Cocoabean

Never mind the weight, you look like are 15 years younger! Well done!

We get coffee every day at the Steaming Bean!! Next visit planned for the week of Aug 21. Meet-up sounds great!

I didn't know Splash had a cafe in SLO! Call me a tourist! I am at 6.5 in a 10CC APS band. I am inland San Diego, right near San Diego State. Love UCSD area. Our dog loves Brad's rib bones. :-)

Oh my! You are from Pismo! We go there every year! Splash Cafe! Yum!!!

Glad to hear things went well! Sip sip sip the shakes and walk walk walk. Take it easy, and you will do well! Congrats!

Hey! Your birthday is a day after mine, too! OK, I am several years older, but we won't talk about that part

Thinking of you today! Let me know how things went!

Yes, bandiversary today! 3 years. Doing well. Will be thinking of you tomorrow. Woohoo!!!

How you doing? Are you on your pre-op now?

Congrats on your date! That is one day after my thrid bandiversary!! Yay!

Betsy! You go, girl! Fantastic pics! Well done!

At least you see wx where you are, we get none here! I did pilot wx briefing with the FAA for 21 years. Did obs as part of that early on before ASOS & AWOS were invented. Nothing like slinging a psychrometer in the middle of the night to keep you awake. :-D

Hey, you've done great and always give great advice, keep it up!! I see you are into Wx Obs, I did that as part of my job many moons ago in Norther California. Too cool.

Hi Diva! I averaged a little less than a pound a week, but I am a very slow loser. I have been at my current weight for about 7 or 8 months now. It came off fastest from about 3 months to 18 months post-op. You will probably lose faster if you love to exercise! I personally hate it :-( I bet the band will give you just the tool you need to get rid of the excess weight and keep it off. Best wishes!

Hi Garden Goddess!

The decision to have surgery is a huge one. I have thyroid issues, too. I had mine removed and now supplement. My levels are now normal.

As we get older, it just gets harder to lose the weight. I knew the battle was not going to get easier.

Being banded is not all moonbeans and roses. It does have its downside. But the upside for me totally outweighs (no pun intended :biggrin:) the downside. Being obese has far more downside stuff, in my opinion.

All I knew for myself, is that surgery held out the hope of ending the cycle of crash diets, obsessive journaling, and failed Weight Watchers attempts.

2 1/2 years later, I have reached that goal. I still have pain in my knee and hip. I was told the weight loss might help it, and it has helped. But I was also told that the damage was already done, and that would not be reversed.

But let me tell ya, when I pull on my size 10 jeans..oh yeah! Then I get on the scale and see under 150 lbs, yehaw! Normal BMI..uh huh!

Hi Melliebelle!

The best part of this for me is that I don't have to stress about losses and gains. I have confidence is my eating habits now.

Even a loss of a pound a month puts you at 12 pounds down in a year, WAY better than 12 pounds UP! :-)

I'll take that anyday!

Best wishes to you as you move through your journey!

Hey thanks!!

Goal is kinda up in the air. I am at the upper end of normal BMI and I am tickled with that! My primary care doc wants me to lose about 10 more pounds--that is the number I have on my tracker as a goal. He says that would put me where research shows I'd be the healthiest I could be. My sureon said with work I could get to 130..yikes! Last time I was at 130, I was a crazy fool who was obsessive about every bite and every calorie burned with exercise. Yes, that was pre-banding :-) I was a size 4 at the time, too.

So, for the moment, I am hanging where I am and seeing what my body wants to do. My blood pressure is good, my sugar is good, my cholesterol is good. I am not on any meds for those, oh yeah!!!

I am happy with that!

At the moment, I am still sort of losing, but veeerrrryyyy sloooooowwwly. We're talking a pound every few months.

We'll see what the band journey has in store for me as time goes on! It's been very positive for me so far!