badonkadonkbutt

THANKS!! I am going to check it out right now!

Thanks Jachut....running is something that someday I would love to do. Is that a good way to get started is by running in short intervals?

Thanks mdrai, I am going to get some of the unjury powder and give that a try too.......

You did PM me about Atkins and I thought about giving it a try. My only concern is if I can stick to it till July when we submit to insurance.....I am worried I can't stick to it that long and if not, I am afraid I will gain back weight and the insurance will frown upon it. I am trying to just lose the weight without any drastic changes like cutting out carbs completely. I think I would be crushed if I lose the weight and started to gain it back again. I don't know if I could handle that. I am seriously thinking about trying it though..... By the way, did you see what you wrote: '900 lately due to forgetting to eat till later in the day'. Did you ever think you would say something like this! That is awesome, you are making awesome progress!!!!

Thanks, I will try varying and see if that helps.....I just need to suck it up and drop these few pounds so I can get my band. I know if push comes to shove I can do the liquid thing for a week or two before I submit and lose the last of it......I would just rather get it over with and lose it now!!!

I had asked my doctor what I should be taking now pre-band and then after. He suggested two Flinstone vitamins daily, the opti-source (he didn't say how many though, that is a good question), or Centrum now makes a chewable vitamin. I bought the centrum and it is really good. It is also orange flavored and I love them...... They contain the same amounts of vitamins as in the non-chewable form so I figured they are right on the money for what I need and they are a lot cheaper than the opti-source.

Ya, I have been using fitday to do it.....I am averaging between 1200 and 1500 calories a day. I can back this off some more, but according to my weight it says I should eat 1800 per day and my doctor warned me about cutting back to much too fast. She said I should stay at 1500 per day....I thought that was high from what I have been reading on here. I was afraid that if I dropped weight too fast, it would come back on before I submit to insurance, but I only have June to lose the weight or else I can't submit in July for approval.....do you think I should cut back my calories some more?

I have three myself: boob, inside of right foot and top of left. I have a very professional job and no one would know I had them unless I told or showed them. All of mine signify something significant happening in my life and I don't regret any of them. I plan on having my lower back done once I lose all my weight to signify this journey. I agree that they have become too faddish lately. Often I see young people, girls inparticular and try to picture them with their tattoos when they are 80......I am sure by then the art of tattoo removal will be fine tuned

I agree with you Debbydo. I am pro-choice to a point and I feel that partial birth abortions are wrong unless there is going to be something horribly wrong with the baby. I also know someone who has had multiple abortions as a form of birth control. As a mother of three, I don't know if I could do it. If I was raped and got pregnant, I could, so there are some situations that I agree with. I also have to say that I feel men should have a say in the life of the child they helped to create. I don't think they should be able to force a woman to have an abortion, ultimately it is her choice, but he did help create the child. If he wants to take and raise the child on his own, then I think the thought needs to be entertained rathering than aborting the pregnancy. I understand that woman still have to carry the babies but I would hope that if you were close enough to someone to sleep with them you would be close enough with them to be honest about the pregnancy.

Kaylali, just having people listen is making a huge difference to me! I have never had that before and it is nice for a change! The best part out of all this is finding myself. I have never taken the time to identify who I really am......I am finally doing that and it feels good!

There are a few moments in time that stick out in my mind that really hit home that contributed to where I am at today. The first time I truly identified my weight as an issue was when I was 9. I can remember my dying great grandmother looking at me and telling me to go step on the scale, I did. I don't remember what I weighed, but it was more than her. She mocked me in front of my mom, siblings (who didn't have a weight problem), dad, grandma, and great grandfather. She was dying of breast cancer at the time and passed away shortly after this incident. It made me feel awful and that was the first time I started paying attention to what I ate and tried to lose weight. I continued to be chubby. I yoyoed back and forth through highschool. At one point when I was 17, I lost all of my excess weight and weighed 150lbs. I looked great. I was pretty much starving myself and working out 3 plus hours a day to do it. I was not doing it the healthy way. Worse, I started hurting the people around me. I became 'stuck up' you could say; just what I despised all through school....snobs.....I was one of them. I realized this and tried to get back on track with my friends and myself....and starting gaining weight. As soon as my senior year came up, I started to really gain the weight back and by graduation was chubby once again. After high school, I pretty much stayed the same weight until I got married, at a young age I might add, at 20. I had been dating my husband since I was 13 and new he was the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. We got married while I was in college and things became very tough. I was working full time, going to college full time, had a long commute to school, and we were falling behind on bills fast. Then I became pregnant just three months after we were married. I continued with school until our first child was born in June. Once she was born (I was a junior in college at this time) I decided to take a break from school to be home with her. I began working a second shift job so that I could be home with her during the day and my husband with her at night. I felt closed off from the rest of the world. I was living about an hour away from my friends and family and never saw my husband. My onlys source of social interaction was a child. I began eating to help pass the time and help forget about the financial strain we were going through. This went on for about two years when I became pregnant with my second child. I know this sounds terrible, but I was crushed. I was just about to start back to school to finish my degree when I found out. I found out I was pregnant with him at 6 weeks and at 9 weeks I suffered from a chorionic hemmorage. I ended up on bed rest from 9 weeks until I was almost 8 months along. I decided to go back to school anyway, online, and finished my degree through the University of Phoenix. At this point, I was too consumed in school to worry about food. After I had my son, things went back to somewhat normalcy when just 8 weeks later, I found out I was pregnant again......AGAIN! (you would think by now we would have figured out what was causing this....) I was not happy at all. My last pregnancy had ruined us financially, my marriage was falling apart, now I had new school loans to deal with and another baby on the way. Luckily this pregnancy went well and my third child was born. That is when my weight issues began to soar again. With three kids at home I was back to working full time. And my husband.....he is something. I love him (or the old him) dearly, but his actions or lack there of through all of this has caused me to lose my respect for him. While I was going to school, he wouldn't help me. He watched me take care of our two very young children while pregnant with the third staying up to all hours of the night doing homework. When I asked him for help with the house or our horses, he was too busy helping his friends and family out. It crushed me, but I felt stuck and just kept plugging along. Where was I going to go with three kids by myself over an hour away from all my family? Financially I couldn't afford to do anything so I stayed. I think overall it made me stronger. I stopped relying on him and starting relying on myself and myself only to get things done. I have never had much family support or much of a support circle around me anyway and have adjusted to that, I was just hoping that he would be different, he isn't. My eating increased to deal with the pain of not having him to support me, therefore my weight increased. About two years ago when our youngest was less than a year, I confronted him about all of this and told him that I don't need him anymore and hated him for how he treated me since we had been married. We attempted marriage counseling but he felt it was stupid, so I just pulled away. I started to focus on myself, my kids, and our health and made him an afterthought, just as he had done to me. He didn't like this and has tried to wiggle his way back into the picture. Things are good for a while, then bad. I try hard not to let it bother me but it does and it should. Now I am trying to lose the weight not only for my health, but for my mental well being. The weight represents to me a person that caves under pressure, a weakness. I am not weak. I have three kids under age 5, I put myself through college, have a nice home, take care of all our bills, raise horses, and am a self-reliant person. I want my self image to match my successes, not my failures as I feel it does now. I want to share my life with someone who feels the same way, if it isn't my husband then I am preparing myself to move on. First, I have to conquer this battle. Thanks for listening to me rattle on. I have read many stories everyone has shared here and they have helped me make this decision.....I wanted to share mine, maybe there is someone else out there that has been down a path like mine. If anyone else would like to add to this thread their story, I would love to be a sounding board. I almost feel like a weight has been lifted. Until I found this forum, I have never had a support group around me. I truly feel like I can turn to you guys to help me get through this. Thanks!!

NiecyRenee, thanks for sharing! I can't even imagine and am proud of you for overcoming everything you have been through! Look at your success now! 103lbs! That is incredible. Hats off too you!!!!

Thanks! I am not banded yet, but will be in July/August. I can't wait. I am really trying to give it my all and part of that was coming to terms with why I am overweight.....it is due to the choices I have made. Now I am ready to make better choices.

Hi Musky Hunter! I sent a message to your box.....in another post you mentioned your success on the liquid diet you had to do. Can you go into a bit more detail about it? I am thinking it could help me drop a few more pounds so that I can submit to insurance. Thanks!!

Hang in there! The band helped, but keep in mind you did the work! YES YOU! What will be will be, focus on the positives. You have one beautiful child now and are 10 lbs away from goal! That is an amazing accomplishment. I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. Maybe this is happening to show you what a strong person you have become. Stay strong and lean on everyone here for support, we will see you through it!

I have to lose 5% of my total weight in order to submit to insurance, so I have to lose 13lbs. It is tough......I am down 5lbs in about a month and have until the end of June to lose the other 8lbs so that I can submit to insurance in July and have surgery in August. I would call and ask them if there is a specific amount they want you to lose. From what I understand, if there isn't, they just want to see that you are able to stick to some diet and form of exercise and not gain weight to show that you can adhere to the guidelines after surgery.

I am soooo frustrated. I have been trying to get an appt with a psych for the psych eval but can't get anyone to call me back....WHAT IS THE PROBLEM! All I want is a stinking appointment, not blood! I even tried to use my works EAP to help me find and schedule an appt. When you use them they guarentee an appt within 7-10 days and I still can't seem to get anywhere. My insurance doesn't cover the eval, so I have to self pay it so I know they don't have to wait to talk to them......has anyone else had an issue like this? I am by Erie PA, so if anyone knows psychs that maybe they used that are close, I would appreciate the help.

I am dying here.....I am still a few months out from surgery but have to lose for my insurance. Yesterday we had a retirement party at work (cake) and an ice cream social at my daughters school (more crap to eat). Already this morning I feel out of control and craving sugar. If I can just get back on track today, I will be okay again. It is the weekends that are killing me. I need a better tactic for them....

I am pre-op dieting as well. I have to lose 13ish lbs before they can submit to insurance.....so far doing good, but I always do lousy on the weekends. I am going to try really hard this weekend to be good

I don't know if it helps, but I have to lose 5% as well before we submit to insurance. I am trying not to look at it like a diet. I have always failed at those and this time it is not an option. I know I can't live without treats now and then, so I am not making myself not eat those things. Instead, what I am doing is I cut my calories back. I was eating about 2000 per day and now I try to not go over 1500; what you eat each day truly depends on your weight. If you are over 300 lbs for example, they recommend you eat 1800 calories per day, so cutting to 1200 will make you feel starved. You have to watch this though because if you cut back too far too fast, it will backfire on you eventually. Your body will think you are starving it and you will plateau fast. Then when you do start eating again, you will gain back even more than you lost; I think we have all been there.... Also, it takes 21 days to break a habit and that is what eating is to most of us....a habit. Keep that in mind and don't try to break all bad habits that you have had your entire life overnight, it doesn't work. I am looking at my weight loss as a life style change. It has to be something I am willing to live with or it isn't going to work and for once this strategy is working for me. I am starting to see some results and am enjoying how I feel you will too, just stick with it!

I think that is an awesome idea! I know I could use a pick me up some days.....

I understand what everyone is saying....I want to eat everything in sight but my insurance says I have to lose 5% before I can submit for approval. I have till July 1 to lose the 14lbs....last night I had McDonalds and feel terrible about it and I only ate a freakin chicken sandwich. I am just terrified I won't drop the lbs before they submit....I HAVE TO!! I guess if it wasn't for this, I would be 20lbs heavier by the time I do have surgery....maybe it is a good thing

SheilaO, you found the right place for support! I am in the same stage that you are, pre-op and everyone here has been so helpful and supportive. I think I speak for everyone when I say ask away, vent away, and email away! We are here to help and get through this together!

Welcome to the forum!!! I am sure you are going to love it here!

I second everything that everyone has said here. I am pre-banded and without this forum, I don't know where I would be. I absorb everyone elses stories, expreriences, etc and then decifer them for myself. No offense, I love my doctor, but he isn't banded nor has he had bypass surgery, so for me, this is the best place to come for real life experiences.