DeLarla

"although hubby wouldn't let me spend all of his money!" Did she really say "his" money? Girl, there's no "his money" in marriage so go shopping!

Seeing those pictures makes me lightheaded. I'm fantasizing about a bypass to avoid having to count calories. I just sat through my first birthday party without having cake. I'd rather wear a sexy size 18 hippy outfit with a halter top this summer.

Bandsterhopeful, where are you getting your info on Kuri's erosion rate? I've heard of several eroded Kuri patients but I don't know them personally so I'm not at liberty to discuss their situation. Have you asked Kuri directly?

Seeing that actually has me choked up in tears, Heather. Thanks so much... I'm trying to post it to the before & after thread now. Trish, thank you too. I just come here to cry

I love all this info. Thanks!

Congrads, Susan! I also had a hernia repaired when I was banded, but I didn't suffer from any pain. It was pretty uncomfortable as far as bloating, and I was sore, but pain was never an issue. We're all different. I was up and walking 1/2 hour out of surgery while others couldn't get up for 24 hours. The next day some were sick while I was fine, but then everyone was back to normal while I was still miserable from bloating and what felt like Montezuma's Revenge in my belly for 2 whole weeks. Good luck to you... since you're the photo nut, you gotta put an avatar pic up now!

Some of the Vegas bandsters go to Kuri for fills but they are really frustrated. A few gals said he schedules too many patients at once, and they've waited in the waiting room for up to four hours past their scheduled time. You should call his office and see if they have this problem worked out, or at least take a good book.

Shoot the bitch!

Those of you that were (and are) being patient enough to battle insurance companies deserve an award. Good job, Bean! It will all pay off in the end. You'll be banded here in the states, right at home, with aftercare readily available. Damn proud of you!

How did you do that?

Here's one for my current after. Can someone tell me how to make side-by-sides?

I think the drama queen in me just comes here to cry every day. Michelle, my friends are getting tired of hearing about you. All I do is talk about how Michelle lost over a hundred pounds, how Michelle lost her band due to erosion, how Michelle continues to lose weight by eating Protein for Breakfast and no carbs till dinner, Michelle, Michelle, Michelle. Well girl, you're the fire in my belly cause so far I've stayed on track with the same, "Nothing tastes as good as being skinny feels" soundtrack burning through my head. These pictures really do help. I'm not doing just ONE thing to lose weight, I'm trying to incorporate every little idea, thought, motivating factor, friend... anything and everything at this point. It's still very discouraging to look at the scale that doesn't budge for a week. How come we can eat a barrel of crap and gain 4 pounds overnight, but we can't eat a healhty salad and see 4 pounds gone in the morning? My coworker was pissed the other day about unfairness and opened the front door and yelled to the world, "IS IT FAIR OUT HERE?" She came back in and said, "They said no." So here's the most current pic of me at work... is anyone talented enough to do a side-by-side for me to post on the before & after thread? Off to my tea with one measured teaspoon of honey. Oh, and that foxy husband of mine better be cute for all he puts me through! He's a sweetheart... with horns and a tail!

Sigh... the more days go, the more I start missing that tight feeling around my belly. Weird - I hated that weird feeling and was petrified of the foreign object when I was newly banded but I got addicted to it. I'm starting to get a little jealous of all you banded people. I can't believe I said that, but it's somewhat true.

Wow Megan, thanks for that tidbit of encouragement that we'll never gain the weight back that we lost. I'm pretending I have a band and would rather be 6 feet under than 100 pounds overweight again.

Yeah, I swore off all diets & weird tricks, but I'll do ANYTHING to help my hubby quit smoking. He's feeling just a tad better right now, but he's scared to death of leaving the house. He's been holed up ever since Saturday.

Monica, typical band stats say that most of us will lose 1/2 of the weight we needed to lose with the band, then the rest of it is all us, baby. Before losing my band, I was typical and lost 1/2 of my excess weight. Now I'm counting calories, which seems unfair after going through all the pain and money of weight loss surgery. But willpower is the key. You've come this far, fight it. If I can do it, anyone can. Log into fitday.com and enter your daily intake. You'll be surprised how fast calories add up.

I guess that means I gotta workout again tonight, huh? I didn't get through the entire CD though. How long is it? My walk was about 45 minutes, so I'll listen again. And no, my legwarmers aren't next to the shirt with the torn out sleeves and neck cause I still wear that shirt all the time. Why, is it out of fashion? I just gotta laugh because I remember how bad my dad hated that 80s look with my shirt sleeve hanging off one shoulder from being torn. Sexy!

Thanks everyone! I wish everyone would post more pics. ShelliJ's pictures inspire me and keep me away from goodies. Maybe I'll make a whole wallboard of all my before & after bandster friends. I'm inspired by all you people. Life was so lonely before LBT, so I have all you to thank!

Who are you kidding? Like you'll let John go to France without you? Besides, Betty is right. How are you going to exercise for Biggest Loser with your injuries. Plus, probably hundreds of thousands of people are applying for that show. Biggest Loser is a huge gamble. France is for real. Go to France and buy me stuff.

Finding holiday clothes sucked. Last year I actually had choices! Choices rock my world!

And here's me a few months ago. I'm struggling to maintain what I've lost and lose more, but JUST FOR TODAY I'm so thrilled happy that I'll burst if I don't share. Sometimes we need to give ourselves a well deserved hand, so here's mine!

I was a very functioning 315 pounder. This was me at work.

They say, "You're only as sick as your secrets." I've been keeping most of my really fat pictures secret from you guys, so I thought I'd share a couple. They are very humiliating. Today I can very proudly say that I've lost 76 pounds since the beginning of my band journey. I'll ask hubby to take some current photos so Penni can make them into a side-by-side for me to update the Before & After thread, but I feel compelled to share these with my LBT family through choked-back tears. Here's dying Lisa:

Is this gonna be one of them "leave them hanging threads?" Nancy, did you already get famous and forget about all us little people?

I never heard of a vitamin water, but not that I'm de-banded I'm never buying chewables again cause they cost me 20 calories each! Are there calories in vitamin water? I wonder if there's calories in vitamin pills... I better go check.