April 2006 Bandiversary!!

[Boo 3]

Eficka, I liked your post. Do you have any ideas for cutting down on chocolate? Having just a little each day has helped me to not feel deprived. I'll have a couple of Hershey kisses and feel like I'm being very decadent. The problem is that I've been doing that for so long, that now I EXPECT to have my chocolate, rather than it being a special treat. And with the different holidays, etc., then I think I can have a little more. I have to buckle down and give up some new habits if I want to shed these last thirty pounds!!

Betty, I noticed your TICKER!!! 140 pounds??? Let's do it together!

I'm going for the gold, too. My fill is so small that I don't even know I have one. Maybe I can concentrate on really healthy raw produce and some Protein smoothies. That usually works for me. Also, being super busy with no time to eat works.

(Ya know that new job? There are some "politics" going on right now to oust someone to make room for me. It is sticky. It is also not my concern, even though I feel badly for them. Higher forces may supercede the offer, so I am still waiting...weird, huh? If it doesn't work out, I think I'll have a TT!!)

[Margi 0]

You people are Superior!! Yous are the greatest inspiration, and some of the nicest people I have the great pleasure in sharing the lap band with!!

I could not make it every day without my Band family on here! I am scheduled for surgery on April 16, can't wait for it to get here! I could not be doing this without the prayers and support of all of you!! Keep posting and I will keep reading. Blessings to all of you!!

[guysis 0]

Boo - you're on - 140 it is (you'll be a rail at your height!) - I'm only 5'3".

Yesterday was like I was just banded - I got that feeling back because of all the excitement of the new April bandit's...............yeah, bring on our new year!

Oh, Boo I know you want that job! Hope all pans out. If you get that TT I'll have to rethink - I would like to do it, but Alan is freaked out about me having elective surgery of that magnitude at my age - what a pooper!

[Boo 3]

Betty, I was feeling the excitement, too, but then woke up and got on the scale to find a two pound gain! I don't feel any restriction. A new doctor did my fill and was being instructed by the regular guy. I hope he didn't mess anything up! I'll probably have to go back for another tiny fill (+.1 cc). NO complaining from me!! Every time I put a leg into my size 10 jeans, I think I am in a dream!!

My normal weight was always 125-130, until a medical problem took over my life about 8 years ago. So, I honestly don't know what I should weigh. The face might droop too much at 125, but 140 might be good for me!

I am excited and looking forward! April is here!

[Boo 3]

Margi, you are very sweet! It is very exciting that you will join our banded group this month!

I am going to post my reflections on my bandiversary date, April 5. I'mstill thinking about all that I have been through this year and what I would like to accomplish this next year. It is weird, it really feels like April 5 is a birthday of sorts. It was the start of a new life for me, one that I desperately wanted, but could not produce on my own. Not only has the band helped me, but the constant support on this board has made my success greater and sweeter!!!

[Eficka 0]

hey Boo:-) I just told myself I cant eat chocolate and when I eat it then only till 2p.m. and at that time I usually have no cravings for it:-)) But if I have chocolate then only the one with high percentage of cocoa (over 56%), its good but not as good as normal milky chocolate:-)so you wonnt eat 3oz of it:-)

[Eficka 0]

Thanks Eficka! I love coming here and reading your thoughts a year later; it's very encouraging. And thanks for dropping by the April 07 thread. We're all very HYPER (excited) right now!!!

I am of Czech ancestry too....I'm 1/2 czech. There are lots and lots of them here in Texas and I'm proud to be one! I miss my grandma's kolaches and klobasniks-- can't get a decent one for miles and miles around here!!

Hello Terry:-)

I know that there are lots of Czcechs in Texas I've heard that you even have Czech schools:-) Oh I love kolaches!!! they are the best but with the band you wont be able to eat much of it cause it can get stuck:-(not badly but its uncomfortable. Klobaski are good as well but its too much fat although from time to time I have some:-) I love our bread its the best:-)and I missed it so much when I studied in the US.Now I dont eat it that much anymore cause again it gets stuck:-(

So your parents are from Czechoslovakia? Do you speak Czcech?

