ANN ,

I noticed that Ann hasn't been on in awhile. Does anyone know if she is on vacation or anything ?

Hey Cat,

Thanks for asking about me.  I am here but we have been extremely busy lately.  My youngest son and his wife are looking for a house and live close by.  They are young and don't have a lot of experience and he is not the kind of guy who knows a lot about home repairs etc so we have been accompanying them while they go to see houses.  We have looked at over 40 houses in the last couple of weeks and still have not found the right one.  Well we thought we had the right one but it did not pass an inspection.  I  haven't had a whole lot of time to sit on the computer except to look at houses on MLS.   I also just finished filling in for a co-worker and so had to work a lot of overtime in an attempt to keep my work and his done up sufficiently.  My life has just been so busy lately.

I am doing fine band wise that is.  I am down 6 pounds from my last fill - I had hoped to be down more than that but I am not disappointed by that.  That is about a pound a week which is a healthy rate.  I would just love to drop about 10 or so the next time just to have another big loss.  I am between sizes right now and so its hard to find clothes to fit.  If it fits my waist, its way too big in the hip area and so all my clothes are hanging on me.  Stuff I wore on my cruise is too big but the next size down is too snug.  A friend at work told my my a$$ was falling off.  Trouble is my middle is still hanging on to the fat.

I am eating more than I should because I am hungry more than I want to be.  I get my next fill on Wednesday and so I am hoping for an improvement in weight loss after that.  And I have to confess that I am not exercising as much as I should.  I hope that once my evenings and weekends are not full of house hunting that I might feel up to doing a bit of walking or maybe go for a swim now and then.  

I still try to pop on here to kind of monitor things.  I am so excited for all the Dr. S. patients who are receiving calls and I am thrilled that things are starting to move for all of you.  The waiting is what drove me nuts.  I am so glad you are all going to start seeing some surgeries and getting consultations soon.  I am also watching all our newest losers and hoping they are doing well.  This is not a miracle cure by a long shot.  It is something that takes getting used to and it is always going to be a conscious effort to keep on track and make it work.  Banding in particular is not ever going to be a magic pill.  If you don't work it and follow the rules you can beat it and gain everything back and then some.  Some days I kind of wish that I had not become too old while waiting so i could have had RNY.  But then I think of all the things I don't have to cope with like dumping and all the other possible complications immediately post surgery.  I have not had a bad go of it at all.  From day one I have been healthy and happy with what the band has given me - control and a new way of life.  

I may not be posting much until my children find a house and get moved but I will still be watching and thinking good thoughts about all my friends on this forum.  I will try to hop on here either Wednesday or Thursday to let you know how the second fill goes.  

Thanks again for asking about me Cat,

Ann 

Well we are all glad to hear that things are going well.  You are losing, and that is the main thing.  You go girl !!!!!

 Thanks for stopping in Ann, I can see how busy you have been . We always like to try to get or give our kids all the help we can .
Good to hear that you are losing weight faithfully . One has to try & remember that if we were not  banded ,  a pound a week weight loss  would have been remarkable.  Right now I am down one week up the other.  Nothing consistant , my own fault of course.
I am getting to realize through all of you that have been banded that the fills are necessary for good results.
Keep up the good work Ann & drop back in when you get time .