StephC

another no brainer - Steph ... short for Stephanie... C - first intial of my last name. I like it, it keeps it simple.

Sounds like a great job. With great scenery! I also work in a great environment, a golf course on top of a mountain, in a private lake community where hunting isn't allowed. Needless to say the wild life know they are safe here and we have an over abundance of deer, turkey, skunks, ground hogs... you name it, even bear. Of course in the winter the only one I see up on the driving range is the deer. Everyday I have people tell me what a nice place to work. Unfortunately I sit at a desk most of the day and only truely enjoy it on my way to and from work.

Great thread! I hope more long time bandsters share. I've just been banded since December so its still kinda new to me. I'm finally at my sweetspot and really having to use the bandster rules fully. Its good to hear that it becomes 2nd nature to be using them. Thanks.

I don't have a digital scale because we went through so many of them when my son wrestled in hs,we finally bought a "good" scale and now that ds has his own home he owns a digital that tells your bmi, etc and he tells me my scale is way better then his and he'd like to trade.. LOL.. I think not. So I go by my scale, naked first thing in the am and only record on Sundays. When I'm going to my dr, I weigh with clothes and its usually right on with his. But my dr also calculates the clothing and removes that from the actual weigh in. So I guess his scale would be a couple lbs heavy if I was actually standing there naked.

I was the same, first fill I expected it to work, 2 weeks later I called the dr and the pa convinced me I should wait and see.. 2 weeks later I got my 2nd fill, it helped but I still wasn't at full restrictions, I went back 2 more times until finally with my 4th fill I feel real restriction and am losing about 2 lbs a week. I was in every 2 weeks until I felt this one was the one. Good luck and don't be afraid to get fills, we got this band so it would work, don't let them talk you out of fills when you know its not working.

Hello! I'm back! It was a fun weekend topped off by a big dinner here with ALL my kids. Somehow I have continued to watch what I ate and only had a couple of weak moments - which I have figured out are still old habits of eating without thinking. One morning the pastor brought donuts for the kids' breakfast before we went to convention (bc it was easy & the hotel didn't have continental) so I grabbed a crueller - I had eaten half of it and went omg what am I doing? Gave it away - another time I did the same with a candy bar. We had 13 teenagers and you know how kids eat... we also ate every meal out but I was really careful and ate slowly and took my food back to the room and ate later if I needed to. Yesterday for dinner I had about 2 oz of ham, a tablespoon of everything else and it took me as long to eat that as it did everyone else to eat 2nds. I felt good about it, I enjoyed everything but knew I ate 1/4 of what I did last EAster. I weighed myself yesterday morning - I had decided to journel every Sunday - I was down another 2 lbs this week. 194!!! woohoo - I really think I'm at my sweetspot. Va Kirsten - your pics look great! Big difference in your face and belly! Your hair is about 2" longer too! I think you should go ahead with your fill. Only bc when you have a good fill you don't have to try so hard. I have to try harder on the bandster rules but not on the food rules... do you get where I'm coming from? Before if I didn't follow all the bandster rules I just didn't lose, now if I don't follow the bandster rules I feel miserable, slime.. and all that fun stuff. So now its easier to lose the weight bc I really feel full faster and longer. For me the BIGGEST thing is eating slowly and little bites. BK - I'm glad you found a dr who will accept your insurance. My last fill wasn't with fluro - but we should have had enough fills that we are at the sweet spot where they only need to adjust by point cc's now. Which would really suck if you had to pay all that money to get these teeny little adjustments. Anyway don't worry about it, you've already had fluro and know your band is fine. Bman - I eat candy and junk alot more then I should but I have the attitude of this is a lifestyle change and not a diet and theres no way I can ever give that stuff up - my lifestyle change is that I don't binge on it, I can eat half of a candy bar and be totally satisfied. In fact my dd was selling those evil things again and it took me 3-4 days to eat one. I just ate enough to satisfy that sweet tooth. But if you can't eat it without binging or falling off then I wouldn't do it. I account for every bite on fitday - bc we all know it adds up pretty darn fast! I gotta go - love you all! Chat at all of you later!

