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Almost 2 years since my band became a part of me I have cracked 10 stones! 142 lbs to be exact and never did I ever imagine I would lose so much. Most of the weight loss was in the first year and now it's just an occasional pound here and there that I lose. I reckon I am almost at my natural weight and still I am obese! I am 7lbs away from weighing the same as I did when I was 18, I am now 52 so I can be happy where I am and a little happier if I make it eventually. Still I can not get used to being smaller. I see gaps in aisles when shopping and look for a bigger space in which to manouevre my bulk. I can now bend in a smaller space without knocking items from shelves with my derriere, that's bizarre. I still talk about the band like it happened yesterday and expect never to get really used to it. Daily, some days, hourly it reminds me of it's presence. I do forget for a short time that I have it now and again and make the mistake of not chewing properly, of placing too much food in my mouth and forgetting NOT to try and hold a conversation at the same time, therefore forgetting that vital chewing process we must all remember with every bite. I have dropped 6 English sizes and am now size 18. I know this would be horrific for a woman who has been used to being size 8 or 10 but for me this is slim, normal, no longer freakish or the butt of skinnie's jokes. Not that I ever heard many of them anyway so they were wasting their breath. Being 'normal' is difficult to comprehend. I have met up with some old friends since having the band fitted and they see no difference as I was this size when they last saw me, I imagine I bore them rigid with my talk about it at times. One friend did tell me not long ago that I really wasn't the dress size I thought I was and to try smething 2 sizes smaller. Can you imagine when that 2 sizes smaller fit? I was used to wearing loose clothes for so long that it never occured to me to wear something that fit me. Now instead of specialist larger ladies clothes by mail order I can walk in the supermarket and buy regular clothes. I have choices. I probably will never have my band tightened again, we get on ok as we are now even though some days do seem much tighter than others, today especially feels like a tight belt around my middle. I dream of it being removed and eating pizza, loaves of bread, take away all to myself, well I can dream but it's really the nightmare lifestyle that got me where I was. Hell I miss pizza and no doubt about it but Pizza manages quite well without me thank you and I manage much better without IT!

Well, as I discussed in my blog about my 6th 7th fill my doc said that he felt I was ready for tummy tuck. As you may recall I was shocked. At the time I was 307lbs. I am 293 2 weeks later and still what I feel is way to heavy for an adominoplasty. But I went to the consultation and my doc said that I'm an ideal candidate. He said I would be a bit happier with the results if I lost another 20 lbs of so but that either way I would be very happy. He is going to start the process of gathering all the paperwork for insurance approval which he beleives will cover it. My doc said that insurance covers panniculectomy and not abdominoplasty - he says he does not do just a panniculectomy he always does an abdominoplasty because its about the looks for him and he wouldn't do that to a patient. He will bill for a panniculectomy and do an abdominoplasty. He said the surgery should take out about 10 -15 lbs worth of skin and fat! Yay! I expressed to him my concern about scarring ( I keloid) - he said that he will put quite a bit of focus on making sure the skin heals properly and though he can not guarantee that it will not scar he will take great efforts including special cortizone tape and different creams that he feels will substantially control the scarring. So I'm a happy camper. He said we're gonna shoot for about 3-4 months from now because I have different business trips I need to take in April and May so we're gonna go for late May, early June! I hope late MAY! That will give me 3-4 months to lose about 20 lbs. In 3 months I hope to be able to lose closer to 30 or even 40. Every little bit helps. We'll get together and set the date in about a month! I'm excited and keep trying to imagine my body without this pannus! I need to start saving up now - the insurance won't cover the whole new wardrobe I'll need! :thumbup::rolleyes2:

I would like to suggest Cera Ve lotion for the skin. I started using it because I have eczema and it helps with the itching. It also acts to help minimize eczema. Anyway, my skin, which had been dry and flaky like yours is now soft and flakyless (I know that's not a word.). It doesn't leave an oily residue on the skin either. It has my highest recommendation.

