Niecey

Hi Teri, I'm sorry to hear you are not feeling restriction. What are you eating typically in a day? Denise

Yes it does help me being a little tight. Especially being satisfied between meals. If I keep busy I'm good otherwise I want to graze between meals just because I'm bored. But then I feel the restriction and think "why did I do that?" I have found if I stay between 800-1100 calories per day I can keep losing the weight. Now that I've found this out I track my calories daily with sparkspeople, it makes it so easy. It also helps make better choices because you want to get the most food for the least amount of calories. :crying: The exercising has gotten easier too. I love the Zumba classes. It makes exercising fun if you can call it fun. :eek: I hope everyone else is doing well. Denise

Hi everyone, I'm officially below 200 now. Wow I haven't been below 200 since I got married. How is everyone else doing? I have to tell you I had a little bout with an overfill. It was awful. I toughed it out for a week until it got so bad I could barely drink Water. :thumbup: All my fills had been with the nurses since surgery and they would put in 0.2-0.4 ccs but this time the doc put in 0.8ccs. I had to get 0.5 taken out. I managed to lose 9 pounds in that week which was good since I hadn't lost anything in 3 months. But it was not fun. Very painful and I learned that the band does not do all the work. It helps but ultimately you have to be the one who makes the wise food decisions. Protein first, if there is room after that then veggies. I'm good now. I think I'm finally at my sweet spot or within 0.1 cc of it. Frankly I don't think I want to be any tighter. So everyone give an update!!! Denise

JennBand08, I think the main reason they are having a problem is because I was always "big" and now they see me losing weight and now I am slightly smaller than my oldest daughter. I guess it's just something they will have to get used to. We have joined a gym and I make them go with me. They are starting to like it. I also "make" my oldest do 20-30 minutes on the treadmill on nights we don't go to the gym. I explained to her that I know she is unhappy being overweight but I will help her and if she doesn't like her size then she has to decide to do something about it. Hopefully they are both young enough that they will learn to enjoy exercise and eating healthy. a2bachik Congrats to your crappy bowling game!!!

LOL, I noticed as I was walking the other day that something felt different and it took me a second to realize what it was...my arms were not touching my sides as I walked. Isn't that strange??? On a more serious note...I'm having problems at home. I have 2 daughters, 12 and 14, and they are having a hard time with me losing the weight now that it's really showing. It's strange to them and they are not comfortably with this. I have talked to them but does anyone have any suggestions how to help them with this? Niecey

Deb, congrats on your new doc. That will make a huge difference. You'll be at goal in no time because you did so awesome on your own already. Niecey

Mommie you have your hands full. Maybe you can join the Y with "childcare" so you can get your work outs in. Denise

Teri let us know how you are, I pray you do not have to go back to the OR. Mid December I stalled on the weight loss for 2 months and gained a few pounds. So I started using sparkpeople counting calories and found I was eating 1500-2000 calories per day. Since then I have been very conscious of what I'm eating and counting calories faithfully. I've lost the few pounds I've gained and lost a few more. I need a little fill because I think I can eat a little more than I am supposed to. I joined the YMCA and tried that Zumba class for the first time. That kicked my a$$, . It killed my knees so I'll wait a week or so before I do that again. I think my body weight must be reproportioning because people are telling me it looks like I've lost more. I know I haven't so I guess the exercise is working. I'm happy spring is coming and maybe being outside will help. It's great to hear from everyone. I saw a picture of JWRN (the nurse) and she looks great. Niecey

Only 31 pounds more to go that is great. Great job. Denise

I love spaghetti squash. I discovered it while doing a low carb diet. Get an alfredo sauce recipe...usually heavy cream, parmesan cheese, butter, some nutmeg, garlic powder and pepper. Add some ham and peas and pour over SS. It's very yummy and low carb. Take the peas out if you want less carbs. Niecey

Tropicana has a sugar free orange drink. I mix some coconut rum or cherry rum with it and it tastes very good. Also the vanilla rum makes it like a dreamsicle. But be careful, 2 drinks and I'm done. Niecey

Hey everyone, Yeah I too haven't lost any weight lately either. Well I have lost 2 pounds since the middle of December. I started using www.sparkpeople.com to count my calories and found I was eating too many calories. So now I'm trying to eat 1200-1600 calories per day and that is when the 2 pounds came off. I think I really have to keep it about 1200 calories. I do not go in to the doctor til April. Part of my problem with not losing the last 2 months has been I thought I was too tight because things were getting stuck constantly. Since I was not eating anything I would turn to easy things like ice cream, etc to feel like I was eating something. Yeah bad, I know. But it's not that I'm too tight that things are getting stuck. It's because I was eating too fast and not chewing well enough. So the past week or 2 I have really concentrated on eating very slowly, taking a minute to rest and see if I feel like I can eat another bite and it turns out it's working. I also found out I can eat chicken or a potato. I just have to really take my time. So now that I've figured that out I think I do need a slight fill come April because I can eat 1-2 cups per meal and I think it's supposed to be half of that. I hope I can lose something before that time. Niecey

I'm so glad I to find out I'm not the only one. I was banded last September and was doing great. Then I got a "good" fill and now I don't know if I'm too tight. I have not lost weight since Christmas because I have a lot of problems eating anything so I resort to the easy/bad foods. I sit down to eat with my family and I don't know if I'm trying to keep up unconsciously with their pace but then I get stuck and once I get stuck, forget it, I have to just forget about eating. Then about 20-30 minutes later when everyone is done I can go and slowly eat by myself. It sucks because get stressed from what I can or can't eat and the stress makes it so much worse. The other day at work I had just finished lunch (at my desk) and it got busy and stressful. I had to run to the bathroom to PB because I just tighten up so much the food I already had down just wouldn't stay there. Let me know if you find someone that has experience with this. I just don't know what I'm doing wrong. And I don't have to worry about drinking with eating because I absolutely cannot or it will mess up the food I managed to keep down. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I had the surgery but I just miss "healthy" foods I can no longer eat and eating the same stuff and some days even that isn't easy. Does it get any better?? Niecey

Way to go!!! Niecey

Maybe you can help me. I was banded about 4 months ago. I have lost 50 lbs of the 135 I need to lose. I have had 3 fills and each time I felt the restriction. With the first 2 after a few weeks I could feel the restriction go away. The last fill was 2 months ago and I was sure I was at my sweet spot. Now I haven't lost weight in a month. I know it was the holidays and all the sweet things that melt in your mouth. So now I want to get back on track but I feel hungry a lot. Can I still need another fill when I have so much restriction? I cannot eat in the a.m., there is absolutey no bread, rice or pasta. Anything dense like chicken is tough. Help please, something is changing but I'm confused where I'm at. Niecey