So we're 6 months post op this month (well March). Where are we? What are we doing to continue our successes or make us more successful in this journey? Winter has been harsh on many of us, and spring will soon be here. What will you change with the season's?

Teri

I was hoping to be double the amount of weight loss that I am now. I am 35 pounds down since September but since then had to have a second surgery and a car accident. Still not able to exercise yet so hopefully once I get that started I will really start to lose. Hope you all are doing great and good to know i am not alone.

I was hoping to be double the amount of weight loss that I am now. I am 35 pounds down since September but since then had to have a second surgery and a car accident. Still not able to exercise yet so hopefully once I get that started I will really start to lose. Hope you all are doing great and good to know i am not alone.

I hope you are ok after more surgery and the accident. You are not alone. Remember, it is still 35 pounds down instead of up. I know I would be 40 pounds heavier than when I started if I had not had surgery. Anyway, you can do it!

LOL, I noticed as I was walking the other day that something felt different and it took me a second to realize what it was...my arms were not touching my sides as I walked. Isn't that strange???

I know what you mean... I went bowling the other night, and I used to bowl all the time...(have my own shoes and ball) But, I had the hardest time. And I couldn't throw a strike to save my life. I figured that I moved my whole body differently. I didn't have to swing the ball around my belly...

AND THAT FELT WONDERFULL!!!! I have never felt so happy about bowling so crappy.

You are not alone. I don't see myself as smaller. I look in the mirror and see the same fat girl that was there before surgery. I don't look any different to myself. I know I am smaller since my son (he's 11) was able to hug me and put his arms all of the way around me. That shocked me. As far as the Protein, although my doc stresses a protein first diet, he never actually gave me a number to strive for. I try to eat my protein first, then veggies. I will admit that I eat too many carbs. When I do that, my weight loss stalls. Since you are working out so much, maybe it is that you are gaining muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat, so as long as you are losing inches, you are losing. Measure yourself and go by that for a while.

Debbie, I like the new picture. I keep saying that I am going to be brave enough to take one, but I am still camera shy.

Take care everyone!

Thanks Slim, it is part of my body awareness. I force myself to look in mirrors, pictures and hold my pants up in front of me to see the real size. Not the size I think of in my brain. It is so hard. I saw pictures of myself from 1986, my son's bar mitzvah. I had lost so much weight for it and thought I was so hot. I was down to a 16 and very proud. I noticed my arms, they are about the same size they are now. And I have been laughing about my turkey arms!!! Funny how 20 years will make your memory fade. It was the last time I fit into a 16 until now. And I am now in a "snug" 14 in pants. Funny, the butt and thighs fit loose, just the waist is a little tight, but I wore them today and felt GOOD.

I will never feel beautiful, or thin, but I will feel good about myself and my accomplishments. It won't be easy, but I WILL get there.

Take Care, don't let the ghosts of the past ruin your progress. This time is different. And, if you have only lost a little weight, YOU HAVE LOST! WE ALL HAVE LOST! We all know that if we had not had this surgery we would have been larger than when we started. I myself, I would have been dead. So just keep thinking, I HAVE LOST and KEPT IT OFF for 6 MONTHS! That is something to be very proud of!

Thanks Slim, it is part of my body awareness. I force myself to look in mirrors, pictures and hold my pants up in front of me to see the real size. Not the size I think of in my brain. It is so hard. I saw pictures of myself from 1986, my son's bar mitzvah. I had lost so much weight for it and thought I was so hot. I was down to a 16 and very proud. I noticed my arms, they are about the same size they are now. And I have been laughing about my turkey arms!!! Funny how 20 years will make your memory fade. It was the last time I fit into a 16 until now. And I am now in a "snug" 14 in pants. Funny, the butt and thighs fit loose, just the waist is a little tight, but I wore them today and felt GOOD.

I will never feel beautiful, or thin, but I will feel good about myself and my accomplishments. It won't be easy, but I WILL get there.

Take Care, don't let the ghosts of the past ruin your progress. This time is different. And, if you have only lost a little weight, YOU HAVE LOST! WE ALL HAVE LOST! We all know that if we had not had this surgery we would have been larger than when we started. I myself, I would have been dead. So just keep thinking, I HAVE LOST and KEPT IT OFF for 6 MONTHS! That is something to be very proud of!

Debbie, you always know the exact right thing to say. I sat here and read and re-read what you said. Don't let the ghosts of the past ruin your progress. I have been doing that. I am going to steal your words. I am going to post them on my desk (if you don't mind). I am also going to add that to my signature. It will help to remind me not to do that. Thank you for being you. You help me to be a stronger, better me. You are awe inspiring. Thanks for being there.

Niecey.. why are your daughters having trouble with your weight loss? I have a 13 year old daughter and she is just thrilled for me. She can't wait til I can shop @ Hollister/Abercrombie/Juicy so she can steal my clothes.. LOL. (though thats really unlikely since those really aren't my style, but don't tell her that). My daughter does get envious that I am able to eat less though, I know sometimes she worries about her weight and gets upset with me if I say anything about her food choices... I just have to be very careful about how I say things to her.

JennBand08,

I think the main reason they are having a problem is because I was always "big" and now they see me losing weight and now I am slightly smaller than my oldest daughter. I guess it's just something they will have to get used to. We have joined a gym and I make them go with me. They are starting to like it. I also "make" my oldest do 20-30 minutes on the treadmill on nights we don't go to the gym. I explained to her that I know she is unhappy being overweight but I will help her and if she doesn't like her size then she has to decide to do something about it. Hopefully they are both young enough that they will learn to enjoy exercise and eating healthy.

I know what you mean... I went bowling the other night, and I used to bowl all the time...(have my own shoes and ball) But, I had the hardest time. And I couldn't throw a strike to save my life. I figured that I moved my whole body differently. I didn't have to swing the ball around my belly...

AND THAT FELT WONDERFULL!!!! I have never felt so happy about bowling so crappy.

a2bachik

Congrats to your crappy bowling game!!!

Debbie, you always know the exact right thing to say. I sat here and read and re-read what you said. Don't let the ghosts of the past ruin your progress. I have been doing that. I am going to steal your words. I am going to post them on my desk (if you don't mind). I am also going to add that to my signature. It will help to remind me not to do that. Thank you for being you. You help me to be a stronger, better me. You are awe inspiring. Thanks for being there.

:smile:

No problem. I guess I am just old......... and worn out. Actually it was 2 years of therapy after an abusive 22 year marriage. Now - I try not to sweat the small things, except at work - must be the money

My brother put it into perspective too, during the messy divorce - it's just stuff, it can be replaced. (we were fighting over who got the knives). That took a lot of stress away and has stayed with me. So now I choose not to fight, or to pick my battles.

Thank God I met Henry. He helped me a lot to accept me as I was, he loves me just the way I am. Fat thin - he doesn't care. I learned it was okay to eat and I stopped sneak eating. If I wanted a bag of chips, I just ate it. After a while I found I quit binging at night.

But Henry is glad I am "Healthier". He was unsure of the surgery, he even threatened to "shoot" the surgeon if anything went wrong. But now he is glad I did it. His jaw even dropped when he saw the new pants. He is so proud!

Just remember I care. I may not write as often as I should, but you and all the others are with me all the time.

Debbie

wow, reading all the posts in this thread is inspiring - you all have done so well. I am just a tad over halfway to goal, and will be a happy girl once I get to 199. My hair is fine, but my fingernails are dry and so short now. I seem to get stuck a lot, think that is related to eating while under stress at times. Keep up the great work everybody, can't wait to see where were are at 1 year.

wow, reading all the posts in this thread is inspiring - you all have done so well. I am just a tad over halfway to goal, and will be a happy girl once I get to 199. My hair is fine, but my fingernails are dry and so short now. I seem to get stuck a lot, think that is related to eating while under stress at times. Keep up the great work everybody, can't wait to see where were are at 1 year.

