wow, i have been banded with plication for almost 2 yrs

and been on this forum for 2 yrs 4 months..where has the time gone?

i am happier today then i was when i started in Feb 2012...compared to

where i am now today..

the only (advice) i want to give is the following (take it or ignore it):

• call your doctor if you are hurting or concerned or need (assistance w/questions can i or should i eat/do/drink)
• i strongly advise anyone to do what THEIR doctor says, not mine or anyone elses..
• use common sense (you cant gain true weight overnight and you wont lose true weight overnight)
• eating more calories than you burn off will make you gain weight with or without any WLS
• reality is clothes sizes getting smaller is a accurate sign of losing weight (dont focus totally on the metal monster)
• you do not have to be at goal in six months...get there when you do...WLS has no expiration date

and last but not least

believe in yourself to give yourself credit..you know if you eat too much of the not so great food chioices out there

dont say the WLS did not stop you..you stop you.....YOU can control yourself..(you wont step out in front of a train would you??)

WLS will help you but it wont be the save all as that part is up to you and me

be well and all the best to you.

Hi everyone . Glad you are all here. I need to be back on here. Life has been crazy In good and bad ways. Super overwhelmed and lost track of my clean eating and having hard time getting back on track. Going for a much needed fill next week and using that time as a reset. I will try and detox during the liquid phase I refuse to let a year plus of clean eating been ruined due to poor choices. I did not get this done to back slide. Mad at myself that I'm

Not losing as I should. Is it a stall maybe but the last few weeks I definitely could of made better choices. Had a reality check today and instead of ruining me I said efe it back to working on me eating clean and working out . Although I never deviated from the gym I feel the workouts are getting harder and my breathing is more swallow when I run. Maybe I'm getting sick who knows.

Super bad day but I'm coming here to seek comfort n not some poor food choice.

Just having a really really sucky day professionally and personally digging deep to get through today. Looking forward to some quiet relaxing alone time tonight. Hope a good night sleep will recharge me cause I don't like this cranky sad mess I am right now.

Sharing unpretty feelings here often helps me reset. Thank you for keeping it real and valuing yourself enough to seek support here too. We will do this. Giving up on myself is no longer an option.

Hi everyone . Glad you are all here. I need to be back on here. Life has been crazy In good and bad ways. Super overwhelmed and lost track of my clean eating and having hard time getting back on track. Going for a much needed fill next week and using that time as a reset. I will try and detox during the liquid phase I refuse to let a year plus of clean eating been ruined due to poor choices. I did not get this done to back slide. Mad at myself that I'm

Not losing as I should. Is it a stall maybe but the last few weeks I definitely could of made better choices. Had a reality check today and instead of ruining me I said efe it back to working on me eating clean and working out . Although I never deviated from the gym I feel the workouts are getting harder and my breathing is more swallow when I run. Maybe I'm getting sick who knows.

Super bad day but I'm coming here to seek comfort n not some poor food choice.

Just having a really really sucky day professionally and personally digging deep to get through today. Looking forward to some quiet relaxing alone time tonight. Hope a good night sleep will recharge me cause I don't like this cranky sad mess I am right now.

I feel you my friend. I have been having those days as of late myself. I had to have most of the Fluid taken out of my band and I was on a 3 week liquid diet. Let me tell you there is just so many days/weeks you can live on doing that! Once it was back to regular mushy/soft foods it was about to be off to the races time!

It happened to me yesterday, I started eating mini packs of Peanut M&M's because they were there...OK yes I wanted them also but one or even 2 should have been the stopping point. Having that kind of day...had me in mindless eating mode and it took my stomach to churn from all the sugar and maybe even a bad peanut to wake me up and get me to stop grabbing them and shoving them into my mouth. I was not enjoying them anymore I was not even tasting them, I was just mindlessly chomping them! (possibly pretending it was someone's head I wanted to chomp on instead to get them to shut up...but I digress)

Today, I packed my lunch bag with a Protein Bar, cheese sticks and lunch. I have been having a super frustrating day today as well, but instead of falling into that mindless mode again I am drinking my Water and chomping on sugar free gum. Blowing bubbles as big as I can and popping them loudly making them snap in my teeth. It's making me feel so much better Chomp chomp chomp. {evil grin}

Lisa, your posts make my day.

Hi Ready , same was happening to me and I saw a post from munchun regarding the 5:2 fasting diet in a post on this site and I joined if you are not maybe you should join also so far with one day that I did it on monday I went back on track and my hunger calm down a lot tomorrow is my second day and I am more than ready, you should try, good luck.

I will try and find that post. I know what I gotta do and I will do it . I have a mini goal to reach my Xmas and feb so I will get on it

I'm glad that we can all laugh at our selfs ,but remember we also did that when we were bigger , now just let us have big personality instead you know what I mean , well I think we all have slipped up here& there with our Journeys ,but it is time with the weather changing that we have to get back on our band wagon & stay focused on the tracks to our success ,good luck to everyone.

@@readysetg070113 you are in the right place -- let us know how we can help! You have been an inspiration to me from the get go. The Ready Set Get Go!

Arlene, happy birthday -- love the story of you pulling into the cupcake place where your son was trying to surprise you. Hilarious! And walk on the Boston Common tomorrow, cool. Tell us more!

I am baking apples and pears with walnuts and celeriac from our garden -- a kind of fancy-shmansy applesauce, basically. Added eight drops of liquid stevia for sweet. That's how I handle the sugar thing.

