July 2006 Band Crew

[BigGirlPantiez 1]

Thanks!! We are super motivated now and are going salsa dancing on Tuesday to celebrate!

OMG - I forgot to mention that I went to a friends apartment in a 3rd floor walk up and made it all the way without huffing and puffing and needing a few minutes to catch my breath!!!:clap2:

What little successes are you guys having??

[ericsmom 2]

Jack just helped me (without even knowing it) on another thread...I had an "ah ha" moment...

One of the bandsters was asking why she could eat so much after having a fill and he pointed out from her list that she was having carbs... I posted this on that thread then:

This makes sense for me today then - I ate tuna salad - noodles are carbs and therefore I wasn't filled like when I eat cottage cheese. Now I know!! I have been trying to figure out why I ate it three times today at about 1+ cups per time! I have not been having any bread, Pasta, sugar, etc. and I've been fine, but today I felt like I was "bad"!! I didn't like that feeling at all. Plus I had 1/2 size oriental chicken salad from Applebee's last night and for something that used to be my absolute favorite thing, it wasn't that good! It was the first time I had eaten salad since my banding, too. Boy, you learn something new every day This board is awesome for advice

So I am going to remember to continue to stay away from carbs, pasta, bread, etc.

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[Baylor Mom 0]

You guys are doing great. I am determined to wait until Wed. to weigh. I really want to weigh in the morning but I am going to wait. I need to get some shorts for the rest of this year. Maybe they will be a smaller size. We will see. Step- I hope your first day back at school will be a good one. I can't wait to hear how it went and what everybody says about your loss.

I hope everyone had a great weekend and is looking forward to a losing week. I am doing better hour by hour. I am learning what I can have and what I can't. Too bad I have to learn by my mistakes. Oh well that's the brakes.

[ericsmom 2]

Beth - you're doing great, too! I will be sure to fill you in tomorrow Here's to a losing week!

[KariK 0]

Stephanie, I totally agree with you, Protein makes you not feel as hungry. Its so odd! But true. I remember when they used to say eat lots of complex carbohydrates.. lol nowonder America ended up getting fatter and fatter. But I just can't give up my carbs completely lol. Pre band I did the Atkins diet (low carb) and was pretty successful on it I lost about 40 pounds pretty quickly but eventually I just felt like I couldn't live without carbs and I ended up gaining all my weight right back plus some more. Thats why now Im trying to eat a little of everything but focusing on having more protein. And Im trying really hard to make rules and boundaries for myself like drinking LOTS of Water, not eating anything after 6:00 pm, eating the healthy stuff first like protein and vegetables and then having just a bite or two of the tasty carbs I like so much. I really hope it works!

I just have to share a NSV I had today too, earlier this summer I ordered some T-shirts online and they were a size 2x but they are the tight fitting kind so they are more like a 1x or XL even.. and of course they looked terrible on my fat rolled tummy hanging over the tops of my too tight shorts so I never wore them. Then today it was kind of cool/breezy outside so I put on a pair of jeans that are now loose yay! and thought Id try on one of the T'shirts and oh my goodness it fit and was a bit roomy even!! Oh happy day.

[ericsmom 2]

Yeah, Kari!! Congrats on a great NSV!! I'm so proud of you!

I ate a cookie tonight - my first one since before June 20th...and it wasn't even that good. I'm glad I got it out of my system...now I can move on!

I have to get to bed - I have to join the working public again tomorrow!

[Arcael 0]

Semi Update.

Just bought size 40 pants two weeks ago, they are already falling off (didnt even get a chance to wear one of the pairs I bought).

Buying some 38's next weekend.

I started in size 44's which were pretty tight.

I visited my personal trainer for the first time since surgery and she was amazed at the amount lost. She thought that I was a gastric patient and even said that I'm losing faster than most gastrics.

First week of school is down and life is great. My self-confidence has reached record highs and I'm a lot more social around people.

My shoulders are a little sore from the exercise, but other than that I'm having a hard time avoiding a parties and drinking (1 gram of alcohol has 7 calories, that is double what carbs and Proteins are), and the primary drink of the college student is Beer which I do enjoy but wont drink due to the high calories and the carbonation effect of the fermentation.

I'm scheduled to take do some structured interviews and tests with a psychologist to see if I have AADD. I've been the person people come to for help with Math/Sci/History all my life, and yet I can't get above a C (from Jr. High to Current College). There is a lot more to it that I won't get into here, but I'm hoping I can figure out everything and hopefully figure out ways to improve myself mentally, now that the physical aspect is going full-throttle.

[Stesti 0]

Hi everyone:

I have to second BigGirlPantiez thread about shopping!!!! We had the best time trying on clothes. Not so happy about the shrinking boobs though! Even if you don't buy anything, just try things on see how how much progress you've made. BGP made me try on this adorable green jacket in a 1X. I was shocked to see that it fit. I almost cried.

I feel motivated and ready to hit the gym tomorrow.

Hope you're all doing well and would love to hear some of your success stories.

