New to Non OP forum

Hello everyone, I just discovered this site as a result of reading someone's post who is a non op. Let me give you a little history about myself. I am 27 yrs old a married mother of 2 boys (one of which resides in God's arms ). I have been researching surgery for sometime and joined this site early this year. Because I am a military wife, my insurance, Tricare, will only cover RNY. Through my reserach, I began to realize I was WAY too scared to do it. I then ran across lapband and decided that's what I would do and get it done at a military hospital so my insurnace would pay. The more I researched, the less longterm info I was able to find. That concerned me. I begin to think maybe I should give it one last shot on my own. My husband and I purchased all the workout equipment I could ever want and for the last few months I have been doing it on my own. I have lost 10 lbs (my higest weight was 275). It's not a lot but hey I did it without medically altering my body and that's ok with me. So, I hope to find support and great info on this site. I feel like this what I need in order to continue to motivate myself for a longterm lifetsyle change. God Bless you all Cam

Hi Cammy, Welcome & congratulations on your 10 pounds! There are many different people here and many different approaches to weight loss but they all include portion control, exercise and permanent lifestyle changes. On a side note, give your husband a big thank you for being a member of the military! And, you, too, for being a military wife! Juli

Hi Juli Thanks for the encouragment. I just saw your profile and WOW! You have done amazingly! Any pointers you would like to share? As for my husband, he is one of those crazy soldiers who do it simply because it loves it. When people tell him thank you for your service he simply says, "I'm doing what i love". On the other hand, I'm not that fond of the military lifestyle. It's very hard on our son and he's very much a daddy's boy. As I'm sure you knoe, nobody hurts momma's baby I hope to be a positive contributor to this forum Be blessed Cam

Welcome Cam !!!!!! I too was scheduled for Lapband and chickened out at the last hour !!!!! I thought I would try the old fashion way one more time. I am in the maintaning stage now-- holding at 150-147 lbs down from my highest 300 lbs back in Jan--05...... It can be done. Best of luck to you Cam........ Phyllis

Hi Phyllis, I think it was a post that you responded to on the Black American forum that led me here. SO, for that I say thank you. You weightloss in that time frame is awesome! You are SURELY a living example that it can be done. How did you do it? I'll probably ask this a million times, I am such an info absorber! I look forward to sharing in this war with you. Be blessed Cam

Awww thankyou my precious lovely sister. I just did it and still doing it the old fashion basic way. I eat small portions that equals around 1500 calories daily !!!! Drink 100 ozs of water a day !!!!! Take a "one a day weight smart vitamin daily" And Phyll is an aerobic's fanatic High impact cardio step. 5 days weekly. However, this has to be worked up to that level. Cardio 30 mins a day -- 3 times a week is a good start. It just takes getting accustumed to. I am at home alone now, since my son went away to school three years ago, so I just do not bring anything in the house that I know that I do not have any willpower over E-mail me anytime Cammy, Love and Blessings-- Phyllis..............

Hi Cam, Welcome to the board! Congratulations on your progress so far! I applaud your decision for a few reasons -- 1) you will cultivate good habits, making it less likely for the weight to come back and 2) you will be passing on these good habits to your family. I strongly suggest creating a visual (chart, etc). You will be psyched to keep watching those numbers drop! Again, welcome! All the best, Des

Thanks Des Those points that you have just made were some of the things that were going through my mind when I decided not to go through with wls. Plus, being the reseracher that I am, I was unable to find a large span of time that the same technique and devices were being used. I just could do it. I saw on your profile that you have rewards set up for every so many pounds you use. That's a great idea that I am going to do. The chart thing is good too. I thank you for all your in[ut and I'm going to REALLY put it to use. I'm not just saying that. Be Blessed Cam

hi cam - welcome! its so nice to see posts from new people here. congratulations on your first 10 lbs as well. sometimes those early ones are the hardest! i'm sure we all could give you tons of tips but really, i think the most important thing i learned about all of this is to find out what works for you and do it over and over. try different things and do what feels good to you. whether that's no carbs, no protein, no eating purple food etc etc. even better though - use this forum to help with problem solving. so if you have a situation of problem, post about it and see what kind of ideas people have. the diet program i went to that started my journey have found in their outcome research 3 things that are key to long term success: 1. monitoring - whatever this means to you. couting calories, exchanges, hunger/fullness scale etc. again, what works for you. i use a computer program called balencelog. this also goes hand in hand with planning - figuring out what you're going to eat ahead of time, looking up nutritional info on the web, prepping meals early on so you can throw things together quickly, carrying healthy snacks with you so you don't end up starving and pulling into a 7-11 for a slurpee etc. 2. exercise - just getting yourself moving, even just increasing your activities of daily living. i work out everyday, have a trainer and wear a pedometer on the days i know i can't get the gym for "real" exercise. they recommend at least 10,000 steps a day. 3. support - from positive, non-sabotaging people. you can get that here, weigh****chers meeting, a walking buddy etc. those are just my immediate thoughts. be gentle with yourself and listen to your needs. and remember its a marathon, not a 50 yard dash. be patient. it took me about two years to lose about 110 lbs. i'm 120 from my highest recorded weight. anyway i think i've babbled enough for now. please keep us updated with your progress! andrea