HDmama

I hope the latest fill helps you a bit. Everyone is different and unfortunately, the band doesn't work for everyone...even despite their best efforts. I consider myself one of the lucky ones - it's done exactly what I expected it to do and I couldn't be happier. And just to come to FF's defense a bit...I "know" her from another forum, and I truly believe she means no harm - she did follow the rules and when she posted about her issues, some people were less than understanding and implied (or just outright stated, I can't remember) she wasn't doing her part, so I think she's very sensitive to that (which I get)....as for the caps - that's just her style .

Congrats Nooshie - you've done an awesome job! I'm sorry I didn't make it to the get-together earlier this week - all my evenings seem to be filled with kids extra-curricular and/or homework! Hopefully I can make the next one. Sorry to hear about the reflux - how long have you had that? Have you thought about calling Dr. Q about it? At my last appt (for an unfill of a fill I shouldn't have asked for, LOL) - Dr. McVay told me if I ever started having reflux to call right away - not sure why, but that's what she said. Congrats to all the October bandsters.

Leigha....we are so similar....as I've said before about hoping my maintenance is similar to yours, I would LOVE to get to that non obsessive phase too, LOL! You rocked the jail break though!!! I'm doing the bike tour at the Pasadena marathon in February and I'm really looking forward to it!

I'm in the same boat....have two small kids and both me and DH work full time. It's very difficult. What I've found is I have to either get up earlier in the morning before they wake up (I already get up at 5:30 in the morning just to start getting myself, lunches, kids ready - so I'm talking, getting up at 4:30) OR I have to commit to doing it after they go to sleep (which, for me, is more difficult)....after work, kids activities after work, homework, dinner, etc - I'm exhausted so that's a harder option for me, I do better early in the morning. Do you have any home exercise equipment? I've been resorting to my treadmill since the weather has been spotty here (also live in LA) - I also have an exercise bike and an elliptical. So I really have NO excuse not to work out. If you don't have any equipment, you could always do workout DVD's - they are relatively inexpensive and if you have a few you can alternate them so you don't get bored....I used to love doing the Tae Bo series - they are AWESOME. It's hard, but you just have to play around with it and find the time where you can. If you stay at home, you could always take your little one with you on walks (put your LO in a stroller) and if it's raining, go to a mall and walk.

What was the date of your surgery? - 10/22/09 How healthy did you/do you eat? - Relatively healthy - I don't snack or eat junk food, but I probably don't eat as many fruits/veggies as I should. How much do you exercise? - minimum of 4 days a week, but usually daily How much have you lost? - 107 pounds (some of it pre-op) Are you happy with your results? - heck yeah! Best thing I've ever done for myself.

Not sure what you define as "a while", so I may not be what you had in mind :cool: - BUT, I'll give you my answer anyway. I've only puked once (two weeks ago) - I ate some chicken that was a bit on the dry side....let's just say, I hope to continue my non-puking streak - that was not pleasant. I do sometimes feel food just sitting there sort of stuck"ish", but it usually goes away within a few minutes so not sure it's a real stuck, KWIM?

I can totally relate. Only my hubby, mom, and in-laws know (and one friend) -and I didn't want to tell people initially because I didn't want the negativity that I knew would come with it from others (it was bad enough hearing that I was taking the "easy" way out from hubby, I didn't want to hear it from anyone else). And as I get more and more people asking me what I did, I do sometimes feel like I'm "lying" - but really - I DID THE WORK....yes, I had some help - but honestly - the band does NOT help me/make me get on the treadmill/elliptical/bike or whatever else I do DAILY. It does not make it so that running is easy for me (but I run because I can and it's a challenge and because I want to push myself) - it does not make my choices on what I put in my body - the only thing it really does is help me not eat as much and makes me more conscious of WHAT I choose to eat because I certainly didn't go through this to not be successful. It's NOT easy (whether you have the band or not)...I have very little fluid in my band (only had two small fills) - I can pretty much eat what I want, but I don't - I make good choices and I exercise...so those are the things I have to remind myself of when I start feeling guilty about not divulging the "whole truth". I feel like if I told people, they'd discount all the hard work that I've put into this and just give all the credit to the fact that I had WLS - which is just not true...I know someone else who had the same surgery but chooses not to work out and not to eat the way she should, and guess what - she doesn't look any different today than when she had surgery...in fact, I didn't even know she had lapband until I overheard her talking to someone about how it doesn't work....

