ErinMarie

The port is attached to the abdominal muscle wall...(or at least it is supposed to be), under all the fat, then skin....
Once all the belly fat is gone, and my stomach muscles got hard as rocks, it sits there right under the skin, for the whole world to see....as big as day. Can even see the tubing coming out the side for a few nches before it goes deep....
It actually looks like a lolly-pop under my skin.
Have to be careful not to wear too tight shirts.....but at the gym everyone can see it...fortunately no one has ever commented.
I can run my finger over it, and feel every single nook and cranny....
If you click my Avatar Picture to see the larger one in my profile, you can see my port right above my right hand....and that picture is small...

so, other than sf popsicles, fudgesicles, and sf pudding, i havent really had anything sweet for awhile, even pre-op. i try not to have these every night, or even a few times a week, because they do trigger my sweet tooth. well, it was my T.O.M. (sorry men), and i was CRAVING something sweet and chocolaty, and i knew these wouldn't hit the spot, so i made up a recipe that was AMAZING, plus it had 10 g of Protein. again, this isn't something i will eat every night or even every week, because it triggered my sweet tooth, but i had a very low carb day and just went with it:
1/2 Quest bar brownie
2 T of nonfat cool whip
drizzle of SF caramel
I cut the quest bar in half and stuck it in the toaster oven at 375* for about 3-4 mins, until it was warm and soft. Took it out and topped it with about 2 T of cool whip and just a drizzle of sf caramel Syrup (by smuckers).
I cant even tell you how amazing this was. I knew i was satisfied with what i ate, but my inner fat kid wanted me to make 3 more! If you have a hard time controlling your sweet tooth, this might not be the dessert for you, but if you REALLY want a treat, i def recommend this!
approx nutrition: 125 CALS, 21 CARBS (11 NET CARBS), 3 FAT, 10 PROTEIN.

I promised I would keep everyone updated with my fill I had yesterday, so here it is. I got to the office at about 12:30, signed all my paper work, then got brought up to the 7th floor where I would wait until it was my turn. My doctors office only does fills certain wednesdays of the month, so there were a few other people there waiting to get filled, too.
Well, about an hour and 15 minutes later, it was my turn. I walked back to the room where 3 lovely women greeted me. I lifted up my shirt and tried to stay as calm as possible, since i was on the verge of an anxiety attack. The doctor stuck the needle in and removed all (if there was any in there) Fluid, so she could get an accurate measurement of how much was in there.
Well, as she started to inject the saline, I felt all this Water running down my stomach. Turns out, the needle had a crack in it. Just my luck! So, she got another needle, stuck me again, and this time we got it right. She put 4.4cc's in my band and sent me on my way (after the barium swallow, of course), wet pants and all
I def overreacted over nothing. It wasnt painful, even being stuck with the needle twice. I'm on full liquids for 2 days, mushy 2 days, then can eat real food again sunday. Now I'm nervous about getting stuck! I'll just have to be verrrry careful when eating.

So lately, I've been really into the self-love body/fat acceptance movement. The Fat Girl Dancing videos, The Militant Baker and her big FU to the guy from Abercrombie, the girls making the documentary Fattitude... Body positivity and fat acceptance is spreading at a faster pace than once before. I feel empowered when I read about these women changing beauty standards and as plus-size model Tess Munster says, #effyourbeautystandards. I want to be a fat girl that doesn't care that she is fat and wears mini skirts and crop tops and bikinis! I want to stop saying "when I get to this weight" then I'll wear this/do that/eat this/etc...and I've realized the only thing stopping me from wearing and doing what I want now is ME (and society, but mostly me).
But I am so torn between loving my body the way it is and wanting to accept it but at the same time desperately wanting to change it and be smaller so I can feel normal in the eyes of society and the image I have had of an 'acceptable' weight. How do I join the body acceptance movement without being the hypocrite with the WLS? How do you balance wanting to lose weight but also wanting to be okay with your body NOW? I feel so strange trying to push body and fat positivity while counting calories and feeling guilty for sitting all day at work instead of finding time to walk the stairs for some form of exercise.
Surely I'm not alone in wanting to accept my body and be proud to be fat...even though I don't want to be as fat as I am now? How do you find a balance as to not feel like a total hypocrite?

From 250 to 183!

she is a very disturbed woman. you need to stop reading things she writes. you need to make a promise to yourself that you are letting her go 100%. that you will not look up things she writes online, you will not think about her, that you will move on so you can start a new life that is positive and healthy. walk away, move on, let her go. pursuing her will only bring you pain. you deserve better. cut her loose in your head and give yourself a loving break.

Uh...you do something... You're busy being AWESOME! Boom!

That thing was left behind for a reason I think the scale is one of our worst enemies during weight loss. Since the beginning of my journey I've only weighed myself when I go and see my surgeon for my monthly check-ups! It helps me not to freak out over every little ounce that's likely Water weigh, etc. and so when you don't see those ups and downs and stalls you don't get frustrated because outta site outta mind. Plus when you go to your Dr. it's like opening a birthday gift when you find out how much you've lost...
Leave that thing alone it's evil

This may be unpopular, but I believe Americans are overly-obsessed with Protein. My goal is to eat Protein first, then the veggies, etc., but I don't have a goal for getting a specific number of grams in.....
Having just said that, I do jack up the protein in my Greek yogurt by adding a tablespoon of collagen, which I'm taking for arthritis. This adds 6 grams to the Greek yogurt for a total of 18. It is tasteless but thickens it up a little more, then I add a few nuts and tablespoon or so of gluten-free Cereal of some kind. This makes the yogurt not be a slider for me and I enjoy all that texture, the chewing slow, etc. so the message for satiety passes between the esophagus and brain.

