coolcrystal

Judiboo, it is very doable! I have two friends (not on this forum) that were banded and both of them have lost over 100 lbs. It took one a year and the other about a year and 2 months. One is at goal and the other was like 345 when she started, but she's almost 6 foot, so she wants to get to like 185 as her goal. And as you see on this forum, there are hundreds more who have lost over 100 lbs. There is a thread somewhere with everybody's running totals of people who have lost over 100.

I worried too.. I thought I was going to lose 30 lbs and stop losing, but I'm coming close to 60 lbs now and my whole life has changed. Man, it feels good not being scared to sit in chairs or having my hip dig into the side of the car door when I drive. Things like this. I have never regretted my decision.

Good luck!

OOh, the scale... I know about that all too well. I weigh every morning when I get up and go potty. I never weigh after that, only in the mornings. I like doing it because it keeps me on the right path. For instance when I went through my hummus and multi-grain crackers phase. I was eating those everyday and I just wasn't losing. It was bloating me up bad. So, I cut it out of my diet and over that next week I lost like 3 pounds. It basically just helps me narrow down problem foods that I would never think was a problem food. But my official weigh in days are Tuesday's.

My friend that I gave my larger clothes to called me to thank me again last night. She has been wearing the clothes I gave her every day (I gave her like 8 business outfits) and it felt good. I think it gave me the inspiration to really get into my closet and get it cleaned out. Get rid of all those bigger clothes that I don't need anymore. Though, I'm still wearing the bigger stuff. Today I'm wearing a pair of black pants that I can litterally pull off without unbuttoning. But, I told my friend I will still wear stuff until it falls off me if I can. As long as the shirts are fitted and look good, the pants can be baggy.

I did have a pretty big addiction for chic fil a's hand spun chocolate shakes. I would get one at least 4 times a week, then I read the calorie intake on those, which is like 800 calories and freaked out! I haven't had any in over a month, but now I get one venti hazelnut latte' with a shot of Protein at least every day. I was a little concerned about the fat and all that, but it has 21 g. of Protein and I think online it said it was 350 calories. So, that's not bad really. I usually have it for Breakfast or my mid afternoon snack right after work.

As for icecream, I have a bucket of coffee icecream in my freezer and I allow myself like 4 spoonfulls every day or every other day. I don't think it's a big deal. Like I always say, I want to have a pretty normal life. Normal people eat icecream. But, if you are sitting down eating half the carton then yeah, there is an issue.

Stuff like this tends to make me sabotage myself... like the posts about agreeing to exercise "X" amount a week or lose "X" amount by "THIS DATE".. stuff like that screws me up and then I end up not doing it.

Me and this girl from work were checking in with each other every week for 8 weeks and I lost less weight when I had this "competitive" thing going on with her than I did normally. I'm just weird like that.

Like before the band and I would be on a diet and lose, lose, lose and the second I would tell somebody I was on a diet I wouldn't lose anymore. It's weird.

I do keep my ticker updated though, each pound I lose I immediately change it. And I'm not saying this is a competitive thing, I"m just saying that by doing it, it would mess me up. I also keep my own private excel spreadsheet of my weekly weigh in.

I had that unfill on 8/4 and could pretty much eat whatever I wanted, but I didn't. I did lose 5 lbs since my unfill, which isn't a lot compared to others, but it makes me feel good to know that yes, I can lose weight with absolutely no restriction!

Yesterday I got less than .2 put in to give a tinge of restriction and today I was able to eat half a salad and some parmesan crusted talapia! it was yummy. No sliming or anything. I actually like losing the weight slowly like this and my fill center was very pleased with my weightloss so far, especially for having an unfill.

My overall goal with this band is to try not to rely too much on it. I have just enough fill in me for me to notice and not be hungry or even think of food like I once did, but I never want to be too tight like I suddenly got when I got stressed out and be miserable. I just want to live a normal life and just eat better foods. Good carbs. Better meats. Veggies..

And like others, my husband and I want to try for kids next year when I get to a better weight. Perhaps around June or July maybe.

Girl, I knew you'd rock it!!

I'm in the same boat as you. In highschool I was 120 something and hot. So, I missed my last two highschool reunions because I was so embarrassed!! But, the 20 year reunion is coming up in 2011.. a long ways away, but I'm gonna go...and I hope I can look as good as you and have people say that stuff to me girl. Hey, you have to tell me what you ended up wearing.. :thumbup:

Well, I had a friend who was bullemic for several years and her teeth did not fall out.. lol. And she vommitted a lot and it was real vomit unlike what we do when we get stuck, slime, or PB (vomit). Here's the thing, when we bring food up, it isn't mixed with the acids in our stomachs, correct.. It is stuff that didn't make it through the pouch for whatever reason, therefore does not contain stomach acid which would cause our teeth to rot or get damaged, therefore what she said is a complete lie. Even if we did throw up like normal people did with all that stomach acid, it would take a reallllyyyyy long time for it to affect our teeth and even then, it would only destroy a little of the enamel on the inside area.

I think some people post stuff just to get a rise out of us and watch the true lapbanders defend their precious little band.. they get a kick out of it. When somebody truly has a problem with thier band, we can tell and we support them. Most of the time it's stuff that can be fixed luckily but every now and again out of the thousands and thousands of people who have been banded there are some who didn't follow the guidelines or had shady doctors who truly messed up. Both of these can be remedied by picking a reputable doctor and following the rules.

I have about 1200 calories a day..

So far today I've had a small peach oatmeal, cup of coffe, chili from wendy's and a small side salad with honey mustard. I'm not really sure how much that is. LOL. If I were to guess that's about... 750 calories... For dinner I'll probalby have Soup or grilled chicken with veggies...

Wow, you lost teeth? I've never heard of anybody on here losing teeth and yet you know of others who've lost teeth as well? If this really happened to you, then you are not very educated on the ways of the band and you probably should have done more research.

I never threw up until after being banded for 5 months and I got stressed about something. For a week I watched what would happen and threw up a few times and felt really tight.. when I realized it was not going to unswell, I immediately went to get an unfill. Bam, never threw up again...

It is not the bands fault that you were not responsible enough to get an unfill or switch doctors. But you know, even when I was throwing up I was able to get apple sauce, chili, Soups, Protein shakes and other good things down. I didn't have to eat crap foods. So, it sounds like you didn't do enough investigating and perhaps you should have joined this forum way back then instead of after the fact. I wish I could say sorry, but I can't. You didn't follow the band rules..

I picked up a new hobby.. photography. I've been doing photoshoots with my friends and playing around with them in picnik.com and putting them on my myspace and just having loads of fun with them. It keeps me occupied and happy. It was something I had always wanted to do, so perhaps there is something like that you could do...

Um, it depends on how long it went on for. I had a few incidents for about a week before my unfill and he told me to go easy for a day. So I had like refried Beans and some Soups and then I was eating normal the next day. But, if you let it go on for weeks, then yeah, you might want to go easy.

K, I just sent you an invite :-)

I am the QUEEN of belching. But only when I'm not too tight. Before my slight unfil I couldn't belch when I desperately wanted to. Then I got the unfill and now.. wow.. I went walking with my friend the other day 30 minutes after we ate and I was belching non stop.. HUGE and loud.. and I just kept apologizing. Well, she has the band too and she was like, "oh, I would give anything to belch like that".. but, she had just gotten a fill and couldn't. So, you do miss it when it's gone.

awww, thanks Crystal.

By the by I love the do, when did you dye your hair?

HA HA.. it's not a do, it's a wig for halloween. I'm going as a goth chick and the wig package said "goth" though it looks more shirley temple, only black. I only wish my hair would go black, but it just won't take. Hey, do you have a myspace account? I have a few lapbanders on there, but not you.

Ezma, I'm so happy for you! What a sweet family & hubby to do all that stuff for you on your special accomplishment! AWEEEEEEEEEEee.... I can't wait for the day that I'm -101.. what a celebration indeed sweetheart!!

Ready, I have been saying that for years...when I got big was when I was single and not making a lot of money. I lived on mac and cheese and Hamburger Helper, that stuff was cheap. Lots of carbs... but, if I had investigated, its not so bad moneywise to eat healthy. I get a big bag of chicken breasts from Walmart for 8 bucks and that's enough for several meals and a huge organic plastic box thing of springmix salad with one calorie spray and frozen blackeyed peas.. and I can eat for a week off that. The thing is, repetition.. I can eat the same thing for a week and be fine with it, but others can't.

Somebody mentioned the Goodwill, and I totally need to send my bigger clothes there because I know what it's like looking for plus sized clothes there. It's almost impossible! they get snatched up right away. when I get under 18 I don't know what I'll do because I only have a few 16's. That won't be for a LONGGG while, but it still worries me. Oh, you know a good place to shop for plus sizes cheaply? ROSS... if you have one, go there. Shirts for like $5-14 bucks and jeans, skirts and pants for $12-20. It's really nice. And they go up to size 28 too, whereas most places stop at like 24.