60 lbs. I just can't imagine loosing 60 lbs. and your daughter coming to see you, that is great. My daughter lives out of town also and have not seen her since December myself. I just want to get banded but I have more appointments to deal with so I am thinking positive and keep posting for all of us to read.

Week 2 / Day 6: -14 pounds I guess 2011 is actually here. I have so many things that I want to do this year and I'm going to do them. Now that people have started to settle into their new routines the photos are starting to appear from the New Year's celebration that I attended. I don't like all of them, but I must admit that there are more that I do like than usual. I usually avoid the camera, but I went to this party with a new attitude. I felt more confident because of my positive outlook on the future. You see, I'm the kind of person that likes to get dressed up in full costume and go out on the town. I like to go to festivals and concerts that serve as perfect facilitators to this type of behavior, but I haven't felt very confident to draw attention to myself in the past 10 years. But, when I received an invitation to an event in Los Angeles this year that strongly urged costume I decided to participate at least a little. I purchased this wig some time ago as I am a huge disco fan. I didn't like the way that the center part looked or that it looks like your wearing a boxy hat on your head and I was thrilled when it arrived and I discovered that the "puffs" could be removed. I then threaded them with elastic string so that I could tie them around my own ponytails. If I had been at top game I would have worn a really low cut pant suit, but I'm not quite ready for that yet so I chose instead to wear I short bubble dress with sequence shorts and a leopard skin jacket. My legs actually don't look so bad, so I think I pulled it off. I slicked my hair down tight and pulled it into two low ponytails that I attached my afro puffs to. I then used a sequenced headband to hold it in place and applied lots of glitter both to my hair and face. Red lipstick usually isn't my thing since I have such small lips, but it seemed appropriate for the outfit. I then used spirit gum to apply three tiny crystals below each eye. I have been a fan of an LA based photographer named Curious Josh, so you can imagine my surprise and delight when he asked if he could photograph my sister and me. Not to bad. My dear friend Kampy then showed up with his gigantic camera and proceeded to take half a dozen pictures of me later in the night. Like I said, normally I would have evaded the camera, but I felt kinda OK this year. The party was called "Nexus" and it was amazing. There were four different areas with four different DJs. One area was drowned in red light and another (see above) was bathed in a glowing blue light. I think my sister had a great time, I know I did. OK. So all the pictures didn't come out that great, but I decided to include this one because it shows my adorable husband and although you can see some rolls in my still chubby cheeks and chin, I know that next years photos will be void of these flaws.

Yes. I think sometimes it get a little worse the week or 2 after for some folks as the healing process happens and the nerves come back to life. Mine was not that bad but I think it was a couple months before the big incision had "no" pain. When I had my hysterectomy the insides they shuffled around to get to what they needed hurt way worse than the incision the whole time and I could see the bruising on my belly from where they clamped my skin. That was MUCH worse than my sleeve procedure BTW.

I thought I would blog my journey so others could know what I went through and maybe it will be helpful to someone. Background info: I am 5'4" tall and 43 years old. I was sort of thick in high school. Not fat really but my thighs were a little heavy and I wore a size 9 to 11 jeans. I remember this well. I was a cheerleader and was the biggest one. In college, I lost a lot of weight because I was the mascot of my college and it is really hot in the suit! I was a size 5 then, for about 2 years or so. I joined the army and gained a little weight. I was back in a 9 or 11 for the next couple years. Then I got married and got pregnant. That was the beginning of the end. I gained 80 pounds with him and he was premature! I never lost all the weight. I was 210pounds when he was born. I got back to 175 and stayed there for a year. Then my second pregancy.... gained back to 210 and lost only to 190 the next year. I joined weight watchers in 1995 for the first time. It was an at work program. I lost 12 pounds over the summer and continued to loose til I got to 163. I thought I was done with weight watchers and quit. I was a perfect size 12 for two or three years (continuinig to go to WW later on). I was pretty happy with that. Then came my daughter. I gained back to 215. I lost some of that after her birth but was hovering around 200 for a year or so. I did WW again to try to loose the weight. I got a divorce soon after she was born and I managed to loose back to 170 but that is as far as I got. Then, I slowly gained and was in the 180's for several years. I did WW again and I lost 20 pounds or so and got back to 170. I did this 170 to 190 and back again about 3 more times in 5 years. In 2007, I met my husband and I weighed 170, still at weight watchers. We married in September and you guessed it, back to 190 before the wedding and had to get my dress let out! I felt very frustrated. We wanted to have children so I had a tubal reversal in December of 2007. I took a lot of hormones trying to conceive. I balooned up to 220. I tried WW again and lost 10 or 12 pounds. I couldnt seem to get under 200. Then I had a job transfer and moved all the way to Texas from Alabama. It was a huge stresser on our family to move from a house to an apartment. Nobody was happy about the move. My kids were mad and I couldnt sell our house. It took 9 months and we finally did sell it and buy a nice home here. During all of this, I gained to 235. My highest weight. My husband was not "particularly attracted" to me anymore and it left me in the worse depression I have ever experienced. He was heavy too and so I pointed that out and we both did WW for 6 months or so. He reached his goal in that time, loosing 60 pounds and I lost down to 210. I was depressed because it was just falling off of him and I was eating much less and not loosing very much at all. I gained it all back. We planned a trip to Brazil to see my exchange student get married. I had 6 months to loose some weight. I considered wls then in fall of 2010. I felt I could do the supervised diet and then have surgery when I returned in March. I did the diet and took the HCG and B12 shots every week until we left. I lost 20 pounds. I weighed about 215 when we left. I returned two weeks later at 230. I consulted a surgeon about wls again and I didnt like the staff at that Dr.s office. The medical assistants as they are called could not even spell and could not hold an intelligent conversation so I didnt feel I was in good hands. I gave up on that in May 2011. My husband got a new teaching job in July, his first since being in Texas! We were changing insurance in August. So July 29th, I decided to see if Humana was going to cover wls and what type of diet and stuff was I going to have to do to get it done. I saw that the surgeon my friend recommended to me was having a seminar the next day (Saturday, July 30th) and so I signed up. My husband and I went. We met nice people and I decided I wanted the sleeve. Its the same one I decided on the year before, but didnt follow through on. I made an appointment for Monday, August 1. Humana didnt cover the sleeve unless you have a bmi of 50 and mine was 40.2 so we were going to be self pay. We decided to get it over with before school started and scheduled the surgery for the NEXT Monday at 8 am. Wow! I had a date already! I went on a one week preop diet and lost 9 pounds. I was 225 when I had the surgery. I went back to work the following Monday. I was just weak and tired but not much pain or anything. I had a little trouble getting in the required fluids. Next chapter-- At the begining of my third week post op I developed a kidney stone because I was dehydrated. I was hospitalized for 5 days and had another surgery on my kidney to place a stent. I gained a lot of weight from the fluid they gave me. I got the stent removed last Wednesday and I am finally, at 5 weeks out, starting to feel like my old self again. I started walking this week and doing a little weight training. To date... I have lost 27 pounds. I weighed 206.9 this morning. Thats lower than I have been since the trying to conceive days about 3 or 4 years ago. I am doing better about drinking but have not reached 64 oz on any day yet. So in Summary: I have been a yo-yo dieter for 20 years and havent been under 170 in about 14 years. I want to be my college weight of about 135 pounds, a size 6. I could stand to be 125 but that is getting a little thin for my build. It has been forever but I at least have a reference point. I can visualize that but I still have a hard time believing that any thing will work to get me there. I am scared to believe that this is finally it for me! I hope I can do this and maintain it for my lifetime. At my highest weight, my feet and back ached all the time, I cant tie my shoes right. It hurts to lean over. I am miserably tired and have no energy to do anything. I starting thinking in terms of how far do I have to walk and are there any hills to climb before I would decide If I wanted to go to the zoo or any activity with my family. I was not living. I was slowly dying. I had to make a change for good. I am sorry this story is so long but I wanted to get it all out there. The truth, the facts... my story.

Okay everyone! 8 days until I head to TJ and am needing suggestions as to what to bring. So far these have made it on my list: 1. loose fitting clothing (drawstring pants so the staff can have easy access) - wow that came out wrong 2. reading material 3. Snacks for my travel buddy 4. liquid tylenol and gas-x 5. e-mails and receipts Any other recommendations? Thanks!!!

My situation was like yours, but my fills since my surgery in Jan 2010 has been at 2 wk intervals and now my 4th coming this Sat at over a month and a half. I waited purposely to see if I could loose on my own. I was at a constant weight without any loss but only with a pound gain or so. Just this past week my weight loss stepped automatically in the high mode again, with me losing about 3 to 4 pounds this week. My loss per week since Jan is about 2.65 pounds a week. Everytime I went for a fill, I knew I needed it cause my eating habits changed, as I was getting hungry more. I get the hungar syndrome now but I am controlling it. Drink water and go out to the store and walk around for an hour. I am not a persistant exerciser but will eventually pick up the pace this week and after I get my 4th fill. I have lost 33 pounds since my surgery and feel great about it. I am looking forward to the 4th fill which would bring my total amount to 8 cc's in a 10 cc band. My intervals was 2 cc's per visit on all my previous fills. I too travel about 4.5 to 5 hours to my doctor's location in Seoul Korea. Ride the bus for 3.5 hours, a train for about 30 min and a 20 minute walk, for a 20 to 30 min appointment, then back again. I do not dread this time as it is R and R time from the daily hassles of work. Anyway I feel great and after reading several other lapbandster's stories, the 4th fill may be my glory fill. My goal is to loose 100 #s by Jan 2011. You can check my progress any time as I posted them. Lately I have felt I had little restriction but I challenged myself, it's there believe me, I purposely over indulged and guess what, I had to stop eating. The band is there and it's working. Be patient and positive as the average weight loss per week will be about 2 #s. Some will have more and some less. Stay strong and enjoy your journey like I am.

I was banded on 12/30/2009 and have only lost 26lbs. I started excersizing, drink well over 64 oz. of water per day, and eat small amounts but can not loose weight. I have great restriction for 2 weeks after a fill, then I am able to eat like normal again. I am coming up on the 6 month mark and am really getting frustrated. I eat the same thing that I have eaten in the past when I lost weight, but i am actually gaining now. Is anyone else having these issues, and what can I do to start loosing weight again. I have the 10cc Aps band, and have 7.3cc currently.

Day 6 of my pre-op diet has been difficult. With weird noises coming from--well, everywhere, sugar lows, weakness, headaches, and even envy as I watch my family munch down on mint chocolate cookies and milk, it has not been a good day. I'm almost watching the clock until I can say 6 down, 8 to go. It has always been difficult for me to diet. My stomach rumbles telling me that it wants food, any food, all food, and quick. I've always been able to lose 20-30 pounds as I diet, but eventually I would quit and then gain back everything plus some. I will not repeat that cycle this time, because I am not going to stop until I make my goal, and then my new way of eating will be habit and I won't go back. I am more committed to this plan than I've ever been to any of the other myriad of diets I've done. So while doing all the reminiscing of diets through the years, I am reminded of one in particular. One of my doctors graphically explained weight loss in the following way: He said it comes down to the basic fact of less calories in than you burn, and that he has never seen a picture of a prisoner of war who wasn't skin and bones. He showed me a couple of pictures even, and gave me a chapter of text to read where some POWs were starving to death, yet they still had to drag themselves to the local coal mine for 12 hour shifts with nothing but a handful of rice for the entire day. Then they drug themselves, step by step, sometimes crawling, sometimes pulling or pushing one another, back to the prison camps where they were lucky to get a small amount of water and another handful of rice. If they searched for a morsel of something else, or complained that it wasn't enough, they were tortured even more. Often these POWs prayed that they would pass during the night, knowing that their frail bodies just could not continue on. Others prayed for help to sustain them just one more day. As we are struggling through with our limited shakes or various different diets, I am reminded of those POWs and how they survived on a handful of rice for days, months, even years, all the while working hard labor in their camps. Tonight when I am hearing my stomach rumble, I'm trying to be thankful for what I have. With that in mind, 700 calories doesn't seem so small when compared to the lives of our brave prisoners of war in history.

