mjsafari

BCrazy - I think you definitely irritated it! Stick with liquids today and let the swelling go down. My surgeon says liquids/soft 2 days after a fill. Lo2us and O2Bthin - I am so sorry you are having so much trouble. I to think too little food is a problem. You should be able to get in more than 2-3 bites. I do get a pain after a couple bites, but if I slow down and wait, I can eat some more and then I get the "stop" feeling after about a 1/2 - 1 cup of food. I definitely have a stop with the solids that I eat. I don't understand why it is so hard to get to the right spot for some people! Waters - your post made me smile! I am definitely cranky sometimes, because I can't eat what I want! I was not having oatmeal this morning, I wanted eggs and corned beef hash - so that is just what I got, with a piece of sausage and gravy on the top. When I got down stairs to my desk and looked at my plate - OMG it was full, there was no way I can eat this much! Well I did get some in for Breakfast and am having some more now for lunch, but I will end up throwing some away also. Now why should that make me mad? I don't know, I made this choice for myself, but it sure PI**es me off today!

Pippz - great to hear from you. GREAT Weight loss! I do understand, this is different than any other diet and sometimes it SUCKS not to be able to eat like I used to. Especially bad this week - first week of my BCP. I can't seem to eat enough to not be hungry. BUT that is the plus of the band also! Sorry you are having stress - vent if you need to we will listen! Stef - Hi to you - thanks for checking in! Glad you are enjoying your time with your husband. I don't have a magic wand - I do have a princess that is "married" to Peter Pan, maybe she can ask him to let you borrow some pixie dust :-). Have a good night everyone!

Its your challenge captain Dan - we won't get you for changing!

Stick to your guns on the Suzzie - you are trying to better your life, you don't need someone stressing you out. Don't worry about telling him, guys don't notice much anyway (sorry guys). Insub - you are right, it is more about % of loss. I still have over 100lbs to lose! A lot of people didn't even need to lose that to begin with. Hubby update - 104lbs today, but the last 30lbs has not been healthy. He is still struggling with severe sliming almost all the time. He can hardly eat. He sees the PCP on Friday, I am going to give him my spot with surgeon on Monday and he has an endoscopy scheduled for the 21st. I hope the answer is that he just needs some more time to heal his esophagus instead of having the band removed!

Way to go April! Keep on that losing track, any weight loss pre-op will help your surgery and recovery go better!

Waters/Joeygirl - keep working for that restriction. Call and see if you can get a fill sooner if needed. I was very discouraged before my last fill. I was losing weight, but it was because I was dieting and I knew I couldn't maintain that for long. I now have good restriction and can NOT overeat, even if I don't make the best choice every time. PLEASE don't blame yourself, you have not failed, you just need more restriction.

FaithMD - definitely a difference all over - WAY TO GO! BeckieT - thanks for posting, it is nice to have a face to go with the posts! (thanks about the kids) Dev - we definitely are harder on ourselves and we see our self in the mirror everyday, so it is hard to see a difference. Put your pictures side by side and have an open mind! We would love to see if you are willing to share. MM - if you upload to photobucket you can resize your pics. You look great in your avatar!

Suzzie - THANKS for posting. I hope everyone else joins in! You have a great picture to compare to when we all go to Vegas. I would never have guessed you at the weight you state - height is a good thing! I wouldn't know - I am 5' 1". I really don't see much difference between my pictures. I have lost the equivalent of my daughter though, so there has to be some difference! On an off note, my son was a little upset that I hadn't posted a picture of him. He asked if you all even knew I had a son. I explained that we really only talk about weight loss here and that Mina just happened to be in both pictures. He still seemed upset, so I hope you will indulge my kid's picture.

I am on my 3rd fill. Favorite meal before: Chili's chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob - sometimes Soup or salad before, no dessert. Now: 4 boneless buffalo wings. Another measure of the difference - old - full dinner plate of food and maybe another depending on what we were having, now - dessert plate 3/4 full, 1 helping and I may not finish all of that. Sample Day: Before B - Mcdonald's sausage mcmuffin, hashbrown, choc milk L- sandwich and potato chips D - church's chicken, corn on the cob, mashed potatoes chips or some other snack after dinner or more dinner Now B - 3/4 pack of oatmeal L- 1/4 cup of chicken salad banana D - 1/2 grilled chicken breast, 3 tablespoons mashed potatoes a handfull of nuts before bed if a little hungry.

Katie - I looked at the avatar and thought - I don't remember posting on this thread :-) GO Chiefs. Good Luck to everyone!

Thanks! She is cute and knows it. Just mention camera and she is already posing! DH does look great, I wish he wasn't having so much trouble though.

Some of us are ready to post pictures, others are not. Either way that is fine! DON'T feel pressured! Even if you aren't ready for weight loss pictures, how about a head shot, so we can put a face to the posts! Remember we are all friends here. Before - April 07</p> In progress - Sept 1st 07</p>

Insub - I admire you for joining the gym. Regular exercise will help lift your mood. I am working up to that. I have done regular exercise once in my life, when I lost 100lbs before, but I think that was only for 6 months. I really want to get going! I am really close to no longer being SUPER obese! Then I get to be morbidly obese - which sounds worse I think, but I will take it!

Name....Challenge start wgt....current wgt.....chall. goal.....To go. Huntersmom... 174...................174................159...... .......15 SWEETY.........202...................202.......... .......180.............22 MJsafari..........268...................268..................238............30 I am in. My goal is 10lbs a month, this will put me at 90lbs lost in 6 months. That should be enough to prove to my family that I can do this!

