I wanted to be the first to wish all my Bandaversary friends a Happy Bandaversary.......

It is hard to believe it has been a year this month for us. We have all been thru alot. I doubt any of us has regrets. Everyone is doing so well. We have shared alot of difficult and happy times on this website and for this I say Thank You to all my Mayo Banditos..........................

The only regret I have - I should of done this 5 years ago. In any event , it is done and I feel great. I think I put 10 years back on my life. This has been of one the best decisions in my life........:thumbdown:

So far, maintaining has been easier than I thought. I am loose enough to eat more but tight enough not to get out of hand.

I met someone for lunch a few weeks ago in NYC for lunch and he walked right past me in the restaurant looking for me. lol..lol.

The end of the month should be interesting.....My son is a Marine and he has been in Okinawa for the last 2 years. I saw him one year ago. I think he will be in shock :blushing: when I see me at the airport...........

John, I would like to thank you for starting all of this support a year ago.

My anniversary is not until the end of the month, but I will be on vacation, so I would like to congratulate everone now. You are all amazing!

What a year, what a journey. I am sure that all of our lives have changed for the better.

Thank you all for shareing it with me, and for always being there when I needed help, advice and support.

Onward.....

Thanks for starting this thread, John! You have been my inspiration from the very start! :biggrin: Happy Bandiversary to all my Mayo Bandito friends! It's been quite a journey, and I am so glad to have shared it with all of you!!!!

I agree with you, John, I wish I had done this sooner. And I also feel that it has added 10 (or more) years back onto my life. I feel so much younger!! You're also right about maintenance -- although I am not truly at maintenance yet, my weight loss has slowed down to the point that I am sorta just maintaining -- you do get to the point where you are loose enough to eat more but tight enough not to get out of hand. It's a good feeling.

John, that's a great story about your friend walking past you, and I can't wait to hear what your son has to say when he sees you!!!

And, Rebecca, like you said, ONWARD!!! :thumbup::biggrin::thumbup:

:party::biggrin:

Happy Bandiversary Mayo Banditoes! Tomorrow will be 1 year for me, I can't believe it has already been a year.

John 4 lbs below your target weight, AWESOME! And Ann you only have 5 more pounds to go. That has to be such a great feeling for both of you. You both are truly and inspiration to all of us.

I just want to encourage the rest of my Mayo Bandito friends to keep up the good work. We can't all be "losers" like Ann and John. We have to be excited by our own accomplishments and be happy that we are "X" amount of pounds thinner this year than last. For me I am down 62 lbs and I feel great. My goal weight is 150 and I am slowly getting there. Once I get there I will set another goal for 130. That was my weight when I got married.

I was stuck at 173 since the 1st of Feb and the scale has only started moving for me again. But I feel so awesome. What is really strange is that when I was 30 I weighed 150 and was a size 12. Right now I weigh 167 and am a size 12 (I kept some of my old clothes from back then and I am able to fit into all of them) It's funny how we keep our "skinny" clothes but I've gotten rid of all my "fat" clothes as soon as they get too big for me.

Something I tell myself everyday is that this has been a life style change for me and if I lose another 20 lbs or stay the same it doesn't matter. What is important is that I am 62 lbs thinner and I feel great, I am happy and healthy. I will keep striving for my goal and not get discouraged, because once I give up then I will have lost the battle, and this is one battle I will not lose!

HG, it is so great to see you on here again! :bored: Congratulations on all you've lost!!! :glare: I'd call you a big loser too! lol :sleep: That is so awesome to be back in all your skinny clothes. And you are so right, it is all about a lifestyle change. That is so very important. That is the biggest battle.

It will be one year for me on Friday. I cannot believe how fast this year has gone.

Where are all the rest of our Banditos? I hope you will all check in!

My One year wont be until the 29th of may. To date though I have lost 93 pounds and completly changed my lifestyle. I love running marathons and Hiking mountain trails. I feel like the girl I was before I got married and had kids! This journey has been a blessing to me. I would do it again in a heart beat. I am also excited that I will have my Tummy Tuck in 11 days! Very nervouse but excited! I cant wait till I am healed from it and running my next marathon in Disneyland September 6th! Keep Up the great work everyone.

On a personal note John and Ann I look up to you for inspiration. You are truely amazing, uplifting people! You 2 have been a big part of my journey (as im sure others). Through the ups and downs of this journey coming on the banditos site always pushes me to a new level. So THANK YOU!

Aw, LOM, thanks. You are an inspiration to ME, with all your running!!! That is fantastic! :w00t: And you're almost at 100 lbs lost!! :w00t: How exciting! Can't wait to hear about your tummy tuck.

Today is my one-year bandiversary! I cannot believe how time has flown! :ohmy: I am so glad I made this decision. It has been a tough road, but worth every step. I feel better in so many ways! I'm now down to the size I was when I got married (the first time) 20 years ago. Too bad I don't still have that wedding dress -- I would love to see if it fit. My dress from my second wedding is six sizes too big now! :laugh:

Thank you, EVERY ONE OF YOU, for being there every step of the way. :thumbup::thumbup: Your posts have been so important to me. I have learned so much from you this past year+. I hope you will all continue to stick with the Mayo Banditos as we head into our next year of our new lives!

