pashmina

I can't post the article because I doubt the people at SELF would be pleased if I did, not to mention the copyright powers that be. But if anyone wants to see it, send me your e-mail in a private message.

I don't remember having to do this for NY, but I remember having it in other states. LIE, LIE, LIE. Yep.

Hi xgrl- First congrats on taking the initial steps to improve your health and fingers crossed on your insurance approval. As to #1- I have been there. I was there. I think you will find that a lot of the negativity that you hear from your bigger girlfriends is jealousy. One of mine specifically said she didn't want to be the only fat one left in our group. Misery loves company, after all. Don't let them dissuade you. Continue to get more information, try to explain to them that this is a decision for your health, that you're not in competition with them. You may find once you start losing weight that it motivates them as well. As to #2- I am a completely different person than I was when I began the "journey" a year ago. All things being what they are, I think (jmo) that you should hold off on things with this guy until you're a few months down the line and have been able to process all of this change on your own. Get comfortable with yourself again. Find your inner confidence. Get support from your understanding friends and family, and later, when the time is right decide if you want to persue something with him. Best of luck!!!

It's been a while since I poked around here or posted, but my one year bandiversary is coming up next month (luckily a Saturday, as it turns out) and I'm having mixed feelings about either celebrating with some friends at the beach or just quietly tooting my own horn with a toast, etc... Have any of you marked the day specially with the people you know and love, and if so what did you do? I'm not at goal yet, and obviously don't want it to come off as a bragging thing, but I feel like this positive decision for my health should be celebrated. What do you think?

Thanks Heather! Congrats on your loss so far too! I think an outfit is definitely in order, and I love the idea of a slight hair changeup at the salon coupled with a mani-pedi. Highlights maybe? Kind of your own TLC makeover, right!? I remember marking the 6 month point with some new shoes, because I had already spent so much on in-between sizes. I absolutely think you should celebrate too!

It will stop, Lis, eventually. I had that problem for a while when I hit around the 4 month mark, and even bought a wig for days when I felt particularly sparse. I would take the advice others have given about Vitamins. There are hair and nail supplements easily gotten at GNC or Vitamin Shoppe. A doctor at one of my support groups also recommended chelated zinc. It's difficult, but be patient. Your body is just adjusting to a major change.

Thanks Sizzling, that's great encouragement!!! I'm still mulling my options, but definitely motivated for the course ahead.

How do you cope with new body image issues post-band? Maybe you don't have them at all. I definitely do! I've gone from a size 18/20 to 12 or 14 so far depending on the brand, but I hate looking at myself in the mirror...moreso than I did when I was fat. It's like the fat was a layer of protection, a defense. I grew to accept the way I looked and was ok with it. Now I see that increasingly sagging marsupial pouch and various other accoutrements that I'll have to deal with for at least another year until my weight plateaus (only 7 months out) and I feel downright ugly. So...how do you deal? Shopping in "normal size" stores feels great...but the happiness as a result is fleeting.

Thanks. I'm down about 60 lbs, but I hit a plateau; but I'm starting with a personal trainer this week to get over the hump. Hopefully that will do it. The consensus seems to be that you should wait until you're at a steady weight for 6 mos. before PS. I'd like to be at goal weight by 1 year out (also August) so I'm thinking by December I'd like to have a surgery date...earlier if I/Dr. Schulman think it's going to work out better that way. I want to give my body maximum time for muscular tone and healing. How about you?

Hey yeah! My consult is with Dr. Schulman at Welcome | Madison Avenue Plastic Surgery These are the other PS's I checked out for consults: Dr. Michelle Copeland: Plastic Surgery Plastic Surgeon NYC New York City Manhattan Manhattan Plastic Surgery New York City NYC Englewood www.drafridi.com I found I was most impressed by Schulman's work. My holdback is that his surgical fees seem to be double of what my NYC metropolitan area research has shown (i.e. breast lift in the neighborhood of $10K- not including anaesthesia, hospital fees, etc..) Who are you seeing? Congrats on getting so far by the by. That's amazing!

Sorry, meant anchor, not hook. Those scars are hard enough when you scar well...but when you don't?

I agree about surgeon research. I have done mine and (I think) found an excellent one. His before/after pics have impressed me more than any others, and his manner is professional as well as comforting. I think it's because he specializes in post-weight loss patients. I can deal with a raised/red/thicker scar on my tummy. Not a fleur-de-lis, but a horizontal scar that is covered over by panties/swimwear is a-ok by me. The problem I am really having is with the boobs. They look fabulous in a bra, but when I take it off, not so much. Sag city. I can't handle thick, raised, red hook scars on my breasts. I'm sure that sounds really vain, but I just can't. I'm seeing a derma in a couple of weeks to work on the scars I already have...laser therapy for lightening, steroid injections for flattening. I am going to wait and see how my scars react to that treatment, as well as my plastics consult to decide on the breasts. It's just....sad. I want the perfect remedy, and I want it all at once.

I know exactly what you're saying, Mindy. It's not that I don't like myself...it's that I am deflated emotionally by the way certain areas look. I console myself at times with the thought of plastic surgery (and even though I know it will be a while before I can get it, I'm going for a consultation next week to get an actual MD's opinion on my specific situatino), but because of the way I've scarred with the band surgery, I'm discouraged. I DO still feel out of place in the normal size stores. I'm used to being ignored there. I'm also adjusting to the comments I hear around me now that people would have been more sensitive too when I was huge (i.e. last week bartender making fat person comment, etc...) It's strange that I'm not seen that way anymore, so people don't tiptoe around their disparaging remarks on others. I remember being unhappy when I was 130. LOL- what I wouldn't give. Don't get me wrong, I'm really, really pleased with the weight of lost and proud of myself, but I'm still averting my eyes from the full-length mirror. I guess I still feel like that person in some ways.

4'11" here and I have to agree with everyone on the 3/4" sleeve shirts. Capris are ok in that they don't have to be hemmed, but there's always a funky tapered look to them because they're supposed to sit up higher on the calf. I have to get EVERYTHING hemmed, even when they come in short/petite. I also love crop jackets (Gap has a new one for spring that fits perfectly) because they don't have to be tailored.

I have the same am/pm problem and can only get down a few bites of anything in the morning. At night it's the exact opposite, and I am at my sweet spot! Very frustrating indeed. I think part of it has to do with the physical causality, but just as much may have to do with psychological (i.e. I have always had more of an appetite in the evening.) It certainly is an interesting query though. If you find a way to counter that night-time hunger, let me know!

Tylenol is your new best friend. Personally, I like the PM version. Stock up and good luck!

Laila Ali is the one on American Gladiator- she also did Dancing with the Stars. She is a boxer and was the Women's Champion. She has always been athletic and trim. Khaliah Ali is the one who had LB done at NYU, consistently struggled with weight, and recently published the book Fighting Weight with Drs. Ren and Fielding. Sorry to correct, it just aggravates me when people confuse the two! : )

I love my band- I would do it over again in an instant..in less than an instant, but I'm struggling with a few things and need to reach out to my LBT people. You hear it in the support groups, etc...they put the band around your stomach, but nothing around the brain. Recently I have felt a relapse of head hunger that I thought was gone for good (silly me- this is lifelong addiction we're dealing with). What do you all do to combat phantom hunger pains (i.e. boredom, loneliness, depression- you know...all the emotional crap that makes you eat in the first place)? My credit cards can't tolerate too many more substitute compulsions at banana Republic. I'm six months out now, taking Vitamins, and eating as much as I can without getting sick, but I'm clearly suffering from some side effects of malnutrition. My hair is still coming out too much (not noticeable to others, but to me), nails are brittle and peeling/breaking (I'm using Protein nail polish), electrolytes seem very off-balance (frequently dizzy and bp hovers right around 90/60 daily), my lips are chronically chapped despite increased fluids and every brand of lip balm you can come up with, and just plain fatigued more than I should be. I'm having the same problems with caloric intake that I did two months in. Has anyone else battled this and found resolution?

Thanks everyone for all the tips, tricks, and supportive messages. I've been taking the chelated zinc for hair, and protein for nails, and I do still have my protein shakes at work, pure tea tree oil and retinol on my scars, read up on every site known to man re: hair loss and deficiencies, and different ways to get better quality calories. I'm more in touch with my body now than I have probably ever been. I believe it will just be a waiting game for things to balance out again. As for bloodwork- my surgeon waits til 6 mos to do the 9 vial shuffle I had pre-op and see where my levels are at. I expect to see the order sheet at my next appointment in about a week. FUN! All of the above was part of a conscious choice so I don't complain [well, anywhere other than LBT : ) ], I'm just frustrated. Hopefully things will improve soon.

I've lost 10 lbs this month and 13 the month before...loss has been fairly steady save for a couple of plateaus here and there. I try to average anywhere between 1000 and 1300 calories daily, but am probably getting no more than 700. I drink at least 6 cups/water daily. I have one whey protein shake daily. I have a lot of food allergies, but based on discussions with my dietician I don't think the problem is quality. I think my body is just continuing to adjust to eating differently and less. I would just like the adjustment to be over.

In the band support groups I go to, they talk a lot about "replacement" addictions; things that will replace our compulsion to stuff our faces because we can't or aren't compelled to anymore. I luckily don't have the smoking/drinking/drugg issue, but I have a real shopping addiction. Things I buy on impulse that sit in my closet with the tags on collecting dust...shoes I've forgotten I own because I have over 150 pairs, that kind of thing. All things to fill the empty hole that sits somewhere deep in there. I'm considering going back to therapy to try and replace the shopping addiction with something more healthy. I wish you all luck in combating your addictions!

Post-op my dietician recommended Flintstones Complete to get my full nutritional supplement. I was only too happy to have childhood nostalgia and my daily necessary intake satisfied by a sugary, addictive little chew-able pill. Now? Not so much. I stopped taking the pills shaped like Bam Bam and Pebbles a month ago because they were just disgusting. But I've run into a road block and my hair is falling out to boot. When I tried switching to a regular (read=horse-pill) multi-Vitamin (Women's One a Day, etc...) I've gotten horribly, painfully sick. I think it's about the length of time it sits in my stomach pouch, like a control release pill. Does anyone have any suggestions on where/how to get either liquid form, or know of another chewable (non-foul) multi-vitamin?? Any advice appreciated!

Thanks everyone for the suggestions! I'm going to do some internet searching based on the advice and see what I come up with.

What do you love about your band surgeon and their practice? My surgeon has been a Godsend. He was upfront from the start about every aspect of the surgery, and made time for me outside of his regular seminars to sit and answer my questions. He gives his e-mail address to patients and generally I have always had a response from him within an hour. I must have peppered him with at least 50 messages pre and post op. He has a bari-buddy program where he matches you up with a post-op patient in his practice and your age range that is willing to answer any questions that he cannot about personal expereince. He is professional, well-published and experienced, and his bedside manner is something to be replicated by my other doctors. I have heard nothing but rave reviews about his performance from other surgeons and specialists. Most importantly, he never sugar coated anything from risks to expected results. I could not be more happy with him. What do you hate? I hate that I can only get appointments on Fridays, but it is understandable since he is operating every other day of the week. I am not fond of his office admin's organization skills. More than once I have made an appointment only to call and confirm to find they did not put it in the electronic book. What do we do well? Informing. Informing. Informing. What could we do better? Offer to reduce your surgeon's fees for self-payers so people don't have to go to Mexico. (Mine was 100% covered by insurance, I am just speaking on behalf of others) What more could we do to help you succeed? My surgeon has done everything feasible to help me succeed, including telling me to keep message board visits to a minimum to keep from beating myself up over other's higher numbers. How could we improve your customer experience with our practices? Make sure you have a top notch admin staff, and a friendly, approachable surgical coordinator with excellent communication skills. (Mine was great)

Hey Ladies! I'm a NY'er too. Live in midtown Manhattan. I'm just over 4 months post-op/at 7.5 cc's and down 47 lbs!!! I'm crazy excited to be 3 lbs away from my half-way point. Dr. Jacob did my surgery at Mt. Sinai and does my fills. He's an amazing surgeon! Lucky enough to have found my sweet spot after only two fills, and hoping to be at goal before the summer. My only complaints are hypertrophic scarring of my incisions (hoping to be remedied by laser scar revision) and some minimal hair loss.