Marie3181

Thanks for the encouragement, ladies! Blossom - I'm not really sure why I started so slow. I lost maybe 10 pounds in the first couple weeks, but then as I moved to mushies and then to solids, the weight came back. I just didn't have any restriction. I got a couple fills, and I got a little restriction, but it wasn't enough that I was losing much. Then in May I got my third fill and all of a sudden the restriction just hit me! Not in a bad way, but I just suddenly knew what restriction really felt like. Darcy - Ya know, I haven't had a fill since that fill in May, and though I still do have restriction, it's definitely waned from where it used to be. I suspect that it probably is time for me to get another fill but my Dr. is in my hometown, which is a two hour drive from where I live and work now. And since he only does appointments on Tuesdays (gee, how convenient =p), it's nearly impossible to get over there since I'd have to take a whole day off work to do it. I am scheduling an appointment for the beginning of March, though. I guess I'll just have to use up some sick time!

Congratulations!! I saw your Christmas picture and you look so good!

I was banded almost exactly a year ago, and I didn't really lose anything from January to May. Then from May to October I lost about 70 lbs! Since the beginning of November I've been on a plateau. I'm ecstatic about being consistently under 200 for the past few months - I think this is the thinnest I've been in my adult life, and a couple weeks ago I bought a little black dress in...get this...a size 12! At a regular store! And a little skirt suit set in an 11/12. I still can't wrap my mind around that. Even though I'm proud of what I've accomplished so far, I feel like I've just been slacking for the past couple months. This is the first time I've logged on here in quite a while, and I haven't been holding myself very accountable. Part of it is the new boyfriend, I'm sure - the more time I spend with him, the less likely I am to find time to exercise. And he likes to take me out and buy me dinner, which means I end up eating not-so-good-for-me food (though it's nice to be with a man who likes to pay for once! =). He just finished law school a few weeks ago and is studying practically non-stop for the bar right now, which means I have more time on my hands to go and workout (which I started doing again a couple weeks ago, go me!). I think I really need to concentrate on following the food rules again, though. I don't take small enough bites, I don't chew well enough, I don't make Protein my first priority. It's like I know what I need to do but I just haven't been able to find the motivation to do it and it's frustrating. I think I just needed to vent about it!

Good luck!! That first fill is so important. Have a safe trip!

ONEderland, yay! This morning I weighed myself and saw 198 and I wanted to jump for joy! This is the best feeling =)

Michelle - you're so close, congratulations! Kim - I'm with you. I'm 23 years old, damnitt, I deserve some hot years! =) And for real, I was so frustrated in those months after my surgery when I wasn't losing anything. I was convinced the band just wouldn't work for me. And then I got yet another fill and suddenly it was like, holy cow! I'm losing weight! And the more weight I lost, the more I wanted to workout and be active, and that always helps too. So definitely do not be discouraged about being a "slow loser"!!

Thanks everybody! It does feel amazing to get that weight off. I keep buying new clothes and they keep getting too big. It's a waste of money, but it's exciting to keep buying smaller sizes =) The best part is I'm only about 10 lbs away from being the lightest I've been in my adult life. I was at 190 a couple years ago and I look at pictures of me then and think, "man, I was so HOT!" I love that I'm almost there again, it's such a good feeling.

I'm so close to one-derland that I can almost taste it. I got on the scale this morning and it said 200. Which means I've lost 60 lbs., which means I'm halfway to my goal. It just seems unreal! I didn't start losing until 4 or 5 months after my surgery, so I lost that 60 lbs. in less than 5 months. Which amazes me. Because that means that if I keep exercising and eating food for nutrition instead of comfort, I could conceivably be at goal by the end of March. It would be so great to Celebrate my birthday at goal weight! I'm trying not to get too ahead of myself, becuase keeping my expectations low is I think the thing that's helped me most in the past 5 months. And I know the closer I get to goal, the harder it will be to get those pounds off...but it's so exciting to know I'm halfway there!

You truly do look like a different person. You're absolutely gorgeous!

Before being banded I loved eating spicy foods, but after my most recent fill I just can't really stomach spicy things anymore. Mildly spicy is ok, but anything hotter than that and I get almost an acid reflux feeling. I don't get it with anything but very spicy foods. It's a shame, because I love the spice so much, but now I try to stay away from it.

I vaguely remember somebody posting a list like that, but I can't remember what was on it. Here are my suggestions: I used chewable gas-ex - it tasted chalky and horrible but it helped so I ate it anyway! I would stock up on juice, popsicles, yogurt (without bits of stuff in it), milk, and broths. But I wouldn't buy too much...I've still got juice and broth sitting around my house from when I bought it in January! Congrats on getting scheduled and good luck with everything!

Wow, Bright. You know, I've realised for a long time that being morbidly obese and being anorexic are two sides of the same coin. I'd started to understand that I have a disease that I can't just fix by having more willpower or exercising more or eating a strict diet.... but I never gave any thought to the "help/intervention" issue until your post. Thank you!! You are so right. I mean, how many after school specials and health classes have been dedicated to anorexia and bulimia? It's been drilled into our heads constantly. It's always on tv, it's always in the news, it's constantly talked about and rallied against. Where's the coverage of MO? What about an afterschool special about a girl who's so obese her joints ache and she can barely breathe and she's slowly killing herself because of her co-morbidities? I want to see that show. I want kids to learn about that in health class. It makes me so worked up just thinking about it! If my best friend was anorexic, you can bet your ass there'd be one hell of an intervention. But if she was morbidly obese it just wouldn't be the done thing to bring it up. I can remember when I was younger (overweight but not terribly so), when I would see an extremely heavy person on a talk show or in the street, saying to my best friend, "just shoot me if I ever get that big!" Well, I may not need a crane to lift me out of the house, but pre-surgery I was big enough that my weight was keeping me from living my life. Where was the person who was supposed to keep me from that? Would I have even listened? It's so taboo to bring up obesity; I know I wouldn't have listened had a loved one tried to tell me I was literally killing myself. But really, is it any different than the way an anorexic person would react to such concerns? I doubt that an anorexic would be particularly open to "help" from a loved one. But does that mean that you just let her waste away? HELL NO. You risk pissing her off if it means she might get healthy. You get her help, come hell or high Water. And even if she hates you for the rest of her life, if she gets healthy as a result, it's worth it. I don't really know where I'm going with this. I just want awareness for morbid obesity. I want widespread knowlege to replace stupidity and ignorance. I want to know what I can do to start things moving in that direction.

