Search the Community

I wasn't sure if this should go in the Ladies Gone Wild section, but then I really wanted input from men as well, so I figured I would put it here. I have often wondered if many of us put on weight as a defense mechanism, I think it has been proven time and again -especially with females- that massive weight gain happens after a sexual assault or abuse or something. I'm not saying this means every last fat person was abused, so please, those of you chomping at the bit for someone to flame - no. What I'm trying to say is ... I was invisible for a very long time. During the years when I should have been learning how to interact with men, get my heart broken, get tough, get wise, learn from romantic mistakes, learn to spot predators - I was cocooned in my obese isolation and never learned any of those things. I never learned what other women learn about other women, that there are so many out there that are so crippled by insecurity that they will attempt to destroy you just to secure their own positions. I never learned that if you appear to present any sort of "threat" to these kinds of women that they will stop at nothing - including destructive gossip and libel, to eradicate you as a threat. I also didn't learn how to interact with men or rather, I never learned that there are consequences to my behavior; as an obese invisible individual, I was, ironically, treated as a person not a "woman" with all the connotation and baggage therein. I was treated by men as an honorary dude and got to joke and be bawdy and opinionated and they were comfortable around me. Now, if I make eye contact with any man, they see it as an invitation. Now, men are aggressive in trying to mark their territory, and I'm the territory! Now I am viewed as physically weak and now for the first time in my life, I am afraid when I have to walk somewhere alone in the dark. I don't know how to deal with all of this, I don't know how to weild this power, I was never taught. Help?

to be accurate: the DR in the videos maybe/ was wrong THEN, in 2012, he may be saying something else today. and also one article by one source is not the end of the conversation. However I wonder if he WAS correct on the location of the ghrelin 'spot' "....But neither of these theories fully explains improvements in beta-cell function and insulin sensitivity after bariatric surgery, Kashyap told MedPage Today." In addition I saw a medical researcher (will find if I can to document source) indicate that the CHANGE in diabetic response is IMMEDIATE within hours of the surgery...so not days or weeks of improvement, but 'something' in the (possible shock) to the body of disconnecting the stomach severely with WLS is what makes the difference. No studies yet to confirm I have seen..this may ALSO be wrongly interpreted, but for people with severe issues with BG/insulin problems this is one solution for them. shouting 'wrong' (like politico John McLaughlin) does not take away that real science is open to debate constantly as nothing is absolute. with a very short time of results of bariatric there is still much to be revealed. I am more concerned (for myself) with what I see on all the issues years out, weight gain, leaking sleeves, redoing RNY somehow again, etc.

Hello, I started my initial journey in 2010. My mother and I were in a terrible, and my journey came to a screeching halt. (At this point, I am still suffering from the accident.) My injuries required steroid therapy; so, doctor put me on steroids and I gained even more weight. Now, I have to explain that my PCP did not agree with any type of weight loss surgery at first. I had to threaten to find another doctor, if he wouldn't at least research it. He finally agreed and my journey began. My doctor was out of the country when my accident occured. So, when he returned, he could not believe the weight gain or the increase of my blood sugar levels. At this point, he had to put me on medicine for diabetes and made me promise to start the process for my surgery again. The accident made me look at things from a different prospective, and I made the decision to lose the weight on my own. Well, that was a disaster and the weight continued to pile on & my diabetes medicine wasn't working. After a major internal struggle, I decided to have lapband surgery. When I went to meet with my surgeon, he threw a monkey wrench into my plans and suggested the sleeve. I struggled with the sleeve because there isn't any long term data to support this type of weight loss surgery. So, I decided to start watching YouTube videos and join blogs to learn more informtion. When attend my third nutrition class in February, I can now tell them that I will be having the Gastric Sleeve surgery...

Just shy of 5 months post-op... Down 40lbs, when I was down almost 80... my doctor says "Don't worry Yvette, this is normal. Especially in people with your body type, your weight gain is muscle not fat, don't be upset." Ok so I'm not gonna lie, I'm a lil' upset. I KNOW I build muscle really fast, and I KNOW muscle weighs more than fat.. I get all that.. I KNOW my weight is down and so are my clothing sizes and inches. I'm just I dunno.. a lil' skewed on all of this. I finally got to a fill point where I was almost "too tight" but it was working.. I missed my follow up fill because I was traveling.. and so I went to my month appointment yesterday and although I was down 8.8 pounds which I know I should be happy about and I am.. I'm just like shouldn't it be MORE... I don't even know why I'm complaining.. I shouldn't be. I guess I'm just feeling the pressure of my 6 months and then my year coming up and my own personal goals in there.. relax Yvette...slow and steady wins the race... :thumbup:

PAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Whew... You are aliveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!! :confused: Sorry about the DS... It's unfortunate that a man's "wand of procreation" isn't a better judge of character. *sigh* One day he will come to his senses... hang on till then! Sorry about the weight gain... we'll kick your butt and you'll be back on track by Monday. :party: Yup... gaining the amount I have back has been devastating... BUT... there's no use crying over spilt milk! :party: Well... My DD and I took the pups for a 45 minute brisk walk. THe walks are a part of Ava's behavior modification program and she is doing really well! I can walk her with her leash draped over my shoulders most of the time and I can stop and talk to people without her flipping out. :party: We can walk by most distractions without her even turning her head to look... she looks at me instead. :party:

Lisa H-- don't mean to be critical but part of the weight gain could be the chew and spit method you are using-- believe it or not alot of the sugar in food can be absorbed in your mouth and into your blood stream, sugar turns to fat when we take in more than our bodies can use. And then also with the extremely low cal preop diet we are on our body tends to grab on to all the calories it can get and not let go-- that is a way our bodies have adapted to prevent starvation when we were cavemen so all the literature I've read says.

Stef and bcrazy, How many brussel sprouts and broccoli spears can you eat with your protein? 2 or 3? I have a problem fitting in vegies and I love them, because if you eat 4 oz of protein that is the amount you are to stop at? It is all hard balancing it out. the same with fruit. pippz thanks for the added info on the fill and the air pushing it out. I will be curious to see when I go next Friday for my second fill how much is really in there. I to have a hard to find port, and they won't be using a flouro this time either, it will be in the office. It should be an experience! Rhonda, loved your Dog story!! My dog has done that to my dh several times, and I LOL when it happens. I keep telling him not to leave it on the counter close in his reach... it is not good but funny. Your diet is a lot of food and not sure with the band you can fit it all in, but like you said you can modify. And it is what works for you!! stef Hang in there with the weight gain. It was less than a pound, but i know how frustrating. You are exercising a lot which sometimes builds muscle for a short weight gain to turn around and lose more! At least that is what they told me when I was pi--- this happened to me!

Hello everyone! Sorry about not checking in the last few months but I have been really busy the last few months. I quit going on LBT at work because someone on the boat has been looking at all the sites people have been on and I don’t want anyone at work to know about my band. I went to Asia in May and I have only been back to work and move out of my house. I am now residing in Thailand for the most part. I really enjoy it out here and I plan on staying for a least a few more months. I am not really losing any weight but on the other hand I have not gained in along time either. I got within just 2 lbs of my goal in Jan then I gain some weight back. Right not I am right around 185-190lbs which is about 10-15 lbs more than my goal but I also get a lot of better feedback about my looks than I did before the weight gain. I have not really been exercising much the last few months because of an injury I got a few months back. Anyhow I just wanted to say Hi to everyone and sorry but I have not really looked at the past posts because I think it will talk me 3 weeks just to get caught up. Talk to you all later and I hope all is well. Insub: are you planning on visit Asia at all? Capt Dan

Hi all I haven't been in the place in a while. I have managed to keep about 60lbs off but still not at my goal. At a doctor's (primary care) visit last week, he told me that I had gained 10 lbs over 2 years. That didn't surprise me - I had allowed other life matters get me off of workout schedule, drink more wine and I definitely noticed the difference in my clothes. I immediately got back to the gym (even bought a weighted hula hoop) but the glass of wine after work is still kinda habit/addiction. I go through spurts of eating well and spurts of eating junk. I haven't had much,if any, trouble with my band. I don't visit the doctor often but I am contemplating another fill, given the weight gain. This is life's work fa real! R~

I think it's just because I have a lot to lose! Also carbs have a horrible weight-gaining effect on me, so once I drop those I usually lose it fairly quickly. Now the key is to stay away from them!!

Welcome Bigbaby! And congratulations!! The day will be here before you know it. Kimmum & Nina...my thoughts and prayers are with you today!!!! Post as soon as you can and let us know how you're doing Tomorrow is a BUSY day in band land!!!! Day four and I am feeling pretty darn good! Still not hungry, but that's a good thing. I am able to drink more water today, so that's a good thing. I was thirsty but just couldn't get much down before today. I've lost all my surgery weight (gained 8 pounds of fluid) and am on the down swing again. Ya know what's so strange to me??? I drink about 3oz of protein shake and I am STUFFED. I just can't wrap my head around it yet. It's so exciting!

