tonya66

No, not at all. I've had the article for about the past 5 years, and I refer to it often. I sometimes forget what a big fat liar the scale is. I get so wrapped up in the numbers on the scales sometimes that I forget to focus on how I'm feeling, my clothes getting loser, etc. Glad you enjoyed it.

Thats cool. We didn't know that. I just told my cousin what you had said and she is totally excited. I am planning on eating lots of fruit and trying to stay away from too much "drinking", but I will allow myself for some down time on the beach with a drink in my hand. :biggrin: They also have a really nice gym, so I plan on exercising every day at least 30 minutes (this will give me an excuse to have a drink. ) Thanks for the info, it was helpful.

Sula - Yep, you have a fickle band. I suspect the esophagus could be irriated and it could take a week or so of liquids to calm it down. Seeing a doc is the best way to find out. They probably will do an upper GI. Or Barium swallow test. If you have a hernia, they will see it on the upper GI. Thats when they found mine. Okay, went to Weight Watchers meeting last night and down another 1.4 lbs since last weigh in. Since joining WW I am down 4 lbs. 4 lbs in 4 weeks. It is going slow, but at least it is moving downward. I told myself if I could lose just 1 lb a week I would be happy. So I'm averaging that, so I'm not going to complain. I'm going to stick with it another 30 days and see what happens. If I quit losing, I will quit WW. The thing I like about WW is it gives me specific guidelines to eat, and I have to weigh in every week, it keeps me accountable. The things I don't like about ww - its so sloooooow. lol. But, I guess its better than what I've been doing because I've lost the same 5 to 10 lbs over the past year. I'm sick of losing hte same 5 or 10 lbs. Exercising has been going good. Morning routine, not so good. But at least i'm exercising, right? This time change is really thrown me for a loop and I just can't get myself out of bed. I set THREE alarms last night and turned everyone of them off this morning and went back to bed. I barely got up in time to get to work this morning. grrrrrr. Talk to everyone later.

I lost the first year great. Then I quit trying, ate what I wanted etc. I didn't lose any weight for about a year. But, here is the thing, I DIDN'T GAIN! All my life, if I wasn't dieting, I GAINED. So for the first time in my life I wasn't gaining weight. So for that, I am so grateful. I know that I will NEVER weigh 248 lbs again. Now, I'm watching what I eat again and exercising and i'm losing. Slowly, but I am losing. The band is a tool and is there when your ready to use it. Make sure you have the propper restriction, make sure you are eating lean Proteins first. I do think medical problems will slow you down. But thats with ANY WLS. My cousin chose Gastric Bypass surgery over the lap band - she had her surgery in 11/06, I followed just a few months behind her with the band in 1/07. Well, sad to say, she lost about 50 - 60 lbs and quit losing. She still weighs 196 lbs and is 5'1. She is very disappointed with her Gastric Bypass surgery, she now says she wished she would've gotten the lap band. So I just wanted to share her story with you who think that the Gastric Bypass is quick too. It didn't work for her either and she has a thyroid problem. Best wishes to you.

I agree, just make sure your Snacks are healthy. I usually have 2 snacks a day, one in the morning, and one in the afternoon(usually fruit, or protein). I also like to keep my matabolism going and feel snacking helps it to keep burning. I exercise a lot, so I'm hungry more often. Your doing great on your weightloss!

I agree with all the posters. Everyone is totally different. For me, the first year was a piece of cake, lost quickly. The 2nd year life threw me some curve balls and had lots of hurdles to jump so it was hard. Now I'm headed toward the right way again and 20 lbs from my ultimate goal, 10 lbs from a healthy weight for my height. I can see light at the end of the tunnel. For me, I have to exercise. If I don't - I just can't keep the scale moving. I can eat anything, I have only PB'd 4 times over a two year period. I just can't eat much of anything. I can't eat an entire box of cookies like I did prior, or an entire pizza pre band. So with the band, I am able to control my portions. I love that. I know that I will NEVER weigh 248 lbs again! Also, I don't have to take small bites of food, I don't have to chew, chew chew like they say. I eat regularly and am full with a small amount of food. I have had to have 14 fills, and finally gave up on trying to get to that perfect restriction. I'm at 3.9 cc's in a 4 cc band. When he puts me to a 4, I close up. So with the band, it gets frusterating trying to get to the perfect fill level, you have to be patient. You have to be willing to make some changes, and the band will be a tool to use to help you get to a healthy weight. But again, its a partner, the band will not do it all alone. You have to be willing to give some too. Hope this helps. But read everything you can before going into it. Best wishes.

