kca1fan

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So tonight I decided it was time to go do some shopping (which I absolutely hate). All of my clothes are getting a bit big and baggy. So I ran into JC Penny's and started walking over to the area where I normally shop. They have rearranged the store a bit and I think I looked a little lost. One of the sales clerks asked if she could help me and she showed me where the womans section was. I started walking in that direction and she told me "I think you are going the wrong way". I said excuse me? and she said "you don't belong in that section". I thanked her and told her I had been working on losing weight and I wasn't sure what size I currently needed and started to walk back over to the womans section. She cut me off and told me "no, I'm not letting you go over there, you need to look in this section over here." I'm sure the look on my face was something like, you are crazy. She told me to shop in this other area and try to prove her wrong. The good news is I couldn't! I was ready to go back and give her a big hug.

2muchfun
I am so jealous I wish I had access daily to the Denver bike trails. They are some of the best anywhere. You can bet I will get me a bike rack and be taking Jimmy with me when I do visit the Big D. Which is about 4 times a year.

2muchfun
I am so jealous I wish I had access daily to the Denver bike trails. They are some of the best anywhere. You can bet I will get me a bike rack and be taking Jimmy with me when I do visit the Big D. Which is about 4 times a year.

I can't compete for distance since my bike is more of a mtn bike and I do not ride the roads. I stick to only bike and walking trails of which there are hundreds of miles here in Denver.
Ride Time: 59:52
Stopped Time: 6:24 Stopped to check out a garage sale
Distance: 10.74 miles
Average: 10.76 mph My oh my was it windy here today.
Fastest Speed: 22.43 mph
Calories: 681

no matter what WLS one gets, unless they develop better eating habits and also begin to (exercise to help tone/weight loss) it wont work....granted it may work at the beginning......
my dr wanted me to have the bypass because of my starting BMI/weight and i chose not to....i took responsibility for my eating and my moving and made that change.....he now uses me as an example of what (to do)......a year ago i was having trouble wiping my butt......now i am doing step aerobics...
comes down to want power...
best of luck in whatever you choose.
i feel as others do, i chose wisely for me.

Good luck with whatever you choose! The only thing that I can say is Figure out what surgery YOU want. It's your body, your stomach, your LIFE.
Personally I researched the band and sleeve thoroughly on my own. THEN after I decided to go with the band I researched surgeons in my area that did the lap-band surgery. I chose one that is 45 minutes away even though there are tons within 15-20 minutes of my house. But, I'll drive the extra little distance to choose the SURGEON that I want! Heck my wife is a corporate accountant with physician offices that perform the lap-band procedure. I didn't choose them It's my journey and I'm calling the shots with who I want to help.
I would just urge you to do research on your own. Not saying the sleeve isn't the right surgery for you, it may very well be! BUT, you should decide that, not your doctor. FYI some doc's like sleeve/bypass over band because of the aftercare that the band requires. They charge more and have to do less aftercare with sleeve/bypass. Anyways good luck no matter what you choose! I wish you nothing but success!!!

Ok I am back safe and sound. Had to come back after half a block and put air in tires. What a difference a little air makes. It is safe to say I won't be riding no 20-30 miles for a bit. When I was riding before I built it up bus stop to bus stop, before I Knew it I was getting to work faster then I would have on the bus. Hope to be riding to Oliver reservoir and back (about 14 miles round trip) by end of summer.

Ok I am back safe and sound. Had to come back after half a block and put air in tires. What a difference a little air makes. It is safe to say I won't be riding no 20-30 miles for a bit. When I was riding before I built it up bus stop to bus stop, before I Knew it I was getting to work faster then I would have on the bus. Hope to be riding to Oliver reservoir and back (about 14 miles round trip) by end of summer.

Ok it's on My baby brother gave me his 26 in mongoose xr250. Gave it to me after dark so only rode a block tonight, but tomorrow it is on like Donkey Kong Jack. When I lived in California I use to ride 20-30 miles a day. The bike is a smidge big for me but it will do. It is for mountain biking but at most I will take it on dirt paths. Definitely need to get taillight and headlight as I love to ride at night when it is safe to do so. Oh is it daylight yet?

