ShrinkingLady

These posts actually caused me to relinquish my lurker status and make a post. Red, I hope your daughter recovers soon! Please hang in there! I was banded 10/16 and have had my ups and downs. I reached restriction very quickly, and was actually too tight on just my 2nd fill. I had 2 small unfills in the next few weeks, and finally a teeny fill in January that got me to my sweet spot. I'm going in tomorrow for yet another unfill as I appear to be having some problems--severe pain between my shoulder blades anytime I eat solid foods. (So I’ve been back on mostly liquids for almost a week now! Ick!) The journey has not proven to be easy, by any means... but I've lost a total of 32 lbs and that's the most I've ever lost at one time without starting to regain. If I focus on the big picture instead of these hills and valleys, I realize that this is still a very GOOD decision I've made. And besides, I'm incredibly stubborn and I WILL make it through this! I knew going into this that I must have some metabolic issues because I didn't eat nearly as much as some of my thin friends or my thin hubby, yet it was near impossible for me to lose weight. I could maintain if I tried, but to lose was very hard. Now that I'm banded, I eat on average 800-1000 calories/day. I have had some weeks that I haven't lost, but the last 4 weeks I've lost a steady 1-2 lbs each week. It still feels slow to me and I get frustrated, but I try to keep reminding myself that I couldn't have lost even that much before the band. My secrets have been water and exercise. I must keep my fluid intake up--64oz is the bare minimum. I also must exercise. It doesn't have to be super intense for me, I just have to make sure I get up and move--treadmill, recumbent bike, a stroll around the neighborhood. I have a back injury, so I'm prevented from doing a lot of things, but if I don't drink my water and don't get my heart rate up for at least 10-15 mins/day I am guaranteed to not lose weight, even on such a low calorie intake. I know a lot of you are working out more than that, and I'm hoping that as I drop more weight, I will be able to handle more. I actually did the LAP-BAND in an attempt to avoid back surgery. I’m convinced that each person has to find his/her own “secrets” but I thought I’d share mine in case they help anyone. They may/probably will change over time, but at this point in my journey, this is what is working for me. Jenn