NJGirl32

I went and I loved it!! I smiled the entire time-it was intense!! The next day I felt it! I did feel like I had 2 left feet, but my class had ALL ages and ALL sizes! I wasn'tthe heaviest obe in class (maybe the 2nd). It was a freshing change from the treadmill and machines.

Whoa!!! What a difference!! You look beautiful!! Congratulations on achieving what many just dream of-and it's amazing that you did all of this in a year! Enjoy being skinny out in the world!

I went shopping and the same thing-I actually enjoyed trying on clothes!!

I tried on a size 16 dress-a little snug, but Spanx could take care of that! Size 18s are loose-but fit-I can't believe it!

I am 5'6 at 222-I figure another 10 pounds and I'lll be in a comfortable size 16-even jeans!

Who would have thought that trying on clothes could feel so good!

Congrats!!!

Wow! Now that's what I call a real success story-awesome!!!

I am 48 pushing 49 - and I had the band the end of May. I would say you are right that it seems to be about 7-10 pounds a month. The weight tend to come off slower as we get older-that's for sure-but at least it is coming off! I agree that exercise (although I hate it with a passion) gives you more energy and I think it boosts the metabolism.

Girl you have restriction if 8ozs feels almost like Thanksgiving!

Dave is correct - you should stop before you get stuffed.

Everyone else is correct too-restriction varies from person to person.

Good luck!!

It's the worst feeling ever! Just be glad it didn't happen in public. A few tipes to avoid being stuck:

1. Chew, chew, chew

2. Don't stand around the kitchen pooppingthings into your mouth, you're more apt to swallow a bigger piece of something then get stuck

3. Avoid dry textured meats. Make sure your meats and moist.

4. When at a resturant avoid the bread basket. This happened to me and it ruined my entire dinner. I ran to the bathroom 5 times and vomited twice-why risk it?

Any of you out in the Bandland who have never been stuck-count your blessings because it is the worst pain ever!

Thanks, NJ. I got to spend the day last Friday at the beach with the little light of my life. I love that picture, even if it does show all my wrinkles! LOL.

My last fill was the middle of April. It put me up to 5.8cc. Honestly, I think this is the first time in 3 years that I really feel like I'm in my sweet spot. As for secrets...there are none. Pardon me while I quote Colin Powell: "There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure." I happen to know that you came into this well prepared. You really did do your homework before your surgery. I'm also sure that you are up for the challenge. And let's face it....every one of us has years of failure to draw from. Otherwise we wouldn't be here.

Oh I LOVE that quote!! I especially love the part about learning from failure.

I have had a few beers since surgery. Last week I had 3 Corona Lights while at a friend's get together. I wouldn't do it again because I felt so bloated for several days afterwards and it simply wasn't worth it when there are other options available.

It's true that it can take a few days or even a couple of weeks to feel the result...with that being said, I totally feel your frustration! I had high expectations for my first fill and again for my 2nd fill. My 2nd fill was a little better. I know that we want the band to start doing it's part- it's aggravating having to wait so long to reach that sweet spot!

My doc also give fills 6 weeks apart-seriously-6 weeks??!! I booked my 2nd fill 4 weeks and I have a fill coming up next week at 3 weeks. I am not sure if they will do it with only 3 weeks passing by-but I am sure going to try and plead my case!

Good luck to you!

Love the new profile pic!

You are really an inspiration to al of us- that is an amazing weight loss!!

How often do you get fills now? Do you feel like you still have restriction? Any tips or secret to success that you care to share?

My daughter wants me to go to a Zumba class tonight but I am unsure if I can keep up. I am 223 at 5'6 and I can do 2 miles on the treadmill at 35 minutes. Is it all dance? I thought if I couldn't keep up with the youngins (I am 48) maybe I can side out early?

How was your first Zumba experience?

You definitely have lost a lot of weight!! It does feel so wonderful when someone notices and often those closest to us can't see it because they see us on a daily basis.

Definitely a miracle baby! Congrats!!!

