claraluz

I really think age has a lot to do with it. When I was 40, I lost 100 pounds and had no hanging skin anywhere. Now I'm 50. I've lost 55 pounds. I still don't have any hanging skin, but if I manage to lose the rest of my weight, I'm pretty sure I will. I can see that the skin is loose in places - not hanging yet, but I can see it wants to. Nancy

I hate mine, too. I haven't had it done (obviously), but I did hear a plastic surgeon speak about the procedure. He said you generally have a long scar down both arms. He also said that the techniques have imroved recently to give better results, but you still have the scars. In the end, I decided for myself that it would be six of one, half a dozen of the other. I wouldn't like long scars any better than I like the hanging skin. I remember when I was a little girl playing with my great anut's hanging arm skin, making it flop back and forth. She always laughed, but I won't if my great niece ever tries it with me! Nancy

Best wishes, Pam, for a safe trip and a speedy recovery. I'll be thinking of you. Nancy

Make that 1042.75 pounds total. I should never try to do math in my head. I had us going backwards.! Nancy

Penni: 4/6/04 -- 47 lbs Lisa: 5/5/04 -- 51 lbs Becky 6/03/04 -- 53 lbs Denice: 8/12/04--20 lbs Leatha 05/29/03 - 67lbs Michelle 4/6/04 -- 49.75 lbs Marie 5/26/04 -- 39 lbs Donali 1/23/03 -- 102 lbs Kathy 5/21/04 -- 41 lbs Cindy 7/22/04 -- 40 lbs Teresa 5/8/04--63 lbs Kelly 8/20/03 -- 65 lbs Kyleigh 9/23/03--60lbs Bright 10/28/03 -- 70lbs Michelle 6/14/04-- 20lbs Babs 6/23/03 -136 Nancy 8/27/03 -55 pounds 978 pounds total!

Very cool. It sounds like so much fun. I'm happy for you! Nancy

Since my cholesterol and blood sugar are up again, I decided to take another look at this diet. It is a diet that emphasizes eating Omega-3 fats (olive and canola oil, mainly) over omega-6 fats (pretty much everything else). It also emphasizes eating 7 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. It is supposed to prevent heart disease, cancer, depression, etc. My friend's cardiologist ordered her to use this diet. Also, my psychiatrist suggested I take Omega-3 supplements to avoid having a relapse of depression. The health benefits are well-documented. It is not primarily a weight-loss diet, though it can be modified to include weight loss (just eat less, of course). It may be difficult to do with the band, I don't know. I am thinking that the 7 servings of fruits and vegetables could be a problem. But today is my first day trying it, so we'll see. I'm just wondering if anyone else has tried to combine band-eating with this particular diet and if so, how it went. Nancy

Thanks, Bright. And thanks for telling me about the canola oil (even though I did just buy a bottle. I'm throwing it away). I sort of did the diet today (exept for those few tortilla chips I just ate). I need more practice, but I'm really going to give this a try. Nancy

Great idea, Leatha. I drink Protein shakes, but they are kind of heavy for me. Nancy

That just sounds miserable, Alex! Nancy

Becky, now this really kills me! You are the same weight and height that I am, but you are in a much smaller size. I'm beginning to wonder if it has something to do with me being more fat than muscle. I have one of those scales that measures what percentage fat your body is. I've lost a fair amount of weight, but my percentage of fat has only gone down four percentage points. I exercise, but maybe I need to do weights or something. It's frustrating! Nancy

A pb happens when you don't listen to your band and eat too much or don't chew well enough. Or sometimes you eat a food that just is not band-friendly. When it happens to me, I get a painful feeling in my chest. Then there is a lot of salivating and then the food comes back up. It's different from vomiting in that there is no nausea and you don't have that awful acid taste in your mouth. It can cause the band to slip out of place and is definitely something to be avoided. Nancy

Wow, Leatha, that sounds exciting on so many levels. It's great that you've taken steps to recapture the joy you once experienced with dancing. And it's great that you feel well enough and confident enough to do it. Good for you! Nancy

LOl, Hope! Breasts AND abdomen!

That's great Babs! You've done so well. You have really lost weight quickly. Seeing that needle dip below 200 is just the greatest, isn't it? Congratulations! Nancy

I don't have very bad heartburn, but I do have it occasionally. I can't believe I could be overfilled. I feel that I can eat a LOT compared to what I hear others are eating. Does it always mean you are overfilled? Nancy

Betty, I am so glad you are feeling better. The Splenda may very well have been the cause of your symptoms. Perhaps your body is particularly sensitive to it. And certainly I am not saying it is not harmful. I'm just not sure we know that it is harmful to the majority of people. It would take well-designed research to prove that conclusively. Nancy

Bypass patients have to take either B-12 shots or a sublingual (under the tongue) form of B-12 because the part of the stomach in which B-12 is absorbed is by-passed. No amount of oral B-12 will get into thier system. One of the advantages of the band over the bypass is that nothing is bypassed, ergo all nutrients are absorbed the same way they always were. I take a chewable multi-Vitamin but nothing more. Hope this helps. Nancy

I second what Penni says. I'm no expert either, but to me it looks like there is good restriction and that the liquid is able to flow through the restriction, but again, I have no training in this. But it sounds like a second opinion could be wise. Good luck and keep us posted! Nancy

Teresa, the change in you is striking! You look great! Way to go! Nancy

I appreciate the spirit in which this information was shared, but personally I am taking it with a huge grain of salt. I don't know if Splenda is or is not harmful because I haven't researched the issue. I am curious as to whether the doctor in this article has done any long term double-blinded experiments with Splenda and whether her results have been published in a peer-reviewed journal. I doubt it or I assume she would have referred to a particular study. Instead all she does is state that the chemical in Splenda is similar to chemicals which have been shown (again, where? how?) to be harmful. In fact, I wonder what kind of doctor she is. Whenever I see a book or article written by "Dr." so-and-so instead of so-and-so M.D. or Ph.D., I wonder. It's just like "Dr. Laura." I can't remember what her PhD is in, but it is a subject totally unrelated to psychology. If you have begun using Splenda and soon afterward noticed unpleasant symptoms, please don't jump to conclusions that it was the Splenda that caused it. A correlation between two events does not prove cause and effect. For example, I slept in a hotel last night and I woke up with a sinus headache. Was my headache caused by the hotel? Or was it caused by the high pollen count outside? Jumping to conclusions about what is causing your symptoms could cause you to overlook other possible causes of them. I would also advise caution to those who would switch to sugar on the basis of this article. Sugar has definitely been proven to be harmful to humans in that overconsumption can lead to obesity, insulin resistance, and diabetes. There is so much information coming at us from all sides and all kinds of media these days that we must become skeptical consumers of information. Nancy

Is anyone here a vegetarian? I was before getting banded, but I decided to stop because of the "solid protein" rule. But my cholesterol has gone up again, so I'm considering returning to vegetarianism. I'm just wondering if any of you have experience with it and if so, what do you do in lieu of solid Protein? Nancy

You go, girl! I'm so happy for you. It's so nice that you really appreciate your new life. Sometimes I feel I take my weight loss for granted. You remind me not to. Nancy

Leatha, Your observation that you are stronger after being through so much pain, makes sense to me. I once read a book called "Strong in the Broken Places" that likened human growth to that of a tree limb, which when it knits up a break becomes stronger in the broken places. I think that's what you are. Also, I sometimes wonder if all this talk about self-sabotage and having to face our fears of being thin is overblown. The last time I lost my weight, I only remember feeling thrilled. Of course, it didn't last long, but I think that is due to the habit of confusing food and comfort, not to a fear of being thin. Anyway, you have always sounded very together to me. And congratulations on such a successful journey - and the same to all the ones who are almost there. Nancy

Ryan, I am so happy for you! Of course there are still hoops to jump through, but you'll be banded before you know it! And just to add my voice to the chorus, I love your posts, too. They always seem to remind me to be grateful for my band and for this board. Nancy