ReneBean

Hey, Those Victoria's Secret models seem to be able to carry it off pretty well - but I think they are about the only ones who can!

Face & Neck first - then it came off my BACK - I lost those ever so attractive "back boobs" and now it seems to be coming off the core. My belly measurement has dropped pretty dramatically with the last 20 lbs or so. good luck!! (and take LOTS of pictures - both before and during)

Congrats Bandida! And January 26th is certainly a great day!!! Great job on losing 20 already!! Nothing like getting a jump on it! Hugs!

Congrats on your Surgery, TX Chick!!! We will all be thinking good thoughts for an easy surgery and quick healing. You are just going to love SCOR. They were all so nice, there!! Hugs!!

Me too, Wheetsin... I travel to NY with some frequency. I wonder 1) what hellacious dollar figure it takes, and 2) whether I could get an appointment with Nick within the next 20 yrs.... Nick... *sigh* How I love him. :]

Oh yeah Missy. I will neither wear nor buy for others any clothing that doesn't pass what I lovingly call The Tactile Test. Scratchy is bad. Smooth is good. :]

Yeah - It's the Pre-Op diet that is the most difficult and then it gets hard again about a week after surgery - unless you are lucky enough to have restriction right off the table. Once you start eating normal food, and getting fills - it all gets a lot easier. Don't be afraid. It's going to be just fine. We all survived - and believe me when I tell you - I am NO paragon of self control. If I did it, you can too. Hugs!!

When all your body tissues swell up - it makes the band tighter. Every cell in your body is retaining Water. So the stomach under the band has gotten bigger - making the band feel tighter. This also happens to me when I fly. It will pass after the TOM is gone. Until then, just chew REALLY well - or if you have to - go back to mushies. Hugs!

Happy 6 mos!! :]

I took a week off work - but I felt as though I could have returned to my desk job after day 4. I didn't try to lift anything as heavy as a toddler for a long time - but I didn't have to so it wasn't an issue for me. My DH did all the lifting for about 3 weeks. I feel you on the aches and pains. It really seriously sucked to weight 358. It's a lot better to be under 300 and I can't imagine how fabulous it will be to get under 200. Give it another year or so, and I guess I'll find out. I don't know if it will work - but it seems to be so far... I am fighting gravity and loose skin with a comfortable girdle and a sports bra. I wear a girdle 24/7 and I sleep in the sports bra. I expect that no matter how careful I am, I will have to have PS - but it may take me a while to save up for that - so I am doing all that I can. I figure it can't hurt.... Drink Water - and fight gravity with good support garments. Good Luck!!!

If I hadn't had friends on LBT to talk me down from the ceiling while I fought the insurance company - I might not have survived! Plus - I knew all the stuff that would happen to me before surgery - so there were no surprises... It's all good. Love LBT.

So, is that "Great" as in FABULOUS? or 'Great' as in Great Big?? hahaha Either way, we will be here for you! Congrats!! :]

Hey IWTB Don't be too discouraged. It has taken me 6 fills to get to where I can say I think I have finally hit the sweet spot. I have the big VG band - so it took a while to get where I needed to be. Keep the Faith!

OK I am such a spazz that I completely missed the last page of posts. Mary - Try Atkins shakes. I have always hated slimfast anyway - and I haven't had any problems with the Atkins. Exercise is a good thing. Just remember - even though you resist it every time, doesn't it make you feel better? And it's time to get excited... it's almost Friday! Jules - I tried to kill myself on the Evil Elliptical last night. I got enthusiastic about the song that was on the radio and found myself pretty much running full out on the stupid thing. After about five minutes I had that gaspy raspy throat that you get when you have over exerted yourself... It was pretty much hell to stay on the thing for another 15 minutes, even though I slowed down quite a bit. *sigh* Darn that music. Get's me in trouble every time! So, when do you start in your new position?? Kat - Snow? Again?!? We just keep getting gray sky here. I really have to say that after Christmas, snow loses a LOT of it's charm... :] Eileenie - Hugs, Doll Face! Hope you get to stop in again, soon. Darcy - Yes - I think I have acheived that magical place known as "The Sweet Spot". I can't even guzzle Water anymore... so I guess that's good - but I have to work at getting enough of it anymore. I can't even finish my litre in the car... *sigh* The price I pay for restriction, I guess. I just keep on sipping... Oh, and YES - exercising with others, finding multiple reasons why you have to go - these are excellent methods of keeping it interesting... Soon, ve vill see you in yoah veightlifter's bikini in da Miss Universe competition.... (in her worst Arnold impression). ok - NOW I have responded to everybody that has dropped by today... Love you guys!! TTL

Hey All It's Thursday. I decided I was going to be excited about that, today. Not as excited as I will be tomorrow - but hey, ya gotta take whatever excitement you can generate.... Darcy (aka Arnold) - Way to Go! The muscles will help you burn fat faster. Pump that Iron!! Sherry - you stole my line... I love that movie, too. And what a CUTE new Avatar you have, Darlink. Love the big smile! Hugs!! Oh - and do you feel like you are naughty when you read our posts from work? :] Patty - I am sending you a PM. You have to get with your insurance company today to make sure you get this cleared up. Hugs!! (blankety blank blank insurance companies!) Cass - 21 pounds in 2 mos is Awsome! Keep up the good work!! Cindy - hope you have fun at the game. Nobody plays ball any harder than a little kid. Those pros could take a few lessons in heart, if you know what I mean. Hugs! Hope your "visit" with your pals at Linksys doesn't ruin your day. I know how much fun those guys can be... But, maybe your next post will be from the comfort of your couch! :] Mandy - I know how those pictures "don't come out"... it happens to me ALL the time. Of course if I was in a size 12... I might not care! :] Betty - I just can't eat his cooking at night. I get to eat it for Breakfast, instead. It was EXTREMELY difficult to take him through the KFC drivethru after we went to the gym last night and not order any Honey BBQ wings for myself - but I am really sticking to the no carbs at night thing. Hopefully, it will pay off in a thinner me. (SOON, darn it!) Let's see - not much going on with me. Just trying to be good and count calories and stuff. ICK. I just have to keep on the program. I know it will work. I know it will work. I know it will work..... (sorry, a little self-affirmation, there) Love and Hugs to All! ****OH GOSH - I MISSED A WHOLE PAGE! I AM WORKING ON A SECOND POST... LOVE YOU GUYS! I AM SUCH A SPAZZ!

Oh Yeah - I feel your pain. It took me 9 months to get GOOD restriction - although I had a little bit after fill #2 and a little bit more after every fill since. I hit a good place with fill number 6 at 8.5 cc. Good Luck! **And HopeWorks - I think it is impossible for a fully filled band to give no restriction. Don't worry - once you hit about 8.2 - you can feel it. My last fill put me in about the right place. Someone posted a picture once of a 4cc band side by side with an 11cc band - both fully filled had the same opening left in the center. Really - you will get restriction at some point. :]

Aw Gee, Mary... We just had a coffee meeting on New Year's Day at the Cracker Barrell... Next time, you will have to meet up with us!! Mousecrazy is close, as well as Julestwu. I actually live in Allen - but I have been known to make the drive. :]

