wannabthinagain

I'm SO close to goal! this is going to get me to it!!! it may even get me to lower my goal. I'm only 4'10.5 and 120 is at the higher end of my 'ideal weight/bmi', so i have room to lower it. I already have people telling me i don't need to take the weight loss TOO far though... i think they are just used to seeing me bigger and can't remember how thin i was a long time ago...no one thought anything of it then!

I don't know if the predisone i'm on (i have poison ivy from yard work) is helping things along or what, but holy cow ....weighed this morning and i'm 130!!! either i'm at my sweet spot, where i can eat just about anything, but small portions and stay full....or the steriods have UPPED my metabolism and i'm not letting myself eat all day, so i'm losing...but I'll take it!! 7 pounds to a normal weight! :frown: 10 pounds to goal!

Would you mind me asking what the difference in price was with and without implants? I was thinking of NOT doing implants, but the last 10 pounds i've lost really has left me thinking, after these last 12 pounds will probably leave me with even less tissue and wanting the implants. I don't want huge boobs, but i've always been used to D's...i would never want to go smaller than a C. with a life without the implants, i'm thinking i'll end up a B.

8/31/09 Down to 132 this morning!! could i POSSIBLY make 60 pounds gone by my 6 month band date?!?!!? (8/3/09) I'm going to eat great, exercise and get my Water in.... I CAN DO THIS!! I'm a lot closer than i thought i would be to making this goal!! that will also put me 8 pounds to a NORMAL weight range and 11 pounds to goal! I had LOTS of people tell me i was so skinny this weekend! it was VERY uplifting. THEN, i saw pictures and i was NOT happy. I still look so puffy... if i'm not standing up STRAIGHT and TALL, it showed every little (and big) imperfection ! I know in my head i'm MUCH thinner than i was before the band, but i'm still far from being happy with what i see. I know most won't change until after PS because the flab is just not ever going to tone up completely.... I CANNOT wait until my consult and most of all for MARCH when it will be cut off and the girls were they belong!!

Thank you! it is hard! today, i looked in the mirror and thought, WOW...when did my collar bones start sticking out so much...mean, i remember a while back thinking, could that be collar bones starting to show...now, they are DEFINITELY sticking out...a lot! i'm SURE it didn't happen overnight, but gosh, i didn't 'see' it until now! Oh, i hope you can move it up!! that will be AWESOME!! I want to have a bit of lipo on the inner thigh...the rest of my legs have hardly any fat on them. i bet that was scary having a unfill....we think the weight will come back over night! ok, so what do they do for a thigh lift? i thought when they did a body lift it raised the thighs, i didn't realize it was something seperate you could do. That must have been great hearing all the positive things about your size when YOU know how far you have come!! you're sercret is safe with me! lol I must have kick started something with how busy i've been this last week (we are getting the house ready for the little's b-day party. Our family doesn't come this way very often, and this is the one time we get a LOT of them to come. I use it as my reason to clean house from top to bottom...base boards to molding and everything in between! The yard too!) As i said before, my weight has SLOOOOOOOWED down a LOT....well, i weighed this morning..133!!! 2 pounds from 60 pounds gone! i did NOT think i would make 60 pounds by my 6 month mark (9/3/09) and i'm thinking i CAN do it now! 131 here i come!!!! My goal is coming up quick...wow! i knew i would be successfull with my band, because i was determined to make this work, but wow.... i'm losing an average of 10 pounds a month since march and it's STAYING OFF!!! I cannot wait until Saturday. there are some people that have not seen me since before surgery! can you imagine what THEIR reaction will be!!! my 6's are up, on, and BUTTONED too! the pooch under the waist isn't pretty....and i wouldn't be comfortable ALL day in them, but wow, wow, wow....i can put them on and breathe!! :blushing:

I'm in as soon as the spreadsheet is posted! I have 15 pounds left to reach goal! I have a PS consult 2 weeks before Thanksgiving and want to be at goal!! i would set it up if i knew how...but i am clueless!

