patsal

Hi, I haven't checked in like forever, but so many of you are all doing so very well, I couldn't help but pop in to say CONGRATULATIONS!. I am not at goal yet, but hope to be by this time next year. I have been not denying myself much though I can only fit in so much and the band is doing its job. Work became very overwhelming and I have not exercised since Septemeber. Many of you know teaching is a tough place to be right now, with cuts and everyone doing as much as possible to pick up slack. This summer I have dedicated to gettting my act together exercise wise. The band has been the best thing I have ever done for myself and I want to show that I can finish this sucessfully.

I am happier than ever. I am down only 70 pounds...which is halfway to goal...which is awesome and more than I have ever lost in my life. I learned that my plateaus are long and they suck...but that you have to just keep doing what you've always done and this too shall pass--even if it takes almost 6 months. I discovered that real restirction takes time and when it happens it is wonderful...I now know what it feels like not to think about food constantly, to forget to eat and to eat to live not the other way around. Just because I am a slow loser doesn't make me a failure...if it is worth having it is worth working for. I know many on here lose at a really great pace and keep losing, my guess is that is a wonderful feeling. I am not one of those people and once I realized it wasn't me doing anything wrong that was a huge relief.

Yeah for NSV's because they really are what keeps me going. I had one yesterday too, I can zip my not wide calf boots all the way to the top...haven't been able to that since I was like 11!

The band when filled properly will only restrict your food intake of non-slider foods, the band does not help you with the emotional part of eating, the self destructive yet satisfying for a brief time part of eating or the quell the pleasure you believe you will get form that cheeseburger or chocolate feeling. You are not a band failure you have had some weight loss success but lost confidence in yourself when you plateaued. You can reign it all back in. As a pp suggested, have your band looked at to be sure it is in working order and is as full as you believe it to be. Track your calories and protein intake, add some exercise --walking is a very good place to start. If you need more help go to a psychologist or psychiatrist to help you get a handle on things...no shame in asking for help so you can get yourself healthy and enjoy what you spent your hard earned money on.

Unjury plain mixes with any crystal light flavor packet except grape nicely. I am in LOVE with Nectar from synthrax...the flavors mix very well, they have plenty of varities, only found one flavor I do not love (the blue fruit punch one). I get my Unjury from Unjury.com and my Nectar for Mybariatricpantry.com as it is the best price I have found on the Nectar. My Dr. said just chewable adult vitamin so I use the Centrum complete chewables.

I believe I am at proper restriction now. I am rather tight in the early morning so I start with a shake (I get up and out by 6 am). At 10:30 when my break is, I can get real food down without too much difficulty (eggs, Greek yogurt, or high Protein oatmeal). lunch around 1pm about 3 ounces chicken, some lettuce or other veggies like brocolli. A shake when I get home from work (4pm) to keep the protein up and prevent hunger while I am waiting for hubby to get home for dinner. Dinner at about 6:30 pm and it is 3 ounces of protein--usually chicken, fish, pork, high end cuts of beef and turkey (everything cut very small, but hamburger still gives me some issues). I try to do a full serving of veggies and if room then a little whole grain starch. Honestly if you can only get 2-3 bites of food down, you may be too tight.

Thanks for all the positive responses. Lapbandwagon, hang in there it will all come together. I was very impatient at first as well and really worried I had not done the right thing, and that I would fail at the weight loss thing once again. I have also always been an overachiever and the only thing that I could not conquer was my own weight. Be patient with yourself and honest as well. Track the calories, track the protein grams and exercise. If you are following all the rules your body will eventually have to give up and cooperate, lol!

I am currently with synergy and Dr. Pham is my surgeon. I was banded last year and am very happy with my Dr., the practice and my results.

My doc is conservative with fills. The most ever was 1cc. I now have 6.25 in a 10cc band. For the first time since 3 months after surgery I feel like I have a band that is working to help me.

While what you are feeling is most likey from the swelling, that is what restriction will feel like once it is achieved. Hopefully it will last you for another week or so, and if you are one of thelucky few maybe you are at restiction...so far for me the 10th fill was the magic one that has given me lasting restriction.

Dr. Pham did my surgery a year ago this week. I am half way to goal with a 70 pound loss. He is a wonderful surgeon with a very caring manner. I like the office staff and find everyone there to be very helpful.

I'm about at the one year place as well. The loss is much slower than I thought it would be, but I agree that it is the best thing I have have ever done for myslef. I have finally reached proper restriction and have had it for almost 4 weeks, and after a nearly 6 month plateau it looks like the scale is moving. Hopefully it keeps moving in that direction!