Brandi - I know how you feel, I've been having a hard time getting used to this fill and have had that horrible stuck feeling way too much. Tonight we ate at chinese buffet - 11 of us so I didn't have much choice - so I took about 2 bites and yep - was sick - so I go in the bathroom hopeing to throw up but I never get that lucky. I slimed for a bit and finally was about to spit up about a tblsp of flem. Sorry tmi - stood there a minute and felt great. I went back explained that I must eat slowly and was able to very slowly eat and I felt great, I actually stopped before I felt full. It was kinda weird tho bc everyone else was having dessert and I was still nibbling away on my chicken. I really forget what bad habits we all had. Kirsten can't wait to see your pics! As you can see dd had her laptop with, we are in hotel, took my sleeping pill, so I'll say goodnight and will talk to you all soon.

I was just wondering why you don't have time to take it slower and why you don't plan on keeping your band for life?

I don't think the article I read was talking about starvation mode - and that was me who wrote ... hey I'm starving... my point and I think the point of the article was that to be healthy you must include exercise in your life. Getting rid of the fat is one thing but to build a strong lean body you have to incorporate exercise into your life style and when you do this you can eat those "extra" calories. I personally couldn't live on less then 800 calories a day for very long - its not a part of who I am - that to me is dieting at its worse. So if I can eat 1200 calories and then burn 200 off that brings me down to 1000 - totally losing weight at that. For me the band is a tool to help me change my lifestyle. First by eating less and secondly by exercising more. For me its not just about the weight loss - its completely totally 100% about changing my lifestyle. I don't care if it takes me 5 years to get to goal as long as I am developing new habits.

Kirsten I was feeling the same before I got this last fill. But then it had only been 2 weeks since my previous fill. I definitely feel this fill better then any of the others I've had. I'm really having to follow the band rules - I always tend to take one bite too much and make myself miserable. I need to stop when my nose runs. I still have that love of food and its so hard to just stop when theres so much more to be eaten. Eventually I'll develope the healthy eating habits that I know I need to. Sounds like you had a nice time in Ga - girl you do alot of traveling! Where do you work that allows you all that travel time? I leave tomorrow for my dd's competition - my other dd is meeting us there so its bound to be a nice weekend. I should have internet access with my dd laptop in the hotel but not sure... if not I'll talk to you all Monday!

Jlynn - hey I'm from Grand Rapids - born and raised there! Ok so actually I was born in Big Fork. I lived in Cohasset so when I saw Deer River I was like .. OMGOODNESS!!! You aren't my cousin Kristy .. or Kelly are you? Kristy was banded last summer and I'm not sure if Kelly got banded yet. Anyway I've lived in PA for the past 20 some years but Minn is still my home. I'm going to be in Wirt.. ever hear of it? at the Suregame resort in July... its just amazing what a small world we live in.

Welcome - yes we are like family on this thread. If you go back to the first few pages of this thread I think we talk about alot of stuff. Or our first thread was December Bandsters. Most of us were banded in Dec., our December thread got so big we lost track of each other so we started a Steady loser thread. We didn't do it to keep people out just to keep track of each other - we are nice and welcome everyone. We all know how it feels to be waiting to hear from your insurance, then waiting for a band date, then the pre-op diet... if you have any questions just ask.

SG - sorry we rained on your kiniland but we're just being realistic. You didn't have much luck with your thread before we popped in and shared so I guess I'll say best wishes in getting to kiniland and leave.

I just read an interesting article. It said that if we need 2000 calories to maintain then we need to cut our calories by 1000 (this is all generals) to lose weight (I believe it was 1-2lbs/wk) - so if we cut our calories intake by 1000 before too long our body is going to say hey wait a minute I'm starving and try to hold on to the fat -thus you have muscle loss - but if we cut our calories by 500 and burn the other 500 by increasing our activity (exercise!) then our body says hey I'm healthy and I'm gonna get rid of some of this fat, so it takes it from the fat store. I thought it was interesting, not that we haven't heard it before.

