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I'm actually totally bummed. I drove 6 hours to get a tattoo and the guy who was supposed to do it has colitis (spelling?). He had a flareup ( throwing up and shaking) while I was there. I decided to NOT get a tattoo by a shakey hand. And since I go home tomorrow, I guess no tattoo.

Here I am waiting in a TATTOO parlor to get my first tattoo!!! OMG I think I'm crazy!! I never would've gotten something like this done before surgery. I wanted to hide before, definately not show anything off!!! Pics to come later.......

Definately not TMI!!! That's awsome!!!!!

Thanks everyone! I love this site simply because I know you guys know how I feel!!! It hard to explain to someone who has never been through the "process". Hdubsleevery- I don't know who's having more fun either but we all love how much mommy can play now!!!! Amanda!! I'm doing really well thanks. I've often thought of you too!! I haven't done alot of running lately because my foot was giving me some issues ( needless to say I chucked my rally shoes and bought better ones). So I've done lots of hiking and biking to work my stamina up ( where I think I need the most work). How's your training going? Feel free to message me anytime. We can plot our success ; )

And what a six months it's been!!! I have discovered Heather (me). It's been a wonderful journey that is SO not over. My start weight (when I decided to have surgery) was 229; although I know my weight has been higher in the past. I lost really well over the next 4 months, and slowly over the last 2. My official goal was 140, although I put my ticker to 138 as my BMI would be concitered "normal" (whatever that means). As of tonight, I am 141lbs!!!!!! That is 89 lbs lost to date!!!!! I'm so excited to be here and I am enjoying life so much more. Over this summer I have found it so important to do things for ME. I started hiking up a local Mountain here. Grouse mountain was part of the last winter Olympics here in Vancouver Canada. There is a trail here called the Grouse Grind. It's actually 2.9 km of stairs!!! Start to finish, you climb an elevation of 2800 metres and there is a total of almost 3000 stairs (made of rocks and trees). I have been doing it at least once a week and I am now doing times of a seasoned grinder My reward for doing so well over the last 6 months was to buy myself a real recumbent trike. It''s a 3 wheeler that sits really low to the ground and will allow me to run my dog with out her tripping me over. I paid a fortune for it, and haven't been able to ride yet, but I can't wait!! My ultimate goal will be achieved in 6 months. I have signed up for the Disneyland 1/2 Marathon!!!! It's been a goal of mine since I was a kid. Now my dream will come true in the land where dreams come true!!!! For anyone on the fence, I look to Nike - JUST DO IT!!! It truly is the best thing I could've done for myself and my family. I have 2 little ones (3 and 5) and I want to be around to see them have their own little ones and so on........ Enjoy the pics- I hope they work The before- giving my little guy an airplane ride With my daughter on the roller coaster last year About 3-4 months out At the beach with my weimaraner - Keala On the same roller coaster at about 5 months out with my son My daughter and I on the swings ride this year - I couldn't get on them last year!!! Me at the top of Grouse grind for the first time (I'm showing there is still snow at the top in JUNE!!!) Me at about 5 1/2 months out a view from the tram on the way down. See that bald spot close to the middle right of the pic? my car is there and that's how far/high I climb every week!!! A goofy pic of me while on the grind Me and my baby girl - who thinks she's not my baby anymore

I've posted this before, but I think it's with re-posting. My mom had the band for just over 2 years. She never really hit the sweet spot and started regaining over a year ago. Finally a couple months ago, she had a steakbite of mine at a restaurant. It got stuck. Majorly stuck. After 13 hours of dry heaving she went to the hospital. She was in ER for 4 days with doctors not knowing what to do. They knew she had slipped, but were giving it time to hopefully move back. They finally took her to emergency surgery when she started throwing up black goo. When she came out, the surgeon explained that the slip had happened long ago and that the steak bite was the final straw. The band had slipped too far and had cut off blood supply to her stomach. It killed 3/4 of her stomach and part of her esophogus. Had surgery been delayed a few hours, the surgeon said we would have lost her to infection and sepsis . She now has something similar to vsg but a horizontal cut instead of vertical. It took 4 weeks to get out of the hospital. She now has 4 chipped teeth as well from grinding her teeth in pain while on maximum heavy doces of morphine while in the ER. Going back to her family doctor ( who didn't know she had the band in the first place) said that he's had 2 patients die from the lapband and now my mom's almost death. It makes me sick to think of what might have been!!!!

