NJDad

I found a picture in my office taken about 6 years ago. I had a chance to meet someone famous, so I had to have my picture taken with him. Well, I showed my wife the picture tonight, and she asked, "Who is that?" Thinking she meant who I was pictured with, I answered, "That's Brian Cashman, the GM of the Yankees" "No, silly, who is in the picture with him?" "That's me" "No way" So, my wife of 25 years has gotten used to my new look, to the point that she doesn't recognize me in old pictures.......

I was 6'4" tall and 359 pounds at my heaviest. I have been flying for over 25 years on business, and never had an issue buying one seat. I guess it depends on how wide you are, and I always fit in between the armrests. In all my hundreds of thousands of miles flying I never saw an incident where someone either purchased a second seat, or was asked to do so. It might have happened, but I am usually quite aware of what is going on in the plane......I think the media makes more of this issue than it really is. Since I lost all the weight, I do have to say that airline seats fit a lot better at 245 pounds than 359.

I was up to 44 or 46 depending on the pants. My ideal size would be back at 34", what I wore in college.

I filled out your surgery LouLou. I am a year in, so hopefully it gives you some decent data.

I travel often. In fact, I am writing this on my ipad in an airline club lounge in Minneapolis. I spent a little over a week in Poland and Germany last month. I actually found it easier to not overeat in Europe compared to over here. In Europe, the portion sizes in most restaurants are smaller than American restaurants. I found that if I stuck with the basics, I did just fine. I always carry my

I was banded by Dr. Strom on 4/24/13. I am down over 90 lbs from that day. Over 100 lost since I started seeing Dr. Strom's team in October of 2012. The entire team in his office has been nothing but wonderful. I am amazed at how well this has gone for me so far. I think a good part of my success streams from all the support and training I received before and after my surgery. They also guided me through the insurance company minefield with few issues. They simply knew what had to be done to get the insurance company to approve the procedure. If I had to do it all over again, I would choose no one except for Dr. Strom.

For what it is worth, I had my normal every 6 week visit to my surgeon today. After seeing her, I saw the nutritionist. We talked about a few items I had questions about....and one was popcorn. I remembered from my earliest nutirionist meetings that popcorn was Verbotten. It was, but now that I am 11 months after surgery she said that it is safe to try it again. She recommended that I try it at home the first time, not in the movies......this way, if there are problems, you don't miss a movie you paid for. As with everything else here on the site....your mileage may vary and your doctor may feel differently.

I don't know if asking in raw numbers how much a person lost and how long it took them is a fair comparison. I, myself, have lost a total of 112 pounds since I had the surgery on 4/24/13. However, I started at over 350 pounds. A person that starts at 250 pounds could not really expect to lose that much that quick, and person that starts at 600 might be disappointed with my current weight loss. So, where are you starting from? So, I guess I answered your question with a question.......Don't you hate that? Seriously, I took about 11 months to get this far, but from what I have been told, I am unusal in my loss. Some take longer, some take less time. Tt all depends on who you talk to.

My daughter is active in the music and theater departments, which also means that my bride and I are also busy as volunteers. The show started this past Thursday (Shrek, the Musical if you are curious). As the president of the Booster Club, I have been at the school every night the last two weeks doing everything from repairing puppets, shoring up sets and delivering Water bottles to the actors backstage. I run into many parents that I don't see too often. If you want to have a happy day, meet up with a lot of people that haven't seen you in a year after you had WLS.....it is great. Many people comment, but the ones that really don't know you are the best. Not once, but five separate times (Yes, I have been counting) I have had this type of conversation. After a few moments of talking to one parent or another, the person gets "that" look in their eye....you know it. The one where they are trying to figure out who you are. They pause a bit, they look at you a bit more intently than normal, all the while carrying on the conversation. At first, I was puzzled, I know these people. I have known they and their kids for years. Some, I coached their kids in softball. Some go to the same church. Finally, they ask the question.....You sound familliar, do I know you? When I explain that i am Sara's dad, they are relieved.....but confused. One asked me if I got a haircut, another asked me if I shaved my beard (Never had one). I think they are too polite to ask if I lost some weight. I explain I am a little smaller than I was last year. I explain how I had the surgery and how it has worked for me. The best thing was when one woman asked a lot of questions about thesurgery; insurance, recovery times, etc....up to the point of asking for my doc's number, she was considering doing it herself and had never met someone willing to talk about it. A good week overall......

