Another .5cc

Went for my fill today and asked for just .5cc since I am feeling quite a bit of restriction at times. So far, so good, but I'm still on liquids. I'm starving right now and craving sweets, so I'm gonna suck on my sugar free Werther's candies.

Anyway, I'll keep you updated as to how this fill goes tomorrow.

Did I mention that hubby and I are going away on Monday for a Vegas trip without the kids??? Yep, that's right, two wonderful nights of just us. My kids are staying with my mom and will have a great time. We don't get to do this much, and are soooo looking forward to this trip.

Not A Good Monday

Well, today is weigh in day and I have been soooo bad over the weekend. I said I was going to be good, but I wasn't. It's getting close to that time of the month again and my band is acting weird. I've gotten stuck a few times, and it goes from tight to loose. Yesterday morning, I was hungry and craving breakfast burritos from a restaurant we go to regularly, so hubby went and picked them up. We were going to share one as they are huge and I took two bites and had to stop. I was sort of mad because I was so looking forward to it, but also glad I didn't actually eat it. So, then came lunch and I had a hot dog and only finished like 3/4 of it and we ate lunch late in the day and I thought we'd just have a snack if we got hungry later. Well, come 7pm, I got hungry and I ate and ate and ate. Today, I see the results of my bad weekend. I've gained 2 lbs since last week and that is not counting the fact that at one point, my scale dipped down to 183ish for a day.

Let me now go back to my earlier blog where I say I get back on the wagon and don't look back. Thank goodness I go for my fill tomorrow afternoon.

Although we are supposed to avoid breads and such, I do find that when I have something with bread or tortillas or something like that in it, I get that full feeling real quick whereas if I eat like just meat, cheese, cereal or such, I can eat and eat and eat. Last night when I binged, I started with a leftover piece of pizza, then some cereal, then a slice of cheese with 4 crackers and a small bag of Cheetos. I know, I know, I know.......so bad, it was over the course of a few hours, but it was a lot of food.

I Went Overboard Yesterday!!

Okay, so just after I say that I think I've turned the corner and don't feel so consumed with food anymore, I have a day where I just went overboard.

It's weird because, as you all know, I'm not really super tight, buy yesterday for lunch, I made the kids some Chicken nuggets (all white meat) and I thought I'd have some for lunch because they seem to be really filling for me. They make me full and it stays a long time. It's funny because not all chicken nuggets do this for me, but I bought these Disney ones from Costco (Shaped like Mickey of all things) and they really fill me up. Weird. Anyway (sorry for the tangent) I was eating them with a little Ketchup and after about 3, I got that stuck feeling and ended up in the bathroom, I felt like making myself throw up, but I do feel that might be what got me into trouble when I got too tight, so I decided to take those Papaya Enzyme Pills and just wait it out. I stopped feeling like throwing up, but my fullness lasted like 4 hours. Anyway, later that day, I had a slice of English muffin with a slice of lean ham and mustard and could barley finish, I was stuffed (should have stopped before finishing because i went past the point of fullness). So I was excited that my band seemed tighter and then we went to the drive-in and it was all down hill from there. I ate two slices of pizza (usually only eat one) and had two Reese's Peanut butter cups and some popcorn. Needless to say, I didn't weigh myself this morning for fear of what I had done last night. But, I'm not sad or anything (mostly because I didn't step on the scale). I'm going to try to be good today. We have a family birthday party to go to, a pool party, so it will be hard, but I'm going to try. I really don't want to get stuck in front of all of my hubby's family who don't know.

I'm not 100 percent sure if those Papaya Enzyme pills work, but they seem to. I'm not one who PB's a lot, especially when I'm not so tight, but it does seem to make that stuck feeling feel much better. I keep them in my purse.

Someone asked me about my blog where I said I feel I've turned the corner and not so consumed with food. Well, that was true on that day and the week I was camping, but yesterday, it wasn't so true. Yesterday, while watching the movie, I felt like my old self and eating because it sounded good. I guess, it just shows that this weight loss journey is not easy and it changes day by day and old habits do creep back into our lives, but I guess you can't beat yourself up when you fall off the wagon. Just pick yourself up, don't look back and keep moving forward. Wow, did i just say that??? I'm going to have to remember this blog when I'm throwing my next pity party.

As far as food goes, I just feel like I eat so much slower and chew better and just am not thinking about it all the time anymore, just some of the time. I do think of my band constantly. I'm constantly reminded that it is there and I think that helps us all with our food choices. I mean we went through a lot and some of us paid a lot for this great little tool and knowing that it's there constantly helps us remember what we are supposed to be doing.

