AngieB

What a great picture of you and your MIL! See you on the otherside, so to speak! Looking forward to hearing from you, and wish you a speedy recovery!

Carrie - Yesterday, Saturday, was the first "weekend day" that I was able to stick to my diet. During the week, I feel like I do a okay job. Then comes the weekend, and it's like I gaze all darn day. So, I put some structure to my day. I made shopping plans with a girlfriend, took my son to see the Easter Bunny, and spend time cleaning and doing laundry. That really helped me out. When I got home I was STARVING so I quickly cleaned some greens and viola! Then a bit later I fixed my lean cuisine. After posting on the forum about my cheats and lies, I got excellent feed back and it empowered me to snap out of my obbssession with food. I feel like I can loose the weight now and not feel stressed about getting there and having them say, "Sorry you didn't loose enough for the surgery. As of this morning I am down a 10 lbs.!!!! I have 5 more to go! I am so glad I talked about my struggle because everyone gave me a good push to do the right thing! I haven't been taking my Chrom on the weekends, because I leave it at work. I am bad about taking fiber on the weekends to! So I think that plays a part in my struggle. I will take your suggestions! Thanks for being so supportive!

Congradulations! That is so awesome! I totally recommend the website "What to Expect When You Are Expecting." When I was pregnant, I became a member of this forum/board and it was so cool. I was a December 2007 Momma. It was such an awesome expierence! Many of us keep in touch on facebook now. I loved our group, we became so close and when you are going through the same things at the same time it is fun as well as educational. I will say that our board had a few drama moments due to hormones ect. Yay for you! Angie

Bigali - That sucks that you got grief and not the support you were seeking! I posted a pre-op diet whoa's post and got the opposite! Maybe members have learned/changed from the past? I don't know. It is a struggle for us foody's and I am so glad to hear you are ROCKIN the BAND! That is fricking awesome! Good thing this board is made up of all different types of personalities. We need to hear different perspectives. We are all alike, but different in our own style! I am going ot be getting my band on the 24th of this month! Angie

I love the picture of you and Dr. Ortiz! It really shows what a awesome personality he has!

We are staying at the Marriott as well. I am looking forward to meeting you! I am not sure if I will be having my pre-op test done the day I arrive or not. I think I will check on that so I know whether or not to fast.

I am glad to hear I am not the only wife/mother who struggles when cooking for my family. It does make it hard. I have been trying to cook them foods that I can have. Like baked talapia, mine being plain and theres dressed up a bit. I do recognize that 90% of my "hunger" is indeed head hunger. Sad to admit that, but it is the truth. I have had a few slips because of being overly hungery. Please understand that I have not been use to feeling hunger, so when I am indeed hungry it is a mini crisis in ways. LOL For the longest time I have not felt hunger pangs. Sad....I am recommitted to myself and my family as well as my support people. I am back on track and feel a bit saddened that such a seemingly "little" task has upset the applecart. BUT the truth will set me free and that is the truth for me. Some may see my posts and think Gawd! Get a grip, but I can get a grip now, that it doesn't seem quite so impossible. Chocolate Mint water sounds like a good cheat! I will have to see if I can find some cheats that are less harmful and just as good. Thanks for your suggestion.

I am back on the band wagon. The good news is I am still down 5 lbs.! Now I am focused on today. For me, I think I will have to break it down into small increments of time to help me get throught the ruff moments. When I feel like I am on the verge of cheating, I will break it down to "for this 10 minutes I will not cheat myself of my new life." I can do darn near anything for 10 minutes at a time! So, that is my plan. I gave up my "cookie" stash last night to my hubby, that was painful. BUT like I said on here, the truth will set me free and I feel like I am free today. So now I have a renewed determination. I am a winner and a looser! LOL Thanks for replying!

bctracy - I am sorry to read of your embarrasment. > You are right, it is not worth it. Part of the reason I feel like such a failure is that I am investing so much in this new way of living and I still find myself going out of bounds so to speak. I am on the 2 shakes a day. I am doing great during the day. My biggest down fall is the evening. I am putting some fail safes in place that should help me to stay focused. I got some great ideas from people who either posted here of sent me PM. Thanks for sharing your story. It will help motivate me to keep on track!

Meerkat - I am right there with you! It is sad and well sad. Today is a new day. I feel a renewed focus and have a goal that I am determined to meet. We can do this together! Yes, Valerie Bertinelli does look totally fabulous! I got here the same way you did. At times I feel like this is the last house on the block so to speak. I am surrendering so I can be a winner! I can not eat like other people eat. I am compulsive and need a behavior modification tool to help me round the corner! I am counting down the days until my surgery! You will be right before me, so I will be looking to you for inspiration! You can do this and so can I!!!

