Great Idea - I will do it right now !!

Hi

I am Janet and I am a recovering food addict :wink2:

I was banded 7/17/07 - My starting weight was 250 - I'm 5'4

Today (just over 10 months out) I am 154 - size 8 pants (was 18/20) Medium tops (was 22/24)

I got banded as I wanted to extend the years that I have left on this planet and to do that I knew that I needed to lose weight.

The band has been the tool I needed. For the first time in my life I have been able to achieve this goal (actually getting to my goal weight)

If you want a buddy - support - help - suggestions - Please feel free to call upon me - I will gladly share my journey with you - the journey is still on going and by helping you I will be helping me (staying motivated and accountable) and then one day you can pay it forward and help someone else.

OH! I cant wait for Monday either Janet!!!!!!

Cheri - Happy birthday. Hope it is a great day for you.

Janet, he just listened when I told him I used to be very heavy. Then he cracked a joke, "so I shouldn't ask to see a before pic". All I said was nope and it was dropped. Doesn't seem to be a problem. Now the next thing is all the baggy skin when/if things progress to that. lol

I am very self conscious about that, I seem to be having body image issues. I am trying to not let it affect me but when I look at myself I see the fat not the good. Don't think I'll ever be anerexic though. Oh well just another thing to work on. Don't want to get bored with myself.

LauraK

Enjoy your life. Love and laugh yourself thin.

Cheri

Cheri - Happy Birthday and love the quote

Meredith - I am so glad the dog was found

Thank you to everyone for the responses on the party. To answer questions the party is for my DH friend so he wants to go. I will know alot of people there and everyone is right I am hiding out cause of my weight. I will go and have a great time.

So my DH car is in the show so we are sharing my car. I chose to walk home from work instead of waiting for an hour until he could come get me. It only took 23mins which is pretty good.

Janet, he just listened when I told him I used to be very heavy. Then he cracked a joke, "so I shouldn't ask to see a before pic". All I said was nope and it was dropped. Doesn't seem to be a problem. Now the next thing is all the baggy skin when/if things progress to that. lol

I am very self conscious about that, I seem to be having body image issues. I am trying to not let it affect me but when I look at myself I see the fat not the good. Don't think I'll ever be anerexic though. Oh well just another thing to work on. Don't want to get bored with myself.

LauraK

Is it typical to have saggy skin from WLS?

Thank you for that I will try to remember to not set my goals so high. I know i tend to do that to myself then i feel bad about myself because i fail. I am going to try to go to the gym to get a membership this week or weekend sometime. Waiting to hear back from my sister. Hope all is well...

Tina - I would set a goal of like 1 lbs a week - then if you make more then you will be even that much more happier w/yourself.. WTG on the gym - As you can tell I am a BIG BIG believer in getting your exercise - to get healthy it's about the whole package - brain - eating healthy & exercising the body....

Janet, he just listened when I told him I used to be very heavy. Then he cracked a joke, "so I shouldn't ask to see a before pic". All I said was nope and it was dropped. Doesn't seem to be a problem. Now the next thing is all the baggy skin when/if things progress to that. lol

I am very self conscious about that, I seem to be having body image issues. I am trying to not let it affect me but when I look at myself I see the fat not the good. Don't think I'll ever be anerexic though. Oh well just another thing to work on. Don't want to get bored with myself.

LauraK

LauraK - I hear you on that issue - I don't think I would undress w/the lights on LOL and make sure a robe or something was close at hand when I got out of bed LOL

Cheri - Happy Birthday and love the quote

Meredith - I am so glad the dog was found

Thank you to everyone for the responses on the party. To answer questions the party is for my DH friend so he wants to go. I will know alot of people there and everyone is right I am hiding out cause of my weight. I will go and have a great time.

So my DH car is in the show so we are sharing my car. I chose to walk home from work instead of waiting for an hour until he could come get me. It only took 23mins which is pretty good.

Melissa WTG !!! So proud of you !!!!

Is it typical to have saggy skin from WLS?

Tina - blow up a balloon - let the air out - that's our bodies - how much you will have will depend mosting on your DNA -

Don't let the saggy skin issue bother you - you may have it - (most likely will) but the saggy skin isn't going to kill you but the 163 lbs of fat surely will...

Man, I wish you guys were all here. We would have fun in a retirement village. The place would be so lively.

So Sandy, you added live to my line so I think our thread motto should be, Live, Love, and Laugh Yourself Thin.

And Janet, I did have social anxiety in Vegas, but I got out of the hotel a lot with various people who were willing to go with me. I also was outside a lot in the pool or sitting outside the pool in a small group. The noise from the casinos was overwhelming so I avoided them and I avoided just sitting around in large groups talking--especially in the hotel rooms. I get claustrophobic and extremely restless in those settings. I like to be with people one on one or in a small group. And I need to be able to move. At the nightclub I couldn't just sit around the table with everyone. The noise was bad and you couldn't converse so I just kept moving to the music.

Went for a long outdoor walk. Almost 40 out today. Stayed on the sidestreets cause the sidewalks still had some crusted snow, puddles, and icy spots. Going to get out of here now. Go get a Starbucks, go get a book, get some scripts filled at Walgreens.

So my mom seems to have made up her mind that she wants to go to the retirement village that's in the Grand Rapids MI area by my brother, Scott. She likes that village better and it has a heated pool right in the facility. She'll be away from all other relatives and will be much harder to visit by her out of town relatives, but Scott will be there to deal with Dad, which he does better than the rest of us. Now we'll see if my brother can get my Dad to agree.

Cheri

Man, I wish you guys were all here. We would have fun in a retirement village. The place would be so lively.

So Sandy, you added live to my line so I think our thread motto should be, Live, Love, and Laugh Yourself Thin.

And Janet, I did have social anxiety in Vegas, but I got out of the hotel a lot with various people who were willing to go with me. I also was outside a lot in the pool or sitting outside the pool in a small group. The noise from the casinos was overwhelming so I avoided them and I avoided just sitting around in large groups talking--especially in the hotel rooms. I get claustrophobic and extremely restless in those settings. I like to be with people one on one or in a small group. And I need to be able to move. At the nightclub I couldn't just sit around the table with everyone. The noise was bad and you couldn't converse so I just kept moving to the music.

Went for a long outdoor walk. Almost 40 out today. Stayed on the sidestreets cause the sidewalks still had some crusted snow, puddles, and icy spots. Going to get out of here now. Go get a Starbucks, go get a book, get some scripts filled at Walgreens.

So my mom seems to have made up her mind that she wants to go to the retirement village that's in the Grand Rapids MI area by my brother, Scott. She likes that village better and it has a heated pool right in the facility. She'll be away from all other relatives and will be much harder to visit by her out of town relatives, but Scott will be there to deal with Dad, which he does better than the rest of us. Now we'll see if my brother can get my Dad to agree.

Cheri

Man, I wish you guys were all here. We would have fun in a retirement village. The place would be so lively.

So Sandy, you added live to my line so I think our thread motto should be, Live, Love, and Laugh Yourself Thin.

And Janet, I did have social anxiety in Vegas, but I got out of the hotel a lot with various people who were willing to go with me. I also was outside a lot in the pool or sitting outside the pool in a small group. The noise from the casinos was overwhelming so I avoided them and I avoided just sitting around in large groups talking--especially in the hotel rooms. I get claustrophobic and extremely restless in those settings. I like to be with people one on one or in a small group. And I need to be able to move. At the nightclub I couldn't just sit around the table with everyone. The noise was bad and you couldn't converse so I just kept moving to the music.

Went for a long outdoor walk. Almost 40 out today. Stayed on the sidestreets cause the sidewalks still had some crusted snow, puddles, and icy spots. Going to get out of here now. Go get a Starbucks, go get a book, get some scripts filled at Walgreens.

