be for the coming week. Being banded is a process not an event. Have you ever watched the show Obsessed? The therapist takes someone who has OCD and exposes them to their fears and makes them cope with it without allowing them to use their coping rituals. I feel like this works with emotional eaters as well. If you have to work through your stress and you can not use your eating coping skills, it will make you stronger. Good job on not using your eating to cope, keep up the good work. When someone gives me information I am going to disregard, I always tell them, "Thanks for your opinion". And that usually stops the discussion. You know what is right for you don't let anyone take you off your path. :blushing:

That is the key to lap band success, find what works for you and stick with it!

He is just making excuses for his lack of ability in fills. Since he does not want to be blamed, he is transferring the blame to you. Don't let him get you down, soon you will be thin and he will still be a jerk.

I was self pay too. I was also worried about wasting my money. I paid $10,200 to lose 58 pounds so far with 7 to go. That is $175.86 per pound. I think its a bargain!

My last 3 fills were in the .2 to .5 range and I have been at the perfect spot for a few months now. Since you are getting to where you have to eat properly I would go to small fills and wait 3 weeks between to see what they do. After my last fill I thought they had poked a hole in my band because my restriction was gone then 10 days later BAM! It was perfect.