Lisa - you are right, it is serious! I confessed my cheats to my husband last night. (After a fellow lap band friend made some suggestions I couldn't not take.) Doing so, was hard, but cheat food has sense been removed from the house. Jim my husband is my biggest supporter. I feel like I am back on track today. Which is a great feeling. I have 12 days to loose some more lbs. so all is not lost. I am so blessed this forum is here. It is a weatlth of information and support! Thank you everyone who replied and gave me suggestions and support. What I can not do alone, we can do together!

Kimberly - What a great idea! Low fat popcorn! That is something I will pick up. Low cals and you can eat 3 cups with very little damage!

Great tips! I will check out south beach this weekend. I also ran out of "good salad mix" and had the iceburg. It just doesn't cut it for taste of flavor. So I picked up some spinage and other greens. Much better! If I like what I have to eat it won't be so bad. I do need to pick up another spritzer. Thanks for your suggestions!

I could not even imagine starting your pre-op around Christmas time. I would have bumped the date. That is a very tough time. All those goodies. Thanks for sharing your struggles. I have been reading posts for a while and no one really has spoken of cheating or the pre-op challenges. I am a fairly new memeber, but I was thinking I was the only one who struggled. The more I felt like I had to keep up the frint of doing good the worse I got. I am glad I spoke up. Reading each post makes me feel like I am not alone in this struggle. I truely wish I was a super star and was breezing through this but, the truth is I am not.

Dana - as soon as I am able to eat again, I will be taking your advise. Right now I am pre-op. You have some great tips and suggestions. Oh, I was checking out your pics on facebook. You look awesome! I loved the sunshine and rainbows post you had up.

Jenelle - I want to do the very best I can! Thanks for the encouragement.

Let me first start out by saying I feel like a failure. I am two weeks out from having surgery, and I am bombing on my pre-op diet. I choose diet number 2. Which is 2 shakes, and a lean cuisine meal. I can have all the greens I want and FF jello as a snack. I started early because I figured it would be a good idea for me to "Just Do It." My starting weight was 280 and I was down to 273, then my TOM hit. I have been having a hard time keeping my envenings in check. I crave chocolate/food. I am not sure if it is water weight or cheats that have caused my weight to go up. I am now at 275. Because I have "cheated" on the diet plan I am finding it hard to get back on board. The other day, I was obsessed with food. I do GREAT during my day. I am busy and time passes. I get home in the evening. Cook for my family and that is where I feel the faulting begin. I know how important it is to stay the corse and lighten my liver as well as shrink my stomach as much as possible before the surgery. Knowedge is power, but right now I feel like my understanding is torturing me. How can I even think about cheating when it is going to help me to be a sucessful band patient??? Am I the only pre-op patient who feels like the two week diet is harder than I thought? I am a food sneak. I eat when no one is looking and lie about it. Are there any reformed food sneaks out there? Can anyone offer me some suggestions that will help me to focus on the mini finish line ahead. Which is loosing my pre-op weight? Also, since I am laying it all out there, I may as well ask. Did anyone else have food reservations? There have been a few instances where I thought of "Netties cheese enchaladas" or " ____________" insert coveted food/comfort food in the blank. I am able to talk with my husband about it and at the end of the conversation I feel much better and re-focused. Can anyone relate to me or have some sugestions that will aid me in my evening trails?

Janelle we sing the same song! I love my Osteopath and have not been back to my chiroprator since I meet him! A world of differnce I tell ya! I was a monthly maintenance patient to keep things moving right at the chiro. I was just at the Osteo last night, he said I had not been in since November! Holy cow! How awesome is that! Would not change a thing! Osteopath all the way baby! LOL

Yay! I really thought no one would post the same date for there surgery on here! We are arriving at 11:40 ish in the morning. I am looking forward to getting this done! When is your flight getting in?

Will do! Thanks for the helpful tips! I have added more items to my list.

Ben - I have to say I am so glad your blog caught my eye. I thought I just might PMPL when you said, "I was in my paper panties and nothing was going to get me out of them!" You have a knack for writing and I do so enjoy reading about your journey! Angie

Great tip, I didn't realize there was a search, I was doing it the hard way. Thanks for pointing this out.

Glad you mentioned that! Thanks!

I am wondering, is there any items you took with you on your trip that you found helpful? Anything you didn't take, but wish you had? What I am planning on taking is : Comfortable cloths Heating Pad Liquid Tylenol a Book to read. Camera/video my cell phone