Anyway. This was a very long blog. Two more days until weigh in. Oh my!!

Hi!!

Hi everyone. I just wanted to post and say hi. Today, I stepped on the bathroom scale first thing in the morning and it said I weighed like 183. This is not a very accurate scale and weighs me a pound or two less than the Wii does (I weigh in on Monday's based on the wii scale), but it totally made me happy. I must say, I wasn't a very good girl yesterday. That can play tricks with my mind when I'm bad and still loose weight, because my mind says to continue to go the way I'm going and I'll still loose. I'm trying to be good today, though, and we'll see if this weight loss is accurate on Monday.

I was supposed to go to they gym yesterday and do the kickboxing class, but just didn't feel up to it, so instead, i rode my stationary bicycle at home for 45 min. I did work up quite a sweat and felt good that i did some type of exercise. Maybe I'll ride it again tonight.

I've been working a lot and still working on cleaning up some of the things from the camping trip. Mostly laundry. I need to clean my floors too. I hate cleaning floors. I always put it off.

Kids are home for summer and we've been hanging out by mom's pool and planning to go over there later tonight.

Restriction is still there for me. Not too tight, but I'm finally feeling like I have a sense of how to work with this band. I'm not perfect, but when I eat the right foods (non-slider foods), I can feel myself get full and I've been trying to stop when full. I go on Tuesday for my next fill. Yeah. Excited and nervous. I feel like I've turned a corner and am looking at food in a different way, lately anyway, I'm not so consumed with it. I hope i continue to feel this way.

Monday Weigh in - I'm Overweight!!!

Well, today was a great milestone for me at weigh in. I did loose over a pound during my vacation which in itself is a victory. But in addition to that, I'm no longer obese. I'm overweight as of today my BMI is 29.95. I never thought I'd be so happy to be overweight. I feel really proud of myself and hope to keep up the work. I'm back to the gym this week, so hopefully that will help out.

I'm Back From A Great Week At The Beach

We had such a great time camping. We were right on the ocean, the first picture is a picture of our campsite from the door of our trailer. You can see the ocean in the background. This was an overcast morning. The weather was beautiful the entire week except for the last day and as we were packing up, it rained a bit.

This is a picture standing just in front of the chairs looking out at the ocean. This was a much nicer day and you can see some sailboats out in the distance.

We found this other great spot to look at tide pools. It was about a 1 mile bike ride down from where we were camping and it was a beautiful spot with rocks and ocean life and beautiful shells to collect and sea creatures to explore. I think we rode down there every day to play.

Now on the weight loss front. I love the peace a serenity of the beach and I made a conscious effort to pay attention to my band and listen to when I'm full. Before the band, part of camping was all the great food I would make and eating non stop. Well, I still made great breakfasts and would take a few bites and feel that full feeling and stop. We would snack a little at the beach and I tried to bring some fruit and granola bars for me, but I did have a few hand fulls of chips. We went out to eat one night and I had two slices of pizza. I was modest at dinner and felt very good about the way I was eating. I do feel restriction, so it was actually easy to tell when I needed to stop. I weighed myself this morning and it looks like actually lost a pound over the weekend. I won't know for sure until I step on the Wii on Monday, but from my bathroom scale (the one that is not the most accurate) it looks like I actually lost. I'll post more tomorrow when I step on the wii. We also did a lot of bike riding and we played football as a family, which was a lot of fun and something I would never have done pre band (too tiring). Now that I'm back to my chaotic noisy life, I hope I can still listen to my band and stop when I'm full. I have another week before I go in for my fill and I'm still thinking I just need a little tweak. I love my band!!!

Scheduled a Fill

So I scheduled my next fill for June 30th. Actually, that is a good date because it is right at that time of the month and if my tighness is due to my monthly visitor, I think that is probably the best time to get a fill. The bad new is, it's like two weeks away, but oh well, I'm going to have to be strong and I'm going to try to up my exercise to make up for the extra calories, it seems I'm eating.

