LoseIt!

Your fill will go great. It might take a while to get good restriction, but I have no doubt that you will get there. Just be patient! (I know how hard that is, believe me!!) Good luck on your contest and your move. You are on busy Bander!!

Good for you! Staying on track is an amazing achievement when you are an emotional eater. Look at you conquering it!!

Dude, if I had a nickel for every time I gain 10 pounds! Now you've acknowledged it, you can do something about it! Good luck!

msq, if you scour this site you will find several people who have had complications and their stories. Some think it was a waste of time altogether and some think that it was still the right choice. The majority of people out here are having varying degrees of success. I personally was banded 6 months ago and I've lost 58 pounds. All is well so far! Keep doing your research! The answers are different for everyone. Good luck!

Honestly, I haven't seen my surgeon since the surgery. I meet with the nurse each time I have a fill and then I see the fill doc (which I could schedule to be my surgeon, but I don't) when I get my fills. I think I'm supposed to have a 6 month check up with him which should be coming up soon. Even though I haven't met much with him, I feel that I get good attention from the nurse & fill doc if I want it. Do you have a support group that you can go to? I find that most of my best information and help has come from that. Good luck!

Most of could and have gained a lot of weight in a short time. Don't beat yourself up! You are putting yourself on track which is great! You can do it!

This first part is hard, so just keep sticking with it! Once you get the restriction, it will be a little eaiser. Good luck!

:clap clap clap: You deserve a hand! Your success is so fabulous, but it takes courage to get up and speak to people, so go you!! I have to say that the soda thing was a big thing for me too. I never thought I REALLY could do it. Color me surprise, because I barely miss it. I would NOT have ever believed that.

You just have to find out what works for you. Some people work out, some people don't. Some people log calories, some people don't. Some people "diet", some people don't. Based on the varying routines of folks that are successful, I don't think that there is any one magic thing that is going to make you successful. You just have to figure out what works for you. Try one thing, whether it be food related like monitoring carbs or exercise related like walking for 20 minutes, and do it for a couple weeks. Doing something...anything, helps to feel productive working toward a goal. Best of luck to you!!

If you have been logging your calories, take it to your appointment and see if the nurse/doc have any suggestions. Working out should give you energy so maybe you are missing something nutritionally. Good luck and I hope your sadness passes quickly!

Wow, you HAVE been busy!! It is so great that you are out just living your life. ATVing sounds super fun! You are doing so great and I'm sure you will reach any goal you set!

Happy Birthday! Congratulations!! What a wonderful way to celebrate.

Yesterday, late in the day, I realized that it was the 6 month "anniversary" of the start of my LAP-BAND®® journey. My pre-op diet started on that day with me weighing in at 285 pounds. Prior to 2009, I had never weighed more than 255-260, so I was in a horrible place for me. Six months is not a long time at all, but looking back, it feels so much longer ago! Last night, I went back and read my old blog entries from the beginning. I laughed because sometimes I can be so darn silly. I cried because I remembered how isolated and unhappy I was. My favorite blog entry to read was the one I posted on 12.10.09 titled "Ailment Buster!" I had made the decision to have the surgery, but was still wondering if it was the "right" thing to do. I listed out all my issues and how losing weight (which I felt I couldn't do without surgery) would help those issues. Here I am, 6 months later and 58 pounds lighter with an update. Sleep - I had gotten so big that my CPAP was no longer working effectively. My friend & I went on vacation together and she said that it slipped off and made noises all night. I was tired all the time and it was clear there was a problem. Now, my CPAP is working! I'm less tired and I have more energy. I just went on a weekend trip with my friend and she said that she didn't hear a peep all night! Acid Reflux - I was on 2 Nexium per day pre-surgery. TWO! I haven't taken any since my surgery and I have had no issues. I never imagined that it would have that much of an effect from day one. Blood pressure & cholesterol - My blood pressure has been in the LOW normal range since the surgery. No issues!! I haven't had my cholesterol checked yet, but I'm sure that it will be good too! Skin - I am proud to say that I can now reach every area of my body in order to clean it well. Ha! Yay! I have had hardly any breakouts since the surgery which comes from eating better, I'm sure. Also, I don't have as much of an issue with flab rolls causing rashes. Now I'm just trying to work on my stretch marks! Feet - Through most of 2009 and the start of 2010, my feet ached constantly. I had to wear tennis shoes or crocs all the time. I still have issues with plantars fasciitis, but my feet don't ache all the time. I can wear cute shoes to work! Also, I've started jogging and as long as I don't over do it, my feet are able to handle it! Knees - I have noticed hardly ANY issues with my knees. Maybe a little when jogging or Jazzercising hard, but nothing much. And I think even that will fade with more weightloss. Energy - while I don't always have optimal energy, I sure do beat the pants off where I was. I go, go, go all the time! Anxiety - I have had almost no anxiety issues since the surgery. I believe that most of my anxiety stemmed from being uncomfortable with myself and insecure. The better I look and the better I feel, the less I worry about EVERYTHING. Comfort - The difference is astounding. Last weekend I went on vacation and I spent very little time checking on whether I was the fattest girl around. It still happened sometimes, but it used to consume me. I think I am back to a "normal" comfort level for me. I am eager to see just how comfortable I can get!! WOW! Six months. Almost no time in the grand scheme of things. Many times I have expressed my frustration or impatience to you all and then used your strength to psych myself back up. Now here I am, back to "normal". Such a relief. I am so happy! By Fall, I expect to be at my lowest weight as an adult. Then I will be headed into uncharted territory. It is so exciting! It feels SO far away, but 6 months have passed so quickly that I know it will be here before I know it. I have worked hard, but I haven't worked so hard that I can't maintain this pace. This life is doable. I'm doing it and I'm going to keep doing it!! I ended that blog with a quote, "The more you love yourself, the easier you are to love by those who love you." As I have become more comfortable with myself, the less focus I put on what others do. It is absolutely freeing! I do LOVE myself and I'm loving me more and more each day. I can tell that it has an effect on my friendships and other relationships. The good ones are getting stronger and the not-so-good ones are showing themselves and fading away. Halfway there everyone! Can't wait to check the status of everything next January!!

I realized late in the day that 1/13/10

All normal emotions! Good luck to you and let us know all about it!

Ha! People are just funny like that. Good luck to you. I'm sure it will go great!

You are in my prayers, vmack. I'm so, so sorry for your husband's injury and for your mom's diagnosis. It must be horribly hard.

I LOVE my group meetings. I hope you loved yours!!

I average around 1.5-2.0 pounds a week. At first, I (also) was disappointed, but after 5 months of consistent loss like that, I am happy! I think you will be too. Congrats on the successes! I know you have many more to come!

I'm an open book, so everyone around me knows what I have done. But I'm also extremely fortunate to have a supportive network around me. I have heard stories of people that are constantly judged by their loved ones and that can't be easy. People's journeys are different and how they get through them are also going to be different. I'm 100% behind you that we need to (nicely) stop the Band Bashers.

I'm so excited for you!! Congratulation and good luck. It is important to be informed and to make the right decision for YOU. Kudos to you for doing your homework and making sure you following your course. You can do it!!

I love my LapBand support group! We had our monthly meeting last night. I have made good friends with two of the ladies in the group. I email back and forth with one (Ann) most days. We are accountability partners and share tons of information and experiences. The other (Debi) and I text each other to share SVs and NSVs. We also do things together, like tomorrow night we are going to see Dreamgirls. These two friendships alone make Group worthwhile, but it is even much more than that. Hearing the questions and experiences of so many other people is invaluable to me. My friends and family are SOOO supportive, but no matter what happens, they can't understand it completely because they haven't done it. Our group has a lot of newly banded people, a few waiting to be banded and a few old timers. It is amazing to hear their words of wisdom! Group night also means updated photos for me. I put all of the new ones in my albums, but this angle was particularly great for me. I have attached the "before" picture and then last night's "current" picture. What a difference!!

Woo hoo!! That's fantastic!

Great blog! Congrats on the success! I look forward to seeing you bust through your next goals. Good luck!

Good luck! I can't wait to hear how it goes.