This weekend I finally bagged up my 26's and 28's and gave them to a friend. The question is, why do I still have my 22's and 24's when I'm a 20 now? I will still wear the 22's though they are baggy, but certainly have no need for the 24's. I just can't seem to let those bigger clothes go. I'm not sure if it's because in the back of my mind I feel like one day I'll need them again. Sometimes I miss being a 28.. it was safer for me. The funny thing is, as I was bagging them up I realized how moo moo they were. They just don't make attractive big people clothes. I dressed like I was 80 years old, because that's all there was unless I went to Lane Bryant and spent 50 bucks on a new shirt. No thanks. I wish I could start a larger sized clothing line, only it would be cool stuff and it wouldn't cost a dang fortune.

You know what else is weird? My body is shrinking different than it was before. THe last time I was this weight I was a 22. Now my rear is getting smaller and I'm a 20. That is so odd to me.

I still have 23 more days to go before it's my 7 month anniversary (the sucky part about getting banded at the end of February), but I hope I can lose at least 4 more pounds by that time. I doubt I will since the way my body works is weird.. I won't lose anything for a few weeks then I drop 4 lbs.. or I go up and down the same two pounds and then drop a few out of no where. I guess it all evens out eventually though.

I'll probably need a TT, but I"m planning to try and get prego sometime next year and don't want to get the TT until after I have a baby... Man, I can't wait until my doctor tells me 40 more lbs is too much. HA HA HA! that day won't happen for quite a while, but I can dream. :party:

You are so sweet Ready!!

Honestly I can see both sides of the situation here.. regarding the crime rate aspect. Being in Texas and helping out at a church after the Katrina incident I was disgusted to see what a lot of the victims said and did.

We got a few busloads of folks in and we had Jason's deli for them. When they got off the bus and got their food several started bitching about how "this wasn't good enough for them and this is what you feed us after what we've been through".. a lot of them, even with job offers didn't want to work and blew their money that the government gave them on booze, tiddy bars, designer purses... and yes, our crime rate did go up in Dallas and Houston BIG TIME, especially after their government money ran out.

So, there is some truth in what those people say. Now, the whole "god punishing" thing, very stupid and the lines at mcdonald's.. who cares... nobody should be eating there anyway... lol. But, I can understand about the other part.

A lot of the victims wanted to play victims for way too long and are STILL playing victims... not wanting to work and griping about what they were given for free.. and that really put a bad taste in my mouth with the whole thing. Of course, there were many who were appreciative and did get back on with their lives. I'm definitely not saying they all did that. This is just my opinion, sorry if it offends but it's how I feel seeing it first hand

I think it's a shame that Gustav has hit and displaced so many of the folks who were wanting to go back and get on with their lives and support thier beloved city of New Orleans. It's very sad.

I need to meet you at Six Flags then, because that's one of my big goals too. I use to go to Six Flags all the time, but haven't since 98' because I was too embarrassed about the rides and getting around all day. I live about 30 minutes from there and I told my hubby when I get to about 220 I want to go. I'm still in the 240's, so we might have to hit HOliday in the Park, but whatever.. I want to go.

I have one more pound until I'm the weight I met my hubby at. I'm super excited about that and today I gave all my old clothes to a friend. It was hard going through my closet, but I knew it had to be done. In my head I still think "one of these days I might need those clothes".. but, I hope that won't be the case.

WELCOME!! This is a great forum with lots of information and support when you need it. It sort of helps me stay on the straight and narrow! Good luck!

Oh yeah, I know exactly how you feel! I went on a cruise 4 months ago and I felt the same way. I had been banded though, but only for a couple of months, so I hadn't lost that much weight at the time. I was so uncomfortable.. every seat I sat in.. it was just awful. What's even worse is when I look at those cruise photo's now I look so HUGE with this wide face and my hair was just hideous looking. ICK. I avoided those photographers who ask to take your photo's (thank goodness) and I told my husband that next year when we go on another cruise that I want to take as many of those photo's as I can.. lol.

What you are feeling right now is totally normal, but in the scheme of things, you really dont have that much to lose, compared to say ME, who was almost 300 lbs and just think, in 6 months you could possibly even be AT goal. I know some folks in my group have already lost like 70-80lbs.. its rare, but it does happen.. but for sure in a year you'll most likely be at goal. then your next vegas trip will be even better!

I feel so stupid, but when people talk with the "kg" speak, I am totally confused and have no idea how much weight that is. I didn't learn that system at all in my poor public school upbringing... But, it sounds like it is good since you want to Celebrate, so GRATZ girl!! Any excuse to eat naughty food sounds good to me. LOL.