jen_1381

Sounds like a rough day. I'm sorry, sometimes it seems like those days just happen; everything piles up and crashes down all at once. I'm in SW Washington, and it's been raining like crazy all day! But, coming from the Oregon Coast, it takes more than a days rain to concern me.

Hopefully tomorrow will bring something extra-good, to make up for the bad day today.

I take a BP bill, thyroid pill, and biotin every morning and have never had to crush them, or had them get stuck. I drink water all day long - about 100 ounces a day. I've been banded 5 months and have never thrown up.

I don't know that many bandsters physically can throw up after surgery; what they refer to as "throwing up" is most likely what we call "PB-ing"...or "productive burping". It's bringing up whatever may be stuck between the band and your throat. But honestly, I've been stuck about 10 times and never had to bring food back up. I just stop what I'm doing, take deep breaths, and ride it out.

If there's any doubt, I would call. I never vomited post-op, but if I did I know I would have called my doctor. It wouldn't hurt to call - the worst he'll say is that it's okay (but I don't think it is...).

I've been at a stand-still for about 7 weeks. It can take a huge toll on you mentally. I've had to take a step back and be proud of my progress, or else I would have lost my mind by now. Just know you're body is changing and adjusting. You'll get there.

I'm excited for you! Most of us happy bandsters will agree, our only regret is not doing it sooner.

At 19, I weighed 235 lbs. You know the only change that happened over the next 10 years, despite countless diets and work-out routines? I gained 10 lbs. A month shy of my 29th bday I got my band, and have lost over 50 lbs so far.

I'm not saying that doing it without the band isn't possible, but you sound like you've really got your head on straight and have made a well-informed decision. Don't let other peoples opinions sway you; you are the only one that has to wake up every morning in your skin.

There are so many factors that can tweak your weight up and down. Water retention, your amount of activity (I ran a little test and weighed 2 more pounds right after working out than I did before I started), and so many other things. I always weigh myself in the morning, as soon as I wake up right after I go to the bathroom and stark naked. That's the only weight I take to heart. All the other scales are different than yours, and your body is different at certain times of day.

I know that won't make you feel better, but please don't be so hard on yourself. I am the same way with the weight loss and gain fluctuations, and it really takes its toll on your spirit after a few months. Look at big picture.

I'm not a fan of Dr. Oz I know a lot of people value his opinion, but I'm not one. It will be interesting to see how Lisa does though. I read a comment that she had towards Dr. Oz that he was one of those "skinny people we hate". She's very outspoken...should be an interesting show!

My surgeon says he is happy with a 1 lb loss every 7-10 days. At first, I was doing much better than that, losing between 2-3 lbs a week. Now that I've been banded a while, the weight loss has slowed down (even stopped the past 6 weeks) so losing and keeping off that 1 lb a week is taking work.

There are only a few things I really miss living my new lifestyle. Sour Patch Kids are probably the biggest thing. Sugar coated in sour sugar? Yes please!! But I haven't had them in months. Every know and then I will crave a drink of Pepsi. The way the carbonation burns...mmm! But I know it's potentially hazardous so I don't give in.

Some days just suck. Sorry you're going through all of this. For the last few years I've felt like a Professional Patient (love how you worded that!) myself, the end result being a hysterectomy and two heart ablations. You feel like you're getting ran through the ringer...your voice gets lost in the process somehow, it becomes a juggling act with insurance and doctors. That's why I opted for the Lap Band at 28; I figure I'm going to just bag my 20's, chalk it up to life sucking, and live my 30's to the fullest being healthy, pain free, and comfortable.

I wish you all of the best in your future adventures. Hopefully after you're settled with your back and lap band, you'll be able to stay away from doctors, hospitals, OR suites...for a long time!

I can totally relate to you. I'm only down just over 50 lbs, but when I look in the mirror I don't see any change. All of my family does; my sister-in-law told me today I look like skin and bones (which was sweet, but really, I'm still 190 lbs). My brother-in-law even complimented today about how great I look, but I just don't see it. I will agree that I'm thinner than I was but I'm in no way thin, and I don't think I will ever see myself that way no matter how much I lose.

I think it's safe to say that most overweight people develop a complex about themselves. It takes a lot of time and a lot of self discovery to be able to look in the mirror and not see the "fat girl". I figure, once I get to my goal weight, I'll start working on my self-image. Until then, I need to keep focused and not let the compliments get to my head and decide I've done enough.

My surgeon likes to see a 1 lb loss every 7 - 10 days. I was like - - that's it?! So I set my goal higher, at about 10 lbs between fills. I've never had a fill under fluoro, sounds interesting! Just had my third fill this week, and instead of going in more angled towards the side of my abdomen, he went straight through the edge of my port insicision/scar. Hurt like crazy!

My nutritionist recommended 80-100 oz. I bought a plastic Starbucks bottle that holds 20 ounces and pretty much drink all day long. Most days I can hit the goal but others I'm just not thirsty.

Great job!! Success feels good, doesn't it?! I bet your body is so thankful you made those lifestyle changes. Keep up the good work, and keep shocking your WLS team!!

