May Bandsters~October Chat

[Mvpo8961 1]

WOW looks like folks are doing great.

I finally feel like a real person. I haven't had any pain meds today!!!!!!

I will update a little more later I have some MAJOR HOUSEWORK to get done.

Toodles,

Myra

[LapBandit1 0]

Welcome Calanne!

Maysters: I have a question. Why am I having so much trouble finding this thread all of a sudden?

Was back to the doc on Thursday. Big day for me, flu shot, my first one actually. Sucked blood to check the hormone levels, and cholesterol checkup. Good news so far:

Drum Roll Please.........

BMI was 43 now 35!!

Got a call today about my cholesterol levels being 'significantly lower' I will find out the numbers when I get home this weekend but love the significant!

Lost 6 pounds since I saw her last too!

Only 2 pounds to my very first goal of 50 pounds!

I'm slowly but surely getting there!

MOVE THAT TICKER!!!

p.s. School started this week! One of these days I just may finish my degree!

Hope all are well on this fine but rainy night in Indiana

:bandit

[Alicia521 0]

It's been a really long time. About the only time I have time to post is at work and it's been crazy lately. Anyway, I am glad to get updated on everyone. Linda and Ousooner - the pics are awesome. I am sorry to hear about the health problems/band problems some of you are having. I'll keep you in my thoughts and prayers.

On a different note, I am finally below 200 lbs. I hit that weight in September but it has been slow going since then. In fact, I have been gaining and losing the same 2 lbs for about 2 weeks. I need to call the doctor to see if they think it is time for an adjustment but I really don't want one yet because it took me at least a month before I was able eat somewhat normally after my 8/1/06 adjustment. I am thinking, I have just reached that point and my body will be going much slower now. I am officially in the just plain "obese" category as well. I need to drop to 185 to be classified as "overweight". I'd like to be 190 by Halloween but I am not so sure that will happen. I have been doing my Couch to 5K program, but got a later start than I had planned. I can finally feel my legs firming. We went to an outdoor music festival on Saturday with a lot of uphill walking and it didn't even phase me. Normally I would have sat down to rest on several occasions so that was nice.

I am trying hard not to get discouraged, but honestly, I am pretty discouraged lately. My weightloss has not been consistent so I am trying to up my Water intake/protein intake and my exercise. I have the hardest time getting the Water down because I just don't like to drink much anymore. I keep reminding myself that I have lost nearly 60lbs and that I have gone from 20/22 & 2x from L/XL and 14/16 tops and 16/18 bottoms. Any motivational words to get me over my hump?

[ousooner 1]

Alicia,

Don't get discouraged. Mine is slowing down a lot too. The closer we get to goal, the slower it will come off. Like someone told me, I didn't put the weight on overnight and it won't come off that fast either. Hang in there!

[paladin 0]

Hello to all our May friends!! Boy, it's been awhile and have all been missed. On Oct 5th, 3Loves daddy (65 yrs old) had emergency surgery for an abdominal aortic aneurysm the size of a football. The surgeon gave him a 25% chance of surviving the surgery. The aneurysm had dissected as well. We took off from IN as they were taking him into surgery in OH. We got the call that he had made it thru surgery & arrived at the hospital in time to be one of the first ones to see him in ICU.

The ER quickly and accurately diagnosed him and paged the heart doctor which happened to still be in the parking lot. His surgery crew was still in the hospital b/c they had taken a late case (another heart surgery) and there were finishing up. It was a miracle that they were able to rush him into surgery and didn't have to wait on anyone to get to the hospital. He had been bleeding out since 2PM that day and wasn't going to last much longer with a dissecting aneurysm.

He had a breathing tube until Sun the 8th as the first attempt to remove it was unsuccessful. He came home on Tues the 10th without ANY pain meds. They said there is only 1 surgery bigger than this one (I assume it's open heart) and that he was very lucky to recover so quickly. To us it shows the power of prayer. The entire family was together and threeloves stayed in the hospital with her mother only to leave to take showers. The ICU dept offered them a special room where they had the pull out beds. I finally brought her back home to IN this past Sun night as she stayed to help her mother with her dad's recovery. She didn't want to leave her parents.

We are so thankful he is still with us and realize how close we came to losing such a wonderful man. Threeloves has been a daddy's girl all her life and this hit her particularly hard. She was disappointed that she didn't lose weight though after all the walks in the long hospital halls not to mention she didn't eat much during that time. So, that's what has been going on here. I'll make another post to individuals since this one has gotten so long.

BTW, your prayers would be so much appreciated for his continued recovery.

[Mvpo8961 1]

Paladin tell 3loves she is in my thoughts and prayers.

Glad her father is doing better now.

Words seem so trite in a situation like this.

Myra

[paladin 0]

Drews ~ First of all, I hope you will find peace in your marriage....I'm sure you will. Take it one day at a time. Oh my, a leaking tube! You don't hear of that too much. I'm glad your having surgery to get it fixed. Just think of all hard work you've put into to losing those pounds till now!! You will fly like an eagle once you get real restriction. I'm counting on it. You will be in our prayers on Nov 2nd. Let us know if the date changes for any reason.

Myra ~ Bless your heart. I didn't know you had neuropathy. My MIL has it in her feet. I was going to recommend neurontin, but I see you have started that. My MIL takes vicodin, neurontin, & topomax. She also saw an improvement after starting some kind of "B" Vitamin her doc recommended. You get it at Wal-Mart. I will find out what it's called. I know it's a combo type "B"....maybe B12? ?

LindaV ~ You are beautiful and so glad you shared your pictures. You are absolutely glowing and can see your heart through your eyes.

Kim ~ Howdy friend!! WOW, you are putting MO behind you FOREVER! What a tremendous inspiration you are. Glad to hear you doing so well. Not much change in the weight dept around here. The only good thing to report is NO gains.

Ousooner ~ 100 lbs!! You amaze me.

LapBandit1 ~ About the raccoon face....thanks for the laughs. I guess those Hoosiers can't help themselves for staring. You had an AWESOME dr's appt on Thurs. GREAT JOB and keep it up. Those are the kind of appts we dream about.

Marci ~ Will pray for your shoulder to keep getting better. Let's hope you don't need too many of those shots. OUCH, it does sound painful. Stick with the PT. That is good stuff.

Mayamom ~ Welcome!! So glad you joined this group!! :clap2: You will never find a better group of people if you search the entire internet. The MAY GROUP is the BEST!!

[LindaV 0]

Hi Everyone,

I'm back from San Francisco and just catching up on everything. It sounds like a lot has been going on.

Paladin - I wil be praying for your FIL. Tell 3Loves "Hi" for me!

Alicia - From what I have been reading, it seems really normal for the weight loss to slow down quite a bit once you get around and under 200 lbs. Don't be too discouraged! I'm sure you look and feel great! It will probably be slow going now so try to concentrate more on how much better your quality of life is now or on the NSV's. I can't wait to join you in being "just overweight."

[kim2bhealthy 3]

YEAH PALADIN IS BACK! Gosh I'm sooo glad to hear from you.... I was getting worried. Please tell 3loves how thrilled I am that the wonderful doctors were able to save her dear daddy.. WOW that is amazaing.. Obviously he is supposed to be around for years to come.. Hope he is well on his way to a speedy and full recovery! Tell 3loves not to sweat the weight loss.. it will come!

I have found that I absolutely HAVE to eat around 1300 calories, drink at least 100 ounces of Water a day and work out at least 6-8 hours a week (cardio & weights) for the weight to come off at a pretty good clip. I am scheduled for another fill on Tuesday the 24th but am contemplating cancelling it. I am averaging about 10 lbs a month with my current fill, so I figure why torture myself with another fill, the liquid diet following, etc. My original reasoning for scheduling it now was to be able to be back to "normal" eating before the holidays roll in. I'm knida torn because as soon as I cancel I'll probably start starving and start eating more... decisions, decisions.

Linda - How was San Fransisco? That is one of the cities that I would love to vist.. been to LA and San Diego, but haven't made it that far north yet...

Alicia - Please don't get discouraged.. you have lost a ton of weight, and the rest will come off! I go through stages where I gain and lose the same few pounds, then boom, I lose again... Are you tracking calories? It is hard foor me to do the Water thing too... Are you staying full for at least four hours after eating? Are you drinking with your meals? Getting lots of Protein? Good luck to you! Keep up the great work!

[DrewsLou 3]

Hey all!

Paladin my friend! Glad to see you've made your way back to us. I was just thinking about you guys the other day. Glad to hear things are going well for you guys. Tell 3loves I miss her!!

Two weeks to go until my replacement surgery. I just want it over with! I tested for a new job last weekend and am anxiuosly awaiting a call back to find out how I did. It is a job in the city I grew up in as a 911 dispatcher. I am ready to move on from my current job, bennies suck and there is no room for advancement unless someone dies...lol. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

A friend invited me to go to NYC with her in December for the weekend. I am trying to decide if I am going or not. I have never been there and would LOVE to go but it is alot of $$ to only be there for 24 hours! Help me decide!!

Have a great day!

Peace.

[LindaV 0]

Hello Everyone,

It is a beautiful Sunday morning here in Idaho!

Guess what? My weight left to lose (70 lbs) is finally less than my weight lost (75 lbs). It's soooooo nice to see to see those numbers finally reversed!

I finally hit the 240 mark this morning. This means that for the Thanksgiving challenge I only have 7 more pounds to go. I somehow managed to lose the 4 pounds I gained on vacation plus 3 more this week. This was definately a good week to be a bandster!

Take care you guys and keep fighting the good fight!

My current mantra to live by is "Forget regret, or life is yours to miss." And I don't plan on missing any of it!

[marz88 0]

Way to go Linda! I've lost only 5 lbs for my TTO, but tomorrow I go for another fill and I'm hoping that the magic "Sweet Spot" happens after this fill. I find my weight comes off in 5 lb increments. I can go and go and go with no weight coming off then one day, 5 lbs are dropped! Oh well, I'll let it come off however it wants to come off as long as it still comes off

[LapBandit1 0]

Congrats LV!

Its a cold rainy night here in MI, but we do have one good thing going on here. MY BELOVED TIGERS ARE IN THE WORLD SERIES!!

Such an amazing time here now. We have waited so long and never expected it but oh my goodness its so great!

I keep thinking that the last time they were there in 84 I weighed just 130lbs. I was also young and dumb!

Drews: Good Luck on the job and take it from one who travels all over.... GO there girl, especially if you've never been. Will be cold but gee the sights you'll see in NY in December! I'm off to Syracuse in a couple of weeks to put on a workshop for a supplier. I'd much rather be in NYC! Hope you decide to go.

[Alicia521 0]

Thanks for the encouraging words!

Quick question - on average, how much Protein are you each getting per day and what are you doing to get it?

[LindaV 0]

Hey Alicia,

On days when I don't exercise I try to get in 75g of Protein. On light exercise days (usually walking), I up that to 80g. And on the days I do Water aerobics or other serious exercise I make sure I get at least 90g of Protein. I also try to get in 1300-1600 calories per day and as many carbs as I do protein.

I started out after surgery only doing 70g and when I saw my nutritionist, her tests indicated that I had started to lose muscle. She actually would like me to get in 120g of protein but understands that my intake is limited so we are trying for 90g. I will see her at the end of this month to see if I have started gaining muscle.

I log all my food and exercise on Sparkpeople.com. It is completely free and easy to use. I have found that without keeping track, my protein levels tend to drop. I try to get the majority of my protein from animal as opposed to vegetable protein to insure I get the 5 essential amino acids that I need to build muscle (only found in combination in animal protein).

Some of my favorite protein foods are:

Frigo lite string cheese (60 cal and 9g of protein)

Kashi Go-Lean Cereal (10g of protein and 140 cal. per cup w/o milk)

Wilcox lf Cottage Cheese (9g of protein/half cup)

Optimum Nutrition (ON) whey Protein shakes (when I'm desperate) mixed w/8 oz of nf milk (32g of protein)

I also will add a scoop of this to ff/sf instant chocolate pudding and it tastes great.

Any lean meat.

Barilla Plus Pasta (10g of protein per serving)

Great Value (Walmart brand) lite yogurt (8g of protein)

Hummus (1/4 cup has 5g of protein) on whole wheat pita bread or soy crackers

Sliced parmesan cheese on green apples (1oz has 9g)

I am eagerly looking forward to other's responses to see how I can spice up my diet!

I hope this helps!