kareyquilts

You've got a lot on your mind! I would say that in most ways you have been very successful. Maybe you have learned to finally speak up for yourself and that is not being a bitch! Or maybe, you are beginning pre-menopause and that is why you feel angry. Or maybe you still have to make some adjustments to your new self. It never hurts to seek professional help. I have certainly contemplated it. It sounds like you might be suffering from depression. This could be because of issues you have or something biochemical. I wish you the best as you seek answers. Hopefully, others on this forum will see your thread and be able to offer some support.

Staying on the diet, my appetite is going down. I feel a little shaky, but I think it's from all the oolong tea, they ask you to drink. I'm really not use to the caffeine. I lost another 2 pounds over the weekend, for a total of 6! YEAH! Had a very hard workout with my trainer today. Which is good, I think! Ghost, Mimin, BJean, Slimy: How are you doing?

Frangi: I'm sure you're patience will pay off. Hope you and Becky are both doing well, otherwise.

Amy, You're looking great! I'm afraid to post my pics after seeing yours! Way to go!

I don't blame you about the drain, that's a long time. Do you teleconference with your PS? What does he say about this?

I definetly would go to the doc and get it documented. I don't think you need to go to a plastic surgeon for that , however. I would go to your primary care giver or even your lapband doc, if they will help you with this. Good luck!

I think this is a perfect question to ask on Dr. Schulman's thread.

Salsa: Sounds like you're doing pretty good. I'm glad your DH is such a good helper. Mine was too and it was really a bonding experience. You have to the man who will empty your drains! It's totally normal to not have an appetite. Personally, I wouldn't worry about it too much. Unfortunately, it doesn't last for long! Hope you get some rest soon. Oh, did your doctor tell you to walk hunched over? My doctor told me to walk as straight as I could. Maybe a different kind of suture? I didn't have sutures on the outside of my skin. It was just glued. Anyway, I hope your back and neck feel better soon.

McGreen: You're funny! I lost another 2 pounds yesterday, but I woke up feeling very nauseated like I have morning sickness. Not sure if that is the pregnancy hormone at work or what. I could also swear that my breasts feel a little tender. HMM! Went to a big 4th of July show last night with my little girl. Miley Cyrus was performing along with the Blue Man Group. Spectacular fireworks. I really didn't enjoy it that much, though. I was so tired and I kept seeing all the goodies that everyone was eating. Ice cream, popcorn, frozen limonades, etc. Now, normally I probably wouldn't have eaten any of that anyway or maybe had a taste of a family members, but when you can't have it, there is really something psychological about that. Isn't there? Anyway for me there is. Still so many food issues! I was able to refrain from eating any of the stuff and just drank my water, but I felt whiny about it! It reminded me of when I first got the band and my mom came to help. She helped but she also made all my family's favorite food and there I was on liquids. It was hard. The pschology of dieting is really fascinating. Maybe I should write a book about it. While, all the accolades for losing weight are nice, it's the quite battles that get us there. Have to remind myself of that, because this diet is not easy at all. I've already got bruises on my legs from the injections and I am hungry. Not starving, but hungry. Constantly having to try and figure out if it's real hunger or mind hunger. Anyway, I think I'm writing a book here, so I will stop! Have a nice weekend!

Salsa: Yes those tummy muscles do hurt! Glad you have the recliner and I'm glad that you're resting during the day. Especially since you aren't sleeping well at night. Hope you have some good movies to help you chill and relax. Whose helping you?

Slimmy: Feel free to post what you are eating and doing here. I agree that the last weight is the hardest and makes the biggest difference in appearance. It's interesting, because I'm not telling a lot of people that I'm hitting my diet hard. Why? Because they say you like fine, you don't need to lose anymore weight, etc. However much I might want to believe them, I had my body fat analazed and it said I was 38% fat still. Can you impagine? I'm 5'6" and weight 162. They said I should weight 140 and that is what I'm aiming for. Can't imagine what percentage of fat I was before I lost almost 100 pounds! Does anyone else get comments that they shouldn't lose anymore? That they should be satisfied where they are? Yes, spinach is one of the veggies, I can eat. Fortunately, I really like spinach! Today, I had a great weight training work out with my trainer. I added a little protein (90 calories) and ate my chicken and fruit before the workout. I was nervous that it would be too much for me, but I actually feel good after the workout. It may have even curbed my appetite a little.

Slimmy: Why don't you join us?

Sweets: Are you getting excited? What preparations have you made? Any questions? Just thinking about you!

Salsa: You're funny! So glad you're doing well! Welcome to the FLATLANDS! Congratulations! So did your PS doing the vertical anchorplasty? It sounds like you have a doc that is looking out for your best interests. These 2 part surgeries are a pain, I'm still looking forward to another surgery as well, but it will all be worth it! Rest and my God bless you. Looking forward to hearing more...

Thanks for all the encouragement. Yes, I am worried that I could gain the weight back. I've been worried about that with the LB, as well as this diet push, but I have promised myself that more than a 3 pound gain and I will be on it like a bug on a hot rock. So far that has worked for me. I also exercise a lot which I think will help. Plus, I have learned a lot of strategies from all my time with the band. I can get a little fill if I need it. I can wear my body bugg, I can exercise more and I can eat less. The diet center that I'm going to also has a maintance program and will give me some support with keeping the weight off, too. I'm not looking at HCG as a way of life or a great way to lose the weight. I have my lap band for that and it has been my best friend. I'm just getting frustrated that the last 20 has been so hard to get off. I just felt like I needed to do something to shake my body up a little. I haven't lost any weight in 4 months, actually gained 2 after my plastic surgery. It's been very frustrating. Of course, I couldn't exercise for almost 3 months. I had my DD wedding, a vacation and my mother here cooking everyone's favorites for almost 2 months! LOL. Anyway, yesterday was the first day on the very restrictive part of the diet. I lost 3 pounds. I'm sure that won't keep up and some of it was water weight, probably most of it. I didn't feel hungry, even with water aerobics and pilates, but around 6 pm, I got very shaky and cranky. I knew I needed to eat! After eating dinner, I felt much better. For the rest of the evening, I just drank herbal tea and lots of water. I'm just wondering if I should add some potassium supplement to my diet, what with the heat and the exercise? I know that most docs don't recommend that, but maybe that was part of the problem? Any opinions out there? Mimin: How's the water retention? How are you feeling? Speak to me cutie!

OKay, I'm going to be careful. I feel very positive so far. Today starts the very restrictive calories. I've been to water aerobics and will do pilates with a trainer this afternoon. BJean: I love my body bugg, I really like the feedback. I think I just needed to be more honest in posting what I was eating and measuring everything. I do believe that I was letting my frozen yogurt treats with my 9 year old get to be too often and too much! Live and learn! Have a great day all! Ghost are you out there?

Becky: Sounds like your doing great. I think those little twitches are very normal. My ps said that there are a lot of stages to the healing of scars. First they get very hard and brittle (the internal ones) and then they soften up and break down. It's a bout a year process. Some of those twinges are that process I'm sure. I think last week I suddently noticed that I wasn't getting those when I did ab work anymore. That was a nice feeling! You're doing great!

You're looking good! Nice and perky! I'm very impressed with the job your PS did. Glad you're feeling so good!

Thanks for all the support!

Salsa: You will be in my prayers tomorrow. I know you're going to be smoking when this is all over! Wishing you the best. Can't wait to officially welcome you to the FLATLANDS! YEAH!

What a great pic! Thanks for sharing. Maybe DH can go with you to your appt with the PS? Maybe he'll listen to you better!

Drat those saggy necks! What I can eat on my diet: Breakfast: HCG injection, wuloong tea or yerba matte tea; snack: 1 apple, orange, 1c. strawberries, blueberries, or raspberries or 1/2 grapefruit; lunch and dinner- 4 oz. lean meat, 2 handfuls of salad and veggies. Everything needs to be eaten by 7 pm., No salad dressing only balsamic or apple cider vinegar. 2nd snack- same fruit. Supposedly the HCG makes you feel full and gives you a sense of well being. We'll see won't we? Not sure how to find a doc in your area. I think I googled, HCG diet and the city. That's where I would start. I'm very up for this and hope it works. If not, I'll just count calories and get my Body Bugg prescription working again!

Walked 3 miles today. Will go to pilates this afternoon. Today is my last day to fat load (yes you heard me right). Will have some ice cream. Gave myself another HCG injection. Tomorrow, I start the 500 calories a day for the next 30 days. UGG! More on than later! Ghost are you out there?

Becky: Thanks for the support. When I started back to exercise. I started with walking again. I was use to the elliptical for 45 minutes or walking 3 miles. I could barely walk 1 mile without a lot of fatique and discomfort. I'm not sure what you're doing for a compression garment, but I went to Make Me Heal and got some stage 2 garments and wore them expecially when I was exercising. It really helped with the stomach pain and swelling. I still wear a light panty girdle when I exercise. I just feel better. I'm four months out now and I'm totally back into all exercise, but I really had to ease back into it. I walked until I could do the 3 miles and then I started back on the elliptical. I did some restorative yoga. Then at about 2 months, I began a light weight training routine and pilates again. At first I was shocked at how hard everything was and at how much strength I had lost in such a short time. Pilates was especially hard (abs) and I sucked at it big time! I believe it was only a few weeks ago that I thought okay, I can see that I will get back to normal. This week I noticed that I had absolutely no pain when I did certain stretches that had been bothering me. My trainer was able to add 10 pounds to everything and I am back to what I was doing before the surgery. It took longer than I thought it should, but I'm older and even though I was determined, my body had its own ideas. I know I'm writing a book too. I guess I'm just letting you know that it does take time. You need to give yourself lots of TLC and credit for trying and permission to do just a little. It will get better, but with the healing, swelling, emotional issues, earth life, etc. It takes time. We can't all be like Frangi! A walk is the perfect place to start!

Julie: I've had the same fill level for quite a while and sometimes it feels too tight and sometimes not tight enough. I think that you just have to watch what you eat and hope that the band cooperates. It's a great tool sometimes and sometimes we have to be our own tool. I have found that exercise is my most constant weight loss ally. Mimin: Your weight gain does not sound healthy. Is that common with lipo? I thought most of my swelling was from the tt, but maybe the lipo was more of it than I thought. But girl, that is a lot of water weight! I think that Ghost had a similar problem. Why can't you use a diuretic? How about just drinking a lot of water with lemon in it or some naturally dieretic tea? When you get that water weight off you're going to show an awesome weight loss! Anyway, I think I would park myself at my doctors till he did something! The HCG diet is expensive (of course). The 40 day supply of the hormone was $210. The doctor's office over seeing the process for 45 days is about $525. It's kind of a rip off, but I'm willing. Let me be the guinea pig, while you recover, and let you now if it's worth it or not!