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I'm in control now.
 

I Forgot!

Haha I've been doing liquids for so long, I forgot I could eat eggs for breakfast, duh! Oh well - tomorrow   I've hit that stall period, so I've put the scale away for 10 days. Not a big deal to me, I knew it was coming
circa

circa

2
Lyra's Canto
 

Emotional Eating, Thy Name Is Lyra

Hello, my name is Lyra, and I'm an emotional eater. Strange, isn't it, that as soon as stress and emotions run high food becomes my bff. Salty, sweet, and spicy...all if it is amazing. I love food, and I love creating food as well. Hell, I even went to culinary school. There is something amazingly satisfying about combining ingredients and watching as a meal takes shape. To truly create something that appeals to all the senses, seduces the palate, and exposes the soul to foods from around the world. To be fair, a good portion of my delight in cooking is feeding others, but I would by lying if I said that the siren song of food does not call to me. As soon as stress mounts I find myself whipping up Indian, Morrocan, Asian or Italian food. The problem isn't my delight in cooking, my problem is using food as a crutch when I get stressed. My problem is the fact that I have major issues with portion control. It's frustrating that I'm strong willed in other aspects of my life but not in this. It's frustrating that so much of our culture seems to revolve around talking about, cooking, and eating food. I'm ready for this surgery, and resolved to give up this unhealthy relationship with food. I'm scared/nervous too but I have to do this. I want a healthier life, and a life where I can try new things and travel and actually LIVE. I have to reprogram my brain, and have surgery in order to have such a life. What shocks and amuses me is that some people think that THIS is the easy way out. Easy...right. *rolls eyes* This is one of the hardest things I've ever done, and I haven't even had surgery yet!   So my question is, how did (or do) all of ya'll deal with emotional/stress eating and snacking?
Lyra

Lyra

5
lbarksdale1's Blog
 

Introduction: Who, What, When, And Where Of My Wls

Hey fellow losers! At 6 feet and still with an hour glass figure, I've always been able to get away with having some extra poundage...especially in the African-American community where a few extra pounds is considered sexy and desireable. But recently when the scale was just shy of 300 lbs, I was mortified. How did I let it get to this point? And to bring it home, a friend and I went to Cancun on vacation and purchased an awesome tour that included snorkeling, rappeling, and zip-lining. Then they said the dreaded word--"scale". All of us had to get on the scale in front of everyone else and when I got on the scale and heard a flury of Spanish, I knew it couldn't be anything good. So our tour guide tried to be as inconspicuos as possible (bless his heart) when he pulled me to the side to tell me that they had to go and get a special harness for me from a nearby park and that I wouldn't be able to do all of the zip-lines. Talk about embarassing. That was it. I knew then I never wanted to experience that again. So I decided to have the weight loss surgery (WLS). Of course my insurance didn't offer it, so I was going to have to be self-pay, which definitely was a factor in deciding on the surgery. Anyone that knows me will tell you that I research to death any decision before I make it and WLS was no different. I looked at them all from the gastric balloon to gastric bypass and decided that the VSG was the best option for me. I had the surgery on Feb 2 in Tijuana, Mexico with Dr. Ramos-Kelly and patient coordinator, Trish (Please, please, please believe the hype about this woman. She truly is a god-send). I'll blog about my specific Mexico experience later, but the goals I have set for myself are so much more than just weight loss. They are more like affirmations and they are sectioned off into groups: CLOTHES: 1) I will not have to shop plus size 2) I will not have to ask a new store what size they go up to anymore 3) I will not have tons of clothes in my closet that I adore but don't have the heart to admit that I need to give away because I can't wear them TRAVEL 1) I will be able to fly without wonderinng if the person beside me is going to mind if I need to keep the armrest up 2) I will not have to worry about whether this flight will be the one where I have to ask for an seat belt extender 3) I will not let my weight determine what activities I do on vacation anymore (I used to look at what things don't have a weight limit and then decided from those) SELF 1) I will re-establish that great relationship with that lovely lady in the mirror that it took me so long to create. I'm 9 days post-op and feeling pretty good. Haven't had any pain (other than teh gas and indigestion of course) since leaving the hospital. Hot liquids have been a little weird for me, so I've been mainly doing cold liquids. Ugh. I think my tongue has frost-bie. Looking forward to the blended/pureed phase, because I am soooo tired of liquids. All in all, I'm 15 lbs down from pre-diet to now, so I'm feeling pretty good. Yeahhhhh me!
lbarksdale1

