barngal2003

So, last week, I believe I mentioned that my farm dog got hit by a car...too bad that wasn't the extent of problems last week! I went for my second fill last friday, the 13th, big mistake! My nutritionist believes that I'm doing everything perfectly and that it's ok for me to have a snack in the late afternoon, like nuts or fresh fruit. She also was very excited and complimentary about my exercise routine. However, I was still battling a lot of hunger issues, I felt like a bottomless pit! :tt1: So, my PA Ms. Dix decided to give me a fill, but didn't tell my dad and I how much of one until she was done. I already had 3 cc in my 10 cc band, my surgeon told me that would be the largest fill and the rest would all be smaller...nope! She put in another 3 cc!!!! I guess I should've known it was trouble when I walked out of the office feeling the restriction and wishing I could burp....I couldn't eat lunch, it hurt too much, then couldn't drink my water and by that evening I was throwing up white foam, basically just my spit! She had way overfilled my band. I called my surgeon and he said to go back (which is an hour drive for me) to their ER and they would remove 2 cc of the 6. It took forever! It's like no one there understood that I literally could not swallow!!! :eek: By the time they finally got the doctor down there to remove it, and then finally was able to hit my reservoir, I was next to tears it was so uncomfortable and painful! However, as soon as the saline came out, I immediately felt 100% better! Granted the next day is a different story, my stomach on the inside was sore, my port is bruised and sore from all the poking and prodding..but I've recovered well. But I promise you, I NEVER want to feel that ever again! EVER!!! Meanwhile, I am left with 4 cc in my band now, I go back in like a week and a half, hopefully if I do need a fill they'll make it ultra small, because man, that was horrible! I've been going to the gym everyday with the eception of saturday and sunday because of the gym hours, and I know I'm eatting right, paying VERY close attention to it, also trying my best not to snack, and I am definitely getting in my water, my thing is, I haven't lost any more weight since early last week. I understand that over the weekend I didn't worry soo much about what I ate but if I could keep it down from the soreness, I didn't eat that differently but just a little, so I guess you could say I've hit a plateau, but hopefully with perserverance I'll break through it soon. I just wish things would calm down a little....I feel like the last week and a half have flown by and left me dizzy. My dog is doing well now, she believes she's a fifty-some pound lap dog, but she's a sweety. My dad keeps pressuring me about a job, and I apply, I really do! I apply for anything and everything, and yet, I never get a call back! Even if it's volunteer work at this point, I have to do something...he's driving me bonkers about it, and I'm trying and don't know what else to do! Anyway, just felt like I should try and write some of this down before I blow up, but back to work on the house and farm....:thumbup:

So, last week, I believe I mentioned that my farm dog got hit by a car...too bad that wasn't the extent of problems last week! I went for my second fill last friday, the 13th, big mistake! My nutritionist believes that I'm doing everything perfectly and that it's ok for me to have a snack in the late afternoon, like nuts or fresh fruit. She also was very excited and complimentary about my exercise routine. However, I was still battling a lot of hunger issues, I felt like a bottomless pit! :frown: So, my PA Ms. Dix decided to give me a fill, but didn't tell my dad and I how much of one until she was done. I already had 3 cc in my 10 cc band, my surgeon told me that would be the largest fill and the rest would all be smaller...nope! She put in another 3 cc!!!! I guess I should've known it was trouble when I walked out of the office feeling the restriction and wishing I could burp....I couldn't eat lunch, it hurt too much, then couldn't drink my water and by that evening I was throwing up white foam, basically just my spit! She had way overfilled my band. I called my surgeon and he said to go back (which is an hour drive for me) to their ER and they would remove 2 cc of the 6. It took forever! It's like no one there understood that I literally could not swallow!!! :eek: By the time they finally got the doctor down there to remove it, and then finally was able to hit my reservoir, I was next to tears it was so uncomfortable and painful! However, as soon as the saline came out, I immediately felt 100% better! :mad2: Granted the next day is a different story, my stomach on the inside was sore, my port is bruised and sore from all the poking and prodding..but I've recovered well. But I promise you, I NEVER want to feel that ever again! EVER!!! Meanwhile, I am left with 4 cc in my band now, I go back in like a week and a half, hopefully if I do need a fill they'll make it ultra small, because man, that was horrible! I've been going to the gym everyday with the eception of saturday and sunday because of the gym hours, and I know I'm eatting right, paying VERY close attention to it, also trying my best not to snack, and I am definitely getting in my water, my thing is, I haven't lost any more weight since early last week. I understand that over the weekend I didn't worry soo much about what I ate but if I could keep it down from the soreness, I didn't eat that differently but just a little, so I guess you could say I've hit a plateau, but hopefully with perserverance I'll break through it soon. I just wish things would calm down a little....I feel like the last week and a half have flown by and left me dizzy. My dog is doing well now, she believes she's a fifty-some pound lap dog, but she's a sweety. My dad keeps pressuring me about a job, and I apply, I really do! I apply for anything and everything, and yet, I never get a call back! Even if it's volunteer work at this point, I have to do something...he's driving me bonkers about it, and I'm trying and don't know what else to do! Anyway, just felt like I should try and write some of this down before I blow up, but back to work on the house and farm....:confused:

So another week is about over. Which puts me, I think 8 weeks out from my surgery date, or 2 months and currently my weightloss is 31 pounds. Which averages out to be almost 4 pounds per week. I know this is a good weightloss, despite the fact that I think I'm just depressed because I can't see it. But, I'm going in tomorrow for a fill. Unfortunately I'm not getting any restriction and I can't stay satisfied for very long...regardless of what I eat. I really hope this helps, it's been a long week. I joined the gym (curves) on monday with my neice Ashleigh. It figures that when found our farm dog a sweet 5 yr old lab in the front yard suffering from the shock of being hit by a car. So we didn't get to the gym tuesday, and we've been dealing with trying to get her healthy. She did survive the hit and extremely lucky might I add! She doesn't have any broken bones! But she did come out with a really bad laceration on her left back hock (ankle area) and her lungs collapsed and were badly bruised. She's very pitiful looking. She was hit tuesday evening and came home wednesday night for strict monitoring for the next 3 weeks. My poor big baby doesn't understand why we can't let her go work with us on the farm, and my indoor pups don't understand why she's inside all of a sudden....or at least they didn't at first. I think they got the hang of it when they heard her wimpering. I just can't believe, I live in a small town, on a back road where everyone knows everyone, and everyone knows whose dog is who's and yet they hit her, left her and never even hit their brakes. :mad: I really want to find the person and make them feel the pain she has had to endure the last 48 hours.....:thumbup: But alas, I don't think I'll get any justice for her. I'm just glad at this point that she's seemingly ok. So, yeah my nerves have been on edge this week, my sisters are driving me crazy, my dad wants me to take a job in NC and I don't want to leave home! :eek: The lady at curves asked Ashleigh and I if we had an stress in our lives...we looked at eachother and laughed....I know she didn't know but for us to imagine a life where we didn't have an intense amount of stress would be easy street. I mean, we've had doctors tell our family, namely my Dad, me and my sister Lisa that if we don't reduce our stress levels in our lives somehow, it WILL kill us. SOOOOO, I kinda want to move to Vegas and become a dealer in a casino.....yeah right...I mean I would but I can't/won't leave this farm. I love it too much...I just want to lose my weight and get a job and make ends meet, don't need much more than that, just survive..that's all. I guess just focus on the immediate and try not to think or worry about the future. :tt1:

So another week is about over. Which puts me, I think 8 weeks out from my surgery date, or 2 months and currently my weightloss is 31 pounds. Which averages out to be almost 4 pounds per week. I know this is a good weightloss, despite the fact that I think I'm just depressed because I can't see it. But, I'm going in tomorrow for a fill. Unfortunately I'm not getting any restriction and I can't stay satisfied for very long...regardless of what I eat. I really hope this helps, it's been a long week. I joined the gym (curves) on monday with my neice Ashleigh. It figures that when found our farm dog a sweet 5 yr old lab in the front yard suffering from the shock of being hit by a car. So we didn't get to the gym tuesday, and we've been dealing with trying to get her healthy. She did survive the hit and extremely lucky might I add! She doesn't have any broken bones! But she did come out with a really bad laceration on her left back hock (ankle area) and her lungs collapsed and were badly bruised. She's very pitiful looking. She was hit tuesday evening and came home wednesday night for strict monitoring for the next 3 weeks. My poor big baby doesn't understand why we can't let her go work with us on the farm, and my indoor pups don't understand why she's inside all of a sudden....or at least they didn't at first. I think they got the hang of it when they heard her wimpering. :tt2: I just can't believe, I live in a small town, on a back road where everyone knows everyone, and everyone knows whose dog is who's and yet they hit her, left her and never even hit their brakes. :mad: I really want to find the person and make them feel the pain she has had to endure the last 48 hours.....:w00t: But alas, I don't think I'll get any justice for her. I'm just glad at this point that she's seemingly ok. So, yeah my nerves have been on edge this week, my sisters are driving me crazy, my dad wants me to take a job in NC and I don't want to leave home! :eek: The lady at curves asked Ashleigh and I if we had an stress in our lives...we looked at eachother and laughed....I know she didn't know but for us to imagine a life where we didn't have an intense amount of stress would be easy street. I mean, we've had doctors tell our family, namely my Dad, me and my sister Lisa that if we don't reduce our stress levels in our lives somehow, it WILL kill us. SOOOOO, I kinda want to move to Vegas and become a dealer in a casino.....yeah right...I mean I would but I can't/won't leave this farm. I love it too much...I just want to lose my weight and get a job and make ends meet, don't need much more than that, just survive..that's all. I guess just focus on the immediate and try not to think or worry about the future. :smile:

Thanks Wendy, I know you're right. I should be happy with the amount of weight I've lost. I guess part of my problem is that I can't see a difference..I called my doctor back and am going for my second fill tomorrow instead. My appetite is just insane right now, regardless of the weightloss. But you're right, I really don't want to lose it too fast.

