Alicia521

I'm in the Charleston area. About 1 hour south of Knoxville. I work out at work but would love to meet other local bandsters.

Do it! Do it!

Amen! Double Amen! It would be completely ineffective and cause retail sales for larger sizes to plummet. I wouldn't buy anything with a warning label. Educate kids to make wiser choices! My employer offers an incentive if you take care of yourself - $5 per pay period off of health insurance premiums. Proactive education can help a lot!

Kim - to answer you question you posted in the December thread - the difference between womens/misses sizing is usually an inch or so in the waist/hips. For example measurements for Lands End: Misses 16 waist 34.5-36 and hips 44.5 Womens 16 waist 37-38 and hips 45 I found that I could always wear the one size larger in misses than I did in plus/womens sizes. Now that I am a misses 12/14, I can no longer wear plus sizes...WAHOO!

I need to do somemore closet purging! I cleaned it about about 2 months ago. I have a friend at work that was banded about 1 month before me and she can usually wear my clothes after I get to small for them. It's time to clean out again. It feels absolutely incredible to not wear plus sizes or anything with X in it. My large shirts are getting too big and I am in 12 or 14 pants now. There are so much more clothing selections now! I think my old shopping habit may start creeping back. I just called my surgeon's office to find out my pre-surgery measurements. I will post those once I have a chance to compare tonight. Drews- way to go on the smoking...or not smoking I should say. Hang in there! That's a great idea of the pics of the jeans..I have some tight 22's I have been saving as well. I may see if hubby will take a pic for comparison. Neal - that is awesome on the hockey seats! I can't wait to go to Six Flags this spring and see how I fit in all of the rides. Can't wait to hear from everyone else! You all have meant so much to me!

Cherg - there are times when I get sick more than others. It is usually for the following reasons....I am eating something my band cannot tolerate (dry meat, bread, etc), not chewing enough or taking small enough bites and not drinking enough Water in between meals. Junk food always goes down fine, so be careful not to resort to it. I think you will still get to 140 if you stop vomitting. I consistently lose about 10 lbs per month and we were banded in the same month. I would start with therapy as soon as possible. Deal with issues now and not put them off for your goal weight. You can still lose weight while dealing with things and it will be healthier for you.

5jacks - good luck! Keep us posted on your progress.

Jason, congratulations for getting it all figured out at such a young age. I commend you for your courage! I wish I had the courage to have the surgery 3 years ago when I first discovered it. I love my band and there is not a single day that goes by that I am not thankful for the changes it has helped me make. Please keep us updated on your progress and welcome to LBT!

yes, I did because I was mourning my food! It is completely normal to experience all of these feelings after sugery. It's a head journey as well as a weightloss journey!

what a small world! I was in Aurora in September to see my sis and her fam. I need to see if she ever got my Christmas package! That's cool about your work getting a hotel for you but it sucks you had to work late!

I've had both. The nurse actually practiced on me. My surgeon is training his nurse to do them so we don't have to wait so long to get one. She did fine.

I've only drank 2 so far. Ugh. I need to get some more crystal light. Drews - are you in another blizzard again? My mom just told me my sis is getting a ton of more snow. She is outside of Denver, in Aurora.

congrats! It is wonderful! I hit it about 5 lbs ago. I never thought just being "overweight" would feel so good and it does! Keep up the good work!

cuddlebug, I don't think anyone is trying to make you feel like a failure. I certainly was not by my post. I don't think it was clear you were just looking for new liquid ideas. You may have already seen this thread but it has ideas for liquids. http://www.lapbandtalk.com/liquid-stage-recipes-t17636.html the portugese Soup is really yummy! Good luck and hang in there...it will be over before you know it.

Transformer - hobbies, hobbies, hobbies - I have taken up learning to quilt, decluttering my home and I am taking a cake decor class in February. Keep busy!

You are human. We all are only human and make mistakes. 25 lbs in 6 weeks - I think you are doing fine! One day of bad choices does not define your success with the band. I can assure you that prebanding I could eat 4 slices of pizza and a handful of cookies. I am sure your first fill will work, although I didn't get good restriction until my 2nd fill. Keep your head up high and remember not to beat yourself up for mistakes or bad choices. Just commit to making a better choice for the next meal.

Don't beat yourself up. You are human. We all cheat here and there. It's not an overnight change. It took us years to get overweight. Just because you have a band on your stomach does not mean you will suddenly not want to eat anymore. There is head work to do as well. You need to follow your doctor's rules for the safety of healing your stomach. Think of it in that light instead of you can't eat it because you are on a diet. That is what helped me get through.

My hubby got me some clothes this year for Christmas. I told him to get me size 12 in pants so I had something to try to get into. Well sure enough I open up some size 12 jeans so I tell him....I will hopefully be able to get into these next month. Well just for fun I decide to try them on and my big butt actually fit into the size 12 jeans! Wow! I never thought I'd see a size 12 again and it crept up on me. It was the best feeling ever!

take lots of before pictures the day of or before surgery from all angles so you have something to compare them to once you start losing weight

thanks for the support everyone!

I was fat and pregnant which was miserable. I knew I wanted another baby. I had a 1 year old son that I wanted to keep up with. I had a life I wanted to live. I couldn't stick with any diets so I knew I needed the band as my tool. It's a major decision to make so don't take it lightly. I started looking into it 3 years ago. It was the best decision I ever made though! I am 7 1/2 months out, 75 lbs thinner and feel like a new me!

I can relate to this as well. In college, I had many one night stands with way too many guys. Of had hook-up type relationships where we would sleep together the first date and only date a few weeks/months. For me, it wasn’t so much that I was addicted to sex but a combination of several things. 1. I had low self esteem and tried to find my self worth through these guys accepting me. That was the main one! 2. The thrill of taking someone new home. 3. I was afraid of commitment so I could have the sex without worrying about the relationship that normally goes with it. 4. I drank too much and compromised my values because of it. Fortunately I met my husband the end of my college years and I realized that there is more to life than men using me for sex or more to life than just sex in general. I realized I was worthy of being respected and loved for who I am. So Puddin’ my advice to you would be to stick with your heart and values. If you know that you don’t want a sexual relationship right now, then don’t settle for anything less. If it requires you being single and not dating for a few months, there is nothing wrong with that. Also, with losing weight I think we tend to have to find ourselves again, so this could give you time to rediscover what you love about yourself and what kind of person you want to be with. Good luck girl!

Marci - I am jealous of the TV! What a great gift! And your son. I hope my son turns out to be a young man like yours. Drews - I have the post Christmas blahs too. I normally take this week off work and I wasn't able to get it off this year. It sucks! We aren't doing anything fun for New Years either so I don't have anything fun to look forward too. You are rockin on the weightloss ever since you had your leaky port replaced! Good luck with giving up cigs. We will support you any way we can. Kim - Great NSV with the clothes! You are rockin your band too! I'll do a Valentines day Challenge as well. I want to hit 173ish by the "I have a Dream" on 1/15 so that will give me an extra 4 weeks. I will say 167ish by V-day. Hopefully that puts me on target to hit 140 by my dreaded 30th b-day on 5/21. I've got to get my butt back in gear with drinking Water and exercising. I have been horrible lately and need all the butt kicking from you guys I can get!

thank you!

Neal - congrats on hitting onderland! I am sure with your new gyn membership you'll be at goal before you know it!