jetti

mandy i vote for the suit on the right in my opinion its the nicest. its shows off your great shape better and no offense to anyone but the other 2 are a little more "old lady"

Thanks for all the welcome notes everyone!!!

I have always been heavy to put it nicely. The lowest that I can remember was around 180 and that was for a few months senior year of high school when I had lost alot of weight because I was having my gall bladder removed. Needless to say I have continued to gain since then and I now weigh about 280. so in the past 10 years I have gained 100 pounds - funny enough thats how much I want to lose. I thought I was HUGE back then but now when I look at pictures I would give anything to be that size again!!! Well as I am going through the process to be banded I just keep thinking JEEZ its gonna take 1-2 years at least to lose all the weight that I want too and that seems like an eternity to me and then today it finally dawned on me that at least it wont take the 10 years that it took me to gain all this weight!!!!!!!! I will be grateful for anything that I lose because at least the scale wont be going up anymore!!! I dont know if anyone else has felt like I did but to me it was another positive to push me to get the band. Oh yeah and i go for my phsyic evaluation on 8/29 and I am super nervous about what he is going to ask. any words of advise?? :phanvan

I was thinking about posting the same question while I was drivng to work today. For me deciding to get the band or have gastric was always simple. I don't like how severe and invasive that the gastric is. I never like the idea that they would be cutting things and reattaching them elsewhere!!! I like the thought of losing the weight slower so that my body and mind will have more time to adjust. I know a few people that have had gastric and they lost so much weight so fast and I dont think that is something i could or would want to deal with. well thats just my opinion. I would also like to see what helped others make the decision of band over gastric

north jersey here!!!!

I am 29 single - no kids no husband - and live in north jersey about 15 minutes from NYC. I work 2 jobs to pay the bills and keep myself busy but clearly not busy enough to not eat I love to read, hang out with friends, watch girlie movies, listen to music, dance and travel. I am not banded...YET. I am working my way there going to all the different doctors appointments and all of the FUN stuff. It's a lot but I know in the end it will all be worth it!!! I don't plan on telling everyone about the band. So far just my mom and my best friend know I am doing all of the testing. Unfortunately my friend and my main support recently moved to Spain so I don't have her here for all the analyzing that I tend to do about everything in life and my mom is the smallest person I know so she supports my decision but I don't think she can ever really understand what it is all about. I know I can find support on this board along with answers to every question and for that I am very thankful. well that's me in a nutshell and I look forward to getting to know you all.

A few years ago while vacationing in Spain me and my friend - we are both "thick" girls - were just walking around the city at night we had done our hair and makeup just to look and feel cute. as we were walking up the street we saw a bunch of guys standing outside of a bar and they were all staring at us as we were coming up the street. as we passed by one guy had the nerve to say "you can find something special in all women except those two" none of his friends said anything because i think they were embarassed. once we turned the corner we just stop because we were both just so hurt and shocked at what was just said. I felt like I had been stabbed in the heart. another time while vacationing in Dominican Republic while we were laying on the beach just relaxing not bothering anyone 2 guys walking down the beach made the usual beached whale comment. :faint: what i find funny is that in both cases the guys that made the comments were american and we were in countries where the local guys were all over us because they like women with curves and meat on their bones!!!

Just wanted to say hello to all my fellow NJ folks and send a thank you to everyone who has posted on this board...so much great info!!!

A few years ago while vacationing in Spain me and my friend - we are both "thick" girls - were just walking around the city at night we had done our hair and makeup just to look and feel cute. as we were walking up the street we saw a bunch of guys standing outside of a bar and they were all staring at us as we were coming up the street. as we passed by one guy had the nerve to say "you can find something special in all women except those two" none of his friends said anything because i think they were embarassed. once we turned the corner we just stop because we were both just so hurt and shocked at what was just said. I felt like I had been stabbed in the heart. another time while vacationing in Dominican Republic while we were laying on the beach just relaxing not bothering anyone 2 guys walking down the beach made the usual beached whale comment. what i find funny is that in both cases the guys that made the comments were american and we were in countries where the local guys were all over us because they like women with curves and meat on their bones!!! :faint:

I have started the steps of having surgery: MRI, physic eval, exam and all the other fun stuff that goes along with trying to get banded. My only concern and question is am I doing this too soon? If I am approved I would want to wait until the end of December/beginning of January to have the surgery. Has anyone waited that long? have I started too early???

