Congratulations to all bandsters! May we all have continued success this 2008.:tongue:

It is a happy new year for me... I am down 100 pounds! There are many of us who have met this mark, and we continue on our journey.

Cheers- here's to us, and the many "losers" that came before us, and to those who shall follow. :wink:

IF YOU ARE EVEN THINKING ABOUT GETTING A BAND, GO GET INFO NOW NOT LATER..

My Mom was scheduled to get her band Dec.19th 2007- she instead had a triple bypass heart surgery, followed by many complications, blood clots, bad reactions to meds, etc.. and results are that the triple/bypass needs to be completely redone when/if she gains enough strength back to make it through such an ordeal -again.

I will continue to count my blessing, I have had the opportunity to lose 100 pounds... before her story, became mine.

Keeping you all in my thoughts daily, Kimberly

I disappeared for a bit while I was waiting to meet my surgeon, but I finally had my first appointment, now it's just a matter of getting through the rest of the appointments I need (nutritionist, psychologist, pulminologist, and PCP). I can schedule my surgery at any time and he said it would be about 6 weeks out from whenever I schedule it. I have to wait though since my fiance lost his job, I don't know how much of the money I saved up for this will be needed for rent.

It's kind of disheartening now that I know my real weight, I think I have the highest BMI of any female on the board :huh2:

Angel,

Don't get discouraged and don't compare yourself to anyone else. You will be fine and lose weight at a pace that is comfortable for your body. Your BMI will get lower and soon there won't be much of a difference anyway! Good luck!

Hi Angelyco,

You are very brave for stepping on the scale and facing that fear. I used to dread it too, but now don't look at the scale as my arch nemisis. It is just one tool for measuring a level of health. It does not tell me what is going on inside my body. It is just a number that totals our blood, bone, Water, fat, internal organs etc. It does not even give any indication of body composition (how much of me is lean body mass & how much is fat body mass).

You can do this and one really important thing is that you not give up. At the age of 43 I got my surgery. I really understand now how important all the attempts (and failures) were in my path to here and the success to date. I needed all those to be ready (I am a slow learner where this is concerned:rolleyes2:). Never giving up is really important!

I want to echo something Valstar said. Don't compare yourself to anyone else. This was a difficult lesson for me and I still have to be reminded. Strive for improvement of YOUR accomplishments. Don't compare yourself to others. Go for improvement, not perfection. Every improvement counts, don't belittle any of your improvements. Also the high BMI means that you have the greatest opportunity for improvment!

You can do this!

Best wishes,

Mary

Hello~

I haven't been on since Feb., but I really needed to visit. That "don't compare yourself to others" is really good advice, but kinda hard to do. I sometimes get discouraged when I read how some people are able to lose the weight really quick. I am very happy for them. I just can't understand why my weight lose is sooo slow. Slow but sure is how my doc refers to it...lol I just try to convince myself that it is better to lose slowly then to gain more. I know I don't follow the rules like I am suppose to. I eat the wrong things and I eat too much of them. I have had one fill. My doc says I am doing good, Bless his heart. Coming to the boards is really encouraging to me. It helps me to know that I am not alone. Thanks guys and gals for being there. ...bev

I've seen a fair few females who have weighed more than you so don't worry. It's good you're turning it around instead of going towards 500. I too get envious of people's fabulous weight loss. Mine is good but not outstanding. That's why NSVs (non-scale victories) are so important. It's a mistake to measure out success only in weight.

For example, yesterday I went to a beach I wasn't familiar with and went snorkeling. I never would have done that this time last year. I never would have dared.

I just can't understand why my weight lose is sooo slow... I know I don't follow the rules like I am suppose to. I eat the wrong things and I eat too much of them.

I think you answered your own question. And, I'm saying this as someone who is in the same exact position so I totally understand and I'm not chastizing. I wish we could figure out how to follow the rules so we could lose as fast as others. I've been working on this for so long and I just can't get my head on straight about it! These boards are good for finding encouragement, answers, and some inspiration.

This is why I love being on this site...not only do I get to vent when I really need and I don't feel like anyone is putting me down to build themselves up; but I ALWAYS feel uplifted! Even when I don't post anything and just read along it really helps me to see that so many others out there feel like I do, and I have no reason to feel isolated.

I wanted to send out a big THANK YOU to everyone on here for helping me to feel better today!!!

Edited April 12, 200818 yr by smilin_apple
words left out

Thanks all--I needed to hear that I'm so thankful for this special forum, it's nice to be around people in the same boat as me.

Hello~

I haven't been on since Feb., but I really needed to visit. That "don't compare yourself to others" is really good advice, but kinda hard to do. I sometimes get discouraged when I read how some people are able to lose the weight really quick. I am very happy for them. I just can't understand why my weight lose is sooo slow. Slow but sure is how my doc refers to it...lol I just try to convince myself that it is better to lose slowly then to gain more. I know I don't follow the rules like I am suppose to. I eat the wrong things and I eat too much of them. I have had one fill. My doc says I am doing good, Bless his heart. Coming to the boards is really encouraging to me. It helps me to know that I am not alone. Thanks guys and gals for being there. ...bev

Slow but steady is okay, Bev,

but important to "follow the rules" also:

eat the right things and the right amounts,

and get some exercise.

My weight loss has slowed way down the past couple of months,

but I know I need another fill because it's been six months.

Most take at least three fills to get to where they have enough restriction and not getting hungry all the time.

I am getting hungry 1-1 1/2 hrs after I eat..

so I know I need to be a little tighter.

I'm going in on Monday for that.

Stick with it! It's worth it!!

Thanks for all the kind words of encouragement and advise. I really do appreciate it. I wonder sometimes what the heck is wrong with me that I can't seem to follow the rules and eat right. It is hard to break a lifetime of habits at this point in my life. I know that I do not have restriction, but then for some strange reason, I fear restriction. I know it is suppose to be my friend, but hey, it is how I feel. Thanks again for taking your time to talk with me. bev

385/337/200

start/current/goal

finally, FINALLY, I have restriction. I was banded 11.27.07

I have a 14cc band and went for my 3rd fill last Friday, Apr 11th. My MD was only going to put in another 2cc's to take me to 6cc total. I talked him into going to 7cc's because I had read that most bandsters with 14'ers are getting restriction at 7-8.

Well, I now have restriction and it feels great! I get full eating one egg in the morning. This is such a relief.

I was down to 347lbs this morning. I haven't seen 340's in a very long time. I'm down 32lbs now.

I just had to share!

Have a great day everyone!

Cherlita

wow Cherlita you and I are almost the same in stats. lol

I have the 14cc band and at the moment I have 10.5cc in my band and I have only a little bit of restriction. I only get stuck when I am really hungry and forget to chew completly. Or eat something too thick.

I cant wait for my weight to start dropping again.

I can cross my legs. It just happened one day.

You guys are kickin butt! Grats on your success, I can't wait to get done with this stupid 90 day pre-approval diet so I can join you in this wonderful journey.

Hi all,

My name is shannon and I live up in vancouver canada. So i am about 350lbs and I will be gonig for surgery at the end of May. So I am really freaked out about being put under at this weight. I am not worried about the procedure or even after but the initial part of being put under makes me really nervous. So I see that some of you have high BMIs and am wondering if you had the same fear. Also my doctor is not putting me on a liquid diet prior to surgery, only after for 1 month, any thoughts about this? I am going to do it on my own for 6 days prior to surgery. Is that enough, should I just follow what they are telling me to do? Thanks for any advice guys!