Really struggling today, this bronchitus of the airways is terrible, you dont coff, you splutter and gasp to breath and my throat is so soar too. Anyway, health report over, i will recover and i need to because today out of the blue i received a letter from my heamatologist with my blood test reults. Hubby has hotfooted it to the hospital to hand the letter in to my surgeon, who will be ringing me next week, well my nurse will, and as she doesn't work mondays it will be tuesday. The blood tests show that i have got the lupus coagulant in my blood, and rather than my blood not clotting quick enough, this messes with the test and my blood actually is more likely to clot too much. I can have my op but will need to be on anti clotting meds for 2-3 weeks after surgery. I need to now see a rhumatologist about the lupus but have to be referred by my gp, passing the book yet again. My 80 year old mom has decided to go into a nursing home after another infection where she ended up in hospital. This is going to keep me busy mentally over the next month or so and a lot of physical work by my husband, our two sons and hubbies brother to empty moms bungalow. It is very difficult when this has to be faced in life, it is something that she never wanted or me, but she needs 24 hour nursing care and i cant give it to her, so a nhs funded nursinf home is the only answer. I think i am too ill and emotionally drained to be excited or otherwise about my op at the moment. I had it in my head to have it in march, no later, but seeing as they only do 2 ops per week on one day a week am hoping they havnt scheduled march yet and i have time to get better and start my 2 week pre op diet before march begins, ready for the first date in march. I went to my support group last night and they are a brilliant bunch of people who are cheering me on, and i know i am very blessed to have them, and i have a group of christian friends who are praying for me and supporting me too. I think i will only believe it is happening when im actually wheeled into the operating room, lol. Did i say, i had my hair cut 2 weeks ago, really short with a short fringe and spiky and everyone says it makes me look younger, and i love how easy it is to do. I have had a pic taken of me with a white furry hat that looks like a dalmation head and everyone says i looked nice in it so for the first time in years i have my face on my facebook account. Not ready dor the body yet though. I always said when my face was thinner that i would have my hair cut and have surprised myself by having it cut now. I have even begun to wear make up when i go out and its made me realise how much i had given up on myself, so i feel younger as well as looking younger. I have told hubby to smarten himself up too and have bought him some younger looking clothes so we match more, dont want my man wearing bobbly flecees-jacket and jumper when he takes me out, he has spruced up well, i have a well dressed handsome silver fox on my arm now, just wait while i loose my weight, i think his little belly will have to go, lol. I am determined to do all i should to loose the weight healthly and to maintain it, i dont want to be putting any weight lost back on, i know it can happen and am aware that the sleeve is a tool that only works when you use it correctly, and i will need to deal with comfort eating and weak will and eating chocolate or puddings to comfort me. I have seen how the sucsessful people work at it, and i want to be one of those people, i want the new me and the new life it will bring. I was talking to a lady last night who has had the bypass and she told me that what she eats now is the same that a thin woman would have always eaten instead of the huge portions she used to eat that made her 27 stone = 27 x 14 lbs. That made sense, the smaller stomach helps us to eat what our bodies need instead of what our stomachs demand, cant wait to get rid of the greedy part of my stomach and work with my new smaller stomach. I will update next week and really hope it will all be good news now, bye for now, keep up the good work, because You are worth it, xxxx

My name is lindsey and I just recently turned 21. I got my lab band at 16 and so far since I've had it I havent lost any weight. I've lost maybe about ten pounds and that's it! I do everything right I've had four fills, I work out consitaly, I eat right, I've had everything tested my thyroid my metabolism I'm mean I'm doing everything I physically can to lose weight with this tool that is supposed to be helping me. As of now I'm beyond annoyed with it because it gives me more problems then it's helping. It's just more of an annoyance then it's helping me. I've been to my doctor many times asking him why its not working and the best answer he could give me was I was working out to much! So i stopped working out as much and I still can't loose the weight. I've been to other doctors that look puzzled at me when I tell them that I have had this thing for five years and I still haven't lost weight. Idk what to do anymore and I'm getting to the point where I just want it removed! It's not worth having for me. I look at some of your post that say youve lost 90 lbs in the first year and think that I'm doing something wrong but idk what it is? I'm going nuts. Suggestions would be much welcomed!

