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So Im not sure if its my type A personality or that Im a nurse thats pissing me off more. Ive never had "major" SURGERY! HOWEVER i had NO idea i would be this tired and no energy. I have vowed not to weigh myself until my Dr. Aapt. Monday. Overall feeling good, just cant wait to be "back to my crazy self!"

I think the way we view our bodies is a choice, and only you (not your boyfriend, best friend or me) can truly choose how you're going to live in your own body. If you choose to focus on the loose skin and the imperfections, and allow yourself to stare in the mirror and beat yourself up mentally, then you're going to feel bad. Instead, when you have those negative thoughts, you can make a conscious effort to "talk some sense" into yourself. That loose skin is a battle scar of a battle WON. If you can work on accepting that your body is not perfect, but it's YOURS and it's amazing, then you'll feel better. I look pretty dang good in clothes, but not so good naked. My breasts bother me the most (if I let them), because they are 90-year-old breasts on a mid-thirties woman. I do plan to fix them when I can afford it, but until then, I work on accepting them. I treat myself to really really good bras that make them look awesome, and I've moved to the point where 95% of the time, I accept them and can even make jokes (that even I find funny- not defensive jokes) about them to my husband and close friends. The other thing I do is catch my own negative talk (i.e. ewww, my boobs are so disgusting!) and choose to be more balanced (i.e. ok, so they don't look great BUT wow, I don't have back pain anymore, I can see my ribcage under them, I wear a much smaller bra and they DO look good in a bra/clothes, plus, I can be active without being bothered by my enormous fat breasts so it's not as bad as it seems). This helps me a lot. It is up to you to work on accepting yourself, and you have to do that consciously by monitoring your thoughts about your body and not allowing yourself to be your own worst enemy.

not banded yet but wil be on Jan 30th. all i can tell you is life happens dont beat yourself up about. own it. you went away had a good time enjoyed yourself now get back on the bandwagon and move on. you dont have to be a perfect bandster just a really good one.

Tracy: You truly are a success! It was nice to see you here LBT again. I think it's great that you got down to your low weight and though you gained from there you feel comfortable. Alot of people don't understand how someone can be comfortable when they've lost 100 pounds and then gained 30. I can and appreciate that you shared your experience. Knowing that you feel better at a size 10, but are comfortable in 12-14's is okay. At some point it becomes more about living life and not so much about thinking about every bite that goes into your mouth and how many calories you're burning with exercise. The best part about the band is that if we follow the rules and have the right restriction we can get back down to the low weight again if we want to. I got as low as 174 and I am up over 200 again. I was just talking with my doctor about this yesterday. He said that there is some type of reset that our bodies want to go back to our old weight once we've been so heavy. It just pisses me off that I may have to "diet" again to get back down under 200. Working on getting fills now after being unfilled for a while so that my band can help me. Thanks for updating us. I remember you from before and always enjoyed reading your posts. Take care. Sue

