naenaern777

I'm so sorry you're going through this! I gained an unbelievable amount of weight at one time when I was given Prednisone at the ER for a very bad case of poison ivy. It was, as you say, practically overnight. Put those medical professionals to work -- they need to figure this out!

Hello EVERYONE
yes i pop in and out but if i dont post/answer, i do try to read/catch up on my BFF's you all
i love/admire each one of you....you all can PM me and if you do during the day, it goes to my work email..
and most of you have my cell number and some have my work email......so if you need me, let me know
here is me
hub took this picture of me at the mc clubhouse

Hi Carole,
Thank you for taking the time to help by coming back to post this message onthe board. You have given us a gift today, I hope and wish for you, success. I think your name Sojourner,says it all.
Best wishes,
Kitt

Technology challenged, as always. A couple of pictures taken this Fall, 2014. Life is great! 

It has been just about a year since I visited this site. That date coincides with having my band removed for medical reasons. I am not writing this post to "bash" the band. I am thankful for my opportunity to lose weight with my band, and to get my life back. I wanted to let others know that should they have the misfortune of having to have their band removed, it is not the end of your healthier life. I wanted to share my experiences, as I know what an emotional journey it has been for me, and to perhaps inspire others to never give up on themselves. Unlike many others who opted to revise to another WLS, I chose to not have a revision because my PCP advised me to give my inflamed GI tract a rest, as there was excessive scar tissue at my band site. I am amazed that if not careful, I am still able to get food stuck, even after the initial adjustment post band removal. I believe I knew from the beginning that I would not have a long relationship with my band. I decided to make the most of my banded life, and embraced my new banded lifestyle. I was the poster child for diet and exercise compliance. And I feel I was reasonably successful with losing 90+ pounds during the 22 months I was banded. Now, about a year later, I have gained 5-6 pounds. The surgeon who removed my band told me to expect to gain around 10 pounds. I feel good about not gaining 10 pounds, but I need to be vigilant every day post band, as I was while I had my band to make healthy food choices and control my portions. What has worked to help me to maintain a healthier weight: Continue to eat like a banister. I still choose a lean Protein and a produce carb for every meal. My portions are still band sized, with the exception of adding a couple of ounces of lean protein for meals. I look for signs of satiety, and leave leftovers on my plate. Exercise continues to be a priority, both cardio and toning. Snacks are limited to Greek yogurt, pumpkin seeds, and a few raw nuts. Above all I am thankful for the opportunity to have lost weight, and with continued good choices for diet and exercise am so far maintaining a healthier weight. I never achieved my goal weight, a huge disappointment for me. However, there is so much more on the positive side for me. I am now in training, and on pace to complete my first Half Marathon in February. This event is on my bucket list! There are the same challenges every day, with or without the band. I have to manage my hunger, drink sufficient Water to help avoid eating between meals and in the evening. I keep my mind active with other focal points. My best practice I want to share, is that awareness and mindful eating is a life long event for anyone who has had to battle their weight. So is getting active with exercise, and continuing to be dedicated to your goals. My enduring motivation to continue to make good choices is always to remember how much my overall health has improved. I had several serious co-morbidities prior to being banded, and now am able to walk for miles with no pain and without getting winded. Most of my health issues are resolved. I am mindful that I could lose all of the benefits I have gained through weight loss if I lose my focus on my healthier habits. Those habits have become internalized, and now are second nature. Can I eat more if I wanted to, yes. I feel good about choosing not to. Can I choose slider foods that are high in fat and calories? Of course, we all can. But for me, it just feels better, both physically and psychologically not to. Am I hungry? Yes, most times than not. It is my accepted "normal". I wanted to let others know that losing your band can be a very scary and anxiety provoking event. This past year has been a proverbial emotional roller coaster for me. But it does not mean that it is the end of a healthier life and inevitable excessive weight gain. Do I sometimes question the wisdom of not choosing to have a revision? Yes, and I know that if my weight ever were to get out of control I do have the option to choose another WLS. Above all, I understand that my future with my weight is dependent on the choices I make every day. I am up for the challenge, every day. And we all take a day at a time. Best wishes for continuing success to us all!

I went to a WLS support group at another hospital (not mine) last night and the facilitator reminded the group that this process is not a straight line. We will have ups and downs, and it's okay. Enjoy the ride, as he said. Wise words.

Hello my peeps. Today I entered Onederland.
That is all.

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.

@@naenaern777
I know this thread is older, but I'm just seeing it for the first time today. Wow. ...what a great story! Congrats!