So, I'm just over 7 weeks out from surgery and I'm down 30 pounds. :crying: While I'm very excited for the loss, I had hoped I would be further along by now. 5 weeks out from surgery I had my first fill, 3cc in my 10cc band. I haven't noticed much change in the amount of food I can hold per meal, but I am snacking less, or was.....:scared2: My appetite is inching back up on me. In the last 2 days I feel like I'm a bottomless pit! :sleep: So tomorrow I've decided I'm calling my PA, Ms. Dix and seeing if I can get in sooner than the 27th of this month. I really don't want to risk gaining any. Also, tomorrow I'm finally getting to join a gym tomorrow so that should help out, being that the last 3 days I haven't been able to do as much exercise as I'd like to. But I'm excited about it, hopefully it'll help keep my losing or at least keep me from gaining. In other news, my tat on the back of my shoulder, I knew had a little scar tissue which causes you to be able to feel the tattoo on the skin, but apparently with losing weight, I can feel more of the tat. Basically the entire outline now, where it was only part of the tattoo....ugh. Also today I have been unusually tired and not sure why. So, hopefully it's just a fluke but just incase I'm monitoring how I'm feeling....weird I guess.

So, I'm just over 7 weeks out from surgery and I'm down 30 pounds. :bored: While I'm very excited for the loss, I had hoped I would be further along by now. 5 weeks out from surgery I had my first fill, 3cc in my 10cc band. I haven't noticed much change in the amount of food I can hold per meal, but I am snacking less, or was.....:thumbup: My appetite is inching back up on me. In the last 2 days I feel like I'm a bottomless pit! :frown: So tomorrow I've decided I'm calling my PA, Ms. Dix and seeing if I can get in sooner than the 27th of this month. I really don't want to risk gaining any. Also, tomorrow I'm finally getting to join a gym tomorrow so that should help out, being that the last 3 days I haven't been able to do as much exercise as I'd like to. But I'm excited about it, hopefully it'll help keep my losing or at least keep me from gaining. In other news, my tat on the back of my shoulder, I knew had a little scar tissue which causes you to be able to feel the tattoo on the skin, but apparently with losing weight, I can feel more of the tat. Basically the entire outline now, where it was only part of the tattoo....ugh. Also today I have been unusually tired and not sure why. So, hopefully it's just a fluke but just incase I'm monitoring how I'm feeling....weird I guess.

So here it is, a tuesday night. I'm getting ready for bed, but I'm frustrated....with just about everything in my life. My boyfriend is in town and I love him, I know that, but I'm beginning to question is I'm IN love with him anymore.....? He's my best friend, but he's sooo agrivating! When he says he's coming to see me, I'd really rather tell him to keep his butt at home, but I know I can't do that to him. He's been pretty much fantastic to me, but we are soo different! Why am I feeling this way? What's wrong with me? We've dated for 3 years now and talked about marriage, and now ...I'm home, for good, love being here, love my Dad, after all the problems with my sisters and their men I sit here and wonder if I even want to get married....? Why is life so complicated??? :blushing: My Dad's out of town with his girlfriend, and of course everything around here goes to crap. All of a sudden we're getting snow and ice, our cows are knocking down fences, my uncle (God bless his heart, but he's lost his mind and needs to retire) is about like asking a 3 year old to do stuff around a farm....My friend Lauren called, her mom and hubby got into another fight. This time the cops got called, and he got taken to jail. The judge told her mom that it was her fault he hit her, HER FAULT!? WTF? Because she threatened to break his cell phone if he came any closer to her, boy did he, he got so close his fist touched her face! :thumbup: So not only am I dealing with the usual crap from my sisters, not having a job and bills piling up, I've been sick, my boyfriend is driving me crazy, my dad's out of town and everything is going to crap on the farm, my friend's mom was beaten by her husband, and yet, all I want is to lose weight.......Which while sick apparently now viruses kill my appetite, so I apparently stalled my weight loss because I couldn't make myself eat near enough during the day. I'm down 28 pounds, right at 300 pounds now, and dieing to get under it! But haven't had the time or energy since I've been sick to really exercise. figures. I feel like I'm running and running, and doing all that I can for everyone else but it's never enough. Why am I second guessing my boyfriend? Why do I feel like everything is hopeless in life? To top it all off, I really want to take a little vacation in march or july but I don't know if I'll be able to because of money, but yet my cousins apparently have money to blow and go gamble like every weekend....What's wrong with me? Why is it bothering me what they do? Are all of my questions just me being an unusually worrysome form of myself or is this part of that rollercoaster that's part of having the band? I just feel frustrated and angry right now, and I'm not sure why. I've lost 28 pounds, and I hope to go have another fill soon....so we'll see. Maybe this will just go away.