Well that explains it, LOL. It was only 11 years ago that I was in a size 6 (at 160) - so I don't have anything else to compare it to.....at my lowest (adult) weight, I was 135 and I looked VERY thin and was wearing a size 4....I doubt it's even possible to get down to that weight again (lots of years and a couple of kids later ).

This is a VERY interesting thread. I'm 5'6, and my original goal was 160, but then I saw that was still considered "overweight" on the BMI chart. I chose that goal because at that weight, I'm in a size 6 (so it's shocking to me to be considered overweight in that size). So I've lowered my goal to 150, which puts me at the high end of normal (and I'll probably be in a size 4 at that point!). I'm already in a size 8, so it's hard for me to believe that I'm still considered overweight - but apparently, I am

Betsy - that program looks awesome! How did you find it? I'm very excited about trying this - thanks!!

That makes me crazy! My DH actually made a similar comment (while I was in the hospital AFTER surgery). But here's my take on it. To me, this doesn't feel any "easier" than dieting….for me, the only difference is if at some point, my willpower is diminishing and I'm having one of those "oh who cares, it's too hard, hopeless, etc." days - the band won't allow me to do something to sabotage all of my efforts J (well not without some sort of reminder that it's there)…and honestly, for me - having gone through a major surgery is enough of a motivator to remind me that I cannot let my old habits come back or I'll be right back where I was. But I wouldn't say it was easy. I journal all my food, I exercise daily and I don't eat JUNK - it's not any easier for me to do that because of the band (in fact, as far as the eating goes, sometimes that's difficult to do…I'm sure junk food would go down a lot easier than solid protein at times, but I CHOOSE not to go there, it's not that my band is making that choice for me).

I love the dailyplate app for the iPhone (think it's called Livestrong)...I use dailyplate.com on my PC, and this syncs right up so I have my info handy and updated whereever I am. I use it to track both my calories and my activity....I'm seriously addicted.

I also work in an environment where this CRAP food here all the time....seriously - and not only is it just here, right next to our printer so every time I have to get something from the printer, it's staring me down..but people go out of their way to come and bring it right to my office to offer it to me (even though they see, I'm clearly not eating that type of junk). What I normally do when I feel tempted is I log in to dailyplate and look up the nutritional values of whatever it is that's tempting me.....seeing that one small cookie has 140 calories and a bunch of fat usually turns me off immediately. So looking up the calories and then figuring out what exercise I'd have to do to burn it off usually tells me whether something is worth it or not (more often than not, it's just not worth it, LOL). Hang in there....there will always be temptations, but the more you DON'T give in, the stronger in your resolve you'll become (at least that's my experience).

Fun! Let's see, being able to RUN (yep, I have NEVER been a runner, but I love that now I can). Being able to fit in one of our chairs with both my kids (and they aren't piled up on my lap fighting for space, LOL). Being able to fit comfortably on any ride at Disneyland. Going from a size 22/24 (pants) to a size 10 and from a 26/28 (top) to a Large!! It's awesome to be able to shop ANYWHERE! Being able to wear heels and not feel like my feet are going to fall off, LOL.

WOW! 6 months! How time flies when you're able to be out enjoying life :thumbup:. I'm doing well. I've only had 2 fills (last time I went in, they didn't think I needed one, and honestly, I probably don't)...so I have 4.5 cc's and I seem okay with that. I can eat 3-4 ozs solid protein and then I'm done...I stay full for 4-5 hours...some days I'm hungrier than others, but I just make smarter choices about what I choose to eat on those days than I would have in the past. The weight loss is slowing down now, but it's still moving in the right direction, so I'm happy about it (it's not going up, right?). It is a lot of work (especially in the beginning), but I've found that the more I do it, the more it becomes habit and now it doesn't even occur to me most of the time to pick up something that doesn't offer me anything nutritionally (junk)....don't get me wrong, at times, junk looks really good - but I just walk away and look up the calories and see how much EXTRA I'd have to run/walk/work-out to burn it off, and suddenly, it's not so appealing, LOL. Hope everyone is doing well and staying focused. For those that are struggling - don't lose hope, just keep making the right choices more often than not and exercise if you can and it will start coming off, I'm sure (perhaps slow, but as long as it's moving south - you're good, right?)