BeckyinTexas

Teresa....I too started out over 400, 427 to be exact the day of my surgery. I celebrated my 5 month bandiversary yesterday and I have lost 89 pounds and 4 dress sizes! Life is so much better, not that it wasn't good before, but so much more enjoyable now! It's just simple things that most people never think about that I can do now that I've lost weight. I can bend over while sitting at my desk and pick stuff up off the floor whereas before I would have to stand up and then bend down to pick it up or pretend I didn't see it and hope someone else would pick it up for me. Seatbelts fit. I can walk without getting winded. I can actually see that I have a waist afterall! My fiancee has taken to calling me curvy and I love it! Fitting into clothes that are 4 sizes smaller is awfully nice, too. But the best part is being able to get down on the floor and comfortably play with my precious 1 year old grandaughter, Hannah Rose. I had mentioned this in another post I made previously, but the only thing now is that I've lost 89 pounds and I'm almost ashamed to tell people how much I've lost cause I'm still so darn big. But what the hey....I'm losing and that's what matters! I love this post cause sometimes I get so discouraged thinking I'm the only one that has a whole lot of weight to lose. Let's all stay in touch, please. It sure helps me to know I'm not alone!

The next support group meeting is Thursday, September 29, 7:00 p.m. at El Chico's in McKinney. It would be great to get to meet y'all! Come on out...the more the merrier!

Dr. Jay is my surgeon and I think he is great! Not only is he a skilled surgeon he's just one heck of a nice man! He's even come up to McKinney the last two months to attend our local support meeting. This was after he'd worked all day and then had to fight traffic on Central. I think that shows how caring he is towards his patients. He is in my book a wonderful choice and I am very lucky to have found him.

Dena....Congratulations and I'm glad to hear that you're doing so well. Take care and keep us posted.

Kathy....One of the most wonderful things about having the band is there are really no foods that are that bad for you because it'sl all about portion control. Don't get me wrong, there are foods you know you should stay away from but in general, most foods are fine as long as you consider the amount. I'm 3 1/2 months out and I try to make healthy choices but sometimes I don't but I don't fret any more cause I can only eat such small amounts even of the so-called bad foods. Now quit beating yourself up and get back to work! LOL

Thanks for posting this. I've seen the commercial and wondered if they were any good but now I know they must be. I'm going to the grocery store during my lunchhour and buy some for supper tonight.

Glo....Congratulations and good luck! You are about to begin the most wonderful journey of your life. I've been asked if I'd do it over again and I tell them I'd have surgery on a daily basis to keep my band! Once again, good luck!

What a great idea! I love putting faces with all the names that have become so encouraging and dear to me!

Welcome Liz and Joelle! This site is WONDERFUL! Full of great information and some of the nicest, most caring people you could ever hope for. I get daily inspiration and answers here. Good luck to both of you!

So happy for you! I honestly feel the NSV's are what keep me going in the right direction. It's so wonderful to be able to share NSV's like that here with people that so understand and celebrate right along with you!

Jen.....I know exactly what you're going through. I was scared out of my mind before my surgery and afterwards I kept wondering what was I so afraid of. As far as needing help afterwards, I had my surgery on Friday and was back at work on Tuesday. I even went shopping on Sunday afternoon. Honey, your Mom is probably just afraid for you having surgery but don't let that deter you in any way. You about to being the ride of your life! I had polio as a child and my doctor told me I was heading for a wheelchair if I didn't get some weight off well that was what finally made me wake up and realize I had to do something. After lots if research I knew that the band was the answer I had been looking for. I was so afraid that it wouldn't work for me but let me tell you, it's the best thing I have ever done for myself! That's the whole point....you're doing this for YOURSELF! This site was a Godsend to me before my surgery and remains so. For some reason it helps me to know that I'm not feeling or going through exactly what someone else already has or is currently. As far as support, having it from outside this site is wonderful, but if you ever feel like you're going it alone, people here will make that feeling go away with a quickness! Good luck and congratulations cause Kiddo, you are about to being the most amazing and incredible journey into the land of the band!

Vines.....You are such an inspiration and always there with kind words of encouragement and that means a WHOLE lot! I shy away from the scale because I don't want to get discouraged when I plateau, which I know I will do. Sounds like the scale might be falling slowly but those NSV's are coming in and I have to admit, whenever I get one of those, I'm on cloud 9! Like I said earlier, you are such an inspiration and you should be so proud of yourself!

Daniela...I am so sorry to hear about your loss. There are no words that will ease your pain but just know that there are people that certainly care and are praying for you and your family. Good luck with the rescheduling of your surgery also. You know your Mom will be looking down on you and guiding you on this journey that you're about to begin. Take care.

God bless you all! Thank you for the support and all the kind, kind words! I'm so proud to be a part of this site and you all are so wonderful and accepting! Thanks again for making me feel proud and a little less ashamed of where I was and honestly looking forward to where I'm going!

Man, y'all are the GREATEST! I just read all the posts and big old tears of happiness are running down my cheeks. Thank you, thank you, thank you all for being the rocks that I sure hoped and inside knew you all would be!

Amy.....You might need to do what I have had to do...stay away from the scales! I had my surgery on 4/29/05 and I have stepped on the scales only 5 times. Once the day of surgery, my 2 week check up, my first fill, my second fill and one day last week when I was feeling rather light that day. I am doing really well with the weight loss but I know me well enough to know that I can't become a slave to my scales or I'll make myself crazy (well crazier any way). I don't know if this is a good or bad thing but I know from my Weight Watchers days of weekly weighins and nearly weekly disappoints that not weighing very often is my best course. Hang in there and good luck with this most amazing journey!

Julie....I was just like you before my first fill! I talk when I get nervous and I probably drove the people in the waiting room crazy that day! It was, thank goodness, one of those things that the dread is way worse than the actual event. It was over and done with in nothing flat. I wasn't even sore but I did have a bruise the size of Rhode Island the next day! I have had another fill since then and it went just as smoothly as the first. Hopefully your's will also. Good luck and know that you are feeling exactly what other people have felt and we're all here to tell you it won't be so bad!

I have come to a decision and I can't say I'm not nervous about it but I have decided I have to do it....I have to not be ashamed to admit my weight! I have gone to TickerFactory so many times and made my ticker only to look at it and be ashamed that it shows either what I weigh or what I weighed when I was banded but no more! I went to our health clinic to check my weight the other day since I hadn't weighed since my last fill in July and to my great pleasure I have lost 87 pounds since my surgery a little over 3 months ago! I couldn't wait to get back to my office to tell everyone what I had just found out when it hit me......I was ashamed to tell people that I had lost 87 pounds and I am still as big as I am! I shared this with a good friend of mine and she told me to stop being silly. Well, I've decided to take her advice and stop being silly and what better place than to do it here! I hope maybe someone can see that this certainly works for people of all sizes, even someone with a high starting weight like mine. So folks, thanks for letting me share and now I proudly, if not hesitantly, present my new signature with my ever decreasing ticker!

I was banded by Dr. Jay on April 29th and my sister was banded by him 2 weeks later. We both just think he is wonderful! He's so kind and caring. I have lost 70 pounds since being banded and I couldn't be more pleased. Dr. Jay has wonderful aftercare, too. He has done a lot of people from McKinney and surrounding towns and we all complained about having to drive to Dallas for support group meetings so he said he would be glad to come here. We had our first meeting the last Thursday of July at El Chico's and sure enough, he was there. He said he'd love to make it a monthly event and we were all for it. That to me shows how kind he is to drive to McKinney after a long day to eat and visit with some of his bandsters. That to me said a whole lot about him! You'll be just as pleased as I am, I'm sure. Good luck with your upcoming surgery! Becky

I can't even tell you thank you enough for all the kinds words and encouragement! I swear, y'all are what makes this losing weight so much easier.....we're not alone and we're all in this together and that is so amazing! Congratulations so all of us for doing such a good job!

Kiddo, I don't know you from Adam but I'm gonna give you my 2 cents anyway. Don't let your husband get by with what I call blackmailing you! And what the heck is a "real diet"? If I could go on a "real diet" I would have and something tells me you would have to. We didn't get to the weights we are without a reason....mine is "real diets" don't work for me. Oh sure, they work for a while and I lost weight but I always gained it all back and then some. I've had my band now for 3 months and let me tell you...it's the best thing I ever did for MYSELF in my whole life! My boyfriend was dead set on me not doing it but I knew that this was what I had to do to literally save my life so I did it. He's since decided he best get on board with me and has. At your age and your weight, this would be the best thing you could do for YOURSELF! As far as having no support, kiddo, you have found the best place in the world for that....right here!

Vinesqueen.....Repeat after me, I don't need no stinking scale to tell me I'm doing great! You are too you know. Look at all the NSVs you included, man oh man, those count more than what the scale reads to me any time. I try to only weigh when I go for my fills or else I have to go see the doctor for something and they make me weigh. I decided when I started this journey I wasn't going to be a slave to my scale cause I would feel exactly like you are right now and we just can't do that to ourselves! Hang in there kiddo, I mean my goodness, you bought a size L and how long has it been since you could do that? You've been so supportive to me and for that I thank you! Now come on, forget about those scales and congratulate yourself on how well you're doing!

Thank you, thank you, thank you very much! I'm just so jazzed right now it's not even funny! Man, this losing weight is fun!

I just went over to our company health clinic and decided to take the plunge and weigh.....I'm down 69 pounds since my surgery on April 29 and I'm about ready to explode cause I'm so happy! When I got my second fill a month ago, I had lost 57 pounds so since then I've lost 12 more pounds and it feels so good! I have such a long way to go but dag-bob-it, I'm gonna do it! I just had to share how wonderful this band is and how much better it's made my life!

Cindy...I like Leatha's idea about sharing a plate! I never thought it would be possible to eat such a small amount of food and be absolutely full. I can order a child's plate when we go out to eat and still take some home for the next meal. Not only is that helping me lose the weight but saves money, too! I hope your insurance company doesn't give you a lot of problems. I heard back within a week from mine and I was on pins and needles just having to wait that long so I hope it goes fast for you. As far as being nervous about the surgery, I was a wreck and it was so much easier than I ever thought! I had my surgery at 11:30 and was back at my home by 3:30 that afternoon. I had surgery on a Friday and was back at work Tuesday afternoon. I would do it over again weekly if I had to to keep my band....it's that great to me! I just hope everything goes smoothly for you and you hear from your insurance soon! Becky