JulieNYC

For me, it didn't come back -- just slowed substantially to the numbers you're talking about (2 lbs/wk).

Yep. Exactly. And for me, at 35, it's completely unacceptable that I act like a 17 year old in the way I relate to friends and, mostly, men, out of sheer inexperience. I really hate that and I wish I could grow up about it. Then again, everything in my life is different right now. It's all an adjustment. Even the things I think are fun by myself are different. A year ago, I watched every show on TV there was. Now I can't remember the last time I turned the TV on. So weird.

It's completely normal. Just enjoy the ride and remind yourself of your concern when you get to mushies and solids and things slow down. In the end, it'll come out just perfect.

Ahh, yes.....3 more of the lbs came off last night. I thought that would be the case as I must have gone to the bathroom 20 times yesterday. You're right, Boo, there's something about distance running that makes your body hold onto Water like crazy. Anyway, I'm back to 158, so maybe tomorrow I'll actually be back to an accurate ticker! Tonight, workout with the trainer....

TerriDoodle, I wonder if there's a variation on that thread that might be more palatable but still make your point. What about a thread that asks for posts from people who have reached goal without exercise as a major component? I can't think of a single example member, can you? I do think it's important for people considering the band to understand that you will lose weight irrespective of exercise, but that you won't make goal (assuming "goal" to be a "normal" BMI -- I understand that isn't everyone's goal -- it didn't start out being my goal either, though it is now that I see it's actually attainable).

I'm so happy for you! That's just wonderful. Woohoo!!!

When people who are really close to me -- like immediate family members -- see a picture of me and say something like "I wouldn't have known you if I'd seen you on the street" it makes me angry. I know they mean it as a compliment, and it might be true for someone who didn't even know me that well and hasn't seen me in a while, but it's not true for family. My grandmother said that to me the other day. It's clearly not true -- I saw her like 3 months ago and though I do look different from the last 30 lbs, I'm certainly not unrecognizable. Thin people don't get that, to me, being unrecognizable shines a spotlight on my former fatness. It makes me feel like a freak show instead of making me feel good about the way I look now. Though I admit it's hard to get it right with me, in terms of commenting on my weight, the ones who get it right are the ones who say something like "you look great, but you were always pretty." My issues, I know.

My "final" goal weight changed several times during this process, and I suspect it may change again. At first, my doctor's goal was to "just get you back under 200." That was fine by me, even though it was still very heavy for my height (5'2). Then I thought maybe 179, because that was 1/2 of my starting weight. Then I thought maybe 165 because that's 10 lbs less than I'd ever weighed as an adult and I knew I'd be a size 12 at that weight and that was fine with me. Now, I'm going for 136 because I got under 165 with just the regular bandster effort and am still losing (knock on wood). 136 is the 24.9 BMI cutoff for my height, i.e. "normal." I plan on having a thigh lift, so I suspect I'll lose another 8-10 with that. I'm sticking with 136 as my official goal, but if I wind up in the 120s, I won't be shocked.

Got in 4 miles this morning in preparation for my date tonight, since I won't be able to get to the gym. We're going to a baseball game, so I've got to budget in beer and peanut calories for the day....not an easy task! 3 of the 7 lbs from the weekend came off overnight. My body seems to be expelling Fluid today, so maybe 2 or 3 more will come off tomorrow. We'll see.

Thanks, losingjusme. I had a good day, calorie wise, and a good day exercise wise. I'm -1600 for the day. We'll see what the scale has to say about that in the morning. I have a date tomorrow night and I'm wearing jeans (it's a baseball game). My ass is the size of NYC but I do, at least, look curvy and know that there's nothing else I could be doing right now to look any better. Now to budget beer and peanuts into the caloric goals tomorrow....I'd better run in the morning.

Boo, YES, I walk some. I don't think it's cheating at all (not that you implied this -- just that some runners feel that way). I follow Jeff Galloway's method for first time marathoners, which is to run 8 minutes then walk 1 minute, from the very beginning. His methodology is that if you take walk breaks before you need them, you recover much quicker and can build longer distances without injury. Seems to be working for me (knock on wood). And, walking for 1 minute out of every 9 only loses 13 seconds off my time per minute, yet I feel SO MUCH BETTER at the end of a run. I'll trade feeling better for 13 seconds any day.

I did great through the week last week -- it was really motivating to me. Then, I took off the weekend because it was my birthday and I was going to the country where I knew I couldn't monitor my cals in effectively. The scale socked me in the face this morning, but I'm back on track today. I'll let you know when I reach my goal!

For me it was more like 90 (then again, I needed to lose twice that, so it's somewhat understandable). I remember when I'd lost 75 and was annoyed that people weren't really commenting (not that I wanted their comments -- it's a double edged sword).

Uhm, the scale jerked me back to reality with a SEVEN pound gain from the weekend. Now, come on, scale, don't be ridiculous. I couldn't have eaten enough to gain even 2 pounds, given the band and the fact that I ran 15 miles on Saturday. I'm sure it's Water retention from the run and just one of those fluke things. Alas, I'll be good this week and hopefully be back to my ticker weight by Friday. Ran 4 miles this morning....

I'm 5'1 1/2 and I'm very protective of that 1/2"! Ladies, I can tell you first hand that this gets better. It's one of the great joys of being banded for a while and starting to see the smaller sizes. Once you get to single digits, which you ALL will at our meager stature, things start to be cut to our length! It's so fabulous. I went outlet shopping today and was so happy to be in a size where the length worked as well as the width. sbee, I can really identify with your comment about thinking a normal-by-the-charts BMI seems unrealistic (and anorexic). But then when you get closer and closer to it, it doesn't seem so unreasonable any more. It's super strange. For my BMI to be "normal" (at 5'2 because, again, I round my height UP!) I need to get to or below 136. Doesn't that seem ridiculous? Well, sitting at 157, I can tell you, I could still lose 20+ with no problem. There's more truth to those charts than I ever thought, my whole life. I love my band.

