JustWatchMe

@@Debbie3sons, ziplining!!! Omg, I watched my kid do that about a year ago and nearly had a heart attack. Good for you!! And don't you feel like you need a vacation to recover from your vacation?

I am trying to understand my patterns of emotions with eating. Really examine it and learn. I have known for years that grief will cause me to totally lose my appetite. I literally cannot eat another bite, even mid meal, if I am given bad news, or become suddenly sad. Anger or fear will also stop my appetite cold. This happened to me on a dinner out with my husband this past week. The vacation surroundings were wonderful, the food was perfect, I was hungry and enjoying the food. Then mid meal he started a fight and I completely lost my appetite. I took the rest of the food back to the hotel and gave it to my daughters. Although that loss of appetite was not a revelation to me, it got me thinking about my history of overeating. I truly eat for comfort. I feel such happiness when eating. The comfort feeling is the polar opposite of the feeling in my gut I had during our awful dinner. During anger or fear or sadness, my gut hurts, burns, feels queasy. When I'm overeating I am feeling pleasure and comfort and joy. I don't go to the food right after a negative emotional episode. It's more like the next time I'm in a normal state (the next day or later), I just keep eating to keep the good feelings alive. Of course, with the band I am not overeating as before. I listen to satiety signals and stop. I have a couple of months of good habits under my belt. It's just that I know that unless I uncover the causes and triggers of my overeating, I am doomed to return to it over time. I always thought I overate to feel better. I now think it's more like, I overate to not return to the bad feelings again. To keep the good, normal feelings of this present moment going. It's not an immediate reaction to emotional lows of the earlier moment. I hope this makes sense. I am curious what others have uncovered about their overeating triggers after they stopped overeating. Especially if you've had counseling to help understand it.

DuPage area here.

Some of the best success stories are second-time-around success stories. This encourages me that I can always try again and get back on track with my band. Let's face it. Many of us have lost a big chunk of weight in the past, only to start gaining again and then giving up. To see folks here shake off the "can'ts" and get back to basics and succeed at it is truly inspiring. And brave. Thanks for sharing.

Oh wow! That is funny. Congratulations on your new beautiful look.

@@kathousefl, thanks for posting and congratulations on your success. I'm three months post op today and I'm so glad I made this choice. Reading stories like yours helps me immensely. Welcome to the forums and keep posting !

Here's the event that forever made me lose my embarrassment of going to a locker room or gym. About fifteen years ago I weighed probably 240 or so. My daughters were about 3 and 4 years old. My husband and I decided to take them to a new indoor Water park that opened in a nearby suburb. It wasn't until I got to the locker room that I realized I had packed each of them a toddler towel (with the animal hoodie) but had forgotten to pack my own towel. We had to shower, shampoo and change after swimming in the chlorine. Had I been alone I could have ducked into a bathroom stall to strip down and change, but I wasn't going to leave my kids alone in the locker room with strangers and they needed my help showering and dressing. Their mini towels wouldn't cover even one of my legs. So, I sucked it up and walked bare-ass naked from the showers to the lockers with my freshly shampooed kids. They didn't notice, but boy did everyone else. I felt the stares, especially from the younger people. As I glanced up and saw someone staring at my big old naked body, I just held their gaze until they looked away. A couple of preteen girls snickered, but I acted like there was nothing unusual about showering and dressing my big body. I remember thinking that I did not want my girls to see me ashamed. After that incident, I figured if I could walk naked towel-less in a locker room in front of complete strangers, I wasn't going to be fazed by going to a gym. I did an Aqua Zumba class this spring with a pal and loved it. I don't stay away from the gym because of embarrassment. I just hate exercise. Lol.

@@par1959, I do disagree. I've struggled mightily all of my life with overweight and obesity. I was not a loafer. I was addicted to binge eating for a variety of reasons. I starved myself from 305 down to 156 at age 28. I immediately began bouncing back up the scale. Every aspect of my life was tightly controlled and meticulously perfect except my eating. I put myself through college while working full time. I cared for an ailing grandmother, aunt and father until each of them died. As a married woman I was a room mom, and a hands on parent while working part time and later full time. WLS is not making it easy for me to lose weight. It's saving my life by helping me keep the weight off. I wish to God I had been brave enough to do it in my twenties. Peace.

Well, you are woman. Hear you roar.

Good to know. That Isopure is nasty.

I am so sorry. This post just kicked the breath out of me. I agree we need to be prepared for anything. We cannot have a crystal ball and know what's coming next. I wish you peace and a happy life.

Great news.

Have fun!

Great tips!!!! Going out Tuesday with family who does not know I was banded. Needed to read this!

Many of these celebrities have inspired countless regular folks to seek life saving WLS. Thanks to them, the stigma continues to be reduced. I'll bet at least a few of them are on these forums. If so, thank you.

I would like to hear from people who intentionally finally took the WLS plunge BECAUSE they knew it would give them strength and confidence to leave an unhealthy marriage.

Hi Banders, I've heard of fills feeling less tight after they "settle in" a few weeks after adjustment. But my band feels tighter than it did right after my second fill two weeks ago. It's harder for me to eat solid Protein for Breakfast and yesterday I barely got three small bites of a pork chop down at dinner and felt it immediately. I know mornings and meats like pork are common for banders to feel more restriction. I'm just puzzled because right after the fill I didn't notice this. Also, certain foods just go right down, like salads and bread and I tried popcorn too. I need to watch out that they don't become sliders for me. After this fill two weeks ago I thought I'd need a third one in July at my next appointment. But now I'm thinking I need to live with this level for a bit. I don't want to count my chickens before they're hatched, but could I be hovering around my green zone so soon? I will say I've been under a crapload of emotional stress this week. Is that a real factor? I stay satisfied for close to 4 hours and I don't snack. Thoughts?

My dog. And he's no teacup chihuahua either. German Shepherd mix, 58 pounds. Add yours! Be creative!

Yay for you! I started at 4.5 in a 14 band and never got stuck. Good luck!

I win! Six weeks full liquids here!!!!!! LOL, I guess that WAS unusual. Glad it's behind me.

Congratulations !!!!!

My daughters have been completely supportive. They're college age now but I sure wish I had been banded when they were little.

It's real, and it works.

" You have to teach people how to treat you. " Words to live by.

I love the Dream Board idea. I started a list when I began researching WLS but I misplaced it once I changed phones. Time to write a new list. Not all of my to-dos are happy. Most are, but as many of us know, many obese people have some big life changes to make, like continuing to live with toxic people. I know that part of my WLS this year was to kick my butt into gear to do some tough things I've waited way too long to do out of fear. I knew if I took control of my eating and my body that I would be strong enough to make the needed changes. I can't hide in my food anymore. WLS is helping me be powerful, and I'm going to need that.