AUGUST BAND BABIES and FRIENDS -LONG TIME NO POST

Hey John!!! how r u? i see you and your band are still doing fantastic! we need to do another kind of challenge...christmas challenge was so fun! congrats, take care.

Hello there 8/07 band babies! It is sooooo good to hear from everyone and hear about the progress, these are some really impressive numbers I just read about! Keep up the great worl everybody. Here is my update, I had lost a combined total of about 70 lbs (pre & post surgery), and had some setbacks here lately with gaining a few pounds, but getting back on track and taking it one day at a time. I have consistently been going to the gym about 4-5 times a week and working out for about 1-1.5 hours. My knees are sooo much better, I am able to walk and stand w/o haveing hose issues anymore, that is very exciting, I feel great, my blood pressure meds were lowered shortly after I had the surgery! I have gone from a 26/28 to a 18/20 depending on the cut, so all in all I am happy with that, I really should be further along, but I have had some minor setbacks(that was my fault , of course). It is amazing to hear that some of us are having similar issues, I too, cannot eat much of anything in the morning w/o it getting stuck! Normally, I just have a protein shake every morning. I have had quite a bit of episodeswith getting stuck , and trust me they are no fun! My last fill was Jan.14th and it was my third one, after that one I have to say I really knew I had the band! My food has to be chewed really well, and most of the times, I go for the softer options! There are several foods that give me a hard time, but it is really just trial and error, what may get stuck today, may not necessarily get stuck tomorrow! About loving or hating the band, I would have to say neither one, I do like it (certain days, that is!). Unfortunately, I was a junk food eater before the surgery and still am, none of the things I NOT suppose to have do I ever get stuck when eating them, they all go down pretty smoothly, that is the reason for the setbacks. Right now, I'm not sure what my band is doing, I noticed that I can eat a whole lot more, but I am really nervous about going in to get another fill, my last fill, he said I was pretty tight. I am really excited about my new life and I am very determined to get on track and stay on track for the duration. I look forward to continue hearing about everyone's progress, and let's stay in touch and not wait so long before we get the updates. Take care

Girl, I am right there with you!   some things go down one day; and get stuck the next.  Kinda freaks me out a little but still -- we need to look at the fact that without having this surgery, we could have been 50 lbs heavier and not lighter. So - HALLELUYER to all of us! LOL best, Nilsa

Yes, that is soooo true, its all about our perspective! Come on over and check out my new photos!

Hello! It is so good to hear from everyone, like a mini reunion! My weight loss has slowed over the last 2 months but my exercise is consistent so I am losing more inches than pounds.  I have lost almost 75 lbs and over 73 inches!  I feel great and I think I am looking pretty good too!  My daughter says I am not so "chubby" anymore.  I log my calories each day on fitday.com and work out 4 days a week at the Y doing kickboxing and Tae-Bo classes and I walk most weekdays at lunch for an hour.  The exercise definitely makes a difference. I still struggle with wanting to eat a large amount of food.  That part of my brain hasn't switched yet.  Fortunately the band prevents this. I also broke down and ordered the Bodybugg.  I am hoping it will help me further analyze my input and output of calories. Congratulations to us all on our Successes and thanks to Nilsa for getting us together! Susan

Susan: I have to start exercing.  i have been pathetic and have not done so at all, since surgery.  i mean, don't get me wrong.  I believe that my weight loss is attributableto movement.  I run around my office like a chicken without a head, all day long, seriously.  i really count it as cardio. I am assigned to work with 7 attorneys!    can you imagine?  7 to 1. but - it is better than being unemployed. anyway guys.   ra ra ra; see you soon, keep it moving.  oh.  any suggestions for exercises that will strenthen the knees?  i heard thigh exercises will do it. best .nilsa

OH!  LOVE THE HAIRCUT!  WHOOO HOOO.  love it.

I have finally started losing weight again. I had a lot of trouble with my first surgeon. He refused to provide the aftercare that I needed. Because of that (and my lack of will power) I regained EVERYTHING that I lost the first month after surgery! I had surgery at 265, and got down to 244 that first month. Then I had NO restriction for so long that I gained it all back. After gaining the weight back my body would not let go again. I did some research and thought that maybe my IUD was hindering my loss. I had that out last month and sure enough just this last week I've started dropping like crazy! I was 249 on Friday morning and I'm 244.2 this morning!! I'll take 5 lbs in less than a week anytime. Hopefully I'm done with my troubles and will continue on the downward trend. I have had a lot of success even though the scale hadn't been moving. At my highest (315) I was squeezing myself into a 28 top and bottom. Sometimes a 4x shirt if I could find them... Now I'm happy to report that I can shop in REGULAR stores! I'm a 18-20 regular (no W!!!) and my shirts are an XL. I am more active than anyone else I know. I'm training for the Breast Cancer 3 Day in DC, doing yard work, keeping up with my 3 year old... The best part is that I'm only 7 lbs heavier than my husband. He has always been SO MUCH lighter than I was... I hope to blow past him sometime in the next two weeks!

Well, now that I've written a novel... Have a great day everyone!

hey missnilsa! sorry it took such a long time for me to reply, i just came back form a loonnng vacation! everything is fine with me too, ive been a litlte slow on the weight loss since december, but im still losing, and im still very happy with my band! last time i had a fill was in november i believe...and nothing since,im at 7.4 cc and its still does the trick LOL. Today i was 82 pounds down since surgery day, i was surprised because last time i got on the scale was at the begining of march, before going on vacation, so eventhough i ate pretty good i still lost about  15 pounds in a couple of months. My biggest challenge is still working out, ive been saying im going to workout for the past 9 months! i dont know what is going to get me started but i need to do something about it. I have my next follow up visit on may 19, i cant wait to have my xray done because im always anxious to know if everything is fine with my band!  Take care, talk to u soon.

Hello!  Hopefully better late than never on the post.  I started out really good.  by December I was down 50 pounds and closing on the elusive 200 pound mark.  I started throwing up alot and had to be unfilled.  I gained back 15 pounds in 2 weeks without my fill in.  I had gotten down to 203 and went back up to 218.  I've not had the fill in for 3 months now and still puke quite a bit. (still at 218)  I'd give anything to have a revision to RNY.  I've always been a junk food eater and unfortunately the junkie food I like goes down still with the band while the healthier choices don't. I was at the doc's today and had an upper GI.  My pouch is dilated and he's asked me to go to retraining with a nutrionist.  I don't regret the band but definitely think based on my habits I probably should have gone the other route.  For now, I'm going to give it an honest try and get back on track.  I want so badly to see the other side of 200.  I exercised a whole bunch initially but once I started having trouble in January and the weather got bad I stopped and just haven't started back. I'm so proud of all of you that have lost so much. Keep up the good work and wish me luck.  I can't wait to be right there with you and be able to brag about 70+, 80+ etc pounds lost. Laurel