ser123

If one blames LBT for something one does, or thinks anything on LBT makes it easier for one to be "bad," in my opinion that is an excuse. One can always find a reason to justify doing what one wants to do. One can always find a supporting opinion to make oneself feel better for what choices are made. We are all the captains of our own ships.

Minipearl, I have given up the pop cold turkey. It was hard but I am definitely getting used to it now. I was happy about my sister's reaction so far. Considering her reaction when I even mentioned it to her before. I would pay $30,000 before I would tell my dad, LOL.

Staceylca, You seem like you are doing great, especially with the working out. They do have Overeaters Anonymous, aka OA for food addicts. The only bad thing about being a food addict is that you still have to eat, you can't really quit cold turkey. I eat out of boredom too. But I have REALLY noticed that I eat to make myself feel better. I didn't really discover that until I started with this whole band process. So it has been a big self discovery thing for me. So I relate to you when you say it is the first step to a new life... it is on so many levels.

I told my sister about having the band last night. We had talked about it before and she was not supportive about it. So I didn't tell her anything else and she didn't know I went to Mexico or anything. So when I told her she was very surprised. She knew why I hadn't told her. She said, "You know I wasn't trying to be unsupportive but I just didn't think you needed it is all." I know that she didn't and that she loves me no matter what I do or look like or don't do for that matter. I was so relieved to tell her. She was like, No wonder you weren't eating anything! You were being so shady! So now I feel like I can relax around her and she will be understanding of what I eat or don't eat. So I am glad I told her.

Minipearl#2 I am Susan but not sure if you meant me or someone else. I think I am hungry because my swelling has gone down a lot and I haven't had a fill yet. I am definitely struggling this week with staying on target with all liquids. I have been a cheater by having some things I shouldn't have (see Taco Bell Bean Burrito post above ). Luckily I didn't suffer any consequences for that action although I was really stressed about it for the entire rest of the day. I am going to make my fill appointment as soon as I can. The week or so right after surgery, I think I felt like a normal human being feels for the first time in my life. I went to my sister's for the weekend and she had offered me Godiva chocolate cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory and I just had zero desire for it. The thought of eating it made me really want to YAK. I went back there yesterday and thank God she didn't offer me anything like that this week, LOL. Cuz I am hungry this week. On a plus note I have absolutely zero pain anywhere anymore. I know the tissue isn't quite healed yet but I feel great. So that part is good. Even my port site, which stayed the sorest longest has no pain anymore either.

I was really hungry today. Nothing cut it. I went to Taco Bell and got a bean burrito and ate it because that seemed soft. It went right down and I wasn't full afterwards, I had no pain and I wished I had another one. So I guess that means my stomach is back to its normal hungry self. Bummer. I still am not supposed to eat soft food until Saturday. Tomorrow is another day and I am going to do the liquid diet until Saturday. I am going to probably also see about getting a fill done at 4 weeks instead of six weeks. My doctor said the first fill could be anyhwere from 4-6 weeks.

It seems like no matter what we weigh, if we struggle with our weight, there is someone willing to tell us we don't have the right to try whatever means necessary to lose weight. Sometimes if no one is available right at that moment, we step up and tell ourselves we don't deserve it. I know I am excessively worried about those closest to me knowing about my band. I don't want to tell them about it until I lose weight. If it doesn't work then they will be the first to tell me, "I told you so."

Audree, I totally understand about not weighing yourself and being worried about what the scale says. I know that I haven't been on it this week because I know I am getting heavier stuff in and I don't think I am going to be losing a 8 lbs or whatever I did the first week. I am actually worried when I start eating soft foods and then regular food before I get a fill that I am going to pig out and eat a ton and gain 1000 lbs after being on a liquid diet. I just think of Oprah's liquid diet debacle years ago.... and shudder.

Most people think exercise is too hard when the truth is most people are exercising too hard for their own physical ability. I would first get clearance from your cardiologist to make sure you are okay. The first few times I walked I would do so without your heathen animal friends. My three dogs can wreck my walk in no time flat. Before you walk them, walk yourself, LOL. In order for walking to be aerobic, it means that you must be able to breathe (aerobic = with oxygen). If you walk too fast you get out of breath and you are now anaerobic. You should be breathing heavy but still able to answer questions or maybe say a sentence. If you can say more than a sentence, you aren't breathing hard enough. It takes at least 12 minutes but sometimes as long as 20 minutes for your body to realize you mean business and actually turn on the fat burning process. For aerobic activity to count as fat burning, then you have to go for a minimum of 20 minutes. For every minute over 20 minutes you are in fat burning mode, baby! If you stop for the dogs to pee, or to talk to a neighbor, it shuts the whole process off and you kinda have to start over. Therefore, aerobics has to be continuous to have the benefit you want. See? Being a bitteroldhag is GREAT for aerobics! You can ignore your neighbors and tell them it is because of aerobics! Sooo... in summary, you have to go at a pace that gets you a little out of breath but not so much so that you can't go for at least 20 minutes without stopping. You CAN do it! And if you work out to where you aren't dying, you might find it is enjoyable. Walking 3x a week decreases your risk of breast cancer 23%; walking 5x a week decreases it by 59%. Walking decreases colon cancer too. Walking helps prevent osteoporosis. Walking improves cardiovascular health. Walking improves your circulation which improves your skin. Walking decreases your risk of diabetes. Walking helps release endorphins which increase your sense of pleasure and relaxation. If you are a super duper dog owner you can get to the point where you can train your heathens to work out with you and not stop every 2 seconds, LOL. I always go to the school that has a fenced in yard at night and let mine off lead and then we all go at our own pace. They don't run away and it is night so no one bugs me. Bring your dog poop bags though! Good luck and happy walking!

Are you doing cardio or strength training? If you are doing cardio and you are exhausted it means you have crossed the aerobic threshold into the type of training that athletes training for an event do. I would suggest lowering your cardio intensity to the point that you can maintain an even consistent pace without stopping for at least 20 minutes. If you are strength training, it takes a minimum of 48 hours for muscle tissue to repair. So if you work your arms, you shouldn't do arms again until 3 days later, for example. If you are doing both, I would do upper body strength one day, 2 days of cardio, lower body strength one day, day of rest and one more day of cardio. That gives you plenty of time for tissue repair. If you are going to the gym 4X a week, I would do cardio and arm day together but no cardio on leg day. If you are doing 3X a week, do your cardio on leg day before strength. Hope you are doing great with your work outs.

Well I think my stomach is healing pretty nicely. Yesterday I had a protein shake for lunch and I was hungry in about 3-4 hours, which is normal for me. I hope I don't go into a food-o-rama when I go back on regular food until my fill. If the first week is any indication of how I am going to feel full then I think I will have NO problems losing weight with the band. Audree I hope you are doing better when you wake up. Someone asked me about the peanut butter in a protein shake. I use protein powder to make my shakes because I can't stand pre-mixed ones. I usually make my shake with water or vanilla soy milk and the peanut butter mixes right in with everything. Sometimes I add cocoa mix to it, sometimes I don't. Hope everyone is ready to have a good day today!

That is what I felt like when I ate too much... I wanted to drink something to wash it down but was afraid to. I don't think walking would have helped me at that time either. I just felt like crap. I hope you are lying down now.

I hope it works for you. Do you think it will make you even more full? When I got like that, and I don't think I was as bad as you are right now, I was afraid to put one more thing in my mouth. I had thought maybe water would help it go down but ultimately decided to just go to bed and do nothing.

As a person who has gone through several bouts of MRSA (aka necrotizing flesh eating bacteria), including a bout of being hospitalized in quarantine for 4 days while they were wondering if my dominant arm was going to need to surgery with possible risk of amputation.... Give me a new needle for every fill. Infections are no joke. I will be interested to see the outcome of this situation...

I have also learned that it is better to eat slowly, even liquids and to wait about 15 minutes before snarfing what I think is a good portion. My swelling is going down and I am not having really any super full feelings today. But I have had a night like that and a couple of meals where I ate too much at a time. I hope you feel better. Sorry. If you are like me it is going to last a while and really there probably isn't much you can do. I am sending you a cyber arm squeeze (I'd send a cyber hug but even that probably wouldn't feel too good right now)!

I had my surgery in Mexico on the West Coast on a Friday at 6pm. I flew back all day on Sunday to the East Coast. I showed up on Monday to work in a health care profession wearing professional clothing in a physical job from 8am - 6pm. You do what you have to do.... Good Luck. It is all very exciting!

Also fear is a great motivator to make me not exactly jump onto that craving and ride the wave into a pig out. Not really looking to slip my band the first 30 days I have it, LOL.

Audree, I overdid it one day and I really felt overfull. I wasn't quite nauseated to where I was going to throw up but I didn't feel good. I wasn't able to sleep very well that night and the next day I was full until lunch. It definitely took a while to go down. I was able to eat a whole can of pureed chili. I think my swelling is on its way down and I am starting to get hungry again. The first day I was on the thicker stuff I was really full. My body seems to be a lot more used to it today. If today is an indication then my first couple of weeks on solid food again I am going to be wanting to chow down at least some of the time. I am definitely getting the major hunger sensations and feeling occassionally like I just want to EAT but for the most part it comes and goes. As opposed to being a never ending nagging voice in my head.

I think the detox is a really good idea for the liquid phase. People really wonder what you are doing after a couple of days. I was banded on January 5th so on Friday it will be two weeks. I am getting hungry again. My hunger kind of goes in waves. Not hungry at all then it builds to really hungry and then it wanes again. Why I don't know. I pureed some chili tonight until it was totally smooth. And I wish it wasn't, LOL. Now that I am used to creamy stuff I want to chew stuff! Pureed chili isn't quite the same as regular chili. But the good news is that I am full.

Oops, I meant Audree... not Audrey.

Audrey, That is a great post by Dr. Ortiz. He indeed seems like a renowned professional helping all of us, not just his patients.

Madden you are almost out of the 2's and into the 1's in sizes!

Sophie248, You have great answers which will work on all but the Family, LOL. I wish I could tell you what to say for your son... it is hard to talk to teenagers when they AGREE with you, much less disagree!

Jacqui, I know I am late on this thread but YAY! I love your photos. I personally think race photographers hide and grab shots of people when they are looking the most down and out. I do races that involve swims and I alway cringe at the ones of me tromping out of the Water in a swim cap. Guhross. And who in their right minds would buy a pic of themselves in a swim cap? LOL. Anyway, your race photo is great and you look like a veteran!

Wootsie, Interesting story. I wonder if she said that becuase her brother told her something like, "as soon as Wootsie loses weight I want to be in a relationship with her" and that was her way of relaying the info. The thing that always bugs me about stuff like that is... You have to choose that person too, they don't just get to choose you. I mean why would you want to go out with someone who picks crappy women to go out with? He is going to have all kinds of relationship baggage and drama based on his past choices. Something that may be okay for you as his friend, but that you are way beyond in a relationship. Harumph.