StartingOver

Tuesday looks good for me. I'll be there will Christmas bells on!

Great idea! I have lost 941.8128 scoops of ice cream.

Jonathan that is wonderful news! Just what we needed to hear in light of the recent band issues.

I'll have the band or nothing at all. The other surgeries are just not right for me which is why I chose the band in the first place. If I am ever faced with the prospect of losing my band I may explore my rebanding options, or just try to maintain my banded weight loss.

Scale moved up- 233. I'll take my measurements next week.

Wow, I wish I would've been in town for your Starbuck's meeting last week. I'd love to get together when you're here in December. Seattle or the Eastside works just fine for me.

I'll be 8 months post op on Wednesday and I'm down 74lbs. I was thinking just this morning that this is the weight I was when I met my husband 10 years ago-and I haven't been this weight since. I was 20lbs heavier when we were married, and 40lbs heavier when I got pregnant (82lbs heavier when I delivered my son). Funny thing is that sometimes I feel like this journey is going too slow, and I've simply forgotten what it feels like to be 300+lbs because I still feel so huge and have only made my way through half of the journey thus far. I'm looking forward to updating my before and during photos soon, I just had some really old film developed from the past few years and I simply couldn't recognize myself!!!

One night during my vacation it was very chilly outside and I hadn't brought along a coat, only a zip up sweater that was being laundered at the moment. My husband brought along two jackets, a lightweight one and a heavier leather one. He saw that I was freezing, and knew that I didn't have a jacket with me so he suggested that I wear his (size XL men's jacket). I told him that I was fine (because I didn't want to be embarrassed putting on his jacket only to find out that it was too tight). Finally though, I couldn't take the cold any longer and I gave in. Not expecting it to fit, I slipped my arms in, and not only did the jacket slide right on, but there was room to zip it and even cross my arms if I wanted to. This was definately not possible 74lbs ago!!! I was truely thrilled that it fit, and I could see the surprise in my husband's face as well! Also, I was very surprised to come home after my 10 day vacation to discover that I'd lost 6lbs despite the lovely Mexican pastries and quesadillas!!!

I've seen this game at arcades and movie theatres and thought it looks like a ton of fun, but I've never been gutsy enough to try it out in public even though I'm in pretty good shape. I just don't like the mental picture of my fat bouncing all over the place. Good to know you can get an at home version, too bad I don't have a PlayStation. Maybe it's time for a trip to the electronics store....

Hi Andrea! I'm not in AZ, but I was also banded by Dr. Rod. Just wanted to congratulate you on your surgery and see how everything went. Check in when you're feeling up to it.

That's too bad Pam about the PB. I'm at the point where I pretty much can pin point the foods that will cause a problem, and I avoid them like the plague. There are some foods though that are hit or miss for me, I guess it just depends on the time of day, how quickly I eat, and how well I chew. Hope you feel better.

Welcome Sherry! I'm glad you've found LBT. I'm sure you'll find this to be a great place for support and information. Congrats on your approval and pending surgery.

I'm back from vacation and ready to get back to some good eating habits. Here's the day so far: Bfast: 1/2 C cottage cheese 2 hrs later: 2 mandarin oranges

Sorry I missed the final post, I've been in rural Mexico for the past 10 days. I just got home last night and I weighed this morning. I didn't get as much exercise as I'd planned during my trip, but with the tighter restriction that I have, I wasn't able to eat much. Starting challenge weight 253 ending weight 231 . Don't know what my final weight would have been on the 14th since I didn't have access to a scale.

Okay ladies and gents, you asked for it, a Fall Weight Loss Challenge. How it works: This challenge will be for a 10 week period, starting today, September 5th and ending Monday, November 14th (just in time for all that Turkey and other goodies on Thanksgiving). Everyone is welcome to participate. 1. Make a weight loss goal for the 10 week period. 2. Post your start weight as of the day you join the challenge. 3. Post a photo of yourself at your weight as of the date you start the challenge. 4. Weigh in each Monday and post your progress here. 5. At the end of the 10 weeks post an after photo of yourself so we can all join in seeing and celebrating your accomplishment.

Okay, I'm back from 10 days in rural Mexico, and I guess it did me some good. Here's my stats: weight 231 under bust 42 waist 44 hips 49.5

Kelly- That is a great NSV, and it sounds like SO MUCH FUN!!! Congrats!

Last week I ended up getting a fill. Bye-bye french fries! I've been on liquids most of the week as I'm getting used to this tighter fill level. Here's an update on my progress: 9/12 253 (got a fill today) 9/19 246 9/26 246 10/3 245 10/10 239.5 down 10/17 243 up 10/24 238 down 10/31 241.5 up 11/7 237.5 (got a fill last week)

This morning my weight is 237.5lbs. Measurements: Under bust: 43 Waist: 46 Hips: 48 Don't know what's going on with my measurements....

I want to try to earn a chip for following my doctor's orders for 30 days. Basically, get my protein, water, and exercise.

Great idea Vines! My question is what kind of time frame are we talking about in regards to mini goals. Should it take less than a month or two, or perhaps before the next major holiday or special occasion like our bandiversary granted that is within reach? I would like to be in the KG double digits, therefore I have 23.5lbs to go to get there. My goal is to see that number by Valentines Day. It definately sounds more attainable than getting to Onederland by then. That means I need to average 1.57lbs/week. That is absolutely a more realistic goal that I'm used to making. In terms of NSV's I'd like to fit comfortably in size 18 bottoms and 18/20 or 2X tops by Christmas. I'm almost there now so this again is not an unrealistic goal. I'd also like to lose enough of the double chin that I have left now so that I can get a shorter hair cut and have it look cute.

I've been banded for 7 months exactly as of today. I have lost 65-67lbs depending on whether or not my scale likes me at any given moment. :-) The logical part of me knows that my success is good. I'm averaging 2-2.5lbs per week. The problem is that is only an average! Realistically I tend to lose a large amount (7-15lbs) in the few weeks following a fill, then I struggle with the same 3-5lbs gaining and losing them for a few weeks. This time it feels like I have been struggling for a month, which when I look back at my weekly weigh in stats for the challenges I can see that I'm down at least 6lbs from last month, yet I feel like I'm not losing anything. Does that make sense? I feel like I am a failure--again logic tells me I'm not, but emotions are ruling here. Here's some of what is going on in my head: I did not meet my goal of losing 100lbs in 6months. I know that isn't a realistic goal, but part of me was hoping that it would happen. At first the weight loss was very noticable and I was doing new things, like jogging and going to the mall and enjoying myself. About a month ago I went shopping and was fitting into 2X tops and 18 pants and I was so excited. A few weeks later I went shopping again expected the same excitement, but instead everything I tried on was too small- still 2x's and 18's. I know that sizes can vary from brand to brand, but again I'm not thinking logically! Instead of trying on larger clothes and buying something for myself I left disappointed and ended up buying my son an entire fall/winter wardrobe! A month ago I felt smaller, healthier, I had more energy, and I was happy. Now, I feel fat, crappy, ugly, depressed, and I just don't want to do anything or go anywhere. It used to be easy to follow the bandster rules, but lately I just can't seem to get into it. In fact for the past two weeks I have eaten french fries every single day. This is after I haven't had fries in nearly 7 months! To make things worse, I am dipping them in mayonaise. I HATE mayonaise, and have never in my life dipped anything in it. The thought of whipped eggs and oil is just absolutely disgusting to me, but apparantly I like it! And it's not only the fries, I am eating garbage seemingly non-stop. I'm sure that this french fry diet has something to do with the way I feel. I know that when I eat healthy and exercise I feel good, which is what I was doing until recently. I am just really struggling to get back on track now. Have I lost my momentum forever? Is this the end of my band success? I know there isn't probably any advice out there that I don't already know, but sometimes it takes someone else's word to get you moving. Please give me any suggestions that you have on how not to feel like a failure, and how to start back on track with the kind of weight loss I was having. Thanks for reading. I know that some of this may seem ridiculous, but i just needed to vent. Remember I'm running on emotions right now and not logic.

You have really done a fabulous job, and are certainly an inspiration to many on this board! Keep up the great work!

Okay, here's my progress report for the challenge so far: 9/12 253 (got a fill today) 9/19 246 9/26 246 10/3 245 10/10 239.5 down 10/17 243 up 10/24 238 down 10/31 241.5 up I'm down 11.5lbs in 8 weeks. I won't complain (outloud). 2 more weeks to go.

Today's stats: Weight 241.5 (up 3 1/2 from last week) Measurements: Under bust: 42 Waist: 46 Hips: 48