Sherlock1969

Sandy, you are hilarious! And @@PuraVida37, right there with you sister. I've been doing a lot of walking -- lower half is looking hot but.....oh, the muffin top. I'm going to be humming that tune all day now. And I don't mind my mommy belly too, too much, but I have to admit our child was adopted so all that baby weight was really just stress and food.

50 lbs is very good and better than average. You're about 7 months out and at this rate you could lose 100 lbs by your 1st anniversary. Where would you be without the band? Less or more??

Lap band patients should only expect a 1 to 2lb weight loss per week. It's not a fast process. If you do have a ten cc band and are at 8, once you get to ten you wont be able to get any more fills. I would suggest you speak to your nutritionist and see where in your diet you are. Slow and steady wins the race the slower you lose the longer it will stay off.

If you are getting a fill then an un fill my guess is you are too tight. I personally searched for the first two years to find the Green Zone. What is the Green Zone? After doing the same thing you have done I found there really is no green zone. I was looking for a zone that when my band was tightened it did the work for me. I soon found through trial and error that is not the way this band works. I finally had to stop with the fill and un fill thing. I had my band totally un filled for 9 months due to having issues with allergies my band would get tight and I would fill pressure in my head a chest to the point I could hardly function. A total un fill for 9 months(my choice) came with a 20 pound gain. I then started over and had a slight fill that is when I learned the band will help but the work was up to me. I had to watch every thing I put in my mouth. Carbs calories etc. I have never had it filled back to the point I was at. Its a lot of work to manage my head hunger verses really being hungry. Something I was missing when I really didn't understand how the band worked. How many CC do you have in your band? what size band do you have? if your band is to tight you will not be able to eat healthy and you will have no weight loss. Once you can eat Protein and feel full you will start having more success. I was banded in January 2009. I have lost 93 lbs had some ups and downs. if you need any help or have questions feel free to email me jodilegerski@aol.com

I'm only 2.5 years out and I'm still 30 lbs from my goal. But, even if I don't make it to that goal, the rewards of losing 50 lbs is so worth it.
^5 on being back on the wagon.

Hi all!
My name is Breanne and I just passed my 5 year bandiversary! I lost 103lbs slowly over 3 years and weighed in at 149lbs which was the smallest I had been in my life! It also put me in the normal weight range for the first time ever!! Wooohoo!
The last 2 years have been a little stressful for me and I gained 30lbs back in what felt like the blink of an eye. I’m telling you this because I didn’t realize just how happy I was at 149lbs until I wasn’t there anymore. When I was 149 I was telling myself it wasn’t enough and that I still needed to hit my goal of 138lbs.
I’m happy to report that I’m back on the wagon now and am working vigorously to hit my new re-evaluated goal of 148lbs. My advice to all is to really enjoy the journey and don’t forget that this band is like your cheerleader. It can cheer you on all day but if you’re not playing the game you can’t win. =)

Congrats on your decision, sbake! I too have the band and it's not the easy way out. It's a solution to a battle.
Keep up a good attitude and you will be successful.

Congrats and you're so right. Most of us just need a little help with holding back those eating demons that lurk around every kitchen, pantry as we drive by the burger/shake place and seem to taunt us with promises of soothing our pain while they slowly take away our health. Wow, that got dark quick? LOL No really, we just need that little boost to not be hungry all the time.
tmf

I was a month away from having the band and got pregnant. :/ so now that im mot anymore Im back to it (: I just have to do the dietician visits for 3 months and wait for my insurance to approve! Im so excited to have this!!! I have been overweight my whole life and I cant express how happy I am to be doing this. I feel I will finally be fully happy. My body gets me down quite a bit when I get dressed and see my back fat and all my fat hanging over. Its so embarrassing. I've worked out and ate right and nothing has worked. !!!!!! So this was my last choice of course. However I am keeping it to myself. My husband knows and that's it. I have mentioned it to family and got told I was just lazy and trying to take the easy way out.. Well I dont see this being the easy way out at all. I see it being a helper to my weight loss. (:

You didn't jump through all of those hoops and go through surgery to give up now. Minute by minute, hour by hour, be your own best cheerleader; only you can make the changes. Remember how good you feel mentally when you conquer a craving or handle stress by doing something other than eating, by not going to bed with a full tummy and THAT will help you do it again and again. And when the scale starts to follow, well, that makes it even easier to make good choices!

You didn't jump through all of those hoops and go through surgery to give up now. Minute by minute, hour by hour, be your own best cheerleader; only you can make the changes. Remember how good you feel mentally when you conquer a craving or handle stress by doing something other than eating, by not going to bed with a full tummy and THAT will help you do it again and again. And when the scale starts to follow, well, that makes it even easier to make good choices!

Do not expect to feel 'restriction' or get to the 'green zone' after one fill. It is not unheard of, but it is not the norm. Until you get to the green zone you have to fake it til you make it...measure, measure, measure. It is not easy, but neither was having surgery. Best wishes!

You didn't jump through all of those hoops and go through surgery to give up now. Minute by minute, hour by hour, be your own best cheerleader; only you can make the changes. Remember how good you feel mentally when you conquer a craving or handle stress by doing something other than eating, by not going to bed with a full tummy and THAT will help you do it again and again. And when the scale starts to follow, well, that makes it even easier to make good choices!

You didn't jump through all of those hoops and go through surgery to give up now. Minute by minute, hour by hour, be your own best cheerleader; only you can make the changes. Remember how good you feel mentally when you conquer a craving or handle stress by doing something other than eating, by not going to bed with a full tummy and THAT will help you do it again and again. And when the scale starts to follow, well, that makes it even easier to make good choices!

