KarenK

And if you do, you won't be at all unusual. I wish my doctors had told me ahead of time that when you start adding real food back in it's possible to not lose or to gain a little weight. I beat myself up quite a bit over that! I'm doing quite well now - losing slower but steady. Learning the hard way to undo a lifetime of eating fast - dang, that hurts when something gets stuck! I'm learning to love the gym. It's "me" time I get so seldom. I go 3-4 times a week and do 30 minutes on the treadmill, 30 minutes of strength, and 15 minutes on the elliptical. Of course, it helps that every machine has a television attached so I don't miss anything important (like Dancing with the Stars or something). Good luck to everyone this Thanksgiving. Eat smart and we'll all make it through intact!

Anne - Good job on sticking to your guns! I imagine Thanksgiving will be quite the test for all of us this week. I've got Thanksgiving dinner at my parents' place on Thursday, a football get-together on Friday, and then an after-Thanksgiving thing at my sister-in-law's parents' place on Saturday. Yikes!

Hi Anne - I gave you my opinion in the fills thread, but will put it here too. I would definitely keep the appt and tell them what you told us. When I went for the fill we spent a good 15 min talking about how I was doing and feeling before the decision was made to do the fill. Make them listen to you! Good luck.

Anne - I would keep the appt and have the conversation with them. We had a good talk about whether I was ready for a fill before they decided to do it. They're the experts!

I've been walking my dogs 4-5 times a week, doing the Wii Fit 3-4 times a week. With the weather getting colder I was afraid I wouldn't keep up the dog-walking, so I joined a gym! I'm shocked I did that, but I've actually been enjoying going. I do about 30 minutes on the treadmill, a few of the strength machines, then 10-15 minutes on the stair stepper before I try to leave on jelly-filled legs! It's made a difference.

When I went for my fill, the nurse told me that they had a couple of patients who did so well with just the band and no saline that they never had a fill and lost lots and lots of weight. I keep trying to tell myself I need to be patient while they find my "sweet spot," but it's so darn hard!

It's been a while since I dropped in, so I thought I'd stop by and say Hi! to all the October bandsters. I'm doing pretty well. I've adjusted to my first fill with no problem, but it's pretty apparent I'll need another one at my appointment after Thanksgiving. I'm still food seeking, and getting hungry between meals. I took a big step for me and joined a gym. I just wasn't getting the results just walking my dogs - of course they have to stop and sniff stuff every 100 feet or so. Anyway, the local Gold's Gym had a special for University people, so I signed up and am surprised I enjoy it as much as I do! I had expected it to be full of body-building meatheads and chickies in spandex. It's actually a good mix of people - I don't feel terribly out of place. I'm also keeping track of my calories on SparkPeople. I don't use it for much else, but it has helped to keep track of my nutrition. Who'd ever have guessed I would be reading labels and tracking calories - not me. I'm off to read back through the pages now and catch up on everyone. Take care all of you wonderful people!

Anne - I was on full liquids (yogurt, etc) for 24 hrs., but have been back on regular food since with no real problems. I think it's going to take a couple of more fills before I feel any real meaningful restriction. Good luck!

Not a whole lot of difference, although I have noticed that I'm not getting hungry again quite as quickly. That and getting the last of the halloween candy out of the house should make for an easier time of it until the next fill.

julie.ann - could you at least make it thin crust pizza with good stuff on top? I'm afraid to start eating my old trigger food again, and pizza was a big one for me.

I realized yesterday that I didn't have a before picture handy. Called my brother and he sent me one he took during a football game earlier this fall. I can't even bring myself to open it. Maybe I need to lose more before I can face the old me. moirak - hope you feel better soon.

CyndyG - Wow! No tip for her! Anyone who thinks that this is easy is very much mistaken. We work damned hard for the progress we make. Had my first fill today. No lidocaine or anything, but it wasn't bad. The worst part was when the nurse was pressing down finding the port. One poke and it was over. Wish I had known how much the weight loss would slow down after reintroducing real food. I lost 4 lbs in 3 wks and they were thrilled.

Another Wii Fit lover here. I really like the yoga, even though I don't do very well at the ones on one leg. I also love the step aerobics. I try to get in a half hour every night, and while it isn't as strenuous as it could be, it's still a lot of fun. My daughter and I do it together, too, which helps.

At this point I'll settle for any improvement. My first fill is tomorrow. At least I know I'm not alone with the problem. I've started keeping a food journal on sparkpeople - it seems to help me to see what I'm eating down in writing.

My first fill is tomorrow. I'm really hoping things improve. I lost a lot the first couple of weeks, but then I started feeling better and started eating like it and the weight loss has slowed way way down. I have real hopes of a fill helping the fight.

Is that why they always have the girls change from weighing in sports bras to weighing in tight tank tops? Is that like a compression stocking for the whole body? I'm willing to put up with some loose skin as long as I reach the point where I'm comfortable with myself. LoneStarLoser - Thanks. I'm not the biggest needle fan, but I figure for this I'll survive them! Did you have to go back to liquids afterwards for a while? I'm having my fill Thursday am and am supposed to have a business dinner Friday evening and am concerned.

Hi everyone - Hope everyone is doing well. I am finally onto the "cooked solid food" stage, and survived my first restaurant trip last night. As soon as my food arrived, I asked for a to go box and boxed up 1/2. I ended up boxing up about 2/3 by the end. It is hard to go against a lifetime of training to clean your plate! I've been avoiding the scale (waiting to use the dr office scale), but seem to be making some progress although it's slower now that I'm on real food and don't have a fill in. My first fill is Thursday. I'm excited and nervous and ready. I'm off to read up on everything that I missed by not visiting for about a week. :thumbup:

Hi Nancy - I work on campus too. I'm heading to I.F. on Thursday for my first fill. I'm nervous, but ready!

Crystal - Dr. Avila isn't in Blackfoot any longer. His replacement is Dr. Davis. When I started looking into it, he wasn't approved to do surgery in Idaho yet, so I ended up going to IF. They didn't have payment plans when I looked at it, but they did offer some advice on how to get credit for the parts not covered by insurance. Good luck.

I'm running into the same issue. It is hard to get it all in. I'm feeling much better - almost too good. My appetite has returned and without a fill it's becoming harder to stay good - it's a good thing Halloween is coming up quick so I can get the candy out of the house and make my daughter hide hers. My first fill is scheduled for next Thursday. I'm excited for it! Best of luck to the last of the October bandsters-in-waiting. We'll be thinking of you.

I'll definitely agree with the lip balm or chapstick. I needed some so bad! My own pajamas would have been nice, too. The lady who was banded right before me brought some, and I was jealous as I wandered the halls in my gigantic hospital gown. (we both stayed overnight)

Hard to believe that in only one more week all of the October Bandsters will be "on the other side." Where did this month go? My thoughts are with all of you waiting to go and all of us recovering.

Definitely more on the Wii - another reason to use the scale at the doctor's office!:grouphug:

I check myself occasionally on the Wii Fit, but it does not weigh the same as the clinic's scale. I'm using the clinic's weigh-ins as my official weights. I go back up in two and a half weeks for my first fill, and am looking forward to some real validation that I'm doing this right!

Nazzy - that's great. Within a few days I was so sick of sugar free jello and chicken broth that the thought of either of them made me ill. I'd have killed for yogurt!