Shoshanna

Time to get a boat and drown bait by dropping the line over the side. Seriously, it didn't take me anywhere near two months to heal and return to normal activities. Maybe it won't be as bad as you expect.

I lost about 35 pounds per year and am now down 85 pounds. Like Cindysmom, I'm losing the weight in the time I am supposed to lose the weight. No one is going to hand out an award for fastest weight loss so you may as well take pleasure in each stage of the loss. No doubt making better food choices and adding exercise with speed you up a bit, though. Good luck to you.

Voted! You are gorgeous.

I mostly regard plateaus as nature's way of allowing my body to adjust to its new reality. Of course, some of the plateaus were my own darn fault (invariably too many sweets) and cutting back on the M&Ms helped considerably then! Keep the faith, stay with your program, and sooner or later you'll fall right off the edge of that plateau without hardly noricing it. Good luck and congratualtions on having come far enough to hit a plateau!

YAY!!!!!!!

If it wasn't for Goodwill and the other wonderful second hand shops in town I wouldn't own more than a pair of jeans and a couple of tee shirts. When I can buy a pair of Wrangler Jet jeans for $8 instead of $60 and a Land's End shirt for $3 instead of $35 why would I ever go back to buying full price? Second hand stores are full of shopping mistakes other people made and rarely if ever wore. I've even bought things with the tags still on them. You have to check the racks often and know how to look in order to get the best bargains but it is worth it. Best of all, it's tons of fun.

My surgeon asked me to be the poster girl for the hospital's weight management program. That sorta outed me to the community. 99.9% of the feedback has been positive and I don't give a rip about the.1% that disapprove for some reason.

Condolences on what must be a very difficult time for you. May the surgery proceed apace!

I don't know about it getting you over the plateau, but maybe- why not? What I did notice the week I had no fill was a feeling of panic because for the first time in two years I could eat anything I wanted. I took advantage of having no restriction to have a hamburger (which didn't taste nearly as good as I thought it would) but mostly I felt sort of out of control and more than half frightened until I got my fill back.

At the time I had surgery I had seven cats, four dogs, and two horses. We managed just fine, but I live in a situation where I don't have to walk the dogs several times a day. It obviously makes a difference if one has a fifty pound puppy!

Thank you for the link to the Protein products. I don't count calories or carbs. Measuring what I eat makes me crazy. Watching portions seems to work well enough for me to lose weight. I am making an effort to keep better track of protein, though. I struggle to eat enough protein and wonder if this is why I sleep so much during the day no matter how much I sleep at night.

I had no doubts about the band once I did my research. Didn't like the idea of a physical alteration of my digestive system and my surgeon said that while he had done some gastric bypasses during training he did not do them in his practice because he didn't like the results and possible complications of a permanent change. It has taken me two years to lose 85 pounds. I don't regret not losing it all in six months. I've lost weight fast before only to have it come back on fast. I also don't look sick and gaunt-faced now like I did after fast weight loss. I didn't like the plateaus but sooner or later they all ended and I think I hit plateaus to allow my body to adjust to changes as I lost weight. Patience is important.

I had to have a complete unfill due to illness in January but had an almost complete refill shortly thereafter. Yes, I have lost more weight.

Cindysmom, if it made any sense at all, few of us would have problems in the first place. And therein lies the answer to your essential question. Congratulations on your great accomplishment, by the way. One pound to go! WOW.

Well, I broke through the twelve pound thing. Last time I ventured onto the scale I was eight pounds from my somewhat arbitrary goal of 148. I weighed 143 in graduate school but the weight seems to be distributed somewhat differently thirty five years later. I distinctly remember having a waist back then but I'm beginning to doubt I'll rediscover it in the next eight pounds. C'est a vie, I reckon.

Glad it worked out for you. You have a remarkable achievement there!

Thank you, Natalie, Mandi, and 2me. I appreciate the attagirls. I do know where Woodland Park is, Hummingbird, though I have never taken that particular road on my meanderings through Colorado. Does no one do LB surgery in Colorado Springs?

Having survived many years living in my own "before" picture I reckon it doesn't scare me all that bad... unless I think about returning to those days! Are you in Denver? I'm just a few hours north of you in central Wyoming.

Thank you all. Folks on this site have been inspirations for me when I needed an inspiration and I hope I can pass that on to someone else.

It has taken me two years and two months to lose 85 pounds. I never counted calories. Math makes me crazy. Just remember the tortoise and the hare.

I'm a poster girl! In return for allowing my before and after pictures to be used in my surgeon's ads for three months, I got a professional photo sesson and two dozen pictures. I started out at 240, weighed 158 when the photos were taken, weigh 156 now with only eight pounds to go to my goal of 148 pounds. It has taken me two years and two months to get to this place and it is worth every minute of the struggle. My BMI is normal, my arthritis pain is vastly improved, the sleep apnea is gone, my knees don't threaten to give way at odd times, I can get on my horse without a mounting block, and I can sit with my knees pulled to my chest without gasping for air. I can even look down and see my toes without leaning forward. Even though I taught dance throughout the time my wieght was so high, I quit dancing in public performances and hid myself as well as I could in class by wearing black pants and a shapeless black top. Two weeks ago I performed a solo at a regional dance festival and got my fair share of "attagirls" from sister dancers. Two years ago, I wouldn't have had the breath, the knee strength, or the nerve to get up in front of an audience again. Not bad for a grandmama! Life is good. If I could do it, anyone can do it.

Hello, Lymarie. My suggestion is to find a good counselor who can help you work through the challenges you are facing. Being thinner and healthier is great, but weight loss is not a magic wand that will bestow personal happiness, marital well-being, and the respect of society. You have to work at those things separately. Good luck; you can do it!

161.5. Missed the check-in last week and was 163.5.

Lay back, close your eyes, take a deep breath, relax your knees and elbows, and hum under your breath. The stick to get a fill stings for two to three seconds. You spent more time writing that post than it will take to get a fill.

I'll sign up. Thanks for the challenge invitation. Name, real or screen~ Shoshanna Goal weight for April 29th~ 157. Weight on April 1st~ 163.5 Age~57 Dietary goal for April~ ABANDON DAILY SWEETS! Exercise goal for April~ increase dance practice to 3 times per week. Personal goal for April~ daily art sessions Date banded~ March 2010 Total weight loss since banding/pre op diet~ approx. 80 pounds What is your favorite part about spring~ No more scraping snow off the car. More daylight hours. Better weather for riding horses/motorcycles. Going barefoot. Cotton dresses. Spring flowers. Green grass.