dirttrackdiva

Just a heads up for everyone, I'm following BG's lead and moving to blogspot. Here's the link: www.dirttrackdiva.blogspot.com

My family members and friends that know I've had surgery weren't able to see these posts since they aren't members of the site. So I thought I'd make it available for everyone to see. There are some posts on there that aren't totally related to surgery, but it's my new home. Hope you all follow me there.

I'll leave the light on for you. :thumbup:

Wow, talk about hitting home! I've had a few of those moments myself. Right now I'm in the process of getting rid of some of the things that used to be too small and are now too big. However, I'm keeping one pair to be my before pants.

just discovered your blog.....i'm a june bandster too. june 16th to be exact. i've seen a lot of your comments on bg's blog. i just love her. i sent you a friend request, hopefully we can be bandster buddies together. great job taking control of your own destiny, which i think all of us have done in getting the band.

I titled my blog this today because yesterday my band and I were not on the same page. By any stretch of the imagination. I don't even know if we were both reading the same book! :confused:

Does anyone else seem to have issues with pork? I've tried it twice since I've been banded and both times had disasterous results.

Last night I was eating some left over pork loin, prepared for it to be a little dry I added some extra bbq sauce to my plate for the purpose of dipping and allowing the meat to go down easier. Took about four bites and WHAM! Stuck.

I immideatly got in the shower. Sometimes it helps me to take a cool shower and get cooled off. It helps. Don't know why, could be all in my head, but it helps just the same. After about 45 minutes of slime slime and more slime I'd had enough. I did the cardinal sin of bandsters and stuck my finger down my throat. Finally all better.

Needless to say I was on liquids for the rest of the day. The upside to my little improptu liquid diet is I lost two more pounds. A total of 42 pounds lost and 5 pounds from onederland. :confused: Happy dance for my being 5 pounds from onederland.

On the wierder side of life (yes it gets wierder) caught my dog dragging her butt across the carpet the other night......called the vet right away of course. Asked them what the probability was that she had worms. Vet said pretty good chance. WELL SHIT! :thumbup: Things just keep getting better. So I ask the vet what I can do to kill off the worms that won't cost me an arm and a leg. They said they could give me two pills, give them to her at the same time, cost less than 20 bux. :redface: To the vet I went. Got home, gave the dog the pills and no more butt dragging, that I've seen. She's figured out what makes me scream at her I think so she just leaves the room to do it. Kinda like a kid. Only my dog is the kid in class that is allergic to EVERYTHING and eats the glue. :thumbup: Why me? Oh well, she keeps life interesting I guess. She's a beagle if anyone is wondering. And I guess beagles are pretty suseptible, just like kids to test what things will travel through their digestive tract. Preparing me for a child I guess. If I ever have one.

Well, that's what's been going on in my little world the last few days. Have a great day bandsters. Talk to you all soon.

I used the Happy Weight Calculator and it says my goal weight is 129, about 5 pounds less thant he goal I set for myself. My labband doc didn't set a goal weight, but my back surgeon did. I have three herniated disks in my back and he said I would need to lose 100 pounds before I tried to get pregnant. Before surgery I was 247, now I'm 206. Getting there.....I too set mini goals of 10 pounds. I am at my sweet spot, I can eat a few bites of most things and then I'm done. As long as it follows the high protein guidelines. If it's not high protein and a slider my "inner fat chick" comes out and I eat too much and still never feel full. I'm with you xavier, single digit sizes, here we come.

The PBing pumpkin. Priceless. I've always loved the puking pumpkin, never seems to get old, always thought they were funny. However, like the rest of you, it totally has a different meaning now.

LOVING IT!

WELCOME! You'll love the site and everyone on it. This site has talked me off the ledge many times. Welcome home.

To answer your questions......we can eat sweet potatoes, they actually want us to eat those rather than regular potatoes cuz they're better for us. Champagne, don't know about that one. Each doctor and each patient are totally different. Some docs (mine for instance) say no carbonated drinks, others give you a waiting period. That just depends on what they tell you. You could eat chocolate and pizza I suppose if you wanted to. You might find it hard to eat bread, some bandsters have issues with it some don't. My mom is banded as well and she can eat bread. I can't. I can't even eat anything that resembles bread (ie, cake, very soft cookies, muffins, doghnuts, tortillas, you get the idea). Just remember that the goal of the band is make it work with you, not for you. You'll eventually get to the point you can eat almost anything you want, just in moderation. I think vacations are more worth it now with the band. I look better, feel better, and have so much more energy to do stuff. Instead of loping around the hotell all day when I can do that at home. For free. lol When people ask you why you're losing weight you can be honest with them if you want. They'll find out soon enough anyway. However, I didn't tell most of my family untill I had already done it. Didn't want them to try to talk me out of having it. Which wouldn't have happened, but could have caused tension so I just skipped it all together. There will come a time when people are much more interested in what/how much you're eating and how much weight you've lost than they should be. Tell them not to do that. In my opinion it creates a stigma about us (bandsters) that I don't like and is untrue. Tell them you're the same person you've always been, just healthier.

The band works if you let it. If you listen to it and your doctors and if you trust it to help you. I was banded on June 16th of this year and I've lost 40 pounds. I never have, nor will I ever regret it. It's changed my life.

Hope this helps, sorry it was so long. Feel free to get in touch with me, we're all friends here. Good luck.

:huh2: Aaaaahhhhh.....this is great. Hubby is working today and the neighbors aren't fighting (yet) so I thought I'd enjoy the peace and quiet today. There are so many other things I could be doing right now, but why? Spent last evening at my mother in laws house, with her picking apart everything I did and said. I could use a peaceful day today.

Still slow and steady on the weight loss. Wearing a pair of jeans today that I couldn't even get pulled up over my ass 6 weeks ago. They're even kinda loose. Way cool.

I really need to get rid of some clothes. If anyone is a size 22-18 and want me to send you some of my old clothes that don't fit anymore, please let me know. Send me a private message with your address and I'll send them to you. I don't need them and I want to donate them to people that I know can use them. And in this economy, who can afford to go shopping for new clothes? Even if they are a need.

Well that's all for now bandsters. Hope you all are having a great day.

good for you girl!!! it always helps to feel better when someone gives you a cool gift. even if you're not sick. hope you're back to cheery, beautiful self soon.

i'm sorry you feel so crappy. not a fan of the flu shot myself......last time i got one i had to sit on the toilet with a trash can infront of me. bad, bad things happened that week. not even sure if i remember all of them. 8) i guess i'm just one of those people that the flu shot reacts really funny with. i hope you get better soon and we're all thinking about you and wish you well. *hugs for bg, don't worry, i'm wearing my pig sickness surgical mask* ;p hope to hear from you again soon.

happy bandiversary!!!! i'm so happy for you. keep up the great work.

Wow, it's been a while since I've posted anything. I've been so busy with my new job and so much other crap it's been insane. I feel like I've been on a vacation (too long of one) from the site. Sorry to all (if any) loyal readers of my blog. Thanx heaps for your loyalty if there are any.

So many things have happened since I posted last. Where do I start.

Had a Birthday on the 26th of September, the big 29, had some issues with it. So I got a tattoo.....on the top of my foot. (see profile pic) The words say "Pa Norm" and "Pa Jim" for my grandpas. In my opinion memorial tattoos are super cool, if done properly. Two of only three men I'd ever think of getting their names tattooed anywhere on my body. Daddy being the other of course.

Went to the races the weekend after my birthday. The NASCAR race at Kansas Speedway. Needed to narrow it down, saying I went to the races is like saying Kyle Busch got pissed off and spun someone into the wall. (happens a lot for you non race fans out there) Always a good time. Did really well. I was very proud of myself. Usually there's some pretty good tailgate fare at the track. None of it bandster friendly. Came out of it two pounds lighter than going in. HOT DAMN! :Banane25:

In other news the new job is great. Loving it. It's refreshing to work for a company that cares about its employees. Been there a little over a month and can actually see myself retiring from there if they'll have me after I finally graduate from college.

Hubby has finally come around about this. Took him long enough. lol He's noticed the huge (or maybe not so huge :huh2:) difference in me since surgery. I can wear stuff he's never seen me wear that's been laying around the house. He's been begging me to get rid of most of the stuff I can wear now. Why do we do that ladies? Keep clothes around that without a small miracle (LAP-BAND®®®®®® in our case) will never fit us again in a million lightyears? Any suggestions?

Went back to get my third fill. Pretty much at my sweet spot I think. I lost 6 pounds last month so I'm getting there. Slow and steady wins the race people. I'm up to 40 total pounds lost. My goal is 100 so I'm 10 pounds from half way there. That's the huge goal to meet right now. Since I never thought I'd get here.

Figured out I can't have ANY TYPE OF BREAD. Tortillas, cookies, cake, bread, anything that you can ball up and throw at someone basically. Forget it. Had a VERY bad experience with a half a biscuit a couple weeks ago. :puke:NOT MY IDEA OF A GOOD TIME! However, never once have I eaten too much and made myself sick. That was my biggest fear going into this.

It's amazing how my quality of life has went up. I'm actually writing this after reading all of my previous blogs from starting my journey. Holy cow how far I've come. I do notice though that I never waivered on my choice to do this. Never will. I'd do it again, in a heartbeat. Still sticking to an Atkins based structure. Pretty much high protein all the way for me.

A lot of people ask me how much I've lost. When I talk to or see people I don't spend much time with that's the first thing they ask me. As if that's the only way they see me. I've told them to stop asking. I appreciate their concern for my well being and progress, but it creates a stigma about me and my LAP-BAND®®®®®® brothers and sisters that I don't like. I'm the same Erika I've been all my life, just skinnier. In my opinion it creates a worse relationship with food than I had before. They're constantly watching what/how much I'm eating. Not for me. Makes me nervous. I don't want them making special menus or only going to restaurants that serve fish (my protein of choice) when I go out to dinner with them. No. That's not what this is about nor is it why I did it. I've become weirdly shy about certain things as I've gotten older.......Maybe shy isn't the right word. Adult. Conservative. Discreet. Whatever, I don't want to be the one that puts the wrench in everyone elses plans. If I can't eat where the majority of people want to go, I'll sip my ice tea in peace and enjoy the pleasure of everyone's company, then eat when I get home. I want them to see me as the Erika I've always been, only skinnier, as I said.

This has changed my life. It's amazing the difference it's made. There are no words to describe it. This site has saved me from the brink a few times. You guys are awesome. Keep up your great losses everyone. Talk to you all later.

WOW!! What else can be said of a day like that.

I was feeding my elderly, Alzheimers ridden great grandmother breakfast at my moms kitchen table. At that time my mom worked at an elementary school close to our house and was getting ready for work. It was my day to watch grandma.

When the first plane hit, I went rushing into the bedroom where my mother was getting ready and turned on her tv. She said "Oh how terrible the pilot must have had a heart attack or something." I told her this was no heart attack, we were all in very real trouble. I knew it the instant that first plane hit.

Eight years and so many US soldiers lives later I still shiver at how right I was.

What a day. I will never forget. If I every have a child and when they learn about it in school, I will be proud to tell them where I was on that day. I will also not be a bit ashamed to cry with them at the horror it caused.

Just to give some of you guys a heads up about this one before you read it.......this might sound like a holier-than-thou soapbox speech, but it's not. If I come off that way I'm sorry, but realistically, this is my blog and where I put my thoughts, if you don't like it, there's the rest of the world wide web to explore, far be it for me to stop you.

:rant:Ok. Now. With that being said let me express some of the things I think are different from a diet v. a lifestyle choice.

Diet /Lifestyle Choice

1. "cheat" days /no cheat days

2. I can have a little bread,it won't hurt me/ can't have bread get's stuck, ouch

3. I can eat a few carbs, it's no big deal/ NO CARBS

Those are just a few of the things I've discovered since I've been banded these last several months. (June 16th) I am not one of those people that can eat whatever I want and still lose weight. If I was I wouldn't need the band, right? :redface: Duh, right. Anyway.

Without sounding like a fanatic, I have to be VERY conscious about what I put in my body. High protein all the way for me. So usually if it doesn't go around on the ground on all fours, swim, or fly I can't eat it. Why is this so hard for some people to understand?! :thumbup: If I could eat that crap I wouldn't have gotten banded in the first damn place! :smile2: WTF?

