Ms. Blue

Good Luck. I remember it all very well. Tomorrow Is my "BandDay!!!" I started my journey on March 27th 2012. Good luck!!!!!

My final clearance is this Friday. I'm nervous, excited, and ready to get things started. Good luck!

Today I got a call offering to move up my final clearance appointment. It's now Sept 6th. After 7 months of classes and tests and appointments this just got real. After this clearance appointment I'll get my surgery date. I'm incredibly nervous. Now all that's left is getting this final medical clearance and insurance approval. Yikes.

I plan to go zip lining in Belize or St. Lucia!

MY partner is getting the band too. She's been telling EVERYONE. Her family, her coworkers everyone. I asked her to keep mine to herself but she is not doing such a good job. I told my partner and one of my good friends only that i was considering it. I work with a bunch of small-minded gossips so I'm planning on telling my work only that I'm having surgery. I've already started to lose weight on my own so hopefully it wont be too much of a stretch. There are 2-3 people here that have had WLS and I know because everyone gossips not because they told me. So that cemented my decision to keep the news out of work!!

One of the main reasons I decided on Lap Band was because I was dissapearing from history. I would cringe when someone got out the camera. I absolutely HATED the way I looked. I still have that knee-jerk reaction when someone starts snapping photos, and I'm still not madly in love with how I look, but it's not so bad.
Use that video for inspiration. Recognize where you are right now, and know that you're starting your journey so you never have to look back.

Something else I am going to do along the way (other than a beach vacation) is get professional pictures of myself taken. I think that would make me feel really beautiful.

Mine is a continuous process:
http://thefatgirlthin.blogspot.com/2012/02/skinny-bucket-list.html

1. To not fear walking into a room and not being able to sit in the chair.
2. ride amusment park rides as well.
3. Help inspire my gf of 3 years to loose weight. as she find it difficult to loose since she has gained down here in the south!.
4. Get my sexy back...felt very proud of myself when i was in my 200's and im 362 now. slowly but surly i will be there. I know I can do it!

Mine is a continuous process:
http://thefatgirlthin.blogspot.com/2012/02/skinny-bucket-list.html

There are a few things to do that will help you with food choices, and maybe to manage your hunger as well.

First: measure your portions at every meal, eat Protein first. take small bites, chew every bite well. Time your meals.

Schedule a consultation with a dietitian to help you plan and follow through with healthier eating patterns.

Make it difficult or very inconvenient for you to make poor food choices. There should not be any tempting food items in your home. Many of us are too lazy to make the effort to go to the store to get your food "vices", whatever they may be.

It sounds like your calorie intake is too low, and you did not mention if you were getting enough protein to meet your daily protein goal. Both not having enough calories or enough protein will slow your weight loss down.

Exercise is a must...even if it's only 10 minutes every day, some is better than none.

Drink SF/FF fluids to help manage your hunger.

Stay busy...if you feel hungry, go for a walk, start cleaning out a drawer, anything to use as a distraction to take your focus away from food.

Learn the difference between authentic hunger and "head hunger". Don't give into head hunger.

Don't allow yourself to get obsessed with your scale.

It's so easy to get discouraged...we all will have challenging days. Stay focused on your goals, and take a day at a time. The more you empower yourself to take control back with your eating, the better you will feel about what you have already accomplished.

promise YOU will not starve. if my body is hungry, it is more than welcome to take some from my butt checks or upper thighs for nourishment

The fact that we EXPECT people to have a problem with it or just say a name and not say they are our partner/boyfriend/girlfriend/etc. is called the "heterosexual priviledge". That str8 people can talk about their husband and that's okay. It's not considered "personal" business. Just like your user ID says you are someone's mom which could imply your str8. For me, I say it takes mental energy to try and hide parts of my life that I shouldn't have to. If you don't like it, I'll spend my money somewhere else. But our personal lives are a BIG part of how we live, who we eat with, why we overeat sometimes and an inability to be completely honest about all of those things is not healthy. Talking about our relationships, how food is involved and how we socialize around food helps us learn, evolve and grow through the weight loss surgery process.
If people don't like it, find someone who doesn't care. I don't think my surgeon needs to be gay. He just needs to be good at what he does. But me having to hide the fact that I have a boyfriend because I think he'd have a problem with it, means I wouldn't use him. In my case, I am as out loud and proud as they come and nobody ever has a problem with it. Probably because I don't.

What a different experience I had. My doc just asked if I understood what the band was all about and made sure I knew what I was getting into. Took about 10 minutes and there was no test. Just informal conversation.....
I hope it works out for you!

Both of you have real issues

And I hope you realize this forum is specifically for people who are considering or have the Lap-Band. There are other forums specifically for other bariatric procedures such as Sleeve and Gastric bypass.
I do not go trolling on their boards, I would hope they wouldn't troll here either.
Btw, do not private message me again. I am not your friend and have no use for trolls.

I am a private person, and so only told those people who are intricate parts of my life. I did not tell casual friends or co-workers because it is none of their business.

Always remember that you cannot un-ring that bell.....

If the surgery is out of the question then my response is mute. However, my experience with the lapband has been nothing but successful. I, too, had some hair loss but use biotin and a good shampoo/condition has aleviated the problem. I have lost 130 lbs in 12 months, have kept it off, and am more alive then I have ever been. having been overweight my whole life, living in a healthy body it the best. Once the weight was gone, I was and am more able to concentrate on WHY I eat. THAT is the true struggle. Most of us don't overeat because we're hungry. That has not changed with the band, it has just given me the ability to true be honest with myself about myself. I would recommend the surgery to anyone who is willing to be honest with themselves as to why they are overweight. Losing the weight does not make all you problems go away. It just enables you to more readily see where the issues are.
Johanna

Oh yea,, I forgot I did get a folder full of information and the way the Center works. One of the questions I would definitely ask is whether or not they have a "program fee" they require you to pay out of pocket. I was told this was for materials and such that they couldn't bill the insurance for. I had to pay $400.

Not ridiculous at all!! I also have a short leather jacket on my small list of "when I lose this weight"

Considering the best reward will be the weight loss and goals. While I haven't given it a thought yet because I am not banded, however I know this sounds ridiculous, but I always wanted a leather jacket. I could own one if I want, but at my weight honestly I never thought I would look good in one. I don't want a long one, I want a short one hopefully one that will show off my weight loss and accentuate my figure.
Great question, and loved all the answers

When I first started my journey I thought about how I would reward myself too! Somewhere along the way in this past year the constant weight loss distracted me and when I reached my goal (I lost 150 pounds in one year) I completely forgot about that. I'm skinny now hehe... what an AWESOME reward!! I wear size 4 jeans and size small shirts now... REWARD! Honestly, I can't think of a single thing I could give myself that would outshine what I have already done for me~ a new body is about the best reward I can imagine! Happy Losing Everyone!! Trust me, it's BEYOND worth every struggle you will encounter!

oooo... i have always said i want to throw a big "reveal' party! invite everyone i know... get a little makeover, a beautiful dress... and just celebrate the success!
of course, i'd only serve healthy foods
of course all of you will be invited!

Aww, I love this question.
I have not decided how to reward myself along the way.
But when I get to my ultimate goal weight I want to go on vacation to Australia, New Zealand,
or Hawaii. Gotta go somewhere with a beach to show off my new body