So July 1st was my 1 yr Bandiversary. I wanted to post that day but I didn't hit my 1yr goal and was beating myself up which was completely silly. So I stopped to take the time to reflect how much has changed in this last year. When I spoke to my surgeon pre-op I told him exercise was not an option because my body was so beaten and worn down from all my diseases and meds and chemo shots. Now I run a 5K 6 days a week and completed my first official 5K in June. This brings tears to my eyes because before I got sick I was a gym rat and how I missed it but still can't believe I am a runner a real runner!
I has spent the last 6 yrs sick and fighting for life and when I decided to get the band originally my family freaked and said it was to dangerous. So I stopped the process then and wasted another year before I told my family something had to change. I wanted to live life and be a great mother and wife. I did not want to just exist and be a burden on them anymore. They were hesitant and still worried but supported me. There are truly not even words to explain what the band has given back to me.
Everything has been at a very slow pace but in a year as far as health I am off the chemo I was on for lupus and have only had a few small flares. I haven't had to be hospitalized at all since my band. I am only on one med now for lupus which is prednisone my best friend/worst enemy. I was able to cut out so many meds which is freaking awesome. My thyroid is also responding to my weight loss and I just was able to decrease my synthroid for the second time. My weight loss has been slow but I also have Addison's disease so I have to take prednisone 3 times a day forever probably. So I need to often remind myself that I am still on a pretty high dose of steroids everyday and I'm still losing weight/inches. I have still had some flares and have had to double and triple my steroids which stops my loss each time and causes a small gain. I have to wean off very slow so it takes weeks to get back to where I can lose again. I still managed to lose over 60 lbs in this year and 4 clothing sizes from 20W to 12!!
I look like me again and feel like a real person. Last year at this time I was driving my kids to do 5K's now I am the only one getting out to run and have beat both of their best times!! My kids have their mom back and couldn't be happier we are so close. We are all together everyday enjoying life. I am a wife again I can make dinner everyday for my husband and keep up with the house and laundry so my hubby can relax and watch the Pirates now lol... I can babysit my toddler nephew all day and play with him and chase him.
I never thought I would see any of these things happen again. Lupus was kicking my a$$ and as hard as I fought I couldn't beat it. Now its my turn I'm fighting back and taking my life back. I know that this is not a cure because there is no cure but this is best case scenario for me and I will certainly take it.
When I'm on higher doses of prednisone and having a pity party for myself I get on here and read all the posts and it seriously turns my attitude right around! So thank you all for being here for me to help me and support my journey! You guys all rock!!
And by the way I did hit my goal of being in ONDERLAND 2 days after my anniversary and that's close enough for me!!!!
Gotta go pack I am off to the beach tomorrow for a well deserved vacation!!!!!!

Three pound loss this week. Woot woot!

Happy Slim Sunday! I was nervous about weighing this morning and almost didn't. But I decided before I did that whether it showed a modest or a big loss or even stayed the same, I was determined to stay on course. I feel so good and my jeans were slightly looser yesterday so I was sure I lost something this week.
Between one and two weeks ago I was bouncing between 211-216 daily. Last Sunday I weighed 218.2. This morning I weighed 210.2. I've broken through my bouncing range and this is my lowest weight so far.
I'm really happy I waited a week to see these results. I'm also more determined than ever to keep eating cleanly and use this 5:2 method.
I had a little victory last night. I went to an early movie and didn't buy anything to snack on. As some of you know, I had been in a movie popcorn routine that was doing me no favors. Since I had not had dinner yet and wasn't even hungry, I just told myself if I came out of the movie hungry I could have whatever I wanted for dinner. And I did - low carb and delicious.
So much of this battle is fought between the ears. I think this week helped me strengthen some habit muscles that needed a good workout.
Off to church, then having Breakfast at home, then meeting a friend for coffee at Starbucks.
Have great Sunday!

so even though i told my self i wasn't going to get on the scale until i'd had at least 4 fasting days. i couldn't resit i had my second yesterday.. don't think i managed to stay quite at 500 cals but didn't wander too far over. and with the metabolic circuit class i take wasn't really a prob.. anyho.. i was down 1.8 on the scale. OMG that's the biggest drop i've had in months usually it's a .3 a .5 but not anything over 1.. i'm so excited. got to behave this weekend and make it through my fast on monday here's to finally breaking that stall..

Ok, well, I had all my food at lunch today and came in for the day just under 500 calories. I have been totally pumped up all day and feeling skinnneeeeee. I even went to Target to try on jackets, and I'm down from a 3x or 4x to a 1x. I actually didn't buy one because I didn't care for the styles. Omg. That's new. Before, if something fit, I bought it in three colors just to be safe. Black, black and black.
And then.
Then I heard back from my divorce attorney about a legal question I had today and without going into specifics, my emotions got all worked up and I'm feeling like $#!t. Like Pavlov's dog, I want food.
Head hunger. I was feeling great. I was feeling happy. Then I felt like crap. And I want to eat.
I'm not going to eat. I'm going out for awhile. I took a walk and I'm going to finish this day strong like it started.
Living well is the best revenge. I'm going to live well!

