JustWatchMe

Gowalking and enjoythetime, you can do this. For me it's been an ebb and flow. I'm thankful my band prevented a big gain but I gained a few pounds a few months ago because I got into c ookies of all things. For me the OA program helps a lot. I started working with an OA sponsor last year and that keeps me from sliding into denial for too long. Last year at this time I was walking the staircase at work several times a day just for exercise. Today I have no motivation to do that. This weight-loss journey is a process, that's for sure. I don't think I will ever "have it figured out" and be able to just rest on my laurels. But something happened last night. As I was walking out of a restaurant with a friend of mine, we saw an elderly couple having trouble because the wife fell while trying to get into the car. We stopped and helped lift her up. She was not obese, just slightly overweight. She was practically crying. She kept saying, "I am dead weight. I am dead weight. I am so sorry." My heart was breaking for her because I could feel her embarrassment. I made a joke about the time I fell down the stairs and thought I broke all the bones in my leg. Of course, she did not know that I was once obese. Anyway, I have a keen appreciation for the healt h I have today. If I slipped and fell on the sidewalk right now, I would not be ashamed if someone helped pick me up. You two ladies have been through a life changing process. And you're not done. It is a journey, not a destination. This may feel like a giant roadblock, but it is really just a bump in the road. Hang in there. You give me inspiration.

Not gonna lie. I'm wondering if I'll ever get to my goal weight. I am hovering at the same weight now for half a year. I'd like to lose 25-30 more but it's just not coming off. I think I have to start an exercise program. Ugh. I'm such a child. Lol. I don't wanna. Aaarggghh

Today is my three year bandiversary. I am so grateful for this second chance at life. My LapBand was the first step of many and I couldn't be happier.

Oh my God Liz. What a wallop. Ok, first of all, BELIEVE COREY and stop second guessing him. That doesn't help anybody. Ok? Ok. Second, FMLA and "reasonable accommodations" regulations protect you in the workplace. Don't be afraid to use that terminology when requesting a temporary work from home setup. They may not "like" it, but that's immaterial. They gotta do it. Third, but really first, YOU ARE SO MUCH STRONGER THAN YOU FEEL AT THIS MOMENT. Allow yourself to feel the overwhelming feelings, but dose them out. Forgive my French, but you are a f ucking inspiration to me and have been for the past three years. You've sown seeds of support and love and encouragement throughout this site. Guess what, lady? Time to harvest. Get back in touch (PM) the people important to you here that may have dropped away or who, like us, don't visit the boards as often as they used to. Round up your "army". Fill them in. You're going to have time to spend here so TAKE support for a change. I know a lot about you from your posts even though we've never met. So I know that before your weight loss and miraculous life change, you were in misery and nearly immobile. This isn't the same. It's scary and feels like it could be the same, but you're in a whole different place. This is temporary. Your doctor says it's fixable. Wow wow wow! Hurray! So it's a sucky, sucky bump in the road but that's all it is. YES you will travel to Scandinavia. YES you will play with and babysit your grandchild. YES you will go to Atlanta with Corey. Maybe not on the dates you originally chose, but girl, I know you, and there's no way you're "cancelling" these things. Sending love love love to you and I'll be checking in here daily.

Hi Julie. This is the only forum I check lately so I agree. I'd love to hear updates. I'm doing very well. Settled in my new home and having guests over to visit every weekend. F ood wise I had t make some changes over the last few months. I had returned to tv eating. Bad habit. I gave that up two weeks ago and now I don't miss it anymore. I also had to let go of cream in my c offee because I added up my decaf habit calories and some days I was adding 600 calories just in half and half to my decaf. So black c offee going forward. It's been a month and I'm used to it now. Salads. My love and my enemy. Have to be honest, the band lets me eat giant salads. So I'm cutting down on those and trying to cook more often with solid p rotein. Let my band do its job. I've had such a flurry of activity the last few months with the divorce finalizing , moving, and buying a car that I'm not used to relaxing and enjoying life. I've taken a fresh attitude about my job (act as if I'm excited to go) and working more with my therapist on replacing old messages I've been hearing and tellling myself all my life. Somewhere along the line I learned I didn't deserve happiness or peace. That sounds absurd out loud, but awareness is only half the battle. Replacing those old tapes with positive ones and practicing self love and self care is a habit I must learn and nurture. It doesn't come naturally. I can "do crisis" and "do chaos". Now I will learn how to "do peace" and ""do joy".

In 2014 I flew to Italy at 250 pounds, eight weeks post op. It was my first flight without a seatbelt extender. Here is my seatbelt today flying to Atlanta to visit my daughter.

Ok I'll try that. Thanks!

For about a week I've suddenly started getting emailed notifications for posts and topics I'm following. I've never had emails for these before. I can't figure out how to turn them off with the iPhone app. Help!

Ken, is there any way to turn off email notifications only but leave in-app notifications on?

Suddenly I'm getting notification emails from BariatricPal. Can't seem to figure out what's wrong in settings. Anybody else experience this? I messaged Alex.

Smiles for miles! JustWatchMe

What a great picture. I'm so happy for you! JustWatchMe

I asked a nice guy out last month. We are both divorced and we worked together 25 years ago. It was a nice date, but no sparks. That's okay. I needed to get it out of my system. Not ready for the online thing. Actually not ready for a relationship. I think I just needed the affirmation that I was interesting and attractive. So time to be with just me for awhile. It's all good. JustWatchMe

Yay Sharpie!!! JustWatchMe

I'm so stinkin thrilled to have my band during the holidays. My weight is good and my f ood is controlled and I'm not starving. I'm not tempted to overindulge. People who never knew me fat are giving me c ookies and sweets as gifts at work. I smile, say thank you, and take them home to my kids. Life. Is. Good. Welcome to the newcomers. 2-1/2 years out for me, and last adjusted over a year ago. 127 pounds lost with about 25 to go. I get stuck once every couple of weeks if I wolf my f ood. Other than that I'm pretty much feeling like a normie these days. I do attend OA regularly and keep in touch with other recovering f ood addicts. JustWatchMe

What a wonderful Thanksgiving. Girls are home for the long weekend and they love the new house. My f ood has been on track and I'm slowly losing more weight. Life is good. Hoping you all are having a great holiday. JustWatchMe

Pray for me friends. I close on the house in four hours and move tomorrow. Suddenly getting very anxious. I know it will all be fine but it's a bit overwhelming. JustWatchMe

After more than two years of my life being on hold, financially being held hostage, it is incredible how life has changed in only two weeks. Before, things moved too slowly. Now, things are moving incredibly fast! But it's all good. It feels good to feel good again. JustWatchMe

I got the house! I move in three weeks! My head is spinning. JustWatchMe

Omg omg omg I just put an offer on a house. I'm so scared and excited!!! JustWatchMe

Can you get injections in the joint? I get a shot in my right knee every four months. I no longer need it in my left knee since losing a hundred pounds. No weight gain and it's a blessed relief for several months. JustWatchMe

I'm a totally different person. I've found my voice. I'm also freshly divorced. I am confident in my appearance and carry myself differently. I speak up now. What I wasn't prepared for was becoming the thin friend among my small circle of besties. I'm now thinner than all three of my best friends. We're not a group, and don't see each other together, so I hadn't noticed it much. But yesterday I was walking down the street, girly shopping with my best friend, and two women were walking toward us. Courtesy would dictate that they and we would each form single file lines so we could pass one another and all stay on the sidewalk. However, the other women kept yakking and stayed two abreast. I fell a step behind my friend. The approaching women didn't fall into single file. My friend held her ground as we walked past the women, and her shoulder bumped one of them. As we walked on, my friend muttered, "damn if I'm walking in the grass". I said ,"huh?" My friend said, "If they expected me to move onto the grass just because I'm bigger than them, they thought wrong." This startled me for a couple of reasons. First, I've never heard my friend talk like that. She's gained about fifty pounds (all in her hips, just like her mom is built) over the last dozen years and probably weighs about 225 at 5'6". She's never been on a diet IN HER LIFE. She's not a compulsive overeater like I am. I suppose she eats more than she needs since clearly she's got this extra weight, but she doesn't binge like I did all my life. She's always been my skinny friend. But now she outweighs me by at least forty-five pounds. But here's the kicker. I didn't interpret those women not budging because of any judgment on their part. I just attributed it to self-absorbed, oblivious rudeness. And yet my friend concluded they were judging themselves as superior to her because of her size. MY MIND DOESN'T GO THERE ANYMORE. When I walk down a sidewalk I'm just another woman. Not a big woman. Not a lesser woman. Not an ashamed woman. Not an angry woman. I was saddened and affected by my friend's comment. I wondered when she began to refer to herself as "bigger than". Because I don't remember when that happened. I was always the fat one and I was always the one who stayed home and avoided social events. My friend is still a social butterfly and is the first one on a dance floor (not me, I've got two left feet). I didn't pursue the conversation because I was at a loss for what to say. We quickly turned our attention to something shiny in a store window. But it's been on my mind ever since. JustWatchMe

The WOO HOO heard round the world!!! It's done. I'm an ex!! I spent four hours in a conference room before the trial negotiating with, for lack of a better word, the terrorist. We settled at 3pm and signed at 3:30pm. We avoided trial. The judge accepted our settlement and declared us divorced. I fought for, and got, all of the provisions I wanted in the agreement, including taxes, tuition, insurance for the girls, and more. He didn't wear me down and I didn't give in on points my lawyer thought were tradable but I did not. I have not felt this powerful in years. My new life has truly begun. Thank you all for your support. I felt you with me today. JustWatchMe

Thanks, Liz. ❤️ JustWatchMe

Well, no surprise. Mr. Wonderful pulled a stunt, refused to sign, made a new list of demands, and there is no agreement as we go into court tomorrow morning. It's in the judge's hands now. I'm amazingly calm. Did all the preparation I could. Thank you all for your support. I'll carry it with me tomorrow. JustWatchMe