Have a great day.

Ahoj Eva:)

[TerriDoodle 6]

Hello Terry:-)

So your parents are from Czechoslovakia? Do you speak Czcech?

Have a great day.

Ahoj Eva:)

No, actually my great-grandparents are from Czechoslovakia, my grandparents were born here in Texas but lived in a Czech community where all the traditions and language were (and still are) very much alive. My mother spoke only Czech until she was about 5 and ready to go to school. After that time, English was spoken in the house 98% of the time. Hajovsky is our family name. We have Czech radio stations, cookbooks, societies, newspapers and, best of all, Czech festivals! ....LOL....and NO, I don't speak Czech. I never really had an opportunity to learn or practice it! Yes, I know my kolache days are over. But I can lick one!!

[Boo 3]

Does that mean I can lick the chocolate, too?? Mmm...(I'm naughty, but those foil wrapped eggs are everywhere)

[picardy3 0]

Calling all April Bandits of 2006: Let's come together and share our successes!

What is your "Bandiversary" goal?

I never really set a goal for "Bandiversary" just small goals along the way.

What have you learned this past year?

I have learned that I can pass up former favorite foods and that the world will not come to an end if I don't eat everything in site. :hungry:

Could you share your most rewarding NSV (non-scale victory)?

My best NSV for now is buying a pair of designer jeans to wear to the Trace Adkins concert.

What is your biggest challenge?

My biggest challenge is consistent exercise. I really have to make myself do it and it's still hit or miss most days.

What tips would you pass on to the April 2007 newbies?

Hang in there! Good things come to those who wait. Oh, and liquids can be your friend.

What is your greatest fear?

That I will lose my band and regain all the weight plus more. :paranoid

What goals do you have for the future?

My next goal is to get to 199. When I do, I get a pair of diamond studs.

How has your life changed?

Life is so much better. I can get up and down off the floor with my students. I don't tire as quickly. I can ride roller coasters again.

Has living with the band met up to your expectations?

Living with the band has been great. I really can not believe that it has been a year. And due to all of the research I did before hand, there really haven't been that many surprises along the way. :bounce:

If you could talk to yourself a year ago, what would you say?

Keep at it. Life is only going to get better.

I really can't believe that today has been one year. Someone asked me at work yesterday was I going to take myself out to eat to Celebrate. I told her no, that I look for other ways to Celebrate now rather than with food. Of course there are still surprises along the way, but that's ok. I'm learning to roll with the punches.

I look at how much more some of our group has lost than me, but I also know that they have taken a different road than I did. I started this journey at 300 lbs. and this morning I weighed 255 lbs.

When I first started working on weight loss before banding I weighed 348 lbs and had lost down to 280 before it started creeping back up again. After diet, exercise, life style change, and work with a personal trainer for 8 months, I realized that I needed help on this journey. A co-worker was looking into the band for herself and suggested that I go to a seminar and check it out. I did that two days before Thanksgiving and then less than five months later I was banded.

Would I do it again? In a heartbeat. I tell anybody who asks me what I've done to lose weight. Because I've been so open at work, some of the others are looking into it as well. No one thinks twice about what I do at work as I think most have even forgotten that I had it done. I'm losing slowly in weight, but the inches are coming off. I bought new tops for work and they are 1X, the last size before I shop in the regular sizes. I found a velvet dress for Christmas for $14.00. It's a Large. I will be wearing it!

For now, I'm just working for my diamond earings. :biggrin1:

Pic

[TracyinKS 7]

Congrats Pic on your bandversary!!!!! You will be wearing those sparkley studs in no time!

[Boo 3]

picardy3: Thanks for a great post and reflection. I've only lost 40 lbs SO FAR, but it has changed my life. I am not living in fear of morbid obesity.

As far as the exercise goes, PLEASE join our "APRIL Bandits' Exercise Challenge!!" There is something for everybody there.

Happy Bandiversary!!!!! I hope you get those earrings soon!

:happybday2: :happybday: