janetsjourneytoslim

:scared2:Today is the day I see the Dr. for a Fill OR NOT! I dread this day, cause I have not been eating right, cause stuff will not go down, so I need a slight unfill so I don't eat sliders to feel full. (Sliders=Stuff I should not have full of calories, that slide through easy) So Here I go to face the fiddler and to help myself to eat fish, chicken and salads again! I will not be as depressed either! On a good note:smile:My oldest grandson will graduate from Kindergarten this morning and I feel so blessed for having this year almost behind me! Life gets better every year. This year two more grandchildren will be added to our family and my daughter gets married in October! So we will be growing our little family! God is a Good God!:smile2:

Depressed or what? Don't know but I could not move off the couch today, just did not want to do anything. I had so much energy the first six months of the journey and now I feel tired, well I did just get back from a 12 day Vacation, (No Rest then) Guess I need a vacation to get over my vacation. Nothing really on TV either, can't believe that I watched Top Model!!?? I wanted to eat more today too, just sitting around, should have gotten my butt up and gone to the Gym, well there is always tomorrow! My next appt is Friday and I dread it, because of the cruise, I have not lost any weight this month, and dread the visit! I need my Mojo Back! And the Dr. and Staff always do that for me, cause they are my friends now and really care about me, I know this to be true~sooo I will suck it up and get to the Dr. I think I get too hung up on Goal Setting and feeling like a failure when I don't meet the goals! Got to get past this! I also have a few friends who are a little upset and maybe even a bit jealous I am getting smaller than them, they can say things that really hurt! I want to take off 30 lbs this next year and I believe I will too, got to work at it and I will. Thanks for hearing me vent! Later!:smile2:

Yes it is called Bandster Hell, cause you can still eat and have little restriction, the swelling inside has gone down and you need the fill, and once you get the fill you will feel tight when you eat, it is all down hill from there. Until you hit a Holiday! LOL I really can not complain cause I have kept off 82 lbs so far. It just is a life changing thing!

:frown:Just thinking I wish I could eat a Hot Dog! Blah, Blah is my body adjusting faster than My Brain? I use to think that my brain moved faster than I could talk, and that I could think of things and ways to amuse my mind to keep the hands away from food. Is it Just Memorial Day Blahs? I use to love to fix a big potato salad and ribs and hot dogs and hamburgers, I just kinda feel like I am missing out and just feeling a little low and left out right about now. Not with the way I look and how I like getting into clothes sizes I could not wear for the past 10 or so years, I just sit around (when I am not working and think too much, it is hard to stop thinking about foods that I want to eat and can't) and want to eat, so I have to modify this behavior I KNOW! Anyway I think it has to do with lots of depressing things going on in my life right now, recent deaths, financial concerns, etc. I will get over it, and I will move on, and life will get better I KNOW: just needed to vent to those of you who KNOW where I am at at this stage, rolling 4 or 5 lbs around is so depressing, up and then down and then back up again, very challenging for the last 20 lbs on any diet program and even with the band too.:sad:

Hi I just flew to Seattle WA from Florida and then on to an Alaskan Cruise, I did fine with it, take plenty of snacks and ask for double water when the tray comes around, you can not take on water with you as you check in, but you can buy bottled water in the terminal after you pass the metal detectors and check in line, take some to make sure you get hydrated! I had a blast, no problems.

:frown: It's official. After the fifth fill I am too tight for Pizza! So I am deliberating with having a little unfill. Not that I love Pizza and have to have it or anything like that, but with an episode in the parking lot at Wal-Mart with everyone around, and no where to let it out, trying to hold it in until I get into the restroom and can't OMG was I ever so embarrassed! Well then when I did get inside, I had to visit the Bathroom again! ONLY ONE PIECE TOO! The salad I had enjoyed stayed, the Pizza did not! I had only had liquids for breakfast and it was 4:20 PM so I decided to eat with my husband out tonight. So much for the romantic ending! I came home and made some Lumpia Roll mix (like an egg roll) I was still hungry and so I ate a small bowl of the hot filling, cabbage carrots, onions, hamburger meat, and chopped green beans, etc. Very good. When I am at home and relaxed, everything goes very well, when I eat out, watch out! Are we LapBanders so different that we can't eat out anymore, or not very well anyway? I am fast discovering this so I will order small from thence forth. I may have a slight unfill on June 4th, haven't actually made up my mind yet, but maybe!:sad:

This is delicious! Low Carb, High Protein! Chicken Fritters! In a large bowl, mix one can of White Meat Chicken, chopped finely! (Reduce the size of the chunks to minced) Add Two Green onions minced fine. Salt and Pepper to taste. Add 1 1/2 cups of Ricotta Cheese Add 1 Cup of Low Fat Sour Cream Add 1/4 cup Flour (to hold the mixture togeter) White or Whole Wheat Add two eggs, beaten. Mix entire mixture together in bowl. Spray cast iron pan with cooking spray, low-cal type. Drop mixture into pan, in 4 oz sizes, keep flipping until brown on both sides, about 4 min. till done. Serve with a side salad and low cal dressing! Absolutely Delicious and Satisfying!

