tonya66

I love the Hallow-Lean Challenge title - :smile2:

Heather, great idea, I just couldn't think of a holiday between now and Thanksgiving.....I forgot about Halloween. I agree, shorter challenges keeps me focussed too.

I think we should start a Labor Day to Thanksgiving challenge after this one!

Name_________Start Weight ____Goal____ Lbs lost____Current Weight *****:cheers2:********** :wub:**********:smile2:******:party:**********:hurray:***** aJoneen............230.........220.......6.......... Bea1128............220.........199.......5.......... Babs0101...........185.........170.......0.......... blesdbyonmzur......159.........148.......4.......... BTTRFLI1432........221.........210.......6.......... Bunkey1965.........212.........195.......15.........197 Chocolate_Snaps....254.........240.......6.......... Darr5380...........167.........155.......3.......... Epm316.............209.........199.......5.......... erikadawn..........199.........175.......0.......... FloridaGirl........235.........215.......0.......... HeatherO...........172.........155.......15.........157 Heft_Bandit........261.........245.......6..........255 JennyPoo...........169.........159.......5.......... KarenG.............160.........158.......6.......... KathyStrick........305.........290.......0.......... Lapbandfan.........258.........230.......2.......... Leslie2Lose........224.........209.......5..........219 LessNLess..........144.5.......140.......0.......... LilMissBand-Aid....234.4.......225.......6.2........ Lunabeane..........209.........200.......11......... Luu2008............219.........189.......14......... Luv2Laugh..........232.........212.......0.......... luvinke............206.........190.......0.......... mamato3............199.........184.......6.......... mcgreen............189.........175.......0.......... mdgarcia31665......225.........200.......0.......... melboyd............266.........256.......5.8........260.2 Missrach...........269.........175.......25.........244 MollyMolly.........192.........182.......2.......... mominlv13..........316.........300.......10.8.......305.2 MSnika3............228.........204.......4.......... MyTurn.............250.........240.......7..........243 NANAbanded.........225.........199.......7.......... Ninja..............204.........189.......5.......... NukeChik...........221.........199.......6.......... Ollie..............242.........210.......0.......... Redtulips..........188.........180.......6.......... Renewedhope........174.........155.......5.......... ronni_NC...........243.........220.......0.......... slgandera..........185.........173.......7.......... StartingOver.......220.........205.......15......... Sunshine2..........187.........170.......10..........177 want_so_bad........170.........155.......0.......... Sades.......(7/16).192.5.......180.......8.6........ Sadie..............220.........199.......6.......... smwww..............189.........179.......0.......... tp78...............212.........195.......7..........

Yay - its my Friday at work - I'm off tomorrow. I plan on going to the gym tonight and tomorrow when I'm off, I'll go during the day. I have had very very good restriction lately, its been about 2 weeks since my fill, and I have another appointment in September for another fill, but at this point I might cancel it if I still have this good restriction. Menu today Bfast weight wise oatmeal Lunch smoked turkey, green beans Dinner Grilled Talapia topped with homemade salsa and a spoonful of brown rice. Wt - Didn't weigh this morning, was running way behind in getting ready for work and simply "forgot" - wow?

Yay - its my Friday at work - I'm off tomorrow. I plan on going to the gym tonight and tomorrow when I'm off, I'll go during the day. I have had very very good restriction lately, its been about 2 weeks since my fill, and I have another appointment in September for another fill, but at this point I might cancel it if I still have this good restriction. Menu today Bfast weight wise oatmeal Lunch smoked turkey, green beans Dinner Grilled Talapia topped with homemade salsa and a spoonful of brown rice. Wt - Didn't weigh this morning, was running way behind in getting ready for work and simply "forgot" - wow?

Twil - I guess when I say I eat big - I mean the bad stuff - cream pies, chocolate, ice cream - etc. Ladywinsall - thank you so much, you are right, having the band does not stop you from having challenges in life. Its a struggle, but I am getting there, one day at a time. Thank you both for your kind words and support.

Highest weight - November - 2007 248 Banded 1/18/07 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!

You'll appreciate your blog as you go down the road. I too have kept a blog thru my journey, I started it at the end of 2006 and I'm sure glad I did. There have been months that I haven't posted much, and those are the months that I have done the worst. So blogging really helps keep you on track. Good luck to you and I loof forward watching your progress.

Well, One thing I can tell you about the band, you will no longer be able to eat 2 cheeseburgers, or 2 buffett plates - once you get restriction. The hardest part is getting to that restriction, you have to very patient. For me, it took 19 months to finally get really good restriciton, but I'm a rare one, Most people it takes 3 fills, it took 11 for me.

