juno610

I haven't been to one of their seminars, since I had my band done at Beaumont Troy (they are no longer done there). I do see Dr. Krause for fills now and I did join Club Bariatrix at the weight loss center. I know it seems like a lot of extra stuff, but for me, having unrestricted access to a nutritionist alone was worth the cost.

Did you go to a seminar specifically for WLS? Or was it more of a general seminar for the Weight Control Center?

Also, I just wanted to add... I know several people who have been through the traditional shake program and they have done very well and kept weight off. I'd hardly call it a scam.

Doctors can be such horse's asses sometimes. I hope your surgery goes well -- how unbelievable frustrating!

Things are good on my end. I got unfilled a few weeks ago and will be having my gall bladder out next Wednesday. My fill is scheduled for 8/2. I cannot freaking wait! This is my first plateau since giving birth in December! LOL

What's everyone up to? Any exciting summer activities?

Things have been going great there. I feel like I'm finally making some real progress -- losing about 10lbs a month the last three months or so. I think now that I know I'm done having kids, my head is finally ready to get in the game. I also rejoined my gym this week, so I can get back to working out too.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Hey peeps! Well, I overdid it a bit myself last week. I pretty much gave up on the pushups and squats. The squats were WAY too much with the running program. That is still going good, though I missed a day this week. I'm repeating week 2 just to make sure I got it. Plus, it's getting warmer here, and running in 75 degrees is a lot different than running in 55 degrees!

Glad all is going well with the surgery!

The squat program is at two hundred squats, and you can link to the pushups from there. There's also a situps program. I decided to put the squats on hiatus because my one inner thigh feels a little overdone. The running is more important to me right now so I want to make sure my leg is rested up.

I've also been having this strange pain in my left calf. Whenever I kneel down, I get this super sharp pain in what feels like the deep tissue part of my upper shin muscle (if that makes any sense). There's no bruising, so I don't think it's an injury. And I can't reproduce the pain by pressing on the area. I can't figure it out. Hoping to get a venous doppler done this week to rule out a DVT. Any ideas?

Congrats on the 100 lost!! I too am here after being absent for awhile (two babies in two years. Eep!).

I'm finding that to be true for me too. I try to do a Protein Drink or yogurt for breakfast. For lunch, I can usually manage food, but I have to be super diligent about the small bites and chewing. A true half cup is all I eat. dinner varies. Sometimes I can only eat a little, sometimes more.

Where's everyone at? How are you all doing out there? I've lost a couple more pounds. Yay! This week I started the couch to 5k program (c25k.com), and next week I'm going to add in the two hundred squats and one hundred pushups programs on the off days. I finally found something to work into my crazy schedule.

Tell me what you are up to!

Sula -- glad everything went well with the surgery!

I need more fill, and I'm so bummed because I have to reschedule my appt. I have lost 5 or 6lbs, so not horrible. I'm going to work for another 10 before I go back -- I have till June, so that should be do-able. I'm back at work full time, and next week I start back to the gym. I know exercise will help too.

Girl, you are making me insanely jealous with your vacation talk! I'll be lucky if I get a long weekend away this summer! We are hoping little Vinny is a better sleeper than my daughter was/is. That way, we might be able to get the grandparents to keep them for a few days. Wishful thinking...

I like the PB idea. Usually, I don't use a blender though, so it's just powder and milk and a shaker cup. The Special K shake was ready to drink, and it was pure nastiness. I'm hoping DH will drink the rest.

BTW, scale is down 3lbs!

I try to weigh every day for the exact reason the Missy stated above. Sometimes I forget though, so it usually ends up being 4-5 times a week.

Today was my first day of solid food, and I was pleasantly surprised to find I have a decent amount of restriction. My first real food was an antipasto salad for lunch of which I truly ate about 1/2 cup and felt full. Amazing.

Here's what I ate. I still have to put it in my tracker to see how I did on Protein.

7:00a - 1/2 Special K Protein shake (they are gross, never again!) and a cup of coffee with a bit of sugar

10:00a - 3oz cottage cheese

12:30p - 1/2 cup antipasto salad with turkey and ham and salami and veggies

4:00p - 1 cup skim milk with 1 scoop of Protein powder.

dinner coming up will be a bit of taco meat with cheese and pico de gallo.

