enterprise01

It took 5 fills before I felt any noticeable restriction. Few people hit their sweet spot with just one fill. Wait a week and if you don't feel any restriction, go back and get another fill.

OMG, how awful! What did you end up telling your MIL and SIL? I bet they were really concerned. And please tell me I misread this. You didn't wipe up the up-chuck with a fabric remnant and then put it back in the bin with the other remnants, did you? Can you imagine the poor person who finds that? PBs can truly be awful. Many times at home, I have to get up and run to the kitchen sink to PB. I've vomited as many as 10 times in a row with a bad PB. By the way, what is Amish food like? I didn't even know they had Amish restaurants.

How do you know this? Have men been rude enough to say something?

Sula, congrats on that 50 lb mark. And good for you for taking in that kitty. I'm a huge cat lover myself and spoil mine rotten. My boyfriend is always resistant to a new cat, but it only takes a week for him to fall in love with the newest addition. He's quite funny about it. Two years ago, I wanted to adopt a 10 year old cat I found on-line at the Texas Siamese Rescue. Here's our conversation about it, verbatim: Me: "I want to adopt this really sweet 10 year old flame point I found on-line." BF: "No, absolutely not." (In his loud voice.) Me: "Well, she's 10 years old, so you know no one is going to be interested in her. I may be her last chance for finding a good home." BF: "No, we have enough cats. You don't need anymore." Me: "They say she's really sweet and affectionate. I think she'd make a good companion for Bailey (my male cat that loves all female cats)." BF: "OK, fine, but 3 is your limit, so who are you going to get rid of to make room for her? Obviously you're keeping Bailey, so which one is it? The Queen (Fuzz, my self-absorbed Persian) or Chicken Legs (Angel, my insane little white cat who over grooms)?" Me: "You know I'm not getting rid of anyone." BF: "Why do you want such an old cat? Five more years and it will be boo-hoo all over again." Me: "She may live longer than that and if not I'd rather have her for 5 years than not at all." BF: "Why do you even ask me? You're just going to do what you want to do and I'll come home and there she'll be." (Again in his loud voice.) Me: "Yeah, that's about right." He now spends more time cuddling with her than he does with me. He adores that cat but of course won't admit it. Men are so funny about things like that. So I have no doubt your husband will come around.

As of this morning, I've lost 7 pounds in 7 days. I have 3 more pounds to lose in another 7 days, so I'm right on track. This is absolute torture, though. Last night after walking 6.5 miles in 106 minutes, I was too tired to eat. I've gone from a size 12 to a size 10 in my pants. Shirts are all fitting the same, so I don't think any of the weight has come off my arms. Even if Dr. Heller turns me down for the TV show, I'll be OK with it. After all, he's given me the impetus to exercise regularly and get that much closer to my goal.

I based my goal weight on the weight at which I looked my best in the past. At my goal of 118, I'm damn near skinny, but it's still 8 pounds above the BMI range for someone my height. The BMI chart is a good guideline, but it doesn't work for everyone. It doesn't take other factors into account, like muscle mass, bone structure, or breast size.

Some people think it's rude to comment on someone else's appearance even if it's a positive comment. Or as Wheetsin said, they may notice the weight loss but worry that it's not intentional. Just last week, I was in the elevator with a co-worker whom I hadn't seen in about a year. He noticed my weight loss and complimented me. He was never fat but was 20-30 lbs overweight last time I saw him and was much thinner now, so I said it looked like he was trimming down, too. Well, it wasn't by choice. He's been sick with liver problems, so that's why he's lost weight. It made me wish I hadn't said anything.

I'm down another 1/2 pound today, so 4.5 lbs to go in 8 days. I did 70 minutes on the stationary bike last night, and now my butt is bruised. I'm going back to walking tonight. And I did not have a single piece of Halloween candy yesterday.

Thanks, Jacqui. I know a lot of people are in worse shape than me, but the arms just really bother me. I'd rather have a bad scar than flabby bat wings. And the skin near my underarm is kind of discolored from the constant rubbing and it has that wrinkly scrotum-like appearance that Wheetsin and Losingjusme were talking about. My mom is giving me $10,000 toward plastic surgery, so if I have the arms, stomach, and breasts done, it will probably only be about $5,000 out-of-pocket for me.

Yes, the lipo on the arms would be done at the same time. Dr. Heller's medical assistant is Myra. She's fairly young, but very nice. She's the one that took the naked pictures of me for Dr. Heller's file. His office assistant is Inga, and she's as sweet as can be. She'll go over all the fees with you. Dr. Heller gives a 25% discount on his fees to all Spivak patients, so that will save you some money right there. Although I need to lose 25 more to get to goal, he went ahead and gave me an estimate on a breast lift and tummy tuck. If he can do the lift without adding implants for firmness, it will be around $10,500 for both procedures. Implants add about $2,000 to the price. If you can guarantee Dr. Heller that you'll be at your goal weight in another 2-3 months, he'll probably go ahead and schedule your surgery for then. The only thing I didn't like at his office was that I had to wait about 45 minutes to see him. I'm hoping that was a one time thing. Let me know how your consultation goes.

