Suziecat

What's up with the changing around???

Elizabeth, first thing, So sorry about your loss. I can't even imagine the pain you must feel. One thing I have learned is that the pain never gets better, you learn to live with it and not let it run your life.

I'm so glad you made the decision to go back to your doctor. Although my story is different then yours, I still felt the shame of returning to the doctor. In 2 and a half years I endured 4 major surgeries. I went in to a "Whoa is me" attitude and laid in bed and snacked all day. One night while laying in bed and reading, it hit me that I needed to get my life back. First thing in the morning I called the doctors office. They got me in the next day. I took my husband with me so that he would make sure I told the doctor everything. And I did. He was very understanding and has me back to losing again. I'm so proud that I made that huge step. And there I was, afraid of this man and he proved me wrong.

My hope is that with our stories, some one will be inspired and make the decision to go back to their doctor.

Good luck to you and prayers for your family.

Suzanne.

I recorded it and watched it. I have never watched his show because I don't like his stance on weight loss. I was kind of shocked at the 40 pound loss being good for weight loss. But it wasn't the weight loss that he was really talking about, he was more for it making people healthier and either not taking meds or coming off of the meds they were on. I think he did a pretty good job at explaining it.

One time I was at Weight Watchers and there was a girl there that wanted to lose 21 pounds. She took a beating from others in the room. I finally stopped everyone and explained to them that her 21pounds was just as important to her as my 150 pounds to lose was to me. If someone needs to lose 40 pounds to make them selves healthier and feel better, then more power to them. I advocate what ever you need to do to lose the weight, then I am proud of you.

Hi Bobbie, I wasn't part of the smashing pumpkins group. I belonged to another group that eventually split up. But I was banded in October.

I was banded in October of 06.The best thing I ever did for myself. I love my band and so far we are still friends. I had lost almost 200 pounds when I got hit with a series of surgeries. Had to have Fluid taken out of my band for them. Last April I was laying in bed still recouping from a surgery in January when It hit me that I had to get off of the pity train. 4 surgeries in 2 and a half years had taken a toll on me mentally. So the next morning I called my band docs office and they got me in the next day. I took y husband in with me so that he could make sure I was very honest with the doc. I poured out y story and told him I was ready to get going again and get the rest of this weight off. I had gained back about 70 pounds but have now lost 35 of that.

I'm not saying it has been easy, but it has been so worth it to go back and be honest with him. Husband and I joined a gym at the first of the year and haven't missed a day of our schedule. Today we even went out and took a walk around the neighborhood. I'm backing to wearing some of the clothes I was wearing a few years ago. So glad I made that decision to go back and get started again.

I sure hope you have the chance to go back and check in with your doc. It's never to late or not the right time to do it .

Keep me posted on how things go. Take care.

Suzanne.

Please do us a huge favor and keep us posted on how things go. We are all in this together and we worry and also rejoice for everyone. Kind of like we have a stake in everyone's journey.

Good Luck.

First things first. Throwing up is a major NO-NO. Any Doctor will tell you that. You can do major harm to yourself and your band. The Doctor may even take him in for surgery and remove the band to avoid him doing any harm to himself.

With that being said. You need to make an appointment to go in and both of you talk with the Doctor. Apparently both of you need to be reminded of the rules of the Band.

I don't mean to come off so harsh but there are consequences to the throwing up that could be serious.

I have had my Band for 8 years now and have never thrown up. I've had my fair share of being stuck and slimming, but never throwing up.

Good Luck to you and your husband.

Karad, so glad you came here to ask for help. So many great people here that will give you guidance.

I sure hope your husband is doing better and will have a full recovery.

Have you called your doctor about aftercare? Support is one of the things you will find helpful. There is Support Group meetings at Menorah Hospital. You could call them and find out when and what time. My doctor had his own support group but was discontinued last summer. I miss going to them. Some of those people now go to Menorah. Give it a try.

Thank You for the laugh. Yup, I'd have to get a convertible. LOL.

Thoughts and prayers for you and your family.