Hi Everyone, It's been a long time since I visited the site. I could tell you that I have been busy (which is true) or that I had a new grandaughter in July (which is true) but the real reason is that I have been so down and yes, it's because of very little weight loss. Once I was allowed to eat a regular diet after the surgery, I discovered I could eat anything and that I wouldn't be like some of the folks who never needed a fill and lost a lot of weight quickly. I was bummed. So then the fills started. My first fill was 10 or 11 days ago. Actually, it was the same day as my 1 month check-up. I had a 1cc fill (4cc band) on a Tuesday. I called the office on the following Friday to let them know that instead of feeling fuller, I felt looser. She explained that they just replaced air that was in the band with fluid and I said "well fill'er up again." I went in that same day and he put in 1.4cc of fluid. Hardly worth the trip! So I called the following Tuesday to whine and I went back in today. He said he'll put in 1.6 cc of fluid. I said how about 2cc. He struted about doing the "I am man thing" so I stuck my head out the door when I heard my doc's voice and asked if I could have 2cc's PLEASE! To my surprise, my doc came in and said SURE! I watched the whole time and the doc knew I was making sure I wasn't being skimped. He called me on it, I admitted to it, he laughed! He also told me that it was OK to get frequent fills in the beginning because the goal is to use the band as a tool. So if this doesn't work, I'll call on Monday to schedule again. The truth is my weight loss is so slow, it gets me down sometimes. Then I try to remind myself that my weight gain was never this slow and I could have gained 20 pounds in 6 weeks. If it continues like this maybe I will have lost 60 lbs by Christmas. Now that's a pleasant thought. Thanks for listening. , Me:o

Angel thanks for the advise and input but I CLEARLY stated am looking for input about people that have had the DS, not advise on how to lose weight. And no offense but you are 7 months post op. thats when i was down to 129. it's easy....so easy at that time. Wait until you're almost 2 years out its a whole different ball game. Look at the weight gained since being sleeved thread that's pinned. There are dozens of us struggling with regain. It's annoying that people less than a year out think they know it all. I'm not trying to be rude but just wait and see how it is in a year, you may look back and realize you we're a little too cocky, just like 3/4 of the people here less than a year out.

I too didnt have much encouragement from family. My mom and friends don't think I'm fat enough, lol I guess I should wait till I cant get out of bed. No thanks!! Now that its done, They are all watching and waiting, they said if it works for me (because nothing in the past has)they might consider doing it. My husband thought it would have been a faster melt away but again I've tried for years to take the weight off without go success. I have only been really heavy since 1996 after my second child was born, I lost all of the weight and gained it all back in about a 6 week time period. I went to the dr for depression because of the weight gain and got put on Phen Fen. It did NOT work the only thing I lost was a Healthy Heart. I now have a heart condition from it and found out through bloodwork that I have hypothyroidism which causes weight gain. Maybe if the dr was more helpful he would have read the blood results before putting me on weight loss drugs and my heart wouldn't have damage. Oh well, do this for you and only you if they love you they will come around. Good luck with Aetna thing. I have Horizon and had to to everything in my power to get it approved even with weight history, diabetes, etc. I was approved 1 day before my surgery talk about going crazy. Well anyway best of luck and welcome to the family.

Well....my day is here! As of this morning...I have hit my goal weight of 165lbs!:wub: I knew this day would come but until you actually see it, you just don't believe it!:thumbup: Funny, I thought I'd be jumping up and down and screaming over it, but I am pretty calm about it and happy as a lark. I had to go for a tad bit of unfill yesterday. I am down to 5.2cc's. My body is adjusting a bit and I may have to go in again for another tweak by getting more taken out so I can maintain. It's amazing to me that I don't need as much fill as others. I mean I just assumed we all were pretty much on the same with that but not needing much more than 5cc's is amazing to me. Anything too much over 5.4cc and I get stuck and throw up in my sleep. Which is NOT a pleasant feeling at all.:scared2: It's scary because I think, what if I don't wake up and I choke?! So now, the major question is....do I need to lose more or should I be happy with what I am now? My initial goal was 170 but then I thought 165 would be better for BMI purposes. Now I am not really sure if I want to stop. What about 160? Plan for the monthly weight gain, blah, blah, blah. Am I turning into one of those skinny bitties who obsesses over the scale!:crying: There are some places I feel need to get a little thinner but I am not sure if it's because they are not quite as toned as I want them to be or if it's really just a tad bit flabby. Everyone knows from previous posts I am not exactly happy with where my tummy is but I want to give it a full year before considering anything else. I tried on a size 10 and danced all around the dressing room when they fit. I am thrilled with that....so what is it in me right now that wants more? I am going to have to meditate on that. I mean, I don't want to look sickly! Shape and curves are good.:thumbup: RIGHT???? I am feeling really silly right now...why am I not as happy as I thought I would be? On a different note...my doc left the office where he was. He is on an extended vacation right now and when he comes back he will decide where he will be. Not sure how I feel about that. I love him but I love my nurses too. I bet my main nurse will go with him and if that happens I will move my files with him. Didn't see that coming!:thumbdown: As always....I AM BLESSED! Why not go out on a limb? Isn't that where the fruit is?:tongue2: Surgery Date: May 21, 2009 Starting Weight: 280lbs Dr. Michael Metz - St. Luke's Hospital Denver, CO:thumbup: Follow my progress thru photos: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/members/5...lbums3475.html

Hey Southern Missy, I had a look at your post and just had a couple of questions (I did not have to do a 6 month preop diet thing)... 1) What is your 6 month preop that you have been on? On a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being not so good) where would you say you are on it with how well you have been following the diet guidelines? 2) Is the medication that you have been taken known to cause weight gain as a side effect?

The 6-month supervised "diet" really isn't a diet at all...like most people, the doctor is not so concerned with me losing any weight, more of a maintenance type thing, which as a general rule I don't have a problem with. For example: I have been the same weight for over a year and a half with only TOM fluctuations. When I saw my OB/GYN last month for my yearly, when he discovered I was put on Lexapro, he made a point of telling me it was not one he would have chosen because of the side effect of weight gain. So, anyway.. I would have to concur that it did have that effect on me. Prior to that, I was on Zoloft for 5 years and, as I said, since starting on Lexapro in October, I have had the 20-pound weight gain. BTW all January bandsters, Didn't mean to hijack your thread! :smile:

Thank you for replying. Do u mind if I ask who did your VSG, was it in Mexico? I have schedule to go with Dr. Illan and I'm pretty nervous about it. I' definitely tight from the weight gain. Parially due to my thyroid bottoming out. Again thank u for sharing

wow girls you make me feel like a whimp! spinning class, running,themage, I thought I was hot shit cause I can drive now! lol Lianna- second opinion and tell them what you want, and let them know you want tight abs. My understanding is that your abs seperate towards your side with weight gain too, not just child birth, and with the tummy tuck the muscles are brought to center and stitched together to get the six pack look. ask the surgeons if the consult fee is applied to surgery if you go with them, mine was. For the breast life qustion, yes, they do get smaller. I was a Victoria secrets 40 dd/e before surgery, and bringing the girls to about face and removing excess skin I am now (yes I went shopping already) a Victoria IPEX as it has no wires, cant wear wires, ready..... 36C, yep cant believe it, I got hot, sweaty and thought I would pass out when the bra fit in the cup and then in the middle hooks around. I was crying in the middle of the mall. Havnt been that size since Jr. High. So yes they are smaller and purky. Husband told me they look fake he is so used to the saggy ones! Joestta: You have to remember Georgia is SUPERWOMAN!! I am 4 weeks out and today is the first day I have driven and if I worked at a desk it would start today dont rush things. wait till you have time to recover. Georgia; YOUR MY HERO!!! Keep me informed on the arm therm--- anything to shrink the fat!!! where do I sign up!

Your thyroid can cause lots of problems: weight gain, hair loss, fatigue, abnormal periods, temperature imtolerance, and more. I hope they get it under control but at least the meds have been proven to be effective. It will work!

One week ago I slipped and fell. I hit my head hard and my ribs and scapula are hurt too. The scale jumped up 6 pounds 2 days after. The scale has been down 4 pounds and back up 2 pounds. I'm eating the same. Is this weight gain from swelling?

what is smartlipo?? ive had some problems with my arms getting saggy. ive never had big arms before my weight gain and now they are looking pretty awful. i dont want them looking this bad when i go on the cruise with my grand daughter... i want to swim a lot. so... what is smartlipo please

