finallyncontrol

First off you really cant compare because everyone loses weight at a different pace. I am a fast loser..I avg 3+ lbs a week or 13 lbs a month for a total of 130 lbs in 11 months..there was one month I didn't lose...well long story short I was in the hospital and gained 6 lbs and then had to lose those 6 lbs..changed my medication and I gained 9 lbs due to that change and had to lose those 9 lbs..so during that month I gained and lost 15 lbs...so I don't count that month in my equation. My doctors records show 13 lbs each month except the hospital/med change month and he shows a 1 lb weight loss that month. I have been maintaining this for the last 2 months now BUT please remember you should not compare...everyone loses at their own pace. I wish you the very best. Positive attitude's are key to success without that I would gain a pound..every time I got down..the scale went up..so I learned quickly to put a smile on my face and think positive!!

Yeah I agree with MrsMustang..you are craving things you just cant have. Also, you need to make sure your head isn't playing tricks on you!! Make sure your belly is hungry before you eat unless it has been 4 hours. Taking your meds will get easier or you will just get used to it..not sure which it is. I know I am in the same boat. At first it took my a 1/2 hour to take my meds..finally I am down to a couple of minutes. Take care and keep up the great work!!

You are AWESOME!!! Just seeing your snow makes me cold!! Your cat is way too funny!! I would be all over you dr..they should understand (but not sure they do) that it drives us insane when we can't get in when we WANT to get in!!! I hope you get in soon!! How is your book going..I am sure you have talked about it on your other blog..I want to be one of the first to get a copy that is for sure!! take care!!

I use 1/2 cup of frozen fruit and 1/2 cup of Fuze Drink (slenderize only...all other Fuze has calories in it)..then add however much unflavored protein powder if needed. I get enough elsewhere so I don't add any but you could very easily. Change up the fruits and the drink flavors..it is wonderful!! My oatmeal... 1/2 cup Quick One Minute Oatmeal 1 Cup of water 1/4 cup of raisins 2 pkgs of sweet in low cinnamon french vanilla coffee creamer (about the same you would put in one cup of coffee) mix oatmeal, water, raisins, sweet in low together...then spinkle cinnamon on it...microwave for 3 minutes. Pour a little bit of coffee creamer on it to cool/make it not so thick. This makes a tad bit more than one serving but not quite enough for 2. If you are in the puree stage...ANYTHING goes in the blender..just close your eyes if you have to to eat it! It all goes to the same place..you are just wanting to taste it! LOL

Hope the Port revision surgery wasn't too bad!! Great job on the weight loss!!! keep up the fantastic job!!

You are already inspirational!! keep up the awesome attitude!! Love the 2 1/2 seminar at the hospital right before surgery!! Make sure the very minute they say you are able to get up and walk you stand up and start walking..the quicker you can get up and walk the faster your recovery will start! You can even ask if you can get up if you think you are ready and they haven't asked!! Keep us posted..they more you stay online and talk about it the better you will do (or at least I think so!! LOL). take care and keep on stylin'

Well welcome to this site!! There is a ton of support here! Sorry about your family not supporting you...maybe when they see all the weight falling off of you they will change their minds!! Always remember there are not any dumb questions here as well as always remember to follow your doctors directives! You will see really quickly here that every doctor does things a little bit differently but all with good intentions! Take care and I wish you the very best on your journey!

So happy you have committed 2011 as your year!! Congrats on the 7 lbs!! Keep up the awesome jobs!! April will be here before you know it!!

Great job on the 4 lbs!! As for the drinking...try getting a glass of ice..let it sit there and when it melts then you can have it..it will take about 45 minutes to an hour...that gives you enough time to eat and a 1/2 hour afterwords. If you really feel you need to have a drink, take a sip of the ice..all you will get is a sip or whatever has melted. I actually get stuck if I drink when I eat and I have been banded for 14 months now..so it does effect everyone different but if you get used to doing it then you will allow your band to tolerate it. Drinking flushes all of your protein you just ate. So all the energy you are trying to store up is actually wasted when you drink with your meal. Habits are hard to break! We all have them. I wish you the very best!!

Well I will not be on of those viewers and not respond!!! I am also one of those that you can text all day and I will respond!! There are several books out that explains things but nothing really says eat this today and eat that tomorrow--over time it all comes together. Your doctor is going to give you a basic plan that says you can have liquids for this many days, protein shakes for this many days, purees for this many, soft foods for this many and then you are off running. Do you cook? That is a huge question! Then will you be cooking for a family or just for yourself? (what I mean there is are you single or with a family...I whole heatedly believe that you should have your family eat the same foods you do--so there is only one meal made..you might have to puree yours but your are still cooking the same meal. I know a lot of single people still eat frozen pre-made meals or eat out quite often so that is different. Here are a couple books I have downloaded...I have a kindle but you can get them in hard back or soft.. The Truth About Lapband Surgery S.A. Morse The Expert's Guide to Weightloss Surgery Garth Davis Website I love besides this one is www.sparkpeople.com and www.sparkrecipe.com I hope this helps you and I am sorry that now one has responded to you!!! I wish you the very best on your journey!! When is your surgery date??

Fantastic!!! I do remember when you first started your journey!! I think how you stated it here is fantastic!! We really don't realize what we are getting ourselves into until we are literally going thru this!! Great blog!! Keep up the awesome job!!! Take care!!

Hello!! Well maybe something that might help you out is to take the word "never" out of your vocabulary...maybe you wont eat it today or tomorrow but you will eat it one day..you wont eat the whole loaf, but maybe a slice, a 1/2 a slice or even a bite and feel completely satisfied! That is what I have learned and practice..moderation! I personally do not eat ice cream and bread but other than that I eat everything else but in very, very small quantities!! I have lose 130 lbs in 11 months in have been in maintenance for the last 2 months!! You can do it too!! Stay positive and focus on the bigger picture!! I wish you the very best!! Take care!

After you get your fill does your dr require you to do a liquid diet or anything? Mine takes 7 days until you are back on regular foods...2 days liquids, 2 days protein shakes, 2 days puree and then 1 day soft foods..this is after each fill because you can be swollen after each fill. I believe 7 days is extreme be he would rather be safe than sorry. I had only one problem and I was too full and had to have a little taken out..I new that right away..other than than that I haven't had any problems. I hope you get better soon!

Well you are starting off on the right foot!! If you can remember that we are no longer living to eat but we need food to live (and only small amounts of it) you are doing very well. I hope you are doing well and healing ok! I wish you the very best on your journey!

Thank you for your post and I hope over time your relationship mends!! I honestly can say that I have only given up two things. I concentrate on portion control. Everything is moderation. What you need to watch now is how your band handles it and you are in the healing stage so no it cannot tolerate bacon but nothing says you couldn't put all of that in a blender and puree it. Try to make it as healthy as you can...turkey bacon, the leanest hamburger and so forth..as you said you know all the right ways...but let your band heal properly so that you can pave that road to success the best way possible. I don't eat bread and ice cream but that is all i don't eat. I just make the foods in a different (more creative way). A cheeseburger to me..is a patty with ketchup, mustard, mayo (Ranch dressing can easily replace mayo), and pickles and I bake my potatoe wedges..so I have 2 of them..so Yes, I still have a cheeseburger and fries. I am in the maintenance stage now..that is why I said for you to puree your stuff. I craved Pizza..so I searched and found an awesome Pizza Soup...or worse case I eat the toppings off of the pizza and not the crust. Bottom line to me I never wanted to feel deprived with this lifestyle change so I had to figure this out and how I was going to achieve my goals...portion controls, be happy/positive attitude and stay active.

Baby Steps...I kind of had a rough evening putting my little one to sleep tonight so when I read your message I took it wrong...you have a "drink"..I was thinking like a shot of vodka maybe?? I don't drink at all and haven't for about 4 yrs (not due to the band..due to other medical reasons)! Hmmm maybe I do need a drink!! Protein is energy! Another thing that I have used is "B12 Shots". It is a caffeine free liquid drink. Natures Vitamins has one and the other one is just called B12 Shot...I have only seen it at Walgreens and Publix. Since it is caffeine free..it does not give you the jitters nor do you fall flat on your face after a couple of hours.

You know you might just be doing your sister a favor as well by doing this!! I now I have a stack of pictures of myself that I will keep handy for if I ever gain more than 5 lbs..I will just pull them out and it will be motivation enough. I was on such an excitement high the minute I started the pre-op diet I couldn't sit still..then once I could eat regular foods (well really it started in the puree stage) I dropped the "diet" word out of my vocabulary and said look this is not a diet this is a lifestyle change and this is how I am going to eat and behave the rest of my life. I need to find recipes/meals to prepare that not only I will like but my family will like because we are ALL in this together. Over the next 11 months I dropped 130 lbs really without any problems. Then I had to have some saline taken out of the band so that I would actually stop losing weight. To me this has been the most amazing thing (besides giving birth) that I have ever done in my entire life. Maybe your sister will team up with you and get back on track. You understand support is important...this site is so powerful!! Get as much support as you can...either on here, group support, family or wherever you can get it!! Take care and I wish you the very best!