I to fell back into my old habits. After having 4 surgeries in 2 and a half years, I found myself laying in bed wondering what ever happened to the old me. One night I was in bed and came to this web site and started reading post after post and it finally dawned on me that I had the power to change. And change I did. First thing in the morning I called my band Docs office and made an appointment. I took my husband with me so he could make sure I told the Doc every thing I had been through and that I was serious about getting back on track. That was 8 months ago and I am happy to say that I am back to losing again. I actually had gained back about 70 pounds and I have lost 35 of it so far. My Doc was so understanding and has really been encouraging me with each visit.

I wish you luck.

Hubby and I joined Planet Fitness last month. Monday we are going to step it up a little more. One the days we use the treadmills, we walk side by side and chat.

Those are amazing pictures and you look wonderful. More then that, I bet you feel better. And how lucky you are that you have a co-worker to encourage you.

Suzanne.

I'm not sure I could ever go vegan. I love my meats to much. Especially chicken. But I do make a mean pot of veggie Soup.< /p>

Last week hubby and I joined a gym. We went two days last week and just got back from our first visit for this week. We will wait till Thursday to go back. Thought we would wait till then and then work off what we had for Christmas dinner and then back again on Friday.

Still losing weight, now to start on getting rid of the inches.

Have a good day, Suzanne.

In defense of your grandma or any other family member I would like to say this. Their love for you is so strong that they only see your eyes. I ran into that with my sister. Weighing over 400 pounds and losing 150 so far, my sister told me she never saw my weight. She said don't think I'm stupid, yes I do know you are over weight but I don't see it because I love you.

I hope I explained that well enough.

Keep up with the losing and know that you are loved.

Arose, it was very hard for me to also pick up the phone and call them. But I found the courage after reading some post here. I did go back and even though my weight loss is slow right now, at least it's a loss. I'm down 30 pounds and very happy about it.

Now I'm just trying to make it through the holiday with out over doing it. I told my husband this morning that there will be no more backing done here. I haven't made a whole lot but what I have made, no one is eating. I have ended up bagging some of it and freezing it. If I didn't, it was either going to be eaten by me or thrown out.

Good Luck to you. I hope your returning will help you out a lot.

Suzanne.

Well, talk about neglect. I bet you all feel I abandoned you. It's called life and some times it takes my free time away. More specific would be two sister and my Band Doc firing people I need.

I started back and was losing slowly. But I was losing. So the first thing that happens is there was a shake up at the Doc's office and I no longer had my support person. They worked things out and brought her back but that lasted about a month and now she is gone. And on top of that, they have cancelled the support group meetings. Crap. I still have other ways of getting support though. I'm not out on a limb.

Kept myself busy this summer with my 8 year old grandniece. We had a ball and she kept me moving. And since I was so busy with her, I had good eating habits and wasn't bored to were I would snack all day long.

Then August came and I started to get hit with a lot of stress. My husband was admitted to the hospital with an infection from a cat bite. Who knew? He was petting my sisters cat and after a few minutes she turned to tell him no more and her fang hit the back of his hand. We didn't think much of it as we have 3 cats and are always getting scratched or bit. No 3 days later his hand was so swollen and a red streak running up his arm.

October didn't get any better. My older sister was diagnosed with breast cancer for the second time. She will be fine. It was barely stage 1 and had not spread anywhere. They even at first questioned that it was cancer. She did good for a little while and then got an infection and has been in and out of hospitals and assisted living since.

The week after her surgery my younger sister went in to have more hardware attached to her spinal column. So I had two sisters in the hospital at the same time and yup, not even the same hospital. So back and forth I went.

But the good news through all of this is that at my last appointment on Monday, I've managed to be down 30 pounds. Each appointment would be a 5 here and 4 here and 5 there. It all adds up to 30 pounds. Now to get through the holidays without to much damage.

And also, our gym that we used closed down in June. Hubby and I have been trying to walk everyday, but winter is here and it's not so easy to do. So yesterday we went and joined Planet Fitness and had our first workout this morning. WooHoo.

I certainly hope that all of you are doing well.

