Hi everyone! I'm having surgery on January 10th and created a group in the groups section "January 2012 bandsters". Would love to get some discussions, support going.

I know I'm being partial here but we are a great group aren't we?

Chrissy: Good luck getting some sleep tonight and getting through the weekend run{s}. I'm sure you'll do great! Kudo's on the pants. It's a wonderful feeling when we see those NSV's. It's makes our day.

JDI130 Congrats to you on your findings in your closet. I'm also finding mostly tops that are smaller that I put away a few years ago "for when I lose weight". I am pear shaped so the bottom is taking time to chisel down but it's getting smaller. But like I said before, I'm finally embracing my curves that I hated all my life. Thank you Kim Kardasian for showing the world that curves are a wonderful thing. No offense to those who do not have curves, it's just my time, and I'm taking that brass ring!!! LOL

Amen Meredith! I'm a pear too! LOL.

Hey gals, s;eaking of bathing suits, not only do we try to avoid wearing them, it's always hard to find stylish one's and not matronly ones in the stores. If you haven't heard of it before, I've used a Plus size website which I love. Of course we're all trying our best to take that awful word "plus size" out of our wardrobe and vocabulary, however, in the mean timewhile we widdle down our bodies, if you're looking for good quality and stylish suits go to www.alwaysforme.com. I've gotten quite a few of their suits over the past few years and love the fit,feel, the style, and they wash well. They go from 16W-26W. And they're not all matronly looking.

Hi All. Wow, everyone is rockin' it and it so encouraging! I only get opportunity to check the site once a week or so, and then I usually just read all of your posts and then log out, but I am here and working it with all of you. For the past 3 weeks it seems to be the same 3-4 pounds up and down, but I finally got the four gone and weighed in at 189 this morning after going super low carb this past few days. It's probably a water-weight loss, but I really don't care, it got me back on the track of seeing the scale go down. The sun is back out again here in California (thought fall was staying forever for a while there), so it def does motivate for swimsuits and shorts.

A nice suntan is always slimming, too -- even if it's a spray-on!

I hear a few of you lamenting your pear hips... I'm an apple and have the opposite problem. Shrinking butt with a big muffin top! Spare tire is more accurate. If the jeans fit me in the waist, they're huge in the behind. I'm eagerly anticipating when the weight loss will show in my waist. The boob shrinkage I think goes for all us though, lol.

I would reply to all of you, but there are always so many posts between mine, I couldn't possibly! Congrats to everyone though and keep truckin on!

Congrats to you on your weight loss Ladybandito and glad to se you on here. Plateaus come and go and that's what we're all learning here. I was on one too for a a week or so after hitting the 25lb mark. I suspect our body is finally catching up with the whole shock of our surgical changes, it needs time to stop and recharge. Enjoy your sun filled day on the west coast as some of us are hoping for the rain in the forecast to disappear here on the East Coast. So far, I woke up this morning in NJ with the sun out. Cross our fingers.

Hi there! Ladybandido, that is awesome! How much have u lost total?

Meredith, I will def look at that swimsuit site, thanks!

I'm doing this from my phone, so I'll be quick. I'm going to zumba this morning, haven't been in awhile so I'm looking forward to having even more fun now ol 40+ lbs lighter. Anyways, myfitnesspal doesn't have zumba as an exercise choice, so I went to a website to approximate calories. It said for my weight of 241.5, a medium intensity 50 min workout would burn 719 calories!! Does that sound reasonable?? My elliptical says 450 for 40 min on low resistance....

I'm not sure JDI130, do you have a fitbit? If so, I would check the calorie counter before working out, then after and see if that gives you a better idea.

I tried the video Zumba at home and just couldn't keep up with it. I am a free style dancer, and probably do those steps on my own, but when I have to do them with a group, forget about it!! But I still did my own things and it was a real work out. That was before I really built up stamina in the gym. Since working out and being more active, I should try it again. It looks like a great workout.

Speaking of workouts, has anyone here tried spinning? My neigbor has been doing South Beach for over a year and has lost lots of weight and swears by Spinning. She's trying to talk me into the gym and getting into it. I personally like working out on my videos {DVDs} and treadmill as I have so many different choices, kick boxing with Denise Austin, Yoga with who know who, Walking with Leslie Sansone, and running and jogging on my treadmill with my Ipod playlist. As well as lifting hand weights etc. But being pear shaped, my claim to fame are the "hams" on my thighs that need to be whittled down some and I'm thinking spinning might be the way to go!

Also, thanks to my 2nd {1cc} fill the other day, and the 2 day liquid/mushie diet, I lost another 2lbs!!! I put on a pr of old 18W LB jeans last night to work out in the garden and they were so lose in the thigh and butt area! I've been seeing more inches in my upper body since it's smaller, but finally, I'm seeing a significant amout now starting to shrink in my pants. And before surgery, I couldn't even get them above my thighs!!!! It just felt so good wearing them lose, I didn't want to take them off! :-)

Congrats on 2 more lbs Meredith!

Well Peeps...I finished my 5k this morning in 49 minutes! I even jogged through part of it! Yay! That's about 10 minutes less than the one I did back in November...BEFORE my surgery. Of course, today was also a flat course. BIDIA!!! My 11 YO ran it his first 5k today and did it in 35:47. I'm so proud of him! I pray he stays active his whole life! I see now how important it is. Well, you all pray for me...i've got a 2-miler tomorrow for March of Dimes. Then I'm RESTING on Monday. LOL. I'm afraid my joints are going to be so inflamed that I don't even want to look at a scale. ha!

Congratulations ChrissyLu!!!

Congrats on 2 more lbs Meredith!

Well Peeps...I finished my 5k this morning in 49 minutes! I even jogged through part of it! Yay! That's about 10 minutes less than the one I did back in November...BEFORE my surgery. Of course, today was also a flat course. BIDIA!!! My 11 YO ran it his first 5k today and did it in 35:47. I'm so proud of him! I pray he stays active his whole life! I see now how important it is. Well, you all pray for me...i've got a 2-miler tomorrow for March of Dimes. Then I'm RESTING on Monday. LOL. I'm afraid my joints are going to be so inflamed that I don't even want to look at a scale. ha!

Congrats! What an exciting thing to accomplish!

JustDoIt, I started at 226 before liquids, 216 at surgery, and today I'm 188. The 190 mark has always created challenges for me in the past, it's usually where I'd just give up. That's why I'm loving this band, it keeps me on track for the long-haul.

Today I walked 3 miles and worked out with weights at home for about 45 minutes. Also got all of my Water in and stayed low carb. Keep it up girls, I think we should all be poster-children for the band! :-)

Meredith, I've known a few people who lost tons with spinning ... And Zumba classes have made changes in some of my friends, too.

Whew! finished the 2-mile March of Dimes "March for Babies" today with my pseudo-son! 5k yesterday...and this morning...my scale says I'm down 45lbs! whoo-hoo!! Hit that short-term goal early too..Yay!

ChrissyLu, that is awesome! I'll bet you feel so much better 45 lbs lighter and so active!!!! Congratulations!!!!

ChrissyLu, hope your weekend activities went well, now you can relax!!

Meredith, thanks for that website, I have added it to my favorites!...I am already in love with a few suits...the Carnival 1 piece is beautiful! Love the facts that the suits have underwire--an absolute MUST! I love lane bryant bras, in my opinion, they are made waaay better and wear waaay better than victorias secret, and i dont have to worry about a wardrobe malfunction! LOL!

LadyBandito, glad you decided to join us! I always follow along by email notifications, but am at work all day and sometimes at night too--working 2 jobs sucks--so i dont always have a chance to reply, but i do look forward to the posts from everyone! We are a great group! I agree, a suntan can make anyone look better!

I have been doing much better with hunger lately. In the morning I have an iced coffee, then for lunch at work I have been having a lean cuisine or smart one. The amount of food never satisfied me, but it does now! How wonderful! At night, it depends when I am doing...I usually cook some type of lean Protein, potato, and veggie. Sometimes a salad and homemade Soup. If I am working at the family restaurant, I will have something there...the food is sooooo good, my dad is an amazing chef

I am also obsessed with drinking green smoothies. I was afraid of them at first, but they are amazing--here's how I make it--6 oz coconut almond milk (made by blue diamond), 6 oz plain fat free greek yogurt, 1 banana, 3/4 cup fresh pineapple (I get the precut, pre-cored kind in the produce section, cause I make the smoothie a few times a week and I hate cutting up pineapple!), 2 T shredded coconut, 1-2 servings lite tofu, 1 cup or more baby spinach....blend, add ice, blend again...OMG soooo creamy soooooo delish! I got the recipe from skinnytaste.com, a great website!

So I don't know if I have officially had a pb experience, but this past week is the closest I have come to it. Sunday I was eating PB cheerios (oh, the irony)...got stuck-ish for a while. I felt the pressure, the pain, the panic. Then I noticed I had some extra saliva. Ew. Went for about 30 mins that way, didn't know if I was truly stuck, because I could feel little, tiny bubbles gurgle up every once in a while, but never any relief. Finally, I had to go to the sink and make myself gag. Not fun. Then, a few burps into it, and a noticeably bigger BURP! Then, liquid cheerios emerged. Instant relief. The same thing happened on Thursday night while waitressing at work. Sorry if that was TMI, but had to share! LOL!