Jim1967

Lisa, thanks for straightening me out. I completely miss-understood the original post...

My answers in bold...

Sorry, I for one definitely misunderstood and I came off as lecturing. I need to work on that. I did a lot of counseling on my addiction and twice attended a binge eater class called "Hungry Head". It is a class my weight center put together and is lead by the Psych Counselor. In this class we covered various topics ranging from trigger foods, different types of eating whether it be emotional, boredom to a closet eater. It was a 6 week class and I found very helpful and it really opened my eyes to my own addiction with food. To this very day I do avoid Cheez-Its as they have always been my food of choice to binge on. When I was a little kid the Nabisco guy on the box was my imaginary friend. I wish I were joking about that but I am not. I remember it quite well being very young sitting in front of the t.v. with a box of Cheez-Its talking to the box. I have to say since finding my sweet spot I am no longer enticed as easy and I feel like I am in control of myself for the first time in my life. I eat 3 meals a day and hardly snack. Honestly I am not sure if it is my band taking care of me or perhaps I really do have my head in it. I still fear that the tide will turn and I will go back to my old behavior. I feared that when I started the process and I fear it now 2 years later. I found talking to people whether it be a Counselor or someone at a Support Group who is going through the same thing is quite helpful.

My Wife has a friend who had bypass surgery and 4 days post op he was talking about blending Crab Rangoon to fulfill his Chinese cravings. Food addiction is very real and always in our faces as we need to eat to live.

Took me a bit to decide whether or not I wanted to reply to this thread. Sounds to me like a stereotypical binge eater who expected miracles from the band. Sure you can cheat and eat around it but why would you want to? Sounds like your addiction has some serious control of you and perhaps you should seek out a binge eaters support group or counselor. Band is not going to control your food choices. That is all head stuff. Even a Bypass patient could stroll into McDonalds and order an 800 calorie shake and suck it down. They might have after affects such as dumping but the point is any form of WLS is "cheatable" if one so desires. Deprivation is a diet and in my experience it is not a long term solution and I have been there and done that BUT on the flip side I know I need to make good choices to be successful. My band will help me if I do the right things. There is certainly nothing wrong with having the stuff you enjoy but it's all about moderation and learning to say "OK, I have had enough for now", "I can have more later" I am sorry you are having these issues your having but again you can eat around any form of WLS and until you address the addiction and the internal conflict your going to chug along until you either get with the program or you give in to your addiction. If any part of this post sounded harsh I apologize as it is not meant to be. Food addiction is such a serious thing and at nearly 500 pounds I refused to concede I suffered from it. I wish you all the best

Yes, I have been watching the last few seasons. I haven't watched it this weeks yet. Between 2 NCIS and Agents of Shield it got pushed to the back burner. I couldn't even DVR it as I had too much stuff recording. Thankfully we have On Demand so I can catch up,

I told my Boss and he was actually quite relieved. I was a walking time bomb waiting to go off. Nothing but support and encouragement surrounding me at work. Who you tell is a very personal decision and one you must base on how you feel and how you feel others with perceive your decision and whether or not their perception of you good or bad is going to hinder or help your journey. To be perfectly honest I didn't really give an ounce of **** whether the office folks were supportive or not because in the end it is all about me and my family and health.

Posting on LBT is no different then publicly posting on an external blog in my opinion. Rule is quite simple, If you don't ever want it out there then never put any where on the Net. I googled my facebook screen name and came up with all sorts of stuff. Also, that same screen name I have used for years on other sites I forgot about showed up. I actually found images from MySpace which I have not visited since 2007.

