sleepingarby

If they want to join you in a healthier lifestyle that's great. I told my boss while I was losing presurgery and he joined in changing his diet and then began making his way to the gym. We both continued to support each other's goals even after surgery. I am nearly a year out and am losing VERY SLOWLY when I lose at all. (Green zone, I will find you soon). However he has since "fallen off the wagon" in his weight loss effort and has regained 15 of the 25 lbs he lost. The point is, let them do what they want, time will prove you made the wise choice and you will keep your weight off long after they gave up. Past failures is why we choose this option. Stand back and watch it all play out, you will see. Best wishes.

Went to support group held by my weight loss group and far too many have had some kind of problem with their sleeve or bypass surgeries. Some were quite serious, one was life threatening. I choose life first and weightloss surgery second. This was waaaay safer and no side effect from accidentally eating a bread crumb.

This is a nautical phrase. When ships sailed across equatorial waters the sometimes got caught in the region known as the Doldrums where there was little to no wind activity. Which in turn meant they were stuck in there with no wind in there sail. In order to get out they would " kedge" their way out. This might include putting the anchor into a smaller boat, rowing out a distance and then dropping anchor. The crew would then"pull" the boat toward the anchor and repeat the process until the could catch wind in their sail.....

My point?

How do you 'kedge' your way out of the 'doldrums'?

I could use some new ideas to get me out of this stagnant place and back on track. Just like literal kedging, I know it will be hard work for a time but I need to get the wind in my sail so I can make progress again.

Thanks in advance.

I wish it came that easily for mr B-52. I still have to keep focus or I will get too complacent.. I am glad that it has worked well for you that way. I do believe that the band makes it much easier for me to focus, but I still must make the right choices.

2 things helped me. First, set your plate for a finicky toddler. Meaning put too little on the plate and pack the leftovers in containers before you eat. Second, eat all the Protein off your plate first, then veggies, then only if their is room, starches (i.e. Breads, potatoes.). Then plan on doing something immediately after you finish. Go for a walk, fold the laundry, do your nails, anything that keeps you away from the "old food boyfriend" in the fridge. I found he haunts me when watching tv, so I limit myself every to one show and then do something for 10-20 minutes before going back to the tv. Food and tv seem to go together in a bad company sort of way. Hope it helps! ????

I have reached my half way point and lost steam. I find it all too easy to tell myself "you're good". Skip tracking and start snacking. It's hard to stay motivated when the the compliments keep rolling in. "You look fabulous!" "You're melting away". I realize this isn't the end of the race here, but it's so easy to slack. At this point. Actually my visit with my surgeon and nutritionist yesterday, showed a 3 lb gain. They took that quite seriously. I'm kinda glad because I need to wake up now, not 10-20lbs later. Many friends blow it off as "you're gaining muscle" or "it's probably just Water weight". What I need is my bariatricpal family to give me a push to get my swing going again. Anyone else overcome the "halfway apathy" virus?

I have gotten the double takes and shock responses. I tend to take it all in stride. I guess I don't really care what people think of the changes, I know I am on a journey and I have not reached my destination. I have achieved many NSV's and that has been the best reward possible. I am comfortable in my stretched out skin and I am still the same me on the inside. I still love, cry, fear, dream, throw tantrums (rarely), but I do it in smaller sized jeans. Maybe I am just used to people being people and reacting how they will. I choose to be happy. Hope this helps. Love my Band family

I try to remember that food does not cure stress or fatigue. So I try to create a timeline strategy for when Hagen-Daaz calls my name. First acknowledge, this stress/fatigue will pass faster than the quart I want to down, next I drink a full glass of Water and plan my next down time as "pamper me " time. Which can be listening to relaxing feel good music, a bubble bath, an old movie or mani-pedi. Next plan my special treat to go with my pamper me time. Usually I'll make a Protein Drink into a super yummy Frappe and sometimes when I'm feeling self indulgent, I will put a nip of rum into my shake. Aahhhhhh. My mini slice of heaven and very little side effects. Bye bye Hagen-Daaz!

Know all the right things to do. But somedays (or weeks) I really need to fight discouragement when everything, including weight loss seems to be failing. Surely this will pas but in the meantime, hearing from others will help me get into a forward gear. Hopefully.

My favorite is the cinnamon roll! I like it room temperature because it's chewy like a candy bar. The chocolate brownie is best slightly warmed and the coconut cashew is good dipped in the Dannon L&F Greek yogurt, toasted coconut. That's the best movie snack. Use the bar like a spoon. Ok I'm hungry now. LOL

April 1: 188

April 8: 186.4

April 15: 186.0

April 21: 183.6

Got my Bike! Walked a 5k route. Now to get running!

Since there are so many beautiful trails and scenic vistas I thought a bander group could get together for fun and NSV's. Takers?

Have recently dealt with 2 major tragedies. First I was served divorce papers the day after I came home from surgery and wound up divorced 3 weeks later. Depressing but not unexpected. Then my youngest child made an EPICALLY stupid decision that has rocked the family ( what's left of it). I have had a hard time keeping track. Although I find going to the gym helps me get a mental break from the situation. So how do all of you cope when tragedy strikes? Maybe some ideas to to help prevent me from detailing.

April1-188

April 8- 186.4

April 15- 186.0

Been doing Spinning class 2X's per week until I get my new bike off lay away Friday. Not hiking due to mud season.

Goal: 180 April 8th: 186.4

There several "me" reasons that are quite similar to everyone else's but I thought I'd throw this one in the mix just to say something different: the look that will be on my ex- husband's face when he sees me after I've lost 50 lbs. "Can't touch this!" LOL

I think the best piece of advice is to do some reading on the "post surgery" message boards if you haven't already. I wished I had because it might have saved me some frustration and helped me to adjust my expectations post surgery. You will not lose like sleevers or RNYers. It will be slow and you will stall in your weight loss around week 3 till your first fill at 6 weeks. DON'T GET DISCOURAGED! I did and I made things harder on myself. This is a different strategy that will work but it is different. Take care of you and trust your nut and surgeon.

Name, real or screen~ sleepingarby

Goal weight for April 30th~ 180

Weight on April 1st~ 188

Age~ 45

City/State~ NH

Dietary goal for April~ stay on track stay away from candy

Exercise goal for April~ 4X's per week. Also riding my new bike 20 miles per week

Personal goal for April~ prep for a 5k and/ or do some 2500-3000 hikes as warm up for summer hiking

Date banded~ 1/28/14

Total weight loss since banding/pre op diet~ 31pre/18 post= 49 total

Spring means time to rediscover the outdoors. Go!

Reading this thread has been encouraging for me. I have only had one fill and I am dieting. It's not difficult but clearly not green zone. I have been working out 4X's a week but I am not losing consistently. My next visit is in 2 weeks it may be another full is in order. Either way I thank all for the encouragement.

March 1: 194

March 8: 194

March 15: 193

March 20: 188.8

March 27: 188.4

Also made it to the gym 3x's last week. 4x's this week.

I have been going to the gym since long before surgery. So now I've just started to expand my horizons by attending a number of classes offered there, including Spinning, Zumba, step aerobics and Body Pump. All targeting different exercise needs, cardio, endurance, weight training and toning. Plus they never get boring.

March 1 : 194

March 8: 194

March 14: 193

March 20: 188.8

Wow! I shocked myself! Goal achieved. We'll see where I'm at on the 31st.

Ohio, now you know what NOT to do. You also learned that frustrating situations can make you revert to old habits. Use this knowledge to your advantage and try to prepare yourself for potential frustrating situations. You can make an emergency pak for such situations in the future. Include items such as old pictures, a Quest bar, or some other yummy but healthy snack thing, include a list of your goals and pics of outfits you want to wear. Rather than be mad take this opportunity to grow in wisdom. You can be frustrated or even down right livid and still keep your goals in sight. Best wishes, Lauren

Ccjl. The one thing I have learned from these forums, it's ALL a learning process! If you want to try JC, try it. Give it 8 weeks and then review. What parts of this program are helpful? What is there that I would change? If I choose to stay with this or discontinue what result do I think I can achieve? We judge our future based strongly on past results, but rarely do we get the same results twice. So consider it a learn process and take lots of notes. Keep checking in and share what you are learning. You may find some people had good advice some not so good. It's YOUR journey

Good point. We also need to remember we are our most important healthcare advocate. Ask questions. Keep asking questions. If it doesn't make sense ask to explain it again. Ask your surgeon, ask you nut, ask the psych or group leader, ask the receptionist. If you don't ask you may not be given the answer. I have email addresses and phone #'s to call anyone one on my team at any time with any question. No question is too dumb.