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My Personal Truth

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EGD Procedure

So as I lay on my living room sofa and reflect on today, I am excited that I am one step closer to the first day of the rest of my life. I had my EGD scope performed today through the True Results Center in Dallas. I must say I was overwhelmed with a lot of emotions that consisted of excitement and a little anxiety. For those of you who are not familiar with the EGD scope and what it has to do with the Lap Band procedure its a test performed to see if there is a Hiatal Hernia present before placing the Lap Band.   There are two major benefits of this test, one is that if the hiatal hernia is present it MUST be repaired during the time of surgery. Another great benefit is that the insurance will cover this procedure at 100% and therefore absorb some of the costs of the Lap Band itself. My insurance provider only covered 50% of the cost and the stipulation is that I have to wait eight months before I can actually have the surgery. So I decided to go the hernia band route to "bypass" the waiting period and be on my way to success sooner!   The procedure went seamless! I registered and asked the nurse a lot of questions, mostly on subject matter that I read on this site. My biggest concern was that I told her that I hadn't been following the liquid diet to the T, she said that it was okay because the concern is more for the heavier patients. It put my mind at ease a little. So after I got undressed I stepped on the scale and I got even more excited. I weighed myself on Sunday May 1st and I was at my heaviest at 243 (but that was with loading days for HCG). Today I officially weighed 224 :Dancing_wub:, so I'll continue to take one day at a time and hopefully be in the teens by my surgery day which is next Wednesday the 18th.   Anyway, after all of the preliminaries (IV, fingerstick, etc.) the nurses wheeled me back to the OR sprayed some numbing agent in the back of my throat, the anesthesiologist gave me the sleepy drug :sleep2: and the next thing I know I was in recovery. It was so quick! The doc came in and said that I did require a small repair, and I sipped some water, went to pee, put my clothes on and was on my way out the door! Since I've been home I have experienced a lil gas pain in my left shoulder and a lil tenderness inside, I'm sure its from the scope. So I popped a pain pill and some gas X and I slept most of the rainy evening.   As the time draws closer I keep thinking in mind that I'm getting ready to be the best of who I am already, a b®and new me!  
Kymbethin

Kymbethin

4
 

One Week Down!

I made it through my first week with BanDiva and I'm officially down 10lbs on my scale with a whooping 6lbs on pure body fat GONE Buh-Bye! I can't really tell physically that I have lost weight, except for the fact that my girls aren't filling up and spilling over my bras. I still have a lot of swelling and bloating in my abdomen area, is this normal?   I must say that today was much better than yesterday. I went to the gym this morning, and graduated to an incline with speed intervals, it got my heart rate pumping, created a little muscle confusion, and resulted in an uptick in caloric expenditure. I debriefed my lil' mission with a relaxing, HOT 15 minutes in the sauna!   My hunger contained itself better than yesterday. I increased my protein intake which prolongs satiation. Not that it was completely sustained, because I'm hungry RIGHT NOW! I finished two protein shakes today, and had a Popsicle and one of those distasteful protein shots, it tasted like I was drinking liquid, orange flavored meat, but it has a whooping 42 grams of low calorie protein, no sugar and no carbs. They're about $2.99 each.   Also, anyone tell me, how long does the left shoulder gas pain really last?? I mean I didn't think I would still be feeling it like this? I pop gas pills, walk, move it around, massage it, and beg it to stop hurting, what gives? I am open to receiving any advice to get rid of this pain. On a positive note, my scars are healing very well. I can barely see three of them, the other two largest ones are sealing up nicely as well.   Well that's all that I have for tonight, I guess I'll go to bed and dream of what it feels like to chew again!   Happy Travels Sweet Dreams   GO MAVS!!!
Kymbethin

