gowalking

This post put a smile on my face @KateP. These are the stories that inspire me..and let me hope that this newly slender lady is not an anomoly but truly my new normal. Thank you so much for hanging around all this time so we bandsters can know that there are long term successes out there.

Big difference. Congrats!

I'm not so much looking for advice because there's nothing I can do about this but I am really starting to worry about my sister. She is morbidly obese and I know that she has co-morbidities such as diabetes and hypertension. I can also see that she has trouble climbing steps and just moving normally due to her size. I also know that her joints are starting to bother her and while she is still much more mobile than I was at her size, she is heading down a very bad path and all she has to do to know that is to look at my scars from my bilateral hip replacement. My brother drove me home last night after we spent the day at my sister's apartment. My brother is a runner and in fantastic shape for a man of his age. I look and feel better than I have in 20 years. While driving me home, he told me of his concern for our sister's health. That scared me because he really does think her heart will give out if she does not start to take care of herself. I've been asked by both my dad and my doctor to speak to my sister about her weight and see if I can convince her to do what I did. I've already said that I would never do that and I won't. I know that if the situation was reversed, I'd hate it if my sister came to me even as a loving sister only concerned with my health and tried to talk to me about my weight. No one can make or even influence this decision for someone else. I know my sister will have to go through something bad in order to face having to make such a huge lifestyle change. I also know that she may die early because she doesn't want to do anything at this time. I love my sister and she is my best friend. I am starting to allow myself to think about her not being around for our retirement. It makes me so sad and afraid and yet I am unable to change anything. Anyway, I just wanted to vent. Again, there is nothing any of you can offer in terms of advice but I did want to share. I know others have or are going through this with their own loved ones.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day. I spent the day with my family. My mom and dad are up from Florida and we had a lovely afternoon by my sister. My brother was there along with some other relatives. A funny thing happened while we were eating. I was sitting at the middle of the table and was spooning out the salads and putting the slices of meat on my dad's plate as he was too far from the food to do it himself. I'm so used to band sized portions that when I gave the plate back to him, he said to me, 'can you spare it?' I said an oops and took the plate back and added more food to it. What a difference in how I perceive amounts of food now. I'm so glad some things are becoming my 'new normal'.

Sorry to hear. Feel free to reach out if you want to talk. Liz.

Maybe call Cigna and ask them for information. The last thing you need is a surprise regarding owing money for the procedure. Good luck!

Now that I've lost so much weight, the port sticks out like a golfball under my skin. Sometimes it's visible if I'm wearing a clingy top or dress. I may switch to a low profile port if I continue to be bothered by it.

If others are willing, think about sharing. I do it all the time and this way, I can take a little of this and that and not have to deal with a complete meal. It can work with one other person or a group. Went out last night as a matter of fact with my folks and my sister. We ordered two Soups, one appetizer, three main courses. I took a spoonful of my sister's vichyssoise because I just had to. Then had 1/4 portion of the beets and goat cheese salad..a small serving of fish, small serving of meat, and about a half dozen mussels. Saved my carbs for a slice of french bread dipped in the mussels sauce. I even has a couple of spoonfuls of dessert with coffee. More than satisfied and no leftovers to deal with. I remember when I would eat an appetizer and a full entree all by myself. And often a full serving of dessert as well. And I enjoy it more than I did before being banded as the portions are small and I savor every biteful.

I'm also a bandster and while I haven't had any fills, I know that the follow up care is as important as the surgery itself. Good to hear you have found another doctor who seems to be very band savvy.

Oh good luck sweetie! I'm rooting for you.

Welcome! What a young grandma you are. Just wait till you are also the healthiest on the playground. My second grandchild was born two weeks ago and I'm so excited to be able to keep up with him in a way I could not when my granddaughter was a toddler. I'm in New York City by the way.

Before the weight loss, I was a 44DD and now I'm a 32D. I thought I was a smaller cup size but the professional bra fitter said no. Problem is that I literally have to pour my breasts into the bra cups. They are nothing but skin. I may have boob surgery in the future but for now, I rely on the bra as I do all my foundation garments to make me look good in clothing. As far as out of clothes..well, that's for another thread..lol.

So sorry to hear of your husband's diagnosis. Wishing him a full recovery and many more years together for the two of you. Come back with updates when you can and to take whatever strength we can offer. You have lots of support here for you even if it's only virtual. Liz (gowalking)

Sashimi is usually cut thin. The block of fish is the piece the counterman cuts the slices from. I'm sure though, if you ask for thin sliced sashimi, they will do it for you. I was also going to recommend sashimi. The fish alone, without the rice or sauce or other toppings is very low in fat and calories and is a healthy option as long as you stay away from the soy sauce...or cut the soy sauce with Water. This is what I do and I find that I don't have much water weight gain from the sodium content. Enjoy!

