gowalking

Yes...go to a jewelry story and have them add a ring guard. It can be removed once you are at the weight you expect to maintain at. I have ring guards on many of my rings because the stones will pop if they cut away as much as they have to to make my rings fit correctly.

It sounds like you probably need a little fill. Just hang in there till you see the doctor and remember...just because you can eat more, doesn't mean you should. I'm at green but believe me....I have times where I want to eat more than I should. That's when I ask myself if I'm truly hungry or not. If I am, I eat something healthy...and if it's really head hunger, I do something to keep me busy and away from the food until the craving passes.

Hi NJ folks. We have quarterly face to face meetings in NYC and welcome our bariatric friends on the other side of the Hudson River. If anyone is interested in finding out more about the meetings, just feel free to reach out to me. As you see from my signature, I'm a co-leader for the NYC chapter. We've had Jersey folk attend before and welcome any of you as well. Liz

Hi @DivergentRavenclaw. I posted on one of your threads earlier today welcoming you to the site. We usually have one meeting each season. With the weather so lousy I'm pretty sure we'll meet up in the spring...March or more likely in April. Check on the thread next month and maybe we'll have more info. In the meantime, look at this site and if you need any help, just text and folks will get back to you. And you are certainly welcome to PM me or Lisa if you need to as well. Liz

Don't worry about how much you have to lose. Set small goals and before you know it, you'll see a real difference. I lost more than 150 lbs. and I've been banded two years. Look for those non-scale victories. You'll find plenty and that will help you even if the scale does not go down. In fact, stay away from the scale for a while. It's better that way. Good luck and welcome to the site.

Everything JustWatchMe said. Wonderful advice my friend.

Interesting story from yesterday. Went to the pain management doctor yesterday...having some lower back pain again. He checked the area and said I needed a couple of steroid shots for muscular inflammation. He and I have been through alot together and our relationship has gone way beyond just doctor/patient. So we talk to each other in a way that is less formal. Much less formal. He doesn't even bother to leave the room when I have to remove clothing or pull down the pants. His nurse is always there, so it's not like we're alone together but like I said, we've been through alot and having him see me strip means diddly to either of us. So, he gets me on the table and tells me he is accessing my upper butt area and starts to pull my sweater up and before he can get the pants down, he runs into the thermal top and leggings and can't figure out what to do first. He says, 'what is all this anyway?' and his nurse jumps in and says, 'if you remember doctor, it's rather cold outside and obviously the patient is unable to retain much body heat due to her small frame and lack of body fat.' Like B-52 says, this weather is so hard on us non-fat people. Woo hoo!! Almost worth being so cold all the time to know that I'm not fat anymore.

I also think that I had to reach rock bottom in order to take control of my food intake. I am hoping that because I went through such difficult times, I will always be hyper aware of how much I am in the world again. I think in my case, everything happens for a reason including when I got the WLS.

Wonderful news. So happy for you!!

You bet. Don't worry about failure...not even if you don't lose right away. It can take some time for the restriction to be working for you. As long as you follow the doctor's protocol, and do some exercise..get up and move as much as you can..you will be fine. Good luck and welcome to the other side.

Single digits here in the frozen big apple today. I have a friend in Boston Arlene and I know just how bad it's been for you guys. Hang in there everyone. Talked to mom earlier today and it's 45 in Miami. I know that doesn't sound terrible but it's really cold for South Florida. Went to dinner last night with a man I met online. We had Chinese food and then went across the street to the French Bistro for coffee and dessert. My date kept commenting on how little I was eating and I kept explaining to him that I liked to eat as much as the next person but I needed to limit my intake because I had to keep as much excess weight off my joints as possible. We had a nice time and actually laughed when he said taking me to dinner was a total waste of money since I ate so little. We're going out again tomorrow night to a piano bar he likes to go to. Glad this place has nothing to do with food this time...lol.