The thing I love about myself is that when I get down and grumpy and irritated and miserable - it doesn't last long! Yay! I'm back! It's always a tiny little teensy eensy thing that makes me go "what was I so bothered about?" It's this kind of perpetual circle. I want out of the bad mood so badly that I'm running in circles - and getting irritated accordingly - to get out of the bad mood - which just exacerbates my bad mood. And then something eensy teensy happens and I'm fine. Hopefully this blog won't read like me last two. What I do have to say about the last two, though, is that to me, it's part of what this process is like - for those that have to go through the danged program. Those feelings are real and I've read them elsewhere and it's better to be aware than to be surprised when the irritable grumpiness happens. I could have kept it all to myself and I would have gotten over it all just like I have with letting it out. Letting it out didn't make me feel better and it didn't make me feel worse. The people who piped up and said "dude, we're here for you", well, that helped, but me typing out how stupid I was thinking, that didn't make me feel better or worse. But if someone reads it and says to themselves, "that's how I feel" - well then the work of the blog is done. Anywho. I had my annual well woman exam this morning. And this doc is something special. I think he suffers worse PMS than I ever have. Sooooo moody and if you catch him on the wrong day, man, hold your head in your hands cause if you don't, you may lose it. Today was a good day. The last time I saw this doc was in November when I approached him to ask for his endorsement for this surgery. He was not so very kind in saying his opinions on my weight gain were that I was basically stupid. It was a less than fulfilling meeting but at the end of the day, he did give me his endorsement and I figured "whatever". His endorsement meaning a Letter of Medical Necessity. Today, though...wow. I didn't know who I was going to meet today. I've now seen this guy 4 times and I've had 2 wonderful appts and 2 nail-scraping-on-chalkboard appts. I have always loved the office staff there, though, and, in anticipation of having to switch to a new doc in the same office when my hubby and I get pregnant, I've dealt with it. Anywho. Today. FABULOUS GUY! He was chatty, he was sweet, he was positive, he was upbeat, he was in a great mood and even complimentary! Started with - how was your New Year. I'm thinking, ok... Asked if I had questions. I asked his input on actually getting pregnant after being banded. I hear 2 years before we start trying and I don't know that I buy that, personally, especially when considering my case. Not saying I want to get banded and then immediately start trying to get pregnant. What I think is that if I focus this year on losing weight, that going into 2011 we should be in a good place for starting to try. If I can lose even just 66 pounds this year, I'll be at a normal BMI. If I can get banded in Feb or March, as has been discussed, then that seems doable. Say it was the end of Feb - that gives me 10 months to lose 66 pounds which means an average of 6.6 pounds a month. Seems to me that most do better than that when they try...and I'll certainly be trying. So we had a conversation about that. And he thought it was all very doable and reasonable. If I were heavier then it might be more important to focus on two years. But I'm not heavier. And I am older, too. For a first pregnancy anyway. And then he really surprised me. He complimented me. Said "you are doing well already!" What? YOU are saying something NICE to ME? Who ARE you? In a moment I wish I could undo - he said he wants me to do my baseline mammogram this year. This summer. Really? Am I there already? But then the whole thing got eery. He got cute. He says, as we are saying our good byes.... "I can't wait to see you next year and I hope to see less of you." Noticing that he was possibly sticking his foot in his mouth he says - "well not less frequently, just less person". Noticing he was still possibly sticking his foot in his mouth he started to stammer. And I'm just smiling cause I know what he means and I know where he's coming from and it's really cute and not bugging me and I even thought it was funny - and right on the dot. So I Iet him off the hook and said "I know what you mean and it sounds great to me, too!" He smiled and shook my hand and said he couldn't wait to see me next year - keep up the good work. Really? 10 pounds is good work? 10 pounds in 4 months? I guess it's something. But it's not a lot... I have to chuckle - cause it is a lot when I consider how I've done it. Given the program and it's design, it's been half-hearted and half-arsed. Sigh. I really can't wait to just let myself go and TRY! Anywho. Who knows if I will get banded. Who knows if this is all for nothing or all for something. But somehow, this appt gave me a warm fuzzy feeling and now I just feel better. Add to that - the cold is still on the retreat and I feel ~95% finally. Still a bit of a stuffed up nose - but nothing I can't start to attribute to allergies. Speaking of which, I think I'll go get some decongestants...