Cheers!!! :tea:

Today is my Bandaversary..........WHAT A YEAR !! I look back and just remain in awe as to what I was able to accomplish. The lapband was a blessing. I'm able to maintain my weight over the last 3-4 months without too much difficulty.

I just want to thank all of you again for your kind words of encouragement along the way.

Today is my Bandaversary..........WHAT A YEAR !! I look back and just remain in awe as to what I was able to accomplish. The LAP-BAND® was a blessing. I'm able to maintain my weight over the last 3-4 months without too much difficulty.

I just want to thank all of you again for your kind words of encouragement along the way.

Happy official bandiversary, John! I agree, what a year! Thanks for being our greatest inspiration and cheerleader! :scared2::w00t::cheers2::party::tt2:

Hey Everyone,

I rarely post because I travel alot with my job but I joined this website in March 2009, the exact date that I went to the Lap band Seminar, it was March 5th (my birthday)....at 26 years old I was weighing 400 lbs and I knew I needed a change. My insuracne would NOT cover the surgery and the year prior I got 2 jobs just to save up 17K for the surgery. I had it done on May 20th, 2009 (8 days away from my anniversary) and I am now weighing 249!! I am 151 pounds lighters and I feel great. I truly feel like this has saved my life. I have no kids and I was afraid my weight would pose a problem. I have about 70 more pounds to go, my goal weight is 170 because I am 5''8. I began at a size 28 and now wear a 16-18....can't wait ti get into some 10's!! I am so rpound of everyone and read all of your posts....so proud of OUR success! I submitted my before and after pics and I created and albumn with a couple of me now as well.

Your guys are really amazing!!!!!

I'm so glad you posted and shared your story, Vanessa! You are a beautiful woman, and quite an inspiration - you should be very proud of your accomplishments and commitment to a healthier lifestyle! Happy Bandiversary :smile2:

Congratulations, Vanessa! :biggrin: You look fantastic! I'm glad you came here and posted. Keep up the great work. :thumbup:

I am so very excited to post today on my 1 year 'Bandiversary'!!! What an amazing year this has been - a truly life-changing year for me. Instead of looking back over the year with disappointment, dwelling on what I could've accomplished, I am celebrating a major success in a battle I have been fighting over 20 years! One of my 'goals' was to be down 100lbs 1-year post-op. I'm about 18lbs away from that goal. For the first time, I posted a gain of 3 lbs at my doctor's appointment two days ago. I am at adequate restriction, but I am fighting an addiction to chocolate that I didn't have prior to the LAP-BAND. I think I condensed my food addictions and overeating down to a single item that can (unfortunately) pass through the band. I'm working through it, and trying to replace my late-night chocolate splurge with sweet, low-cal V8 Splash (with the added benefit of getting in a full serving of fruit and vegetable). I am still thrilled and proud of my weight loss to date, and all of the health gains over this past year (including the ability to jog 2 miles without stopping - I do this 3+ times a week - I would get out of breath walking less than 1/2 a block 1 year ago). The support of my family, my best friend Jeri (we did this together and I couldn't have succeeded as well without her), and everyone here and at my local support meetings has helped so much on this journey. Overall, I would like to lose another 25lbs. I used to envy people that looked 'normal' to me, who 'just' wanted to lose 10-25lbs, and now I know that the last 'little' amount is the hardest to lose of all! I have noticed my body is leaning out from the jogging, even though the weight isn't dropping right now. I'm trying to focus more on non-scale victories and positive body image than the numbers, but the numbers still have a pull in my head. This lap-band tool and having adequate restriction is my biggest key towards succeeding for life - I LOVE the band and what it does for me!!! Wishing all of you continued success on your journeys! "Happy Bandiversary" to all of our Mayo Banditos!!! :w00t:

Congratulations and happy bandiversary, Mamadot!!!! :frown::w00t: You have done so phenomenally well!!! So much of your post I could have written. I'm also about 10 pounds from where I'd like to be, but am struggling with those last few pounds. I keep going up and down about 3 lbs. from drinking large glasses of SF chocolate milk at night. That's something I never did before. It's interesting to see what new things we pick up, even when we're so successful in getting rid of the many bad habits we had before.

That's fantastic that you can run now! I still can't do that, but I start a tae kwon do class tonight, and next month I'm starting a twice-a-week abs and strength training class at work. I'm hoping between that and the pool opening (love my Water aerobics) that I will tone up and maybe push past this tough spot.

Many more happy days to you and all the Mayo Banditos!! :wink::thumbup:

CONGRATULATIONS Mamadot. What a success story. The Band is an amazing tool. But the credit goes to the individual who decides to make a change in their life and sticks to it.

Weird about the chocolate. I never ate it everyday. Now I am hooked on the Hershey dark choc. mini bar. I only eat one at a time, but if I have them, I will eat one every night.

What's up with this?

Congratulations again to all of the Mayobanditos!