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So my big butt was so big it could hold a serving tray. Well it is gone! I need a butt lift and I still have a lot to lose. My husband said I need to have the fat sucked from the belly and put into the butt. I told him they do that in Brazil. Brazil, here we come? It is a nice feeling to know that huge monster is gone and there is still room for improvement. I have a lot of belly fat. I go to the gym but I am sure I need to something else to work it off. The fat took many years to get there and it will take some time to get off the body. my fatonmythighs have lost at least 6" since September (that was when I started taking measurements). I hope every one realizes that inches count as much as numbers on the metal monster when losing. Every one enjoy your thinner day, off to the gym now. :wub:Arlene

Making a Lifestyle change... In January my husband and I decided to commit to the lapband journey as soon as possible. first we had to finish saving the money, at the beginning of March we knew the finances would come together I started drinking a protein shake for breakfast and lunch but I also started fixing healthier food for my family, march 21 I met with my Dr. and his staff and scheduled operation for April 5 at this point I had lost 8 lbs. I've always drank alot of water and cross my fingers that it wasn't just a bunch of water weight but I'm sure plenty was though When we got home my DH husband and I threw away all junk food in the house, went to the store bought light mayo, lower calorie cheeses, yogurt, leaner meats, everything. we're making a lifestyle change, not just for he and I but for our kids as well. we have 3 daughters and a son 2 of my girls are teens and the third is right there. all of my kids have normal bmi's but 2 are at the higher end and I can see both of them copying my lifelong bad habits, not stopping when their no longer hungry, eating bc it tastes good or just bc their bored...NO it has to stop now. We completely stopped eating out we started counting calories for each of their age groups and started teaching portion control. we're still eating all the meals we used to eat with just a few healthy adjustments, but still delicious. dinners now are no more than 500 cals. total, everything we put into our bodies are healthy. when snacks for the kids are allowed its healthy. and they have to drink water, water, water. don't get me wrong we've discussed that occasionally we will have some junk food, just not everyday and when we do we need to limit it. also we've discussed if we're craving something it's probably better to have a little than to eat a bunch of other stuff trying to curb the craving. my husband has lost 12 lbs of the 20 he wants to lose and he stopped drinking soda. he says he feels better, he's sleeping better and guess what.. no more heartburn, my daughter's with the higher bmi's have lost between 3-7 lbs. we're going for walks and playing in the yard more. but it's more than that, Easter holiday my kids wanted their favorite holiday meal so I made a nice feast for them, still healthier but a feast none the less, usually they would have polished off most of the food, but not this time, they each had a small plate, they only ate half their chicken. everyone ate 1/3 of what they would have usually eaten eaten. They were full It's working!!! then yesterday my daughter came home from school (and I talk about her weight bc about a month ago at school the class weighed each other, and my daughter's friends are petite and my daughter has been very small as well but lately, as stated above she was getting into some bad habits and she weighed about 10lbs more than her friends and some comments were made I don't think purposely to hurt her feelings but it did, I realized I needed to change my families habits) anyway she came home and said some people in my class today brought in some donuts, I thought about having one but I wasn't hungry and I had eaten dessert at lunch so I passed, I didn't care if she had the donut but she was proud of herself for recognizing she didn't need it, IT'S OKAY TO WALK AWAY. I also no longer make my kids finish whats on their plate. I know their bad habits are my fault What I've realized is we needed a lifestyle change I'm proud of my whole family. and I've got this, I'm sure there will be bumps but I have support and I'm excited about our future

