January Surgery Bandsters Group

[ValAnn 31]

Hey all!

Looks like everyone is on track and doing really well! I know we have all had some bumps in the road but so far, I am lovin' my band! I am currently down 33 pounds and will Celebrate my 2 month bandiversary tomorrow. Can't hardly believe it has been 2 months. I think back to how nervous I was the night before but yet so determined and committed. Great decision and I don't regret it for a minute.

I am currently at 8.5 cc's in my 14cc band. My doc has a very aggressive fill policy for which I am grateful! I think I am FINALLY feeling some restriction and am noticing that I am starting to go for longer time periods without eating/snacking. Not in the green zone yet but I hope it's coming soon. The nurse in the office said the average for women they treat seems to be green zone around 11-12cc's.

Again, that is on the average so some could have less, others more.

The last fill did result in the doc doing it under fluro as my port was angled down towards my feet. Lovely. He did tell me that it could flip but at that moment it had not. He also said that if it flips sometimes he can manipulate it so that he can still get the fill in. If not, surgery to repair. Hoping for the best. Next fill is April 9 so we shall see.

Take care everyone

[MeredithMcFee 98]

Congrats to you ValAnn! It's so good to see our Jan group continue on our journey with positive results from the band. Today is my 2 mth bandiversary and I'm down 26lbs which I'm very pleased about and have lost a decent amount of inches. It's definitely a work in progress and always will be and that's ok with me. My Dr is very conservative when it comes to fills. I don't know the size of my band however, 6 weeks PO he filled only 2.5cc's.He initially filled it to 3cc's but then after viewing the fluoro, he felt it was too much. His treatment plan is every 6 weeks, but that doesn't mean he will fill you if he feels it's not req'd. So far for me, I've been fine. I'm using my head as well as using my band to help me in my last ditch effort to loose the pounds and keep them off.

[JustDoIt130 369]

Wow, my 2 month bandiversary was yesterday. TIme flies!! I'm so glad I did it when I did, now with my DH's heart issues he'd be less inclined to be supportive of a surgery.

I am losing weight, but I am SO HUNGRY between meals! It's truly willpower that's helping me, not so much the band- though I knew this would be the case in the beginning. It is motivating to lose weight, for sure.

Val, I have 6 cc's in my 14 cc band, I go for a fill on Monday, would love to convince them to put 2 cc's in, but they'll probably only do 1. But I'll take what I can get. So far I haven't really had any bumps in my road (knock on wood) other than having trouble swallowing a big Vitamin pill I"ve been taking, even when I cut it in half. Maybe I'll cut it into quarters, LOL.

Meredith- yep, gotta get your head in the game- fending off head hunger is a full time job for me in the evenings. THat's why I try to save 200 calories for some full sugar pudding. I need to try the sugar free, but really want to enjoy it, LOL.

How is everyone else? Call out to Mags2u, where are you? I"ve seen you on the spring challenge, but miss you here!!

Post, girls (and B-52, LOL, or any other January men), there's safety in numbers

[rockonhan 10]

I'm 6.75 ccs in a 10 cc band!

[MeredithMcFee 98]

Justdoit, sorry to hear of your husband's medical issues, hope he's on the mend. Re: full sugar pudding, have you tried Jello's sugar free rice pudding creme brulee or the caramel pudding yet? It's only 70 cals. It's soooo good and one would never know it has no sugar. I put cinnamon on top for an added boost of flavor. It's so good.

[nicole1 92]

So I had my counselor meeting this morning. It appears my home stress is still making me want to binge. I have not given in, but I feel like it could happen any time. Having a heavy sugar snack before going home has always calmed me and allowed me to go home and deal with my home life. So I have realized how much that stress is still there and the "craving" to make it go away. I have notice on the days I go from work to my trainer, going home is not stressful and I am in a good mood. So my "homework" is to find other things I can do to prepare myself for home instead of wanting a giant piece of cake! So far I have a list of options, but they cost money I don't have. Here is what I have so far: stop and get an ice tea at a coffee shop and relax, create a ride home music playlist, go shopping, take a fun class at the local community college,workout as soon as I get home (this one is hard, someone always wants something from me when I walk through the door). I just need something in between work and home that is just for me and helps me relax. Any ideas anyone??

As for the family stress, I have been remarried for 12 years and we want to get a divorce, but can't sell the house so we live like roommates, he has a 22 yr old daughter that hates me and refuses to contribute to the upkeep of the house, his horrible dying dog drives me crazy and everyone keeps asking me "what's for dinner" when they are 14, 17, & 22 yrs old oh and there is dad who can cook too!!

Sorry to unload, but thought you might want to see why going home is stressful.

[otaknam 28]

NICOLE1 I would not go home........

I would run away and change the way I look and let them all fight about meals.

I am single and wish at times I had someone around to at least notice a slight change in my appearence.

I am stressed out from not losing any pounds and can say a bit nevous of my upcoming appt. I can not drop at all. So I might just run away. I need to switch a few things up this week. My deal is I have no desirer to eat and know that I need to eat to be healthy and to help move this journey along.

I eat because that is what I have known best in my past. So I need to kick myself a bit harder and keep tring.

Still whinning....

