jmac004

Some days I look at myself in the mirror and say "I look the same as before" and then I see something like this and say "Oh My"!!
Down 80 pounds as of today...am eagerly waiting for that 1 more pound to finally say I'm in one-derland.
It's been an interesting ride so far...and I have worked hard at it!!!!
I am so thankful to so many of you for your support and guidance and new friendships! (you all know who you are!)...and thanks Alex for putting together a unique site where people can come together and truly understand the success and joys as well as the frustrating and tough times!
I am feeling very very blessed! Thank you WLS for helping me change my life!!!!

i dont need to keep saggy a*ss skin to remind me what was i use to be/weigh..i keep a picture near and my mind recalls vividly......and well, i am hoping to get my stomach apron done within the next year if i can....i want it gone as i have worked hard to get rid of it..i

you will learn to eat to live and not living to eat......
there is way more to life then eating BBQ and 4th and 5th helpings of food....once you find that you find living again better than eating and feeling sorry for oneself, watch out.......

I've posted before about this, but with new folks on the forum all the time, I thought I'd mention it again. I'm not thin...I'm not slender. I wear a size 12/14 pant and mostly L (sometimes XL or M) tops. I'm still overweight per my BMI. But...what I am and how I feel is summed up in one word. NORMAL. I'm normal. I look like everyone else...I'm invisible but now in a good way.
This is still new for me and I'm always amazed by the things so many people totally take for granted. I not only had all the room in the world sitting in an airplane seat recently, I even crossed my legs. OMG! I crossed my legs in an airplane seat. Amazing. People sit next to me now on the bus or train because they can. I don't spill over into the next seat. Heck...one day I even said to a woman standing in front of me to sit down...I knew it would be tight but I also knew it would be OK...and it was.
I still have the cane...for support while I continue to heal from the hip surgery but people are kinder now. I wish that wasn't so but it is. They don't think I did this to myself because I'm overweight...they think I'm recuperating from surgery or maybe have something congenital. And truthfully...I'm not ashamed to use the cane any more for those very reasons. I can't wait to get rid of it though...
I don't have to shop in Avenue or Lane Bryant. I can go anywhere as long as they have a misses department. I forgot how much prettier smaller sized clothes are.
I'm not self conscious when I eat out. I know that no one is judging me..looking at me...and wondering or even knowing if I'm aware that the crap and amount of crap on my plate is the reason I'm fat.
Now I still have a ways to go in that my head has not always caught up to my body. I still feel like the biggest person in the room. I still think I won't fit into the restaurant booth or that awful gown you have to wear when you're at the doctor for a checkup. I still say sorry when I think I'm invading someone else's space...another hold over I guess.
Anyway...this post is long enough. I just want people to know even if they are not there yet...this too can be your story one day. Have a great Sunday everyone!

some of you know the local news and my dr's office asked me to do a commercial..they have approved the footage and i am sharing with you....cant believe i am but i am..with my ole man and kabo the doberman

Way to rock the band! Congrats

I knew that whenever this comes up...people completely misunderstand what I am trying to explain...
First, people automatically assume my band is tight..it is not tight..I eat things other people here cannot, and vice-versa.... I do not crush my pills and I take some large gell caps....I have not had a stuck episode for over 2 years now...I eat good..I have never been healthier....I can drink carbonated drinks with no problem...people with tight bands cannot....nor can they keep foods down without a problem......
It is not about restriction to the point you cannot eat...it is a mental thing...hard to explain, but the mere presence of the band, properly adjusted, sends a signal to my brain that I am full, satisfied, whatever , as though I have just finished a 5 course meal........and because I am full I do not need to eat, there fore I am simply not hungry, and do not have cravings.......but I know the difference and can eat through the mental part of it....
I have been making my own smoothie for Breakfast even since being banded...it is better nutritionally than anything anyone could possibly eat....
It has become a health fad with all people, just about everyone I know is doing it now....and blenders, magic bullets, etc, sales are everywhere...
Whether I was banded or not I would do it simply for health benefits....
BTW, I use Almond Milk to make my smoothies....
Below is the Yellow-Green-Red chart my Dr. has always used for fills, and under the Green Zone is simply says no hunger....you can interpret that how ever you wish.
I also attached a photo of the Vitamins I take every morning, with my smoothie before heading to the gym to run my 5 miles....
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One thing I have learned is that everyone is different and many people here have different views as to how they have become successful...

