Kristi

I understand about the shrinking. I was just shy of 5'3" for years and now at 5'2", I measured that earlier this year. Its all good though. My first goal is to hit 145. From there I will have the new goal to get to 135. I mainly want to be in a size 6, but the thought of getting below 138 is exciting since it would put me at 100 pound weight loss. My Doc thinks that I should be in the 140 range. He thinks that the charts are off and doesn't account for body types and such. We will see, who knows I could hit 145 and fit perfectly in size 6's. Hugs, Kristi

:lb14: Carrie, I wish I had some Ideas for you. I love to start new traditions. This year I am driving up north to my Brother's house for Thanksgiving. When we have it at my place we do a potluck and I cook the Turkey. I also make whipped sweet potatoes. I look forward to ideas too from others. Hugs, Kristi

Awesome News. I am glad to hear that you had such a great time. So cool that the ship had a gym too. One day I also want to go on a cruise, but 1st I want to go to Hawaii.

Margaret, Congrats on your 1st fill! In no time you will be sporting smaller sized jeans/clothes. :cheerleader: Hugs, Kristi

Shelby, I agree.... Great Visual... My nutritionist had things like that to show me what the loss is. Hers were only 1/2 pound and 1 pound chunks. It is amazing to see what 5 pounds really is. Ok, so I have a personal question for you. You and I are the same height and we both have 10 pounds to go according to our tickers. How much do you weigh? You look Awesome, By the Way... Love the color of the blue top your wearing in the bottom pic. Hugs, Kristi

Good Morning, Well, to answer some questions, I am not as good as some of the others in explaining sliming and Pb'ing. I found these explanations online: Definition of a PB. The PB is also known as a productive burp. In reality it is not simply a burp or even vomiting but somewhere in between. The PB may consist of bringing up mucus or even the bolus of food. You may experience upper abdominal pain lasting from minutes to hours. Triggers to stop eating: 1. You feel full. 2. You feel like something you’ve eaten is stuck. 3. You PB. 4. You have been eating for 30 minutes. 5. You’ve eaten approximately a half to three quarter cups of food. Reasons that people PB: 1. You didn’t chew enough. 2. You ate too quickly. 3. You ate too much. 4. Your band is too tight. 5. You’ve eaten the wrong type of food or something that doesn’t agree with the band. Remember, there are some things that no matter how much you chew, will not go down. sliming - "Sliming" refers to excess saliva in your mouth caused by a very tight band. You might have something stuck inside your stoma that hasn't yet passed through the tightened banded area. Cheryl- I hope this helps. IrishRN, Thank you, I went ahead and got a fill because the last month I have had very minimal restriction and had to watch every amount of food I ate. And I could eat way more than I should be able to. I am pretty sure I am swollen a tad bit. I can feel it all go down and I am only on liquids/soups. I also think it would have been worse if I hadn't waited after and taken off. The good news is that my Doc makes me stay an extra 15-20 minutes while drinking/sipping water to make sure I am OK. This last time was the 1st time I wasn't. But I have taken advice and been on liquids so I don't irritate my belly anymore. Hugs, Kristi

:lb14: Sorry I am late. I was at my brother-in-laws yesterday and had no scale to weigh in. However, at my Docs office @ 10:15am on Tuesday, I weighed in @ 157 and that was fully clothed and I had had breakfast. This morning I got on my scale and it is 155! :cheerleader: Woohoo I have broken the 157.7 that I stayed at for several weeks. So I do have a confession. Halloween was bad. I ate an entire packet of M&Ms all by myself. And it wasn't even the mini packet. I bought full size candy bar packs for the older kids and they had different kinds in the box. I wanted a 3 musketeer bar too, but only ate the M&Ms. So I did use some restraint and it took me an hour to eat the pack, but I can definitely attest that it will be a long time before I want them again. Usually if I break down and have a treat, I go with the sugarfree or regular York peppermint pattties (small/mini ones) and I can eat one and my sweet craving is satified and I am full. Hugs, Kristi

:lb14: I seem to crave Chicken Alfredo pasta, but since I can't eat bread without pain I am too much of a scaredy cat to try it. My luck it would be a slider and that would not be good. I also seem to crave frozen yogurt too. Oh and seafood.

:lb5: Well, today I had my 4th fill. What an experience!!! My Doc pulled out the 3.50cc's from before and then put back in 4cc's. Wow, that was not so fun. The moment I left to sit in the waiting room, I felt like I was gonna toss my cookies.. Then I went to tell the nurse what was going on and then I did toss them cookies... Ugh.. Gross... :bad: Then until the Doc came into do the adjustment, I was sliming. At least that is what I am pretty sure it was. It was my first time. I have Pb'd before, but never slimed. We got it taken care of and my fill was to 3.75 from 3.50 and I have been doing fine the rest of the day. Wow, I didn't realize how gross it was and I was only sliming water.... :lb1: Not an experience I want to go through again. So, have any of you ever gone through this kind of experience? Kristi

I agree, you are in BandsterHell... Everyone has put some great advice on here for you. For me, I counted the number of times I chewed my food. It really helped keep my mind focused on that instead of the food. I didn't get hungry as often when I did this. I have been eating 3 meals a day and have been from the get go and I rarely snack. Well, try not to be so hard on yourself. Don't give up. I plan out my meals most of the time and I stick with it to make sure I don't stray away from that plan. Take care, Hugs, Kristi