I am 8 months out and too contemplating an unfill. I feel embarressed to ask my Dr. to do it, because I complained that I was not getting enough cc's when I was filled. I have difficulty eating meat now, anykind and last night cheese and crackers almost got stuck. I see my Dr. on the 4th and I am going to at least discuss this with him. I am only losing 4 to 5 lbs per month now, but my skin is going back nice and tight, so I do not have to lose the 10 lbs per month I started out with, this is a forever life with the band and I will adjust with it of course we all will, it is as individual as it is diverse, but we can all help each other here and most of the Dr's performing the surgery NEVER had it, so they do not know our feelings until we express them, right? Then I do not know if they fully UNDERSTAND us.

Hi, Hang in there, it will get better day by day, and that is what a journey is in life anyway. Try the recipes at www.400caloriesorless.com or www.lapband.com they are both good places for us bandsters to find great recipes!

Hey Michelle! You are AWESOME! Pat yourself again on the back, I too fluctuate and can barely keep what I eat down, but I too have not come near my goal, and I still have 18 to 20 to lose. But I am happy too, not content yet, and WE WILL lose the other lbs, but we have to believe that it is not wise to force this weight off, but let the band run its course! Our metabolism must be boosted to lose the extra lbs. I am going to change up now from just walking and weights to regular exercise class. Jumping Jacks or whatever! LOL Give this two years and we will be right where we want to be, I am sure of it, my friend is 7 years out from Gastric Bypass and she is still small and happy! God Bless You and Happy Bandiversary!

:tt1:Don't let your food get boring as I have done over the past eight months or so. Go to www.400caloriesorless.com and you will find wonderful recipes for high protein and low fat, also on www.lapband.com you will find great recipes to start with and continue with. I have submitted a couple of my own recipes and they have been accepted and published! Crab Tomato Soup and Asparagus Crab Delight try them. I have one good eating day and then a bad day, don't know why but I do!

Don't let your food get boring as I have done over the past eight months or so. Go to www.400caloriesorless.com and you will find wonderful recipes for high protein and low fat, also on www.lapband.com you will find great recipes to start with and continue with. I have submitted a couple of my own recipes and they have been accepted and published! Crab tomato soup and Asparagus Crab Delight tyr them. I have one good eating day and then a bad day, don't know why but I do!

Great, glad you spoke out, I too have a problem with spelling and it is not because of ignorance, we now have spell check to keep us up to par! Glad I am not the only one who has a loose bra! Just found out I have lost cup size and not inches in that department! LOL

I do love to travel and ALASKA was the best yet! We cruised on the Norwegian Pearl to Juneau, Skagway and Ketchikan, then to Victoria BC and then to Seattle, WA for a couple of days. Discovered I have one good day to eat and then it is followed by a bad day. The motion of the ship did not help either even tho it was ever so gentle, I think it affected my digestion with this band. I ate good, just not like the rest of my group I was with. I HAVE to have the time to eat slowly and we were always going to Bingo or to something NEXT! I did get a couple of nice peices of art at the Art Auctions and drank the free Champagne! I was always full and satisfied, I had carried onboard my protein shakes and made sure to have one evey day. I had LOTS of energy and it is a good thing, because the Pearl is a very Big ship and we must have walked two to three miles every day! My legs were sore! It was TOO COLD on this cruise to even think about the pool or the Hot tubs even tho people were in them! I could never have let go of the towel or robe to get in! The wind had a chill in it! The scenery and the rich history of Alaska was so interesting and the views of the Mountains, glaciers and the different way of life was so facinating. I wish the trip was longer. Now it is back to work for me! Both on the job, the gym and the diet. I did not gain any weight but then I did not lose either, it seems to be this way when I cruise. Not sure of how they prepare the foods, but tried to eat lots of fish and seafoods this time and salads! The fruit was good but no strawberries except once. I bought some really good blueberries in Pikes Market Place in Seattle, WA I love that place, the prettiest flowers. Drank lots of coffee and I know I shouldn't (black tho no additives) and there is a Starbucks on every corner. LOL Had a donut at Top Pot Yummy and found the Five Points Cafe in Seattle to be the best little restaurant and bar open 24/7 since 1929! Check it out if you ever go to Seattle. Went up in the Space Needle! Walked a LOT in Seattle! Took the Double Decker a couple of times and the Monorail once. Had a wonderful break. Missed you all and my Facebook friends too. Glad to be home.

