Hi everyone! I'm having surgery on January 10th and created a group in the groups section "January 2012 bandsters". Would love to get some discussions, support going.

Hi everyone!!

Savannah- yes, you need a birthday goal! Good luck on the vacation eating- do you track in myfitnesspal? It's really a good tool. Set yourself some parameters. Road trips were hard for me, but when we drove to the beach (only 3.5 hours) I just only let myself snack on the things I'd brought with me. I did miss not drinking my giant diet pepsi. I miss it.

Otaknam- I too have problems seeing what I look like now. I've been taking pictures of my journey. I was doing every week, now it's every few weeks. Last week I looked at my first picture taken the night before surgery vs. my last week picture- after 60+ lbs lost- and it was much more noticable with the photographic evidence . I too have noticed my seatbelt fits much better!!

Ladybandito- You're doing great! I do agree that starting at a lower weight it will come off a little more slowly, but so what as long as it's coming off!!! You've lost a lot of weight- like 50 lbs- that's a LOT!! Since January!! So it's really not too slowly. Every time I feel like my weight loss is too slow, I compare it to my previous life and the gaining I was doing!!

I lost 3 lbs this past week, yay. I'm resetting my Savannah goal- I had to lose a total of 67 lbs by 7/26, but I'm only .5 away from that, so I'm redoing my goal to have lost 70 lbs by 7/26. That will put me at 214. I have not seen that number in over 7 years!!!! So, I'm happy. Sweaty zumba last night, not sure what is on for tonight. I am really tired food all logged in to myfitnesspal, I love that app!!

Ok so I am setting my savannah bday goal....by 7/26 I would like to weigh 217. I was down to 219, then up a few, so currently teetering around 223. So 217 it is! Hopefully realistic enough to make it!

Ok, my Savannah goal will be 7lbs, 180. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can....

Hello everyone! Congrats on meeting your goals and NSV!! I have actually been reading your posts over the last few weeks but have not posted. I haven't felt good about myself over the past month which affects my eating, exercise and motivation. I have only been working out 2-3 times a week, not logging my food, eating bad food and just kinda moping around feeling sorry for myself. My weigh has yo-yo 2lbs up & down over the past month. The strange thing is it has not really bothered me. I know what I need to do but I have just felt like I need a break from all of this. So I took my break & now I need to get myself motivated again. So my goal is 4lbs by 7/26!! There is my goal!! And motivation. Ttyl!

Hi Nicole- I wondered where you were. That's how I get when I'm not super motivated- I read but don't post. So- glad to see you, for sure! Good goal. How are you feeling after your last fill? All good? Any more restriction?

I'm feeling grouchy today for some reason- well, I figured out one of the reasons I'm tired, too- ttotm showed up (it's unpredictable). Grrr- BUT on the good side, usually that shows up and I GAIN weight, but instead lost weight! I love my band!!!

Nicki

Just got back from 6 month checkup. Doc said the average weight loss for a year is 66 pounds, so the fact that I've lost that in 6 months is great. He said don't stress about how long you workout, get in 30 minutes a day and focus on what u can d and accomplish and improve upon in that 30 minutes. Said keep up with high Protein, shakes are fine, especially in the morning. Guess I'm not doing as bad as I thought.

Sent from my iPad using LapBandTalk

Girl, you've lost 64 lbs in 6 months!!!! You're awesome!!!!

Ladies....we are doing AWESOME!!! I know its easy to get down when the scale doesn't move when we want it to. However, we MUST remind ourselved how far we've come since January. I think about when I was on Weight Watchers...it took me a year and a half to lose 75 pounds. It's not even six months yet and I've already lost 70 with the band! The difference is...I really feel like I can keep losing and keep the weight off. This is a tool that is going to stay with me. Its a lot harder to choose to live without the band than it was to choose not to rejoin WW. A couple of things I did learn in WW that's good for all of us to remind ourselves with: a) Any Loss is a loss...and no gain is NO gain. celebrated the things that have nothing to do with the scale. Also, 1-2 lbs (average) a week (even with the band), is a good, healthy weight loss and more likely to stay off. Thank God for these forums to help us vent, encourage each other and learn from each other. We gotta stick together Girls...and celebrate EVERY victory...no matter how big or small. Whether its a pound lost, or we just managed to hold it together today. Much love and God bless!

So true, Chrissy, I second all that you said. Just think about it ladies, when our weight has fluctuated with the lapband, I know I can speak for myself, I can put or 4-5lbs in a nanosecond if I go off the diet {before WLS} and then get discouraged and then continue the eating frenzy. From what I'm seeing here, if we gain, it's only seems to be a pound or two and that's nothing. Nicole, even though you went "down under" for a bit, you were teetering on a 2lb gain in the past month! That's awesome in my book!

We also have to remember, being banded is just a part of our world, we all have a life surrounded around this new journey. If we had financial, marital, kids, career, etc etc. problems before, the lapband doesn't change that. We have to change it or work with it. I have my down times too from time to time. I've been bad and haven't really exercised although I'm still losing weight. Our "gym" room is not a/c'd. I really need to get up there early in the a.m. when it's cooler but I haven't. Shame on me. I will and I'm not going to beat myself up about it.

Like Chrissy said, "we are an awesome group of women" who are bonded together due to our band and hope we continue. Whether we go on everyday and post or through an eye in, we all know we're there for one another. Love you guys!

Now for my NSV. Going out with HS friends for dinner tomorrow night and tried on a pr of size 18 LaneBryant cropped pants I bought 1.5mth ago. Tags still on. Tried them on and they literally fell off me! Took them back today w/receipt. No more summer clothes there however, I found my favorite Seven Jeans they carry there on the sales rack.

For my 30lb loss I treated myself to a pr which was a size 18 and paid an arm & a leg for them knowing full well I wouldn't be wearing them forever but I just had to have them. Well, they're too big even to be tailored so I gave them to a friend who could use them. I found a pr, size 16 and they cost $19.00!!! When I saw that, I ran back to the rack and got the last size 14 for that price! What the heck, at those prices it was a steal! I have to say, I've been wearing my prairie skirts, {my uniform lately, with tank tops} and haven't worn slacks in 2 mths. When I put those jeans on, I was shocked to see how thin I was. I say that because I am pear shaped so of course that's always the last to go!

Like Oatknam,and other's I'm sure, I still see the 235lb matronly woman in the mirror some times. Not today! I looked like an 18 yr old with great curves! Not only will I be having dinner with HS friends tomorrow night, { they've seen me at my 30lb loss} but we have a mini reunion on Saturday night with a good 100 HS people I graduated with 39 yrs ago. They saw me last year at my heaviest. Even one of the guys I knew from the neighborhood was surprised how heavy I had gotten. That's ok, he was kind to me. So, this year, I can't wait to see them!

Rock 'em at the reunion, Meredith!

LadyB, I will! Good luck with your upcoming fill. Any reason why you've waited so long in between fills? You have a good outlook on your slow weight loss. Better to lose then to gain is correct.

I'm looking at your signature and I notice you have 2cc's in you. I'm at 3cc and finally going in tomorrow to get another unfill. I've been having lots of stucks and PB's this past week that it's just time to give up the ghost as they say. Actually, tomorrow is my 6 week follow up for another fill but I just can't do it. Looking forward to be able to eat again without any problems and hope there's nothing wrong with my band.

Again, good luck to you and keep the positive attitude.

Meredith, I've waited so long since my last fill due to rescheduling at my surgeon's office. They changed the date twice and it was going to fall at a time I was to be out of town, so I just made it for mid-month I think I haven't updated my last fill, which was .5 cc -- I will ask when I get to appt next week. I doubt I will get much of a fill then, either, since today I am experiencing a kind of "raw" feeling near my band when I eat solids. Not sure what that means, and I'm kind of bummed since I was looking forward to a fill until right now. Maybe I irritated the band? I'm going to try and take it easy until next week and hopefully it goes away. I tried to search the site looking for anyone with similar feeling, but didn't see any. I may start a new thread tomorrow myself. It's an irritated, rough, raw feeling when food goes down. Not pain, exactly. Geez, I hope this is a minor thing! I know for sure I am not overfilled! Sorry to ramble.... Long post, but anyone else feel like this sometimes?

Let me know what they say about yours, Meredith, and I will keep you posted too.

I was so busy complaining I for got to list my NSVs:

1. I can now wrap a regular bath towel around myself, tuck in the top & it stays up without showing any skin on the sides the ends actually overlap!!

2. I can carry a load of laundry up 3 flights of stairs without stopping to catch my breath

3. I can shop in any store I want to!!

4. I can eat bad food without hating myself, beating myself up and going on a binge!

5. I got below 225 for the 1st time in 10 years & have stayed below for 3 mths!!

6. I don't feel like taking a nap at 3pm anymore

7. I don't feel like coming home from work and watching TV until bedtime (4-5hrs)!!

8. I am no longer taking acid reflux meds!

9. I no longer need my APAP!!

10. I actually like myself again, am proud of myself and believe in myself!!!!!

Whoopy!!

Nicole! That is an AWESOME list of NSVs! I also no longer need acid reflux meds or my CPAP machine! I "tried on" a skirt I wore six months ago, this morning...and was able to pull the waist of it about 8 inches from left side. WOW! I tried to get a picture with my laptop cam but I couldn't do it. I'll get hubby to snap one when he's awake. LOL. I also didn't gain anything during TTOTM this time! Yay!!

Meredith & Lady B: Keep us posted on what's going on. I'm going to ask my doc if some meds will cause the band to tighten as well. I noticed that during my TOTM this time, on the days I took generic Midol, I seemed to have more of a problem getting food down. He told me it would be tighter anyway because of the fluid retention in the body, but on the days I didn't take the med, I didn't have any issues. weird. Meredith...have fun at the reunion. Work it Girl!

I agree with what has been said about still seeing the "old me" in the mirror. I think part of it is because I don't have clothes that fit properly. I mean, they are wearable, but not all of them really, truly fit. Part of it is that I still have work to do toning lots of areas of my body. So, I've started trying to only look in the "big" mirror when I'm fully clothed. I also try to focus on areas where, to me, the loss is really noticeable...like my waist, neck and chest. That really does help me start to visualize a skinnier me. However, its still hard to wrap my mind around the possibility of being in a single digit size. I mean...I haven't been since I was like, 15. LOL! God bless of each you today. Look to Him for your strength in every moment.

Love & Hugs,