Bergdorfblonde

I can see how you lost so much weight Leena, if I had a tenth of your willpower I would be a stick! :thumbup: I struggle to stick to 1200 calories a day. On days I do, I lose weight. On days I don't sometimes I gain weight, but it is only temporary as my weight keeps trending down. Maybe I should try not to eat so many calories? My college reunion is in June and I would like to look good for it.

Ceradad, you don't have to go by the chart. Obviously saying you have to be a certain BMI is the same as saying you have to be a certain weight and I certainly would not want anyone to tell me I need to be a size 2! But I looked at your weight and BMI and if instead of 240, you changed your goal to 239, that one little pound will take you to merely overweight rather than obese. Obviously one pound means nothing. Its like for me, if I weigh 175 I am still considered obese according to the chart but if I weigh 174 I am considered overweight. Its not like one pound matters. It is cool to see yourself taking control of your weight in this way cuz it makes you think you are making progress. For instance, you took yourself from Morbidly Obese, to Severely Obese and you are about to just become merely Obese in like 2 seconds! That is a big accomplishment and you should be totally proud of yourself. I am not telling you your BMI needs to be any specific number, I am just saying if you look at it this way, you can see how you are transforming your body and your health.<table class="boxBackground" style="border-collapse: collapse;" border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td>30.0 - 34.9 BMI</td><td>Obese</td></tr><tr><td>35.0 - 39.9 BMI </td><td>Severely Obese</td></tr><tr><td>40.0 - 49.9 BMI</td><td>Morbidly Obese</td></tr></tbody></table>

I love all of the vegetarian breakfast sausages. They don't have lots of calories, keep you full and are full of protein. Plus you are eating soy instead of meat. They smell and taste so much like the real thing that my dogs go crazy for them!

Send out resumes and try to get a new job in the new city before you move. I would say GO FOR IT! You are young and single and dont have a husband or kids to tie you down to a place you don't like. Worse comes to worse, if you hate Vegas or Georgia, you can always move back home. I just think you should try to get a job in advance just so you dont have to worry about money when you get there (and so you can buy some fabulous new clothes for your new skinnier self!) Follow your bliss.:laugh:

And Leena you are more than half done! That is so amazing. It makes me think if you can lose 114, I can reach my goal. I love this chart because you can see yourself moving to each stage. For some reason, now that I know I put myself from the Morbidly Obese category to the Severely Obese category, I see myself making progress. Then I just need to get to the Obese and Overweight categories and I will feel like I am making greater progress. I still feel like Normal Weight might be a pipe dream but we shall see. It doesn't seem so formidible if you break it down into small steps!

dont get the unfill. you can still eat on the cruise, but not in unlimited portions. just eat till you are full and chew well. are you realy going on the cruise to gorge yourself (as many ppl do!) or are you going to have a good time and see new sights with loved ones and friends? just go, order things like steak and lobster, chew well and don't go for an all you can eat buffet on the Water.

Where do you live? Call around the hospitals in your area and ask if there are any lap band studies you can participate in and ask what the price is. I had my surgery at Lawrence Hospital in Bronxville, NY. Its a program through Columbia U. It was for people with a bmi over 35 but less than 40. I think if you can get into a study where they give you a discount, it is much better than flying to a foreign country for surgery. I got lap band surgery for $12,500 in New York, which is a great deal.

I was kind of in the same boat as you. I got my lapband and thought weight loss would be easy. It wasn't. Plus it was embarrasing going out with family friends who my mom told I had lap band surgery, and they kept asking me how much weight I'd lost, and I couldn't say I lost weight at all. I realized it is very easy to overeat with the band. I really wasn't watching what I ate and just kept eating like a fat person. Now, I try to keep to 1200 calories a day. 400 for Breakfast lunch and dinner. I don't always follow it. Sometimes I eat a lot more calories than my goal. But the days I do stick to it, I lose a lot of weight. I don't deprive myself of anything. If I want McDonalds, I order a small happy meal (4 chicken mcnuggets and a small fry) It's 400 calories. If I want chocolate, I eat 400 cals of chocolate. I am eating exactly what I want at the moment I want it, I am just more mindful of calories so I can stay on track. The difference between now and before the lap band, was before, I could eat an entire supersize meal and still eat more. Now I am satisfied by a small happy meal. Use the lapband as a tool. You still need to watch the calories. If you do, the lapband helps you be satisfied on less food. Its also hard to binge, which is great for us binge eaters. However, if you graze all day, you can eat millions of calories on the lap band. Just stick to an eating plan where you are limiting your calories and the weight will come off.

