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.

Liz, you look amazing and very happy. Hard work pays off. I wish I could be disciplined.

Arlene

You know what Arlene...it's easy to be disciplined when I see the scars from my hip replacements every time I get undressed. I know that keeping the weight off will let me keep my knees for as long as possible. It's quite a motivator. I'm sure that if not for the hip replacements, I'd have alot more trouble staying on the straight and narrow. Besides..you've lost 80 lbs. and that ain't nothing to sneeze at.

Liz!!!! What a fantastic photo! Something to show that grandchild.

Debbie, I know what you mean. Without really changing what I'm doing or not doing, there are times when I'm losing and others when I seem to have leveled off for a bit. I figure that's a good thing -- that my body needs to catch up or regroup.

And Arlene, 80 pounds is amazing. I have never been a very disciplined person unless I really want to do something -- then, whoosh, I am off to the races. That WANT power that CG talks about. I really didn't want to exercise but had to fake it until one day when I actually did want to exercise -- shocking! The last month or so I have not been working out and I miss it -- yet I can't seem to march myself down to the basement right now. It's too bloody cold!

I am now a person who could stand to lose twenty or thirty pounds rather than a large woman with an even bigger appetite. I have to make sure I don't fall into complacency mode. So here's what I want:

Strong supple arms that I don't mind showing in public

A muscular belly with good core strength to take me through my older years

Long neck, big smile

Shower myself with the kind of patience and kindness I find it easier to give others

Get high off of exercise

I WANT THOSE! So here's to the next ten; I so want to get into the seventies. It will happen!

Just a quick second to check in here. Liz you look awesome!! Love the dress!!

It's been a very trying couple of weeks, and I don't see any signs of things slowing down any time soon. Been keeping on track, just not making it to the gym. I decided that when you keep falling up the stairs and getting hurt your body is trying to tell you something...like slow down your killing me!!!???

So I thought it wise to take a couple of weeks and let my knees and bruised up legs heal and maybe stop trying to run and lift and do 100 things all through out the day and then do them again at the gym.

Something has to give somewhere and I'm not sorry to say not fighting for a parking spot so I can work out till I am ready to drop literally is not the hardest thing for me to give up right now.

Work is going 90 to nothing which is good and bad at the same time, and I have some major issues going on with my son again, so prayers please and if your in the NY Tri-State area check out my project...https://freewheel.com/

Back to work for me!!!

So many of us have a plate full. Pun intended. I'm buried in divorce discovery crap. My counselor advised me to take Friday off work so I could devote the day to it because I'm so stressed. So I will. Step by step and day by day. Thank God my food is in order and even though I don't exercise, I've been walking stairs at work daily faithfully. Doing taxes, keeping tabs on my daughter gallivanting all over Europe (I'm jealous) and stressing out over too many bills and too little money.

Oh well! Just for today I can handle it. What's the alternative? I'm strong and determined and on the right path. It will all work out in God's time and someday this will be a distant memory.

And the happy thing is I'm feeling more fit and better looking and that makes me feel good. So there.

Edited February 11, 201511 yr by JustWatchMe

I just found out that my my second son will be Graduating in June from College the one who wants to be a Lawyer , or anything to do with the law , he might even be able to take the bar , I am so proud of him , so again I have to save some money for the day he Graduates , it's been 3 years he went out of high school June 2012 & started in July , I got banded in 2012 , & if there's only standing room at his Graduation then I can do that now since I am more healthy , yes we all have a lot going on , ups & downs but we can & will all get through whatever it may be.

So proud of all you gals. Facing the challenges we have without resorting to eating the feelings away or anesthetizing with food. I'm going through my own stuff and thank goodness for my therapist who helps me to work on what is bothering me instead of getting scared of the bad feelings and eating to avoid them. We are strong women and we have to keep reminding ourselves of that. We have to know we are worthy of having everything we desire and there's no reason why we cannot.

I heard a great line in a motivational podcast today. It had to do with getting trapped in old defeatist thinking and replacing those thoughts with positive thoughts for change.

"I had to stop listening to myself and start talking to myself."

Liz, re : pics

How can you wrap your head around how small you are? The dichotomy of jumbo person to little (dare I say tiny)

mid aged woman must have been confusing until you adjust. Would you say you are head and body aligned? Just wondering...????

Great picture

Edited February 12, 201511 yr by Julie norton

JWMe... Like what you repeated from podcast!

I always talk to my self , that way I get the right answers Lol but people know I try to stay positive & like to hear positive things , even in my family I will remove my self if I think they are being negative , had that enough in my life they didn't & don't understand how lots of food made me comfortable to be around it & a lot of times they will ask me to sit with them , but I now choose to remove my self & I am alright with it.

Positive self-talk is so important. Sometimes I catch myself saying (maybe not aloud, but in my head), "you idiot," or some such. NOT OKAY! So now I try to remedy that with positive remarks even when it feels silly. The mantra of choosing myself first changed my life. The car was a good place for that -- I'd repeat over and over again.

There's a new hire in our department who started last week. This may be the first person in my daily life who never knew me as morbidly obese. For some reason this really intrigues me. I'm whoever I want to be and I'm not defined by my size.

Liz, re : pics

How can you wrap your head around how small you are? The dichotomy of jumbo person to little (dare I say tiny)

mid aged woman must have been confusing until you adjust. Would you say you are head and body aligned? Just wondering...

Great picture

That's the problem Julie...I can't wrap my head around it. Hence the pictures...and more than a year of therapy. We are now finally getting to some of the meat of the issues that helped to make me turn to food so I can try not to do it again if/when I run into trouble.

I look at those pictures because I know I'm not the same person anymore...not physically or emotionally. When I feel like I'm still the fat girl, I look at the pictures so I can put my head in the right space. I'm still on the journey my friend..similar to your journey since becoming a widow. It takes a long time to become a new person whether it's related to the outside, or the inside.

Just a tip honey....I thought at some point I would stop using 'Mrs. when being addressed but for whatever reason, I never felt uncomfortable with it and 20 years widowed, I'm still Mrs. Winters. You do what feels right but don't worry if it is or not...as long as you are OK with it, go with it.

Thank you walker Liz????

I appreciate any tips trying to navigate this new life. I just started using his side of the double sink also

That took 9 months.

My maiden name? Thinking this year

Later as my passport is up. Drivers license first. Not ready yet

I am thankful for those who help... I feel very lost at times. 60. Married 1/2 my life.... New chapter ready or not. I am strong.... Yet I melt

That is very poignant, Julie, about the sink. I am so sorry for your loss but glad you are finding your way and choosing health -- freedom from food jail makes us all so much stronger.

Happy Friday all! I am going flower shopping for a party I'm hosting tomorrow. Each guest is bringing one bunch of flowers to share and a vase or two to make arrangements to take home. I'm serving tea and there will be goodies. I'm not too tempted by that stuff these days.