[LisaBC 10]

Nicole1: like otaknam said above, they are all old enough and more than capable of making a meal or figuring out something for themselves to eat. I know how it can be as I have a 17 year old daughter and a 5 year old and a husband that think that I am responsible for making 3 square meals everyday and that my job is in the kitchen. The kitchen is the LAST place I need to be while I am on this weight loss journey. Tell them to grow up and fending for themselves will teach them responsibility and how to do something without having to depend on you 24/7! you really need to focus on getting yourself healthy and being a short order cook after working all day is not going to get you there. I have gone "on strike" several times and it usually gets the message across pretty fast that we are all in this family together and that I am not doing everything on my own. It's hard as a working mom to carve out time for yourself, I so understand that. I would stop on the way home for that ice tea or go window shopping on my way home before having to deal with family stress. You need to unwind and take time to "shift" roles to mom before you get there.

Hang in there and put yourself FIRST for a change

Lisa

[JustDoIt130 369]

Nicole- that is stressful! Are all the kids but the 22 year old yours? Maybe 1 or 2 days a week you can leave things in the fridge they can heat up and you can go to the library and read a magazine, or go to the gym, or those are the days of your class. I promise, at those ages they won't starve to death, LOL. Good luck. Or just come home and feed them and then declare some mom time? Try different things!

Otaknam- Don't be nervous about your appointment, they're here to help you be successful. This is a process, don't forget, and you're only 2 or so months out!!! Give yourself credit and patience

[ericaharrod 28]

Oktham- Good luck with your appt. Remember they are there to help you. Share your frustrations and see if they can help.

Nicole- I am sorry your home life is so stressful. The music in the car is a good idea. You could also park the car in the driveway and go for a walk before going inside. Are the kids yours, do you want to spend time with them? If not really, then you should go to the gym everyday after work. Good luck.

[JustDoIt130 369]

Yay! Down 4 lbs last week! Total of 34 lbs since pre-op diet. I really think exercise is helping my metabolism a lot! It is so rewarding to see the scale go down.

[NJ2NC 62]

hello everyone..

Nicole1 sorry about your stress at home..I can relate to the stress, stay focused best way you can.

JustDoIt130, way to go on the 4 pounds.

Hope everyone is doing well, I'll do some catching up on posts this afternoon. I got my 2nd fill last Friday the 23rd. I only got .5 cc's which sucks cause I still don't feel much restriction but apparently they do .5cc's at each visit. I can go again on 4/27. I still get very hungry about every 2-3 hours, I wonder if I call and tell them this would they give me more before the end of April, prob not. I've lost 4lbs over the last week after being stuck for 2 weeks with no loss at all..I am happy about that..

I stopped using the Nuvaring..I don't need anything slowing me down anymore! I'll work on getting the Mirena in a few months.

[nicole1 92]

OKtham, thank you for the support, I do feel like running away at times. The 17 yr old is mine from my 1st marriage, but I have been with the 14 yr old since she was 2. I just wanted to mention that I notice if I did not eat ENOUGH I would gain or not loose weight for that week. I wonder if you are not getting enough calories and your body has put itself on starvation mode, so it won't let you loose weight. I think Justdoit mentioned increased calories helped with her weight loss or it might have been someone else. Good Luck at your appointment!!!

Everyone, thank you for your support. I think I will pick 2 nights a week as the nights I will cook and if I happen to cook another night then they are luck. I am going to stand up for myself. You're right they are old enough and can fend for themselves and not starve. there is always plenty of food in the house. As for working out everyday, I do not have a typical gym membership, so I can only go on days I have training, besides I pretty much have my own gym at home and I would hate to waste the money on a membership. I do need transition time from work to home, so I am going to start finding different things, I will try stopping at the library on the way home and read for a bit, it is on the way home.

Thank you everyone!!!

[nicole1 92]

NJ, my doctor is conservative too! I have received only 2cc since surgery. they said they will only do .5cc for now on. They also said my "sweet spot" is when you are so restricted in the am it is hard to get more than liquid or thin foods (yogurt) down. I had a fill Monday and there is no real restriction, but I do fill full and get hungry after 2-3 hrs. I called yesterday to tell them I didn't feel any different and they said I could call back in 3 weeks to get my appt. moved up instead of waiting the 5 wks. So you are not alone. I do think it is pretty cool that we are still loosing weight without the full restriction, that means a lot of it we are doing on our own!!

[mags2u 57]

Helllooo all. Glad to see everyone is doing well. I go for my 3rd 6wk follow up April 8th. I'm definitely not hungry in the morning, but throughout the day I do get hungry about 3-4 hrs after I eat, so I'm hoping they put another 0.5cc in. This last round I really haven't lost anything signifigant. But I love that we are all pretty much right on track for weight loss. Nice to compare and see that we are all rockin!

Helllooo all. Glad to see everyone is doing well. I go for my 3rd 6wk follow up April 8th. I'm definitely not hungry in the morning, but throughout the day I do get hungry about 3-4 hrs after I eat, so I'm hoping they put another 0.5cc in. This last round I really haven't lost anything signifigant. But I love that we are all pretty much right on track for weight loss. Nice to compare and see that we are all rockin!

Helllooo all. Glad to see everyone is doing well. I go for my 3rd 6wk follow up April 8th. I'm definitely not hungry in the morning, but throughout the day I do get hungry about 3-4 hrs after I eat, so I'm hoping they put another 0.5cc in. This last round I really haven't lost anything signifigant. But I love that we are all pretty much right on track for weight loss. Nice to compare and see that we are all rockin!