wow, i have been banded with plication for almost 2 yrs

and been on this forum for 2 yrs 4 months..where has the time gone?

i am happier today then i was when i started in Feb 2012...compared to

where i am now today..

the only (advice) i want to give is the following (take it or ignore it):

• call your doctor if you are hurting or concerned or need (assistance w/questions can i or should i eat/do/drink)
• i strongly advise anyone to do what THEIR doctor says, not mine or anyone elses..
• use common sense (you cant gain true weight overnight and you wont lose true weight overnight)
• eating more calories than you burn off will make you gain weight with or without any WLS
• reality is clothes sizes getting smaller is a accurate sign of losing weight (dont focus totally on the metal monster)
• you do not have to be at goal in six months...get there when you do...WLS has no expiration date

and last but not least

believe in yourself to give yourself credit..you know if you eat too much of the not so great food chioices out there

dont say the WLS did not stop you..you stop you.....YOU can control yourself..(you wont step out in front of a train would you??)

WLS will help you but it wont be the save all as that part is up to you and me

be well and all the best to you.

Beautiful place boston. Lucky you! Happy you have a grandchild coming to visit. Healthy you can walk. Life is good right now!

I live 15 minutes from the youngest grandson and less than 30 from the older 2 whom I am baby sitting tomorrow. I am very lucky about that. I saw them all last night at the walk, too. I don't know how to post pictures.

I live 15 minutes from the youngest grandson and less than 30 from the older 2 whom I am baby sitting tomorrow. I am very lucky about that. I saw them all last night at the walk, too. I don't know how to post pictures.

For four years all the grand children lived within 5 miles of my home. This summer for some reason one of my children decided to move 450 miles away and take the 3 grandchildren with him.

So needless to say I miss them the remaining grand child is enjoying the extra attention.

With the family in Myrtle Beach. Having a wonderful time.

Will post pics when I'm back.

This trip to Myrtle Beach is one year after my hip surgery. I still have aches and pains....having done lots of damage along the way, but I was able to keep up pretty well and walked around without limiting anyone. Some pics attached below. Me and my granddaughter...who loves me fat or thin...though I can't say enough how enjoyable it is to be able to keep up with her now. The pic of me heavier is from two years ago...and the pic of me at the beach...well, what can I say? I hadn't been to a beach in probably 5 years or more. Now I can navigate walking in the sand just fine.... Life is good.

Great pictures. Bubbe is almost shorter than grand daughter. Happy your hip helped you.

You bet! She'll be taller than me real soon.

@@gowalking you look sooo good .

Such amazing photos !! You look so good and so happy!

Fabulous! What a life change -- amazing.

Interesting thing happened this weekend. My daughter texted and asked me what clothing store I like because a friend of hers wants to get me a gift. She wouldn't tell me who or why. I was completely befuddled because I have only been shopping at Goodwill since my size changes every few weeks. She wouldn't take Goodwill for an answer. So here I am thinking of all of my plus size stores and realizing that if I stay on track like I am now, I may not need plus size stores by Christmas and definitely not by spring. I have NO IDEA where I would buy normal size clothes! Seriously. I then suggested Kohl's and she apparently wanted something a little more upscale. ????? So we settled on Avenue because they have regular and plus sizes in the same store with many of the same selections in both ranges.

This made me realize that I am nearing the land of the normies. That is very scary to me. I know that there are folks on this thread who feel and have felt the same way. I want to assimilate, but my God, I am in a foreign land here.

I have no winter coat. I am between a 1-2x depending on the style and can't bear to buy a coat that will fit me for a month or two. I only buy items from Goodwill that I can toss in the washer.

Feeling excited but totally out of my element today.

(I also feel like I have a Secret Santa! LOL)

Wonderful.

This trip to Myrtle Beach is one year after my hip surgery. I still have aches and pains....having done lots of damage along the way, but I was able to keep up pretty well and walked around without limiting anyone. Some pics attached below. Me and my granddaughter...who loves me fat or thin...though I can't say enough how enjoyable it is to be able to keep up with her now. The pic of me heavier is from two years ago...and the pic of me at the beach...well, what can I say? I hadn't been to a beach in probably 5 years or more. Now I can navigate walking in the sand just fine.... Life is good.

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Awesome photo's my friend! You look so happy and relaxed!! Love it!

Interesting thing happened this weekend. My daughter texted and asked me what clothing store I like because a friend of hers wants to get me a gift. She wouldn't tell me who or why. I was completely befuddled because I have only been shopping at Goodwill since my size changes every few weeks. She wouldn't take Goodwill for an answer. So here I am thinking of all of my plus size stores and realizing that if I stay on track like I am now, I may not need plus size stores by Christmas and definitely not by spring. I have NO IDEA where I would buy normal size clothes! Seriously. I then suggested Kohl's and she apparently wanted something a little more upscale. ????? So we settled on Avenue because they have regular and plus sizes in the same store with many of the same selections in both ranges.

This made me realize that I am nearing the land of the normies. That is very scary to me. I know that there are folks on this thread who feel and have felt the same way. I want to assimilate, but my God, I am in a foreign land here.

I have no winter coat. I am between a 1-2x depending on the style and can't bear to buy a coat that will fit me for a month or two. I only buy items from Goodwill that I can toss in the washer.

Feeling excited but totally out of my element today.

(I also feel like I have a Secret Santa! LOL)

This is amazing! It makes me feel good to know that there are people left in the world that care for others.

Things like this always touch my heart and my soul and make me feel great!

You all on this site make me feel that way often and it really is something powerful.

This weekend was our anniversary, and I have to share this with everyone here not because I am trying to be "braggy" that's not really my style but because I have never been so happy!! I was married for a long time to someone who just didn't get me and to be married again for the second time to someone who is so amazing, is just something I have to share with you all!!

This is our second wedding anniversary, we have been going through lots this year. Major surgery, kid drama's work drama's we adopted two puppies...lots of stuff. So my gift to the hubs was to escape from Long Island and head upstate to Cooperstown and visit the Baseball hall of fame. I took him to the Hockey hall last year in Canada, this year vacation days are limited since we used them all up on just taking care of business.

I got home on Thursday night, to a bedroom full of Balloons and Roses and he even hung a banner across the wall!! Previously he had taken me shopping and bought me a diamond ring that reminded me of one my mother had and for the techie in me the new iphone 6 with 128G so I can take all the photo's and work all the apps and just plain rule my world from my phone as I tend to do

That was more then enough for me, and to come home to all that was beyond anything I would have expected and there was MORE. The second anniversary is cotton. (who knew?) so he had our names and initial embossed on a piece of cotton and had it matted and framed! He had a glass card engraved with our wedding song on it..and I was totally overwhelmed and touched beyond belief!!

I gave him the tablet I bought him and took him away to a little B&B upstate for the weekend and we had a great time, the weather was awesome crisp and fall. The colors were amazing as the mountain ranges turned into a rainbow of color, most of those photo's are on the camera they were so magnificent!

Our eating could have been better, we pretty much lived on coffee and lunch so I guess it could have been worse too

Here are some photo's of the weekend, I hope you all had a great one as well!!