So, I'm excited to announce I'm over my very first stall, as stressful as it was, and am now officially down 26#! I had no pre-op diet, and was sleeved on 2/28. I'm pretty happy to see these kind of results in 5 weeks, way better than I'd been doing before with just the same ol' diet/exercise routine, The weather is also starting to break so I've been able to get out and hit the pavement...I bought myself a pair of expensive shoes I've been eyeing up for literally a year now...I walked my last pair of shoes right to pieces, and felt it was a good way to reward myself for hitting the 25# mark, while giving myself a tool to keep moving forward with the loss I'm pretty excited about it honestly. That being said- I FEEL a lot better, I'm in a smaller size jeans (Actually 2 sizes smaller from pre-op)...but I still don't SEE it. Today I was out walking with my dogs and my daugher and my own sister drove right past me, after waving and waving she finally turned around and said she didn't even recognize me! It felt great to hear that- but I seriously can't see it in myself...is it that I'm just so mentally warped on my own body image that I can't see the improvement? Is anyone else having this issue? I feel like I look exactly the same, in the mirror, in pictures, etc- I see NO change.....? Am I crazy??? lol

It's been a long while since I have posted, and I'm just sitting here planning my new life and figured I would check in with the few people who read my blog. I hope everyone is doing well and losing what they are working so hard for. I don't actually know what I have lost or gained lately because I decided to stop weighing myself. I was becoming obsessed and making myself sick when I would "plateau" for a day or two. Which I know is normal, especially since I'm not even a month out from surgery. So I haven't gotten on my scale in over a week I think. Which is kinda nice actually, the first 2 days were pretty hard, but now it's nice not worrying about it and knowing that on the 25th I'll know. The 25th is my fill date. I know that I'm going to need the fill, because as of right now when I eat my cup of food it only keeps me full for 2 hours, 3 if I push through the hunger pains. So I am eagerly waiting for my appointment to get a fill, if I wasn't such a wuss I would go sooner, but I need Ty to go with me because I'm scared for some reason, and the 25th is when he has his last two appointments. So I joined the YMCA last night, because our stupid government is broke and the base pool is going to be closed until sometime next year. And I just want to swim! And at the Y I can take Zumba classes. which I love. But if the government wasn't broke-dizzle then I wouldn't have to be spending 40 a month to swim. Which in retrospect isn't that bad since when I swam on a club team it was over a hundred dollars a month for me to swim. So on the topic of swimming, I have created a challenge for myself. I have found a website www.100swimmingworkouts.com that has..yup! you guessed it, 100 swim workouts to do. They start out for beginners with nothing over 1000 yards and builds up to swimming 2 miles by the end of the 100 work outs. I am waiting on a phone call from either my surgeon or nurse to tell me when I am cleared to swim. And when they give me the ok, I am giving myself 6 months to complete the 100 workouts. I am hoping to build up to swimming 5 times a week, which would mean that I would only really need 5 months, but hey, I'm human. I'm giving myself a month buffer incase I skip or miss a workout. If anyone is interested in doing this with me, let me know. I would love to have a motivating companion that I can help motivate right back. I have always loved swimming, and it is one of the healthiest things that I have ever done that I loved as much as food. So I'm ready to get back into the swing of things. I'm hoping I won't be a complete mess when I first jump into the pool. Well that's pretty much it for now. Love to hear from anyone with help or a simple hello! Happy losing everyone! Shelley

