drew05

Haha I think so too. I'm not complaining though :thumbdown: Congrats on your weight loss!

I noticed that my size 38 shorts are getting a little too big today! :thumbdown:

Welcome Nick! I actually remember the first day I decided to get the band... it was after a bit of research and finding this website. I gotta tell you that this place is gonna be a great source of support and information. We've all be through what you are going through and are going to go through, so feel free to ask any questions you have!

Don't mean to double post, but here's a face side by side as well.

Well here's my first post in this thread with some pictures... here's a before and after. I'm only down 95lbs, with about 80lbs to go.

Everyone looks great!! Here's some recent pictures of me. Along with an old one for comparison. All the new ones are in the attachments. The old one is right here

I hope this thread makes people realize that marijuana usage is not the huge barrier to losing weight that everyone thinks it is. I smoke almost daily and I still go to the gym and school and all that. I've lost a bunch of weight even with the evil that is the munchies. They key is, as many here have pointed out, is finding a way to stave those off. Water works wonderfully, as does the preparing a healthy meal beforehand. I use a nice mix of the water and just willpower.

Haven't posted in a while, let alone an NSV. There haven't been any particular moments, but I am a lot more comfortable with myself. I can go swimming without worrying about being the fattest guy there, I can ride rides without worrying if I'm gonna fit and the biggest one for me is I don't have to worry about weight limits for ANYTHING anymore! I love my band :thumbup:

here's one I just took yesterday!

Everyone you look GREAT!!

Good job everyone! I'm proud of all of us :thumbup: I texted Jane as soon as this one happened, but I bought a shirt at PacSun last weekend.... and it was an EXTRA LARGE!! I haven't fit into an extra large since middle school. And my size 40 pants are too big on me. Ahhh I love my band!

Bah I'm sooo happy/jealous for/of you Jane! Keep it up :thumbdown: So yesterday I was hanging out with my future roommate who just moved to Austin. We went to the mall and had lunch and then she suggested that we go shopping for some clothes for me because it was starting to look like I was wearing sacks for clothes (NSV #1 Haha). Now, as a big guy I've never been able to shop in the mall for clothes. I told her that and she goes "ah well then I'll pick a store." So we head to Pacsun. I've always wanted to be able to shop there, but everything was tooo small. I went in there and tried on some shorts and a shirt, and they all fit! The shorts were 38's and the shirts were XL!! I never thought I would see this day. I love my band!

I use my iPhone and the Lose It! app. It keeps me in check. And I don't have to be near a computer to use it!

I can honestly say I've lost my desire for food. I don't know if that is all the band though. I've been big my whole life and I'm just sick of it. It might be that I have that added motivation to keep me away from fast food and candy and whatnot. I haven't had a baked good in almost a year now. Don't expect yourself to be able to quit caffeine cold turkey. Or even bad foods. You gotta work your way down. Eventually you'll find that you don't want that coffee in the morning or don't even really like the taste of fried food anymore. But it's not gonna happen overnight. Be patient and remember we have all been there at one point. That's why we're here :wink:

The weight loss seminar is nothing but an informational thing where they give you info about the band and how it works. I got to play with an actual band at mine. The first appointment with the surgeon is just getting all of the stuff you'll need to get approved in order. Eeesh. It was almost 7 months after I first met with the surgeon that I had my surgery. That includes a 6 month diet plan for the insurance though. After approval I had my surgery within 48 hours. Haha. Doubt that's typical though. And yes things are going GREAT for me :wink:

Congrats everyone!! I have one here. I have officially gone down 10 pant sizes! I used to be a 52, and I now wear a 42. And these are even getting big. AHHH this is awesome!

How did it go?

Everyone looks great!! Here's a few of me. Here's a before my friend just uploaded a few days ago. and here's some good after ones.

I had one a few days ago. My manager said to me "Drew it looks like it's time for some new pants!" I just got them a month ago and they're already falling off :rolleyes2:

Well I'm getting ready for a trip to South Padre for Spring Break and I was going through my stuff pulling out my swim trunks and everything... and put them on... they won't even stay on. They are soooo big on me. Last summer these fit me incredibly tightly. Made me feel really good

Well the 70 something pounds was for the better part without the band. The 40 I've lost with the band have been because I have been doing at least 3 miles a day on the treadmill coupled with the lower caloric intake is really just making the weight melt off

It varies from person to person. My doctor told me some people needed two weeks off while others (such as myself) were fine after just a few days. I'm a quick healer

Honestly it's an amazing tool if you know how to use it. Keep in mind that you'll have change your life as well (exercising, changing eating habits). So long as you do that the band will make you a happy person!

I had about 5 days off total. Luckily I work in retail so it just so happened my days off fell just perfect. I really only needed 4 of them. I never had a lack of energy. Well only because of my medicine I had but that was only the first week.

I posted a reply in another thread but I'll repost it here I thought that people would see what I'm doing as copping out. That's why I didn't tell anyone. A few I have told reacted exactly as I thought they would (they asked why I couldn't do it the old fashioned way) and the ones who were my first choice to tell (Family, close friends) were EXTREMELY supportive. The reason I did it so young is because I don't want to spend my entire life like this. I want to be sprig and spry in my mid to late 20's straight on into my 30's. I don't want to deal with diabetes, HBP and heart disease. It's not copping out. It's getting a tool to help me loose weight. The band is not going to do everything for you. You have to work with it and exercise and eat right. All it does is limit HOW MUCH you can eat. Not what you can eat. Ask anyone here. We can all still eat all the junk food and fast food we want. But we don't. If you are ready to make the changes for the band to work then it's the best decision you'll ever make :thumbup: