Hello April Bandsters, I thought I'd start a fun post where we can get to know each other better!

I have 3 boys (15, 12 and 7) and one husband. I grew up and lived in WA my whole life, up until 2008, when I moved to Wisconsin. It is also probably noteworthy that I have 6 parrots, lol. I have a Greenwing Macaw, a Blue and Gold macaw, 3 Amazons and one Congo African Grey. I battle adding to my flock each day, but I think 6 is plenty, lol.

I collect a few things. Not the usual collections, I suppose, lol. But it does make thrift store shopping more fun!...

tupperware keychains (love them for some reason, lol)

Cheesy souvenir plates

Parrot items (duh?)

Crab and fishing items (my dad, may he rest in peace, was boat owner and skipper, just like you see on the Deadliest Catch show )

Vintage Pyrex dishes (pastel solid colors or primary solid)

Lets see, what else can I say?

Oh, one of the reasons I need to lose weight fast is my ankle. It wasn't weight that brought my ankle issues on, but it certainly isn't helping. I have had two ankle surgeries, the biggest one was called an OATS procedure. They drilled out the worst defect in my talus and filled it in with cadaver talus material. Anyhow, the surgery helped, but it only buys me time until more action needs to be made. Ankle replacements aren't done on people my age since they are only good for 10 years and you can only have it replaced twice. I'm 34, so that won't work. My only other option, should my ankle crap out, is having it fused. I don't want that and the knee and hip issues that will eventually cause. The idea of being more crippled than I already feel, is kinda scary. And of course, I want to lose weight to feel better about myself, and to be healthier.

So, what about you? Care to share some random facts about yourself?

Great list!! Love it!

MMichelle, that's an awesome list!

Spot, you and I are about the same weight and have the same goal. My surgery is 04/15/11. We will be able to keep each other in check!

Hi all! My name is Corey and I'm 40, married with a son and a daughter. I have been gaining weight steadily for a long time. I was a chubby kid, but when I got into my teens I got thin, then in my 20's, I started putting on weight. Once I had my son it just spiraled from there. Its hard to tell someone that you still haven't lost all of the "baby weight" when she is going to be 10, yah know?

I went through a bunch of stress about 3 years ago and lost 45 lbs. and was going to the gym and working out and feeling great and then I just let it all go. I managed to gain about 60 back and I am the biggest I've ever been. It never really hit home until I saw a picture of my son and I together on his formal night and it was a definite - OMG moment.

It was a couple of days after I had gone for my initial consultation and that did it for me right there.

As nice as it would be to be the "Hot Mom", I will be happy to not be the mom that embarasses her kids by how big she is. I too would like to cross my legs and not worry about taking up too much space in my seat at a hockey game or at a movie. I would like to walk into a regular store and buy something because I like it and it's cute, not because it might fit and not make me look too terrible. (Ok seriously, who the hell designs clothes for plus size women?) I want to walk across the floor in our building (I work on one of the upper floors) and not feel like the ceiling is coming down on the people below.

I'm getting my surgery on the 13th and I'm getting a little more excited by the day. I'm doing a self imposed liquid (mostly) diet to get ready and even though I'm a little scared, I can't wait to get this thing going in the right direction!

Hi all! My name is Corey and I'm 40, married with a son and a daughter. I have been gaining weight steadily for a long time. I was a chubby kid, but when I got into my teens I got thin, then in my 20's, I started putting on weight. Once I had my son it just spiraled from there. Its hard to tell someone that you still haven't lost all of the "baby weight" when she is going to be 10, yah know?

I went through a bunch of stress about 3 years ago and lost 45 lbs. and was going to the gym and working out and feeling great and then I just let it all go. I managed to gain about 60 back and I am the biggest I've ever been. It never really hit home until I saw a picture of my son and I together on his formal night and it was a definite - OMG moment.

It was a couple of days after I had gone for my initial consultation and that did it for me right there.

As nice as it would be to be the "Hot Mom", I will be happy to not be the mom that embarasses her kids by how big she is. I too would like to cross my legs and not worry about taking up too much space in my seat at a hockey game or at a movie. I would like to walk into a regular store and buy something because I like it and it's cute, not because it might fit and not make me look too terrible. (Ok seriously, who the hell designs clothes for plus size women?) I want to walk across the floor in our building (I work on one of the upper floors) and not feel like the ceiling is coming down on the people below.

I'm getting my surgery on the 13th and I'm getting a little more excited by the day. I'm doing a self imposed liquid (mostly) diet to get ready and even though I'm a little scared, I can't wait to get this thing going in the right direction!

Welcome Corey!

I think we can all sympathize with you..... at least I know I can!! I had a similar moment with a picture of me and my kids I had developed around Christmas I was like who is that fat person with my kids! I agree with you, no need to be a 'hot mom' or anything, I would just be happy to just not be "big", be able to shop in a regular department store and not embarrass my kids as they grow up (my daughter is 13, my son is 6) amongst other things.

Good luck to you... this is a great forum and lots of support. I started my pre-op diet today (all liquids) in preparation for surgery on the 26th... so far so good, I don't feel hungry and the shakes are decent too.

Keep us updated and keep up the great work

Faith

MMichelle.... Awesome List!!!

I have a bunch of my own too. We should start a new topic of Non-scale Victories (NSV's) we all want to experience throughout this process... helps to stay motivated when the scale isn't moving!

Thoughts??

hi all! i'm Ashley I'm 27 from New Jersey. I am married and have 2 dogs who are my kids. I have been overweight my whole life and it's been hard always being the biggest kid in school and then in my family too. I can't walk through the store without hurting like crazy. I am scheduled for my surgery on april 22nd and can't wait! I am on the pre op diet now and struggling every step of the way but i keep thinking of the end result!

And i think it's a great idea about the small victories post.. too often we think of the weight as being our only goal but today i was able to fit into a shirt i never was able to fit in so YAY on that lol.

Hey All,

My name is Chris, and at 26 I believe that I am the youngest April Bandit thusfar. One of the biggest motivators for getting the lap band now is my wedding which is in November. I just keep thinkin about how amazing I am going to look for my amazing bride to be when that day arrives.

I am a travel agent and I work from home. It was awesome to work from home to start, but it is amazing how much of a sabotage it can be in the weight department. Sooo easy to go run to the kitchen for chips, Cookies, crap etc. Plus having a desk job and being at home means some days my "exercise" consists of walking from my bed, to my chair, and back.. really sad stuff..

Another huge reason for the lap band is the fact that one of my passions in life is coaching youth soccer.. its horribly disappointing that I cant do any of the workout and routines during practice that I have my players do. Hopefully this will be a step in a much better direction..

My band date is April 21. It is incredible to think that for the longest time I truly thought the testing/insurance process would never end and that I wouldnt ever get a surgery date. Now that I have a date, its like I hit the breaks and now am sort of freaking out by how quickly its coming..

I am a hypochondriac, a couple years ago I was misdiagnosed with kidney cancer one morning while in a hospital bed. It was one of the most tramatic moments of my life. Although I was shown not to have cancer a few hours later, since then I have really freaked out irrationally to just about everything. Every pain I get, must be cancer.. every lump I feel, a tumor.. In all honesty one of the reasons my testing took so long was that I kept canceling it for fear that they were going to find cancer or some weird disease when they did the testing. Its a really crappy way to live, but hopefully getting healthier will help quell the fears!

Best wishes!