Calling all A11s!!

[healthywoman 2]

Hi to budapatti and jess- we have all been at a plateau so far and felt frustrated about that. what I've done to help myself is to realize that I was making healthy food choices following the program and celebrating the fact that I wasn't gaining either. I'll admit that a few times I chose to eat a DQ Blizzard for lunch instead of protien, but before the band it would have been lunch and LG blizzard after!!! So I know the band was working even if it didn't feel like it at the time and I didn't gain. I didn't tell anyone about my band except very specific people-I didn;t even tell my family cuz they all would have had opinions that wouldn't necessarily have supported me. However, my son spilled the Beans so had to do some explaining after the fact. Most of them have decided to support me. Try to remember that your "green zone" is coming-and you'll know when you hit it. I knew immediately with my second fill as the nurse added the 1cc-I felt the tightening around my stomach. You have to drink Water before you leave to make sure its not too tight. I was elated and have been dropping about a half a pound a day all this week. I'm assuming it will slow to 1-2 pounds per week like all the info says. I'm really focusing on the feeling in my stomach as I eat and stop as soon as I feel satisfied-not full-so my hunger is coming on about 3 and a half or 4 hours later. And its really true that protien stays with you longer so I try hard to get my 60-80 grams per day.

GG how are you today? I think I am also one of the older individuals on this board and know that it's not as easy to lose at this age as when we were 20 or 30.I have been "dieting since I was 15 years old I am soooooo happy to have this band to help me achieve a healthy weight for the last time. I truly believe that the band was the best choice for me.

Still pondering over this hand sanitizer issue on my tummy-does anyone know if it's the same cleansing power as the alcohol they used to swab us down with??? What do all your doc's do for the fill procedure. I have nothing to compare it to as the only person I know with a band went to this same doc. I haven't seen my doc since surgery day 8-18!!!!

[healthywoman 2]

Caryn are you still out there? You started this thread for us august bandsters and I haven't seen you post in a while. Hope all is going well for you. Blessings, Healthywoman

[healthywoman 2]

Caryn are you still out there? You started this thread for us august bandsters and I haven't seen you post in a while. Hope all is going well for you. Blessings, Healthywoman

[Jess527 0]

Healthwoman, I saw my doctor for my week post op appointment, but no I haven't seen him since. There is a support group that meets every last Thursday of the month here in San Antonio, but I have class and cannot attend. I was told the doctors go to these meetings. Hopefully I can attend one in December.

[crafty mama 0]

Hi all- I am a ER nurse and I have access many ports in my career and hand sanitizer is not a normal standard of care- Every healthcare professional who is giving you a fill should use cloraprepp which is a clear soap (alot like rubbing alcohol) or iodine. The hand sanitizer is weird and puts you at risk for an infection in my opinion. So on that not I would tell you to speak up, if you think what they are doing is not right ask questions. Now I will get off that soap box, I haven't posted much since my surgery but I love reading everyones input, I feel great now, I too, struggle with my diet at times, I am just trying really hard to stay positive and active. I am running a half marathon next weekend and I haven't done that for a few years, I am having a great time training, and I love that my body doesn't hurt all the time. Thanks for all of your positive energy and GG thanks for your recipes, I'm excited to try the chile. I think my kids would love it. I have been eating a lot of Beans and legumes for there Protein power. I hope all is well- stay strong all you A11's

Hi! Congrats on nursing school. Healthwoman said that the nurse put hand sanitizer on her abdomen prior to her fill. Not that the nurse used it on for her hands. Is that acceptable?

[ncgg-5 2]

Well I had my first PB today. We are in the mountains of NC for 4 days and had an appointment and we were late getting back to the condo for lunch. We were and only had 15 minutes to eat lunch. I ate some leftover chicken breast and a small bit of rice and some cooked carrots. chicken has been hard sometimes so I chewed and chewed and chewed. It just would not go down! I've been a little uncomfortable a few times before but nothing like this. So, we had to leave for our appointment and ended up stopped on the side of the road and up it all came. I was better right away but I really don't want to do that again. I wil not ever rush eating for anything ever again. It was a little scary. The moral of my story is slow down when you eat!

