Biggest Loser Pound-For-Pound Challenge

I've been watching The Biggest Loser religiously this season. Right now they are doing this Pound-For-Pound Challenge, which people pledge to lose a certain amount of weight by the end of the event (May 5th--and you can't pledge more than what would be 2 pounds per week) and the sponsors will donate 1 pound of food for every pound lost by the people who enter. Since I didn't get around to entering until this week, my pledge is 20 pounds. I think that's a very realistic goal for 2 months.

BUT...

My weight loss has stopped again after my fill (and rebounded back up to about 413). I will be scheduling my next fill probably tomorrow, but also I REALLY need to start exercising. I haven't been keeping track of my calories, but I know that I eat less than 2,000 a day, and according to several websites that tell you how many calories you need to eat to lose such and such amount of weight, to MAINTAIN my current weight is like 4,000 calories a day! So how come I'm not losing anything when I'm eating half that at least? So I'm thinking exercise is going to have to start, which I was hoping to wait until I was back down to about 300, where the machines are a little more sturdy for my weight.

Got My Second Fill...So Far So Good

I got my 2nd fill on Wednesday, February 11 (sorry it took me awhile to post, been super busy). I'm now up to 3 ccs in either 12 or 14 cc band. I do have some restriction, a Healthy Choice meal is enough to fill me up and I haven't had the urge to snack at all since I got the fill. I'm hoping it stays like this until I can get my next fill (which I'm going to try to schedule Monday).

I've already lost 6 pounds since my fill, which is great. I'm now down 33 pounds, breaking my 32-pound low point so far. I never did get around to doing the 5 Day Pouch Test, maybe next fill.

Hopefully I'll have more news now as the fills keep coming!

5 Day Pouch Test

So I found this thing on the LBT boards today called the 5 Day Pouch Test--it's basically a fast cycle of the transition we had after surgery (and what most people have after fills, but if they're like me, my doctor only recommends one day of liquids/mushies then back to solids the next day). I'm thinking of doing this next week, and then my appointment to see my doctor is the week after. Hopefully this will drop a few more pounds as well before I get weighed in his office again. The real purpose of this though is to make your pouch shrink back to its original shape if it's gotten stretched out at all, which I don't even know if mine has or not since I haven't had any restriction. Maybe it will help, but it sure can't hurt.

The website is http://www.5daypouchtest.com

Here is the basic plan though:

Days One & Two: Liquid Protein
low-carb protein shakes, broth, clear or cream soups, sugar-free gelatin and pudding.

Day 3: Soft Protein
canned fish (tuna or salmon) eggs, fresh soft fish (tilapia, sole, orange roughy.

Day 4: Firm Protein
ground meat (turkey, beef, chicken, lamb), shellfish, scallops, lobster, fresh salmon or halibut.

Day 5: Solid Protein
white meat poultry, beef steak, pork, lamb, wild game

The website has more information and recipes. Hope you find this useful!

Thank God For Those Holiday Pounds Being Temporary

Good news all around today.

Last week I had gained 8 pounds. This week, I lost 5! Just as fast as I gained it, I lost it again. Amazing what going back to normal eating habits does (not even dieting, just normal--meaning no sugary drinks or chocolate or baked goodies or anything, because I normally don't eat/drink that stuff). I expect the last 3 pounds to go by next week.

I couldn't schedule my fill today because I haven't seen my doctor in the office since August, so I have to see him before I can schedule my fill. I couldn't get an appointment until January 27th, but hey, at least the ball is rolling again, so I feel much better. That day I'll get to schedule my fill while I'm there.

I hope ya'll didn't lose faith in me yet :)

OH HAPPY DAY!

No, I haven't lost anymore weight...the scale has been shockingly immobile since September. I was exactly 414 from September to the week before Christmas...then I gained 8 pounds over the holidays *sigh* It's from all the sugary beverages and baked goods we've had in the house (the baked stuff all came from friends and relatives that kept giving it to us). I know it's my own fault, but I also know I'll lose it again. Everyone has some bad times with the Band. So as of New Year's Day, my weight was 422, I'll weigh myself again tomorrow to see if cutting down on the drinks and sweets have helped. For now I'm not going to change my weight on the sidebar since hopefully it will flux back down.

Now that that's out of the way, I haven't forgotten about you all. I just truly, honestly, had nothing to post. I still haven't had a fill because of money. I had my surgery in June, and I've only had one fill of 1 cc.

But now! For the good news!

I just found out today that my insurance benefits are changing. NO MORE COPAYS! NOTHING OUT OF POCKET!! Do you know what this means? ...

It means I can get a fill. I can get as many fills as I need without having to switch doctors or worry about money!

I'm going to call tomorrow for an appointment since it usually takes a few weeks to get in, and my new benefits go into effect on Feb 1st.

HALLELUJAH!

Need a Fill...

I do have some restriction, I eat a little less than I did before the fill, but it's still way more than I should be able to eat. I don't really have to chew my food any more than I did before the band (though I still try to chew well just to avoid problems). BUT...I found out from my insurance that now my copay for fills is $250 every time since they do it in the hospital. Soo...I have to either wait until I have $250, which won't be for AWHILE, or switch to the NYU program where they do fills in the office. What a pain.

I'm down 32 pounds now, but I haven't weighed myself the last week or two. I just want restriction already. I didn't plan on money being such a holdback for the success of my Band.

Thanks for all your comments so far :)

First Fill Experience

So yesterday I had my first fill. I was a little upset at first, because my appointment was at 9:30, I arrived before 9:00, and my doctor didn't show up until after 10. However, I felt bad though when he did come, he was in his scrubs yet and had just gotten out of surgery. Oops.

I think their fluoroscopy setup is a little different than others have. I had to stand on a little step with my back against a vertical table, basically, and the machine slid down in front of my stomach. Then I had to drink some barium (which, to be perfectly honest to people who haven't had this done yet, the taste is really NOT as bad as everyone says. It's like a thin, chalky milkshake, not the horrible disgusting thing some people make it out to be). Once he got a good idea of how the plumbing was flowing, they rotated the entire table and scope backwards until I was laying down. Kinda cool.

Now is the icky part. He found my port on the scope TV thing, but he had a hard time finding it in my stomach. 1) My port is ALOT lower than my scar which he originally said it should be right under. Like about 4 inches lower. 2) He did numb it first, but he kept pushing around (which still kinda hurt) trying to find my port and about halfway through asked for a different needle. I didn't watch him do any of this due to my needle phobia, but when I took the bandaid off later, I have about 6 or 7 needle holes and a nice big bruise to round it all out. So he did the fill and they turned the table back upright and had me drink again.

They took a picture and he showed me afterward. He tried pointing out my band, but I couldn't really see it. I could see the clips that are around my stomach holding it in place though, and that was creepy. But what WAS cool is seeing the barium stuff just sitting above my pouch, which means there's restriction of some sort.

He put 1 cc in, but when I asked how big my band was, he said 10 or 12 ccs...makes me nervous that he didn't know which it was. I know it's a Vanguard though. 1 cc doesn't seem like much, but he said that was aggressive for a first fill. We'll see.

Good news though, he told me I don't have to see my dietician anymore to get fills, because I told him she doesn't tell me anything I don't already know. I was considering going to another doctor and now I hope I don't have to, the dietician was killing me at $75 every month for no reason.

So far, I was hungry all day yesterday on liquids until dinner, where Matt made this nice and thick cheese soup, which filled me up something good. I wasn't hungry when I woke up this morning, which is a first. I ate breakfast (mushy) simply because I knew if I didn't, I'd be starving later. I did get hungry around 12 and ate lunch at 1. I ate maybe 1-1.5 cups of mushies, but I couldn't tell if I was hungry or full while I was eating. But then, I wasn't hungry at all when I got home from work, which by then I'm usually starving. I ate some dinner, which ended up being probably less than 1/2 cup of food. I just knew I didn't need to eat more. It was actually a good feeling, but I was sad that I couldn't eat more. This is my biggest dilemma with the band--I just love food. I was offered a calzone tonight and I really wanted it, but I just wasn't hungry and abstained (not to mention I'm still on mushies). It's hard to get used to.

Hopefully it will be worth it in the next few weeks!