imaluckydog

Good luck and Best wishes it is am amazing journey. We are all here for you. imaluckydog

LOL I slept in today too. I needed it. I also love my band and I wake up with a smile every morning. My life has improved 3 fold. I have add 10 or more years to my health. I am taking care of my own needs today. Blogging is a great way to start the day. I feel the friendship and warmth from all my blogging friends. We all have this in common. Best wishes imaluckydog

My offer for restaurant info will be - Put your fork down after every bite you take, as you chew, chew, chew. I used to make a game of how long it (my fork) could sit on the edge of my plate before I picked. Engage in the table conversation and sit there with a smile. Your own control will kick in and small bites is excellent practice. Mindful eating, chewing and resting. Your band and your are a team. It is scary eating out and it can be a worry I know I have been doing it over a year now. We are all here and we will all be there for you at your meal times even if you do not see us. Best wishes imaluckdog

I enjoy being on my own sometimes. It does prove we are able to take control and be all we can be. Thanks for the post. Best wishes imaluckydog

Great post Thanks. I love to start my day here it is rich in wisdom. Amen imaluckydog

I love my band. In one year I am at a 109 loss and a loose size 10. Best wishes imaluckydog

Thanks I will try this one. imaluckydog

This is a great way to share your journey with others. I enjoy blogging it helps to keep my paws out of the cookie jar. imaluckydog

Excellent Post thanks imaluckydog

What can happen in one Year? This is what happened to me I was banded on June 29, 2009 it was a beautiful sunny Monday. I actually got a call that Friday and my surgery was rescheduled a month early. Go figure how does that happen? Today is one year from that glorious day. I can not believe where the time has gone!!! I am in awe of what my body and I have accomplished together in a year. I can say for sure, I have never been as Happy, as I am today!!!! Or can I remember ever being this healthy and thin. Yes, I said it. I am THIN. I am NORMAL. I am HAPPY.... and I LIKE IT... Living with a Lap band has changed my life. The changes were small in the beginning and with change came many new and exciting experiences and huge weight loss my goal of being able to go skiing again with my family came true as well. I can remember not wanting to let go of my food ways. The OLD HABITS the amounts of food, the types of food, I thought about food and still do all the time. Well, I found other things to do like blogging because I do not eat at my computer. It was a gift to be able to write my feelings and share my thoughts. I even got some responses and made new blogging friends. Nancy, I love you and all of these people even though I do not know who they are. We all had one thing in common. I would not be where I am today if it were not for their wisdom and their support along my life journey with LB. Thanks to everyone out there I appreciate your comments and suggestions, this site is so helpful. My bandversary!! Yes this is it. I so wanted to be able to say I lost 100 pounds. I have actually lost 103 pounds as of this morning. Yes, I waited to see if I could make my personal head set goal. I am OK with this and have been for a few months now weight loss has slowed down. Maintenance is a little tricky I have gone up and down and given this, I still have done quite well. My body has a set weight it wants to be and I just need to listen to my own body now and again and continue to make the best choices. Fifteen days after my surgery I took my daughter to Disney World. We ran around the park for a week. I felt great I had no problems. I had a little pain in the upper most incision but that was it, felt like stretching pains only. I never had so much fun in my life I felt like a little kid again. I had this new rebirth kind of feeling. I could eat anything I wanted, but I didn’t. I followed the rules. I stopped drinking liquids with all meals and never ever had any kind of soda. That was very hard for me. I used to drink soda 24-7. I had a little withdrawal. It passed quickly, took about 5 days. Then I didn’t even think about it. I sometimes miss it a little today. Although I will not drink any. I found my body just did not need the amounts of food I used to eat. I started eating less and less, I just needed less. I also ate vegetables and foods I did not like before like proteins and yogurts. I only ate junk before and this was why I weighed in at over 250 pounds before surgery. My first fill was about one month July 29 exactly four weeks out. I had a little fluid placed in my band it was called a primer during surgery. My fill Nurse was the aggressive type. I could feel restriction about four days after my fill. I am not sure why it took so long to kick in, but it did. My second fill came on August 26, again four weeks from the first. Four days later I felt the restriction again. It feels like if you take another bite you know you will not be able to swallow it. It is a full feeling a push away from the table and call it quits feeling. Now I did not always push away like I was supposed to. Yes, I have a food addiction and the food calls me by name and I love the taste and smells and the chewing I love it all. If the feeling comes STOP EATING and STOP NOW do not pass GO as you will never be able to collect the 200 dollars. Because you will be stuck over a bowl or over a zip baggie in solitary confinement until it passes. By the way I have on hand in my purse even today a LARGE ZIP TOP BAG. I never leave home without one. I was feeling good by my second fill. I felt comfortable with how much and what I was eating. I was following all the Bandster rules like there was no tomorrow. l was going to be the best Bandster out there. I was afraid to make a mistake and I stayed way away from all those foods everyone has trouble with. I must admit at first I missed bread the most. I choose not to eat white bread or anything white for that matter. The Lack of nutrients in white, I like nutrient dense foods today and lots of color and textures. I eat Real Food, Not too much, Mostly plants with Proteins first. It sure does work for me. I wanted to be small so I eat small and it has worked for me. Yes, I did and do have HEAD HUNGER all the time. It needs to be controlled. Mind over matter helps. I practice mindful eating and I go real slow my fork goes down to rest while I rest, talk, and participate in the dinner conversation. I also listen a lot more at meal times. My third fill came on the 4th of October. I put off an earlier appointment I just was enjoying life and felt good doing what I was doing. My nurse was aggressive again and I was as tight as I ever wanted to be. I have learned the new meaning of tight I MEAN TIGHT. My stress also had a way of tightening my band as well. I am not sure how I lasted as long as I did being so TIGHT. I was a little depressed when I could not eat the foods I wanted to eat. I had food withdrawal and I was sad at the lost of my comfort in food. There was NO MORE COMFORT in food any more, those days are now gone. I had to eat to keep myself alive. I counted calories and had to make sure I was keeping to 1,200 calories a day. If I did not I felt lazy and slow and had no energy. I wrote everything down I was eating. I prepared all my own foods I hardly ever ate out. I found a blog with amazing recipes “Thanks Lena” and I tried almost all of them. My food became interesting and I enjoyed eating my own cooking because I knew what was in it. I created a goal back in Psych 101 that I wanted to go skiing when I lost enough weight to be able to do it again. Last time I skied was 21 years ago. My family loves to ski and I was bound and determined to do it this winter. I went skiing 10 times it felt GREAT!! November came and went no fill needed, friends and family started to notice I was losing weight. I found it hard to take the complements at first I was sensitive and then I got real used to hearing people tell me how good I looked and to be careful not to gain it back. LOL I never told anyone. They have no idea. I pray I never gain it back. December I started skiing and passed on the fills I was doing just fine. Losing and feeling great with every bite of exercise, I just loved the new found energy and fresh outdoors. The exercise was fun once again. February busy winter skiing and traveling, March kept busy as it flew by. April came in like a lion and I was hit with mega amounts of work and stress like no other. I had not had a fill for 5 months and my band began to tighten all on it’s own. Stress can cause the band to tighten. I got myself all worked up and was unable to relax. The muscles got the best of me. I started to have acid reflux at night time and while prone, it was a scary feeling. The food was coming back more often and I was uncomfortable so that I got a slight un fill in the end of April. I figured I was fine and one week later I was asking for another un fill. I had about four weeks where I was much more relaxed. It was a nice break. I was normal and just kept doing what I had been doing all along. I am glad I did not gain and all stayed the same. The band is a fabulous tool. I felt like I was on vacation and then I said enough of this and lets go get a slight fill in May. I am now at what I am feeling is my sweet spot. It took a while to get here but when you are here all is well. It is all about the proper adjustment and feeling your best. I can go out to eat today and feel just fine. I make healthy choices I have had lots of practice. I know I can live the rest of my life in happiness now. May has been a good month to look back at how far I have come on this Happiness Journey. I have never been happier in my life. I can buy clothes from any store and all the clothes fit. I wear color and lots of it. I used to only wear black and have only one outfit to wear. Now I have ten or more to choose from. I love my new wardrobe. I am so Happy to be me today. I trust this tool I know I can work with it. It does keep me honest, and most importantly I must be honest with myself I am the only one that matters. I am wishing myself a Happy Bandversary with many more to come. Best wishes on your Happiness Journey imaluckydog

I love your attitude :-) I love the dressing room story, Good one!! I too went to the wrong sizes first LOL. It is such a shock I know it happened to me too. LOL I was told I could NOT buy clothes on this side of the store anymore. Ha ha ha. I so cried like a baby. That is all I had ever done before I shopped no where else. Thank goodness I was by myself. I am down 109 pounds in little over a year. I feel GREAT, YOU DO TOO. I like your recipes too. I do all my own cooking. I eat REAL Food, Not too much, mostly Plants with Proteins first and NO liquids with meals. I love my Band. Best wishes imaluckydog

I went early there is a lot of tests that need to be done and evaluations of all kinds. There is a list out there or you can get it from your Dr. of what has to be done before LB. It Starts with Blood tests, Psych Evals and Nutrition lessons, EKG, Sleep tests, I could go on. Maybe you have done all this? It does take some time, worth the wait. Maybe every Dr. is different and you do not need any of this? I was scheduled for July 20, 2009, and I ended up have my LB June 29,2009 a month early. Had the entire summer off was great. I was running around Disney World 2 weeks after my surgery so recovery is very short. I was feeling well after 4 days and could do everything. You could schedule it on a Thursday before a long weekend and be fine for work in a Tuesday. No kidding You have August if you get all the Pre Op stuff done. Wow, this is so exciting. I have been banded for a little over year now. I love my band. Best wishes imaluckydog

