Sistergrl25

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Hey OH fam!  I made it to my 1 year bandiversarry.  I got my annual esophogram done and my doc said everything looked great!  I didn't make my goal of losing the 189 lbs that I set out to but 131 lbs isn't too shabby right?  I got tripped up by some food temptations recently (fell back into some of my old habits) which had me in a rut (which explains why I'm 2 lbs higher than my last post.)  But, I've overcome them and am FINALLY back on the loser's bench...where I plan to stay!  This silicone tool (my band) around my stomach really does make a world of a difference for me.  There are many times where I forget its there and just try to do what I want.  But sooner or later it yells at me and says, "LOOK WE HAVE WORK TO DO!  AND GOALS TO ACCOMPLISH SO STEP AWAY FROM THE DONUTS!"  Yea donuts are my weakness ya'll...I was a regular at ALL of the dunkin donuts and I am NOT a coffee drinker at all!  But that has changed like so many other things.  What a difference a year makes?  Last year around this time (pre-band) I was about a size 28 wondering if I'd have to be shopping for size 30s at the age of 25.  And now I can fit size 14s. 

Its almost bitter-sweet though OH because when people ask me how much I've lost and I say "130 lbs!"  I know they're thinking (and I think it too) "you've lost 130 lbs are still obese (228 lbs is still obese @ 5'8 but no longer morbidly)."  I know its a great accomplishment but I can't help but think, "wow I was almost 400 lbs!"  How could I have let myself get that way?  And even worse how was I able to get away with it for sooooo long?  When I talk about this with family and friends they're always like, "we would never have let you get to 400 lbs Sara."  I'm like well you let me get to 359 lbs.   Thats close enough!  And the fact of the matter is OH my family and friends (or anyone else for that matter) can't/could not help me no matter how much they love me.  Because this is something you truly have to want for yourself.  And you have to want it bad enough to go after it at whatever cost.  And also because they have yet to over come their own weight issues (although none as extreme as mine.)  Either way OH I'm done looking at into the past...onward and upwad is my motto! 

My latest and greatest goal is to be no more than 199 lbs by the years end (I have NEVER seen that # on MY scale!)  What a joyous occasion that will be!  I'll be sure to keep you posted!

Sara

Hey OH Fam! I know this is sooooo long overdue. I’m on here almost everyday updating my health tracker, and checking up on the success of others but always find it so difficult to report on my own. It’s sad because I always have so many thoughts running through my mind that I’d like to share. I feel like sharing as much as you can regarding this journey is so important. Reading the experiences others has helped me in so many ways. That’s why I “try” to keep my info updated so that maybe I can help someone else just starting out or needing some motivation or inspiration. But I’ll just keep reporting condensed versions until I fully get the hang of this.   

Anyway I’ve lost about 133 lbs to date OH! And I only have about 56 more to goal! It’s really hard for me to believe because I remember when those numbers were flipped around and I had lost about 56 with 133 or so more to go. I was like, “am I really going to be able to make it to goal? This road is gonna be longer than I thought” Its really bitter sweet (at least for me) when I see people that had (lap-band) surgery right around the same time I did and or are already at goal or really close to it. I say “bitter” because I feel like I should be at goal as well and I feel like I’m slacking and “sweet” because I get so inspired by these people and feel so happy for them. When I tell my friends and family this they’re like, “are you kidding me? Look at all you’ve taken off in less than a year!” I am really proud of myself yall, don’t get me wrong. I just have a really competitive nature which I embrace because it really gets and keeps me going. I also have to remind myself that I started out a lot heavier than most lap-band patients do (359 to be exact.) Plus I don’t believe in nor do I ever deprive myself of anything. I believe in order to be successful there must be a balance. I have my cheat days (probably waaaay too many) but once I them out of my system its back to work. My doc is very happy with my progress and credits me for losing like a bypasser.   

But don’t be fooled OH it has not been all roses and daisies. My band and I are still working on being on the same page at ALL TIMES. Its funny cause when I first got out of surgery I had absolutely noooo apetite, this was probably due to the swelling and all. Then a week later the hunger monster was back! And for months I felt like I had no band. I was losing weight, but I felt like it was due to my efforts alone. I didn’t feel ANY restriction for about the first 2 months or so. I kept reading about people’s PBing stories early in the game and still had no sign of any band around my stomach. So of course I kept visiting my surgeon until I got good restriction. I felt good restriction at about the 4^th fill. That’s right around when I first experienced “PBing and getting stuck”….oooh my. I wouldn’t wish “getting stuck” on my worst enemy. That feeling kept me pushing away from the table all through the holidays (to avoid that is.) While others were gaining I was dropping…it was great!!!! LOL! That lasted a few months because shortly there after (right around February) I felt like I was slowly losing that restriction. So of course I scheduled another fill right away. And the same thing repeated it self until recently. I would have good restriction then feel like slowly but surely I could eat a bit more. I never would get loose enough to the point where I could eat like I did pre-band.  But I just wouldn’t feel like I was where I needed to be for optimal weight loss. I had goals meet!!!!   

