Kristi

Angie, I have said it before, but I will say it again, YOU ROCK! You are so inspiring, fearless and amazing. Loved the video. Hugs, Kristi

Hi Sabrina, I usually eat about 3/4 - 1 cup of food. I eat boneless chicken, salmon, and love turkey meatballs. Not a whole lot, except chicken. I worry about malnutrition too, I see the Doc next Thursday and did blood work for vitamins last week, so I am hoping I am ok. I guess I will find out on Thursday. But I do feel great. Hugs, Kristi

GUESS WHAT, GUESS WHAT, GUESS WHAT......... 100 POUNDS GONE!!!! WOOHOO Scale: 138 This is a good and happy week. Carrie, I saw that you put a turkey burger recipe on here. That looks so good. I plan on making them sometime this weekend, probably Saturday night. Yum.. Hugs, Kristi Congrats to all the losers this week!

Good Morning, So as I have followed this the last couple of days, I figured I would put my two cents in. It is very hard to wrap my mind around the weight-loss. I, like Carrie, still see smaller versions of the big girl I was. Even at a size 4, I get a glimpse of the new me and as soon as the glimpse is done, there is that smaller fluffy version. It can be very frustrating to deal with at times. I can also look at pictures and see the new me, but I will take a look in the mirror and it doesn't feel real at times. I have been getting used to it, slowly. I guess my biggest fear is that I will end up back where I was. I have been learning to accept the changes that have taken place. My best friend says I am having a hard time accepting it because I lost it way faster than I ever expected to. Even my Doctor, has been shocked with it all. I never really had any expectations with my band. I just figured if I followed what the Docs told me with the band, maybe this time the struggle with weight-loss would not be as bad. Through all this, with help from my husband, family, friends, and my friends here, I have come pretty far. I have learned to not only like myself, but to really love me again. I may not always see the new me all the time, but it is getting better everyday. I am happy with that. As the saying goes, Baby Steps. Kristi

Stormy, Congrats on your new restriction. 4 pound loss is WONDERFUL! Hugs, Kristi

Suzpars, Happy Bandaversary! Congrats on your success. Hugs, Kristi

This morning, the scale gave me a number that was good good good, 139.7 Angie, I am so excited for you. It sounds like a sweet spot for now. Congrats! Sabrina, woohoo. You dropped that vacation weight like a champion. I have a feeling when I go to Hawaii in March, I am probably going to be gaining a bit too, and I hope I can do the same. Debbie, Great job! You really amaze me. Lindsay, 20 pounds till goal, AWESOME!! I have seen your pics you put up and you look great. Bogiesmom, It is so wonderful to break a plateau. Victory! Amy, Good for you. Excellent. Shelby, I hope you feel better soon. Carrie, I have found that 3 meals a day are so needed. I find if I don't eat right by having them 3 meals a day, I don't lose. I have just re-started that because I was being bad and not eating since I wasn't hungry. Bad me. I love refried beans, never thought about dipping them in ranch. That does sound yummy. But I also love steak, chicken, or burgers and blue cheese dressing. It tastes so good to me. Thank you for what you said last week. I really needed that. BTW, I found at a restaurant called Islands, they make a fabulous Turkey Burger. It isn't like a turkey burger patty at all. So good and fresh! Great on protein too. Hugs to all, Kristi

Sue, It sounds like some wonderful things have changed for you. Congrats! You have done Wonderfully with your band. Hugs, Kristi

Sueca, Congrats on your success getting to goal. That is a bummer that you are having issues with eating. It's a good thing you are gonna get everything checked out. Smart thing to do. I saw that you put that you are cold all the time now that you are at 135. I have noticed that I get very cold too easily. What else have you noticed since getting to this weight? What size did you start at, and at now? Success stories are always awesome to read about. Hugs, Kristi

Angie, Wow, what a munchkin. Good for you getting the camera for momarazzi time. LOL... And being so patient. I am not sure how I would have reacted, but good job on the mommy control. Hugs, Kristi

Angie, What an awesome BMI calculator. I love it. You are such a wealth of knowledge. Oh, and it my favorite Calculator too. Hugs, Kristi

Hello, Bogiesmom, Don't be discouraged. Seeing the scale not move can be frustrating, I know that as well as anybody else. Just need to remember that every now and then. You are doing great, out little Bandita. Amy, Focusing on the scale is very hard to do. I think I weighed myself the first 2 months straight and I swear it was starting to drive me a bit mad. Then a very wise woman , challenged me to stop the madness and the scale addiction. I can't say it is always easy, but now I try my best to only weigh in on Wednesdays. Debbie, Thank you. Zoey, Woohoo for inches, I agree that workouts will make a great difference. Tangerine, Congrats and welcome to Bandland. It really is an amazing feeling to get back into clothes that haven't fit in a while. Hugs to all, Kristi

I was addicted to diet sodas for years before my surgery. My favorite was Diet Cherry Coke. In March last year when they gave me the go ahead for surgery, I weaned myself off of them completely. First by letting myself have 2 sodas a week and then down to 1 and then none after April 24th. So by the time I had surgery it wasn't even a thought in my mind. This summer in August I accidentally took a small sip of my sons rootbeer, it was in the back seat pocket of my Dad's car and next to my water and it was horrible tasting. Luckily it did not give me gas pains, probably because I only had a very small sip, but it tasted HORRIBLE.

I didn't do the shakes and lean cuisines for my Pre-op. Mostly I drank protein drinks for morning, then ate a protein and veggie for lunch and dinner. I tried to get used to eating that way before my surgery and then after post-op liquids phase it wouldn't take me by surprise. I did do the Pre-op liquids before and then after for Post-op.

Angie, You are so great!!! Hugs, Kristi

Janelle, Great link, thank you. I am a nutrition major, so I do know that a pound of muscle is the same as a pound of fat in weight. So that link is wonderful, because it shows others that the 5 pound of muscle is pretty close to 3X smaller than 5 pounds of fat. This is exactly what I meant. Great job! Carrie, Woohoo... the 10s are getting loose.... Here comes the single digits!!! Hugs, Kristi

Good Morning All, Well, I wanted to re-post what I put on the Wednesday Weigh-in as a special note to Carrie and others, because I felt like I had a profound moment. So here goes: Losing inches are very important. It is not always about the number on the scale. I am very confident about that because, and here is why, in my opinion, I have lost roughly about 25-26 pounds since we started this Wednesday weigh-in back in the end of September. In clothes, it used to be for every 15-20 pounds of weight-loss, I would go down a size. Well, I have gone from a size 12-10 in September/October to a size 4 now. My estimates in weight-loss numbers should have me at about a size 8, not a 4. I know I have lost quite a bit in inches since we started this. It is not always about the scale, as most of us have seen. And for anyone who is worried that the scale is not moving, but your clothes are looser, YOU are doing PHENOMENAL! Don't doubt yourself. Remember, muscle weighs MORE than fat, heck, I have to remember that too. What do you think? Hugs, Kristi

Good Morning, Well, I am a day late. Ooppss.. I realized yesterday after breakfast that I forgot to weigh in, so here I am. Last week, 140.6............this week, 140.4 I can so taste the 130s. (Didn't think I would be here ever again or ever actually think I'd get to them again.) Maybe next week is the week to get there. I hope so. Hugs, Kristi Yes, Congrats to all the Losers this week! Carrie, losing inches are very important. It is not always about the number on the scale. I am very confident about that because, and here is why, in my opinion, I have lost roughly about 25-26 pounds since we started this Wednesday weigh-in back in the end of September. In clothes, it used to be for every 15-20 pounds of weight-loss, I would go down a size. Well, I have gone from a size 12-10 in September/October to a size 4 now. My estimates in weight-loss numbers should have me at about a size 8, not a 4. I know I have lost quite a bit in inches since we started this. It is not always about the scale, as most of us have seen. And for anyone who is worried that the scale is not moving, but your clothes are looser, YOU are doing PHENOMENAL! Don't doubt yourself. Remember, muscle weighs MORE than fat, heck, I have to remember that too.

Rick, Welcome to Bandland and congrats on your weight-loss to date. This forum/group is really awesome. Kristi (Amy, LOL.. fummy farm... LOL

Carrie, Woohoo!! I am here doing the happy dance with you and for you. You will have those 7 pounds off in no time. How exciting. Hugs, Kristi

Lindsay, Congrats! Isn't it such a great feeling just knowing what you have accomplished? You must be getting really close to your goal. Again, Congrats!! Hugs, Kristi

Hello, If my memory serves me, I think I had scrambled eggs or should I say scrambled egg for my first meal. It was yummy. Just remember when you get to eat, eat slowly and small bites. Very Very important.

Debbie, CONGRATS!!! CONGRATS!!! CONGRATS!!! Very impressive. I am thrilled you shared that with all of us. Such an awesome accomplishment! I have about 2 more pounds to go before I hit my 100 mark. Great Job! Hugs, Kristi

Hi Angie, Wow, I have never seen anything like that. ( The only thing close to that for me was when I had the upper GI before I had my band surgery.) Very cool. I am glad you put this up here. Hugs, Kristi

Hello All, I am one of the few on this forum that actually did not have my surgery at OCC. My husband is in the military, so the military hospitals have done my fills. Although, there is no flouro, which I am bummed for not having. However, now that my original doc has left the hospital and the Navy, I am trying to get another doc for my follow-up care.