Maddysgram

I love the movie Fried Green Tomatoes (1991) with Kathy Bates, Jessica Tandy, it’s a must see so rent it if you've never seen it. This is one of my favorite scenes…… Just wanted to share it with everyone.
 
I never get mad, Mrs. Threadgoode. Never!
The way I was raised it was bad manners.
Well, I got mad and it felt terrific.
I felt like I could beat the sh*t outta all those punks!
Excuse my language. Just beat 'em to a pulp!
Beat 'em till they begged for mercy.
Towanda, the avenger!
After I wipe out all the punks of this world,
I'll take on the wife beaters, like Frank Bennett,
and machine gun their genitals.
Towanda will go on the rampage.
I'll put tiny bombs in Penthouse and Playboy...
so they'll explode when you open 'em.
I'll ban all fashion models who weigh less than 130 pounds.
I'll give half the military budget to people over 65...
and declare wrinkles sexually desirable.
Towanda, righter of wrongs, queen beyond compare!
How many of them hormones you takin', honey

Well I just thought I would blog a little tonight. We have all made it through Thanksgiving but we still have Christmas and New Years to survive and oh let's not forget all the wonderful goodies that will be floating around the office and at families and friends houses all holiday season... So that is what brings me to my topic today: Fad diets and Lap Band, "This is not a Diet"
 
First I have a couple of questions:
1. How many of you have stopped losing and felt frustrated with the band?
2. How many of you have been so frustrated that you were tempted to fall right back into the dieting yo-yo behaviors of the past?
3. How many of you have been tempted to just leave your band a little tight so you would lose weight faster?
4. How many of you have been tempted to go back to phase one of eating, you know shakes,liquidsiguids, etc?
5. How many of you have been so desperate to see that scale move that you would just about try anything?
 
Well if this is YOU, than STOP!
 
Living with Lapband is not about fad diets and continuing some of the same behaviors that got us to this point in the first place. This is a life style change and none of us got obese over night, so why do we expect to become thin over night. Simple: It is just human nature and we live in an instant gratification superficial society. I posted a book in a blog several months ago and I am reposting tonight for those of you who want to continue to use your lap band as the tool it was intended. This was a book written by a lap band surgeon after studying patients who were committed to losing 90-100% of their excess body weight.
 
I was one of those people who was stalled, no matter what I did the scale sat there and taunted me with the same numbers day after day. I was one of those who looked over and over my diary sheets trying to find out what I was doing wrong. So why didn't the scale move? To lose weight you have to eat 3500 calories less than your body needs to drop "1" pound. Now does everyone really understand what that means, I didn't. Well that's not true, I had read that before and I did know it but I didn't really get "it". Basically you have to eat less and do more but there is a perfect balance of how many calories you need to take in so your body does not think you are starving. Everyone needs to know what their BMR is and understand what that means. This is the amount of calories your body needs just to maintain a normal day of sleeping, eating, working and playing. Everyone;s is different and based on how active you are. I have a sedentary life style, I work in an office and I am basically inactive 10-12 hours a day, moderately active about 2 hours a day and maybe very active about 1 hour a day (if I go to the gym)
I really began to understand this once I started wearing my Fit Bit and it took me weeks even wearing this before I really understood why my scales were not moving. I was eating band friendly foods, eating within my allotted calories and portions but the scale would move small increments or not at all. When I started to really analyze my intake and activity I finally started to realize i was losing what was expected due to my intake and my activity. Well I knew i was not going to eat less so I made a decision to be more active. I increased my protein intake, did cardio 5 days a week and strength training 3 days a week. Basically I became recommitted to my band and to living healthy. I had the eating part down but the activity part I still struggled with, I was inconsistant with my exercise and the level and intensity of the exercise.
 
This is not an easy journey by far but it is achievable with dedication, accountability and true grit!
 
No one told us this would be easy!
No one told us this would happen over night!
And they did tell us we would have to follow the rules and learn to make the band work for us. Key words, "Make the Band Work for Us!"
 
So for all you Newbies out there please realize that success with Lap Band can be a reality, it does take hard work and it is worth every new lesson you learn along the way. When reading the forums learn from both the postive and the negative, there is something that can be learned from everyones successes and failures.
 
So as promised, attached is the book by Dr. Simpson, "The Last 30 Pounds" .
 
