Carriejess

i lost about 100 pounds and 10 dress sizes 16 to 6 so maybe the 10 pound rule worked for me!

I think its the easy way out, that doesnt mean theres any thing wrong with it. We all know that it is harder to keep weight off without the band or none of us would have had it done. Yes its still hard but not AS hard therefore its the easier option. I am forever gratefull that the option is available.

I havent had a fill since the beginning of Sept, i was quite tight but i didnt feel too tight, a few weeks after the fill i started having some slight reflux especially after eating fruit or drinking wine it then got worse and worse over the last 4 months. Two days ago my band tightened so much that i could not swallow and had to have an emergency unfil of 1ml. I guess this shows that you should not keep a really tight band...eventually you will have a problem. 1ml was quite alot to have out but i feel absolutley fine now and i am finding already that i am making better food choices because i can eat meat which i havent been able to manage rather than low protein slider foods all the time. I am not going to get another fill until i have given my throat time to rest. I actually think that i will be able to maintain because i will be getting more vitamins, be able to drink more fluid and have more energy for the gym!

Starting at size 16/18 Current size 4/6 I feel .... lol boney! I need to work on: more muscle....less bone

I weigh 126 pounds, some days i still feel fat. I think all women have good days and bad days no matter what size they are!

I totally agree with this, i lost nearly all of my weight without excercise. However i wish that i had excercised throughout as perhaps i wouldnt have to work so hard to tone the muscles now so i look like a godess with no clothes on

I have gone through 10 wardrobes, each time i needed a new set of clothes i took the old ones out laid them on the floor and took a picture then gave them away! It's a great feeling, i kept one pair of jeans and one shirt to reminid myself and the rest went or i wouldnt be able to have anything else in my house!

my waist was the last to go down, my legs and hips are tiny. if i could get my tummy to go down a bit now i would now be a 4 instead of a 6 but i'm not complaining too much!

I'm 5'5 126 pounds and an american size 6...i have days where i still feel fat and i have days where i feel amazing..i think that's the same for most people. All those times when my thin friends and colleagues would moan that they were having a fat day or wished they could drop 1 dress size etc and i used to be thinking 'what they hell are you talking about...your tiny, i wish i was you' and now i realise that its just human nature!

There is nothing wrong with having a drink occasionally. The band and should help you to eventually realise how 'normal' people manage their diets, normal people enjoy a drink sometimes just as they enjoy a good night out in a restaurant or a night watching films and eating chips with their friends they just dont let it rule their lives or use it as an emotional crutch.

I prob could eat a whopper but not anything else. I usually avoid burgers because i cant eat that much bread in one go and the burger itself is so dense its quite a difficult food. I would have to really concentrate, be on my own in my own house. So on the above points it doesnt really seem worth it to bother. I think it would probably take me a good 45 minutes and the last 15 i would be really forcing it!

I'm 5'5 and now 127 pounds, people started telling me not to lose any more from about 150 pounds. I honestly believe that it's just because my frineds and family had never seen me that small.. Their view of what you should look like are a bit warped, they also become concerned that you will develope some kind of eating disorder. Most of the people i know do not have weight issues, the way i deal with it is basically by reminding those people how much they weigh and what size they are and compare myslf to them. This also works by comparing your self to smaller friends. My Mum tells me to stop losing and i say ' you know Natalie/Jo/Kate etc? Do you think they look healthy or do they look malnourished? Oh you think they look perfectly healthy? Well we are the same height and i weigh more than her.....' seems to work for me! I am not personally comparing myself to others but it seems to put things into perspective for the people who worry about me for no reason.

Events Sales Manager for a big Hotel

Hi I know my BMI was slightly higher than 35 but i just wanted to say that as a relativley low BMI starter i have had no issues with losing and it only took me a year to get to my original goal. I had the band fitted 14 months ago. Good Luck!

Hello I had my surgery last October and i still smoke when socially (mainly when drinking!) I know the health risks and used to smoke about 20 a day pre band and prob 5 a day now. Quiting is one of my 2010 goals!

Hello I weigh 130 pounds, can you freaking believe that! Love my band, love my life! Wishing everyone a great Christmas and a fab new year! x

I agree with Jaqui, all the diets i did before gave me a guilt complex about food. I could never keep up with the counting and the restrictions therefore always gave up and punished myself by going on a binge and putting the weight back on. The band has helped me to view food in a healthy non obsessive way. I still like food and i still eat but i no longer think about it all the time i never think 'if i have this bar of chocolate now i wont eat any breakfast to make up for it' which is how i thought when i was obese. Now i am thin and i never get up in the morning and think that i will have x amount of protein and i will only eat any carbs on my plate last if im still hungry... To me that takes me back to when food was the most important thing in my life.

I eat what i want just a load less of it. I guess i am lucky as my diet has always been reasonably healthy just way too much of it! I couldnt cope with counting calories and weighing things or i could for a while just like every other diet i have ever done but certainly not on a long term basis i would just give up and the whole routine would collapse! As long as it works for you then thats all that matters i guess!

228 to 130, the bones are the best bits, hips, ribs and spine...i still cant get over it!

almost there!

Im 26 and i do have a little bit of excess skin, its more like a little pouch of fat on my stomach rather than sagging skin other than that i held up ok. If i had the money i would have a TT and prob breast implants. However i have learnt that no one has a perfect body and my friends who have always maintained a healthy weight have areas of their body that look worse than mine do and vice versa! If someone gave me a lump sum and said you can spend it on what you want i would probably spend it on a new car and say that the plastic surgery can wait for a bit...thats how happy and comfortable i am with myself now compared to how i felt before surgery!

Hey Rhian Im in Sunny Kent, good luck and if you have any qs let me know x

As its the first of November now and i guess you are all bandsters just wanted to wish you luck from an 08 October bandster!

I feel amazing in myself but i have a real problem with comparisons to other people. I went from a 20 to an 8 in a year, when i say to my friends that someone we see looks great and they reply with 'Carrie your thinner than they are' i honestly cannot see that. I still think that i am bigger than a thin person yet i am a thin person now. Im not sure if at this stage that will ever change!

Sorry i am so rubbish at reporting in! I have lost 4 pounds in total so im hoping to make my October challenge! I have reached goal but have now decided that i want to lose a bit more so have redone my ticker!