I hate that when surgeons bash the band they throw out failure percentages but never bother to sort what is actual band failure and what is patient failure. I am so glad my surgeon and his team are all on the Bandwagon. Several in his own office are band success stories and several more throughout his hospital are as well. They are living proof that the band can and does work. I am at the beginning of my lapband journey (5 months June 21st) and I have no doubt the band was the right choice for me. I just changed my beginning number because last time I was at my Dr she looked back at my top weight and it was 448 pounds in December. Today the scale said 290. I feel better then I have felt in 15-20 years. Oh yeah did I say I love my band.

Ok it's on My baby brother gave me his 26 in mongoose xr250. Gave it to me after dark so only rode a block tonight, but tomorrow it is on like Donkey Kong Jack. When I lived in California I use to ride 20-30 miles a day. The bike is a smidge big for me but it will do. It is for mountain biking but at most I will take it on dirt paths. Definitely need to get taillight and headlight as I love to ride at night when it is safe to do so. Oh is it daylight yet?

Ok it's on My baby brother gave me his 26 in mongoose xr250. Gave it to me after dark so only rode a block tonight, but tomorrow it is on like Donkey Kong Jack. When I lived in California I use to ride 20-30 miles a day. The bike is a smidge big for me but it will do. It is for mountain biking but at most I will take it on dirt paths. Definitely need to get taillight and headlight as I love to ride at night when it is safe to do so. Oh is it daylight yet?

I started doing boot camp training a year ago, and I loved it. I couldn't get the food down so that I would lose weight so I added my band as another tool! We warm up sometimes at boot camp by running, which I could never do, so I walked.
BUT Friday I was at boot camp and I ran almost a mile without stopping and I did mountain climbers which I always found an excuse to get out of before.
So even with my loss of 46 pounds it made a huge difference in what I can do! I have a long way to go to meet my goal, and have stumbled in this journey but I am gonna do this! Off for a bike ride and getting my first fill tomorrow! Excited!

Dee you have been my inspiration for a long time so thank you very much! Nyshia, on average I have lost about 9 lbs a months but the numbers never drove me. I really needed and wanted to retrain my mind and body on how I relate to food. So I have focused on getting rid of the bad eating habits that cause me to get to 245 lbs and focus on learning new eating habits that will keep me at my goal weight. My relationship with food has completely change. Food is no longer in control, I am. Also I joined myfitnesspal with Dee and others and I track everything I eat! I'm luckyaka on my fitnesspal.

I feel like a new person! Loving my Lapband!

angel on left inside a devil on the right.....just got these today



for my 1 yr band/plication versary



they are bout 3 inches tall and a inch wide

No tattoos here. Wrong generation....but I have a funny story.
My daughter had mentioned that she wanted a tattoo and I had a serious meltdown. Flash forward a couple of years....she was in labor with her third child (hard labor) and the nurse decided that she needed a sonogram. So they bring in the machine and my daughter holds up her hand in the "stop" signal and says, "Wait....first I have to tell my mother something". Seems she had a tattoo on her stomach (of all places) and had successfully hidden it from me for over a year.

When I first decided to have the surgery, I kept it private. Then I heard though the grapevine that a coworker had it done years ago. I approached her cautiously to ask for input, advice, anything she could offer. I wasnt sure if she would talk to me about it or not...Her response changed my entire outlook...She immediately replied Yes, I had it done and its the best decision I ever made! She was so full of confidence.
She has been so encouraging to me and advised me to just be honest with people. Of course, I will not go around shouting from the mountaintops, but if someone asks me then i will tell them.
You will always be judged, but in the end you have to look at who you are doing this for...yourself! Be happy, be proud, be skinny
I say all of this as I am waiting to go into my prep appointment. Wish me luck!!

here are picts from jan19, 2013 and may 9 2013 27pounds from surgery 46 pounds over all

Depends on the what the victory is...but clothes are a big part for me. I hate to look dumpy, wearing oversize clothes, so as soon as I shrink enough, I buy the next size down clothes. Exercise victories seem to be their own reward and I am able to do more and more, although I have a wager with my wife that when I do my 100 mile bike ride (Century), I get a new grill. When we made the bet, I was thinking next year, but there is a good chance that I will get it done before riding season is over this year.
It may seem expensive but, even with the clothes and the grill, it is a net savings based on how much less we are eating out.