So right before I went on my vacation on August 8^th. I had a fill scheduled just to make sure I wouldn’t go crazy in Trinidad (I really had a great time yall…pics soon to come) I mentioned my fill appt to my friend and he brought me back to planet earth as I so often need to be…LOL! He was like, “why would you have a fill so close to vacation? What if you’re too tight? I’m not spending my vacation with you in the hospital!” Realizing he had a point I was able to move my date up to avoid getting filled too close to vacation. After all we would be out of the country for a week. So of course I go see my rock-star surgeon Dr K. (she really is the best yall) and she gave me a speech about how everyone always wants to test the band, about how was too young for anything to happen to me, and about how I’m already progressing so well she didn’t see why I would needed a fill. But of course I had to insist that it was for the best. So she gave me a slight fill. And I was fine the first couple of days. I felt like I had finally hit my sweet spot. A few bits and I was done. And the scale was moving right like it should…down! I was loving it!!!! But this was short lived because 1 day before my trip (and thank God not a day later) I got soooooo tight OH that I couldn’t even drink water. I was vomiting everything! I felt as though if I so much as looked at food I would throw up. I was at work feeling miserable! So I had to make an emergency trip to see my doc to put me out of my misery. After waiting what seemed to be an eternity she came in and was like, “what are you doing here? After I gave her the run down she gave me the “I told you so speech,” removed a small amount a fluid from the band (about double what she had just put in a last week) and sent me on my way. I felt soooo much better. And surprisingly I found that I still had great restriction. So off to Trindad I was…well I drank more than anything because I found it really hard to eat. Some things were easier to take down than others (most of the unhealthy stuff that is) but I still couldn’t eat much. And a lot of what I could eat came right back up no matter how slow ate. In all I PBed so much that I ended up with dark spots on my teeth OH. Not cute at all! My dentist and I will be working that out next week. Good thing the invisaligns I’m getting come with bleeching trays as well. I can’t be sexy with jack-up teeth! LOL! But has anyone else experienced this? I’ve heard that vomiting can ruin your teeth due to the acid from the stomach but I thought that was over a long period of time. I have yet to come across this topic in my research so if anyone else has please let me know.  

Anyway, this on and off restriction continued up until last Friday morning when I made another emergency trip to my surgeons office for another unfill. It was so bad I thought my band had slipped I was like pleeeeeaaase don’t let that have been the case. But once again a slight unfill did the trick and I was able to guzzle gallons of water again where before I couldn’t even take a sip! I expressed my concerns to the nurse who did my unfill (she’s had a band for over 5 years) she assured me that everything was fine and said that the band can be fickle that way. And she didn’t want to remove too much since I was doing so well. So after all of these ups and downs I feel ok and do still feel like I have good restriction (not overwhelming.) I still wouldn’t change a thing if given the opportunity for the following reasons:  

-I hadn’t seen my BFF in about 5 months, when I met up with her last Fri her exact words were, “you need to stop…you need to stop! OMG!”
-I can fit clothes from stores like the Gap, Victoria Secrets Pink collection. I’m “squeezing” into size 14s…LOL! 
-I’m getting rid of a lot of clothes yall including size 18s and I’m wearing dresses comfortably. Something I did not care for when I was in the 300s.
-I went to a friends bday party on fri (I hadn’t seen her in 2 years) she said she almost walked right past me.
-One of my other friends actually guessed my weight to be 180…really????? I’m around 230 yall.
-I went down a shoe size!
-I’m saving on my grocery bills!
-Bathing suit shopping was not as dreadful as it had been
-I’m actually jogging/running for miles at a time (I still take breaks though yall…not there yet but close.)
-I’m still getting compliments everyday
-My new nickname is skinny (soooo…not the case but its better than big mama)
-I can actually see the light at the end of the tunnel.
-My BFF actually told me to schedule my plastics consult for the end of the year….I have quite a bit of loose skin mostly on my upper arms and stomach area…nothing too severe…yet!
-I can squeeze into my sister’s, mom’s and cousins clothing (this is major for me yall cause for a long time I was at least 150 lbs heavier than all of my friends and family!
-My BFF and I can now share clothes…this is both good and bad cause now I have no excuse not to share…LOL!
-And many more!  

Latest and Greatest goals:
-to be a size 12 by my bandiversary (Sept 25^th)…this will be major as I’ve NEVER been less than an 18 EVER…until recently!
-to be below 220 by my bandiversay!
-to be NO MORE THAN 190 by Dec 31^st…also very major!  

Well until next time OH…I’ll see you at the finish line!!!  

Sara

Hey OH  fam!  I know its been a while.  YESTERDAY WAS MY 9 MONTH BANDIVERSARY And I promise you I'm working on the pics I will have my before and currents up this weekend (I'd rather not post pics while at work.)  So I'll work on it at home.  But I'm pleased to announce that I'm down 112.5 as of this morning (76.5 more to go.)  I was stalled for almost a month which was sooooo...frustrating especially since I've gotten used to dropping 2-4 lbs/week since I started this journey.  And I don't use the word "journey" lightly!  This is a process/journey in every since of those words.  I've had sooo many ups, downs arounds and so forth.  But hey no one said it would be easy...just that it would all be worth it in the end!  And I must admit that so far it definitely has been!  I have waaaay too many NSVs (non-scale victories) to even list.  But they include:
-Being unrecognizable to people I haven't seen in a while (an old friend almost bumped into at the mall b4 she knew it was me)
-Compliments coming from some of everywhere: neighbors, my dr.'s, friends, people at the gym, people i've never even spoke to before, family...everywhere. 
-Being able to pack up my (formerly skin-tight size 28 clothes) Now I'm a 16 headed for a 14! 
-Being able to shop at NY&CO instead of being confined to Lane Bryant and Ashelye Stewart.  So freeing!
-Being able to jog, run, speed walk on an incline w/o feeling like I'm struggling to breath!
-Being able to cross my legs...I can give myself a pedi now! (I still go to the nail salon though...lol)
-SITTING COMFORTABLY ON THE TRAIN, BUS, PLANE even with someone sitting next to me ON BOTH SIDES!)
-No longer being the fattest person in the room...anywhere I go!

I can go on forever but you get the gist and I can't wait to experience many more! 

But let me explain what I think helped my out of my plateau for those that are struggling. I got a fill last week because I felt like I was eating way too much.  Which is funny before last time I had my fluid level altered my doc removed 0.1 ccs.  I had 0.2 ccs added last fri and there is a major diff.  I now have 10.7 ccs in my 14 cc band.  I subsequently changed my diet to include smaller portions and more whole foods (I relied alot more on atkins protein shakes before...dr. recommended it.)  I changed my workouts to include more cardio (about 6-7 days/week...before it was about 4-5.)  And I now workout in the morning before work.  Its brutal, but worth it.  I still weight train 2-3 times/week and eat about 4xs/day...maybe 5. 

But gotta get back to work my OH people...ttyl! 

Hey OH fam! Sorry for playing Casper the friendly ghost for so long. But I’m pleased to announce that I am officially down 102.5 lbs! I’m sitting pretty at 256.5 (BMI 37.9) as of this morning with 86.5 more lbs til goal. Might I remind you I started this journey at a miserable 359 lbs (BMI 53).    One of my short-term goals was to be 240’s-ish by Memorial day which is only less than 1 week away but I’m happy regardless of whether I make that or not. I’ll be flying to ATL that weekend to see family I haven’t seen in a while so I know they’ll be shocked to see the smaller me. I’ve been getting compliments left and right. I think the funniest ones come from my co-workers. One of men in my office just stared at me with a confused look on his face one day and said, “you’re a lot skinnier these days.” From others I get, “you’re wasting away!” One of my co-workers (who has had much gradual weight loss success herself through weight watchers) actually guessed my weight to be 210 lbs. I said “I wish, but not yet!” Guess I can attribute that to all the hours I’ve put in weight training.   

Anyway let me up update you on what I’ve been up to since my last post in Dec. Not much happened in Jan that I can remember. I believe that was the month of my 5^th fill. In Feb I met up with another OH member SexyVT and we went on a group ski trip and had a blast in a half! She is also doing her thang and losing weight. We’ve already planned our “skinny shopping trip,” and have come up with a list of stores in which we plan to do some major damage in. I also got a slight unfill in Feb because I was having major trouble getting and keeping my food down. The scale did move a lot more but the pain during meal times was unbearable…No big developments in March, I had a routine follow-up and doc said I was doing great and was very impressed. 

April was my bday month and one of my gifts to myself was the apex bodybugg.    This expensive piece of technology is an armband that I wear all time and keeps track of the number of calories I burn throughout the day. It comes with an online program where you upload your data from the armband and can set your goals, enter your meals and basically monitor your overall progress. Entering the food I eat on a daily basis I find to be waaaay too time consuming since I would rather be studying for my GMAT. So I personally only use it for calories tracking. It’s great cause I find my self being very innovation with my exercise routines, taking the stairs more where ever I go and working harder at the gym or at the park. My daily activity target is 3250 cals/day which I thought was ridiculous at first but soon realized I could do it everyday by pushing myself a little harder. An hour of combat, or high impact aerobics followed my weight training or a solid hour of high intensity cardio on the treadmill and cross-trainner always helps to get me there.   

As far as this month goes I’ve been doing a lot of shopping! All of my clothes (including my formally skin tight and not right clothes) look like trash bags on me. So in the mist of this deep recession I had to track down some coupons and hit the stores. I’ve brought a lot of clothes a size smaller since I still have a lot more to lose. I think I may have gotten ahead of myself with a pair of skinny jeans but I’m almost in them…maybe another month or so til I can really rock them.   

So there you have it OH the past 4 ½ months in a nut shell. I planned on being at goal by my 1 year bandiversary on Sept 25^th. But I have a lot of work to do and a short time to do it in. But I’m up for the challenge. I’ll be sure to keep you posted along my journey. Until next time…always keep your eye on the prize!!!!! Also I’ll be posting some new pics as soon as I get a chance!

Hey OH fam, I know its been a minute since my last post but here I am.  I've had 2 mini vacations (Florida and Canada)  and am fianally back into the swing of things.  I had tons of fun re-connecting with my siblings in Florida and we are now planning trips to make up for lost time.  Canada was fun too although spending 12 hrs driving in a car during a winter storm advisory was not.  But we had alot of fun at the wedding we drove up there for.  FYI:  My seat belt fit alot more easily on the airplane...holla!!!!

I was determined to get another post in before 08' was over and whole new year begins.  I was determined to be great in 08' and I feel like I kept to that resolve because I had finally took the plunge and got the band a little over 3 months ago (Christmas was my 3 month bandiversary.)  Wow 3 months already!  Where has the time gone?  Anyway, since I started this journey I promised myself that I would set, track and achieve various goals continuously.  One of my biggest goals was to get out of the 300's FOR GOOD!  And last Wed I weighed in at 294!  Thats a total weight lose of 65 lbs so far(25lbs before surgery!)  Being that my goal is to lose a total of 189 lbs I calculated that I have lost about 35% of that and have lost 18% of my intial body weight (yea yall I'm really obsessed with this I almost have it down to a science)  LOL!  While I'm speaking in my Biggest Loser voice let me give a shout out to Michelle A. for bringing home the title and not allowing Vicky or Heba to take it I would have been MADDEEER if that had been the case!  That is my show I just can't wait for the new season next week!  Getting back...sorry for the tangent...I had set a goal of 285 lbs by Jan 1st and had clearly am 9 lbs aways from that with only 2 now left in the year.  Never the less, I am determined to get as close to the goal as possible and not exceed that deadline by too many days.  So I have beefed up my exercise routine (I'm very sore as I type this...lol)  and am keeping my indulgances to a minimum (although all bets were off on Christmas...lol!)  I have set my next goal to lose a minimum of 20 lbs in the month of January and 30 by Valentine's day.  I know it sounds extreme, but I believe in setting the barring high in order to push myself that much harder.  I have spend waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much time being morbidly obese and would very much like to limit anymore time spent in that category!  This weight has held me back for long enough!  Plus summer is coming and I'm looking forward to rocking tank tops, halter tops and shopping expanding my shopping options! 

Anyway, I got a WII fit for Christmas yall among other things!  But thats yet another way to burn more kcals.  Because I kow once I pop I will not be able to stop.  My cousin in I are planning on creating a fitness room out of the spare bedroom.  I'll let ya'll know how that goes but right now my bedroom doubles as my fitness room.  This Wed I go for my 5th fill which I'm excited about.  I felt the 4th one more than I did the first 3 and it really did force me to change how and what I eat.  For instance, bread will no longer be on my shopping list.  Eating it is just waaaaaay too painful even half a slice.  No big loss there....But I am eating much more slowly and spend alot more time chewing my food.  I am now up to 10.6ccs in my 11cc band and will probably go up to 10.7 Wed.  While I do feel restriction as to what I can eat I don't really feel too much restriction as far as how much I can eat.  So I plan on getting fills until I get to that point.  Well OH thats my update until next time.  Hope your Christmas was great and Have a Happy New Year! -Sara