lbarksdale1

3
kdalesandro7733's Blog
 

A Little Over A Month Has Passed :)

Hi guys! i have never blogged before but i just thought i would let people know about my story. I am 20 years old and was my heaviest at 261. everytime i looked in the mirror i just saw this fat girl but my insides were telling me this is was not suppose to be me. I am in nursing school and i want to be a good example for my patients and i want to be able to be the best nurse i can be physically and mentally... So one morning i looked up an info session and was on my way to a healthier life! I was banded January 9 2012 and am already down 30lbs!! i havent been this weight since before 8th grade!!! My nutritionist and doctor are so excited because i havent even recieved my first fill and they said that most people loose that much after a fill. I am nervous about the fill though...im afriad its going to hurt or they'll fill it too much...right now im in the "green zone" so they and I are happy!...over all i would say this is the BEST decision i have ever made!
kdalesandro7733

kdalesandro7733

2
h0pefullh3art's Post-Op
 

2Nd Fill, 2 Months Post Op

Well it has been quite some time sine my last post that i remember.. so my lil update..   I just got my second fill yesterday. I feel like a tightness on my stomach that is constant. Since my last weigh in i managed to look 9 lbs. my goal was to get to 195 this month and i did it, it was a great feeling. My doc says im doing great, and im on the right path. Im slowly starting to feel better about myself. I dont feel like im loosing weight but clothes are fitting mare nicely and im a little less shy about hiding my stomach. My friends brother who i seen every so often told me last night that i looked great and asked if i had lost weight (he doesnt know what i had surgery for) and it was a great feeling knowing that ppl can notice a difference, because i sure dont. I will say i have been kinda lazy with the exercise part because of school. but i do work a very active job on the weekends which right now is all i can get in as my "exercise". I cannot wait for the weather here to start warming up so i can start walking and runnin outside because i certainly dont have the money to pay for a gym membership.... oh and im excited i can start eating veggies again!!!! big thing for me since i love them sooo much <3 .... but yea for now that is all i can think of thats going on...     So my question for those who have had a few fills what does your restriction feeel like?? i dont know if this tightness im feeling mean something is wrong or if its suppose to feel like that..
h0pefullh3art

h0pefullh3art

2
Smilecharmer's Blog
 

I Feel Like I'm Gaining Instead Of Losing

I haven't purchased a scale because I didn't want to be weighing myself every day. I am 24 days post op and not sure if i'm losing like i should. When I had my 2 week appointment I had lost 25 lbs. My clothes don't feel as loose as they should at least to me. My stomach feels like it bloated, my incision still hurts like hell.   I'm having trouble getting all my vitamins in daily, and I need to start exercising. I'm sure that will help me alot. I am still off work and i'm scared to go back for fear no one will be able to tell i've lost weight. Although I do feel really good. I eat chicken turkey and refried beans all the time trying to get the protein in, my nutritionist told me to eat chicken every meal if it stays down. I don't crave the bad foods i used to eat so I think that's a good thing.   Has anyone else felt this way or been through this?
Smilecharmer

