Bklynike

You go girl! I hope you accomplish everything you wish to. We are all in this together and understand exactly what you are going through. I am glad you changed doctors. If your doctor and his staff was not able to give you the encouragement and desire needed to succeed, what good are they? Do you attend support meetings? You will probably get some good ideas and encouragement from those. Best of luck.

Happy Sunday Everyone. If any of you have read my blogs before, you know that I love reporting good news. It makes me feel good to tell people how much I love my lap-band because it was the best thing I ever did for myself. I want to make sure that anyone who was a yo-yo dieter like I was knows there is help out there. For anyone who would lose 25 or 30 lbs and hit that wall - no matter how much you tried to lose more and couldn't like I did - it is possible to get help. I would hit that plateau and that would be it. After weeks of trying, I would get frustrated and return to my old friends - french fries, pasta, potatoes, bread, etc. So not only did I gain back the original loss, I would add a few more lbs to the mix. Which I have to say made me feel so much better about myself - NOT! And lets remember all of the co-morbidities that came along with getter bigger, fatter and less healthy.:thumbup: I know the lap band is just a tool. I knew that going in. My surgeon was very clear about that. It is not a magic pill that you take and wake up in the morning 100 lbs lighter than when you went to sleep. I knew my fairy godmother/father wasn't going to swoop down and remove the fat from my body with a mystical wand. It is work, hard work. But if you really want to get thinner, healthier and feel better about yourself and you are thinking about having the lap-band stop thinking and do it. The band has helped with my food in take. The gym and 3 wonderful trainers have helped with my exercise program - cardio and weight lifting. When you put these together with my will to succeed and the encouragement from friends, family and especally my wonderful husband, you get success. On June 21st of this year, my re-birth, I weighed 253.6. I was up to 268 at my heaviest. I know there are people out there reading this who have lost more weight than I have and some who have lost less weight than I have. But I know I am doing it the right way for me. Slowly and steadily and I am loving the new me. I just returned from the gym and wanted to report that I am now down to 217.4 lbs.:thumbup: I am looking forward to losing the next 10 lbs and then reaching the Onederland! I have no doubt I will do it. I am on track. I know what I have to do and I am doing it will all of the vim and vigor I can muster. Enjoy the rest of your day everyone - I wish each and every one of you are as happy as I am with the choice we made to have this wonderful surgery.

Congrats to you. Keep up the good work. As hard as it is, seeing the scale dropping is an amazing feeling.

There is a product called Isopure. It looks like colored water, but there is 40 grams of protein in each bottle and it will help keep you from being hungry and will help you get your protein in. You can get them at GNC. I like some of the flavors, but everyone's taste is different. I never really cared for the protein shakes, but I use a vanilla shake and I put decalf coffee in it with ice and blend it up. That is pretty much the only one I can get down. Best of luck - sugar free jello, sugar free ice pops, Swanson's Chicken or Beef broth and the Isopure should keep you filled up. Welcome to our club.

You are doing great. Enjoy your visit with your folks. You are lucky to have them in your life. As for the recliners, I purchased one at City Furniture - it was a lot more expensive than I wanted to spend, but it is really well built. After my purchase I was in a Big Lots and they have many different styles at very good prices. Just a thought.

When the time is right your surgery will happen. I believe in things happening for a reason. So when everything is perfect, you will have your surgery and you will be so happy that these small setbacks won't really mean anything. I wish you the best of luck. This was the best gift I could have given myself, and I am sure you will find the same. Stay on top of the hospital and doctor's office, you have to be your own advocate.

Today was a terrific day. :cool2: I called in sick, so I didn't go to work today. That in itself made my day wonderful. I got to spend it with my husband and did some "me" things - I went shopping. People have been telling me it is time to get some smaller clothes, so I purchased some 2X tops a few weeks ago, that are too big on me now. I tried both Lane Bryant and The Avenue for pants with no success.:bored: I was between sizes and nothing fit right. I was kind of dissapointed, but did not allow it to make me get upset. I knew that in a week or two, I would fit into something. Well, today I purchased 2 pairs of pants at JC Penney - a pair of jeans and a dress pair of pants. Both were a size 18.:laugh: I haven't been in a size 18 in many, many years. I was so excited. They are a trouser fit because the regular fit jeans or skinny jeans are still too tight in my thighs. Also, I bought a few size AXL tops. Wow, what a great feeling to not only get into things, but they actually fit. I don't look like a sausage. Then this afternoon I went for my first fill. I can't believe how well that went. There was absolutely NO PAIN involved. Yes, you feel the needle but no more painful than getting a blood test and I would say actually less uncomfortable than that. I got 1cc and was told to come back in a month, but if I needed more to go in whenever I needed to. I asked why only 1cc and I was told that since I have been doing so well since my surgery and not really feeling hunger or over eating, although I can eat more than I was eating a couple of weeks ago, she wanted to start small. I drank some water after the fill, no problems, and I went on my merry way. Everyone in the office was very complimentary on how I am looking, so that made me feel really good too. And to make things even better, my husband, who is a writer, was asked to write a column in a magazine he has been reading and collecting since he was a young man. He is also on cloud 9 today. I hope you are all having a great day, too.:thumbup:

YOU GO GIRL!!!! How wonderful for you. What an inspiration to us all. Keep up the good work. You must feel like a million bucks. I am proud of you.

If you really want to lose weight, get healthier, live longer and feel better you will do what you have to do to make it happen. This is the best gift you can give yourself and if you can't remain on the liquid diet necessary for the surgery, perhaps you should rethink the surgery? You got this - we all did it and lived through it. So will you!

Give yourself a break. You are doing so well. You work out and have lost so much weight. Don't beat yourself up. Everyone will give in to temptation at some point, but you got right back to work. Allow yourself a "cheat" every once in a blue moon. As long as it is not a habit. You go girl - we are all proud of your journey thus far.

In the beginning it is a little slow going, but you sound as if you will get back to your normal routine very quickly. Bet of luck to you.

First the really good news. My mammogram and ultrasound last week were perfect! I saw my oncologist on Friday and she said all was well. She was very excited about my weight loss - 25lbs since my last visit. On Saturday my husband and I both had a colonoscopy. All clear at "that end" as well. If you have ever had a colonoscopy you know the drill. Eat breakfast before 10:00 am the day before your test. The rest of the day is only clear liquids and you will either take the pills, which we did, or you drink some awful drink and spend the night in the bathroom. So I got home from work on Friday at 3:45 to start the intake of 32 pills, which started at 4:00. You take 4 pills and then every 15 minutes until 20 pills have been swallowed. Then at 7:00 you take 4 pills every 15 minutes until you complete taking the final 12 pills. And of course, no breakfast. On Sat morning, we got picked up by a car service and taken to the facility for the test and then we got driven home. All in all it was a good experience. So, I didn't eat anything for an entire day and when I stepped on the scale today at the gym I expected I lost a pound or more. Last week I lost 8/10s of a pound and lost the exact same amount - 8/10s of a lb. -today. Wow, I was kind of surprised, but as I always say a loss is a loss no matter how small. I think it convninced me that it is time for my first fill, which is scheduled for Thurs. I will speak with my doctor, or his assistant, to get their opinion. But I believe that after 2 weeks of such a small loss either means I need the fill or I am at a plateau. In either case, I need to depend on the lap band for help this time. I was losing 3-4 lbs at a time. 2 weeks ago I lost 5lbs and then 8/10 for the last 2 weeks. I am still in love with the gym. Even more so now that I have added 3 additional weight training machines. So, I am working out hard, although I didn't go on Friday because of the colonoscopy medication, but went right back today. I hope you are all doing well and enjoying your weekend. Back to the grind tomorrow!

How inspiring! Isn't it wonderful to see yourself shrinking and feeling better and better? Keep up the good work and keep blogging!

I am so sorry for your loss. My dad passed about 23 years ago and my mom died last year. It is very hard, but it does get easier. I am sure you have some wonderful memories and good stories. Not all losses are bad. 35 lbs in 5 weeks is amazing. I wish you the best of luck on your journey.

All good things come to those who wait. The weight will come off - just continue what you are doing. Best of luck.

I will be keeping you in my thoughts. I hope you get the approval QUICKLY! Please let us know how it goes. And unlike marw, I can't cross my eyes!!!!! Good luck - I'll cross everything else.

