Irish Girl

Wow.....sorry to hear about people not doing so well after 5 years. I just had my "bandiversary" (4/28/2006) and a visit to my Doc. He said I was truly a success story for the band. I began my journey at 225 pounds. I did lose my weight within a year and a half of surgery. I lost 85 pounds which was a huge success for me since I never had any real success while dieting on my own. I exercise 3 times per week, not every week, but I really try. If I see my scale creeping up, I know I need to focus, focus, focus. I use an Iphone app called "lose it" to track food and exercise. When I use that app, I have to be honest with myself. I have about an 8 pound weight fluctuation. I am maintaining my 85 pound weight loss and am very happy about this. I have found that I really enjoy bicycling, hot yoga and racquetball. I know that I can't have a sedentary lifestyle if I want my band to help me. I made a promise to myself when I began this life changing decision ---- I would NEVER let myself get that far out of control again. Life is too short. Take care all.

I'm still around. I had my surgery in April 2006. I can't believe it has almost been 5 years. Started at 225 and ended up at 150. I am STILL at 150. Happy, happy.

Dr Earl Fox is my doc. Here I am almost a year out and 75 pounds down. The office staff is pretty nice (in Tacoma). He is a pretty nice guy. I don't have any complaints about him. Good luck.

I hope all is going well. I am sure you are doing great cuz you are a trooper. Cant wait to hear from you.

I have gone down around the body too. From a 40DD to a 36D. The girls are definately flatter though.

What is your "Bandiversary" goal? I would love to be at my goal weight of 135. It is looming so close. What have you learned this past year? That I can succeed at weight loss...all I needed was some help. Could you share your most rewarding NSV (non-scale victory)? There are so many. I have found the self confidence that I thought I lost, no more cholesterol medication, the restless leg syndrome is gone, bye bye sleep apnea, hugs from my son because he can get his arms around me, shopping in normal sized stores, enjoying shopping because I can find things that fit, mowing the yard without getting winded in the first five minutes.....the list goes on and on and on. What is your biggest challenge? Trying to keep eating the "bandster" way. What tips would you pass on to the April 2007 newbies? Make good food choices, but don't deprive yourself of a small treat once in while (this is for your sanity). Drink lots of Water (dehydration is a bad thing.....kidney stones are not your friend). Don't be afraid to ask questions. The best people to get banded information from is from another bandster. What is your greatest fear? Slipping up, eating too much, and falling into the same bad habits that got me to where I was in the first place. What goals do you have for the future? My biggest short term goal is to participate in the Danskin triathlon in Seattle in August of this year. How has your life changed? I am definately more active and outgoing. Has living with the band met up to your expectations? I didn't really have major expectations to begin with. I read so much about only losing a portion of the weight will be lost. But I truly believe the weight you lose will depend on you. I am so happy I did this and I would do it again in a second. If you could talk to yourself a year ago, what would you say? To not be so afraid about doing something for myself. Be a hero to yourself as this will be a life changing experience.

Welcome Bec...you can find tons of great information here. All you have to so is ask.

Oh my gosh....I am almost at my bandiversary and I am still cold. I went to Mexico for vacation last week and it was in the 80s and I was warm there. I think I may be destined to move to a warmer climate. I asked the doc and he said eventually our internal thermometer will adjust to the smaller us. I just hope it would hurry.

Oh my gosh. I have this recurring nightmare that someone breaks in to my house and I chase him out and run down the street after him stark naked. Talk about scaring and blinding the neighbors (My skin is really pale). I am in t-shirt or tank with cotton bottoms or shorts.

My food bill isn't less. I can attribute it to the fact that I am eating healthier foods instead of the pre-packaged, processed stuff.

Dexter (my dog) is called Dex.....or Doodyhead.

We will see you in bandland.

My doc told me that I would have it forever.....barring complications of course.

The first pic (I am on the left) is from February 06 - 2 months before my band. The second picuture is December 06. 75 pounds down!! I am hoping to reach goal by my bandiversary.

Mmm....cheese, my favorite snack food. The onion soup goes down good. There are so many variations on the recipe too.

I was a bread and Pasta fiend. I was horrified that I would be giving them up. But after my first PB on white bread, it was pretty easy. Any doughy bread is very bad and I will get stuck every time. I can eat about a half slice of a whole grain bread and I even like it. I still watch out for any pasta....it has to be well cooked and I chew it and chew it and chew it. After a while, you probably won't even miss it (not too much anyway). Your body will start craving different things. You will be fine. Hugs.

4-3: JenRN - 263/257/223/150 - 40 total 4-3: jenn28 - 282/265/229/165 - 53 total 4-3: Picardy3 - 298/300/257.5/150 - 42.5 total 4-3: tipper - 300/290/259/165 - 41 total 4-4: Sugar1 - 311/289/231/150 - 80 total 4-4: DeltaDawn - 358/209/179 - 149 total 4-4: Dak – 255/251/205/150 – 50 total 4-4: Angels - 264/255/235/? - 29 total 4-4: Harpseal Al - 327/295/220 - 34 total 4-5: Boo - 208/203/169/132 - 39 total 4-5: siestaqh - 180+/177/128/110 - 52 total 4-6: Disneynut - 290/287/260/125 - 27 total 4-7: Guysis - 234/176/134 - 58 total 4-10: JulieNYC - 358/227/180 - 131 total 4-11: Vickie1177 - 320/297/267/137 - 53 total 4-11: tellymelly - 240/235/152/140 - 88 total 4-11: Fel0816 - 307/284/265/to get under 200 - 42 total 4-11: dsrjrr - 231/230/210/130 - 21 total 4:11: truckinmama - 262/234/160 - 28 total 4-13: Nursekathy2u - 358/356/335/175 - 23 total 4-13: NJgirl - 248/230/206/140 - 42 total 4-13: Miper70 - 217.5/187/145 - 30 Total 4-17: Amourette - 22.5 total 4-17: Jeepergurrl - 242/192/140 - 50 total 4-17: MelAnne - 245/207/150 - 38 total 4-18: KAYBEE-284/198/180 -86 total 4-18: Danaclark2 - 270/260.5/245/150 - 25 total 4-20: TrustUfirst - 210/205/177/135 - 32 Total 4-20: Omamoon - 220/211.5/179/130 - 41 total 4-20: KimInMD - 288/288/228/156 - 60 total 4-21: Yoda - 273/257/212/150 - 61 total 4-21: kristielynn - 310/302/237/150 - 73 total 4-22: alisonb - 286/270/176 - 16 total 4-24: Eficka - 125/117/98/69 - 27 kgs/59.4 lbs. total 4-24: Ceparano- 255/270.5/205/170 - 65.5 lbs. total 4-24: Kat - 289/281/210.5/165 - 78.5 total 4-24: hlj25950 - 262/257/206/160 - 56 total 4-25: momof2boys - 270/266/237/145 - 33 total 4-26: Bostongurl - 264/244/189/150 - 75 total 4-27: tinaj - 226/221/210/150 - 15 total 4-27: lookingout - 185/178/165/101 - 20 total 4-27: flowergoddesstn - 214/204/190/130 - 24 total 4-27: Dimples0323 - 284/284/241/145 - 43 total 4-28: Susan4794 - 283/267/237.0/140 - 46 total 4-28: bluehill - 333/233/145 - 100 total 4-28: Irish Girl - 225/214/150/135 - 75 total 4-29: Momofsixkids - 238/188/140 - 50 pounds total My goal is to lose those last 15 pounds by my one year bandiversary. I CAN do it!!!

Good luck to you and welcome. You can find a ton of support here.

Yaay Dreamer. Glad to hear you are on the road to recovery. I was told about the possiblity of recurrence. But....here I am....7 months later and no new stones. (Let me find some wood to knock on). Hopefully, you and I.....and anyone else that has had them, will never get them again.

I had kidney stones about a month after surgery. It just hit all of the sudden one day. I spent several hours at home in pain (because I thought it was my band and it would pass), then took a quick ambulance ride and about 6 hours in the ER. The doc said that fluids would help them pass. I was throwing up, hyperventilating and had the shakes really bad and couldn't get anything down. Next came the IV and dilodid. The dilodid really calmed me down and made my body relax and the many bags of IV fluids helped them pass. I have a Water bottle with me almost all the time. I have a 40 ounce bottle at work that I know I have to finish before I go home and then I have to finish another 40 ounces before I go to bed at night. I can't drink cold water too fast, but I can really suck room temperature water down just like I did pre-band. I hope you are feeling better soon.

My favorite channel wasn't the food network until after I was banded. And about eating at your favorite restaurants....you can still do that but you will take a leftover box home every time. But the best part is....you can have your favorite restaurant food for a couple of days. I mourned the not eating all the time, but now I embrace it. Food is not my guiding light anymore. I almost feel like I have control again. You will too.

Becka...I am so glad your mom surprised you. Best of luck on your procedure. I can't wait to read your updates.

I was really restricted for about a week and a half. It is because your stomach is swollen from the trauma of surgery. As time progresses, the swelling will go down. My problem was that I quit trying to get anything down. That was really bad for me because I ended up dehydrated which led to kidney stones a month later. So keep sipping what you can even though it takes a bit to go down. It gets better. Good luck and I look forward to seeing your progress.

Here I am......73 pounds down!!! Before: March 2006 - 225 pounds After: December 2006 - 152 pounds