Smilecharmer

7
E-girl's Blog
 

Morning Of Day 4

Wow what a difference a day makes. I suddenly feel soooooo much better. My belly still gurgles but I learned that this is total normal. Drinking water is easier. I have already had 8oz of water. Still burping a lot after I drink. I just can’t seem to sip without swallowing air. Most of my pain is internal. Of course, it hurts really bad when I sneeze or cough.   Blood pressure is a lot better than when I was in the hospital. Two days ago is was 175/97. Today its 134/86. Still a little high but less concerning.   Also walking a little faster. Yesterday I walk 3 x for 10 min at 1.0 miles per hour. Today I walked 1 x for 10 min at 1.5 miles per hour. My goal today is to walk 5 times. :Banane06:
E-girl

E-girl

1
summer08's Blog
 

1St Blog

I have never blogged before I started my lap band journey in 2008. i weighed 235 and am 5'7. i was in a size 18. it's been a while but i'm pretty sure i lost my weight within the first year, i think even a little less. i did have quite a bit of vomitting. i had complications; again, it's been a while, but i think the first problem was that my wound was open and had to be packed. i think that was within a month after my band was placed. besides the vomitting, the other problem i had was that i had to have my port repositioned. i think that was about the second year after initial placement. i think initially the placement was fine, but when i lost weight, the skin/port dropped to my waistline and my clothes basically rubbed an opening and i could see my port through a hole in my skin. i would cover it and it would heal, but as soon as i uncovered it, the same thing would happen, so he replaced the port and brought it up higher. even with my complications i am so glad i got the lap band. i lost 75 lbs and am in a size 12. i have recently seen a plastic surgeon and my insurance has approved a panniculectomy. i wanted to have a tummy tuck as well but just can't swing the extra $6000. i am impatient and also fear my authorization may expire before i could save up the money for tt, so i'm going to go ahead and meet with him again and schedule it. i would love to hear feedback on the panni.
summer08

summer08

2
I'm in control now.
 

Chili Tonite

I made chili for dinner and its going down absolutely great. I can't eat much, but it is my first meal with meat - and my sleeve is taking it just fine. That's very good news to me Thus far, nothing has given me any trouble and I'm so thankful for that.   Hubby was very happy to have a nice hot meal waiting for him today - he had a rough day at work.   Went to costco and got more protein shakes - got vanilla this time because my syrups came in and now I can do whatever flavor I wanna!   Gonna try eggs tomorrow for breakfast.
circa

circa

5
E-girl's Blog
 

Day 3

It is the end of Day 3 since my surgery. Still pretty sore but I am been really good about taking the pain med. I was having problems drinking. When I drink, my I get a lot of gurgling in the belly. The only thing that has worked was sugar free popsicles but that taste really syrupy. Anyone else have this problem? And if so, how long does it last. I was able to get 10 oz. of water down today and 20 grams of protein. Tomorrow’s goal is 20 oz. water and 40 grams of protein.
E-girl

E-girl

2
Pookeyism's Blog
 

Onderland And Just How This Feels...

I was trying to remeber how long it has been since I was in Onderland, and I can say, now that I have thought about it - maybe never in my adult life!   I just kept going further back and going "how about this time?" and I would think and be like "nope". Even in my size 12 I was not in Onderland - but back in my 14/16 days I was crazy muscular - so the muscle kept me from being in onderland then too.   It feels very odd to realize that - and I don't know why. I would think size would matter more to me right now - and it does matter, baggy clothes bought when they fit are always a feel-good, but Onderland is becoming more to me as I approach it than I ever thought it would.
Pookeyism

