JosieK

hey everyone, i would like to join you guys. i am not homeless but have been a "drifter" on this site. i'd like to "wiggle my butt onto the couch" and have a more solid place to come to. i am originally from NYC and moved to Katy, Texas 3 years ago. i retired and moved to be near family. i LOVE texas.... a little backround.... i wanted to lose weight before i moved to texas. not only did i not lose weight...i actually started gaining and i was miserable. my brother suggested the lapband. he had seen a special on the medical channel. funny thing is...i totally investigated this in 2002 when i was 270 lbs and decided against it because i thought i couldnt eat steak (i didnt even like steak back then). i think the real reason was i wasnt ready. fast forward..... i was banded in 3/07 . i lost most of my weight in the first year after busting my butt in the gym, journalling, etc. i had many "slips" along the way. during the second year, i got addicted to blue bell (the best ice cream in the world). i started eating only junk as it was too hard to eat good food. i gained 20 lbs back. i've had trouble eating for the entire life of the band. i think i kept myself too tight....which was my fault totally...not the band's fault, not the doctor's fault, etc. i was seriously thinking of taking it out and about 4 weeks ago my doctor suggested a total unfill. he felt i might go away from junk food and start eating regular food which has happened. last week i joined weight watchers to be held accountable and i have to say it is a winning combination with the band (for me). i found a group on LBT that does both. i finally got back to the gym after PS and lost 6 lbs this week. i have 13 more to go. i'm pretty chatty today ha! i'm heading the NY for vacation tomorrow so next week i will be on/off but normally i'm on every day. so i will be checking in when i can... have a great weekend josie

haydee, last night was fun! i especially like the last course :laugh: i'm glad your wedding plans are really coming together. that's when you know it's sanctioned by someone much more powerful then us. keep me posted on any new "finds" you have for the wedding. take care joanne

hi mini, seems like you are doing well..... dont let yourself have pain. take as many pain meds as you need.... you are on your way up to being your new self!!! everyday i am getting more happy i did this. in the beginning i wasnt so sure....but now....very happy. take care and keep us posted. josie

hi jollygreen, thanks for the advice. where do you live in NY? i am actually from NYC. i moved down here 3 years ago. i was banded in texas but originally investigated it in NY....i have to say i am cold down here so i'm worried about up there. between moving to the south and blood thinning and my weight loss.....i am cold all the time. before lapbanding i was hot all the time. :thumbup: make sure you eat enough calories. i wouldnt believe this if it didnt happen to me. early on when i was banded...i cut my calories down way low. alot had to do with being too tight. i think i was taking in 800 calories at best. my weight loss stopped. my body was holding onto as much weight as it could for survival. when i upped my calories to 1000 calories...it started to kick in and my weight started coming off again. anyway thanks for the tips!!!! josie

hi these are good suggestions.....the head hunger doesnt go away when you get near goal. so it is better to deal with it as soon as we can. i'm grappling with it even now..... i'm doing everything in my power to overcome it. good luck to everyone josie

hi everyone lilmissdiva: feel better rayne: :w00t: from your lips to God's ears! china: great tracking.... well i weighed in today and lost 6.6 lbs. i was so happy because i wasnt sure how i did. i tracked every single morsel i ate. i didnt "fudge" anything in counting. i used all my extra points and swapped some of my activity points. but 2 things i did which i was happy with...i stayed away from blue bell ice cream and i worked out alot (47 activity points). i also got rid of all junk food in my house. i bought "filling foods" and food that fit in with the WW plan i really think this helped. what i didnt like about this week....i started focusing too much on food. part of it is due to re-learning the program. but one thing i would like to work on is to stop snacking between meals even if it is low point food. i need to conquer the psychological part of eating. i am heading to NY saturday so i hope i can at least maintain this when i get back i will be on/off sporadically after saturday till next sunday. good luck everyone on your week!

hi, i also had an issue with hair loss and getting food down. Biotin didnt work for me in fact i just chucked the bottle i bought 2 years ago. when i couldnt get Protein shakes down...i used the protein bullets. but between the shakes and the bullets my hair loss subsided. in fact i still have to be careful now to insure protein levels are high enough each day hope your problem gets solved soon

hey mini...so glad you are on this side of surgery. yikes re: fainting...good thing your DH is with you wishing you a speedy and pain-free recovery josie

hi sue i havent had pain like you describe but....i just started working out really hard last week. (ie. abs, kickboxing, etc) and my stomach is swelling alot the day after...like i'm pregnant. i called the doctor's office and they said it is just strain due to newly working out. my stomach underneath my skin does feel really tight like a girdle. i guess that's good because when i'm not swollen my stomach is flat. but it's weird maybe can you call the doctor just to see if it is normal? hope you feel better....josie

hi mini, i was nervous before i did mine but i thought of the people that went before me that ended up having more plastic surgeries as well and they were thrilled. that gave me comfort you will be thrilled... i came home same day as my surgery. i was concerned about this but you know what??? it was a blessing to sleep in my own house. i slept in a recliner for 2 weeks and was very comfortable (of course i was on drugs for the first few days ha! that helps.) try to get some rest.... josie

hi everyone, checking in... i'm done with my points for today so i'm going out for a little while. when i'm busy i dont really think about eating. the weight watcher meals are really helping me. i found a new fruit called a "plout" it's a cross between a plum and an apricot....wow....DELICIOUS!!! it was in Sam's club today. anyway i weigh in on thursday. i hope i show a loss.....we'll see. have a great "on plan" day! josie

my experience.......i got rid of my scale 2 months into being banded. whenever i weighed myself alot...i did terribly with my eating. if i was good one day and didnt lose 50 lbs (of course i'm exaggerating)...i would eat junk. i ended up taking the scale out of my house and only weighed 1X a month...i did much better. i know when i'm eating right or not. there are so many reasons for our bodies to fluctuate. anyway good luck in whatever you decide to do but dont let it become your master...please