just to document when i got here... 135 on 8/21/09 i weighed this when i had my fitting done for my wedding gown! I lost 5 pounds in the week before the wedding....so i can't wait to be 130! the weight i was on my wedding day! Before i get to that, 131 will be 60 pounds GONE! (4 more pounds) then 130- wedding day weight (5 more pounds) after that: 123-NORMAL WEIGHT RANGE! (12 more pounds!) 121- 70 pounds gone....(14 more pounds) 120- GOAL (for now anyhow! althought if i get to 120, then have PS, that will take off a few more and i'm sure i will not care if i don't lose another pound!!!) (15 more pounds!) it's all getting SOOOOO close! the pounds are coming off MUCH slower these days, but as long as they keep going DOWN....I'll eventually get there!! I was weighed and measured at curves yesterday. I'll also add measurements i do in addition to what they do: :amount loss (actual measurements) Neck: 1/4" (12.75) arms: 1" (10) top of chest: 2" (35 1/2) boobs: 3" (38) (i REALLY think this was from a different bra or something!) under boobs: 3" (32) waist: 2 1/2" (32.5) (WOW!! that's 12.5" from the first measurements!) abs: 1 1/2" (37.5) (11.5" gone from my BELLY!!) hips: 3" (35) thighs: 1 1/2" (19.5) knees: 1" (12) calves: 1/2" (13 1/4) ankles: 1/2" (7.5) I wish i had measurements from my starting weight! I'm also going to start making myself do 10 miles a week. walk or run, 1 or 10 a day...whatever it takes to do 10 miles a week! NSV: last night we went to a concert. me and the friend that came with us were talking about jeans and being short (she's right around my height) and having to wear heels if we don't get our jeans hemmed because even the 'short' sizes are long. She asked me, "what, you wear about a 6?' HEEHEE....it's SHOWING....i "look" my size. I still don't see it, but it was GREAT to hear it from an outsider (ie. NOT HUBBY). Hubby came with me the other day to look for shirts. he LOVED this bright pink, low cut shirt. I on the other hand thought it was tight because it touched me....he, thought it looked great. I put it one to wear to the concert and said out loud that i didn't think i was going to wear it because i would be tugging on it all night. he told me i'm too hard on myself, and don't know what i see in the mirror because it looked great. i ended up wearing it, because i knew he wouldn't let me go out looking ridiculous, so he must have meant it. While we were walking into the building, he told me he was proud of me because he knew it was WAY out of my comfort zone and i looked great. :-)

Congrats to everyone that has already made it to thier goal, and those of you that are working hard at getting to yours!!! Halloween, which is very close to my original goal of making it to my goal weight! My b-day is at the end of Oct., and will be almost 8 months (11-3)from my band date. in the beginning i thought that would be realistic to achieve. i didn't take into account that the last few pounds would go REALLLLLY slow! I'm going to try my best though. I have a PS consult on November 12th and i want to be at goal by then. It is my reward and motivation to work hard at this. I will then have to maintain, or possibly lose more if the surgeon thinks i should. I don't plan to have surgery until March, so i will have 4 months to do so.

woo hoo!! I met my challenge goal today! the weight is definitely coming off slower these days.... Now to see how close i can get to having a 60 pound loss by labor day! when i first was banded I see my goal to have 10 pounds gone for each month banded. I have never NOT made the goal so far...since the weight came off fast in the pre-op and beginning of post-op 9/3 will be my 6 months band date... i would LOVE to have 60 pounds off by then! that means i have 4 pounds to go! i'll have to work HARD for those 4....because they are coming off really slow now... but i'm gonna give it my ALL!

one more pound to go to my labor day goal! even more exciting is that that will put me 15 to my goal!! I had lost my motovation lately, and now i'm seeing that even though the pounds are no longer just dropping off easily, i realized i'm steadily going down just at a slower pace. it's much better of it going UP!! I hope this gives me the kick in the butt to kick it in high gear! there are 3 weeks left in the challange. I'm going to make my new goal to get as far into those last 15 pounds that i can! I know the closer to goal, the harder it will be to get them off!

