tonya66

Lori - we have ALL done the same thing. I've broken so many promises to myself that it's not even funny. All of us are in the same bout. The difference is, that with the band, your not soley relying on yourself, you have a little helper to remind you that your full, your no longer hungry. Now, it doesn't stop the head hunger and that is something we all work thru, however, it does stop the belly aching hunger and the overeating and binging we have all done for years and years. We all owe it to ourself to take this step, to be healthy and happy once and for all. Its scary to go into a new journey in your life, but its not that bad after you begin it. Oh, you will regret it, or have the "buyers" remorse the first month after surgery, I think everyone has. But - month 2 or 3, your on a high that I can't even describe. Especially after you get your to your sweet spot. The best thing I love about the band is I NO LONGER DIET! Before the band, if I wasn't on a diet, I was gaining weight. Now I know even when I don't even try, I don't gain weight. This is the best thing about it for me. I no longer gain weight for the first time in my life! If I stick to the rules, I lose. Its that simple. Below is something I think ALL NEW BANDSTERS SHOULD READ: Rules of the Road What you need to know about living with the band By Robin McCoy When you begin the decision-making process to have Weight Loss Surgery (WLS), and specifically LapBand® Surgery, it is vital that you fully understand the changes you must make in your lifestyle. WLS is not a magic pill. Weight loss is something that you must work at to be successful. There are several rules and circumstances that someone who has undergone LapBand® Surgery, a “Bandster,” must follow and understand to see success and have a high quality banded life. Drinking Before and After Meals Not drinking during meals is, by far, one of the most important things to learn and is vital to your weight loss success. It is also one of the most challenging. Stop drinking all liquids at least 30 minutes before your meal. This allows all that is in your pouch to drain through to the lower stomach. Therefore your pouch is empty when you eat allowing the food to fill you up properly. Forgo all beverages during your meals. Drinking during a meal flushes the food through your band and the band is unable to function properly. Most people will have 2, 3 or even 4 glasses of liquid with meals. Servers in restaurants, trained to keep customers happy, will keep beverage glasses full throughout the meal. This is unhealthy for bandsters and sabotages their success. State firmly and clearly that you do not want a beverage. From personal experience, I know the often bewildered looks that follow the statement: “nothing to drink for me,” but diligence is the key. Like most changes required after the LapBand® procedure, not drinking with meals gets much easier with time. Having now lost over 100 pounds, I no longer have difficulty asking my server not to bring me a beverage! Do not drink for an hour after a meal. The main reason is the same as drinking during your meal. Liquids wash the food through the band defeating its purpose. Another reason not to drink after a meal is if your pouch is full the beverage might not have anywhere to go…except backwards resulting in a spit-up. Suffice it to say that food and liquids making a return visit is not satisfying. By starting this practice immediately, at the next meal, you will be well on your way to a successful banding experience. Smaller Bites. More Chewing. Slower Eating. Begin to recognize and understand what a Bandster Bite is. At your next meal look at your bite size. Look at the amount of food on your fork and remember it. Now, cut that bite in half. This is the Bandster bite size after surgery. Now, cut that bite in half. This is the size of a Bandster bite after the first fill or adjustment. After each fill the bite size will get smaller until the bandster is eating toddler-sized bites. The reason for this is so the bite can be chewed completely to a liquid before swallowing. The next point is chewing. It is very important that food is completely chewed. Before swallowing ensure the food is a liquid. As the weight loss progresses the opening from the pouch to the lower stomach will be getting smaller. Therefore the food needs to be chewed more thoroughly. If a piece of food is too big to go through the stoma, or opening, it will get "stuck". This can be very painful. Slower eating becomes inevitable. Eating too fast encourages bigger bites. The bigger bite means the food isn’t chewed properly and it can get stuck. As a Bandster with over 18 months in, I still find myself falling into this trap. I get excited, chatting with friends and just forget to pay attention. A Bandster’s Eating Order Lap-Band patients have a specific order in which to eat their food. It is important that there is enough Protein in the diet to keep the bodies moving properly. Therefore, the protein should be eaten first. WLS patients need 40-60 grams of protein every day. This can come in a variety of ways. Protein shakes, cheese, fish, beef, chicken, soy. The challenge comes when only certain foods can be tolerated. Also, it is important that the protein is a “hard” protein (chicken, beef, and fish) if possible. It shouldn’t all come from protein shakes and cheese. The vegetables should be eaten second, and carbohydrates/starches last (if there is room). Proteins last longer in the pouch and take longer to process through the band allowing you to feel full sooner and maintain satiety longer. Hard proteins are the most difficult for a Bandster to consume. The hard proteins need to be more moist, more tender and chewed more completely than any other type of food. Generally speaking, proteins are the foods that get “stuck” most often and cause spit ups. This happens because the bite isn’t small enough and/or, because the protein hasn’t been chewed sufficiently before swallowing. For the record, beef is generally the most difficult food for Bandsters to eat. Beef is one of the most difficult foods for humans to digest. It can take several days for a piece of steak to actually work its way through the digestive track. And that’s on an un-banded person! So, if you eat a piece of steak and it isn’t chewed it up completely, it can sit in the pouch for an extended amount of time. Further, the stomach acids that help an un-banded person process beef are not present in the pouch and therefore are not there to help the body break the beef down. Remember each and every person is different so you will have to test your own waters. Some Bandsters have no trouble with beef whatsoever; others won’t go near it. From personal experience I know that each Bandster will figure out what he or she can or cannot tolerate through trial and error. Trust me when I say that tolerances change; one day ground beef is fine and the next you realize it isn’t any longer. You must be willing and able to adapt to sudden changes in your body’s ability to process certain foods. The Constant Quest for Restriction; Not enough vs. too much Restriction. No one can really describe it but everyone wants it. You have restriction when your band is adjusted to the point where you can eat 3-5 bites of well-chewed food and you are full. When this happens you have what is called good restriction. You are too loose, or open, if you don’t feel full after just a few bites. You are able to eat more on a consistent basis than before. Maybe your weight loss has slowed or stopped. This is when it is time for a fill, or adjustment, in your band. You are too tight when you can eat very little solid food or worse—none at all. If you are so tight that only liquids go through your band or you are spitting up too often this is too tight. If you can’t keep liquids down this is a medical issue and you must get some removed. You run the risk of becoming dehydrated. Being too tight is not a good thing! Not only are you not getting the nutrition your body needs to function properly but it can also bring on a slippage in your band. If this happens you will require minor surgery to repair it. Now that you know a little about what restriction is, let’s get a little deeper. There are three points to learn: 1. The first thing to understand is that every banded person feels restriction differently. So to compare yourself to others is difficult. 2. Also the amount of Fluid in the band and the stomach’s reaction, or restriction, to it is a varied as the Bandsters reading this now. Everyone’s stomach is a different size and reacts to the band differently. It is fine to compare fluid levels but don’t get too caught up in “I have this and they have that”. 3. Finally, your level of restriction can change day to day. It can change meal to meal in some cases. You are now asking, “How in the heck do I deal with that?” My answer is trial and error and learning about your band. Let us go back to the beginning. Immediately after surgery you will feel restriction. The surgeon usually doesn’t put any fluid in your band during the surgery. The restriction you feel is the swelling of your stomach and it’s adjustment to the band that has suddenly been wrapped around it. You won’t get your first fill until 4-6 weeks after surgery. You will be on Clear Liquids and they will fill you up quickly for the first few days. Then they will stop filling you up you will begin to feel hungry. About this time you will be allowed to eat mushy foods like mashed potatoes, creamy Soups, etc. You will find that you eat just a few bites and you are full. This is great! Who knew a ¼ can of Soup would be enough? This is going to be a piece of cake. It isn’t going to last. Shortly this won’t satisfy and you will be moving on to solid food. That feeling of restriction comes back. A slice of turkey and you are stuffed! This doesn’t last either. At about 4 weeks, sometimes earlier, you will start to feel hunger again. You feel like you are eating everything. Your weight loss has slowed or stopped. You start to freak out. “Where is my restriction?!” you cry. This is a difficult time but one that every Bandster gets through. Just be patient and let yourself finish the healing process. Watch what you eat and know that you are not eating anywhere near what you were pre-band. The unfilled band supplies a certain amount of restriction and you won’t hurt your progress. Your first fill will bring you back to the restriction point right after surgery. You will eat a few bites and feel full. You will start losing weight pretty quickly. You want to make sure you are eating your protein first, vegetables second and any starches last. This will ensure satiety. This fill will usually last several weeks. Then it starts to loosen up. Your second fill is the one that usually kicks a Bandster in the butt. This is where they learn what not chewing thoroughly and taking bites that are too large can do. And so it goes. Some Bandsters need one fill others need more. I had 4 over the course of the first year. I heard of one woman that lost 80 pounds on her first fill. This is why I stress not comparing yourself to your banded friends. It brings on frustration and we have spent enough time in our lives comparing ourselves to others. Now is the time to stop. One of the largest environmental factors that make our band feel tighter is stress. I never truly understood what Bandsters were talking about when they said stress was tightening their band. That is until I started the process of buying a house. The stress of the pending inspection and what they might find had my band so tight I was barely eating. My band was so tight I cancelled my fill appointment. Let