KarenK

Great pictures, LoveIslovely. I just finally got up the guts to take a look at a before picture. Yikes! I have avoided cameras so assiduously the past few years, I had to ask my brother (the camera nut) if he had any of me I didn't know he had taken. He sent me one - truly, honestly scary! I'm taking my daughter to get our pictures taken tomorrow - couldn't find time before Christmas so we're doing New Year photos. When they come back, I will post a before & after - if only to assure myself that it's working!

Linro - good luck with the vacation. Let us know how you decide to deal with it. I'd be interested. Vacations for me always meant a lot of fast food and convenience store crud on the road. Gotta find a new way! nrpnrp - I'd go crazy without the little clementine oranges this time of year. They are my absolute favorite. Why no fruit? Just curious. Nina - congrats to you and Don. As a self-payer, I'm always jealous of those who get insurance coverage. I'm doing okay with the holidays so far. I did well at the potluck, and avoided the "goodie" day upstairs. Wednesday and Thursday will be the big tests, of course. In the meantime, I am off to the gym right after work today.

May I be added to the list? I am down 46 lbs, and am feelin' fine!

That's great julie.ann My NSV - I cleaned out my closet. I took five bags of too big clothes to Goodwill, and brought out the box of clothes I put away years ago. When I started this journey I was just barely in a 24 - barely at the top end - the laying down to zip my pants kind 'cuz no way was I going to admit I was really a 26. I am now squarely in a 20! Another NSV - I actually look at myself in the mirror in the morning. If it is possible for a person to put on make-up without ever really focusing on how they look - that's what I was doing. I couldn't stand to look at myself. Now, I do. And I'm actually liking what I see.

My internal furnace is definitely on the blink as well. I have never used a heater at work, but finally gave in and stole a co-workers space heater. I refuse to turn up the heat at home - ordered a couple of those snuggie blankets with sleeves things they keep advertising on tv. Calories = heat and I know there's not a lot there to burn lately, but I wasn't honestly expecting this!

Don - I think the Head Hunger is the hardest part to overcome. I'll have dinner at 6 or 7, and by 9 I'm having to talk myself out of getting something - anything - from the fridge. I know I'm not hungry, but that habit is very hard to overcome. Hope everyone has a plan for getting through this week! Christmas dinner is a touch scary for me at this point. I'm planning on trips to the gym Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday to gear up for it!

Welcome adoptmom2_3. Make sure you check out the whole site - there are lots of great people with great advice all over the place. Other than struggling with being cold all the time :confused: (insert blue smilie cuz there are no freezing ones), I'm doing quite well. I'm surprised at how well I like going to the gym and am feeling less conspicuous in amongst the skinny folks - I've added jogging on the treadmill, can really move on the elliptical, and can actually act like I know what I'm doing on the weight machines. We had a potluck lunch today. One of the people who left us in September came back (his wife still works here) - I ran into him at the door and the first words out of his mouth were "Wow, you look great!" It's nice to hear sometimes.:shades_smile: Take care all.

I'm thinking it might be the fact that calories = heat, and now we're taking in fewer calories and creating less heat. I'm not sure, but I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one whose internal furnace is on the blink.

I'm cold. Is anyone else really really cold? The temperature in my office is about 68 - same as it has been for years - but for some reason lately I have been just freezing. I know I'm down a few pounds of insulation, but I am still considerably over 200 lbs. Is it the lack of calories I have to burn every day combined with a higher metabolism? Or am I just becoming a weather wimp? Anyone else colder than usual?

I use Spark People as well. It really helps keep me on the straight and narrow food-wise. A friend of mine swears by The Daily Plate over at Livestrong.com. I can't help but wonder if those of us giving ourselves a hard time about how "little" weight we've lost are being too hard on ourselves. They say a healthy weight loss is 1-2 pounds a week - even on the band. I've complained about my family having unrealistic expectations for my weight loss - it's not a bypass - weight isn't going to just drop off super fast. I wonder if I've set unrealistic expectations for myself as well?

Penny - I agree. I was surprised at how poorly tortillas go down - I thought they'd be a good alternative to bread - instead I'm doing crackers (lunch today is tuna salad on crackers with veggies on the side). They go down pretty easily.

Morning everyone - Had my second fill yesterday. I am now at 6cc's in a 15cc band. This one hurt a little more - she didn't find it quite as easily and they don't use any sort of topical anesthetic. I am now down 42 pounds! Pretty nice! I admit I'm not losing it off my middle as quickly as I'd like, but I keep on plugging away. Hope everyone is doing well.