Believe it r not I can feel when I lost weight ( evn a pound or two) and I can feel if I gained. I only get on the scale when I suspect I had lost something. My scale is in my dining room and I rarely weigh myself.

Whoo Hoo!!!!!!!!!

I don't think I've seen a size 10 since 4th grade! lol

Great job!

I have BCBS and at a BMI of 40 you don't need any other health issues to be approved. It is really very frustrating and ridiculous-hopefully this time all will go smoothly!

I am so jealous!! I wish I had no appetite!

I wouldn't question 9 pounds in 3 weeks-but make sure you are getting the Protein in or you could begin to have Hair loss.< /p>

As long as your energy is up and you are getting the Proteins and Water in I don't see a problem at all.

Congratualtions!!

Can I ask what # fill is this and how much do you have in your band?

I don't mind the ads to the right of the posts or to the top of the posts, but when they are embedded in the actual post itself that's just crazy!! And it's not a small advertisement either-it's really large! They can do better!

I also opted to keep it from everyone. The only one that knows is my DH because he had to take me to the hospital and pick me up. I am glad I told him because at east I have 1 person to talk to about it. I did not tell my 2 daughters (ages 19 & 24) mainly because I didn't want to put the burden on them of keeping it a secret. One woman at work knows too.

I have to say I am SO glad-really glad I didn't tell evryone. The weight loss has been a lot slower than I ever imagined. I feel a olt less stress not having to worry what others might think about my weight loss. This is MY journey-not theirs. I will tell my daughters and my mother once I have lost around 50-60 pounds, but I don't plan on telling anyone else.

Many people think this is the easy way out and that is so far from the truth! It takes a lot of work and determination and I want credit for all my hard work. I don't want people to say "Oh she had WLS that's why she lost the weight."

You will need to be very patient until you have the right amount of fills and start feeling the true effects of the band. Good luck to you!

I had to take it. I am obviously not female so I didn't have to worry about yeast infection but I had no ill side effects. The prevacid ended all of the reflux I had been having so it was benneficial for me. Hope this helps.

Thanks for the reply! The only real side effect I notice is a bad taste in my mouth. I don't have any reflux or heartburn-never did-but evidently the bacteria's there anyway. Glad to hear you didn't have any side effects

During my final weeks before surgery I gained 5 pounds! I ate everything I thought I would no longer enjoy. But the truth is I can still enjoy all those foods, but just in moderation. I have steak, seafood, chinese food, BBQ-you name it! I try to stay away from sweets and limit my alchol -but I do indulge. A month after my surgery I was able to eat anything-actually I could eat the same amount as before the surgery with absolutely no problems. I have had 2 fills so far and I am not able to eat as much or as fast. I haven't hit that sweet spot yet but I am inching closer!

Girl you can get on top of this -it's still very managable! Okay so you have gained...now is the time to take control before it becomes anymore. You can lose that 29 pounds-absolutely!! You know what you need to do because you have done it before! Don't let the 29 pounds become 39 pounds and so on. Take charge of it now while it's still very controlable!

Get your reflux under conrtol and get your fill. Exercise is a great stress reliever and it make you feel good mentally.

2 months from now you can write that you had a set back but you lost the weight or you can say you are deeper in a hole-the choice is really yours. Today is the day-you don't have to be perfect with this journey but you must always strive to move forward.

Good luck to you-you got this girl!

I feel the same way after about a week of my first fill. I felt hungry all the time-even more so then before the fill! It didn't make sense to me. The second fill helped a little more but it's still not there yet. I am hoping fill #3 does the trick!

We're planning to change the way and amount ads are displayed on LBT. Our goal is to knock out all ads on the right side of most pages and cut down on the total amount of ads shown to members. For the next week or two we'll be testing different ad spots. I promise when we are done, you'll be a lot happier with the way content is displayed and ads should be a lot less intrusive and annoying. I apologize for any inconvenience this is causing our members.

Thank you for letting us know what's going on. The ads in the responses are absolutely terrible. It would really caude me to think about permanantly leaving this site. There all WAY too many ads all over this site and they are very intrusive. Thanks again for keeping us in the loop!