Howdy Folks. Today, I had an EXCITING training from 9-12... Well, at least it filled my morning and now I have stuff to do for the afternoon. Let's see - the scale is happy about the new eating and exercising thing. I am only 2 pounds away from my Post-Illness/Pre-Christmas weight. That's pretty exciting. I have found one or 2 snags in the system already (for instance - I can't eat my "big meal" during a training... and if you drink a protein shake that is chock-full of vitamins in the evening, it is akin to drinking 2-3 cups of coffee right before bed) however, I am modifying the system and so far it is working. One thing that I CAN manage for sure is to eat no carbs at dinner. I haven't gone totally over to the low/no carb way - but I am eating no carbs at night. I am also going to keep whatever I do eat at night under 500 calories - preferably closer to 300. Last night I had 2 scrambled eggs with grilled onions and cheese with a slice of sausage. It was really quite filling and only 500 calories. I could do that every night. I figure as long as I keep my calories under 1500 and keep on exercising, the weight is going to continue to slide off. According to the calorie calculator, http://www.my-calorie-counter.com/Calorie_Calculator.asp it takes about 2800 calories a day to maintain my present weight... So, if I am at 1500 - I should lose a pound every 3 days. That sounds like a plan to me. Sherry - you are up WAY past your bedtime if you have to get up at FIVE. (ick!). I feel abused if I have to get up at 6:45! Hugs! Hope your meeting went well. **Oh - and I am considering just leaving my tree up for next year... hahaaha. Betty - I am starting to feel like maybe my maladies are being transmitted over the net... I had that nasty UT infection... now you have a bladder thing. Hmmm. I think I am going to have to try and stay healthy so the rest of y'all can get on with your lives! Hope you feel much better very soon! Cass - Sorry about the teeth. There isn't much worse pain that anything that happens in your head. Teeth are a particular pain, when they aren't doing normal teeth things. Hugs!! Glad you got them fixed and that the worst is over. I would say to let your fill go for 2-3 weeks before you get another. I have heard of people having the fill "kick in" after a couple of weeks. If yours doesn't - then go in for another one. Don't be shy. Restriction is the way.... Mary - 180 ROCKS!!! I think I could live with that weight for the rest of my life, if I had to. Wahooooo!! Oh - I guess my theory on chair butt and bike butt don't hold up very well - cause I have the bubble butt from heck and I still get both when I sit or ride for too long. *sigh* oh well. Maybe it's cause there is muscle under there... Jules - I must confess that I do 20-25 minutes on the elliptical and then I go to the bike to cool down. That elliptical kicks my heart rate up so high that I have to do something so my ticker doesn't explode after I get off. 10-15 minutes is about the most that I can take of sitting on the bike. Eileenie - I am still scheduled for the trip in January - but we might have to do dinner or something if I can't get a car. I can always cab to where you are at night. I just might not be able to do that at lunch due to time constraints on this short trip. We'll figure it out. I am landing at LaGuardia sometime near 10pm on Sunday Jan 21. Hugs! Darcy - Sorry about the med thing. "Freakishly starting to love it" pretty much explains my relationship with exercise, once I get into a habit of it. My thighs are sore after 2 days of elliptical & bike - but my scale is happier, and so am I. I will never understand why I fight it so hard... every time. Darcy & Patty - I read about the lady who does the reverse diet. I saw the "half their size" article in a recent People mag and one of the gals in there had done that plan. Since it totally makes sense, I decided to try it. I also decided to throw in the "no carbs at night" cause I read about that somewhere a long time ago. I know that I always lose when I do low carb, so the less of them I eat, the better it will be. Patty - Hugs and Love for you and your boys. I still don't know how you manage FOUR of them with a job. I hope you hear back from the insurance company soon. Stay on them. xo Mandy - WAHOOOOOOO!!! So glad to hear that Abi is getting back into the swing of things. I am thinking good thoughts for your foot surgery. I hope it fixes you right up. LOVE the pictures! Love the Disney Jeans, too. How cute are you and Abi in that picture!!! And Harley - maybe now that you know his name he will stop peeing on stuff! LOL! Hugs! Kat - You must be the Queen of Curves... Hope you get lots done while your Darling GD is sleeping. Hugs. Well, I must go. I am past my lunch hour again... *sigh*. Hugs and Love to All. Pat, we miss you. xo

Nikki - Hugs! Junk food is the devil... Have you been tested for Thyroid issues? Getting the Thyroid levels under control is supposed to help with energy levels. Also - Vitamin B supplements are great for that, too. Just don't take them before bed. And keep in mind that you don't have to do any particular regimen of exercise. Just parking further from the building at work, or walking up a flight of stairs once a day can get you started. Start small and work your way up to taking a walk around the block once a day. Eventually, I think you will find that you have a little more energy. Plus - eating all that garbage is not really beneficial in the energy department. Maybe now that you are eating better, your energy will increase. A few veggies and some good lean Protein will help. Hugs!!