Well I'm on day 5 of the 5 day pouch test. I'm really surprised at how much I feel my restriction. I'm not hungry and feel like I have regained my focus.
I have scheduled an appointment to get a fill but it's not until September 3rd. So I'm going to help the band do what it's intended to do with me staying focus. Thanks for responding it feels good to have support.

All the time...I think it's pretty cool....gurgling right now with my first cup of coffee at 5am....
It's like Water circling the drain...

I gurgle all the time. Gurgle is good...it means everything you're eating and drinking is going into your stomach slowly. I love my gurgles even if people look at me strangly. Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle...did you hear that?

Hi Ashlee, finding the right exercise for you is what's important -- what is stimulating and works well for your schedule, etc. I find having an exercise partner really helps me do it. Same with walking partners -- I have a list of people to call and meet up for a big walk. The music at Curves drove me a little nuts because of the way the beats are made uniform, but that's just me. I have a lot of live music in my life so the canned stuff can be hard to take. Go have fun, make it work, and the yoga sounds great, too. I thought this post was going to be about how much to lose, whether to be a skinny bony person or a curvy one, lol. I'm going for very toned and a bit curvy myself.

Why are you getting un-filled???,,,Then come back to get re-filled???....perhaps there is another variable(s) your not considering besides getting filled and un-filled....

gowalking I am literally cracking up right now, this was hilarious!!! I've been stressing since yesteday so I needed this!! It was so funny because yesterday before I left for my appointment I remember reading your post saying you were down to 139.6.....congrats!! and then when I got on the scale and it said 140.0 I just giggled and thought yep here we are together again:-)
You're absolutely right, I just need to be smart on how and where I increase my calories and I should be just fine. I know what you're saying about the alcohol. We went to a BBQ this past weekend and the cocktails and shots were flowing and everyone was asking me why are you drinking Water and my response was do you know how many calories your pounding down....lol
I guess this means I really do need to invest the purchase of a scale so that I can monitor and find out what works and what doesnt. I'm not messing with the Pasta, bread, pizza, etc. because those are all trigger foods for me and I know that if I start adding those back into my lifestyle things could get ugly, like I said I chose to give those up forever when I decided to have this surgery and I need to stick with that.
It's so refreshing to hear that I'm not alone, that it's not just me being OCD. I know you completely get where I'm coming from. Like we've said so many times we are as close to identical as two people can be on this journey.
Thanks for your advice and encouragement. We will figure this out. I may take you up on the PM:-) You feel free to do the same!!!
The weather is fantastic here in MO 90 degrees today, which is right up my alley, swimming with the kiddos this afternoon and I can't wait!
Have a great day!! ((hugs))

You are right tmf...you are not a woman and have no understanding...lol. I however, am a woman...I'm reminded every time I sit to pee...lol..and I understand what enjoy is saying perfectly. I too am 10 lbs. less than my doctor's goal of 150 lbs. I've decided to continue to eat as I have been and the weight loss will stop when my body simply is done giving it up. I'm in no danger of becoming anorexic...I love food too much for that. (Oh and I've been spoken to by friends who are concerned I might be headed that way. It makes me laugh inside...You don't know me vewwy well, do you?)
For enjoy however, she is truly ready to maintain and wants to make sure the scale doesn't creep up. Here's my advice darlin'...add Protein to your diet. Not carbs, not garbage. ...and you know what I mean by garbage. Don't have a larger helping of potatoes. Don't drink another glass of wine...or a cocktail. Holy Moley...cocktails have so much sugar and calories, it's nuts. Keep up your exercise. If you stop or slow down, it becomes a slippery slope.
Protein is easy to tweak. If you go up to 4 oz. for lunch or dinner and the scale goes up, then take it down a notch. I'm a carbaholic so it would be hard for me to be playing around with my Pasta. I so get you my control freak friend. We are sisters for sure. But at some time, we must give up some of that control and just try to live our lives.
Let me know how it goes, feel free to PM me if you need to so I can talk you off the ledge if necessary..lol. Have a good one today. Hope the weather is beautiful in MO. It's gorgeous here in The Big Apple today.

I recommend keeping up the exercise routines no matter what. I envy you as I don't think I'll ever get to the point you're at now? I think once I get to my goal weight my struggle will continue.
I agree with your doc. Relax, start eating real eggs, maybe 2 instead of 1? Add a little bigger dash of cheese on that taco? Throw in some healthy Snacks like nuts, eat more than 2! Just keep the trigger foods out of reach. Maybe just let the issue take care of itself?
I can understand the fear you're having but it's not a reality for me and probably never will be, so it's like me feeling for a woman having a baby, I'll never really understand?? My fear is 180° from yours.

You didn't jump through all of those hoops and go through surgery to give up now. Minute by minute, hour by hour, be your own best cheerleader; only you can make the changes. Remember how good you feel mentally when you conquer a craving or handle stress by doing something other than eating, by not going to bed with a full tummy and THAT will help you do it again and again. And when the scale starts to follow, well, that makes it even easier to make good choices!

Oscar meyer carving board turkey, Tomato slices, lettuce slice, low fat mayo, slice of thin toast...open faced sandwich, cut up in small bites. My current fav.
Chili...when I make it I measure one cup portions in freezer bags.

Please, please, please....I know I am close but so want to be THERE! My doc fills very slowly and I am good with that, but so ready to get there and have it last! Fingers crossed!!!