willowcat

week 1: 18.1 miles

Maybe you'd like trying new flavors. Try some different spices. Try some flavors from different cultures. If you're a good cook (and assuming you like to cook), find some recipes on line and give them a try. It's so easy to get in a rut food-wise. Nutritionally speaking it's really not good to get in a rut; my nutritionist tells me to aim for plenty of variety in my diet. Sometimes (when I'm not in a hurry) I'll go up and down the grocery store aisles very slowly and look at all the different products--I always find something new that I never noticed or considered when I'm doing my regular grocery shopping from a list. You've made the committment to be vegan so you've further limited your food choices, but surely there are on line resources for vegans--I know that Allrecipes.com has a recipe search that filters for vegan dishes. Good luck.

I eat all sorts of things--depends on the day and how I'm feeling (and what's in the house!) I really do try to get as much protein in as I can. I follow the advice of my nutritionist more often than not--low fat and low carbohydrates when it comes to processed foods--I always read the labels. I very rarely have refined sugars, but if I do, it's not very much. I try to have variety in my diet (per my nutritionist's advice); I'm working on getting in more fruit and veggies. This summer I was able to get in my 64 oz of water everyday, but have only managed 1/2 of that during the school year (sometimes I'll "force feed" myself the water in my water bottle on the drive home--just to be able to say that I've drank at least 32oz that day). I've had decent restriction ("green zone") since my third fill (beginning of August). My fills were never more than .5cc--because I didn't want to get too tight and start eating slider foods--besides, I think the body needs a sufficient amount of calories each day to keep from going into starvation mode and slowing down it's metabolism . I suspect that my weightloss has been from a combination of all three: restriction, willpower, exercise--I also had a lot of weight to lose. I'm prepared for the possibility that the weight loss will slow down (which for my skin might not be such a bad thing--give it some time to pull in a bit) the closer I get to my goal.

If I could've, I would've--all of us here would have. I'm thankful for the lapband. It's added years to my life and life to my years. The fills/unfills, restriction, getting stuck/unstuck are just part of the process. Is it hard? Not harder than having diabetes; not harder than having feet and knee pain; not harder than trying to find clothes for a nearly 300 lb. body; not harder than starving on one failed diet after another; not harder than having sleep apnea; not harder than being unable to sit in chairs with arms...etc! Anything worth having in life takes work and isn't easy. I'm terribly pleased with my lapband and so very, very thankful that someone (bless the surgeons/researchers who did!) figured out a minimally-invasive, adjustable, reversable (hopefully never needed), effective way for me to lose weight! Good luck on your journey! And to answer your question: "Is it worth it?" YES! YES! YES! (for me) :wink2:

2911, Thank you for the kind words and the congrats on my weightloss so far--it's so much easier to move around in a body that's 87lbs lighter--but of course! I'm ever thankful for my doctor's persistance in bringing up weightloss surgery to me. Tomorrow I have my annual "glad-I'm-a-gal" appointment and it will be the first time I've seen my doctor since having the lapband. I can't wait to say "thank you!!" No, my student's haven't noticed my weightloss--second graders are funny that way. But definitely parents and staff member have noticed--how could you not?! I'm 13lbs away from having lost 100lbs--that doesn't even seem possible. Still, I have 50 more lbs on top of that to lose. Plastic surgery seems more and more as if it will be inevitable--but will cross that bridge when I get to it. January and February were not great exercising months for me. I don't think I even made half of my goal in February. Still, I did lose weight (that's nice to know--that the weight will still come off). But just this week, I've realized that I miss exercising regularly. I'm on this journey to become healthy--not just thin--and I want a strong heart, strong lungs, and strong muscles. I'm really working on letting go of my perfectionism ("If I can't exercise for a full 30 minutes, then why bother?"). My thinking this school year has been that I can't afford to exercise and work--now I'm thinking that I can't afford to not exercise and work! I can't keep waiting for summer to live my life--I give my job way too much of me (though, I absolutely love my job--that's probably why I give it so much of me). I'm recommitting myself to this month's mile challenge and to a healthy, stronger me--Ready, Set, GO! Glad we're on this journey together. Keep us posted on how things are going for you now that you finally are getting restriction like you're supposed to! :smile2:

Taking a bath and not damming up the water from end-to-end (did I ever really spread out that far before?! Oh my!) :smile2:

I absolutely have always hated having my weight being anything but my own business. Up or down, I've always wanted "no comment" from anyone. I told my mother, my husband, and one close friend about my surgery. Now 9 months later and about 80lbs lighter, of course my weight loss is obvious to anyone who's known me. I decided that I didn't want anyone to think I'd lost all this weight by myself--if I could have done it without surgery, I certainly would have years ago! Now, when someone says something about my weight loss I just say right away that I've had surgery (I've only had one person say "Ew" to the thought of surgery--everyone else has had a "good for you" attitude). I elaborate only if they ask for more information.