Wishing everyone a Very Happy Holiday Season, and remember this is not a "DIEt"
 
 
 
The Last 30 Pounds.pdf

OK... so most of you know me as a member of the Banded b*****s. I have been called RUDE, SNARKY, UNHELPFUL. WONDERFUL, A LIFESAVER, all in the same day. Such is life. Maybe, it would help if some of you knew more about me. I am currently 63 years old, banded at 62 on October 31, 2011. I am 8 pounds from my personal goal, but have achieved my GP, WL Surgeon, NP and Nutritionists goal of 175. I moved my own goal down to remind me that this is a life style not a short term diet. I will always keep working. I am 5'9" tall and no wear size 8 jeans, down from 20/22's My highest weight was 263,
 
On the personal side, I am a wife (29 years with hubby # 2, # 1 and I parted ways.) I am a mother of two girls one 40 and the other 37. I am a grandmother to two gorgeous ladies, Morgan soon to be 13 and Grace 9 1/2. They belong to the older daughter. I have 2 great son-in-laws as well. I am the Godmother of two other young girls, Grace and Eva. I have been retired for almost 10 years. My hobbies are quilting, golf and traveling. My husband and I have been to all 7 continents and over 50 countries. We actually lived in Brussels, Belgium for 2 years, and still miss our favorite Neuhaus Chocolate. Good thing we are not there now, or I might have even more problems maintaining weight loss! LOL
 
I have been an active member of LBT and really like helping newbies. My less than polite side come out when people ask what I consider stupid questions.... Like "gee do my scars look infected to you" or I went out drinking and threw op for 36 hours do you think I damaged my band." If you want positive help from me stay away from asking medical questions. We all have surgeons, nutritionists and other medical professionals for that. If you hurt take a pain pill or call your doctor.
 
I love my LAP BAND and all the members of my private social group the Banded b*****s, so don'; pick on them either. We are all here to learn and help. I learn new things every day, and I hope a help a few other along the way. That's it for my first ever blog. I planning to go in for a fill next week, let you know how that goes. It will be my third.
 
CHEZNOEL, AKA Princess Grammy.

The last few weeks I have seen several threaded where members have gotten heated with topics and each other…
 
It made me realize that we are a family, a big huge family. We fight just like brothers & sisters, we have those annoying aunts and uncles (you know the ones) but most important is we love each other and support each other to the hill.
 
We all have one goal and that is to be thin. We are very passionate about our goal; we fight and defend it to all ends. And I for one love that!!!!
 
I love reading the tough love, slap on the hand, you know better posts. I also love reading the cheering you on, you can do it; I believe in you, you got this posts. I also love being able to post these types of posts to my brothers and sisters.
 
I thank each and every one of you for your words…every word! I would not be where I am at today if it wasn’t for those words and the support I have received from everyone here.
 
P.S. If the Sister Sledge song is stuck in your head…..my job is done. lol

I went shopping today for sweaters. It appears that I am cold a lot these days & I don’t have many long sleeve tops that fit.
 
So I picked out a few tops and walked by the jeans…. Out of complete curiosity I picked out a couple of different style in size 10 (currently size 12).
 
Holy Sh*t they fit!!!!! I was dancing around in that dressing room and laughing. I’m sure the attendee thought I was nuts (ok I know I am but that’s a different story).
 
That explains why the size 16 pants that I wore today bugged me so much; they were 3 sizes too big.
 
Wow I don’t even know how old I was the last time I was size 10, 9 maybe 10 years old??
 
I am so floored, I’m numb.

Tonight’s dinner did not come from a grocery store. I made a venison roast from a deer that was shot on my uncles ranch and roasted veggies (butternut squash, turnips, yellow was beans & snap peas) that where grown on our land.
 
My husband pointed out that nothing on our plate came from the grocery store. This made me think, ok the seasonings I put on the roast and the corn starch to thicken the drippings for gravy are the only items from the grocery store.
 
That is pretty cool! (Just had to brag)
 
Oh and by the way, it was delicious!!!!

Love yourself again
A cup of food per meal
Protein first
 
Beginning of a healthy life
Abide by your doctor’s orders
No vomiting
Don’t deprive yourself
 
Satisfied
Unfill when too tight!
Clothes are too big!
Confidence increases
Exercise regularly
Stay in contact with your doctor
Support from family and friends

Good friends are like stars, you don't have to see them to know they are there.
 
Thanks to my shining stars.

I had my surgery 9 months ago, February 7, 2012. It seems like just yesterday, but no its 9 months ago. Wow, time has flown and wow things sure have changed. In celebration of being 9 months reborn I made a list of 9 things that have changed (excluding the weight & inches lost):
No more medication – When I started this journey I had to take 3 different medications to control my high blood pressure. Today my blood pressure is normal without medication.