On a lighter note I had a NSV, (non scale victory) yesterday. My friend and I stopped at the Tanger Outlet on the way up the mountain. We went into Chico's. I had been in there before and could not wear anything they had. They have 3 sizes. 1,2,&3. I pulled out some 3's and they actually fit. I evidently had a tendency to buy loose clothing so my friend made me try them on for her. She pointed out they were too large, so I got 2's! I think I will go back there when they are having another sale and get all my clothes there just to see a size 2 anything in my closet. It was great.

Thanks for your kind words healthywoman & ms.lady about my posts. Got me a little teary to think I might be helping any of you. I talk about the forum all the time and my hubby knows about all of you.

Welcome back Jess & budapatti. I wondered about Caryn too. Maybe she will come back. It's so good to have some new voices out there. We need to support each other.

I hope all of you have a wonderful weekend. Stay on program and it will pay off. Go for a walk and drink your Water. ( I sound like a Mother don't I) We can so this!

Blessings,

GG

[ncgg-5 2]

It's such a relief to hear others are stuck as well. I have weighed the same fir two weeks now. I'm six weeks out. I've lost thirty pounds. It's hard to be stuck when you were having great loss. The thirty includes the pre diet. How ling di we plateau? I can eat anything I want too right now.

Welcome kauai bound. Yes, a lot of us are at a plateau and it's not fun. 30 lbs in six weeks is awesome and you should be proud. It is hard to be stuck when things were going great but our bodies need time to adjust. When we loose weight after a while our body says "oh no, she's starving me" and slows down our metabolism. We just have to jump start it again. Don't get discouraged and stay on the program. Change up your meals and drink that Water and keep exercising. Have you had any fills yet? We are all trying to get to that infamous "green zone" and it is proving to be harder for some than for others. Keep us posted on your progress.

Blessings,

GG

[healthywoman 2]

Thank you GG for sharing about your first PB. I've been wondering about that and have aimed to never have it happen to me. I've read that when it comes up it's not the same as an actual vomit in that the stomach isn't suddenly squeezing to move the food up. Did that feel different to you than a "normal" vomit and was it painful when it finally came back up? Sorry to be so specific but I think all of us should be aware of the realities in our new banded life. I did find out what it feels like to swallow too large a bite-achy all the way down- and started the "fear" of the foaming and PB. Nothing else happened but the achiness. Yea!

Congrats on your NSV- I love that phrase. I'm so happy for you that you had such a positive experience in a clothing store. I was dreading the next trip shopping but have now changed my attitude to see what adventure I can find. I'm currently wearing size 20's that are way too baggy- I was sooo happy to notice that when I pulled them down they didn't stop around my thighs- they just fall to the floor now! I'm celebrating every little victory too, so maybe thats my first NSV! I went to the back of my closet yesterday and don't have the next size down, but it's two sizes- at first I was bummed out cuz they didn't go up past the thigh-then I looked at the size and saw it was a 16 and just laughed!! Thats my next goal- to get those brand new black jeans on -size 16. I kept most of my sizes from the last 2 years so I'm good down to the 12's for now. It's like I have a clothing store in my closet!

Kauai-welcome to the group. I was shocked that you've lost 30 pounds since your surgery-congrats girl! It will continue again once you get your fills. You say you can eat whatever you want-stay focused on the good for you protien choices so when you begin losing again it won't be muscle but fat. My surgery was 8-18, and I have lost altogether pre and post 25 lbs with a six week plateau hovering at 20 lost. It was discouraging to be stuck there, but I also marveled at the fact I wasn't gaining either!! Take some extra walks to rev up your metabolism so when you get your next fill, you'll start dropping right away. We are all in this together.

