Bella Luna

How did your appt go and how did you find a counselor who understands food issues?

Where in Oregon do you live? I found an excellent lady to do my fills. She works in both Eugene and Portland. I was using my surgeon's office for fills but became impatient about how slow they were. They would just randomly decide how much to fill. Plus they charged $225 per fill. This lady uses a technique to listen to how long it takes for water to pass through the band in order to determine how much of a fill to give. Plus she only charges $180. If I had continued with my surgeon's office I would have gone several more times, waiting several more months for restriction, and paid a lot more. Her name is Dr Kelly Fitzpatrick, www.gastricbands.com. I haven't tried Fill Centers. Since both have good reviews, go with who ever is closer and costs less.

Wow, pretty cool! How much have you lost and how long did it take? Keep up the excellent work!!!

I have good restriction, but I can still eat a six inch sub (at least with chicken salad, I think the turkey would probably be ok too).

So I've been banded for 6 months and thought I had a good restriction, but I could totally eat a full hamburger or a full meal at any restaurant, not that I (often) do. Am I not at a sweet spot afterall?

It's good to "meet" you. How has your progress been? Are you liking your band? Good restriction makes a huge difference. I didn't have any until this last month.

Thanks for the tip. I think I'll try to Fletcherize.

Wow! That is big! I was thinking I was looking pretty good and then saw some pictures of myself and realized how much more I have to go. One of these days I'll be where you are! Good job!

Congrats! You should feel good, you are doing awesome!

It really does feel great. I weighed in again today and still saw that beautiful #1. It's just great knowing that never again will I ever weigh over 200 pounds!

I was banded 11-10-10 and have only lost 25 pounds since then, but I'm excited about that loss. You have me beat by nearly double in less time. But remember, this is not a race. I basically think people should just expect NOT to loose until you're about 6 months out. Until you get good restriction, expect that you're just doing any old diet like before you were banded. Then, when you do loose anything the first 6 months you will be proud of the success. I think you may have built up your expectations too high. I don't want to sound depressing, but gaining more realistic expectations will definitely change your attitude. This probably isn't what you wanted to hear. But I would rather loose very slowly with long plateaus then to become discouraged, eat junk and then loose nothing. It's all about perspective. I hope this brings you some hope!

Woo hoo! I'm proud of you!

If you have minute to be reading this, then stand up right this second and go for a five minute walk (around the block, building, inside your office, etc). Just do it NOW! In 5 minutes from now you will feel proud of this accomplishment. Whenever you make even the smallest decision heading you in the right direction, pay attention to your feelings and accomplishments. You will be empowered to succeed! It the small decisions which can lead to great weight loss! Good luck, succeed and enjoy the empowerment this short walk will provide!

ONEDERLAND!!! I was banded 11-10-10, so technically yesterday was my 6 month anniversary, but I wasn't yet at onederland. So I'm rationalizing that today's weight was a resulted of yesterday's work. However you look at it, I'm counting it. That means 40 pounds lost from my highest and 25 pounds lost since surgery. I could have lost more, bhadj had some other medical complications keeping me from exercising and losing for two months. Either way, I'm not in a race and am just thrilled to be in onederland. I feel like me again and have so much more confidence! My foster daughter, who doesn't know about the band, keeps telling me that it looks like I've lost a lot of weight...good kid. I love my band!

I actually like Jenny Craig, but it was too expensive and even though the food was pretty tasty, I got bored of it. If you are looking for the support, try attending OA or TOPS. I've tried both. OA/HOW provides food guidance (which wasn't for me). I currently go to TOPS and love it! The support is great. Find what works for you.