steph_co

I exercise. Picked it up at about 6 weeks post-op, as well. It's mostly just walking to burn calories. I walk as much as I can when I'm at work rather than driving around. It seems to help. On my days off, I make it a point to walk at least a mile. But this next week I plan to pick up a few fitness classes at my local rec center. But a couple of them are more for relaxation (yoga, tai chi, etc). I think it'll be good for me to get out there with people to exercise. I like the way it feels now to move since I am 34.5 lbs lighter! I'd also like to get into the Couch to 5k. I LOVE running, but I've been too big these past couple years to do it comfortably. My joints always got to hurting so much and it wasn't enjoyable like I remembered when I was at 170 and smaller.

You are SOOOOO close!!! You'll be here before you know it!! Thanks! I look forward to seeing you here!

And I heard the heavenly chorus this morning when I stepped on the scale. I finally reached Onederland today! Yay! I didn't take the camera because I was afraid it would add ounces, or something. LOL I was 199 even.

From what I've read, the symptoms can get pretty rough. To include severe reflux that wakes you up in the middle of the night. If you go into the complications forum, you can find several threads about it. As for how to fix it, I've heard that sometimes it works to just completely unfill it and let it rest for a bit to slide back into place on its own.

Aubrie, I had surgery 4 days before you. I've had one fill. If you don't have good restriction (the sweet spot), then I don't see why bread is a problem...at least it hasn't been for me. I don't make a habit of eating it regularly, though. One time I had half of a cinnamon roll (doughy bread) and another time I had one half of an english muffin. Just chew really well and start with little tiny swallows until you know how your body can tolerate it.

Huh. I've had shrimp and lobster since getting banded. :eek:

Thank you! :bananapowerslide:I was sooo excited to see it on the scale this morning. I LOVE being here because I know I'm here to STAY! I casually mentioned once last month to my mom that I was losing weight, but I never mentioned numbers. I sent her a couple pics of me standing with some of the crazy snow we're getting around here and they weren't even close-up shots of me and she said I was looking SKINNY!! LOL That was awesome. My mini-mini goal before my Valentine's Day goal will be to hit "overweight" for my BMI and that's 8 more lbs. Yay! Overweight! LOL Never thought I'd say that.

I thought I had heard that medically, if you haven't had a seizure within the past 5 years, that it was a non-issue. I'm not positive, but I could swear that's what I've heard.

I won't let him watch me step on the scale, but I end up telling him what I weigh, anyway. It makes me feel more accountable. Plus, this way he can celebrate the small victories with me.

Yes, that would be really hard. I'm glad that the only two people I really talk to about it (my DH and my mom) are already skinnier than I am, so it's not a problem. My mom was once a size zero, but she had people telling her she looked anorexic so she got back up to a 2-4. I'll never be that size - it just won't happen on my frame. So even if I brag about getting to an 8, I'll still be bigger than her, but happy as can be. I kind of worry about seeing this one friend that I haven't seen in over a year. Once I ever do see her again, I'll be skinny. I can hope in the meantime that she has lost weight. We have had strain in our relationship before, I'd hate for this to destroy it. I would NOT bring it up with her how much I've lost and I will always love her dearly. It's just that we were fat together and I don't want to lose a connection because we don't share that in common anymore. I think it's sad when people's personalities change after losing a bunch of weight. That's really unfortunate. IMO, you are the same person at 110 that you were at 310, just smaller physically. You should treat people and be treated the same as before. The only difference I see in myself is the confidence thing. Not a single person aside from my DH or mom has said anything about my weight loss, but I just FEEL better, so I carry myself differently. But no matter how small I get, I'll remember where I was. I'm no better than anyone else.

1. Hollyberries...........298.............295..............285.........10 2. TxArcher..............360.............357..............345.........12 3. Longhorn..............211.............209..............199.........10 4. Momto1(Wendy)....241.............242...............229........13 5. Steph..................203.5..........199...............188.5......10.5 6. Hungryforchange...227.5..........225...............215.5.......10 7. shortgal Goal for challenge lose 6 ........ 5.5 to go. 8. Trixie..................264.............257.5............244.........1 3.5 9.plump_princess.......237...........236...............227.........9 I had to update mine. Down another lb this morning. Since today (Thursday) is technically the weigh-in day, I wanted it to be accurate.

1. Hollyberries...........298.............296..............285.........11 2. TxArcher..............360.............357..............345.........12 3. Longhorn..............211.............209..............199.........10 4. Momto1(Wendy)....241.............242...............229........13 5. Steph..................203.5..........200...............188.5......11.5

I am an emotional eater, as well. The only reason I say that in the present tense is because that is the first thing I want to do when I'm feeling stressed out. My social worker at the surgeon's office recommended that I find new coping mechanisms ahead of time so that when those moments come up I can so something constructive. I came up with a list of things I can do instead and it has helped me. The one time that the urge was too strong to resist, I just found some low calorie Snacks to eat instead. I measured it out and that's all I ate and that was that. It's not the easiest thing I've ever done, but has it been worth it? Boy, has it ever. I'm down 33 lbs and physically feel so incredibly much better than I did before. Each day I find a new reason to love this band. New NSVs (non-scale victories) everyday. I LOVE it. And with each lb that comes off, I am overjoyed because I know it's gone for good. It takes work because I don't have good restriction, yet. I've only had one fill and I am RAVENOUS a lot of the time because I'm restricting my calories on my own. But I just find other things to occupy my time. This forum helps out a lot. Since I'm obsessing about getting down to a healthier size, it helps to be around like-minded people. LOL

I spit stitches, too. It took forever before I was able to pull the pieces out without hurting anything.

For the 20 billionth time...I have no problem with anybody expressing an opinion on this board about their OWN experience. What annoys me is ASSuming that it WILL be everybody else's experience and telling everybody that it will be and they better watch out. I AM AN OVEREATER. Or at least, I was. Before the band. Don't you think I've tried to kick the overeating habit before? I did. Never could. I have a very addictive personality. Kicking the food habit is the hardest thing I've ever faced in my entire life. It's wrought with stress and frustration. But since getting the band, I have overeaten ONCE. One time in nearly 2 months? That's a freakin record for me. I could never go longer than a week without compulsively eating until I was uncomfortable. This is why I say it is not fair to say that any compulsive overeater will continue to be so after the surgery. I'm not. And I know that it can be overcome because thus far, I have done it. And I'll also add this - my overeating involved sweets before. I have not binged on sweets at all since the surgery. When I've had something with true sugar in it, it was a VERY conservative amount (think a couple bites). There's no way I could have gone as long as I have right now without sugar. It is definitely an addiction of mine. But everyday you make that choice. Nobody is destined to be locked in this addiction forever. Thanks.

One more lb and a half and I can join you guys in Onederous Onederland! I can hardly wait. I'm weighing myself everyday until I get there...I've been trying to make myself wait for weekly weigh-ins, but it's too big of a temptation right now! Congrats on getting there Frangipani and Tracy! Awesome!

It never even occurred to me to do that. I kind of figured the price was set because they have plenty of self-pays that will pay that price. My doc's price is actually really reasonable...I guess that's another reason it didn't cross my mind. Hope you can work something out.

ActiTrainer Online Data Analysis - ActiGraph, LLC. It's similar to a Bodybugg, but I think it's better. LOL Of course, my bias may come because it's what I OWN as opposed to the Bodybugg. But a few key points that I like about the ActiTrainer are that it's less expensive to buy and I think also for the monthly membership. Now, granted, with an ActiTrainer, you don't even really NEED a monthly membership. You CAN see all of your daily info on the display on the actitrainer itself. You don't HAVE to upload it to your computer to see it (you DO have to have a computer with the Bodybugg). I wanted to try out the sleep monitor thing with the actitrainer, but it won't let me do it because I sleep during the day. I've contacted the company and they had me send them all kinds of info (like the error I was seeing when I tried to put in my sleep time 7a-3p and my actitrainer's log) and they are working to fix it. It wasn't just the rote response I was expecting of, "Not at this time." They genuinely sounded like they wanted to fix it. Considering that 20% of the workforce in this world works at night, I don't think it's too much to ask. :rofl: What I do like and what I use frequently is to see how many calories I'm burning each day above my BMR. Every time I change my weight on the thing, it adjusts my BMR and then tells me how many calories I have burned above my BMR everyday. I generally upload my information everyday when I'm working because it helps keep me motivated. It also helps me to see if I need to get moving a little bit more for the rest of the night because I look like a slug on actitrainer. LOL I love it. It's like a little contest with myself to see how high I can get my calories above my BMR. I haven't begun conventional exercise yet (you know - 30 mins of cardio or weight-lifting). I mostly just fit it in where I can to get moving more - 20 mins here, 20 mins there. The highest I've gotten above my BMR is 539 calories, but I usually average in the 300's. I can only imagine when I actually start adding true workouts!

Do not progress early on your surgeon-recommended post-op diet! I would repeat it 50 times if I could. It's such a short period of time in your life. Are you supposed to still be on liquids for another week? If so, it's only a week out of your life and a down-payment, so to speak, on lifetime health! Which is more important? That bite of mac-and-cheese, or your health? If you're already on mushies, then I guess I don't see the problem. Mashed potatoes and mac-and-cheese are both mushies. It's up to you if you want to limit yourself. Yeah, it's going to be hard until you get proper restriction, which can take several fills, actually. But this time is for HEALING and not so much for losing weight. Just follow your post-op diet set forth by your surgeon and don't stress about the scale for now.

Lots of info, time for questions and discussion. My surgeon discussed both gastric bypass and the band and even compared the pros and cons of both. He didn't even seem to lean towards one or the other. He made a point of showing PROS for both and CONS for both.

That's kind of what I was thinking, too. Kind of like graduating when you go through grades at school. Also, we have forums for the different ages. I was banded in my 20's, but if I'm still around when I hit my 30's, I'll be moving to the 30's forum.

It's common to not be able to feel it at first - but especially depending on how much abdominal fat you have. When I go in for fills, the NP has everybody lay flat with a pillow under the back to help push the port to the surface. I can feel mine, and it has gotten more prominent with each pound I lose.

Everybody is so self-conscious themselves, they won't even notice. I had a BMI just shy of 37. I thought for sure I'd be laughed out of there or had people rolling their eyes, or something. We were all in the same boat - just wanting to lose weight and being at the end of our rope. They'll be more afraid of you judging THEM, I am sure.

LOL! They have the same type of scale at my Dr's office, too. I didn't even think about it like that. Now I'll chuckle every time they weigh me. haha Before you know it, you'll have a WHOOSH and lose. I remember when I used to be on a low carb forum that what's happening to you happened to a lot of people. Not necessarily a true plateau, more like your body adjusting to the changes. Then one morning you'll wake up and BAM, two more lbs gone. We used to call that the Whoosh Fairy. It'll happen before you know it - don't get discouraged.

Supposedly DH says he's planning something...says he has been planning since Christmas. We'll see. Past anniversaries haven't been much to look forward to as far as anything special, I'm sad to say. Last anniversary I planned because I was sick of waiting to see if he would do something to Celebrate us. I can't totally blame him - he's been married a few times before me and they weren't anything to celebrate, so I think he was just in a rut. LOL Hopefully he got the hint from last year. That made me a little sad about not wanting to say your weight at the hospital in front of your DH. The only reason I say that is because we can be so dang hard on ourselves and it's obvious he loves you very much if he was wanting to have babies with you. If only we could see ourselves through the eyes of love that DHs have. I'm excited for you to reach your goals! It seems to me like you're doing great! You are right on track for 2 lbs per week of losing, which is medically recommended. I'm sure you'll reach that 6 lb goal! Keep up the good work! I think we're all updating weekly? That's what I gathered. Cindy is going to start a new thread each week for us to update our totals. I was excited to update my one pound yesterday...but then I realized, how much more fun it'll be for me to report several lbs when I update it. I'm right there with you - I'd like to update mine right now! LOL I'm weighing myself everyday because Onederland is so close I can almost taste it and I can't wait to see that dang number on my scale!!! WTG on the lb!