Our food budget went down a few bucks per week. Buying less, but higher quality foods, so they cost more. However, all the food savings are now being countered by the extra costs of buying new clothes. That's a trade off I don't mind making........

I had an umbilical hernia a decade ago. When I had mine, I actually had something about the size of an eraser that would stick out......I could push it back in. Pardon the reference, but it was like a nipple. As time went on and I ignored it, it got bigger. My doctor finally operated on it when it got the size of my pinkie. If you think that is what it is, have your doctor check it out.

Hey there Sparta......I'm Ron, from West Essex, Nj. I had my band done at Mountainside Hospital in Glen Ridge, NJ by Dr. Strom in April 2013. How are you doing?

I'm a guy, so my experiences may differ....but I feel I look older when I look in the mirror. Before, I had that baby face, pudgy and always smiling. Now, I still smile, but I see lines where before there were none. However, everyone around me says I look younger. I don't get it. I guess it matters what others think too, but I can't shake the feeling I look a decade older.

Coach, I can't do the sub shop subs....the rolls simply don't agree with me. I miss having a nice sandwich once in a while.

The hospital ER doctor told me to stop my BP meds a few weeks after surgery. I wound up in the ER with flashing lights in my vision.....I thought it was a signs of a detached retina. Turns out my BP was so low, I the flashing I saw was signs of passing out. My BP was below 80/60. Since I stopped the BP meds, my BP is in the 110/70 range. That was the first sign, besides weight, that things were going well after this surgery for me. And it saved me a $25 per month co-pay for the meds.

I have found that I can eat a slice or two of pizza, if they are small. Small bites! However, the crust makes me feel miserable, so all I concentrate on is small bites of the pizza and toppings. I also have found that it has to be a thin crust slice.......I used to love sicillian pizza (Thick crust for those of you not from the northeast), but those days are long gone. Lastly, I find that if I ask for extra sauce it makes it easier to handle. I find that pizza is one of the few foods I can eat at the ballpark. Most everything else at a stadium is served on a roll and those are horrible to me now.

With my weight loss, I realized that I need to buy new winter coats. The coats I have now are way too big in the tummy area. But I also noticed that it seems that my arms have shrunk in length because all the sleeves are too long on the older coats. I don't really think my arms have shrunk in length, I just think that the coats fitting more loosely means that sleeves are running down my arms further. It is one of the unexpected results of weight loss. I always bought tall clothes (I am 6'4" tall) and was starting to think companies were cheating out when it came to the lengths of the sleeves. I guess gaining that much weight just made the shirts and jackets I wore fit incorrectly. Has anyone else noticed this? Ron

Before surgery in April, I wore pants with a 44 waist, and they were tight. Seven months later, I am down to a 38 waist, and these pants are getting loose. Before the surgery I wore 3XL shirts and jackets. That equated to a 56-58" chest. today I am down to a size XL. That equates to about a 48" chest. So, if you lost 5.5" in one month, that is a hell of a good job. The one thing I find most humorous of all this is that in weeks that I may not see a big difference those are the weeks when I realize it is time to buy new shirts or pants. I am not sure why that is, but it lets me know I am still on the right path.

Not here with me. Think about it, if fat gathered there, no guy would ever want to lose weight, and we would all be hooked up to chocolate milkshake IV's. Plus, I discovered another bonus the other day. With the stomach shrinking, there is no hill between my eyes and my better half's when.....well, you know.

Six months ago this evening, I had my lap band surgery. A year ago this week, I started seeing a nutritionist. I have attached a pair of pics, one from the summer of 2012, another from last week. I am down about 94 pounds since I started seeing the nutritionist. Here's a pair of pics with a before and after view. I still have a ways to go, but I am happy with the progress so far. Before: Now:

My wife's method was relatively simple (for her). I came home from a business trip about a year after our daughter was born. Lynn tells me I have a urologist appointment. The doctor then chlorinated the gene pool a week later. I had a teacher in high school that referred to the pull out method as "Catholic Roulette". She was written up and we never heard that phrase again.....but those of us that heard it never forgot it.

What was his reaction? "Hey, that thing bit me?"

Now here's a guy willing to sacrifice himself for science........When my wife suggested we take measurements, she talked about measuring my waist and chest. Is there any way I can get your wife to have a conversation with mine?

Your post reminded me of the first barbecue my wife and I had after we got married. A friend asked for mustard for their hot dog. Lynn and I looked at each other and giggled. We had none. Neither of us use mustard, so it never dawned on us to have it in the house. I'll keep your post in mind for the future.