SMMC LB support group chicas

[Wheetsin 714]

You look amazing! And I can tell you were having such a great time. Seeing that crystal clear Water in the background makes me wish we were book on one. :confused: And makes me miss scuba.

BTW, **DIBS** on that paisley dress when it's too big for you!

Gots lots to talk to you guys about, let's meet up sometime.

[Rockin' Robyn 15]

Thanks Angela! I felt amazing on the cruise. It was so fun to dress up in so many clothes that I had been waiting to wear, that actually fit me! It makes all the difference in the world in how you carry yourself in them. Definitely need the skin reduction thing though.....late spring/early summer I'm hoping to look into at least the arms, then maybe tummy in the fall. Want to lose another 35 pounds before the TT.

You can have the dress when I'm through....but when it is too small for me???? LOL, you are too cute!

Would love to chat sometime....PM or call me. Thanks for resizing the pics! You're the best:p

[Banded in KS 0]

Welcome back Robyn!!! It looks like you had an amazing time. I am so jealous...I wanna go, I wanna go, I wanna go!

Ok, get this... I am going in to see Dr. Hottie for a fill on Wed and my scale freaked out on me this morning. (Maybe the scale is not all to blame.) Anyway, how do I go in for a fill and not get weighed???? I think I will cry if I have to admit to him that I gained 10 lbs!!!!

[Wheetsin 714]

Don't think it can be done. Unfortunately! You could do what I do, which is not eat/drink before the appt (bad, I know, but not atypical regardless of whether or not I have a fill scheduled) , and wear the lightest clothes I have. Well - that works for summer, but in winter all clothes weigh a lot. It's sticker shock - I know - to go from my nekkid, morning weigh-ins at home to my fully clothed afternoon weigh-ins there.

Robyn - whatever, that dress is going to be big for you in 3, maybe 4 weeks. But back to your pictures. One thing I notice is that your boat looks really nice. What cruiseline were you on? Ours was Carnival, and our boat was tacky! There was artwork that looked like someone yakked on a piece of glass. No kidding, I have pics to prove it.

I actually remembered to talk to the PS. He won't entertain a group of us, he's too busy now. But even though he does wonders with insurance, I've since heard some not so great things about his work. Hmm... the lady I knew of - I never thought to ask what she thought of it, just whether or not ins. covered. And I'm going to need work too! Arms, belly for sure (after kids, if kids are a possibility), and I'm pretty sure upper/back thighs. Man, talk about a problem area!

[Machele 0]

From the thread title, I was hoping to get information on a support group here in the KCK area. With some mentioning of things I am familiar with, I thought I was in the right place... maybe not! Maybe since the thread is so long, I missed that information! So, could someone tell me if you have meetings and if I could attend before I get my band. I have lots of questions, that I have tried researching on here, but have not had much success with...

[Wheetsin 714]

Hi Machele, the title of the thread is for a specific surgeon's support group, sponsored by his program coordinators and the hospital he works through. All of us active here were banded by the same surgeon, so we just use his group as our support group. It isn't a "generic" (or what do yu call it?!) support group.

However, there is one (I think!) for the KS/MO area that started off as a Yahoo group and evolved into a meeting. That could be entirely wrong, I really don't know a thing about it, but Gh0st may - you might try sending her a PM and pick her brain.

[Machele 0]

Thanks for the info. I did not realize this was doctor specific. :embarassed: I am not sure who Gh0st is... Maybe I should start a thread for a KCK support group...

[Wheetsin 714]

The thread isn't rally doctor specific, we have all kinds of people pop in and out - it's just that the support group is doctor specific. Gh0st is one of the posters to this thread. (Oops, I just checked and it's "TheGh0st". Real name is Diane). If you want to PM her, she could tell you about the Yahoo groups. Or yeah - you can always start a new thread looking for an area support group. I think most of the threads that are out there now are surgeon-specific support groups.

Best of luck.