Yes, I feel like I have such good restriction in the morning, I wish I could have this restriction all the time! If I get another fill, I know that in the mornings, I will have to just do liquids, or have to wait until after 12 or so to eat. But then maybe I would have restriction at night?' I agree with you, the band is a flacky thing! But I still love it....We have a love/hate relationship. :eek:

Hey girl, my band is fickle too. I sometimes think I need another fill, but honestly, this is the very best restriction I have ever ever ever had. I have a hard time drinking really cold drinks, I actually have to slow down when I eat, I never had to do that before. I still eat regular bites of food, however, I do eat slower than usual. I can still eat bread, chicken and anything, just not that much of it. I gurgle a lot when I drink, I can hear all kinds of noises coming from my esophagus, so weird. Then the next day, I feel like I'm eating just like before, no restriction. It is so weird. If I get a fill, I know there will be days that I will have to be on all liquids - like TOM. If I don't get a fill, the days I have the perfect restriciton is when TOM is here. So, what do I do? Anyhow, its a complicated thing this little band at times. Do I regret the band? Absolutely not! For the first time in my life I am no longer gaining weight. I don't have to worry about ever being over 200 lbs again. I love that. If I never lost another pound, I still think the band was worth all the trouble and even this fickle band.

Highest weight - November - 2007 248 Banded 1/18/07 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!

I'm trying to watch my calories - her is yesterdays Grams Calories = 950 Fat = 53.4 (too much fat - it was the cookies I ate that put it this much fat!) Carbohydrate 51.5 Protein 68.1 Wt 179.5

I'm trying to watch my calories - her is yesterdays Grams Calories = 950 Fat = 53.4 (too much fat - it was the cookies I ate that put it this much fat!) Carbohydrate 51.5 Protein 68.1 Wt 179.5

Name_________Start Weight ____Goal____ Lbs lost____Current Weight *****:cool2:********** **********:thumbup:******:tt2:**********:w00t:***** aJoneen............230.........220.......5.......... Bea1128............220.........199.......5.......... Babs0101...........185.........170.......0.......... blesdbyonmzur......159.........148.......4.......... BTTRFLI1432........221.........210.......6..........215 Bunkey1965.........212.........189.......16.........195 Chocolate_Snaps....254.........240.......6.......... Darr5380...........167.........155.......3.......... Epm316.............209.........199.......5.......... erikadawn..........199.........175.......0.......... FloridaGirl........235.........215.......0.......... HeatherO...........172.........155.......14.........158 Heft_Bandit........261.........245.......6..........255 JennyPoo...........169.........159.......5.......... KarenG.............160.........158.......6.......... KathyStrick........305.........290.......0.......... Lapbandfan.........258.........230.......2.......... Leslie2Lose........224.........209.......5..........219 LessNLess..........144.5.......140.......0.......... LilMissBand-Aid....234.4.......225.......6.2........ Lunabeane..........212.........200.......9.......... Luu2008............219.........189.......16.........203 Luv2Laugh..........232.........212.......0.......... luvinke............206.........190.......0.......... mamato3............199.........184.......6.......... mcgreen............189.........175.......0.......... mdgarcia31665......225.........200.......0.......... melboyd............266.........255.......11.2.......254.8 Missrach...........269.........175.......25.........244 MollyMolly.........192.........182.......2.......... mominlv13..........316.........300.......10.8.......305.2 MSnika3............228.........204.......4.......... MyTurn.............250.........240.......0.......... NANAbanded.........225.........199.......7.......... Ninja..............204.........189.......5.......... NukeChik...........221.........199.......6.......... Ollie..............242.........210.......0.......... Redtulips..........188.........180.......6.......... Renewedhope........174.........155.......5.......... ronni_NC...........243.........220.......0.......... slgandera..........185.........173.......7.......... StartingOver.......220.........205.......15......... Sunshine2..........187.........170.......9..........178 want_so_bad........170.........155.......0.......... Sades.......(7/16).192.5.......180.......8.6........ Sadie..............220.........199.......6.......... smwww..............189.........179.......3..........186 tp78...............212.........195.......7.......... __________________

I have been sick since Saturday and so I haven't worked out since Friday. I am feeling better today so I will go to the gym tonight! My menu Bfast - coffee w/cream, handful of nuts Lunch low carb tortilla, 3 oz of chicken, no skin, 2 tbs salsa, 1 oz cheese. 1/2 cup cilantro - (chicken taco - yum) (320 cal) snack - sugar free low cal chocolate pudding (60 cal) Dinner 1/2 pork chop, salsa, low carb tortilla (330 cal) Workout Upper body - biceps, triceps, shoulders, back, chest 45 min on elliptical machine

I have been sick since Saturday and so I haven't worked out since Friday. I am feeling better today so I will go to the gym tonight! My menu Bfast - coffee w/cream, handful of nuts Lunch low carb tortilla, 3 oz of chicken, no skin, 2 tbs salsa, 1 oz cheese. 1/2 cup cilantro - (chicken taco - yum) (320 cal) snack - sugar free low cal chocolate pudding (60 cal) Dinner 1/2 pork chop, salsa, low carb tortilla (330 cal) Workout Upper body - biceps, triceps, shoulders, back, chest 45 min on elliptical machine

That is so Wonderful!!!!!! The last 30 lbs for me is so difficult. I lost so fast in the beginning, Now I am just stuck. I know part of it is my eating has not been good. But for the past 4 weeks, its been pretty darn good. The weight barely comes off. No, this does not happen to me. My biggest problem is my head hunger and cravings. I crave sweets all the time. This weekend was a bad weekend and I gave in to my desires and ate everything chocolate. This morning as I was eating my oatmeal, I could barely get it down. I wish my band would be more consistant. I've got perfect restriction until around 4 pm, then its wide open. I think this is something that I will have to learn to live with. I need to eat lost of protein in the evening and quit rading the sweets.