Smaller sizes are one of the best NSV's there are! Sometimes the pounds don't move but the inches do so that is such a huge deal for the psyche. Congratulations and enjoy!

It took me nearly a year to reach restriction. I am two weeks from my bandaversary and feel like I have real, honest restriction now--for the past two weeks. Finally, I have no desire to eat between meals, can eat very little at meals and am very satisfied. For the first time I am not thinking about food at all. For the past year it has been all me working to control calories and carbs and be certain to get enough protein in. I lost 70 pounds over the past year and felt very discouraged as I watched the other Feb 2010 bandsters shrink away. I have decided my journey will take a lot longer than theirs and have become ok with the idea that I might need to take 2 years to lose the weight. I'm not worried about it taking me longer as long as it goes away and stays away.

So slow and steady wins the race, I guess. I am losing again which is great news. But I had a huge setback with a really bad cold that keeps lingering so far for like 2 weeks. It is all upper resperatory so the breathing thing is difficult and makes real exercise nearly impossible. Hopefully things will improve so I cvan get back to the gym!

Ok so I will give this a try. After yesterday's appointment I am officially stalled out! No wieght loss in 4 weeks. She checked my food journal and it looks like I am only eating about 50% of what I should be. So new eating plan and a new set of directions. Basically I am supposed to eat double what I have been. I will try and we shall see! So I wanted to be in Onderlad by Jan 1, and though I am doubtful that will happen, I am still willing to try.

Down one pound so 17 more pounds to Onderland! Once the Halloween challenge is over I will update my bottom ticker for this challenge!

Sigh, runny nose or a hiccup. If I don't heed the warning and take that last bite because there is one or two more bites on my plate I really pay for it !

I found you can temper it to get it hotter, first mix it to a paste with lukewarm water then gradually add hot, but not boiling water to it.

I have never seen it in the store, I order online. Even my Dr. who recommends it offers a different brand for purchase in the office. I just order enough for free shipping and don't order again until I deplete my supply. Unlike other Protein powders I've tried it is always consistent in flavor so I prefer it.

Stayed the same...oh well it isn't a gain!

Funny you mention the of smell with grape juice, i just noticed that when I used cran grape sf sitick--I won't be doing that again. By far my favorite is with raspberry lemonade crystal light. Next lemonade works well and I have tried it with Benefiber citrus stick packs and that is ok as well. The unflavored can be added to soup, sf hot cocoa and mashed cauliflower as well. You do need to temper it by adding a mall amount of warm, (not hot) liquid to it and stirring it into a paste. then slowly adding the other warm ingredients--just watch that temp so it isn't too hot or it gets all gross.

Ok, so you are saying that you eat that way now because you have given up, but prior to that you followed all the band rules. Maybe try following the band rules again. Lots of high protien dense foods like tuna and chicken. Those should fill you up. Don't drink an hour before or for an hour after you eat--that way you don't wash it out of your pouch and make yourself hungry too soon. Try adding extra protien like a shake or two as well during the day to curb hunger. I find if I let myself get hungry I want to eat everything, but if I start with 20 grams of protien in the morning, and continue to eat protien rich foods throughout the day in appropriate portions I feel no hunger and don't slip up and make poor food choices. I think you should make an appointment and expalin all of this to the dr. Maybe something is wrong with the way your band is placed and they could better help you if they knew of your discomfort from the hunger. I am so sorry you are having to go through this.

Does chicken make you feel full? I have found that time of the month my band is tighter and I tend to have fabulous restriction. I also fill up fast on high quality Protein, so I cook up chicken breast tenders and cut them up small so I can keep my pouch full. Damn chocolate is a slider and I could eat that all day long if I didn't have a full feeling from the chicken! I hate head hunger, so far for me that has been the hardest part!

Well, gastric bypass is not out of the question, but true your insurance may say no. The band is a tool, it does not do all the work for you, actually it is easy to get around the band by not making good choices. Hungry or not your food choices are very poor and not band friendly in the least. You may want to consider that banding was not for you--you chose to eat the wrong foods, drink the wrong beverages and not follow the "band rules", or you could choose to take control now. Let's face it , the band is in place and recently checked out to be fine, so you could follow the band rules and the band food plan. Maybe do the 14 days of pre-op prep or the 5 day pouch test diet. Then get yourself back on the lifetime eating plan that you will need to follow to lose and maintain that loss after. Good luck.