Thanks! I am doing great with exercising. i do something everyday except sunday. Sometimes i do walk and run on sundays, but i don't make myself on that day. Eating on the other hand, hasn't been so good. i still get full quick, but i seem to want to eat sooner. I feel like i'm making really bad choices at times. I went to my Lap Band Dr. today. I made the appointment about a week and a half ago, for a fill. I didn't end up getting one. I was worried i would end up too tight if i got one. over the weekend, i had that same tight feeling i had a while back. the strange thing is, i think it being caused at the same time i'm having migraines! The Dr. said i probably was getting hungry quicker from adding the running to my exercise. He didn't think i needed a fill, thinks i'm being impatient, and that i'm doing EXCEPTIONAL (his words!) . i think i'm at a plateau and i want to see the scale MOVE DOWN! LOL I've been at 137 for what seems like forever and i want to get past 135 then out of the 130's! I'd be happy with staying at ANYTHING in the 120's for forever (ok, until my PS which will help me look like i've lost more! ) EDITED to add: i weighed right after posting this and i'm at 136!! (and at the END of the day!!)WOO HOO!!! i hope i've broke the plateau!! OH, i don't think i mentioned it here. I made my appointment for the PS! i'm going to go to Dr. Adam. the one Josie used. My consult appointment is Nov. 12! I want to lose about 17 pounds by then. I'll see what he says and go from there. I will schedule my surgery for March. that will give me time to lose more or learn to maintain for quite a few months before surgery. I think being at 120, then having surgery, it will make me look like i'm closer to my OMG goal! i'd be over the moon if so!!! You are STILL doing awesome, even at goal! wow!! the PS is gonna tell you, you are TOO thin! LOL unfill...wow. i can't wait to get to THAT point!! did you get some taken out? i am just realizing how long it's been since i've read here. YIKES...that goes to show you...when i'm doing bad, i don't post! it should be the opposite! I bet the house looks great! you may end up wanting to STAY in it! lol that's great that the timing was perfect. I hope it sells QUICK!! the beginning and ending of the school year is usually a good time to sell (if there IS a good time with the economy right now). I saw your new pic, and WOW! you are smokin' woman! GREAT JOB!!! i bet you are counting down the days to your PS!

you can DEFINITELY see the difference! you look amazing!! if i can post my body shots, so can you! you CAN DO IT! I agree, blonde looks great on you!

i agree...with the Water and with the going on liquids after pb'ing. I hadn't had a fill since 4/23/09 . At first i had NO restriction and was thinking of going in for a fill. then, i felt restriction, but could still eat if i chewed well and slow....and suddenly 2 weeks ago, i was fighting water and shakes coming up! I had gotten tight for my TOM before, but nothing like that. i called on a thursday because i was worried about the weekend coming and ask the Dr. what they thought, and what should i do. they told me i could go get a tiny bit taken out, or i can try to wait it out a few more days, AS LONG AS I WAS ABLE TO GET AT LEAST LIQUIDS DOWN. i had to work at getting what i needed in each day, but i was able to, and sure enough, it got better. I still had to be very careful, but i was able to eat very small amounts in addition to my water and shakes. Suddenly about 3 days ago, i can eat a tortillia...HUMMM? i had made enchilada's for my family and i tasted a piece. it went down fine. i ate a little more. I'm still getting full without eating nearly as much as i did pre-band, but i am able to eat more than i could the last month or so! I had lab's done almost 2 weeks ago, and should be getting a call for my appointment any day now. I will discuss the up's and down's, look at my weight loss since my last appointment and go from there if i should or shouldn't get another fill. i'm worried if i get a fill that when TOM comes around again that i will have to get an unfill.

that's great you have restriction now! I found the same thing, having to retrain myself after the last fill. i went from being able to drink as fast as i could to have to SIP... my last fill was 4/23! I JUST...in the last 2 days can eat just about anything, but have to go slow and get full quick. Before a couple of days ago, i was getting that painful feeling quite often and was even fighting back my shakes coming up on occasion. i even called the Dr. 2 weeks ago and asked 'what do i do'. in the end, i waited it out...i was able to eat some things, i was able to do shakes and water.....and it got better. i should be going in soon for an appointment to go over my labs soon and i will see then if i need a fill (i'll see how my weight loss is going and how much i'm able to eat). I hope it loosens a bit for you and that you have finally found your SWEET SPOT!

:thumbup: Ouch. I. am. sore! but it's NOT going to stop me from dancing! 139...even! i lost a pound ANNNNNND....... I am now OUT of the 140's!!!! I LOVE my band!!! i worked out at curves yesterday, but did NOT walk/run. my legs H.U.R.T! my workout at curves showed that too. my calories burned were WAY down from the day before because i just couldn't push as hard as usual because of the soreness in my legs. I will go to curves again today (i go everyday except sunday) and even if i don't try to run today, i'm going to go walk (maybe i'll put the littes in the double jogger and take them walking). Just so my muscles stretch....try to work the soreness away! Oh, and my (overfill feeling?) tightness is gone. I still get full quick, but it's not causing everything to make me think i'm going to get stuck with the first bite. Last night i made enchilada's for the family. i cut a few bits up for the little ones, who didn't eat it and i tried it. i was able to eat it! i couldn't do bread or tortillias before! i was full REALLY quick, but hey, THAT'S the restriction i WANT! i want to eat ANYTHING, but not nearly as much as i used to. :w00t: I did my lab work friday before last and hadn't heard from the Dr's office yet so i called them yesterday. I wasn't sure if I was suppose to call for an appointment or THEY would call ME. she said they haven't gotten all the results back yet and when they did, they would call and make an appointment. I'll see where i'm at with restriction then and talk to him about it depending on how my weight loss is going. at my last appointment which was for my port insicion not healing completely(and it was over 3 months AFTER surgery) we both agreed i was at my sweet spot. I guess from losing more weight, you lose that and could need more fills....we will see when i go for an appointment. did i say I LOVE MY BAND?! my goal of being AT goal for my birthday doesn't seem like the impossible anymore. Bring on OCTOBER!!! I'll be looking great at 38!

oh, sorry to hear about your job! would you be selling your house had you NOT been laid off? sorry ....times are so terrible in the job market right now! are you going to look for another job, or take some time off? I hope they get things done QUICK and the house sells QUICK too! i knew what the mons lift was, just didn't know what they did to correct that. like how...but i guess if the pull DOWN for a tummy tuck (to flatten the belly) they would pull UP and flatten that area...makes sense. i understand about being busy! I've been using this thread as my accoutability place too. so i can come back and read the replies when i need so motivation or support! I never kept up with the blog portion on the site...this seems easier. check in when you can!

WOO HOO!! congrats! even my little ones are dancing with me! hope you are at a good restriction now! watch those pounds melt away!!! i'd say white wine is clear and a liquid! go for it! Keep up the great work! you are doing awesome!

what a difference a day makes. Yesterday i did great. i was sticking to my shakes. i went to curves. I got a pedometor in the mail from my insurance. I put it on about half way of my day. a friend asked if i wanted to go walk/run with her in the evening. i decided i should eat something if i was going to run later, so i had TUNA FISH. we did 2 3/4 miles and i RAN almost HALF OF IT!! I was SOOOO proud of myself! she was too! she has been in this running club for over a year and has been doing this program for a few weeks after a break from running and i kept up with her! i can remember not being able to run to the end of our driveway to catch one of the little ones from going into the street and now i'm running MILES....ok, not all at once (the longest distance we ran all together was 1/4 of a mile) but it was much much farther than the end of my DRIVEWAY! the bonus....this morning i was 140! EVEN. an OUNCE and i'm OUT OF THE 140's!!! I'm using that as MOTIVATION and i WILL stay on track today! I tracked over 14000 steps and i didn't even have the pedometor on for the first half of the day!

Down a pound! only 5 more to go to reach my Labor day goal! I thought 20 pounds was asking a lot, and here i am so very close to reaching it! I LOVE my band!

what a weekend. i don't know WHAT was wrong with me. oh wait. it was probably that i had Snacks in the house to begin with! I could not...or i should say, WOULDN'T stop eating. a handful (or 2) of mini oreos, ice cream (and NOT my normal frozen yogurt that is lower in cals and fat), honey teddy grams, almonds (i'm usually ok with a few at a time a couple times a day....try HANDFULS, ALL DAY). thank goodness they are gone. all of it. i'm sure it still wasn't even CLOSE to what i used to do. I would have finished an unopen bag of any or all of this back before the band. the bags were almost empty, but still, i DON'T snack like that anymore. i know some of it was boredom. Hubby was working evening shift, leaving me home with the kids from 3:30 until i went to bed. i usually have much more control than that though. the good thing is that i'm back to 141 on the scale (but could KICK myself because i probably would be in the 130's had i stayed on track all of the past week!) i'm going to go back on liquids again, like i did to break my cycle of snacking a couple of weeks ago. Protein shakes and Water...for a couple of days. it seems to kick my butt back on plan. NSV- Saturday while working out at curves, a lady asked me if i've been going there a lot. i told her i've been a member for 2 months. She said, no, i mean, you have been coming in working out a lot....days in a week. I said, oh...yes. i TRY to come everyday they are open, if not to workout, but that that is MY TIME to be ALONE (NO KIDS!). she said, it shows....that she sees the difference and that i look great! wow....a stranger noticed! (and what did i do? came home and SNACKED! ARGH! i need to work on using those things as MOTIVATION and not a license to CHEAT!) my magic bullet is calling....time for my shake.

oh wow!!! a few days sooner than the original date isn't it? So, what is the mons lift? i mean, what will he do different to take care of that with the TT? I want to be a D also, but i will leave that up to the DR. to do implants or not. I've always, ok, since conception of my first child ...had big boobs....i would hate being flat! that's an awesome price! so, he does lipo with the TT and breast lift? i have heard not all do that. i'm hoping to find someone that will do SOME lipo....i want my upper abs and contouring of the waist. i have small hips and no butt, so it make me look like i have no waist. i want a WAIST! December will be here before you know it! so, today, i was measured at curves. I don't pay much attention to the scale since it's always different from mine, and i know where i started on mine. (they said i lost 7 pounds) I measured more than they did (body parts) so i included what they measure and what i do: surgery: now: Difference: Weight: 191 141 50 pounds! Neck: 15.5 13 2.5 arms: 14.5 11 3.5 top of chest (above boobs) 44 37.5 7.5 boobs: 48 41 7 under boobs 40.5 33.5 7 waist 45 35 10 abs (right at belly button) 49 39 10 hips 43 38 5 thighs 23.25 21 2.25 knees (that fat part) 14.25 13 1.25 calves 15.5 13.75 1.75 ankles (i have little ankles!) 8.5 8 .5 it wouldn't let me type it out in columns! so i did colors! wow! 10 inches off of my waist! i didn't wear 'sizes' before....i was in 'elastic' because i still had maternity clothes in the house! so i don't know what size i was but i'm now in my 8's from before me almost 3 year old! i'm actually up a pound 142 not 141....since getting home from our get away, but i have not had my Water like i should, and i ate super salty food last night...but i'm not counting that yet.... i have done well today, getting my water and protien in and will see what the scale says on Monday, my usual weigh in (although i weigh EVERYDAY! LOL) i feel like i'm stalling again....at this weight. I hope like the last time, i stay here for a little bit, but when it starts dropping again, i drop a couple pounds each week! I'm getting so close to my goal!!! i want it GONE! i got my VS swimsuits in...ACK.. i should have gone with LARGE tops and small bottoms! hopefully losing in my back and the flab under my arms and chest...but not the boobs... it will fit better. i'm sure DH won't be complaining of the girls spilling out though! LOL the bottoms, other than the roll right were the tops fit, they FIT! not perfect, but they aren't cutting off my circulation! i hope they aren't too big (did i just say that? never mind, i will find smaller ones to fit!) by the time i go to my consult or by surgery!

Boob job is already being planned. I'm short, not even 5', and since kids have never been below a C, usually more like DD or more. i want to be a D, bigger than that on my short self, would look way too much, but less than that and i will feel lost! I've gone from a 42DD to 36D's that are too big! hubby is definitely a boob man and he notices every little bit that is disappearing! Full Tummy tuck and boobs are already being planed for March of next year!!!

