the Band is my friend

Truly! Last night was pizza night. I have not been hungry so I see this as a Band thing. I had 2 eggs for breakfast, a porkchop sliced over a small caesar salad for lunch and at dinner, I had only one slice of pizza. I felt good... however, later I got into a bad habit that I have... went to the leftover pizza and tried to eat another. Guess what? it got stuck. my band did not like it and made me give it up... oh yah! not pretty, but what a reminder that it WORKS!
So, this morning, I step on the scale and I have dropped more weight! what a bonus. I have been hovering between 248 and 250 for a couple of weeks. this morning the scale told me 246.4 (this was after I drank a cuppa coffee...)
EXCITEMENT here!!! til next time!

It's been awhile!

I haven't posted her for a while. bad bad bad... I really need some motivation again. The lapband is working somewhat, it keeps me from "overeating" in one sitting. It however does not help me with what i put into my mouth. This will have to be me and a choice I have to make.
On April 24, my sister and I went back to Tijuana for a fill. I had 3 cc's put into my band and immediately felt the restriction. However, now 2 weeks later, I almost feel no restriction. This is not good. I am not able to get back to TJ and am scared to death of having a "blind fill" which is offered in Calgary. I will also look into some places I have heard about in Washington State. That is within a drivable distance.
I have gone back to Spark People website and am keeping myself busy with tracking my foods and exercises. I am hoping to create the motivation once again that I need to get this weight off once and for all. It certainly isn't "just falling off" like I have heard happen to so many people.

Here is my tracker once again...

diet Mini Quiche Recipe to share...

doesn't this sound yummy?
Maybe it is because I am craving some chewable food right now, I dunno... Can't wait to try this. My first day for regular foods is to be March 31. This is the day after our anniversary so I really want to go out and celebrate. I will also be able to test my band. I intend to take home a doggy bag. ;)

egg quiche:
3/4 cup egg white
2 eggs
3/4 reduced or non fat shredded cheese- i use NF mozzerella
3/4 cup red pepper (you can use any color)- chopped small
3/4 onion chopped small
1 10oz package of frozen spinach
salt and pepper

1 has about 40-50 calories
Place spinach in microwave for about 3 minutes- then SQUEEZE ALL the water out! Mix all ingredients together and pour into a 12 m
muffin pan. Bake on 350 for about 30 minutes. I also serve with 1 or 2 pieces of turkey bacon and 1/2 a banana.

Day 12...

Nothing much is new, except I can say that I really am feeling better every day. My port site still hurts, especially if I am sitting for long periods of time. I have finally peeled off all the glue and all the incisions look really good. Maybe someday I will be able to wear a bikini????

Weightloss as of this morning was down 13.2 since surgery. wow! that is just over 1 lb a day....
total weightloss since starting the pre-op diet is 24.8.

I keep asking the family if they notice it. Can't wait til someone makes a comment without me having to ask if they see it. hmmm you can be sure I will post it here.

Ok, I have also broached the subject of eating more healthy with the family. I figure if I can learn to cook the way I am supposed to eat and have them all enjoy the same, we will all become healtier right? That doesn't mean that they have to have the miniscule amount that I will have but they will have the same options.

Feeling Better now

Yes, I did call Dr. Miranda. Seems I have jumped too fast into having creamy soups and needed to go back to clears and add my shakes first... duh. I knew that. Not sure what I was thinking. Anyways, I am feeling so much better now!
Weightloss has also been steady. I am down 10.2 this morning.

NOTE: I always weigh myself first thing in the morning with no clothes on. (not a pretty picture yet ;) I figure if I do the same thing every time, it will always be consistant.

On the other hand, I am having issues with my head. The desire to eat something is sooooo strong. I will admit that last night, I had a chicken nugget, chewed it to mush and enjoyed the taste, then spit it out... Just to have the chewing motion. Boy am I scared to go back to eating. However, I am also consumed with cooking properly. How do I get my family to eat the proper foods? I have been watching some cooking shows and have a desire to cook more healthy. How do I implement that and make them eat it? hmmm.


My caloric intake is now up between 850 and 950 per day. I know I should be up a bit higher, and hopefully can add a few things to bump it, but I have to say, I am not hungry so why ruin it?

One week Post Op

Today is my 1 week anniversary... yes, I am counting... Since surgery, I have dropped 8.4 lbs. wow! Maybe this has a little to do with having Diarhea? That is the most horrible thing right now. I nearly can't stand it... if it keeps up tomorrow yet, I am going to call Dr. Miranda for help. It started bad on Friday already and I can't figure out what is causing it. Some of the other gals have complained about being so constipated that they needed help so what is this???

Home again

We arrived home on Wed night, a little sore but nothing major to complain about. Today was my first day back at work and it really wiped me out even though I didn't have much to do. Not sure I am getting enough calories... will have to start a daily journal of how many, just to be sure I am getting enough.

Banded March 10

So, officially banded as of March 10th. I am sore, but surprised at how quick recovery is. Dr. Ortiz and all the Staff at Obesity Control Center have gone above and beyond. I just loved my experience there.

After coming back to the hotel with Mrs. Ortiz, (she said: I know you want to just lay down and sleep, but the best thing for you will be to walk, rest, walk, walk, walk) both my sister and I went to bed and slept for a couple of hours. WHOOPS... When we woke up, we were rejuvenated and ready to hit "Revolution Ave" for some shopping.
We met Kate and her hubby and got ourselves a cab... shopping in TJ!

Pre-Op diet

I am having a hard time with this now. I found myself a tracker (see end of posts) and hope to be inspired by it. My problem is that I am always hungry. I drink alot of water and have been adding herbal tea just for a change. I am using Herbalife protein powder for breakfast and lunch, with a "cup a soup" (50cal) for a mid aft. snack.
Dinner consists of a "Weight Watchers" dinner but by late evening, I am snacking away... can't stay away from the crackers and peanut butter.
After stepping on the scale this morning and not seeing a drop yet again (3 days in a row now) I am determined not to snack tonight. I need to lose this 15 lbs by next Sunday! This is the day we will be arriving in Mexico, and my lapband surgery is scheduled for early Monday morning.

On another note, I have been reading alot on the forums and am getting excited to start really losing weight. I have a first goal date, but not really an idea of what I can lose by then since everyone seems to be different. I also will need to go buy a new blender in order to eat my "mushy stage" food...

some other thoughts about losing weight...How am I going to feel as a skinny person. Will I still see myself as "big"? I have had the problem of not really seeing myself as I am now, I tend to think of myself as a young mom, not overly big and when I look in the mirror, the person looking back doesn't look that bad. However, I look at photos and they tell me a different story! We were in Mexico a few weeks back and I hate the photos... I am huge... my arms are as big as a small person's waist. Could this possibly be me? I dunno... I think I am going to have a few demons popping up with this journey. Wish me luck.

How I came to this decision...continued

Back again...

After my restless night, I told my husband immediately about this procedure. His reaction was that I was trying to find a quick fix. I felt he was not being supportive, but in hindsight, his reaction was valid. I have been trying to lose weight ever since we were married.

I gained 45lbs with my first baby, and never did get rid of it. With each consecutive baby (have had 6!) I gained more. After each diet I tried (herbalife, slimfast,weightwatchers, diet center, herbalmagic, jenny craig, atkins, south beach) I lost some, but gained back more.

I have an eating issue.

I know this.

My husband's reaction was "if you just..." This is a skinny person's phrase. It is not a matter of "just" when you are obese. If this was, do you honestly think I would be fat? NOT! I am not fat by choice! ok... we have dealt with this issue, back to the lapband. I am now 100% positive that this is the TOOL to assist me in eating less and making better choices in my food consumption.

My weight at decision time was 280lbs. I started the pre-op diet on Sunday, Feb 24th and so far as of this morning am 271lbs. I hope that by the operation date, I will be 265lbs or less. My ultimate goal is to be 160lbs in a year. I will likely make myself smaller goals as time progresses and I see how loss goes. My son is getting married in May so this is one of the reasons WE made the decision to do this so quickly. I would like to be down substantially by then, but have some reservations about making his wedding a goal date. It will be 1.5 months from operation date so potentially up to 40lbs can be lost if I am reading other's experiences correctly. This would be awesome, but I am not counting on this much yet.

I am starting to now feel some aprehension, of course this will happen whenever one goes into a surgery. I have had surgeries before. My sister has not so I am sure she will feel it worse than I. She and I are doing this together so I may sometimes mention her in these posts...

First Posting about my Lapband Surgery

Hi. Glad you are reading this. I hope to use this blog as my journal for my lapband experience and to assist others in deciding whether this is for them or not.

I haven't had a lot of time to think about this, basically I just learned about it. My sister called me late last week and bombarded me with the information. I got online and started some web searches and then went to bed with a huge head full.

I have had a weight issue for as long as I can remember. I have dieted so many times, I am just discouraged and quite frankly I was feeling hopeless.

I have to go to work now, I will write more later today, giving a run down of how I... I mean WE came to this decision.