Hi BeBopp. If you aren't SURE, you probably should keep thinking about this. The band is wonderful, fabulous and incredible - however, it will only work if you are committed to working with it. For instance - the band keeps me from wolfing my food - but so far it hasn't stopped me from eating any particular food. Some folks can't eat bread, or french fries - but I can still eat it all. Can I eat a LOT of anything? You know, if I eat slowly enough and really concentrate, I CAN actually eat a pretty good amount of food. But notice that I have to concentrate and work at eating too much. Who the heck does that? Plus - after over 10 mos of eating much less - my idea of what A LOT means has changed significantly. A LOT of pizza used to mean 4-5 slices of pan/deep dish pie. Now, A LOT of pizza means 2 slices of thin crust. When I am good, the band helps me be VERY VERY good. When I am bad, the band keeps me from being Horrid. I live a pretty normal life, and eat pretty normal foods. When I do that, I don't lose much and I don't lose fast... but I do actually keep losing. When I focus on eating better, when I drag myself into the gym, I lose faster. So, I get to live a VERY normal life. I don't have to obsess every moment of every day to lose the weight. (Been there, done that!) I don't have to eat only parsley & pine nuts for 3 meals a day. I don't have to buy tasteless pre-packaged foods that I hate. I don't have to go to meetings everyweek and get harrangued if I haven't lost weight. All I have to do is eat Protein first, then veggies, then carbs if there is room... Drink as much Water as I can stand... and chew my food REALLY well. That's it. Nobody even notices that I am on any particular plan. I get to join in on company lunches and parties. If I want a cookie - I CAN have one without dire physical consequences. And still, I lose a few pounds a month. More if I am eating right and exercising. What more could anyone ask? As to Why you need to be SURE - The band won't stop chocolate. I have to consciously choose not to bathe in the stuff every day. Cause then I really wouldn't lose any weight. The band cannot stop Starbucks. God, I love those Carmel Macchiatos - but 400-500 calories at a whack does NOT help the weightloss process. I still have to choose when and if I will eat real ice cream, pudding or candy. I know that if I eat those things all the time, I will be right back where I was before. So, I choose to work with my band every time I eat lean chicken instead of chips and Queso. Be SURE before you get this done. It is surgery, there is healing involved and the pre-op and post-op liquid diet stuff sucks. If you can handle all of the above - if you are really ready to lose the weight and keep it off - then I think the band can work for you... or for anybody. Good luck in your deliberating.

Eileenie - How did you slip by me? We must have been typing at the same time. Hugs! Hope to get the rest of the story, soon. Mandy - I wish we lived closer, too. Hugs on-line just can't compare to the real thing - but for all they are worth, (((((((HUGS!)))))))) Jules - Congrats on the new job and the pay increase. I guess they really wanted YOU to do it... Any chance you can move to the plant closer to your house? That would really be the icing on the cake, huh? Hugs!! Oh, and great work on the exercise. I want you to know that I thought of you while I did my Elliptical thing last night. My DH was on the bike and I looked over and laughed at him. He must have thought I was losing my mind... Bike butt.... hahahahaha. Love and Hugs - see y'all tomorrow!

Sorry Laurend. They NEVER seem to get that paperwork the first time. Keep on them, and don't trust anybody else to do it for you. Follow up. It's frustrating as all heck - but very much worth having insurance pay for this expensive procedure.

The biggest incision is where they put the Port in. They stitch it down to your abdomen - which is the pain you are feeling. When you stand, your stomach muscles work with your back muscles to keep you upright. But, right now, those stitches around the port are still healing - so you will feel pulling or pain every time you use your abdominal muscles. that is why you have to wait for a few weeks to go back to any kind of exercise routine. It will get better, soon. Hugs and Happy Healing!

Hey Candle - if your EMPLOYER has an exclusion it is the EMPLOYER you have to appeal, to. The insurance company can only cover what their contract with the employer says they can cover. Sorry, I am sure that isn't news you want to hear - but check with your HR dept to be sure that your company REALLY has that exclusion. When I was doing my insurance thing - I got a different answer from everybody I talked to when I asked that question. Your HR dept will be able to tell you FOR SURE whether the company has an exclusion. I wouldn't trust the answer from BCBS without a double check. Go to HR first, then confirm with Blue Cross. If HR and Blue Cross conflict in their answers - then get them talking on your behalf. Good luck!

Well - I am coming up on only 1 yr - so I am no expert... but, frequently there have been posts by people who had the same worries. Those long-term banded people come out of the woodwork to tell us all about how they are doing great and have no complications. It's true that the complications forum is full of the various things that can happen - but please keep in mind that there are thousands and thousands of members on this board. I am pretty sure that if it were possible to do the math, the percentage of complications would seem much less scary if you calculated against the whole population of this board. Take your time. Think about your history of dieting. Don't let us push you into anything - but don't let your fear talk you out of it either. I just keep in mind that every minute I have my band is another minute for my brain to be trained to accept less food on my plate and my body to accept less food in my system. The longer I have it, the better my chance of long-term maintenance becomes. I am hoping to have my band for a long, long time.