I am pretty restricted but I still eat small portions of Pasta once in a while. I just make sure that it's cooked really soft - almost overcooked, and of course chew, chew, chew! As for carbonated drinks - I've been banded since January and I still can't drink them comfortably. If I try to have some soda it makes me feel kinda sick and over-full, so I tend to avoid it. Once in a while, if I'm really craving it, I'll just try to stir most of the fizz out. But, since it's been so long since I've had much soda to drink, it just doesn't really taste good to me anymore.

Chantal: I went through the exact same thing you're going through. I did not lose a single pound from January of this year (when I was banded) until approximately the end of May. Then my most recent fill kicked in, I was busy working at a new job, taking care of my puppy, I joined a gym and I go to a class once a week with the puppy. Suddenly, I didn't have all that free time to think about food, to lust after it like I used to. 25 of the 30 lbs. I've lost so far has been in the past 2 months. I'd get pissed at my mom when she told me to "keep busy" when my boyfriend dumped me at the beginning of July, but being busy really helped dig me out of my depression and, consequently, made me not rely so much on food. I still push my band beyond what I should at times, just because I long to eat even thought I don't need it. But it's getting easier to just stop thinking about food constantly. I know this post was kind of rambling, but my main point is: I understand what you're going through. Feel free to PM me if you ever want to talk. Good luck!!

That's so fantastic Patty! Congratulations and I wish you lots of continued success =)

He's a little cock-a-poo named Snickers. He's 5 1/2 months old and he's a hellion! I have bruises on my arms from his sharp little teeth, that monster! But I still love him to bits =)

Yay!! Congrats on the weight loss so far. You're on your way!

Cool, Michelle, we're like twinsies! =) That's a good idea, Teresa. Maybe I'll invite him over to walk the puppy with me or something.... Bushbaby - is your friend still doing well with the bypass?

I totally agree. I remember the first time I heard about the band was when my best gal-pal was getting it done and my mom made some snarky comment like, "I suppose you'll be wanting to have it now too?" and I told her no way. I couldn't imagine restricting myself to such a small amount of food. Then, the more research I did on it and my mom did on it, she thought maybe I should give it some serious thought. After doing a ton *more* research, I was finally convinced it was right for me, but I guess the only way I could come to that conclusion was by checking it out for myself. My friend is the same way as your brother - he's the sweetest guy, a real cutie, but always having crushes on girls that just want to be "friends". He's to the point where he's pretty bitter about relationships, and it doesn't help that his younger brother is getting married soon. As awful as it is, we just don't live in a society where morbidly obese men and women are the ideal. It's hard to find a date when you're overweight, not just because the aesthetic odds are against you, but because you lack the self-esteem to put yourself out there. I swear they should make "learning to have a healthy body image" a required class in all grade schools!! p.s. Michelle - we have nearly the same starting weights and current weights (except I'm glad you were able to lose it faster than me!!) - I'm curious - what's your height?

My Dr. reccommended 2 weeks clear liquids, 2 weeks full liquids, 2 weeks mushies, then gradually onto solids. Unfortunately, I just couldn't stick to it for the allotted time. I just made sure I was really careful and moved slowly. I think I probably actually spent maybe 1 week on clear liquids, 1 week full liquids, and about 2 weeks on mushies before the gradual move to more solid food.

Thank you! You guys are so sweet :cool:

You're right - I guess if he wants to know more about it, he'll ask me. Thanks!

Congratulations!!!!!

Ok, I think this may have been brought up in previous threads, but it was so long ago I can't remember what the general consensus was. A friend of mine is morbidly obese. I've known him for years and he's the coolest guy, but I can see the pain that being overweight gives him. He constantly breathes heavily, like he can't catch his breath; we went to a baseball game this weekend and he was so uncomfortable in the seat because he could barely fit in it. I'm not judging, because, hey, we've all been there. But here's my question: I think he could really benefit from LapBand surgery, but I don't know if 1)I should bring it up, or 2)there's any tactful way to do so. He knows I have the band, and he knows that since my last fill I've finally been enjoying some weightloss. How does one broach that subject? Shit, I don't know his medical history, maybe there's some other explanation for his obesity besides overeating (but, going on my own personal experience, I'm guessing there's not). And obviously, he knows he's overweight. I mean, I would get FURIOUS at my mom when she'd gently try to broach the subject with me and start that, "why don't you try exercise or some different foods?" b.s. I just hate to see him so unhappy and unhealthy. Any thoughts? p.s. I finally put a photo of my on my avatar but b/c it's so small it makes one of my eyes look all wonky, lol

No way! That's so cool, thanks for the link! None of the walks are close enough to me for me to go, but there's one in Chicago, and my cousin owns a Curves there - I think I'm going to see if she wants to have some of her gals sign up for it.