Congrats Sweety - we will keep our fingers crossed that it lasts! I am scheduled for my 4th fill next Monday, but I think I am going to give my appointment to my husband. He is still having a lot of issues and I don't need a fill right now. I would just want my doc to see how well I am doing!

Hey it is good to stir things up once in awhile! Gets more people talking! Faith - our anniversary is Halloween also. We got married in Vegas in a graveyard scene - Dracula walked me down the aisle and Death married us. I wore a black dress and he wore a tux that looked just like the tux that Gary Oldham wore in Dracula (our favorite movie). We named our daughter after the Winona Ryder character - Mina. There were 3 weddings in our family in the same year (1998). Both the others ones were over $10,000, ours was maybe $2,000. We are the only ones still married, so we like to say we are proof that money doesn't buy love.

My eyes have about adjusted, but my husband still likes to fill up my plate. He often fixes my plate when we have dinner together. He used a small plate the other day, like I have been doing, but it was filled to capacity with chicken and potatoes. I finished about 1/2 of it and gave him the plate back. He said "your done?", I said "you haven't figured out how little I eat now have you....." He will get there, we haven't had dinner together much since my last fill. I am up for pictures, I just need to scan our before in and have someone take a now. I will try and get that done and start a thread this weekend. I am anxious to see the pictures next to each other.

Not a college football watcher, but definitely excited about the NFL! GO CHIEFS (ya' right) preseason has been a disappointment, but I always hold out hope for the regular season. I think I heard the University of Missouri (MU) was ranked #1 going in to the season for the Big 12? Kiss of death I am sure.

Huntersmom - why don't we post a poll. 1st - dates, 2nd - attendance, 3rd - share a room??

Bcrazy - that is what my surgeon said. If you can eat breakfast you need a fill! I feel like I have very good restriction, but I can still eat breakfast. Congrats on the shirt. Well I had a slip today. TOM and all.... I used to eat a McDonald's sausage mcmuffin almost everyday for breakfast. Today I decided I just had to have one. I haven't eaten bread since it stuck for an entire day a week or so ago. I took about 3 bites on the way to work and didn't think they were going to stay down. It is now 11:00am and I have finally finished the sandwich. Man it tasted good, but it was slow going down. I will have to be good at dinner time! Happy Thursday Everyone!

My husband and I were 3 weeks apart. If you have kids, I think it would be good to wait at least 2 weeks because of the lifting restrictions. I don't know if it makes a difference who goes first. I wanted to because my husband is such a baby, I didn't want to get scared off, but he ended up going first because of work scheduling. All turned out fine though, he had so little pain, he had nothing to be a baby about! He was tiling the floor during his 3 weeks off. He is down 92lbs since May 24th, but has all the issues that come with band. Doing it together makes that easier to understand, but still frustrating, because I don't have any issues and feel sorry for him. Neither of us had very much pain. I didn't take any pain medicine when I got home. My husband took Tylenol maybe 4 times the first few days.

Stef - thanks for story, I will share it with my 15 year old! It is quiet today. Suzzie - I would say see how you are feeling closer to your appointment, but don't get a fill right before going on vacation if you still have some restriction. You don't want to have issues while out of town. I only really notice the difference in my clothes and shoes. But I never saw myself as big as I was, if that makes sense.

Stef and Insub - thanks for the ideas. Love/hate - I think that is a good description. I love the weight I am losing, but I hate the restriction sometimes. Definitely different from those having issues getting restriction, I know. I wouldn't change anything for me, I wish my husband didn't have so much sliming and PBing.

I wish everyone would chime in good or bad. I look forward to hearing from everyone. My day of no hunger was just that - one day. It is my TOM so I am starving, but I can't eat very much because of my restriction. Which is good and bad, I guess! I have had this vague ache in my back and around my ribs all day. I can eat and drink, so I don't think anything is stuck, but it feels a lot like the day I ate bread. I had grilled chicken last night that I once again didn't chew well the first couple of bites, but I was able to get 3/4 of it in over 30 minutes or so. I wonder if that is just taking some time to pass?? DH update: back to normal - which for him means excessive sliming when he wakes up and not being able to eat until he drinks hot liquid. But at least the pain is gone. Any suggestions for hot liquids other than coffee or tea? I am afraid the coffee is doing more damage and I know tea can also.

thanks guys for the well wishes for my husband. He didn't take his Carafate at all today and felt much better, he said the medicine was as bad as the pain! He was able to eat broccoli cheese soup this evening without pain, so I think he is almost there. I am just not sure when to tell him to try more solid food, I am so afraid of him relapsing! He is worried about not having any restriction since his band is empty. He sees the doc on Wed for his regular appointment, so I think he should just stay on soft things until then. Easy for me to say, since I am eating normal. I finally had a day without hunger today. I realized when I was finally hungry at dinner time, that I had eaten only 2 chicken nuggets all day. I am still struggling with snacking though, I pulled out the nuts and granola this evening even though I was not hungry. I could only eat a few though. I have 7.5cc in my 10cc band and feel like I am about at my sweet spot. HANG in THERE everyone - I really thought the band was not going to work for me, but I almost believe it will now. Suzzie - I am going to have my husband make those meatballs! They would be great as appetizers for a party. Toni - thanks I definitely feel better and can't wait to move out of the morbidly obese category!