I used to keep the ceiling fan on even in the coldest weather because I was too warm. I hardly ever used the comforter because it was so heavy. I'd keep the window open a crack because it was too hot in my apartment. That was 150 lbs. ago. These days, I am so cold that I wear silk thermal underwear under my clothes. I wear silk glove liners because the gloves alone are not enough. I wear a wetsuit in the pool at the Y because I'm too cold in the Water to just go in with a bathing suit on. I wear socks every night and I sleep under that comforter easily nine months out of the year now. I have a full length mink coat my mom gave me that is the only thing that keeps me warm enough. If you've ever worn a fur coat, you know that it's warmer than any other coat no matter what the material. My doctor said it would be a couple of years before my body acclimated to my new size. So, it's hot coffee, hot Soup, and hot showers for me for a while at least.

Is it under warranty? Perhaps you can someone in to give you an estimate on how much it would cost to fix. Good luck...I know how much we depend on our exercise routines...the Y I go to was closed on Monday due to a Water pipe breaking. I was bummed because I expected to go to my water exercise class and couldn't.

Ditto everything @@enjoythetime wrote. Everything.

Yup.

Last night's episode was very frustrating. I thought the psych interview was to try to root out people who were not realistic about what they were getting into. Although Pauline seemed prior to surgery, to understand exactly why she was so large and what she needed to do to turn that around. I feel badly for her son. She has crippled him and if that's not child abuse, I don't know what is. That last video of them together at the Bingo parlor was very telling. He's already lost as far as I'm concerned. And when Pauline dies...and it may be quite soon, he's going to be totally unmoored.

Don't stress. Weight loss is not linear. You will stall...sometimes for weeks. You might gain as well at times. You just started your journey so focus on eating healthy, learning how to eat with your band, exercising, and focusing on the non scale victories. Good luck and keep us posted. I bet you will do fine.

You're awesome Lisa. I have a bit of an idea what you may be dealing with at the moment. Just know that I'm thinking of you and hoping things settle down soon for you and Ken.

@JustWatchMe....I swear by deep Water exercising. My Monday water exercise class instructor does that for the first half hour. She's the one who told me jokingly to gain some weight because the float belt wasn't tight enough because I was too small. I like that she thinks I'm too thin. I'm not, but I like to hear stuff like that. You know my history with the knees and hips and water exercise is the best thing. It's a workout but in the water, you are bouyant and you won't get hurt. Liz

You need to focus on you right now and get rid of this guy who treats you like crap. Once you are comfortable with knowing you need to be treated like a queen, you won't put up with anything less than that. I am dating again because I know I look attractive now but even attractive people can allow others to treat them poorly. You need to work on your self esteem. Only then can you understand your worth...no matter what size you are. I make it very clear how I want and expect to be treated and those who are not going to adhere will go away...and I say not fast enough if you don't show me the respect I deserve. Believe me, I didn't feel this way overnight. I had to lose alot of weight first and then go into therapy. This was a two step process that I've been working on for two years now. I had to change the outside and now I'm focusing on fixing the inside. Good luck sweetie. ...and now I understand why you picked your forum name.

I'm two years out but also having great success. I do hope that you feel better with the revision surgery. I watch these posts closely as I would be very unhappy if I had to have my band removed.

Kelly sweetie..no one is judging..I promise. I looked at your profile and see that you are just 19 years old. I am so very sorry that you are in so much pain that you thought death was the answer. I am no therapist but I am a mother and I'd hate to think my child was hurting that badly and I couldn't help her. Please take care of your emotional issues along with your band concerns. I agree that you should talk to your bariatric surgeon regarding any damage you may have done to the band and I also think that you should be speaking with a professional regarding your attempt at suicide. I understand how you can be in that much pain. I considered suicide myself at one time but I told my therapist about it and with the help of medication and additional therapy, I got past the crisis and have not felt that way in a very long time. Please keep us posted on how you are doing because we really do care about you.

Stay safe and warm. It's bitterly cold here in NYC and I'm sure it's worse in NH.

Keep posting those pictures. You worked hard to make the changes we see in those photos so be proud of your achievements. Besides...I look at my before/after pics all the time. It helps me to see the new me because I still struggle with being the fat girl. Great job and keep it up!! Long term WLS success stories is what inspires me.

Please go see your doctor and ask if you need some fill taken out. You should be able to eat fruit...you should be able to eat almost anything. I think you are likely too tight.