31.7 for the month yikes! my lowest yet...

2911, I just read about your fill nightmares--how horrible! Please go back and complain AND get your money back! I'm glad for you that you've finally been able to figure out why you weren't feeling any restriction. Who would have ever thought?! On a "silver lining" note though, if you hadn't been frustrated about not losing any weight, you might not have started this thread/challenge; I know for me personally--especially in the early months just after my banding--this thread/challenge was what kept me exercising! I might not have met my goal every month, but I've truly enjoyed trying. So, here's to brighter days ahead! :biggrin: Willowcat

Your question rang a bell with me for sure. My mother has always lived her life through me and is what therapists call emotionally enmeshed. For example, when I was in high school and didn't make the cheerleading squad, my mother cried more than I did, and then got herself stinking drunk because she was so sad "for me". There are many, many other examples of her over-involvement in my life--but you get the picture. This same woman didn't call me the day of my surgery (this was the very first surgery I had ever had in my life) to see how I was doing--nor did she call later. She never asks me about my lapband nor my obvious weight loss. When I do share any of my lapband experiences with her, all I get is the shortest of dull responses ("hmm...oh...I see"...). It's just weird.

Yes, that's probably what happened. There is less pressure at higher altitudes. Have you ever taken a water bottle (one with thin plastic walls--a disposable bottle) onto a plane? When you're in the air and go to reopen that same water bottle (that was perfectly fine on the ground), you'll see that the bottle seems to have expanded and swelled (because there is less atmospheric pressure being exerted on the walls of the bottle). Your band would do the same thing if it were filled at sea level. When you went to a higher altitude, the fluid in your band would expand and make the opening to your stomach smaller in diameter--you'll have more restriction. The reverse would happen if you were filled at a higher altitude and moved to (or visited) a lower altitude--the higher atmospheric pressure would compress the fluid in the band and make it looser. I live in Colorado and will keep that in mind when I travel--that's something I've never thought of before! Congrats on your 13 pounds!

Yes, after I wildly posted, I realized that it was all tongue-in-cheek. I thought that I deleted my post...guess not. Oops.

80 miles...

January total: 71.9 miles

nawlinzlady, I ride my exercise bike at home--it's easier to go further on a bike than it is to walk those same miles. You're doing great getting 2 miles in a day. It's the daily committment that is hardest when it comes to exercise.

I really don't want to tell people I've had the band (some people are nosy and just want a good piece of gossip to share), but I've been thinking maybe I should--for the greater good. Researchers really don't know why some people are naturally thin. Appetite hormones? Higher metabolisms? Genetics?Whatever the reason, some people really don't have to think about their weight. Those of us here,though, really DO have to think about our weight, and make good choices AND have had surgery to help us (researchers have shown that most regular dieters gain back 100% of their lost weight within 5 years). My brother and his b*tch of a wife (who's truly naturally thin) once decided they needed to have an intervention of sorts with me and tell me that I really was getting too fat. They couched it in that they were "worried" for me--what was to stop me from becoming the "500lb. woman" afterall? I put them in their place and told them that my weight was none of their business (they definitely qualify as one of the nosy ones I don't really want to tell I've had surgery). They have two daughters. One has never really cared to eat and has always been lithe. The other has always been "sturdier" in her build and has always enjoyed food. The sturdier one is athletic and muscular, yet at 9 years old, her pediatrician warned my brother that this daughter is "at risk" for becoming overweight. Well, you can be sure that my brother and his wife began monitoring just about everything that went in this girl's mouth (now she's a food "sneaker" when they're not looking)! People don't understand how nearly impossible it is to lose weight (and keep it off). On the tv show, Friends, it always bothered me how the character Monica used to be obese but then is extremely thin, AND is a chef--they never say how she lost the weight and keeps it off (one time she did say that she never lets her "fat girl eat anymore"). It leaves one thinking that she must have just found the will to "put the fork down" (don't you just hate it when people say that?!) and she magically lost all that weight. I know it was just a tv show, but it reflected the views of our society. I'm thinking about my niece, who through no fault of her own, could possibly end up having weight issues. I'm thinking about all the desperate people who've tried everything, but are still overweight/obese despite their best efforts. I'm thinking that for all those people who might look at me and say "see, she could do it--she just ate less and exercised more"--that for all of them, maybe we "should" tell the truth about our bands. Because, NO, I couldn't have lost 75 lbs so far without the band. Yes, I exercised before the band; I ate smaller portions before the band; I lost weight before the band--and I put the weight back on because I felt like I was starving before the band (on Weight Watchers I'd go nuts at the end of the day when all my points were used up and I was still SO VERY HUNGRY!). The band helps me eat less AND feel satisfied for the first time in my adult life. For that, I am so grateful (I think that might just be how naturally skinny people feel on small amounts of food--but I don't know). Maybe we should tell--gossipers and judgers be damned--because while we may have used our tool properly (good food choices and exercise), none of us was able to do it by ourselves before being banded. Honestly, I don't really know what I'm going to say to people who ask. I've just been thinking that maybe I "should" be honest...

Sure--like an alcoholic missing the drinking and the zoning out/buzz. I don't think that urge to eat mindlessly (for me anyway) ever goes away. And like Sue Magoo said, we can still eat yummy food--just not as much of it. Plus, an odd thing happened with me: my tastebuds changed. Some things that I used to love really don't taste that great anymore--and other things taste wonderful now. Go figure.

Week 2: 36.6 miles done 53.4 to go

Thank you so much for posting!!!! I was banded in June 09 but saw your post on the New Posts. What you posted was just what I needed to hear (read?)! "Small" is a relative word--when it comes to anything really!--but you're so right about "small bites"! What I was thinking was "small" (compared to the size bites I took before the band), is really too big for where I'm at now. I too haven't been able to eat most foods (but I can chug water). Since my last fill in mid-December, I've rarely had a meal without also sliming, pain, and pbing. Also, I've stopped losing weight. After reading your post, I had breakfast and took "pinkie-finger-sized" bites and chew,chew, chewed those. Ah-Ha! That's what a small bite is like! My first meal (in too long) that was trouble-free! I'm not too tight--I've just not been eating right. Thank you--I feel like I've got a new lease on my band and can start moving forward again!

week 1: 18.3 miles 71.3 to go

This is the OP's only post--looks like he/she joined lapband just to post an ad (I wonder how many other weight-loss, money-management, etc. groups he/she's joined as well for the sole purpose of posting an ad?). Carbgrl's idea is awesome--I might just do that!

Sweet Pete, You haven't been banded for very long--your pain may still be related to gas from the surgery. If I were you, I'd wait at least a month before seeing your chiropractor. Mine does a lot of twisting and pushing. I would want to make sure that everything was healing properly first. I did tell him about my band and explained the proceedure to him. I can't tell you just what he did. All I know is I felt better the next day and really haven't had that pain between my shoulder blades like that again. Good luck.

Gosh I hope spices aren't my problem! I love hot sauces, garlic, and curry! I've been having some pbing problems lately and always it seems to involve food with one of those ingredients. Grrrr! I keep thinking it's something else causing the problems: I love those foods and eat them too fast, or I love those foods and I try to eat too much of them? I'm going to keep trying those foods, but will keep a close watch on the other two variables (speed and volume) to see if I can keep the spices or not. Is it possible that the hot spices cause the stoma to swell slightly from the irritation? I sure hope not.

When I went to Overeaters Annonymous, we would start out saying, "Hi, I'm _____ and I'm an overeater." At first it was really hard to say that, because I didn't want it to be true. I just needed to lose weight that was all. Nope. I AM an overeater--was and still am. When I use food to fill the gaps in my life, to calm the anxiety, to celebrate, to comfort saddness, to reward hard work, or to zone out, I am using food (much like an alcoholic or an addict). I totally get where you're coming from since your unfill. You weren't asking for advice--just sharing your story. Thanks for sharing. PS. I like your signature: "If you always do what you've always done, You'll always get what you've always gotten"

Bless the Viactiv people! They satisfy my "a little something sweet in my mouth" craving--and one is enough--plus I'm getting my calcium. It's win-win!