Kristin1031

I have only twice. The last time was on Friday night on a piece of Lebanese bread.....I knew better, but thought I would try it anyway I love it grew up on it....LOL But it got stuck bigtime and I had a bad bad PB and it hurt for awhile after. I was so upset and felt bad I went to bed after it happened. LOL I will not be anxious for it to happen again....trust me!

Well I began this journey at 287 pounds and I am 240 today and heading downward. I have already went from a tight size 26-28 to a size 20 pants and from a XXXL shirt to a XL or Large in some cases. I know that this is the first time in over 5 years that I have seen the scale consistently move downward. I still have 100 pounds to lose as my goal is 140 pounds...3 pounds heavier than I was when I got married. When I lost my son in 1988 to cancer ( Adam was 4 1/2) I weighed 187 pounds and I put on 100 pounds over the next 20 years. I am thrilled with my band and my success to date. I work out 6 times a week and I do Water aerobics and weight training (body pump) and I walk on the treadmill and do the stationary bike as well. I love all the activity and my body feel so much better for it......my fibromyalgia is better.....and I sleep better and wake up not tired...which is a life changing thing for me. I can actually hold my grandsons on my lap now as I found my lap in the past three months.....LOL I am anxious to see the 2 leave the front of my weight which is 40 more pounds.....and my goal by June 1st.....! My husband is leaving for Afghanistan the second week of May and I know that will be a highly emotional and hard time for me. Last time he was gone in 2005 in Iraq I gained 50 pounds.....I will NOT DO THAT this time I vow!! Congratulations to everyone here for their great success and keep up the terrific job.....We are all in this fight together!!

I first want to say you are doing fabulous...50 pounds since surgery is awesome and you should be very proud of that!! Second I would rethink the amount of food you are eating.....again the pouch is suppose to be tiny nor more than 4 ounces.....that is right at 1/2 cup of volume. I believe you are eating way too much......but with that said.....you should of been given some direction by your Dr? I have no idea how you can eat protein and vegtables and fruit like that with your meals.....I barely have room for the protein and I have NO FILL!!...LOL I also agree with the other posters......lower those CARBS and increase your protein....Get in between 80 and 100 grams of protein and you WILL see the scale move again. Also are you drinking enough water? This is so important and I know you said you were.....just be sure. YOu also did not mention if you are logging your food but I would suggest that you do this, it will help you see where you might have issues. The exercise you are doing is AWESOME keep that up. I have had weeks with no scale movement then I will lost 5 pounds over night. It happened this weekend to me. So do not get discourgaed. I would try these hints and see if you can jump start your metabolism again. Good luck with it!!

After three months of my life with my band.....I am still shocked when people think that band was suppose to do the work.....I was told straight up that it would be up to me as to whether or not I lost weight with it. I was told that it would depend on my food choices and my Portion Control. Staying within the limits of what my new pouch is suppose to hold. I never eat more than 3 ounces at a meal. I was told not too. So I don't.....I am not hungry.....and I am happy. I have really tried to learn my body and it signals. What I used to think was hunger is dehydration. I know now that when I would run to the snack machine at work what my body was really wanting was Water. I just never drank enough water ever.....Now it is all I drink, except for skim milk and the occasional V-8 that I allow for. I think we all have to come to terms with the fact that the band was put there to keep our portions within reason, sure you can eat around the band. You can also feel the pain, wait a little while and keep on eating.....I know people who have done this. But WHY would you want to do this, when you went through everything. I say if you are doing these types of behaviors hurry to the nearest psychiatric office because you need some serious counseling on why you EAT in the first place. I never ever want to go back to the fast food junkie that I was pre surgery. Or the sedintary blimp that I had become...LOL I love all the moving that I do now and I look forward to it.

Name........... Start........Current.......Goal.........To Go cQQlgirl........215...........215........200.........15 Foofy...........242.5.........242.5......234........8.5 Jovi2673........217...........217........200.........17 Linda Lu........228...........228........215.........13 Rainer..........251...........251........241.........10 Redtulips3......225...........225........215.........10 Renewedhope.....213...........213........199.........14 Sades...........201...........201........190.........11 wombat712.......145...........145........135.........10 kristin1031.....240...........240........225.........15 destiny79.............255..................255.............240........ .......15__________________

I got my first Tattoo at the age of 43 LOL and I now have 5. I have the eternity symbol on the top of my foot for my DH. I have the pink ribbon on the inside of my wrist for my sister. I have a butterfly for my son on my right ankle and a sunflower on my left ankle for my daughter and two butterflies above it for my grandsons. I recently last August had a portrait of my son on my upper left shoulder I love them all!

Congratulations Linda keep up the great job you will be there before you know it!!

Are you logging your food anywhere? I highly suggest fitday.com or sparkpeople or dailyplate.com because this helps keep you honest and it shows you just where you are with your calories as well as exercise. Are you moving at all? This is also very important. I know you have heard it before but you can't expect the band to do all the work it is merely our tool. It will work for us if we help it along. Slow and steady wins this race we are in, do not give up, talk to your Dr!

Kristin 1031 256...........240.........199.......41

I try to avoid sugar at all cost. But I will occasionally have a bite of something sugary. I will say that I believe Jack completely and also in my own experience, I can't handle Crystal Light now and I could before my surgery. I only drink Water and milk and V-8 juice now. If you had told me I could adjust to this before surgery. I would never have believed it. I know that when I have a bite of something sugary, that is ALL I want is that bite......my body kinda say Woooah babe......you don't do this stuff anymore....LOL It just doesn't taste as good as it once did......I am thankful to admit I do not miss it or the pounds gone since I gave it up!!

Name................Start..........Current..........Goal ......To Go TxArcher............360.............345................345.........Zero baby! Foofy ................249............242.5 (yay!).....237.........5.5 Momto1plus1.......241............228.8..............229..........-.2 mariegabrieleee....261............252................256..........-4 Shortgal..............198............189................192.........(-3) Hollyberries..........298............282................285.........(-3) Trixie..................264.............241................244........ .(-3) Longhorn.............211.............204................199.........(5 ) Shalee04.............218.............205................206.........(-1) BarbBee...............284.............272................272......... 0 Kristin1031...........257.............242................240.......... 2 Well I am proud of myself I wanted to lose 17 pounds and I lost 15 so you can't be upset with that!! Congrats to everyone that reaches their GOAL and to those who beat it!! Kristin1031...........256.............242................240.......... 2

I started at 287 and am now 242 and I am going strong.....I know that I will make my goal, and my Surgeon agrees because he said my attitude and lifestyle changes I have made leads only to success!! Be sure to get in all of your Water, move your bloomin behind, and follow the diet........make good choices whenever possible and let yourself have something you love once is a while, but only a bite! I live by these rules and am having great success!

I feel like the odd ball out and am glad that Hungryforchange and I are experiencing the same thing. I am 3 months post op and have had no fills and I have restriction, since surgery. I have no hunger unless I wait longer than 6 hours to eat. I do not cheat, I do not eat Snacks of any kind. I eat 3 ounces at each meal and I drink only when allowed. Not with meals or after. I get in way over 90 grams of Protein a day and I log every bite I take. So far it has worked wonders for me, I am feeling wonderful about my band. I am glad that I have done so well without a fill yet. I count myself very very lucky in this respect!

Kat is apparent that your wisdom and success have helped all of us to better understand our bands operation.....I agree with the consensus that you should have that somewhere new bandsters can read!! Thanks for the great visual Lady you are always an inspiration to me!!

Update I am at 243 currently....Yippee!!

I thought I was carzy when I became cold after surgery, I am cold nearly all the time, but I too think it is when I am losing that I notice it more. I used to ride with the window cracked in the winter, never wear a coat and was just hot all the time. I thought menopause was lasting forever....LOL I have to admit the heat was my layers of fat across my middle, they are fastly disappearing and I think that is why I am now facing being cold. Not to mention the little amount of fuel we take in on a daily basis, that too has to have something to do with it.

Jack you always make me smile!! I love your posts and value your insight into what makes this BAND work! Great advice and I hope it helps you, we have all experienced the scale nightmares, when not moving.....just try to focus on your NSV!!

