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I dont think you're being hypocritical for wanting a healthy body, no matter what size you are, thin, or not. I think you have to look past the size and look at the health problems that can go with that size . By loosing weight ive eliminated my sleep apnea, digestive problems and cut my risk of cancer down considerably. ( a major risk in our family) . My late mother in law was diabetic, didnt manage it, overweight and so was confined to a wheelchair for her last few years of life, with a million medications to boot, and needed constant care. Sorry, but thats NOT going to be me, as I will go out kicking and screaming ! Im 55, and made a choice to live a healthier " rest of my life." I dont know what my final weight will be, but I do know it will continue to be a healthier, happier me. Id write more, but im off to my morning run. My best to you, have a great day !!!

I was banded on 8/11 and have lost 28 pounds so far. Tomorrow is my regular weigh day, so I'm hoping the scales say I've lost a tiny bit more. I'll take all I can get. Tomorrow is my first fill day! I am a little nervous about it. I have some friends that didn't get a fill when expected b/c they were losing weight. Our doctor wouldn't do it if we are steadily losing. I'll see how it goes tomorrow. Rottie69: My doctor wouldn't let me eat solids for first three weeks. Said the internal healing needed to take place and for the swelling to go down. Said that I could cause the band to slip if I ate solids too soon and internal stitches could come loose. At any rate, I have been following all the rules about eating so far.

Hi, I only spent one night and just took some loose men's boxer shorts so my butt won't hang out from the hospital gown.

Hi I haven't been banded yet, so you can take this advice for whatever it is worth. When is your next appointment? It really sounds like you are losing weight too rapidly (although weight loss is good, rapid loss is not - trust me, I know). If you're feeling fatigued and are seeing changes in your hair and skin in such a short time, something is not right. Sometimes there is a misunderstanding or breakdown when trying to communicate to medical folks over the phone. I think it simply happens because not only are they busy, but they hear from a lot of patients who over think things and exaggerate their situation and truth be told doctors don't always listen like they should to overweight people. Many think we are a bunch of complainers that are lazy and eat too much. She may not be hearing you. I would make another call and ask to speak to the doctor if possible. If not, talk to the nurse again and see if you can schedule your appointment sooner. Better safe than sorry. I hope things get better for you soon!

I spent 6 days in the hospital, so I took really loose men's pj bottoms from old navy and baggy t-shirts (i cant sleep in only gowns or a nightshirt, i must have bottoms on!!)... as soon as i got out of the ICU i got a nurse to help me change!! thank God for her!!! your clothing choice sounds perfect!!! oh, and Tiffykins has it right.. if you are big chested and self-consious, take a sports bra or sleep bra (without underwire)... mine didn't close in the front, thus the need for the nurse's help... but there was no way in hell i was going to walk around the hospital without a bra on!!! good luck!!

@Forsythia. Some would say the skin was the devil. I'm just saying.....

My American physician puts an 8 hour limit on his surgeries and works with general anesthesia. I will have a tummy tuck, breast lift with augmentation and brachioplasty done at the same time. He said that he felt confident doing those three together for me because I need no liposuction at all, just skin removal and likely muscle/fascia tightening for the tummy tuck.

Just went for my consult today... I am giving removal of the excess tummy skin serious consideration.... But FYI it doesn't prevent me from fitting into size 8 jeans...

You'll have to go to the dollar store.Buy some 3m stickum hooks and place them in strategic places on your bod.To hang your excessive empty skin on

Hi ya'll as some know i am a Newbie i have been waiting to start my appointments for wls since june and now that i am soo close to seeing my surgeon i am having soooo many thoughts and doubts and worries, i'm trying to stay positive but its like 1 minute i am super excited that i'm finally gonna start my journey and the next i'm having doubts and of course i feel lost as far as what shakes i should buy etc. I know that once i start going to the NUT which is also on thursday i will get lots of answers to my questions as far as nutritions go. Last night i was reading through some posts here and i read 1 that was talking about a death in the family because of complications after surgery that got me really sad i worry about loosing all my hair after surgery as i have PCOS and right now my hair is falling off pretty bad my hormones are all over the place which isn't helping. I have 3 beautiful children whom are my life along with my husband and i just want to be able to enjoy the rest of my life with them and feel healthy again i am only 33 and haven't felt healthy and haven't been under the 200's in over 10 years don't get me wrong i am super excited of the thought of a healthier life and all the good that will come out of that i guess i'll just have to take it one day at a time. Sorry had to vent and i know this would be the best place to do so.

I put on 10 lbs before surgery-and then had to loose 18 lbs before they would perform the surgery My Dr counted the weight I had on the day I first saw him, the weight I had to loose was initially 8 lbs but because it takes a while to do all the testing and getting approval I gained 10 more lbs. In April I had to start dieting I had 5 weeks to loose the weight by my pre op check in-or surgery would be cancelled. I did manage to loose it thank goodness

I'm afraid of Exyra skin

I am almost 4 months post op and I have lost 72 pounds! All my pants are very loose and baggy (AKA "droopy drawers"). My "before" pair of jeans are a size 26. I could barely zipper them and now they almost fall off! So I was poking around in the back of the closet and found a pair of size 28 jeans, and I giggled to myself and thought it would be fun to try on them on and see just how small I had gotten...well...they were so tight I couldn't zip them!!! I was devastated! ARE YOU KIDDING ME????!!! I don't fit into size 28? Now intellectually I had control. All the rest of my pants were too big and I had just bought a perfect fitting size 22, so I knew that these pants were running small, mislabeled, or both. But emotionally...that was a different story. I kind of lost it and went into a tailspin. "See, even this stupid sleeve isn't working, I am a fat pig, I will never lose weight" Etc...etc... and then came the emotional eating, I made a peanut butter and fluff sandwhich on white bread and promptly started to chow down, but then something wonderful happened...restriction...I COULD NOT eat the entire sandwhich. I couldn't overeat, I had to stop, I was full. And that is the beauty of my sleeve. It stopped me from emotionally eating and I had to think about what I was doing. So I threw the sandwhich away, got up and put the jeans back in my closet and decided they will be my next goal, to fit into those jeans, whatever size they may be!

okay, no back fat anymore. You can see the ribs on my back which i think is AWESOME but I now have back skin. The key to managing back skin is to not wear a bra or anything that encourages it to spill over. The skin isn't so bad, if left to its own devices, it is a the snug bra etc that causes it to spill over the top and be kinda gross looking. I believe the solutino to back skin is an upper body lift, which is a degree of plastic surgery I am not willing to do. Plastic surgeons tell me i am not that bad and don't need it. Where it bothers me is under the arms/down my sides, but again the key is to wear a bra that doesn't cause skin spillage.

I know I should wait for the state list, what if I need plastic surgery after for skin or something, that can add up as well. There is no way to find out where you are on the list. Its policy of the state, there are so many people on the states list for various things that they have no capacity to handle all the inquiries, so..they just don't answer any. However, I may have an inside track, my husbands uncle is a doctor and he said he will talk to some one at the hospital where they do it for me. So hopefully in a few days I will hear something from him....otherwise i just wait. In Portugal its all about who you know to get something done...

not near your age:frown:, but..LOL i lost 75lbs with no skin sagging issues at all. i don't think you can gauge if you'll have excess skin till you start losing & your body starts changing. genes, skin, how long you were overweight, so many variable to determine if you'll have skin issues requiring surgery. fingers crossed ya don't!!!

For the first few months after surgery (I was banded in March), I had the same thing. My Dr. said it was the fat around my stomach shrinking causing the bad to get loose. The last month or so, I've teetered back and forth with being too tight and then too loose. Hang in there, you'll find the sweet spot.

Jennie, I can't comment about how long to wait, but I CAN tell you what happened to me. After I'd lost about 60 or 70 lbs, I noticed kind of loose skin (especially between my legs-sorry if TMI) It was really kind of scary and hideous looking. I knew I still had about 50 or so pounds to go, at least so I didn't even consider PS. What happened was that I kind of plateaued and you know what? The skin and my overall body shape kind of evened out during that plateau (that I'm still on, by the way). I lost 2 pant sizes during the plateau and the loose, hideous skin is so much better. Give it time, make sure it's what you want and REALLY need. I agree with the person who recommended waiting a year. That would give your body time to adjust to it's losses.

