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Today i can celebrate the loss of 200 lbs and i am now exactly half the person i was when i started this journey. I have a little way to go yet and then i have to start on the plastic surgery .. even if i cant afford to get this excess skin removed i would still be happy that the weight has gone.

My will and advanced directive are done, the dishes are washed, the house is clean, my bag is packed, I had my last meal (waffle with butter)...I am ready. I am no longer nervous...I am resolute. Tomorrow morning I begin my transformation back to...me. Wish me luck ....see you on the other side...

I dont understand why people have surgery to lose weight but then want a break? If your diabetic do you take a break from your diet or medication? If you have high blood pressure do you take a break from your medication? If you cant eat meat then your too tight and especially if your having acid reflux. You should be able to eat normal with the band just less it shouldnt be a burden. But a vacation from it why would you want to go back to eating like that? The thought of pigging out makes me sick and I hate to see people eat like that.

I agree that people are in too big of a hurry to get fills and doctors are right for not filling you if you are constantly losing weight. Once you get filled completely up and you have the rest of your life with the band what happens then when you can never get another fill. I have been banded two years and only filled twice and that was after a year with no fills and only have 3 cc's in my band. Im not in a hurry to get filled. I will go in January for the next fill but I am happy with my weight loss so is my doctor and he told me when I need one come in and thats what Im doing . I dont believe that you cant have some control over what you eat and the amount you eat the you need to get filled up every six weeks just for the sake of getting a fill. There are times weight loss will stop no matter how many fills you get and will be stagnant for a while but then it picks up again when you mix up your diet. Its only my opinion but I say no to a lot of fills and yes to having some constraint and accountability of your own. Yes we had th surgery to lose weight but I have this thing forever I will use it wisely and the other part will be me doing the rest. Maybe some dont have the will power or desire to try it at least to some degree on their own. But I refuse to let some doctor fill me every six weeks just because thats what he wants to do.

my pain was bad too, but after the 3rd day seems like it started to get better. Plus the benefits are amazing!! I am eight weeks post op and feel like my old self only 22 pounds thinner. (I know it is not alot, but it is the beginning)

Thanks guys it really means a lot to get some support it helps me in this long battle i have had i wanted to be 200lbs lost by christmas so i beat my target by a couple of weeks, am really happy about that. My reward will be some more new clothes, i had purchsased some and they are already too big, i had no idea that my weight loss would keep on the steady path it has, so some clothes are already redundant, i am also treating myself to a bike so i can go out for rides, using the cycle indoors is pretty boring even while watching tv. I will wait for the January sales to spend some more money..

@tandi04, you can do it! It IS hard, I know, but it truly does get easier. I'm on day 8 now and really, I've never felt better. Yes, I"m hungry, but I feel great, my mind is clear and my body is on it's way to better health. I had an appointment with my surgeon yesterday and he asked how the liquid diet was going and I told him that it was mentally the hardest thing I've done, letting go of the food. So much of this liquid diet is psychological. (By the way, my doctor admitted he's never tried one of those nasty protein shakes. I told him that that all of the doctors should go a week on them, so they can relate to what we're talking about. He just laughed.) Keep your chin up and think of the end result. This couple of weeks is just a drop in the bucket in the big picture.

My surgeon would not do surgery on anyone who smoked. They told us at the seminar, "if you smoke you will need to quit for 6 months before we even consider doing the surgery" I don't know why, I was not a smoker... I was more concerned with "no chocolate"!

Remember why you did the surgery 4 years ago.I don`t know all of your story of obesity,but the surgery is only to help you change your life and to make easier to loose weight.You stil need to do diet end exercise remember this is about geting healthier., and have a better life. quote name='magnolia' timestamp='1295568998' post='1564199'] It has been almost 4 years since my surgery. At my best I had lost 60 lbs, which put me into a size 10 ans I was very happy, I maintained the weight well for about two years. In the last year I had gained back about 15 lbs, actually 10 sometimes, 15 other times. I just gained 4 more from having my band loosed because I was pbing. Today I went and had it tightened again. I need a fresh start so that I can get back on track...any suggestions? Thanks, Mags

Hi Rachel, I'm waiting to be accepted as a band candidate. My main motivation for the surgery is to live longer with a better quality of life, to "be there" for my 11-year-old daughter. I haven't thought too much about what I'll look like, probably because when I've lost weight before, my abdominal skin hung down like an apron -- yuk. I'm looking forward to the benefits of the surgery, because I'm like you -- short of breath climbing stairs, have withdrawn from things I used to do, etc. When I find myself thinking "OMG I'm so fat! I look awful!" etc. I now say to myself "Not for much longer!" Then I feel this sense of relief--I don't have to feel bad forever and am taking control of this problem. It makes sense to me that you might feel intimidated. This is a big life change, with a lot of specific postop unknowns. Are you by chance concerned that losing the weight will "uncover" problems you used to stuff down by overeating? I sure am. It's really great that we have a site of loving people to help us. We can post feelings like this anytime and know we'll find compassion and support. Nancy