So my mom seems to have made up her mind that she wants to go to the retirement village that's in the Grand Rapids MI area by my brother, Scott. She likes that village better and it has a heated pool right in the facility. She'll be away from all other relatives and will be much harder to visit by her out of town relatives, but Scott will be there to deal with Dad, which he does better than the rest of us. Now we'll see if my brother can get my Dad to agree.

Cheri Live, Love,

Hello all!

Tina~ I'm 28 and have skin sag. Mostly my belly and my boobs, but let me tell you, I would trade that any day for the 100+ pounds of fat I was carrying around. I wouldn't over do it with the WL right now. It's good to keep track of what you are eating and "mindfully" eat, but don't go overboard. I think you run the risk of burning yourself out before you even get started. Also, the day before my 2 week pre-op liquid diet started I had a "free for all". Or my last "supper". I ate whatever I wanted. I had Burger King for lunch, a slab of bbq ribs and fries for dinner, and a HUGE piece of cake that my friend made for dessert. It made me never want to eat like that again because it made me feel like sh!t. And, here I am a year and a half later. Ya, I had some troubles with my band, but I would do it again 100 times. I will post more on how my fam/ live in bf felt about it later.

Lori~ How is DD today? Anxious to hear if the contractions have subsided.

Melissa~ Since I don't like to drive, I wouldn't want to go and sleep over there for that reason alone. But thats just me. If that is NOT the reason why you don't want to go, then girl, you better go!!!! Who cares what you look like? If these are your friends/family they will not care what you look like!

Here's the doggy story....

On the 19th, which was a Sunday, my sis was at her bf's families hunting camp. She was doing dishes and getting ready to leave, packing up and such. She let the puppies out. She has the weiner dog, Brady, who is 6 and the Lab Wallace who is 5. Both are very familiar with the woods as she takes them hiking very often all over the country. Only the weiner dog came back in. They spent the entire day looking for Wallace, but he was no where to be found. Since he had his spleen out 2 weeks before and was not acting normal, we all just assumed that he was sick and had gone into the woods to die. She looked for him every day up until Christmas eve when she left to come home.

Christmas was kinda sad. Not the same with out all of the pups, as they are part of our family. We had a nice time, but then there would be quiet and we would all simultaneously think of Wallace. Anyhow, she went back up north the day after Christmas.

Now, she lives in Petoskey and the camp where he vanished from is about 30 min away from where she lives. Yesterday, she got a call from a man while she was on her lunch hour. He said "I have your dog and he is her doing well." She was shocked!!!! Especially because this man was calling her from 15 MILES from where the dog disappeared from. And was heading in the direction of my sisters house!

Apparently this man was looking for his flashlight when his wife reminded him it was by the woodpile out back. He went out to get the flashlight, and there was Wallace cowering underneath the woodpile!!!!! I guess it took him a minute to warm up to the guy, but once he did, he hopped right into the mans truck to keep warm because the family had other dogs. They also gave him some food. My sister showed up shortly after to find a very skinny, but very happy dog! THe guy and his wife said, "you can sure tell thats your dog and that he loves you very much!" She took him home, fed him a little bit and layed in bed and napped with her "boys" for the rest of the afternoon. And they lived happily ever after!!!!

I cannot wait to go up there and see him!!! It's a good 4.5 hr drive and I'm not really a fan of driving. SO, hopefully in mid-January I will be able to make it up there. Thanks again everyone for all of your love and support!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHERI!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU DESERVE A GREAT DAY!!!!!

Ok, thats all for now.

More later, Mere

Cheri - Ya at the club it was very noisey :0) - I guess so much was going on - that I didn't notice - I knew you were out and about cuz you had never been to Vegas before - I would have never known that you were feeling ill at ease ... Ya that is a problem with a large group - you really don't get a chance to always talk to everyone.. So glad your Mom has agreed - Hopefully your Dad will too.. One less thing for you to have to worry about..

I love the idea of us all living in the same retirement village - but you guys gotta come out this way - I don't think I could live in snow ;0) - We could go to FL with the rest of the retired pple :0)

LOL Now Cheri is junking up the thread :0)

Meredith - So happy to read about your fur nephew - just puts a smile on my face to know he's home safe and sound..

I don't let my dogs out period - I would be to afraid they would go exploring and not come back - get hit by a car or that someone would steal them..

Happy Birthday Cheri!!!!!

BRRR typing with frozen fingers, stupid me thought I didn't need my gloves just to clear a path on the deck for the doggies by the back door (tired of them tracking in so much snow). WRONG! Bitter cold out there. But it stopped snowing. I just got home from my excursion to costco to get my lobster for tomorrow night. That's the calmest I've ever seen Costco. I've been to Costcos in all the states i've lived in and have never seen a crazier Costco than the one here, I think it's due to the large familes here and buying in bulk, plus the Mormons are very big on food storage. Roads were okay however, the on and off ramp of the freeway weren't plowed and very treacherous, saw a pickup on top of a chainlink fence, of course the fence crumbled but how it got on top of a 6 foot fence?

Retirement villages: My grandma lives in a nice one, she is in the independent living part and goes down for meals. They have so many activities she can be as active as she wants, plus vans that take them shopping etc. If/when the need arises they also have assisted living, nursing home, hospice and even a memory unit. If cost is an issue look into the PACE providers for your area. https://www.cms.gov/PACE/01_Overview.asp#TopOfPage It stands for Program for All Inclusive Care for Elderly or something like that. My Grandma supported herself for 100 yrs but at 100 her money started to run low, she went on to this program and it's been wonderful. I believe all states have them but not sure, you can either take aid and go on it or you can pay for it I beleive, I don't know lots about it just how it pertained to her situation.

Wouldn't that be fun a bunch of lap band gals in a retirement village? oh the fun we could have! Not Florida though LOL too close to my parents. LOL

Saggy Skin: each person gets it differently. Mine is mostly in my legs, but like others have said I'd take that over the fat any day! I'd rather be deflated than inflated!

Social Anxiety: I have that a little too. I tend to get very quiet in large group settings. OH and Cheri, I was so nervous when you and I were the first 2 to fly in to Vegas and meeting you one on one as well. I can hide in group settings but not one on one though I do prefer one on one once I get to know someone a little. Thank you for being so gracious when meeting me. I enjoyed our time together waiting for Karen, Julie and then Arlene.

Dogs: I so worry about my dogs when DH takes them hunting. Lucy who is the better hunter of the 2 always stays close at hand and is a true retriever and will bring everything back to DH, but Hunter (who isn't the best hunter and is part Australian Shepherd) is much happier trying to herd something up and takes off running sometimes. She's always come back but gets herself into more trouble, like an encounter with a barbed wire fence that required numerous stitches, etc. When DH and I talk about getting our 'grandma condo' one day in Denver it's the dogs that are making it most difficult cause if we divide our time in living in 2 places where do the dogs live? We fly all the time and it's hard to fly with them, boarding gets expensive and I hate to board my dogs. They are my constant companions and would never consider getting rid of them.

oh and for those that asked, DD is having fewer contractions today so that is a good thing. The dr visit went well yesterday and she is to continue being a couch potato and call if they worsen again.

You guys crack me up. I am as giddy as a school girl and I got another whole day to get thru. Geez Louise how am I going to make it. I told my DD I have to go shopping tonight for underwear. lol She's like why Mom? Too funny.

Totally amusing myself today but I did get some work done too.

LauraK

Whoa peeps!!!!!! y'all are burning up the thread today. I haven't read all of it yet. I got back from taking my mother to the neurologist. Her glaucoma is worse.....not a brain issue. She has decided not to have an MRI. There is nothing they could do for her anyway. At 87 and a bad heart..she doesn't want to know if her aneurysm is back.

Who is on the Choo Choo today? I did have a Protein bar for Breakfast and Chick Fil A nuggets for lunch. Lori, I ate most of them. I guess you would say I might need a fill in a few months.

Cheri, so glad your mother wants to move in a retirement place. It sure will take the stress off the family and them too. I hope your dad goes along with it. Enjoy your Birthday.

Later! gotta get some stuff done around here.