bellabill

Pregnancy with 2 kids and then found out hubby was gay. Yup it happened to me but then the weight got out of hand ! Not to worry, I remarried and had one more kid. He's Mr. Wonderful ????

But was all an illusion all because Bennie had powers to

I am in. I have been on here for awhile and I don't even know how to friend someone. I will have to navigate this.

Dec. 30th is going to be my big day!!! What a great way to start the new year ????????????! So anyone around this date to be buddies ?

You got some great advice and views from others. Most of us say we wished we had done this sooner! The longer you stay overweight the more problems will arise. Knees will hurt, blood pressure goes up and back will ache etc. 10 years ago the doc said my knees will need to replaced and recommended me to see the WLS surgeon and I backed out cause I did not want the RNY at the time. It was only that or the band. I decided to take the behavior path to learn to eat better etc. my knees got bad enough I can't work because of the kind of job I had. So will be having surgery on the 30th and anticipate knee surgery in 2015. I plan on going back to work when I am healed. I hope you find that time you will be ready. I am ready cause I want a better lifestyle! Good luck with whatever decision you make!

Anyone want to be my buddy? Now the reality is settling for me and to get real with stuff.

Just heard about a fellow Bander, Michele Elbertson. Michele is 28 years old and had the Lap-Band back when she was 23. Since her procedure, she has lost 260 pounds! In the past three years, she has run over 38 half-marathons, 7 full-marathons, one 50-mile ultra-marathon, and two triathlons.
Michele was chosen as a finalist for the December issue of Runner’s World Cover Contest and beat out of thousands of submissions. In addition, she was featured on The Rachael Ray Show yesterday and was given a full makeover. You can check out her transformation here.
She decided to write down her success story and wanted us to help spread her story – you can find that here. Her story was too inspiring not to share with our members. She has a Twitter account in the event you want to follow/engage with her directly - https://twitter.com/M_Elbertson

If you're cooking healthy to give your children good, clean nutrition, it will be easy to stick to your nutrition as well Don't keep a lot of instant type foods around (Read: hot dogs, fried nuggets), or sugary cereals, etc. Foster clean eating early in their lives and it will be much easier for them in the future, too.

I think starting a private group is a great idea . It's really nice to have such supportive people to go through this with .

Wow there is quite a group already... This is great the more the merrier. The count down is on!

You got some great advice and views from others. Most of us say we wished we had done this sooner! The longer you stay overweight the more problems will arise. Knees will hurt, blood pressure goes up and back will ache etc. 10 years ago the doc said my knees will need to replaced and recommended me to see the WLS surgeon and I backed out cause I did not want the RNY at the time. It was only that or the band. I decided to take the behavior path to learn to eat better etc. my knees got bad enough I can't work because of the kind of job I had. So will be having surgery on the 30th and anticipate knee surgery in 2015. I plan on going back to work when I am healed. I hope you find that time you will be ready. I am ready cause I want a better lifestyle! Good luck with whatever decision you make!

Well after today I'm never drinking it again! I will share it when the in-laws come to visit Ha!

Karen: Worry about yourself and we can't always please everyone. You can get the kids to bake only if they want to... to support you. Stay home and have your own thing. It's just one year you have do this for you. It is not a selfish thing. Hang in there.

Welcome! New Year coming for all of us!

Wow there is quite a group already... This is great the more the merrier. The count down is on!

I am in. I have been on here for awhile and I don't even know how to friend someone. I will have to navigate this.

You got some great advice and views from others. Most of us say we wished we had done this sooner! The longer you stay overweight the more problems will arise. Knees will hurt, blood pressure goes up and back will ache etc. 10 years ago the doc said my knees will need to replaced and recommended me to see the WLS surgeon and I backed out cause I did not want the RNY at the time. It was only that or the band. I decided to take the behavior path to learn to eat better etc. my knees got bad enough I can't work because of the kind of job I had. So will be having surgery on the 30th and anticipate knee surgery in 2015. I plan on going back to work when I am healed. I hope you find that time you will be ready. I am ready cause I want a better lifestyle! Good luck with whatever decision you make!

One year ago today, I had my VSG. I am feeling better than I have in over a decade.
There were challenges. It wasn't all fairy dust and unicorn farts
Lord Almighty it was worth it. This photo was taken at work today.
Blessings,
Kathleen

Woman! If there is one thing we know about YOU...is you DO NOT "Coddle" LOL... love you to pieces... you have been thru so much and are still our shining star
"Don't let someone dim your light because you shine in their face" ... I read that early today on this site and I think it applies here! <3

You are a success. Think of what you went through to get to this point! And you are where you are supposed to be... you're a host, for Pete's sake! Doesn't that tell you something? Few of us know each other, but we are all friends in a way, since we can talk openly about things here in a way that is pretty rare in this world.
No, the problem is that you need a second or even a third opinion. Believe me, I've fired lots of doctors for being jerks. These doctors don't know everything. I would look around for some good referrals to people who are both compassionate and experienced in these things. Folks who have never been fat will never understand. Period. Get someone who can help you.
And then you find that someone who is on your side and will pull out all the stops. Ask your friends, any doctors your trust, go on Yelp, Google away...
Please, your voice is very important to this group, and we want you among us.