Okay, its Tuesday and a lot better day today! Went to WW meeting last night and lost 1.4 lbs since last week. Making it a total loss since joing WW of 4 lbs. I told myself that if I could lose just 1 lbs a week, I would be happy. So losing a total of 4 lbs averages out to 1 lb a week. Its been 4 weeks since joining. I made a great low point/low cal pizza last night and I will be having it for lunch. Whole wheat with Flax Flat-out bread - 100 cal - 1 pt 3 oz of baked chicken breast (diced up) - 3 pts Rago, no added sugar pasta sauce - 50 cal - 0 pts 2 tbs of olives - 27 cal - 1 pt handfull of mushrooms - 0 pts diced onion - 0 pts 1/3 cup of WW Mexican Cheese - 2 pts Total point value 7 pts Lay out the flat bread, spread 1/2 cup of the pasta sauce over it. Place the chicken, olives,mushrooms, onions on the pizza then cover with the cheese. Bake in preheated oven at 425 (I bake it on my stone pan from pampered chef) for 5 to 7 min or until cheese is melted. It was very very filling and healthy. I had a craving for pizza so I just made my own. :wink_smile: Todays menu Breakfast fiber bar - 2 pts coffee with cream - 1 pt snack orange - 1 pt Lunch Pizza - 7 pts snack yogurt - 1 pt Grapes - 1 pt Dinner meatloaf (made with 1/2 turkey breast and lean beef)- 4 pts green beans - 0 pts Snack (while watching the Biggest Loser) WW dessert - 4 pts Wt - naked first thing in am 165.1 WW weigh in weight (evening time fully clothed) - 167.6

Okay, its Tuesday and a lot better day today! Went to WW meeting last night and lost 1.4 lbs since last week. Making it a total loss since joing WW of 4 lbs. I told myself that if I could lose just 1 lbs a week, I would be happy. So losing a total of 4 lbs averages out to 1 lb a week. Its been 4 weeks since joining. I made a great low point/low cal pizza last night and I will be having it for lunch. Whole wheat with Flax Flat-out bread - 100 cal - 1 pt 3 oz of baked chicken breast (diced up) - 3 pts Rago, no added sugar pasta sauce - 50 cal - 0 pts 2 tbs of olives - 27 cal - 1 pt handfull of mushrooms - 0 pts diced onion - 0 pts 1/3 cup of WW Mexican Cheese - 2 pts Total point value 7 pts Lay out the flat bread, spread 1/2 cup of the pasta sauce over it. Place the chicken, olives,mushrooms, onions on the pizza then cover with the cheese. Bake in preheated oven at 425 (I bake it on my stone pan from pampered chef) for 5 to 7 min or until cheese is melted. It was very very filling and healthy. I had a craving for pizza so I just made my own. :confused: Todays menu Breakfast fiber bar - 2 pts coffee with cream - 1 pt snack orange - 1 pt Lunch Pizza - 7 pts snack yogurt - 1 pt Grapes - 1 pt Dinner meatloaf (made with 1/2 turkey breast and lean beef)- 4 pts green beans - 0 pts Snack (while watching the Biggest Loser) WW dessert - 4 pts Wt - naked first thing in am 165.1 WW weigh in weight (evening time fully clothed) - 167.6

Well my cousin works for a company that every year, the top sales person and a guest gets a trip to some exotic place. So, my cousin wins the trip this year, she asked her mother to go, but her mother doesn't want to. Crazy, but she just doesn't like to travel. My cousin then asked her DH, but he just had shoulder surgery and really doesn't think he will be up to it, plus he HATES the sun. Crazy man! So, I was her third choice, lol. I really don't care that I was her third choice, I'll take it. We're staying the Cancun Palace, which is a 5 star all-inclusive resort. I'm totally thrilled. Hopefully I'll get my passport in time. My DH is very nervous about me going because the US has issued a travel alert to Mexico. I'll be careful, I'll just lay on the beach and sip my drink.

Hey guys, was wondering if anyone on here is doing Weight Watchers plan with the band? If so, let me know, I have a few questions. TracyinKS - how was your trip? Details please....... I'm headed for Cancun next month. And its a totally free trip! Yay. Can't wait. I'm only getting to stay 4 days, but hey, I'll take it.

the 6 mos will be up before you know it. I totally understand how you must feel. I was lucky and my insurance (at the time) did not require it. I'm hearing from a few in my office who are trying to do WLS that they require a 6 mos plan now. Hang in there, we can't wait to see you on the other side!

Okay, Mondays.......I just hate them. I always feel so disorganized on Mondays. I'm always tired (partied too hard on the weekend - not beer drinking partying, just a lot of running and errands kind of partying), I am always lacking my sleep on Mondays, and it seems everything goes wrong. Can we start a petition to outlaw Mondays? My DH wakes me up this morning at 7:30 "honey, what time do you have to be at work today". uhhhh "the same time I've worked for the past 10 years dear". He said "it's 7:30", I fly out of the bed without even touching the floor "Oh, crap, I have to be at work in 30 min". NOw mind you, my driving time is 30 minutes alone. I throw on something that doesn't need to be ironed, brush my teeth, and head out the door. Oh crap, back into the house I go, I grab my lunch, and head back out the door. Okay, I glance at the clock, I'll only be about 10 minutes late I think. I'm cruising down the highway at a nice 65 mph, and all of a sudden, screech, uuuurk, I slam on my brakes. I am sitting at a complete stop for 15 minutes. Finally on the radio they announce a 5 car pile up on the highway I'm on. Oh, I tell you, I knew from that moment, it was going to be a bad day! I get to work, FINALLY, 1 hour later, looking thru my purse 5 times and still I could not find my badge. I have to go thru a long check in process with Security. So after getting in thru the security (which acts like we are the freaken white house and wants to check all your credentials, along with almost taking your fingerprints and everything else you might have) I get to my desk, to realize I had a conference call at 8:30 this moring that I missed. I go pour me a cup of coffee, I need the caffiene this morning! So I'm sipping my coffee, and oops, there goes the coffee, all over my pants, all over my floor and splashes on my new purse which I paid big bucks for, So I run to get a paper towel, and we are out of paper towels in the kitchen. I finally get some out of the bathroom. I get the coffee cleaned up and then go unlock my desk, and I can't find my desk keys. I'm looking thru my pruse, but and they are no where. But as I'm looking thru my purse, I find my badge. grrrr, I couldve saved myself the long Security check in after all! I have a big call this afternoon and I need my keys! So now I have to drive home (25 miles) at lunch and get my keys! Now, this is the kind of stuff that happens to me EVERY MONDAY, so with that being said, lets all ban together and OUTLAW MONDAYS! Okay, I need to start thinking positive or I will be a complet Beotch the entire day. I missed my workout this moring - overslept - so I have a backup plan, going tonight after my weight watchers meeting. I have done pretty good this week on WW plan. Had a slip here and there, but I think I did pretty good. I weighed this morning and my scale shows not a big loss, maybe not even a loss. I will find out tonight when I go the meeting and they weigh me. Well, since I am so far behind today, getting to work late and all, I better sign off and get back to work.

Okay, Mondays.......I just hate them. I always feel so disorganized on Mondays. I'm always tired (partied too hard on the weekend - not beer drinking partying, just a lot of running and errands kind of partying), I am always lacking my sleep on Mondays, and it seems everything goes wrong. Can we start a petition to outlaw Mondays? My DH wakes me up this morning at 7:30 "honey, what time do you have to be at work today". uhhhh "the same time I've worked for the past 10 years dear". He said "it's 7:30", I fly out of the bed without even touching the floor "Oh, crap, I have to be at work in 30 min". NOw mind you, my driving time is 30 minutes alone. I throw on something that doesn't need to be ironed, brush my teeth, and head out the door. Oh crap, back into the house I go, I grab my lunch, and head back out the door. Okay, I glance at the clock, I'll only be about 10 minutes late I think. I'm cruising down the highway at a nice 65 mph, and all of a sudden, screech, uuuurk, I slam on my brakes. I am sitting at a complete stop for 15 minutes. Finally on the radio they announce a 5 car pile up on the highway I'm on. Oh, I tell you, I knew from that moment, it was going to be a bad day! I get to work, FINALLY, 1 hour later, looking thru my purse 5 times and still I could not find my badge. I have to go thru a long check in process with Security. So after getting in thru the security (which acts like we are the freaken white house and wants to check all your credentials, along with almost taking your fingerprints and everything else you might have) I get to my desk, to realize I had a conference call at 8:30 this moring that I missed. I go pour me a cup of coffee, I need the caffiene this morning! So I'm sipping my coffee, and oops, there goes the coffee, all over my pants, all over my floor and splashes on my new purse which I paid big bucks for, So I run to get a paper towel, and we are out of paper towels in the kitchen. I finally get some out of the bathroom. I get the coffee cleaned up and then go unlock my desk, and I can't find my desk keys. I'm looking thru my pruse, but and they are no where. But as I'm looking thru my purse, I find my badge. grrrr, I couldve saved myself the long Security check in after all! I have a big call this afternoon and I need my keys! So now I have to drive home (25 miles) at lunch and get my keys! Now, this is the kind of stuff that happens to me EVERY MONDAY, so with that being said, lets all ban together and OUTLAW MONDAYS! Okay, I need to start thinking positive or I will be a complet Beotch the entire day. I missed my workout this moring - overslept - so I have a backup plan, going tonight after my weight watchers meeting. I have done pretty good this week on WW plan. Had a slip here and there, but I think I did pretty good. I weighed this morning and my scale shows not a big loss, maybe not even a loss. I will find out tonight when I go the meeting and they weigh me. Well, since I am so far behind today, getting to work late and all, I better sign off and get back to work.

I agree with Susie, Sula. If you are having extreme reflux, and you tried everything to cure it. Like, not eating 3 hours prior to bed time, etc, I would go in and have a slight unfill. It is so WEIRD about the band being so darn fickle. I was scheduled for a fill in December but I canceled, and just when I think I need a fill, I get tight again. I made an egg white omlet this morning, and took 2 bites and realized I was having a hard time with it, so I switched to yogurt, and I had to slow down while eating the yogurt. Normally I can eat anything in the mornings, but his morning, my band is being a little fickle. I'm usually tight only 2 days out of the week, the rest of the time I am normal. I'm not real lose, but looser than I would want to be. I had a little reflux on Friday night, but haven't had any since. I know its good that your losing weight, but you don't want to jeapordize your health. So, if you have tried not eating before bed (I have to wait 3 hours), then I would go see the doc. A slight unfill of even .1 cc can make a difference.

BG - I used Fitday.com. When I enter a food, I put the sugar in with the carbs. The fiber is entered separtely, however, the sugar fits in with the carbs - so just enter your total carbs. Its a pain in the you know what to enter your custum food, but I eat pretty much the same thing. So once I got the majority of the stuff I ate entered, it was a lot easier.