Giving the elevator the day off – I work on the 8th floor, every morning I walk up the stairs to my office and in the evening I walk down. Plus during the day I go up and down at least 3 floors, several times.


Sex – Sex is definitely better. I’ll skip the details…


How my skin feels – I like rubbing my hand up and down my arm, my skin feels thinner (Don’t know if this makes sense to you)


Wearing heels – When I was at my heavies my ankles couldn’t handle heels. Now I’m back to wearing heels again!


My confidence – I walk taller, I smile all the time, I really like being me now!


I like looking at myself in the mirror – dressed or naked, I like what I see. It’s not perfect but I like it!


Finding my extravert self – When I was in high school I was very outgoing; I had no fear of talking to strangers. When I was at my heaviest I was so shy, I wouldn’t look people in the eyes, afraid to talk to them. Now, I’m back to looking people in the eyes and talking to strangers.


The way others look at me – I love seeing guys take a second look; the expression on my friends faces when they see me and how the family responds to me.

My rat terrior mix, Bugsy, caught a mouse and he wanted to bring it INSIDE!
 

First you have to be willing to jump in anytime
 
Then take the thread completely off topic and talk about pretty nails, dragons & princesses .
 
And finally you have to kiss the pink princess’s butt.
 
Once you have been accepted by the princess you must protect the princess from all evil (especially VD).
 
Are you up for the job?
 

I read a post today that irked me, no it pissed me off. This Texas gal was ready to put her boots on and find her gun….. Hunt her some grammar and spelling police.
 
A fellow bandster said they read a thread where bandsters were criticizing the grammar and spelling of other bandster’s posts. It hurt this bandster so bad that she had steered away from LBT. REALLY…….why?????
 
Does it matter if we don’t use complete sentences or if we spell words wrong?????? Those of you who have a problem with bad grammar and spelling please comment and tell me why it’s so important to you. Cause (oh wait I should say because) I don’t get it.
 
We are all fighting a terrible disease called obesity and one of the side effects of this disease is low self-esteem. We don’t need our brothers & sisters pointing out more of our faults….. We do just fine doing that ourselves.
 
You are wondering why this bothers me….. So many times I hit that POST button and watch my written words appear on a thread and think SH** I spelt that wrong or that doesn’t make any sense hope they get my point. We are here for support in our weight loss journey. We consist of all different people, different education levels, different languages, different everything and we need support.
 
What we don’t need is the grammar and spelling police after us!

I am 16 days post op today. I have a non-scale victory to report. About eight months ago I took off the diamond ring my husband bought me for anniversary last year because it was cutting off my circulation. Once I took it off I couldn't get it back on. I was able to slip it on last night and there it stays!
 
I have totally embrace this journey from day one of my preop diet and I don't hope that I will be successful I know that I will be successful.
 
I'm down 22.6 pounds.

Got my nails done today, went with orange polish and a spider design. A little silly but I thought what the heck!
 
What do you think Pink Princess?

I went in for a fill this morning. I am now 9cc in an 11cc band. I hoping this is it for me in the way of adjustments. I am getting a little concerned as I have so much in the band already that I worry about maxing it out. A few people along with the Doctor told me not to let this concern me. Still plenty of room in the band and I could only be one small adjustment away from the ever elusive sweet spot. Adjustment I got today could be it but who knows.
 
How do I really know for sure though? I seem to come out of a fill appointment feeling good. I hardly get hungry and when I do it's about 5 to 6 hours after my last meal. My appetite is so diminished. I am really starting to believe I am in the zone but my brain is waiting for some kind of magical light bulb to go off in my head.
 
Scale will drop 10lbs or so in the first week after my fill then I sit idle for the next two until my next adjustment appointment. I can eat any kind of food that I want or have tried I should say. I am yet to attempt a hamburger or sub roll. I haven't had an actual hamburger since March but I am not missing it.
 
For the last week or so I was really looking forward to this appointment so I could see the Nutritionist only to find out one called out sick and the other was on Vacation. Needless to say, I was disappointed.
 
After talking with my Wife and Mis73 it is determined that I am not taking in enough Calories and most likely putting my body into survival/starvation mode. My last 8 day average is 898 calories per day. I am going to work on increasing to at least 1200 a day with a goal of 1300. My next appointment at the center is 9/25. My appointments are typically three weeks apart. We'll see how it goes. I lost 11lbs during this past three week window.