Hi everyone, hope y'all had a great labor day weekend. i stayed on plan after my whopping 38 point first day! ha! in fact my fiancee' laughs when i tell him how many points we are eating. i think he's glad we arent eating junk. he isnt fat but he gets a hangover after snacking on junk over the weekend. mgirl: glad you joined. i have alot less points each day but i'm managing ok (except the 1st day). the program has changed so it's fun re-learning it sberrys and scorpio: congrats on being down a pound each. jollygreen: now that's an NSV missdiva: great job! your enthusiasm is infectious. i think you are right about the band compliment the WW food plan. in past the amounts they gave me were too small as i was starving afterwards. now with the band...the amounts are just right. re: chat time...out of the 3 days you gave as suggestions in can do thursday at 5:00 California time. china: good girl re: passing on PB Cookies. that is a good point you make about not gaining the weight overnight...why would we think we should lose it that way too. crzytchr: let me know what kind of elliptical you decide upon. i'm interested in one as well. deniseh: i recently took fill out of my band and it is making all the difference in the world for me. i was eating so much junk because i couldnt get good food down without hurting. great news on your weigh in! hi rayne have a great night everyone josie

hi amy 2 things helped me turn the tide when i would fall off the wagon: 1. start journalling my food. they have many free websites like fitday.com or sparkpeople.com. 2. start to exercise. even if it is to start small like walks and then increase. both of these helped me to get control of bad eating. i was having problems with ice cream. i couldnt stop eating it. but i managed by doing these 2 things. lastly i focused on the fact i had an operation to lose weight. this is just 1 facet of the lap band program. i just made myself look at this extreme measure and said "why would i do this only to sabotage myself" this self talk helped me. good luck josie

hi i had breast lift on 5/11/09 and i havent lost any sensitivity. in fact i think they may be more sensitive. a doctor will probably say it could go either way but my experience has been great thus far. good luck josie

Good luck mini

hi everyone, checking in... well my first day on WW had upsides and "not-such-upsides". the real upside for me is it was the first day i didnt have any sugar which is BIG for me. downside...i used alot of points (38.5) but i was TOTALLY honest on my journal. i promised myself to look at this as honestly as i can. what put me really over the edge...i had 1/2 cup of fried calamari .... 11points!!!! i have to re-learn the points. i will make better choices when i do since i really wasnt yearning for calamari. i would have had a salad instead. anyway i'm happy about the sugar elimination. i am heading to the gym in 10 minutes. i feel less hungry today . (i guess 38 points would make you less hungry ha!) have a great day everyone josie

hi all, i would love to do a chat. i am pretty open with my time (no kids, retired) so i will wait to see what you guys decide upon. mgirl...same thing happened to me when i saw this thread. actually this is a great supplemnt to the band or vice versa. we still have to learn how to eat properly. good luck... thanks diva for the encouragement. i feel better after i just took a little nap

Lana24...i couldnt have said it any better!

hi lilmissdiva thanks for the tips...i am going to the store tonight to load up on the low point foods. ... i didnt know about the tuna...or the fruit cup points i actually learned about the current promotion in WW of getting 1 mos free when you sign up for the month on this thread yesterday,...they give you e-tools for free. so i am doing both online and meetings. in fact i have a few threads on WW online that i kept up with once-in-awhile since getting banded that i have reconnected with..i find these people to be supportive of my lapband. i guess i got lucky. my WW lecturer is also supportive of the band. i totally agree with you that WW and the band compliment each other. thanks for telling me your first day was tough. i am really going to keep trying and also i will keep checking in. this will make me accountable.

hi lil miss diva, thanks for your welcome. today is my first full day on plan and i have to say..all i can think of is food. i was hoping this wouldnt happen. i feel like i am more hungry today then i have been in recent weeks. i'm going to push through this. i am being completely honest on my tracker. i only have 7.5 points left for the day. i couldnt get to the gym today....that is an issue. i find i am much better with food when i get to the gym. oh well i will keep on keepin' on thanks again...i will stay close. i really want to be successful at this. josie

hey terri, Sam's (fiancee') whole family is from el campo. his father was the principal and coach for years and years. he still lives there. we will have to do the "do you know who... game" sorry haydee...dont mean to hijack your thread joanne

hi everyone after seeing this thread....you gave me the idea to join WW. before lapband...i belonged to WW 4.0 million times (exaggerating of course). and never got to goal i reached goal with my lapband and have since gained 20 lbs. so i dont want to go back to where i came from.... i went to the meeting this morning. the program has changed so i am trying to approach this as a newbie. i hope i can join you gals on this thread. josie

also dont get discouraged if you post and dont get a response (it really bugged me). try to hook up with people that got banded the same month as you. they usually start a group so you can each support each other. i think i may have seen one for september 09

good luck amanda with your band. if you follow the doctor's advice....you can be successful. the key is to realize the band is one tool of the many we need to get on a healthy track. it is not the sole tool. i was sore for a little while too. but each day i got better. in the beginning i didnt lose weight. i just needed to recover from the surgery. i also wasnt eating enough and my weight slowed down. once i started eating a balanced meal (Protein first) and exercised and drank liquids...the weight really came off. where is burleson near? who was your doctor? take care and best of luck! josie