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 was filled today as well,I now have 3cc in a 10 cc band.The diet after is different for everyone.My Doc. said soft foods today and back to normal tomorrow.I don't feel any different but my dinner lasted longer tonight before I became hungary.I wish I could feel full like the first week post-op.I need help in trying to figure out how many calories and carbs I should eat.Anyone know of any books I could buy to help with this.Also do we weight the food or just go by calorie intake?I guess I better figure this out soon if my band will work for me.

Went and checked out the link, Kerri....seems to me Nick the personal trainer could be quite the inspiration....he's not too hard to look at!

I picked up a set of resistance bands and a stability ball at Sports Authority tonight.....will be starting a workout program in the morning. These totally can't be my arms.....

Nice work, HopeinApril! Maybe even more on the shirt tuck than the further two pound loss... !

I really like reading other people's victories - I kind of feel that whenever any one of us loses, or has an NSV, we all share in their victory, because it validates what we're doing. It's proof that if you eat right, exercise and listen to the band, the process works.

I had a weird NSV today: I'm not a slipper-wearin' dude. Indeed, unless you're a lord in a drafty Scottish castle, I think men wearing slippers is kind of sissified. But I didn't want to walk around the hospital in bare feet during my admission, so I bought slippers online. But when they arrived, I could barely wedge my feet into them; in the end, it didn't matter, since the hospital gives you disposable socks with those stripes of paint on the bottom for grip.

ANYWAY! So today my housekeeper left my slippers out by my bed, and they looked so cozy sitting there that I thought, "Hmm... these may be too small, and make me sissified to boot, but I'm going to try them on!" And my feet slipped right into them, and there was so much space that my toes almost felt lonely - truly the first sign of sissification!

SO that was nice.

If a little dainty.

Fenton, that really is a great NSV! Congratulations, and I also can't wait to read your book although it will be a little while. I'm in the middle of a 6 book series by Diana Gabaldon.

I had a set of resistance bands about 10 years ago and they really worked. I'll have to get another set.

Kpod - thank you for the exercise link. I just printed them off. I'm going to keep them at my desk at work. The gym teacher gave me two of her bands so guess I can get started. My upper arms are huge. Mine are too fat to flap like wings. They just look like a shank of meat with a lot of fat or something. Hopefully these exercises will help. I'll start slowly - one rep between classes.

Carrie - give the candy to your students. If you're anything like me you cannot be around chocolate and practice any kind of self control. The best thing is to just get rid of it. trashing them would not help me because I'd have to unwrap them to ensure that I didn't change my mind later. So either give them away or get rid of them in a disgusting way - like opening them in a public restroom and dropping them in the toilet - no going back there... and if you open them in a public restroom, you won't be tempted to take a bite before tossing them.

On Music - I love Journey!!! Steve Perry's voice is incredible! Don't stop believin' - hold on to that feelinnnnnn....

Kerri - thanks for the link. I took a look at it and they seem simple enough. I already have the exercise ball so need to get the reisitance bands, but definitely something I can work on at home.

HEY EVERYONE!!!

sorry i have been MIA lately been busy...anyway..i am having a small crisis frustration whatever you want to call it...So the other day i went on a really long bike ride...and the next morning i woke up super bloated and just feeling like blah...anyway i figured that i would have lost some weight right...NOOO i havent lost anything in like a week now..and i am getting frustrated because I am working out everyday and eating good...i can only manage to get in like 850-900 calories in a day...suppose to get in like 1000 but i cant ...and now i am wondering if my body is going into starvation mode bc i am not getting enough in and that is why i am not losing weight???

Any suggestions on what i should do...how to get more calories in?? i get in plenty of Protein....i am so confused and frustrated....and i am also starting to get hungry a lot of the time and i don't get my next fill till may 6th but i want to lose some more weight before that...

I am feeling like a failure right now and i am getting really depressed about this...bc i feel like i am working so hard and now all of a sudden having no results.

:tt2: HELP !!!

hello all...

Fenton congrats on your NSV - I've noticed that my slip-ons slip on a little more easily too.

I would like to thank all of you for your encouragement and your advice. I'm not sure where I'd be without this site. I did eat one of the candy bars, but I gave the rest out, in pieces, to my students. They were so thrilled, and supportive. They knew I wasn't supposed to have candy, and how hard it was for me to give it up, so they worked extra hard to earn it. I know many of you have kept your surgery a secret, but I've told everyone I know. I need the support... I need for people to watch me and comment and criticize when necessary, it makes it harder to justify when I do things I shouldn't.

I'm just going to come clean to you as well... because I know I want to tell. Did I eat all the chocolate... no! But instead, when my dad offered to take us out to eat last night for my birthday, did I do the right thing??? NO ~ there I was eating fried shrimp and french fries!! Just like before. I didn't even feel guilty. I do now! I'm praying that the doc will give me fill tomorrow and help me get back on the path. I really want to do this! :tt2: Even more... I need to do this.

I"m stronger than this ~ or am I? **sigh**

Kerri

those exercise bands look great - might have to get me some of those. If I can ever get back on track.

thanks for the link and the info.

(((Carrie))) I understand where you are coming from. I hope that you will get a fill soon and it will give you some motivation to get back on track. This s not easy, but we all kne that going in. Pick yourself uptake a few deep breaths and try again starting now.

I've stumbled and fallen flat on my face a few times on this journey. I have not lost weight in 2 weeks and that is tough, but it is what it is. I have started journaling all my food and I have been studying the CAMP program ( I ordered thebook from the website someone had posted a while back).

Know you are not alone.

Hugs!

Christine

I'm soo thrilled to get all of the responses on the bands/ stability ball! It is a requirement through my Bariatric Center to work with "Nate" twice before surgery.. He has great enthusiasm, and is wonderful at what he does! It is so helpful to me to have him "in my computer" showing all of the exercises and correct movements step by step. Surprisingly (to me) I get a great workout from the ball and bands, what a great tool!! I'm glad I was able to share this info:)

Frances- don't fret, I'm willing to bet that it's an icky plateau that a lot of us have dealt with- and are dealing with. My scale hasn't moved in 2 weeks, and I've been working my tail off! How frustrating to not see results when you're working harder than you ever have before, with a newly banded stomach to boot! Victory is sure to come for both of us.. Patience is key. Keep up your hard work, and know that success will soon be knocking at your door! You are in no way a failure.. Keep your head up girl! You can get through this:)

The Diva- I am totally with you on the arm department! Your description was a trip! lol I am really hoping that the bands will help.. I guess only time will tell:)

~Kerri

It is hard to stay the course.....I, quite seriously, have to talk OUTLOUD to myself.....family wanted to go to Texas Roadhouse for dinner tonight, but I knew that the basket of biscuits and honey butter would be too much for me....and the giant sweet potato would be, too......so I sent them off......hope they choke on it......

NOT REALLY, I love them dearly, but I was sort of hoping they'd say, "well, then let's pick a place that works for you....." Apparently their inner carnivore was screaming loudly tonight.

Anyway, several times during the day I have to talk myself through food decisions......I have to remind myself that I'm wearing clothes that haven't fit me for a long, long time.....I have to remind myself that I will be able to come off my HBP meds soon....I have to remind myself that I went through a fair amount of pain to get here.....I have to remind myself that I spent an ass load of money to get here.....

Most of the time, I am able to talk myself out of it........but it's always quite a conversation.

Harley - I think I may need to start talking to myself. I really blew it today. Thank God for the support I get here and the knowledge that tomorrow is a new day... heck the next minute is a new minute and I can get back on track right here and now.

Well, I think that the Diva kind of NAILS it with "the next minute is a new minute". I - and many others here, I suspect - have a problem with what I shall call the "gateway bite": a small taste of something delicious and "forbidden" that erodes my strength and unleashes an uncontrolled flood of eating. I very much have an all or nothing mentality, that if I eat over 1200 calories one day, I might as well take in 4,000.

The big issue isn't whether or not you slip - we'll ALL slip, particularly those of us who have a lot of weight to lose, and who'll be on this road for a long long time. And it doesn't matter how much you slip. The important thing is how you react to the slip, if you decide to let a few minutes of bad eating, or an evening of bad eating, or a day of bad eating turn into two days, a week, a month or a lifetime of bad eating.

Yesterday, I'd had my food for the day, maybe 1200 calories, when my brother called and said he was in town, and wanted to go out to dinner. I took him to one of my favourite restaurants, and he had a ceviche appetizer, and then the steak I love so well, and I had a half-order of soft shell crabs. They were dredged in something and fried, served with fingerling potatoes and corn and a smoked pepper sauce. And I ate my crab and it was delicious and I loved it. And would have married it, had that been an option.

What upset me wasn't that I ate the crab, but the bread I ate. The bread there is amazing, and I had a 7 grain roll and a small piece of hazelnut and raisin focaccia. And that doesn't upset me. What DID upset me was that I had a second round of the rolls. I didn't need to do that, and it felt - unlike the crab or the first pair of rolls - like an uncontrolled action. So it made me unhappy, reminded me that lurking under the discipline is a ravenous monster that wants to go on a rampage with my health.

Today I was back to the routine, 1200 cals. I think I need more Protein, though, and the Isopure premade drinks have gone up in price.

On the plus side, though, I did go to that restaurant and I didn't order the steak I love. And I didn't order dessert.