me say right now that I learned from this experience and you need to make sure you are getting the right Vitamins in to ensure your health. I wasn’t in any danger but I was very tired and was bruising like crazy! Well, the inspection went well. I got my house and my band opened back up. Food started going through more smoothly and I started eating better. Other environmental factors can be tiredness, excitement, sadness, or just the fact that it is morning. Many Bandsters find they can’t eat until after 11 AM every day. I don’t know if this satisfies your curiosity of what restriction is or what you are to do with it. I do hope you understand that everyone is different and it is a learning process. You will learn what it feels like for you to have good restriction and when your band is talking to you. Being “stuck” and “spitting up” As WLS patients we have a few fun words we use. Some are nice and some are not. You will hear “PB” which means “Productive Burp”. I prefer the simple term “spit up”. What does “stuck” mean? Stuck means that what you have eaten won’t go through the opening between your pouch and lower stomach. This is called your “stoma”. The bite is too big to go through (meaning you didn’t chew it enough), it isn’t something that moves smoothly through the band (lettuce), or you just ate too darn much. When a bite of food goes through your esophagus and hits your pouch it has one of two places to go…through the band or back. If all is well it will go through with no problem either now or later. If it can’t make it to the pouch or through the stoma it will result in a spit up. Understand that this is something that will happen to you and to every bandster out there. Call it a side-effect or whatever you like but it will happen. The questions are what causes a spit-up, what it feels like, what to do when it happens, and how to avoid them. Remember, things can change day-to-day, heck even meal to meal. This is the nature of the beast. Frustrating? Yes. Small price to pay? I think so. What causes a spit up is easy. The bite it too big, you took one or two too many bites, you didn’t chew properly, or it is simply a food that you can’t tolerate right now. It is up to you to determine which of the above it true. Trust me… you will learn to determine this. What does if feel like? You will know. The best way I can find to describe the feeling is when you drink a big gulp of Water and it goes down with air. You get this pain in your chest that makes you feel like something is going to bust out. That is what it feels like when something is stuck. It can be minor or it can hurt like a son-of-a-gun. Some bandsters say their bodies tell them when they are finished eating and need to stop. Some Bandsters start to salivate which is their body’s way of washing the food through. Some, me included, get a heavy sigh or exhale; this tells us we are full. Don’t worry; you too will learn to read what your body is telling you…even if you don’t now. What should you do when it happens? Stop eating is the first thing. It doesn’t matter if it is your first bite or your fifth. A spit up is your body’s way of telling you that you are full. This is your band in full-alert. It is telling you that you are done and to put the fork down. Many times you can stop eating and just wait it out. Until you are used to it you might get the “deer in the headlight” look. Soon you will just adjust. If it doesn’t go away then you need to deal with it. Dealing with it means excusing yourself and heading to the bathroom. A spit up is just that. I compare it to a baby spit up. It should never be what you classify as vomiting. This is hazardous for a Bandster and should be avoided as it can cause slippage. There is a very large difference in spit ups and vomiting. How to avoid them? Well, that comes with experience and a willingness to acknowledge when your “food police” tells you to stop. Very quickly you should learn when your band tells you to stop. I found that after my 2nd fill my band was at attention and told me when I was full. This is when I experienced my first spit ups and found foods that I could no longer tolerate. One of the most difficult things to get your mind around is just how little you will be eating. Your band tells you that you are full but your brain engages and says, “You haven’t eaten nearly enough!” So you take that extra bite or two. Then there it is…the feeling in your chest…your eyes get big…and saliva fills your mouth. The biggest point I want to get across to you is that, while normal, spitting up is not necessarily a good thing. You don’t want to be doing it every day and certainly not every meal. If this is happening you need to take a good look at what you are eating, how big your bites are, how much you are eating and to what level you are chewing. Be aware at the beginning and it will become more of a habit soon enough. Surgery Is Not a Magic Pill Surgery is not the magic pill we have all been waiting for. You will not wake up thin. You must be willing to meet the band half way. You will lose weight at a different pace than your friends. You must change your behavior for this to work. It is a tool—and nothing more. An electric mixer is easier than mixing by hand but you still have to follow the recipe for the cake to taste good. Right now you should be asking yourself one question—“Am I ready to go the distance?” It can be a joyful journey with the highest of highs. Moments that are so thrilling and uplifting that you don’t think you will ever come down. It is also a frightening journey as we venture into unfamiliar territory of who we are and where we are going. You are not going down this path alone. There are many Bandsters ahead of you on this path that are ready to help you along the way and take you with them to the next level. So I ask, “Are you ready to go the distance?”

