bandiva

Hi everyone. I am back from my fill. I got another .5. I can feel restriction already, but so far no neg side effects. I went to a clinic in Arlington, WA. They were really great and gave me tons of useful information. I am off to work now, but I will write more later.

You were wondering about fills...I just had a fill done in Arlington Washington (about an hour from the border). It was fantastic, and I paid $150. I will definately be returning there for my fills. PM me if you would like more info.

MaryS, where are you getting your fills? I went back to Dr. Ortiz for my first fill, but I am trying a fill centre in Washington for my second fill. (I live in Canada.)

You all are THE BEST. I really appreciate your support. I am (have always been) hard on myself. I need to work on that. I suspect we all do. Thanks again. Yoda...I know! I have caught myself a few times devouring food like a mad woman. I have resorted to eating high fibre cereal for breakfast with the most tiny spoon you have ever seen! It keeps me eating slow! I bought a new laptop today! I get it on Tuesday...they are just putting what I want on it! I am very excited, I will be able to hang out with you guys and not be in pain from my crazy set up I have now. I have been studying healing with crystals...guess what? I carry most of my pain in my stomach...now there is a shocker! I am learning techniques to relieve stress and heal the body through release both emotionally and physically. I will keep you posted when I actually know what I am talking about. Huge hugs to everyone. xoxox! Victoria.

I am down another pound, that is 4 pounds in 3 weeks. Not exactly breaking any records, but I have not been perfect in my eating and my exercise has been inconsistant. I really want to make my March goal, I am committed to doing more exercise and eating a healthier. I get a fill on Monday, so that should help. I love reading about each of you. Sorry I don't post very often, but I do skan through the posts as I eat my breakfast. Take care everyone!

Hope you are feeling better and have a speedy recovery!

I can eat bread, but I try to stick to high fiber bread. I can only eat about 3/4 of a piece. I load it with banana and peanut butter and call it breakfast! Any more than 3/4 piece and I am hurting. I also take about 1/2 hour to eat it. Not sure if it is worth it!

So, I booked a fill for Mon March 19th. I celebrated by eating lasagna. I have 8 more pounds to lose to reach my Marhc goal. I need to be serious about that instead of having it as a 'wish'. I booked my fill at a pharmacy in Arlington, WA that someone here I chat with on my Dr.'s site has used and highly recommends. It is without flouro. Apparently they do a lot of Dr. Ortiz' patients. I will try it once and then take it from there. I have been thinking about what makes me eat. I think two big things are stress and exaustion.(sp?) I get comforted and rewarded for a long days work by food. I want to change that thinking. I teach poeple how to manage stress all day, so I need to start taking the time to apply it to my life, and I need to find myself a new reward for whan I come home tired at the end of the day. I am open to suggestions!:help: It is so encouraging to spend time here and read about other peoples success. It helps me to 'believe'. Well, I am off to work...short day today (9 hours) so I hope to enjoy some sunlight. Take Care everyone and thanks for your support and kindness!

Yoda! You are so great! What an achievement! I can understand being emotional - just embrace it! Yippee~! There is hope for me too! Congrats.

What a great thread. So much useful information to help me decide if I need a fill! I DO! I got a fill Jan 18/07 of 2CC in my 4CC band. I was afraid to book another even though I had lost restriction. Now I am going to go for it! Thanks for all the great info, and congrats on your succcess!

Hi NN32! Sounds like you are on the right track! My exercise has been lacking as well, so now I am telling myself I only have to do 20 min, then if I do more that is great, but if not, I have met my goal. Welcome back!

Well, I finally got my butt on the treadmill Tues night. Did three miles and loved it. I went med-fast, and it was great. Yesterday I had a brownie, and today my scale un-stuck and I was finally down another pound. Hmmm....I wonder if I should have a brownie everyday to help me lose weight! I need a fill. Don't feel like going back to TJ right now so I am trying to arrange somthing near home. Found a Dr. in Olympia (Washington) that I will call today, as well, I am going to try dr. Amson here in Victoria again today. So far, they are not returning my calls. They gave me a lame story about how they don't want to fill me because they missed out on the money because I had my band in Mexico. They need to get over it, he has a 3-4 year waiting list, I would think my health should be the bigger concern...but at least I am not bitter :biggrin1: . I will keep hounding them though becuase I feel deserving of local health care. I am going to try to contact Dr. Leung in Surrey...just need to find his info. Doddie...in answer to your questions (thank you, by the way) I think I am just a little stressed out. I was having a few issues at work but I think I have dealt with about 75% of them. Sometimes (usually) it is not fun being the boss. Did some firing / hiring and it seems to be correcting things. Also, my mom found a lump which is probably nothing but you still worry (she is 78), and my sister is a new grandma and is having a few issues there. I am really hurting for her. It would all be so much better if I could just control everyone and everything! (I may have a few issues to deal with in this weight loss journey!) Thanks for your concern. Happy Days everyone! :confused:

Maybe you could print this thread and others like it, as well as the information on line regarding the clinic you are considering. Once he has done his research as well, he will be equipped to make an educated decision. If he is still concerned, maybe he can come with you to make sure everything is OK. I am sure he is so concerned because he loves you, but he also needs to trust that you know what is best for your health. My husband was worried as well, now he acts like the whole Mexico thing was his idea! lol. Best wishes!

I suggest vitamins!

Hi! I am feeling a little down these last couple days. It is probably cause I know what I have to do, I just keep procrastinating...exercise. Ironically, I love exercise, but I am having a mental block... I would like to get off atleast 4 more pounds before the 23rd. I am going back to Grande Prairie to visit the kinfolk. I need to stay positive and maybe work a little less so I am not so tired. I can do this! Hope you all are doing well!

Lets see if this sounds at all like what I said in Jan and Feb...hehe... exercise 3X week eat less in evenings lose 9 pounds to be at 50 pounds lost.

Well, it must be the month everyone is buying pants! I too went shopping yesterday cause my size 20 pants were to big and ended up buying the exact same pants in size 16. I was pretty excited about that. I can't wait for 14 or even 12....wow. I have been eating too much in the evenings and need to exercise more...I will get there. I need a kick in the butt! Congrats everyone!

Gold thimble, I can't answer any of your questions but I just wanted to say welcome. I hope you are able to make a decision you are comfortable with. It sounds like genetics are going to be working against you, but you can do it! It is a long hard journey, but it is not as bad as the journey we are signing up for if we stay overweight. Best wishes.

My goals are to reach "50 pounds lost" (9 more pounds); to exercise atleast 3 times a week, and to cut out food after 7 pm. I often work late so I don't end up eating until 8:30-9:00. Then I go straight to bed... not good! Sweethot...I am glad you checked in, I have been wondering how you are. Good luck on your goals everyone!

Lots of good info everyone, thanks! Audree, how is Grandma?

I read this today and thought it was helpful, so I thought I would share it with you. Hope you all are having a fabulous day! De-Stress in 3 Minutes or Less Stop Emotional Eating Before It Starts -- By Dean Anderson, Behavioral Psychology Expert What is the single, most common problem that most dieters face when trying to lose weight? Will power? Nah. Temptation? Sometimes. Emotional eating? Bingo! That’s why it takes so much more than good intentions and information about nutrition and exercise to be successful. The ability to manage difficult situations and feelings effectively—without turning to food and eating—is a necessary foundation for a successful weight loss plan and healthy lifestyle. Fortunately, there are many proactive steps you can take to keep functioning on all your mental cylinders during tough times. These steps range widely from basic relaxation techniques to the development of a reliable support network. Other options include: Keeping a food journal to help you identify your emotional eating triggers Cultivating mental and emotional well-being through practices like meditation, mindfulness, massage, and yoga Developing good problem solving skills Turning to the Message Boards for help and support when you need it; offering help to others as a way to get your mind off your own troubles and gain a little perspective on things But all of these things take time, and there are many instances when you need something you can do right now, to keep yourself grounded, focused and able to make good decisions. After all, you don’t always have time to take a walk, relax in a hot bath or call a friend to talk things over. That’s what we’ll be talking about here—a 3-minute trick for handling stressful situations in the moment. Minute 1: Stay Grounded Emotional eating happens when you lose your connection to your grounded self. Stress itself is not what makes you reach for something to eat. In fact, stress is often a good thing and your grounded self knows this! We need the physical stress of exercise to keep our bodies in good shape just as we need the stress of intellectual and emotional challenges to keep our minds healthy. Nine times out of ten, what really leads to emotional eating is getting caught in a "mind storm" of worst-case scenarios, projections, misinterpretations, and all the emotional overreactions that come with these thoughts. This "storm" turns a manageable challenge into something that makes you feel helpless, overwhelmed, ashamed or afraid—and sends you to the kitchen to find something to stuff those extreme feelings. When you can stay grounded in the moment of stress, you have many more options. Here are some simple ideas to keep you grounded when something (or someone) pushes your buttons and your feelings start to spiral out of control: Take a few deep breaths. (You can also count to 10, if that helps.) If the stressful situation involves someone else, take a timeout and agree to continue the discussion in a few minutes. Remind yourself where you are. Take a look around, noticing and naming the colors and shapes in the space around you. Notice the physical sensations you are experiencing. Whether it's a sinking feeling, turmoil in your stomach, tension in your hands or jaw, restricted breathing, or heat on the back of your neck, try to name the feelings that go with the sensation. Is that sinking feeling fear, or dread? Is the heat a symptom of anger? The idea here is to stay in your body and in the moment—with what’s real—instead of going inside your mind where all those unreal scenarios are just waiting to get spun out-of-control. Minute 2: Reality Check Once you’re calm enough to start thinking productively, put all those thoughts that are clamoring for attention inside your head through a quick reality check. Here are several very common thought patterns that have no place in reality. Do any of these apply to you? All or nothing thinking Example: You go over your calorie limit or eat something on your “forbidden” list, and then decide to keep eating because you’ve already “blown it” for today. Reality: Weight loss is not a one-day event. If you stop overeating now, you’ll gain less and have less to re-lose later. That’s something to feel good about! Reading your own thoughts into someone else’s words Example: Someone made a mildly critical or unsupportive remark to you, and you feel completely devastated. Reality: The more bothered you are by such remarks, the more likely it is that you are being overly critical of yourself. When you treat yourself with respect, what others say won’t matter nearly so much. Either-Or thinking Example: You make a mistake or have a bad day and feel like a complete and hopeless failure. Reality: No one does well all the time. Mistakes are a necessary and valuable opportunity to learn—if you don’t waste them by getting down on yourself. Taking care of other people’s business Example: Something is going badly for someone you care about, and you feel responsible, or pressured to fix it. Reality: People need to learn from their own problems. You aren’t doing anyone a favor by trying to fix things just to make yourself feel better. Minute 3: Putting Things in Perspective Most common problems that you face in everyday life are much easier to handle when you keep them in perspective and avoid making mountains out of molehills. Here are some questions you can ask yourself to make sure you aren’t in the mountain-making business: How big a deal is this, anyway? If I knew I was going to die in a week, would this be something I would want to spend this minute of my remaining time on? Will any bad things happen if I postpone thinking about this until I have more time to figure things out? Do I have all the information I need to decide how to respond to this? Do I really know what’s going on here, or am I making assumptions? Am I worrying about things that might not even happen? What do I need to check out before taking action? Is there anything I can do right now that will change or help this situation? Am I trying to control something I can't, like what other people think, say, or do? Have I really thought through this problem, and broken it down into manageable pieces I can handle one-at-a-time? Use this approach whenever your thoughts or situations begin to feel overwhelming, and you'll quickly find that the mountains that seem impossible at first can quickly morph into what they really are—manageable hills that you DO have the ability to climb. All it takes is three little minutes of your time. Article created on: 6/21/2006

Hi! I have no idea why it took a couple weeks. Don't even know how that is possible. Tried to eat Sushi last night. Not such a good idea. I wasn't hungry in the first place so when I ate....bad news. There is no way I could eat what you do for breakfast...I have to have liquids for breakfast and that is unfortunate cause I love breakfast! However late afternoon and evening I can really pack it in! I have to be careful and use will power and common sense. Ya...lets hook up in April, I think I will come down around the third week (it is my birthday on the 20th...I think hubby is coming too) We can work out details later...I may need to come earlier in the month depending on my restriction. I have 2CC's now. He gave me more cause I am so far away. BTW, I tried to PM you and it won't let me, says your mailbox is full. :~( I cant wait to see an updated picture! Take Care! xox

Wow Jean! You are doing great. I am glad this has been a success for you.

Thanks Yoda. I feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Really, it is to early in the morning for sarcasm, I am being sincere! Thanks.

Alice, I understand what you are going through. Sometimes I need a head adjustment. Too bad we can't get a band for our head to section off a small part where no negative thought or self sabatoge can enter. All I can say is, this is a stage...it will pass. Don't let other people rain on your parade. They don't know what you are going through, and unfortunately, somtimes friends and family can be our worst enemies in this journey. They mean well, but sometimes they just don't understand what makes us tick.