Hey all.

So there's a bunch of us in this group, all split up into our different banding days. I was thinking that it might be a good idea to have one master thread as we move through the month, in which all of us could post as we go, from the pioneers going on March 1st to the finalists on March 31st.

I'd love to talk about our anticipation and any worries as we approach our banding date, for people to talk about exactly what happened from the moment they walked into the hospital door until the second they walked out, about how recovery is going, about weight loss and plateaus, about non-scale victories and challenges.

I was thinking that if we all contribute to one thread, it'll form a more substantial channel for information and support. At the moment, I was thinking that we might be too spread out into individual date, and that a central thread would be a really good backbone for the group, in addition to the date-specific threads.

What do you think?

Fenton

I just wanted to thank you all for the support that you gave me the other night. I was in complete and total freak out mode!! I am feeling alot better now. Still dealing with it, but my vet is willing to send documentation to my rental office on the breed of my dog, and she says that he is nowhere NEAR pitbull! My rental office is willing to accept that, so I think that I am okay!! I am afraid to get excited until it is all said and done. But I think I might be in the clear! YAY!!

YAY is right, our babies are our babies, 2 or 4 legs. I was at a greenhouse the other day and they had pigmey goats. I want one!! They were so cute but I don't think my 4 dogs would get along with them, and I do live in the city!!!

I have not been eating as I should. Tonight, DH and I met with my brother (in from GA) at pizza Hut and indulged. Last night it was clams. I'm sure when I visit my scales there will be extra lbs. Time to get back onto the wagon!!

Special K - thanks for the cartoons - always nice to have a quick grin on this board. Although I have to say, I grin quite a lot while reading this - we have a pretty funny bunch! I wonder if that's just a random thing, or if fat people learn to use humor as a defensive weapon.

Yay on yr dog, Lisa! That's great news!

I had an NSV yesterday: I'm now wearing pants that are 6" smaller in the waist than the ones I was wearing for my initial weigh-in in January.

On the minus side, my hips are sore - I think it's the joints rather than the muscles, although I feel it in the muscles. I'm going to take it easy on walking for the next couple of days.

Last night, I had a nice indulgence, something I'd been looking forward to for the last few days: I had Soup for dinner, then went out to the Dessert Truck (a mobile high-end dessert truck that magically appears every night from six to midnight a half mile from my house) and had a chocolate bread pudding. I ate it in the park in the light rain, and then I got up and walked for an hour by way of penance/exercise.

Is it just me, or have we not heard from a few bandsters for a while. Christine? Scrappy?

I worry that when people fall silent, they are dead.

At least, dead to the band... I'm probably just being neurotic, but even if it's not going well, chime in and say so, so we can give you encouragement, and, like, support and whatnot...

And if it is going well, don't hide your light under a bushel!

Gotta love Sunday morning......no pressure, no expectations....just the newspaper and a 'good' cup of decaf!

I did get on the scales today against my better judgement....and alas, no change....but instead of being pissed off, I decided to embrace that fact that I'm down and staying down.....six weeks out, 28 pounds down....can't complain about that.

Going over to a friend's house today for a barbecue.....it will be a bit of a challenge and I am anticipating some self-pity as I watch everyone drink their cold beers......but it will be folks I haven't seen in the last 28 pounds, so that will be nice as well!

Six inches smalled, Fenton? That's GOT to feel so good...... Sorry to hear about the sore hips....maybe just waking up some body parts that haven't been moved much in a while. I know my shoulders were terribly sore after my arm work out the other day.....gotta kill that damn flying squirrel!

Lisa, so glad to hear you're going to be okay with the pupster......I adore my doggies and can't imagine live without them! I am looking forward to my adjustment next week, too.....hoping that kills, or at least silences, whatever is living in my belly....sure is a noisy beast!

Have a great Sunday!

puppy news - thank goodness your lanlord is being realistic, good luck on your vet documentation. I am with everyone else. our doggies our our family as much as any 2 legged variety of family member :biggrin2:

Fenton - yippee 6". that is truly a NSV. btw have you bought a new belt yet. With losses like this you definitely need to replace the one you retired last week and you induldged and then walked it off.... that is a good trade off in my logic.

I ate out yesterday at a chinese food buffet......I did fairly well, small portions of the meat and veggie dishes, stayed away from the dessert bar, except for some fresh cantelope. no egg rolls, some sauteed mushroomsand a few pieces of fried scallop and shrimp.. After counting it all out on MyDailyPlate, it was not much damage. My damage was going to the new Hollywood Casino in Harrisburg afterwards and dropping over $100 to those slot machines... but I did get walking in also, that place is huge.

Well I'm still alive and I have been shrinking some. This morning I was 238 the last time I weight that was 20 years ago. So I have lost 37 pounds since the pre-op diet and a total of 77 pounds since my highest weight.

I got my first fill on wednesday that went pretty good it pinched a little but nothing too bad. I'm still trying to figure out if I'm filled enough or not. I make myself quit eating at 1 cup of food and my head at least things I need more. I do feel satisfied for about 3 hours after that. Everything goes down fine and not PBing or anything like that. I have been eating around 1000 calories a day and I normally eat cottage cheese or a banana in the evening because I am pretty hungry by then.

Scrappy! Nice to hear you're still with us! Congrats on your fantastic success!

Well I'm still alive and I have been shrinking some. This morning I was 238 the last time I weight that was 20 years ago. So I have lost 37 pounds since the pre-op diet and a total of 77 pounds since my highest weight.

I got my first fill on wednesday that went pretty good it pinched a little but nothing too bad. I'm still trying to figure out if I'm filled enough or not. I make myself quit eating at 1 cup of food and my head at least things I need more. I do feel satisfied for about 3 hours after that. Everything goes down fine and not PBing or anything like that. I have been eating around 1000 calories a day and I normally eat cottage cheese or a banana in the evening because I am pretty hungry by then.

WOW Rhonda, way to go!!!! Wish I could stop at 1 cup of food and maybe I will after my 1st fill. My fear is the PBing, I have heard they are painful. Congrats. on the loss!!

Fenton, I think you are right, March banders have a great sense of humor. I think we have learned to develop our sense of humor to adjust for the weight issue. BTW, 6 inches is a achievement, your going to have to have clothes adjusted or buy new. Since I am female you know which option I will choose!!

Harley, I agree, enjoy the loss and know more will happen. Even if the scales don't move I have noticed jeans and t-shirts getting looser, and clothes I could not wear b4 fitting. So something good is happening.

Hi Shamrocks!

Lisa: Good news on the pup. I had a dog that was part pit bull. She never bothered anyone, but was very protective of me. I think badly behaved dogs have as much to do with their owners as to what breed they happen to be.

By the way, I swiped your logo. I hope you don't mind. The shrinking shamrock logo I had disappeared and I never saved it!

Well..... I haven't been on here in a few days. Mostly because of sickness in the family, but also because I was bummed out. I am not making the progress I had hoped for. I have lost 25 pounds since January. I am actually not really sure of that because for 2 days I pretty much ate what I wanted and I won't get on the scale. It was odd in way because I surely thought that pizza would make me PB. NOPE!

I went to a seminar last week given by my doctor. He talked about many things including the fact that we may never be "full" again. He said "don't eat until you are full, eat until you are not hungry". It kind of reminds me of Paul McKenna. But, it helped put me on track again. That and I realized that I need to eat low carb. My body doesn't respond to the counting calories thing. I was never successful with weight watchers. I was successful with atkins. So for yesterday and today, I am eating what I should and watching the carbs.

I've got to tell you, eating some Protein first sure makes me "not hungry". I think I was scared to progress past the liquid and mushie phase.

I am so looking forward to the fill on Wednesday. I realize I will be back on fluids for a day or so, but I think the restriction will keep me from cheating long term. I honestly did not need to know that I could eat pizza.

Anyway, I think overweight folks develope a sense of humor as a defense. Having said that, I think the folks in the March, 2008 Bandsters are extraordinarily funny!

i was eating around 2 cups of food before my fill. and i think i could do 2 cups now just making myself eat less.

I have to say that I learned a real lesson today. I had a celebratory dinner with a friend, and thought I'd order like normal people do at a fancy restaurant. We had a slightly extended three course meal - an appetizer of soft shell crab, then we split a lobster entree, then we split a steak entree, then we had dessert; the pastry chef sent out an extra dessert, which we kind of pushed around with our forks and didn't really consume much of.

So, in the end, I had the equivalent of an appetizer, a large entree and a dessert. We started at 7PM, dinner finished at 10PM. It's now 1:30AM and I'm too stuffed to sleep.

I can't eat that much any more. And now I know that...

Oh well.

HI everyone. It's been awhile since I've been here....work, kids, husband, school and just life lol! Everyone is doing so good! :thumbup:The only thing I feel now with my fill is I can't eat fast, or I should say I have to eat very slow but I can eat more then 2 cups. I hope I can get another fill at my appointment at the end of this month. He didn't really want to give me the first one so I doubt he will give me another. Worth a try though...I need it! Well congrats again everyone for doing so GREAT!

Hey Guys!

Lisa, congrats on everything working out with you and your pup.

Fenton, 6 whole inches...that is AWESOME! I have been having pain in my lower back and I started thinking it may be the change in distribution of my weight. I have lost moore face, boobs, and butt, and only a bit in the midsection. Going to start doing some ab work and see if that helps.

Harley, you are doing so well! I think of you often to try to stay the course. You are an inspiration...and I really appreciate your honesty and humor. I keep reminding myself that it's not "just___pounds gone" it's "____pounds gone forever!"

I have been a bit depressed lately...yep that's why I've been in lurk mode. It has little to do with the band, just other overwhelming stuff. Just a bad spell I hope. As far as the band goes I had a second fill on Friday. I think I have restriction!!!

She put 2 more cc's in my 10cc band. That's a total of 5cc. She said it was an aggressive fill based on what I told her I could eat without feeling full. The thing that sinched it for her was a whole bagle with cream cheese....I could eat the whole thing except when I got to the last bite I would feel like...yeah...maybe I should not eat this.

I'm still on mushies, but after a half bowl of oatmeal, I feel full. It's been hard on my head. My stubborn head and mouth want to plow ahead when my band...not my stomach...says I am done...the new full.

Christine

I am going to try so hard this week to keep my quatities low, even though i know i can eat more. I have a very irratic evening schedule and know getting the proper "dinner" in wil be a challemge. Yesterday I was 10 gms of protein below what i was to have...that seems to happen to me at least once a week, as well as my calories are around 800-900 daily, before burning any off with exercise. I hope I get a fill Friday. :wink2:

Nice to have you back, Jennifer - congratulations on your progress!

And Christine, I'm happy you're still with us, and now Restriction-enhanced!