Lori - If I can do it, ANYONE can do it. Trust me, I had the same fears, it does work, if you work with the band, I PROMISE! As long as you follow the rules, you WILL succeed!

I'm going strong with my 5:00 am exercise routine. Oh how I wanted to NOT get up this morning, matter of fact, I told myself when the alarm went off that I would go ahead and take today "off". I was trying to talk myself out of getting up. As I lay there, trying to go back to sleep, I realized, I was awake and could not go back to sleep. I drug myself out of bed, jumped into my exercise clothes and headed to the gym. I did 35 min on the elliptical machine. The only bad thing is my knee is burning burning burning. I can feel it grind with each downstroke on the elliptical, not good. I may be over doing it a bit. I've been hitting the gym both 5 am and 8 pm. I did not weight this morning, I'm trying to hold of until either Friday or Monday. I am hoping the next time I weigh I am in the 160's. I was soooo hungry this morning too, so I call IHOP and ordered an egg white omlet, I picked it up on my way to work, it was good, but I could only eat about 1/3 of it. Saving the rest for bfast tomorrow. I'm off to work...........

I'm going strong with my 5:00 am exercise routine. Oh how I wanted to NOT get up this morning, matter of fact, I told myself when the alarm went off that I would go ahead and take today "off". I was trying to talk myself out of getting up. As I lay there, trying to go back to sleep, I realized, I was awake and could not go back to sleep. I drug myself out of bed, jumped into my exercise clothes and headed to the gym. I did 35 min on the elliptical machine. The only bad thing is my knee is burning burning burning. I can feel it grind with each downstroke on the elliptical, not good. I may be over doing it a bit. I've been hitting the gym both 5 am and 8 pm. I did not weight this morning, I'm trying to hold of until either Friday or Monday. I am hoping the next time I weigh I am in the 160's. I was soooo hungry this morning too, so I call IHOP and ordered an egg white omlet, I picked it up on my way to work, it was good, but I could only eat about 1/3 of it. Saving the rest for bfast tomorrow. I'm off to work...........

It did cure me of my acid reflux......so hopefully it will help yours too.

