jennay5180

Congrats on your decision to be banded! Seriously....it feels like I was just in your spot! The time does go so quickly....and you don't even realize it. I think the biggest tip that I have is that even though things are slow going, keep at it! I thought/hoped that I'd be one of those ones that lose 100lbs in a year....but no, it wasn't me....and honestly, am totally fine with it. Would have I liked it? Yes, of course! BUT...I am SO happy and honestly, the happiest I've been in a long time. The scale is continually moving....and I continually find ways to reward myself for keeping on. For my 50 lb mark, I have scheduled a massage. I am looking forward to that treat! There were a couple spots that I wondered if it was even worth it...but my Dr. was just such a great encourager. She encouraged me to continue with it....and reminded me that I have NOT put any weight on.....and when was the last time that had happened? It hasn't! I've always gone up and down, up and down.....so for me, that in itself was a big accomplishment. Best of luck to you in your journey! Please feel free to ask me anything! ~Jen

SO....I finally hit onederland today! I also hit/surpassed the 50lb mark as well today, which was exciting. It has been very slow going for the past year +...but honestly, wouldn't trade it for the world! I am SO much happier 50lbs lighter....much more confident....and still going strong! It may take me longer than most....but the point is that the scale hasn't gone up in a year! I've NEVER been able to say that before....but now I can! I am SO happy and SO thankful for my band. Best.Decision.Ever!

Goshhh....this sounds like the story of my life! You are doing SO great though!!!

Seriously....the user friendly quotient on this site is a big, huge SUCK!!!! Seriously....since the change of the site, I have hardly been on here b/c I just find myself super frustrated! I'm bummed b/c I was following LoseIt! on here....but now I can't find her anywhere! And I miss reading her blogs b/c they were super inspirational! SOOO...Beth, if you are reading this, please private message me your email address so we can stay in contact! ~Jen

This is SO funny. I subscribe to your posts....so they automatically get sent to my Blackberry. I have been working at a trade show this week in San Diego....which means distributor dinners....which means the same thing as you are experiencing: rich dinners, wine, wine, and more wine (or in this case, since we are in San Diego...margaritas! hahaha..., coffees from Starbucks, and desserts. All of this is pretty much how I don't eat when I am at home. After the first couple of days, I was freaking myself out b/c I don't have a scale to "gauge" how I am doing. In my head, I felt like I MUST have put on weight....b/c I haven't been able to do my standard exercising (although we do walk a bit...and stand for 8 hours a day)...and I just always feel full b/c we have been eating at regular intervals. Sometimes at home, I'll go longer periods of time without eating b/c my day is SO jammed packed without scheduled feeding times... Anyhow, I purchased some dress pants before I left and they were a tad snug. I never ended up wearing them b/c I found something else to wear....but yesterday, I was so nervous b/c I was sure that I gained SOO much weight that I wouldn't be able to button them. Lo and behold, they actually felt like they fit a little better. We'll see what the scale says when I get home on Sunday.....but it is SO true. I am also a scale whore. I immediately worry about gaining weight when I don't see the physical proof in front of my eyes. It is awful...but like you, Beth, I have also seen changes. I can't eat all of my food...on three occasions this week (by four different people that we took out for dinner), I had them ask me if I liked the food. I told them that it was great but I was full. No one but my boss, my co-worker, and my boyfriend know about my LapBand...and honestly, has worked out just fine. No one questioned me after that....and things were good! Anyhow, great job with your weight loss. I really enjoy reading your blogs!

Yay! Congrats on your decision!! I'm sure you will do GREAT! :thumbup:

Dr.'s appt. today and I am down 2.5 lbs since my last appointment on 9/25/10. I think I am down now a total of 26lbs or something... OBVIOUSLY, I would LOVE more...but am DEFINITELY happy with the amount lost so far. I am SO happy that people are starting to notice. An older guy asked me yesterday, "Have you lost weight?? You look different! I saw you earlier...but I didn't want to ask....but man, you are looking different!" hahahaha....SO funny! He came in my office today and was like, "Hey, is Jen here?? Are you taking over for Jen?" hahaha...I AM Jen! :wub: I am definitely loving the attention though! :wub: Anyway, I had my 2nd fill today. I found out that my first fill a little over 2 weeks ago was 3.5cc's and I have a 14 cc band. My physician's assistant put in another 1.5 cc's today and so far, so good! I can't really feel a difference yet...although I have just been drinking liquids today. We'll see.... Anyway, I am feeling good to boot! I am keeping super busy.....I have a finance/budgeting class on Monday nights, line dancing (and I'm not even a country music fan!) class on Tuesday nights, a yoga class on Wednesday nights, and tonight will be doing some Deep Water Aerobics. I've never done water aerobics....but I hear it is a great workout! Tomorrow will be Body Pump and Saturday morning will be Zumba. I am trying to mix it up b/c I tend to get into a run with exercise and end up getting bored. Alright! Have a great day! ~Jen :thumbup:

I had a non-scale victory today! I haven't seen the scale move hardly at all these last two weeks since my first fill...which was making me a little sad....but today, when I went to my closet to find something to wear, I realized that the jeans that I had been wearing were dirty (plus, were SO baggy...I looked like a thug! haha)and didn't have much else to wear b/c I haven't picked up my laundry. I pulled down a pair of jeans that I had tried on a few weeks ago...which I couldn't get up over my butt...and voila....they fit! :frown: I was SOO excited! They are tight (size 14)...but they aren't so tight that they are obscene. They look nice and accentuate my assets I went to get lunch at my friend's Brazilian store...and he saw me and said, "OOOooohh!! You look so SEXYY!" hahaha.... SO cute! He was like, "Ohhh...I can see you have lost some pounds!" hahahahaha.....Oh, man! How cute is that?? Anyway, it has been a good day today! I am feeling good about myself...and can't wait for more of the things that I used to wear to fit! One step at a time, right? :ohmy: AND...compared to the way the beginning of this week started, I am SO thankful that things have turned around! :w00t:

Glad you are here! It really is a GREAT site to join and be a part of both pre-band and post-band. I was a member right as soon as I made the decision to ask my Dr. about it....and then I had to wait 6 months for my insurance....and throughout the entire journey, I have had nothing but great support here! I hope you find the same!

WTH??!! In what context was THAT posted???

Great pics (minus the Yankees shirt! hahahaha....considering I'm an avid Red Sox fan! hahaha)..... You are doing great....and I LOVE reading your posts! You totally insire me!! Thanks!!

Funny you say that.....I had my first fill last Monday. I didn't have anything in my band and had lost 4 lbs in the 2 weeks from the previous appointment. I assumed that I was automatically going to get my fill; however, the Dr. was hesitant to give it to me. I suspect when he saw how disappointed I looked, he said, "Well, we can give you a small fill!" I feel like since he gave me a "small fill" (amount unknown), I have been more hungry!? I can't figure it out!? SO strange!!!!

Yeah...isopure is AWFUL! I was so nervous thinking that I'd have to gag something like that down EVERY day! I gagged down a quarter of the bottle....and then just HAD to throw it away. GROSS!!! I really like Nectar by Syntrax. Someone on here recommended going to www.mybariatricpantry.com. I really like Strawberry Kiwi and Fuzzy Navel is my favorite. I drink it every morning!

I LOVE #2!! "Choppy" is the way to go!

Yay....went to the Dr's. and he said that I lost 4 lbs since my last appointment two weeks ago! :smile: Yayy!! That put a smile on my face! He also told me that he didn't think he was going to go ahead with the fill...and I think I must have looked really disappointed b/c he said, "Well, if you really want one, we can do a small one! We just don't want you to get in the Red Zone!" I quickly said that YES! I want a little fill! :ohmy: hahaha...I think I had my mind SO set on getting the fill today that I would have been pretty disappointed leaving without it! Anyway, he gave me a slight fill....and I'm on liquids for the rest of the day, mushies tomorrow, and solids on Wednesday. Totally doable...and hoping the scale shows me a little love in return! The fill was totally uneventful...and besides the initial stick, didn't hurt at all! :tt1: I go back in two weeks....and we'll see how things are going. The Dr. was VERY pleased with my results and I left with a huge smile on my face! hahaha.... Anyway, that's it for today! Have a great day!!! ~Jen

Yayyy! Congrats!!! You'll do great!

Mine was wicked crazy!! My cycle started on 7/24/10...lasted for the normal 4-5 days that mine regulary do. I had my surgery on the 10th of August....and got my period again on 19th of August. I then had it for 4.5 weeks afterwards. Some days were regular, some days were light, and some days were super heavy with thick clots. Sorry...TMI, I know...but just sharing! I had a visit to my OB-GYN and she said that everything looked fine. They drew some blood b/c she wanted to do a test on the hormones and to see if I was anemic from all of the bleeding. I haven't had the results....but I was just pleased to hear that she thought it was from the 22.5 lb weight loss in a month and a half that caused it. Plus, my surgeon said that surgery is such a stress on your body....that it'll end up doing some weird things! Yup...he was right! :biggrin: I'm just glad that it is over!

I feel like I always weigh more after eating Chinese food too...even though I historically haven't overeaten on Chinese food. I think it is the amount of sodium in the food....and you probably just retain the water. That's my thought..... hahah...

That's so fun!! I just downloaded Couch to 5K onto my ipod...and it's great b/c it tells you when to walk and when to run. So far, I'm on Week 1, Day 3....so we're pretty close to each other....so let's keep in touch to see how each of us are doing! it's funny...b/c I HATE running....but want to make myself do it. Classes, walking, etc are not challenges for me....BUT running! ACK! Now running a 5K will be a HUGE challenge!! SO...let's do it!

You are looking fantastic! What size/weight did you start out at....and what size/weight are you now?

Hi All... Just wondering if anyone ever experienced this? I was banded on 8/10/2010. My last cycle began July 24th, 2010. On 8/19/2010, I began my cycle (which is normal for me...I'm pretty irregular...). I have been bleeding ever since. It didn't start off heavy...it was pretty light...but has been getting progressively heavier flow. It was 3 weeks yesterday! I'm wondering if it had anything to do with the Heparin shots that I received (one prior to surgery, one after surgery). I'm just wondering if anyone experienced this...or if something is wrong. I'm planning on calling my dr. anyway; however, I just wanted to see if anyone else went through this. Best, Jen

SO...last week, I posted that I was down 20lbs since August 1st. I was SOOO excited! I had hit a small goal of mine...and was TOTALLY pumped. I also made it back to the gym for a Zumba class, totally kept up, and felt great afterwards. On Tuesday afternoon, I ended up with a wicked sore throat.....which stayed until Thursday morning....which turned into a chest cold. I've been coughing, coughing, and coughing some more....and definitely feeling generally awful. I didn't go back to the gym....and today was feeling a little bit under the weather, but was going to brave it anyway! The class ended up being cancelled...and I didn't have my ipod, so I didn't want to go on the machine (that is my idea of torture! 30 min on the elipical with nothing to entertain me! ugh!). Anyhow...I hopped on the scale and have somehow gained 2.8lbs this week. NOW...I know I was just banded on the 10th...and these are supposed to be healing weeks...but I'm eating average calorie intake about 1075/day (that was a 6 day average). I'm eating mainly proteins...I'm getting around 74 grams of protein daily. I'm not sure why I'm gaining?? :confused: Is this normal???? I feel like I'm failing...just like I've done over and over again in the past. Gosh, I was on such a mental high last week....It's SO amazing how I can go from one state to another in a matter of 7 days. I just felt like I was doing everything right! Any ideas??

SO...last week, I posted that I was down 20lbs since August 1st. I was SOOO excited! I had hit a small goal of mine...and was TOTALLY pumped. I also made it back to the gym for a Zumba class, totally kept up, and felt great afterwards. On Tuesday afternoon, I ended up with a wicked sore throat.....which stayed until Thursday morning....which turned into a chest cold. I've been coughing, coughing, and coughing some more....and definitely feeling generally awful. I didn't go back to the gym....and today was feeling a little bit under the weather, but was going to brave it anyway! The class ended up being cancelled...and I didn't have my ipod, so I didn't want to go on the machine (that is my idea of torture! 30 min on the elipical with nothing to entertain me! ugh!). Anyhow...I hopped on the scale and have somehow gained 2.8lbs this week. NOW...I know I was just banded on the 10th...and these are supposed to be healing weeks...but I'm eating average calorie intake about 1075/day (that was a 6 day average). I'm eating mainly Proteins...I'm getting around 74 grams of Protein daily. I'm not sure why I'm gaining?? :biggrin: Is this normal???? I feel like I'm failing...just like I've done over and over again in the past. Gosh, I was on such a mental high last week....It's SO amazing how I can go from one state to another in a matter of 7 days. I just felt like I was doing everything right! Any ideas??

Congrats! 46lbs! That is AWESOME!! And congrats on finding your man. It really is an awesome feeling when you have someone who loves you for you! :biggrin:

Hey All.... I hopped on the scale today and I have hit the 20lb loss mark! I am SO excited! I went back to the gym today and did Zumba this morning. Considering I haven't been to the gym in forever (a combination of working too much and not being able to lose any weight in order to qualify for my insurance to pay for my surgery), I kept up with the class the entire time and felt good for only being close to 3 weeks Post Op! I am SO thankful that everything worked out the way it was supposed to and all in God's perfect timing. When I turned 30 (May 1st), I posted on my Facebook that I believed that 30 was going to be a year to remember! Oh, boy....do I NOW know this to be true! I am down 20 lbs with NO plans on stopping till I reach where I want to be! I thank God each and every day for his Hand upon my life. I truly believe this is a gift from Him and know that with Him, I will be able to do all things (including getting thin! :scared2: hahaha). Ok...I'm off to enjoy one of the last weekends of summer! Have a great day everyone! Bjos, ~Jen