Hey OH family,

I lost 4 lbs this week (55 lbs in total)!  And am sitting here sore as hell from the gym.  My workouts are taking a toll on me but seeing that scale move downwards makes it all worth it every week.  I was really surprised with my numbers considering I had gone cake happy again last weekend.  Cake for my sister's bday, cake for my co-workers retirement and more cake at a fashion show event in NY!  Its almost like I can have my cake and eat it too. LOL!  I probably could have lost more if I kept away but its just something about that icing that beckons me.  Anyway, I'm working on getting better and currently thinking of ways not to go crazy for Thanksgiving.  I got another fill on Mon.  It was only 1 week since my last one but I didn't feel any difference so I went back before Dr. K left for vacation.  She brought me to 10.2 ccs.  Which surprised me since I thought I had a 10cc band all along.  Turns out its an 11cc band.  That explains alot.  I still don't feel as restricted as I think I should or could so I think I'll be returning in another 3 weeks for a 4th fill.  I'll be sure to keep you posted.  Until then Have a Happy Thanksgiving all!

Hey all! 

First and foremost I must say congrats to President-Elect Barack Obama!!!  I can't believe I'm seeing a black first family in my lifetime!  I was soooo...excited and can't wait for what's to come!  I have to get down to DC for the inauguration. We have come a loooooong way.

But back to my update....Its been a minute since I last updated.  I'm trying to update every week, since I only weigh-in once a week (I would lose my mind otherwise with fluctuation numbers) but that hasn't been going as planned.  I'm working on it though.  Anyway, I weighed in today at 308lbs.  Down 4 lbs from last week.  Which is pretty good considering Me and my best friend over indulged last week and had a whole cake, appetizer and drinks last weekend.  She coaxed me into it since we never got a chance to celebrate her bday last month.  But I do take the blame.  Needless to say I got really sick since I haven't gone hay-wire in a while (TMI i know.)  But I'm back on track and tried to make up for it this week but cutting back my kcals.  Clearly I have no real restriction. 

I had my 2nd fill on Monday.  My doc says she can tell I'm losing inches but would like to get aggressive with my fill since I had only lost 2 lbs in the last 3 weeks since I saw her.  She said the syringe showed that my band had 8ccs so she added 1.6 ccs for a total of 9.6ccs.  I really don't feel a difference so I'm beginning to wonder if I really have a band.  But they say 3rd times a charm and I'm hoping that is the case.  But I'll let you guys know my next vist is currently scheduled for 12/1 (if I don't make it sooner.)  I can't wait to be out of the 300s!

Until next time think slim thoughts LOL!

So now I'm about 1 month and 1 week out of surgery and weighed in today at 312 lbs.  Which means a total weight loss of 47 lbs so far!  I had my first fill last week.  Dr. K. said I was doing very well and that I had lost 11 lbs since surgery.  See what like "do you even need a fill?"  And I said "yes because I do spend alot of time in the gym and feel as if I should be eating less even still.

She said that my band already contained 5cc (10cc band) from surgery.  I didn't even know they could do that.  So she only added 2ccs, bringing me to a total of 7ccs.  She said I she be good at 9.  She we'll see my next fill is scheduled for Nov. 10th.  My goal is to be out of the 300s by then.  That would mean a 15 lbs weight loss since my last appt....pretty agressive but I am up for the challenge. 

I am really sore right now from the gym.  I just got back into weight lifting and am feeling the burn!  Well until next time...

I'm banded ya'll!!!!!  I weighed 325 lbs the day of surgery!  I could not believe it!  I had lost about 25 lbs pre-op dieting in 2 weeks!  Liquids and exercise really do work miracles.  But I don't think I could live on liquids for long.  Surprisingly I was not nervous at all the day of surgery.  More so shocked to find out that it costs $28,000.00 geez....thats a car.  Thank god for insurance!  But the nurses and surgeon kept me so distracted with their jokes it was almost like I went to bed and woke up banded.  I woke very dry mouthed requesting ice and water which I took down without a problem.

Today is my first day back to work.  None of my co-workers know about the surgery so everything is status quo.  The last couple of days post-surgery I spent relaxing, updating family on my status, doing alot of walking (to release this gas), even went to church on Sunday. 

The pain has gradually diminshed.  Soooo...looking forward to the puree phase.  I'm now sick of liquids.  I've resorted to sucking on sun flower seeds.  LOL!

3 days before surgery!  I'm am seriously excited and can not wait...I started this journey back in July and never thought the day would come.  I began this journey at 349 lbs.  And have lost 15 lbs on the pre-op diet thus far (now 334)!  My first mini-goal was to be 330 lbs by surgery.  So I'm hoping to be down another 4 lbs by Thurs.