Well, after browsing this site all yesterday and reading others blogs, I decided that I should put my own thoughts to page and hopefully get some really awesome feedback from people who actually get it. First off, let me share a little of my story. I have always struggled with weight, even in high school. I was really active, participating in soft ball and played golf for my school. I was "plus size" even then. Got married at 20 to a man in the Navy, and then divorced by 24. I guess you could say I am an emotional eater, but this journey really has taught me a lot about what I actually need for nutrition as opposed to that satiating yummy feeling, that usually ends up making me sick 30 minutes afterward. I have tried every diet known to man, to only be knocked down a peg and it not be successful. After numerous tests (when my weight spiked to 299, and bp was 180/103) my doctors determined that not only do I have high bp, sleep apnea, PCOS, and depression; they found that my thyroid was barely working. I was referred to a seminar with Mission health at the end of November and from there it really has been a fast, whirlwind process. Had my first doctors appointment in December, and now here we are April, and I'm going into surgery in two weeks. I have been so blessed with my insurance plan. BCBS of NC has literally come back with an approval hours after submission. So far the process has been stress free and everyone has been really supportive. I can only think that this is devine intervention or something. Well, anyways. Today marks my first day of "full liquids" and I was so excited. It is like that final step before surgery. I sit and day-dream about all the things I'm going to get to do. All the clothes (that you don't have to pay extra for) that I can wear. It started almost like any morning, I was sitting at my desk at work. I had made the terrible mistake of telling my co-worker that I had taken "before" pictures. Which I probably will never share with anyone. Seeing yourself from a third person prospective totally warped my sense of "self-image." Like, I have no illusions that I'm obese. But at least when I look in the mirror I go "hmm, not that bad," but when I saw the pictures I was like OH MY GOODNESS, how could I let myself get like that? Anyways, my co-worker is and this is her quote "126 pounds and OH MY GOD a size 6" she's gorgeous. I hear daily from random patients "you are the most beautiful woman I've seen." While here I am a troll, hiding in my cave at work. She had the comforting idea to go "I took before pictures too!" (as she is doing crossfit three times a week and resistance four times a week) I can barely walk to the bathroom without getting out of breath. Of course her before pictures were disgusting and hideous and should be burned. I snapped. (Not proud, but whatever). I looked at her and said, "do you realize I've NEVER been a size 6." She retorted, "when I started working here I was a size 2, but everyone eats all the time I just join in." Like it's my fault she's gained six pounds and went up two pant sizes. We currently are acting icy towards each other and I just laughed at her response and told her I had work to do. So after saying all of that, I beg to ask... do people really not get it? When they think they are being helpful and supportive, do they really not hear what comes out of their mouths? I hate that I've let her ruin my day so early, but I'm so frustrated that someone so beautiful could think so little of herself to compare her to me, and think that its supportive that she's gained weight working here also. Just sayin' I would probably risk 10-20 years in prison to get a body like hers. SIGH, am I being petty?

the sweet spot that is known as the green zone. Some are lucky and never have to worry about it and some of us have to figure out if we are really in it or not or if it even exists. Since my last fill on Jan 29th I can certainly say it exists. I can easily go 5 hours with need to eat and I never have the cravings or desires to snack. Jan 29th I weighed 346 and this morning I was 313. Today I also had my one year follow up visit and the Center was happy with everything they seen and heard and they feel I am in a very good place right now. They decided that they only need to see me every 6 months but if I have any problems at all with anything or think I need adjustment then call sooner and get in. I still have a long way to go in my journey but sometimes it is good to take a step back and look at the big picture. My Doc took all my measurements this morning and then gave me this print out for a little perspective. I am 93lbs from my personal goal but I am more motivated then ever. My advice to all the new folks considering this option. Patience...this trip requires a lot patience but if you're true to yourself and follow your Docs advice and guidelines you can be successful. With anything there are ups and downs but you have to grind through the low points. Lapband surgery one day and weight loss the next does not happen. It can take some time for the ball to really start rolling.

I haven't posted in a little while, mostly because things have been going great, and there hasn't been anything really newsworthy. On Thursday, March 28, I went for my 3 week post op follow up. They have me down 26 lbs, but to me it is 31 lbs. I think their scale was off on my first visit by 5 lbs. I weighed 274 lbs on my first visit with clothes on, and also weighed 274 at home with no clothes. Every visit since then, I've been exactly 5 lbs more at the office than on the home scale. So, according to them, I started at 274 and now weigh 248, for a total weight loss of 26 lbs. But according to the home scale, I started at 274 and now weigh 243, for a total weight loss of 31 lbs. They are very happy with the 26 lbs, and said I can start eating small pieces of solid food, and have no more restrictions on lifting or exercise. 26 lbs or 31 lbs, I'm happy, even though I've only lost one lb in the last week. I feel like I am almost doing TOO good, if that makes any sense. The other night I cooked up a Freschetta pizza for the kids, and I was able to eat a very small piece. And tonight for Easter dinner, I was able to eat very small quantities of ham, mashed potatoes, corn, Mac & cheese, creamed spinach, with zero issues. It doesn't seem right, from reading other people's posts, that I should be able to eat these things, especially at only 3 weeks post op.