Weekends are by far the hardest time for me. During the work week I stay very structured, drink plenty of water, and exercise daily. Weekends are a free-for-all. I don't usually slip up too bad diet-wise, but my meal times are crazy. I'll get busy around the house and realize it's 11 and I haven't eaten breakfast! Yet another area of my life that needs more discipline....

Carolinagirl is right though, the days are over, and luckily every new day gives us a new opportunity to do right.

Thank you so much for the tip! I will try that tonight. It's just draining, and my husband keeps threatening to hide the scale!

Are you logging your food intake? Exercising? Have you talked with your nutritionist or surgeon?

Plateaus happen. I sit atop one right now, and it's very frustrating. I would highly recommend keeping a food diary for a few days then getting in touch with your nutritionist. Get their input and suggestions.

There are things you can do - - increase activity, change foods...but sometimes you just plateau.

Good luck to you I wish you tons of success, and congrats on the weight you have loss.

I LOVE this entry!! Congrats to you on your amazing journey. I couldn't agree more - - it's ALL up to YOU with the band! I had to take all of the pro's and con's and consider what I could do. The number one most important thing I have learned on my journey is that I am responsible for myself. If I do bad things, I have bad consequences. Good things cause good things to happen.

What a difference a year can make!!

Great job Melinda! You're very inspiring.

Whenever I'm feeling discouraged, I think about how heavy the weight is that I've lost so far. Picking up a 25 lb weight in each hand feels HEAVY - and that's how much I've lost so far! When you put things into real life terms (like your bag of dirt you have left to lose) it's pretty amazing. To think you've lost 2 1/2 bags of dirt!!

It can be so discouraging. I get on really good losing streaks then will plateau for five or six days. The past few times, I let it ride and knew my body would eventually catch up, but this last one I went to liquids for a day. Hit the protein shakes during the day (breakfast and lunch) then had a very low cal/high protein dinner. It worked, busted right off that plateau. I've heard that people find either increasing or decreasing their calorie intake for a few days can help (I've always been to afraid of trying the high calorie method).

Good for you though, sticking to it in the face of discouragement. It's not easy living the bandster lifestyle like we do, and when the reward of lower scale numbers isn't there, it's overwhelming.

When I was starting my process, the WLS Coordinator told me about a woman who lost over 145 lbs with Lap Band. When asked how she was so successful, the lady said that she ate her serving of protein first. If she was still hungry, she ate her serving of vegetables. If still hungry, fruit. If that wasn't enough to satisfy her hunger, she would go for a walk. I've been following that advice and have been successful so far. Good luck to you!

Jim your story is all too familiar to me. My mother-in-law was diagnosed with Lung Cancer, and when they found it, it was Stage 4 and already metastisized to her bones (spine). They found it incidentally on an xray of her back. She had tumors in all 5 lobes so they couldn't operate. After about 6 months they found a brain tumor, and she had surgery on that. She lived for 3 1/2 years at Stage 4. Did every type of chemo she possibly could, countless weeks of radiation. Right before starting our "last option" for chemo, they found she was in liver failure and therefore couldn't start chemo.

It was a long, painful journey for everyone involved. Cancer just doesn't touch the patient, it touches whole families. She passed away in 2008 and there isn't a day that goes by we don't think of her. It's such an awful, awful disease and it really does take no prisoners.

We've done Relay for Life for the past two years, hoping to raise enough money country-wide to find a cure. One day, I know they'll find a cure but until then people have to keep fighting and praying!

Awesome job! I also find that my iPod helps me keep going, whether it be on the elliptical or treadmill, or jogging outside. I push myself to "just get through this song" then the next one comes on and I think - "I can do this one too" and before long I've hit my goal. The more upbeat the better, helps me keep my feet moving!

When I started this process the psychologist said one of the most important things in this whole journey is to just do something every day. It could be only 5 minutes on the elliptical, or you could run 5 miles. It doesn't really matter just be active above and beyond your normal routine.

I'm doing something 7 days a week. Most days I will jog 3-4 miles. If I don't want to go outside to jog I will hit the treadmill at home and run for 20 minutes (I run 1 minute, jog 1, repeat). Lately I've also added in some workouts with the Kinect.

My husband thinks I'm over-doing it since I never give myself a day off, but it's working so it's hard to stop!

Just have to say that I LOVED Bared to You. I can't wait for the next Crossfire novel to come out. I also loved Fifty Shades. Another good one is "Love Unscripted" and the next one "Love Unrehearsed" is coming out soon. Reading has got me through many hunger spells! I get so wrapped up in the book I don't realize that 1) I haven't eaten, and 2) it's been six hours!!

"Fixing" things can be addicting. Once you get one thing in check, you find something else that could be better/different. My mom has this issue, and when I was doing the psych eval pre-op, the therapist picked up that I had a problem with self-esteem and body image. She warned that when I get to goal I may really struggle with realizing how I look, and also encouraged me to come back when I'm near my goal just to check in.

Being unhappy with your appearance is a huge struggle, and it doesn't stop just because you're not overweight anymore. It's a mental thing. I bet what you see in the mirror is FAR different than what others see.