July Butterflies Master Thread

[mfinney 0]

whoo hoo the 24 hour bug lost me 4 lbs and put me to losing 60lbs! YAY!:tongue_smilie::biggrin::tongue::biggrin::eek::thumbup::thumbup:

[Mommy 13 0]

Hey ladies, have not been on in a while. Just wanted to say great job to all. Some are struggling more than others but just recognizing the struggle is a step up from the past for most of us. I hope everyone enjoys the holidays with family and or friends, be safe and love yourself!

[orea15 0]

Every single one of us has come a long way this year. Give yourselves a heartfelt pat on the back!

2009 holds great promise for us. It will be fun to see what we can accomplish.

[lynlynkr 0]

Just checking in with my July partners. Everyone's weightless tickers reveals lots of hard work. I am so excited for everyone.

I am doing well. I am working out with a personal trainer 3 times a week (0530 AM) My eating is on track and I have an appointment Dec 23 for my 5th fill. I think this could be the perfect one. The last one felt perfect for 5 weeks and now is just a little less than were I want it. All in all - life with my band is excellent.

I am not a particularly patience person - but this journey is helping me learn patiencereally is a virtue and good thing come to those that wait.

Merry Christmas to all - and to all a tight band!!

[Donna113 2]

Just checking in with my July partners. Everyone's weightless tickers reveals lots of hard work. I am so excited for everyone.

I am not a particularly patience person - but this journey is helping me learn patiencereally is a virtue and good thing come to those that wait.

Merry Christmas to all - and to all a tight band!!

Said perfectly!

[shrinknme 0]

Hello from Germany!! It’s taken me this long to post but here I am.. it’s funny cause we actually fly home tomorrow.

Europe has been fun but challenging…everyone here eats bread, bread, bread, oh and really dry meat.. so lets just say I pb’d in Paris more times than I would have liked. My husband attributes that to the fact that we ate street food a lot..

I had the stomach flu just before I left and I have been walking my Buns off.. cause that’s what you do here and my hubby told me I should step on the scale because I look good and I am going to wait till I am home with my own scale.. my luck..

There won’t be much change.. so I will wait till later to find out. Truth is I ate more chocolate here than I should have so it may have not helped.. we’re not talking huge amounts.. but I did eat it and I wouldn’t have allowed myself to at home. The curse of Europe… good chocolate and coffee!!!

So here’s to another slight fill when I get home!!

I caught up on all the posts.. good job everyone!!! Keep it up. This next year is going to be amazing for us all… I just know it!!

God’s blessings on you and your families this holiday season!

[Donna113 2]

shrnknme - Regardless of what the scales say, if you look good, that's better than any number on some idiotic machine. Yes, I am mad at my scale again because it's refusing to give up that .5 lb so that I can take my progress pic. I had the surgery at 213 and have been taking progress pics at every 10 lb drop. I really thought I'd be taking my 3rd progress pic over the weekend, but nooooooo, the scale won't cooperate!

[PennyLane 0]

Well the scale hasn't budged since that second fill which is frustrating but also really weird because I'm wearing a smaller size. I'm trying to not let it get to me. I know what I've been doing right, and what I've been doing wrong and am actively, daily working to correct it.

I had a third fill that brought me up to 5.5cc and I felt fine in the office and that night but the next morning was a big no-go. Just a sip (admittedly a too large sip) of Water caused me to PB and I stuck with liquids and soft foods all day and attempted to eat a soft-ish dinner (ground turkey taco type filling) but my body was having none of it. It was quite uncomfortable.

Friday morning was even worse so I went in for an unfill because they were concerned that all the PBing would irritate my stomach, making the band tighter and I'd need to go to the ER over the weekend. So I'm down to 4.9 and feeling pretty much exactly as I did at 4.5 which was a noticeable difference from pre-banding but only a slight noticeable difference. So who knows what's going on?

I really need to refocus toward exercise (has gone out the window the past few weeks) and try and figure out where to improve my eating. It's difficult sometimes to remember that just because I CAN eat the whole meal doesn't mean that I SHOULD. I'm generally good at stopping at the "satisfied" feeling but more often than I should I keep eating until "full", which at this point with my loose feeling band is really not much less food than pre-banding.

So...sweet spot? Who knows? I suppose it's somewhere between 4.9 and 5.5. But maybe that too-large sip of Water on the day after a fill really did me in. I can't totally control the band fills but I CAN control my diet and exercise and I just need to figure out how to take more ownership of it I guess.

