georgia girl

I'm so glad you are home and doing well. Hope you have a speedy recovery!

I always said that I would never post my pictures on the net, but I was so inspired by everyone on the Before and After Pics thread, I decided to post them on there a few days ago. Just thought I would share them with you guys. We have a great support system going on here and I'm so glad we can share this experience together. The first picture is me at 330lbs (Can't you tell that I did not want my picture taken) and the second was the other day at 280lbs.

Hey nip50! Congrats on your weight loss! They probably would have given you a fill since it was your first. Even though I had lost a good bit of weight at my first evaluation, she still gave me one because I told her that I had been hungry. After your first fill is when they start watching your weight loss closely. You should be proud of yourself, you're doing great! Keep it up!

Hey Stacey! Your weight loss is going great! I am very pleased with my results so far. I am having regular periods on my own. I still have to battle with hair growth and mood swings. I hope the mood swings will get better as I lose weight. As far as the hair goes, I will probably hair laser hair removal once I get to my goal weight. Hopefully we will all be at goal soon and doing much better. You are doing great and keep up the good work.

I have some really great Christmas memories as a child. My mom would make a big pot of hot chocolate on Christmas Eve night. My sister, my mom, and me would drink it as we colored in our Christmas coloring books and watched a Charlie Brown Christmas. One of my best memories is when I was about 8 years old. I live in South Georgia and it has only snowed once, where I live, since I was born. One year it was really, really cold on Christmas Eve night, so my dad placed sprinklers all over our front yard and let them run all night. When we woke up on Christmas Day, he took us outside and it was so beautiful. Our whole yard was covered in thick ice. I still have pictures of me and my sisters playing and sliding on the ice. It was the coolest Christmas ever. This is a great thread. It reminds me how blessed I am to have such loving parents and sisters.

I think it is a great idea and I would be interested, depending on when it is and the cost to get there and back.

Good to hear that you are feeling normal again. I felt pretty normal on day 6 or 7. Keep us posted on your progress. Good luck.

It's possible it could be the Optifast shakes. It seems like a lot of bandsters were doing this for pre-op diets. Let us know how it goes tomorrow.

Good luck with your surgery today and let us know how you are as soon as you feel up to it. I agree. Granted, she may not be as toned as some of the other celebrities, but that certainly does NOT make her fat.

Do you know which diet you will be on? I was on Sugar Busters for 3 weeks and lost 16 lbs. I've never had a big problems losing weight (if I stuck to it religiously), keeping it off is where my problem came in. I always had very good results from low-carb diets, but again, once I came off of it, I would gain it all back. Thats what's go great about the band, I can eat regular foods, just a lot less of it (when I have good restriction).

Your post made me laugh so hard! Like laurend said, it's not that bad if you do it in moderation. Just breathe..........clear your mind..........think of broccoli...........is it working?:heh:

My wieght loss has been rather fast so far. I haven't lost anything in about 2 weeks (due to no restriction). So hopefully I'll get some good restriction with my next fill. What you said about all the women in your family being fertile, got me thinking. I wasn't sure if PCOS is hereditary or not, so I did some research and it all makes sense to me now. I have 2 sisters and 1 of them has PCOS. I also have 2 cousins with PCOS (1 is obese and the other has always been at a healthy weight). Both cousins that have PCOS are on my dad's side of the family. My mother doesn't have PCOS (nor anyone on her side of the family). Here's a quote from an article I read that brings up something very interesting: It has been recognized for many years that PCOS definitely runs in families. It is inherited as an autosomal dominant trait. Therefore, if a woman has PCOS, it should be looked for in her mother, sisters, and daughters. Since it is autosomal dominant, male relatives will also carry the gene. These men are also often insulin resistant and at increased risk for diabetes. Some evidence indicates that the marker for the PCOS gene is men is early balding. If a male relative develops significant balding before the age 30, he should be evaluated. This makes sense to me now. My dad has diabetes, so does 2 of his brothers, and his father (my grandfather died about 5 years ago from multiple strokes). It never occured to me that the men on my dad's side could be carrying the gene. Just thought that was interesting.

Not bad at all. It's a really easy recipe. Ingredients: 1 block of milk chocolate Candy Quick 1 bag of Ruffles plain potato chips Melt the block of chocolate in a double boiler on low heat. Line a cookie sheet with wax paper. Dip each chip and put on lined cookie sheet in a single layer and let sit until chocolate is firm. Chip can be dipped fully or halfway. (I like it halfway dipped.....more of a salty-sweet effect) See........I told you it was easy.

TX Congrats on the banding! Sounds like you're doing good for 5 days out. What is you post-op eating instructions? I went to Applebee's tonight and ordered the veggie patch pizza appetizer as my meal. Usually I eat half of it and it takes a while. Tonight, I ate the whole thing and finished when everyone else did. Hang in there, it's going to get better for us both. Keep us posted on your progress.

Hey Jeannie! I didn't have a problem getting my first fill, even though I had lost a lot of weight. I think they start monitoring more after you get your first fill. Right now, since I don't have great restriction, I usually have about 1000 calories a day. I was having less than that the one week I did have restriction. I don't count religiously though. There are some days I don't keep up with it, if I'm on the go all day or have a family function. On those days, I just try to keep portions pretty small. As far as exercise, I have been walking and jumping rope. Jumping rope is a great cardio workout. It burns more calories than running. I'm really excited because I got an eliptical last night and I can't wait to get started with it. Keep up the good work.

LMBO! I'm telling you, if you like the salty sweet combination, you'll love them. I have to admit that I am a bit of a fanatic when it comes to decorating. I've always loved the creativity of taking something simple and making it look extravagant. I can make candies very well, but I'm not the best at baking cakes and such. I'm no Paula Deen, but I love to watch her cook.

Ditto. I felt the exact same way. I'd wait until everyone went to bed and pig out because the side salad I ordered just wasn't cutting it.

Sweets have always been my downfall..........once I started, I couldn't stop. I was feeling lousy today, so I bought some pre-made fudge from the bakery at the grocey store. I used to could eat the whole container, but I couldn't even finish one. It was sooooo sweet, I nearly gagged. I should feel blessed that I'm not craving sweets anymore, but I really wanted to eat them all. LOL

Congrats SheShe! You're doing great. It does seem that time has passed rather quickly, hopefully we all will be at goal weight before we know it. Keep up the good work.

Redgirl, I'm shocked that your doctor won't tell you how much he is putting in your band. That is something you need to know in case of an emergency. I would insist that he tell, if it were me.

Maybe I could put something heavy in my pockets? Just kidding........I think (lol). I feel like I could eat a horse right now. I do need to work on eating more protein, since she says it stays with you longer. I'm not a real big "meat" eater, so it's a little harder to get the protein in. When do you get your first fill?

I have a magic bullet and I used it a lot when I was on mushies. I haven't used it too much since, so I would love to hear some good recipes as well.

Not at all. It's true, my only regret is not getting it sooner. If you have done your research and are fully comforable with the doctor you choose, I say go for it. I had been thinking about doing this for years and when I decided to take the plunge, it happened pretty quickly. I can tell you that my experience has been great and I absolutely love my band.

Thanks a lot Laurend...........I didn't notice until you posted, now that is all I can see. LOL

I agree. It really upsets me when someone labels a person, just because they are a certain religion or race. I am a Christian, and I don't label all Atheists, or any other religion, as bad people, just because they don't believe the same thing I believe. Some of the nicest, caring, and giving people I know are not Christians. No one on this earth is perfect. There are good people and bad people in every religion and it is wrong to label everyone, in a specific religion or race, as the same, because it is simply not true.