LeighaMason

Hey Everybody, I wanted to pop in and say HI!, I would like to say that I hate the new forum and I rarely even sign on now, I have been trying to not complain but it sucks. I don't understand why but it doesn't seem the same. Today when I signed on I scanned the names of the people who have posted and I didn't even recognize anyone on the first 2 pages, its like everyone deserted the site when it changed. Stacie-- Congrats on the 1 year! I like your new plan to eat a certain amount and re-eat in an hour or two if you need to, you probably wont need to. HB-- Don't forget to post a pic of the quilt when your done. Denise-- Bananas and pecans are the only things that I cant eat now. I guess I could eat a banana if I ate it slow enough because the first bite is fine but it bunches up and gets stuck so I just avoid them. BTW, I see Karen on Facebook, she is super busy with her little kids, full time job and her wedding singing business, I seriously don't know how she does it all. Elcee-- Yeah on Christmas break! I wish I had one but my busy time is coming up in January so I got to get ready. Melody-- Thanks for the recipe on facebook I am dying to try it this weekend. I found a puppy and put a deposit on her but it will be the week after Christmas or the first week in January before she is ready to come home. Patience is not my virtue, OK I'm not sure I have a virtue, but I know for a fact that if I do, its not patience.

Hey Girls, Sorry I have been gone for a couple of days and I just saw the challenge. I was 135 on the dot this morning so thats good but the weekend is here and I am going to be doing a lot of baking so I might have to lose those 2 pounds again next week. But the good news is Excuse Month is almost over and by January the everyday of "lets eat junk" will be over. I could not be happier, so far I have stayed in my normal range for the month of December, I have always gained at least 10-15 pounds in this month. I love my band.

I didn't start losing until I was back on regular food either. I only lost 6 pounds during the 8 weeks after my surgery.

Hey Cindy, I put my son on meds when he was 7 or 8, he was sooo hyper. But now he is 16 and has learned enough coping skills that he doesn't need medicine any longer. He still loses stuff and talks too much but at least he doesn't drive the teachers crazy anymore. Don't worry it gets better. I have never regretted putting him on meds. Largemediumsmall-- Welcome to the thread, you doing great! Claire-- I'm glad your in a good place. I have been eating crap, eggnog, cookies, the works. I have gained 2 pounds and I am having a ball. I am going to try and rein it in during the week so that I don't outgrow my clothes by Christmas but I am going to enjoy the Holidays this year without worrying about my weight. (Unless I get to 140, then I will get serious!)

Jackie-- WTG! I'm glad the band isn't the problem. Melody-- I'm so happy for you on the 11, I hope you get the same thing next month too! Bob-- I had to go repo a car last night so I couldn't come to the party, sometimes having your own business sucks! BTW, who the hell has a party on a Thursday?!?

I just told my husband that I am probably going to Houston (4 hour drive) on Sunday to look at a Havanese puppy which is code for "I am going to Houston Sunday to buy a puppy".

Melody, I think you have the same problem as me, you need something to mother on. Your sons are doing their own thing (mine too), you lost Sophie this year and I don't think Belize would accept much "mothering". I'm going to look at a puppy in a couple of hours that I can take back and forth to work with me, a lap dog. Christie, Recent pounds are the easiest to get off, they haven't had time to get really attached so I'm sure as soon as the holidays are over you will be back to normal. I have been eating too much also, well thats not really true, I have been eating crap too much but OK portions and drinking egg nog! Well I got to go to work, so I didn't get to everyone but I want to say hi to the new people!

"Do we really have to give up absolutely everything we enjoy?" Maybe, if you do get very strict with your diet you will lose faster. There are basically 2 ways to do it, go very intense and lose quicker or take the laid back approach and enjoy more of your foods and lose slower, you will have to decide which is better for you. " Is there really so many things that get stuck and do you really get sick so much?" I only get stuck now when I eat too fast or too much. I can eat any food I want. "Then someone said they put weight on, how could that be when you eat as much as a shot glass." I have always eaten more than that, I limit my food to about a cup at a meal. I had my band relatively tight for the last 3 months that I was losing, and there were a few things that I couldn't eat and I had to eat soooo slowwww that it was almost silly but once I got to goal (3.5 months ago) I had .2cc removed from my band and I can (and do) eat anything. I eat my normal diet Monday- Friday but on Saturday and Sunday I eat anything I want (in the proper portion so I don't stretch my stomach) and my weight has been stable, within 5 pounds. So I think that I have normal eating habits now. But I do have to say what I consider normal now is not what I thought normal was then. My body requires MUCH less food than I thought possible.

The pre-op diet also give you time to adjust mentally to the changes that are coming. Resisting the pre-op diet can be a sign that you are not mentally ready to change your eating habits. I think its needed to reset your thinking about food, I have a total different mindset about how much food is normal than I did pre-band, my concept of what a body requires to sustain itself was very distorted.

Good morning everyone. Bob glad your back! You know that phrase "Smoke em if you got em?" Well thats about over! Boredom is the enemy of stopping any habit. I'm glad your not in a lot of pain. Shammah-- Tell your husband he is just going to have to wait his turn. We are at a tentative cease fire at my house. Hopefully things are getting better. We went on a date friday night so maybe my husband is seeing that we have to do some of the things I want to do as well. On the Tuesday before Thanksgiving we got home right before dark and my next door neighbor was outside across the street with the old guy who lives on the other side of her and they called us over. The neighbor across the street was gone on a 7 day cruise and water was pouring out of her house and they couldn't turn the water off so my husband came over and was able to finally get the valve to turn. So I looked inside and there was 2" of water throughout the house. So I went inside and started picking up her personal items and putting them on top of the furniture. The old guy was having a fit but I told him it would all be ruined by morning so he finally shut up. Well it turns out that she had taken all of her kids and grandkids on the cruise with her and they wouldn't be back until Sunday, so the next morning I called the water removal company to take care of her house, the old guy is the one with the key so when I got home that night, he comes over and starts screaming at me because he thought that I had talked to her son and the son had "authorized" the clean up but when he found out I had, he was furious, apparently women aren't allowed to make those kind of decisions, he wanted to just close up the house and wait until she got home to do anything. He was literally about 3" from my face and poking me in the chest with his finger! So I twisted on him and gave him a dose of his own medicine and even poked his chest too. I had actually signed the forms from the company that said if her insurance didn't pay, that I would pay the bill, plus they ripped out all of her carpet pad and threw it away. But they also put all the furniture on coasters and nothing was ruined, including the shoe boxes of pictures that we picked up off the closet floors the first night. So there was a possibility that she would be pissed when she got home and everything she owned was rearranged and her carpet pulled up but she wasn't, she got home and was so happy that we had saved everything that she gave me a $100 gift card to a local restaurant. And she even thanked me in front grouchy old neighbor guy. Thats all the excitement that I have had this week.

No I have been here reading but fighting with my husband all week and havent really had anything positive to add!

Maybe you might need to take a weight loss break? I only have a certain amount of mental power and when I have things that have to be dealt with that I cant postpone until a better time, I have to "put aside" some things that I want to do. Maybe you should "put aside" your band journey until your mourning period is over and you have your job straightened out. I don't mean give yourself permission to go crazy with the eating but maybe just say "OK I am going to wait to start getting fills but I am going to eat properly proportioned meals, maintain my current weight and start back when I feel better." Remember this is a marathon, not a sprint.

Yep, that is what I did, 5 drinks a day, (it sucked royally but I did it) and now I am at goal, if you want success, listen to him, he knows what he is doing. (You can also look up btrieger here on this site, he used Dr Kim too and as of this morning was 199 pounds and having a tummy tuck today. Do guys call it a tummy tuck? )

Chica--Looks like your 25% of the way there! Congrats. Claire! Early teens! Way to go! I'm so happy for you. I weighed yesterday and was 135 on the dot! (Glad I skipped Monday, it would have hurt my feelings to be over that) and then I was 134 this morning so apparently if the fat hasn't had time to settle in its is easier to get rid of.

When I was trying to find someone to do mine, when I called the office I asked "Will your Dr do the surgery off label?" Some said no and others say it depends on the person. Your just going to have to call your local Dr's and go from there. My Dr was Dr David Kim in Colleyville TX (Dallas suburb) if you want to travel, he looks at the person not just the numbers.

Shammah-- Your face looks thin, in a good way! I love your hair, it really compliments your face. Melody-- I hope the thumb is better! Laura-- My port is about 2" below my ribs, it sticks out and if you know that its there you can see it, but I really don't care. I will trade a lump for a 65 pound fat loss any day. I will see if my camera can get a decent pic and post it. My skin is too messed up for a bikini, I could have a tummy tuck but then I would have the scar so wrinkley skin or scar? I guess we will see later. Plus they can move your port when your at goal or replace it with a low profile one. Denise-- I hope you MIL is better soon. I hope everyone has a great day.

Oh no! We are back in high school and have to worry about our reputation!

I forgot to add that I cut my hair off and dyed it red.

Melody-- Ha Ha on the dead weight! Welcome Laura! Sawyer-- The only consideration that I have for not telling the kids is when my band was at its tightest, my eating looked very similar to an eating disorder. Because my son and step kids are all teenagers I tried not to eat around them. Congrats on the great fill! Stacie-- I hope your feeling better. Shammah-- Good luck with the low carb. It seems to help me. Crystl-- Don't leave us! (I hate the site too but I am going to muddle through) Well I weighed this morning, 135.0 on the button. I'm glad I didn't weigh yesterday! So back to clean eating for a few days to get back to the 132-133 range.

Good morning Claire, I have been wondering about you, I was afraid the new site ran you off. I haven't been posting much but I have been reading. I ate crap the whole 4 day holiday weekend and I haven't gotten on the scales yet. I am about to get ready for work and I guess I will see... I have to say I am glad that the egg nog is gone! Still fighting with my husband, we have an appointment with the therapist on 12/20. Maybe that will help. Who the hell knows. I will post later, after I face the scales with an update!

My magic number seems to be 1100-1200 to stay the same.

:DHappy after-thanksgiving everyone! Well we spent the night before thanksgiving camping at the deer lease, luckily it was 75 degrees and quite comfortable. I made a venison potato recipe on the campfire and then proceeded to get stuck on it. Then one of the guys on the lease who's wife has a band, spent the next 30 min. following me around and trying to tell me how to get unstuck. Sweet but please just leave me alone when I am in pain. Then when we went to bed I got stung on the hand by a wasp. Maybe I should just stay home next time.... My husbands sister came for thanksgiving. She comes in while I am finishing up the dinner and puts her stuff that she brought on the table and goes to sit in the living room with the kids. So about 30 minutes later, I tell everyone dinner is ready and she comes rushing in the kitchen and says "Oh I need to put the green bean casserole in the oven, it needs to bake for 45 min." and then wants everyone to not eat until its ready. (She hadn't told me she was bringing it so I had already made one because that is a favorite of my oldest stepdaughter.) So Rob tells her, we already have one made and dinner is on the table so lets eat and she gets mad and pouts, if she would have put it in the oven when she got there it would have almost been ready but instead she just dumped it on the table and expected me to find it and cook it for her. Yesterday was also my son's 16th birthday, he always has thanksgiving lunch with his dad and then comes to my house where we have an evening meal (Rob's kids do the same with their mom.) But this year Mason had a football playoff game, it was at 6 in a town that is about an hour away so he had to be at the school at 2. So this was the first year that I didn't get to spend thanksgiving (or his birthday) with my son, a sure sign that he is growing up. But he when I talked to him on the phone he said he wanted me to make another dinner this weekend because he likes what I make every year and wanted us to have a thanksgiving together too. I went to the game and a cold front had come through so it was cold and raining but I got to see my stepson and his wife that were in town from Chicago, it was a close game but they lost. I got home about 10 last night and after the camping trip, cooking dinner, and the football game trip I was exhausted. I am looking forward to a slow day at work today and then having 2 days off. I also forgot to serve the homemade cranberry sauce that I spent the previous Sunday canning. :opps: And after all the crap I ate yesterday I am not about to get on the scales.

When I was first banded I was not losing and I told my husband "But I'm doing everything right" and he told me "um, no your not" so I started weighing and measuring my food and logging it on a web site, I couldn't believe how the calories were adding up.

I think a "diet vacation" can be a great thing. If you had worked you job for 10 months without missing a day you would be tired, well the diet is the same way. And just for the record, since I have been at goal, I now eat anything I want as long as I stay in the correct portion sizes and I stay in a 5 pound range effortlessly. I bet it will be the same for you. I hope your not going to take a blog vacation as well, I read your posts religiously.

Hey Liz! When I first got restriction, I had a lot of gurgling. I read a post once of someone comparing it to a water bottle water dispenser, like in an office? The opening is tight so everything just gurgles through. It calmed down after a while. As long as you can drink and eat solid food, I would wait it out. If you are resorting to mushies for more than a week I would have a small unfill, I never lost any weight on mushie foods.