The thing I love about myself is that when I get down and grumpy and irritated and miserable - it doesn't last long! Yay! I'm back! It's always a tiny little teensy eensy thing that makes me go "what was I so bothered about?" It's this kind of perpetual circle. I want out of the bad mood so badly that I'm running in circles - and getting irritated accordingly - to get out of the bad mood - which just exacerbates my bad mood. And then something eensy teensy happens and I'm fine. Hopefully this blog won't read like me last two. What I do have to say about the last two, though, is that to me, it's part of what this process is like - for those that have to go through the danged program. Those feelings are real and I've read them elsewhere and it's better to be aware than to be surprised when the irritable grumpiness happens. I could have kept it all to myself and I would have gotten over it all just like I have with letting it out. Letting it out didn't make me feel better and it didn't make me feel worse. The people who piped up and said "dude, we're here for you", well, that helped, but me typing out how stupid I was thinking, that didn't make me feel better or worse. But if someone reads it and says to themselves, "that's how I feel" - well then the work of the blog is done. Anywho. I had my annual well woman exam this morning. And this doc is something special. I think he suffers worse PMS than I ever have. Sooooo moody and if you catch him on the wrong day, man, hold your head in your hands cause if you don't, you may lose it. Today was a good day. The last time I saw this doc was in November when I approached him to ask for his endorsement for this surgery. He was not so very kind in saying his opinions on my weight gain were that I was basically stupid. It was a less than fulfilling meeting but at the end of the day, he did give me his endorsement and I figured "whatever". His endorsement meaning a Letter of Medical Necessity. Today, though...wow. I didn't know who I was going to meet today. I've now seen this guy 4 times and I've had 2 wonderful appts and 2 nail-scraping-on-chalkboard appts. I have always loved the office staff there, though, and, in anticipation of having to switch to a new doc in the same office when my hubby and I get pregnant, I've dealt with it. Anywho. Today. FABULOUS GUY! He was chatty, he was sweet, he was positive, he was upbeat, he was in a great mood and even complimentary! Started with - how was your New Year. I'm thinking, ok... Asked if I had questions. I asked his input on actually getting pregnant after being banded. I hear 2 years before we start trying and I don't know that I buy that, personally, especially when considering my case. Not saying I want to get banded and then immediately start trying to get pregnant. What I think is that if I focus this year on losing weight, that going into 2011 we should be in a good place for starting to try. If I can lose even just 66 pounds this year, I'll be at a normal BMI. If I can get banded in Feb or March, as has been discussed, then that seems doable. Say it was the end of Feb - that gives me 10 months to lose 66 pounds which means an average of 6.6 pounds a month. Seems to me that most do better than that when they try...and I'll certainly be trying. So we had a conversation about that. And he thought it was all very doable and reasonable. If I were heavier then it might be more important to focus on two years. But I'm not heavier. And I am older, too. For a first pregnancy anyway. And then he really surprised me. He complimented me. Said "you are doing well already!" What? YOU are saying something NICE to ME? Who ARE you? In a moment I wish I could undo - he said he wants me to do my baseline mammogram this year. This summer. Really? Am I there already? But then the whole thing got eery. He got cute. He says, as we are saying our good byes.... "I can't wait to see you next year and I hope to see less of you." Noticing that he was possibly sticking his foot in his mouth he says - "well not less frequently, just less person". Noticing he was still possibly sticking his foot in his mouth he started to stammer. And I'm just smiling cause I know what he means and I know where he's coming from and it's really cute and not bugging me and I even thought it was funny - and right on the dot. So I Iet him off the hook and said "I know what you mean and it sounds great to me, too!" He smiled and shook my hand and said he couldn't wait to see me next year - keep up the good work. Really? 10 pounds is good work? 10 pounds in 4 months? I guess it's something. But it's not a lot... I have to chuckle - cause it is a lot when I consider how I've done it. Given the program and it's design, it's been half-hearted and half-arsed. Sigh. I really can't wait to just let myself go and TRY! Anywho. Who knows if I will get banded. Who knows if this is all for nothing or all for something. But somehow, this appt gave me a warm fuzzy feeling and now I just feel better. Add to that - the cold is still on the retreat and I feel ~95% finally. Still a bit of a stuffed up nose - but nothing I can't start to attribute to allergies. Speaking of which, I think I'll go get some decongestants...

we dont eat them in our house. this was an issue with my nutitritionist. she was really pushing them. i am 7 days post opt and doing fine. everything tastes weird from ketosis anyway. lol i use a natural Protein shake (plant fusion) and plain yogurt. i have small amounts of fruit. i'm not really into super sweet things anyway. i love chocolate.. eat the dark stuff. use small amounts of maple syrup and honey. bought coconut crystals to sweeten my ice tea after surgery. it has a low GI. growing up, my dad was fat, drank tons of diet pop, used saccharine in his coffee, even sprinkled it on french toast and pancakes. lost weight, gained it back, died at 56 from a second massive heart attack. they dont help much.