So here it is, a tuesday night. I'm getting ready for bed, but I'm frustrated....with just about everything in my life. My boyfriend is in town and I love him, I know that, but I'm beginning to question is I'm IN love with him anymore.....? He's my best friend, but he's sooo agrivating! When he says he's coming to see me, I'd really rather tell him to keep his butt at home, but I know I can't do that to him. He's been pretty much fantastic to me, but we are soo different! Why am I feeling this way? What's wrong with me? We've dated for 3 years now and talked about marriage, and now ...I'm home, for good, love being here, love my Dad, after all the problems with my sisters and their men I sit here and wonder if I even want to get married....? Why is life so complicated??? :toetap05: My Dad's out of town with his girlfriend, and of course everything around here goes to crap. All of a sudden we're getting snow and ice, our cows are knocking down fences, my uncle (God bless his heart, but he's lost his mind and needs to retire) is about like asking a 3 year old to do stuff around a farm....My friend Lauren called, her mom and hubby got into another fight. This time the cops got called, and he got taken to jail. The judge told her mom that it was her fault he hit her, HER FAULT!? WTF? Because she threatened to break his cell phone if he came any closer to her, boy did he, he got so close his fist touched her face! :confused: So not only am I dealing with the usual crap from my sisters, not having a job and bills piling up, I've been sick, my boyfriend is driving me crazy, my dad's out of town and everything is going to crap on the farm, my friend's mom was beaten by her husband, and yet, all I want is to lose weight.......Which while sick apparently now viruses kill my appetite, so I apparently stalled my weight loss because I couldn't make myself eat near enough during the day. I'm down 28 pounds, right at 300 pounds now, and dieing to get under it! But haven't had the time or energy since I've been sick to really exercise. figures. I feel like I'm running and running, and doing all that I can for everyone else but it's never enough. Why am I second guessing my boyfriend? Why do I feel like everything is hopeless in life? To top it all off, I really want to take a little vacation in march or july but I don't know if I'll be able to because of money, but yet my cousins apparently have money to blow and go gamble like every weekend....What's wrong with me? Why is it bothering me what they do? Are all of my questions just me being an unusually worrysome form of myself or is this part of that rollercoaster that's part of having the band? I just feel frustrated and angry right now, and I'm not sure why. I've lost 28 pounds, and I hope to go have another fill soon....so we'll see. Maybe this will just go away.

I've been curious as to what other doctors have been telling their patients to see where my diet differs from others. Apparently it differs quite a bit! It's the same basic concept but tweaked I suppose. Thanks for posting this, you've cured my curiousity!! My diet is to get in 60 g of protein per day, 48-60 oz of water, and keep my fat intake less than 5 g of fat per serving and my sugar intake less than 10 g of fat per serving. That's it! I also read your other entry that talks about how easy things are right now, and I'm right there with you! Now that I've gotten the hang of it, it's easy! Which it will get harder but, for the time being I'm just going to enjoy it. Thanks for the posts again! And keep up the good work on your loss!

It's hard to believe that I am now 6 weeks out from surgery and down 25 pounds...I'd love to celebrate more at the moment but unfortunately I'm stuck in bed sick. What's different this time than before surgery and getting sick, is I find myself worrying more about what I take in. I made sure to get sugar-free cough syrup and cough drops, I'm trying to be especially careful about what I eat, although keeping my protein intake up. My sister suggested that since nothing else is seeming to work to keep my cough under control to try some whiskey and sugar to make a syrup like in "olden" days...is it bad that I refuse to try it for the empty calories? :blushing: I just really don't want to see the scale go up. I may not be able to exercise right now, but doesnt mean I can pig out either. Actually truth be told my hunger has all but vanished. Sadly I don't think it's because I've found my sweet spot but instead because I'm sick. As for the weightloss that I've had, I don't think anyone can really tell but, that's ok, as long as the scale keeps going down, eventually people will notice. My jeans are less tight, my boobs may be a little smaller, and my face a little thinner, but that's probably it. I'm not going to let it get me down, just want to keep trucking it, more like get better and get out of bed!! It's funny though the little changes that I've been going through...anything to keep the scale from going the other way (UP)....Oh well guess I'll go to bed now, attempt to get some rest.

It's hard to believe that I am now 6 weeks out from surgery and down 25 pounds...I'd love to celebrate more at the moment but unfortunately I'm stuck in bed sick. What's different this time than before surgery and getting sick, is I find myself worrying more about what I take in. I made sure to get sugar-free cough syrup and cough drops, I'm trying to be especially careful about what I eat, although keeping my protein intake up. My sister suggested that since nothing else is seeming to work to keep my cough under control to try some whiskey and sugar to make a syrup like in "olden" days...is it bad that I refuse to try it for the empty calories? :cheatfree: I just really don't want to see the scale go up. I may not be able to exercise right now, but doesnt mean I can pig out either. Actually truth be told my hunger has all but vanished. Sadly I don't think it's because I've found my sweet spot but instead because I'm sick. As for the weightloss that I've had, I don't think anyone can really tell but, that's ok, as long as the scale keeps going down, eventually people will notice. My jeans are less tight, my boobs may be a little smaller, and my face a little thinner, but that's probably it. I'm not going to let it get me down, just want to keep trucking it, more like get better and get out of bed!! It's funny though the little changes that I've been going through...anything to keep the scale from going the other way (UP)....Oh well guess I'll go to bed now, attempt to get some rest.

So as of today, I'm down 24 lbs. Which is great don't get me wrong. :thumbup: But, it's such a slow process, and of course I woke up yesterday sick! :thumbup: AHHK! So, who wants to workout when they feel like crud? I've layed around all day and done almost nothing, same yesterday, even though I made myself get up and do some cleaning both days, a little taebo yesterday (although that made breathing next to impossible so I couldn't do much) and tonight just some little strength training exercises; no real stressors though. :eek: I know I'm eatting less....I don't know the calorie count because my dietician told me to worry more about what I ate at this point, like keeping my fat intake down and my sugar intake low as well and of course get the protein in.....so I have been. I have yet to intentionally break my diet! :blushing: (my sister did trick me the other night with mac and cheese, of all things she put sugar in it!!! :mad:) Which makes me feel really good but I just fear each time I step on the scales that my weight is going to go up and not down. I can handle the scale not moving, but to go up right now, even though I know that sometimes you're body will retain some before allowing a decent loss, like go up a 1/2 pound...but I feel like I'm not doing anything! It's like this is too easy, and it can't possibly work....???? That just like every other diet I've been on, my weight loss is going to plateau and then stop and I'll gain it all back and more, and after paying all this money, and going through this surgery I just don't think I could handle it. It's like dangling a piece of bacon infront of a dog who hasn't eatten in 2 weeks...ya know? I feel like it's taunting me, even though how could it be? I control it! It's my tool, the only thing standing in my way right now, is me...even though I'm trying..hard. I'm glad to be down 24 pounds, but I feel like I need another fill, ya know? It's not tight enough I'm still snacking a little and definitely eatting more than what they want me to at meals.:heart: So what do I do? Right now I don't have the money to go join the gym like I know I need to, I don't have a job, I'm basically just a babysitter, receptionist, farm manager for my family farm which don't get me wrong, I love working on the farm, and so far the pay is good! lol Dad let's me live rent free, buys groceries and pays my bills, but he's strapped for money and I guess with everything going on, I just need to step back and take a deep breath and keep trucking it....here's a kicker, which I guess I should expect, but even though I've lost 24 lbs and most of the times before when I've lost that much you could tell at least a little, this time no one can see it. I feel a small difference in my jeans, maybe a small difference in my face, but otherwise, nothing. Where'd the weight fall off at? Oh well.....hopefully as I just keep plugging away at it, I'll feel better and hopefully soon get another fill.

So as of today, I'm down 24 lbs. Which is great don't get me wrong. :Banane37: But, it's such a slow process, and of course I woke up yesterday sick! :cheatfree: AHHK! So, who wants to workout when they feel like crud? I've layed around all day and done almost nothing, same yesterday, even though I made myself get up and do some cleaning both days, a little taebo yesterday (although that made breathing next to impossible so I couldn't do much) and tonight just some little strength training exercises; no real stressors though. :Banane37: I know I'm eatting less....I don't know the calorie count because my dietician told me to worry more about what I ate at this point, like keeping my fat intake down and my sugar intake low as well and of course get the protein in.....so I have been. I have yet to intentionally break my diet! :cheatfree: (my sister did trick me the other night with mac and cheese, of all things she put sugar in it!!! ) Which makes me feel really good but I just fear each time I step on the scales that my weight is going to go up and not down. I can handle the scale not moving, but to go up right now, even though I know that sometimes you're body will retain some before allowing a decent loss, like go up a 1/2 pound...but I feel like I'm not doing anything! It's like this is too easy, and it can't possibly work....???? That just like every other diet I've been on, my weight loss is going to plateau and then stop and I'll gain it all back and more, and after paying all this money, and going through this surgery I just don't think I could handle it. It's like dangling a piece of bacon infront of a dog who hasn't eatten in 2 weeks...ya know? I feel like it's taunting me, even though how could it be? I control it! It's my tool, the only thing standing in my way right now, is me...even though I'm trying..hard. I'm glad to be down 24 pounds, but I feel like I need another fill, ya know? It's not tight enough I'm still snacking a little and definitely eatting more than what they want me to at meals.:iagree: So what do I do? Right now I don't have the money to go join the gym like I know I need to, I don't have a job, I'm basically just a babysitter, receptionist, farm manager for my family farm which don't get me wrong, I love working on the farm, and so far the pay is good! lol Dad let's me live rent free, buys groceries and pays my bills, but he's strapped for money and I guess with everything going on, I just need to step back and take a deep breath and keep trucking it....here's a kicker, which I guess I should expect, but even though I've lost 24 lbs and most of the times before when I've lost that much you could tell at least a little, this time no one can see it. I feel a small difference in my jeans, maybe a small difference in my face, but otherwise, nothing. Where'd the weight fall off at? Oh well.....hopefully as I just keep plugging away at it, I'll feel better and hopefully soon get another fill.

I got my first fill yesterday. Only 3cc in my 10 cc band. It's a start. Apparently I am also getting in too much protein and have been told to back it off a little. I'm supposed to be getting a minimum of 60 g per day, and I've been getting like 105 g a day. I get hungry and I eat low-fat, low-sugar, high protein food...but my dietician said that I can damage my kidneys by getting too much protein. Today I tried to get in less, and I only had 1 snack today, and I still got in 73 g of protein.....apparently I've gotten too good at getting it in?? Hope all is well with everyone else!

Today I went for my post-op appointment. It's been about 5 weeks since surgery and I'm feeling great, aside from hunger. I figured that he wouldn't do a fill today, because all of the paper work says so, but for whatever reason, they did one. It really wasn't bad. My sister said it looked horrible, but honestly, with no numbing agent or anything it was a breeze! :thumbup: Sadly they only put in 3cc to my 10cc band. While that's a start and maybe it'll help some, so far tonight it hasn't. At dinner, I still didn't feel satisfied until I'd eatten almost as much as I used to, and the goal is supposed to be 1/2 cup per meal, boy do I have a long way to go! I know it could take awhile to hit my "sweet spot" or the "green zone" but you can't blame me for being a little anxious after years of empty promises of weight loss and then finally getting it, ya know? I know I need to be patient and I'll get there, but I really just don't want to regain any of the weight I've lost since surgery....Right now I'm scheduled to go back for another fill in 4 weeks, but if this fill really doesn't do anything, I may call and see if I can go back in 2 weeks instead, because initially that's what they wanted to do, but because I'm a self-pay patient they were trying to make it easier I suppose on my wallet...Oh well, nothing to do but wait and see, and while I'm waiting eat right, exercise and attempt to find a job! :wink2::ohmy: :frown:

Today I went for my post-op appointment. It's been about 5 weeks since surgery and I'm feeling great, aside from hunger. I figured that he wouldn't do a fill today, because all of the paper work says so, but for whatever reason, they did one. It really wasn't bad. My sister said it looked horrible, but honestly, with no numbing agent or anything it was a breeze! :thumbup: Sadly they only put in 3cc to my 10cc band. While that's a start and maybe it'll help some, so far tonight it hasn't. :thumbup: At dinner, I still didn't feel satisfied until I'd eatten almost as much as I used to, and the goal is supposed to be 1/2 cup per meal, boy do I have a long way to go! I know it could take awhile to hit my "sweet spot" or the "green zone" but you can't blame me for being a little anxious after years of empty promises of weight loss and then finally getting it, ya know? I know I need to be patient and I'll get there, but I really just don't want to regain any of the weight I've lost since surgery....Right now I'm scheduled to go back for another fill in 4 weeks, but if this fill really doesn't do anything, I may call and see if I can go back in 2 weeks instead, because initially that's what they wanted to do, but because I'm a self-pay patient they were trying to make it easier I suppose on my wallet...Oh well, nothing to do but wait and see, and while I'm waiting eat right, exercise and attempt to find a job! :thumbup::eek: :tongue:

So here I am down 21 lbs!...and yet no real differences. I know it's because I have a lot to lose, but geez it'd be nice. I mean as far as inches go you can tell a difference, I've lost 2 inches off of everything around my torso which is great, and there are small differences in my jeans. But, the other night my Dad and I went to take our new church directory photo and wow, I was appauled at myself. I had grown my hair out to just below my shoulders and pulled it half back or whatever, and in the picture I had a moon face!!!! :frown: I mean really! I haven't had a chunky face picture like that since I was in ohhhhhhh 2nd grade! All I could think was, well good thing I'm down 20 at this point because I would have hated to see it at my heaviest!!! :ohmy: I was really agrivated, I mean I know I'm obese and so forth and it will come off now that I have my tool to do it, but it was just kind of a shocker that even though I was down 20 lbs my face doesn't look any smaller. So because my hair was getting on my nerves and after the awful picture, I had my hair cut last night, it's a meg ryan doo from city of angels. I like it, it's cute, of course my dad's joke afterwards became, "Looks good, I wonder how much weight that took off!?" Really dad??? I know he didn't mean anything by it, but it did get to me. For those who may be looking to shake up their exercise routine my neice Ashleigh and I have been doing some fun stuff. Afterall exercise doesn't have to be boring. :wink2: While of course I do wii fit, we've been bowling and not just leisurely bowling, get 2 lanes and kinda add a little competition to it, friendly of course, we've done taebo and pilates and...and this is a real fun one, we got these cardio dance dvds. One is from Dance with the Stars and the other is a hip hop one, and it was a lot of fun! Learning those dance moves and doing it full out, made me feel good about myself, and got my heart rate way up there! Honestly, if you like dancing and having a good time, just go buy one of these cheap dvds from wal-mart and try it. :thumbup: Anyway, maybe I'll be able to tell that I've lost weight more when I hit 30 lbs. I'm just taking it 1 day at a time, and 1 lb at a time. And hey slow and steady will win the race.

So here I am down 21 lbs!...and yet no real differences. I know it's because I have a lot to lose, but geez it'd be nice. I mean as far as inches go you can tell a difference, I've lost 2 inches off of everything around my torso which is great, and there are small differences in my jeans. But, the other night my Dad and I went to take our new church directory photo and wow, I was appauled at myself. I had grown my hair out to just below my shoulders and pulled it half back or whatever, and in the picture I had a moon face!!!! :frown: I mean really! I haven't had a chunky face picture like that since I was in ohhhhhhh 2nd grade! :thumbup: All I could think was, well good thing I'm down 20 at this point because I would have hated to see it at my heaviest!!! :tt1: I was really agrivated, I mean I know I'm obese and so forth and it will come off now that I have my tool to do it, but it was just kind of a shocker that even though I was down 20 lbs my face doesn't look any smaller. So because my hair was getting on my nerves and after the awful picture, I had my hair cut last night, it's a meg ryan doo from city of angels. I like it, it's cute, of course my dad's joke afterwards became, "Looks good, I wonder how much weight that took off!?" Really dad??? I know he didn't mean anything by it, but it did get to me. For those who may be looking to shake up their exercise routine my neice Ashleigh and I have been doing some fun stuff. Afterall exercise doesn't have to be boring. :mad: While of course I do wii fit, we've been bowling and not just leisurely bowling, get 2 lanes and kinda add a little competition to it, friendly of course, we've done taebo and pilates and...and this is a real fun one, we got these cardio dance dvds. One is from Dance with the Stars and the other is a hip hop one, and it was a lot of fun! Learning those dance moves and doing it full out, made me feel good about myself, and got my heart rate way up there! Honestly, if you like dancing and having a good time, just go buy one of these cheap dvds from wal-mart and try it. :cursing: Anyway, maybe I'll be able to tell that I've lost weight more when I hit 30 lbs. I'm just taking it 1 day at a time, and 1 lb at a time. And hey slow and steady will win the race.

Try not to think of the things you're giving up as the price for being thin. More importantly (although as a fellow bandster I completely understand the desire to be thin part) you'll be more healthy. Congrats on quiting smoking! And as for the alcohol, give it till you heal, I'm still in the healing stage myself, but if you can tolerate it, why not have a cocktail or glass of wine once in a blue moon? However, I was presented the opportunity this past weekend and ya know, I really didn't want it, I'm losing now and I know that if I did have even a little liquor or wine, it's still a lot of empty calories. Again, try not to think about what you can no longer do, but think about what you will be able to do once you lose the weight! It's a great motivator, and also, maybe try reading the Beck Diet Solution. I read on one of the forums on here that it's a must read for helping get your mind in order to lose weight, and honestly, it is really great. It helps with the temptations and sabotaging thoughts. Even though you have a great support system, you've already found that right now they can't 100% support you. Even though they love you, and want to see you succeed, they don't fully understand the step you're taking. The actual surgery isn't bad, isn't a huge step, it's the fact that you are willing to change your entire lifestyle to be healthy and happy. They warn you that this can be an emotional rollercoaster as you lose the weight, so hang tight, immediately befor my surgery I was a basket case because I felt like no one understood and they weren't supporting me enough, but now I'm losing and feeling better and the little support that I get is working just fine. And remember, while you may feel completely alone, and you may feel like you are doing this all by yourself, you're not, there are thousands of people on this site that have gone through and are going through the exact same thing, I'm glad you joined. The site has helped me and I'm sure it'll help you.

So I'm about 3 weeks out from surgery and life's going great I suppose. As far as the weightloss goes, slow and steady wins the race! I won't complain being down 19 pounds in roughly 3 weeks..but the rest of my life is hectic and tiring. Exercise is coming easy since I live on a farm, I just push a little harder and at the end of the day goof off to some wii fit. (Which I have a lot of fun doin, by the way! :tounge_smile:) While the incisions don't look bad, one is right where my bra sits and it frequently gets a little irritated and itches....Hopefully it won't hinder the healing by much. Also, I can feel my port!! :thumbup: It's so creepy to feel something hard like the port under my skin! lol I've found that I have more energy, I'm sleeping better at night and I like it! However, and I guess it's normal, I'm eatting more than I was a few days post op, I assume that because I've lost weight, I have shrunk some of the visceral fat around my stomach and have loosened the band and just need a fill, I really hope that it's not that I've jumped back into doing work too fast and have made the band slip. :w00t: But otherwise, I'm enjoying it, now that the pain is gone, it's nice to notice that I've lost a minimum of 2 inches all over my torso, and that my jeans are fitting a little more loosely.......I could get used to this. :thumbup:

So I'm about 3 weeks out from surgery and life's going great I suppose. As far as the weightloss goes, slow and steady wins the race! I won't complain being down 19 pounds in roughly 3 weeks..but the rest of my life is hectic and tiring. Exercise is coming easy since I live on a farm, I just push a little harder and at the end of the day goof off to some wii fit. (Which I have a lot of fun doin, by the way! :thumbdown:) While the incisions don't look bad, one is right where my bra sits and it frequently gets a little irritated and itches....Hopefully it won't hinder the healing by much. Also, I can feel my port!! :redface: It's so creepy to feel something hard like the port under my skin! lol I've found that I have more energy, I'm sleeping better at night and I like it! However, and I guess it's normal, I'm eatting more than I was a few days post op, I assume that because I've lost weight, I have shrunk some of the visceral fat around my stomach and have loosened the band and just need a fill, I really hope that it's not that I've jumped back into doing work too fast and have made the band slip. :thumbup: But otherwise, I'm enjoying it, now that the pain is gone, it's nice to notice that I've lost a minimum of 2 inches all over my torso, and that my jeans are fitting a little more loosely.......I could get used to this. :cursing:

Hi Angel, as far as what I do to get in my protein, if you're in the pureed stage or phase II then you can have oatmeal or cream of wheat, if you make the cream of wheat a little more liquidy then it would work for the liquids stage. But I add 2 tablespoons of non-fat dried milk to it and that gives an extra 5 grams of protein. Also, I have had trouble finding palatable protein shakes, they advertise these things like they taste amazing, but they really don't! I have found that there are 2 shakes I can tolerate, although I do like chocolate, but they come in vanilla and other flavors. One is the EAS Advantage protein shake, sold in grocery stores, gives 17 g of protein and tastes suprisingly good. The other is the Low Carb Diet Slim Fast shake, it gives 20 grams of protein and is also low in sugar and fat. It gets easier to get the protein in once you figure out where you can find it. Eat some beefaroni pureed, the consistency isn't great, but it packs some good protein, as well as beans and chilis which will give you some good taste and a change from the soups. I hope some of this helps!

Is it bad that I don't know how many days out I am from surgery? I mean I'm pretty sure it's like 3 weeks, and I go for my post-op next week on the 22nd. :thumbup: I can't wait, I really hope he schedules my first fill, because I can tell that I don't have near the restriction that I should. :thumbup: I mean, at first I had some, not a whole whole lot, but a good amount, and now I feel like I could go back to my old eatting happits even though I refuse to. Also I've been picking up on the exercising. Doing a minimum of 20 minutes a day, and almost every day. I've lost a total of 18 pounds since the day before surgery, so I think I'm doing pretty good, but fearing that I've plateaued. I've found that I really enjoy the Atkins advantage bars and the EAS protein shakes. Getting in the 60 g of protein a day is getting easier little by little, so is the water. I just really hope that I can get a fill and continue to lose weight. Also, as a side note, apparently right now the joke that people ask me, is, "so have you wasted away to nothing yet!?" Oy....:tounge_smile: