christa94

i seem to keep losing and finding the same 2 pounds! i need to go back to the Protein Shake and exercising. i think this will jump start me again. being 7 pounds from my goal is so frustrating. since i ate sweets during the holidays it is hard trying to get off of them. i have tons of stretch marks. but, i don't mind that. proof of weight loss!

pinky--yep, having issues getting it together again.

today is my official 6 month bandiversary. i have mixed emotions. i didn't make my christmas goal of 140. 7 pounds off. i know some think that is not bad, but i hate to fail- or fall shy of my goals. this month, i didn't exercise like i should and just had some issues staying on track. however, i did lose 41 pounds since 6/29 which is good because before the band, i couldn't lose a thing and was exercising 4 times a week, and doing tons of different diets. i feel more in control of my eating instead of feeling enslaved to food. i don't regret doing it. i am glad i did. more so disappointed in myself for not reaching my goal.

ok. i am pretty bummed out. i had my worse banded day ever yesterday. i went absolutely crazy with the sweets the other day. i can't believe it. i have not over eaten at all like this since i was banded. i think i did it because my husband and i have been trying to conceive and been unsuccessful and i think it is taking a toll on me. my period finally arrived after being 3 days late and i think i just said whatever, i am going to eat. of course, i have gained 2 pounds. maybe it is Water, maybe it is not. i am now in this rut. i started my day off with 2 big Cookies. there is tons of sweet stuff to chomp on here at work. i shouldn't have it. but, why not?

audree, why are you taking cod liver oil pills?

barbara465-i think you did the right thing by getting an unfill. you don't want to spend your cruise miserable. you are doing great! enjoy yourself, your time away, and your weight loss!

kimberly.31. 1 daughter-8 y/o. newly married in september.

188 to start. now 146. don't do low carb plans. you need a well rounded diet. and i agree with jachut that when you go off, you gain it all back, then some. i see the band as a lifestyle change. could you be on a low carb plan for the rest of your life? i don't eat alot of bread. mainly because i was scared i would pb to my death on it. but, then i was told that bandsters are okay (or some are) when the bread is toasted. so i tried it. it was okay. but, i still only have toast maybe once a week at most. a food log is an awesome idea. i do better when i do that. it is easy for calories to creep on when you are haphazardly going throughout the day. you could aim for 1000 calories a day, but by the end, you have nibbled on this, taken an extra bite of that, and you could be up to 1300! so, i monitor and log it to keep myself under control. i am happy with the choice. i try to take care of myself and my band so that we will both last a while.

bingeing and reacting to food is a process. it is good to get a handle on that pre-banding. people can overeat the band. it is important to deal with the issues that can cause you to overeat. things will trouble you post band, so you have to have a plan for how to cope and deal with issues.i am sure you will do what you will need to do.

i was 188 when i started this with a bmi of 35 or 34. i have lost 41 pounds since 6/29. the first 5 months i didn't really exercise. now i do at least 3 or 4 times a week. i haven't had a fill. i had 3ccs of saline put in the 4cc band at time of placement

hello all!

barb465-so are you recovered from your fill kicking in?

i seem to keep losing and finding the same 2 pounds! what is that all about? i did my own step route last night for 20 mins. boy was i panting and sweating at the end of that! i took last week off, and i think i shouldn't have.

even though the scale is not acting right i have a couple of nsv. the new bras that i purchased on my pre-honeymoon back in september now have lots of space in the cup. enough room to hold my cell phone and some dollar bills! also i went to the store last night to christmas shop and decided i owed myself at least one pair of pants that fit right (not scrapping the ground). but, instead of pants or jeans, i saw a denim skirt i wanted. well, i tried the 5/6. it was a tad snug, but still fit because it was that stretch denim. i didn't feel confident enough to wear it. the next size up was the 9/10. i got it! then last saturday i sent my husband to the store to get me some pantyhose for church on sunday. i told him to get size "c" which is down from my usual queen size (and pre-banding i was a queen plus). well, they didn't have any size "c" so he got size "b". and they fit! amazing. so, i guess the band is working, even if the scale isn't cooperating with me!

lucymann- thanks for the encouraging words. it is helpful at times of discouragement!

i have times when i go weeks without losing, but generally if i readjust and reevaluate what i am doing, and make changes i start to lose again. not tons of weight, but it starts again. i see that you have lost about 41lbs. since june. you don't think that is good? sometimes when i feel myself getting in a funk about not losing the 50lbs that i had hoped to lose by the end of december, i make myself calculate how much weight i was losing prior to the band and that number is a big fat zero! i was actually gaining. so, this has worked so far. sometimes i get green when i see folks that have lost 70 pounds. but, then i remember that is great for them but i didn't need to lose that amount. if i could just get my head and eyes to recognize and see the weight loss that is actually there, i would be glad. if that makes sense.

regina, i think that is great! it may inspire others to take control of their health, but it will also give them a true picture of what wls is all about. it seems that people have it in their minds that it is a quick fix and they don't understand that it is hard work and that lifestyle charges are a MUST.

barbara465-are you saying that the Fluid in the band just disappears? does this happen to everyone? how would i know if that has happened to me? when i got the band they put 3ccs in it and it holds 4ccs. i have not had a fill since then. i can eat a good 4oz. sometimes less, sometimes more (if i decide to push it)-but i usually stay within in that amount.

joann-not the time of the month. i was ovulating. maybe that has something to do with things? does your hormonal level affect the band?

beckamarie--i will try the calorie fluctuation thing. i have heard that you were supposed to do that, but, it seems kinda risky. what if you gain?

so, you seemed to have lost most of the pregnancy weight right? you say the band got tighter as the pregnancy continued? do you know what that would happen?

so, you had your baby banded right?

did you gain alot of weight? or did the band help you to keep your weight down? did you have to get the band totally unfilled? were you able to breastfeed? (hope that wasn't too much to ask) my husband and i are trying to get pregnant and i have worries and questions about what life/pregnancy would be like banded and if i would have a hard time losing after the baby was born.

it is tough. there are so many things/issues associated with food. we don't just eat for nurioushment. alcoholics can stay away from booze, they don't NEED it for life. drug addicts can stay away from crack. but, food, you absolutely NEED. and it is hard to not use food for emotional purposes. i am not bulimic anymore, but i have to constantly check myself and my emotions and make sure that i am handling them properly and not somehow turning to a bulimic tendency to cope with issues. i thought the band would make it easier. but, i count calories and weigh myself way too much. at times i become overly focused on weight and the number on the scale or the number that is in the tag of my clothes. when i realize i am being overly focused on it (or someone that knows my history points it out to me) i have to stop and take inventory of what is going on in my life that could be causing me such stress.

barbara465-there are many ways in which a bulimic can purge. vomitting is not the only way. for example: a bulimic may go on a binge and take in 2500 calories. a way to purge may be to vomit. another could be to exercise until they have burned off 2500 calories. or they may purge themselves by starving for a couple of days to counter the effects of the purge. and you can still be overweight because you are just purging yourself after a binge, not after regular eating. hope that makes sense. eating disorders can not be summed up in a single word or phrase, but someone else did a good job of explaining an aspect of it. it is not about the food. the food is just a vehicle used to get to the purge. or at least it was for me. the purge was euphoric. it was my way of releasing out of me all the icky bad stuff that was going on on the inside. in order to get that stuff out, i had to recreate the situation. i had to stuff food in so that i could purge myself to get the bad out. i gorged on food so i could feel the purge. so i could feel the release. to those that don't struggle with it, they don't understand what i am saying. it almost sounds crazy to them.

well, i am totally frustrated with the band. it seems to be fickle. and i am growing weary. i do the right things, but don't always get the results that i desire. this week i have been really tired and have only exercised once and i didn't have my Protein, and i seem to have gained 2 pounds. i am not uping or taking in more calories. not exercising is going to make me gain? wow! i am trying to tell myself it is just Fluid. AND all of a sudden i seem to be tight in the mornings. just all of a sudden!

i am so frustrated. just when i think i have this banded lifestyle down, the band seems to get fickle. i finally got down to 148 (40 pounds down--hip, hip, hoorah for me!) i had to exercise 4 times a week and count calories to make sure i wasn't being over the top and having alot of hidden calories. my goal was 1000 calories a day before exercise. i finally hit the 148 last sunday. well, this week, i have only been able to exercise once. i haven't had my normal 46g Protein Shake daily, but i haven't been going over the 1000 calorie mark, and some days i was at the same caloric intake that i would have been at after exercising.( hope that wasn't confusing to anyone). now, i am back up to 150 and i am not happy. i don't cheat and have stuff i shouldn't have. and i don't want to have to count calories like a feign either for the rest of my days! i feel frustrated that i do the right things, but yet don't see the results that i want sometimes. @#@#@#!!:help:

barbara465--yep. i take the scale with me anytime i am away from home overnight. yep. i am 8 pounds from goal. according to the scale. but, in the mirror it looks like i should go another 20 or 30 more. of course, i won't. but, it just feels like that with my distorted body image.

hello all! well, i did it. i hit my first mini-goal-40 pounds lost! now, i have 9 more to go. i hope i can do it by december 29th. my husband and best friend are really on me because they think i am getting out of control with this weight loss thing. i can't see a 40 pound difference and they think it is a big red flag. body image issues that could lead me down anorexia avenue again. i disagree immensely. it is not that i can't tell i have lost weight, but to me it just looks like a 5 or 10 pound loss. but, my husband stresses that i have lost over 20% of my body weight and that i have to get a grip. i am out of control because i count calories and how many calories i have burned, and exercise four or more times a week and weigh myself daily and if we go out of town (like for our honeymoon) i will tag the scale with me. but, i do that to stay on top of things. to monitor things so that i know if i need to make changes. i had this surgery for success so i am trying to make that happen. what could be so wrong with that?

pinkylee-i had 3.o ccs placed in my band at the time the band was placed in my stomach! it really freaked me out because per my research, i had never heard of such. but, the doctors in mexico declared it was safe and that is the amount that was needed so the band would have a tight fit on my stomach. so far, no issues. sometimes i wonder if all the 3.0 is still there. but, then when i follow the band rules as i should i start losing weight again, so i guess i am all good.

hello all!

before the holidays i was a little worried as to what the holidays would be like banded. but, i am happy to say, it was great. we went to my best friend's house. but, before we went, i did my 45 minute work out. i ate on a small plate just like usual. i went in knowing that i couldn't get everything first time around. so, i fixed a small plate, chewed and savored the tastes. then, 45 minutes later, everyone got up and we went for a 45 minute walk. it was great. later that evening i ate another small plate. and was just fine. no pbs or anything. i was thankful for that! then friday my husband and i had a dessert party. that was great too. so, no weight gain. actually lost a little. i am one pound from my november goal! i hope to be there by november 29th--40 pounds lost! we will see.

should you force her to go to therapy? i am going to say no. i was raped at 14 and let's just say my family reacted horribly. after their bad reaction, my mom wanted to haul me off to therapy. no thanks. the whole rape and aftermath were way too much for me to process at 14 with or without a therapist. i went once and that was it. i sat there and looked at her for an hour solid. later i developed an eating disorder at 15. i could cope with the rape and my other issues better with food than i could with my mom or anyone else. when my mom realized i had an eating disorder, once again she was going to try to force me into therapy. but, i was not ready to really acknowledge my problem or give it up. although i needed to because i was a mess and could recognize at times that it was not good for me. i knew i wasn't like other kids. everyone at school knew i was a bulimic, but i didn't care. i suffered with bulimia/anorexia and at time compulsive overeating for 15 years.i finally got help. but only because i was on the edge of life. some would say that i should have been forced into therapy younger. i don't know. a person has got to want it. has to be ready to deal with their issues. but, as a parent it is hard to see your child suffer. you want to do something to help. it's your baby and you love her. i don't know. when i was overweight as a teenager (after a compulsive overeating stage) i wanted support from my family. i wanted them to exercise with me or cook healthy. but, they weren't into that and treated me like i was derranged for being into it myself. i think it is good to encourage her to make healthy choices. the junk food in the house is not really good. i am sure your son may not appreciate the goodies being ditched, but i think the whole family benefits from them being gone. maybe go out once a week to treat yourselves to something? i don't know. these are just thoughts. i hope i have been helpful and not confusing.

i love rice krispie treats! yum yum! they are so light and fluzzy. they couldn't be bad for you!