January Bandsters???

[jenslapband 0]

Hi everybody, it is great to get caught up on all the posts!

Sunshine - what a difference! You look so healthy and strong! I am so proud of you and very inspired! Thank you for posting those pictures, they really show off what the excercise is doing in addition to the weight loss.

Sula, Enterprise...everyone you are such motivators - thank you!

I needed a fill and while waiting for my appointment I was careless and started to gain a couple of pounds. I got my fill and have lost the pounds I gained. I have a terrible sweet tooth and also have a tendency to eat too much then PB some out. I have to stop that. It is bad for the esophagus and just a terrible habit. I need to pay attention to what, how much and how fast I am eating. I need to use my tool as it is to be used.

I'm so glad I read everyone's successes, I feel renewed!

((((hugs to everyone))))

[sherilynn 1]

SUNSHINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You look amazing! Healthy and STRONG! Wow.....You have come so, so, so far! I'm in tears right now; tears of just total joy for you!!!

What an inspiration!!!!!

[tonya66 13]

Thank you for your kind words. I am still amazed at how unhealthy I was in January vs. how I feel today. I'm not where I want to be but I am getting closer and closer. All the books I've read state that the stomach is the last to go, so I'm hoping as I continue to lose and exercise I can firm it up more and not need a Tummy Tuck, but the veridict is still out on that one. Right now, I'm not going to worry about a tummy tuck and just focus on losing as much fat as possilbe.

[BabyGotBack 0]

My advice is "Fake it until you Make it!". Just force yourself to do 10, 15 or 20 min of exercise everyday, hating every minute of it. Eventually you will find yourself doing more and more and then realizing you don't hate it. This is what I did and it really did work.

Sounds like good advice. Now I just have to get off my butt!!!

Thanks!!!

Audree

[BabyGotBack 0]

Okay, Now for the back shots. I can tell a big difference in my butt, my bathing suit bottoms are saggy at the end of week 12. I still have cellulite, but I think it is shrinking? I hope it goes away, and my belly tones up?

You look awesome!!!!

Congrats!!!

Audree

[Sula 0]

Sunshine/Tonya,

You are absolutely a walk on the beach now!! You can definately see your success and look wonderful. Not to mention you must be terribly brave to post shots in a bikini. I don't even own one!! Thank you so much for sharing. Now I have something to strive toward.

Shawn

[tonya66 13]

Shawn, Yes, me in a bikini is pretty scary. lol. However, I have had this bikini forever because i went to a spa retreat (girls weekend) and I just felt uncomfortable laying on the table naked, so I bought this bikini to wear underneath my towel. Not sure why I just didn't wear my bra and undies?

I will keep on striving to improve and lose the rest of my weight, I know I won't look perfect at the end, but I will feel so much better. I'm almost 41, I have 2 kids and have been married almost 20 years, I don't need to look like a swimsuit model, I just need to feel younger than 60!

DH tells me I'm perfect and if I didn't lose another pound he would be happy. He tells me that I'm way too critical of myself and I need to lighten up. I'm such a perfectionist in every part of my life, I'm not sure why I let myself get so far gone?

Anyhow, thank you all again for the compliments. I posted some before & after shots on the before & after forum, of course I was clothed and not in my bikini. lol. I've been taking pics every 2 months so I can compare my progress. Sometimes I feel discouraged and then I compare my pics and I know that I am improving.

[Sula 0]

ARGGGG...up three pounds this weekend. How can that happen? I work so hard for two freeking pounds and it disappears. I need to stay off the scales but I was so busy yesterday I thought I'd have good news. NOT!

I have a fill planned for a week from Tuesday. I have 6 ccs in the 10 cc band. Guess I got a ways to go yet.

[imsusie0929 0]

Sunshine,

Congrats on all your success. You look great!

Susie

[tonya66 13]

ARGGGG...up three pounds this weekend. How can that happen? I work so hard for two freeking pounds and it disappears. I need to stay off the scales but I was so busy yesterday I thought I'd have good news. NOT!

I have a fill planned for a week from Tuesday. I have 6 ccs in the 10 cc band. Guess I got a ways to go yet.

Scales don't always give the true picture. Yes, stay off the scales. A better way to measure your success, are you feeling better? Are you shrinking dispite what the scales say? Are your clothes getting looser? I know we are all trained from our very first diet to watch the scales, and it is a hard habit to break, we all want to see that number go down, but it truly is not the best the way to measure our success. I too am working daily at not focussing on the scales but instead I'm focussing on what activity I did today, what did I eat, and how do I feel. Hang in there, you will get there and your doing GREAT!

[tonya66 13]

Sunshine,

Congrats on all your success. You look great!

Susie

Your too kind, but thank you so much for your sweet words. How are you doing? I hope you are doing okay.

[tonya66 13]

I leave in 5 days for my cruise!!! I need mommi-hammi to post so I can hear all about her cruise! She just got back I think yesterday from the same one I a m going on, so I am waiting on details........... Tried on my formal last night, it fit like a glove, so I better not gain any weight. lol.

[sherilynn 1]

So I lost 5 more at my Dr. visit last week. But THIS weekend (Not even a PMS week)…I was just craving JUNK food.

Friday Night: Jambalaya with andoille sausage (about a cup).

Saturday: Tyson chicken strips (2) some left over jambalaya

Sunday: Boneless ribs (frozen food aisle), 1/3 cup jambalaya, some creamed spinich

Mind you, I also had on Sunday during the race - torillia chips with lime(My weakness).

Ok, ok - so PRE band, these quantities would have been MUCH more. But I feel like such a looser, like I was totally out of control. I'm definitely in need of a fill; that's coming in 4 weeks from now. Not feeling hungry; just battling the head hunger. As long as I keep it in check. And BOY - fitday helps to keep me honest!!!

Any one ever come up with the cottage cheese test??

[enterprise01 0]

Sunshine, you should be so proud of yourself. There's such an amazing difference in those photos. And not only are you shrinking, but you're looking younger, too!

[tonya66 13]

Any one ever come up with the cottage cheese test??

Oh man, I totally forgot to post this - but here it is

Buy a small container of FAT FREE small curd cottage cheese, in the morning, before you eat anything or drink anything, you eat the cottage cheese fast (you eat it right out of the container), and eat until you feel full (usually takes about 5 min - 10 min according to test), no need to chew well because its the small curd according to the book. Anyhow, once you feel full, you stop. You then take a measuring cup, one that you can tell how many ounces are in there (maybe one of the pyrex clear ones), you fill the measuring cup up with Water.

Now your container of cottage cheese that you just ate out of will have a thick milky mark where the cottage cheese started at, you pour the water out of the cup until it reaches that mark. Whatever amount of water you had to pour into the cottage cheese container is how big your pouch is.

I got this from the book "Successful habits of Weightloss patients". Its a really good book.

I hope I made sense in my instructions.