steph_co

Oh, gees. I've been gone from the board for way too long. I felt my stomach drop to the floor when I read your post from the 3rd, Kendra. I had to catch up through the posts. I am really saddened to hear about all you're dealing with. I couldn't even imagine. You are so strong. I am jumping and kicking all over that tumor! It has no chance! I am sending the strongest most vibrant healing light to you that I can muster. If you don't mind, I think I'll get one of those LiveStrong bracelets and wear it for you so that whenever I have a down moment and I touch the bracelet, I'll remember to kick the crap out of that tumor and send you love and light to heal. My heart goes out to you, my dear.

HAHAHAHAHA...that's awesome! What a great compliment! LMAO Not much further, I bet! Keep up the great work!

I wasn't heavy enough for gastric bypass. But in all seriousness, I had heard enough about gastric bypass that it was just something that I wouldn't have considered even if I HAD been heavy enough. I like the band because I didn't have a permanent re-routing of my gastrointestinal tract. The fact that it seemed a simpler procedure and carried less risk of complications is what made the idea of bariatric surgery even possible at all in my mind.

This is a good post and the "Who's in charge?" really is something to consider. I did have to chuckle, though. When I first read that, it reminded me of that line in "Night at the Museum" when Robin Williams asked Ben Stiller, "Who's evolved?" LOL But I do agree with you. I think it does come down to being an adult. I am also dumbfounded at people that eat whatever the heck they want and then make posts about why they aren't losing weight. It's becoming a little difficult to not repeat the line in Jachut's signature. :rolleyes2:

Wow. That is just insane. I would seriously appeal to them about what a good employee you are. And also, I would be pulling up every last stat you can find about morbidly obese people having more sick days than normal BMIers (Seriously...I've heard this). Do they really want to risk losing an employee to an obesity-related illness because of such a silly requirement? On top of that, you'll most likely end up costing them LESS in the long run because people of a normal BMI tend to be healthier (I.E., less doctor visits). Oh, you can so fight this. Fight the good fight, girl - you can get past this. If they seem to be unhelpful, I would seriously consider talking to an attorney (at least a free consult) to see if they can even DO that. I don't get how the heck they can do that.

I'm with FairyFacade on her #4! I love being able to put my knees up to my shoulders, but my hips used to get so tired. Found out yesterday that they go further and they don't hurt anymore. hahahahaha I just altogether FEEL better. I feel more of my bones which reminds me I'm thinner. I have parts of me not bumping into things anymore. I'm just really starting to feel like a normal person - it's incredible. I'm not sure what women's size I started at because I was so in denial and didn't want to buy anything. I was probably a 22. I'm into 14's. Medium tops (no boobs...haha). I started at a men's 42 (I wear them for work) and I'm a loose 34, eying those 32's. :rolleyes2: Everything just feels easier to do when it comes to moving my body. I LOVE it. Can hardly wait to get to goal and see how THAT feels. Haven't been there in 10 years.

I have lost a bale of hay and a human brain. Just skin and a guinea pig until I get to the penis!

This could explain it better than I could: Fitness Articles ::: Beauty & Fashion :: Skin brushing for Detox MAKE SURE that you use a brush with NATURAL BRISTLES. That's important so you don't damage your skin.

If the doctor doing the video didn't have his own agenda in advertising himself to perform your MGB, I might be more inclined to believe him. Besides that, I'd like to know what Mr Expert would recommend for those of us that didn't qualify for GBP? My BMI was not high enough. Would it have been a good idea to have gained more weight just so I could qualify? LapBand gave me hope to be able to do something more permanent than yo-yo dieting. I knew going into this that it might not last my whole life. But in the 10 years that apparently he is giving me for my band to fail, hopefully my habits will have changed enough that I won't be able to eat myself to death like I was working towards before. Besides that, why does he not mention any failure rates and complications for GBP? There are plenty out there. The possibility of dying on the operating table from GBP is higher than LB. Also - there is a greater possibility of regaining with GBP. The pouch can stretch. With the band, you can go back for adjustments. I could get hit by a car tomorrow...I better never leave the house so I'm safe.

I wish I could have gotten my band at 19.

As long as you don't take the Vicodin, I don't see why not. I went back to work 4 days post-op (security patrol).

My 36 work pants are way loose. I'm considering going next week to try on 32s. I had an acquaintance that I haven't seen in quite awhile (and even then it was for a very short time before) comment on how much weight I've lost.

OK, I said I was going to hide the scale. Actually, DH was supposed to and he forgot. I couldn't resist using it. I am just past my midpoint for weight loss. So I decided to take a halfway pic and compare it to one I took before the surgery. Same outfit...BIG difference! I'm scared for the weight loss to slow down - they say it does as you get closer to goal. But I'm really excited - I feel almost normal...especially looking at the after pic!

I haven't thought of a specific month because I don't want to be disappointed and beat myself up. But I'm hoping for summertime. So that gives me a 3-month window. LOL I would be thrilled to be in the "normal" range by the beginning of summer. Only 21 more lbs to get there! I thought I'd be able to hold off in the pants I have until I got to goal since I wore my 42s until I was down to 36. But the 36s look funny and they kind of rub funny against my legs when I walk. I told DH if I fit the 32s, I'm getting some. As for tops...thankfully the official uniform shirt is provided. I made DH get me a medium. I got a medium fleece, too. Of course, going down in that size isn't too hard when you don't have boobs. :biggrin: LOL I thought you looked pretty skinny in your pic sitting down with your husband and the dogs. I'd say 30 lbs in 3 months is pretty dramatic. Keep up the good work. At this point, I really haven't had many people say anything. 2 acquaintances, my DH, and my mother and that's it. I hate to say it, but I think I'm starting to notice that people tend to be pretty self-involved. I guess I find it weird when I feel like I always notice that stuff and would comment. Oh, well. That's people for you. Thanks, Sades. :biggrin: Thanks, Shortgal.

52 pounds...halfway to goal.

OK...here's my halfway there pic... I feel almost normal!

I am seriously impressed. To only gain 3 lbs over 1 year of being "off track?" If I went off track before the band for a YEAR, I would have gained back ALL of the weight I lost. Sounds like the band IS helping! 85 lbs is a lot!! Welcome back to the board - I know you can do this!

I have DEFINITELY fallen down...more than once. The important part is to get back up. Just take that first step to get the carbs out of your system. Once they are out, the cravings are much easier to handle. Mine are in my head and actually easier to battle now that my body isn't begging for sugar. I agree with katrose - do a 3-day purge. Tell yourself it's just 3 days...you can do that. At the end of 3 days, you'll feel so much better and a bit stronger at fighting those carbs. You can do this!

I agree with this. I have been using Burt's Bees body butter. They changed their formulation so I'll have to find a new one. But my skin is really soft. It's always been a little dry and it was more so once I started dieting. The body butter has made an amazing difference.

So, I didn't want to, but I guess I'll post about my 3-weeks' long struggle over here. I am a bit embarrassed and ashamed of myself, but I figure this can be kind of therapeutic getting it out there. (And also to show how incredibly imperfect I am.) It all started when I hit my Valentine's Day goal of 188. I had weighed myself on like a Monday or something and then DH weighed himself on like a Wednesday or Thursday and he was 189. I was SO elated because for the first time since being with DH, I weighed less than him! (He has gained weight since we met.) I weighed myself the next morning and I was up to 192.5. HELLO. Can you say beyond pissed? Not only was I now back into the "obese" category, but I weighed more than my husband. He also weighed himself that day and he had lost like 3 lbs. Now, keep in mind that I HAD been eating right - he eats junk. So who DESERVED to lose those 3 lbs? ME. I was so upset with everything and everybody. (I want to interject at this point because I KNOW that there will be the customary responses, "It was probably Water," "It was one of those day-to-day fluctuations," "I don't freak about the scale until I see the same number 3 days in a row," "Was it that TOM?" I know all of these things and no, it wasn't that TOM. But trying to talk reason to me in that very moment in time would have been like trying to talk an arachnophobe into picking up a spider. The mental reaction was that strong for me. I know all of the "reasons" that the fluctuation could have happened, but that's not the point of this post. So moving on...) So it sparked off 3 weeks of not eating so good. I say it that way because there WERE days that I was relatively good, others not so much. There at the end, the 3 last days of it (I think it was this past Sunday, Monday, Tuesday) were really bad. I think by that point I had spiraled down far enough that I felt REALLY bad about myself and I just plain didn't care. I ate more than I should have, I ate plenty of carbs and sugar, I ate more often than I should have, etc. No, I don't need a fill. Trust me. I ate through the pain sometimes. Well, I renewed my commitment yesterday to do right by my body. I started up taking my supplements again, I ate good foods all day long. I had an emotional reaction to something and ate two bowls of Cereal. Good heavens. I felt like this was never going to end. I have numerous reasons for wanting to get thin. I wrote a big old blog entry in my personal journal and reviewed all the reasons why I deserve to be thin. I do realize I get to seek some counseling. That is one thing I have told myself before I got the band that I had to set up. I haven't yet. I really think it would help me tremendously. I think the part that keeps me from doing it is trying to find the right counselor. If somebody could just shove me in the right direction of the perfect counselor, I'd do it in a heartbeat. But it's not going to be that easy - I guess I just have to suck it up and get out there counselor-hunting. Anyway...onto the good part of this whole thing...and also the part that I very much do not deserve. I weighed myself this morning so that I would know what my new starting point was going to be. I'm back down to 188. I have no idea how or why. Other than that the band really DOES keep me from eating as much as I used to be able to. What feels like a binge now would have been next to nothing before the band. I get that feeling of fullness much easier and quicker so it really isn't possible to shovel in as many calories as I used to. I am a self-pay for this band and yet I still don't feel I deserve it when I have spent the time that I have abusing it. But I do feel like I'm back on track, now. I'm back at work today and I think that helps when I'm starting back on the road to eating healthy because my mind stays on other things and food is not readily available - I have to go buy it. I'm starting up on South Beach Diet right now - it has always produced great results for me before. I'm hoping to lose 10 lbs by the 4-month bandiversary on March 15th. I hope my story can help somebody. It really isn't that easy putting this all out there. It can be hard admitting major weakness. But I guess it's no secret that I had to be doing SOMETHING to put all that weight on in the first place.

But would like to keep it low carb...Whole grain... I just thought I'd pass on a tip about one of my favorite products which is Southaven Farms mixes. I got them actually a couple years ago when I was on South Beach Diet (pre-band). For whole grain, I couldn't believe how yummy and moist they were. Heck, they are even better (IMO) than regular bread. There are a lot of different mixes that you can substitute in your own recipes to make them more low carb. Like pancakes and such. They are also unsweetened, so you get to choose how to sweeten them. whole grain | sugarfree | fat free | dairy free | muffin | bread | recipes | southavenfarm.com I still have a couple boxes in my cupboard I haven't used. But I did make some bread with this cinnamon mix they have that reminded me of my mom's zucchini bread without the zucchini. It would have been even better with the zucchini! I'm not much of a baker so I don't have a whole lot of imagination or experimentation, but I bet there are lots of things you could make. I just can't believe whole grain could taste this good, so I thought I'd pass this along to those that still eat bread.

Thank you. :eek: It's frustrating for me to look at it because it doesn't look THAT much different to me.

OMG...how cute is that? Kids are so perceptive. That's really great. Keep up the great work! I can tell he is already so proud of his Moma!

I love watching him on Big Medicine. He and his father seem to be very good surgeons and very involved with their patients. I am impressed to say the least.

Scared going in, wondered WTH I had done to myself afterwards for a couple days. But really, it wasn't that bad and I would DEFINITELY do it again. The pain in the grand scheme of things wasn't the worst I've ever felt and I've never had open surgery like this before. About 1-3 days post-op (I can't remember, exactly) I was up and walking a mile around my neighborhood. I went back to work at 4 days post-op. Felt MUCH better at about 10 days post-op. Have had pretty steady loss. I'm at 6.5cc in a 10cc band which was great restriction when I first got it...it's starting to loosen up, though. Have not PB'd or slimed, yet. There is no food off-limits for me - it all goes through if I chew well enough. Almost halfway to my goal and only 3 months and 10 days post-op.