Okay, I'm in! Doing my mental prep now in anticipation of Thursday. Watched the videos (thanks TMF!) and making some plans. Wednesday night I will stop caloric intake at 9:00 PM (I figure I can move this up earlier if needed) then I'll have my first calories on Thursday at 2:00 PM. So that's fifteen hours to begin. Since I'm not a Breakfast eater and am often not hungry until noon or so, this seems like a natural way for my body to function. So Thursday 2PM Protein, Protein, protein -- then another protein meal in the evening -- under 500 calories for both. Then Friday, back to "normal" through the weekend and Sunday PM stop caloric intake at 9:00 PM. Excited, thanks for the motivation (as usual!).....

Still catching up on the videos.
Yesterday I semi fasted I guess. My veggie salad at dinner was around 6pm. That was my last food for the day and I was under 500 total. No lie, I went to bed hungry but excited. The mental component is real. I knew I could eat "tomorrow" so it was very doable.
Again this morning I am glad I am not weighing myself. Even though yesterday was a low cal day, I'm relieved I don't have that scale arbitrarily deciding to show me Water weight or an unrealistic loss. Sunday will be soon enough.
Today is real food. I'm looking forward to keeping it clean.

I am starting the 5:2 intermittent fast today (Mondays and Thursdays 500 calories, other days normal healthy food choices). I am also not weighing myself until Sunday.
The first thing I noticed this morning was relief about not fearing whether the scale went up or down a pound this morning.
My plan is to rely on Protein Shakes today because they are easy to control and satisfy me.
I'm going to post my experiences in this thread. All are welcome to join me.

its true at least it is for me..
if i take in more calories than i burn off (ate or drank 3500 calories is a pound whether is lean Protein, a Protein shake, french fries, or apples) then we will not lose and can gain..this is how i got super morbid obese...def measure your loss by clothes..if you are losing inches, you are losing actual weight..DEF feed your body with food/good calories vs empty calories...

80+ pounds gone in a year 1/2

I'm 19 yrs old and have been considering surgery since I was about 17 since I've dealt with obesity literally my whole life.
My surgery was Nov 18, 2014. I started at 298 and am now at 254! Only 7 weeks out of surgery but have seen a huge difference in how I look!
5 days preop I was probably around 295lbs.
2.5 weeks was around 271lbs.
1 month post op I was stuck in a little stall at around 260.
It's so funny that I look in the mirror every day and always tell myself that I don't see any changes and feel upset and then I actually look at the pics I took right before surgery and how much I've changed. Literally puts me in tears!
Of course I'm still in progress, my goal is to be about 120, I'm hoping that happens! I'm really short, 5'1 so technically that's pushing almost still being overweight lol.
I can't wait to be a year out and look as great as all of you guys! Everyone here is such an inspiration ????

Anyone have celiac disease?

So nice to see some of the lupus community on here. I'm so glad you're doing well. This gives me tremendous hope

Nice to meet both of you, I found out about this site from looking at a fellow sleevers video journal on you tube. I didn't know what to expect, but everyone is so open

Hi there. I had VSG on 5/5/14 and I also suffer with Lupus. I'm on plaquinel,methotrexate and Immuran and really am struggling with extreme fatigue and weakness. The weakness has been horrible since VSG. I'm having so much nausea that I'm having a hard time getting all my Protein and Water in. I hope that you and I can be support to each other as we struggle with different problems then the average people on this website. Let me know how I can support you.

Hello my name is Dotti. I'll be 25 on September 19th I've introduced myself before but it was a while ago. I just got a early birthday present which is my Gastric Sleeve date, September 8th I am going to make 25 the best year of my life. When I was just 12 years old I went into kidney failure. I was put on adult strength chemotherapy and high doses of prednisone. I was later then diagnosed with Lupus. I've been on prednisone since I was just 12 and straight until up to 2 weeks ago. I went from a healthy 12 year old 80 pound kid to a chunky 16 year old 160 pounds to 23 and over 300 pounds. I am now 24 and 249 pounds. I know my weight problems have to do with the prednisone but I also know food was the way I coped with being made fun of, getting homeschooled and now going through menopause and dealing with never being able to carry my own children. I remember when I was about 15 I asked my mom if I could get gastric bypass. She said "you'll never be big enough for that" well here I am mom! I keep saying 25 is the year I get my life back. 25 is the year I'm going to live. I can't wait to start making a life for myself that doesn't revolve around my bed. Feel free to pm me if you'd like to talk ps. I'm from MA and getting my sleeve done at Tufts in Boston.