Jim1967

Wow, I guess I should have re sized the pictures. I thought for some reason the forum software would automatically do that. DOH!!

This past Week or so has indeed been a busy one. Last Saturday (9/14) Kelli and I along with our friends participated in 5K Walk for Breast Cancer Awareness. Walking a 5K is pretty much a breeze for me...or so I thought. I finished no problem but I did learn along the way that walking a 5K on the public streets is not the same as walking a track or a treadmill. I did end up finishing with a pretty decent time of slightly over an hour. We had a great time and it was for a good cause. We were walking in honor of our friends Mom who had passed roughly 8 months ago. We called our team Bosom Buddies and on the back we had his Mom's initials. Almost to the finish line...styling in my pink shirt.. Kelli (knick1016) and I Finish line!! Sunday was busy day as well between Laundry, Grocery shopping day to day stuff. Kelli had band surgery Monday. She got the Realize band. She was in surgery for about an hour and everything went great. As with all patients she stayed over night at the hospital and came home on Tuesday afternoon. She is on the mend but is dealing with the usual gas cramps and fighting some nausea today. I am excited for her as her journey is just beginning and she is inspiring me to keep on keeping on.... I am sure she will post in a day or so if she hasn't already. Her screen name is knick1016

Depriving yourself of things you love could/will just lead to failure in the long run. Band is not a diet and it is not about deprivation. Moderation is the key. Don't beat yourself up too much. Carry on and move forward and you'll be fine

My Wife had surgery this past Monday. I am home with her only because I am able to work from home. Biggest thing to remember is you will most likely be very tired. My Wife is under no real restrictions other than the stage 1 diet and no heavy lifting or working out. She is able to drive as long as she is not on the pain meds. Since they are keeping you over night to monitor you then I would say you would be fine on your own the next but you need to feel confident with that choice. When I had my surgery I was ready to go back to work by day 4.

It's definitely a tough one to overcome. I caught myself last week going after spoonfuls of peanut butter a bit too often. Seems I had a bit of a sweet tooth. I guess there are worse things I could have eaten. O the flip side my interest in food has been in decline for months. I don't even enjoy going out to dinner anymore...

I had quit caffeine cold turkey for about the first year of being banded. Back to having 1 large Dunkin Donuts a day. No issues here aside from the fact that it wires me up and puts me on hyper drive more then ever did before. I guess that's what happens when you finally detox and cleanse your system.

That's just insane. So as it is you make less when on unemployment then you would a job then they charge you even more for medical insurance. System is really ass backwards....

I assume you will be able to file for unemployment? Do they offer insurance in CA with unemployment benefit? Here in MA and NH they used to offer what was called Cobra insurance. It was a little expensive but it was good.

Finding the green zone can be a daunting task. It could take no fills to several fills. I have an 11cc band filled to 9.5cc and it took me 5 months to get there and that was even after an initial 5cc fill. A few times would get a fill and feel like I would have restriction only just have it disappear within days. 11cc Realize Band: 1st fill 5/29/12 5cc 2nd fill 6/12/12 1cc 3rd fill 7/02/12 1cc 4th fill 8/14/12 1cc 5th fill 9/4/12 1cc 6th fill 1/29/13 .5 Until you find that proper zone for you it is going to be all on you to monitor your portions and make good food choices. More importantly you need to remember the band is not about restricting/preventing what you can eat. It is about making you feel satisfied on very little food and have that satisfaction last 4-5 hours. If you have not read Dr Simpsons page I highly recommend it. I have a link below in my signature. Best wishes...

Congratulations!! Also my Wife is being banded on the 16th!!

Congratulations on your success and I got your message loud and clear. Downward trend is the name of the game. I really needed to read this today. Thank you Ralph and best wishes.

Along with food addiction you are also probably battling what is known as Bandster hell. Bandster hell is that period after right after surgery but still do not have any 'restriction'. Unfortunately, it is all on you to eat properly until such time you get the needed fills to a point where your band becomes utilized. I would definitely recommend finding a binge eater support group. It does get better in time and patience can be really tough at times. You have to not beat yourself up too much cause that could end up leading to more overeating. I had a serious food addiction especially junk food. chips, cheez its, ice cream and soda. I had it bad. Now with my band that is properly adjusted my head hunger is gone and I eat three meals and day with no snacking. Sometimes it amazes me how I have become a "recovered binge eater". Hang in there and keep working at it. Remember this is a journey and there is a learning curve and missteps do happen. Forgiveness is very important. Keep up with your appointments and fills and you will see in time it will get better. Best wishes..Jim

Still need help with this?

Yea what Guy says. but seriously, just got to move on and remember just because you have a band it doesn't mean you cannot have those things. Just in moderation or as a treat. Band is not about deprivation but I understand how you feel. I would go to McDonald's drive thru and get an ice cream cone for a buck...eat it and then beat myself up. It's all work in progress and tomorrow is another day!

So far so good. I have made it out 3 times this week and have walked 6 miles.

September 16 we expand our partnership from husband/wife/friend to band partners. I promise I will support you to the best of my ability but also allow you to find your own way and what works for you. You're going to do great!

Very fact that you're acknowledging the head hunger versus actual hunger is huge. Now you just need to preoccupy yourself with something else.

Welcome David and congrats on your success to date and the pending arrival of two little ones. Three of them in time should keep you on your toes and quite active.

Agreed on all counts. You're all right I am putting too much pressure on myself. Flip side I did manage to get out and do a 2 mile walk during lunch yesterday.

With any kind of luck it will be only for a short time. Normal weight people can certainly have sleep apnea.

Same here. I usually counter the question with a question. Do you mean in total or since surgery?

Hi Sojourner, Thank you for giving me another perspective. Perhaps you're right and I am just putting too much pressure on myself. Really it is not so much the 10 hours a week I am looking for but rather some consistency. Seeking out that consistency I guess I am just adding more pressure. As for the walks I do enjoy them however not on the level of perhaps other activities. I thought maybe if I looked at it as something that has to be done daily such as a shower, work, cooking dinner then perhaps it would actually get done. When it's all said and done I just have to do it and I have to make the time to do it.

thank you :-)

Watch out for the low hanging fruit. Nothing worse than sitting on your own fruit!!

Every now and then I get a PM asking me how I have lost so much weight so fast and what do I do for exercise. Let me tell you honestly I have lost a significant amount of weight just by simply doing things that I couldn't do for a very long time. Things that most people do daily. When I was 488lbs I could hardly stay on my feet for 10 minutes at a time without sever muscle cramps in the back of my legs. I couldn't even walk the grocery store with my Wife. I used to sit in the car and wait for her to do it and then I would get out and help her load the car. We would get home and carry the groceries into the house and I would have to sit and catch my breath, rest my legs before helping her put stuff away. It was no way for a 45 year old man to live. So to say I lost a lot of weight with no exercise is not completely accurate but the exercise I was getting is stuff that some folks may take for granted and I never will again. At my heaviest everything but sitting and lying down was a task. I was a home body as much as possible and even going out to a movie was a task. I even reached a sad point where taking a shower was a real chore but I did it every day because not taking one is just unacceptable not mention gross. So as my journey has progressed so has my physical activity but yet I am still having a problem getting in actual exercise and sometimes just a simple walk is hard to get in. Last week I committed to 10 hours of cardio and came up way short not even reaching half. This week same thing I committed to 10 hours of cardio and I didn't get the walk in yesterday. Today I am going and this time no excuses. Exercise needs to become a daily task just like taking a shower is a daily task.... So far my weight loss has not really started to slow down but I am starting to see the signs that it might. I figure as I am inching closer to goal it will only get more difficult/slow. My initial goal that I was shooting for was to weigh 220lbs. That would still put me into the obese BMI but I can accept 220. I am on track to hitting my goal of 250 for Christmas which I set last Christmas. Starting to wonder if 199 is possible. Excess skin is really becoming noticeable but there is not much I can do about that. Insurance is not going to cover plastic surgery. So you choose to live with the excess skin or be fat. I'll take the loose skin just as long as I don't start having problems. Anyway if you read this far then thank you. I hope your day is going well and that your scale is being friendly to you!