♥LovetheNewMe♥

Great post! it is hard for all of us to admit that this is a tool and we still have to do a lot of the work ourselves.

Not an expert, but here goes. During the first few weeks after surgery many people do not lose weight if you read on the lapband web site and on other medical web sites it will tell you that during the first few weeks, you are on liquids, mushys and some higher calorie foods that later on you will want to stay away from. What your feeling is normal, many of us went through a grieving process once reality set in and we questioned our decision to have surgery. Remember right now you have no fluid in your band and you really have no restriction from the band. You may feel full but in the first couple of weeks post op you still have some swelling and aroound week 3 or 4 your hungry comes back and that is usually when the do your first fill. The one thing I caution you on is do not compare your self with others, it can be very frustrating if you see them losing and you are not. This is a new adventure and all of our bodies take time to adjust to the new process and we all have to learn how to eat and what works best for us. If you continue to feel discouraged or question your decision for having surgery I suggest you see they physcologist and have them help you through these early weeks. This is all new to all of us and the surgery only fixed one problem for many of us, it gives us restriction. It did not fix the fact that many of us used food as a coping mechanism, for hurt, for anger, for sad, for happy. We all our different and we all have our challanges ahead of us. You need to feel proud that you made this decision toward living a healthier life and taking charge of your weight loss. You have made the first step and you will succeed if you believe in yourself and use these forums for support. None of us are here to judge and we all have our demons. Read the different blogs and learn from others experiences. I learn from others everyday, it gives me encourgement during my weeks that I lose nothing, especially when I know I have done everything correct to my best knowledge. So don't feel discouraged, you are in the beginning stage of your journey, give your body and your mind time to adjust to the journey ahead. Make sure you have a picture of your self at your biggest and keep it in site and take photos of your self along the way. There is no encouragement like seeing your progress in a picture. Take you measurements along the way so you know where you started. Sometimes we lose inches and not lbs. So... say to your self." I made this decision for me, so I would be healthier and live a better life. My band is my tool to support me along my journey. Learn to listen to your band and not the little voice inside your head that says, that's ok just have one Bite!" Good luck on your journey, I know you will be successful!

Well hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July! I had the wonderful opportunity to spend the weekend with my three beautiful grandchildren and daughter. It was so great to have the energy to keep up with a 5, 7 and 12 year old. We spent the days in the pool and evenings playing in the yard. We had a cook out on the 4th and than went DT to watch the fireworks and get our faces painted. I don't think I could have asked for a better holiday weekend. Oh and I lost 2 lbs. Even with company here I managed to stay true to my new eating behaviors. I decided to cook what I could eat and daily went out and bought snacks for the kids so they were not sitting around the house. My husband did bring chips into the house for the kids on the 4th and I must say they have always been my weakness and still are and when they left on Tuesday I sent them packing out the door. I really can't trust myself because I knew I would eat them and why have the temptation so close at hand. I also sent all the mini cheese cakes and potato salad. My daughter brought her Pilate's bands and taught me some new strengthening exercise so I could do some more toning at home on my legs and arms. I know I will probably not be able to tighten up all the shrinkles but every little bit helps. I have managed to make it to Curves 4 days a week since starting but still have not got my exercise heart rate up to the 70% they want me to, but I can tell a difference in my energy level. Tonight I got on the WII to weigh myself and was surprised to have lost 2 lbs in the last 9 days. I have been trying hard to stick to 3 meals a day, writing down everything I eat and trying to not do the shakes and bars and eat real food for all my meals. Believe me making myself eat solids for all meals is hard, and requires a lot more planning. I got all of my labs back several weeks ago and my HDL was not high enough and my LDL was too high. So increase the exercise, increase the fiber(and this is very hard). When I got on the scales tonight I am not sure what I would have done if I would have stayed the same. I read and read and everything I read says I have lost above average but when you do everything right you want a reward and my reward has been that number dropping. Sometimes I feel I become fixated with the numbers and so need to refocus myself on the fact that this is a journey and everyday that I make a positive change in my life it is a change in the right direction. I think I have finally realized that the next 30-40lbs is going to be slow and steady. I am not the most patient person, and I really thrive on instant gratification, who of us doesn't? I spend time ever evening reading the blogs because it helps me stay focused, I read the success and the struggles.(I don't like to call them failures because I believe we are all trying to be successful and some do it quicker than others. I try not to compare myself with others because all of our bodies respond differently. Learning from others like us is our key to our success. I had a friend at work who had the band several months ago and she was struggling with getting to her sweet spot and was struggling with not losing. She told me that she had to distance herself from me because it made her feel bad that she was not losing and I was. But she said what helped her most was staying in therapy with the psychologist and getting her head straight. I think sometimes that is something we all struggle with, we had the surgery, we try hard to eat right but we struggle with demons off and on whether we admit it or not. I went to one of the support group sessions a couple of weeks ago and it was sort of a b***h session for a lot. I heard a lot of people blaming the physician and the navigator for them not knowing or understanding something. I sat there and listened and finally thought, how can we hold others to blame for our inability to lose weight. My doctor made it very clear to me, no guarantees, this was a tool and only a tool and the work was up to me. Let's face it I am really good at lying to myself and talking myself into believing that just one bite won't hurt. ( Just like the fish sandwich and biggie Fry's I used to eat on the way home from work as my first dinner, it didn't count because me and the server were the only witness to my act) I work daily on holding myself accountable, it is my responsibility to listen to my body and inform my doctor if something isn't working but first it is my responsibility to follow the rules. (NONE of this is easy, if it was easy I could have done it without the help of lap band, RIGHT!) When I got my lab work back, I was disappointed. I thought, I make healthy food choices what else do they want? The nutritionist said, add more fiber and vegetables. I said how in the H%$# am I suppose to do that when I can only eat so much at a meal and I need to focus on protein. She said, eat legumes, oatmeal, nuts, flaxseed. Oh, I said legumes are protein, duhhhh! And EXERCISE, oh that dreaded word. How many of us thought all we had to do was have the surgery and the band would do all the work. How did that work out for everyone, not that good huh! I think I said this in another blog but I had always thought weight loss surgery was a cop out but boy have I changed my mind. This has been one of the most life changing things that I have ever done. For me my lap band forces me to make healthy choices. I am not just paying a fee to WW to get weighed weekly, I altered my body, I had surgery, I put a limit on my choices of what to eat and eating now requires a lot of thought and planning. So lap band bloggers, yes losing weight is what we all hope to achieve but should that be our only focus? Maybe our focus should be on dealing with changing all the learned bad behaviors we have developed over the years and lap band surgery alone will not change those behaviors or those feelings. I constantly find myself checking in with myself because it is so easy to lose one bad behavior and pick up a new one. It is so hard to hold yourself accountable, so hard not to convince yourself to take just one bite, so hard not to slide back to bad habits with just ONE bite! I don't know how to cope unless I just cut them out of my life. But that seems so final and cold. Should we deprive ourselves of the things we love, until I learn control, for me that will be a yes and maybe will always be a yes. Does an alcoholic ever stop being an alcoholic, NO. Does a drug addict every find a time when they can have just one fix, NO. Will I ever be able to be alone in a room with a bag or bowl of chips. I doubt it! My journey will be full of peaks and valleys. I will have successes and I will have back slides. I will work daily to hold myself accountable for my actions and to be honest with myself. Because honestly I am the only person I ever lied to, everyone else could see what I had done to myself and now you know too.

Great blog! Do I regret it NO, do I have times when I would love to eat what I want YES. What stops me, the 70 lbs I have already lost and looking back at what I used to look like in 2009. I never want to be that person again, if that means I fight the demons inside of my head on a daily basis. So be it. If I stop losing than I need to get off my butt and try harder. I did this for me, my health and just plain damn sick and tired of being FAT! I feel your pain about wanting to eat, because food was my way of coping, it gave me comfort and never talked back. Today, I have to deal with my feelings. And as we all know that is hard and we all struggle with it just some of us are willing to admit it's not the bands fault we fail, it is us and the fat person inside fighting to stay alive. I agree, we will beat this diease and we will be healthy and learn to cope with all the things that make us want to eat. Food is no longer our refuse, food now is just a requirement to maintain a healthy body. We will get there, we will have good days, we will have great days and we will have days when we struggle every minute of the day not to eat. But we won't eat unhealthy and we will make healthy choices for the person we all deserve to be. Keep up the good work, you have made a great start and remember, YOU ARE WORTH IT!

I was reading this again tonight and had to laugh. Of course obesity is a preexisting. Duhhh..do insurance companies think we work up one morning and said, Oh, I think I will be obese today so I can have surgery and restrict what I eat. What idiots! You can jump through there hoops because, we all have because the end result is worth it. Keep your chin up it and the power of positve thinking will carry your through this road block.

Congratulations! Some day I hope to be there.

Agree very frustrating. You would think that insurance companies would realize that if we are healther that we will cost them less in the long run. Obese people have multiple health problems over time and these can be costly to insurance companies. Keep your head up, I know it is a lot of hoops to jump through but it will be worth it in the long run. Maybe the person on the phone got up on the wrong side of the bed, it costs so little to be nice and compassionate. Kindness is such an important part act in health care and I am sorry you had to experience this.

Thought I would update everyone on my progress with exercise. I have gotten up everyday since last Thursday and I am up at 5am and exercising by 7am. Cardio with muscle strengthen 3 days a week and walking 3 days a week. Sunday's off to lounge by the pool and give the muscles a little break. My knees are holding up pretty good, the squats are a little difficult but I am hanging in there. I had no idea how our of shape I really was. Today I finally got my heart rate up to target zone so I was getting the max effect from the exercise. I think I am using muscles I forgot I had. i can really feel the burn tonight, when I raise my arms above my head. I guess the old saying of no pain, no gain is true. I made the mistake of weighing this morning after I showered. Weight still the same, no gain, no loss. I have religiously been writing down every morsel I stick in my pretty little mouth, average of about 900 calories a day and 60 gms of protein. Sticking to the 3 meals a day and in the evenings I have 1 cup popcorn for the fiber or 1 oz nuts for protein. Staying witiin my calorie count and servings. I guess my body is just comfortable with this weight but I'm not. So girls and boys let't get movin, movin, movin. We can all make this happen!

So sorry Rosey. I feel your pain. I have been stuck for about a month now. I had my band tightened back in May at my insistance because I was not losing, they got me too tight. I dropped about 12 lbs after that and now again I am stuck. I eat 3 meals a day, I am satisfied after I eat, I can go 4 hours between meals, I don't snack. I eat about 900 to 1000 calories a day. The only thing I was not doing well or consistant was exercise. I join curves last week and have started going daily to exercise. So we will see. Keep your chin up, we will evetually start losing again. Our bodies will get tired of this weight and start to shed some pounds again. But I really do feel your frustration.

A big high five, you are doing great! You must be so excited with your progress.

So very sorry for your loss. I love the picture. She looks just like my Sassey Kitty. Pets are such wonderful gifts, they love us unconditionally and fill a void in our lives. You have some wonderful memories of your life with Seven and all the wonderful years you shared. Our other pets grieve and need out support to adjust to the loss. Thank you for sharing, I know how hard this is for you and your family. Find peace and comfort in knowing that Seven is no longer hurting and you comforted her to the end. I could never bury my Alex's ashes, I still have them on our mantel with a picture and a little tribute to him. He will be gone a year this July 13th but i still miss him like it was yesterday. Here is a prayer for your Seven that I found when my Alex died. Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge. When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable. All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind. They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent; His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster. You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart. Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together.... Author unknown...

Hey this is a great milestone, Amy. March your self over to the other side and buy your self something new. What an accomplishment that we all look so forward too.

Great post, I think sometimes we fail to allow ourselves to deal with the emotional side of this journey. Your absolutley correct, It is ok to be hungry and it is great to know that the world is not going to stop if we do feel hungry.

I will apologize to the guys for this topic up front. Now I am going to warn all of you male bloggers I am going to discuss a rather x-rated topic. My panties! lol Well yesterday I finally broke down and bought my self some new underware. I know your all asking how in the world was she still waring the same panties she wore 68 lbs ago. They were a little baggy in the seat but they were dear old friends and I just wasn't ready to go to the expense of purchasing new ones. I have had to purchase new bras, on two separate occasions but the panties worked so I left them alone. Well for two weeks I have been saying to my husband, "Honey I gotta buy new panties, one day I am going to be walking down the hall at work and they are going to fall right off." It had got to the point when I wore my tee shirt spanks that my underware gave me a wedgy. TMI right but you have to fully appreciate how much our bodies change and all of the things we go through when losing weight. Well I bought two pair of really cute hipster style panties at Target. They were so cute, "Not granny panties at all" They were a soft gray pattern with this cute little bow on the front and flat ecru colored lace on the legs. And guess what they are a size "7" and they look so cute. Ok, so they are only underware and I know I am the only one that is going to see them but they make me feel thinner. I know that may sound ridiculous but they do. I have not bought underware that was not of the granny pantie style for years, I got satin ones, lacy ones, etc. Tomorrow, Monday June 27th I start my exercise at Curves®. I have to be there at 7am, so excited. Spent the weekend working in the yard and swimming in the pool. Also bought some delicious protein bars at CVS for buy two get one free. Had a yummy pretzel peanut butter one yesterday for lunch and a chocolate Carmel crunch one today. 200 cal 15 gm protein and low carbs. I like these on the weekend for when I am busy outside and use as one meal replacement. Hope everyone is doing great this weekend. I will keep you posted this week on my exercise, oh and I guess I get to wear my new panties to work and won't get a wedgy!

Have a great vacation, enjoy long walks on the beach, read a book and just relax. So sorry for the lose of your friend, I can only imagine how hard this is for you. Enjoy your vacation.

Great Job! Weird what we crave, mine was hot and sour soup. Now I can't even stomach a bowl of it.

I think finallyincontrol gave you some great advice. We are all different, and learning to listen to your band and figuring out the difference between full and satisfied is one of the hardest things we have to learn. I mind has always controlled our stomachs and we now need to listen to our bodies so we no when to stop eating. A lot of people hiccup, (I have several friends who do this) I burp, and it is not very lady like. Opps! I eat 3 times a day with one snack in the evenings. My snack is usually fiber, milk or protein and always around 100cal. I happen to be one of those people who also still likes the shakes and that is usually my breakfast because during the week I do not do well with early morning meals, on the weekend I do fine. I think it is a time factor, week mornings are rushed and not enough time to sit down and eat, easier to drink. But I take 35 gms of protein in a shake or my coffee and it keeps me satisfied until lunch. I have friends who have so much in their bands they can not even lay down to eat, they want to lose weight so much they are willing to compromise their bands and their health. Nothing is worth that to me! I hated food getting stuck, I hated being slimmed and I enjoy being able to eat my meals with my family. Our heads do play a key role in our weight loss and we need to learn to not listen to the little voice inside of us that says, "Just one bite won't make a difference". Keep postive thoughts and you will be successful. Your weight loss to date is great, think of it as 50lbs gone forever. I was banded last week of October 2010 and have lost 68 lbs. I needed to lose 108 lbs total, my doctor says that for a band patient that is great and I need not to be discouraged over the next few months because the loss will be slower. I have 40 lbs left to lose. Keep your self focused, listen to your body and develop healthy habits and routines. This truly is a life style change but you can do this and you will look absolutley fabulious. Good Luck!

I had 5cc put in my band the first time I had a fill back last December. The first few weeks were very tough to learn how to eat, slow and chew. I had multiple stuck episodes with slimming until I learned what went down well and what times of the day. On my second fill in May, the put in 1.8 and it did not go so well. The doctor didn't really want to do a fill but I insisted. I had really slowed down on my weight loss and I could pretty much eat anything and was hungry between meals. I was still losing but it was because I monitored every morsal I placed in my mouth and sometimes went to bed hungry and frustrated. After my second fill I had to have .8 removed within 48 hours, I was unable to even take in water and had to sleep sitting up because of severe reflex and vomiting. since my fill in may I have lost about 10-12 lbs. I say 10;12 because 2 lbs keeps coming back and going off. I eat 3 meals a day and average about 900-1000 calories. I am not hungry between meals now but night times are still hard for me not because I am hungry so much but because I associate evening time, TV and movies with snacks. I some times have 1oz of nuts or 100 calorie bag of air popcorn and that satisfies the fat girl inside. My point of telling you this is, we are all different, some of us can do with a little fill, some have to have more fills until we reach the spot that helps us to loss weight. Losing weight is truly one of the hardest jobs I have had in my life, I have had my own emotional struggles with how this band is going to work for me, but I think until I really realized that I myself had to make some changes in how I viewed foods and eating I was never going to make the long haul I needed to get off all this weight. You being young have a lot of obstacles being thrown your way every day. We are such a social society and a lot of our activities evolve around food. We use food to celebrate, food to comfort and food to reward. This has been branded into us since we were all very young. So listen to your body, work hard at not snacking and grazing and eating on 3 meals a day. Exercise at least 30 minutes daily. Most weight loss patients that are the most successful develop a structured exercise program within their first year. I know you really want this or you would not have went through everything to get to this point. Write an affrimation on your mirror in the bath room or on your fridge that you see every day. Mine is "I will be successful and below it is a picture of me at my heaviest. Now if that is not enough to make me not want to eat nothing will. Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.

Well I did it! Today I made a commitment to exercise daily! :Dancing_wub: Yes you heard me right I finally got off my butt and made a full fledge commitment to exercise 30 minutes every day. So what was my motivation. Thank you Judy Jones. I read your blog the other night about you losing 59 pounds but had never been committed to exercise. I was right there with you, I have exercised off and on but never completely committed to doing the deed. For Christmas I bought myself a treadmill and have used it off and on, I have a gazelle, it makes a nice clothes hanger in the spare room. But I have just not had the drive and motivation to be consistent. So you ask why now, well it is a short story. Our insurance rates are going up at work, starting in September. To get 800 dollars back on our annually premiums we were required to do a health assessment with employee health. Well, even though I have dropped from 248 to 180 I am still OBESE! What an ugly word, but it didn't sit well with me. My total cholesterol was 196, my HDL is only 47 and my ratio was 4.7. Well that was a slap in the face, I eat healthy, I eat around 900 to 1000 calories a day, 60-80 gms of protein, I take my vitamins religiously, I drink all my water, I write my food down and I don't cheat. I count every morsel I put in my mouth. So what is left. EXERCISE! Stop being a couch potato :behindsofa: in the evenings, get off your ass and EXERCISE!!!! Sorry to curse but I need to get motivated and being the stubborn Italian I am sometimes, stupid has to slap me in the face. So today, I joined Curves, made the appointment this morning for 3pm, did my measurements, signed up and made my commitment and first 6 appointments. I am so excited and pumped this evening. You see I am one of those people who does better with goals, especially if I am PAYING for them. I spend all that money on exercise equipment but there is nothing that pushes me. Obviously if I could do things on my own I would never have gotten OBESE or had weight loss surgery. I also joined with a friend, so we made a commitment together. She had gastric bypass 18 months ago and has lost 135 lbs, needs to lose another 25 but is stuck. We both figured if we did this together we would keep each other motivated. When they did my assessment they asked me what size I wanted to be, I said a size 10. Boy did I pick a lofty goal, I am 5'1" 55 years old and that makes me need to lose 52 to 53 inches and about that many pounds to reach this goal. That would put my weight at about 128-130. I am not real sure about that goal, it may be a bit lofty for me but just to set a goal and make a commitment to myself and now all of you know so I have to be accountable to myself and the entire lap band community because everyone is watching now. I had to laugh, she said, "How do you feel about your thighs?" I had to laugh, then I said, "Well there a little chubby right now and I would like for them to stop jiggling." My thighs measure 27" each and I set my goal for 24-25 inches. All of my life I have been called "Thunder Thighs" Well Ms. Thunder Thighs is going for the gold. I will keep you in the loop, I start on Monday at 7am, my friend Janet and I decided to exercise , 3 days a week before work and 2 days a week after work and on Saturdays we will do mornings. Sundays will be on our own to commit to some type of exercise, yard work, house work, bike riding, swimming or using one of the two exercise machines I own. Dr. Anderson would be so proud of me!:Banane43:

Let's Celebrate and do the Happy Dance...:Banane47: Congratulations!!!!!!!! Next step complete the medical and schedule the surgry, way to go, were in your corner girl!

I have spent the past hour or so reading blogs and catching up on the lap band community. As I was reading it came to me that we have all been given a wonderful opportunity to have the support of thousands of people. People like us, who can over advice from first hand experience and learn from all of our successes and failures. I never introduced myself when I started blogging, I just started pounding away spilling my thoughts and feelings on the page. So her goes, my name is Diane, I am 55 almost 56 this November. I am married, have two children, a boy and a girl and 3 grand children, a dog, Lexi ( She is posted with me in my picture) and a cat, Sassey. I love animals and if I lived in the country would have many more than I do, animals love us unconditionally and don't care if we are fat or thin. How and why did I chose lap band? I have been what you call the professional diet queen. I am 5'1" and have struggled with weight gain after the birth of my first child in the late 70's. I lost the weight and just gained it back with the birth of my second child. I lost that weight and did pretty good until I went to nursing school and packed it right back on. In those early years I could keep it around 180 or 190 but still thought I was fat, but I never realized what fat was until I hit my 40's. That is when I really started to plump up, I reached a high by the time I was 50 of 260's and believe me on a 5'1" frame that is a lot of weight and my knees began to tell the story a few years ago. Three years ago my right knee went out, swollen, painful, difficult to walk, etc. I went to the doctor, they x-rayed and MRI. I had some beginning stages of osteo, thinning of the cartilage on the inner part of my knee joint. The doctor injected with steroids, last about 48 hours and then I did the weekly injections to rebuild the cartilage. It puts the cushion back between the joints. That lasted about 8 weeks. Then the dreaded conversation came up, Diane you need to drop a few pounds. I knew this already, I had two bouts of pneumonia over the past two years, my BP was out of control, and I was having sleep apnea. Oh by the way I forgot to mention I have been a nurse for almost 30 years. You would think as a health care worker we would have better health habits. But no, we probably are one of the most unhealthy group of people because we are always taking care of others and not ourselves. I am very stubborn, duh so I refused to wear a CPAP for the sleep apnea, and when I saw the metal they would put in my body as a joint, I said no way. Off to Jenny Craig I marched, I joined for 500 dollars, bought my meals at 120 plus a week and lost down to 195 lbs. Then it became too expensive and I just knew I could do this on my own, portion control and 1200 calories, a piece of cake I thought. NOT!!!!!!!!!!! I plumped back up to 248 lbs within 2 years of stopping Jenny Craig. So that is how I got to lap band. Live a life of pain and not enjoy life or get off your butt and do something about it. As for the nursing, I am a critical care nurse, so you would think I would know better and make better choices. Oh well that is the past and this is the new me. I involved my family in my journey, I made my appointment for the information meeting and took my husband with me and told all of my family. I figured if I was going to make this a life style I better include the persons in my life so they could be supportive. I thought about not telling the people at work, because sadly I was one of those people who thought weight loss surgery was a cop out. Boy have I changed my mind. so once I scheduled my surgery I told all of my peers at work I was having Lap Band surgery on the 28th of October. Now a very good friend of mine at work, Ron, looked at me shocked and said" your not fat enough to have weight loss surgery." I could have kissed him but instead, I stopped and said, "Ron, I am morbidly obese. My BMI is 47.5. I have to lose weight or I am not going to get to enjoy watching my grandchildren grow up. He looked shocked and said, I had no idea you weighed that much. Thank god for the Ron's and the Paul's(my husband) who love us whether we are skinny or fat and see us for something more than how we look. I will tell you I was scared, I think my biggest fear has been that I will fail, fail to loss and keep it off. But that very fear is my driving force, I will not gain this weight back and I will be successful. The difference for me know compared to back in the dieting days is I am choosing to change my life style with a gentle nudge from my band. I always lost weight on the planned programs I paid for, Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, South Beach etc. But when I stopped paying I gained the weight back. Lap Band is a permanent solution to me because as long as i listen to my band, make healthy choices and exercise I will be successful. I know a lot of people struggle with weight loss and the band but in my opinion we fail because we fail to change our behavior. When I don't lose weight now, i sit down and look back at what I am doing. If I am honest with myself, I am snacking between meals, eating past satisfied and not exercising. I chose not to eat sweets, potato chips(which I love), I stay way from carbohydrates, pasta, rice and potato's. Not because I can't have them but because I like them to much and they make me feel over stuffed. I love pizza, can I eat pizza yes, should I eat pizza no. It is full of carbohydrates, so I look for alternatives that satisfy that void. This truly is a journey and you learn about your body and your inner self along the way. For me this journey is not about being skinny it is about learning to make the right choices, developing a healthy life style and spending quality time with my family. So now you no my story. I was banded October 28, 2010. I weighed in at 248 on surgery day and as of today I weigh 180. ( I have been stuck here for several weeks) I started in a size 24 and now wear a size 14. I have lots of shrinkels but who cares, I consider those my battle scars.

Hey that is great, sounds like your doctor does great after care. I like all the gadgets and education they provided you with. Good luck!

Congatulations! Got my fingers crossed for you, I remember the wait, the excitement when I was approved and the sick feeling in my stomach the morning I went to surgery. I am so excited for you! I agree with not telling everyone yet, I didn't tell my friends until after I was approved. My famly new because I new I was going to need their support if it wasn;t approved. But as many times as I had failed before I could not imagine what insurance company would want me to stay obese and continue to pay my health care costs. Believe me those weeks will fly by once your approved. Got to be a great feeling today.:purplebananna:

Jersey Girl, One suggestion, give up the beer. It will stretch your pouch. Any carbonated beverage no matter how slow we drink it over time will stretch the pouch. You could let it go flat but who wants a flat beet. Yuck, I was a guiness drinker and had to give it up. Try some SF drink mixes and switch to something else or maybe wine. Most of the reading says we should not drink alcohol for a year after surgery, well I fluncked that the first 2 months. The other think I noticed, is I used to be able to tolerate alcohol and now because we eat so little at meals and have to drink on an empty stomach that I am a cheap date. Two martini's and I am done! I love a good dirty martini and I have decided the olives are my fruit, veggies and fat. Two olives and one drink and I am full. I would love to find some of the CL Mojito mix, afraid I would be tempted to add a little rum and mint to that. Back to losing, some bandsters do not lose until after there first fill, it takes some of our bodies a while to adjust to decrease in activity and as you said the weight loss is slow and steady. Good luck, keep blogging and reading and you will be successful.