Hi

Hi all. Well, I haven't posted in a while, probably because nothing new really other than the scale is moving, but in the wrong direction. I'm up to 189, up 2 pounds and don't feel a whole lot of restriction. I have been exercising and been crazy busy. Kids last day of school is today and me being on the PTA and room mom's for both classes have been crazy busy. Then, we go camping on Monday to Doheny State Beach in So Cal. We have an ocean front spot where you are actually camping on the sand and can see and hear the beach from our spot. I made the reservations like 6 months ago and it's a hard spot to get, so I'm very excited. We have a tent trailer and just love our camping trips. It's a lot of work getting ready and a lot of work unpacking, but all worth it. I hope I can control my eating during this trip since I have hardly any restriction. I'm going to call today to set up an appointment to get a fill. I'm going to ask for just .5cc and see where that leaves me and then go for another two weeks later if it's not doing it. I'm going easy and small this time around and hopefully will find the sweet spot again. Sometimes I have a little pulling pain on my side, not too painful, but noticeable and I always imagine that my band has slipped. I'm sure all is fine since the reflux went away when I was unfilled and the burning pain sensation in my throat has gone away, not to mention, I'm eating everything and anything.

Anyway, going back to my band, I wish I could get a fill before camping, but I worry about complications (i.e. too tight) and just don't have time before Monday to get one. I'm hoping to schedule as soon as I get back thought. I hope I don't gain too much during this trip.

Have a great weekend everyone!!!

Weigh In

I skipped my weigh in yesterday. I guess I didn't want to face the scale, so I did it today. I'm up a bit, but not too bad. I am now able to eat just about anything in site and my hunger is back. I still feel slight restriction, but not where it was or needs to be. I think I'm going to need a fill soon, but I'm a little scared to get one. I think I'll give it a week or two and get a feel for where I'm at. I'm thinking I should schedule my next fill right around when my period is about to start (when I'm getting bloated) I marked my calendar, so that I know when to schedule it. That is still like 3 weeks away, so I'll see if I can hang for three weeks. I did gain a little, but not as much as I expected considering what I"m able to eat.

I went shopping yesterday and found some great deals. I bought a cute little jean skirt and some denim walking shorts (size 12). I got a couple size M blouses, but they are a little snugger than I usually like them, but all my other blouses are getting loose, so they will look better in a month or so, I can wear them, just a little snug around the arms and back area.

I don't know why, but I've been craving sweets big time the last few days. I made a peach crumble the other day (big mistake) and ended up eating two servings of that and then we went for dinner yesterday at my mom's and she had a cream cheese pie and, of course, I had a little. I need to get back off these sweets. I was loving the feeling of not being hungry. I thought I had turned a corner and that food just wasn't that important to me anymore, but it's back in my life and on my mind a lot.

Update

I haven't blogged in a few days and wanted to give a little update. As you know, I've was way too tight the last 1 1/2 weeks or so and finally went in for an unfil after reading up on the bad things that can happen when you're too tight. To my disappointment, the doctor took out 1.5 cc. When I started eating more solid things, I was very sore and could only eat a little bit before I felt full. I also didn't have a hungry feeling at all. I was worried that maybe I had done some damage because of the way I was feeling. The heartburn was gone, and I could drink fluids with no problem again, but it hurt and felt very tender every time I ate. I stayed on soft food for another day and slowly ate a little bit of solid foods. Today, it doesn't hurt anymore when I eat and everything seems back to normal. The good thing is, I am getting full very quickly, so maybe the amount he took out isn't all that bad. It's still that time of the month, so hopefully I don't loose the tightness when my visitor is gone, but I'm going to think positive. Right now, I'm very happy with my fill level and doing good. I'll keep you updated over the next few days.

A Great Nights Sleep!!

Aaahhhh!!! I had such a good nights sleep last night. No waking up from reflux and able to sleep on my tummy again. I feel so much better today and still so grateful that I got the band loosened a bit. The stories that go with being over filled are terrifying, so I'm going to move forward from here and someone suggested to me that when I need a fill that maybe I should go when I'm beginning to bloat and I think that is a great idea.

I have been thinking a lot about why it gets so tight and I still think it's hormonal, but could I have possibly done something when I had those few terrible PB episodes??? I don't kow, but that is what I was starting to think over the last few days. Well, I'll never know, but I'm going to keep moving forward.

I did weigh in this morning and have stayed the same, but I didn't eat much yesterday. After my unfill, I had made Posole for dinner. It's a kind of Mexican stew and although my doctor didn't give me any eating instructions for after and unfill, the doctor that unfilled me last time (my docotor's associate) told me to do soft and liquid things for a day or two. So I had the Posole for dinner and really didn't eat too much before I was feeling somewhat full. I love being able to down drinks again. I really haven't been feeling as hungry as I thought I would. So, hopefully this fill level will work for a little while. Wouldn't that be great if this is where I needed to be all the time and I find myself dropping weight left and right????