I agree Snowgator, it really inspires me to hear how others are getting along. I'm assuming when you say you get stuck you mean the food not going down. I have that prob if I let myself get too hungry and then I will tend to eat too fast and not chew properly, I still have to remind myself at times to slooooow down and chew chew chew.

I'm so glad to have found you all and read how you are all doing. Here it April we got another month behind us, ALMOST THERE. gotta go, Biggest Loser is on, I'm hooked on that show

Hi all ... I m back into the game, it was quite frustrating for the past 2 months, i did not lose a thing , i gained a kilo .. and all the time i was having fake fills ... last saturday i did it under X-ray and i can feel that a fill was done ... i lost more than a kilo since last week and i m now unable to eat much ... Happy that my port is not flipped but i m waiting to see if next month i would be able to get a regular fill .... hope things work out ... I feel left out of the weight loss ... you guys are doing so great ... congrats ....with all the frustration ... i still love my band ....

Don't let your frustration outshine what you have accomplished. Your weight loss is great! You are closer to a normal BMI than you were a year ago. Don't forget that. You had a setback that you couldn't control. You are doing a great job!

Hi everyone,

I'm officially below 200 now. Wow I haven't been below 200 since I got married. How is everyone else doing?

I have to tell you I had a little bout with an overfill. It was awful. I toughed it out for a week until it got so bad I could barely drink Water. :thumbup: All my fills had been with the nurses since surgery and they would put in 0.2-0.4 ccs but this time the doc put in 0.8ccs. I had to get 0.5 taken out. I managed to lose 9 pounds in that week which was good since I hadn't lost anything in 3 months. But it was not fun. Very painful and I learned that the band does not do all the work. It helps but ultimately you have to be the one who makes the wise food decisions. Protein first, if there is room after that then veggies. I'm good now. I think I'm finally at my sweet spot or within 0.1 cc of it. Frankly I don't think I want to be any tighter.

So everyone give an update!!!

Denise

Niecey, I know how you feel about being too tight. I think as we all approach the end of our 7th month now, we're pretty close if not at the sweet spot everyone talks about. Last month I went in for an unfill because I did fine for the first three days after may fill and then started having problems and couldn't keep Water down. The physicicans assistant said it sounded like I got something stuck that needed to work it's way out,but he did a small unfill. That worked for about a week and then I felt no restriction at all. I felt like I had never had surgery. I talked to my doctor at support group and he said wait a few weeks. I did and then went back about a month after my un-fill. He put back the same amount that was taken out. I am now at 7cc's in a 10cc band. I feel like I have finally reached my sweet spot. I stay full between meals. I am satisfied (and a little tight) after about 2-3 ounces. A snack cup of sugar free pudding takes me about 20 minutes to eat. I am down another 6 pounds.

I know I have to do my part and I'm happy to do it, but I am glad my band is now doing it's part too.

Keep up the good work everyone!

Yes it does help me being a little tight. Especially being satisfied between meals. If I keep busy I'm good otherwise I want to graze between meals just because I'm bored. But then I feel the restriction and think "why did I do that?" I have found if I stay between 800-1100 calories per day I can keep losing the weight. Now that I've found this out I track my calories daily with sparkspeople, it makes it so easy. It also helps make better choices because you want to get the most food for the least amount of calories. :crying:

The exercising has gotten easier too. I love the Zumba classes. It makes exercising fun if you can call it fun. :eek:

I hope everyone else is doing well.

Denise

Well I've been the same weight going on 3 months now. My last fills haven't gone so well. 8cc's in my Realize Band was to much. So I know I'm between 7cc's and 8cc's. However, they take to much out- blah blah blah and don't use fluorscopy so who knows. I'm hoping the next one will do it. (especially for insurance to pay)

I'm ready to get the weight loss going again. 48lbs is great but that was lost starting my pre-op diet and the first three months.

Sandra