I feel you my friend. I have been having those days as of late myself. I had to have most of the Fluid taken out of my band and I was on a 3 week liquid diet. Let me tell you there is just so many days/weeks you can live on doing that! Once it was back to regular mushy/soft foods it was about to be off to the races time!

It happened to me yesterday, I started eating mini packs of Peanut M&M's because they were there...OK yes I wanted them also but one or even 2 should have been the stopping point. Having that kind of day...had me in mindless eating mode and it took my stomach to churn from all the sugar and maybe even a bad peanut to wake me up and get me to stop grabbing them and shoving them into my mouth. I was not enjoying them anymore I was not even tasting them, I was just mindlessly chomping them! (possibly pretending it was someone's head I wanted to chomp on instead to get them to shut up...but I digress)

Today, I packed my lunch bag with a Protein bar, cheese sticks and lunch. I have been having a super frustrating day today as well, but instead of falling into that mindless mode again I am drinking my Water and chomping on sugar free gum. Blowing bubbles as big as I can and popping them loudly making them snap in my teeth. It's making me feel so much better Chomp chomp chomp. {evil grin}

Packed my veggies nuggets oatmeal n yogurt for Breakfast n lunch tom . Extra Protein powder for shakes just incase. And I have all of you to help me the most. That's all I need

I'm glad that we can all laugh at our selfs ,but remember we also did that when we were bigger , now just let us have big personality instead you know what I mean , well I think we all have slipped up here& there with our Journeys ,but it is time with the weather changing that we have to get back on our band wagon & stay focused on the tracks to our success ,good luck to everyone.

Weather change life stresses I don't remember being like this last year at this time maybe because my band was so new and now I'm more comfortable with my lifestyle but reset button set and I will reset as many times as necessary to get to where I need to be. If I was perfect I wouldn't have needed to be banded I my human and need to use my tool accordingly. Thanks for listening and supporting me . It helps to see I am not alone ????????????????????

I may be the only one on this post that is excited for the change in Temp now that Fall is finally here. Fall means being able to go out side for me. that the temps are finally low enough to get out and enjoy. mind you it's still in the 80/90 temp range but i'll take it over 115 or higher. :-)

so i had a NSV today.. i finally decided i needed a belt for my jeans so i went to grab one of the one's i've been saving from that time before...not a one fit me.. i was really confused i was like how can that be.. than it finally dawned on me they don't fit because they are too big. LMAO.. what a nice surprise. will have to pop a few extra holes in a few so i can still make use of some of them.

It was so beautiful out this morning. Went for my walk, and enjoyed it! Did you get to see the "nlood moon" yesterday? We missed it overhead becaue we had a cloud cover. Boo!

Love the info and support and weight loss chat on here. Not sure other people understand our way of life. It really helps me. Thanks for all suggestions!

@@Bandista and @@gowalking ..im about to really hijack this post so i do apologize for that and before i start just wanna say (wow awesome inspiring transformations you are all flaunting on this thread, way to go!!)

Ok, now for the hijack. CYMBALTA

I got a knot in my throat just seeing your posts and HAD to say something. I was on cymbalta for fibromyalgia for two years. I cannot begin to describe what a horrific experience it was, and even worse was when I decided I had to stop. I know I am new here, and am just a stranger on the internet, but we are here to support each other in improving our lives..

Please, please please read about the side effects AND the withdrawal dangers associated with cymbalta. They are very real and very likely to affect you in ways you would have never imagined. I honestly am not dramatizing and dont want to scare anyone, but being on cymbalta is a memory I have tucked away for the incredible damage it caused. Before I get carried away with my emotions ill just state some of the things I suffered from in my own personal experience:

disorientation and confusion (i would lose my way to work every few days, or have a hard time figuring out which house on the street was home)

fatigue and drowsiness (would fall asleep at random times even with people talking near me)

extreme sudden depressive states (and horrifying suicidal thoughts and nightmares)

irrational thoughts (would consider driving through a red light out of curiosity to see if it would turn green, stupid dangerous things id never normally imagine)

brain "zaps" that sound like electric shocks in your head/pain and sensitivity towards bright lights

I had never experienced any such extreme effects before cymbalta, and after an extremely painful withdrawal period they soon disappeared. I understand that some people out there may have benefited from the drug, maybe some people never had any negative side effects. But please do your research on people who have used it before you continue, and if you decide to stop PLEASE do so with extreme care and constant supervision in the withdrawal period.

Sorry for such a messy hijack, best wishes to everyone

@@F_it don't apologize. I learn about a lot of things from fellow BPal members and I appreciate the info. My mother almost died in 1990 from oral Voltaren that she took for arthritis. It burned an ulcer in her stomach. She dropped on the bathroom floor and was rushed to the ER. They tried and failed to cauterize it laproscopically. She had emergency open surgery. She can't take another nsaid for the rest of her life. She had no symptoms except for fatigue the day she fell. So I for one appreciate first hand information.

@@JustWatchMe thank you so much for your heartfelt reassurance, i cant tell you how much that means to me. And I am so sorry to hear about the traumatic experience your mother had, which obviously had its impact on you too. You are absolutely right, we have all survived things and its wonderful to draw strength and learn from each others experiences. Thanks again :-)

Happy Friday all. reset button set embracing the fall weather and such. Back to clean eating and feel better already ! Tapping it off with a fill and Julie cleanse next week to make sure I detox . Got to hit my goals and would like to do it on my time frame I know it's not about when you get there but as long as I get there.

Hope everyone has a fun filled relaxing weekend !!