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I know that is a bold statement, but not doing this is what got me to 250 and not doing this will make me gain weight back. Yesterday was Father's Day and I went up to see my dad. I ordered a nice cake with a pic of him and his tractor on it and we got him a new Tab computer for a gift. He was so happy. I am a Daddy's Girl, so I love bringing a smile to his face. My brother's came, my mom had gotten chips and icecream to go with the cake. So we snacked. I got a small piece of cake with one scoop of ice cream. I ate about 3 bits of cake and got the hicups. At first I wanted to ignore them, but then I realized, wait that is my single to stop. My body is saying ok, we tasted this, now we are done- put the darn cake down. This is when I can either continue eating or put it down. I ate another couple of bites and tossed the remainder. I learned something in this. My body knows what it is suppose to do, but I over rule it sometimes and this is what lead to my original weight gain. If I just shut up and listen to my band/tummy it will tell me what I need to know. If I ignore it, not only will I gain weight, or not lose, I will increase my chance for complication with my band. Soooo- if you are choosing to ignore your body, to ignore your band, to ignore your doctor, who do you have to blame for lack of weight loss or weight gain- YOURSELF. I know that may sound harsh, but it's true. I haven't lost as much as I wish I had, and you know whose fault it is - it's not Dr. Yoo's or my band's- it's Kim's!!! I have to own it. Food is awesome, it taste wonderful. One of the great things about the band is- no I can't eat as much, but if I eat the way I am suppose to, slow and chew slow I can enjoy, savor, taste, really get the joy out of what I am eating. Think about it when you scarf something down, do you really taste all the flavors, do you taste the layers, the goodness, all the hard work put into making the dish - nope. Enjoy food- slow down and take the time to savor. When you body says ok enough listen. Then when you body says ok, I need nutrition- eat.

I was going to type "I woke up this morning thinking..." But, no. I woke up this morning to a giant thunderstorm after two hours of sleep, angry at the world. I drove an hour to work in the driving rain and had to stop and scramble for doctor-approved protein shakes at the grocery store so I could eat ("eat") at work. When I got to work fifty loud teenagers were babbling in the breakfast hall, three people needed transportation, and so on. So it was only after I finally got to run back, sit in my office and turn on some ridiculous cheesy "meditation" piano music that I cleared my head and I thought: Today is the last day I have my whole, I-got-born-with-it stomach. And that's cool by me. Goodbye, 75% of my stomach. We've had some okay times, particularly downing way more alcohol than we ever should have in the 18-21 years and getting stuffed full of all kinds of delicious things that were probably mostly butter and sugar painted to look like something edible. I'd say it's been a good run, but actually, now wearing clothes bums me out and my leg joints hurt a lot. So I think it's time we part ways. Goodbye, regular stomach; I'm trading you in for a bionic model. Helloooo, staple line~

I can really identify with this. I get the signal (tightness in chest, long sigh, hiccups) and I ignore them sometimes bc I still feel hungry in my tummy. Im trying to learn how to heed these warnings but its so hard.

I am so happy that I had the sleeve surgery. My life changed almost immediately. I got rid of the C-pak machine for my sleep apnea and no longer take high blood pressure meds! My knees and feet no longer ache from the 207 pounds I was carrying around. And I have discovered that I am tolerating the climate heat like never before. I have actually worked in my flower beds this summer! I am 9 months out from my surgery, weigh 149 ( down 58 pounds)! I want to lose another 14 pounds. My weight loss has been on a stall but I understand what is happening and I am staying on course with exercise and diet. I know that weight loss will continue with my efforts. This experience has been a miracle for me. I just wanted to feel better! My energy level is astonishing! I am loving my sleeve! No regrets at all! It was an answer to a prayer for me!

Good Afternoon Sunshine, lol Hey, are you drinking enough water? I get really dizzy, if I don't get at least 64oz. Just a thought. Also got to stop taking my B/P medicine too. Good day sunshine!

It took me 18 months to reach goal and had a stall of 3 months. Just relax. I know how hard it can be to not lose weight, but it does slow down after the 6 month mark. I lost my first 55 lbs in the first 6 months, and then it took a year to lose the last 25lbs. If you are doing everything right, you will start losing again. It is a myth that after 6 months you no longer lose weight. The 6 month window is the "honeymoon" where you lose the fastest, but it is not the end. So don't be sad!

This is great motivation. My surgery is in a few weeks, and I do not want any doubt that I can do this! Great reminders! Thanks for sharing!

Great news! Wishing you the best. June 27 is my wedding anniversary.

I wrote a pretty long post about my surgery and experience on my blogger blog, which you can find HERE . But for the reader's digest version: Surgery went great with Dr. Aceves and his staff down at Hospital Almater down in Mexicali. The hospital beautiful and clean, the staff super friendly and the language difference wasn't an issue. My "final meal" the night before was a fantastic italian dish of chicken and tortellini with tiramisu for dessert. The day after surgery was the worst and painful with the gas pains and drain site discomfort, but by day 3, I was much better. Day 4 we flew home, and today I have done 3 loads of laundry and put them up, walked 30 minutes on my treadmill, and put up everything from traveling, and feel almost back to "normal"...ha! I didn't reach my 64 oz liquid, 70 grams of protein, but I'm getting closer every day. I did make some "protein infused sugar free jello" and with a dollup of coolwhip, it rocked. I've also had the unjury chicken broth, and diluted gatorade today...both good. I have found my Tiny Tum doesn't really care for the artificial sweetners added to water (like vitamin water zero and the syntrix necture stuff), but hopefully that will change. I even made a big spaghetti dinner for my husband with roasted yellow squash and garlic bread, and didn't even crave it...it was very odd. Like perhaps I wanted a taste, but didn't want it in my stomach if that makes sense. It was the weirdest thing... but I'm thankful! Still happy I made this decision, and I plan to wait until Friday morning to do my first post surgery weigh in. And so...Life begins with Tiny Tum