Hi, I was banded on June 21st. I am feeling a bit lonely and wanted to see how all the June Bandsters are doing? What have been your biggest challenges or victories so far?

Hi everyone!

Gary, yep! When blogs went down, I got out of the habit of blogging..then I stopped coming by as much. Not sure I like this new place.

Update on me. I have been doing well. I finished the couch to 5km program and I can run for over 30 min straight now, almost the full 5km - that's what I have to practice at now.However we are covered in snow now. lol I have some winter gear though.

I made Onderland this week. Passed my bday goal of 199. BUT, I have been not feeling well and unable to eat much for a week. I wont take it as official yet as it will probably go back up when I am able to eat properly again.

I adjusted my ticker. My 2nd weight goal will be to be Overweight at 185.

Not sure if I am in green. But I suspect so, since I am content. I still get hungry, but it's not until meal time and I am able to have control over my appetite and choices. I don't plan on getting any more fill.

I have gotten stuck a handful of times, but if I am careful it's ok. I have only ever threw it back up once.

How have you all been?

Congrats on crossing into the 100 area. I get to cross a 100 mark twice, the first hopefully by the end of the year marking 100 pounds lost and then much further down the road to onederland. Had a small fill this morning and they said I was the first one in that managed to lose over the Thanksgiving holiday. Glad I made some headway leading up to it as a cushion.

They said I was almost green according to the amount of Fluid in the band, but I have been ahead of the game on the loss.

I am now making another pass through my closet getting rid of the bigger clothes Everything is baggy these days. For once looking forward to getting clothes for Christmas.

Wishing all my fellow June bandsters a Happy Holiday. Will be with family this month and none of them have seen me since starting this journey. It's going to be interesting. The difficult part will be the food in the New Orleans acting like sirens luring me to the rocky coast.

Happy New Year Junsters!

Gary, how are you? I hope you had a nice holiday and New Year!

May all of our dreams come true in 2014!

Well I was a little bad over the holidays and fell off the wagon but didn't do too much damage. Guess I can never go home to Louisiana because the food is so good and so bad for you. But getting back on track by doing the 2 week shakes for two meals and a reasonable meal for supper.

I upgraded my Fitbit from the Zip to the Force and I love it. Only wish it had a standard micro USB charging port instead of the proprietary one, but I can live with it. I like that it doubles as a watch and counts stairs. We were at the top of the Superdome and I knew it was a climb, but didn't realize it was almost 8 flights after a couple of trips back and forth.

Hope everyone else has a great new year,

The holidays sure put a halt to my progress. Too many good things to eat out there. So time to reboot the process again. Glad I kept a diary with Fitness Pal and know what worked and what didn't. Time for a week or two of the Protein shakes to get the scale moving again.

Thats always good to reboot with shakes for a couple of days, I have been thinking about doing the same but I have an appt with my dr next week and will probably be getting a fill. I think I will wait so if I get a fill I will be on the post fill diet anyway. Let me no how it goes.

It is nice to read up on everyone's progress. I have not really been on here much since the change over. For me, things are very very slow but steady and I'm happy with that. 41 since 6/25. Happy to read all the good news and real challenges, what a blessed journey.

I am down about 90 lbs since my banding on 6/6/13. Feeling pretty good overall. I have not done as much toning up as I should have. Going to focus on hiking and weight training these arms

Edited September 17, 201411 yr by Bandora

Hi Everyone! Wow, we are approaching our 1 year mark!

How's everyone?

Bandora, yes! I am. I hate the way I look without clothes and my arms are flappy...

I'm still holding around the 80-90 loss mark. Hate to admit it but since the holidays, (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter and all the little ones in between) I kept saying I'll get back on track next week. So last week I finally made my self do it. Started back with the shakes to kick start things again.

Supposed to be 112 here today which make getting out for a walk almost impossible.

But you are holding there! That in itself is success!

Funny you say that, I had a liquid day today and probably tomorrow to try and get back to basics. I have stalled around the 60lb mark for the past couple of months also. Got lazy with tracking food..stopped walking and running as the temperatures were far too cold..etc ..just got comfortable really.

I think June is a great time to evaluate how far I've come and how much further I'd like to go. Time to get back to basics and re-commit!

I had my first stomach virus with the band 2 weeks ago..oh boy that was not fun at all...I don't think there is any damage though. I had broken blood vessels around my eye skin from vomiting!! I am not sure if because I have a band, it makes vomiting that much harder..ugh

I was banded May 2013, and NO weight loss at all. 7 lbs in my first 2 months but nothing since. I've had complications and fluid removed twice. Endoscopy ruled out slippage of the band. My Dr keeps telling me it's a slow process. I'm very discouraged and regret having it done all together. Monthly weigh in is a source of stress for me. I'm not motivated to log my meals or exercise. Its harder everyday to track my meals or plan ahead, when I do it's a good day. My restriction depends on what I eat. I only have good days when I stick to soft foods, chicken is never a good experience. I have a 10cc band, at 4 1/4 cc fill now. My next appt. is tomorrow, ???? praying this month is a good one. Struggling to stay positive.

Today I am down to 192 lbs ( from a starting weight of 296) I have more energy than I thought was possible. Clothes shopping is fun for once in my life. I am in a size 10/12 in most pants for the first time since I was a teenager. My only regret is that I did not make this decision years earlier. What was I waiting for? I have found that having supportive family and friends makes all the difference in the world. Sometimes I want to cry when I look at old pictures. I no longer feel invisible and that is the best feeling in the world. I would like to get down to about 165 which I feel will be realistic weight for my frame and muscle mass. It has been a struggle from time to time....but I have found that meal planning and exercise are key. I have been hiking and that is really helping me tone and shape up. I have some loose skin which I HATE but surprisingly after 100 lbs down, it is not as bad as it could be . No one is perfect and it seems that my skin slowly is making progress. I just need to not focus on the negative.

Edited September 17, 201411 yr by Bandora

hello banders,

i had my surgery in 2013, i have had my ups and downs also had the experience of being overfill, would not wish that on anyone. however today i am feeling as thought i am at a stand still. i have gained back weight over 10 pounds. help