So I'm on round 2 of being in the green after having a baby and I realized I didn't get our scale when we moved. I'm seriously considering not getting another one and just weighing when I go to my check ups.
Anyone else not weigh on the regular?

Uh...you do something... You're busy being AWESOME! Boom!

Follow me on myfitnesspal!
I always get my Protein in! nikicbaby

I have been a slave to my scale and I AM TIRED OF IT!
I just had a monthly follow up and decided Im going to get rid of my house scale and weigh in every month at my check ups! After all, I am following what Im supposed to be doing…and after almost 9 months i want to trust and believe in myself more without hopping on that contraption all the time!
Im living my life more in so many ways now (93 lbs lighter)…and since I've ditched the diet and dieting mentality its time to ditch the scale too!
WOO HOO…what a liberating thing to say!

The scale is thy enemy. I have lost 50 pounds and hit a wall. So I got a scale and it made me feel worse... When I see my doctor to weigh in it's always at 3pm....So depending on what I eat I weigh more. I keep mine hidden and I stick to a liquid diet for weigh ins.

The thing with pop... when you are in the green you can't drink when you eat anyway. Think of how much money you will save going out to eat and not spending $2.50 on a drink!
I take a sip of pop now and then but eventually the flavor wasn't as appealing anymore and what's the point of opening a can or bottle if you can't finish it?

That was my thought too about buffets until my wife convinced me to think differently about buffets. The automatic conclusion for most is that eating at a buffet equates to stuffing yourself to the gills in order to "get your money's worth." That is definitely the way I used to think about buffets. Now I think of a buffet to take a little of the best Entrees, skipping over ones that are not that appealing or do not offer much in nutrition density. In this manner, you can still eat a bunch of different foods, but you will neither violate your WLS way of eating (for me, 4-5 oz food) or waste money. The reason I state money is not wasted because your plate will contain high quality food that meets or exceeds the value of the buffet (for this discussion, let's say the buffet price is $7.99). You do not even need to finish the contents on your plate. Just eat until satisfied, eating the Protein first. We do this approach with Indian buffets, focusing on the inclusion of high quality, high value foods like chicken tika or chicken Marsala. Indian food is delicious and we can eat at a lunch buffet with this strategy.

Finally, it's happened to me........199 on the scale this morning. My surgery was seven months ago and I'm very happy to have broken through this barrier. I've been hovering at the gate for a little while now. So happy! I can't thank you all enough for the support and encouragement I've found here. Now on to 198, 197, etc. -- it's a pound at a time.

I have existing tats on my upper arms and I have to tell you weight loss has only made them look better Thank goodness they are far away from the batwing when that needs to be pleated in a bit it shouldn't affect that area. I also have one on my back that is in no danger from weight loss:)

When I first joined this forum, I said I wanted to be healthy enough to sightsee in London. I've wanted to cross the pond since I was a young teenager and now that I'm in my mid fifties, it's not a cost issue but it was a mobility issue. I was on a cane and in horrific pain when I got banded but guess what.....I'm going to London in 2015. I still have some residual pain issues but I am able to do what my forum name says. I can gowalking again. I've made it. My celebratory goal is within my reach and close enough that I can taste it.

Okay here it is. There is my before pic, at my heaviest 450 lbs. and my pic 3 weeks post op for the Tummy Tuck. I've had even more swelling go down since then and my weight has started to go down again even though I'm not allowed to work out for another 4 weeks minimum. Couldn't be happier!

Hi everyone, I'm new to the forum but I've read a lot of posts behind the anonymity of my iPhone and have related so much with a lot of ppl. So I figured, why not post my own journey. Maybe my experience can help someone the way I'm being comforted thru this site.
I'm currently awaiting my lapband surgery, which is scheduled for June 30th. I'm 5'7 and weigh 223lbs bmi 35. This to some May sound like not a stat situation but it feels extremely dire to me. I unlike others didn't grow up as a chubby kid, I actually was quite the opposite. It wasn't until I was about 20 that the weight crept on and never left ( I'm now 30). Ppl who have been heavy all there life from what I can imagine have prob endured plenty of criticism as have I. Idk why but ppl on a regular basis have approached me and said more times than I can count, "wow, u got fat"! Even my neighbor who I say hi and bye to took the liberty of saying how svelte I used to be and that I gained a lot of weight. This has crushed my spirit and self esteem. Sometimes I wonder if me being heavy my entire life would leave me more equipped to deal with snide insensitive comments but I know of course it wouldn't. Words hurt and are damaging. I have turned into a antisocial person who doesn't want to go out bcuz I don't feel comfortable in my clothes and I am constantly trying to avoid bumping into ppl I haven't seen in a while ( being that I live in a small town). I've made the decision with much trepidation to get the lap band as a away to reclaim my life. I have pcos and and borderline diabetic which are contributing factors to my decision but I also want to look and FEEL good again, if anyone out there has had similar experiences I would love to hear from u!

Close lol: mom, beauty consultant for Mary Kay, and Full time college student

I am a preschool receptionist. I love kids! I retired from a career as a claims adjuster negotiating bodily injury claims with attorneys. It was a high power miserable job that paid well and now I am happy and poor! Lol

Uh...you do something... You're busy being AWESOME! Boom!

That's one of the reasons I don't want it...I've also heard my hubby might feel it during sex and he didn't like the sound of that lol.
I thought I had pcos too but I had no actual cysts. Sigh...lady parts y u so weird?!