Kymbethin

2
 

BanDiva is Sleeping

Today officially feels like I haven't eaten in a week! Wow where did these hunger pangs (pains) come from? I was totally fine with my appetite until now. It feels like my body is going through some type of emotional food drug withdrawal! Maybe my day started too early and I've been awake for too many hours, I don't know, but I definitely hope this is not an indication of what's to come, I have another full week on liquids!   Okay (as I step away from my sounding board) let me think about my successes for today! Let's celebrate the positives...thinking....thinking....umm....well, oh yeah! I didn't cheat, I actually stuck to the program, right! I didn't cheat! I should feel good about that right? Well, honestly I probably didn't cheat because I was deathly afraid of the consequences. Besides that, stress overwhelmed me, and my usual emotional eating habits started tapping me on the shoulder PROFUSELY! The :welldoneclap: gang was on my other shoulder and I just suffered to my victory!   In all seriousness, I expect to face challenges, it was one of my reasons for this sound decision to get banded! I wanted to face the emotional eating head on, I wanted to be forced to make a better choice when faced with these situations. I no longer want to be the victim of circumstance. Plato said, "The first and best victory is to conquer self"; to me that's what this journey is all about, getting out of my own way.   Tomorrow is a new day!
Kymbethin

Kymbethin

2
 

Cheers, Toast, Bravo!

As I'm sitting here laughing Larry David on Curb Your Enthusiasm, I've realized that I hadn't blogged in a while. I guess one reason is that I had not had any new developments. Last month was slow, I didn't lose much weight, appetite was (pre-band) normal, but I was satisfied. I lost some inches, none of the clothes of my closet are too tight or too little, and overall I felt great!   I had a fill on Thursday and now I have close to 6cc's in my 10cc band. I think I've finally reached my sweet spot! I haven't been hungry, I'm only eating about two meals a day and they are the perfect portion, SWEET! Since that time, I've dropped FIVE whole pounds, I'm ecstatic!   I don't know if any of you have seen the documentary, 'Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead' but it's a great piece on the benefits of juicing, if you have Netflix, check it out. So I went out and purchased a juicer from Bed, Bath and Beyond and went to the Farmer's Market and purchased a load of fruits and veggies. It is so much fun juicing, and it tastes yummy. Furthermore, I can't tell you how much better I feel! Energetic, headaches lessening, and juice is very satisfying to my appetite. I think it's part of the reason for my success this week.   More good news is I've been offered a brand new career opportunity, so I will be starting my new job as the Director of Sales for Zomm, LLC. Check us out at zomm.com   I still haven't reached Onederland yet, but I'm knocking on its door, more success to follow!   Happy Travels Everyone!   Kymmie
Kymbethin

Kymbethin

2
 

Testing my Limits!

So I'm on mushies...and I have this problem with testing my limitations. With that said, I've moved myself beyond mushies and have found myself grazing on things like very small pieces of beef and baked tortillas. Also, with my mushies, well let's just say they haven't been the best choices. I've tolerated things like guacamole, potato salad, baked beans, macaroni and cheese and I even tasted (only tasted) some of my son's graduation cake last night. Although I've only had very small portions, I get full easily, but what I do find is that I'm hungry within a couple of hours and I find myself grazing again, what's up with that? My doc said that he put about 3 or 4 cc's at the time of surgery, but apparently I need more. I do feel like I've gained a little weight, but I've been too afraid to get on the scale. I can't wait to feel that satiety that the band is supposed to be famous for. My saving grace is probably the fact that I turn my treadmill walks into full workouts (doing a lot of variations).   I must admit that I do feel a little discouragement, because I expected my first month to be really successful with the loss. I do think I'll be more successful when I'm not limited on what I can do physically.   Anyway, I hadn't posted in a while, because I didn't want to be discouraging to others, but this past week has been somewhat of a struggle. But what I do know for sure is that better days are ahead!   Kymmie
Kymbethin

Kymbethin

8
 

Day Five with "BanDiva"

