Zoe

Very cool! Do you have a similar chart for your first year?

Onederland, Twonesia... how about Tripoli? OK, it's the capital of Libya, but who's counting? How about a romantic getaway weekend for the celebration?

Happy birthday! Let that booty shake in celebration!

Hey there, DeL, glad you're still around. And thanks for asking about me. I've gotten into a horrible LBT habit at work myself, and it simply must stop, so I'm writing this on my computer and my own time. I'm limping around from another sciatica episode, otherwise I'm still fat and sassy. OK, not quite as fat as before, but still . . .

When I hear "sabotage," I don't think of people who trivialize or dismiss weightloss surgery, I think of people who try to undermine our efforts to lose weight by waving before us high-calorie goodies in mass quantities. Both can be damaging -- if you let them. I've been lucky in that my family and friends who know about the band are totally supportive. However, there's one dear person in my life who doesn't quite get it: my mother. She spent all of my childhood and young adult years taking me around to quack diet doctors and trying everything she could to get me to lose weight. Well, we know how well that worked (see stats below). Anyway, about 10 years ago she had a crisis of conscience and decided my body was my business and I could eat what I wanted. She also started putting on a lot of weight herself. When I visit my mother now -- she's in her mid-70s, in good health although obese -- she still gives me enormous portions and encourages me to eat sweets. Fortunately she does take no for an answer, but it's not easy. I feel like Gretel in the gingerbread house.

(Thread hijack) Hey, Karen, I hope your daughter's surgery goes well. It's great that she has you as a band partner!

OK, maggots, get out your pedometers! I have been sorta sluggish over the last couple of months, still recovering from back pain and sciatica. But I'm tired of sitting around. So I got new walking shoes and a new pedometer, and even though I'm still on the slow side, I am ready to rumble. I'm thinking: let's try to walk 7500 steps a day for the month of May. Anyone with me? Check in at this thread any time. I will check in each Monday. If you're looking for a low-tech way to get some exercise, this might work for you. And if 7500 steps seems too much -- that's a little over three miles a day with my stride -- do whatever you can. If you haven't used a pedometer, consider getting one; you'll be surprised at how much ground you can cover just by expanding your usual routine a little bit: walking up stairs instead of taking the elevator, for example. I'm ready to break that 200-lb. barrier, and you undoubtedly have milestones of your own. So let's get a move on!

Hi everyone -- I'm afraid this has turned into a "Do as I say, not as I do" challenge. I have been pretty gimpy with my sciatica over the past couple of weeks; on Friday I'm getting an epidural steroid injection which my orthopedist thinks will help stop the chronic pain. Last week I had a couple of days where I shuffled like Tim Conway's little old man from the Carol Burnett Show... OK, I'm showing my age in more ways than my stride. But I'm still cheering everyone from the sidelines! Maybe I'll start a June challenge if my leg is back to normal next week. Meanwhile, maggots, you're almost done with the May challenge, so kick it up a notch!

Everyone's depression is different. I wish mine were like juju's, and that losing weight would make it disappear. Not so in my case. I've been on Prozac for nearly 11 years now and have tried to go off the stuff several times, with disastrous results. I've also tried switching to Wellbutrin (clouded my thinking), Celexa (didn't help much), Lexapro (ditto), to name just a few that my doctor and I have experimented with in an attempt to keep depression at bay, not to mention every possible natural cure from St. John's Wort to manic exercise. I finally admit that I have a mental illness and that medication, however undesirable the side effects (sex? huh?), keeps it under control and lets me have a life. Yes, Prozac helped me gain weight; I know several people who've had the same experience. I have mentioned this to my doctor several times, and his response is always the same: He's heard the same complaint from patients for ages, so he believes it's true, but no medical study has yet documented the connection. There's a dissertation waiting to be written! Anyway, years ago I decided I would rather be fat than suicidal, so I stayed on the meds. Now I'm thinner but still medicated. In my case I'm not sure if it really was the Prozac triggering my increased appetite or just a general relaxation of vigilance and obsessiveness brought on by the drug that made me care less about my food intake. I haven't tried Paxil, but one of my brothers is on it (plus, recently, Wellbutrin); he's developed a rabid sweet tooth and has put on about 50 lbs. in the last two years. On the other hand, he's alive.

Aaaagh! I'm back to 202. Sure, it's PMS bloating, but I'm still mad.

Babs, I'm glad you can see the end in sight for your MIL's visit. Sounds as if she can't focus on anyone except herself right now -- understandable, I guess, after such a loss. I hope your husband is coping well. She might have lost a husband, but her son lost someone he's known his entire life. Good luck next week.

OK, I still want to lose a minimum of 35 lbs., so I'm not ready for a whole new wardrobe yet, but I have been getting pretty desperate for clothes. So, despite my cheapness, I decided I had to get a couple of new spring things that fit. I went to Target yesterday and found a pair of size 18 trousers that actually look good on me, then off to Lane Bryant, where the 16Talls did the trick. I got a couple of 14/16 blouses and lots of underpants (long overdue). So far so good. While in the lingerie section, I faced racks of lacy bras suitable for slinging grapefruits and cantaloupes, not the humble tangerines I've been carrying. I took a deep breath and asked one of the saleswomen if the store had anything that might fit, ahem, "women with no tits." She stared at the items in question and said, "just how small are we talking about here?" At this point I had lost all shame, so I just cupped my puppies over my baggy sweater. She squinted and screwed up her face. "We might have something that will work. Make them look bigger, I mean." She handed me a padded black number. I was skeptical, but off to the fitting room I went, and after some tricky hydraulic maneuvers I was locked and loaded -- with cleavage! Which I haven't had for 50 lbs.! So I am going to be strutting the girls high and with pride. . . never mind that I'm in my late 40s. I have to laugh at myself. Somehow I thought as my weight dropped I would regain the same shape I had years ago when I dieted down to various sizes. As I tried on old (and I mean old) clothes that used to fit me when I was this weight, I figured that the years in storage somehow affected fabrics, because items that glided right over my hips wouldn't fasten around my waist. Painful moments in the stores' full-length mirrors have persuaded me that the problem is not with the garments!

The tactless but funny friend who told me that I "looked like a normal person" after I lost 30-some pounds left a message last week after seeing me in one of the new bras: "Wow, you have big tits! I guess I never noticed them before because of your girth." I'm just glad I didn't play this message while I was at work. And, by the way, it's not true -- just an illusion courtesy of Lane Bryant's bra department.

Flipping? That won't work if you have one of the legged versions. Especially for many of us over 40, removal speed must be much greater than bladder speed. I got one of the Lipo in a Box long-line numbers, XL. It works just fine, and did wonders for my saddlebags. Unfortunately it seems to compress my protruding disc in a bad way, so I can't wear it for a while.

Thanks for telling us this moving story. How great that you had a chance to see your extended family. Hope you find the picture of your mother at your age (late 20s, right?) that you're looking for.

Penni, I couldn't help but notice your self-description. Are you OK? Dumb question, I know. . . I'm a full-time legal translator (Spanish/Portuguese) and part-time grad student (English).

That's fantastic, Crystal. Sounds as if you are shrinking fast. As for me, I just came back from a doctor's appointment. My blood pressure was -- wait for it -- 120/80! Without medication! Mind you, I am still more than capable of causing high blood pressure in others.

I finally made a run for the border this last week, and while at 199 I'm not safely in the depths of Onederland (the Twonesia patrol is in clear view), I just wanted to say that it feels effing wonderful! I'm still big. I'd like to lose another 30-40 pounds; the next 20 will make a huge difference in the way I look, and we'll see where I end up. I finally feel that, yes, I can do it! When I got banded last August, the prospect of losing 100 pounds seemed totally daunting, especially for an impatient soul like me. Well, I may not make my goal weight of 160 -- I haven't weighed that since junior high -- but I feel that my goal is in view, and if I get pretty close, that's fine. My blood pressure's way down. I have back trouble, but not nearly as bad as it would have been 65 lbs. ago. I haven't bought a new wardrobe because I'm in that murky transition stage that most of us inhabit: too small for most (but not all) of my old clothes, but not yet what I hope will be my final size. I hope to be ready for some new clothes by December 31. I'm (slowly) getting there. And you are too. So, thanks, LBT. You all have been a great support on my continuing journey. And for those of you early in your band life, please know that if I can get this far, with my imperfect bandster habits, so can you!

Thanks, everyone! Alex, there's a place waiting for you. . . and for anyone else who wants to make the trip. Luckily there's no immigration restriction in Onederland, although Twonesia certainly likes to hold on to its citizens as long as possible. It took me 12 years to get my visa! Mind you, for many people in the higher latitudes, Twonesia is a sought-after destination in itself, or at least well worth a stopover on the way to Onederland.

Those trashy girls must think the world wants to see their aft cleavage. No thanks!

LMAO, Crystal. That's just more evidence that there are a lot of wack jobs in this world! As for me, I'd just like to be able to wear shorts sometime before Labor Day without having my knees rub together. We aren't talking hot pants here -- just baggy Bermudas like the 90-year-old shuffleboard players wear in Florida. Is that asking too much?

Good for you! I just broke a plateau myself. It's weird -- even though our good eating and exercise habits don't change, sometimes our bodies just like resting at a certain weight, then - BOOM! - down we go. Trish, you've got the right attitude to your early banding weeks: heal first. Still, it's nice to see those pounds gone! You'll be safely in the 200s in no time -- and the 100s are within sight.

Fantastic news! Congratulations. June 3 is just days away. I think it's wonderful that you did so much research on the band that you wouldn't let your doctor persuade you to go with the RNY. (I think you made the right choice, but then I'm biased. ) Let the countdown begin -- you're on your way to Bandland! Yippee!

Not to rain on your parade, but you may be losing a lot of water weight. Still, a pound is a pound, right? Congratulations!

I confess, too. I don't drink as much water with my meals as I used to, but I often sip -- and not just a little. Maybe I should be ashamed of this bad habit, but I'm not! I figure I've managed to lose 65 lbs. without losing my sanity, so a little water ain't gonna kill me. BTW, I don't drink sodas or anything caffeinated or alcoholic -- but those habits predate my band. I know there are a lot of people who can't lose weight without scrupulously adhering to the bandster rules, but for those of us who are less than perfect (and you know who you are), it's good to know that success is still possible.