I am a November bander also, and down about thirty pounds. I went into this knowing that the weight loss might be slow at times, especially once closer to goal. I long for Onederland and I know I will get there but it does feel a bit slow just now. The January blahs don't make it easier. It's so cold! I remind myself that losing slowly and steadily is just the kind of healthy weight loss I want. That's why I got the band. Now let another thirty drop off, pronto! As for hunger, I am still sorting that out. I didn't go to my last fill appointment because it felt too soon, but I will probably get a small fill at my next appointment because I don't have the duration we are looking for (4-5 hours). I do fill up after a cup or so but think I could eat more. I have to be careful of grazing, and I need to mastermind some strategies for socializing so I don't have empty calories like alcohol, cheese, etc. I'm discovering what my slider foods are and cheese may be one of them. I need to up my exercise again -- I've been a bit of a slacker there. But all in all I feel good. My self esteem is so much better and I'm loving my size 14 jeans. Yes I could be dropping faster but for me this is not a diet; it is a lifestyle change and I know that's going to take me more than two or three months. My hair is thick and lustrous. Glad for that and if my body needs a plateau to balance out after an initial loss then so be it. We are in this for the long game. Yes it can always be nuanced -- but I need to thank myself for how well I've done and not beat myself up for not doing better. That was then, pre-band, the hard hard work with small result then setbacks and plummeting self worth. This is now. Thirty pounds down and happy! Way to go, me!

Looking great!!

I am one week post op today and I went back to work today. I am still swollen but feel good. Lost 19 pounds since pre-op.

I am officially one of banders, with my Surgery on Wednesday the 15th,. I am sore and swollen still but feel better today. Gas pain is the worst-it comes and goes. I just keep moving and sipping away in hopes that each day gets better.

January 1 - 225.5
January 8 - 223
January 15 - 218.5
Broke my plateau and got out of the twenties -- yippee! Now to get out of the teens. That's what I'm talkin' about!

January 1st. 230
January. 8. 227.5
January 15. 225

My surgery is tomorrow at 10am. Can't wait.

My surgery is tomorrow at 10am. Can't wait.

Well, tomorrow I will be 50 years old and I have my final pre-op Dr. appt. Surgery is scheduled for January 22,. I'm a bag of nerves but I'm hoping to be 80 lbs lighter by my 51st birthday..

Omgoodness I'm in the pre open waiting room. Excited scared all at once

I was just like you two, so so nervous and was also paying out of my own pocket.
Am now 1 week post surgery, feel a million times better and 10lbs down since first appointment and 12lbs down on highest weight about two weeks ago.
Honestly, do it. You won't regret it. I had done every diet known to man. Had a PT twice a week, the lot and it still didn't shift. So for me this was that end of the line, taking care of it once and for all thing.
Good luck for your surgery but you have to do what makes you happy at the end of the day. Sometimes taking a short term risk is worth the long term gains?

Hi all, I'm new to the site but I read a lot of posts on here before my surgery. I think the positivity of everyone on here made it a lot less scary going into surgery yesterday. I love how we all support each other. Best wishes to all of you who will be banded soon.

Doing GREAT!! Minimal pain, more just uncomfortable. Trying to rest. My surgery was in Gallipolis OH at Holzer Medical Center. Thanks for the wishes and support!! I chose the beginning of January for a FRESH start to the New Year and for myself!!!

They are prepping me now! The new me is coming your way!!

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