vamaillady

your pics show u look good!!!!!!!! so dont fret it.. u arent living your life to appease others..or meet their criteria..just be good to you... do what is best for you..and u will shine!Believe in YOU!!! Dont hurt others to get there.. just be nice yet smart and keep on walking to your place of power...accepting yourself.. which comes with banding..one day u will look at yourself and say...i finally see that i have changed..i am proud of me! You go girl!!! Then and only then will u not be sensitive when u hear comments... negative ones...because u dont now deserve bad comments...you should be getting to be the belle of the ball now....kodos to u...i am there and know what u are going thru..noone can take away my flame anymore...the lapbanding has given me power......and u too!!!

thanks.. when i read your blog i saw myself all over again.. no loss for the pst 3 months... first too much fill... spitting up any food consumed yet no weight loss... then finally went for an unfill... with that i had no restriction... so could eat and eat... i think if i let myself i could eat 4 piece fried chicken dinner with 3 sides and desert...so was feeling i didnt even have a band... so now have apt.to see Dr. and get a small fill to get restriction again.. have lost 70 lbs in 10 months but none for the last 3 months..i did not have this procedure to stop halfway.. but it is hard to know where the sweet spot is...like i had too much fill and then took some out and now not enough.... HELP...i think what i need is 2.5 fill because they filled me a whole 1.0 and then took out half of that so now if i have 1/4 = 2.5 put back in it should be perfect... i cannot find this blog sometimes when i try to see replys so please respond back to me and help me get it together... email me at thedove2@yahoo.com with replys... thanks so much my friends and i am glad u got it together after all.. it is a journey we have to keep going with.... Brenda

go for it! people tend to post when things are bad and going wrong but are happy and busy when things are going good and dont post much... i have been totally happy with the results.. only 3 small scars.. not much sickness..have lost 65 lbs in 7 months.. feel 20 years younger..used to not be able to shop much or exercise because of the hurting in my legs and knees and feet and now biking every day a couple miles and shopping til i drop! used to send the kids in the store as i didnt feel like walking far and the weight felt so heavy on my body and now i am running almost..do it and dont look back.. dont compare yourself to anyone...you will do as well as u think u will.. so be positive! and good luck..this will surely be the decision that will give u the happiness u have searched for for so long! Brenda.. vamaillady

you look beautiful! U go girl!!

I cant believe i am now riding a bike also. havent ridden a bike in about 30 years and now riding a couple miles a day. also got a childs buggy for the back and take my 3 year old grandchild with me now when i ride.. we both love it.. losing 65 lbs so far has got me up and out of the house! Love riding my bike.. my 27 year old daughter looked at me with tears in her eyes and said ,,Mama I have Never seen you on a bicycle..Never in all my life and she watched me disappear up the street...now thats a new beginning! Brenda... vamaillady

oh my god! this is the very same thing that i have going on now... had the surg. in july 07 have lost 60 lbs also and now in the last 7 weeks cant lose a pound..and feel too tight most time until dinner just like you! i lost consistantly until now and since my last fill 2 months ago this has been happening.. i too keep cups and ziplok bags and paper towels with me ... i want so bad to start losing again..we both are going thru the same problem and in the same time frame... keep me posted and i will keep u posted about what we can finally do to get to losing again and not feeling so tight..i dont feel like its too tight because just like u.. i can eat well sometimes and then it be too tight for even liquids at other times.. please email me at thedove2@yahoo.com so we can keep in tough and solve both our problems... thanks... vamaillady...Brenda

i dont know what to do to get the weight loss coming off again... i have lost 65 lbs since july 07.. had lost 70 but put 5 back on in the last month... no loss in over a month... i hadc a fill over a month ago and lost 10 lbs within a week and then out of nowhere the weight starting creeping up again and then after a couple weeks i noticed that i couldnt eat anything until about 1 or 2 pm that didnt feel like a big lump in my throat.. i would actually spit that few mouthfulls in the trash as it hurt when it went down and hurt until i spit it up... so i would eat low cal puddin and just drink..so then around 5 pm i could get something down and would eat dinner ok.. no hurting... just seems like it takes til the evening for my system to maybe stretch to the point that i can then eat food... so my question is ... was my fill too tight? and now what do i need to do to get the weight coming off again.. i had lost consistently each month and after a fill always dropped weight until now i am at a complete staNDstill... i am hoping this will work out without having to go and have some of the fill removed... i am at 7.5 in a 10cc band... help! i need to start losing again... i will do whatever i need to do to start losing again.. i dont want to stop losing.. i am only half way to my goal... i may not be able to see your post back to me as sometimes i cant find where i posted a blog and cant come back to the proper spot to read any comments on my blog.. i am just learning my way around on this pc... and this site so would anyone please share your insights with me and help me get the ball rolling again? email me at thedove2@yahoo.com thanks so much my friend and good luck to you all... vamaillady...Brenda

