Bandista

Yay Angie! So happy for you.....hope you have a nice relaxing weekend, as much walking as you can possibly do and all the movies and Popsicles you want. Congratulations on this big step toward your health!

Hi Dewey, thanks for a great post. I look forward to being a lesser person as well. And thanks for insight into fill world. My first potential one is 12/2. This whole thing is pretty exciting, I have to say! And 34 pounds -- yee ha! That is great.

Hi Anume! Congratulations -- you are doing beautifully! I may have to go Terry's route and only weigh-in at the doctors' offices so I don't drive myself absolutely nuts.

Hi ePencil -- love your name! Congratulations on your surgery and best wishes for a nice relaxed weekend. I think the walking helps everything. Even five minutes plus five minutes plus five more will get you there. Loose skin is a problem for many and there are so many factors, like amount of weight lost, genetics, etc. Just like some get stretch marks more easily, etc.

Dreading this! Hope you feel better, Ineed2dothis4me! And good luck with your first fill. I am really working on slowing down -- so hard as of course I am a recovering shoveler. You've inspired me to have another practice session today. Have done this a few times -- eating with the clock. Small spoon or fork, me and the second hand which is so slow it's unbelievable. A forkful of food, feel the sensation, return fork to plate. This part is hard as I do not want to put down the utensil. I then look around, notice what's going on inside and out, then pick the fork up again, empty. Take it to my mouth, feel the tines of the fork on my lip. Put it down -- again I resist that. Now maybe thirty seconds have elapsed. This time I let myself load the fork. I wait til the second hand hits the minute mark then I repeat the whole thing. Thirty bites thirty minutes of mindfulness. Hope this will help me the rest of the time. Doing the empty fork pickup in-between bites seems to slow me down quite a bit. I have to really take my hand away. Maybe I'll be a better conversation partner at meals!

I love juicing but for me it was another brain warp around my relationship with food. A few years ago I did a three-week juice fast. I have my own juicer -- don't buy bottled anything, just juice beautiful organic veggies, fruits, etc. The feeling of clarity is wonderful -- and somewhat addictive. Skin gets so clear, shiny eyes, etc. Plus if you really love veggies there's nothing yummier. We have a large garden so that aspect is very satisfying, too -- juicing your own beets, etc. Obvious problem is having to go back to food and then, if there was a weight loss intention, the inevitable regain plus. I do think there are some serious health benefits to occasional juicing -- giving the digestive system a break, colon cleansing, etc. -- and I will probably use some fresh-pressed juice after fills or when I feel like my band needs a reboot. Will be nice to do an occasional day of juicing without the dieter's tapes playing in my head. I'm not there yet!

Monday! You're almost there! Congratulations on that. I had a two-week pre-op and that's about what I lost. Or less. Went back up at surgery time and more after (fluids), then down, down. I know it's hard not to obsess over the scale but try to relax and know that the real goal is a healthy liver to make the surgery as easy as possible. I don't think surgery and recovery were nearly as difficult as the pre-op diet. Trading in all that anticipation for the joy and relief of finally getting there made the temporary pain/discomfort easy to go through. Best wishes for a nice relaxed weekend.......we will be thinking of you on Monday!

Hi Raedale, thanks for posting. Getting off the BP and diabetes meds -- way to go! Our son is graduating from high school next June and one of my goals is to be really healthy by then. I'm sorry to hear you've had trouble with your port. I hope that is getting resolved quickly so you can heal up and continue along this path of good health and happiness. I know what you mean about the self-confidence. I was sinking in that department. An introvert by nature, work from home, just not comfortable in the world the way I want to be. Changing all that now! Thanks for an inspiring post this morning.

Mine is above and to the left of my belly button. I find myself putting a hand there as a reminder. Grounds me.

Nothing like a private class -- that's great!

Yippee! So happy for you.......best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Hi Betsy, so happy for you to have made this decision for better health! I am newly-banded and SO happy. Good luck with your process. Mine was about five months. Seemed so slow but really it flew by. I used the time to read lots and lots of posts here to understand how to be successful. The people here are warm and so willing to answer any and all questions. I'm really glad to have increased my exercise while I was going through all the hoops of various appointments, etc. That made me readier for surgery and able to step up all the walking once I got my band. Makes a huge difference! Also I got a therapist to have some one to track with. I needed to look once again at ways I used food to soothe stress or boredom, anxiety. Best wishes to you at the beginning of your journey!

Hi Freedom, thinking of you this morning -- best wishes for a speedy recovery. Don't forget to walk as much as you can; you'll be so glad you did! And TwinsMommy home already. Hope your recovery is going well and you have a nice quiet weekend planned. Happy Friday all!

Good morning -- checking in at 227.5; got all the twinkly lights up.....fending off the darkness of this time of year!

I'm right there with you, trying to learn how to listen to my body -- am I hungry or do I just think I should eat, or is it just that I could eat, etc......we will get this! Thanks for the great blog. Hope your second fill went well and you are getting into the swing of things. I am right behind you (banded 11/5). Have a great day!

So happy for you - very exciting to turn your life around like that! I'm right behind you.....

My doctor and the nutritionist have both referred to me as a "restrictor." Guess that's a label for those of us who have dieted like crazy and find it difficult to let go of those restrictions. Pre-band I have been no dairy, no wheat, no sugar, no caffeine, no alcohol -- a lot of no-nos. So I'm trying to embrace all of it and just have those very small amounts of what it is my body is asking for. It wants dairy so I'm having some. Have not tried wheat yet and think I may not. My husband is celiac so we already have a wheat-free house. That is restrition of another kind, however, not that mental "can't have" game I have played so well the last two decades. Even though I'm so incredibly good at it, I was still unable to lose weight with that approach.

Sounds like a good time to start a walking program -- you'll be out of the breakroom and beginning a new exercise life!

Hi there, I had my post-surgical follow-up meeting with the nutritionist today (I am 16 days post-op). She encouraged me to start eating salad before I get a fill -- just so my body is used to it. Went for a salad with a scoop of tuna on top directly after the appointment -- was so happy to chew, chew, chew those veggies! Brought half or so of it home for another meal.......

What a great feeling to slide in and out of that booth! Congratulations on your weight loss and accomplishing the LB surgery as well as the hip replacement. It shows that it is all possible -- I'll bet a year ago you could not imagine being where you are now. One step at a time...... BEST WISHES TO YOU! PS -- on your way home soon?

Thanks so much for this, TMF -- I'm going to hunt down the other seven and watch those as well. Nice to be up on everything that's out there research-wise. KBell, I just had my post-up follow-up meeting with the nutritionist and I asked her the very thing you have inquired about above. I was originally given the 30 minutes before and after rule -- it's in all my hand-outs and was emphasized by the surgeon. Today I asked about alcohol and going out -- saying that I assumed I would finish a glass of wine and let the other person have their appetizer then make sure thirty minutes had elapsed, etc., etc. She said not to worry about it, that it's the no liquids 30 minutes after that matters. Now this Austrailian doctor -- a leading LB surgeon -- is dispelling that science entirely. I guess it's up to me to figure out what works for my body. Moderation is definitely the goal. And I'm looking forward to my first Margarita one of these days, that's for sure! Best wishes to you.....

So happy for you! Very exciting.......

None of us is a walk in the park, that's for sure -- and I'm talking about human beings, not just those of us who are over-eaters. Do you think it's time for a serious sit-down talk about how important this is for your healthy future? Maybe if there is absolute clarity about what you need -- and don't need (like being brought food) then it will be easier for her to find other ways to show her love to you. Maybe she's not sure how absolute your commitment to this is. You were committed enough to go through surgery, which is a very big step. But you still have to take care of your end of the bargain. I'll bet she could help with that if she knew exactly what you need. I have my husband prepare bottles of Water for me, with my splash of cranberry and aloe juice. He'll bring me that drink, just the way he used to bring me glasses of wine. The wine and cheese party is over, but a nice cup of herbal tea is pretty great. It comes with love. And just because he's hungry and doing the grazing that I used to do with him does not mean that it's time for me to eat. He has actually cut down on that quite a bit and will be healthier himself now that I'm not indulging alongside him. But when he Snacks and goes back for more food, etc., I just need to sip my juice and sometimes zip my lips. Wishing you the very best. This can be hard on a relationship but there's nothing more important than getting it right. Thanks for the blog, Debbie -- he's a keeper, that's for sure. Have a great day!

Hey, we're not letting you go that easily! Just think, a year from now we'll all be 2013 bandsters talking about how quickly a whole year passed. Wishing you the best for this afternoon's peer review. Hope you get the news soon and that's it's just what you want to hear!

So nice we'll say it twice: Happy, Happy Birthday!