Veronica.N

I have that too! It's SOOO aggravating! Mine has gone down though doing abdominal exercise and putting on firming lotion, as well as generally losing weight and gaining muscle.

Pretty much any restaurant you go to will have a healthy menu, and if it doesn't I simply ask for a box ahead of time and put half of it to go. Out of sight, out of mind Nothing wrong with treating yourself! You just have to know how much you can handle so you don't feel bad afterward. I don't care about other people too. People who know I have the band or not know that I take a long time to chew. It's my thing. I told them it helped me lose weight, and everyone believes me

Oh! I've been interested in liquid collagen for a while. Have you seen any difference in using it or know anyone who you know it's worked for? I've been kinda skeptical...but really curious. I really want to believe in it

I want to bring up the wonders of Avocado! I was surprised that I had gone from a close to 40DD to a 34DD after 120+ pound weight loss! I got measured several times because I thought it was impossible for me to not at least go down to a D. My breasts have surely 'thinned' out, but I wouldn't say they're empty sacks. My cousin told me maybe it's because I ate a lot of avocado. I usually have it twice a week or so...which I guess isn't a crazy amount, but maybe more so than people who aren't used to eating it. She had also lost a lot of weight but completely lost her breasts. The avocado is the only thing we really did differently, and I looked it up. And yes...Avocado actually does help preserve and promote breast size. http://www.md-health.com/How-To-Increase-Breast-Size.html Just search avocado breast growth, and you'll see tons of articles on it. So there is still hope, even for those who think they have lost their boobs for good. Lots of good boob foods in the article, not just avocados Check it out!

Hi Cherrytree! I think the best thing is just to keep active during your weight loss! I've lost over 120lbs, and have some saggy skin, but I consider it minor compared to some other photos I've seen of others who have lost 100+. I really didn't become super active until about 1/2 way through my weight loss journey, so I think if I would have started earlier, I probably would have had a better result. Youth also plays a factor. I don't know how old you are, but I'm 27, and I'm sure that helped plenty. My other tips are: - Make sure to strength train while working out, it helps tighten skin. - Drink A LOT of Water. Water also helps tighten skin. - Avocado is a great food to eat to maintain healthy breasts. - Use skin tightening/age defying cream. I use Hempz Age Defying Herbal Body Moisturizer, Though I'm sure there are better products out there. This is just what's easily available and affordable for me - Wear form fitting clothes I've never heard of someone having a saggy vagina from weight loss But I do have the typical other sagginess. Mostly in the legs, belly, breast and underarms. Just from working out, I feel confident now to show off my calves and arms. My belly is almost flat except for a little bit of sagginess above my belly button. My inner thighs still have quite a bit of sag though I half expected it, only because I was always bigger on the bottom than the top. My breast are actually looking OK. They look less 'filled', but they look natural. I think having the muscle I have now underneath REALLY helps. Thank you push ups ! My cousin also pointed out to me that my love of Avocado has probably also helped me preserve my breasts. At my heaviest I was a tight 38DD (should have been 40...but didn't want to admit it lol). I am STILL a DD, but now a 34 I've gotten measured several times because I still couldn't believe it. Avocado is the best!! Good luck to you Cherry! It'll be a long journey, but once you get where you want to be, you'll know it was so worth it

Well said dawalsh! I mean, honestly, if you think about it, most 'normal' people really do watch what they eat. There are those few exceptions of people who can eat whatever they want and don't gain a pound, but most of them struggle with health issues, body image issues, etc, just like we do/did. Weight is all about a balance, and unfortunately at one point in our lives we lost that balance. We just have to do what everyone else does and focus on our balance of food, exercise, etc.

Sounds awesome! Hubby and I will try to make it

Steph, unfortunately we will NEVER be thin and enjoy that many calories a day unless you're working out like a horse. On my workout days, I can assure you that I will easily intake 1600 calories a day, but my workouts are very intense. If I didn't have a band, I'm sure I wouldn't be maintaining, even WITH the workouts. It doesn't matter if you have a band or lost the weight naturally, we will still have this issue where it will be harder to to lose and maintain weight than someone else our own size, weight and height. I know how unfair it is, and I struggled with this after my nutritionist told me, but I've come to terms with it. I'd rather eat smaller portions and be where I am now than where I was before. You can always have the band taken out, or unfill it completely, but at this point, I know if I did I would sky rocket to the way I was before. I've made the lifestyle changes, but being able to realize I'm full after eating a normal portion of food was something I had never experienced before. I would worry less about eating large amounts of food compared to just having good quality food. Believe it or not, what you are eating probably is a NORMAL amount of food. You shouldn't strive to overeat like everyone else does in a restaurant. What you're doing is great, and you should be proud of yourself! BTW, if you're comfortable with your current fill, I don't think you should have a problem with choking in public. I've never had that sensation in public, but I always chew, chew, chew. I know sometimes it's hard when you're with friends and they want to talk to you, but I've grown a custom to it. Even my friends who don't know I'm banded know that I take a long time to chew, and respect that. I'm not going to hurt myself as to not be rude. I either cover my mouth and say what I have to say, or put up my finger in a 'one moment' gesture. They get it. No one has changed how they interact with me. I take a while to eat, and I chew a lot. I say that it's part of my weight loss strategy (not a lie!), and no one questions me about it They're all cool with it.

Thanks so much 2muchfun! I still have to update my after! I'm about 20~25 lbs heavier in that photo And yeah, sometimes I just lurk around and post once in a blue moon Also, going to second on that pressure cooker! They work wonders

So since being banded 2 1/2 years ago I've slowly made small changes in my life. From the way I eat, to the type of food I eat, and the way I treat my body. Now, my husband and I have switched to an all natural, organic diet. Besides my birth control pill, everything I eat, drink, or medications I used to rely on, I've found an organic natural solution to. I of course have occasional slip ups (it's hard to avoid living in such a processed world), but when my husband and I decide to get pregnant I will be a pregzilla LOL. There will be no wiggle room for mess ups Part of this lifestyle change has lead me to an interest in all natural, at home birth. I don't want meds at all. I know some women reading this are probably shaking their heads because I haven't felt the pain of childbirth yet. The female human body was built to handle childbirth, and that's all I need to know. I don't need to have anymore unnatural products in my or my baby's system. So, has anyone here done natural, at home birth before? I've read up on a few ladies here who have done all natural at a birthing center. I'm assuming the band didn't have any impact? Or was it hard for you to find a midwife? Thanks!

I'm pretty surprised by some of the responses. Even foods that my doc told me I might have trouble eating (like chicken breast, breads, etc) I can eat. It might not be the most pleasant experience, but I can sure eat it! I do avoid chicken breast, but sometimes I do want to to eat that piece of bread or enjoy a pancake I make sure to never have any super dry lean ground beef. I know it's it's not as healthy, but I'm eating much less of it, so I think that's just fine. I have beef all the time. I order burgers without buns at restaurants, I buy thin steaks and chop it up into small pieces. I've never had any problems with beef. I've had my band now for 2 years and almost 8 months and I've only gotten seriously stuck, to the point of throwing up only once...and that was towards the beginning of my journey There is a learning process with the band They key is to just always chew, eat slowly and enjoy. I've lost over 120lbs, so don't get discouraged! The band was the best choice I ever made And I happily say that I usually enjoy hamburger meat at least once a week I just love it too much!

What HealthyNewMe said is what my dietitian said too unfortunately...Steph you and I probably had very similar journeys since we had the same starting weight. My goal though has always been to be 145, which is the 'normal' weight for my height. I work out about 5 times a week, intensive workouts and I can maintain my weight even with eating garbage. My husband and I usually lose about 1-2 lbs a week (we're both bandsters btw), but that's while eating healthily throughout the week, cheating a bit on the weekends (maybe 2-3 meals) here and there and sticking to our workouts. This past month we ate garbage non stop because he was going through midterms, and I was having a pretty stressful time at work so we were eating out almost everynight. I'm glad to say that within those 3+ weeks we were eating garbage, we maintained our weight. And I'm talking pizza hut, doughnuts, you name it. We ate it LOL. I mean, obviously our portions were much smaller than pre surgery, but still, it's pretty bad for us. I think I had like 4 slices of thin crust pizza in a sitting and he had 6. I still have no idea how we did it. We usually eat organic, raw foods LOL so we were pretty ashamed. Been back on the bandwagon for 8 days now! Hope to go back to losing instead of maintaining

Aww, well that's OK. Everyone has to do what works best for them. To be honest, I very rarely smoked that first year after my surgery. After I felt more comfortable and knew how to eat properly I started up again. I still don't regret it. Still loosing weight and still vaping 3-4 times a week! Only 24 more lbs to go I'm so late Hun, how have you been I'm doing ok think I will puff my last puff today which I should have had weeks ago I'm having the sleeve.

Sure thing RB! Glad I could make you feel better about it! I'm about 2 1/2 years almost to the day of my surgery. Don't be nervous about it! My husband and I both did our surgeries together and we regret nothing!! It's literally changed our lives! I did the band, so it's not as fast in the weight loss department as the other two. Also doesn't help that I lost my health insurance 3 months after my surgery I had to pay for fills out of pocket, so I rarely did them unfortunately. By now I've found my 'sweet spot' but due to my circumstances it took me a little longer than other people The best part of the band is that it really shows you how to eat, which I think the other surgeries don't, not that you can't learn how to on the others! I just think it's a good trade off for not loosing the weight as fast as the other surgeries. You eat something like pancakes or bagels, and your body just thinks "Wow, that was a really unpleasant experience...I think I'm satisfied with the 2 bites I had". I used to love pancakes but now I'm never really in the mood for them, and if I have them, I wont even finish one. It's kinda like that feeling you get after eating too much of a food you like, throwing up, and not wanting to eat it again for sometime. I'm not sad at all for my lack of interest in pancakes anymore...It's weird how the band re-wires your brain. With that I've become very aware of my health. I eat very clean, whole foods, and exercise at least 4 times a week. So since I changed my lifestyle I decided to tweak my smoking habits too, which is why I have those recipes. I also switched last year to using a vaporizer exclusively. You can find some decent ones online for like $40! The benefit is that you're not burning the weed so you don't get any carcinogens from the burning plant matter nor the burning bleached white paper. You only get vapor from a vaporizer because the weed is being heated to release the THC but not burning. It goes down smooth, and it hasn't effected me while I'm at the gym. And I do intense workouts, so I can assure you it's easy on the lungs! Which surgery are you doing RB?