It has been two weeks and five days since my surgery, and I am left in wonder and introspection. I have had my first post-op doctor's appointment and am scheduled to see him again in about two months. I am to lose 24 pounds by then. My scale and the scale at my doctor's are different by six pounds; I also weigh myself nude at home while I am fully clothed while at my doctor's (plus I think I had my car keys in my jeans pocket). I've realized I haven't been following the schedule that I am supposed to have set with my meals: 3 meals a day, 2oz each, and 2 protein shakes. I am still on a liquid diet; broths and protein shakes have been my meals. I've been nearly meeting my protein intake of 50g a day (I get around 46-50, depending on the kind of shake I drink). Along with my realization that I need to work on my food schedule, I also realized I need to be measuring my broth so I can get used to the 2 oz of food I am allowed, so when day 22 comes along, I will measure my soft foods out of habit. Instead of measuring my broth, I've been pouring them into my little toddler bowl and eating it slowly until I feel full. I believe that I was eating double of what I should, but then would not "eat" broth the rest of the day, but would focus on drinking my protein shakes. Even with the completion of my third week coming up and soft foods will soon be on my menu, I am still only allowed 500 calories. This is somewhat concerning to me in that a protein shake that I am loving automatically gives me 220 calories. I can reduce that by using just water to make my shake as opposed to a cup of soy milk and half a cup of water; though with the current way I make my shake, I get 33g of protein in. I'm considering having that shake as a "breakfast" and shake combo. I am also concerned about the 500 calories since I will be starting to exercise, besides the everyday walking that I do. I will start slow, but I also know that beforehand I could burn 400 calories with 30mins of cardio. I trust my doctor, so I just have to hold on to that while wrapping my head around the idea of small calorie intake and the addition of cardio and eventually strength training. With all these changes that I've been going through, I've realized that I've been focusing on the wrong numbers: instead of focusing on my number triad of 500/50/<40, I have been focusing on the number on the scale. and disappointed in that I see no difference in my body shape. Still, I know I am losing weight, and I tell/comfort myself with the idea that I may be losing slowly compared to others but that could be good for me skin wise and also, just adjustment wise. I've taken to keeping a food diary, and have set up a weight loss chart to remind myself that even if I cannot see a difference, I am losing weight and am on track. With all that being said, I am glad that I've taken this big step and am making progress on my journey. I've realized my mistakes and am seeking to correct them. I am working on my water intake, thought I do get my full amount of liquids in through the broth, shakes and bit of water I do drink. I know I need to get better at my water intake since I will be trying soft foods soon, so I will be including broth less and less in my liquid intake (and really, I am getting so freaking tired of chicken broth). I am making my way down this path and with each little step I'm realizing past mistakes in the way I ate and took care of myself, and I'm realizing the mistakes I was making now and am working on correcting those. Sometimes, things that are worthwhile must be worked for and earned so their enjoyment is that much sweeter. My life will be so much sweeter learning and meeting the new me. And for now, in the short term, the sweetness will come with my first scrambled egg!

So far so good. I got up at 5am and did 20 minutes on my treadmill at level 3 with a 2 incline. Goal is to work up to 45 minutes before surgery. I also made arrangements with my trainer to work with me after surgery to minimize the saggy skin. Bless her heart, she is only charging me $30 a week. My goal is to run a 5k, then a 10k, then a 1/2 marathon. Of course this will take lots of time, but I am determined. This morning is going well so far. Seems strange that I am not hungry. I had my first protein meal at 6am and will have my second at 9. It was orange cream flavored and I mixed it with Almond Milk. YUM. Been sucking down the water too. Since I can have Crystal Light with my water I mixes Sunrise Orange with it and it is delish. Brought some beef broth and jello with me to work so I will have some variety throughout the day with my five protein shakes. I am not stupid to not know that this is not going to be easy, but like anything else, once I get through the third day I will be on zoom. This means too much to me to screw up now. Follow up - it is not 420 pm and I am almost done with day 1. whoo whoo. My favorite part of the day was the jello. It gave me something to chew on. LOVED IT!! I think if I keep up my upbeat attitude it will go swimmingly to the end. I sure do hope so anyway. Downward here I come.