CHOICES, CHOICES, CHOICES! I have been at this over one year now. Thank you LB (little Body) you are my BEST FRIEND. I drink my iced coffee with a straw and I have since day 1 NO PROBLEMS, Gum gives me gas always has. I can eat whatever I want and I do in small amounts. Yes, it is about CHOICES! I would not eat a flour tortilla before banding or much bread I do like a bite or two of the crust of anything but it is not that often. Pasta was my problem before banding. I can eat about two bites now. I choose to eat REAL Food, Not Too Much, Mostly Plants, with Proteins FIRST and NO liquids with meals it works for me. I am NOT on a DIE-T!! I am LIVING my life with a 109 pound loss in one year two weeks. I did give up soda and I even had withdraw from it even the Fresca I used to drink. Must be something fake in it. I have had sushi only two pieces is all I can eat. I must say it would not be my first CHOICE. Go for the protein first. This has been a great blog Thank you. Best wishes imaluckydog

Thank you, I NEED to do this together with all of you. I still need this site and I am a year out from my surgery. I go on every day and learn something new about someone or something about LB or even being motivated. Another added bonus when I am at my computer I am NOT thinking about food or eating it. I keep my paws out of the cookie jar because there is a rule no food at the computer. Blogging keeps my paws busy too. I am so glad I have all of these positive vibes to relate too in my ever so crazy life. Thanks for being there for me too!! I am one year and down 109 my next blog will be about my new BELT fetish. LOL imaluckydog

Oh be kind to yourself and rest. You do heal from the inside out. Congrats and welcome I was banded June 29 2009 and it is little over a year and I have done very well. Follow the rules but you know that. Enjoy your journey as much as I have. Best wishes imaluckydog

You keep doing everything you have been doing. You need to do this for yourself. The motivation will come from within you. Just wait and see. Try to let it go and focus on yourself, I sorta feel I was in the very same place and had a walking buddy fall by the wayside. Do not look at it as a problem look at it as a solution and keep GOING. I know cuz I did and I have lost 109 pound in 1 years and 3 weeks. Work with your band and it will be your BEST friend.Blogging is GOOD. I even talk to mine now and again LOL. Best wishes imaluckydog

Shopping is so much fun I just love to shop now. I just wish I had more money to spend on clothes. LOL You look marvelous. Keep it up. Best wishes imaluckydog

Thanks for asking to be my friend. Well, we all want to be healthy Right. I eat Not too much now, mostly plants ( cooked ones) with proteins first. This is not a diet any more. This will be a way of life your LB journey if you will. You will be able to eat anything you want if your body (band) will tolerate it! Eat slow and chew well. I wanted to lose weight with the help of my band. I make my own food and try to make better food choices. If it comes to you thru a window it is not REAL. Not good for you either RIGHT!! I got off soda of all kinds and sugar and fake sugar as well. I did have a short period of withdrawal it did not last long and I do not miss the stuff. It would always make me want more. Now Chocolate is different. I do have some now that I have lost 103 pounds in a years time. You do not have to give up anything you love forever. Remember this is a journey that you are in control of. If you make poor food choices the weight will not come off and if you follow the rules when you go to sleep the weight will melt away for some fast and for some slow. This band works weather you want to help it or not. If you have specific questions I will be glad to help. You know what you need to eat trust yourself to make better choices around the foods, eat less and make sure you get enough Protein rich foods to be healthy. If you don't you will feel tired I know it has happened to me. Get on a good food schedule and try to do the same each day until it becomes normal for you. Old habits are hardest to break for me the NO DRINKING with meals was the hardest. You will feel fuller longer if you do not drink during a meal. Oh I hope this helps. I had very nice people help me when I started out. Best wishes to you on your journey. imaluckydog

What an informative blog. Let me say misery loves company! Fat cells never go away and if they are small will always want to get bigger. That is why when we lose weight before LB it always came back. The yo yo effect. You are now looking at your own habits and are making super important connections here. Who needs to take care of who? The taking care of others is a tough one for me I must say. For me to start to heal myself I needed to STOP taking care of others and START to take care for myself. I have been at this for over a year now and have realized FAT DISCRIMINATION is REAL and PAINFUL. I so relate to what you have said and it is the best blog I have read in a very long time. You are getting in touch with yourself. Keep blogging others will learn from you and you will also make better choices about who to take care of in the future. Best wishes imaluckydog

You are doing what I do!! It does work and helps so much;-) Get Blogging writing about ones feelings is the BEST way to start to figure what is going on. These demons are very, very real and I can cave so easily I need to keep refocusing myself even after a year of being banded. My thoughts seem to try to get the best of me. Even this morning I am thinking I can have something I should not. Thanks for sharing I alway feel better when I get on this site. We can do this together. Thanks again and Best Wishes imaluckydog

No Not Rambling just enjoying this amazing journey. I so can relate. Best wishes imaluckydog

Remember you are healing from the inside out. I am not sure how long you have been banded, but I needed to take a long time before I could do that much. Take it easy and go slow your body is telling you something so listen to it. Walk and change up your routine a bite. Best wishes and no need to be embarrassed. We are all hear to support each other and learn from each other. You are doing great just being in touch. Best wishes imaluckydog

It is all about the JOURNEY and you are living proof we are all on this JOURNEY together. Thanks for sharing. If this happens to me I get right back in my drivers seat and just keep it under 90. You can do it. Too Enjoy your life thats why we chose the band. Blogging is such freedom. Best wishes imaluckydog