I think the biggest one for me is DO roll with the punches!! I have a goal daily for how much liquid ( over 75 oz), how much Protein ( over 70) how much carbs ( under 50). But if I go over 50 carbs, I'm not so worried because there are many days I'm below. I stall for long periods of time. But so what?!?! I KNOW it'll move again soon. Maybe I didn't make it to the gym- that's okay I'll go extra hard/long the next day. As long as I follow up and do as planned, I'm all good!!! I found that once I stopped worrying about the small stuff, I enjoyed myself that much more!!!

I was a regular- full sugar- coca cola drinker. Up to 6 cans a day!! I was sure I couldn't live without it. I cut I down to 1 a day for a week- that was hard but doable. Then I cut it out completely. I did this a month before my preop so I was fighting one problem at a time. Worked wonders!!! Now I'm down almost 90lbs and I haven't gone back to caffiene- I'm not planning on it either. I find I have SO MUCH more energy than I used to. Just TRY to hold out and see how it goes.

You look wonderful!!! I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who's taken a pic in the bathroom too : ). Heehee

That's awsome!! Keep going with the ex étude. You'll be walking off the extra poundage too : )

I feel like I've lost my best friend of 20 years. We've known eachother since we were ten and we were inseparable. Our husbands are best friends and our kids are less than a year apart and are pretty cute together. Now, she is bigger than I was at my highest, and she pleaded with me to do WW instead. When I said thank you for your concern but no, she insisted on telling me horror stories about WLS, saying a friend of a sister of a blahblahblah died suddenly after! Then the night I was flying out ( to Mexico), she asked me what my husband and kids would do if I died in surgery. That it wasn't fair to put him through that cause he lost his parents a short time ago!!! WTF!!! Who says that???? It hurts so bad that I feel like I don't have a friend anymore

I would say to bump up your calories and your water. I bought a 2.2L (74oz) bottle that I fill with sf koolaid or crystal light or what have you. Then I take it everywhere with me. To work, in the car, etc. My goal is to finish by dinner. If my water consumption is low, not only do I stop losing, but I gain. So start drinking more!!

Keep in mind that doing weights ( although great for you) will slow your loss to begin with. Don't stop because it's great that you are doing it, but be aware that because muscle weighs more than fat, that it'll alter your weight loss. It'll come around. Don't worry about it. Once I let go of the worrying, I did so much better!!!

Generally I gain 5-7 pounds during TOM. It sucks!!!! But it comes off again just as quick

Yes.... That was the reaction I got when someone asked for photo ID yesterday. I then had to explain that, yes, that IS me, and I lost alot of weight. Then the girl called the manager over to contemplate if the "fat" person in the photo was indeed me. It took them a while, but I was able to finish the transaction. Good thing my licence is up for renewal in october!!!

Wow!! You look gorgeous!!! Congrats on the wedding!!!

I have little lumps too. My doc says it's scar tissue forming. Sucks for the infection, but yay to your doc, who was right on top of it. It's great to see a doctor using camera phones as tools!!!!

I hate head hunger!!! And I work in a bakery

Haha!! How can you tell we're both Canadian eh? Heehee. Have you tried it yet happylife? I tried it once ( years ago) and didn't even make it a 1/4 of the way!! Now I've done it twice in 7 days!! I went again yesterday and timed like a seasoned hiker!! 1 hour 31 min. I was trying for 1 hour 30... But im happy anyways : ) Hope all is well!!

That is unbelievable Irene!!!! Fan-freaking-tastic job!!!!!

Awsome!! And cutie too to boot : )

I agree with the running, though I can't do an hour yet. I run a 5k 3-4 days a week in under 40min. I think the biggest thing for me is keeping up with my kids. And having a better attitude around them- mainly because I'm not so tired.

Kristeyk- I was fun. If you can believe that I was high enough in altitude that there were still small patches of snow!!! So by the time I got the the top, it was prety cool

My biggest vice before surgery was coke/ pepsi and slurpees. I decided about a month before the preop to get off them. My doctors said something that made alot of sense. One thing at a time. So slurpees first. Went about a week or two with out, then cut the pop down to one a day for a week, then cut it out. By the time my surgery day came, I had no more sugary withdrawals or caffiene headaches. Worked great. And yes. The first month sucks so bad. But gets soooo much better!!!

Woohoo!!! Great job!!!