Kitt3000

I'm one of those folks who reminds people that we are more than numbers and to focus on NSVs during our weight loss journey. But even I am speechless this morning. I weigh myself weekly just to stay accountable. Yes...I know when I've eaten well and when I've not, but the number on the scale reinforces what I already know. Since I don't let the number rule my outlook for the day, or even the week, I am OK with the weekly weigh-in.
Well...got on the scale this morning and it said 119.2. I had to look at it for a few moments because I couldn't take in what I was seeing. I'm under 120 lbs. That's unbelievable. The very first time I went to WW, I was 15 and 127 lbs. I got down to 113. I was 125 lbs. when I got married and have never been close in all the years since. Oh...I got down to 150 in the early '90s but of course ballooned back up again.
Yes...I know it's just a number but it's also a watershed moment for me. I've accomplished something I never thought I would. I'm as small as I was as a teenager. I'm not a teenager though... My skin is terribly wrinkled and I only look good with my clothes on and in long sleeves and pantyhose. I hide the flaws same as anyone would. But...I'm alot smarter than a teenager now and feel that I'm mature enough to make good choices in my life and find future success in ways I thought impossible just two years ago.
If all goes as planned, I will be visiting my sister-in-law in China over Christmas. Imagine that...me going to the Far East. Was a time I couldn't hardly walk and now I'm going to the other side of the world.
I'm dating again. It's scary for sure, but I'm starting to get comfortable enough with my body that I can appreciate what others see. Not always mind you, but sometimes... It's still a work in progress.
Mostly I'm just grateful and happy to be mobile, healthy, and appreciate my life. I give all the credit to the band because that's where it started.
Have a great Monday everyone.

How about trying after a hot cup of coffee or tea.

@@Kitt3000 perhaps you can try cooking with Flaxseed oil rather then taking the gel cap?

Lol, my surgeon uses a carrot. He says ask yourself if a carrot will satisfy you and if it won't its head hunger not hunger. So, the other night, I was lying in bed and I was feeling hungry. I asked myself if a carrot would satisfy that hunger and the answer surprisingly was "yes". Problem is I had no carrots and the rest of the night, I found myself waking up craving carrots. I even dreamed I was sitting in the garden pulling carrots out of the ground and eating them. I woke up with a bad taste in my mouth, and sorta gritty llike dirt. I don't think I got up and ate anything, I think it was my imagination. I hope it was my imagination.

God give me patience and give it to me NOW. Up 0.8. This, after a week of decent food choices, no alcohol, no food at the movies, some (not enough) walking, and clean fasting days. My clothes are falling off and I had to replace several items this week. Well, I will just keep on plugging along. I'll have a good day of outdoor exercise with some friends today and we have great weather for it. I will just keep the food clean and keep tracking faithfully. Oh, just noticed this. I just reread my MyFitnessPal diary for the last seven days. My week of so-called decent food choices averaged out to 1,770 calories for a non-fasting day. I'm supposed to be aiming for 1,000. Maybe a little less hummus this week as a meal, and a little more solid Protein. And in my food diary I just noticed also that five different days this week I either went to a restaurant or ate restaurant takeout food. My old nemesis fried food is back. Thai food twice, once being last night. Hmm. My daughter was in town for a couple of those days, but that "special" eating sure explains a lot.
Ok. Well, clean up the food choices, eat more solid Protein and less hummus, cook more, eat out less, and get more walking in.
I gotta WORK for my pass through the Onederland gates, huh? Mission accepted.

Hey @@JustWatchMe hope you feel better soon, the fake popcorn wouldve been yucky anyway so awesome job avoiding that temptation! I love the apple test idea.. When im trying to bust a head hunger myth i make myself drink Water and do something for half an hour and them asking myself if its still hunger ir something else :-)

Fabulous Friday! I'm so happy. My oldest daughter is coming home from college for a long weekend tonight. I'm going to make burritos tonight. Mine may be without the tortilla. Lol.

Best thing about fasting days is I can drink my coffee right away because I don't have to wait half an hour after Breakfast. I brought some homemade chicken for lunch and baby carrots. I'm so happy this method has helped me to restart my weight loss and achieve one of my big goals. Second big goal within one to two weeks for sure!!
My daughter comes in for a visit from college Friday. Can you say motivated to get to Onederland ??? Woo hoo!

@@JustWatchMe ok I did the 5:2 last week I was going back and fourth between 205 & 203 trying to get to Onederland so it worked started at 203 last Sunday today 197!!

Ouch. Can you stock your desk with Quest bars and Protein Shakes and then set your cell phone alarm and force yourself to stop for fifteen minutes? Please don't run yourself down. We need to make our health a priority. Good luck! I hope you're fully staffed soon!

@@jessiquoi I feel you pain my friend! I have days like this all too often! I think it's because I think I look good in hats and I have far to many of them to be able to wear them all in a given day
I want to SMH when I forget to eat because that just leads to eating all the wrong things when the hunger beast comes out and it's not Halloween just yet...even though you could never tell from the flood of candy and chocolate in here!