Can any one give me some advise, I had a 9cc Band fitted with the hospital group 7 years ago and lost 14 stone over 18 months i kept having fills to often to loose more weight, but this made me ill as i could,t keep anything down. i was living on soft foods & liquids, i couldn't learn myself how to eat solids. I ended up in hospital as the band was too tight so they removed 2cc. i was still the same but due to bringing everything back what i drank and got down caused damage to my esophagus so was advised to have my band deflated after 2 years of struggling and suffering. slowly my weight as gained and i feel like im back to were i started, as i have let my band rest for 18 month so has u can guess i have eaten everything i should't of eaten, like a child would in a sweet shop. I have finally had a refill last week of 4cc but now feel like im at the beginning and need to learn how to work with my band, as i felt last time round i didnt learn how to work it properly and more or less starved myself as the weight was falling off way to quickly. i now feel like im a failure to people who ask me about having a band fitted, as looking at me now im nearly back to the weight when i 1st had the band fitted.And my size now stops me seeing my family & friends has they all knew i had my band fitted,and now i feel like this is the only way to lose this weight, why have a band just to sit inside me and not working,that's what the N.H.S wanted me to do, I've done it there way. And now i'm doing it my way my last chance to work my band. So now iv just finished 3 days of liquid and onto soft food, i dont feel like iv any restriction but im thankfull im keeping what i do eat down. i need advise on what i can and can't eat and what kind of feelings should i be feeling when eating. is it right i cant have a drink till 1 hour after a meal?

10/2009 Take a good look. This is what Morbid Obesity looks like. Let me preface this by saying that at first I was going to keep it all a hush-hush big super secret squirrel secret. But I figured blogging would not only help me chronicle my journey, but serve as a sounding board. Of course I run the risk of opening myself up to criticism and negativity. But I figured…they talked about Jesus they’ll talk about me too. And what’s more is – I really don’t give a rat’s sweaty nads. *shrug* With that said… I’ve never had a problem with being full-figured. In fact, I’ve embraced it. It’s a part of the me that I’ve been proud to be. Even flaunted my curves. And its not like I’ve been starved for attention. Most…well, a lot (only basing on what I’ve been told) of men (women too) think that I’m (are you ready for this?) SEXY. I’m not bragging at all…but can you imagine? Me, at 298lbs…on a 5′3″ frame. What doctors frown at in disapproval. What some people in public look at in disgust…but yet others…desire. To this day. As recently as an hour ago. 8/2008 *smh kinda confused* Admittedly, I’ve thought the same thing for a long time. My self esteem has remained in its proper sometimes over-elevated place. The men folk (husband included) never seemed to have had a problem with it, so I never had a problem with it… Until now. I’m at my biggest ever. Almost 30lbs more than I weighed when I was 9 months pregnant (2 years ago). I’m uncomfortable. I don’t like what I see in the mirror any more. My feet hurt. My knees ache. (ironically enough, the VERY reason why working out has been such a chore – that aside from time: 9-5 job, jewelry biz, almost 2 year old daughter, and a hubby that works nights/weekends). And now, my once high (sometimes too high) self esteem has taken a nosedive. So what to do?? 9/2002 I’ve done the diets, the shakes, the cleanses, the “lifestyle change”, the pills, the work-out regimen, etc… Something has to be done. NOW. So after about 6 months of mulling it over, I’ve opted to have the LAP-BAND®®® surgery. In fact, that’s the entire reason for this blog. My goal is 75-100lbs. Realistically, at 200lbs, I’ll still be +size…but ALOT better off than I am now. I’m making a decision to better my life, and thereby, my family’s life. I will learn healthier habits to pass on to my daughter and share with my husband, as well as actually be around a lot longer to see her grow up, and grow into the olden golden years with her daddy. This vixen, is about to change her game up, for good. I have my physical exam and initial info session at the Bariatric Surgeon’s office on Monday. Then comes the consult to chart the path forward, counseling, etc. I will join the Million Pound Challlenge to help get me started on the right track. But that’s Monday – and it’s going to be a life-changing day. So this weekend, I’m gettin it in. *lol* I’m gonna eat what I want…probably for the last time (at least for a long time); Celebrate my 35th bday (late, bc of all the snow) and celebrate in anticipation of a new life and a new, even sexier, healthier me… I’m excited. I can only pray that by sharing this journey, it will garner some support & encouragement from friends, acquaintances, and strangers alike. But even if it doesn’t, it’s no skin off my teeth. I’m CERTAIN that my words will touch or encourage SOMEONE out there. 1/2010 Beauty can be found at ANY size. From a size 6 to 26. However, HEALTH cannot. And that’s all its about for me. Taking off some pounds to add some years to my life. Phine, re-defined… *sexy grin*