Okay, I stepped on the scale this morning, and up again. What the hell? Anyhow, I felt smaller, not sure why the scales are up AGAIN. But......I have these jeans I bought about a month ago and they were too tight. I decided to try them on today just for the heck of it. I didn't think they would fit, I just wanted to see if they were any looser, well, hot filley dough, color me happy, they fit!:cursing: I'm wearing them today! Jr's size 10! Love 'em. So, whenever the scales say your fat, just try on a pair of skinny jeans and you'll feel better! It just made me realize that the scale is a big fat liar! I mean, he really is. He says I'm gaining weight, but my jeans and my body are telling me, Hey girl, your looking good and getting smaller and can fit into a Jr.'s size 10 jeans. So I am excited, no matter what that freak of a scale says! It all gets down to, are you eating right? Are you exercising? Are you getting smaller? Yes, yes and yes! So the scale is playing with my head these days and trying to convince me that I'm gaining weight, but he failed! I know that I'm not! :cursing: Okay, its Friday, its payday, and I'm wearing my skinny jeans today, and its suposed to be in the 80's today. Its absolutely a beautiful day today, so I'm a happy camper. Very good mood. Plus I get off work at 11:00 am today (only working 4 hours) yay! Life is good. Below is an article I've kept for quite some time, I read it from time to time when I'm feeling down about the scales, so I thought I would post it again. Even though it is talking about deiting with Low carb, which I try to do. Or I eat the healthy carbs (like fruit) I think the article applies to all types of eating. Wt - naked first thing in am (168.9) Here we go again... How the hell does your body hold onto weight and still manage to get smaller while you are on your chosen low carb diet?!? You know the scenario: You are on Induction for two weeks, and you haven't cheated even once. You notice that your clothes fit better, that you are stepping a little livelier, and as far as you're concerned, all's right with the world. But then you step on that evil construction of the Devil himself, the bathroom scale, and you instantly feel betrayed. The stupid thing insists that you have done nothing! Sometimes, it even states you have done less than nothing; it accuses you of cheating because it tells that you haven't lost any weight! Well, there area couple of simple explanations to help you get through this trying time. First of all, if it is at all possible for you to do so, throw that insipid Monster Scale in the trash. Or at least put it up somewhere that it is really, REALLY inconvenient to get to so that you won't be tempted to ask it's opinion every single day of your life. Face it. If you are feeling better and your clothes are looser, do you really need the scale to tell you that you're on the right track? No! You don't! Why do you think you do it, then? I'll tell you why. The low fat diet demons have a tenacious hold on your brain. That's right, you've been brainwashed. All your life they have told you through doctors, dietitians, newspaper and magazine articles, surgeon generals and the like, that you give up X calories per day and you will lose a pound of fat. They even go on to tell you how much fat you should lose each week. In the process, they've made you dependent on the Monster Scale to gauge your progress! What a big lie! Even on the diets that "they" advocate, the Monster Scale does not often cooperate. You go back to the Diet Demons and demand to know why the scale does not reflect the torture you have put yourself through for a month. They immediately start backpedaling on the "give up X calories and lose a pound of fat" story, and start talking to you about water retention and muscle buildup. Sometimes, they even blame it on you with questions like, "Are you sure you counted the calories in everything you ate?" (This is delivered with a knowing little smile that makes you want to rip their knowing little face off.) Being the type that is given to blaming things on yourself, anyway, you cooperate with an answer like, "Well….." They pounce on this with "Ahhhh, well.." Then, they launch into one of their scoldings/lash/encouragement speeches. So, get off their bandwagon, already! Then, there's the competitive spirit. You hear about what other people have done on your chosen diet. Yes, Brian went on Atkins a year ago and lost over a hundred pounds. Yes, a hundred pounds in a year is over eight pounds a month, or 2 pounds a week, or .0119 pounds per hour….but, "Hello? You ain't Brian!" And, did Brian ever say that he lost .0119 pounds per hour? No! He said a hundred pounds in a year. This only proves he got on the scale twice; a year ago, and yesterday. Take a hint from Brian. Stay off the scale! The second solution is to understand what is going on in your body in light of the current state of human affairs. Today, all a person has to have to eat every day is money and transportation to a grocery store or, better yet, a nice restaurant. However, your body's survival instincts have not matured in a million years. Your body still thinks you are a hunter-gatherer. Yes, in spite of a million years of evolution, your body still thinks you are going to have to go out and kill a mammoth to eat. The survival instincts with which you are going to have to come to terms are read-only memory. You can't overwrite them. Deal with it. That said, let me tell you what happens when you lose a pound of fat. Your body has been saving this fat for that long hunting expedition you're going to have to go on to track, kill, dress and retrieve that huge animal. It keeps the fat in little pillows distributed throughout your body. When you start losing fat, it doesn't trust you to continue whatever insane path you have chosen that is causing the fat to dissipate. So, when the fat comes out of the pillow, it injects water as a "place holder." Sometimes that water actually replaces the weight of the fat it lost. Sometimes it replaces the volume. Water weighs more than fat just like lead sinkers weigh more than feathers. If you stuff a pillow with a pound of feathers, you'll have a nice big pillow. If you stuff a pillow with a pound of lead sinkers, you'll have a nice (but rather hard and uncomfortable), small pillow. Now, let's say your body removes a pound of fat and replaces the weight with a pound of water. Your weight will stay the same, but you will be smaller. But, if your body decides to replace the lost fat by volume, that is a quite different story. Remember the great big feather pillow as compared to the tiny lead sinker pillow? Well, now think of a gallon of feathers and a gallon of lead sinkers. Try to pick up the gallon of feathers. Piece of (you'll pardon the expression) cake. Now, try to pick up the gallon of lead sinkers. Sucker's heavy, ain't it? So, you will be smaller, but you will have gained weight. Eventually, your body makes the executive decision that you are not going to replace the fat you lost, and it lets go of the water. In the words of Danny Skaist: "When your body accepts the fact that they are no longer needed, the water will be expelled and the cells closed. This is known as the "whoosh." What makes your body decide to replace by weight or replace by volume? I dunno. But I do know that it does not seem consistent to the casual observer. What makes your body decide that you are seriously not going to replace the fat you lost? I dunno. But now you know why it's so important to drink your water, huh? Loss of fat is inextricably related to water intake. It's more than a little foolish to go on a diet that facilitates the removal of fat and then refuse to give your body the tools it needs to do so. Bottom Line: Stop getting on the scale and drink your water. If you stick to your plan and wait for the "whoosh," it will come.