:cool:I selected the "Cool" Symbol, cause it is NOT going to be in the 80's in ALASKA! My first time cruising there, and I AM SO EXCITED! I am not so FAT anymore, so I AM White Water Rafting out to the Glaciers!!!! YEAH! What fun this trip is going to be because of the BAND! Down 82 lbs and looking for the last 18 lbs to go (or more) in the next four months! My first year with the BAND. Sometimes it is difficult and get into that woe is me syndrom, where I am sad that I can't eat something or MORE of something that I really love! But I look back and that is what got me to where I was when I had the BAND procedure! I thank God I am restricted, Behavior Modification takes a lot of time! That is what I have~time, and I WILL change for the better with it and you will tooooo! So HAPPY FOR ALL OF US BANDSTERS! Have a great day all!:smile:

Some days I would just love to eat a Cheeseburger and fries or onion rings, but I would not love myself later would I? Just sayin~~~~Food is just not all that anymore, thank God! But I sure watched all my family eat it down today and the Mothers Day Buffet! I counted one family member going back for plate number 3, and just think that used to be me!!!! Thankful for the Band!

Well, I have certainly gotten to the SWEET SPOT and STAYING THERE! Takes awhile in the mornings to get OPENED up enough to allow the solid food intake! I did have a peice of Lemon Pie (well 1/2 pc) today for Mothers Day. My family took me out to eat, and I felt like I wasted their money. Could not eat but about two bites of each thing or so! I was full, waited for awhile and was able to eat 1/2 pc of pie. It was all very delicious but I have become a SLOW eater and feel like I am PUSHED to eat when I look around the table and some are already on the third plate, mine is getting cold, and I can NOT swallow until I have chewed really good and I think they are looking at me. Anyone else have this problem? I eat really good at home, get everything written down or know what I can eat and keep only those things so I do better at home. Hope all Had a Wonderful Mothers Day! God Bless all Mothers!:smile:

Well, I have certainly gotten to the SWEET SPOT and STAYING THERE! Takes awhile in the mornings to get OPENED up enough to allow the solid food intake! I did have a peice of Lemon Pie (well 1/2 pc) today for Mothers Day. My family took me out to eat, and I felt like I wasted their money. Could not eat but about two bites of each thing or so! I was full, waited for awhile and was able to eat 1/2 pc of pie. It was all very delicious but I have become a SLOW eater and feel like I am PUSHED to eat when I look around the table and some are already on the third plate, mine is getting cold, and I can NOT swallow until I have chewed really good and I think they are looking at me. Anyone else have this problem? I eat really good at home, get everything written down or know what I can eat and keep only those things so I do better at home. Hope all Had a Wonderful Mothers Day! God Bless all Mothers!:cursing:

:smile:Well, it is finally here, no need for a fill. I am eating correctly, (according to my Dr.) Not eating things that would streach my band out, losing about 5 lbs a month now (after the 6th month, I have slowed down, was losing 10 or more lbs per month) I did not feel that I should have a fill due to the amount of restriction I have with the band right now. I did get measured and have lost another inch and a half in my waist which is wonderful for me! Now that I know that is still a problem area for me, cause I can fit into pants that are smaller sizes if I can zip them up! My stomach was big at least 4 times in my life due to the children I carried there! Not complaining! Glad to be a MOM! And now a Grandmother too. Just would like to get into a good size 12 and not have a problem zipping them up.:cursing: Happy Mothers Day to ALL!

:cursing:Well, it is finally here, no need for a fill. I am eating correctly, (according to my Dr.) Not eating things that would streach my band out, losing about 5 lbs a month now (after the 6th month, I have slowed down, was losing 10 or more lbs per month) I did not feel that I should have a fill due to the amount of restriction I have with the band right now. I did get measured and have lost another inch and a half in my waist which is wonderful for me! Now that I know that is still a problem area for me, cause I can fit into pants that are smaller sizes if I can zip them up! My stomach was big at least 4 times in my life due to the children I carried there! Not complaining! Glad to be a MOM! And now a Grandmother too. Just would like to get into a good size 12 and not have a problem zipping them up.:cursing: Happy Mothers Day to ALL!

SO I am trying to lose the last 20 and what is HCG? I am a little confused with that? CARB GRAMS?

Reaching for the toilet tissue! Seriously, use this week to nest and get ready for the time you will convalese at home. Get things within reach, get a small pillow to place on the port incision to help you when you get up and down and cough. Wear gowns, they are easier to pull up than to pull down pj's. Just a few that I can remember. You will be sore around the Port area, cause that is where the stitches are inside. Give it a few days, and make sure you have Gas~X for the gas pains. Walk around the house inside to help relieve and get rid of the gas from the surgery, give yourself a few days and baby yourself some, take all the help you can get too. In a few days you will be up and at it again, believe me. Don't try to be Superwoman this time~ milk it! LOL Best Luck and Welcome to the Bandsters!

Hi and welcome! You will find that each person here is different and eat different, exercise different, that is what makes this site so nice and why we all are addicted to it! LOL You will average about 8 to 10 lbs a month if you add exercise to your plan, and you will TONE and your skin will go back into place well, I suggest you get up and get movin, build the muscle tone and muscle combats fat to keep you from gaining the fat back it increases the metabolism, which was my problem before when I weighed 272! Now I have lost 82 lbs in 8 months. Down from a size 24W to a 14 and 12 regular, top is different from the bottom. Have only lost 3 inches in the boobs, 22 from the hips! Just hang on for the ride, your life will change and if you do follow the plan you will love the results.