a stall is no loss of weight or inches in over 30 days. It irks me when people use this term so loosely. You are fine, Let your body do its thing. Congrats.

Thanks for the Advice. This is definitely a journey and there are a lot of changes... I have been losing, but a LOT slower than at the beginning. I think I am ok with that as I need to stop at some point and I would like my skin to get a little tighter.

I was told by my nurse today, that I need to be on a strict diet, (recording all meals) for 90 days without loosing any weight. (Insurance requires this, not the Doctor) The only way I see to do this is to follow the diet, but eat on the side also. lol And who is this going to fool? The insurance Company? Maybe they think people will loose the weight and not get the much needed surgery. Thank God, my Nurse was kind enough to tell me not to loose, because I would have tried to loose as much as possible, and probably not been able to get the surgery. Has anyone else had this problem? My bmi is 40, and I use the sleep apena machine. :smile:

lol Rhonda..this happened to me too! my scale was saying i was 20lbs down..when i went for my first fill on oct 27th their scale said only 13!! I was so bummed.. lol but hey 13lbs is 13 lbs... now i no longer step on my scale! i will just wait til i go to doc on dec 1. I do feel my pants fitting a lil loose soooo i will go with that! good luck

I have to admit, I have been terrible about working out I am very good at doing like 50 crunches everyday and I take walks every once in awhile, but I have no real good workout routine. I have done well losing and don't really have excess skin, but I agree that this is probably not the norm. I know that I would be doing even better if I exercised. good luck on your journey!

Mokee, with Kaiser they want to make sure you have self control so they ask that you loose a certain amount before surgery with the help of a nutritionist. they will still do the surgery they will just push it back until my nutritionist is comfortable. Really its all up to her to submit my paperwork to the board.

great job ! im down 25lbs in 3 months and just hit Onederland 2 days ago ! Wow ! its been 6 yrs since ive been there ! im not doing the couch to 5k program , but i found a extreme water fitness class that i attend 3-4 times a week. Not for sissies ! finding an exercise that i could stick with was key, and now im finding everything is easier from tying my shoes to walking to getting dressed. its nice when my formally too tight clothes are now too loose,and im getting compliments . when i could shimmy my pants off without unzipping them i knew i was on my way. congrats !!

Great to hear that you had a good report at the doctor's office. As far as the Plavix, listen to the cardiologist! He is the expert on this! And as to the Lexapro, I would say that is up to you! You are the only one who knows how you feel and how you are doing mentally/depression wise (I assume the Lexapro is for depression or some similar condition.). I was on Lexapro, and wanted to come off it, and my doc wanted me to stay on it. I insisted that he couldn't "jump inside my skin" and know how I was feeling, so when I said I didn't feel that I needed it anymore, I felt I was the best judge. He finally agreed to help me taper off of it. Congratulations on your 48 lb loss! That is FANTASTIC!!! Big changes ahead! Best wishes!!! Kathy D (alias Helen the Cat)