I'm going to be a good girl today and eat well. I feel like I've already cleansed my body of junk and am not really craving too much as of yet.

I Got Spooked

Hi everyone. The whole Acid Reflux thing came back again last night and this morning I was miserable trying to get down my morning protein drink. My throat was sore and the first several sips hurt, like a rawness in the bottom of my band area. I decided to read up on Acid Reflux on LBT and everyone who talked about the Acid Reflux thing also seemed to be too tight and ended up having their band slip just like Mindy had said. I was spooked after reading LBT and decided to call my doctor again since the Reflux was bad last night and most of the earlier part of today even though I've been taking the medication he suggested. So I called Dr. Owens to go over everything again and said that I think I should come in and have a little bit taken out. He said to come on in and he would take some out. As I sit in the office waiting for him to come in, I was thinking how much I think he should take out. Since my last fill was .5cc and it was the difference between not being quite tight enough and too tight I thought do they do like .25cc?? I've never heard someone take out .25cc and would it be enough. Why is the band so difficult for me??? I want to figure it out, but I'm thinking there is no figuring it out. It's fickle. So Dr. O says he wants to take everything out then have me sit up and drink while he fills me so he can figure out where I'm supposed to be. Okay, why don't we do this every time??? So I sit up with this needle sticking out of my stomach (I heard a lot of people talk about doing this, but I've yet to experience this) and I'm chugging water as he's filling me, I'm saying OK now it's like a funnel, it's slowing and now it's bubbling and gurgling. So he stops there takes a little out and does it again. I asked how much he ended up taking out and he said 1.5cc. WHAT?????

So, I was bummed about how much he took out. I kind of feel like I just took 10 huge steps backwards, but he told me to see how I feel with this. He said since water slows down, food should too. He also said to come back if I feel it's too loose even if it's 3 days from now. And we just do fills again until I get to a comfortable level. I'm beginning to think I don't know what a comfortable fill is and somewhat sad that it tightens up so much on me. I am relieved that I'm not too tight because I do think if I continued the way I was, that I would end up with a slip after reading the postings on LBT.

Anyway, that's where I am now and actually I'm grateful that I feel better and I'll start again from square 3 (well it's not exactly square 1 or 2, so I'm going with 3).

I need to get a scale and start weighing my food. I need to make smart choices and work with my band. I think I expect it to work for me, but it's with me.

Thanks for listening.

My New Favorite Fast Food!!!

I don't know if Pick up Stix is all over the country, but here in So Cal, it's a chain that is everywhere and I have always loved it, but now I love it even more. When you order a meal (which my hubby and two kids do) you can add on a bowl of Wonton Soup for like $1, so we go and I eat the soup (can only get down about 1/2) and take a bite of hubby's Honey Chicken and I'm stuffed and don't feel like I'm waisting food or eating tons of calories. The soup had shrimp, chicken, wontons, carrots, broccoli and water chestnuts in it. I take the wonton's out because I don't love them and eat all the protein and some veggies. We've gone twice in the last couple of weeks and I always feel like I ate very healthy and didn't feel deprived.

We like to go out to eat every so often and with the band, I really have to pick and choose where we eat especially when it comes to fast food restaurants, so I love to share my finds with other bandsters who like to eat out. I don't know if I mentioned that I love In-N-Out and they will make a protein burger for you. It's everything the regular burger has minus the bun and they wrap it in lettuce for you. All you have to do is say I'd like a Cheeseburger Protein Style and they know what that means and honestly, it's just as good.

NSV

I forgot to mention that last night I had some NSV at the retirement party I went to. There are a few people that I see on a regular basis at the school and have not noticed or said that they have noticed my weight loss, but last night at the retirement party that I went to, 3 different people commented on my weight loss. One said "you are looking skinny" (I have never been refered to as skinny in my whole life and I don't think I'm there yet, but it was nice to hear).

Medicine Worked.

Okay, I took the medicine my doctor suggested. I think its called Psayme, is that an acid reducer? I can't remember the brand name and I got the generic. It's a 14 day course, so I took the first pill last night and it worked, so I think. I did not wake up from acid reflux last night. I'm not sure if it's the medicine or that my band is loosening a bit, but whatever it is, it was much better last night. Yeah!!!

Called the Doctor Today.

Hi all and thanks for all your suggestions, I did call the doctor today to find out what he taught I should do with my current situation. I talked to him personally on the phone (he gives us his personal cell phone to call with problems or concerns) and I explained that I felt I was at my sweet spot 2 1/2 weeks ago and then all of a sudden it got tight and that I have been experiencing Acid Reflux at night. He said if I'm getting enough fluids in and eating enough calories, that I should be okay and that it is probably my menstrual cycle (which i suspected because the same thing sort of happened last month). He told me an acid reducer that he wanted me to take. So I got the acid reducer today and just got done taking it. I must say, I feel much better today. I went to a Retirement party for a teacher at our school and there were all sorts goodies and I had several with no problems and for dinner tonight I had a small bean and cheese burrito from Del Taco and ate the whole thing with no problems, so I do think I'm slowly getting back to my less tight situation and I do feel like this is something that might happen to me each month around this time.

I'm going to continue with the acid reducer and see if it helps tonight. I feel much better today, so I'm not as worried now that I've talked with the doctor.

Update

Hi all. I'm still dealing with a little reflux, just at bed time. I'll doze off and then all of a sudden wake up because the acid comes up a little, so I went to sleep on the couch again in a upright position and I do that for a few hours and then I seem to be okay. It's only mostly at night, so I think I can deal for a few more days and see if I loosen up some. I do think it's loosening a bit more. I am managing to eat, though it's funny, because I know I'm super tight and don't want to PB, I find I make better choices. I don't try to test the band and see if things go down okay (for the most part). I should say I'm being very cautious, which is how I should be all the time. I'm eating salads, cheese and crackers, absolutly no bread, soups. Water feels best when its warm. I'm beginning to get used to warm water. I think it opens up my band and it goes down so much easier.

I have a hard time with cold drinks (with ice), but Ice cream goes down without a problem. Go figure. I hope I figure this band out some day.

I have gained some weight over the last couple days (like 1.5 pounds) I don't know how. I didn't log my calories yet for yesterday, but I'm sure I got around 1,200 calories.

On a NSV note, I need new jeans and the Gottchalks near me is going out of business, so I bought 2 pairs of Seven jeans for $23 each (you know how I love a sale) and they were a size 12. They do run big and they are the stretch type, so probably closer to a regular 14, but something about the tag saying size 12 just makes me feel good. Also, they are very flattering, so I'm a happy camper. Shopping always makes me feel better. I'm going again today.

Question????

Okay, so I have a question for all my blogger and band friends. So, you know I've been having a difficult time the last several days and it seemed much better yesterday until bed time. I woke up in the middle of the night with the burning acid reflux coming up my throat and it wouldn't stop, so I went to the couch to sleep in a sitting position after taking a few TUMs. After an hour or so, I did finally fall asleep and it never resumed. This morning I feel fine. My question is, I think I can deal with this, provided it is a temporary feeling until my bloating goes away and then for the rest of the month I will have that sweet spot feeling. I really don't want to go have some removed only to find that in a few days, only to regret it because I can eat too much. My only fear is that I read all over the place that Acid Reflux (which I never have had until my band) is a sign that the band is too tight and you could get erosion or slippage if you don't have it unfilled. Do you think short bouts of it is a big deal?? I mean it seems to only be at night now and during the day, I'm not feeling it.

I go back and forth with what I should do. I guess I should ask my doctor next time, but I was thinking I wasn't going to be seeing him for a while because I was feeling like I was in a sweet spot. I was in my sweet spot. Is it possible for the band to be perfect and then two weeks later tighten up on you??? I really think it's just my body bloating and it will subside.

Anyway. Do you want to hear a NSV?? I've had about a handful of people notice I'm loosing weight who don't know about the band. I'm actually surprised more people don't notice, but yesterday two people that I haven't seen in a while were like "wow, you look great" one even said "you're waisting away". I kind of like that comment, of course my response was "I'm far from waisting away, but thanks for noticing. I have been working hard and it's working for me". You know I am not telling very many people, but I do feel a little guilty when they ask how I'm doing it and I just say, I'm watching what I eat, trying to cut out carbs, eating protein and vegi's and fruits, drinking protein shakes for some meals and exercising. Not a lie, but not entirely true. I'm very adamant about not letting everyone know about this. It's just my personality to not have people judge me. I'm very sensitive to people judging me and I'm one who does care what people think, so i know it's best for me to only let my close, immediate family know.

Anyway, no weight loss today and I logged my calories from yesterday and I'm only at 950 calories, so I'm thinking maybe it is not eating enough. I'm going to work on that today. Totally ironic that I need to work to eat more, something I never thought I'd be saying in my entire life. I love my band even though it's being difficult right now. I still Love it!!!