Sigh, I really thought this would be a little smoother than it has been so far, but I need to remember it's not a race, the band isn't even "working" really for me yet and that with work I'll get there. (It doesn't make it any less frustrating though).

[Charlene K 1]

Pennylane, I had to get an unfill the first of December because I was pbing too much. The weight loss has stopped, but I have been working on eating slower and chewing. I think I am ready to get some of the fill I lost. You need both......slower eating and the right fill. It is a balancing act . We will get there!

[Donna113 2]

I'm very sensitive to fills and have only been able to get them at .5 increments. After a fill, I really baby the band and try to stick to liquids for 24 hours and soft mushies of 24 hours. With my fifth fill, I could tell I was tighter than I ever was before so I did liquids for 2 days and soft mushies for 3 days. I'm convinced had I tried to move to solids any sooner than that, I would have ended up irritating my pouch. It's been 3 weeks since my 5th fill and I can tell it's loosened up quite a bit in the last week so I'm thinking after the holidays I might go in for another .5 fill.

[PennyLane 0]

Well I'm just frustrated with myself because I'm only 20lbs down from pre-banding but I have to remind myself that just because I haven't done it yet doesn't mean I won't. Just need to get the right fill and work harder at it.

I guess I'm just embarrassed, really, but it's such a counter-productive feeling that I need to move past it, you know?

[orea15 0]

I'm only down about 18 pounds from banding. But I will NOT give up! It's still a better place than where I was, and I'm not gaining like I know I can w/o the band. (If gaining weight were an Olympic sport, I'd be in the finals for sure! It is shocking and horrifying how efficient my body is at storing fat.)

So, keep the faith, remember why you want it, keep working on those good habits, and we'll be seeing less of each other in 2009!

[Charlene K 1]

I'm only down about 18 pounds from banding. But I will NOT give up! It's still a better place than where I was, and I'm not gaining like I know I can w/o the band. (If gaining weight were an Olympic sport, I'd be in the finals for sure! It is shocking and horrifying how efficient my body is at storing fat.)

So, keep the faith, remember why you want it, keep working on those good habits, and we'll be seeing less of each other in 2009!

AMEN! JUST GOT TO KEEP ON KEEPING ON!

[Donna113 2]

Well I'm just frustrated with myself because I'm only 20lbs down from pre-banding but I have to remind myself that just because I haven't done it yet doesn't mean I won't. Just need to get the right fill and work harder at it.

I guess I'm just embarrassed, really, but it's such a counter-productive feeling that I need to move past it, you know?

I know what you mean. I feel the same way about my weight loss. I really thought I'd have hit 50 lb loss by now so I set myself up for disappointment. It was really hard the first 3 months when I didn't really lose anything beyond the first 10 lbs I lost the first week after banding. I feel much better about it now since I've discovered my body seems to have a weight loss rythym that goes 1-2 lbs a week for about 3 weeks and then a complete stall for a month and then back to 1-2 lbs a week for 3 weeks, then stall for another month.... Now, I listen and respect my body more and try not to abuse myself mentally over it.

I'm only down about 18 pounds from banding. But I will NOT give up! It's still a better place than where I was, and I'm not gaining like I know I can w/o the band. (If gaining weight were an Olympic sport, I'd be in the finals for sure! It is shocking and horrifying how efficient my body is at storing fat.)

So, keep the faith, remember why you want it, keep working on those good habits, and we'll be seeing less of each other in 2009!

Orea, you lost a lot before the surgery and then when you went through that horrible, long bandster hell, you put some back on, right? So in actuality, you've probably lost more than 18 lbs but you had work on some of the regain. Anyway, since my fifth fill and the closest I've come to the "sweet spot" I get now why the band doesn't hellp us much until we get the right fill level. I don't think you're there yet so the 18 lbs is phenomenal considering how overly parsimonious your doc is about fills. It pisses me off for you every time I think about it!

[crzytchr 3]

Ugh, well I came home today from having my hysterectomy 10 lbs heavier!!!!! WTH!!!??? I know it is just air and fluids, but dangit. I couldn't even eat what they served me, so I know it isn't weight. It is just frustrating. I am hurting, swollen, bloated, without a uterus AND 10 lbs heavier!? Not a good day.