BandedInBama

Love the responses! Keep em coming!

Those cravings are becoming less frequent as I deny them. I guess it's kinda like ignoring a kid throwing a tantrum-- eventually the kid just realizes it won't work and stops. So.. I guess my food demons are realiZing it doesn't work? Fingers crossed anyways! Good luck to everyone!!

Of course! I hope it helps someone else "get it" before struggling for years like me!

Haha! I'm glad I'm inspirational I'm still plugging away-- very aware of my rules and my body's needs. The weight isn't falling off like I was praying for it to, but it IS coming off. I guess a 1-2 pound loss per week at this stage of the game is perfectly acceptable. LOL Course, I always think faster is better!

I use My Fitness Pal on my iPhone to count calories. I'm eating NOTHING compared to before! LOL I don't even even want to THINK about how many I was eating before. *shudder* I started yoga this past Monday (geeeeez I'm weak!) and started using my elliptical again today (I was SO sweaty after just 15 minutes!)

Thanks for the support, y'all. It means so much to know people have "been there, done that" and come out successful on the other side. 2muchfun, that article was AMAZING!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you! It helps me understand what might be going on!

Ok. The scale and I are NOT FRIENDS. My weight is still fluctuating between 230 - 235. I'm monitoring my calories, no snacking, lots of Water, the stupid scale refuses to budge. I AM seeing a change on the tap measure (I do it daily just because it's the only change I'm seeing!), but the actual weight is refusing to budge!! Am I fooling myself that I'm being so careful with my food? I mean, I'm eyeballing it, but your fist is about a cup, right? A desk of cards is 4oz of Protein... An ounce is the tip of your thumb... I KNOW the tape measure is realistically more important than the pounds, but seeing the freaking scale refuse to really budge is just driving me up the wall. I'm 3.5 weeks in and the scale seriously hasn't moved since the first week and a half (which was a nice whoosh of 15 pounds!). This is the point when I usually say, "Screw it". I'm an emotional eater afterall. But, I'm NOT gonna do that, but MAN I'm irritated!

Had my first yoga class tonight. Wow. I used to coach competitive level gymnastics and despite being chubby I was really a very strong person. Not anymore. Woooo. That kicked my butt! LOL and yet I can't wait for next week!!

Even though I'm seeing inches lost.. *grumble* So... I have a 3 pound gain today. I suspect it's because I'm not drinking enough. I can feel that I might be slightly dehydrated-- I've seriously been slacking on my Water (I don't drink anything else though). So... I reckon that might have SOMETHING to do with my gain? I'm OVER the 230s! LOL I've hit 230 3 times now and never go down past it!! I'm being meticulous with my calories (1100-1200/day). I'm starting yoga tonight and am gonna FORCE myself to get my rump on the elliptical. I'm ready to see that scale # MOVE!!

Having any WLS is akin to trying to reinvent oneself (or it is to me!). So... If you were suddenly your perfect you... Who would you be? LOL It has NOTHING to do with my weight, really, but I'm a total Pinterest addict. I would be super fashionable, a great creative cook who made her kids super neat Bento Box lunches for school (everyday!!), decorated my house per holiday, could make origami napkins for parties and decorate cakes like a pro. Silly, I know, but I just love so many things I see that other folks can do and I feel so flabby and BORING! So, join me in fantasy land. Who would YOU be?

Yay! It's so nice to feel better about ourselves, isn't it? My scale doesn't seem super cooperative, but I guess the GIGANTIC initial drop I had of about 15 pounds over the first two weeks should negate the past week of no loss. LOL I do wish I could see results like that all the time, though! Congrats on a great start!

Eating demons is so appropriate! I feel like they torment me. I guess the best way to cope is just to NEVER give in-- giving bad habits any kind of foothold just makes me crumble. The plus is, I DO feel renewed today and it IS a new day that I haven't even made a bad choice in yet. We had a GLORIOUS looking key lime cake in Sunday School this morning to snack on, but I declined just because I know I would have eaten those unnecessary calories and set a bad precedent for the day (I'm weird like that-- 1 not great choice just AVALANCHES for me). I just drank my Crystal Light and enjoyed the fellowship

That's interesting. I think maybe I overdid it a couple of days ago... It wasn't amount, but a friend took me out to lunch at Chipotle and I had to sip a little bit with my meal because it was unexpectedly spicy! The little tiny sips paired with my food (totally an acceptable amount BTW-- maybe a 1/2 a cup) made me PB. Ugh. And since then, I've had some reflux issues. Last night was awful! I was blaming it on the tiny chocolate splurge before bed, but maybe more of a stoma issue? I'm 4 years out from surgery-- is this possible?

Y'all, I'm STRUGGLING these past couple of days. I don't know what triggered it but I'm just RAVENOUS-- all I can think about it food, food, food. I haven't binged or even over eaten and I'm really fighting the urge to do so. I thought maybe a little treat would help so last night I did eat a package of Peanut Butter cups (2)-- always my candy of choice-- but the chocolate have me HORRIBLE reflex which I'm still feeling today. NOT worth it and it didn't help with my cravings. And today, even while I'm enjoying my food and being careful and could clearly feel I was full, I was just wanting to shovel all of my lunch into mouth. I didn't, but even as I was putting the leftovers away I was half thinking about just bingeing on it. I didn't *need* it but I felt like I did! Ugh. Just struggling. Not ruining myself, but just not feeling that awesome contentment I had all week. Any ideas?

Quick update for the day-- the scale had initially driven me nuts by going up about 3-4 pounds, but I'm back down to 230. Buuuuut, according to the measurements I took last week, I've lost an inch at the waist and almost 2 inches in the hips/lower gut area!! My "wants" are a lot more copacetic with my "needs" these days and I don't feel like I have to keep eating just out of habit or compulsion. That's life-changing right there!!!