Figured I better make a post to keep this blog alive.

I haven't lost anymore weight. We've had an exceptionally tough year - my mother in law died April 1, our house burned to the ground April 12, and my father died on May 31. My band was so tight due to stress that I had the fill removed. After about 6 wks (and 10 lbs gained), I had it put back in...just in time for my marriage to start getting shaky. All is well now, but that caused my band to get tight again and about the only things I can get down and keep down are the bad foods.

The marriage is back on track, so hopefully, my band will settle down and I can start losing weight again. I don't own a scale yet, so I have no idea how much damage has been done :(

After several months of fighting...I finally gave in and got a fill. I was sick and tired of being sick and tired, so I just wouldn't get a fill, and of course, started gaining weight. I gained about 6 lbs and said enough, so I went in the beginning of January, and since then I've gone from 183 to 175.4! They want me in once a month from now on to monitor me better, so maybe I'll make goal yet!

Just a quickie update...I really haven't forgotten people are checking ;)

I've gotten a lot of emails requesting an update, so here we are.

I haven't been updating the blog because I simply haven't been losing weight. I got down to 178 and haven't budged since - well, nothing lower, although occasionally I jump back up to 180, 181, and then lose again.

I need to be exercising, but my job has become so stressful that I'm just exhausted and numb when I get home - all I want to do is veg.

I had to have a slight unfill last month, and I know I need to be refilled because I'm eating way more than I should be able to, but if I get refilled, I'll get sick over everything I eat.

Ya know, if you're reading this and thinking about lapband surgery, don't let it discourage you. I'm in a very small percentage of people who apparently don't tolerate the band well. The bottom line though is that I HAVE lost 55 lbs, and while still slightly over weight (25 lbs), it's better than being 90 lbs overweight!

I'm a little discouraged, but I've maintained for awhile now that I'm ok being where I am with my weight, and Scott is happy with it, so that works for me. :)

Tomorrow morning, to remember those who died on September 11, 2001

Start weight: 234.5
Current weight: 179.0
Total lost: 55.5


Triple 5s baby! 55.5 lbs down. My fill is one week old and I've lost another pound, finally. Of course, I'm having some food issues (PBing again), but not too badly. I can live with it, just find myself having to do liquids every other day or so. But that's fine as long as the scale is moving again!

I saw Dr. B yesterday, who seemed very pleased with my progress, despite the fact that I haven't lost much weight in the past 2 months. He said I definitely needed a fill, but given my history with fills, that didn't thrill me. He said it would be just a tiny one, and it was...only .1cc. So far, it seems good...I did liquids for 24 hours and am now doing mushies, but am back to only eating about 1/2 of a cup. YAY!

Start weight: 234.5
Current weight: 180.0
Total lost: 54.5

It's been exactly five months yesterday since my surgery. I'm frustrated because I feel like I should have lost more weight than this, and I simply cannot break into the 170s.

I definitely need a fill, but I'm definitely not getting one. I'm still having PB issues, just not as frequently, but I can't see walking in and asking for a .1cc fill...lol...could you imagine the reaction? And really, I wouldn't want any more than that. We'll see how it goes over the next couple of weeks. If I'm truly stuck (and geez, like only a 3 lb loss in the past month isn't stuck?), I'll consider it.

I'm down low enough that I can wear a bikini...maybe I shouldn't, but oh frigging well. I'm comfortable in a regular 14...not 14W, they're too big. Let us not forget that Marilyn Monroe was a size 14 ;)

So...ok where I am, and hope that someday I'll get to goal, but I'm not going to stress over it. With all the issues I've had in the past, this is a great place to be :)

However, I have had to really start upping my vitamin intake, and I'm taking a B-Complex and B-12...my hair is falling out at an incredible rate. It almost nauseates me in the morning when I brush my hair! I just started taking the B's yesterday, so I'm really hoping it helps, and I bought some protein bars today with 32g of protein. I also intend to buy those New Whey tubes with 42g of protein. Between the two, that's 74g of protein a day...hopefully, this will all help!

Start weight: 234.5
Current weight: 183.0
Total lost: 51.5

The scale has finally started moving again, but very slowly. I've upped my protein and calories considerably this week, and I do believe it's made a difference.

Still PBing a lot, and in fact, when I don't get sick for a full day, it is a very good day. Two days go by without getting sick and I start wondering if I need a fill. Don't worry, there isn't one in my future at the moment. I literally can't imagine getting one, and suspect that as quickly as the weight came off at first, I'm just catching up to myself now.

Scott says he can't imagine me losing another 30 lbs, but I am still obviously "a little" overweight, so I'm not done yet. I'm fitting into most 14s comfortably, but haven't even attempted any 12s yet...I'm not even close.

My hair is falling out by the handfuls. I know it'll stop eventually, but DAMN, it's a lot of hair. Thank God my hair is very thick, or I'd be bald.

I keep saying that I need to start doing ab crunches, and yesterday, I found one of my ab CDs, so really, I don't have any excuse not to. I hereby make a goal to start tomorrow night after work.

Start weight: 234.5
Current weight: 187.6
Total lost: 46.9

OK, so here we are, almost 4 months post op. I've been gaining and losing the same 2 lbs since May. By my actions, it would appear that I need another fill (grazing, looking for food). But some days, I get sick on 2 or 3 bites of something, and other days I can eat more food than I should be able to - like last weekend, I think I ate something like 5 BBQ spareribs, and this week, I ate an entire Lean Cuisine meal (pasta, broccoli and chicken) and didn't hiccup once.

I can't figure out a pattern, because sometimes I can eat something on Monday, and on Tuesday the exact same food will make me sick.

I can't stand the idea of getting another fill. I'm getting sick so often that the idea of closing my stoma up more scares the hell out of me. I'll be living on soup and mushies if I do. I DO intend to make a regular (non-fill) appointment with my doctor, just because it's time (he wants to see me once a month, regardless of any issues) and maybe he'll have some ideas.

The good news is, at 187 lbs, I do feel better about myself. Being only 37 lbs overweight is a lot better than being 87 lbs overweight. If I don't lose any more weight, I'll be ok...not great, but ok.

I AM getting more exercise. My office moved up a floor in our building, and I started having to park a block away. So I'm now having to walk that block twice a day, plus run three flights of stairs each way. Also, my new cubicle is a lot further from the door than it used to be, so taking my breaks involves walking approximately a block by the time it's all said and done. I'm hoping the weight stall is because I'm gaining muscle weight.

So, that's where I am at the moment.

Start weight: 234.5
Current weight: 189.6
Total lost: 44.9


Up a pound last Sunday, and haven't budged since. I got a fill yesterday. At the last fill, they said they put in .6cc, but they pulled .7cc yesterday, and then added .2cc more, so I'm up to .9cc. I didn't think it was working until I sat down to dinner tonight...OMG...I ate maybe half a cup of food and I'm stuffed. In fact, I took just "one more bite" and ended up with a quick PB...obviously, that was too much. I'm really hoping this will put me back on the road to losing, since I've only lost 5.2 lbs in the past 31 days.

We'll find out Sunday!

Start weight: 234.5
Current weight: 188.6
Total lost: 45.9

I'm getting very excited about the amount of weight I've lost!! We spent today out at Six Flags, so I'm sure I've walked at least four miles, but of course, I managed to eat quite a bit of junk too - a piece of fudge, a scoop of ice cream, half a chicken egg roll, a few bites of turkey leg - I'm sure I'll be back up to 190 tomorrow, but I know it's temporary :)

It is so awesome that I did all that walking and went up and down stairs, and my knees don't hurt, and really, other than a little leg soreness, I feel great!

It may be finicky, and oh so fickle, but I love having this band!

My band is fine!

They put a .6cc fill in and everything has been fine, so far. The fill nurse said that .6 seemed tight enough to her and it was under fluroscope, so I'm taking her word for it - even if it does seem a tad too lose to me. I'll give it a couple of weeks and then go in and get .2 or .25.

I haven't really lost any weight either since Monday, when they put the fill in. But then too, I seem to lose my weight on the weekends ;)

Start weight: 234.5
Current weight: 190.4
Total lost: 44.1

Well, I'm just ounces away from 50% to my goal weight of 145, although honestly, that may need to be upped to 150-155. I won't know for sure until I get there.

I only lost a little over a pound this week, but still, I lost. My fill is tomorrow morning, and while I'm not entirely sure that I need it, after last weekend, my biggest concern is whether or not my band has slipped, so I'm still going in. I've had some odd pains in the port region this week, and also had a couple of very minor PB episodes, but I think those were because I ate too fast.

I got into my size 14 jeans this weekend and that was pretty exciting! In fact, size 14 was as low as I got on Nutrisystem. These are stretch jeans though, so I'll probably be in them for quite awhile. I do have a few size 12s waiting for me...they were given to me by someone on the NS boards a couple of years ago.

I'll be posting pictures later today.

Got my camera working right, finally! Here's a picture of me before my boss' wedding on 3/31. I was down roughly 30-32 lbs. at the time.