Hope you get the fill you want on Wednesday. I'm going in that day for my 2nd fill. I'm really hoping for some more reasonable restriction. Wow, 400 is an amazingly high sugar level! Yikes! My sugars are actually getting much better on the band. They even took me off the januvia last week. I was pleased. Hope you get your sugars back where they belong.

Julie.ann - I can't speak for everyone, of course, but that seems to have happened with me. I'm glad I go back in on Wednesday for fill #2. I definitely ate too much a couple of times last week. I am slowly discovering all of my triggers - apparently the student union building across the way is a big one for me! - and trying to avoid them or deal with them. I've been hitting the gym 3-4 times a week. I can tell I haven't been walking the dogs as much, though - the chihuahua is starting to get a gut! Why is it that we lose weight last where we want it the most? I am really pleased to see the difference in my upper body, arms & legs, but man does my gut seem to be shrinking slower than everything else. Maybe it's because diabetics tend to carry their weight in their stomach, but it's getting frustrating.

It's so fun to see the running totals of all the October bandsters. We're all doing so well! I'm waiting to update my ticker until I step on the "official scale" at the clinic on Wednesday when I go in for fill #2.

My second fill is the day after yours, beachlover. Hope it goes well for you. Went to the doctor today about my general icky feeling. He says I'm on too many meds for my changing body. :tongue2: He took me off one of my diabetes meds, ordered some lab work I need to have drawn on Monday, and told me to continue to check my blood pressure and pulse - if my pulse goes below 60 I'm supposed to call him - and he may lower my blood pressure meds when I go see him in two weeks. Step one on my goal to be prescription free! Right now, though, I'll be happy with just feeling better again.

I've been trying to figure out what to do about the clothes situation. Another 10-15 pounds and I'll be in some clothes left over from the last time I got my act together and lost weight (didn't last, obviously). After that I'm down to buying. My job doesn't let me get away with anything too casual. How are all of you going to deal with needing new clothes?

I have a Thursday appt with my g.p. and then with the fill clinic a week from tomorrow. My sugars have been a little more stable and not as low as that last one - averaging 80-100. Still feeling a little jittery - sort of like you do when you've had too much caffeine. Hopefully between the two we'll get it straightened out soon. In the meantime, I'll just keep poking my fingers more and try to keep it steady myself.

I have a note on my work calendar to call him tomorrow. I wasn't supposed to see him until March, but the swings in my blood sugars are making me feel pretty icky. Time to get it together and go in. MollyJo - I was told I could exercise except abdominals after 3 weeks. Abdominals had to wait for 6. One thing I think we've all learned from these boards is that every doctor has their own way of dealing with this.

Congratulations Cristina - what a wonderful start to your journey. I have to say that Thanksgiving was not easy. I ate considerably less than Thanksgivings past, but considerably more than I probably should have. I haven't gotten on the scale yet to determine any damage. I at least want to wait until after I go to the gym tonight! Are any October bandsters diabetic? If so, how have you been handling your meds? Any changes to your blood sugars? Mine have been all over the place lately.

I have never lost hair after surgeries - gall bladder, hysterectomy, etc. - in the past. I have lost hair during weight loss in the past - quick weight loss (Optifast and fen-phen). I have always had thin hair, but it's definitely happening again. Sigh.

Sunwyse - sorry your first fill was not a great experience for you. Hope the rest go much smoother! NFaith - glad you got the fill you wanted and that it went smoothly. I'm due for my second fill a week from Wednesday. Here's to finding our sweet spots soon!!

Hi all - Hope everyone did great at Thanksgiving. I didn't do wonderfully, but did okay. Hit the gym Thanksgiving morning then did my cooking and we headed to the parents' place. Friday we did so much walking while shopping I didn't feel in the least bit guilty about not getting to the gym or what have you. I have to admit that I haven't been feeling great lately. I took my blood sugar this morning and it was down at 60. Bit low. I am beginning to wonder if the change in diet and exercise is affecting my diabetes already. I had expected it to eventually - just not so soon. I'm going to have to start taking my sugars more often and then I guess it's time to call my g.p. to adjust my meds. My second fill is a week from Wednesday. Time flies!

NFaith - I was told no eating the day of the fill, and that I would go back on full liquids for 24 hrs afterwards. Good luck - hope you get the fill you want!

No one told me there was going to be math! Actually, I do track my calories fairly strictly on Sparkpeople.com and usually do around 1,000 a day. I'm too chicken to figure out how many calories I used to eat a day - that would be seriously scary! I haven't tried tracking the calories I burn off, but I do go to the gym 3-4 times a week and do 30-45 minutes of cardio (treadmill and elliptical) and about 15-20 minutes of strength. Today I'm thinking of trying something different - I'm taking my daughter & nephew skating - wonder if I can get up on roller skates yet? Everyone have a great holiday!