ajoneen

you should look over on the regional support threads. Good Luck.

Jonathan Im not sure if you want us to call you on the excessive menu choices or tell you it's good you're keeping track haven't gained and are aware of the pitfalls of restaurants/social eating. Sometime I suck at this support stuff. Sorry

Ronda I think you know what you have to do. Get that scale away from you. Kind of like an anorexic has to step on th scale backwards and have someone else read it. That is what my trainer does with me and just keeps telling me "its going down". Little does he know Im on the scale at home everyday. Perhaps we need to lock it in a closet. As for the food, well your life is really centered around it right now and having it in the forefront of you mind is only natural. How many years did you have a full dinner size plate? I think repetition is the only answer regarding your mind. Soon this new portion will be normal for you. Hang in there.

Annie could you be craving a certain food? Maybe your body is telling you you need something. Iron? Salt? CHOCOLATE!!! I think you are at the point where most folks are faced with the fork in the road- Left- F*this. I suck at dieting, just give me the chocolate!! Right- I will be truly virtuous and never touch chocolate again ever in my life. Center- give yourself a bit of a treat each day that is counted in you total cals. Plan for it and accept it. As for the bping. I've been told that if I get stuck it's liquids for a day to help relieve the inflammation around the band. Keep your chin up(and mouth closed around the sweets) this to shall past.

My trainer said I should only do one of the two races because they are one week apart and that would be very hard on me (the recovery). So Im only going to do the one on Aug 2nd. (I think. I have until the race day 7/27 to decide) Walking on the beach is soo good for you. You use your core because of the uneven sandy surface. I even heard it's good for folks with joint issues because of the softer surface, no pounding. It beats the treadmill any day.

Hey UT that is a very respectable time. Considering you kind of took a time out at the end of the swim. Im sure your swim and transition times will be better next race. When is your next race? I love the open water swim. I will miss that this time around because the races I will be doing are in a pool.

June 27th. Iam starting training in the pool tomorrow.

I did a triathlon about 5 years ago. It was a great feeling!! So to that end... I have signed up for a triathlon this summer. I've decided that I need a focus regarding exercise. I might be crazy but I have to challenge myself and be accountable to something. This is not the big IronMan type. It is the sprint length, not that I will be sprinting. 400meter swim/6mile bike/2mile run. God, I hope I don't make a fool of myself.

I did a triathlon about 5 years ago. It was a great feeling!! So to that end... I have signed up for a triathlon this summer. I've decided that I need a focus regarding exercise. I might be crazy but I have to challenge myself and be accountable to something. This is not the big IronMan type. It is the sprint length, not that I will be sprinting. 400meter swim/6mile bike/2mile run. God, I hope I don't make a fool of myself.

I don't know if I've told you about the triathlon I did about 5 years ago. It was a great feeling!! So to that end... I have signed up for 2 triathlons this summer. I've decided that I need a focus regarding exercise. I might be crazy but I have to challenge myself and be accountable to something. These are not the big IronMan type. They are the sprint length, not that I will be sprinting. 400meter swim/6mile bike/2mile run. God, just don't let me make a fool of myself.

Hi I did the swim leg of a tri about 5 years ago(part of a relay team). I really want to do the whole thing. Im entering one this summer! It is sprint length-400 meter swim/6ml bike/2ml run- not that I will be sprinting. I figured it was time to "Just Freaking Do It!!!!!!!!!"

Read through the info your Dr gave you. Check out the post-op threads here. You'll do fine. We've all been there and got through it. Good Luck!!

This came from a post by Alan of LI, NY on the SmartBandster on YahooGroups. I thought it would be useful to pass them along. I haven't allowed myself to dwell on why I might fail, or why I have periods where I am not succeeding as well as I may have been in a prior week or month. Why? Because good or bad, success or failure, what happens to me is based on the *choices* that I make on any given day. And because I didn't get banded so that its presence around my stomach would rule my life or make me obsess about how anything I do relates to the band. I was banded because I needed a tool, unlike any of the other tools I've used/tried in the past, that would help me a) get to a healthy state-of-being and remain in that healthy state. By *my* definition of healthy (again, see disclaimer), *obsessing* about the band and all the *guidelines* associated with it -successful as it (the band) and many of them (guidelines) are for me - is not healthy. Early on in this journey, as pounds were melting away from me and I was developing my own, personalized, lifestyle of "what works for *me*", I adopted two key quotations here that became my mantra: "Just because you can, doesn't mean you should" and "Live life well." What struck me fairly recently is that neither has anything to do explicitly with weight-loss or dieting or the band or eating habits. The first is strictly about making choices. And it is suggestive in nature, not a directive. Otherwise it would have read, "You can, but don't." The latter is, semantically, a directive - but the meaning of "well" is not defined and subject to individual interpretation. And I'd worry about the mental stability of anyone who chooses to *not* live life well - as per their own definition. So if someone tells/suggest to me to live life well, I'd be foolish not to heed it. So I made choices, everyday, that weighed upon the outcome of my success/failure. Most were choices to follow most of the guidelines most of the time. But sometimes I chose not to follow the guidelines. The reasons don't matter. Either way, they were *my choices*. Sometimes I did give up what I really want for what I want now. I agree with that quote and we all do it from time to time. Why has that not lead to failure for me? Because I think the statement should read that we fail when we *continually* (or *consistently*, take your pick) give up what we really want for what we want now. No one is ever going to fail by living for the moment - now and then - as long as we don't lose sight of the goals for more than a moment (or two). Again, if I'm living every day, every moment wondering if every single thing I do runs counter to the long-term goals, I'm not living life well; I will have trapped myself into a mindset that may lead to a very healthy life, but that's not necessarily living life well. We all make choices. They may seem contrary or counter-intuitive but in the end, if we're happy with our choices and lead to our individual success, then we've done what we should. ps Fenton this group has quite a few guys who were/are in your situation. Give it a look.

I haven't allowed myself to dwell on why I might fail, or why I have periods where I am not succeeding as well as I may have been in a prior week or month. Why? Because good or bad, success or failure, what happens to me is based on the *choices* that I make on any given day. And because I didn't get banded so that its presence around my stomach would rule my life or make me obsess about how anything I do relates to the band. I was banded because I needed a tool, unlike any of the other tools I've used/tried in the past, that would help me a) get to a healthy state-of-being and :cool: remain in that healthy state. By *my* definition of healthy (again, see disclaimer), *obsessing* about the band and all the *guidelines* associated with it -successful as it (the band) and many of them (guidelines) are for me - is not healthy. Early on in this journey, as pounds were melting away from me and I was developing my own, personalized, lifestyle of "what works for *me*", I adopted two key quotations here that became my mantra: "Just because you can, doesn't mean you should" and "Live life well." What struck me fairly recently is that neither has anything to do explicitly with weight-loss or dieting or the band or eating habits. The first is strictly about making choices. And it is suggestive in nature, not a directive. Otherwise it would have read, "You can, but don't." The latter is, semantically, a directive - but the meaning of "well" is not defined and subject to individual interpretation. And I'd worry about the mental stability of anyone who chooses to *not* live life well - as per their own definition. So if someone tells/suggest to me to live life well, I'd be foolish not to heed it. So I made choices, everyday, that weighed upon the outcome of my success/failure. Most were choices to follow most of the guidelines most of the time. But sometimes I chose not to follow the guidelines. The reasons don't matter. Either way, they were *my choices*. Sometimes I did give up what I really want for what I want now. I agree with that quote and we all do it from time to time. Why has that not lead to failure for me? Because I think the statement should read that we fail when we *continually* (or *consistently*, take your pick) give up what we really want for what we want now. No one is ever going to fail by living for the moment - now and then - as long as we don't lose sight of the goals for more than a moment (or two). Again, if I'm living every day, every moment wondering if every single thing I do runs counter to the long-term goals, I'm not living life well; I will have trapped myself into a mindset that may lead to a very healthy life, but that's not necessarily living life well. We all make choices. They may seem contrary or counter-intuitive but in the end, if we're happy with our choices and lead to our individual success, then we've done what we should. These wise words came from a post by Alan of LI, NY on the SmartBandsters group on YahooGroups. I thought it would be useful to pass them along.

I haven't allowed myself to dwell on why I might fail, or why I have periods where I am not succeeding as well as I may have been in a prior week or month. Why? Because good or bad, success or failure, what happens to me is based on the *choices* that I make on any given day. And because I didn't get banded so that its presence around my stomach would rule my life or make me obsess about how anything I do relates to the band. I was banded because I needed a tool, unlike any of the other tools I've used/tried in the past, that would help me a) get to a healthy state-of-being and :thumbup: remain in that healthy state. By *my* definition of healthy (again, see disclaimer), *obsessing* about the band and all the *guidelines* associated with it -successful as it (the band) and many of them (guidelines) are for me - is not healthy. Early on in this journey, as pounds were melting away from me and I was developing my own, personalized, lifestyle of "what works for *me*", I adopted two key quotations here that became my mantra: "Just because you can, doesn't mean you should" and "Live life well." What struck me fairly recently is that neither has anything to do explicitly with weight-loss or dieting or the band or eating habits. The first is strictly about making choices. And it is suggestive in nature, not a directive. Otherwise it would have read, "You can, but don't." The latter is, semantically, a directive - but the meaning of "well" is not defined and subject to individual interpretation. And I'd worry about the mental stability of anyone who chooses to *not* live life well - as per their own definition. So if someone tells/suggest to me to live life well, I'd be foolish not to heed it. So I made choices, everyday, that weighed upon the outcome of my success/failure. Most were choices to follow most of the guidelines most of the time. But sometimes I chose not to follow the guidelines. The reasons don't matter. Either way, they were *my choices*. Sometimes I did give up what I really want for what I want now. I agree with that quote and we all do it from time to time. Why has that not lead to failure for me? Because I think the statement should read that we fail when we *continually* (or *consistently*, take your pick) give up what we really want for what we want now. No one is ever going to fail by living for the moment - now and then - as long as we don't lose sight of the goals for more than a moment (or two). Again, if I'm living every day, every moment wondering if every single thing I do runs counter to the long-term goals, I'm not living life well; I will have trapped myself into a mindset that may lead to a very healthy life, but that's not necessarily living life well. We all make choices. They may seem contrary or counter-intuitive but in the end, if we're happy with our choices and lead to our individual success, then we've done what we should. These wise words came from a post by Alan of LI, NY on the SmartBandsters group on YahooGroups. I thought it would be useful to pass them along.

Chantix- I know this works for some but the only 2 people I know that tried it had trouble with it. One went into a weird depression that only stopped when she stopped the drug. Forewarned is forearmed.

very pretty.

LUCK TO YOU!!!! You're doing fine. Stay busy. Keep informed.

Welcome B! The time will fly and before you know it you will be banded. Everyone is sooo different in regards to how much how fast.Depending on: What starting weight. If this is the first real effort to lose. How old someone is. Some don't lose in the first few months and others lose big then plateau for a while. For me Ive lost over 50lbs since my preop diet. Broken down thats about 30 before the surgery and 20 since. I was banded 16 weeks ago. A guy I know that was banded the next day has lost 86 lbs since being banded, but he started at almost twice my weight. A girl that was banded 2 weeks after me has lost 38 since banding. Another lady has only lost 12 and she was banded before me. Everyone is different. Good luck.

The nesting you talk about is normal. You're just putting things in order and making it smoother for your recovery. Don't forget to pamper yourself a bit too. The next few weeks are going to be a challenge. Schedule a manicure or a massage for the weekend after surgery. Just a little something to recharge your batteries. Purchase your protein drinks, broth and liquid Tylenol. Get the heating pad out. Make any arrangements needed so your family is taken care of. What you are feeling is normal. If you have read a few blogs about the early days of someones banding you well likely see the uncertainty there. We have been there and gotten through. So will you!! PS stay away from the threads about complications. It will just worry you unnecessarily. That was some of the best advice I got and I try to pass it along to the newbies as well. Good luck and keep us posted. Amanda

I think the whole thing with what time you eat is just listening to your body. If you don't eat in the morning and are fine until you have your first meal then great. But it you are skipping breakfast and then stuffing yourself at lunch that's not good. You should be able to make it 3-4 hours between meals during the day. If you're not you need to revamp what/how you are eating (3 oz Protein first & slowly w/o drinking) In the evening if you are laying in bed starving and you can't sleep until you have a snack than go ahead. But if you are just eating because you're bored or craving a sweet that's not good. For me, I try very hard to not have anything after dinner(about 6-7pm). My husband always has a snack before going to bed. If he doesn't he can't get to sleep or stay asleep. He's very fit so it's working for him. Fenton have you had the other half yet? Do those freeze well?

I had cheesecake for dessert(I split it with my husband). It was fantastic. I will dream of its creamy goodness tonight and for many days to come. Im not sorry.

Good luck!!

I heard of from 3-8 incisions. Every Dr is different.

Tex- That's super!! You didn't whine about slipping, you took responsibility for your actions and recovered beautifully. Live and learn.