Zannie

Thanks, ladies, for your support. I don't know what's going to happen from here, but I know I wouldn't be able to respect myself if I kicked him out without trying first. I really don't want to bog this thread down with my personal shit, and frankly, the people here at LBT will have more insight into what I'm feeling now than those who don't have weight-related insecurities, so I've just started a new thread here if you still want to lend a shoulder... I phrased it as earlier because the rational side of me can't believe that after 16 years (and I was never thin in that time!) of friendship, love & fidelity he would start to fall out of love with me just because I've gained weight. That side is holding out hope that his individual therapy for depression & our marriage counseling will get to the root issues for which my fatness is just a convenient excuse not to address! The other, louder, & far more insecure side is screaming, "But you have gained 100 pounds since you got married, and loosing it isn't making you look BETTER -- it's turning you into the saggy, baggy elephant! Who could blame him?!? After all, you can't stand your own reflection, how can you expect it to turn him on?!?" I don't know which side is right... And, just so y'all know because it is a despicable & shallow thing to hear & my husband could never be described as such outside of this very situation, he was NOT quick to throw out "you're not physically attractive to me anymore" as his reason for cheating. Oh, no. I beat that slowly & painfully out of him over several days because I had to actually hear it if he was thinking it. I mean, it is my worst fear after all & how can we go forward if it was true & he still couldn't tell me the whole story. I'm in need of full disclosure, apparently. Or self-flagellation, as my best friend would tell me (love you -- I know you're stalking me here at LBT)! See, I said I wasn't going to take over the exercise challenge thread with my shit...and what am I doing?!? Argh!! Anyhow, I would love to have y'all in my corner as this unfolds & thank you for being here now! Y'all are the best & I need you to keep me in line now more than ever! To get this back to exercise...perhaps gut-wrenching sobs & endless, anger-filled pacing are good exercise? Combined with a band that's tight as a drum due to stress? Because I have no other explanations for loosing 7.5 pounds in as many days! But I'll take 'em!!!! :heh:

My worst fears within marriage have come true…adultery. I'll be banded 6-months next week and have lost 71 of 190 pounds so far. Almost exactly 4-months after my surgery in Feb 2007, when I was down 50 pounds from my highest/surgery weight of 320 & really starting to desire again, my husband of 9-½ years began cheating with a woman who’d recently begun flirting with him at work. (Details, if you want to read them because, apparently, I need to write them: I know the dates are correct & how it started because he allowed me to read the initial e-mails when I asked. She’s our age, recently separated herself, knew he was married with kids (2 & 4) & was still coming on strong via e-mail… He replied no thanks I could never do anything that would jeopardize my marriage or family when she offered sex, but she did not drop it at all. Now, I’m in no way making excuses for the inexcusable, but I have thought he’s been depressed for quite a long while before this & I’m sure he must have been flattered by the unsolicited, persistent attention. 14 days after the 1st e-mail they kissed; by 16 days of it, he’d become unfaithful for the 1st time in his life -- a “strictly sex” cheater, not using protection. And, well…there’s nothing you can do to erase from your marriage sex with someone other than your spouse. She worked in a different department & was fired for unrelated (& unknown to me) reasons about a week after the sex started. I guess he thought it would end with that, but couldn’t stop thinking about her. She stayed in touch with him & he convinced himself that it must be love if he felt that desperate about loosing this homewrecker, uh, I mean woman. The adultery became “an affair” worthy of the word obsession. He started cashing parts of his paycheck so there’d be no paper trail, bought a “for her” pre-paid cell phone, began “having really busy days” at work to explain not being at his desk & coming home late, taking extended lunches to see her, going to her before work, leaving home to run errands that were convenient excuses to see her, skipping out on family plans, completely detaching from me and from our kids, stopped paying the bills, mowing the lawn or doing anything at all for the house… I guess these are the usual things, but to me they were terrifying & I was very suspicious!About a month into it, after a discussion about plans for my birthday deteriorated into him saying he wasn’t sure he wanted to be married anymore, I called him on my suspicions. He denied adultery, but was late from work by over an hour the next night & I would not be put off any longer.) After I forced him to admit to the infidelity which went from mid-June right through July, he told me he wasn’t sure what to do – who he wanted to be with more. Trying to keep what I believed was/is his untreated depression in mind, and loving him more than I can ever say, I asked (okay, begged might not be too strong a word) him to choose us. We’ve invested over half of our lives in this relationship (started dating in high school 16 years ago & until now were each other’s only sexual partners); surely it isn’t over after a month & a half of sex with someone else! He said he didn’t want to leave, but didn’t know if he could stay. And by the end of the night he agreed to at least see a marriage counselor once. He saw the counselor alone & then we saw her together. The meeting seemed completely ineffective – nothing new said by either of us, and no tools to help us make it to the other side of this with our marriage in tact. But she did say he’s clinically depressed & he agreed to address that with additional, individual therapy. Later that night, he said that he was still very confused, but he wanted to stay with me & try working things out with marriage counseling. So at least I’ve got something to hold on to, but… Here’s the thing… more than that my husband is/was screwing someone else (which I have plenty of issue with! :yell::censored::yell:), I have always feared that he withdrew from our sex life (which has been lacking of late & non-existent since my Banding 6 months ago) because I became too fat to be found attractive anymore. That his love for me would prove subjective & conditional even after all we’ve been to & meant for each other. (In fact, my 1st post at LBT was about that very thing.) Now, not only do I have that fear staring me in the face, but am forced to add to it that he’s been f*cking with great abandon a very thin woman who shares not one of my physical features! It’s all so new & so very raw… I don’t know how to go on, but I don’t want to give up on 16 years of being in love with my best friend, the father of my children, the only man I have ever loved!!! Despite this sickening, hurtful thing he's done to me, he really has always been a wonderful person and I can't give up hope yet that he still is... I know the divorce rate for WLS patients is said to be something like 80%… I just never imagined that I’d be part of that statistic! Are there a lot of people in my situation – a faithful husband who starts to cheat only after huge changes have been made to improve the life, health, and appearance of his wife? Or is it that the WLS patient decides that a new life means new everything, spouse included?!? How can this be happening…? I’m so hurt and angry…and feel abandoned by the very person who vowed to love me forever, even if he has decided to try marriage counseling!!! And what do I do now to reconcile my own, pre-existing now reinforced insecurities about my appearance with the new realties of a marriage facing infidelity? I know this is a long & bumpy path I’ve chosen to take by giving him a 2nd chance, what I can’t figure out is what to do next!?! Zannie 320-BMI 58.5/249 @ nearly 6-months/130-BMI 24

Yeah, well...apparently catching your husband committing adultery is good for weight loss, at least with the LapBand. I have found myself in front of the fridge at the oddest times, and & so grateful for my Band because I am a huge (no pun intended) stress eater. Sorry I haven't been around...I'm so slacking off with the exercise, too... Which is funny in that oh-so-very-sad kind of way, because his not being physically attracted to me anymore is the current justification for his infidelity. We started marriage counseling on Tuesday (my 33rd birthday), and he's was told there that he's clinically depressed (instead of just hearing me nag that he should talk to someone). I'm beyond devastated & so furious, but do I love my husband & want him to get the help I've thought he needed for over 2 years. And I'll stick by him while he does so. If after some therapy, there are no changes here at home...well, I guess it's over then. But how am I going to become MORE physically attractive when I'm looking more like the saggy, baggy elephant each day?!?!?!?

:whoo::high5: :dance: (((((BABYGRL!!!!!))))) :dance: :high5::whoo: I'd so be doing the happy dance with you if we were in person! (Good thing for you we're not...) You're doing so great!! :clap:I'm more than 1/3 of the way myself, and I started with about 200 to loose! I was down by 71 pounds since sugery as of my birthday, August 7th. And I passed my "250 by 6-months" goal, too! 249!!!!!!! And my Bandiversary isn't for another week! :bandit Suzanne Feb'07 August Challenge: Level 2 ~ Moderate (down a step) 3 of 18 days (4 days a week) exercising for 30 min

Slime -- it's the body's natural reaction when you've eaten something you shouldn't (bread, for me) or didn't chew something well enough & it gets "stuck" above your band. Your body tries to help you "pass" the stuff food by producing "sinus drainage-like" saliva at a rapid rate! It doesn't actually help Bandsters though, since the pouch is already full with the stuck item, so you have to spit it out! Sliming is often a precursor to a PB - a productive burp, which is not a vomit as if you had the flu, but more like "gaging up" or "throwing up" the stuck food. Or so I've heard. I've slimed on a few occasions but have yet to PB myself.

:update: The fluoroscopy went well… Talk about fretting over nothing! Whew – I really was thinking slip or something bad! My band is just fine! In fact, it’s looking great and I’m (apparently) doing great! It appears I’ve attained great restriction! (A lot of exclamation points…can you tell I’m excited?!?) I’ve lost 12 pounds since my last fill on July 5th! And I’ve hit that 33% mark – I’ve lost 1/3 of my excess weight!! My surgeon said that with bypass, patients loose 1/3 of their excess weight in the first 3-4 months, but that with LapBand the target is to loose 1/3 of the excess weight by 7-8 months. I’m 5-1/2 months out, and my doc is very pleased with the progress I’ve made. It seems to me that, compared with many of y’all here at LBT, I’m keeping a fine pace but could certainly be loosing faster. He said I needed to stop doubting my ability to do this and be proud because I’m “ahead of the game” – and I quote! Um, I’ve never been ahead of the game with anything diet-wise before this, so it’s hard to believe I am now!!!! Especially in light of the progress some of y’all are making! There are the tortoises & the hares among us, and I’m somewhere in the middle, ya know? But that’s not pro-Zannie thinking & I guess I need to start doing some of that. For the record, my surgeon did have a few reasons that I might feel tighter now than just after the fill. His vote was for stress combined with my head & stomach catching up with one another. He said that a lot of people eat from “head hunger” (um, hello!) and that when you’re at the right fill level it takes a while to change your perception that eating so little is okay. My doc also said gastritis can make the band seem tighter, and that some women feel their tightness changes with their cycles. But that the stomach is sensitive to stress in general (gave ulcers as an example), and given my sudden increased stress level over the last 3 days plus my growing anxiety about the tightness of my Band…well, he thought that was enough to explain the “very tight” state I’ve got going on. He asked if I wanted a bit removed (though he thought it looked perfect especially if I wasn’t also having any symptoms of an over-fill), but I said no. I’m glad for the restriction, more so now with my life falling to pieces, as it appears to be doing. I’d be heading for the pantry for sure if I thought I could get away with it!! Maybe I’ll actually make it out of this without gaining anything thanks to the stress-induced tightness!!! I really want to thank all of you for your support as my fretting increased! (And, again, sorry for the cross-post & that this is so long!) Suzanne

:update: The fluoroscopy went well… Talk about fretting over nothing! Whew – I really was thinking slip or something bad! My band is just fine! In fact, it’s looking great and I’m (apparently) doing great! It appears I’ve attained great restriction! (A lot of exclamation points…can you tell I’m excited?!?) I’ve lost 12 pounds since my last fill on July 5th! And I’ve hit that 33% mark – I’ve lost 1/3 of my excess weight!! My surgeon said that with bypass, patients loose 1/3 of their excess weight in the first 3-4 months, but that with LapBand the target is to loose 1/3 of the excess weight by 7-8 months. I’m 5-1/2 months out, and my doc is very pleased with the progress I’ve made. It seems to me that, compared with many of y’all, I’m keeping a fine pace but could certainly be loosing faster. He said I needed to stop doubting my ability to do this and be proud because I’m “ahead of the game” – and I quote! Um, I’ve never been ahead of the game with anything diet-wise before this, so it’s hard to believe I am now!!!! Especially in light of the progress some of y’all are making! There are the tortoises & the hares among us, and I’m somewhere in the middle, ya know? But that’s not pro-Zannie thinking & I guess I need to start doing some of that. For the record, my surgeon did have a few reasons that I might feel tighter now than just after the fill. His vote was for stress combined with my head & stomach catching up with one another. He said that a lot of people eat from “head hunger” (um, hello!) and that when you’re at the right fill level it takes a while to change your perception that eating so little is okay. My doc also said gastritis can make the band seem tighter, and that some women feel their tightness changes with their cycles. But that the stomach is sensitive to stress in general (gave ulcers as an example), and given my sudden increased stress level over the last 3 days plus my growing anxiety about the tightness of my Band…well, he thought that was enough to explain the “very tight” state I’ve got going on. He asked if I wanted a bit removed (though he thought it looked perfect especially if I wasn’t also having any symptoms of an over-fill), but I said no. I’m glad for the restriction, more so now with my life falling to pieces, as it appears to be doing. I’d be heading for the pantry for sure if i thought i could get away with it!! Maybe I’ll actually make it out of this without gaining anything thanks to the stress-induced tightness!!! I really want to thank all of you for your support as my fretting increased! (And, again, sorry for the cross-post & that this is so long!) Suzanne

:update: The fluoroscopy went well… Talk about fretting over nothing! Whew – I really was thinking slip or something bad! My band is just fine! In fact, it’s looking great and I’m (apparently) doing great! It appears I’ve attained great restriction! (A lot of exclamation points…can you tell I’m excited?!?) I’ve lost 12 pounds since my last fill on July 5<SUP>th</SUP>! And I’ve hit that 33% mark – I’ve lost 1/3 of my excess weight!! My surgeon said that with bypass, patients loose 1/3 of their excess weight in the first 3-4 months, but that with LapBand the target is to loose 1/3 of the excess weight by 7-8 months. I’m 5-1/2 months out, and my doc is very pleased with the progress I’ve made. It seems to me that, compared with many of y’all, I’m keeping a fine pace but could certainly be loosing faster. He said I needed to stop doubting my ability to do this and be proud because I’m “ahead of the game” – and I quote! Um, I’ve never been ahead of the game with anything diet-wise before this, so it’s hard to believe I am now!!!! Especially in light of the progress some of y’all are making! There are the tortoises & the hares among us, and I’m somewhere in the middle, ya know? But that’s not pro-Zannie thinking & I guess I need to start doing some of that. For the record, my surgeon did have a few reasons that I might feel tighter now than just after the fill. His vote was for stress combined with my head & stomach catching up with one another. He said that a lot of people eat from “head hunger” (um, hello!) and that when you’re at the right fill level it takes a while to change your perception that eating so little is okay. My doc also said gastritis can make the band seem tighter, and that some women feel their tightness changes with their cycles. But that the stomach is sensitive to stress in general (gave ulcers as an example), and given my sudden increased stress level over the last 3 days plus my growing anxiety about the tightness of my Band…well, he thought that was enough to explain the “very tight” state I’ve got going on. He asked if I wanted a bit removed (though he thought it looked perfect especially if I wasn’t also having any symptoms of an over-fill), but I said no. I’m glad for the restriction, more so now with my life falling to pieces, as it appears to be doing. I’d be heading for the pantry for sure if i thought i could get away with it!! Maybe I’ll actually make it out of this without gaining anything thanks to the stress-induced tightness!!! I really want to thank all of you for your support as my fretting increased! (And, again, sorry for the cross-post & that this is so long!) Suzanne

Welcome back, BabyGrl! And boy, Tracy, you're lookin' good! I love the spreadsheet -- what a fantastic idea. Okay -- I stated before that I had a secret goal of hitting 250 for my 6-month Bandiversary. As of today's weigh-in at the fluoroscopy to check my band (all's well structurally, btw), I'm at 256.5 (down 63 lbs since surgery, 12 since my fill on July 5th!). :dance: Who here thinks I can shed 6.5 lbs in 13 days? Sounds nice, but not possible this far into the process, right? Yeah, that's what I'm thinking, too.... But I'm gonna give it a real try!!! :nervous My next official (at the clinic) weigh-in is on August 16th, so I have until then! Any suggestions? I'm sorely tempted to try sticking to Protein drinks as much as possible from now until then... But that sounds a bit crazy at the same time!!! I know I'm gonna try to exercise every day at the very least. But I'm open to any other tips/hints y'all might have:help: My life appears to have turned to crap in the last 3 days... :think It would be a real boost to hit 250 at the next weigh-in.............. Suzanne Feb'07 August Challenge: Level 2 ~ Intermediate 1 of 18 days (4 days a week) exercising for 45 min

I suppose heat could have something to do with it -- if fingers swell (as mine do in the summer), then perhaps everything else could, too. But we've had July days since my last fill that were hitting 100 & I had no adverse reaction with my band then. So I'm guessing that's not it for me. And it's getting worse. Yesterday, even liquid was making me full after a sip or 2!! I had about 10 sips of protein drink, 2 sips of water & 5 sips of Crystal Light Slurpee -- that's it, all day. And not once did I feel hungry or experience stomach growling! I'm NOT puking or PBing or sliming -- just feeling very full right away. Now while I've been excited about the great restriction, clearly this level of tightness is not something that should continue! A few people have expressed that stress makes them tighter -- and I'd say I've had some sudden & extreme stress over the last 3 days. If this is stress-induced, I'm gonna need an un-fill because I fear things are only going to get worse. I hate to think I'm having a physical response to emotional duress, but an unfill is a lot better than a re-op!! My fluro check is at noon, so at least I'll have an answer soon... Off to try some hot tea as someone suggested, since I can't seem to get the cold stuff to pass easily! Wish me luck! Suzanne

I like best the notion that this is not actually a problem but rather some delayed feeling of restriction. :biggrin1: The “why” theory behind it still escapes me, but I’ll take that one! :thumb: I've never had a fill (this one was my 4th) with delayed effects, but maybe that's what's going on. :noidea: I'm going to try sticking to just liquid protein today to see if that helps thing relax a bit -- especially since stress has suddenly become a huge issue in the last 2 days. And then tomorrow will be the fluro to make sure everything still looks as it should inside... I like the restriction, but I'm perplexed by the delayed reaction!! BTW, Missy…you wouldn’t happen to know any great 20-something lady Chief fans :cheer2:who’d be interested in relocating to Virginia, would you? I’ve got this wonderful brother (29) with a penchant for all things KC & season tickets back at Arrowhead… (We lived in Omaha as kids, thanks to the Air Force, and KCs as close to an NFL home team as you get in NE!) Suzanne

Thanks, Nita -- it's reassuring to hear somebody else has non-problematic tightening! I don't mind the restriction (I mean, that's what I signed up for, right?) but I'm perplexed by the delayed reaction to the fill!! I'm going to try your suggestion of sticking to just liquids today to see if that helps things relax a bit -- especially since stress has become a huge issue in the last 2 days. And then tomorrow will be the fluro to make sure everything still looks as it should inside... Suzanne

I had my last fill July 5th – and my next (if needed) is supposed to be on the 16th of August. But I’m going in on Thursday (Aug 2nd) for a fluro look-see because something just isn’t right... :help: Have any of you gotten tighter as time went on…without a fill? I’m now not able to eat even 1.5 oz of straight-up soft tuna salad without getting that “oops, shouldn’t have had that last bite” feeling in the center of my chest. Two weeks ago (July 15th, in fact) I was able to eat a full 3oz of tuna salad served on soy-puff chip thingies. It’s not just tuna salad (a mushy for Pete’s sake) that’s filling me much faster in the last week-to-week-&-a-half, either. Nothing comes back up at all, but the pressure is just at that border of discomfort... Not that I MIND having restriction, but why is my band getting tighter without the aid of a fill? I’m sitting here, having just tried a spoonful of smooth Peanut Butter for dinner (has never caused me a problem before) and I have that pressure in the center of my chest – it’s peanut butter!!!!! I had a Wendy’s Jr. Frosty (treat, not normally part of my diet) last night & it, too, gave me this same chest pressure feeling. Are we or are we not supposed to be able to actually cheat the band with junk like milkshakes?!? Not that I want to cheat it, but what the frig is up if I can’t even have a milkshake without pressure!?!? I have never PBed (yet – knock on wood), and have only slimed 3 or 4 times since my banding 5-1/2 months ago. So I keep trying to rationalize the chest pressure away...can’t be a slip because I haven’t had actual issues with food!! I’m not even having PROBLEMS now – no slime, no PB, & I can drink Water just fine... And I’ve got great restriction even! But things are tighter now than they were just after the last fill………and so I’m starting to fret a bit. Opinions? :help: (Pardon the cross-post, BTW!)

I had my last fill July 5th – and my next (if needed) is supposed to be on the 16th of August. But I’m going in on Thursday (Aug 2nd) for a fluro look-see because something just isn’t right... :help: Have any of you gotten tighter as time went on…without a fill? I’m now not able to eat even 1.5 oz of straight-up soft tuna salad without getting that “oops, shouldn’t have had that last bite” feeling in the center of my chest. Two weeks ago (July 15th, in fact) I was able to eat a full 3oz of tuna salad served on soy-puff chip thingies. It’s not just tuna salad (a mushy for Pete’s sake) that’s filling me much faster in the last week-to-week-&-a-half, either. Nothing comes back up at all, but the pressure is just at that border of discomfort... Not that I MIND having restriction, but why is my band getting tighter without the aid of a fill? I’m sitting here, having just tried a spoonful of smooth peanut butter for dinner (has never caused me a problem before) and I have that pressure in the center of my chest – it’s peanut butter!!!!! I had a Wendy’s Jr. Frosty (treat, not normally part of my diet) last night & it, too, gave me this same chest pressure feeling. Are we or are we not supposed to be able to actually cheat the band with junk like milkshakes?!? Not that I want to cheat it, but what the frig is up if I can’t even have a milkshake without pressure!?!? I have never PBed (yet – knock on wood), and have only slimed 3 or 4 times since my banding 5-1/2 months ago. So I keep trying to rationalize the chest pressure away...can’t be a slip because I haven’t had actual issues with food!! I’m not even having PROBLEMS now – no slime, no PB, & I can drink water just fine... And I’ve got great restriction even! But things are tighter now than they were just after the last fill………and so I’m starting to fret a bit. Opinions? :help: (Pardon the cross-post, BTW!)

I had my last fill July 5th – and my next (if needed) is supposed to be on the 16th of August. But I’m going in on Thursday (Aug 2nd) for a fluro look-see because something just isn’t right... :help: Have any of you gotten tighter as time went on…without a fill? I’m now not able to eat even 1.5 oz of straight-up soft tuna salad without getting that “oops, shouldn’t have had that last bite” feeling in the center of my chest. Two weeks ago (July 15th, in fact) I was able to eat a full 3oz of tuna salad served on soy-puff chip thingies. It’s not just tuna salad (a mushy for Pete’s sake) that’s filling me much faster in the last week-to-week-&-a-half, either. Nothing comes back up at all, but the pressure is just at that border of discomfort... Not that I MIND having restriction, but why is my band getting tighter without the aid of a fill? I’m sitting here, having just tried a spoonful of smooth peanut butter for dinner (has never caused me a problem before) and I have that pressure in the center of my chest – it’s peanut butter!!!!! I had a Wendy’s Jr. Frosty (treat, not normally part of my diet) last night & it, too, gave me this same chest pressure feeling. Are we or are we not supposed to be able to actually cheat the band with junk like milkshakes?!? Not that I want to cheat it, but what the frig is up if I can’t even have a milkshake without pressure!?!? I have never PBed (yet – knock on wood), and have only slimed 3 or 4 times since my banding 5-1/2 months ago. So I keep trying to rationalize the chest pressure away...can’t be a slip because I haven’t had actual issues with food!! I’m not even having PROBLEMS now – no slime, no PB, & I can drink water just fine... And I’ve got great restriction even! But things are tighter now than they were just after the last fill………and so I’m starting to fret a bit. Opinions? :help: (Pardon the cross-post, BTW!)

I had my last fill July 5th – and my next (if needed) is supposed to be on the 16th of August. But I’m going in on Thursday (Aug 2nd) for a fluro look-see because something just isn’t right... Have any of you gotten tighter as time went on…without a fill? I’m now not able to eat even 1.5 oz of straight-up soft tuna salad without getting that “oops, shouldn’t have had that last bite” feeling in the center of my chest. Two weeks ago (July 15th, in fact) I was able to eat a full 3oz of tuna salad served on soy-puff chip thingies. It’s not just tuna salad (a mushy for Pete’s sake) that’s filling me much faster in the last week-to-week-&-a-half, either. Nothing comes back up at all, but the pressure is just at that border of discomfort... Not that I MIND having restriction, but why is my band getting tighter without the aid of a fill? I’m sitting here, having just tried a spoonful of smooth peanut butter for dinner (has never caused me a problem before) and I have that pressure in the center of my chest – it’s peanut butter!!!!! I had a Wendy’s Jr. Frosty (treat, not normally part of my diet) last night & it, too, gave me this same chest pressure feeling. Are we or are we not supposed to be able to actually cheat the band with junk like milkshakes?!? Not that I want to cheat it, but what the frig is up if I can’t even have a milkshake without pressure!?!? I have never PBed (yet – knock on wood), and have only slimed 3 or 4 times since my banding 5-1/2 months ago. So I keep trying to rationalize the chest pressure away...can’t be a slip because I haven’t had actual issues with food!! I’m not even having PROBLEMS now – no slime, no PB, & I can drink water just fine... And I’ve got great restriction even! But things are tighter now than they were just after the last fill………and so I’m starting to fret a bit. Opinions? (Pardon the cross-post, BTW!)

I took your comment the way you intended it... And I know where your fears are coming from, too. I hurt my knee & on a separate occasion fractured my foot. In both cases, I hobbled around without crutches from the car to the grocery store on DH's arm, sat in the scooter cart & shopped from that vantage point. Without the crutches with me in the store, it was unclear I had an actual ailment -- apart from my weight. At my peak, I weighed 320...and while it often hurt, I was still completely mobile. But I did get the exact looks you've described while using the scooter shopping cart. Disgust -- I guess maybe people are more polite here because I never got actual comments about my weight, just sneers & heads turning away. And while using the crutches to get around, the looks were of empathy / sympathy for my situation -- total strangers would stop to ask me what happened. So I, too, feared my weight would leave me chair-bound and the subject of ridicule if I didn't take some action. I know you didn't mean to offend anyone, and it's common to project your fears onto others...

I'm gonna come up a day short of my target this month... poop! Argh - mad at myself now! But I did get Sunday's workout in at least! And i have an affirmation, too!! :eek: I went to Lane Bryant (the store, not the catalog) this afternoon. I have not been able to shop there for YEARS since they only very recently started carrying size 30/32. I was a tight 32/loose 34 on my surgery date. I now solidly wear a 24 at Lane Bryant!!! Whaoooooo!!! And my bra size has gone from a 58DD to a 44 D, too. The 42D & 22s are still tight, but that'll change, I know! :woot: I'm so jazzed!! Suzanne Feb'07 July Challenge: Level 3-Moderate 17 of 20 days exercising for 30 minutes

Okay, August is upon us...it’s time for another exercise challenge! I’ve heard of a recent study that shows we need a minimum 30 minutes every day or 1 hour four days a week of aerobic exercise for successful, long-term weight loss. Now, I don’t know about the rest of y’all, but I’m not there yet! Building endurance does take time... It’s these monthly challenges BabyGrl1234 started for us Feb’07 Bandsters that keep me striving toward that goal. As our 6-month Band anniversaries are imminent, I hope everyone will join in for August’s challenge. Just select how often & how long you plan to exercise & then sign on here: Feb’07 August Exercise Challenge thread <O:p</O:p Feb’07 August Exercise Challenge: Level 1 ~ 3 days a week (14 days) Level 2 ~ 4 days a week (18 days) Level 3 ~ 5 days a week (23 days) Level 4 ~ 6 days a week (27 days) Level 5 ~ 7 days a week (31 days) Beginner ~ 20 minutes a day Moderate ~ 30 minutes a day Intermediate ~ 45 minutes a day Advanced ~ 60 minutes a day Elite ~ 60+ minutes a day

