Foofy

Hi all,

I'm back. I've been kind of happily sitting at my current weight for about 9 months now. I guess I've been testing myself to see if I would gain anything back. Even though I have not been watching my diet, I have not gained a pound. I have had two very stressful events happen this year. My mom died of complications from dementia in March and my dad was diagnosed with lung cancer last month. The other day, I found myself in the kitchen, crying and nibbling on a stick of butter. Old habits die hard.

The fact that I have not gained anything, even in this most stressful time has made me confident that I can lose more if I just try. I have decided to focus on losing more, because my dad would be so happy to see me thin. Also, I want to set a good example for my husband, who REALLY needs to lose weight. If I can prove that the band works, I might be able to talk him into it.

With those lofty goals on my horizon, I plow forth into this challenge.

Name............Start.......Current...........Goal..........To Goal

Momto1......... 151......... 143.............. M................M

TxArcher....... 285.......... 278............. 270..............8

Sades........... 189.......... 189............. 180............. 9

Skinny_Jill......157............154..............149..............5

Foofy ............223...........223..............213.............10

Josiebies,

Congrats on your great weight loss, surgery, and engagement. Thanks for being so open in providing the details of the surgery - both emotionally and physically. I wonder if part of the emotional swings aren't due to the estrogen changes that come after removing a large amount of fat tissue. Fat cells supply estrogen; so, for those of us that are no longer in our prime estrogen producing years, a sudden removal of an estrogen source could make your emotions swing.

Just a thought. I am sure that your emotions will level out once your body totally recovers from the surgery.

Again, thanks so much for sharing! Great job!

Hi all,

Bandpal PM'd me to make sure I hadn't fallen off the face of the earth, so I figured I should check in.

I haven't been posting much because I don't have a lot of weight loss to report. I've been at the same weight for about 7 months. I'm not complaining, because I'm really not even thinking about it and the weight stays off. In times past, if I had lost 50 pounds, it would have started coming back on the minute I dropped my guard.

I've had some very trying emotional times lately. My beloved Mom recently got very sick, and she passed away last week. So, it's even more remarkable that I haven't gained weight, because food has always been such a comfort.

I am very happy with the band, and hope to lose another 40 pounds this year. After that, I plan to have the deflated spare tire lopped off from around my waist. I had hoped to do that by my 50th b'day, but 51 will do just fine.

I hope all of you are doing well. I know from reading the posts that some of you are true band SUPERSTARS. I'm pround of all of us. What a great start to the rest of our lives.

Peace and joy to you all.

Foofy

Karen,

First, I am so sorry for the pain you are feeling after your surgery. Back pain is never easy. I certainly hope that it can be resolved.

Next, please don't let yourself feel "guilty" about gaining some weight. Managing your weight while you are in pain has got to be very tough. Most of us got to be obese by self medicating with food. That has to be very tempting for you now.

Last, please get to your band doctor and have him/her get you to restriciton. You shouldn't have to go through this alone. Your band doctor should be understanding of your situation and should NOT make you feel guilty. Don't be ashamed to ask for help when you fall down. What's important is what you do from this day forward. Forget about any weight gain and start fresh today.

Best of luck!!

Yay for YOU! That 20 pounds of skin IS amazing. That should knock you right past your goal into your "super goal," right? Obviously, there was no reason for you to wait any longer to have surgery.

Gosh, how exciting. When are you going to post pictures?

You ladies should contact "wasabubblebutt" (or something close to that). As I remember, she lost her band and went for a sleeve about a year ago. She could probably give you good feedback.

Congrats on all your success.

It is human nature to think of some excuse why you can't exercise in front of people (hair looks bad, get too sweaty, run like a girl, fat flops around, etc.). At some point you have to say "screw them all" and just get out there and do it. Worrying what other people think is what makes people fat in the first place.

Do it for you! Don't worry about the rest of them.

I think it really helps to have someone to train with. It gets you over the hump when your evil voice says "stay inside and eat Oreos today." I walked a full marathon when I weighed 250 pounds - so I know it can be done. People cheered and I cried. It was fabulous. I still look back on it as a MAJOR acheivement.

I will tell you that (in the beginning) I HATED the training walks. It was early, the walks were long, I had better things to do, it hurt, yada, yada, yada. But, as time went on, I started noticing that it really didn't suck as much as I thought, and then I even started to like it! I started noticing how pretty the sunrise was, how nice the air smelled, which houses had lights on in the morning. Also, I met a whole subculture of walkers who were out on a regular basis in the morning, while I was normally in bed.

Also, I am sure I have bored people with this before, but I noticed something amazing about exercise. At the start of each walk, it would REALLY suck. I live at the base of a hill and I HATED going uphill at the start. Then, it would get worse, and I would want to quit, but my wicked witch of a walking partner wouldn't let me. By about the third mile, I noticed I started getting in a groove and things got much better - all my parts were operating as designed and I was like a well-oiled machine. By five miles, I was enjoying myself, and by seven miles I was downright giddy. It amazed me that sticking it out got me to a better place. Before, I would have always quit when it hurt and I would never got to the fun place. I found it to be somewhat of a metaphor for life. Stick it out - it gets better and then it gets great.