Okay, I stepped on the scale this morning, and up again. What the hell? Anyhow, I felt smaller, not sure why the scales are up AGAIN. But......I have these jeans I bought about a month ago and they were too tight. I decided to try them on today just for the heck of it. I didn't think they would fit, I just wanted to see if they were any looser, well, hot filley dough, color me happy, they fit!:w00t: I'm wearing them today! Jr's size 10! Love 'em. So, whenever the scales say your fat, just try on a pair of skinny jeans and you'll feel better! It just made me realize that the scale is a big fat liar! I mean, he really is. He says I'm gaining weight, but my jeans and my body are telling me, Hey girl, your looking good and getting smaller and can fit into a Jr.'s size 10 jeans. So I am excited, no matter what that freak of a scale says! It all gets down to, are you eating right? Are you exercising? Are you getting smaller? Yes, yes and yes! So the scale is playing with my head these days and trying to convince me that I'm gaining weight, but he failed! I know that I'm not! Okay, its Friday, its payday, and I'm wearing my skinny jeans today, and its suposed to be in the 80's today. Its absolutely a beautiful day today, so I'm a happy camper. Very good mood. Plus I get off work at 11:00 am today (only working 4 hours) yay! Life is good. Below is an article I've kept for quite some time, I read it from time to time when I'm feeling down about the scales, so I thought I would post it again. Even though it is talking about deiting with Low carb, which I try to do. Or I eat the healthy carbs (like fruit) I think the article applies to all types of eating. Wt - naked first thing in am (168.9) Here we go again... How the hell does your body hold onto weight and still manage to get smaller while you are on your chosen low carb diet?!? You know the scenario: You are on Induction for two weeks, and you haven't cheated even once. You notice that your clothes fit better, that you are stepping a little livelier, and as far as you're concerned, all's right with the world. But then you step on that evil construction of the Devil himself, the bathroom scale, and you instantly feel betrayed. The stupid thing insists that you have done nothing! Sometimes, it even states you have done less than nothing; it accuses you of cheating because it tells that you haven't lost any weight! Well, there area couple of simple explanations to help you get through this trying time. First of all, if it is at all possible for you to do so, throw that insipid Monster Scale in the trash. Or at least put it up somewhere that it is really, REALLY inconvenient to get to so that you won't be tempted to ask it's opinion every single day of your life. Face it. If you are feeling better and your clothes are looser, do you really need the scale to tell you that you're on the right track? No! You don't! Why do you think you do it, then? I'll tell you why. The low fat diet demons have a tenacious hold on your brain. That's right, you've been brainwashed. All your life they have told you through doctors, dietitians, newspaper and magazine articles, surgeon generals and the like, that you give up X calories per day and you will lose a pound of fat. They even go on to tell you how much fat you should lose each week. In the process, they've made you dependent on the Monster Scale to gauge your progress! What a big lie! Even on the diets that "they" advocate, the Monster Scale does not often cooperate. You go back to the Diet Demons and demand to know why the scale does not reflect the torture you have put yourself through for a month. They immediately start backpedaling on the "give up X calories and lose a pound of fat" story, and start talking to you about water retention and muscle buildup. Sometimes, they even blame it on you with questions like, "Are you sure you counted the calories in everything you ate?" (This is delivered with a knowing little smile that makes you want to rip their knowing little face off.) Being the type that is given to blaming things on yourself, anyway, you cooperate with an answer like, "Well….." They pounce on this with "Ahhhh, well.." Then, they launch into one of their scoldings/lash/encouragement speeches. So, get off their bandwagon, already! Then, there's the competitive spirit. You hear about what other people have done on your chosen diet. Yes, Brian went on Atkins a year ago and lost over a hundred pounds. Yes, a hundred pounds in a year is over eight pounds a month, or 2 pounds a week, or .0119 pounds per hour….but, "Hello? You ain't Brian!" And, did Brian ever say that he lost .0119 pounds per hour? No! He said a hundred pounds in a year. This only proves he got on the scale twice; a year ago, and yesterday. Take a hint from Brian. Stay off the scale! The second solution is to understand what is going on in your body in light of the current state of human affairs. Today, all a person has to have to eat every day is money and transportation to a grocery store or, better yet, a nice restaurant. However, your body's survival instincts have not matured in a million years. Your body still thinks you are a hunter-gatherer. Yes, in spite of a million years of evolution, your body still thinks you are going to have to go out and kill a mammoth to eat. The survival instincts with which you are going to have to come to terms are read-only memory. You can't overwrite them. Deal with it. That said, let me tell you what happens when you lose a pound of fat. Your body has been saving this fat for that long hunting expedition you're going to have to go on to track, kill, dress and retrieve that huge animal. It keeps the fat in little pillows distributed throughout your body. When you start losing fat, it doesn't trust you to continue whatever insane path you have chosen that is causing the fat to dissipate. So, when the fat comes out of the pillow, it injects water as a "place holder." Sometimes that water actually replaces the weight of the fat it lost. Sometimes it replaces the volume. Water weighs more than fat just like lead sinkers weigh more than feathers. If you stuff a pillow with a pound of feathers, you'll have a nice big pillow. If you stuff a pillow with a pound of lead sinkers, you'll have a nice (but rather hard and uncomfortable), small pillow. Now, let's say your body removes a pound of fat and replaces the weight with a pound of water. Your weight will stay the same, but you will be smaller. But, if your body decides to replace the lost fat by volume, that is a quite different story. Remember the great big feather pillow as compared to the tiny lead sinker pillow? Well, now think of a gallon of feathers and a gallon of lead sinkers. Try to pick up the gallon of feathers. Piece of (you'll pardon the expression) cake. Now, try to pick up the gallon of lead sinkers. Sucker's heavy, ain't it? So, you will be smaller, but you will have gained weight. Eventually, your body makes the executive decision that you are not going to replace the fat you lost, and it lets go of the water. In the words of Danny Skaist: "When your body accepts the fact that they are no longer needed, the water will be expelled and the cells closed. This is known as the "whoosh." What makes your body decide to replace by weight or replace by volume? I dunno. But I do know that it does not seem consistent to the casual observer. What makes your body decide that you are seriously not going to replace the fat you lost? I dunno. But now you know why it's so important to drink your water, huh? Loss of fat is inextricably related to water intake. It's more than a little foolish to go on a diet that facilitates the removal of fat and then refuse to give your body the tools it needs to do so. Bottom Line: Stop getting on the scale and drink your water. If you stick to your plan and wait for the "whoosh," it will come.