Communicate often with the plastic surgeon and any of his past patients. Dr Victor Gutierrez is a wonderful caring physician/plastic surgeon as well. I can not express with words the level of care and compassion that I received. My every need was cared for over 100%. I can not imagine going to any other plastic surgeon. His education is also impressive, because he specializes in micro surgery, which means minimum scaring. All incisions are internal and scars heal beautiful. He will be there for you before and well after your surgery.
(On a side note) Just out of curiosity, I Googled "doctors arrested for drugs." Now that scared me. There seemed to be a story reported almost daily of doctors over here in the US being arrested. Doctors even have their own drug rehab facilities that they go to. It is amazing! It is good to be cautious about any doctor, no matter the country.

I was terrified of plastics (well all surgeries!). Here are some things i did - I read the plastic surgery forums here and on obesity help. Dr S has a private forum on OH that he does not read nor contribute to. It is a truly patient driven forum and you hear the good, bad and whatever. It is also full of practical details...how it all works.
In addition, I found a couple of nice people who were former patients, willing to talk to me on the phone and give me their insights.
For other surgeons, i think they don't have quite the organized following of former patients who do this, but i would really talk to people who have similiar situation (ie starting size/weight/procedures done) and pick their brains.
One thing that i only figured out after months of research and going to various consults that all surgeons have slightly different approaches and opinions, there are tradeoffs, plusses and minuses. At first it was frustrating (like shouldn't there be ONE right answer!?!) but then I realized that it gave me some hard choices to make. I am absolutely thrilled with the choice i made, love my results and love that I got it all over with at once - not for everyone though!

Good to hear you've managed to find a way to solve your problem.
If my own Band office were 8 hours away, it would be more trouble than it is now at 5+ round trip plus whatever in-office time there is.
And yes, the fill-charges have gone up tremendously.
However, in my own case, 10 years postOp, I'm in better shape now than I was preOp. If fact, it is very likely I would have died from one of my own co-morbidities if my health hadn't improved from the effects of the Band.
Sorry you had such troubles. I'm not going to rush out and have mine removed just yet though. The worst day I've had postOp is still better than the best day I had in the 5 years preOp.
Good luck.

Folks who don't live near an office for their follow care should never have a lap band. That's my opinion.... I've read too many similar horror stories, and most of them have the same theme.
Lap bands do not work on autopilot.

Standing outside this morning I looked about and all was quiet. Moments later a light breeze started to affect one of the Maples we planted thirty years ago. It drew my attention because it was a soft rustling noise that came from no where and sounded peaceful and pleasant. Suddenly in the distance I could hear the rumbling of thunder and it felt ominous. Approaching my peaceful moment with the ability to give me cause to worry. It hit me that the entire experience of a few moments was comparable to the journey of weight loss surgery.


We get to a point where we give in and think that we have reached the bottom of our life. There is nothing left and we think there is nothing for us out there to help or offer us an option to turn our lives around. But through gentle words and in the form of encouragement by family, friends and the medical field we learn about Bariatric Surgery. We are offered a tool that can assist us to find a new path to good health and well being. A fear builds deep within us but we know inside that this is the only option left. This is make or break it time and we have no where else to go. We see our mortality and the future looks dim. We are willing to do what it takes to find ourselves on the other side which offers a new life without food addiction.
We can't even imagine how that would feel to be thin and in good health. Finally having the real control of our future and our lives. Not being the object of well intentioned or intentional comments or opinions that hurt so deep we feel wounded and or scarred for the rest of our days. But it is not to be. We have an option. A gentle breeze overcomes us as we realize we do have an option. We do have a future. One that will keep us around long enough to enjoy the rest of our lives as the person we always wanted to be. Being able to watch our children grow up and then the grandchildren. Not to mention doing all the things you thought you would never do. Making a bucket list of experiences you want to have and places you want to go. Not to mention the effects this new and improved you will have in a positive way with your family and friends, work acquaintances and yes even strangers. This is the gentle breeze of realization that is engulfing your spirit and giving you hope for a better life ahead.
When does the thunder roll in the distance to threaten this new found peace you are experiencing? When you realize that it will take real effort on your part to accomplish this. When you take the time to really start changing how you view food and figure out why you used food as a comfort in good times and in bad. We are conditioned to believe that food plays a much bigger roll in our lives then simply giving us the proper nutrients to keep our bodies in good working order. By well meaning parents who told us how it was so important to clean our plates to the diet industry that makes millions off of failed diets. The false comfort in the form of food related slogans that advertising companies use to make us think that food equals happiness. That food is the backbone of our lives. Here are a few.
Help yourself to happiness – Golden Coral
Come hungry, leave happy – IHOP
Unwrap a smile – Little Debbie's
Comfort in every bite – Mars Bar
Life tastes better with KFC – Kentucky Fried chicken
Little nuggets of joy- McDonald's Chicken McNuggets
Double your flavor,double your fun – Double Mint Gum
Feels like home – Sarah Lee
Get your smile on – Lay's
And on and on, teaching us that food is the answer to all our woes and will bring us happiness. But we know from our own personal experiences that this is not the case. And yet we battle these feelings of needing food as the drug of choice to fulfill in us an emptiness every single day. We find ourselves reverting back to the habits that has brought us momentary relief only to find that it did not help at all.
This is the thunder that we all experience in our journey. The fight to stay on course and not give into the heavy winds and booming sounds of habit or the artificial comfort of using food to make us feel better. We are in a war. We will win a battle at a time. We will get there. Maybe not today or tomorrow but we will control this disease. Weight loss surgery is our tool to learn new life long habits and choices that will once again bring the gentle breeze of hope and then success.

I went on a trip for work. I was so heavy I couldn't reach around my belly to get the seat belt on the airplane snapped. I had to have my coworker help me. Even then, it barely fit. Thankfully it was a female. I remember that moment with so much shame, but it has also been a very motivating memory, along with a few others. Best wishes on your journey.

Oh boy, do we all know how you feel -- the BP cuff; the large-size gowns that they have to go hunt for because they're not kept in each exam room; the one-size-fits-all (ha!) paper gowns that you need two of and that keep tearing as you try to fit into/cover yourself. My PCP once sent me to get a baseline bone-density scan - I arrived; signed in; woman called me back; first stop was the scale. I was actually pleased because I'd lost 9 lbs on my own (still was over 300 however). So I'm kind of happy to myself about my weight loss, then she took me into an exam room, I assumed to get into a gown or something to get ready for the scan. She chatted a couple minutes, and I began to think it was a little strange/just was getting weird vibes, I don't know how else to explain it - then she told me that their machine only goes up to 300 pounds, so they can't do my test and I'll have to go to the "special" scan place that has larger equipment. I found myself with a frozen smile on my face and profusely apologized for wasting her time (ie, apologizing for being too fat), and managed to practically run out the door to my car, where I promptly broke down sobbing. So, we do *get* it, so rant away --

Oh, I feel for you! I have to insist on them using my forearm now. I also have fibromyalgia and on the upper arm, my pain level goes up to a 9 out of 10. And then they do it again because it got an error. I also like when they use the type that go on the wrist. I can't wait until my upper arms are smaller! Keep up your momentum. December is not far away!

@@parisshel I'm sorry, but your first sentence had me laughing!! I know it's not something funny especially when you are living around people with that type of thinking.
I was just picturing in my head a bunch of skinny mini's trying to force the biggin's behind bars...and I needed a good laugh today!
People in general need to be more tolerant of others, and more importantly we need to be more loving to ourselves.
We might not be a size 0 we might not ever we might not even be a size 8 and I don't know about you all but having surgery for me was for health first and foremost and if I can use the smaller blood pressure cuff now and fit into jeans and plane seats comfortably those are all bonuses!!!

Honestly, the blood pressure cuff things is one of the things I look forward to solving the most! It is right up there with airplane seat belts for me. I unfortunately was blessed with my grandmothers arms as we call them. They are and have been very large and I am always arguing gently with nurses about the best way to get an accurate blood pressure read on me. They never seem to want to believe that their cuff and machine simply is not going to get it so therefore they always want to try at least twice before moving to my lower arm.nand by the way, it actually hurts sometimes!
Anyway, I think I will do the dance of joy when I lose enough weight to have my bat wings removed permanently. I know I have a long way to go but I am going to be dancing! Good luck on your surgery!

I also needed the large cuff for a long time, but it will be so sweet when you eventually need the small cuff as I did last week. Even the adult regular is too big for an accurate reading. I now need the small cuff and when my doctor said this, I wanted to shout it to the world. Hang in there GF, it will happen for you!

All cultures are bad with woman's self images...I guess you really don't think about other cultures until something like this comes to the forefront...
Good luck on your surgery...keep in touch... we've ALL been there in one way or another.

Oh honey...I feel your pain. I live in France, where they must keep the overweight people locked up behind bars...you rarely see anyone over a size 8 walking around here. It's a culture that is OBSESSED with women's beauty and I was such an outsider until I had my surgery. When I was fat, I could literally feel the disdain coming from the French as they looked at me...be it a physician or a shopkeeper...they all had something to say.
Now that I'm more acceptable, from a societal point of view, I really don't care what they think. I did this for my own health and comfort, and less to be "acceptable" in terms of physicality. But I do enjoy being looked at in a positive way now, and certainly am glad people are nicer to me now.
I totally understand what you are saying, however. It is so freeing when I go back to the States and feel that my body type is the norm.

Rant away!!! I love Japan!!!! I was stationed there in the Navy for 4 years.