♥LovetheNewMe♥

Well Good Morning to all of you LapBanders! Are you having a wonderful day, are you having a successful lap band journey? Well I am choosing to have a wonderful day and I have had a wonderful lap band journey. If you can't answer yes to both of those question, you need to ask yourself WHY the H E L L NOT! Hi, my name is Diane, Love to all my BFF's on lap band talk. I have been banded since October 2010, and yes I am a successful lapband participant. I set her dormant most of the time, surfing the site, occasional liking a post or making a comment. I don't really get caught up in all the Bull S H I T that goes on in the blogs or on the forums, because honestly people are going to do what they want and you can't fix stupid. My philosophy on life is to live to the fullest and you get out of life what your willing to put into it. There are times in life when we all ask the question,"Why is this happening to me?" God, why do you put so much burden on me? Seriously, how much more can I take or can I do? Seriously folks don't ask those questions because, life is just that LIFE and it will always throw you curve balls and it will always put obstacles in your path, it is how YOU chose to deal with the curve balls and the obstacles that defines your path. If you want to be successful or optimistic about anything it is your attitude that is your defining grace. Let me explain: What is a pessimist? a person who habitually sees or anticipates the worst or is disposed to gloomy. What is an optimist? the tendency to EXPECT the best and see the best in things, hopeful, confident. Now I want you to read both of those definitions and take a good internal look at your self, stand in front of the mirror and ask your self, Am I a pessimist or an optimist? If that person staring back at you from the mirror is a pessimist, I am here to tell you, YOU WILL FAIL at this WL Journey. You will never lose all your weight, you will struggle at every obstacle the band throws your way. You will whine about being hungry, you will whine about being stuck, you will whine about not losing weight, you will blame the band, the surgeon and everyone on this sit who has been successful or is really trying. Face it everyone, trying to lose weight sucks, and it is hard whether you have Lap Band or some other tool helping you. It is going to be hard work but if you believe in yourself, NOT the BAND, you can and WILL be successful I know because I was and am! So the next time life throws you Lemons, instead of crying over split milk, Make a nice cool, refreshing glass of Lemon Ade sugar free of course. Today, I dedicate my blog to my mother. My mother is 84 years old and is dealing with Dementia. Well maybe I should say we are dealing with mama having Dementia. Honestly I never thought we would be here, my mama was always such a vibrant lady, always a on the go, the life of the party. But now she is scared and lost and what is the saddest is she knows she is lost. She woke up yesterday morning at my house and walked out of her room like a frightened 2 year old waking from a bad dream. She was disheveled and crying. "Di, how did I get here? I went to bed in one place and woke up here? How did I get here?" She was sobbing, it broke my heart to watch. It took us the better part of the morning to reconstruct the night but with time and patience she was able to put her night back together and realize why she was with me instead of at her place. You see we are relocating my mama to be closer to me and my brothers, she had spent 4 days of hell, saying goodbye to all her old friends, her great grand children and grand daughter. She had packed her 84 years up in boxes and loaded them on a big truck. She spent the night in a hotel, had lost her suit case and drove for 8 hours, unpacked a truck into her new home, went to dinner in a strange town, went to bed in a strange bed and woke up scared. Now I ask you, What would you do or feel? Lost, scared, unsure of what is happen, Yes you would and so would I. I told my mama it was going to be OK! She said to me" Di, it may be OK but it will never be the same!." WOW what a powerful statement, and you know what she is right, it will never be the same. But it will be OK, and why will it be OK, because we are choosing to be optimistic. We all know the end result of Dementia, you slowing lose your present, live in your past and forget that there is a tomorrow! So why not make the most of what time you have left of today and continue to enjoy life. We could all give up on mama and just pretend this isn't happening or let others deal with it but is that really fair? So you see, life has now thrown me another curve ball or more lemons, I have whined, I have cried, I have asked those questions, Oh why me and my mama but today, today I am choosing to be hopeful and confident that my mama will slowly descend into the shadows of darkness known as Dementia, I am choosing to be hopeful that she can remain independent with minimal assistance from her family. I am choosing to make Lemon Ade. I know the odds, I know what the final outcome will be but it truly is about the journey and I am choosing to make this a wonderful, hopeful journey for me, mama and my family. So friends I ask you again are you a Pessimist or an Optimist and if you are a pessimist may I suggest you look really long and hard at that person staring back at you from the mirror and ask WHY?

I am so sorry for your lose and I think we can all identify with your feelings of depression and yes we all resort back to what used to make us feel comfort. As Missy stated the plus for you is recognizing your situation and moving forward. We are all human and bad times bring out bad behaviors and unfortunately that is human nature. I know you will get back on track, be good to yourself and love your self you know that is what the women in your life would want for you. Good luck to you and I am so sorry for your loss.

I am a successful bandster and have been at goal for 6 months. The head hunger game can really be an issue all along the journey. I eat small high protein meals all day long. It is actually kind of funny, because on the days I do my best I am constantly eating about every 3 hours. I only eat protein for snacks, peanut butter, sliced turkey, nuts, soy nuts, etc. I do try to eat at least 1-2 small pieces of fruit a day, usually a small banana, cutie or small apple peeled and sliced but when I eat the fruit I always add a small amount of protein. I eat very little zero or low calorie foods, like lettuce, cucumbers, carrots,( I call this rabbit food) To me I think of this as diet food and I am not dieting. I do count calories and I do measure and write down all food intake, I have done this my entire journey because it helps me stay focused and honest with myself.You say you have busy days, I would suggest you start your day with a very good high protein and carb breakfast and energy. I know a lot of people frown on carbs but they give you energy and fuel and if balanced with complex proteins you will stay full longer. My typical day of eating. Breakfast daily is 1/2 cup oatmeal dry oats cooked with 1 cup water, 1/3 cup egg whites, and 2-3 tablespoons of SF Brown sugar syrup. I add 1/4 cup blueberries, 1/8 cup chopped apple, 2 pecan halves and 1 teaspoon of raw sugar. It takes me about 30 min to eat this and most days I can only eat about 3/4 of this. It is less than 300 calories and very nutritious. Mid morning I usually have a protein bar that is around 180-190 calories with 9-12 gms of protein or if band is tight I may drink 1 scoop of protein powder which is 140 calories and 25 grms of protein Lunch consists of 3-4 oz of protein(usually chicken, turkey, fish, or lean pork), some green veggies, lettuce, green beans, zucchini a splash of olive oil and vinegar and some days I add half a sweet potato, no butter or additives. (I have used a few of lean cuisines salad creations lately and they are around 19gms of protein less than 300 calories and I use about 3/4 cup lettuce) Mid-afternoon, I have a small apple or banana and 1-2 tablespoons of natural ground peanut butter. Dinner: Lean protein 3-4 ozs and veggies On days I work out I always have an additional dose of protein by drinking a shake. I eat about 1200-1500 calories a day. If I am starving at night, I drink more liquids and rule is after 8pm I do not eat. to help me stay focused I have kept a picture of fat Diane on the fridge beside thin Diane. A picture is worth a thousand words and I am trying to never go back wards. I do have grazing days, they are usually Sunday's but I tend to eat same amount of calories and my protein intake on Sunday's usually sucks. Do not get discouraged, this is a life style change and it takes time to change bad behavior.

Awesome Jim, it is so very easy to get discouraged and to have unrealistic expectations as any of us that have been banded for a while have come to realize. I am so happy for you, sending you lots of positive affirmations for continued success.

Good luck and glad you did not give up, even with the band WL is hard. We are trying to undo years of bad behavior.

Great article Jean as always! I appreciate your insite and posts.

Sorry lap band did not work for you but you made a very valid statement, with or without WLS the key to losing weight is healthy eating, in moderation and exercise. This same philosophy goes for us that had WLS and it has worked. My key to losing has not been my band it is my added insurance or safety net, what I have learned in two years in portion control and if you exercise and burn more than you take in you lose weight. Yes my band has helped me but without out totally changing my views on nutrition I would have never been successful. I wish you luck in your weight lose journey applying the principles you have identified.

Awesome, keep up the good work, committment and accountability are key to our success with lapband. I will be cheering for you!

Good post, glad the tool is working for you and you are successfully losing.

ROFLMAO, thanks I needed a good laugh!

Jim, you just can't fix stupid! Big hug!

Sorry you have had so many complications, just glad they have all been minimal and fixable. You are doing great and have such a wonderful attitude and insite. I wish you the best and hope this is over soon, you are going to look amazing this summer. Jealious! I still have a little giggle in my belly but I think I will keep it, I am chicken!!!!!!!

Unfortunately what you are experiencing is normal and many on the forums refer to this period as Bandster Hell. The time when you have no fluid in your band and are basically on your own. Just focus on learning portion control, a lot of people do not normally lose during this period. Good luck and all I can say is that it does get better. Oh and one more thing, just because you can eat certain foods now it is better if you start making those hard decisions sooner than later. Good luck to you.

Positive, compassionate, accepting and ready to embrace this healthy life and the changes it brings. Love the quote, also a favorite of mine.

Good luck to you and congratulations on making your decision. We have all walked in your shoes and know how you feel.

I like crunch more than the nugget style like Pure Protein. So I lean more to Kind Bars, Nature Valley Protein Bars, Mini Cliff Bars or Supreme Protein-(I love the peanut butter and Jelly) None of these are high protein but are all around 180 to 200 cal with about 8-15 gms of protein. You can have a snack of cheese, (baby bell) Nuts about 1/4 cup of almonds, or some nugget jerkey also to mix it up. I would suggest you make sure you count these snacks in your daily calorie count it is easy to get in the habit of snacking and it will slow weight loss. Hope this helps.

Bea, I know you may not have reached your goal but I think the progress you have made is remarkable. i do understand your comments about who you still see. i have lost 126 lbs and when i look in the mirror I have no idea who that person is. i sometimes say to myself, I hate my body or hate the way it looks without cloth's. Yes we all knew the side effects of the surgery and we all knew we would have loose skin but the reality of all the emotional changes we go through can sometimes be very over whelming. I wish you continued success in your journey.

I can relate with you. I work in an environment where a lot of my co-workers have had WLS of some type. I like you talked to many of them prior to having surgery and they were very encouraging telling me how easy it was and they were having great success and no issues. Well they lied, everyone of them. They all had some issues but never disclosed them and looked for work around. As soon as I came across my first obstacle and went to them, the support and good advice was not there. I felt betrayed, I felt lost and knew I was on this journey by myself. I stopped seeking their advice and I actually distanced myself from them and their negativity. The have a year on me, (3 years banded) one had her band removed due to slippage( she always had her band too tight and was PB'ing) The other had her band removed and now has the sleeve. She continued to eat and blamed the band for not losing. The third is 4 years gastric bypass and never reached goal. The 4th, is at goal but struggles with stomach issues. So my role models turned on me and never got with the program and each of them struggles with their weight loss and they are also the ones who make fun of me for exercising, (they tell me I'm obsessed) and they also tell me I am too thin. My point is this, I did this for me, I thought I had support of my friends at work but soon found who my true friends were. You are doing very well with your journey, don't let the negativism of others bring you down. Stay strong, because we all know you can do this.

Good goals: I need to do both 1 and 2. I was going to set up an exercise rewards jar. I am going to place a dollar in a jar for everyday I exercise, I will use the money to reward myself with a new pair of shoes or jewlery. My resolution is to stop spending money in the gift shop at work, when i feel like eating I go to the gift shop and buy something, last year was an expensive year for me.

We have way too much in common AJ, it is a good thing we live several states apart if we lived next door we would stay in trouble. Happy New Year, roasted red pepper hummus was on my snack table last night!

Awesome way to start the New Year, heading to the gym to work out with the trainer this afternoon. Starting the year out right! Wishing you continued success for this new year!

Your making excellant progress, half this journey and battle is learning and making improvements in our lifestyles. I do a lot of shopping in the 75% off sale racks along the way. But cleaning out the closet is excellant. I did keep one out fit, I wanted one reminder of how big I really once was. You have a great outlook and very positive attitude, you will reach your goal.

Even at 2 years out and not having a fill since Jan 30th, I still have to be very careful of what and how I eat in the mornings. Eggs have always been an issue for me, no matter how I have tried to eat them. I eat an oatmeal egg white meal most mornings for breakfast. It gives me carbs and protein and keeps me full until lunch. I add blueberries and a couple of chopped nuts for my fruit and healthy fats. Also when ever I have a PB episode I usually can not take on solid foods for at least 24 hours or I continue to PB, I ususally just do protein drinks. As Cheryl stated above sometimes it can take 2-3 weeks after a fill to adjust to the new feeling and pressure you fill. After my last fill in January it took me over 3 weeks to adjust. A couple weeks ago due to some poor choices (holiday snacks) I have had a few PB incidents and some reflux, my bands gentle way of saying cut it out.

Great job! This was my first holiday season at goal also. I must admit I was a little nervious with all the cooking and baking but it was really ok. I also love my band. I had a wonderful meal both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and didn't over eat. I love my band and the control it gives me! Happy New Year, cheers to all of us who are making this life style change work!

Ok, you gave me a giggle. Just what we all want to do, massage the girls everyday. Do you think we could pay someone to do this, or maybe we should pay ourselves. Glad you are doing so well, I would love to have something done someday but I am chicken. I just keep doing sit ups hoping it will help more and more. Hope you have a Merry Christmas!