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Happy Day! You have done so well, Christie. Caught your photos when you put them up the other day. You are such a cutie. No wonder you got hit on!

Catherine...just gotta tell you...I LOVE your blog. And, all the designer dresses....a girl after my own heart.

Thanks for the congrats....I get to name my celeb. I lost Paris Hilton...Honk...Kim Kardashian?????

I think you just answered your own question with your last statement. "It's my ultimate decision what goes on my plate and what goes in my mouth". If you do not want to sample the foods that you feel are not something you want to indulge in, then do not put them on your plate. The food traditions that our families make year after year will always be there. The way I feel about food during the holidays is that a person can indulge in a small portion of some of their favorite foods. Just like every day life. We all need a treat sometimes and cannot deprive ourselves of our favorites forever. It's all about portion control and not about never having our favorites again just because we are banded. But, you make the choice. If you feel you are not ready to be tempted by all the choices during the holidays, then stick to your plan and make the food choices you want. Those first holidays after banding and during the weightloss stage are a bit scary. Look how well you have done so far with your weightloss. Just rely on your own good instincts when the time comes. Good luck!

Reverie...sounds like you are working very hard at sticking to your weightloss plan and new lifestyle. As stated above...hide the scale for a bit. Try to introduce a new type of exercise to your program and drop one for a short period of time. Try dropping your cals to 1000-1100 a day a week and stay where you are at the rest of the days. I remember this frustrating phase. The scale just didn't move for about 30 days. But, I went down sizes during this time. It was probably the time during my weightloss that my body changed the most. Patience, patience, patience is the key word at this stage.

I've never been a gym person but admire ppl who get on the schedule and do classes, trainer, etc. With my life it just does not work. I did do Curves for awhile but just didn't stick with it and gave up. I ride bike with my dog Tanker (100lb black lab) and walk and am on a dead run most days around here.

Onehotmomma....that's one hell of a year you have had...so sorry for all the stress. As ISA stated...get back on the horse now...don't wait for that fill. Make a plan for yourself and don't let other's eating fast food or whatever get you off track. Respectfully ask others to not have your "trigger" foods available to you. Hopefully your fill will make a difference for you. Getting back on plan, maintaining your band will hopefully bring some calm back in your life.

Kelly...I am by no means the "Lapband Poster Child". I struggled like anyone else during the weightloss stage to get to goal. I will admit and am proud of the fact that I diligently worked towards the goal both myself and my LB doc were shooting for. I hit it, upped my calories (was consuming 1200-1400 during weightloss stage) to 1800 and we took off for 2 months vacation in FL. About 2 weeks into it and still consuming 1800 daily, I noticed that my jeans were dropping lower on my hips. Went out and bought a scale. SHOCKED and SCARED. I had dropped 23lbs in that 2 week period. Upped my cals in 200 cal increments throughout the next 6 weeks and figured I needed at least 3000 to maintain where I was at. I am fine. Came back home and had tons of medical tests and then had a second round of them. Explanation from docs is this: I always weighed around 118-120 my entire adult life until I hit a brick wall with menopause at the age of 38. It was really tough on my body cuz I gained weight really fast during menopause. Sometimes 40lbs a year with not eating any differently. Well, docs figure it is natural for me to be where I am at and my metabolism is where it was prior to menopause (early onset and have been post-menopausal for almost 10 yrs). My body has set itself to where it was b/4. Prior to the age of 38, if I would gain a few pounds I would be able to lose 5lbs in a week just by dropping cals down to 2000. Huge surprise for me when I started gaining at such a rapid pace. Long explanation...sorry. I am 5' 7", very small boned for my height and I am very, very active. We farm and have a agricultural business on the side so there is not a day that I am not on the run. As far as working out at a gym...not driving the 15 miles one way but I get a mighty good workout just living here.

My DH says I have the best of both worlds...in order to maintain the weight I am now at, I eat between 2500-3000 per day. My metabolism kicked into high gear about the time I got to goal. Even though I eat quite a few calories a day, I make sure they are good/healthy foods. Little fats, lots of protein and fiber and only natural sugars and I prefer to eat 6 small meals compared to 3 meals daily.

Congrats...you look wonderful. I hope you feel as good as you look!:eek:

I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. It wasn't easy to get to goal...had to be ever vigilant about everything that went in my mouth but the struggles were well worth it. Have been in the maintenance stage for 2 yrs and find it very easy to live this way.

I definately get tighter when I fly. I can actually feel the tightening while ascending. I have very little fill in my band and know that if I had more, I would be extremely tight and have to do liquids the day of and the day after flying.

Dave...sorry you are struggling. Best to quit beating yourself up and force yourself to get back on the horse. When you are tempted, do something to take your mind off of food. Take a walk, brush your teeth (this always worked for me), do anything at all to refocus. There are going to be many times in your future that you will have to make choices when it comes to your food plan. You can make a good choice or not so good choice. And, you know which choice will bring you down that road to success. Good luck

I have lost over 100% of my excess weight.

Way funny, Catherine. Whether it be 80lbs of fat or 80lbs of Snookie...both would be VERY annoying to carry around. I lost over half of me but I ended up finding the best part of me! The 130lbs of me that I lost was a miserable, tired and achey old woman. Way to go, Catherine! You look amazing and, I'm sure are an inspiration to many.

Yes, there are many different pre-op, post-op procedures required by docs. The only bit of advice I can give is to follow what your own doc requires of you and to learn as much as you can prior to surgery. Be prepared. Read everything you can on Lapbandtalk and also ask your doc for info. I was required to do a 6 mo medically supervised diet by the insurance company. I was so disappointed at first but it was the best thing for me. I prepared myself by eating as close to a banded person as I could during that time. It helped...I lost 52lbs prior to surgery and it made the post-op period a lot easier for me. Good Luck...you sound sooooooo excited.

Welcome and congrats on your decision to make life a healthier one for yourself and your children. I wish you the best as you go through this process. I was banded June, 2008 and am in the maintenance stage. I can tell you that EVERYTHING is easier with the weigh not hanging on me. I will be 55 yrs old in a couple of weeks and I have the energy of a 19yr old. Any questions?

Columbia and Champion have great workout clothes. Target carries Champion. I went online about a year ago and found 1/2 doz pants and 1/2 doz capris at around $7/pr. Check out the clearance on Target.com.

I've been at goal for 2yrs and my metabolism is way different then when I started this game. I believe the foods you are referring to are what I call "treating" not "cheating". I look forward to throwing special treats into my plan. I could not go through life with any forbidden foods. Just have to allow for them and enjoy. Pecan pie is in my sites for Thanksgiving.

Bob...if you go to the home page and scroll down, you will find a food and nutritian forum with many different threads and recipes.

Not to worry. I have had two fills and with both of them felt sort of a pop when going into the port and out. I was careful to do liquids the first couple of days after my fills and felt no restriction until a month later. I have not had a fill since. I get hungry every couple of hours but not an intense hunger. I actually appreciate the mild hunger as my biggest fear was always that I would be too tight and fall into the soft food syndrome or have a killing pain with eating hard protiens. Be patient for a couple of weeks and then see how things feel. The uncomfortable feeling of the port is (I think) pretty common. Some are restricted from laying on a certain side or the other. I know that the more weight I lost, the more it bothered me. But it did tame down and now I just feel a little pulling once in awhile if I lay on my left side.

Wren...nothing wrong with being selfish when it comes to others helping you out as you learn control. Hate to tell you this but there are days where the unexplained hunger just hits. I know I could have three weeks of perfect restriction and all of a sudden a couple of days of being famished. They just hit every once in awhile even when you think you have PERFECT restriction. Ugh.

As always, Betsy...sound advice.

Hey, Pledwith...welcome. Pre-surgery is a time of great anticipation, isn't it? I remember it well. As you prepare for your surgery, follow what your doc requires to a T. Educate yourself as to what is to come. Read, read, read all the forums on LBT and ask as many questions as you have. There is never a "silly" or "stupid" question. Wishing you luck as you begin this exciting journey!:thumbup:

When I married 31 yrs ago I weighed 119lbs and would never wear a sleeveless top. For some reason, even though I have skinny little arms and not much flab at all, I just cannot bring myself to go without sleeves. I have many lady friends that feel as I do. I would rather bare my midriff at the age of 55 rather than show the upper arm.