Does anyone have any doctors in NJ that they would recommend? I have already gone to 2 info seminars by 2 different doctors but I am still looking to talk to a few others. If anyone has any info that would be great. thanks!!!

Ok I think that hair loss is the one thing that scares me the most. I always had short hair and I have been growing it out and it is now down to my waist and I am petrified of having to cut it short again. To me my hair is the only good thing I have going for myself. Maybe once I lose weight then I will not "rely" on my hair so much but for now I am worried about losing 50% of a good thing. :omg:

I am not sure if this post belongs here but I am just looking to get somethings out and this site has always been very helpful and you all seem very understanding. I have been thinking about weight loss surgery for years now (I worked in a plus size womens clothing store and it felt like everyday I met someone new who had surgery) and I finally think I am ready to go through with it. I have been to a few info seminars to get an idea of what the surgery was all about and to check out a few different doctors. I have also been reading this site for sometime now (thanks for all the great info) I went to my primary doctor this weekend and I am going to make the appointments for my psychiatric evaluation and some other test within the next few weeks so I am now well on my way. I am not close to having a date set but I am still nervous as all heck as I make my way closer to the end. I think my biggest problem right now is I dont have much of a support system to talk about my fears and nervousness with. My family is supportive but they dont understand what its like to be fat all there lives and the one person that I know has my back and understands everything I am dealing with just moved to another country and its not easy not being able to just call and say "I am going crazy" and she would be there in an second. I wont let any of this hold me back because I know I need to do this for MYSELF and no one else but everyday is a struggle one way or the other. Sorry for the rant and babble! :cry

I am not banded...yet. I am working to get myself to the point so that I can be banded. I had my gall bladder removed about 11 years ago when I was 17 so I was wondering after reading that alot of people have to have it removed after having weight lose surgery if I would be open to any other problems because I dont have my gall bladder.

I can't remember a time when I was not fat. If I look at pictures when I was a kid I was always "chubby" and as I went through school it got worse and I was no longer "chubby" I was plain old FAT. I was picked on all through school for being fat and I still have low self esteem as a 29 year old about it. I am fat because like many people here I LOVE food! Believe it or not I can't eat much in a sitting and I don't always finish what is on my plate BUT I will be hungry in an hour and instead of having a healthy snack I will have another meal or sweet treats! Food is my addiction but unfortunately I can't go to rehab to get over my addiction. In my eyes food is the worst addiction unlike with cigarettes, alcohol or drugs you HAVE to eat to survive so you can't just quit "cold turkey" I just don't have the willpower to not eat the "bad" stuff. In my mind there is no consequence to eating the cake or ice cream so why not have it? I know that long term I am killing myself but what is the instant consequence...a full belly...PERFECT!!! Well that is my rant as to why I am fat. I have not been banded yet nor do I have a date or anything but I am on my way to changing my life with making the decision to have surgery. I look forward to the day that I can answer the question "why are you skinny?" :think<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>

hey everyone! I was looking to see if anyone can provide info/opinions on doctors in north NJ for LapBand. I have already been to 2 info seminars held by 2 different doctors and I have 1 more to look into. I am trying to get as much knowledge as I can and I don't think it would hurt to check out more then 1 doctor. You ladies all seem to be full of helpful info so I would aprreciate anything that you can offer. Thanks!!

I am interested in lapband surgery and have been for some time now. I was just looking for some realistic times as to how long I would be out of work. My full time job is a desk job and I am not on my feet except to go to the copier or printer. My part time job is retail so I am on my feet the entire time but I am not as much concerned about the part time job as I am the full time. I don't want to be out of work to long and I really don't want to explain what kind of surgery I am having. I work in a small office and I don't want all of my business being spread throughout when it is not everyone's business. I would appreciate any info that you folks have. thanks!!!