The doctor thinks he'll need to make the incision down the arm because the loose skin goes almost all the way to the elbow. He's going to re-evaluate that when I go back on Nov. 9th and see if the 10 pound weight loss improves it any. If we do the long incision and I'm not happy with the scars, I won't hesitate to do a scar revision a year or two down the road. Yes, I understand about the tank tops. It's horribly hot and humid 10 months out of the year in Houston, and not being able to wear sleeveless tops makes it even worse. I can't wait until I can dress appropriately for the weather here.

That's right. You've come such an incredibly long way. Nothing is going to get in the way of achieving the body and the life that you want. I have complete faith in you.

Thanks, everyone. I'm now down to 143 lbs. Five more to go. I walked 7 miles last night and this morning I was in so much pain, I had to take a Darvocet just to get up and get dressed. My legs are so sore that I can't even tolerate my cat sitting on my lap. Just gotta keep my eye on the prize. JulieNYC and TheGhost, I'm glad you all found my thread about this. I feel like we're all plastic surgery sisters. And, Julie, I'm a litigation support manager for a very large law firm, so you and I have similar work related stress. Not to mention that trying to get time off is almost impossible. I'm the only lit support person for a firm of over 500 attorneys and I support all 6 of our U.S. offices. They are going to have a fit when I only give them 3 or 4 days notice that I'm taking a week off. Oh, well. That's their problem. I've been begging for help for 4 years now.

Julie -- There's one other thing to consider. Sometimes when you surgically remove fat from one area, it comes back in another. I had liposuction on my thighs when I was 21. At that time, I was a D cup. Three years later, I was a DDD cup and had not put on any significant weight (maybe 1-2 pounds, which is what I lost from the lipo). I hit puberty at age 9 and had been a D cup since I was 12 years old. I certainly didn't expect them grow anymore -- I'm sure it was from the lipo. The body has a way of compensating. Of course, the choice is yours, but if there's a chance your body will redistribute the weight, you might want to consider waiting a little while before doing the breast augmentation. I plan to do my breast lift (and possible reduction) only after I've done the arms, thighs, and tummy.

I'm eating a Protein bar for breakfast and then about 4 oz. of meat for dinner and that's it. You're right, the carbs have to be practically non-existent to get the weight off really fast.

I have no children and had a tubal ligation at the age of 24. The thought of having a child is my worst nightmare. And please don't feel that your child needs a brother or sister. I have a sister who's 4 years older than me, and she is without a doubt the worst thing that has ever happened to me. When I was a kid, everyday I would wish that I was an only child. Siblings can be a curse, not a blessing. I found an older doctor who was nearing retirement and emphasized to him how a tubal would greatly improve my health and well-being, mentally and physically. I had a lot of severe side effects from birth control pills, and at the time, the efficacy of other types of birth control was not the best. If there was more than a 3% failure rate, I would not trust that form of bc. In my experience, older doctors and foreign doctors have a more relaxed attitude toward their patients. Younger American doctors are far too concerned about malpractice suits to do what's in the patient's best interest. Most doctors look out for themselves first, and I can't really blame them considering the litigious nature of our society now.

Thanks, Fort Bend. Most of the time, I eat Nutrisystem for Breakfast and lunch and then eat a small amount of meat with some veggies for dinner. I did have a couple of months where I didn't feel like dieting, so I just ate whatever I wanted. I still managed to lose a little bit of weight during those months, which was fantastic since pre-band I would have gained 20 or 30 lbs doing that. I just started exercising about 3 weeks ago. With this challenge of 10 lbs in 2 weeks, I've really had to up the exercise. Yuck. I just ordered a new digital camera that should be delivered in about 5-7 days, so then I can post some good pictures of my naked arms. You'll see that the flab is not very attractive.

Thanks, Tulip and Texasbighair. Taking pictures really helps you notice the weight loss. When you look at yourself in the mirror, you just don't see the full effect. And thanks for the supportive words about my boyfriend, Tulip. His insecurity has really been concerning me.

It's an arm lift. It gets rid of the bat wings.

I lost about 25% of my hair 4 months after surgery. I've had many surgeries and know that the hair loss is from the anesthesia. This happens to me every time. It all grew back in a couple of months. I've got tons of 2 and 3 inch long hairs all over the place now.

OMG, Julie. The binging part of your post could have been about me. A couple of months ago, I ate 4 dozen Cookies (yes that 48 cookies!) without even realizing it until I was on the last 2. And then I figured what's 2 more when you've already had 46? I too have done the chew and spit routine. I tend to do it when my band is tight and I'm badly craving something that I know won't go down. I really don't think your behavior is all that bad as long as you can keep it down to a couple of times a month like you have with the binging. Is this something you are starting to do almost every day?

You're right. I need to start emphasizing that I'm doing this to feel better, which will only improve my relationship with him. I have not taken that tact before, so I'm going to try it. I'm absolutely crazy about this man and it just breaks my heart that he feels insecure about our relationship.

Thanks, Sunshine. I finally have that hourglass back. Yay!

Here's my most recent before/after.

Here's my most recent before/after. I still have 26 pounds to lose.