BG - thanks for your support. When I was in the 240's, I used to dream of being 160's again. Now that I'm there, I want more. lol. I guess the old saying is true - "people are just never happy". lol.

Sula - your too kind with your words. But I appreciate the compliment. You know, one of the things I notice about my band is its a fickle bitch! I mean, it really is! I never know what the hell its going to do. Sorry for the french, but its so true. I can go for weeks, and not feel much restriction, then all of a sudden, I feel tight? Usually I start thinking I need a fill, then I get tight and it only last a day or so. I'm more lose than tight. I finally decided to give up on fills for awhile. I was scheduled for one in December, but I cancelled because I felt like I had some restriction, now I don't. Right after my surgery, I was really tight, I loved it. I felt like i had the perfect restriction, now its loose again and has been for a few weeks. Just so weird. Right now, I decided to just focus on eating right and exercising. Instead of running for a fill. I think I will eventually get one, but I decided to hold off for awhile and see what the WW plan and exercising can do for me. Even though I don't feel like I have the best restriction, its still keeps me from totally over eating. I get full quicker on small amounts of food. I don't think I could do the WW plan if it wasn't for the band. I think I would be hungry all the time, but the band helps the small amount of food you get on WW keep me satisfied. Anyhow, I was just emphasizing with your issue of being tight. You know, I've heard from other doctor websites that if you PB, you should go on liquids for the rest of the day, or maybe two days. But you would think cottage cheese wouldn't come up. Do you think you could have a bug? Or do think that the band is just being fickle and giving you a hard time? I made it to the gym last night - and had a really hard gruelling workout! I felt good about it. However, didn't get up this morning, I don't even remember turning the alarm off. But I'm okay with it, I'll just go tonight. Well, I have an extremely busy day today, I have conference calls all day with multi-million dollar customers that all the executives are involved in. So I better get prepared and act like I know what I'm talking about.

Well, today I did not get out of bed. But I did exercise last night, and I felt like I worked out really hard last night at the gym. I didn't get into bed until after 11 again, so I knew that getting up at 4:45 was not going to be easy, turns out it was harder than I even thought. I don't even remember turning the alarm off, but I guess I did. :frown: I might not be losing a lot of weight according to the scales, but my inches and clothes tell a different story. My workout pants were hanging off me last night, thats when I realized that something is happening to my body, and I like it! I tried on a size 8 dress yesterday, and it fit! I almost bought it, however, I am trying to hold off for a few months. I am addicted to shopping these days, its not good for my pocket book. Luckily I have zero debt, except my house, so I can afford to shop. However, this is an expensive year for us, my son is graduating and starting college, we have a huge party we are throwing for him, I also need to buy a new car this year. I've had mine for 11 years now and it has 200K miles on it. I need a dependable car for work, so I'm going to have to break down and buy one, so I will have car payments again. yuk. So, I must stay away from the stores, I'm weak when I see a cute outfit, I tell ya, I'm weak!!!!! Okay, my plans today - 3:00 - going to the gym at work and doing 20 min on elliptical 8 pm - going to the gym to do lower body workout - then will get on elliptical machine and do an additional 15 min. Its going to be a rough night at the gym tonight! I'm going to work it hard!:thumbup: Scales this morning showed I was up 2 lbs :cursing: - that is just a normal day in the neighborhood for me. The scales are so cruel to me at times, I used to cry and cry and get so discouraged, now its just a game to me. I like to see what the scales tell me, sometimes I play guessing games before I step on, I'll say "I know your gonna tell me I weigh this - lets see if I'm right", so if I am right, I win. lol. Its a weird head game I play. Sometimes I just kick the scales and let him know I don't need him today, I like when I do that too, I feel like I win for that day too. Weird? Just my crazy life. I feel like me and the scale have this love hate relationship, sometimes I love him, sometimes I don't. Today I just didn't care, he told me I was up 2 lbs, I said, who cares you flat bastard! :w00t: YOu might say I'm up, but my pants beg to differ! They are telling me I've lost, so take that! Well, I better get to work, I have a very very very busy day today, lots of conference calls to be on. grrrrrrr. Wt (naked in the am) 167.8 - :cursing:

Well, today I did not get out of bed. But I did exercise last night, and I felt like I worked out really hard last night at the gym. I didn't get into bed until after 11 again, so I knew that getting up at 4:45 was not going to be easy, turns out it was harder than I even thought. I don't even remember turning the alarm off, but I guess I did. :sleep: I might not be losing a lot of weight according to the scales, but my inches and clothes tell a different story. My workout pants were hanging off me last night, thats when I realized that something is happening to my body, and I like it! I tried on a size 8 dress yesterday, and it fit! I almost bought it, however, I am trying to hold off for a few months. I am addicted to shopping these days, its not good for my pocket book. Luckily I have zero debt, except my house, so I can afford to shop. However, this is an expensive year for us, my son is graduating and starting college, we have a huge party we are throwing for him, I also need to buy a new car this year. I've had mine for 11 years now and it has 200K miles on it. I need a dependable car for work, so I'm going to have to break down and buy one, so I will have car payments again. yuk. So, I must stay away from the stores, I'm weak when I see a cute outfit, I tell ya, I'm weak!!!!! Okay, my plans today - 3:00 - going to the gym at work and doing 20 min on elliptical 8 pm - going to the gym to do lower body workout - then will get on elliptical machine and do an additional 15 min. Its going to be a rough night at the gym tonight! I'm going to work it hard!:biggrin: Scales this morning showed I was up 2 lbs :w00t: - that is just a normal day in the neighborhood for me. The scales are so cruel to me at times, I used to cry and cry and get so discouraged, now its just a game to me. I like to see what the scales tell me, sometimes I play guessing games before I step on, I'll say "I know your gonna tell me I weigh this - lets see if I'm right", so if I am right, I win. lol. Its a weird head game I play. Sometimes I just kick the scales and let him know I don't need him today, I like when I do that too, I feel like I win for that day too. Weird? Just my crazy life. I feel like me and the scale have this love hate relationship, sometimes I love him, sometimes I don't. Today I just didn't care, he told me I was up 2 lbs, I said, who cares you flat bastard! :tt2: YOu might say I'm up, but my pants beg to differ! They are telling me I've lost, so take that! Well, I better get to work, I have a very very very busy day today, lots of conference calls to be on. grrrrrrr. Wt (naked in the am) 167.8 -

Yay, my cousin called me yesterday and she won a trip to Cancun. She was top sales and gets to go to Cancun for the awards ceremony and wanted to know if I wanted to be her guest. No charge, completely FREE. uhhh, let me think about this, Free trip, all you can eat and drink, on the beach resort, uhhh, hell yes! So, I leave for all inclusive trip to Cancun for 4 days on April 23rd! Yay! This gives me some motivation to keep exercising and lose more weight. I think I can lose 5 more pounds by then. Its a little over 5 weeks away I think. I might be able to lose more, but I'll take 5! The resort we're staying at is called the Cancun palace and its a 5 star resort with all the luxeries you can imagine. I'm getting a seaside massage, under an open-air palapa! Thats what I call WONDERFUL! All drinks and food are included. And they have a state of the art gym, so I'm telling myself now, just because I'm on vacation, no reason not to exercise! So, I'm planning on exercising while i'm there too. Anyhow, I'm excited, can you tell? My cousin first asked her mother to go, but her mother has no desire to go, then she asked her husband, but he recently had surgery on his shoulder and he hates the sun. So even though I was her third choice (lol), I am totally pumped over it! Now, on the exercise note, I set the alarm this moring, and I could've gotten up, but my body was just worn down. I have not been getting in bed until after 11, and getting up 3 or 4 in the morning. I could feel how worn out it was, so I decided to go back to sleep. I tell you, its just what I needed. I feel so much better today and so much more energy this morning that I haven't had in a long time. So I'm glad I didn't get up this morning. I plan on going to the gym after work, and I will get back up tomorrow morning, but for today, I needed the rest, so no guilt about sleeping in. I stayed off the scales, but will probably weigh tomorrow morning. I put on my size 10 jeans and they are actually a little loose. hmmmm. Maybe inches are melting? Last night, we had our meeting at church, came home, and I had recorded the Biggest Loser, my friend came over (she lives around the corner) so she could watch the Biggest Loser. So we were very mad at the end of the show when it said "To be continued...." Grrrrrr. Next week, I think I'm going to have her come over on Wednesday nights and we'll watch it then. Getting home at 9:30 on Tuesday nights,then trying to watch the show, puts me in bed toooooo late. Well, looks like I'm a chatter box today, but I'm just so excited, Cancuun, my clothes feeling loser, I feel skinnier, and I have energy today! Gotta get to work...... Menu today - I get 21 points a day: WW muffin - 3 pts coffee with cream - 1 pt bannana - 2 pts Lunch salad - 0 pts Meatloaf made with Turkey breast and extra lean beef - 3 pts Snacks yogurt - 1 pt apple & WW cheest - 2 pts Dinner Egg White omlet made with spinach, turkey, peppers, salsa (yum yum) -5 pts WW ice cream bar - 2 pts I'm still 2 pts short today, but maybe I can add a point in or 2. If not, I'm not too worried about it, however, they tell me to make sure I eat all my points. Exercise - 40 min on Elliptical - 8:00 pm.