Brandi - I was just looking at our tickers and you're the only one who's got half of it off. good for you! and Banannie is right behind you - good for you too Anna banana! Email me a pic - I'd love to see who you're talking about. I've been reading about how many calories I actually need. Its so confusing! One article says one thing and another says something else. The one says I should have about 1500-1600 a day. But then in order to lose 2 lbs a week I would have to up my exercise to 500 calories burned - right now I'm only burning about 200. Its funny because I know all of this, no one knows more about fat then a fat lady.. haha... but it inspires me to read it again. They all talk about the importance of exercise, bc if you just cut back 1000 calories then your body thinks its sick and needs to hold on to the fat, but if you split that and use 500 in exercise your body thinks ok I'm healthy so I'll just take from the fat store. HA.. like all of that is new to you guys. My blog for the day. I got sick again last night - after work I had to run to town to meet dh and the lawyer and then I had to go with my dd to fire queen practice - so I stopped after the lawyer to get some soup at the deli and they didn't have any "good" soup, it was cheesy and fatty - so I ran next door to subway. I get turkey with sweet onion sauce... yum... I was able to eat it ok, about half, I eat it sideways, from the open side back so that I don't eat as much of the bread... anyhoo... it was ok, went to practice for a couple hours, got home and I took a pill and OMGoodness!!!! Total pain again. WTHeck is up with that? I just wanted to throw up but of course couldn't. I tried to drink some pineapple juice and even tiny sips made it worse. I slimed for a good while. Dh said maybe you just have the flu... by this time I was in bed shivering. I don't know if it was still that undigested rice or what.. something was totally stuck. I slimed enough that I could finally fall asleep and I slept good and I feel hungry now but still scared to eat. I really need to get a grip on good band habits. VA Kirsten - how ya doing?

wow Claudia I can't believe your cousin would say something like that! That was cruel. I suspect my one friend may say something like that behind my back but she knows better then to say it to me. I live in PA. I got horribly sick today on a lean cuisine enchilda with rice. Severe pain. I ate my enchilda around noon and saved the rice until about 2 and I think it was dry. I was really hoping I would throw up, tried the finger in the throat and all I got was slimed. I slimed for about 2 hours. The pain has subsided and I'm ok now. THANK YOU LORD! I think I'll have soup for supper. Bman sounds like you had a fun weekend. I'm assuming he's with a band?

Good morning ladies. Well today I'm back to work full time. Although I'm only working today and tomorrow, I'll be out of town from Wed to Sat. I'm excited to see if I lose more weight when I'm working and not at home bored. Yesterday was a horrible day calorie wise, I had about 1500 - alot compared to my other under 1000 days. But it was rainy and all dh and I did after church was sit in front of the tv and snack. But I did track and I'm not letting it get me down. Actually the scale was down another pound this morning. I've decided to change my weight on Sundays. I know I can't stay off of it during the week but on fitday I'm going to change it just on Sundays so I can average what I lose in a week. I think for my goal of 140 by Christmas I need to lose an average of 1.4 lbs a week. I've really gotten into using fitday alot. I love the reports and stuff you can do on it. I haven't walked the past 2 days so I need to get moving so I can get that in before I have to leave for work. Have a good day - I'll check in with you later.

Thats funny because I was thinking it meant the hogback - which is a hill. The rich people live on the hill and the poor in the valley. Another place the rich live is Snob Knob. I never heard of the hogback until I moved to PA either. Or the ridge, theres hogbacks and ridges everywhere. The ridge is the side of the mountain, they cut a road into the side of the mountain and its called the ridge road. The hogback isn't really a mountain its just a big hill. I remember all those old sayings. This isn't really an adage but in my family we say - I love you big as the sky - I've been telling my kids that since they were babies. I always made a point of showing them the sky so they could stand in awe of it. Now my kids tell me they love me big as the sky.

Not that we didn't like your thread but if you look at our ages we are all well past the bikini age. You tho are young and will look fabulous in your tiny bikini. Truth is I wore the tiny little bikini until after the kids were born. We lived in Fla the first 4 years we were married and I was VERY little at that time of my life - ages 17-21 - I wore the teeniest little bikini I could find and I probably would have wore the thong if it had been in style back then, my butt was always my best part. LOL I also would have my belly button & nose peirced, probably my eyebrow too. I was a wild thing. Those days are long gone but thanks for helping me remember them. I hope you are feeling good, take care.

Jen it looks as if you figured out the ticker. Good job. We've all been where you are now, its exciting. Good luck. I hope dh becomes more supportive - why haven't you discussed this? I know with me I had made the decision before I told him but he was very supportive. Do you have someone else to drive you to the hospital? I will warn you now so you can prepare, surgery is a big deal no matter how minor it may seem and you'll really want someone who loves you there when you wake up. I had surgery on my wrist about 10 years ago, not thinking it was a big deal I went it alone, BIG mistake. I woke up, recovered and started crying, I had no one there to hold my hand. I've had 3 surgeries since then and dh has been there for all of them. Make sure you have someone with you. Jill its good to hear the babe is doing ok. Boo we're praying for you. Va Kirsten have you scheduled your fill yet? You know we're only about 2 hours away, wish we could get together sometime.

Boo - like I posted in the other thread. Get to a specialist asap! When you stand infront of the mirror look at your breasts. You should be looking for a difference between the two. Hands on hips look for changes in shape, size or skin texture, raise hands overhead and look again. Changes including dimpling, swelling or redness. Check for changes in nipples including unusual discharge. I sure wouldn't wait 3 months! I'll be praying for you, not only for your health but also for peace of mind. I know something scarey like this can really throw us for a loop. Believe all will be fine. Natster! Girl so happy you're back and happy. Positive thinking on the job issue! Sounds like your fill is working great and the exercise is coming along good. Caseye - thats normal and its frustrating, we've all been there. It feels as if you never even had the surgery. BUT at 6 weeks you should get your first fill and then things will change. You'll feel restriction, and then you'll need to go for another fill .. and another...your doctor should talk to you about how it feels when you are needing another fill. Until you get that first fill you just have to use your will power not to over eat. Good luck. I actually feel like I'm going to make my goal for the summer! I might even change my ticker to reflect my FIRST goal. I'm actually getting less then 1000 calories - FINALLY! I feel like I'm at a sweetspot. The satiety is lasting and I feel full at 1 cup - its GREAT! Fingers are crossed that it sticks with me for at least 20 lbs! Jill hows the little one now? And you? Are you feeling better? Thank God he has his angels watching over us. Maybe I'll paint today... HA HA ... seriously wheres that fire? you know the one to light under my arse!

Boo you need to go to a breast specialist. Have you started having mamograms yet? I can't believe she wouldn't have ordered one - just to be on the safe side - find a new gyno. I have very lumpy breasts - I have since I was 16. I remember at the age of 16 going to get checked and in my case I just have alot of milk ducts. Remember me - cabbage boob at 45! I would call your pcp and find out who is a breast specialist in your area. ASAP

darn I didn't have it on while I was exercising!

OMgoodness - Jill sweetie - how horrible! So glad God spared her life! You named her right - I'll put her on our church prayer list. Is she home now? Just the broken leg? How's the little guy doing? I bet it scared him too. I know its not how you wanted to break the plateau but I'm glad you're back on your way down. I really enjoyed reading all of your responses to "feel sexy" - who was it that said they feel sexier now then they did when they weighed this same weight before? Claudia? Well I can agree with that - not so much feeling sexier but I feel like I look better in my clothes now at 197 then I did when I was 192 (my lowest ww weight a few years back). It must be the self confidence I'm gaining. I'm loving my fill - but really have to make sure I don't go too long like last night. The track meet went on until 8pm and I had eaten between 12:30 -1:00 so I was STARVED and ate too fast - and too much - I had KFC - 2 chicken strips and the mashed potatoes - I was really wanting to throw some of it up. But I didn't pb and I didn't even get a golf ball, just felt stuffed. I was so mad at myself for eating like that. If I had eaten around 6:00 I probably would have eaten 1 strip and the potatoes and felt ok. KFC btw has a great nutrional site - think I may have shared it before - what I ate was 380 calories. so even tho I felt like I had pigged out my intake was still below 1000 yesterday. Did I tell you I talked to Nate (reminder he's my phys.assist) about me tracking and eating 1200 - 1500 claories a day (before this fill)? He said even at that I should still lose a pound a week as long as I'm exercising. I said yeah but I want to lose 2 lbs a week. Then my sexy dr joined in and said remember 1.5 lbs a week is 75 lbs a year! Don't get impatient - we are doing this right my lovelies. Keep reminding yourself you picked this band bc its healthier and safer and we love ourselves. Brandi - hope you're feeling much better - forgot to tell you that yesterday.

Life takes many turns - sad isn't it that such a great love could turn so sour? I wonder if he did all that out of grief for a lost love?