I've been using a personal trainer for a year now and I love it. He's great! He gets me, and he knows my limitations and works within them but pushes the envelope juuuuust a little. Honestly, a trainer isn't going to motivate you any more than you motivate yourself, and as far as measuring your progress - you're not going to care if you don't progress because it sounds like you really have no desire to do the work. The main thing a trainer is going to do for you is show you what exercises to do in order to minimize the saggy skin, build muscle, and tone what's already there. But if you don't decide to get your butt in the gym no matter how tired, how long a day it's been, or what's on TV, you may as well just throw your $ out the window, because that's what you'll be doing. Get yourself in the habit of walking every night or riding your bike every night, then once you've got the habit, switch it up and join a gym and THEN get a trainer. Until you have the habit, I wouldn't do it.

Hey, Banders!We’re into the long, lazy days of summer – but there’s plenty going on at LapBandTalk.com! So why don’t you use this newsletter as a reminder to get on over to the boards? It’ll help you stay on track or motivate you to get back on board if you’ve gotten off track a little. Here’s what you’ll find in this newsletter. Burning question: What’s the Big Deal about Protein? Member Spotlight: Meet TanyainNY! Bander Challenge: Record Your Diet! Become a Board Expert: How to Get More Involved We hope you’re having a great summer and feeling great about meeting your weight loss and healthy lifestyle goals. Enjoy the newsletter, and of course please contact me any time with suggestions, comments or any other feedback. See you on the boards! Sincerely, Alex Brecher Founder Breakfast should be high in protein to give you a good start for the day. But why is protein so important? First, it’s an essential nutrient for your immune system and as a part of your muscles, skin, bones and other body tissues. But it’s even more important when you’re losing weight so fast, like you are after your lap-band surgery. When you lose weight, you’re losing body fat, of course. But if you’re not careful to get enough protein, you’re going to lose a noticeable amount of lean body mass, too. That means you’ll lose some muscle mass and your metabolism will slow down. Another benefit of protein is that it actually helps you stick to your low-calorie post-surgery diet so that you lose weight faster. Protein takes a longer time to digest than carbohydrates. That means that eating a high-protein meal will help you stay full for longer than a high-carbohydrate meal without much protein. So don’t forget to hit your protein at each meal! Aim for one to two servings per meal, and if you have a snack, include some protein. What are the best sources of protein? Stay tuned for the answer coming up in a future newsletter! If you have a burning question that you’d like to see answered in the newsletter, just send Alex a PM over in the forums. It can be about anything - lap-band problems, food, fitness, weight loss, health…just let us know! Member Spotlight – Meet TanyainNY! TanyainNY from Cooperstown, New York, has used the lap-band to turn herself into a wonderful success story. Tanya is a registered nurse whose weight was a poor example for her patients. Like so many others, Tanya decided to get banded after she felt ashamed of asking her 6-year-old son to move to the dining room table to play board games instead of being able to sit on the floor with her children. Tanya got banded in December of 2009. At 5 feet 5 inches, her starting weight was 270 pounds. Now, she’s down nearly 100 pounds, only 20 pounds away from her goal weight of 155 pounds. This 39-year-old mom has the energy of her 20-year-old self. She does it all, from bench-pressiing and squatting with the big boys to taking muy thai kickboxing classes. This self-described gym rat has even become a Zumba instructor, and she competes in running races. Her next venture is to master the art of riding her new motorcycle. Tanya’s diet has been transformed along with her body. She no longer depends on “white foods,” such as Pasta, chicken and cheese. Now, her diet is a variety of healthy foods, including two salads a day and plenty of fruits, vegetables and protein. Her friends now come to her for nutrition advice! She’s loving life and taking full advantage of every opportunity! Congratulations on all of your success, Tanya, and thanks for being in our Spotlight! We feature a different LapBandTalk.com member each week in our Member Spotlight section. Let us know in the member spotlight forum if there’s someone you want to learn more about or if you want to be our spotlighted member! Nominating yourself isn’t bragging. We all want to learn more about you if you’re willing to share your trials, triumphs, tricks and tips! If you’re shy, just PM Alex with the message that you want to be in the spotlight. Thanks! Bander Challenge – Record Your Diet! Each newsletter, we challenge you with another Bander Challenge. It’s a chance to push yourself a little outside of your comfort zone or get you thinking about ways to make your weight loss journey even more successful. The challenge can inspire you to try things that you’d never thought about but that can make you more successful and confident in your weight loss journey. The challenge is completely non-competitive, but we hope you’ll post your results in the Challenge Forum so that other members can be motivated by your own challenge actions. Study after study proves that the most successful losers – and maintainers – record their diets. If you don’t already do it, now’s a good time to get into the habit. This newsletter’s challenge is for you to record your diet for three days. Include what you eat, how much and what time you had each meal and snack. You can also put in details like how hungry you were before you ate and afterwards, whether you ate exactly what you’d planned, and whether you were eating with people or alone. Did you learn anything new about your diet? Is there anything you can change so that your choices are healthier? Let us know how it went in the Challenge Forum! There, you can always look back at the previous challenges and post your results. It’s never too late to try something new. Better Boarding Tips – Getting into the Swing of Things For some members, jumping right into the conversations on the board feels natural. You know exactly what to say and have no trouble asking for help and providing your own support. For the rest of us, it can be a little tougher. We may not always know what to say to someone who needs help or how to reach out for support when we need it. How can you improve your social boarding skills? Practice! The more you post, the more comfortable you’ll feel. Start by filling in your profile, if you haven’t already. Head on over to the Introductions Forum (you can get there from the front page) and welcome a few new members. Then browse the forums until you see some topics that call to you. You might be able to answer some member questions about food choices or some of the pros and cons that you’ve experienced with your weight loss surgery. You’ll soon feel like an old pro with so much practice, and the other members will sure appreciate your input! That’s about it for this week’s newsletter. You can always find the old newsletters in the newsletter forum if you ever miss one. Thanks as always for your support, and we’re looking forward to seeing you out on the boards! Take care of yourself and each other, Alex ============================================================== If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter, you may unsubscribe by going to your Control Panel and clicking on the Newsletters tab, or clicking on the following link: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/index.php?app=core&module=usercp&tab=newsletter

That is fantastic news!!! So very exciting- i cant wait till that day!! May i ask, did you also work out with weights? You dont seem to have lose skin!! I am 5'4" and started out at 276, then the day of surgery on oct 23, i weighed in at 262, now 4 days post op im at 256. Just was curious if anyone has incorporated weights or resistance bands to their workouts?

I am a bit skeptic about it, but honestly I will try anything. I was actually going to start doing the wraps now to see if I can tell any difference at all. I notice my skin moving all over now from exercising. I still have a long way to go on the weight loss, but hey I will fight this tooth and nail if I have to!!! Thanks for sharing

I did have a good bit of loose skin all over.. Went to a consult for removing but it was just to costly. Then I started doing bodywraps faithfully once a week and drinking lots of water. Now I have just a little more to go. It detoxes and breaks down the fat cells making them smaller. I love them. www.45minutesandgone.com if you want to check them out.

So I have a get together on Monday .. decided I would bring chicken wings/drumsticks in a crock pot kinda like appetizers. So I realize everybody under the sun has done this before .. besides myself of course. So I bought the frozen 5 pound bag of chicken appetizer chicken peices. Do I cook these in the oven 1st? Put them in a crock pot frozen with the sauce? Some places I read take the skin off .. others say they will just fall off the bone in the crock pot. Help !

I was sleeved on 12/19 and when I went to post op visit didn't loose anything! But I started my cycle two days after surgery. The following week I got a URI. This week I am not a 100% but I got on the scale and I had lost 4 pounds so exciting. Wish I had list 20+ pounds but I haven't yet. This past week was my first time in the gym. Plus the mental aspect is harder than the actual surgery.