August & our 6-month Band anniversaries are almost here! :whoo: It's challenge time, again... You know the drill: Pick a target level for how often & how long you plan to workout, and we’ll be off… I’m shooting for Level 2~Intermediate this month! Feb’07 August Exercise Challenge Level 1 ~ 3 days a week (14 days) Level 2 ~ 4 days a week (18 days) Level 3 ~ 5 days a week (23 days) Level 4 ~ 6 days a week (27 days) Level 5 ~ 7 days a week (31 days) Beginner ~ 20 minutes a day Moderate ~ 30 minutes a day Intermediate ~ 45 minutes a day Advanced ~ 60 minutes a day Elite ~ 60+ minutes a day

Wow! Welcome to all the new "faces" on this thread! :wave: I tend not to post much these days, but do read everything. We've all got a long road ahead, but at least we're on the right path now! As far as loosing faster than others because we've got more to loose...that has not been my experience. I'm keeping pace with many others banded in Feb'07, regardless of initial weight. 1 to 2-1/2 pounds a week is "safe" weight loss, no mater how much you have to loose -- or so my doctor tells me! And I'm averaging at just over 2# a week in my 24 weeks since surgery. Frankly, people who exercise more, loose more and faster, so walk-walk-walk or do some other form of cardio!! The advice my doc gives is strive for a minimum of 30-mins every day or 1-hour 4 days a week of cardio exercise for weight loss. Congrats on all the success so far, and best wishes to us all! :gluck:

I've never heard of this procedure, but it sounds smart -- a built-in shelf! Some (many) people are not able to breast-feed after breast surgery -- you may want to keep that in mind, too, when making your decision. If you'd consider a lift after kids (breast-feeding or not, your boobs change while PG & after!), I'd hold off on any breast work now.

Okay, so presuming you've been at this ROM thing for about a month now... What's the story, TravelGirl? And how, exactly, did you discover there was one local to you? Tell me you've found the miracle machine so I don't have to start back on the treadmill now that all our "vacation activities" are over! :biggrin1:

Um...I just ate two gobs of chocolate chip cookie dough. (Damn fund-raising neighbor kids!! Oh, uh..yeah, I didn't really mean that -- and when my kids are going door-to-door in years to come, don't go pleading "I had weight loss surgery" to ME either!!) I'm gonna have to bake these cookies up & bring them elsewhere -- and SOON, because apparently cookie dough is NOT one of the things that gets stuck.

Well, everybody's gone home...no more company until September. It's always such an oppressive silence when my crazy family departs. I know my kids are gonna be wild tomorrow with all the cousins gone & our old routine back. Thank goodness it's nearly Saturday & their Daddy will be home to make that transition easier. I really need to refocus on my exercise routine now that everyone is gone. And thanks for the support, skinnyjeans! I've been relying on "activity" for my 1/2 hour of exercise for much of the month... But the "activity" days are over now & it would be too too easy to just NOT get back on the treadmill!!! Routine plays a HUGE role in my getting any exercise at all, so I need to commit to getting back to mine TOMORROW!! Andrea, I know exactly what you mean about everyone waiting to see how you're doing... I felt this over the last month, too. We've had all these people visiting who haven't seen me since the Banding & they all know about my surgery, so it's come up quite a lot. I don't feel like I've made much physical progress despite having lost nearly 60#, but I didn't get any negative feedback along those lines. I'm sure you'll impress everyone back at school, too! Good to hear from you, Carole! You're doing great! How's it going Travelgirl, Mom2Sassy, Ready to Lose, and Elm65? Keep up the hard work, everybody! August is almost here!!!! Suzanne Feb'07 July Challenge: Level 3-Moderate 16 of 20 days exercising for 30 minutes