Of course you should be here! Does this site help you? Do you find comfort here and can you shed some light on certain situations that may arise with someone else who is struggling or just needs some advice on something you have already experienced? What your "friend" fails to realize is that this site is a "SUPPORT" group of people! We don't just support the people who go through WLS and never have an issue or have the picture perfect out come! How boring would this be if people didn't have different "journeys"!? What the hell would we have to talk About?! Don't you DARE for one second let an "outsider" with no freaking clue tell you you don't belong among your own! How dare she even say such nonsense?! You do what makes you happy!

Congratulations!! Wish you many years of happiness!!!

Dec. 30th for me! I'll be your buddy

*First is my MAJOR scale victory, I am 100lbs down as of Sunday. Hw 290, Sw 282, Cw 190 from a size 20/22 to a size 8/10. Shoe from size 9W to an 8 regular.
*I no longer snore at all, which is big for me since it recently started and was so loud and disruptive to both my family and I. Now, nothing at all, they say im so silent they wonder if im breathing. I sleep so much better and more comfortably.
*Also, the late night cravings have gone away and I never wake up at night anymore so no more late night snacking.
*I no longer have pain from my Fibromyalgia and have stopped my medications completely!!!! I hate meds!!
******Sad to say that I have had serious negative responses to "MY LIFE" decision, here are some of the daggers in my heart...
-I've had family tell me, I didn't need the surgery, I was pretty enough even though I was "BIG"! As if I am so vein that I would do something so serious to my body just to look good...smh
-I was told, "I don't like this on u, it's not YOU, you're not meant to be this small"...SMH
Then, "I could never make myself sick every day just to look good". WAH? Who's that, I'm not sick at all...uneducated speakers make me wanna vomit if that's what u mean...UGH.
-another family member, "don't lose no more, we have enough crackheads out here, wouldn't want people to get the wrong idea". WTF???
THEN THE ABSOLUTE WORST OF ALL.....
-My husband threw me a big party when I hit my first goal of 200lbs. I invited all my favorite girls to a Glam Session to do makeovers and a photo shoot (my first pics public photos other than on BP) as a girls night but also as a celebration of my successes since at that time, I had also gotten a raise at work (Which is also suspect), a new luxury apt and a new car. I struggled over 2 years to gain these things from a 1 bedroom box apartment and no car to the new life that my hard work paid for. Do you know one friend was heard saying, "Why she gotta show off, now she think she something special because she lost weight, who's gonna shrink her head?" This hurt me the most because my husband offered me anything I wanted to Celebrate and all I asked is that he treat me and my girls, 17 of us to catered food from Carrabbas (My Fav), dj for the room, make up sessions with Mary Kay, we had a pure romance presentation, a man that was selling jewelry to enhance our look and a photographer to document the whole evening and take personal photo shoots as well, all this at no cost to them and this man made that happen just to celebrate me and my accomplishments and I was extremely thankful beyond belief but also so hurt by not only the person making the comment but the 4 that entertained her, 2 by saying, "that's alright, when she fall, she gonna fall hard" "she got a new 2014 car but just asked me for $60 bucks just last week, she's a phony" -this was when I lost my bank card and had to wait for another and she was with me so I asked her instead of calling my husband. Lesson learned!
Basically I learned that people are not always who you think they are. Thank God I did what I did for me and not to impress anyone or seeking anyone's approval. I am happy with my decision and since I've noticed that ppl seem to be down for you as long as you stay down in life...on their level perhaps but the minute you move up, now your not good enough for them. I have since been uninvited to 4 events and the excuse was, " Oh I thought You'd be busy or traveling" REALLY? I was suppose to be celebrating but I literally cried for 3 days. Beyond the gains (materials) and the losses(weight), I thought I had support. I learned an ugly lesson that day and here's some I wish to pass on...
Make your moves for YOU!, Seek only approval from YOU! Make sure you have a true support system. Then my daughter sent me a comment picture that reads,"Don't dim your light simply because it's shining in their eyes" That's for you too. Be positive and don't let the haters tear you down.
I don't have a positive relationship with my family, been on my own since 16, so these women have always been around but now that I can't even share my life losses or gains with them...my husband is taking me away from it all, no more pain, no more tears, no more haters, we are moving to California, his home town and I will make new friends and hope and pray to share a good life together. He even says we will renew our vows so I can get a new dress vs the size 26 I had to wear in Jamaica. After 18 years, we will renew our vows in Santa Monica!!! Haven't told any of them yet but I bet they act like they care... but they probably don't and who cares, I'm over it!! It will be a last minute goodbye and an AWESOME 2015!!!!

I am happy and I will continue to be, I could have uplifted others but I will reach out to the real ones and help bring them up and we can pray together for those too busy hating on others to ever come up in life!! Good riddance to em'...
Love you guys, needed to get that out!! Thanks, whew!

Sorry for all your problems. I am being treated with 3 different meds for H. Pylori now before my surgery on the 30TH. Now I am curious if this will recur again? I will ask about this on my pretest appt. Hang in there!