gingerjane

Whoo hoo!!!! :wub: It's so funny how we have to mentally change our thinking. I was on a plane two weeks ago and I was panicking about the seatbelt and how much I was going to crush the person next to me and it fit with ease and had slack! Now I'm curious to see how rides at an amusement park will go. It's sort of sad the things we deal with as "fat people". :alien:

I know I am just coming in on this but I agree - stay strong and stay true to yourself. You have done everything you need to do and sometimes you can't make someone else happy but in that same vein, don't let them make YOU miserable. You deserve to be happy. Not worry about whether or not your husband is going to want to leave. Hugs to you!

I've just been buying what I can at a thrift store. I basically have about 5 pair of pants and maybe 10 shirts. LOL! I have this huge, overflowing laundry basket of clothes that are too big right now and I'm still trying to figure out what to do with them. I've also hit up clearance racks just to get me through the season. Of course, I've been a bad bandster this week so I better get back on track (LOL!), but yes - I've dropped a number of sizes and pants were literally falling off when I walked.

As someone who used to never EVER eat salty things (I was a "sweets" person) I realized recently that I was craving saltier things and was trying to figure out the issue. I was missing a few minerals in my diet. A simple Vitamin helped that. HOWEVER - I do think that avoiding the item (cut out a lot of your salt intake) will help as well. That's what I had to do with sweets and the cravings have subsided tremendously. It was a total pain in the beginning because your body WANTS it, but it pays off in the end. :thumbup: G

I would think that the two co-morbidities would help your case. (High blood pressure and triglycerides) The best thing to do is call your insurance carrier to see if they 1) Cover the weight loss surgery because some companies do not carry that coverage and 2) see what their qualifications are. :thumbup: Good luck to you! Ginger

I do agree that a lot of girls (and I mean A LOT) make poor choices when it comes to guys, but I do know for a fact that the girl that I work with (We're talking 5'7", 120 lbs, blonde - STUNNING girl) was sleeping with the heavier set guy and she said sex with him was great. I didn't go into details with her but she did say they had a lot of "fun in bed". Maybe she's more of a special case and not the norm, but she did sleep with him more than once. The one thing I will say (and please do NOT kill the messenger) is that I have had a few girlfriends talk about how their partners lost weight and their "package" looked bigger when they were thinner. Not sure what that is about, but I have heard that. Either way, I think that sex is sort of like pizza. Even when it's bad, it's still pretty good. LOL!

I can't take ibuprofen, so I often take Aleve for my cramps. My doc had recommended that and it's Naproxen Sodium, which back when I was a teen and needed Anaprox for my cramps, that was what they game me - the Naproxen. I would try aleve and then a warm rag over your abdomen when you get home.

Whoo hooo!!! You go! I think both of those are AMAZING NSVs! Two that I hope to accomplish in the next few months. Awesome job!:thumbup::thumbup:

Ok guys - I know I shouldn't chime in here because I'm a girl but I have to. I have three older brothers and well...I'm a girl, so I can help you a bit. (Just don't judge the fat girl, ok?) LOL! I have a lot of friends that are gorgeous - I work with one that is a total 10 and we always chat about guys since she's single and looking to mingle. I've been happily married for years, so I'm one of those girls that just likes to help a brother out. I really truly honestly (and I'm not making this up) think that you can have game as a bigger guy just as well as you can as a thinner guy. Here is why: Girls like guys who are funny, make them laugh and have some sort of charisma to them. Think about Kevin James. (King of Queens) He's not a small guy. But, you would not believe the really gorgeous women that I know who think he's totally hot. Reason why? He's funny, confident and has that "guy next door" charm. Girls love men who are attentive, who aren't trying too hard to impress, who aren't complete douchebags (and when I say that, oftentimes those stick-thin guys wearing their Ray Ban aviators walking like they are hot with their ascots - yea - these girls think they're total douchebags) Also - regarding your friend that you have the hots for. What is stopping you now? Is it YOU stopping you because you don't feel worthy, or is it her telling you that she doesn't like you for anything but a friend? Because if it's YOU thinking she might not be that into you, you could be wrong and she might be regardless of your size. She might love your personality and those are the type of chemical things that attract women to men. (I know - it's not a men to women thing - guys are much more visual, but I'm being completely honest here) Girls are just wired differently. Think about ugly, thin men, too. Ever see a totally ugly guy with a girl and think to yourself "what's he got?" Well, I'd say 9 times out of 10, it has to be some sort of personality trait that she ADORES. Sorry to jump in here and "girl it up" but I didn't want you guys beating yourself up over something that is probably not as accurate as it may appear. I've seen my gorgeous 10 friend talk to guys that were hot on the outside and she ended up thinking they were total jerks, whereas I have seen her go on a few dates with a guy that was average (and a big guy, probably 6'0, 300+ lbs) and she had WAY more fun and was way into him. Don't flame me. :thumbup: Ginger

I had a 2 week pre-op diet of Protein shakes and soup broth, etc. It was the medi-fast diet and by day three I was ready to eat my arm. I called my nutritionist at the practice and she let me have "pure protein" which basically meant I ate nothing but lean turkey, chicken and lean cheese for the two weeks and supplemented with Protein Shakes and broth. I just drastically cut my carbs to less than 15 per day and was fine for surgery. My liver was good and flat and I lost like 15 lbs. The carbs and sugar are what makes your liver fatten up. You could call your nutritionist and ask. Mine was more flexible and honestly - I think that helped. Then I went back to liquids after surgery for the first three or four days and then pureed protein after that. :thumbup: Good luck - it will go fast. I promise!