Pookeyism

1
Magic Mini Mushroom
 

Okay, Done With Down

The emotional down, that is. Hopefully, there will be lots of down happening on my scale in the weeks and months to come. My last entry was a bit on the depressed/depressing side, and I'm going to work not to let that take over. After all, things are actually pretty good.   The surgery was surprisingly easy, in more ways than one. Since my insurance excluded the procedure from my policy, I ended up paying cash for it, and let me tell you, that certainly speeds up the process--so much so, that when I gave my surgery date to the program coordinator at the center where I had the procedure (a little less than three months after attending the mandatory information seminar on bariatric surgeries in general), she informed me that she thought I had set a new speed record for the pre-op phase of the process. And the surgery itself was way less scary thanks could have been. In and out of the operating room in 1 hour, and home in my recliner within another six.   Surprisingly, the incisions ended up being the least noticeable pain after the fact. The shoulder pain, which I hadn't heard of but now know is normal, was much more uncomfortable. In reality, the incisions just itch a lot. Only the largest one is a problem, and that's mostly just sore, as if I had pulled a muscle there a few days ago and it's now slowly repairing itself. It only really bugs me when I stretch. All in all, the recovery is going smooth and easy, just like the surgery. Let's hope it's an omen of how the weight loss will go as well.   So really, I should be feeling pretty good. And I am, on top of the underlying low grade fear. This could mean very good things for me, especially now that I'm on mashies; it's amazing how that one little step can make a person feel sooooooooo much more human. In two and a half weeks, I go back to the surgeon for what I hope will be my first fill, and then the journey can really start.   Please, bandster hell, go easy on me. I'm still feeling a little fragile.  
morelgirl

morelgirl

2
Tracy Bloodgood's Blog
 

1 Week Down

I am one week out from surgery and doing well. I am excited to know that I am heading in the right direction to get back to my former healthy self. So far I have not had any major surprises that differ from the research I did before having the surgery. I am hitting my limit of just liquids but my Dr instructions say I can start mushy's today, so Yippy! My husband and children have been very supportive and caring. My husband has even started trying to change his habits so as not to make me feel uncomfortable. His pants fit better now, lol. I have a 4 yr old granddaughter that I cant wait to be able to keep up with.
Tracy Bloodgood

Tracy Bloodgood

1
shues138's Journal
 

Friday Free For All

I love Fridays   I hate Fridays too. Why? Because this is the day that I don't keep track of my calorie and protein intake. Why do I do this? Doctor's orders, she doesn't want me to obsess, and also not to eat the same thing every day (which I do), so that it confuses my body (I kind of imagine my body going "hey what the heck? Eggs? Veggies? Omlette? Where's my chobani??????") trust me I feel the same way, I'm having chobani withdrawls. I hate Fridays..... I'm so tempted to figure out how many calories the egg white omlette is, but I can't. It's only ONE day a week. Four days a month. DARNIT! The MD and I are going to have to talk about this....   On another note, I realized I cannot keep any snack food in the house. Last night on my way home from work, I just got really stressed thinking about the future and how I have no control of it and I hate it (yes if you haven't figured it out by now I'm kind of a control freak). I was on my phone with the dbf while I was getting ready for the gym and I said "I cannot wait for this vacation because I need a week to really figure out what I want in life" so then of course he thinks it's about him (which to be honest, it is) and thinks he can read my mind and knows what I need to figure out (but darn he was right). And of course I got stressed out. So I went to the gym. 40 minutes on the elliptical, with cramps, thought I would feel better. Nope still stressed out. Go home, have dinner (portobellos mushroom pizza, peas, and a little bit of hot antipasto) still stressed. And of course when I'm stressed where do I go? THE KITCHEN!!!! and sitting right there is a bag of trail mix. I usually only have an 1/8 cup of serving before bedtime. And here I am sitting on the couch hand to mouth with trail mix. Then I realized wth this isn't going to solve the problem, and I throw the 6.99 bag of trail mix out. Along with any other snack food (which there wasn't a lot to begin with). Until I get my emotions in check, no snack food in the house.   Tonight, I'm going to dbf house for Chinese. I'll probably have shrimp chop suey. This weekend will be spent cleaning the house (how the heck does one cat shed so much?), laundry, then dbf comes over and I'm trying a new recipe-taco pie, which I just realized I didn't get the ingredients yet at the grocery store DARN! Sunday I am just vegging out to catch up on my DVR.   43 days until Key West....sigh   Have a good weekend!   XOXO,   Andrea
shues138

shues138

3
Blog 60735
 

A New Life.

It is now 2 1/2 years post lap band... Victory! 144 lbs lost. Waist was 56 " now 36"!!! 337lbs to 193lbs. It saved my life in so many ways. It is a miracle. You can do this!!! I did and I'm no one special. I am not hungry and I don't crave anything any more. Liberating feeling. Watch for the final chapter being recorded soon and you'll see what I'm talking about. Good luck with your lap band adventure!!!
flyerband

flyerband

3
BigToeVSG's Blog
 

It Finally Happened - Won't Happen Again

Well, I finally got sick from not eating right. It wasn't what I ate, that was fine. I was eating a salad with chicken, cheese, some tomatos and dressing. The problem was I ate too much, too fast and didn't chew properly. Wow, that sucked.   Last night was one of those nights where I got home, only had enough time to change cltohes, grab a Bariatric Advantage protien bar and then head out to coach my son's lacrosse practice. Three hours later, I was starved. Like I said, I ate too much, too fast and didn't chew the recommended 20 times.   I had no nauesua or vomiting at any time after my surgery and consider my self very, very lucky. After last night, I hope it doesn't happen again.   Oh well, live and learn.   Take care all!
BigToeVSG

BigToeVSG

4
E-girl's Blog
 

Day 2 - At Home

Yesterday they prepared me for coming home. Which meant taking out the IV and the drainage tube and instruction on how to inject myself with the blood thinner and remove the pain pump that is still in me. Let me tell you that I have broken my ankle twice, had two c-section, one natural child birth and almost died from a cardiomyopathy 6 years ago and nothing, and I mean NOTHING compared to the pain of removing the drainage tube. I screamed at the top of my lungs and cursed. I even said the one thing I promised myself I would never say "this isn't worth it". I cried for a good 30 min after.
E-girl

E-girl

2
Hopeful to be full's Blog
 

Help! Emotional Eater In Bandster Hell

Dear BansterWorld, I need help. Background: I was banded nov.30th. since then i have lost about 24 lbs (mostly in the week before/after surgery). I have a 14 cc band. I received my first fill jan 12th (1cc) and i just got my second fill tues (also 1cc).   Ugh I am struggling soooooooooooo much. I've pretty much stopped losing weight. I only lost 1 lb between my first fill and my second.I have no restriction and I'm having trouble controlling myself. I KNOW I SHOULDNT' BE FREAKING OUT. MY DOCTOR IS HAPPY WITH MY PROGRESS and told me I was doing okay. But I still feel worried. When I decided I wanted the surgery I wasn't aware how conservative my doctor is with fills. He is very adament about following the manufactor's directions to fill the band slowly and avoid complications. He assures me "this has all been researched extensively" and the slow fill process is what's best. OKAY I GET IT. I believe what he says but it doesn't help the impatience I feel.   I am an emotional eater. I eat when I'm sad. I eat when I'm happy. I eat when I'm bored. I eat for every emotion and there's always another emotion to eat. I don't know what to do and I feel lost. I would like to hear from other emotional eaters on how they have conquered their problems with eating (especially eating too often). Today was a really bad day. I felt like I had to eat every 3 hrs and I ate some peanut butter M and M's (I hardly ever eat candy) because I felt frustrated about the situation.   I JUST WANT SOME INSIGHT ON HOW PEOPLE GOT TO THE POINT WHERE THEY EXPERIENCED MORE SUCCESS THAN FAILURES when it came to emotional eating. Right now I feel like I've had some success, but not enough to outnumber my failures and allow me to lose weight.
Hopeful to be full