I would think you would NOT want to give up....you made it through the surgery with no complications....and you have a wonderful tool inside of you. You should of been warned from the get go that this is a SLOW process. It is not like RNY where the weight will fall off....although yes for some it seems too. I think it depends on age, amount of weight you are above your ideal and also how much you move your blooming arse.....don't mean to sound harsh but exercising is so vitally important here......You must create new habits and one of them is to become very active. I know my fat but was used to sitting on the couch eating and watching tv during the week after work and on the weekends I would make it to the grocery store and back to my couch.....this was the worst no activity for someone my age. I can't imagine going back to that person.....I love what the band has afforded me, you must work with it. It is not a miricle cure for overeating. Don't give up.....listen to those who have lost here......they know what they preach is true!!

I agree with previous posters that is not so much which program you choose to log your food....as long as you log at least in the beginning......I firmly believe success can be measured by how well we stick to the eating program. Choosing the right things to put into our new pouch is so very important. If you are not getting enough Protein daily or Water or vegtables then you are not going to see the weightloss that you might if you were. I personally began using fitday.com then switched to SparkPeople.com and I love it there.....I have my own blog and journal their most everyday. IT too is a totally free site. I have used DailyPlate and it is also a good site. Good Luck to you on your journey!!

This reminds me of the friends I lost when my son died......YES even then friends can't handle the situation and they leave......probably were not real friends anyway RIGHT?.......I think everyone who has done this successfuly has the right to scream it from a mountaintop if they like.....and if that hurts or causes pain then they must be reminded softly.........That no one can make you feel anything.......we do it to ourselves. She should be proud of her success and if her family could not stand by her then how sad that they don't love themselves enough to not blame her for their situations. I personally talk about my weightloss only to those who ask me. If they want to know. My freinds and family are constantly asking me, so if they ask they will get the GREAT news!! Some folks need to grow up and learn how to deal with others success and not transfer it so some sick guilt on their part....:cursing:

Hi Vanessa: Congratulations on the 30 pounds.....you are doing great! I have no fill and yes I have restriction.....I am still feeling no hunger....amazing I know, I told my Dr yesterday I must be weird, no one else is having this it seems....LOL He said no there are those who experience this. Keep up the great work, we November Nymphs are all progressing very well I think.

Name................Start..........Current..........Goal ......To Go shortgal ..............198...............190...............192........ minus 2 hollyberries...........298...............283...............285........ (-2) Trixie...................264...............244...............244...... ....0 Longhorn..............211...............203.6.............199......... 4.6 plump_princess......237...............225...............227..........-2 BarbBee................284...............272...............272........ ..0 hungry..................227.5............215..............215.5..... ..(-.5) Shalee04...............218...............205..............206........(-1) Momto1plus1.........241................231.8............229.......2.8 want2lose.............236.8.............227..............225.........2 ellebrookes...........191................179..............175......... ..4 kristin1031...........257.................243..............240...........3 __________________

I haven't had this problem because I ask them up front if I can order off the childrens menu, or share a plate with DH and I tell them why that I had bariatric surgery.....I have for the most part had positive results with this......!!

My surgeon just told me to be prepared not to lose as quickly as bypass patients. He wanted to make sure that I was ok with that, which I was because I in no way wanted RNY. It scares the hell out of me, I know too many complications from it. I had a good friend from my local support group pass away the day of my surgery from complication from her RNY the week before. We all know the risks......but I wanted the least risky. I also knew I wanted to be a part of my weight loss, so having a TOOL verses the bypass which basically just causes the weight to fall off because of malabsorption I said no. I am thrilled with my deicision......I saw my surgeon for my 3 month post op yesterday and he said I am doing fabulous and am on track to meet my goal weight by my band anniversary. He said I am above average in my weightloss but he thinks it is because I am so regimented in my program. I don't allow anything to deter me from it. I do not cave in to temptation for one. With all of that being said I do have a bite of this or that when I want it, I just boost the workouts on those days. It has worked for me to the tune of 43 pounds lost in 3 months. I have 104 pounds to go. WOO HOO!!

I too have no fill and am three months out from surgery and I have had this twice since being banded. So I know what you are experiencing. All the advice is here is great....just chew and take very small bites and take your time to eat. These things will help this not happening. Althought my last experience was at 2:30 am when I was awoken to a horrible feeling of a tennis ball stuck in the back of my throat......it took two hours for this feeling to pass. I had eaten my dinner at 6pm that evening so I have no idea what caused this too happen. I am seeing my surgeon tomorrow and have all intention of asking him then. I will let you know what he says!