Name_________Start Weight___CurrentWeight______Goal________To Go *****<?xml:namespace prefix = v ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" /><v:shapetype id=_x0000_t75 stroked="f" filled="f" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" coordsize="21600,21600"></v:shapetype>***********:confused:*************:wink2:**********:wink_smile:*********:smile:* agreatknead........237............201...........180...........21 areellady..........189............189...........159...........30 BIGB...............342............342...........300...........42 BellaPerdente......287............251...........200...........51 Boos02.............226............224...........200...........26 Brandy.............221............217...........191...........26 BrownBear..........240............235...........200...........35 Cadets71...........223.4..........220.4.........189...........31.4 Claudine...........250............250...........225...........25 Bunkey1965.........194............187...........170...........17 Cubs Girl 17......172............172...........150..........22 Cutiew/booty.......251............249...........220...........29 cQQlgirl...........195............193...........175...........18 crzytchr...........276............275...........246...........29 Dionna113..........199............198...........160...........38 Ekat...............527............172...........152...........19 feefee57...........262............212...........180...........32 FeliciaLevy75......240............232...........190...........42 GillieBean.........304............296...........264...........32 HeatherO...........150............150...........130...........20 Hollie ............l54............154...........125...........29 Jeni.85............182............182...........160...........22 Jillbeme...........235............208.5.........185...........23.5 Josie74............260............255...........215...........40 klmsilva...........216............212...........190...........26 Lalaredd.....................235...........208..........173........35 legster............183............183...........160...........23 linksmom...........251............251...........200...........51 Liquidbluegal......225............220.4.........199...........21.4 Liz_hager..........161............158...........130...........28 lotzasunshine......292............290...........250...........40 Luu2008............230............199.5.........153...........46.5 Mamanmidwife.......295............295...........260...........35 MELISSA ...........266............233...........160...........73 Melody2006.........223............223...........173...........50 MiniPearl#2........???............???...........???...........?? Minxz..............299............285...........270...........15 Mzreeda............328............250...........190...........60 neefam.............238............189...........158...........31 odizzzydori........242............242...........199...........43 paige65............252............252...........208...........44 rainer.............236............233...........199...........34 reif78.............294............195...........140...........40 RichardCranium.....338............276...........200...........76 soontobehottie.....201............199...........165...........34 srknepler..........285............285...........255...........30 squale.............353............353...........325...........28 Sunshine2..........177............171...........160...........11 stevegoad..........370............341...........267...........74 Terilynn112........240............231.4...........199...........41 Truediva...........299............285...........235...........50 thininside28.......255............255...........215...........40 Turler.............219............219...........194...........25 youcandoit!........196............196...........162...........34 __________________

go to the last page, with the last post on it that has the list. highlight the list (using your mouse, hold down the left button) then right click on it and hit copy, you then past it it in the reply (comment) and add your stats in and hit the button submit reply. Hope this helps. If not, i will add your stats for you.

I'm staying on plan because I have been to the gym at 5:00 am twice now this week and I don't want that to go to waste!

Girl, I hear ya. I weighed around 128 to 135 my senior year in high school. I remember thinking how fat I was because my friends weighed around 110. I was a cheerleader and very athletic body structure. I can look back now and see I was not fat, but I sure did think I was back then. I went on radical diets, not eating a thing for days, exept brussel sprouts, or I would on drink liquids etc. I really screwed my matabolism up back then. I am trying to teach my 16 yr old daughter that its not about dieting but about healthy choices and exercise. She thinks she is fat too. She is 5'3 and weighs 110 maybe 115 lbs. She is not fat, but she feels like she is. I've been encouraging her to come to the gym with me, we have a family membership at the gym. She said she wants to start coming, but this morning she just couldn't get up because she up late with homework. I just don't want her to make the same mistakes I did. When I pack their lunches, I no longer put a pop in it, we no longer by any pop at our house. I always put a bottled water, and every now and then I put a juice in. I use wholewheat bread for their sandwhiches and spinach leaves instead of lettuce on them as well. They have never complained yet, and their lunch is always eaten. So as a parent, I am trying to help them make better choices. My son is 18 now and not an ounce of fat on him, but he is very active, plays basketball everyday after school. So that helps him stay trim, my daughter has no activities (besides shopping and talking the phone) that will help her, so I'm working hard on getting her active at the gym. I am in a size 10 jean today, I feel good that I made it in a 10. I remember when I sarted this journey I thought if I could get to a true size 12 I would be happy. Well, I made it. I am in a true size 12 and sometimes 10's, just depends on the brand. Why am I not happy? I still see my self as so obese and fat. I see every wrinkle and fat roll on my body. I think I might have unhealthy expectations of what I'm supposed to look like. Not sure, but something I am working on.

Luv2bslim - I noticed your stats, while brousing the forum, you are the exact place I started out at. I'm about 20 months post op now and down almost 80 lbs (I haven't updated my stats at the bottom of my signature, but will on Friday - which is my official weigh-in day.). I started this journey in January of 2007 - I was 40 at the time, turned 41 in August of 07. I am now 42 and feel better than I did in my 30's (and my DH swears I look younger than I did in my 30's too!) I just wanted to pop in and tell you it can be done. The biggest thing you have to do is STAY ON TOP OF YOUR FILLS! Don't be discouraged if it take awhile to get to the "restriction". And EXERCISE, even just leisure walks for 30 min a day, this will really help. Sometimes weeks will be good - you will lose 3 to 5 pounds, others will be rougher, maybe no loss or just 1 pound. Thats just your body trying to get used to the new you. Also don't compare yourself with others who had the surgery the same day as you. Everyone will lose at different pace. This is not a race, its your life. Congratulations to all you who are about to begin a new chapter in your life.

oh, by the way, I noticed you were banded 8/25 - thats my bday!