I feel sometimes like people are trying to sabatoge me. Hopefully that isn't happening, but who knows. What I do know is this........I'm in this for the long haul (whether I'm in on my own is yet to be determined), and when I get all hot and skinny and everyone around me isn't, how good are their carbs going to look then? :wink2: I wonder. I know what's good for me and what's not.

Which takes me back to my subject line, the difference in a diet and lifestyle change. This is a LIFETIME thing. No cheat days, no wanting to eat stuff when I know damn well I can't. This is my life and if I have to go about this alone, dammit I'm going to. Yet to be determined how this is going to turn out.

:wub:I still love all of your my bandster family. My real family that doesn't know anything about/hasn't been banded can piss off right now as far as I'm concerned.

Sorry about the rant. But I warned ya. lol Have a great day banders.

QUIT MY TOTALLY SHITTY JOB YESTERDAY FOR A CAREER CHOICE!!! :crying: Life is good. Man I hated that place. I was to the point that when I left at 3:30, if that place went up on flames at 3:31, I totally wouldn't care. It's hard to work for people that don't care about you. However, I do have another job lined up. Thankfully, in this ecomony no one can afford to be without employment. I'll be working at the regional office for American Family Insurance. Their regional office happens to be in the town where I live so that's great. Wroking in the fraud department. Starting out filing, but the great part is that I'm actually going to school to study insurance fraud. So hopefully I will have a place to stay after I graduate.

So, as the title implys, I'm off to bigger and better things my bandster family. I can't wait. Start the new job on the 9th. So I have a week of decompression before I have to go back to work. It was amazing to wake up today knowing I didn't have to go to a job I hated. So back to bed I went and slept till noon. :smile2: Felt good thought I gotta say.

Well, that's all I have for now. Talk to you all later and hope this finds you all doing well.

I also have issues.

But, just to let you know, you're not alone.

I'm finally able to start working out now that the physical therapist and my back doctor have released me to be able to work out. This is a good thing. I took my "first steps" as a bander yesterday.

Hubby asked me where I went and when I told him he said it was about a mile and half. And it actually felt good. Really really good. :smile2: Please excuse me whilst I toot my own horn and pat myself on the back. :crying:

Moving on from that. I went to the doctor about my voice since it still seems to be on vacation and the doc told me that I have severe allergies. :cryin: What? I've actually never had allergies in my life. I was raised in Wyoming where it's actually too cold for allergies to flair up. This is even in the summer. Now I live in Missouri, and holy crap. I seriously thought I was actually coming down with some real affliction. Guess not. On the upside, weighed in at the doctors office at 212! Yay me! I go get another fill on September 21st and I'm hoping to be in Onederland by that time. Hence my first steps yesterday.

Well bandsters, it's time for me to go now. Need to get started on some homework for the day. At least try to do something productive with my day. Hope this finds you all well.

It's been quite some time since I've posted.

The last time I went to the doctor to get a checkup and a fill I found out I'd gained a pound. :sneaky: WHAT?!? How could this have happened? Well, after I'd bemoaned all day hubby comes to me and says "When are you supposed to start your period?" I said in a couple of days and asked him why. :biggrin: Realization...........:hurray:halleuja! Never been so happy to start my period in my life.

Everything else is pretty much the same. Right now I have no voice. Woke up this way Sunday morning. Now I sound like Minnie Mouse on crack. Nice. :thumbup: Not a good thing when you talk on the phone for a living.

So now my net loss is down to 29 pounds. As many of you know, I'm a scale whore. I weigh every single day. In the last few days there have been days where I've gained 5 pounds, lost 6 and the next gained it all back. :sad: What the holy hell is going on?!

I supposed that's all I have for right now. Hope this post finds you all keeping on keeping on. Talk with you all soon. Hugs to you all. My bandster family.

Hi, I'm dirttrackdiva and I'm a scale whore. (everyone in unison.....hi dirttrackdiva) I'm an unequivocal scale whore. I way at least once a day. However, I just took voice's suggestion and went and wrote my weight on the bathroom mirror with a dry erase pen. I also wrote my starting weight and my net pounds lost.

YOU GO ON IN YOUR RED HIGH HEELS! Do it Kelly Pickler Style Girlfriend!