Well, it was my birthday weekend and all we did was EAT and I didn't wear my BB at all, so we'll see how the weight did. That said, I DID do my long training run on Saturday -- 15 miles -- so that should keep things pretty much in balance. It baffles me that I can run 15 miles (in 2:58). Life is freakin' weird. A year ago (I just looked back at my chart, since it's my birthday) I weighed 292. I was SO HAPPY to be back in Twoterville. Now, I run 15 miles. Rock on. I wonder what next year will hold. Goal, whatever that may be, I'm sure. The last major PS, I hope. Adjustment to "normal" life? I don't know. Thank you, band. Thank you, my sweet band friends. I love you all!

Losing the weight is a diet to me, except it's a diet I can actually FOLLOW this time. I can actually count calories and stay within my goals with the band. Maintaining, however, is not a diet. I can eat anything I want with the band (ok, within reason -- I can't live on ice cream) and not gain weight. That was the miracle of the band for me. but yes, I do think you have to diet to get all of the weight off. (You might not have to diet at all to get a good bit off, which is a miracle in itself).

OK, I think I won the battle with the Skittles (who wins the war has yet to be determined). I at least got him to go back into hiding. Here was my strategy -- replacement therapy. I held out as long as I could (about 30 hours), then, as I was walking to the vending machine, coins in hand, it occurred to me that I could leave the office and go get a tasti-d-lite (60 cal ice cream) instead. That seemed like something I could live with. So, I ate the fake ice cream and it really quelched the Skittles need. I think the important part was waiting until I was really on the verge of cracking. If I'd have eaten the tasti yesterday, I think I would have still wanted the Skittles today. We'll see how long he stays in hiding this time....

Those numbers also include patients who got banded and never got fills when they needed them. The band without fills when you need them is not much of a WL tool. I think (with no study, but for my observations on LBT and elsewhere) that the numbers are more like 70-80% for someone who makes a basic level of commitment to the band (getting fills, trying to choose healthy foods most of the time, getting some exercise). Getting to 100% excess weight loss is hard on any program, but it can be done if you make it your goal (i.e. higher commitment to diet and exercise). That's the thing about the band -- it CAN be done if you want to. You WILL be able to follow a diet, unlike before. Before the band, I tried and tried but it couldn't be done.

Immerse yourself in information about the band (from this site and elsewhere) and, if it feels right, make your decision as soon as possible. Don't do as I did, which was research it for 3 years and gain 50+ lbs in the interim. The band can be a way out. If you accept that you have a medical problem and that, statistically speaking, you cannot lose this weight on your own (as stats show that less than 5% of people with 50+ lbs can lose it and keep it off for ONE YEAR, much less someone who has several times that to lose and wants to keep it off for life), you will accept that the band is the best tool for you to use and live a long, healthy life. I was where you are 2 years ago. I weighed over 350 and had refused to get on a scale once the home scales (that only weigh to 330 or so) wouldn't register, so I didn't know how much I weighed either. Going to my PCP and facing that a scale couldn't weigh me was the hardest part of my band journey. But looking back, I'm so very glad I did this. I believe it's a life-long solution to my weight problems and I am 100% confident I will never weigh above 200 pounds again, much less 300 or 400. Let me know if I can help you.

Yeah, they're not usually so high. Usually about 1200 or so. Right now, my race training schedule has me running 30-35 miles per week, so that adds up to better deficit than normal, plus I was trying extra hard to reach my 3 lb mini-goal. Scale moved in the wrong direction today though (157.0 to 157.8), so, as I figured it's probably a couple of weeks off. Grrr.

Eficka, Are you tall? You seem SO THIN that I'm surprised you're still fighting to get under 90. You must be tall. No matter what, you're HOT! New haircuts are the best, aren't they. The Skittles Monster is still on my back. I woke up this morning thinking that if I ate Mentos instead of Skittles, I would technically have still won. Then I re-read the handbook and realized that Mentos and Skittles are the same damned thing and that was the Skittles Monster's little mean head trick. So, so far, so good. I'm eating a big healthy Breakfast to try and make sure real hunger doesn't make the challenge harder. I got in 4 miles this morning, so at least there's that. I'm having a massage tonight. My marathon book says to get them every week from now to the marathon, if possible, so I'm going to give it a try. I think I've only had one before in my life and it was when I was heavy, so I didn't enjoy it, simply because it focused on my body. Hopefully tonight will be better.

Today I had a deficit of 1600. I ate a little more than yesterday and feel much better. Tomorrow morning, I've got a 4 mile run. Hoping to keep up at least 1500 in deficits until Saturday. Sunday's my birthday, so I can't promise what that day will hold (I'll probably go out for dinner and won't be able to accurately gauge). Given the challenge, I'll do my best though, if (as will probably be the case unless the scale gives me a birthday gift) I haven't made the goal by then....

A "serving" of Skittles to me is one 250 calorie package. Lord, no, I don't buy the halloween packs -- though each bag is smaller, there are a zillion of them. No way! A costco mega-bag might save me some money though. Just kidding. There's still an hour to go, but I might have beaten the monster for today. We'll see if the craving is still there tomorrow. In the meantime, got in a good workout with my trainer and am running with a friend in the morning. Take care, Julie

I know, WasA, I get it, I really do. It plain sucks when people who are supposed to love us so clearly don't support us. We support you though. You ROCK and your accomplishments are amazing. It just goes to show how much more of a quality person you are than she is. She's not worth the energy, as hard as that is. Hang in there.