AngieB

Hey all! Black Friday we all loaded up in the car and went shopping at Nebraska Furniture Mart. I asked Santa for a laptop and Santa.....aka my loving husband bought me one! I got a lovely Toshiba laptop with a huge screen and 10 key on the keyboard. Very cool. Has a web camera right in the monitor too! Yes! I am so happy. You can bet I will be making some more You Tube videos! Yes! It was affordable too! It won't be my laptop alone, I will share it with everyone in my family. Jim has loaded a bunch of software on it and Daniel has already watched Nick Jr on it. Lil D was having a bit of a time with the laptop until he figured out it has things on it for him too. He was a jealous toddler. Anytime he was off playing, I would grab it and surf, play and enjoy the new gift. As soon as he realized I had it on, he made a bee line to me to stop that nonsense! LOL Having a laptop will make it so much easier for me to connect with the projects I want to do and get other things done as well. I am so blessed to be in love and have a husband who is so loving and supportive! I have made a decison. I am going to go to once a week weigh in's. I have been weighing myself twice a day most days. Once in the morning and once at night. Seems a bit much, right.... So I will weigh myself on Wed for the board here. I think that will help me put things into better perspective. I will say I felt the urge to weigh myself tonight. I have stayed in surrender mode. I am in this for the long haul and need to adjust my actions a bit. We will see how it goes. CHALLENGE! Anyone who would like to join me, please message me or comment. I could really use a support buddy.

I was one of the fortunate ones who didn't have a lick of gas pain. My momma had me up and walking ASAP after surgery and kept me from sleeping to long. The next day all us newly banded tourists hit the strip for some shopping we walked and walked. I think that is why I did so well from the get go. I took gas strips and squirted beano in my mouth as I walked out the door for surgery. Maybe the combination of the above was the magic.....

Congrats on your decison to bet banded and improve your health! Way to go! If you have a date in January it will give you a full month to read up and ask any questions you may have. This board is a great weath of information. I simply love it here. Everyone is super nice and before long if you stick around you will consider people here your friends. Let's see some suggestions..... Stop drinking carbination right now....if you are a soda drinker.....cut them out. Look for some crystal light or vitamin water flavors that you like. Focus on your eating, and chewing. I started to chew my food 30 times a bite. I was amazed at how little I had been chewing before. This will get you in the bandster mind set. Stop drinking with your meals. Drink afterwards, but not during. This will help you break the habit of drinking during a meal. *now when I watch someone drink while they eat.....I think oh my the rules....even thought they are not bandsters and do not have to follow the rules. LOL Read this forum everyday.

Oh dear, I am sorry about assuming you went to the OCC which stands for Obestiy Control Center. How did getting up, walking and doing some wind mill movements go? Have you been walking reguarly? It really does help. Sweetie, call the surgeon who did your surgery. They need to know you are feeling bad so they can help you through this. Let us know how you are feeling. Angie

Robbyn! You look radiant! I know what you are talkign about with the green bean casserole. Ours is gone, thank heavens. This year I made the yummiest mash potatoes. I used garlic and ff cream and butter....oh my did they turn out nice. Topped with gravy and ugh....if you see my food log, one day I had mash taters gravy and green bean casserole...... I am not letting that get to me though cuz I really enjoyed the holiday. Didn't over eat, and enjoyed all the food. Even stuffing, which I was leary about. I missed my rolls. One of my favs is a turkey sand on a roll with mayo after and this year I didn't do it. I was amazed that the stuffign gave me no complaints, and I even had a bite of three of a chicken sandwich that I made my son. Bread not toasted and again no issues with it. I've been afraid to eat the bread......Not long ago I tried the mini appitizer bread and bam! 2 bites and to the sink I went. I guess it is good that our bands keeps us in line. Over all, this is a huge learning curve for most of us, good thing we can come here and talk it out! I love your sharing Robbyn and have really missed you. I miss Dana too. She doesn't post near like she use to.... Anyway, I wanted to finish off with saying my weight went up a titch.....not bad considering all I have enjoyed the past few days. This morning the scale said 237 even ......I will take that and get back on the bandwagon again! So greatful I have the band.....Oh my am I ever!

AngelaMcG - have you tried wind mill movements with your arms? or putting your arms above your head and moving them about? This should help move the gas out and maybe even allow you to burp.....

b - 1/2 of a protein shot 2 hard boiled eggs l - mash taters and gravy green bean casserole d - turkey, rice casserole with broc, celery, onion, can of soup mixture 1- cheetos..... s- small bowl of cereal.... ugh... I ate all day today!

Babe - When I first began this challenge, I really thought I had my head right. What I am saying is, I thought I understood the process and was educated about the band. In reality the band has really getting ready to educated me. Now that I am on the "other"side of the process, meaning banded I can see how many expectations I had. It was a rude awakening. It took me doing alot of self talk and pumping myself up to keep me in the game so to speak. For example, I had it in my head that the 21 day liquid diet would really give me a start on my weight loss....guess what ....nope. My body gave up 4 lbs between the 1st and 2nd week. I could not wrap my mind around that. Matter of fact, everyone thought the same thing and didn't help with the struggle in my head. I was not a perfect little recovering bandster and did have a few mini cheats that made the difference. It was difficult for me to stay on track 100% but I did my best. I held tight to the 15 lbs I had lost on pre-op, to give in a pound bymy first fill. I really didn't start loosing until, my 3-4th fill. At anyrate, for me, restriction really matters. Right now, I am down 40 lbs. The have been hard one and I am not one that sheds the weight like melting butter. In reality, I believe there are many many more slower loosers. We don't understand that because many don't post regularly. That is why I think it is important to speak honestly about our process. Not only for ourselves, but for those who are reading who just may need to hear those words. Once I took the focus off putting myself through the ringer for the expectations I was unable to meet and accepting where I was it got better for me. I have my days that my eating is not the best, but I focus on the long term. I am living with this band and if it takes me 3 years than thankgoodness I could have the tool to help me acheive better health! I don't know your story or stats, but let me say this, "People who stay plugged in have better success!" Why because our goals are at the front of our minds! We have support and friendship to help us along the way. Welcome to the slow loosers club! I am wondering, did you have your fills under floro? I ask this because if you are to tight, you may not be loosing the weight you would if you are eating the right portions. Do you eat protein first? What size portions are you able to eat? For me, I can eat a 1/2 cup of hard protein in the mornings or a cup of soft protein like greek yogurt. For my lunch I can eat 1 cup portion, for dinner I can eat 1 to 1 1/2 cups of food. That lets me know I have restriction, but I am not at my "sweet spot." As I have read and found that "most" people or Dr.'s say the sweet spot is eating 1/4 to 1/2 cup of food at a meal. Another thing I have in my mind, be it true or not...I am not sure, but the "successful" bandsters I have spooken with do not eat 1200 cals a day as they get closer to goal. Now, I know this may get people up in arms but I am sharing what I know to be true. I hope this rant helps someone.

I did that too! The pie is yummy and it is 1 WW point per slice, now that is a song I can sing! I topped it with FF whip cream....yummo! Another thing I did was use 98% fat free cream of mushroom soup in my green bean casserole. It didn't taste the same, but hey I didn't miss the calories, so it was a win win! How are you recovering? Did you have a good Thanksgiving?

Hello everyone. I have recently stumbled on a great weightloss community on you tube. It is pretty cool. I like being able to see everyone. People really lay it on the line there, and I enjoy the truth being spoke. One of my favorite channels is "ProofWLSWorks." That channel has a new youtuber for each day of the week. Each week they have a topic they all share on. The speakers have all had weightloss surgery of one type of another, so you can see the topic from different perspectives. Makes it cool and has that human connection. My youtuber id is "faith8412", feel free to add me if you have an account on You Tube as I would enjoy your friendship. I had a great Thanksgiving. I didn't over eat and felt on track. Then the very next day, I felt like I ate all day long. I am not going to beat myself up over it, but I will say this.....I am better off this year than I have been anyother year before! So, I have gratitude for that as well. I'd say I am on the weightloss journey of my lifetime. I am not uber obsessed with the process in the way of I am taking it in stride. I am living with the band, and that to me means enjoying myself along the way. For me personally, I don't want to be so focused on loosing weight that I loose my life to it. I am happy and life is goooood! I hope each and everyone of you had a great holiday and was able to celebrate in the way you choose to! Many good wishes this holiday season!

Kristi! I have had a great day. Hope you did too!

B - Protein shot coffee L - Thanksgiving Dinner! Turkey, mash taters, gravy, candied yams, stuffing, green bean casserole, pumpkin pie. D - Mash taters and gravy and a chocolate chip cookie VW - 20 oz Wow! Let's hope my body doesnt hold it against me.....LMBO! Seriously though....I hope I don't see the 240's again! Happy Thanksgiving everyone! (the good, bad, and the ugly.....)

I cooked up a storm this year. It was great. Switched up a few recipes for the health of it. Ate till I was satisfied and felt great. I had all the fixings! Yummo! I love this band!

Hi Robyn! Welcome back! I've always enjoyed your posts and hugs! Glad your whirl wind has calmed down.

Kristi! WOW WOW WOW Congrats! You are a rock star! I've been bugging Charelle every so often. She is a foster momma and has recently taken on a 6 month old! Her daughter is 7 so that is a big adjustment! LOL I think she is doing okay - I have been encouraging her to check in, I think she is staying busy....let's all send her messages to let her know she is missed! RevyD and Bogiesmom - great weight loss! Debbie needs a new outfit! YOU go Debbie! Andy - welcome to Wed weigh ins! Glad you are joining us! Carrie - No fill huh....did you see the local doc? Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!! Angie

Amen....amen....amen. For me it has been worth EVERY MINUTE! 40 lbs down! Woot!

Cathy - Call the OCC - there is always a Dr on call. I personally think you are having gas pain and pressure. The only thing people talk about on here to help it is to get up and walk. Do some wind mill movements with your arms to help move the gas out from your shoulders. Have you been walking every few hours?

hello everyone.........I will be having my 5th fill on Dec 7th. need to tighten up the zip tie! I am so thankful for my band. And hope you all have a. Wonderful Thanksgiving! Peace and Love

greek yogurt extra small protein shake soup VW - 40 oz

Today my scale read 237.6. Glad to get rid of the 240's again! Now let's see if I can build some momentum! Sure has been a battle with my head. Goodness sakes! Sabrina! Woo hoo! I love the sound of 160's! You are rocking!

You know your a bandster when......all your friends know exactly what you are talking about when you are using bandster lingo!

WOW! Congrats on having surgery tomorrow! I will be thinking of you.

b Coffee Oatmeal l 1 cup of broccoli cheese soup 7 soy crisps d 1/4 of a large apple with carmel dip! 1/2 cup of cheesy chicken red pepper, stuff. 1/2 slice of white cake with chocolate frosting Protein shot VW - 40 oz Night graze other 1/2 of the piece of cake