B.R.D.

Today marks my 1 week post op and what a week it has been. Let me recap in a few important catagories.
 
Physical
I've experience the pain, which in all honesty isn't as bad as I would have expected. If we ignore the day of surgery and the day after, the rest of the week has been ok. I haven't needed any pain meds since the 3rd day post op. Pain has been limited to gas pain and incision site pain, both completely tolerable. The begining of the week I was a bit more tired than usual and I became tired quicker when doing simple activities like walking, each day this gets a bit better. Today I went shopping with my mother, my fitbit says I took around 3500 steps and walked 1.4 miles. My knees feel better, my back feels better, my feet feel better. I am actually sleeping better and waking up feeling as if I slept, no more waking tired. Looking forward to the next week!
 
Emotional
This has been one of the toughest things to deal with, the disappointment in not being able to enjoy the foods I love has hit me pretty hard a few times, always when out. I went to breakfast with my wife and her dad, I assumed that the resturant would have yogurt for me to eat since most do, they didn't. So I sat there with a decaf coffee and a kids sized orange juice while they ate. I don't like eggs and what not, but the smell comming off of their plates was so amazing, it took most of what I had to keep from breaking down into tears. I focused on why I'm doing this and resolved in the fact that I would be able to eat again in a few weeks. The biggest test was Thanksgiving. My family are big eaters, Italian families know how to eat. So I was dreading Thanksgiving at my parents house. The night prior I jumped the gun on my puree phase and attempted some pureed meat pie, a tiny 1/4 inch slice and some beef broth, blended it up, poured it into my 1/4 cup ramekin and heated it up. It looked so nasty, but the taste, after all the liquids and puddings and jello's was so damn amazing. And lucky for me, I didn't have any problems with eating it, I finished the serving a little quick for my liking, but I held off and sure enough, I felt the fullness coming on, but it never got painful, so I knew I hit the mark size wise. This gave me a bit of a bump for Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving came and I pureed some turkey with gravy, some corn and potatos and took a 1/2 slice of cranberry sauce about a cup of food in total. We all said our thanks and got to eating. I focused on taking my time, I watched the clock and put my spoon down between "bites". About 20 mins in I knew I should stop, the fullness was just starting to kick up, so I put down my spoon and pushed the plate away. Everyone was suprised by how little I could eat. But they were all impressed. So one more big eating day left and it will be a smooth year.
 
Weight
I saved the best for last.
I weighted in at 350 when I finally decided that I had had enough and that diets and yo-yo weight gain/loss had to go. My last appointment with my surgeon I weighted in at 343. The last "official" weight in at my pre-op training class was 336.8. The night before surgery I weighed myself on a medical scale at 335. Pretty good. But these next numbers are amazing. I had surgery on Friday, the following Monday I weighed in at 329, Yesterday, I weighed 324. So from 335 to 324 in 1 week! and all without feeling underfed. This is the motivation I need. I'm feeling the weight loss in my clothes, on my back and knees. It's noticable.
 
I'm greatful to everyone here for the information and support that you are providing. All comments, both positive and critical are appreciated. I understand that to learn we need to be shown our faults.
 
Stay Strong LBT!

Hello!
 
Well many of you may know me..and many of you may not. I've been on LBT for about 4mths now (I think). A little of my back-story is: I've been researching LapBand since about January of this year. July I decided it was for me. I attended the seminar at the end of July. My first appointment w/my surgeon was September 1st (after rescheduling an August 4th appt.). Since then I've had a fitness appointment, 2 nutrition appointments, a psychological evaluation, an upper endoscopy, a Resting Metabolic Rate test, a bone density test, endless lab work (I'm tired of being stuck), been put on a Vitamin D regimen and had my yearly physical. I'm grateful that I am 100% healthy and I know a ton more about my body now than I did 4mths ago. I was submitted to insurance October 17th (a Monday and a little over a month after my initial appointment w/my surgeon) and received my approval letter October 21st (Friday). Since then, I've had follow-up lab work, after having finished my Vitamin D regimen (was 8 now is 33 =D), I've met w/my surgeon for the pre-op appointment, went to the hospital where I will be having my procedure and met w/the RN to discuss the surgery and had more lab work done there (like I said.. I'm tired of being stuck =/). I am going through insurance and thankfully that has been a very painless process. They only required a BMI of 40 or greater, a psychological evaluation and 5yrs weight history. I was approved on my first try.
 
That is A LOT to go through in just 3 short months. Now granted, while I was in it, it felt like it was taking FOREVER!! But in retrospect, it was really a blink of an eye. But now I'm at a point where my mind is catching up to my circumstances and this surgery, this life changing event, is becoming so real. My surgery date is December 8th and as of November 24th (Thanksgiving Day) I have been on my liquid diet. Everything is going very well and so far I've not had any problems or outrageous cravings. I'm actually not hungry most of the time, which is extremely helpful since all I'm taking in is protein shakes, sugar free drinks and sugar free jell-o/yogurt.
 
Everyday of being on this liquid diet is really bringing me closer and closer to the realization of the step I am about to take. I have never had surgery for anything and yes, I am a little scared. I think you'd have to be inhuman to not be, under those circumstances. More than anything I'm excited and ready to hit the ground running, but if I'm real with myself, I hope that I'm ready. Everything happened so fast and that's a blessing, but I've had very little time to actually process what's going on. I think I've spent more time thinking about the end result more than the process it takes to get there.
 