Good Morning All, Well, this morning my scale read the exact same as last week. 157.7. The good news is that I am ok with that. I start back to the gym this morning. I have an appointment with the trainer at 9am. :lb25: My motivation is back up.... Yippee.... Angie, you are doing fabulous! They say it is best to weigh yourself is under the same conditions as the time you have done in the past. So you are doing it the right way! Rev, great job! Carrie, 6 pounds in two weeks, keep up the good work. Sabrina, I am jealous. 1 pounds is a loss and Congrats. AshleyMarie, Fantastic and welcome to onederland! :lb24: Well, hopefully next week I will be in the loss zone too. Hugs, Kristi

Lisa, Eeekk... I just realized I miss wrote that it has happened to me, actually I meant to say it hasn't. Hugs, Kristi

Lisa, Well, that has happened to me, but I wanted to send :lb10: on losing 120 pounds... That is such a wonderful accomplishment... Kristi

Shelby, First of all, :lb13: , I think you are so inspiring, and your response to the jerk, is AWESOME!!! :good3: Keep up the good work!!! I am not a runner due to bad knees and don't forsee any future in attempting a marathon, but I applaud you and anyone else that can and does. (However, if my knees would hold up, I would too.) I have always wanted to do the breast cancer awareness walk.... So I support my friends that do.. Hugs, Kristi P.S. I just realized we are the same height.

:lb14: My band is a 10ml/cc band. Lap-Band AP std

Hi Carrie, :lb16: How awesome! :lb24: I am very happy for you. You deserve it! Your hard work is paying off... I need to get my motivation back. I have been feeling like such a Schlub since I have not been working out like I was. After going on vacation, I was sick and then just found it too easy to not go to the gym as much. So I am feeling uber soft now and not happy about it. The GOOD news is that I have an appointment with my trainer tomorrow morning, so that will get me my workout mojo back. :lb25: I tried on some 8's before I left for Philly and 2 out of 4 of them fit perfectly the others were just a tad bit tight in the waist. I didn't buy them at the time, I want to wait till I am in 6's before I buy anymore. My 10's are starting to get loose, so hopefully I can get myself in gear and get there by New Years Day. At least I will go for it. I would love to be in 6's no later than Valentine's Day, which means: I need to get my rear-end back to the gym.... Well, I am off to get around so I can head to the commissary. I need some supplies and staples for the house. Hugs, Kristi

Sabrina, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! I hope this weekend has gone great for you. Good luck on your surgery tomorrow. Liquid painkillers are the way to go. Hugs, Kristi

Auggie :lb10: Welcome to Bandland. The 21 days will fly by. Keep us posted on your progress. Kristi

:lb14: Holly, How are you doing since your surgery? I hope you are well, and look forward to hearing how everything went. Hugs, Kristi

Well, I have only pb'd twice but have gotten stuck a couple of times, but I agree with Sabrina, 24 hours of liquids will be helpful. I cannot eat breads or cakes at all. I tried a piece of my daughters birthday cookie in July and I only had a very very small bite and I was in so much pain and then at my nieces birthday party last month, I took a two small bites of the cake and I was in tears from the pain from getting stuck. :shok: Not fun at all! Does not agree with me or my band.

Hi Stormy, I totally understand how scary that is to go through. I had my first mammogram in mid-June and after two weeks I got the message they needed to do an ultrasound of my right breast, a week later had the ultrasound and then another two weeks later they had called me to tell me they wanted an MRI. So I had to go through these 3 procedures within a 6 week time frame and I was panicked... I have had two breast reductions, one in 1994 and the other in 2004 and I kept telling myself that it better just be scar tissue. Well, everything was fine and I am 100% good, but because I had Thyroid Cancer the end of 2006, let me tell you, I was scared off my rockers... I am so happy to hear that you are good. Hugs, Kristi I also agree, if you haven't had a Mammogram, get it done, take care of yourself.

:lb14: There is nothing easy about having this band. I don't feel people need to know about your band if you don't want them to. Only my family and very close friends know about my band and every now and then I will share it with others, but how is your weight-loss other peoples business. I can't make you stop feeling guilty, I don't feel you should feel that way by any means. However, with eating healthy and working out, how can that be cheating. You know, this band is not magic, it is a tool. Sure it helps to control the hunger by giving you restriction, but it does not make the weight disappear. You have Done Awesome with your tool! Be proud of what you have accomplished & Over 74 pounds, is amazing. It is very hard work. :lb13: Keep up the good work! Hugs, Kristi

:lb10: Aren't NSVs the best! Hugs, Kristi

:lb10: Navygirl, That is awesome news. Thank you for your service too... My husband is currently in the Navy and has been for 18 1/2 years. Have a great week. Hugs, Kristi

:lb14: Lisa, On my first appointment seeing a Doctor, well it was quite interesting. I have Tricare Prime as my insurance company, my husband is military, and I was sent to a Civilian Doc for my consult. He was nice, but worried more that Tricare wouldn't approve it since I didn't have any other major issues in my charts from being overweight. Which of course made me feel like a number... I ended up having my lapband surgery with a military Doc, and he has been wonderful. He actually took over my case after I called Tricare and told them what the 1st Doc said and then the medical underwriter called this Doc (since he is within 50 miles of my home) and told him of my issues/problems and circumstances to find out what he would do and he took it over and performed my surgery. My relationship with my surgeon has been great. Although he just got transferred from Camp Pendleton the end of September, and I now I will have to drive down to San Diego and see someone new, and it is kinda a bummer. Unless I try to get a referral for the Civilian doc again. We'll see... I will tell you, I am thrilled with my band. It is definitely the best thing I have done for myself in a very very long time. Also this Forum is awesome! I was worried in the beginning that I wouldn't be truly welcome since I didn't have my surgery with the OCC, but everyone here is so supportive. I wish you lots of luck in your decision, and your husband does have a point in his thinking. It is now in your hands to go for it. Take care and let us know what you decide, Hugs, Kristi