Yay, my cousin called me yesterday and she won a trip to Cancun. She was top sales and gets to go to Cancun for the awards ceremony and wanted to know if I wanted to be her guest. No charge, completely FREE. uhhh, let me think about this, Free trip, all you can eat and drink, on the beach resort, uhhh, hell yes! So, I leave for all inclusive trip to Cancun for 4 days on April 23rd! Yay! This gives me some motivation to keep exercising and lose more weight. I think I can lose 5 more pounds by then. Its a little over 5 weeks away I think. I might be able to lose more, but I'll take 5! The resort we're staying at is called the Cancun palace and its a 5 star resort with all the luxeries you can imagine. I'm getting a seaside massage, under an open-air palapa! Thats what I call WONDERFUL! All drinks and food are included. And they have a state of the art gym, so I'm telling myself now, just because I'm on vacation, no reason not to exercise! So, I'm planning on exercising while i'm there too. Anyhow, I'm excited, can you tell? My cousin first asked her mother to go, but her mother has no desire to go, then she asked her husband, but he recently had surgery on his shoulder and he hates the sun. So even though I was her third choice (lol), I am totally pumped over it! Now, on the exercise note, I set the alarm this moring, and I could've gotten up, but my body was just worn down. I have not been getting in bed until after 11, and getting up 3 or 4 in the morning. I could feel how worn out it was, so I decided to go back to sleep. I tell you, its just what I needed. I feel so much better today and so much more energy this morning that I haven't had in a long time. So I'm glad I didn't get up this morning. I plan on going to the gym after work, and I will get back up tomorrow morning, but for today, I needed the rest, so no guilt about sleeping in. I stayed off the scales, but will probably weigh tomorrow morning. I put on my size 10 jeans and they are actually a little loose. hmmmm. Maybe inches are melting? Last night, we had our meeting at church, came home, and I had recorded the Biggest Loser, my friend came over (she lives around the corner) so she could watch the Biggest Loser. So we were very mad at the end of the show when it said "To be continued...." Grrrrrr. Next week, I think I'm going to have her come over on Wednesday nights and we'll watch it then. Getting home at 9:30 on Tuesday nights,then trying to watch the show, puts me in bed toooooo late. Well, looks like I'm a chatter box today, but I'm just so excited, Cancuun, my clothes feeling loser, I feel skinnier, and I have energy today! Gotta get to work...... Menu today - I get 21 points a day: WW muffin - 3 pts coffee with cream - 1 pt bannana - 2 pts Lunch salad - 0 pts Meatloaf made with Turkey breast and extra lean beef - 3 pts Snacks yogurt - 1 pt apple & WW cheest - 2 pts Dinner Egg White omlet made with spinach, turkey, peppers, salsa (yum yum) -5 pts WW ice cream bar - 2 pts I'm still 2 pts short today, but maybe I can add a point in or 2. If not, I'm not too worried about it, however, they tell me to make sure I eat all my points. Exercise - 40 min on Elliptical - 8:00 pm.

Hey gang, I'm just swinging by, been awhile. Wow, a new grandbaby! and a big grandbaby at that, 10 lbs - thats what I call a keeper! I recently had a hysterectomy, was off work for 6 weeks, and finally feeling a little back to normal. Still really tired, but getting better everyday. I joined Weight Watchers, hoping it will help me lose these final 10 lbs I want to lose in order to be at a healthy weight (I really want 20, but will take 10 for now!). So far i'm down 2.6 lbs since joining. I just got released from the doctor to start exercising again, so I've been getting up at 4:45 am and hitting the gym all week. But by mid moring, I'm pooped. I might have to hold off on the 5 am workouts for a few more weeks if my body stays this tired. grrrrr. Well, I better get to work, just wanted to swing by and say hello to all the shrinkin violets.

Sula, lol. I forgot about that. I am ready to get some muscle back, seems like everything has gone to jello. I've gotten up and hit the gym all week long. Yay! I've eaten right, and at my WW meeting on Monday, I lost 3 lbs! So I've finally down some weight instead of gained. My total loss so far since joining WW is 2.6 lbs. I'll take it. With clothes on I weighed 169 even. Naked the next morning, I was at 165. My goal is to get to 155 to be at a healthy weight for my height. However, I really want to get to 145 for my ultimate goal. Only 10 more lbs to be healthy, and 20 to be my own goal. Well gotta run............