So, at this point, I'm just trying to take mental inventory. Checking my reality-o-meter and making sure I have realistic expectations. Making sure I am truly ready to take on the task that will soon be set before me. I believe I am, but I need to make sure the switch is flipped mentally and emotionally. Because if I'm not real with me, I'm only setting myself up for failure. I know many of you that (may) read this have probably already gone through this same thing. I'm sure it will pass and I'll be fine. But I at least wanted to take a minute to put my thoughts down. I usually feel better once I've gotten things off my chest and writing is the best way for me to do that.
 
I'm on my way and it won't be long now. I am so grateful for this site and all the helpful people that share their success stories. You all have played a big part in the confidence I have that I have made the right decision! I'll be sure to keep everyone posted! Thank you all for your continued encouragement!!
 
Thanks for reading!
-Mary-

Wow - so much has happened in so little time. I haven't been on the forum since May; we've had such a busy summer. Now that school's getting ready to start it's going to get even busier!
 
When I was last on in May, I had just publicly made it my goal (posted it on FaceBook) to reach 100 lbs lost by my birthday, which was 8/12. At that point I had lost 70+ and was feeling on top of the world. I had even bought an elliptical machine from someone at work and was ready to kick up the exercise program a couple notches....which I did, along with adding water aerobics twice a week. HOWEVER, I hit a MAJOR plateau in June that lasted into July. Ugggghhh! I talked to the doc about it and he said not to worry, all was well, and plateaus are to be expected. He was pleased with my overall progress and said to keep up the good work. As the numbers in my signature say, I have not yet reached that 100 lb goal - YET!! I am very pleased to be at the 87 lb mark and closing in on that 100! After all, today marks only 8 months since I started the pre-op diet and that is what I count as my starting point.
 
Some NSV's for me include:
 
1-starting in a size 24/26 and I just bought some 14/16's!! I found a couple ladies with some size 16's for sale on Craigslist and THEY FIT! Soooooooo exciting for me
 
2-starting at ZERO minutes of exercise per week and now, I exercise an hour a day at least 4 days a week, if not 5. I do the elliptical for 20-30 minutes then go for a walk outside to round out the hour (sometimes it goes past), or water aerobics twice a week for an hour each, and sometimes I just grab my husband and tell him we're going for a walk. This has benefitted him too! Today we walked 5 miles and had an hour & 40 minutes of pleasant, uninterrupted together time. <3
 
3-the compliments I have gotten from people at work and who haven't seen me for a while never fail to make my day brighter!
 
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Things that haven't been so great:
 
1-After my last 2 fills, I have had nausea & diarrhea that evening - anyone else experiencing these sypmtoms?
 
2-I have gotten "blocked" a couple times and it HURTS!! It hasn't been so bad that I've had to go have an unfill, just pain that lasts until the food moves past the band I suppose as the band gets tighter, I have to pay closer attention to chewing, swallowing, and eating SLOWLY!
 
3-Constipation. I have had issues with this for a few years since I tried another weight loss program, but still had problems and finally started drinking MiraLax (or the generic equivalent) every day and this has worked well for me.
 
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Am I glad I did it? HELL YEAH!! Would I do it again? In a heartbeat! Am I loving the results? Oh yes!!
 
I have reset the timeline on my 100-lb goal for the 1st of October. We'll see if it happens by then, and I would be ecstatic if it were to happen before then. But, even if I don't get there by then, I know I will eventually, and I just have to be patient and let it work. After all, I didn't get that big over the course of a few months and I shouldn't expect it to all go away that soon either

This is my third day after surgery. The gas is still an issue, but I have faced much worse in life so I am trying not to complain. I had my first protein shake this morning, I slipped slowly and it went down easy. I am thankful. At this point, I can not tell whether the feelings I have are me feeling full, but I know I am not hungry so I wont eat. According to the personalized plan I received from my Doctor's office, I am able to have strained cream soups and watered down cream of wheat or oatmeal. I love cream of wheat and oatmeal and just because I can have a watered down version of it, does not mean that I am going to take it in.
 
So let me get down to the nitty gritty. If there is ever a time where I decide to go back to my old eating habits, please DON'T PACIFY ME. I have a weight problem because I like to eat. I love eating what I want and if it were not for the fact that I dont like being overweight, limited to shopping at big girl stores, or suffering from health issues because of it, then I would still eat all that I want. I couldn't do this by myself because I made poor choices in food. Taste and instant gratification outweighed everything. So in saying all of that, if I start to deviate from the plan my doctor has for me, please don't pacify me. It just means that I am doing what I want to do. No excuses and I will suffer for it later!
 
I tried to put on kid gloves when it comes to this site, but it doesnt matter because if you are not pacifying someone or stroking their ego, then you are doing something wrong. So instead of me creating enemies on here, I will just express myself on my personal blog. We all have a weight problem and our journey is personal; however, I feel that we can support one another, but who is really in the position to give advice? We are all trying to find our way, some sooner than others, but this is like any addiction and have to be dealt with day by day, choice by choice for a lifetime.
 
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. If I decide to eat the way I did pre-op, I cant expect different results post-op, its just not going to happen. If I have to question if its wrong, its wrong and please don't be afraid to tell me that its wrong. If I start eating sandwiches and hamburgers within a few weeks. Dont be afraid to call me out on it, because I already know that those are not the right choices to loss the weight. I don't know what tomorrow holds, but I know that I have to take this thing one step at a time.