I wrote a little while ago that because my doctor does not want me to eat real bread crumbs my new nutritionist gave me a great idea for coating fish and chicken . Well, we finally tried the coating on one of our favorite dishes, chicken parmesian, and it was great and very healthy. Here is what we did. Ingredients: 1 small can cashews 1 small can roasted almonds 2 packages of skinless/boneless chicken (about 5 pieces per package) 2/3 cup All Whites egg substitute Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Parsley to taste Shredded Mozzarella Cheese Tomato Sauce (fresh made, jar or can) Grated parmesian cheese optional Baking pan - sprayed with Pam or any non-stick coating We emptied both cans of nuts into our food processor and pulverized them into a fine "bread crumb" texture. Pour some onto a large plate and repeat as necessary. In a separate bowl, mix the egg substitute, garlic and onion powder and parsley in a bowl. Rinse your chicken and then dredge the chicken through the egg mixture and into the nuts to coat both sides then place in prepared baking pan. I found I had to press the coating onto the chicken to have it stick better. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Cook the chicken for 30 minutes. I did not turn the chicken over during cooking. When the 30 minutes are up, put 1-2 tablespoon of sauce on each piece of chicken, depending on size of the piece, and top with some of the shredded mozzarella cheese. Put the chicken back into the oven and cook another 10 minutes allowing the cheese to melt. I served the chicken with steamed veggies and it was delicious. Please remember, all ovens cook at different temps, so make sure your chicken is cooked all the way through before you eat it. If you don't like cashews or roasted almonds, substitute any other type of nuts. I prefer the egg substitute to real eggs, but if you don't like the egg substitute, use 2 real eggs. I made 2 packages because I like to keep prepared food in the freezer so I can grab one on my way to work. I had one piece of chicken for dinner, my husband had 2 pieces. That left me enough for us to have a 2nd dinner and some lunches. We have not tried this topping on fish yet, but it was so good I am sure we will do so in the very near future. Enjoy! :wink:

For anyone who might be interested, my new green shirt photo has been posted to my album. I am surprised by the difference I see in myself. I hope to get some feedback:smile:. I am pretty darn proud of myself. I was at the gym tonight and worked with out with my trainer, Albert. What a great guy. We worked out in the weight side of the gym. I used a straight bar with 20 lbs, and 2 new machines that I really liked. Before leaving I weighed myself and I was 222.8. I cannot wait to hit 219! Then I will work on the next 10 lb loss. Everyday is getting better! Enjoy the pic and have a great evening.

Slow and steady is absolutely the way to go. This way you will keep it off. Every lbs, every inch is a great loss! Keep up the good work. We are all pulling for you and each of our lapband sisters and brothers.

Great blog and best of luck. Keep journaling and letting us know your progress.

Welcome back and congrats. Have you found a doctor here to do follow-up and fills? I wish you the best of luck and much happiness on your journey.

Welcome back and so glad you had a good time. Losing 2lbs on vacation is remarkable - YOU GIRL GIRL!

Every doctor has their own way of doing things. Since you have faith in your doc - allowing him to perform surgery on you, I would suggest you follow his diet plan to the letter. Walking after surgery will help with the gas you will experience in your upper back and shoulder. Best of luck and welcome to the greatest journey you will ever take.

Great to finally see you, too! Your comments and good wishes to everyone is so uplifting. You are a wonderful person and I am glad to call you friend. Have a good one and keep working on your journey. You are doing really well.

I had my mammogram and ultrasound today and luckily I am fine - still cancer free! I am so excited and thankful that the testing is done and I got my test results immediately following the tests. I see my oncologist on Friday, but with these 2 tests behind me, I know everything will be fine. I had my husband take my green shirt Sept pictures on Sunday, but we just got a new computer and he hasn't up-loaded Photoshop yet, so I am hoping to upload my new pic by the end of the week. Last week I lost a total of 5lbs. This week I lost 8/10s of a lb. It was my first week without a 3 or 4 lb loss, so I was a little disappointed. But a loss is a loss, so I won't be a baby - I have taken my big-girl pill and I hope this week will be better. My first fill is scheduled for next week. This is now the 4th time I have been scheduled for my 1st fill - perhaps this time I need it. I only log my Sunday weight, so depending on what happens this Sunday will determine whether or not I am ready for the fill. I am still not hungry between meals, I am not eating anything more than I should and I feel really good. I would love to say I've lost 40 or 50 lbs since my surgery, but I truly believe slow and steady will win this battle. I started this journey at 268lbs back in January at the time of my cancer/mastectomy. When I had my LB surgery on 6/21/10 I was down to 251lbs. This past Sunday I weighed in at 223lbs. There are many people who have lost a lot more than me at this point of their journey and those who have lost less. There is no comparing to be made. Everyone loses at a different rate. I have never and I mean never been able to lose more than 25lbs on any diet, except one time on Atkins when I lost 40, but had gained every single lb back and more. I truly believe this time I am winning the battle. I love the gym, I love the cardio and weight training, I love my new way of eating and I especially love the way I look and feel. I know this new lifestyle is my lifestyel, for the rest of my life - being healthier and getting smaller will extend my life and the exercise will help me feel better, move better and I love it.:smile: Good luck to everyone and please check back to see my new photos in a couple of days.