DidThis4Me

My daughter decided to bake 2 dozen homemade chocolate chip cookies tonight. They are sitting on the countertop, taunting me. Although my husband and daughter are both asleep, and although no one would know if I ate just one, I REFUSE to visit them. I WON'T give in to the temptation. I CAN DO THIS! I am STRONGER than those cookies! Before the band, I would have eaten at least 5 of those cookies with a tall glass of milk. Now, I am so focused, I am avoiding them like the plague. I see so many people on this site that have actually reached and SURPASSED their goals, and I am inspired. I want to be a success story. If I eat the cookie, I WILL KNOW. My band will know. I don't want to disappoint my band. I think I will go to bed now.....

I feel the same way too....I think it's pretty hard NOT to think about the band, especially for those of us who are not yet at goal, and who have tried every other weight loss method in the past. Subconsciously, I'm always asking myself "is this the thing that will help me actually reach my goal this time?" I am considering joining a bowling league or finding another hobby as a distraction. Good luck finding your distraction, just make sure it's a healthy one!

I had my first adjustment today. It didn't hurt a bit, at least not the fill itself. I did find out a few interesting things about the band and about myself: 1. I have a small 10cc band 2. I only had 2 ccs in the band at surgery 3. I MUST have willpower after all since there has been hardly any restriction, yet I have been steadily losing since the surgery I had an additional 2 ccs added to the band today, and go back in 2 weeks for another adjustment. I still don't feel much restriction, but that doesn't concern me too much. What DID hurt me is when the nurse told me I had only lost 6 pounds, not the 18lbs I have worked so hard to lose. Say what??? You see, they are using my starting weight from the day of my first consultation, not from my surgery date, as I have been doing. On 9/21/12, I weighed 213. On each subsequent visit, my weight inched up a little more. At my highest recent weight, I was 230. On 12/28/12 (surgery date), after a few days of a liquid diet, I weighed 226, so that has been the starting point I have used. Even though I know what I have actually lost and the sacrifices I have made since actually going under the knife, I admit it was a little disheartening to have them showing me at a mere 6 lb loss. The disappointment is my fault though. I have nobody but myself to blame. I was on an eating frenzy from the time that I knew I was approved for surgery until a few days before the actual surgery. I know it was the holidays, but that was no excuse. I should have just said no to the carne asada nachos. No to the margaritas. No to the pizza. No to the bbq ribs, peach cobbler, ice cream, and fried chicken. I didn't say no, though. In a last ditch effort, I made it a point to gorge on all of my favorite foods almost every day before the surgery, and I set myself back 13 pounds in the process. Had I used the willpower and self-control that I have been operating off of for these past few weeks (at 2ccs), I would already be well under the 200lb mark. If only........(sigh).....I can't do anything about the prior indiscretions that caused my self-inflicted setback. Going forward, however, I vow to take every day of this journey seriously. I am DETERMINED to succeed!

Lol! We've all used that baby weight excuse, haven't we? Thanks so much for the feedback and good luck with your success as well! :-)

My weight has been a constant struggle since the birth of my first child (around 25 years ago). I have been on nearly every diet invented. I have spent thousands of dollars and have pretty much tried some form of all of the diet fads known to man: -Weight loss pills (Phentermine, Phen-Fen, Cal ban, Metabolife, Healthy Trim, Hoodia, The Amazon Diet, Zendo Dieter's capsules, Green Coffee Bean capsules, etc.) -Weight Watchers -Weight loss teas -HCG injections (spent nearly $1k) -Medifast, Slimfast, Nutrisystem -Body wrapping -Lipo Dissolve (spent around $3k on this) -Cabbage Soup Diet -Mayo Clinic Diet -d**k Gregory Slim-Safe Bahamian Diet -Grapefruit Diet -Low Carb Diet Trust me, I could go on A-L-L-L-L day. I had some successes over the years, but the weight would always come back with a vengeance. I stayed on the prescription diet pills for many years, always concerned that they would affect my organs. I knew I couldn't stay on them forever, but whenever I tried to stop taking them, the weight would pile back on. Around 5 years ago, I managed to get down to around 175. I gave away all of my clothes and vowed that I would NEVER allow myself to go over 200 again. Once again, I got off of the pills, and once again, I regained all of my weight within 2 years. When I hit 40, NOTHING worked any more. Not even the pills. Since they no longer worked, I got off of them altogether and simply gave up. I ate WHATEVER I wanted, WHENEVER I wanted. I told myself that I work hard, so I shouldn't deny myself of anything that I want, even if what I wanted was carne asada nachos at midnight. I hid behind designer clothes, purses and jewelry to try to draw attention away from my expanding waistline. I'm just being honest. I ballooned up to 230 pounds, which is the most weight I have ever had on my 5'1 frame. I looked and felt miserable. I avoided cameras at all times. I no longer felt attractive to my husband or to myself. My back and knees started bothering me, and I was constantly out of breath. That was when I decided to look into the Lap Band procedure. Exactly 3 weeks after the operation, I am 16 pounds lighter (20 pounds lighter than my heaviest weight), and I am in a good place. I feel like I finally have hope. I will have my first fill next week, and although I admit I am a bit nervous (especially after some of the posts I have read on here), I am looking forward to my journey towards finding my "sweet spot". I also intend to utilize the gym membership that I am still paying for once my doctor clears me to do so. This is my story TODAY. I am now 100% committed to this new journey, which is why I finally made the decision to post my picture. I cannot be ashamed of the path that I have chosen to take. If I don't take my journey seriously, who else will??? Today, I choose life. I choose to take my health back. I choose to believe that I have made the right choice for ME, and that the band WILL work for me, as long as I work with the band. I will be drawing upon the strength and support of all of my fellow bandsters here, and will be updating my story periodically as I reach new successes. Feel free to add me as a friend if you wish. There is strength in numbers.

I started taking the Twinlab Bariatric Support Chewable mutli vitamins immediately after my surgery, along with their liquid B vitamins. So far, no hair loss. :-)