Foxglove

Usually a lurker but had to let you know how much I LOVE Goodwill! After I lost 90 pounds and reached my goal, I had to replace my entire wardrobe. I sold EVERYTHING I owned on ebay and as I did so, I replaced with high quality, nice looking clothes. My wardrobe dropped by 1/3 because it took two or three things to sell to be able to buy one thing.
But ebay takes time and I like to try things on --you know, shop!
Then I found Goodwill and I'm hooked. There are three stores near me. I go as often as possible. Since I'm over 55, I receive a senior discount --and I go on 50% off Wednesdays. Because I am thin (yes, really --I keep myself about 10-15 pounds below goal weight) it seems everything fits and looks good! Most recently I bought a suede jacket (with tags still attached) and a summer dress --total cost? $7.50.
I'm a teacher and as I said, a bit older. I don't wear "the latest styles" but I do wear nice clothes every day. The only things I don't buy at Goodwill are shoes. I wear a size 12 and have never found any to fit me!
I've been the same size for 7 years now. That's one of the lovely things about lapband --I get up every morning and know my clothes will fit. Perfectly.
Maybe I've replaced my food addiction with a Goodwill addiction! LOL.
:-)

Usually a lurker but had to let you know how much I LOVE Goodwill! After I lost 90 pounds and reached my goal, I had to replace my entire wardrobe. I sold EVERYTHING I owned on ebay and as I did so, I replaced with high quality, nice looking clothes. My wardrobe dropped by 1/3 because it took two or three things to sell to be able to buy one thing.
But ebay takes time and I like to try things on --you know, shop!
Then I found Goodwill and I'm hooked. There are three stores near me. I go as often as possible. Since I'm over 55, I receive a senior discount --and I go on 50% off Wednesdays. Because I am thin (yes, really --I keep myself about 10-15 pounds below goal weight) it seems everything fits and looks good! Most recently I bought a suede jacket (with tags still attached) and a summer dress --total cost? $7.50.
I'm a teacher and as I said, a bit older. I don't wear "the latest styles" but I do wear nice clothes every day. The only things I don't buy at Goodwill are shoes. I wear a size 12 and have never found any to fit me!
I've been the same size for 7 years now. That's one of the lovely things about lapband --I get up every morning and know my clothes will fit. Perfectly.
Maybe I've replaced my food addiction with a Goodwill addiction! LOL.
:-)

Usually a lurker but had to let you know how much I LOVE Goodwill! After I lost 90 pounds and reached my goal, I had to replace my entire wardrobe. I sold EVERYTHING I owned on ebay and as I did so, I replaced with high quality, nice looking clothes. My wardrobe dropped by 1/3 because it took two or three things to sell to be able to buy one thing.
But ebay takes time and I like to try things on --you know, shop!
Then I found Goodwill and I'm hooked. There are three stores near me. I go as often as possible. Since I'm over 55, I receive a senior discount --and I go on 50% off Wednesdays. Because I am thin (yes, really --I keep myself about 10-15 pounds below goal weight) it seems everything fits and looks good! Most recently I bought a suede jacket (with tags still attached) and a summer dress --total cost? $7.50.
I'm a teacher and as I said, a bit older. I don't wear "the latest styles" but I do wear nice clothes every day. The only things I don't buy at Goodwill are shoes. I wear a size 12 and have never found any to fit me!
I've been the same size for 7 years now. That's one of the lovely things about lapband --I get up every morning and know my clothes will fit. Perfectly.
Maybe I've replaced my food addiction with a Goodwill addiction! LOL.
:-)

For long time, too long, I allowed fear to dictate my life. In my 20s and 30s there were many things I didn't do because I was afraid --including driving 3 hours by myself to visit my mom in the hospital, going to the pool to swim, going places with my husband like car races. My fears were real to me --might have an accident, might get lost, might be laughed at, might not be able to sit in the bleachers that long, etc, etc. One day I woke up --really. I had a chance to SCUBA dive --I'd done that in college--but that was 20 years ago --I needed new certification --ooooh, pretty scary --but I thought I'd check it out --I'd been a crackerjack diver in college --so maybe --I found out that EVERYONE in the class was my age or older and in not so perfect shape. I took the class, passed, and took my brand new C card to a topical island --and BY MYSELF--found a dive boat and went diving. At that time and now, those boats are mostly men (older --it's an expensive sport) and a few women MY AGE and MOST divers were, well, heavy people --no skinny minnies.
And I had FUN!
After that, I started doing more "scary things." I'd sit myself down and say, 'What's the worse that could happen and how would you deal with it." I got AAA incase of car problems and now drive all over the US by myself, with my hubs, and with daughters and half the time I'm pulling a huge trailer!
And then there was this weight thing --like everyone here, I'd tried it all, lost it a ton of times (I was 100 pounds overweight) , and was heavier than ever when I found an ad for lapband. Selling point to me was that it could be taken out if . . .well, not sure what the if was. Step by step I did the process. Now the day of the surgery, I said to my hubs, I'm scared --he pointed out that I had a greater chance of dying on the way to the hospital than in surgery. And, you know, at the weight I was, I really didn't want to live --I didn't tell people that, but I was gaining more weight each year ---I'd be over 600 pounds by the time I retired at the rate I was going. And I KNEW what life was like for overweight people in retirement centers. I'd rather die.
But I didn't. And now nearing retirement, I'm 5'10", 150 pounds, with dyed blonde hair and a wardrobe that has a lot of sequins and black leather in it.
Remember courage is doing something when you ARE scared. Keep thinking -- This is your chance --grab it and fly with it. It's kind of like getting on a plane --you have to ,at some point, trust the pilot will get you safely to your destination. If you can't make that step, then you can never fly.
So anyway, that's my 2 cents worth.