Luvmyband..you can "hear" your enthusiasm!! That is so awesome!! Keep up the awesome job!! Yea, you may have more to go but take it in small increments..lay out your plan and you will reach your goal before you know it. I think sometimes when you say I have 100 or 150 lbs to lose it sounds like such a huge number but if you break it down into..well for your since you are going to fast I am not sure..but I did 25 lb increments and the next thing I new 130 lbs were gone (11 months). I want to keep hearing you..so stay focused and remain positive!! Take care!

Well you probably know all of this but you got me curious and this is what I just read on the internet..maybe it is all old news if not I hope it helps even a tiny bit!! So what can we do about getting rid of sciatica pain? There are three processes that you can to do help give you some wonderful relief from this awful condition. First – there are five nerve roots that form the sciatic nerve and they exit the lower back region. When the lower back muscles or the joints are irritated, you may have a sciatic attack. So the key here is to balancing lower back. This can be done by performing some simple stretches and joint techniques for that particular area. Second - Your pelvis needs to be level. If your pelvis is not level then sciatica can reoccur. The best way to check for this is to lay on your back. Place each hand under your back on each side. Put your hands about belt height. If there is more pressure on one side than the other, your pelvis is not level. This is also referred to as pelvic distortion. No matter what it is called, it can cause you a lot of pain. So, the second step is to correct your pelvic alignment and release that pressure it is placing on your sciatic nerve. Third – this is the easiest of the three, but probably the biggest irritant to your sciatic nerve. If you can take care of this, then you may very well be on your way to getting rid of sciatica pain forever! This is regarding the main muscle that surrounds the sciatica nerve. This is the Piriformis muscle. When this muscle tightens, it will immediately irritate the sciatic nerve. This is doing with some simple stretching exercises and they need to be done at least 3 times a day. One session just before you go to bed. If you stretch a muscle, then use it, it really kind of defeats the purpose of stretching it. You want to stretch it when you are done using it. At bedtime, you are giving your back a nice rest with a nice stretched and relax muscle.

As Alikitty said..you r a strong woman..you have a lot going on right now! I wouldn't have thought working out would have helped the sciatic nerve..you know best..I have back issues..thank god not the sciatic. I know you don't want to post pone this but the worse thing to do is go into this unhealthy. Do what u think is best!! Great job on the protein count and how you are feeling!!

As for the protein shake..you go girl! I am not a breakfast person and here I am 14 months later and that is what I still have each and every morning!! It is just so satisfying to me and it fills me up until lunch time. So I say if you find the right mixture/flavors then go for it and if you can get your family to do it as well..more power to you! I have my husband doing it also!! Your sciatic...that is terrible pain I know! All I can do for you there is send you some hugs and do some praying for you..and I will pray for you!! I wish you the very best!!

Very good!! You have done so well and posted some awesome recipes!! I am also maintaining my 130 lb loss..so I know your feeling...isn't it fabulous!!! Take care!

the best part of your post...Tomorrow IS a NEW day and it is CLEAN slate and fresh start! Don't beat yourself up any longer..it is in the past and you can't change it..just learn from it!! Good luck and stay positive!!

I love the way you are approaching it! You are so right...I believe that heavy people are overlooked or at least not given the second look. Now it is amazing what a rush it is to do any task...going to the grocery store or whatever and how many glances I get...this morning I was taking my 3 yr old son to school and my son said..Mom the guy in that truck is looking at you....mind you I am staring at the light waiting for it to turn green..thinking i have forty million things to do today and here someone else is paying attention to me where as before...it more than likely wouldn't have happened. I am going through all of our pictures and trying to reorganize/sort our photo albums...I can barely look at those pictures compared to how I am now. What it is doing is giving me so many reasons to stay on track and keep the 130 lbs off forever and ever!! Whatever it takes to motivate you..use it to its fullest!! I wish you the very best!!!

Keep watching that scale or anything that is positive! I loved the name of the class..."weapons class" never heard of it called it..that is cool! Keep on smiling and remember why you are doing this and soon you will be wheeling out of recovery and on the road to success!! take care!