Bergdorfblonde

Tabithan I feel your pain. I have been a really bad lap bander. I weighed myself 2 days ago and I weighed 255.5! That is at least 10 pounds more than when I had the lap band surgery! Am I the only one who GAINED WEIGHT with the lap band? I know its my fault because I know I eat too much. I initially lost 30 pounds with the lap band but now gained it back and then more. I am one of those people who takes on too much. I have been focusing too much on my career and on silly things that do not matter when in reality I should have been focusing on my lap band dieting. I've been on at least 10 diets since the lap band and I haven't been able to stick to them for that long. So now, 4 years after the surgery and at an all time high weight, I am finally using the band as it was intended. I am making up my own diet so I don't feel deprived. I am eating 6 mini meals per day at 200 calories each for a total of 1200 per day. I bought some all natural green coffee and saffron supplements at GNC to help with the hunger and gave up diet soda in favor of diet iced tea. I'm writing down everything I eat and my pounds lost. I've lost 6 pounds in the first 3 days and I am doing nothing this month but dieting and focusing on keeping to 1200 calories a day. I almost feel like I am a crack addict who is getting off crack and I need to put myself in food rehab for a month! This time, 4 years after the band, I am fully committed to finally losing the weight.

Fenton, I love men and love dogs! LOL Email me and we can go shopping and I will give you a head to toe makeover. I am on the Upper Eastside. I am in desparate need of some new trampy highlights so we can get coiffed together!! :wink2:

Get a new doctor who respects you. The lapband is a tool. If you dont really want to lose weight, it's not going to work. I wasnt losing any major weight before either. You need to limit your calories and be committed to not sabatoging it by eating foods that easily go down and have a lot of calories. Its really a mental thing, not a physical thing. If you can get committed to losing weight, go see another doctor, get a fill, and eat healthy food for about 1200 calories a day. You can do it. You have the band inside of you already. You just need to change your mental attitude. Think about the reasons why you keep overeating. Make a commitment to yourself and your new life and you will be successful.

I bought size 14 jeans yesterday! I had to squeeze into them, but the fact that I put on a size 14 just blows my mind!!!!

I wish you lived in New York, cuz I would take you to my hairstylist, take you shopping for new clothes and give you dating tips! You are a beautiful girl. Sometimes, especially if you have never been thin ever, you still have the "fat girl mentality" that can prevent guys from seeing your beauty. There are girls who are 400 lbs who have men who drool over them and girls who are size 0 who act crazy and insecure and chase away the men. Just like dogs smell fear, men smell confidence. It is the key to being receptive to male attention and being able to flirt. I say, go to the salon. Get a trendy haircut. Leave the length, guys love longer hair. Get some trampy highlights. Go shopping with a friend who knows how to dress well and buy some sexy clothes. Figure out what your best assets are (breasts, eyes, legs, whatever) and play them up and cover up the parts you are least proud of. Buy some self tanner and get a faux glow. Buy some jewlery that makes you feel pretty. Next, practice flirting and talking with everyone you meet. I am not talking about throwing yourself at men. I am talking about making small talk with babies, dogs, old people, etc and smiling a lot. Then when your confidence in making small talk and flirting is up, move on to men. Work on your confidence level and know that you are no longer fat and that anyone would be lucky to be your friend/girlfriend. I hope this helps. Good luck babe:)

The standard rule is no soda and no straws. However, when my nutritionist was on maternity leave, I had an appt. I talked to the nurse who is in charge of my program and told her it sucks to not be able to occassionally chew gum, drink diet coke and use straws. She said I can do it. It's against the technical rules, but if you do it and are still having good weight loss, go for it! I burp more when I drink diet coke so I have to sip slower. When I go out, I like to have fresh breath, so gum is a MUST. I havent had a problem with these things.

Jason, do what works for you and don't compare yourself to anyone else. If what you are eating is making you lose weight, keep up the good work! I get depressed if I compare my slow weight loss to some of the other ppl who got banded in the same month as me. They eat like 600-800 cals a day and I have been eating 1200. My weight loss is not as rapid but its still coming off. Do what works for you babe:)

I prefer viactiv over centrum. Do they taste like Godiva? No. But then again they are vitamins;)

I love the viactive chews. They taste like chocolate and are more of an incentive to take my vitamins over the chewable orange flavored centrums. They are great. They are like 20 calories each but it is really not that much if you think of it as a treat. Its like eating a chocolate but its a vitamin.

You fit into a bus seat where it would have been very tight before. Your panties are falling down under your skirt. Your jeans are falling off your tush. You get hit on by guys who wouldnt give you the time of day before. You can fit into "regular" sizes and vow never to step into Lane Bryant, Avenue, or any plus size section ever again. You try on jeans "for fun" just to see if you went down another size. You look at yourself in the mirror at Saks and cannot believe how small your waist is. You go shopping and see your own reflection in the window and dont recognize your body cuz you look half as wide as you used to be!

Why do thin people treat fat people like we are invisible? What are they so uncomfortable about? It's like, God forbid a fat person goes into Victoria's Secret to buy makeup. Is there a size you need to be to fit into a lipgloss? Its shameful. I think being fat is the last socially acceptable discrimination left. I am the same girl whether I am fat or thin and it seriously bugs me how people treat us differently based on a number on the scale.

I was really worried about this too. My arms got huge before and now they look SOOOO much better! I was worried about the extra skin. I asked my friend's dad who is a doctor and he says pregnant women gain a lot of weight and their stomachs snap back in shape so so will my body. My arms arent rock solid, but they look so much better than they did 37 pounds ago. I walked around yesterday in a tank top and looked really good. Its great watching my body fall back into shape. Ive lost all my backfat, my arms look much better, my friend got manis and pedis with me yesterday and told me that my legs are half the size they were the last time we got pedicures, my waist is defined, my butt is a lot smaller. The only thing I hate is right away, my boobs deflated so they are very saggy now (something ive never experienced before). Also my underwear is hanging off my behind, so I think it is now time to buy some new bra and panty sets and get bras with the maximum lift. It's such a great feeling to watch my body turning back into something I can be proud of and with each pound I get more comfortable in my own skin. You will love your new found confidence wearing tank tops and showing off your arms!! :frown:

I hate to say this to you because I know I am encouraging you in the wrong direction. But it is your birthday. One night is not going to kill your diet. Just put the fill off till the day after your birthday and have a good time. Dont overeat just to eat, but eat small portions of junky food because it is your b-day and then the next day go back on plan. We are not perfect people and honestly, we all fall off the wagon once in a while. When I do eat a lot, I dont regret it, cuz I am dieting 80% of the time and when I do that, I keep trending down. Celebrate on your b-day and have a good time (not because you are gorging yourself, but because you are eating small portions of exactly what you want) and focus on the fun and being with friends and family and the games and let the food be an afterthought. Enjoy life;) :thumbup: