lizzie_07

Name..............Start...........Current..............Goal........ To Go Lizzie_07.........233...............224.....................220 .........4 Osangriared.....252...............245.5.....................232 .....13.5 Skinny_Jill.......180...............175.....................168....... ....7 Sades.............197...............197.....................185....... ..12 kandiceb..........187...............175.....................175....... ...0 shortgal............183..............175....................175....... ....0 TxArcher..........328..............315......................308....... ...7 Peaches11........217..............208.....................199......... 10 Momto1plus1.....223..............212.6..................210......... 2.6 zippykat...........173..............167.....................160....... ...7 Trixie...............219.5...........209.....................199...... ..10 wnt2lose..........219..............213.6...................209...... ..4.6 plump_princess....215.............206.....................199.......7 Mariegabrieleee....250............250......................239...... 11 Foofy..............239.5............236.....................230....... ...6 Shalee04..........196..............187......................185....... ..2 Hollyberries......267...............257......................254...... ...3 CindyG............215...............210......................199...... .11 MollyBrown......258...............251.......................245....... .8 lindata............189?.............185.......................180..... ...5

I don't think any of us can say someone NEEDS lapband surgery. We all know that the lapband is a personal decision and is not for everyone. Some people may be able to find a different solution that works for them. Some may be content with their current weight even though others may suggest they need to lose a few pounds.

Name..............Start...........Current.................Goal........ To Go Lizzie_07.........233...............228.....................220 ............8 Osangriared.....252...............247.3.....................232 ..........15.3 Skinny_Jill.......180...............175.....................168....... .....7 Sades.............197...............197.....................185....... .....12 kandiceb..........187...............176.....................175....... ....1 shortgal............183..............177....................175....... .....2 TxArcher..........328..............318......................308....... ....10 Peaches11........217..............208.....................199......... .10 Momto1plus1.....223..............215.4..................210........... 5.4 zippykat...........173..............167.....................160....... ...7 Trixie...............219.5...........209.....................199...... ....10 wnt2lose..........219..............213.6.....................209...... ..4.6 plump_princess....215.............209.....................199........1 0 Mariegabrieleee....250............250......................239........ 11 Foofy..............239.5............237.5...................230....... .7.5 Shalee04..........196..............189......................185....... .4 Hollyberries......267...............261......................254...... .7 CindyG............215...............212......................199...... ..13 MollyBrown......258...............253.......................245....... ..8 lindata............189?.............185.......................180..... .....5 I just got back from vacation. I thought I gained weight but I've lost half a pound...no clue how that happened! Final exams are done so I have nothing stopping me from going to the gym everyday again.

Name..............Start...........Current.................Goal........ To Go Lizzie_07.........233...............228.5.....................220 ..........8.5 Osangriared.....252...............251.....................232 ..........19 Skinny_Jill.......180...............176.....................168....... .....8 Sades.............197...............197.....................185....... .....12 kandiceb..........187...............178.....................175....... ....03 shortgal............183..............179....................175....... .....4 TxArcher..........328..............320......................308....... ....12 Peaches11........217..............208.....................199......... .10 Momto1plus1.....223..............217.2..................210........... 7.2 zippykat...........173..............167.....................160....... ...7 Trixie...............219.5...........215.....................199...... ....16 wnt2lose..........219..............213.6.....................209...... ..4.6 plump_princess....215.............210.....................199........1 1 Mariegabrieleee....250............250......................239........ 11 Foofy..............239.5............237.5...................230....... .7.5 Shalee04..........196..............192......................185....... .7 Hollyberries......267...............262......................254...... .8 CindyG............215...............213......................199...... ..14 I don't think I'm going to make my goal, but we'll see how close I can get. I'm going on vacation friday so thats going to make it a little more difficult.

Hey Dianne, Sorry you had to go through the same thing. You described it way better than I did! lol It's hard to explain the pain, discomfort, and panic you feel but it's definitely something I never want to experience again. One benefit: You'll need much less saline in your band to reach restriction. I'm at 4.8cc and the band is perfectly tight. Before my overfill I was at 6cc and wasn't restricted at all. So hang in there. It won't set you as far back as you may think. Good luck!

Linda - I feel like at this point I have been on every spectrum of the restriction scale. From being able to eat however much I want to not being able to swallow my spit. And in the time period in between being way too tight and now, I have been a variety of levels of restriction. So it's going be be slightly confusing to try to think back to how I could eat at various levels....I know restriction is different for everyone and I am definitely not a pro at this yet, but I'll try to explain from my perspective...(I have a final exam in 6 hours that I should be studying for but here I am...lol) After I had 2 defills and the swelling went down (it took a week), I found that I was at a similar restriction level as you described. I could eat a fair amount (more than I would have liked to be able to eat) but if I was not really careful (which I wasn't), I could get stuck or pb very easily. I had a fill a few weeks later, and at that point I had the restriction I described in my first post. It sounded to me like the restriction everyone else had been talking about. I could eat maybe 1/2-1 cup of food, depending on what it was and the time of day. Instead of being punished by getting stuck or pbing, if I didn't pay attention to the way I was feeling while eating I could feel the food backing up into my esophagus. Someone above described the same thing I think. I found at this level of restriction, the backing up came before I ever knew I was full. Oh and the fullness lasted 3-5 hours usually. At this point, my restriction is slightly less, but I actually like the level I am at. I can eat anywhere from 1/2 to 1 1/2 cups of food depending on the time of day and what it is, and it takes a lot for me to get stuck or pb. I no longer get that backing up feeling, and hiccups, etc. or a feeling of fullness are my signals to stop. The fullness lasts 3-5 hours still (sometimes 6 if I have a bit of a larger portion). I feel like I can eat a substantial meal at this level of restriction. Eating 1/2 a cup of food every 3-5 hours did not make me feel that I was giving my body all he nutrients it needed. So for now, I'm going to stay where I am. If I need a little boost, I'll go back to the tighter restriction I had before. Hope all this made a slight bit of sense. I'm sure restriction feels different for everyone.

Just adding Linda Name..............Start...........Current.................Goal........To Go Lizzie_07.........233...............231.....................220 ..........11 Osangriared.....252...............249.5.....................232 ..........17.5 Skinny_Jill.......180...............178.....................168....... .....10 Sades.............197...............197.....................185....... .....12 kandiceb..........187...............178.....................175....... ....03 shortgal............183..............182....................175....... .....7 TxArcher..........328..............324......................308....... ....16 Peaches11........217..............208.....................199......... .10 Momto1plus1.....223..............220.6...............210.............10.4 zippykat...........173..............167.....................160....... ...7 Trixie...............219.5...........215.....................199...... ....16 wnt2lose..........219..............217.....................209........ 8 plump_princess....215.............211.....................199........12 Mariegabrieleee....250............250......................239........ 11 Foofy..............239.5............237.5...................230....... .7.5 Shalee04..........196..............193......................185....... .8 Hollyberries......267...............264......................254...... .10 Lindata............189...............189.....................184..........5

Hey Linda, We've been using the original thread (4 pages long) to post our progress so I'll add you to that. Good luck! I hate challenges too because I tend to never reach my weight goals on time.

That's the EXACT way it is with me! That's why I ate so horribly over Easter. The chocolates and chips were there, so I ate them. The band didn't stop me whatsoever (and neither did I, clearly). I went to the movies with my mom the other night and told her I'd have a couple handfulls of her popcorn, thinking I wouldn't be able to eat any more than that. Well I ate more of her popcorn than she did! Then I'll try to eat some fresh fruit and I'll only be able to have a few bites. It's very interesting. I have to avoid "bad" foods completely because I can't control myself and the band doesn't control me well enough around most of them. Oh, and yes I think that is what they mean by junk food goes down easy.

First pb?? Gee Linda, you should feel proud you lasted this long! I had my first pb sometime in december lol. It's definitely a learning curve the closer you get to restriction. It's weird, but I find that I pb and get stuck less now that I've reached restriction. Not sure why that is or if it's that way for everyone. I just get discomfort if I overeat or don't chew well. I suppose I pb on occasion, but I very rarely get stuck.

Thanks guys =) Linda - I think dying my hair brown helps to make me look like a different person lol. That before pic (taken last summer) is what made me decide that I needed to do something drastic. I didn't realize I had gotten that big. I haven't lost that much yet but it's nice to see people can notice a difference in my face.

Hmm this solves the problem...my ideal look:

My best friend is around my height and is my goal weight. We have very similar shapes I think (hour glass), except she's the slim version. I'm striving to look similar to her, except I'll have more excess skin and cellulite unfortunately. I'd post a picture of her but I think she'd kill me lol.

I suppose I could just show you before and after headshots for now...but the after shot was taken with a webcam which I find more flattering, so I'm not sure how accurate the comparison is...

Wow! Everyone looks great! I don't have any recent after pics so maybe in a few months I'll be brave and post them.