♥LovetheNewMe♥

I also at goal was able to give up my BP meds all of them for 6 weeks, but I also went back on one medication. Yes it was disapointing but genes are genes and I we unfortunately got bad genetics but I sure look good in my skinny jeans, how about you!

I don't think you are having a pity party, I think you are asking a good question. When do we take charge of the food instead of the food taking charge of us? To put it bluntly the holidays just plain suck if your a lap band person starting out. I wish I could say it doesn;t and say the holidays are all about being with family and being together, etc, etc etc. But lets be realistic, most of our favorite times were spent around the dining table visiting with family enjoying food and drinks. I was banded the first year two months before Christmas and one month before Thanksgiving, and had my first fill 3 weeks before Christmas. It was the most stressful holiday of my life, my second Christmas (last year) I had been stuck for about 5 months at the same weight and continued to be stuck until after the holidays. Patience is hard, we all want that brass ring and that wonderful feeling of success and it comes at different times for all of us. Why am I telling you all of this, well I reached the brass ring and food no longer controls me or my life, but it was not easy. My journey had ups and downs, set backs and obstacles all along the way. I got frustrated, I cried, I hated my band, I hated what I ate, I hated what I thought I was missing, but the one thing that gave me hope was knowing that there were people that were successful and I tried to learn from them. I often e-mailed people and asked, tell me about your journey, was it hard, did you get stuck, how long did it take you, when did you stop feeling fat, when did you stop thinking about food. So when did I know I was going to make it and know that I was going to no longer allow food to control me, I can tell you exactly when and where I was. It was 8 months ago and I was at work. I was getting ready to get on an elevator and caught a glipse of my reflection in the long mirrored elevator door and honestly I was shocked. I was thin, not only was I thin, I didn't even recognize the person in the reflection. Food had always been a big part of my life, I am a very social person so parties and families and food all go together. I am still a social person but have found that I can be social with out food and drink, I no longer have to carry my food, I know what I can eat and how much and I know when to say no. I won't lie, I do have occasional days that I feel less in control but I just look up from my dest at the fat girl on the bulleton board and know for sure I do not want to be her again. So your question was when do you finally allow food to stop controling you, my answer is when you can finally start thinking like a thin person. When I was fat I always thought about food and the preparation of food and what the next meal was going to be. Now food is just that food, yes some of it is very yummy, and I love to cook but food made me fat and I prefer to be thin. There does come a time when you control the food and you control the band, for me it took almost 2 years and daily I remind myself of the fact that there is still a fat girl living inside me and she would love to come back if I gave her half a change. So yes be patient but you too can be successful if you just Bee "lieve" Good luck to you in your journey.

You are an inspiration Floridays, glad to see you blogging and i totally agree the forums are trying my patience. I have been here for two years and patience are running thin with stupidity.

Also just think how hot you will look holding that glass of water!

Just thought of something, you know what amazes me. The size of my underware, I wear panties now that would not even have covered my boob let alone my butt cheek. I know TMi but my hubby says, when did Hannah leave her panties at the house and I just smile and say sily those are mine.

Wait till you get that TT you will be one hot mama!

Weight lose does stall with the band even when you are doing things right. Couple of questions, you say you are eating a calorie restricted diet but are you eating enough protein. If you read some of the research with lap band they have found that people who eat a low calorie high protein diet lose better. Now I am not talking about a low carb diet but a balance of carbs and protein with the protein intake being higher than the carbs. i know it may be silly but sometimes you have to eat more to lose, if you eat a too restrictive calorie diet your body can think you are trying to starve it and can go into hibernation mode and hold onto every little fat cell we have. You may want to keep a food diary for a week or so and figure out your BMR so you know how much your body needs everyday. I was really surprised when I calculated mine, I myself stalled for over 7 months. Did not drop not one pound, I was eating to little, i had to increase my calorie intake up to 1250 and my protein up from 60-70 fms per day to 90-110gms perday. Once i did this combined with cardio in the form of walking on the road or treadmill 5 days a week with 2-3 days of weight training I started to lose again. It took me several months to figure out that I was not losing because my intake was not enough deficit of what my body needed to lose a pound of fat. I hope this all makes since, a good nutritionist or trainer could help you figure this out so you don;t feel so frustrated with the process. Good luck and hang in there, It can and does work just slower for some than others.

Awesome, enjoy the bike, I bought myself a treadmill last year and it was a great investment, really gave me the motivation I needed.

You rock! I do understand what your saying, everyday people always want to comment about how I look and i am just not use to all the attention. But looking in the mirror the person who looks back at me is foreign and only a 1/3 of the person I used to be. So proud of your continued success, you look amazing.

Amy pre-op diet does suck and evenings are always the worst even after banding. I am one of those banded persons who always saved some sort of a very small snack for after dinner. Not sure if it was a physical need or just a mental need but it worked for me. May have been something as simple as a SF Popsicle or SF pudding but it worked to calm my need for eating. As for fruit after surgery, yes you should be able to eat after surgery, I struggled my first year with fruit, it was one of those foods I never seemed to have room for in my pouch and I worried about not eating a balanced diet. Since that time I have learned to eat apples, but now I have to peel them, I can eat some of a banana, I love the "Cuties"(perfect size for us) but you have to be careful with fruits with membranes they are the hardest to macerate and membrane can get stuck.(Berries, like blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and strawberries work well with the band for most) Of course there is always the purred fruits but chewing is much more satisfying. You will just have to experiment once banded and once allowed regular diet again. They say shrimp and nuts are hard for banded persons but I had not problem with them but chicken and eggs were difficult. Sounds like you are doing very well with your pre-op and learning to discipline your self, this will help you through your pre fill days after surgery. Good luck next week, hope all goes well and please let us know how we can support you through your journey.

Awesome job, congratulations on your success to date!

I love my fitbit, it also made me realize what I slug I was. My daily goals are greater than 10,000 steps and take the stairs. I was amazed that once I started weeing this how competitive I became with just my self. lol

Congratulations on losing 18 lbs, it is not expected that you will lose a significant amount of weight during the first 4-6 weeks after surgery. You have not had a fill yet so you do not have the benefits that the band gives you with making you feel less hungry and satisfied.. I caution you to not become discouraged this early in your journey with not losing every day or every week, this takes time and a lot of hard work. It took me 2 years to reach my goal and I had many "stuck" periods along this journey even doing the right thing. Your question is not stupid, no question ever is. Patience is my advice, I know we all want quick results but remember none of us became obese over night so the weight will not fall off over night. As far as eating to lose this is correct, it you have a large amount to lose 100-150 plus pounds during the early days if you eat 1000 or less you may lose weight, but it is very difficult to maintain a healthy body on that few calories and also very difficult to get in all the protein that your body needs. I stayed between 1000-1200 calories for my entire journey, I occasionally ate below 1000 but only on days when I was not hungry or when my band was adjusted. I will say the closer I got to goal the harder it was to lose weight, I had to eat more and exercise more for those last 30 lbs and it took me 7 months to lose. My advice is focus on getting your protein in, drinking your water and exercising. I wish you much success.

You need to be able to eat solids, if you can't you are too tight and this is not good for you or your band. Yes you will lose weight but this is not the healthy way. Call your doctor and make an appointment please.

Kime CONGRATULATIONS!, I remember that day! I too thought I would never get below 200 lbs and it is so exciting. You can reach that goal of 140 if you set your mine to it. I never thought I would be at a normal BMI but yet here I sit and have been here for 3 months now. You are doing awesome, you should be so proud of your accomplishments to date.

Awesome post! I love the necklace!

I was a year out before I started eating popcorn. Pop corn is one of the foods that can be a slider for some folks, it dissolves well for some but the kernals can be a problem for others. I would not recommend in early band stage, you need to stick with the healthy foods and leave the snacks for later after you start really eating better. Just an opinion, can you eat it, the answer would be yes, you can eat anything as long as you chew it well and it goes down, is it a good choice this early in your journey, no.

Claping, Claping. Yeah! for me and Yeah for you! and Yeah for all the Banded B's!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

www.5daypouchtest.com/

This is the web site, this is a 5 day process that is suppose to test the working of your band. You start with liquids and work your way back to solids, it is suppose to help you start to feel satisfied again when you are eating. I have no idea whether this works. Good luck,

The band is not for everyone, there are a lot of rules that have to be followed and embraced in order to be successful. First thing I would suggest is that you make an appointment with your surgeon and discuss your options. Maybe meeting with a nutritionist and a physcologist would help you to get back on track and restart the process. But first and foremost you must make a committment to your self to be accountable to the process. This is hard, none of us has an easy time with food or none of us would have gotten to this site and this surgery. To me obesity and addicts are very simiar, we just do legal drugs, FOOD! Giving up what has been our turn to, or comfort zone is hard, it is hard to hold yourself accountable. Even if you do decide to have the Gastric bypass you still need to get your head in the right place because making sure you really understand your self, your triggers is key to long term success with WLS. If I can help support in any way please let me know and I wish you luck with your choice.

Just think how you will fill when that starts going down the other side. Like new Dawn stated, we all had a starting point.

Normal, if I remember correctly it was months before i was able to Lay on my banded side and sleep. It will be tender for a while but once you heel you will not notice until you get thin than the little bogger sticks out.

I did, causes bloating and belching. I didn't even drink the whole beer only a few sips. Lesson learned it is not worth the risk of harming my band.

Love your list, awesome goals! Wishing you much success in your journey! I always used to hate pictures now I seem to be the only one smiling!

I right there with you AJ. I had to increase my calorie intake to 1550. I kept losing and the doctor wanted me to stabilize my weight. We add 500 calorie at a time. I hit my target 3-4 days a week still eating around 1200=1300. Good luck!

Your awesome, AJ!