Road Queen

Thanks for starting this thread. I have made more bad decisions than good for the last 2 weeks so as soon as I get home I plan to regroup. The one thing I have done is to have 2 shakes a day - and do I have great nails.. No more drinking with meals, no more eating after I am full, no more skipping my walk after meals, no more drinking wine... I am so scared to weigh in when I get home. I know that I haven't lost anything - even inches - but I sure hope I haven't gained. But I have had an awesome experience understanding life post-conflict, seeing the destruction of war, the anger and hopelessness of the people, etc. Oh yeah, and I am bored today also. They came and got my passport, bags, tickets, etc. The embassy handles that for us here since there have been alot of airport visa problems and baggage issues. I can't really help work on project for the next 3 hours so I'm just wanting to eat my leftover food. And I can't leave the apartment because I had to turn in my embassy ID to get back my passport so when I leave the apartment I can't return. Thank the Lord for the internet.

Just wanted to give some update on my life since I haven't been here much the last week. Liberia is a unique post. It has been evacuated more than any other US post and from my understanding, is one of 3 designated post-conflict - Afghanistan and Iraq are the others. I will be leaving Friday and returning to North Dakota. I am not sure whether I will get a job/contract offer from the Treasury in Africa after this or not. Before I left, they did mention Mozambique... This country was once nice with electricity, Water, etc. 14 years of civil war destroyed all of that. Electricity is by generator. I don't know what locals do for water in their homes. I, fortunately, am in embassy housing with several generators and water from a distiller. Many empty buildings that were shelled. Others have damage from smoke, rockets, etc. I am very glad I did not get a fill. I know I have not had good eating habits and have had excess wine...but I have been trying. I have at least 40 grams of Protein shakes a day and get in more with my meals. Beyond that, I have no restriction and that helps me in being able to eat and stuff here. I have only pb'd once since surgery and it was when I inhaled a cold leftover hamburger. I have had no problems here and I am thankful for that. Feeling like I'm on a 24 hour 10 day job interview plus living in a restricted environment (embassy housing, assigned driver, permission to leave embassy grounds) is enough without worrying about food. Please remember me in your prayers as I continue through the rest of this week. I return home Saturday and get a fill on Tuesday. Then I will be on my way to thin land.

Alatina, let me know when you are there and how to get ahold of you and I will certainly come visit. That will be fun. I saw you posted on the Vegas site about coming to the bash. FYI, you would probably fly out of Grand Forks or Fargo, however, another option would be checking on Allegiant Airlines. They fly out of Bismarck, Sioux Falls (probably too far away), St. Cloud and some other cities. They are a charter operation that flies directly to Las Vegas from these towns on specific days. For example, they fly out of Bismarck Friday and Monday afternoons. Returns are Friday and Monday morning. I don't know what the price is right now - probably around $200 roundtrip but they do run specials. I will email you more about this when I return to the U.S. Celeste

Thanks for bumping. I didn't see this before. I am just mentally struggling this morning and anything helps. I am working out of country right now. My on site advisor told me last night that my surgery was unncessary because one time he was overweight and he changed his eating plan and lost all 18 excess pounds. Big diddly squat!

Okay, I know I need to get to the solid stage soon (Thursday). I'm having a hard time filling the dogs dish with Alpo (canned stuff, bbq broiled or something) without wanting to taste it!!

Mandy, I am 5 weeks out and am having no problems except a little irritation with my port. I am leaving for a Liberia Africa this weekend and will be working in an office with no electricity, tolerating the rainy season with hot days, etc. I did not have a fill so I wouldn't need to worry about eating issues since food choices will be restricted. But like Alexandra said, I am starting to make bad choices and regaining some of my loss. I don't think you should have any issues at 9 weeks out. I would just be careful when you get your first fill. You will need to re-learn how to eat ie what the band tolerates food after fill. If you are filled before you go, give yourself some time (maybe a week or more) to learn to live with your fill. Good luck and have fun!!

Pat, Thanks for the reminder. I've been really bummed. At the beginning I was down 22 pounds at one point. Now, its only 19.5. I just have one of the scales that measures body fat but I have gone from 44% down to 41%. I am just going to assume the 2.5 pounds has changed from fat to muscle. Remember, muscle burns more calories...!!

Alexra - Congratulations on the awesome loss. don't worry about people not commenting - sometimes the comments are not complimentary. Just give yourself a big pat on the back and do something for yourself - get a manicure, massage, etc. You deserve it!!

After doing them forever (years) I gave away the tapes and do the exercises with music that I select. I also gave away the belt and other stuff included but kept the little weighted balls. I love keeping them in my office and playing with them when I'm on the phone, stressed, etc. They are also good for building hand muscles since they are soft.

I just had 6 slices of hillshire farm chicken breast with 2 wedges of laughing cow lite french onion spread on them. I normally like the garlic and herb laughing cow but this was all they had at the store this morning. It was awesome. 130 calories total, 2.5 grams of fat and 16 grams of protein.

Good luck!!

I am 4 weeks post op and seem to be hungry alot. I am really working on differentiating between actual hunger and head hunger. I also find that making my Protein shakes with some skim milk helps. I have seen others suggest adding egg beaters into them. I seem to be eating very little yet I haven't lost anything in 2 weeks. I know I need a fill but I am going on a volunteer project in Africa and am waiting until that is over. I just hope I sweat some of it off there:).

Good job getting it approved so quickly. My insurance company said they will reconsider any bands in 2 years so I'm glad I just paid myself. Good luck. Celeste

Good job getting insurance to cover something. I know I won't get anything out of insurance - and I work in the office that helps establish our insurance policy. Think thin and good luck.

Aileena, our bands have the same birthday. I am waiting for a fill until July 19 and am also ready to eat house/home. But I'm am nervous about working in Liberia next month and told me dr I didn't want a fill. How much fill did he put in? Let me know how it goes. For now, I am going to try and avoid gaining anything back. Congratulations on getting your fill.....enjoy and think thin...

I had surgery in the morning and was home in late afternoon that day (Thursday). I would say my pain factor was less than 1. I had more pain/irritation when the healing started. I went back to work on Tuesday and working 9 hour days was tiring. My biggest pain now is my port. It seems to be trying to find its home....but still that hurts alot less than my broken toe!!!

Okay, just wondering (and need something different this morning). ... How old is your band? For those who have had it multiple years, did you find any changes after the 1st 3 - 5 years? In your eating, in what the band tolerated, when you got fills? Celeste

Wade, I also sit at a desk all day. It is possible for me to go 9 -10 hours and only get in 100 steps. So I am really trying to incorporate in a few minutes every couple hours. Nobody in my division takes breaks but I've been sneaking out every other day for a 10 minute walk. And trying to get some walking in before work and some after dinner. I don't know if this will help but sometimes out regular exercise routines also put us in a rut. Good luck - this too will pass and you will lose the rest. Celeste

Make sure you ask if your dr what he lets you mix it with. Mine said no milk, fruit, or Peanut Butter for 6 weeks after surgery. Since I only like skim milk, they have been letting me use it diluted with 50% Water. Since my restrictions include a minimum of 20 gr Protein and less than 5 gr carbs, I'm pretty limited in what I try. I have been using GNC 100% whey, GNC protein 95 powder,etc. I like the vanilla caramel and strawberry flavors.

Dylans mom Better watch out!!! I had a minibike when I was a kid, bought my first mc right out of college, and 25 years later I'm still riding strong.....

I think food is so much a personal body thing. I have no fill in yet (4 weeks out). I had my first bite of bread today and it felt gross going down. I don't know if it was a problem or if it was me. I'm not much of a bread eater (even the french bread I tried) unless its a sprouted grain type. I kinda blew everything today after that and had fettucini alfredo for lunch. I was at a lunch and taking small pieces and chewing 25 times just wasn't working. I only ate about 1/2 cup. I'm just so bummed because I haven't been losing and really don't have much in my diet yet - mushies and fishes - or the old standby yogurt. No change in 9 days. I know I'm still in the healing process but... Anyway, I'm excited to see that most people can have popcorn...and asparagus. I love pureeing asparagus into the 'fake guacamole'. In fact, I will do that tonight and have it on fish or chicken. Okay, my life is looking up.

Like everyone, I am sitting at my desk with tears running down my face and sniffling. I am so sorry. I believe Gunner is probably looking at our on-line make shift service and know that you will be taken care of through this site. Bless him for being there all those times you needed him. Our 4 legged friends give meaning to our lives that other just can't share. Thousands of hugs and some puppy kisses from Gunner.

I have my first post-surgery appointments this Friday - four weeks after surgery. I am to meet with the nutritionist and then get a fill. the problem is - I don't think I want one. I've been blubbering all over the place how I am going to Liberia July 3 for 2 weeks. It is the 2nd poorest country in the world. The office building I will work in during the day does not have electricity, running Water, computers, elevators, etc. There is no medical care. I think the stress of just getting through the days, eating, not getting malaria, etc is going to be major. There are no decent restaurants so I think I will be basically using alot of Protein powders. The nurse said they usually put in 1 cc the first visit but would be willing to do .5cc. I just think that I could use another month to heal and get a fill when I get home. The stress of restriction, pb, etc could be more than I am prepared to handle. What do you guys think? Am I just being paranoid? If .5cc so little that I won't have problems? I haven't lost any weight in over a week so it could help that... Help!! I have a handle on work clothes, medications, Vitamins, Protein shakes, etc but I just can't figure out how to handle this!!

I was banded on Thursday (before Memorial day) and went to work on Tuesday. I was feeling fine. Tuesday and Wednesday I put in 9 hour days (summer hours) but Thursday I wore out at 7 hours. By the next week, I just did my 4 9 hour days and 4 hour Friday. I know alot of people fly home right away with no problems but 3 weeks out I drove 5 hours, spent the night, had 1/2 day meeting, and drove 5 hours home. My port area was sore for a couple of days after that. I am driving 3 hours Thursday morning, have a 2 hour meeting, and will drive 3 hours back. Anyway, I had some days that were better than others. If you have some flexibility on your schedules (in case you get tired, feel yucky, etc) that will help. Also, some chairs work better than others. My ergonomically correct chair was the worst.

okay, here is a picture someone took of me a couple of years ago