I can't believe it, I wrote an entire three or four paragraph blog yesterday, and when I submitted it, it was nothing there! I tried to hit the back button on my browser thinking it would recover, but nothing! Oh well...I was just sharing and pouring my heart on my emotional upheavals with life with my new BanDiva <===she has a name!   Day 5 of my journey and I feel fair, decent, nothing extra, but still happy with my choice. Today was the first day that I actually experienced some hunger pangs, the first day that I actually had a desire for food. That combined with a headache did not make me a happy camper. I did blend a delicious smoothie with frozen strawberries, a scoop of vanilla protein powder and 4 oz of sugar free lemonade. It really tasted like a cheat treat, but well within the liquid diet protocol. I was able to drink about half of it and I was as full as a tick! Full but not satisfied! What's up with that? I guess I had the desire for real food. So After about 2 hours I popped a jar of "2nd food turkey and veggies baby food" added a lil' seasoning and nooked in the microwave for about 30 seconds. I never knew baby food could taste so good, it actually hit the spot!   Subsequently, I had to lie down, I felt weird like the food had to digest or go through the band I don't know, it was weird! But I felt a somewhat better after about 30 minutes or so. I think things feel a little tight because of the swelling in addition to the 4cc's of fluid that I have as a newly banded patient.   I did go all day without the "narcs" (hydrocodone). So my pain level is becoming more tolerable, I worked for a few hours at a women's expo today, and I'll work a full day tomorrow, I hope it doesn't wipe me out too much!   I'm so happy that I have this forum to express my thoughts and share and read stories of all of you who are going through this journey too! Best wishes and kisses! Kym
Kymbethin

Kymbethin

4
 

Fill 'em Up

I must say that my first fill exceeded my expectations. The thought of the needle made me nervous at first, but the PA made it easy and painless. I started off with 3.2cc's at the time of surgery and she added .8 to make it a total of 4cc's. I sipped my water after-wards to ensure that I could tolerate it, I felt fine and I left for the day. According to the scale there, I have lost a total of 10lbs, but my totals have actually been about 27lbs which includes the weight I had loss before (plus I had some water retention from TOM).   This is the third day post-fill and today I can finally eat some real food. I honestly don't think I'm at that "sweet spot" because I have found that I have been hungry. For instance, this morning (around 7am) I ate a protein bar and my stomach is growling right now (4 hrs later), I expected that I would feel the satiety that the experts keep raving about. The good thing is that I do eat very little at meal times, so I guess I can't complain too much.   The thing that I feel that I need to do is eat real meals (protein and complex carbs). I plan on going grocery shopping so that I can really plan my meals. It's so easy to make bad choices and consume the wrong types of food. Like last night, I had some chicken tortilla soup that I know was not very healthy along with my fav, chips and guacamole. The PA looked at me like the chips and guac was the absolute worst thing I could do, and told me to opt for them only once per week instead.   I hope I have some greater success this month, my goal is to get my weight to at least the 200lb mark or somewhere close to it ~ THINK I can make it? or am I setting myself up for disappointment? Is a pound a day realistic with this band? Guess I'll find out, I'll keep ya posted!   HAPPY TRAVELS
Kymbethin

Kymbethin

3
 

BanDiva Hits the Gym

Day six of my happy travels and I actually got up and went to 24 hour fitness. I'm not much into neighborhood strolls, I prefer the aroma of sweat, barbells and dumbbells, the belts of treadmills and stairmasters and loud music to get me pumped! My goal was to complete 30 minutes of no incline at 2.5mph, but I did myself ONE better, I actually walked for 45 minutes at a pace of 3.5mph! At one point I wanted to break into a sprint, but I followed the rules and enjoyed my brisk walk on the treadmill.   The exciting thing about my personal journey is that I ABSOLUTELY LOVE working out!! And to top that off, I'm a trained professional in the field, I've been personal/group training under an apprenticeship since I was about 19 years old, and I've been certified for just over a year. The problem for me was that although I could achieve the results with consistency, discipline and HARD work, I often times failed as a "victim of circumstance." So many times, I let life happen and knock me right back to rock bottom! But not this time, BanDiva will allow me to not only reach my wildest dreams of having the perfect body, but allow me to be my own walking advertisement to make some great extra bucks in my spare time.   As far as the rest of the day was concerned, I did work for a few hours today and trained one of my colleagues in the process. I think that kind of wiped me out, because I was having to do a lot of uncomfortable twisting and talking. So I went home early and partook of my last two meetings of the day via conference call. After I sobbed from watching Oprah, I actually got up and cooked dinner for my kiddos for the first time since I had the surgery. The amazing thing about this was that I was not tempted, not even a little by the aroma of my infamous spaghetti! I didn't have a desire to eat it, taste it, lick the spoon or savor over what I thought I was missing.   I had about a quarter cup of seasoned chicken broth for dinner and a sugar free strawberry popsicle, and I AM ALL GOOD and FULL! I took about a teaspoon of hydrocodone and Mac and Me lie in the bed as I express my thoughts to you good people!   I hope everyone has a splendid evening, I receive so much encouragement, inspiration and hope as I read your stories of success and struggles, I'm not alone and I visualize what's to come!   Nighty Night
Kymbethin