I guess i'm considered a low BMI'er too. I was under 40 but the day of my first consult, i went to my PCP and had a BP of 210/116! I KNOW i was very worked up about not quailifing for surgery and i also had been having migraines A LOT. but, whatever worked! it qualified me for surgery through my ins. (my BP meds were gone before i was 1 month of out of surgery!) I didn't have to do ANYTHING. no classes ahead of time, no shrink visit, no nutritionist.... they called to schedule my surgery 2 weeks later (when they got the approval letter from my INS) for a little more than a week later (enough time to do a liquid diet for a week)! I had a hiatal hernia repaired at the same time ( i had no clue i had, but he showed us the pics! YUCK!) we ended up paying a little more than $3000 for what they charged $26,000 + to the insurance! I remember my Dr. telling me i was a 'light weight' and i almost cried because i thought he was telling me he wouldn't do it. he did not mean that, he just wanted me to know that i'm not his typical patient and that he understood i didn't want to keep going up. Each visit i have been to, he has been more than pleased with my results. i really thought i would lose slow because i was a lower BMI, but that has not been the case. i have good weeks, GREAT weeks and slow weeks...sometimes i don't lose...some times i'm up a few ounces. the thing is it's no where near what it used to be! I was banded on 3-3-2009, i started at 191. 4 1/2 months later, i am 141! 50 pounds gone! I am only 4'11", and from a very tiny family....i weighed 96 pounds before my first child was born! there is NO WAY i could ever get that small again without looking deathly ill. i had gotten down to 120 (you know, for all of 4 seconds) 6 years ago, but, well, you all know....gained it all back, 2 pregnancies added to that, and gained even more! i can also remember the night before surgery thinking, SHOULD I DO THIS? then, i looked at my before pics again....OMG, YES. NO. DOUBT. ABOUT. IT! this IS the best thing i have EVER done for myself! I'm now only 18 pounds from having a NORMAL BMI...only 4 1/2 months after surgery! I'm 22 pounds from my original goal of 120, and even my OMG goal of 115-110 doesn't seem impossible!! I have set a goal to reach my goal by the end of OCT. i will turn 38, and i hope to be in the best shape of my adult life! sorry this post was ALL over the place! one thing i have noticed is that my ADD/ADHD has definitely showed up again!! not only does my body have more energy to go go go...so does my brain! lol good luck ladies! we can do this...with the HELP of our band!

I got my pics up, and it made me realize i need to not delete any pics that someone happens to snap of me ( i didn't have many from surgery to now! I'm always behind the camera and hide from it the rest of the time!). I ended up calling the Dr. because of being tight. it did losen some though. I was able to eat turkey chili yesterday and had my shakes just fine. i was only able to eat less than a 1/2 cup at a time but they said that was fine. i question it because only eating that much and only eating 3 times a day, there is NO WAY of getting the calories they recommend in. although, i'm not hungry if i drink Water in between. yesterday, i also added a protien drink in between because i would have had less than 500 calories! I'm doing MUCH better with the snacking (NOT doing it!). it had gotten way out of hand, and i cannot let myself do that! since my period stopped, i have had a migraine EVERYDAY! boo hoo.... i even went to my regular Dr.'s office yesterday to let them take my blood pressure JUST incase that was the problem. it was fine, a tiny bit elevated for me, but the migraine probably was the cause. I pray it doesn't come back today. we are going out of town Sunday night. Spending the night at my parents, spending Monday with a friend of mine that lives out of state but is coming into town to visit her family. i haven't seen her since i was preggo with the littlest one (he's almost 2 now). we will leave the littles with my parents, the older boys will go to thier dads, and hubby and i are going spend the night in New Orleans...alone! WOO HOO! we are staying right next to CHEESECAKE BISTRO! YUMMY! i told hubby i will order a piece of cheesecake as soon as we get there since it will probably take me 2 days to eat ONE piece! LOL we will be doing lots of walking, so i'll walk it off, not concerned about that! i also checked for a curves and while hubby does a webinar, i will go work out (if i can get to the curves without getting lost or scared to walk N.O. alone! LOL) yesterday hubby ordered me 2 bikinis from VICTORIA SECRET! they were having a clearance sale on them, plus i had a code for more off, so they were SUPER CHEAP! he was going to get 3 but by the time we went back to order them, they had sold out of the top on one of them. I went with Medium (i find they run small) knowing right now it's NOT going to fit. My plan is when i go for my consult with the PS, i will have a guide of where i want my scar to fall (hiding it under a swimsuit will be my goal). we have a boat, and i dream of the day to wear a bikin PROUDLY riding out on the front of the boat, without worrying about hiding when we passed other people (some skinny minny 20 something year old!) watch out cause next summer i WILL be sitting out on the front of our boat in my itty bitty bikini catching some sun! and last but NOT LEAST.....i have lost FIFTY POUNDS! i had hoped by the 5th month to lose 50, and i did it already! 2 pounds to get to the 130's 18 pounds to have a normal BMI-no longer overweight 21 pounds to get to my goal then i will see how much more i want to lose. i will make my PS consult when i get to 120. that will give me a few months to lose more if i want to or the surgeon thinks the results will be better!

If you hav enot already canceled your surgery, i would go through with it! I think we all doubted doing it before, and even AFTER we did it (the first week ...and the during bandster hell). I did, and now.... i wish i had done it sooner! the night before surgery i looked at my before pics because i was rethinking going through with it. I was never so sure of needing to do something about my health! good luck!