I agree with bashful, your spirit is amazing. Very uplifting.

Went out to dinner with hubby last night and we went to one of our favorite local places here in town. I ordered chips and salsa to start with and chicken fingers for dinner. Hubby ordered the onion rings to start.

There we were munching on our chips/salsa and onion rings when they bring out our food. There were six LARGE chicken strips, fries and broccoli on my plate. I got three meals out of all that food.

Before being banded I would have eaten all of that chips and salsa, half of hubby's onion rings and then my dinner. And still have eaten later on that night.

Wow, no wonder I just kept gaining weight. I had given up and I knew it. It's also interesting to see what other people around you are eating. The other day at work I noticed someone eating a box of ritz crackers with easy cheese for lunch. What the hell? Is that even real food?

People wonder why we're such an unhealthy society and why people are so interested in a quick fix and instant gratification. When one resorts to fast food and crackers and easy cheese for lunch there is something going on here.

I've noticed one of the neater things of losing this weight.....I can buy matching bras and panties now, in sets that actually match! This is something entirely new to me. Since I was very large before I had my breast reduction there was no way I was able to do that before. Unless I had it specially made. However now I can go to Target and get a matching set right off the rack and it fits! One of the much cooler things from being banded.

What do you all think? Give me some opinions on this instant gratification thing and how we all used to be. The kind of changes you've made and how you've come to your realizations after being banded.

Best of luck to you. You will run into people that don't support you. In the very beginning my own husband didn't, he gave me the "taking the easy way out" attitude. I did it anyway. I was banded on June 16th and I've lost 30 pounds. The best thing to remember is to stop eating when you're satisfied. Not when you're full or after the food is all gone. Stop when you're satisfied. I have about 100 pounds to lose as well and I'm well on my way.

As far as the people with the negative attitudes, piss on them is what I say. The only person in your life you have to answer to is yourself. As long as you're doing this for the right reasons everyone else will eventually follow suit. My husband supports this now. Now that he's seen how much better I look and feel about myself he's come around a lot. He likes having a hotter wife. :thumbup: You're husband will too.

Good luck to you and keep us posted.

Best of luck to you tomorrow. Make sure you get plenty of sleep tonight. I know that sounds ridiculous but you need to be well rested. I was banded on June 16th and I've lot 30 pounds already. The band is a great tool and this website is as well. Keep us all posted on how you're feeling. Tomorrow is your new Birthday. Happy Band Birthday to you!

Got my second fill yesterday (1.5 CC's, 4CC's for the first fill two weeks ago, in an 11CC band). So far I'm down 30 pounds from when I started my liquid diet June 1st. Doc says I'm doing great. Sticking with the 1-2 pounds a week average. I didn't think I had lost any weight. My scale kept saying the same thing every morning for a while. Still havn't started working out yet. Was going to start that today, but it's been POURING RAIN and it's hard to go out for a run when it's raining. Don't want to catch pneumonia. Already had that once this year. Let's not make it twice shall we? lol My mom has reached onederland. Dance party for momma. :sneaky:

I was so happy for her. I have not yet reached onederland, but I've got 16 more pounds to go. Wish me luck. Talk to you all soon.

Good evening bandster family. Hope you're all doing well and progressing on your journey.

Today I wore a pair of jeans that were TIGHT :eek2::eek2::eek2:(I was looking for a smilie that couldn't breathe due to wearing clothes so tight, but couldn't find one) when I bought them. The only reason I bought them when I did actually was because my boss was having a holy fit :incazzato:cuz I was wearing yoga type pants all the time. Well I'm fat, what does she expect? lol

Today I put these beautiful jeans on fresh from the dryer (still warm fresh from the dryer) and they almost fell off. :tt1: After ya'll leave the party at BG's house, come on over to mine cuz I'm wearing my heavy jeans today. :thumbup: Meaning they are so big and falling off me so much they feel heavy. Literally feel heavy. They aren't even tight when I sit down. This is an absolute miracle!

Last time I weighed I was down 28 pounds from when I first started my liquid diet on the 1st of June. This is so cool.

Well all, as I said, party at my house. Wear your heavy jeans. Hubby's making homemade salisbury steak. All of us together I'm sure could eat what I would have before.

Night all. Talk to you soon.