Kymbethin

4
 

Working Hard for the Prize

I must admit, I am very proud of myself for having such a successful last week. I went to the gym EVERYDAY, I did not miss a beat, after about day three of consistency, I found myself in automatic mode, it was just like getting up and brushing my teeth. I found myself accomplishing a little more each time. I even graduated to jogging on the treadmill, riding the spin bike, riding my mountain bike, and walking up the stairmaster, I even did a little weight training yesterday (which was probably a no-no). I was motivated to get that scale moving in the right direction.   When I started the week off, I was between 221 and 222, my goal was to get in the teens. When I got on the scale yesterday I was 216.5. So what that proved is that everyone's theory about the band is a fact, it is only a tool! I've always had to work extra-extra hard to see results, I'm just excited that I have the help of band to keep my eating at bay.   I'm sure I probably over-extended myself on the workouts because, I'm not feeling so hot today, but I am excited to be getting my first fill manana! My eating has been decent since I've been on real food, but what I have found is that I don't really eat my first meal until late late afternoon, and by then I'm really hungry. I do drink the protein shots immediately following my workouts and they seem to keep me relatively satisfied until the eve.   I hope everyone has a fabulous day, thanks for reading! Happy Travels, Kym
Kymbethin

Kymbethin

2
 

To Be with HCG or Not to Be --and Other Updates

It's been a while, I hadn't blogged because there hasn't been much to report. I did receive my second fill today and I have lost an additional seven pounds since my last fill less than four weeks ago. My realistic loss was a little more because I had some additional retention from that "TOM".   I guess my self-expectations are higher than what's realistic, I know we all think that what we've lost isn't good enough, and I have to continually check myself on not negating my progress. It's hard work! The portion controls, stopping yourself from completely indulging in a meal that you're enjoying, sacrificing your time by going to the gym and keeping in mind that you've invested some major buckaroos in attaining these goals.   I'm grateful that I haven't experienced the stuck feeling, the slimming, or the episodes of pain from eating too fast or eating the wrong things altogether. I've pretty much been able to eat what I want without deprivation or restriction, but I have learned the art of grazing on those things that are the most appetizing to me. One or two bites and it's enough to satisfy that craving or curiosity.   I am a workout fanatic, I love participating in spin class, lifting weights, riding my mountain bike and doing some type of High Intensity Circuit Training, because of that I have seen a difference in inches loss and total fat percentage decrease. This week has been a bit of a struggle because of my "not-so-friendly" monthly visitor, so I hope I can bounce back next week and reach my goal of working out twice daily (wish me luck).   Another thing, I spoke to my PA today and I asked her about combining the lap band with the HCG injections and diet. I had actually invested 600 bucks on the program before I decided to get the Lapband. I have a vial left and she said that the diet acceptable for the protocol, but to not be discouraged if I experience a sudden loss and then later an uptick in weight gain. So I'm still trying to decide whether or not I want to do the protocol for about 20 days to jumpstart my loss (we're talking 20lbs in 20 days). I'll keep you guys posted on my progress. I did get a B12 injection today (included with the HCG program that I had paid for in the Spring) and it's supposed to increase my energy and help to efficiently metabolize fat. I did take them once a week last year, and I could tell a significant difference in my overall energy level and weight loss.   I know I'm kinda long winded tonight, I'm completely relaxed as I sit here sipping on my Apple Martini!   Good Night All   Happy Travels, Kymberly
Kymbethin

Kymbethin

0
 

From: The Harvest Moon Challenge

Name, real or screen~ Kymberly   Age~ 36   Weight on September 1st~ 204   Goal Weight for September 29th~196   Exercise Goal for September~ Increase my frequency (gym/bike)   Dietary Goal for September~ To limit chips (salsa) and/or guacamole to only once per week   Personal Goal for September~ To become more focused and efficient in my work   Date Banded~ May 18th, 2011 Total Weight Loss Since Banding~ 30 pounds of pure fat...No Muscle loss   Source: The Harvest Moon Challenge
Kymbethin

Kymbethin

0
 

I Did, Admit It and Liked It!

So I am now 12 days into my journey and I've been extremely proud of myself on the workout portion. I've now graduated to walking on the treadmill doing speed walking intervals, with inclines that includes backwards walking intervals at a pace between 3-3.7mph for one hour (sometimes even twice per day)!!   BUT like I said that part is ALWAYS easy for me, food is my issue. Not snacks...I've never been the type to eat all day or raid the fridge in the midnight hour, but I love good meals! I like going out to eat at nice restaurants (and there are hundreds to choose from in the Big D); and my partner prepares fabulous cuisines!   I've been doing pretty good at my liquid diet, and in two days I'll be allowed to graduate to mushies...but today it came a little early. After I worked out at the gym, I drank my lil 42g protein shot and I came home and didn't eat, because I was satisfied from the protein shot for a couple of hours. So we prepared Memorial Day Dinner that consisted of grilled hotdogs, ribeye steaks, chicken, potato salad, and baked beans. I actually ate about a 1/2 cup of baked beans combined with the potato salad and chewed it to a liquid state.   Should I feel bad? Because I don't, it was the only thing I had eaten all day and it probably totaled less than 200 calories. It was delicious! It felt so good to actually chew, and I was satisfied with my baby portion. OH yeah I also had a glass of my Skinny Girl Margarita! Don't feel bad about that either! I didn't have to deprive myself, I was satisfied with very little, and I didn't have any problems with digesting it. This made for a great day!   I'm losing, my clothes fit differently already, and I feel great...except for the occasional port pain that I feel!   Hope everyone had a fabulous Holiday, I did
Kymbethin

Kymbethin

2
 

Rocky Theme Music Playing in my Head

When I went to the doctor's office last Tuesday and weighed in at 219lbs I was grateful for what I had accomplished at that point. During the month of May my heaviest weight was a shameful 243lbs, which was the heaviest I had ever been in my life (even with five pregnancies). Even during the shame I remained hopeful and confident that it would be the last time that I would feel myself inside that body.   As I reflected on my weight at 219 last week I started to think of what I desired to accomplish within the next seven days. For me, I set for myself mini goals, or baby steps that are attainable week after week. The goal that I wanted to accomplish for last week was to get out of the teens, I felt that seven pounds would be rather difficult to attain because A) I wouldn't have the opportunity to workout because I was going out of town and I hadn't lost seven pounds in a week since the surgery. So I was satisfied at achieving this goal by the end of this week.   To my delight, when I got on the scale this morning I was 212lbs!! I DIDN'T believe my scale so I weighed myself again, and again, standing on it in a different spot each time! At some points the number was lower...but 212 made me happy!   It feels great to have this tool in place to keep me from feeling the discouragement of: Working out and not seeing results Overeating at the end of the day because I've starved myself all day Overeating...period!
Being on yet another failed diet and most importantly being yet another victim of circumstance My goal this week is to be in single digits so I can prepare for my next trip to onederland! Who's with me? Let's get ready...set...go!  
Kymbethin

Kymbethin

4

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