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Wow - so much has happened in so little time. I haven't been on the forum since May; we've had such a busy summer. Now that school's getting ready to start it's going to get even busier! When I was last on in May, I had just publicly made it my goal (posted it on FaceBook) to reach 100 lbs lost by my birthday, which was 8/12. At that point I had lost 70+ and was feeling on top of the world. I had even bought an elliptical machine from someone at work and was ready to kick up the exercise program a couple notches....which I did, along with adding water aerobics twice a week. HOWEVER, I hit a MAJOR plateau in June that lasted into July. Ugggghhh! I talked to the doc about it and he said not to worry, all was well, and plateaus are to be expected. He was pleased with my overall progress and said to keep up the good work. As the numbers in my signature say, I have not yet reached that 100 lb goal - YET!! I am very pleased to be at the 87 lb mark and closing in on that 100! After all, today marks only 8 months since I started the pre-op diet and that is what I count as my starting point. Some NSV's for me include: 1-starting in a size 24/26 and I just bought some 14/16's!! I found a couple ladies with some size 16's for sale on Craigslist and THEY FIT! Soooooooo exciting for me 2-starting at ZERO minutes of exercise per week and now, I exercise an hour a day at least 4 days a week, if not 5. I do the elliptical for 20-30 minutes then go for a walk outside to round out the hour (sometimes it goes past), or water aerobics twice a week for an hour each, and sometimes I just grab my husband and tell him we're going for a walk. This has benefitted him too! Today we walked 5 miles and had an hour & 40 minutes of pleasant, uninterrupted together time. <3 3-the compliments I have gotten from people at work and who haven't seen me for a while never fail to make my day brighter! ========================================================================================================================================= Things that haven't been so great: 1-After my last 2 fills, I have had nausea & diarrhea that evening - anyone else experiencing these sypmtoms? 2-I have gotten "blocked" a couple times and it HURTS!! It hasn't been so bad that I've had to go have an unfill, just pain that lasts until the food moves past the band I suppose as the band gets tighter, I have to pay closer attention to chewing, swallowing, and eating SLOWLY! 3-Constipation. I have had issues with this for a few years since I tried another weight loss program, but still had problems and finally started drinking MiraLax (or the generic equivalent) every day and this has worked well for me. ========================================================================================================================================== Am I glad I did it? HELL YEAH!! Would I do it again? In a heartbeat! Am I loving the results? Oh yes!! I have reset the timeline on my 100-lb goal for the 1st of October. We'll see if it happens by then, and I would be ecstatic if it were to happen before then. But, even if I don't get there by then, I know I will eventually, and I just have to be patient and let it work. After all, I didn't get that big over the course of a few months and I shouldn't expect it to all go away that soon either

This is my third day after surgery. The gas is still an issue, but I have faced much worse in life so I am trying not to complain. I had my first protein shake this morning, I slipped slowly and it went down easy. I am thankful. At this point, I can not tell whether the feelings I have are me feeling full, but I know I am not hungry so I wont eat. According to the personalized plan I received from my Doctor's office, I am able to have strained cream soups and watered down cream of wheat or oatmeal. I love cream of wheat and oatmeal and just because I can have a watered down version of it, does not mean that I am going to take it in. So let me get down to the nitty gritty. If there is ever a time where I decide to go back to my old eating habits, please DON'T PACIFY ME. I have a weight problem because I like to eat. I love eating what I want and if it were not for the fact that I dont like being overweight, limited to shopping at big girl stores, or suffering from health issues because of it, then I would still eat all that I want. I couldn't do this by myself because I made poor choices in food. Taste and instant gratification outweighed everything. So in saying all of that, if I start to deviate from the plan my doctor has for me, please don't pacify me. It just means that I am doing what I want to do. No excuses and I will suffer for it later! I tried to put on kid gloves when it comes to this site, but it doesnt matter because if you are not pacifying someone or stroking their ego, then you are doing something wrong. So instead of me creating enemies on here, I will just express myself on my personal blog. We all have a weight problem and our journey is personal; however, I feel that we can support one another, but who is really in the position to give advice? We are all trying to find our way, some sooner than others, but this is like any addiction and have to be dealt with day by day, choice by choice for a lifetime. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. If I decide to eat the way I did pre-op, I cant expect different results post-op, its just not going to happen. If I have to question if its wrong, its wrong and please don't be afraid to tell me that its wrong. If I start eating sandwiches and hamburgers within a few weeks. Dont be afraid to call me out on it, because I already know that those are not the right choices to loss the weight. I don't know what tomorrow holds, but I know that I have to take this thing one step at a time.

I'm leaving in a few minutes to go get banded. This should be interesting.

I feel the same way about dealing with the "afterlife" of having a band. Our lives have revolved around food that's one reason we are in this situation. In my life everything social involves food. We can eat dinner then have family over to watch a movie and order pizza. Since my husband and I have worked more than your typical 40 hr. a week jobs, coached, ran 3 boys around to sports it seems like we ate out more than we eat it. No seems like we did and still do. It is hard to have to come home and cook after work and it was always hard to find something everyone liked to eat. Something quick and not so healthy was always the way to go. This week we sent my youngest off to college, that meant a big get together at his favorite pizza place, then while at the campus it was Taco Bell then Italian restaurant with my oldest as we past through his town. Last night movie and dinner afterwards where they ordered fries, chili, shakes..... UHGGGG! All of this while I"m on liquids. Last night I was tired, the restaurant was cold, and it took everything I had to hold back the tears. I think I'll get better at, it is just hard now. Surgery is Wednesday. I've already lost 10lbs. Looking forward to wearing clothes that I've had in my clothes and drawers just waiting for me. Good luck. REGFERN

Good Luck to you then my surgery date is also Aug 31 as I work at a school and that will be a 4 day holiday for me and Iam taking wednesday and thursday off as well so will be 6 days all together to rest and recoup before I have to get back to work Iam finally at peace with my decision and ready to get on with it

This morning I read an article on the "new" Paleo Diet, I realized it the diet I already eat. Grass fed meats, veggies and fruits, high on berries especially and nuts, little to no grains or dairy. The person who wrote the article even had a protein shake for breakfast made with berries like I do. She did say it was okay to eat a serving of grains a week as a treat. I didnt know I was so trendy.

I had my inserted via micro surgury. I have one tiny incision in my belly button and 5 tiny punctures the size of freckles. So super minimally invasive. Very cool. No real visible scarring

My doc gave me liquid vidicon. I was banded yesterday and have not needed to take it. I'm going to work tomorrow. I have shoulder and neck pain from the gas. But if you walk around it goes away.

I know there is a range of experiences and attitudes about fills. . . . . and I error on the side of being under filled. But to me, just doing liquids for weeks seems to be a sever way to lose weight with the band and not really how it was intended to work. Forgive me if you aleady know this, my motives are good , : But you do know that a band too tight can cause long term health problems like pouch dialation and possible slippage. (I had a slipped band so I know how painful that is and want to help others avoid it!) I just want to say that you might want to be careful about being too tight, in case it causes you some problems in the long run. Attached is some info I found useful.

I think it is frustrating reading this site when people complain about the results and don't follow the doctors orders. I was very strict wit myself and followed my doctors orders to a tee for the first four months. I lost weight from week one. I think you should follow YOUR doctors orders until you see how it works. Once you are losing weight steadily, you can tweak things to better suit your life style. If you decide you know better before even trying to follow the rules, I fear you doom your self to failure. Restriction is a very odd thing. I get a fill, have resrticton until I lose around 8 lbs and then it starts going away. I only do fills every two months, so I have to know what I can eat to at least maintain when I'm not as restricted as I would like. If you are only going to be happy in the green zone, your in for a rough ride. BTW, I have 2.9 cc's in a 10 cc band and have lost 90 lbs in s year. 30 to go to goal.