nu2ywg

Great table Larry! Reminds me that I should add to my personal goal to get Halloween costumes for my 3 kids BEFORE October 30th...it will make life so much easier, lol.

Name, real or screen~ JulieG (nu2Ywg) Age~ 41 Weight on October 1st~ 205 Goal Weight for October 29th~ 198(will be my first time under 200 in about 12 years!) Exercise Goal for October~ gym 4 x per week Dietary Goal for October~ focus on making meals that satisfy me enough to not snack as much Personal Goal for October~ adjust to hubby being away for the entire month training for his new career, usually a time that I would eat too much Date Banded~ Jan 5th, 2011 Total Weight Loss Since Banding~ 113 lb FWIW, I always put my "total weight loss since banding" from the start of my pre-op diet since that was the start of the process IMO. Larry, that is quite a feat you have achieved, hope your body gets back on your side and tosses those pounds as easily as it found them. And I'm excited to see all the company I have in this thread aiming for onederland this month! Let's do it folks!

I agree on the not lying part...I'm looking at having my gallbladder out in the very near future as a result of the weight loss so if I had told people I was having gallbladder surgery before what would I say now? My kids thought I had a flu or something in the few days of recovery and no one else was the wiser. Only my husband and dad and stepmom know I've had the band and I'm glad about that. When people ask what I'm doing to lose I start the list: going to the gym lots, cut out a lot of carbs and then I describe how I use a salad plate instead of a dinner plate and while I cook the rice/pasta/potato sides for my family I usually skip them and then usually they ask another question that leads away from the list of what I'm doing so I can reason that I never finished the list which would have included the surgery. And to be honest, I didn't get restriction til probably 4-5 months after the surgery so it was a TON of hard work in the beginning. Now I'm at restriction and when I try to veer off track, I don't get very far because I just can't eat fast and after a few bites I can talk a bit of sense into myself to get back on track. In the old days I would have been able to stuff a dump truck of calories into me before I got the sense to stop. So it's up to you what to say but keep in mind that while you may have a lot of positive support, you may have a few naysayers so you need to decide what you're willing to accept and go from there.

How long have you been banded? How many fills have you had? If you aren't at restriction yet, it's the hardest time because it's all willpower. You will get there eventually. I have noticed that for me if I don't drink enough fluids or get enough protein, my weight loss slows so make sure you are doing that. Take care and chin up, you can do it!

Happy Birthday ms. lady!

JulieG (nu2ywg) checking in at 205, down 2.5 lb. I actually lost 3 lb more than my goal and I'm now 5 pounds from onederland! Was quite shocked actually...wonder if my scale is off, lol.

Congratulations!!!! Way to go!

I just bought two new bras this week! I went for a long long time though because I HATE how expensive bras are. I had a few bras that were smaller that I moved into as I started losing, then I adjusted those as much as I could and even then my hubby was telling me kindly that I needed more "support", lol. Anyway, this week I finally went and bought 2 new ones, a little bit snug but not uncomfortably so. I only have about 30 more pounds to go til I'll be happy, then I'll probably by a few more.

Good luck to you! You're lucky you got such a big fill for your first one, many docs do their fills little by little. Does your clinic normally do numbing cream? I've never had it nor been offered it. You're tough though, I'm sure you can do it. I hope this fill brings you to your sweet spot.

I guess stress helps my weight loss efforts! Busiest week of the year in the busiest month and I lost FOUR FREAKING POUNDS!!!! JulieG (nu2wyg) checking in at 207.5! I haven't had a loss like that in ages. It brings me to my September goal which I'm thrilled about. Onederland is in sight folks and I'm heading straight for it!

I asked about that at my clinic and they said it's based on stomach size and they decide once they are in there which size they need. I think everyone is very different, some people have restriction right away with no fills and some people have to be almost at max fill before they reach restriction. Hopefully it will happen soon for your hubby...it is so hard to go on willpower until you get to that spot!

Congratulations on your onederful accomplishment!!! I feel so happy for you and I don't even know you I started my journey at a very similar weight about a month after you and as of this morning at 209 I am daring to dream of onederland! Your post is really inspiring for me!

When I went for my psychiatric evaluation before surgery, I asked what exactly they were looking for and they mentioned that people who are addicted to food may trade their addiction for something else like gambling or drugs and she also said some people can develop eating disorders...so you are not alone! I'm sorry that you are going through this but as a nurse you obviously know it's only a matter of time before you will have some serious problems. You took the step to tell us, now tell someone else. Did you have a psychiatric evaluation before surgery? Could you go back to that person? Take care of yourself, you're worth it.

I focus a lot on the scale but I also focus a lot on the gym so hopefully that balances things out for me. Before I had kids I had a lovely flat stomach even though I was overweight but after 3 kids, my tummy has been way too big. It's coming down a lot and the gym is helping to tone...I'll be interested to see if it ever gets the way it was. I've heard that before about the belly fat being a predictor of health and risk for bad things and I'd love to get rid of mine!

JulieG (nu2ywg) checking in with no change this week at 211.5. Can't say I'm surprised but I'm a little disappointed. I did great in the fitness department, have been doing more jogging as well as very regular gym time but I'm eating TOO MANY Snacks and snacks that aren't healthy. So my goal of less snacking has not really come to pass. I have to go somewhat easy on myself though as this is without a doubt a very busy week in a very busy month with the back to school thing still fresh, 2 kids with birthdays, back to school for me (distance college courses), preparing for camping and a family birthday gathering while camping. I have my MRI this saturday too (which I will drive back for then head back to campsite) to investigate my gallbladder issues. Looks like a some great success for a lot of people this week, congratulations to you!

Love the background of the table Larry! Nice job!

Joan, how are things going with regard to your band slippage?

Congratulations on your band and your success so far. I agree with the others that 10 lb in 24 days is pretty great but you say that was all in the first week? Do you have a protein goal or at least keeping track of your protein? It's really important for your weight loss and so is your water intake. Also, if you are female and happen to check your weight right before/during your time of month you may have a few pounds of water retention. Don't lose heart, you're doing great!

Okay, JulieG (nu2ywg) checking in today at 211.5, that's down 2.5! Yay! Only 3.5 lb from my goal for the month but boy oh boy it's a BUSY month. Lucky Larry for the gym membership, that is fantastic! Joan, good for you on the eating out. I always have a bit of a tough time at restaurants, especially when we are eating with other people besides my nuclear family. For some reason, probably too much chit chat and not enough focus on chewing, I end up having a stuck-type episode. I don't usually have to throw up or anything but I usually get very uncomfortable and have to stop eating for several minutes and considering nobody but my husband knows I have had the surgery I usually excuse myself to get through it. I hope everyone had a great week!

Yup, 65% of your excess, not 65% of your overall weight. So basically the statistics are that bandsters don't lose all their excess but they do make some great progress. Of course there will be people who lose more and some who lose less.

Name, real or screen~ JulieG (nu2ywg) Age~ 41 Weight on September 1st~ 214 Goal Weight for September 29th~ 208 Exercise Goal for September~ add more jogging to the routine Dietary Goal for September~ same as before, reduce snacking Personal Goal for September~ get through the busiest month of the year... birthdays, back to school, husband changing careers etc etc etc. Date Banded~ Jan 5/ 2011 Total Weight Loss Since Banding~ 104 lb

I set my own goal. The nutritionist counselled me that most lap band patients will loose a certain percentage...I think it was 65% but I could be wrong, of the excess weight. She asked if I would be satisfied with that if that's what I ended up with and I said yes but my goal is more than 65%. In fact, I'm past that now and am not even a year post-op. I think you should be conscious of the health care providers' suggestion and be realistic but you can always have your own goal in mind.

I didn't tell anyone about my surgery so no one was really looking for me to lose weight. The first person that noticed was my sister-in-law and I had lost at least 30 lb, maybe closer to 40 lb (and I started out over 300). No one else said anything til I was probably about 50 or 60 lb down. I think new clothes that fit better really help in that regard because even if your old clothes are loose, they are hiding any shape changes. It is nice to have the positive reinforcement though and now that I'm down over a hundred, many people notice regularily. Keep plugging away and it will come!

I went through that same thing. Between my consult and the start of my pre-op diet I gained about 4 or 5 lb because I felt like it was my last chance to enjoy some foods and that for some things I would never ever taste them again. Well, the only thing I've never gone back to is the soda, haven't had a drop since the day before my pre-op diet started in December. I didn't really hoist in the fact that after the liquids and mushies that it would take quite a while to reach restriction and that I would actually be able to eat many things I thought I was saying goodbye to. Anyway, I've discovered that I can eat most things, even with a reasonable amount of restriction and what I love about the band is that I can't gorge. I do cheat but look at me, I've lost over a hundred pounds since December so I feel a bit silly for being so dramatic in those pre-op days. Just to let you know, you will be able to have some of that stuff you think you're mourning after the pre and post op diets are done. The band will help you to NOT gorge though and that's the lovely thing about it in my opinion. Congrats on the 50 lb and good luck with your surgery!

Congratulations! You're off to a great start!