HOLLY80

So it's been a little over a year since I've had my surgery, I've lost 76lbs! Now here is the crazy wonderful part that i wanted to share that has inspired me to keep it up. On mother's Day my children all made me a card as they always do, however, my 9 year old made a list of all the things she loves about me or words that represented qualities i had. The word that made me feel confused at first and then happy was ATHLETIC in my 33 years of life i have never been referred to as athletic (fat, chubby,curvy, thick) maybe but never athletic. I realized that my whole family has seen my journey and the changes i have made better then myself. To have her see me as a mommy that is athletic and out doing physical fun activities with them has been the best reward better then dropping a pants size.

So it's been a little over a year since I've had my surgery, I've lost 76lbs! Now here is the crazy wonderful part that i wanted to share that has inspired me to keep it up. On mother's Day my children all made me a card as they always do, however, my 9 year old made a list of all the things she loves about me or words that represented qualities i had. The word that made me feel confused at first and then happy was ATHLETIC in my 33 years of life i have never been referred to as athletic (fat, chubby,curvy, thick) maybe but never athletic. I realized that my whole family has seen my journey and the changes i have made better then myself. To have her see me as a mommy that is athletic and out doing physical fun activities with them has been the best reward better then dropping a pants size.

So it's been a little over a year since I've had my surgery, I've lost 76lbs! Now here is the crazy wonderful part that i wanted to share that has inspired me to keep it up. On mother's Day my children all made me a card as they always do, however, my 9 year old made a list of all the things she loves about me or words that represented qualities i had. The word that made me feel confused at first and then happy was ATHLETIC in my 33 years of life i have never been referred to as athletic (fat, chubby,curvy, thick) maybe but never athletic. I realized that my whole family has seen my journey and the changes i have made better then myself. To have her see me as a mommy that is athletic and out doing physical fun activities with them has been the best reward better then dropping a pants size.

So it's been a little over a year since I've had my surgery, I've lost 76lbs! Now here is the crazy wonderful part that i wanted to share that has inspired me to keep it up. On mother's Day my children all made me a card as they always do, however, my 9 year old made a list of all the things she loves about me or words that represented qualities i had. The word that made me feel confused at first and then happy was ATHLETIC in my 33 years of life i have never been referred to as athletic (fat, chubby,curvy, thick) maybe but never athletic. I realized that my whole family has seen my journey and the changes i have made better then myself. To have her see me as a mommy that is athletic and out doing physical fun activities with them has been the best reward better then dropping a pants size.

So it's been a little over a year since I've had my surgery, I've lost 76lbs! Now here is the crazy wonderful part that i wanted to share that has inspired me to keep it up. On mother's Day my children all made me a card as they always do, however, my 9 year old made a list of all the things she loves about me or words that represented qualities i had. The word that made me feel confused at first and then happy was ATHLETIC in my 33 years of life i have never been referred to as athletic (fat, chubby,curvy, thick) maybe but never athletic. I realized that my whole family has seen my journey and the changes i have made better then myself. To have her see me as a mommy that is athletic and out doing physical fun activities with them has been the best reward better then dropping a pants size.

<sniff sniff> All this awesomeness in one post makes my eyes Water a bit

Ahh, you brought tears to my eyes. So sweet and what a great NSV!!

So it's been a little over a year since I've had my surgery, I've lost 76lbs! Now here is the crazy wonderful part that i wanted to share that has inspired me to keep it up. On mother's Day my children all made me a card as they always do, however, my 9 year old made a list of all the things she loves about me or words that represented qualities i had. The word that made me feel confused at first and then happy was ATHLETIC in my 33 years of life i have never been referred to as athletic (fat, chubby,curvy, thick) maybe but never athletic. I realized that my whole family has seen my journey and the changes i have made better then myself. To have her see me as a mommy that is athletic and out doing physical fun activities with them has been the best reward better then dropping a pants size.

So it's been a little over a year since I've had my surgery, I've lost 76lbs! Now here is the crazy wonderful part that i wanted to share that has inspired me to keep it up. On mother's Day my children all made me a card as they always do, however, my 9 year old made a list of all the things she loves about me or words that represented qualities i had. The word that made me feel confused at first and then happy was ATHLETIC in my 33 years of life i have never been referred to as athletic (fat, chubby,curvy, thick) maybe but never athletic. I realized that my whole family has seen my journey and the changes i have made better then myself. To have her see me as a mommy that is athletic and out doing physical fun activities with them has been the best reward better then dropping a pants size.

So it's been a little over a year since I've had my surgery, I've lost 76lbs! Now here is the crazy wonderful part that i wanted to share that has inspired me to keep it up. On mother's Day my children all made me a card as they always do, however, my 9 year old made a list of all the things she loves about me or words that represented qualities i had. The word that made me feel confused at first and then happy was ATHLETIC in my 33 years of life i have never been referred to as athletic (fat, chubby,curvy, thick) maybe but never athletic. I realized that my whole family has seen my journey and the changes i have made better then myself. To have her see me as a mommy that is athletic and out doing physical fun activities with them has been the best reward better then dropping a pants size.

So it's been a little over a year since I've had my surgery, I've lost 76lbs! Now here is the crazy wonderful part that i wanted to share that has inspired me to keep it up. On mother's Day my children all made me a card as they always do, however, my 9 year old made a list of all the things she loves about me or words that represented qualities i had. The word that made me feel confused at first and then happy was ATHLETIC in my 33 years of life i have never been referred to as athletic (fat, chubby,curvy, thick) maybe but never athletic. I realized that my whole family has seen my journey and the changes i have made better then myself. To have her see me as a mommy that is athletic and out doing physical fun activities with them has been the best reward better then dropping a pants size.

I allow myself Snacks. The nights are the worse for me, particularly if I am watching TV.
I've made a pact with myself - I can have a snack but only if its an apple & cheese, greek yogurt or a cottage cheese combo. So, essentially, I bargain with myself. I can have a snack but it MUST be something healthy.
Now, that's the daily Snacks I'm referencing. I'm not talking about treats. That's a whole other matter!

Maybe pull her aside and get her on your side so there's no undermining going on in the coming months. "I just want you to know how much I appreciate your support -- this isn't going to be easy. It's going to be a lot of work and of course I'm nervous about the surgery and being a success. I know you have got my back through this -- thank you so much." Or e-mail it to her. Send her a card, whatever. She'll get the message. Make her your ally. What's that saying, Keep your friends close and your enemies closer....

About 7 years ago I put aside a pair of pants that I loved, proclaiming that I would wear them again someday! They sat buried in a dresser drawer, packed, unpacked, repacked and unpacked through 5 moves! Always in the back of my mind the thought was there, why am I holding onto these? My weight sky rocketed through the years and I finally had lost hope that they would ever fit again.
Today, I wore these pants to work (amazingly enough they are still in style) and bittersweet as it is, this may be the only time that I get to wear them as they are a touch too big. I cried for a few minutes this morning. Tears of accomplishment, tears of pride, tears of letting go. I think the hardest part of this journey is the mental challenge! Today though, the proof was in the pants!

Congratulations on your success!!! That was very brave of you. Thank you for sharing and giving all of us hope. God bless

so much better today! you guys are awesome! Thanks for the support and advice!!!! Been walking, taking gas ex, got a heating pad . went back to work Tuesday the first day back was hard but by today It wasn't too bad. I went to the doctor yesterday and he said my pain wasn't gas pain but referred pain from the swelling putting pressure on a nerve right under my rib cage and sending straight to my shoulder. He told me to take ibuprofen and it worked. Today i was pain free for the most part. My new challenge is cooking for my family all this yummy food and not being grumpy about not getting to eat any of it. I still sit at the table and sip my shake or broth lol. I lost 10 lbs this week crazy i can't believe it... I'm sure it will slow down some time soon.

so much better today! you guys are awesome! Thanks for the support and advice!!!! Been walking, taking gas ex, got a heating pad . went back to work Tuesday the first day back was hard but by today It wasn't too bad. I went to the doctor yesterday and he said my pain wasn't gas pain but referred pain from the swelling putting pressure on a nerve right under my rib cage and sending straight to my shoulder. He told me to take ibuprofen and it worked. Today i was pain free for the most part. My new challenge is cooking for my family all this yummy food and not being grumpy about not getting to eat any of it. I still sit at the table and sip my shake or broth lol. I lost 10 lbs this week crazy i can't believe it... I'm sure it will slow down some time soon.

I had mine two days ago and im taking off all of next week just to get my body used to the changes.....Im sore but the gas is the worst part. good luck!

I had my lap band 3 days ago. the more you move around, the better you are, I feel pretty good, just sore.

use your heating pad all the time. drink liguid tummies love that. Stool softners/.laxitive or lentil Soup works well to get the gas/air out rest and heal your body is in shock. Hot showers also helped me....this is the worst part life is up hill from here....you will probably need more time off just see how you feel. Really try the lentil soup just need to simmer them 15 mintues then blend them for where u r now they taste good and get the colon working very well and quickly.

Dr. O'Brien says that you shouldn't eat unless you're hungry. Your body will tell you when it wants more food. Now is a good time to start to get in touch with your body and ignore the silly mind cravings.
tmf

my diet plan says liquid only

my diet plan says liquid only

RUN, SPOT, RUN!
The phrase "sweet spot" pushes me into my swirling stream of consciousness, where I hear: Sore spot, hot spot, weak spot, sweet spot. Spot the dog.
Run, Spot, run!
That's what the bandster sweet spot does. It runs ahead of us, wagging its tail, taunting us, "When you catch me, you're gonna lose weight like never before! But first you gotta catch me!" And off it goes again, dangling that precious weight loss carrot just out of reach while we follow, huffing and puffing and worrying that we may never catch our errant Sweet Spot. What if we don't? Will our weight loss surgery be a waste of time and money?
Sweet spot. Just two words. Short words, endearing words, simple words, but loaded words. For such a little phrase, the sweet spot is a very big deal. But is it real? Is it even possible? I can think of other little phrases that are also big deals, and after several decades as a voting citizen of the United States of America, I have to wonder if they're just a dream. World peace. Cancer cure. Justice for all. Sweet spot.
THE ELUSIVE SWEET SPOT
The concept of a sweet spot was unknown to me until I shortly after my Lap-Band® surgery. It's not a term exclusive to bandsters. In tennis, baseball, or cricket, a swing will result in a more powerful hit if the ball strikes the racquet or bat on its "sweet spot". In the world of music recording, the sweet spot is the focal point between two speakers, where a listener is fully capable of hearing the stereo audio mix the way it was intended to be heard by the mixer.
In general terms (that might make more sense to those of us who are athletically or musically challenged), a sweet spot is a place where a combination of factors results in a maximum response for a given amount of effort. That's exactly what we're hoping for when we have weight loss surgery, isn't it? After years of useless struggle and unsuccessful dieting, we want to expend the least possible effort for maximum weight loss results.
Unfortunately, there's a trick phrase hidden in the paragraph above: a given amount of effort. It's not “no effort”. A given amount of effort…but an undefined amount. How much effort? How long, how often? Does making the sweet spot work for us take an hour a month, a week, a day?
In Bandwagon, I wrote that the sweet spot is a myth that does bandsters a great disservice because it's a mistake to think of restriction as a single point (or sweet spot) on a line. Let's pretend that you've found your sweet spot. It looks like the diagram above. Can you balance on it indefinitely, like the green triangle poised on one precarious corner? I couldn't. All it would take to knock me off that little spot is a strong breeze, and if I had to devote all my attention to keeping my balance, I wouldn’t be able to make good use of the imperfect but quite useful areas to the left and right of my sweet spot.
It’s more useful (and balanced) to think of restriction as a range, not a single point, with the sub-optimal yellow zone (not enough restriction) to the left and the sub-optimal red zone (too much restriction) to the right. According to Allergan, the band's optimal performance is in the middle “green zone,” where to greater or lesser degrees you experience early and prolonged satiety and reduced appetite and hunger.
Now let’s try thinking of restriction as a river or stream that flows along, sometimes slowly, sometimes fast, and sometimes it's quite still. If you try to catch that river Water in your hands, crying, "This is it! My sweet spot!" the water will run through your fingers. If you step into the stream, your restriction is with you all the time, sometimes optimal, sometimes sub-optimal, but always there.
DOWNSTREAM WITH JEAN
Does my stream analogy sound too much like something Yoda would tell Luke Skywalker? I'll climb out of the stream now, shake off the water, and tell you about my own "sweet spot" experience.
The #1 thing I want you to know is that you can lose weight without ever catching hold of your sweet spot. I lost 100% of my excess weight (90 pounds) in my first year post-op, with far less restriction than I had later on. Except at the very beginning, when everything about banded life was a mystery to me (including the Green Zone poster at my surgeon's office), I didn't have a lot of anxiety about whether or not I'd found my sweet spot because I was losing weight without even knowing what my sweet spot looked like. I didn't have to starve myself or take diet pills or any of my rarely effective pre-op weight loss techniques. My band was most definitely helping me even though sometimes I felt as if I didn't have a band at all. As time went on, I sometimes took my band for granted, and only when I had to have unfills to treat symptoms of careless eating or overeating did I realize how much my band had in fact been doing for me. After each unfill, my appetite and my physical hunger immediately increased, which both scared and pleased me. As in many things, it was a matter of perspective. One day I whined about getting hungry 3 hours after eating and being able to eat 1 cup of food. The next day (after the unfill) I whined because I got hungry 1 hour after eating and was able to eat 2 cups of food. There's a popular saying that claims you never appreciate what you have until it's gone, and that's certainly true for me.
Hearing my story, you might want to argue that before those unfills, I had reached my sweet spot and just didn't know it. That's entirely possible. After all, how would I know what the weight loss sweet spot looked or felt like? I'd never been there, never held it in my hot little hands - I probably wouldn't recognize it any more than I'd recognize the mayor of Kansas City or the invisible line where the Eastern time zone ends and the Central time zone begins.
Of course, one of the reasons we choose WLS is to make losing weight easier. When people criticize WLS patients for "taking the easy way out", I want to laugh and then scream. Of course I chose the easier way, that's the whole danged point! But at the same time, it's not as easy as you might imagine. It's not magic! Losing weight "the hard way" hadn't worked for me, so it wasn't unreasonable of me to want my band to work perfectly right from the start. If it didn't work that way, I really can't complain (much). After all, I didn't learn how to ride a bike, multiply 9 x 7, or play the piano on my first try either. And if I'm completely honest, I'm not sure I would have been able to handle it if I arrived at my so-called sweet spot the day after my surgery or even after my first fill. One of the reasons most surgeons administer fills in small amounts over a period of weeks or months is so the patient can gradually become accustomed to the change in their body and eating, and thereby avoid unpleasant side effects and complications. If I had walked out of the hospital on September 20, 2007 with as much restriction as I had 3 years later, and with virtually no practice of band eating skills, I would've been calling my surgeon the next day, crying, "Take this thing out of me!"
Since I'm an extremely stubborn person, I needed plenty of time to adjust to everything going on in my life after surgery. In the year it took me to reach my weight goal, I learned perhaps 50% of what I needed to know to manage my weight for the rest of my life. I hadn't once heard the Sweet Spot bells chiming, but I was mighty happy with myself and my band. I had changed a lot, in my mind, heart and body. Just standing in that river of restriction, going with the flow, was such an enormous improvement over my pre-op life, all I could feel was gratitude.

So I'm sorry to be too graphic here but remember, someone filled your body cavity full of gas, they pumped mass quantities of fluids, medications, antibiotics and anesthesia into your body. They punched 5 holes in your body, moved all your inner body parts around, shoved a tube down your throat, took an electric scalpel and burned away excess fat and tissue wrapped around your upper stomach, then wrapped a plastic strap around your stomach, stitched it in place with 5-6 sutures bringing your lower stomach up and over the band and then snaked a tube out of your body and then sewed another plastic piece to the muscle tissue on your rib cage.
Now, thinking about all that has been done to your body, you're doing quite well aren't you? But yes, you should call your doctor.
tmf