jmunks2000

Well, here I am almost 4 months out and have lost 42 pounds - I'm halfway to my goal weight! I am really happy and feel like I'm in the green zone -- when I first got this last fill on February 3rd (the 2nd) I was miserable and threw up several times in the first week -- I decided instead of going and getting unfilled, I would shift to liquids for a while and then ease back into soft foods. Fortunately this worked for me and I am able to eat very small portions and have learned how things feel going down. I find I have to eat VERY slowly, chew very deliberately and keep to very small bites and take my time - this works and I have been feeling pretty good for the last two months ... I know I will probably need another fill maybe in another month as the weight loss will slow down. But I have been losing about 1-2 pounds a week which I am very happy with. It is definitely a learning process. I always avoid bread and bread products, potatoes, rice, and other "sticky" foods -- and stay with chicken or fish. If I get hungry between meals I snack on protein bars. Seems to be working so far, but it is a balancing act for sure. I still am very glad I am here rather than where I was before, continuing to gain weight.
Good luck to all banders out there!!
Deb

Tomorrow (2/25) marks my day of surgery. Last year this time I was getting ready to go in for surgery. This year I am happier than ever. My heaviest has been 260. I am currently at a standstill of 190. I am still, however, happier than ever....happier, healthier, sexier,...and everything else.

So, I returned to work today after two week winter break. Within my first 20 minutes of being there, 5 different people approached me at different times; each saying how great I looked and asking if I had eaten over the break. In the hours to follow, 4 more people said similar things to me about how I am constantly losing and managing not to even gain over the holidays. I admit, I hardly eat cause I'm at my sweet spot, but I swear, although I can't be sure....I've only lost about 7 pounds in the last month (I made a habit to weigh myself less frequently). What are these people seeing??? They saw me three weeks ago and I am not much different. Anyway, any compliment, I'll take. My mother told me today that I appear to be 170 instead of 191....then, I couldn't help but to get on the scale tonight....and it said 193. Whoa, I gained 2 pounds!?!?!?!

I can say that is my desire now. For a long time it was the opposite. I would have choosen a warm gooey cinnamon bun just about over anything. When I put on my underwear and the fruit of the loom guys started laughing, I was not detered one bit from thinking or eating all the sweet gooey junk I could get my hands on.. And this my frilends was with the lap band.. But that was where I was at. I am on the road and truly committed to making healthy choices of what to eat. I am making soups out of vegetables and beans. Caseroles out of yams, apples, pears, and oranges, for a sweet dish. And salads with balsamic vinegar. With smaller portions and healthy ingredients, add some exercise, and I am looking forward to those buns of steel. lol... One of my member friends, "Bardy" replyed to may last blog with encouragement. There was one thing she said concerning the band that struck me.. I quote her, "we need to respect it"
For 4 wasted years I did not "respect " the band. I over rode it and wouldn't let it work for me. When you "respect" something, or someone, you tend to listen to it, them. You keep company with it or them and share in a relationship with it or them. I did none of those things. Now it is different. I do have a working relationship to my band. I have even named her. "Bandi". he he.. Yep , things have changed. Just this morning when putting my underwear on, those fruit of the loom fellas barley snickered. lol... Give Respect, Get Respect... Blessings
Dolly

OK all I had my annual Christmas visit home to Michigan. I don't know what I was expecting, but what I wasn't expecting was for no one to mention my weight loss! Maybe its becuase over the years I made such a fuss about someone always asking me about my weight that now they just don't approach the subject. My brother casually said I can tell you've lost a lot of weight but that's about it. My sister (always my champion) told me i was looking good, and my mother didn't say a word. But I gather she said a lot to my grandmother whose down in Memphis. When I talked to Granny she said oh I hear you're still coming down, your face is slimmer, etc, etc...Amazing they couldn't say it to me but they said it to her.
 
Anyhoo I did good on the food front. Even though I was looking forward to an authentic chilli dog I didn't have one. Nor did I go to greek town, or any other of good eating in Detroit. I guess knowing its always there helps me to overcome the "need" to have it. And with my grandma out of town I didn't have to worry about peach cobbler and sweet potatoe pies.
How did you all do over the holiday?

Do I regret getting banded?
 
That seemed to be the question I most wanted answered when I came here about a year ago looking for information and support.
 
A lot has changed in a year. I am a little less than halfway to my goal now and losing slowly and steadily. 40-whatever pounds doesn't seem like much for a year but I have lost a lot of baggage along with that weight. Like most fat people, each pound had a story attached to it. Each ounce was directly related to a rejection, a sad moment, a time when I didn't even feel worthy enough to express an emotion so I ate it instead. And I can't say that the changes in me are directly related to the lapband, but just making the choice to do it had a profound effect on how I talk to myself and therefore, how I view my own worth.
 
The most important thing I do differently now is refuse to settle.
 
I won't fill my body with shitty food because it's cheap or because I don't want it to go to waste.
 
I won't stay in relationships that aren't uplifting and fulfilling.
 
I wont belittle myself by behaving in a way that isn't true to me,
 
I won't do work that deadens my soul.
 
I don't spend time and money trying to find a less-expensive version of a particular "thing" I want. I save for it and get the real deal because I am worth it.
 
I have learned that what we settle for is what we get out of life and I absolutely refuse to accept less than what I am worth these days.
 
So yeah, there are parts of having a band that suck. I hate sliming and sticking and getting coffee "stuck" because I am too stressed out sometimes to get it past the band. And, I haven't lost as much weight as I thought I would by now. But would I change it?
 
NOT ON YOUR LIFE> OR MINE.

Finished My first 3 mile JOG-Couch to 5k Wk9 Day 1!!!!!! So happy this time last year I couldn't even walk 30 mins good.Im so Happy.
Its crazy I just got on the treadmill and put it on the wk 9 podcast. I said to myself well if I can get to at least 20-28 mins of it I know next week i can do 30 mins-- then I just keep running. And she said on the podcast you have just finished 3miles congrats. Ok I felt like Rocky! LOL! I know now I can do 3 mile jogs starting 3 times a week . I am still 217 lbs well gained .4 so 217.4. My first Couch to 5 K jog was in July at 245 lbs and I struggled with jogging 30 second intervals at 2.0 speed. I am happy to have this opportunity in my life.