gowalking

Mine didn't work right either. And I also got the warning in red that I wasn't eating enough calories. It had me set at 1310 daily calories even though my personal goal was no more than 1200. I didn't bother with the projection and just used it to calculate my calorie, protein, and sodium input. I tried not to project anyway....I thought it would just set me up for failure if I didn't meet the goal. I actually stopped using the app quite a while ago. I know what most foods cost me now in terms of calories so I don't plug in anymore. I used to use it faithfully on a daily basis though and I absolutely feel that it was a huge help for me to be able to calculate my meals and have a really good healthy food foundation.

Raw mushrooms are easier to eat. Not as rubbery. I always put some in my salad.

This is some journey we're on, right? I had so many food funerals before being banded that I well and truly made myself sick. I wish I could have told the morbidly obese me that walking away from the food is easy once we see how much better we look and feel. Great job my friend. So proud of you!

Are you throwing up regularly? That's not normal and can mean you are too tight. Is your doctor aware of this?

I suspect you don't have enough restriction yet. I absolutely feel less hunger. Not no hunger though. What the band does is tamp down the hunger enough for you to make good food choices both in what you eat, and how much you eat. It's not a 'set it and forget it' type of tool. I can screw this up whenever I feel like it. I choose not to because the band helps me to control my appetite. You have to follow the rules though...eat slowly and chew well. It not only helps you from getting stuck, but by the time you are done, the hunger should be satisfied. Don't expect to feel full either. I have been full only a handful of times, and you can go from full to uncomfortable in a split second so I do my best to stop before then. Please try to be patient. Talk to the doctor about ways to help you be successful with the band and keep reading posts on this forum for advice and inspiration. This is not a linear journey...most of us have had our ups and downs so know that you're not alone in feeling this way. Good luck and keep us posted on what your doctor and/or NUT says.

It was so amazingly beautiful yesterday in NYC that people were going in and out of my apartment building all day. So I wasn't surprised to see a woman who lives in my building for the first time in at least several months. She was overwhelmed with my transformation...but I've actually sort of gotten used to that. But what was different was that she wasn't focused so much on my weight loss as the whole package..especially no more cane. She told me I should write a book about my journey and that she would be the first to read it. I laughed and said something about not doing anything that was book worthy and she disagreed and said I didn't give up. That I faced my issues and did something about all of them and the results are outstanding. She then quietly said that I could have just as quickly given up same as her husband had. All I know is that he is dead, but I never knew any details. I still don't but I do have some insight now. I've had people say this to me before, that I could have just as easily gone the other way when I'd say that I had no choice but to do something drastic before I wound up in a wheelchair. Funny how we dismiss our own achievements but can see them in others. There are so many people on this forum who I admire tremendously for turning their lives around yet I don't often see myself in that same way. I have to keep thinking about what my life was like a year ago...bed ridden and in so much pain that I was on oxycodone around the clock while waiting for my hip replacement surgery in early October. This year, I'll be in Myrtle Beach on the anniversary of my surgery with my kids and granddaughter. I'll be able to keep up with her just fine..walking along the beach and swimming in the pool, and whatever else she wants me to do with her. I owe this new life of mine to the lapband and for anyone who is as desperate as I was to change their lives, just know it can be done.

Forget full sweetie. Full means you've gone too far. What you want is satiety. Meaning, not hungry but not full. You are in bandster hell. It can take months and multiple fills before you are in the green. Being in the green means you can go 4-5 hours between meals without being hungry. It also means that the appetite is tamped down just enough to allow you to make good food choices. Just keep doing what you are doing...it's a diet right now and you just have to get through this part. Don't get discouraged. There are a number of vets on this forum who have been very successful even though they gained weight during bandster hell. You have to remember that none of us gained the weight overnight, and we won't lose it that way either. This is a lifetime change....regardless of how long it takes to lose the weight. Good luck...come see us when you are feeling low. We'll help you stay on track.

Hi Carmen. As Jack notes, there are often psychological aspects to weight loss. I've been seeing a therapist for several months now because I was losing weight, getting tons of compliments, and hated what I saw in the mirror. Or if I didn't hate it, I certainly didn't recognize it. I would look in the mirror and a stranger was looking back at me. It's unlikely that you will wake up one day and love the reflection in the mirror. Alot of it has to do, at least with me, with the fact that I have to learn to love who I am and then will hopefully love the package I'm in. Losing weight seems to bring up all these issues that we've often buried beneath our size for so very many years. I recognize some of your worries and that's why I've written to you. If you need to talk to a professional to help you on your journey, do so. This is about being the best you can be and that means more than the physical self. Good luck, and feel free to PM me if you want to 'talk'.

Hooray Hooray Hooray!!

Oh I hope so. Everything well?

Loved your story and am celebrating your success right along with you.

I was about as bad as could get pre-surgery. I was morbidly obese even though I was on a 'diet' for a year prior. I followed this diet plan religiously and still only lost 25 lbs. I needed to lose 125 lbs. I was in such terrible pain from joint disease that I was probably only weeks or months away from going into a wheelchair. I couldn't exercise because I couldn't move. I really think that my dire situation is what helped me to stay focused and do what needed to be done. I also don't think I'm alone regarding this. Those of us who are so terribly impacted by our obesity have a tremendous motivation to get healthy. After being banded, I lost around 100 lbs. and was three months out from bilateral hip replacement. There are times I am so mad at myself for allowing myself to get so bad but there are other times when I think I might not have been as successful if I hadn't gotten so bad. If you are basically healthy and finding success without WLS, yes...give it some more thought. If you cannot keep the weight off, you know the WLS is still a viable option for you.

That before picture you posted yesterday broke my heart. You looked so sad and defeated and I just wanted to cry. I have a smile on my face in my before pics so you can't see the terribly unhappy person I was. But just like you, I stayed on life's sideline and did not participate in anything. Not any more thank goodness.

When are you coming back this way Tammi? All my gals want to go to NO but no one is taking charge...and Christmas will be here before you know it. I don't think it's gonna happen...

I went on a blind date Wednesday night and saw that the gentleman was overweight. It didn't matter to me at all because he was very nice and we got along well, but it turns out that we did discuss the fact that he's lost more than 80 lbs. and wants to lose another 40. He needed to lose weight because of a knee replacement and I went ahead and told him about my hip replacement surgery and that I too had to lose weight so I would have an optimal outcome. He looked at me like I had two heads. I assured him that I struggled with my weight and even laughingly said that if we got along well enough, I'd think about showing him some less flattering pictures of me in the future. Amazing right? Here's this man who presumes because I'm a small person, that I don't struggle with weight. It just goes to show that you can never EVER presume anything by what you see on the outside. This is what makes an eating disorder so insidious. If you are involved in any other type of negative behavior, no one need know. But a food addiction?? We can't hide it... and it's there for all to see and judge. I find that I feel like I'm hiding the real me behind this small body. I always thought I was hiding the real me behind my big body but now I see that I'm just hiding period. I think I need to discuss this with my therapist so I make sure not to sabotage my success. This process really is two steps forward, one step back.

What comes first...the chicken or the egg? Just this morning, I ran into two ladies I used to talk to riding the train into work. I haven't seen either of them for months...sometimes schedules change and suddenly someone you saw daily, you never see anymore. The last time they saw me, I guess I was still on the cane. Which also meant they saw me 30+ pounds ago, the old haircut ago, and likely no makeup at that time. I know I have changed enormously over the last year since I got my hips replaced but it comes to the forefront when someone tells you that you look amazing. Did the confidence come first, or does one get confidence when the feedback is so positive?

Salem...if you find that you are hating your body after you lose the weight, think about discussing it with a professional. I am still working on body image issues. I've lost more than half my size and was only noticing the negatives and not the positives. I'm getting there but it is absolutely a process...and a process that some of us need therapy to help us manage. Oh...and I'm far from the only one with this problem. When you look in the mirror and don't recognize yourself, therapy is a good idea.

This is probably the hardest part because it is very much like a detox. Hang in there...don't let this part of it deter you from your goals.

You are a spectacular woman. The way you have reclaimed your life is nothing short of amazing. I remember when you came to this forum and I have been watching your journey ever since. You have been an inspiration for me even as I have inspired others. I am humbled to call you my friend and I wish you nothing less than all the happiness in this world. Much love to you as you Celebrate this monumentous anniversary.

OK...he's interested. He just texted me good morning.

OMG!! I just fell off the couch I'm laughing so hard! You are something else girl!! No..he didn't get any tongue. Can't give it all away on the first date now, can I?

People who don't struggle with weight, or those who are not in the right place to do something about it are not always the best support for us....even if it's good friends and/or family. I found more support and understanding on this forum than I ever thought possible and I am convinced that my success is in great measure also due to the wonderful people I've met here. Stick with us, and you'll get all the support you need.

Thank you so much for putting it out there. I also have the saggy skin and my belly looks alot like yours. I've learned to camouflage it well and I also look fine in clothes. I don't know if I will undergo plastic surgery. I am considering it but I'd have to pay for it out of pocket so I have to really make sure if I go ahead, it's for the right reasons. You are a beautiful lady and I want to congratulate you on your weight loss.

We met at a little after six and he walked me home at 10. (it's OK girls...I live in a doorman building so I don't have to worry about anyone ever coming to my apartment unexpectedly) So we hesitated a bit but then had a nice sweet kiss at the end. I think I like him. I think he likes me. We seem to have alot in common. In fact...I'd bet money that he's had WLS. He told me he had a knee replacement so I told him about the hips. I never thought I'd say anything that personal on a first date but it felt OK to tell him. Eventually we got around to talking about having to lose weight so that the replacements would work optimally. He's still overweight but I don't care. He's a nice man and we talked very easily. He mentioned his struggles losing weight and I couldn't keep quiet. I didn't tell him I was banded but when I did tell him that I struggled as well, he looked incredulous...which I understand now. If you look at me without knowing my history, I don't look like someone with weight issues. Good lesson for me never to judge a book by it's cover. I hope he asks me out again.

Lisa....I knew sooner or later, you'd crack. You are amazing and can't be amazing all the time without shortchanging something and you are right...the something is you. Lord knows we have trouble putting ourselves first. If we do, we're selfish. Or we feel guilty. Taking care of ourselves is not the same as narcisism though I suspect we think it is. I saw the therapist yesterday and we talked almost the whole time about my discomfort in being noticed. And I mean by my family. I always hid in the background and I know that gaining back so much of the weight I lost 20 years ago was partly related to these issues. We need to put ourselves, if not first, then certainly not last. We are all works in progress whether we've made our weight goals or not. It's so much a process and I am understanding more now that it's a lifetime process....which makes the support we give each other even more important.