Wow there are so many I could list but here is a small list. I will spare you all by omitting the TMI ones. Walked a 5K for Breast Cancer Awareness back in Sept. 18 months ago I couldn't walk the Supermarket for 10 minutes! Next year I am planning a team for Relay for Life. Gone from a size 62 jeans to a size 40!! No longer shelling out big money for Big&Tall and Catalog clothing. $17 bucks for jeans at Walmart Ability to go to any restaurants and no longer have to wait for a table when there are booths available Sitting in any chair without the fear of breaking it. Still I have reservations because I sometimes forget I am not as big as I was. Going to a movie theater and worry about whether or not the arm rests are movable Not only did I attend my buddies Wedding this past Summer but I was in it!! AND I was styling in that Tux. Adjusting my seat up in my truck and tilting the steering wheel a bit Arthritis in my knee has not flared up in over a year and I can't remember where I put my Cane Crossing my legs. I think we all said that one and it is amazing the smallest thing could mean so much I no longer get stared at like I am some sort of Circus attraction.

Donna, If you are still having issues this may be the best way to get help. Using the contact us will give your request for help higher visibility. http://www.wlsboards.com/contact/

I have not had any problems with my notifications even with the work that is being done on the site. Sounds like notifications may not be set correctly. Pull down the little arrow next to your name on the top right and select My Settings then Notification Options on the left side column. Check what you have set under Topics & Post

I lost 35 pounds my first 4 weeks but when you're starting out at 450 and on a liquid diet those numbers are not difficult to hit.

I actually do not enjoy restaurants anymore and would much prefer home cooking. When I do eat out I will do the protein and veggie and even that always taste like it is sweetened with sugar or salted. I suffer from edema on my legs and the sodium even the slightest bit does a number on me. I do enjoy a nice (Sorry CarolinaGirl) Salmon or grilled trout from time to time.

From a male perspective...Gold Bond does wonders it is a cure for the bariatric skin flap. LOL

Thanks Alex. Love this place!! I share flyers with everyone at my local support meetings.

Want to get really riled up? Read some of the comments left on that story. Not very nice....as usual.

I do wonder if Alex is aware?

I am very sorry for your loss. Cancer knows no boundaries. Cancer does not care of race, age or sex. If it wants to take you it will take you. I have watched several of my families members battle with it. In fact this month marks 1 year of my Uncle's passing. It was sad to watch my Father who just finished chemo struggle with survivors guilt burying his little brother. If you want to believe the band caused the Cancer and it helps you with the closure then I am fine with that. You'll most likely get much sympathy on your loss but don't be surprised by the amount of disbelievers in the cause.

I've used myfitnesspal for journaling but haven't done it in a very long time. When I started this journey I knew going in that daily journaling was not something long term I would do. I use it from time to time if I feel I am off track a bit and I need to monitor closer. Only other app I use is Runkeeper. I use that to keep track of my distance walked as it is uses GPS. Other than that I do not rely on other features. For example it will tell me how far I've walked and how many calories I've burned but I do question the accuracy of the calories as my steps are not always the same pace.

Sounds great and congratulations. Pre and after care is so very important when it comes to the band. Way you described your Surgeon's office is identical to mine. Then again both are in Massachusetts!! My weight center is in Chelmsford, MA affiliated with Lowell General Hospital. Everything and everyone is in house. Only time I had to go outside the practice was to see a 3rd party Cardiologist to sign off that I was cleared for the actual surgery. It was my last preop appointment hurdle.

I wouldn't go as far as saying almost everyone liked Romneycare. In fact I would say most didn't care for Romney. Ask the small business owners and ask the ones who couldn't afford it and then got penalized on their taxes. Romneycare was just coming into play when I moved out of the State. World of difference between NH and MA.

40lbs is fantastic. Congratulations. I know sometimes it is frustrating but on the flip side dealing with being too tight just isn't worth it and could lead to another whole world of issues. I only have an 11cc band and my Surgeon claims to be aggressive but still it took me 5 months. 11cc Realize Band: 1st fill 5/29/12 5cc 2nd fill 6/12/12 1cc 3rd fill 7/02/12 1cc 4th fill 8/14/12 1cc 5th fill 9/4/12 1cc 6th fill 1/29/13 .5