It could also be the old concept of "Misery loves company", you know? She might feel like she made the wrong decision and might want someone else on that journey with her. I think that if you feel the band is right, you should stick with the band. I've had people tell me that I should just "try diet and exercise" and I've had others tell me that I should do the bypass. Everybody has an opinion. As annoying as it is, they all do. I literally had a girl in my office tell me that I would be miserable and hate life. She never had weight loss surgery but that was her feedback. Obviously, she was wrong. Welcome to the wonderful world of people telling you what to do with your body. LOL! You'll do great. Stick to your guns.

WOW! You go girl! I was banded around the same time and I am just a little over halfway to 100 lbs. WOW WOW WOW! What an awesome job! :thumbup:

I don't know - I wish I could help. I'm in the same boat. If my scale doesn't move for a few days, I totally freak out. One of things that we're going to have to face one of these days is maintenance versus losing - that will probably drive us crazy. LOL! Hopefully someone else has better advice for us. G

I think today is your surgery date so I wanted to stop by and wish you luck. It will be great, I promise! Also - regarding the pre-op diet, I supplemented a lot with Protein shakes, but I ate a lot of turkey slices and string cheese. Basically cut my carbs down to less than 15 per day and had a nice, flat liver for the surgery. (Which is why they have you do the pre-op diet) I was like you - starved all the time. The first three days are the worst. I am not kidding! The headaches and just general irritability because you're body is going "WHAT THE HECK?!" because it's used to getting what it wants and now all of the sudden it's not. Good luck to you! You'll do great !

Congratulations on your success! I'm almost 6 months out and I agree - it was the best decision I've ever made.

I don't know. LOL! I see those shows and I'm like "how did you have NO CLUE that you were pregnant?". I've had two kids and let me tell you - I know something is up when they kicked me in the bladder and I peed on myself. Your entire stomach MOVES constantly. But, back to the question at hand. My doctor did say to not get pregnant for two years afterwards and he did talk about how it will resolve a lot of infertility. We went through 4 years of IF with our 2nd and I had lost about 15 lbs when I got pregnant with her. It was like even the smallest amount of weight loss helped my body get back on cycle. Even now, I've noticed that my periods are changing. They're regulating themselves and aren't as bad as they used to be. I see my OB/GYN next month and I'm sure she'll talk to me about it some more, too. Fortunately, hubby is snipped and clipped so it's not a concern. :thumbup:

WOW Jane! You are SUPER skinny girl. You should be SO proud. ALL of you on this thread should! Such an amazing job!!!! :thumbup::thumbup::tongue2: I'm hoping to get to post some after photos by this time next year. I'm halfway there, so I do have a start and a halfway there photo. Before at 280+ lbs Me last week. I just want to see ONEDERLAND right now. That's all I am asking for. :thumbup:

I'm in for 15! I'm starting couch to 5K this week, so hoping to get closer to my goal of ONEDERLAND by Christmas. We'll see. :thumbup: Thanks for setting this up!

So, I realized today as I was updating my ticker, that I'm 1/2 way there to my initial goal of 170 lbs. I never EVER thought I would even be able to say that I'm halfway there. I never thought I'd see 225 again, let alone be 26 pounds away from ONEderland. Just to think that at the beginning of this year, I was 20 lbs away from 300. Now, I'm almost 200. It's amazing. Having the band is the best decision I've ever made for myself. I am not kidding. I'm still amazed at how wonderful this tool is, how beneficial it has been meeting with a nutritionist and trying to change my habits, and how much BETTER I feel. Now, to kick start everything into high gear and get these next 55 lbs off. I know it can happen - I've done the first 55 and I see so many successful bandsters on here. I'll do it one day. It might not be tomorrow, but it will be sometime. I just had to post my excitement and thank everyone here for their support on this forum. It's the best place and I feel like we're all one big family doing this together. :thumbup: Ginger

Congrats!!! :thumbup: Trust me, this is when it all begins. You'll be healed soon and on your way to a new life and then you'll start seeing changes and it will be awesome! Ginger

Congratulations!!!! You will be SO glad once it's all over and you can start your new life. Trust me! :thumbup:

I have noticed mine paying more attention to me but he goes through periods like that where he's more "self-absorbed" and then he becomes more attentive. I really do hope it does not affect us at all because I adore him more than anything and he's my best friend in life. He's loved me at 280 lbs and now at 225 and hopefully at 170. (Provided I hit that goal) LOL!

I am thinking about starting this next week as my daughter is starting "Girls on the Run" and she will run a 5K in November and her program seems very similar to the Couch to 5K. She's still in Elementary school so I thought it might be cool if her mom could run the 5K with her. My only question is - how are you keeping track of the time while running? Is it a stop watch or what? G

Congratulations! That is AWESOME news. I would be too excited!!! :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

I can't remember if I signed up for this or not, but I definitely want to get in on this. I have a ticker already on my profile and am hoping to see One-derland by Christmas. :thumbup: