J_BandRanger

i was a size 9/10 when i had my twins...after they were born, i dropped to a size 8! but their brother came 15 months later and i've been BIG every since---maxing out at size 18/20...my son turned 15years old last December!! so i decided that the "baby fat" had to go as my "baby" is now in high school!!! the band has been the best weightloss decision i've EVER made!!! I am less than 3 months into this and i am already down to a size 14!!!! i am so happy!!!

congratulations!!! this is all wonderful news!! kiss your belly for us (your bandster friends)

try frozen icees. you can have those on the liquid phase...and it tricks you into thinking you're eatting...do you have a Rita's near you?..... their SugarFree icee is only 210 calories...the pink lemonade is tasty!!! - I dont like Jell-o but if you do, it's allowed on the liquid phase and again, you'll feel like your "eatting"... :-))

---->>this has been a VERY hard habit for me to break too...I start timing myself right away...I cant have any water until 60-90 mins after i eat....so, when i swallow my last bite, I look at the clock and time an hour!!!! it helps not to bring water to the table. if we're out to dinner, i push the water far away or give it to my husband. --->>no water b/c it will wash the food down. I do see a big difference when i do NOT drink the water....so i guess its worth it!!!!

@finallycontrol.... yes, the MEMORIES are so dear to me... bought tears to my eyes ... that's why i made a "note to self" in my blog entry, "naming" the clothes.....this particular bunch of dresses & skirts were purchased at a VERY, personal and critical time in my life.....:laugh:

Happy Birthday to you!!!!! and yes, after a long time w/no sweets, sweets are too sweet! i couldnt even finish my "chocolate malt" protein shake yesterday!!! this morning i diluted it w/ice and water!! funny!!!

yup! Bklynike is right---->> that liquid diet is "something" but never fear, "mushies" are on the way!!! 23 pounds is FANTASTIC!! you can do this!!!!

EXCELLENT!!! I'm on top of the world today too!!!!

whoo-hoo! this morning I went "shopping" in my own closet!!!...that back part where we put the clothes that don't fit anymore!!! I'm am sporting dresses and skirts that I haven't been able to wear in 3 years!!! I was so excited that I kept pulling out more and more clothes!!! sizes 14-16.... Some clothes still had tags on them!!! I even have a new bra! (the "convertable" kind, w/clear straps, criss-cross straps, no straps, etc..!!! I'm sure i purchased it to go with the dresses. It still had all the tags and accessories on it too!!) wow! i hit the jack-pot! a FREE shopping spree!!! I was inspired to do this b/c last night I had on a pair of 18s that were VERY tight in April (I had to 'suck in' to button them) but last night they were so baggy that i just pulled them down and took them off w/o unbuttoning or unzipping! I was amazed!!! :tt2: note to self: "airport dress", "kiss-me dress", "Lisa's party dress", "church sundress", black satin & lace skirt ....oh how I've missed you guys!!! (summer 2007)

its ok!!! venting is what we are here for!!! so rant on!!! its your blog!!! i can understand the place you're in right now...I too moved to another state...no family, no friends, just me and my kiddies and a diaper bag!!! and my girls straight up acted a fool in that new day care too!!!! this too shall pass....

@enchantress - dont worry!! a fill is not bad at all and it will be over really quickly!!!!!

i've been waiting for this report!!!!! excellent work, Blynike!!!!

I was running low on my protein powder mix...so I purchased another jug...54 grams of protein. In hindsight, that should have been my 1st clue!!!... but it was Chocolate Malt, so I got it! well, this morning I went to fix it and it called for 4 scoops!! 4? OMJ! the other mixes only call for 1 scoop! also, it only had 7 servings per jug! well no wonder ---->> at 4 scoops each serving! but to top it off, it was 570 colories!!! Oh no! so I cut the serving in 1/2 to 2 scoops and didnt add any fruit, mixed it w/water and crushed ice, etc.... - It was very tasty but it mixed up so "fluffy" that I couldnt even finish it anyway!! so.... back down to one scoop next time and I'm not buying this one again!!! lesson learned!!!

While on the Treadmill...I watched the Super Size Me! today (Im really into these documentaries here lately!) anyway- it was really something! Yuck! at one point I had to turn away b/c I felt like I was going to puke!!!! I dont like McDs anyway! good thing! :tt2:

- I guess i never looked at it as a lie....? I am just a VERY private person all around...I am tight-lipped about most everything in my life.....Only my husband knows ALL of my "personals"....not even my BFF knows all ... - I guess if someone asked me directly, I would answer and say "yes, I had LB surgery"...but otherwise, it just doesnt come up in day-to-day conversation..... - Now, after having this surgery and finding out that the LB doesnt start working right away, then I was very glad that I didnt tell b/c then everyone would be looking at me wondering why i wasnt "loosing 100 pounds right away"...I'm sure i could explain the whole process over and over and over again, but I dont see that as my obligation...If someone on this site asked "why isnt my band working right now? I was banded last week", then I am willing to explain it to them..... - I also think that in general, people believe that if you've had LB surgery, you are never supossed to eat a "treat" or eat "normal food" again...so again, I'd be obligied to start w/the information session, again.... - for me, its just easier this way....but as we say all the time on this site, everyone is different PS - i would never stand around and let the band be bashed or standby while a fellow bandster was being bashed....I'd join in, in full support of the proceedure and bandsters everywhere!

-my husband knows about this site. he is prbly glad that you guys are here for me b/c he is the only other one that knows and w/o this site, I'd prbly talk his ear off about stuff he doesnt really know much about!!! - I can kind of understand your husband's fears b/c my husband had a "classmates.com" experience that went HORRIBLY WRONG!!! so i didnt want him on FB or the computer ever again!! he eased my fears by giving me full access to his page, etc... - Maybe let your hubby see this site and read about us?? he will see that we are just a bunch of "chubbies" yapping to each other!!!:laugh: BTW-I'm on here about 3-4 times a day!!!

no one knows but my hubby, and I'm fine w/that...this site has been a lifesaver for me!!! all the friends I need- right here to support me-day and night!

2 pounds down is better than 2 pounds up!!!:laugh: and a size 16 is a move in the right direction!

that's great! "pants" is my blog today too!!!

- I have 2 pair of pants that I purchased about 7 months ago. In all honesty, they must have been mismarked b/c when I got them home they didnt even come close to fitting!!! no way were these a size 18!!! (my other 18s fit and some were kind of loose) These were only $6.00 and they were dress pants that I could wear to work, so I kept them. - Since I dont own a scale, I decided to use them as my "measuring tool". I couldnt even get them past my hips 2 months ago, much less close them!! ------>> today: I got them up, zipped and snapped them!!!! WOW!!!! - So, i went about my closet pulling out other pants and taking pictures of my progress!!! check them out on my page!!!! :rolleyes2:

EEEEEWWWWW! thanx for sharing....I think? (LOL) I am sooo glad that i do not like McD's or the other places like it.... ugh!

the band doesnt start "working" until you hit your "sweet spot", between 3-5 fills. until then, you're just dieting and using will power..... if we were "good at dieting" we wouldnt have gotten banded!!! so dont get mad at yourself.... <3

So just now I had my first "stuck"!!! :ohmy: - What I thought was 'stuck' before (w/the dinner bread at restaurant) was only an "almost stuck".... - I slept late so I just now got around to eating (12:30)...b/c of the time, I skipped my breakfast shake and went for my veggies (steamed soft) and chicken (pureed).... I had the exact same thing for dinner last night (4:30) and it was fine.... but today it would NOT go down!!! About my 2nd swallow, I felt incredible pain! …a knot in my throat/chest, the "gurgling", eyes watering, hard to breathe...I had the incredible urge to BURP! like a big "man-like", rude, burp! Deep and Loud! (LOL!) :rolleyes2: ... but it wouldn’t come. - I walked as quickly as I could to the bathroom (didn’t want to alarm my kids. they don’t know about my LB) I vomited but still couldn’t burp!!! I did not want to vomit again… so I walked around the house w/my hands up, etc.... and now I’m blogging to keep me "distracted".... - I don’t know why this happened? Maybe I didn’t chew well enough? I was very hungry, so I might have swallowed too fast? I have been chewing, my already mushy food, to liquid form before swallowing...sounds gross but it’s been working... - I hope this doesnt mean that I gained weight, so my band got tighter??? I say this b/c the last doc that filled me said that i was having so much put in (10.75 by 3rd fill) b/c i didnt have much abdominal/belly fat and people like me have a hard time tightening thier band. - Anyway...I am still glad :thumbup: I had this bad experience! This is my first time vomiting! I know that sounds odd, but up until now, I really didn’t feel “banded”! I thought the Doc couldn’t get my band tight enough and this was just not going to work for me... Now it’s official! … now I know: I HAVE RESTRICTION!!! WHOO-HOO!! :w00t:

this place sounds yummy! thanks ----- i think we'll go there this summer

when my gas was unbarable, i use to lay, face down, on top of a small pillow (like a toss pillow from my couch)...somebody on here might yell at me and say "that sounds painful!!" but it helped me so much!!!! it pushed the gas right out! relief!