Have a Merry Christmas, Happy Holiday and a Happy New Year.

Suzanne.

Runt, cold contracts and heat expands. That's why some people sip warm tea when they feel restriction.

Chai, you have to be careful as it is really cold and will close up your band fast. It's like anything else cold, just take it easy but it is worth it.

Just some FYI. We made two pitchers yesterday with Rum in them. Holy Cow. It was a great Labor Day. LOL.

I LOVE salads and eat them when I can. I will add shredded baked chicken or some other sort of Protein to it. Chopped eggs, cheese or bacon bits. Some salads I make with lettuce and some with raw spinach.

The only problem I have had with salads was after I had my gallbladder taken out. But that has died down over the months.

My Band Doc says I can have salads after I have gotten my Protein in. If I get that done and am still hungry, then I can have a salad. It has something to do with the Water content of the lettuce.

Baby steps when starting out and make sure you do chew real good.

Good luck.

I just tried this and it was awesome. And so easy to do. My new go to instead of a sugary 7-11 or Q-Trip slushy. Thanks for sharing. Next time I might put a touch of rum in it.

I grew up on Peanut Butter and will have it till I die. But I don't have it everyday now. Maybe once a week. I can actually have a half of a english muffin toasted real good and then put peanut butter on it. My favorite way to use it is in my Protein Drink. I put 8 ounces of Water in the blender, Protein Powder, half of a banana and 2 teaspoons of peanut butter. Sometimes I may add a few ice cubes.

So two days now eating regular food. This time I am really paying more attention to my band. Like this morning the men's group had breakfast after church. I got my plate and grabbed a cup of OJ. Was walking to the table and hubby askedme why I got that. Duh, force of habit. No OJ for me. So we sit down and I have a biscuit and a breakfast casserole on my plate. The biscuit was still cold inside so I didn't eat it. I had eaten about 4 small bites of my casserole and was done. There was a really nice older man sitting at the table we were at and I paid more attention to the conversation then eating. So hubby asked if I was done and he took my plate and threw it away. I hate throwing good food away. I then went to the kitchen and threw my OJ down the drain. :-(

But I have made a vow to myself that I am going to let the band do the work it is supposed to do and that I am going to follow it. If it says I have had enough, then that's it.No more pushing it to the limit. It has worked for the last two days and I am happy. I just need to keep my vow.

Well, yeah. I could have eaten a whole lot healthier. But I really didn't even eat very much at all. It might have been my wayof giving myself a little splurge right before I get back into loosing weight again.

We were taught that in Weight Watchers. Never to deprive yourself of something you really have a craving for. It only sets you up for a big failure. If you have a craving for DQ, then go there and get the smallest you can get and then have about 4 or 5 bites and then put it in the freezer. There were many times I did that and then up having it in my freezer for over a week. It taught me that I really didn't need to shovel it all in my mouth and learn how to slowly enjoy it and get my cravings under control.

So later today I get to go back to chewing food again. I'll first get my Protein Shake in for Breakfast and probably have some Soup for lunch. Then most likely grill something with veggies while sitting outside listening to the ball game. Our favorite thing to do.

I got to start on mushies today. So hubby and I ran to the grocery store and I bought 2 cups of mashed potatoes and I got a half gallon of sherbert. I had 1/3 cup of potatoes for lunch and about 2 hours later I had 1 cup of sherbert. For dinner I will have another 1/3 cup of potatoes. Then probably have some more sherbert or maybe some Jello for a snack later.

I'm working on my listening to my band better. That when it tells me it has had enough, then I'm going to stop. And that will be a test for me when it comes to something I really like. We had pizza about 5 days ago. It was a small pizza so the slices were alot smaller. I think 2 slices could have equaled 1 regular slice. I had 2 slices on my plate and took my time eating and making sure I was chewing really good. I actually was done eating after one slice and pushed my plate away. But with in about 5 minutes, I couldn't stand it any longer and I ate the second slice. I got mad at myself for doing that. For not listening to my band. So that is my new mission. To really start listening and stopping when it tells me to.