Hopeful to be full

6
Magic Mini Mushroom
 

Round 1: Coming Out Swinging

I'm starting this with the uncertainty whether I hope or dread anyone reading it, not to mention the hard-earned inability to believe that even this step will really be able to accomplish the thing to which it seems I've dedicated my life: losing weight. Unsucessfully, natch.   I remember being on my first diet by the age of 9; I got my lap band (a Realize band, actually) on February 1, 2012, a little less than 3 month before my 37th birthday. Did I give up on losing the weight on my own? Maybe, but I prefer to think of it as giving up on the DELUSION that I could lose it on my own. Yes, I said it--it was a delusion. Delusional thinking. I've dieted for almost my entire life; if dieting actually led to weight loss, I'd be f'ing Kate Moss by now. Heck, I'd have melted away to nothing more than a decade ago. Atkins? Did it. Sonoma? Did it. Cabbage soup? Grapefruit? Mayo Clinic? Done, done, done. Jenny Craig? Check. Weight Watchers? Which of the nine times do you want to discuss? Counting calories? Yup, as well as counting fat, counting carbs, and counting numbers of bites. I became a human abacus. I saw a nutritionist for two years, and a therapist for even longer. I worked on my issues even as I worked harder at losing weight than at anything else in my life, but the lesson I learned from all of that work was that dieting doesn't. It doesn't work, and it most especially doesn't work for me.   Enter, the band. Through five little incisions right in my belly. It is even now wrapped around my stomach and giving me a new (if still shaky) hope that maybe I can finally solve this problem. You know the one. The one that makes buying clothes not only difficult, but occasionally humiliating. The one that makes other people's gazes either slide right over you, or linger in that way that makes you want to crawl under a rock and hide. The one that makes doctors blame anything you ask for their help with on the same thing, regardless of symptoms, cause, or duration. The one that makes anyone in the medical profession ask if you've ever considered losing weight, as if you hadn't noticed you were fat and the idea of attempting to be thin had never even occurred to you. Yeah, that one.   The issue here is that one week after surgery and 13.7 pounds down from my pre-pre-op-diet weight, I still haven't decided whether or not I believe this solution will work. I hope--God knows, I hope--but I can't quite commit to optimism yet. All I've got at the moment is that hope, and the kind of anticipation you feel before a huge exam. I know I studied, and I know the material backward and forward, but I still can't help feeling that I still could fail, just because I've done it before.   Still, fingers crossed and breath held and band installed. I've even begun to transition (with desperation induced permission from my surgeon...I couldn't take liquids anymore) onto purees. Maybe this will work. Maybe I'll blog here more than this once. I don't know what the future holds yet, but I really hope it's good.
morelgirl

morelgirl

3
Dadkins8's Blog
 

Keep Losing My Shoes!

Okay...I had my lapband surgery done in July 2010. I am now a little over 1 1/2 years out and still losing weight. I have hit some plateaus along the way. However, I just keep perserving. The past month, I have lost 9 lbs. The one main thing that I notice is that I keep losing my shoes. I mean really....I went out with my dad and sister. As I went to step out of the vehicle. my high heel fell off. I laughed...even my feet are losing weight. The shoes that I wore to work today kept flipping off the back of my feet like flips. I guess it is going to be time to go shoe shopping and get some new ones. My advice to everyone out there just starting this journey....just keep preservering. I have hit several plateaus that lasted a few months each time with the scale stuck at a weight. However, I knew that I was doing the right thing and I did not get discouraged. I finally feel like my body has accepted this...and the weight loss has picked up again. Well of and out to surf the web for some new footware!
Dadkins8

Dadkins8

4
Is that a Fat Joke?
 

Prudence Got Her First Fill Today!

When I first started on this site, I would always read how much people were saying, "I NEEEEED my fill", "Can't wait for my fill", "Hungry! Don't get my fill for a while" and couldn't really understand that "need" because for the first three weeks although I WAS hungry at times it was manageable. I would just like to apologize publicly on this forum for wondering.. .........yesterday (day before my fill) I could have eaten my face off. I was redonkulously hungry between every meal. In fact not one meal yesterday even touched my hunger radar. I was thinking, "ONE MORE DAY" which brings me back to the "a ha moment" as Oprah would say. Today was a 360 moment. I can truly say now that I GET IT! Feels great that Prudence finally got her fill, 2cc infact. Tomorrow is my 1 month bandiversary and I can say that although challenging, its been a great month!
mags2u

mags2u

4

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