Had a great NSV this weekend that I just had to share with a group that would understand.
Spent the weekend in Green Bay for a football camp with my son. Temps were in the upper 70's/low 80's, sun shining, and a good amount of walking. Before my surgery I would have been sweating like a pig just getting out of the car. The walking would have killed me. This weekend I was able to keep up with my sons team when they were on the move and didn't sweat once, even sitting on the metal bleachers. Such a great feeling.
Thanks for letting me share.
Jen

Dear Mark, listen to Missy, please! I am 11 mos post op and I feel you! I am unable to eat chinese fried rice because it gets stuck and I will be the first to admit I miss it terribly, that never leaves me. I miss bread too like crazy but I'm able to eat toast. Tonight for dinner my mom suggested I eat a small tortilla with turkey and cheese inside and think of it like a sandwich so that's what I had and it was GREAT! I heated or steamed the tortilla in the microwave and added the other stuff and never felt deprived. Now back to rice, I can eat at Longhorn and order the Salmon that comes on a bed of rice and eat tiny bites of their rice without getting stuck so it depends on the kind of rice with me. My surgeon says this "I don't want you to feel deprived, eat what ever you ate before only in moderation" with that said I have modified my eating habits to a healthy diet of fish and chicken and veggies, fresh fruits etc but ever so often I will eat a piece of my fav pizza. Tonight I had a cookie for dessert. I also keep Skinny cow brand candy in the house to keep me sane, I don't eat it every day but I will eat it when I crave chocolate and their ice cream is great too. My eating issues with head hunger is awful, I will be the first to admit, I feel your pain, there are times I still mourn food still 11 months out and cry that oh poor me but I chose this path to be healthy and thinner for a reason and yes I'm much older than you, I'm 47 but there are goals in life I wanted to achieve, I want to run a 5K, I want to zip line, I want to fly on an airplane and not take up a seat and half and have a belt extension, just to name a few. I'm down 67 lbs so far and feel like a million bucks already, and would do this a million times over. I am and I stress this to you, seeking help with a therapist right now for my eating issues and why I want to eat the things I want to eat. I just recently posted a post of a confession and believe me it was hard to tell everyone this but I live with my elderly mom but everytime she takes a shower at night I found myself creeping to the pantry and shoving food in, anything. I was closet eating. I finally fessed up to her and now we just sit and talk while taking her shower, kind of like I'm in jail, lol. Yes we are very close, best of friends. She's my biggest cheerleader in all of this. I do think in time it will get better for you, you are grieving foods right now and we all go thru it. Please seek professional help like me and get to the bottom of why we overeat or got us to the point of having the surgery. I wish you luck and give you many cyber hugs.
Donna

Wow I think my dietitian was right. I can't be getting stoned. The munchies can really ruin a whole day of good eating. Nothing really horrible this time. Some Jerky and nuts. But I know I wasn't really hungry. I think my pot smoking days will be very far and few in the future. Well for awhile anyway.

Hang in there it will get better. Who says you can never have fried rice again? I am 3 months out of surgery and have been able to eat anything I wanted to. I have had 4 fills and with the last one just found my one and only non band food. Subway flatbread. I can eat rice just fine although I have chosen to have a very carb restricted diet. I eat bread and potatoes once a week rice and Pasta once a month. the main difference is when I have my fried rice I don't eat the whole order plus whatever dad leaves. It really will be worth it.