For long time, too long, I allowed fear to dictate my life. In my 20s and 30s there were many things I didn't do because I was afraid --including driving 3 hours by myself to visit my mom in the hospital, going to the pool to swim, going places with my husband like car races. My fears were real to me --might have an accident, might get lost, might be laughed at, might not be able to sit in the bleachers that long, etc, etc. One day I woke up --really. I had a chance to SCUBA dive --I'd done that in college--but that was 20 years ago --I needed new certification --ooooh, pretty scary --but I thought I'd check it out --I'd been a crackerjack diver in college --so maybe --I found out that EVERYONE in the class was my age or older and in not so perfect shape. I took the class, passed, and took my brand new C card to a topical island --and BY MYSELF--found a dive boat and went diving. At that time and now, those boats are mostly men (older --it's an expensive sport) and a few women MY AGE and MOST divers were, well, heavy people --no skinny minnies.
And I had FUN!
After that, I started doing more "scary things." I'd sit myself down and say, 'What's the worse that could happen and how would you deal with it." I got AAA incase of car problems and now drive all over the US by myself, with my hubs, and with daughters and half the time I'm pulling a huge trailer!
And then there was this weight thing --like everyone here, I'd tried it all, lost it a ton of times (I was 100 pounds overweight) , and was heavier than ever when I found an ad for lapband. Selling point to me was that it could be taken out if . . .well, not sure what the if was. Step by step I did the process. Now the day of the surgery, I said to my hubs, I'm scared --he pointed out that I had a greater chance of dying on the way to the hospital than in surgery. And, you know, at the weight I was, I really didn't want to live --I didn't tell people that, but I was gaining more weight each year ---I'd be over 600 pounds by the time I retired at the rate I was going. And I KNEW what life was like for overweight people in retirement centers. I'd rather die.
But I didn't. And now nearing retirement, I'm 5'10", 150 pounds, with dyed blonde hair and a wardrobe that has a lot of sequins and black leather in it.
Remember courage is doing something when you ARE scared. Keep thinking -- This is your chance --grab it and fly with it. It's kind of like getting on a plane --you have to ,at some point, trust the pilot will get you safely to your destination. If you can't make that step, then you can never fly.
So anyway, that's my 2 cents worth.

You sound like a really nice person --too nice. But I'm not saying you need to be rude, either. My Ma was "old South" and NO BODY pushed her around but she was so sweet about everything you never knew when you'd be "told off." Conversations with her on a topic that was NONE of Someone's business went like this:
Busybody: Oh, Mary, your weight is . . .
Ma: Daisy May, I do not want talk about my weight when we can talk about your trip to Timbuktu --and how are those boys of yours doing? Why I don't believe I have ever seen two nicer looking fellows. . .
In otherwords, no one REALLY wants to talk about YOUR LAPBAND --they just want to "get your attention" negative or positive --so give it to them. People really just want to talk about themselves. Next time you meet your family or friends, come armed with questions about them --their families, their trips. Stop talking about yourself. As a formerly depressed and fat person (100 pounds ago) I thought way too much about ME ME ME --now I try to follow Dr. Phils advice and make sure that every one I meet leaves feeling better about THEMSELVES than when they ran into me.
The best defense is a good offense. Take control of the conversation. When it get's close to your end zone (where you don't want them to be) punt a queston into their territory then listen to the answer.
Shelby

You sound like a really nice person --too nice. But I'm not saying you need to be rude, either. My Ma was "old South" and NO BODY pushed her around but she was so sweet about everything you never knew when you'd be "told off." Conversations with her on a topic that was NONE of Someone's business went like this:
Busybody: Oh, Mary, your weight is . . .
Ma: Daisy May, I do not want talk about my weight when we can talk about your trip to Timbuktu --and how are those boys of yours doing? Why I don't believe I have ever seen two nicer looking fellows. . .
In otherwords, no one REALLY wants to talk about YOUR LAPBAND --they just want to "get your attention" negative or positive --so give it to them. People really just want to talk about themselves. Next time you meet your family or friends, come armed with questions about them --their families, their trips. Stop talking about yourself. As a formerly depressed and fat person (100 pounds ago) I thought way too much about ME ME ME --now I try to follow Dr. Phils advice and make sure that every one I meet leaves feeling better about THEMSELVES than when they ran into me.
The best defense is a good offense. Take control of the conversation. When it get's close to your end zone (where you don't want them to be) punt a queston into their territory then listen to the answer.
Shelby

I think I understand . . .only for me, "feeling normal" was "being big" --big child, big teenager, big momma, then fat momma! Five years ago I got banded and without any of the complications here, lost about 5-10 pounds a month (1-2 pounds a year) and one day I was 100 pounds less --242 to 142 --I'm 5'9. There were some psychological changes too --I called my doctor's nurse (I only saw him for the six fills and one unfill --then he died) --because I was worried I'd starve to death --she said that fear was normal, about the time you start feeling bones under your skin, you start worrying about "what if I can't stop" --but "we're here" she said and assured me I wouldn't starve to death.
One day in the mall, I saw an attractive woman and thought how I had a similar shirt --only it WAS me in a mirror! ME! and I thought I was attractive!!! Until then, I avoided looking at my reflection . . .
And size by size I went down. And down. And down.
When I hit the weight I wanted, I got a face lift, dyed my hair platinum blonde and got rid of EVERY stitch of clothing I owned "before" I sold every sinlge thing on ebay or gave to Good will ---then I bought underware at Victoria's Secret, clothes from ebay and Goodwill --but with labels from Gap and TAlbots --as high end as I could afford and find and I bought NEW SHOES (my feet shrank too) with HIGH HEELS.
I wear makeup every day!!
Do I feel normal? Heck NO! I feel great!!!
:-)