[nolagirl2 0]

hey girls -

how's it going? robyn your pics from the cruise look amazing.

so i am here, trying to get back to bandland. today i actually journaled my food and Water intake and it helped to keep me from overindulging. i've noticed that once i start eating, even if i'm not hungry anymore, its hard for me to stop. and the band can stop you but as you all know, you can eat around it if you want to. its amazing, i don't understand how other people don't have food issues. how does someone say no to ice cream cake without feeling deprived or say yes to it without feeling guilty? i've fallen back into some old food traps, and for a few weeks i have been seriously needing to find my way back - for months even i've been feeling off-track. it just seems there is always a reason to put it off, even though it makes me unhappy. even now, its crazy for me to start doing my food journaling and accountability during mardi gras, but why put it off until feb 21/22? that will just make another two weeks of feeling icky and not liking myself very much. i've been making small steps, but i realize that cutting corners here and there is NOT making the effort. i can't just go for a walk at lunch but come home at dinner and totally overeat. i had gotten into the habit of just eating all day. eat a meal, wait for fullness to subside, then eat again. ugh. i have also been taking advantage of the band in the fact that even eating a lot of crap, i still don't gain as much weight as i did pre-banding. right now, i'm not sure where i am, i think around 5-10 lbs. higher than my lowest point. but that is not losing and i still have a ways to go.

so today for Breakfast i had a south beach diet wrap meal (chicken caesar), for lunch i had a south beach diet wrap meal (sesame chicken)

, for a snack i had two small slim jims, and for dinner i had buffalo chicken dip with cheese and pepperonis. I also had an insane amount of water, like 200 oz. trying to overcome wanting to eat with drinking - i used to do that and it worked well!! and i also walked a bit today - went for a 30-40 minute walk during lunch, then an hourlong walk with roomie tonight.

i think i can make it back to kc at the end of march to get another fill, that's the other thing, i've been at this fill level since july. but i don't want to concentrate on that too much because the earliest i can get back is end of march, and i don't want to put things off until then.

so here we are. one day at a time.

anyway, here are some pictures of the last month.

how y'all doing?

[Rockin' Robyn 15]

Hi Cate!

Oh my gosh it is so great to hear from you. I thought you had fallen off the face of the earth or something (LOL). You look AMAZING! Girl, I am right there along with you. This is such a roller coaster ride. I think you DEFINITELY need a fill, it will help so much. However, the ice cream thing and eating around the band is definitely an issue for me to. I get remotivated, but now unfortunately it only seems to last me a couple of days. Then the old habits start creeping back in again. I joined the gym 2 days ago and haven't worked out yet My son was so confused when we went there, paid and left. He said "Mama, why did we go to the gym but not get any exercise"! LOL....Point is, it is an everyday stuggle for all of us. I am so proud of you for getting back on here...that's the first step. I have been thinking about doing an accountability thread again...if nothing else just for my own posting. That helped me a lot in staying on track, even if it is only for 5-10 pounds worth of a loss that I can do it

BTW Wheets!!!!! Your PM box is full. I tried to send you a message, but it won't accept it. Gotta run.

[nolagirl2 0]

Yeah it's just been crazy living down here. Lots goign on - we just started Carnival and it's basically a non-stop party until Feb. 21. I haven't had internet at home for the past six weeks, so I couldn't get on LBT or anything, although I have it back now. It just goes in waves. It's hard, and you forget that other people aren't like this, but I think about food more than I think about anything else in the world. Right now, all I can think about is king cakes, even though I'm not hungry, I finished my breakfast like 40 minutes ago. But I have king cakes on the brain and I will until it's time to eat lunch, and then I will eat lunch, and probably start thinking about another food until its time for dinner. The waiting an hour before drinking helps because it forces me to have a definite stopping point, and I know that for an hour I can't put anything else in my mouth. Otherwise, 30 minutes later, I might eat again because I physically can. I have to keep myself on a regiment otherwise I eat every time I think about it, which means I literally eat all day. Ugh, I hate it. I can't believe that other people aren't like this. It's funny because there was a boy down here I had a crush on for a while, and my friends would joke that I talked/thought about him all the time, but in all honesty, I don't ever think about anything as much as I think about food.

So anyway, that's what's up with me. Day three.

[Wheetsin 714]

Whoops! Sorry! I just cleaned it out so resend whatever didn't make it the first time.

Hey Cate! It's great to hear from you, and you're looking fantastic! I've been lazy with my eating lately. It's hard for me to stay motivated when I'm not seeing any changes (seriously - since late summer I have this pattern of losing NOTHING for a few months, then dropping something ridiculous like 3 lbs). How is life down there? Everything going well with the job and the wine?

The food obsessions may always be there. And they suck. I've caught myself eating a few times "just because". I don't want to sound like Sabapathy, but have you noticed particular times that your thoughts go to food, or is it constant?

[nolagirl2 0]

Whoops! Sorry! I just cleaned it out so resend whatever didn't make it the first time.

Hey Cate! It's great to hear from you, and you're looking fantastic! I've been lazy with my eating lately. It's hard for me to stay motivated when I'm not seeing any changes (seriously - since late summer I have this pattern of losing NOTHING for a few months, then dropping something ridiculous like 3 lbs). How is life down there? Everything going well with the job and the wine?

The food obsessions may always be there. And they suck. I've caught myself eating a few times "just because". I don't want to sound like Sabapathy, but have you noticed particular times that your thoughts go to food, or is it constant?

The job is going well, starting to feel like I'm getting settled. One thing I seriously need is new clothes though - thank goodness we have casual fridays, otherwise I would be out of clothes!! I definitely need to do some shopping soon, but its so hard. Right now I have like 5-7 outfits (including work and weekend!!) - but its so hard to buy something I can't wear one place or the other (it has to be both work & weekend appropriate - difficult). My birthday is coming next week so I hope my parents just give me money for clothes - I can go to Target or Old Navy and buy some stuff!! I'm an 18 I think -- I can squeeze into 16 if its stretch and I dont' mind it being tight, but its not for most stuff.

I've been off the wine and on a beer kick (I know, I know, not the best choice for the band - but it's just a kick - besides, its parade season).

About the food -- right now its pretty constant. I mean, I definitely am guilty for being an emotional eater - when I'm sad, or lonely, or frustrated -- its pig out time. But the thoughts about food - those are basically constant. I think a big part is that I have just been giving in lately, and when I am not exercising willpower, the thoughts come easier. I am hoping after a little bit of actually following through, the thoughts will bother me less. I seem to remember it being that way.

[Wheetsin 714]

You're killing me. We're about 10 lbs from eachother and you're like 3 or 4 sizes smaller than me. Sorry, can't talk to you anymore. :heh:

I'm with you on the clothes. I have 2 pairs of jeans (thankfully we have casual Monday AND Friday). I have 3 pair of dress slacks that fit, and about 4 dress tops. So needless to say, my co-workers are seeing a lot of the same outfits these days. But - they also know why - so it doesn't bother me. At $80 for a pair of pants and $40 at least for a top, I just can't justify buying a lot more. And I guess I'm just not good at finding sales.

Can you get away with khakis on the job? Or colored denim? I can't... well.. maybe, but don't want to try it. But lots of places will let you wear capris, khakis, etc. on the job that could also be worn casually. I survived the summer by buying some cute skirts and then wearing them with layered tops at work or knit tops at home... slip ons at work, and flip flops away from work. I try to shop for versatility as much as possible.

My weightloss has really sucked lately. I still haven't pinpointed why. I may go 2 months with nothing, then lose oh - a whopping 3 or 4 lbs overnight. I'm going to try adding an add'l 30 mins per session of cardio and see if that makes any difference.

[Rockin' Robyn 15]

Hi Guys-

I'm thinking of going to support group tonight for a jump start. If anyone else is interested in going, maybe we could meet up an hour or so before hand? Let me know asap

Robyn