Firstly, lapbandtalk pooped out for three days! I'm not sure what that was about, but it certainly put a kink in my plans to post on my progress daily. I thought it was just here in Kuwait, which is understandable because the government censors our internet and the internet isn't of particularly great quality to begin with, but some friends in others countries weren't able to get on either. Thus, it was not a Kuwait thing; it was a lapbandtalk thing. So, to catch you up on the goings on... (And in no particular order) To add to the wonderful pleasures of post-op recuperation, my period decided to make an appearance. Granted, it wasn't early, it wasn't late, I just forgot it was coming. Yay! I guess the most interesting thing that occurred over the past few days was the pop. Tuesday night riding home from rehearsal, my carpool chica told me I could adjust the thermostat and radio as I like. So when a horrid rappish song came on (I say rappish because it was attempting to be rap and failing miserably) I reached to turn off the radio to prevent my ears from being assailed by the (ahem) musician's attempt to modernize and secularize a classic Christmas song ("Do You Hear What I Hear") into a song about DJs. Upon reaching, I felt a pop right mid-torso followed by a spreading warmth/burning sensation. Since that evening, any time I cough, sneeze, or get up from laying down it HURTS there. I told my bandster friend C and she said it sounded like I popped one of my stitches. So I called my doctor, who wanted to know how soon I could see him. By this point I had moved beyond the worry of popped stitches and onto the worry of an incisional hernia. As it was my planning period, I rushed right across to the hospital (the convenience of working so close) and he checked me out. The good news is that nothing has popped and I have no hernia (he actually said that was highly unlikely) and apparently just angered one of my muscles and should, therefore, take it easy. In the same visit, they removed my plasters (what they call bandages here). This is a celebration because I'm moving along in my healing process. But I wanted them back! The shirt I was wearing was empire waist and kept rubbing up against my incisions! It didn't hurt, but it was so annoying! When I popped into my apartment between work and grocery shopping, I practically ripped the thing from my body and swapped it out for a shirt with absolutely no waist definition whatsoever. And breathed a sigh of relief. After the removal of the bandages, I was contemplating not going grocery shopping because of said material annoyance, but the changing of the shirt and the pondering of what soups might be available at the distant Lulu Hypermarket motivated me to go nonetheless. Thus, I went, without my recyclable grocery bags as I was only going for soup. Well, they had Greek yogurt. As stated in an earlier post, I'm not a huge fan of yogurt. However, I like Greek yogurt. Thus, I stocked up. Then I moved on to the produce section. I spent, no exaggeration, a half hour in the produce section. One thing Lulu's is known for is it's produce section. I had no idea. I got ingredients to make mashed parsnips, mashed turnips, creamed cauliflower, more stock, and two kinds of soup! And left Lulu's with what for me is a full cart of groceries. Which brings me to my next P: pureed foods. Yes, reader, I have moved on to pureed foods. And for those of you who have been there, you know what a glorious day it is when you get to stick that emulsion mixer into a container of food and whip the crap out of it to make your own baby food. Not because pureed food has such an interesting texture (because it doesn't) but because it offers so many more flavor options than broth-jello-juice days. By the time I was halfway through my second week of clears, and though I wasn't hungry, I was craving new flavors. Like cheese. And tomato. I got home from the grocery store and immediately chopped up vegetables and picked one of my newly acquired chickens to make the stock. Then I chopped up a butternut squash and used said stock to make butternut squash soup (which is amazingly delicious) and while that was simmering I roasted a crapload of tomatoes to make creamy tomato basil soup (which is heavenly). So, while I am still not hungry and must therefore remind myself to eat, I am eating good food. My final P for this post is pounds. I am apparently losing just over a pound a day. As of today's jump on the Wii Fit board I am down 15 pounds in fourteen days. If I continue at this rate, I should reach my first weight loss goal (to see a number lower that 274 - my lowest weight in nine years) some time this week. This is amazing. I told my husband (he's not really my husband; we call each other husband and wife because he played Thenardier opposite my Mme. Thenardier for "Master of the House" in the theater's sixth production of Mad Musicals) and now he wants to go on a clear liquid diet. The man is thin, but whatever floats his boat. I would post a picture, but LBT says I'm not permitted to here, so I will change my profile pic so you can see what I mean. And while I'm on the topic of the theater, my wonderful friend T said to me prior to the surgery that this weight loss is going to open up so many roles for me at the theater. He knows and acknowledges my acting and singing ability and loves me dearly. However, there aren't that many roles out there for someone my size (fat). Thus, by next year's casting calls I should be equipped to beat out less talented thinner people! Coming from a director, this is awesome news. I love my band.

Totally normal as our weight does fluctuate quite a bit...keep doing what you are doing. Its for a lifetime and it will make a difference!

Hey, don't worry we all will be drop dead HOT soon enough. Don't ever think the way someone remembers us is a bad thing. It just means we have a spot in their memory bank. Better to be here on earth than not. Big or small. Keep your head up and working hard. Crystal

I think I love you. You have no idea the battles I have fought on this forum regarding the scale. Yes, put it away. Great decision. Now, my other battle is Protein shakes ... one at a time.

Here's a good old saying: Worring is like a rocking chair, you can do it as much as you want, but it won't get you anywhere! Good luck and stay positive! YOU CAN DO IT!! I have just started my journey as well...the head games you play with yourself will always be there I think - it's just how you manage through them that counts.

Hello. I am newly banded (only as of 2 weeks) so I'm not sure what I can tell you. However, I realized early on that feeling "full" is not SUPPOSED to happen...even without the band. It means you ate too much. Feeling satisfied and not being hungry in between meals (like every 4 to 5 hours) is the goal. That's just my opinion. I have yet to feel FULL like I used to when I used to stuff my face and clean my plate, but I also don't feel hungry between meals. I'm happy with that. I would also discuss your concerns with your doctor. As for a different procedure, I would suggest the sleeve over the bypass. I did a lot of research on the sleeve because I was considering getting that done (before insurance told me it wasn't covered) and it's safer than the bypass. Good luck in whatever you decide to do!