i dont know what to do to get the weight loss coming off again... i have lost 65 lbs since july 07.. had lost 70 but put 5 back on in the last month... no loss in over a month... i hadc a fill over a month ago and lost 10 lbs within a week and then out of nowhere the weight starting creeping up again and then after a couple weeks i noticed that i couldnt eat anything until about 1 or 2 pm that didnt feel like a big lump in my throat.. i would actually spit that few mouthfulls in the trash as it hurt when it went down and hurt until i spit it up... so i would eat low cal puddin and just drink..so then around 5 pm i could get something down and would eat dinner ok.. no hurting... just seems like it takes til the evening for my system to maybe stretch to the point that i can then eat food... so my question is ... was my fill too tight? and now what do i need to do to get the weight coming off again.. i had lost consistently each month and after a fill always dropped weight until now i am at a complete staNDstill... i am hoping this will work out without having to go and have some of the fill removed... i am at 7.5 in a 10cc band... help! i need to start losing again... i will do whatever i need to do to start losing again.. i dont want to stop losing.. i am only half way to my goal... i may not be able to see your post back to me as sometimes i cant find where i posted a blog and cant come back to the proper spot to read any comments on my blog.. i am just learning my way around on this pc... and this site so would anyone please share your insights with me and help me get the ball rolling again? email me at thedove2@yahoo.com thanks so much my friend and good luck to you all... vamaillady...Brenda

glad to hear both of your stories.. thank God for this christian forum..i had the band in july 07 and have lost 70 lbs. i have 50 more to go...it has totally changed my life..i praise God for it all... i too felt weird after the fills and very tight.. could feel the water slowly going down my throat...and pain if i ate too fast..and my fills have not always been painless either.. but now i always go for the floro fills... no more blind fills...its better with the floroscope in the pain clinic center... hang in there all my christian friends , sometimes u will get at a standstill mode but it will eventually start losing again.. just eat right and walk...and drink much water... love yall...vamaillady... Brenda

hi...my hubby is from pittsfield maine... worked in the waterville area...he was a paramedic and firefighter there and we met online and he moved to Virginia...1500 miles south and we married 8 years ago...i had the lapband surg. last july 12th 07... love it...have lost 65 lbs...we went back home to maine in sept...heard they are having soo much snow now..my hubby never plans to move back to maine he says...he loves the southern weather..vamaillady

hello i was banded by dr elliott also at richmond surgical group... i am from south hill va near the nc border..

i dont go to the meetings in Richmond because i live 90 miles south but i had my surg. at Richmond Surgical group at St. Marys in July 07 and have done so well have lost 60 lbs so far and 3 pant sizes. my email address is thedove2@yahoo.com

yes God will be with you All the way! he has with me.. the liquid stage was hard but just always look ahead and think of the surg. being behind you and a great life awaits you with every lb. you lose. the time will fly by and the pounds will fall off I promise.. hang in there! he never puts more on us than we can bare... vamaillady

i felt the same way as you... couldnt believe i would have a different life or be different in the following months... its very exciting to see yourself chhanging before your eyes.. sometimes i feel its all a dream. i have lost 60 lbs since July 07. i have lost 3 pant sizes. it is so thrilling to be given this second chance to be proud of yourself and have such great selfesteem again. you wont be sorry... fasten your seatbelt... cause you are in for the RIDE of your life! I promise! vamaillady

totally enjoyed reading the post on christian bandsters... God is so very good to us all.. he has given us another chance to enjoy a much better life and be happy and i praise him for that. i too see a fat person in the mirror. i was banded on 7-12 07 and have lost 60 lbs. i look very different now but sometimes i cant believe its me.. i still see the other image i have seen in the mirror for the last 25 years. God wants his people to be happy and enjoy life and to be proud of his masterpieces which is me and you.. i feel we can serve him better when we can get out the door and able to get around. I feel he gave me this second chance in life to enjoy a much fuller life and i plan to be as good as i can to all people. I am 53 and very active, run a 85 mile mailroute everyday and have 500 customers on my route and i take every moment i can spare and uplift him and try to help the people on my mailroute. just a word of praise or encouragement helps all along the way..we are an extention of him...just a cup of water in my name ..he says.. i keep my granddaughter for a bit every evening after the route and she is 2 and i run after her and do more than my kids that are 25 years old.. thank God! the energy you have as you dump the weight that held you down. my email is thedove2@yahoo.com i want to be able to keep connected with this thread..i live in Virginia.. had my surg. in Richmond Virginia...God is good... love you All... my sisters and brothers vamaillady