It's sunny and about 40 degrees here today so will set a goal to walk the dog twice around the neighborhood. Walk and Water , walk and Water, my new mantra for today. Love the rubberband idea for the water bottle-thanks!! Blessings to all, Healthywoman

[CarynW 3]

Hello all! I'm sorry I dropped off the face of the earth! Thank you for asking about me! I was banded 8-11, I'm on fill 3 with 9 ccs in a 14 cc band. I am feeling very little restriction and am getting frustrated. My Dr left the practice and his new one is far away and the schedules conflict so I'm seeing a new Dr at the same practice. I'm a little disheartened but it will be ok I'm sure. The new gave me 1cc a week ago, and like I said, I don't feel much. Some things will get stuck for about 10 seconds if its thick and I'm eating too fast, but then it goes right down. I need another cc I think. School is insane so I read here and there but don't have a lot of time to post. I'll try and keep up from here out though!!

[CarynW 3]

Oh, ok down 15lbs total from start of preop.

[CarynW 3]

Meant to say oh, IM down 15lbs.

[ncgg-5 2]

So good to hear from you Caryn. We are all happy you are OK and just busy. I have time since I am retired so I hope it was OK for me to try and keep things going.

I feel the same way, a little restriction and it usually passes fairly quickly if something gets stuck until yesterday with my first PB. That was not fun but over fast. healthywoman it was like throwing up but no nasty taste and not too much because I didn't eat that much. I found that when I coughed it finally came right up. When you hurt that much you'll do most anything to get it to stop. Sorry to be so graphic but if it has not happened to you yet maybe this will help if it does. Yes, I think you had a NSV with your pants! Congratulations.

Blessings,

GG

[kristenaz 0]

Today I made GG's pumpkin muffins. They turned out great! Even my teenager and hubby loved them and they are tough to please! Thanks GG for sharing! I had a difficult time at the market tonight. I swear the Halloween candy was calling my name. I ended up picking up a bag of chocolate and smelling it, then put it back. Such willpower. Dodged a bullet that time!

[ncgg-5 2]

Today I made GG's pumpkin muffins. They turned out great! Even my teenager and hubby loved them and they are tough to please! Thanks GG for sharing! I had a difficult time at the market tonight. I swear the Halloween candy was calling my name. I ended up picking up a bag of chocolate and smelling it, then put it back. Such willpower. Dodged a bullet that time!

So glad you liked the muffins. I bet they would freeze too. Next time I'm going to use that low sugar cake mix. Bravo for resisting the candy. It calls my name too along with other things in the kitchen. Donuts really yell at me!

We can do this!

Blessings,

GG

[ncgg-5 2]

I just read this on another thread and thought some of you might have missed it there. After it there is the response that makes it a little clearer.

Blessings,

GG

This was sent to me a while ago and seems like a good explanation for weight loss stalls.

Our bodies use glycogen for short term energy storage. Glycogen is not very soluble, but it is stored in our muscles for quick energy -- one pound of glycogen requires 4 lbs of Water to keep it soluble, and the average glycogen storage capacity is about 2 lbs. So, when you are not getting in enough food, your body turns first to stored glycogen, which is easy to break down for energy. And when you use up 2 lbs of glycogen, you also lose 8 lbs of Water that was used to store it -- voila -- the "easy" 10 lbs that most people lose in the first week of a diet.

As you stay in caloric deficit, however, your body starts to realize that this is not a short term problem. You start mobilizing fat from your adipose tissue and burning fat for energy. But your body also realizes that fat can't be used for short bursts of energy -- like, to outrun a sabertooth tiger. So, it starts converting some of the fat into glycogen, and rebuilding the glycogen stores. And as it puts back the 2 lbs of glycogen into the muscle, 8 lbs of water has to be stored with it to keep it soluble. So, even though you might still be LOSING energy content to your body, your weight will not go down or you might even GAIN for a while as you retain water to dissolve the glycogen that is being reformed and stored.

So, I guess this is what causes the stair-step appearance of weight loss. You will go down for a while and then it will steady out for a few weeks and then start loosing again once you start burning up those newly formed glycogen stores that came from your body fat. Makes sense. I will just keep doing what I'm doing and it should start to even out.