DevilMayKare

Thanks for easing my mind Julie. It doesn't surpise me that you're feeling depressed. You seem very goal-oriented. When one is that kind of person, one tends to feel a letdown after meeting a goal. I've often thought the reason I gain weight back after losing (more than 100# three times in my life now) is that all the small goals met along the way are so satisfying. Once ya get there... then what? OBVIOUSLY life is not then wonderful and trouble-free. In fact, a whole new set of problems tends to appear. I'm really glad you've got your Marathon goal. Just make sure you have something important to look forward to after it. I got to my goal weight and ran a 10K on Catalina Island for my 40th bday. It was an absolutely wonderful experience. So wonderful in fact that I felt it couldn't be surpassed and within a week had stopped running and gained 80# back within the next year. Thank you again for all your sharing. Kare

Well I rarely join in on the board these days, but I keep up on several of the threads that speak to me. Like a lot of people I have followed Julie's amazing journey and have really benefitted from her sharing. But... it looks like she hasn't posted for over two weeks now and I'm starting to feel worried. So, Julie... how are you? You out there? Everything Okay? No doubt work and life is really busy but I'm sure I'm not the only one starting to feel concerned. Please check in. And isn't it weird to have people you don't even know worried about you? Kare

Nancy, Do a search on this site for for a thread called Lower Body Lift Surgery Update [Picture] by Muffinbirdie. She had the lift surgery you're thinking about with the same doctor in TJ. She seemed pretty happy with it. Of course it's been a long time since she's been on here. She used to have an inspiring website but that's gone too. Hope she's doing well. Anybody perhaps know what's going on with Muffinbirdie?

Well Jenna.... I think you're living up to your handle. BUt I guess if that ol' pea is keeping you awake no matter how many mattresses are stacked (or how the boobs are stacked) it's gonna have to go! I was a little bothered about my eyebrows not quite matching when I had my eyes done until I noticed they NEVER quite matched. I'd never noticed it before surgery. Since then I've noticed hardly anyone has exactly symetrical eyebrows. I honestly would NOT notice your breasts aren't exactly the same. Any designer can tell you the human eye looks for focal points and tends to fill in the details and ignore the minor imperfections. But of course if you can't sleep...

Ditto. What a shame those who have had bad experiences get jumped on if they try to speak up in some of the threads searching newbies start. I do understand when that happens because I didn't really want to hear negative things when the lapband was my big hope--but now that it's my big $8,000 failure I wish I had seen more warning on this board. In fact, 3 years ago I don't think there even was a subhead for Complications or Life after Removal. What a shame that as time goes on there are likely to be more and more threads on those sections. Thank you for the link. Kare

Could you send it my way also Kit? I'm another looking at a revision. Have to do SOMETHING. I can't believe I'm back up exactly where I was when I got banded 8/05. The hopelessness is suffocating. I haven't seen any Penni updates. Are there some threads I'm missing? Did she disappear along w/ LaMadam & Vines? Kare

Boy there have been a lot of "complications" and "removals" since this thread was originally started. I wish there was some way to edit out all the nastiness, because there is some REALLY GOOD information in here. I recommend newbies take the time to set aside the emotional aspects and read thru this long thread. As for me I was happy as a clam and very successful the first 6-10 months of my band. Now at almost 3 years out I've gained everything back and more and am planning to make an appointment next week to start the DS process.

Well, I haven't been on this board for a couple of months but I logged on after hearing Alec Baldwin's msg to his daughter. I felt so incredibly incensed and figured someone on HERE must be feeling the same way and was talking about it. Not yet, uh? So the heat on LBT is about abortion today... Interesting. Despite Gadget's assertion that not all ANTI-Choice advocates are Christians, all the ones I have met are. I am sure there are exceptions, but I've never met an atheist or agnostic who felt it was their choice to make for someone else on this issue. And the part that always amazes me about CHRISTIANS being so against abortion is the TOTAL LACK of Biblical precedent on this matter. Anyone who has read the Bible--and particurlarily the Old Testament knows that life was very, very cheap. There are so many examples of God's chosen killing those not chosen (How about the entire city castrated and killed? Or God's darling David having Bethsheba's husband killed?) it is just amazing how people use "The Word of God" of all things to justify this stance. "Thou shalt not kill" is one of the commandments, and yet the Bible is full of killing. (And how about EVERY FIRST SON of the entire Egyptian population? How many baby boys did God kill there?) Consider one class of "unwanted children" that didn't come up--that would be those generated by adultery. What a woman is going to do with an unwanted baby is not much of an issue if she is stoned for adultery. Whatever one's opinion is on this one, I really dont' see how you can use the God of the Bible to justify it.

Well, hate to contradict your trainer, but I do not agree with this. Aerobics 3x per week may be a good place to start but I think most people who have lost a lot work out more than that--aerobically. For me to keep losing consistently my workout schedule is usually 1 hour of cardio 6x per week with an additional hour of weight-training 3x per week. After I finally accepted that that is what it takes for me I read Oprah's workout week and that is pretty much her schedule does as well. But... I WISH 3 sessions a week were all it took!

Oh gosh, You guys have got to check out today's: http://postsecret.blogspot.com/ It is SO appropo to this conversation! (Really interesting site, too.) As for me I did not tell my family, except for my two sons... and even them after the fact. I told my two best friends and one of the women I work with and I am REALLY GLAD i didn't tell anyone else! I lost 50# in the first 4 months and then gained it all back just like ANY DIET I'VE EVER BEEN ON. I'm exercising and dieting really strictly now and am starting to lose again, but tool, shmool; the band hasn't made one bit of difference for me--except I'm about $9,000 poorer. At least *everyone* doesn't know and I have to feel like a public failure and fool on top of it. For those of you planning to make it public knowledge, you might just CONSIDER how you're going to feel if it DOESN'T work for you.

Hi Lucygirl, You might want to check out the other fairly long thread "Any Regrets" at the link below. http://www.lapbandtalk.com/any-regrets-t26021.html?t=26021&highlight=Regrets

You should probably move your alarm clock away from the bed. Also since I drink a lot of Water at night when my alarm rings there is nooooo way I could go back to sleep w/o getting up to pee. And once I'm "sitting there"--my workout pants & top hanging right on the shower handle in front of me it's really hard NOT to pull them on and get on the machine instead of crawling back into bed. What I love about my elliptical is that I don't even have to put on shoes to workout. I've been leaving the therm down low and every time I get really cold I jump on for 3-5 minutes to warm up. That's a really easy way to burn cals! (Also since I know I'm just there for a short jaunt I tend to work out at a higher intensity.) The MOST IMPORTANT thing about ANY workout (no matter how you break up the time) is that it's easy enough for you to DO consistently.

There was a really good article on High-intensity interval training & its weightloss benefits in the Health section of the LATimes this week. You might have to register onsite to read this whole article, but I think it's really worth it. http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-interval15jan15,1,5158048.column?coll=la-headlines-health I'm checking out the books referred to in the article, but just for a start the last couple of days I've been adding 30 seconds of going as fast as i can every five minutes of my ellipitical workout and it has definitely made it more interesting. Don't know about the WL results yet, but anything that can make exericise less boring for me has gotta help. Anybody doing this H-I interval training on a regular basis?