.............because I haven't all weekend and It's time to get back on track.

Had another good workout last night. Woke up this morning and sure felt smaller, I thought I would go ahead and weigh. I was down just a bit from yesterday, but I swear I feel so much smaller. It must be the inches I'm losing. Wt - 178.6 Tonight, I will workout my upper body and do 30 min of cardio. I am a cardio junkie these days. I love the elliptical because its so easy on my knees. It still hurts a bit, but not as much as the treadmill or even just walking around my house. Monday will be my 19th month Band Anniversary and I'm hoping to be at 175. I'm hoping I have a 3 lbs loss thru the weekend. I know that is a long shot, but that is what I am hoping anyhow. I'm so ready to be out of the 170's once and for good. The 160's Here I come!

I read Idiogirl's thread and thought I would jump in and offer to help anyone too. Unlike Indiogirl, I am a slow loser so I can certainly emphasize with those of you who are frustrated with slow weightloss. So, let me give a breif history of myself. I love chocolate, I was banded January 18, 2007 after years and years of yo yo dieting. I love chocolate, All diets did work for me, I love chocolate, but they were just a diet, the 2nd I ended "The Diet", all my weight came back, and then some (did I mention I love chocolate). So for all you who say they are sweet eater, meet your partner. I was so successful the first 6 months, matter of fact, thats when I lost most of my weight. But the 12 months following that, not so good. Well, I've been back for about 2 months now, and the weight is coming off again. My mind is back and I think I can offer helpful suggestions to those who "fell of the wagon and need to get back on". Or maybe those who are struggling with head hunger. How about those who are struggling to get the perfect fill - I'm on fill #11 and I do know how frustrating it is. So, any questions, comments, whatever, fire away.

Hi Jamie - I wish they could make a band for our head, don't you? The head hunger is the one thing the Band does not control. Last night, I was about to crawl into bed, I had just spent an hour at the gym doing my strength training, I felt so good about myself as this was the 4th straight week I had made it to the gym at least 5 times. So, back to last night, I'm laying there just reading and watching a little TV, and all of a sudden the cravings started, I was up out of bed before I knew it and grabed a bag of microwave popcorn to pop it and add some extra real butter, yum. Then I got a phone call, and lost track of what I was doing. After the phone call I realized I wasn't really hungry, just wanting something. It made me think what I can do instead of giving into my head hunger. I've thought about grabbing a magazine when I get the head hunger, I have a ton of SHAPE Magazine with all these beautiful shaped women. Anyhow, I'm going to start trying that, I thought I would give you a suggestion, see if it works. Another thing I thought about doing is write down my goals every morning, and re-look at them when I get that 3:00 craving for chocolate. I hope this helps Jamie, I wish there was something magically that we could do for the head hunger, but sorry to say, we're the only ones that can control what we put in our mouth. Best wishes to you and let me know if I can be of help to you. Do not give up!

Stacie, Sounds like you have a very fickle band, as my doc calls mine. A drop can make a huge difference to me. I'm at about 3.8cc's and I think I might need a tad more, but when I go to 4cc's I can't even swallow my saliva, Its horrible. I started having this trouble in November when I got overfilled, and since that time, I have not lost weight, so I do understand your frustration. One thing I realized is I kept waiting on the band to "work", but I wasnt doing my part. Once I started following the band rules, and quit testing the band, it started working. Weird, huh. I'm not saying that is what you are doing, I'm just simply telling what happened to me. I know it must be hard being self paid, I was fortunate enough to have my insurance cover mine, and I've had to have 11 fills, so I don't think I would be where I am today if I hadn't had the insurance. Here is my advice, First of all, you have to really sit down and have a long talk with yourself, your the only one that control what goes in your mouth. Try and start following the band rules - Proteins first, and see if that helps the real hunger. As far as the head hunger, I know its hard, but maybe instead of grabbing something that is bad, how about grabbing some fruit? Some grapes? Carrots? Trust me I do understand what you are going thru, I spent a year of eating and giving in to my head hunger, then I finally snapped out of it. The 2nd thing I would do is don't give up on getting your fill right, it takes a lot of patience sometimes, but try and tweak your fill, maybe just a few tenths of cc might do the trick. Trust me, I know this is a hard part, I've been trying to get that perfect sweet spot for almost 19 months now. Best wishes, and I will be here to help you whenever you need it.

Hi Babyblue71us - I would love to be your buddy, can you tell me a little about your situation? 1. When did you get banded 2. What type of band do you have (4cc, 10cc etc) 3. Do you have restriction now? 4. When was your last fill? 5. Are you eating Proteins first, or soft foods. Let me know a little about your situation and me and perhaps others can help you thru this. You can do this, its never too late so don't give up.