I cut my hair short because I was going through some physical issues and needed to change things up for my own sanity along with suffering from hair loss, which started when I was about 7 months post banded. And..also because I knew that I was small enough a year ago to accomodate a short hairstyle. I've had nothing but positive comments with my new short hair. I love it this way...and I love your haircut as well @ga_crystal.

Many of us with weight issues have some type of body dis-morphism in that we do not see what others see. We look in the mirror and often do not see how large we are and when we start to lose weight we do not see that either. Pictures help alot when you can't see what others see. Also..no matter the reason, if someone tells you that it looks like you've lost some weight, just say thank you..and get used to it. It will happen more and more as the weight comes off. As far as myself, I am less than half my size now and am still struggling with seeing what others see. I've been called skinny and that is hard for me to hear because I have NEVER been skinny and the fat girl still lurks in my head. You can also do a search on this topic in that it is brought up quite often.

Aww...thank you. The 150 lb. goal was my doctor's idea. She said she would be thrilled if I got down to that weight. I kept eating the way I had been since being banded and the weight just continued to come off. It's stabilized at around 115. I haven't been this size since I was a young girl. Even when I got married, I was 125 lbs. and looked really nice so this is really an amazing accomplishment for me. Now...to keep it off. That's the real goal.

The pool does have a chair lift and stairs for those who need help. Unfortunately, this lady just did not fit in the chair and I knew she was concerned that the chair wouldn't hold her. As far as the stairs, she just couldn't manage them without assistance. It was like trying to get someone paralyzed out of the Water. She couldn't do much of anything to help herself. I think the people helping her were not being insensitive...it's just that they had to move a very large person who wasn't able to move herself and it just wasn't pretty. All I could think was how terrible to be so large that you are basically trapped in your body and can't do even basic things. I never got that immobile, but I wasn't all that far from it. I will keep an eye out for this lady and see if she continues to use the facility. I do hope so.

I went to my Water exercise class last night and there was an extremely morbidly obese woman in the water struggling to get out of the pool. It took two strong men and her friend or sister to get her out. It also took several minutes. Our class had started thank goodness but I could see that there were still people watching this going on and all I could think was here was this woman at least trying to do something good for herself and I didn't know if she would ever come back because of this challenge to get out of the water. I wanted so badly to tell her to keep at it but I knew it was none of my business. Plus...I would have wanted to explain that I knew how hard it was to be so physically challenged and again, I would have been giving her my story without knowing if she was the least bit interested. So I kept my mouth shut but I do hope she comes back and they make arrangements with the staff to make sure she can get out of the pool without so much difficulty next time. All I know is that I felt so badly for her. Both because she was so obese but because there was no dignity to being hauled out of the water like she was. I don't know they could have done it differently but it wasn't a good thing as they were pushing and pulling.

I was trying to figure out what to eat for lunch and nothing was appealing...not my go to foods like hummus or salad or tuna, etc. Then I thought I would like a little bit of hummus, a piece of cheese..so, I made a platter of nibbles for lunch. I had a hard boiled egg, a tablespoon of hummus with cut up sweet pepper for dipping. I also had a bunch of red grapes and a baby bell cheese with some crackers. I'm not sure what the calories or Protein totals were but I know it wasn't empty carbs or something else not good for us from a nutritional standpoint. And...most important, it was delicious.

Welcome Louise. Glad to have you here on the forum. As others have said, high BMI is only one consideration. As you can see, my BMI was over 50...in the morbidly obese range and I am now in a totally normal BMI range having gotten gastric banding. Keep us posted on your pre-surgery process.

Oh please...that's cute. I take no offense and I'm a girl, so there.

That's a great NSV! I can especially related as I can wear pantyhose now and my thighs no longer rub together. I hated the rash I would get at the end of the day or evening from the friction...and let's not forget the sweating getting in and out of the pantyhose as well. These days it's no big deal anymore and going to the ladies room is just a quick pull them down and pull them back up. The little things are so so so important.

If anyone would have told me two years ago that these legs belonged to me, I wouldn't have believed it. First of all, they are small enough to cross...second, there are heels on those feet, and lastly, check out those fishnet stockings..lol! It's a far cry from the pants I wore every day because my body looked awful in a dress, the wide shoes I had to wear because my feet were so swollen, and the flats I could only wear because my hips and knees were way too painful to even think of wearing any kind of heel. Ok, back to work...

..and yesterday, a neighbor was outside and saw me coming home from the Y. I stopped to chat with him a bit and he said that I was very inspiring to him. I thanked him but felt awkward...I don't take compliments all that well...probably just because I'm not used to them. But these comments are telling me that everyone...and I mean everyone, is aware of my transformation. Even people who are peripheral in my life but who see me on a regular basis.