Noturningback15

Congrats on your girls! That's good to hear and good luck on getting back on track! I can only imagine having to tend to children and keep up with all of these rules we have with the band!

My scale has been stalled for 2 weeks now and I am hoping that by Monday it at least be 306! I weigh in on Feb. 1st and wanted to be 303 to be a total of 15 down from my last fill 6 weeks ago but 11 or 12 will have to do!

LOL! Good for you! Glad you shared! I know it feels good to see that scale go down!

1 pound! LOL! That's my avg. Now, I have lost 2 pounds a week since my last fill on Dec. 16 but that's not my usual. I avg my total loss since surgery day and it avg out to be 4.8 pounds a month. I am happy though because it's staying off! That was the point of me getting the band is to keep it off! I have never kept off this amount of weight for 11 months!

Today, I had breakfast at 9:30, lunch at 1:30, and dinner at 5:30. I had a popcicle at 12 something. I didn't get hungry in between meals. I ate at those times because I don't like to go more than 4 hours without food but I am sure I could have went longer.

Yes mam! I have skin tags everywhere! On my neck, on the side of my stomach and underarms! I think it's related.

I only lost 4 pounds at my 6 week appointment after my surgery which was expected. They let me know that the first month after surgery is a healing process. The weight loss will begin again. I do understand how it can be discouraging to lose all this weight on the liquid diet before surgery in a few days and then it slows up so much! Cheer up!

Yea, I'm thinking even though you didn't have insurance for those years your weight should be recorded somewhere? Did you ever join a gym or weight watchers during that time and they have your weight on file?

You are so right about that! I guess that's why they came to the conclusions that it still was a success. My thoughts are that whites make up a larger sample population to start with and therefore when the selections are done they have a higher chance of picking the more successful ones versus a small sample of blacks to choose from. Since we only make up around 12 % of the US population every study researchers do on us seems to be outrageous with the outcomes! I am going to be a success at my weight loss no matter what the studies show! Good luck with yours as well!

When I was 394 I used plently of things at the gym that I am sure I was not supposed to LOL! I was just thinking that since the bike is not actually moving and you are sitting still it couldn't do too much damage? The only thing that is really moving are your legs but then again depending on the brand....

Thanks for the reply. The creams and ointments doesn't work. I have tried plenty of them. I will see what it looks like when I get closer to my goal weight. Then maybe some skin lightner will work then.

I have suffered from Acanthosis nigricans since the age of 11. I was made fun of continuously because most people don't know it's a condition related to being overweight or having diabetes. Most people think it's from poor hygiene like not cleaning your neck well. I scrubbed my neck so hard with alcohol and soap so much growing up I made it rough which makes it look worse. Anyways, my question is I noticed that with the 80 pound weight loss it's better but still there. Is there anyone out there that has lost all of their weight and it cleared up significantly?

Finding research on this issue is very hard and most of what I have found is very vague. I found this a few minutes ago but it doesn't explain why. I am going to keep looking. I seen something yesterday that said black women have more of a Type B fat cell than other's (not more fat but more of a certain type of fat) studies show that we actually have 10% less fat than our counterparts when we go in for surgery. I am assuming with this Type of fat it may be better to do a malabsorptive type of procedure instead of the band? My theory so don't quote me on it. Comparison of outcomes after laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding in African-Americans and whites Parikh, Manish; Lo, Helen; Chang, Christopher; Collings, Dinee; Fielding, George; Ren, Christine 2006 Nov-Dec;2(6):607-10; discussion 610-2, Surgery for Obesity & Related Diseases BACKGROUND: Race may affect outcomes after bariatric surgery. This study compares outcomes in terms of weight loss and comorbidity resolution between African-Americans and whites after laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB). METHODS: Data from 959 patients undergoing LAGB between July 2001 and July 2004 were prospectively collected and entered into an electronic registry. Propensity score matching analysis was used to match whites to African-Americans on the basis of age, gender, and preoperative body mass index (BMI). Preoperative comorbidities (diabetes, hypertension, obstructive sleep apnea, hypercholesterolemia, and hypertriglyceridemia) were also compared. Operative time (OR), length of stay (LOS), comorbidity resolution, and percent excess weight loss (%EWL) at 1, 2, and 3 years were analyzed. All data were updated through May 2006. RESULTS: A total of 65 white LAGB patients were matched to 58 African-American LAGB patients on the basis of age, gender, and preoperative BMI. The preoperative mean age and BMI were 37 +/- 19 years and 47 +/- 7 kg/m2, respectively. A total of 55% of the white group and 64% of the African-American group had one or more comorbidities (P = NS). Median OR time and LOS were similar in both groups: 50 minutes and 23 hours, respectively. The majority of patients in both groups had major improvement or resolution of one or more comorbidities (61% whites vs 77% African-Americans, P = NS). There was, however, a significant difference in %EWL between whites and African-Americans at each time interval (49% vs 39% at 1 year; 55% vs 44% at 2 years; 52% vs 41% at 3 years; P < .05 for all values.). CONCLUSION: Despite the disparity in weight loss with the LAGB in African-Americans and whites, both patient populations experienced a similar improvement/resolution of obesity-related comorbidities id: J0125081, year: 2006, vol: 2, page: 607, stat: Journal Article,

Enjoyed reading your blog and it is very inspirational! Congrats on losing 50lbs!:Banane10:

It's weird because my sister's doctor told her the same thing about women of color not being that successful with WLS...my doctor however never mentioned to me. I can't give you any long term advice because I am 11 months in and she is just 10 months in. We are both doing well. I had a 3 1/2 month stall where I didn't lose anything but it was not due to my culture or anything...lol! I have lost over 70 pounds in almost a year and the other 11 or 15 before I started this journey. I wouldn't let those statistics stop you from doing something that you really want to do. I used to be a part of the Women of Color Social group on here but it's not on here any more or at least I can't find it.

LOL! Thanks...yes, I switched because they were not giving me good fills. I felt like she was the fill police. It was like a control thing with her. She had a smug attitude when I didn't lose any weight and would give me like .1cc not 1 but .1cc's. I started with some in my band but after 7 months of being banded I only had 5cc's so I called my sister's office and they took me in. It was very easy to switch. He gave me a .5 cc my first visit and every visit since then. I fill (feel) great. I hate it for the people that stay with those doctor's that act like they have control over their body. They were nice people in general at my old office but I wasn't being listened too. I was told that it shouldn't matter how much I had in my band and should still be losing more weight. Wrong! I have lost 30 lbs since I left them in September (3 month and half) that is more than I lost in the 7 months I was with them. I won't give the fills all the credit though because I started working out more as well. Good luck!

Get on the stationary bike.

Oh, 53! I can't subtract! I'm at the gym trying to type!

Hello, I had a stall over the summer but got back on track and I am losing again. I have lost 57 pounds since surgey day...gonna try to get off another 13 by my 1 year mark.

Feb 23, 2010 will be a year next month. I am on the slow loser board because I went from June to the middle of September of last year without losing any weight! But, I have been doing extremly well since then. I had to switch doctors in Sept. he gave me a great fill and I started losing again! I have lost 10 pounds since Dec. 16 and I am trying to lose another 5 before I go weigh in on Feb. 1st. Okay, I just realized I'm posting in the wrong forum! This is the Feb 2011 thread! Umm duh! I didn't pay attention to this until just now. I was just excited when I seen the title "kicking fat's...." I will exit now...smh..LOL!

Okay, everbody I won today! LOL! I did 20 min non-stop on that eliptical and came back later for another 5 min after I got off the bike for 25 min. I'm a winner, I'm a winner! I did good on my calories today as well. I stayed between 1500 and 1800. I'm about to drink a glass of orange juice so that 's why it's in between 1500 and 1800. I'm so glad I got this band!

LMBO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Please eat your oatmeal!!!!!!!!!!!! I eat it all the time and I am still managing to lose weight! Plus, if you go workout within an hour of eating oatmeal it will give you a great energy boost! At least it works for me! Eating Protein along with the carb boosts your weight loss as well. So, you did good by eating an egg along with the oatmeal.

www.fitday.com will tell you how many calories your burn a day and how many calories you will need to eat in order to lose a certain amount of weight. I like it! I don't think it's completly accurate but it is close. Right now it's telling me I can eat 1200 cal a day with my workouts and lose 5 pounds by next Tuesday. Imma do it and see if it's right lol!

I agree! I posted a reply to someone that was in the mushy stage and I suggested oatmeal and refried beans and the next person came with a reply to mine for her not to eat those things at this time because they are carbs. I eat all of the food groups within moderation and I am very happy and satisfied with my weight loss so far. Thanks for posting this!