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I think the way we view our bodies is a choice, and only you (not your boyfriend, best friend or me) can truly choose how you're going to live in your own body. If you choose to focus on the loose skin and the imperfections, and allow yourself to stare in the mirror and beat yourself up mentally, then you're going to feel bad. Instead, when you have those negative thoughts, you can make a conscious effort to "talk some sense" into yourself. That loose skin is a battle scar of a battle WON. If you can work on accepting that your body is not perfect, but it's YOURS and it's amazing, then you'll feel better. I look pretty dang good in clothes, but not so good naked. My breasts bother me the most (if I let them), because they are 90-year-old breasts on a mid-thirties woman. I do plan to fix them when I can afford it, but until then, I work on accepting them. I treat myself to really really good bras that make them look awesome, and I've moved to the point where 95% of the time, I accept them and can even make jokes (that even I find funny- not defensive jokes) about them to my husband and close friends. The other thing I do is catch my own negative talk (i.e. ewww, my boobs are so disgusting!) and choose to be more balanced (i.e. ok, so they don't look great BUT wow, I don't have back pain anymore, I can see my ribcage under them, I wear a much smaller bra and they DO look good in a bra/clothes, plus, I can be active without being bothered by my enormous fat breasts so it's not as bad as it seems). This helps me a lot. It is up to you to work on accepting yourself, and you have to do that consciously by monitoring your thoughts about your body and not allowing yourself to be your own worst enemy.

not banded yet but wil be on Jan 30th. all i can tell you is life happens dont beat yourself up about. own it. you went away had a good time enjoyed yourself now get back on the bandwagon and move on. you dont have to be a perfect bandster just a really good one.

Tracy: You truly are a success! It was nice to see you here LBT again. I think it's great that you got down to your low weight and though you gained from there you feel comfortable. Alot of people don't understand how someone can be comfortable when they've lost 100 pounds and then gained 30. I can and appreciate that you shared your experience. Knowing that you feel better at a size 10, but are comfortable in 12-14's is okay. At some point it becomes more about living life and not so much about thinking about every bite that goes into your mouth and how many calories you're burning with exercise. The best part about the band is that if we follow the rules and have the right restriction we can get back down to the low weight again if we want to. I got as low as 174 and I am up over 200 again. I was just talking with my doctor about this yesterday. He said that there is some type of reset that our bodies want to go back to our old weight once we've been so heavy. It just pisses me off that I may have to "diet" again to get back down under 200. Working on getting fills now after being unfilled for a while so that my band can help me. Thanks for updating us. I remember you from before and always enjoyed reading your posts. Take care. Sue

Oh Thank You Mr. Salad!!!!! I never realized how delicious you are!!!!!

I will be praying too. God is good and He is with you as you go through all of this. Weight loss can be slow that is okay right now you have more to be concern with. Let your body heal and then you can step up the weightloss. Cheri

hope you won't mind if I pray for you. thank you for working so hard!

Totally normal as our weight does fluctuate quite a bit...keep doing what you are doing. Its for a lifetime and it will make a difference!

Without getting into a lot of hypothetical s, I would simply say "Don't Worry About It" You can look at being banded into phases, and you are still in the surgery phase, not the weight loss phase. That comes after you heal. I know it's hard, you have been getting all rev'd up for this and you're ready to get it started. But trust me, it WILL happen! I GAINED weight. I was apprehensive when I went to see my Dr., and he basically called me a fool, smiled, and pulled out the biggest needle I ever saw and said "That's why I'm going to stick this in your stomach" Well, a little exaggeration, but he did laugh at me and said that is why the band gets adjusted. (I work in healthcare and I've seen some really big needles. Like the ones used to drain knees) As far as the "Starvation Mode", I'm not a believer in it. At least the way it is thrown around here. But that's another subject. Let's just say I had enough fat stored away that it would take me 6 months to starve!

Hey, don't worry we all will be drop dead HOT soon enough. Don't ever think the way someone remembers us is a bad thing. It just means we have a spot in their memory bank. Better to be here on earth than not. Big or small. Keep your head up and working hard. Crystal

Hello. I am newly banded (only as of 2 weeks) so I'm not sure what I can tell you. However, I realized early on that feeling "full" is not SUPPOSED to happen...even without the band. It means you ate too much. Feeling satisfied and not being hungry in between meals (like every 4 to 5 hours) is the goal. That's just my opinion. I have yet to feel FULL like I used to when I used to stuff my face and clean my plate, but I also don't feel hungry between meals. I'm happy with that. I would also discuss your concerns with your doctor. As for a different procedure, I would suggest the sleeve over the bypass. I did a lot of research on the sleeve because I was considering getting that done (before insurance told me it wasn't covered) and it's safer than the bypass. Good luck in whatever you decide to do!