When I first had my surgery in 2007, I was working out 6 days a week, that is where I lost the most of my weight. I did the BFL challenge, its a 12 week challenge and I did pretty good. I couldn't wait to get the gym every day. At first I hated it, but I read, or heard someone say "Fake it until you make it". So I did, I just went and would only do 10 min on the treadmill, I did this for a while, but something inside me just clicked, and all of a sudden I was into it. So I do believe, Fake it until you make it, it does work, or at least it did for me. In August of 2007 I fell while on vacation, and had to have major knee surgery, that put an end to exercise for awhile. I still can't do a lot of stuff I used to do, like leg lunges and can't put a lot of weight on my knees. The elliptical seems to be the friendliest to my knee. Once I got out of the habit back in August, it has been a real struggle for me to get back into it. I work on it daily, but I know it is the best for me and I do lose when I exercise. Plus, I just feel better!

I ended up going back to the gym last night and doing some circuit training while working my upper body - I made sure I got in bed early last night. So the alarm goes off and I wanted to sleep so badly, but I heard a voice in my head saying "160's, 160's - remember your goal", so I got up and hit the gym again today at 5:00 am. This makes 2 days in a row that I've done it. Now I have to keep doing it. I want to loose my 16 lbs!

I am feeling good! I got up yesterday morning at 5:00 am - worked out, then last night went back to the gym and did some circuit training while working my upper body. I went to bed early last night, took an ambien so I would go to sleep. The alarm goes off at 5 am and I'm a little druggy from the ambien, but I forced myself to get up and I hit the gym again. I will also try and go tonight around 8:30 and do 30 min on the elliptical. I did not weigh this morning and trying to stay off the scale until Friday. I really want to be in the 160's and I'm getting close! The only "bad thing" I did, was I made this roasted chicken with a mushroom gravy and homemade mashed potatoes. I had a small bowl of the potatoes with the chicken and gravy poured over it, it was soooooo good, I had to have another scoop of it. So I ended up eating two helpings. I'm sure it was loaded with calories.

I am feeling good! I got up yesterday morning at 5:00 am - worked out, then last night went back to the gym and did some circuit training while working my upper body. I went to bed early last night, took an ambien so I would go to sleep. The alarm goes off at 5 am and I'm a little druggy from the ambien, but I forced myself to get up and I hit the gym again. I will also try and go tonight around 8:30 and do 30 min on the elliptical. I did not weigh this morning and trying to stay off the scale until Friday. I really want to be in the 160's and I'm getting close! The only "bad thing" I did, was I made this roasted chicken with a mushroom gravy and homemade mashed potatoes. I had a small bowl of the potatoes with the chicken and gravy poured over it, it was soooooo good, I had to have another scoop of it. So I ended up eating two helpings. I'm sure it was loaded with calories.

Oh. I also agree with you on the BMI, not sure how accurate it is. I was reading Dr. Oz's book, YOU ON A DIET - he stated that everyone's body is different, he said to find your ideal body weight, think back when you were at your peak, 18 or 19 years of age or even 20 he suggested and what did you weigh then? Whatever that was, that is your ideal body weight. So, if that is the case, I weighed around 135 - eeeks. I don't think I will or want to be that weight again. I think I would look like a skeleton. So, I took that number, and the number of the highest BMI which was 155, and decided I would like to be in between there, making my goal of 145. Not sure if I will get there, but thats my goal. :smile:

Shawn - YE HAW - CONGRATULATIONS:willy_nilly: I know how excited you must be! Awesome job. I know that I lost so quickly in the beginning, however the past year has been hardly anything at all, very very slow. I do believe everyone is different, and slow and steady will win the race!