I lived with a boyfriend for 3 years. I was 174 when I met him and climbed all the way up to 230 by the time we were married. Then all of a sudden, he started calling me fat. He put up a calendar of the incredible hulk and said it was because I am as big as the incredible hulk. It is really bizarre because I know there are guys who like thin girls, guys who like chubby girls, but how can a guy go from being attracted to you to totally being mean and verbally abusive? I found that you need to be with a guy who loves you for you, whatever weight you are. I dont know him but I have a feeling your boyfriend is no supermodel himself. Lose the loser before you guys get married and you regret it. No guy should ever put you down repeatedly like this guy does and believe me, it will just get worse. You are beautiful and special whatever weight you are. Focus on the parts of you that are beautiful no matter what, your eyes, smile, hair, bustline, etc. Then get out of this relationship and don't commit to any other guy who puts you down. You are worth more than that!:eek:

Thanks for telling me about the hormone thing mari and gkeyt! I had no idea about that. I just thought I was more emotional now cuz I wasn't using food to solve my problems anymore. I didn't know my bod was releasing hormones as I lose weight. That explains a lot and I am going to go to the bookstore and read up on it to find out more about the hormonal thing.

........having people say I am "pretty" instead of I have such a "pretty face" ........fitting into one bus seat without squooshing the person next to me or having to sit half off the seat into the aisle ........going to my college reunion and making everyone jealous ........fitting into the same size I was from freshman year ........not having to cut the labels out of my clothes because I am ashamed of people seeing my size 24 size tag ........going clothes shopping anywhere I want and not just the plus size stores/sections ........wearing cute trendy clothing that I love but am afraid to wear because it is not slimming .......living a healthy life .......having people see me for ME rather than seeing an overweight person and not really caring about the rest of me ........being confident in dating; not worrying that I am too fat and the guy is not going to like me ........exersising outside with my dogs ........not trying to hide my behind with jackets, cardigans or oversize things

Order soup, iced tea, and skim cappucino for dessert. If they ask why you arent eating so much, tell them that you had a big lunch and feel full. I hate when people talk about medical procedures at social settings. It's nobody's business. Just eat liquids and you will be fine.

I agree. Although I have nothing against bandsters who have had surgery in other countries, it seems risky. Some foreign doctors could be good but many are shady, unlicensed, have dirty operating rooms, use recycled parts. Why take a risk with your health to save a couple of thousand bucks? I have seen too many of those Montel shows where people had plastic surgery in foreign countries and died or had complicaitons. There was this one lady who got breast implants in Mexico. They used old breast implants extracted from another woman! The woman flew back to America barely alive in intensive care. She has suffered through so many health problems because of this and is lucky to be alive! There are many American hospitals that let you participate in studies. My hospital gave me lap band surgery for $12,500 cash which is good considering they normally charge $25,000. I was part of a low BMI study so I got the half price discount at a great hospital. Don't take chances with surgery. I am quite a bargain shopper. I paid $1300 for two 42 inch flat screen tvs online at the Philips outlet. They are refurbished so they might last, they might not. But surgery is not an area where you should disregard quality and shop only for price. Your life is worth more than a $3000 price difference.

Now that I am losing weight, I have become more emotional than before. Before, I used to think of myself as a very level-headed person. I rarely cried. Never yelled. Never stuck up for myself and let people walk all over me. Now, I realize that I used to use food to stuff down my feelings. I had my car towed the other day and the tow truck driver said it would cost $250. I took $250 out of the ATM. When he got near my house, he said he was going to charge me $350 and if I didn't pay up he was going to take my car to the pound. I started crying my eyes out. Not like it was such a huge deal. But I was feeling sad and taken advantage of so I let out my emotions with a good cry. He went back to his original $250 price and I felt so good because I let the sadness out.:huggie: When people take advantage of my kindness, I used to just stuff my feelings down with pizza or Pasta or chocolate. Now, when I have people take advantage of me, I call them out on it. Not in a rude way, but just in a factual, non chalant kind of way. I stick up for myself now instead of being overly polite to mean people.:w00t: I feel like I am confronting my feelings more than I was when I was overeating. I used food as a drug to supress my emotions. I ate when I was happy. Ate when I was sad or angry. Now if I eat too much I feel sick so it is not giving me the comfort it used to. So I actually have to deal with my emotions rather then stuff them. I laugh out loud when I am happy, cry when I am sad, and stick up for myself when I need to. It actually feels great to feel things more instead of numbing myself with food instead.

You didn't make a mistake! It is great that your husband loves you while you are overweight. A lot of men are not as nice as him. Most people I told I was going to have lap band surgery did not want me to do it. You hear horror stories of people dying from it and it doesn't seem worth the risk. However, it is truly a personal decision. Your husband, parents, friends, can't make this decision for you! It is hard right after the surgery because you are all cut up and haven't lost any weight and feel crappy and you regret having done this to yourself. You think, omigod, I spent so much money to be chopped up and what if I dont even lose any weight? I self paid and have spent about $15,000 total. It is the best money I've ever spent on anything! If you have been dieting your whole life and still can't lose weight, the band is the best thing ever. It's just a tool however, and you can sabatoge it if you want to. However, if you are dedicated to losing weight and changing your life it is truly a great thing. I don't need to give you reasons to lose weight. I can see you really want to. Your husband probably has conflicted feelings because 1) its expensive and nobody has thousands of dollars to throw down the toilet 2) god forbid you get skinny and hot and leave him for some hot stud. Just let him know that its your body and your decision and he needs to support you and that you love him and he has nothing to be worried about. You've done the surgery already. Him being grumpy is not productive for either of you. Tell him to get over it.:w00t:

<TABLE class=boxBackground style="BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 border=1><TBODY><TR><TD>Below 18.5 BMI </TD><TD>Underweight</TD></TR><TR><TD>18.5 - 24.9 BMI </TD><TD>Normal Weight </TD></TR><TR><TD>25.0 - 29.9 BMI </TD><TD>Overweight</TD></TR><TR><TD>30.0 - 34.9 BMI</TD><TD>Obese</TD></TR><TR><TD>35.0 - 39.9 BMI </TD><TD>Severely Obese</TD></TR><TR><TD>40.0 - 49.9 BMI</TD><TD>Morbidly Obese</TD></TR><TR><TD>50.0 - 59.9 BMI </TD><TD>Superobese</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> I've only lost 27 pounds so far, but noticed my BMI has changed from Morbidly Obese to Severly Obese. It's kind of an interesting way to think about it. My short term goal is to get to just regular Overweight, which for me is 174 pounds. Thats basically just a regular chubby person. Then I can worry about getting to my final goal which is 134. It can be daunting when you have over 100 pounds to lose. It's a big sense of accomplishment to get yourself out of one category and into a healthier one!:w00t:

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Jovi, you look gorgeous! You look like a totally different person! Before lap band, I was 2x on top and 26 on the bottom. Now I am a size XL or 1x on top and size 20 jeans. Its really exciting going down in jeans sizes. I can even sqeeze into size 18 and 16 jeans but know that is totally way too tight on me. I can also fit size L shirts but not to the point where they look good. It's just amazing to me I can get my big arms into size L jackets. I can't wait till I fit into a size 16 jeans for real. It would just be nice to get out of the plus size section once and for all (without yoyoing up and down!) I think its good to buy some new clothes. My size 26, then 24, then 22 jeans kept falling down on me, so I bought 2 pairs of new jeans. If I buy jeans that arent expensive (from Marshalls or Target) I don't feel guilty if I am a different size in a month. I figure, you can buy jeans for the price of a lunch at Panera, it is not such a big deal to buy new clothes.

I can't really notice weight loss in myself, partially because it has come off slowly. But I notice my jeans sizes going down. I went from a size 26 at the height of my weight to size 24, size 22, and now size 20! I can even fit into size 18 and size 16 but they are extremely tight, so I know that is not really my size. It will be nice when I can fit into a size 16 comfotably. Now I go try on jeans for fun. Its a good barometer of weight loss regardless of what the scale says.

order soup and diet iced tea

I weigh myself once every couple of days. When I weigh myself every day, it gets confusing. I could eat 2 letuce leafs all day and gain weight. Then I could pig out and lose weight. I think it takes a couple of days for your body to process weight loss. So don't be discouraged if you have been dieting your butt off and the scale isn't moving. It will. Just keep doing what you need to do to limit calories and watch what you are eating. I have been trying to stick to 1200 calories a day. When I stick to that I lose weight. I cheat a lot and those days I don't lose weight. But the cool thing about the band is it makes it a lot harder to binge eat so if you get sidetracked, you can just get back on track with your weight loss.

She sounds like she messed up bigtime. You dont want incompetent people operating on you. This is not like buying a pair of shoes that you can return. This is your body, your life. You were lucky enough to survive the first time she messed up. Definitely change doctors and get a second opinion on any damage done. You are too precious to let someone mutilate you because they dont know what they are doing. Take care!

She still looks good but is a little chubbier now. I think gastric bypass is too extreme. It takes really fat people and deflates them to quickly, leaving lots of skin. Then a lot of people gain the weight back after. I think the lap band is healthier because there is no cutting of your stomach, you can take it out if you have a problem, and the fill thing keeps your stomach small so its harder to regain the weight. Also, I think its healthier to lose weight gradually instead of getting skinny overnight. Its not instant gratification but I think it's safer and better.

Whether you are fat or thin, you need to start loving yourself this very second. You need to know that you are beautiful no matter what a number on the scale says. You need to do nice things for yourself like manicures/pedicures, wear cute clothes, make plans with friends, buy something extravagent once in a while, etc. Treasure yourself and it is much easier to lose weight. I say take the glam pictures now and at goal.

I tried the bali bra on yesterday. It didn't really fit differently from my avenue bras. So I had an epiphany. I shortened the straps on my existing bra and it lifts them up now. Also, I found these jeans at Walmart called Lee Ultra Fit Collection-Instantly Slims You. I think they work because they made me look skinnier than the jeans that I walked in with (plus they were a size 20 and my old size was 24/26-yipee). I didn't want to buy new jeans till I hit a size 16 but for 20 bucks I have a pair that fits and supposedly makes me look skinnier.