You can do it, but you should really find a friend to walk with to get you started. Best of luck.

I'm no expert, but I think Dr. S is right about that one. Fly your Mom to NY.

As a resident of Montana, I can guarantee you that I would rather be getting plastic surgery in New York that in the rural west. You'd have to go to the emergency room in MT or WY if you had surgery in Utah and then had complications while staying with your mom in WY. They are unlikely to have much experience with what you would have had done.

It's beautiful here, indeed, but the population just doesn't support the kind of care you may need in a crisis.

You look lovely Marie - and younger, too. Also, I love the fashion model stance. ;o) You are clearly owning your new look. Congratulations!

I'll bet your band is fine, but I wouldn't be surprised if you were a little tight for a few days because of stress.

I'm glad you didn't get seriously hurt. That's a little Xmas present for you to be grateful for.

Good to hear from you. Hopefully we won't have to wait for another traumatic event before you check in again. ;o)

Congrats Susan. You know, you are the first person to mention the saran wrap. Do you think all doctors use that and people just haven't been mentioning it on the site, or is your doctor doing something special?

Have a happy holiday! What a great present!

You look fabulous woman! I know it's been a long haul, but geez what a difference in your body in one year. You should post your before surgery picture so people can see how far you have really come.

Thanks for sharing and hang in there!

You know, I think maintaining over the Holidays should count as much (or more) than losing anytime else. There are treats EVERYWHERE! I am happy, happy, happy, to have my little silicone buddy.

What's the latest Shalee? I know you're around, because I saw a post from you on another thread. Are things getting better?

Here's to a very Merry Xmas and a great New Year in Flatlands!

Best of luck. You'll do great!

I struggle with compliments, too. I know I should say "thanks" when I get one, but I often find myself pointing out some flaw or how I have not been able to get to my desired weight. I am practicing just saying "thanks" but it's not always easy.

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I know what you mean Shortgal. It's hard to just graciously accept a compliment. It's not just about weight either. I can't remember which comedian I saw who was saying somthing like "Why is it when you compliment a woman on a piece of clothing, they always have to tell you about the great deal they scored?" I'm ALWAYS doing that. Someone says "Hey I like your shoes," and I am sputtering about how I got them for 90% off. I just can't say "THANKS I love them too!"

Wow want2lose, you look fabulous. You don't even look like you have any saggy skin! What a great accomplishment. I wouldn't worry about hitting a plateau, your body needs time to adjust to that whopping loss. It'll come in time.

While driving a couple weeks ago, I gulped down a bunch of cold Water with a couple asprin (forgot I had a band) and GOT THE Water STUCK. My esophogus immediately treated the ball of water like an intruder and started producing slime to help work it out. Fabulous - more Fluid. After a few minutes, I had to pull the car over and hurl up the water and probably twice as much slime.

I laughed about it with my doctor later. Honestly, if you had told me as a teenager that I would one day be pulling over to puke up WATER I would have never believed it.

It's amazing how much slime your body makes as a defense mechanism to help move stuck things through the system. Sometimes, I just sit and spit into a cup when I get something stuck. When that happens I can easily spit at elast 4 oz of pure ole clear spit in 5 minutes or less.

It's great to hear from you Kendra. We often wonder how you are doing. LOL. I bet a port WOULD scare a doctor who didn't know it was there.

I am glad you are still able to teach and are feeling relatively good. You are a real inspiration to us all. I wish you great success with Cancer Treatment Centers. I hear really good things about them.

Warm thoughts to you. Keep kickin and stompin.

Get your mind out of the gutter, Jack. ;o)

Tyman, I have heard that gall bladder problems are not uncommon with those who lose large amounts of weight quickly. Best of luck on getting yours resolved. And congrats on beling so close to goal.

Here's a good one from a woman posted on makemeheal.com. The password is "plastics".

Plastic Surgery Pictures, Videos, Photos, Pics, Before, After, Cosmetic Surgery

Good new Shalee. You are on the road to recovery. Walking will help stimulate your wound healing ability also. Enjoy it!

Name..-----.Start----------Current..----Goal.....--...To Go

CindyG..............191...................191.............178................13

Sades................186...................185....... .....175................11

Stephanie.........175..................169.5..........155...............14.5

shortgal.............173.6...............172..............168................4

Bandpal...........172.26..............170.6........150.................20.6

Momto1plus1...187....................185............174................11

lindata...............174....................174............169.................5

Skinny_Jill........151.....................150...........143..................7

mrskrzyz...........172.....................172...........162.................10

kalipso2...........172.....................172...........165....................7

scarecrow.........190.....................190............180.................10

Foofy.................226....................223............212.................11

Good grief. This seems to be a "skinny person's" challenge. I'm jumping in to add some heft to the group! When did you all get so darn little?

You all look GREAT!!!! Bandpal - you and I have the same starting shape. I hope I look like you when I'm done, with a little more boob action and a little less body hair. LOL.

My god, it must be soooo much easier for you to sit down or tie your shoes. Also, I bet you can finally see an important body part that was eluding you for years. ;o)

I'm glad I finally got around to reading this thread. Great work everyone! I'll have to get the nerve to take some turtle picture updates.