Stefani

[Halobabe 1]

I had my first fill!!! I am lower BMI of 35, apple shaped, and received the VG 10cc. band. I went for my first fill last Friday ($300 for first visit & fill) and my aftercare doctor couldn't believe that I had a 10cc. VG band! He (Dr. Curry) gave me a 5cc. adjustment but said it would probably take 2 or 3 more fills before I felt ANY restriction at all! He hit my port in ONE try and was very nice. I am getting very discouraged, as I still have NO restriction at all. $10,000 later. I am REALLY anxious to start losing weight! Ugh! I've only lost 8 lbs and that was in the beginning in the first 10 days when I was on liquids and was still swollen and had 'some' restriction. I am getting discouraged and running out of money! I am maintaining only because I am dieting...which we all know stinks!...and not the reason I got the band. I don't want to feel hungry and I want to feel FULL after eating a small amount!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am eating a full cup of food at a sitting before even remotely feeling any semblance of fullness.

Karen MT from Kentucky

Banded 7/25/06 Dr. Ortiz in TJ

5cc. first fill 8/25/06 Dr. Curry in Cinn. OH<!--colorc--><!--/colorc-->

[VLP 0]

Well, I was feeling a bit discouraged because ever since I went on solid food a week ago, I haven't lost an ounce. So I was pretty down (& I likely have unrealistic expectations.):think

UNTIL--

I was just told by a co-worker that I am "looking quite svelt." Now, I'm a LONG way from being svelte, but it was a wonderful compliment just the same. :clap2:

Hope all of you have a fantastic week....mine has started off very nicely.

[KariK 0]

Does anyone else think about BMI much? My husband outweighs me by about 50 lbs. but his BMI is about 30 but he's broad and muscular. My BMI is currently 38, I can't wait until mine is 30 so that im the same fatness as my hubby lol. Im sick of being the chubby one in the relationship. I can't wait until I don't look like the fattest one in pictures anymore. I'm on a 5 day challenge starting today and ending on Friday, I'm not going to eat any sugar!

[dezadoo 0]

i think about bmi cuz that's what has prevented my hubby and i from doing ivf. i started at 50 and am now down to about 45, when i hit 41 i can try ivf so yea, it's a motivating factor.

about Atkins, i did that same thing as KariK, i lost about 40 lbs then when i started to eat carbs again i put it all back on , and then some. you definitely feel more full with protein! i am finding that now i'm on mushies and actually able to eat something i want to eat ehn i am not hungry so i am trying not to. i did get to the gym and that is awesome, i want to burn at least 1/2 my consumed calories/day. it's harder than it sounds! help! any good exer plans that don't take 2 hours at the gym!? i don't mind but when school starts back up next week the time is hard to lose!

[mbprn 0]

Hi guys,

Great to hear all the nsv's. I hit the 20lb loss and had my second "Have you lost weight?" inquiry.

Like a few others on here I've decided at this point to not count calories, and obsess about food. I'm trying lower carb. I went out and bought several low carb cookbooks and I am relearning how to cook. I eat until I'm full and try to get at least 60gms of Protein.< /p>

Turns out chicken fried chicken with mashed potatoes/gravy, biscuits, greenbean casserole and banana pudding is not low carb. Hmmmm...who knew. I guess all the skinny people.

[jdjjwoo 0]

Hi guys! I just got back from a "mini-vacation" with my husband and 2 kids (8 yr old boy & 4yr old girl). We haven't done anything all summer (mostly because of my recovery time and the money spent on my surgery) so we went away for the weekend to a small "resort" town nearby. It was nice and relaxing.

We ate out for all of our meals, and it was a little different for me - that's usually the best part of vacation! Our first meal was Chinese and my food felt like it got "stuck" after just a few bites, so I didn't get to eat much and I was definitely feeling bummed. The next morning it happened again with scrambled eggs. My husband realized that both were pretty dry and maybe that was why. We got to eat dinner at a Cracker Barrell in St. George, UT, which is one of my favorite restaurants in the whole world. I was a little worried that the same thing would happen and then I was really going to be bummed. I ate a little bit of my husband's meal and a little bit of my daughter's meal and everything went down perfectly! I got to have a little chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, macaroni & cheese, salad, and fried apples. I felt so wonderful! I ate everything that I wanted and it only took a couple bites of each to be totally satisfied - that is what this is all about! We ended up driving back there for Breakfast yesterday and I had another wonderful meal - scrambled eggs with cheese (these weren't dry and went down perfectly!), bacon and grits!

Today was my kids' first day back to school. I am our school's PTF (just like a PTA) President and I haven't seen many of the parents since last year. A few of them know of my surgery and couldn't believe the difference already - they were calling my "skinny" - what an amazing thought! I'm not skinny yet, but it was sure nice to hear! I also caught many of the "double takes" of others trying to figure out what was different about me. Wonderful NSV's to start the school year with!

I can't wait to hear about Stephanie's first day back! Also, Arcael, how did people react to your amazing change? Keep up the great work everyone!

[Baylor Mom 0]

Sounds like everyone had a great day. MIne was good too. It rained here which is what we needed and all my food today stayed down and didn't hurt. As a homemaker these days that is considered a great day. I am going to try to exercise here in a little while and then have my Protein snack. I'll check backlater to see how the rest of ya'll's days went.