What do you think?

Tonya, that is freaking amazing! Way to go, girl!

I generally have not tried to replace Pasta, bread, etc. So, if I had been eating sandwiches, now I'd just eat a meat/cheese/mustard (whatever) rollup. And some veggies or fruit on the side. meat and veggies. The occasional potato.

Breakfast has always been rough for me too. I usually would do a Protein shake in the morning, or just have a bit of tea/coffee, then have yogurt and a granola bar mid-morning once things loosened up.

Hey Sula - feeling better yet?

How's everyone else out there.

Doing good here. Two more days till I get a fill!

Sometimes I'll make my dinner plate, and my hubby will look at me like, what are you crazy? I scrape half onto his, and we just laugh. I guess my eyes are still bigger than my stomach.

Personally, the issues I had with diarrhea the first week post op would be enough to keep me off a cruise ship. liquid in, liquid out!

I think a lot of people here will tell you that is totally normal, especially if you haven't had a fill yet. Hang in there, and remember that it may take more than one fill to get good restriction.

When I get that tight chest feeling, for me that usually means I ate one bite too many. One of my stop signs or 'full' signs is this weird hitchy deep breath. Hard to explain.

In general, I've been better off sticking with a 1/2- 3/4 cup of food, then stopping. If I wait to feel full, many times I still take that one bite too many, and I'd rather avoid the uncomfortable feelings that come with that.

Hey guys, I'm going to blog here this time around. Check me out from time to time and keep me honest!

Did you have to remove the band when you became pregnant? I have one child and my hubby and I want more, but I'm afraid that the band may cause problems with pregnancy. I am pre-op, and am so nervous about this band. I am reading so many neg comments and posts, it's making me second guess having this procedure done next month. Please help ladies. Thanks in advance;)

Nope, my band has been in place the entire time. I actually didn't even require a complete unfill the first time until I was about 30 weeks pregnant. With the second pregnancy, I got unfilled right away because I was having some issues with gastritis anyway, so it was a good time to give my stomach a break.

I really believe that having my band kept me from ballooning during pregnancy. I imagine I would've gained a lot more than I did if I didn't have it.

Thank you Sandi! I have read a lot of your site (and Gloria's too) over the past day or so, and even that is helping me get my head in the game. There are a lot of things I know I didn't do right before with my eating, and I know I need to buckle down and surrender to the process.

I'm going to start journaling on another site with a calculator, so I can check my Protein amounts. If you don't mind, I'll PM you the link from time to time for feedback.

My hubby has recently started losing weight himself (he's not banded), so I gotta get going!

Getting over a cold here myself. We've all been passing it around. I just hope my little guy doesn't catch it!

I'm in a planning stage right now. Planning food and meals and how I'm going to handle food at work. I'm excited the weather is turning nice, so I can go for walks on my lunch hour.

BTW, definitely NOT in skinny jeans here!

Hi all. I've had my band for three years. The first year was rough with too tight fills, and when I finally got it figured out, I was pregnant. I've just had my second child December 2009, and I'm ready to make this work. I was down 50lbs before this baby, but I'm up 20 from that. I don't plan on having any more kids, so I no longer have impending pregnancies as excuses. My long term goal is to lose 90lbs.

With working full time and two little kids, I'm not able to attend any local support groups, so I'd really like someone to check in with.

Hey everyone! Well, I'm officially back on the wagon. I get my first post-pregnancy fill on the 23rd, and I go back to work full time that week too. DH and I have worked out a deal where he will pick the kids up from daycare three days a week so I can go to the gym after work. So relieved about that.

I'm feeling pretty frumpy. I'm still 20 pounds up from my lowest, and nothing fits (thank you pregnancy). Good thing I wear scrubs to work or I'd go broke buying new clothes. For now I live in yoga pants and long sleeve tees. I haven't put on makeup for three months, and I'm in definite need of a haircut. I think going back to work is the best thing -- at least it will get me to look presentable!

Anyway, my little guy is doing great. He's 10 weeks old now and up to 7lbs 5oz. Still no health problems, so we were lucky.

Hope you guys are well!