this has been a touchy subject for some. My personal opinion is it is up to the individual. There is a law, called HIPPA, it gives each and every patient the right for their own medical privacy. So if you choose not to tell, doesn't mean you are ashamed or anything, just means you choose to keep your medical history private - thats your right. If you choose to tell, again, that is your right too. I personally decided not to tell, I figure I can always go back and tell, however, I could never untell. Well - there is a coworker I work with who has suspected it and she freaken googled something I typed on here (it was a thread I started regarding a type of plastic surgery), and she found out. She called me over to her desk and asked if that was me because it was so similar - my name was at the bottom of my signature, my age was over to the left, it said I was from Oklahoma - and I talked about the type of PS on this forum and I've mentioned it to her. Geeze, there are some nosey people. I begged her to keep it a secret, but I know she has already blabbed. The one thing I was not expecting was for people to come out and ask me directly "Did you have the lapband". I was prepared to answer questions on how I was losing weight, but I never dreamed people would come out and ask if I had the lap band. I would never come out and ask someone that. But some people are just plain rude! So if you do decide to keep it a secret, be prepared to answer questions. I still have not "come out of the closet", and not sure if I ever will. I might when I get to goal if someone I know is looking into it. I might share my experience. Still undecided on that. My doctor asked me to be in a calendar he produces, but I declined because I know someone that I know will see it.

Renee - YAY you've come back! To answer your question, no I do not think its my bodies set point. I just wasn't eating the "good" stuff and now that I have started watching what I eat again, I'm losing. Shawn - to answer your question is I have two goals, my doctor wants me to get to 155 - that is the highest weight on the BMI chart for me to be healthy. I want to get to 145, I don't want to always be on the border of going obese again, if you know what I mean. I don't want to freak out if I go up 2 lbs and will be considered Obesed by the charts. Now, the question is, can I get to 145? I'm not sure my body will let me, but if I can't I think I could be happy at 155.

I think for me the main reason that I didn't tell was I didn't want all eyes on me and watching me fail another attempt to lose weight. I also didn't want to hear the negative comments, and I didn't want to be judged. My last fill stopped me from eating late at night. If I eat past 8:00 I'm up all thru the night coughing and choking, its horrible. Your right to NOT get too tight. If you do, they have to take the fill out and its like starting all over again. grrrrrr. Its horrible when you are PBing on your own saliva Maybe your not eating enough? One of the things that has helped me lately is eat more frequently - i.e. I eat yogurt with granola for bfast, and around 10:30 I have a piece of string cheese, then eat lunch, then in late afternoon I eat 1/2 apple, or something small. Its all low in calories, but it keeps my metabolism working. It's so easy to get of track, heck, I went on a year long binge almost. Seems like that I would get on track for a week, then go back off of it for a month. So far, I've been track for a month now and losing again! Yay. Well, until today it was NONE. I am 16 lbs from being at a healthy weight and a healthy BMI, I know the only way to get there is to get my butt in gear with eating and exercise. I've got the eating under control lately, however, the exercise was NON EXISTANT. So, last night, I got my clothes out, my shoes, and set them by the front door. I knew if I didn't get up, I would have to walk past them when I went to work this morning and how much of a failure I would feel like. So, I set my alarm for 5:00 am - oh how I want to turn the alarm off when it went off this morning. I even said to myself "5 more minutes", but I've done this so many times in the past and the 5 more minutes turn into a lot longer and I don't get up. Well, today was different. I got up, got dressed and was the gym by 5:30. I only did 31 minutes on the elliptical, however that burned 310 calories. I will continue to set my alarm and work on getting my groove back! It sure is lonely on our thread these days. I wonder how everyone is doing? I miss seeing everyone on here and chatting about our band and challenges we face. Remember how exicted everyone was in Janaury of 2007? How we all couldn't wait to come to the board and talk? I was soooo addicted to this forum. Anyhow, hope everyone is doing great. I have started a countdown on another thread (Life at Goal or Near Goal) called the final push. Its my final push to lose the 16 lbs to get to my doctors goal weight. I have 26 lbs to hit my goal of 145. I am hoping to hit my docs goal by December, and my goal by our 2 yr anniversary date or shortly after. I lose so slow, and every pound is such a struggle for me, but I am overjoyed when I lose just 1 ounce, and a pound sometimes sends me over the edge with excitement! :cry_smile:

Okay, if I am going to get to my goal, I have to start exercising! I set my alarm last night and laid out my clothes and I did it! I was up at 5 am and at the gym by 5:30. I was tired and only did 31 min on the elliptical, however - that little amount of time burned 310 calories. I am going to try, let me rephrase that, I am going to continue to get up and hit the gym. I want to see the 160's by the end of the week!

Went to Nashville this weekend, I had a great time. Ate too much and drank a little too much, but we had fun. This morning woke up at 5am and hit the gym. I'm trying to get my groove back. I am also going to go tonight to work with weights. Here us new plan: Mon - 5:00 am - cardio 30 min 8:00 pm - weights and 15 min on elliptical Tuesday - 5:00 am - cardio 35 min 9:00 pm - cardio 30 min Wednesday - 5:00 am - cardio 40 min Thursday - 5:00 am - cardio 30 min 8:00 pm - weights Friday - 5:00 am - cardio - 45 min Saturday - 3:00 pm - weights and 30 min on cardio machine Sunday - OFF wt - 171.9

Went to Nashville this weekend, I had a great time. Ate too much and drank a little too much, but we had fun. This morning woke up at 5am and hit the gym. I'm trying to get my groove back. I am also going to go tonight to work with weights. Here us new plan: Mon - 5:00 am - cardio 30 min 8:00 pm - weights and 15 min on elliptical Tuesday - 5:00 am - cardio 35 min 9:00 pm - cardio 30 min Wednesday - 5:00 am - cardio 40 min Thursday - 5:00 am - cardio 30 min 8:00 pm - weights Friday - 5:00 am - cardio - 45 min Saturday - 3:00 pm - weights and 30 min on cardio machine Sunday - OFF wt - 171.9

1 mo post op (Feb 18)- 206.8 2 mo post op (March 18) - 198 3 mo post op (April 18th)- 193 4 mo post op (May 18th)- 184.2 5 mo post op (June 18th(- 178 6 mo post op (July 18th)– 174 7 mo post op (Aug 18th)- 178 - went on vacation and ate big (7 day cruise) 8 mo post op (Sept 18th)- 174 9 mo post op (Oct 18th)- 170 10 mo post op (Nov 18th) - 167 11 mo post op (Dec 18th) - 170 - haven’t even been trying 12 mo post op (Jan 18th 2008)- 174 - again, not trying. But finally refocused - exactly where I was at 6 mos post op – so basically no weight loss in the past 6 mos 13 mo post op (Feb 18th) - 183 - Ouch! started taking steroids and made my weight go up, along with not eating right and no exercise! 14 mo post op (March 18th)- 185 - grrrrr 15 mo post op (April 18th)- 180 - weight is finally going down, but inches are actually coming off faster since I've been exercising a lot. 16 mo post op (May 18th)- 178 17 mo post op (June 18th)- 175 18 mo post op (July 18th)- 179- still not focussed:sad: 19 mo post op -(Aug 18th) - 178 - focussed again - This time I am committed to getting to goal and will not stray! I do not ever want to see the 180's again! 20 mo post op (Sept. 18) - 171 -

1 mo post op (Feb 18)- 206.8 2 mo post op (March 18) - 198 3 mo post op (April 18th)- 193 4 mo post op (May 18th)- 184.2 5 mo post op (June 18th(- 178 6 mo post op (July 18th)– 174 7 mo post op (Aug 18th)- 178 - went on vacation and ate big (7 day cruise) 8 mo post op (Sept 18th)- 174 9 mo post op (Oct 18th)- 170 10 mo post op (Nov 18th) - 167 11 mo post op (Dec 18th) - 170 - haven’t even been trying 12 mo post op (Jan 18th 2008)- 174 - again, not trying. But finally refocused - exactly where I was at 6 mos post op – so basically no weight loss in the past 6 mos 13 mo post op (Feb 18th) - 183 - Ouch! started taking steroids and made my weight go up, along with not eating right and no exercise! 14 mo post op (March 18th)- 185 - grrrrr 15 mo post op (April 18th)- 180 - weight is finally going down, but inches are actually coming off faster since I've been exercising a lot. 16 mo post op (May 18th)- 178 17 mo post op (June 18th)- 175 18 mo post op (July 18th)- 179- still not focussed:sad: 19 mo post op -(Aug 18th) - 178 - focussed again - This time I am committed to getting to goal and will not stray! I do not ever want to see the 180's again! 20 mo post op (Sept. 18) - 171 - :rolleyes2: