puddin

Okay... SINCE I can't get enough of these before/after pics. Here's another one I took yesterday: I'll have to get my sister to take another one of me so you can actually see my FACE this time. I bought this swimsuit to start training for the triathlon. The swelling is slowly subsiding. I am down 3 pounds since a week and a half ago.

You're so sweet! It does feel good. In about 4 weeks I'll start training for it (just had a lower body lift 3.5 weeks ago). I'll PM you about the olympic triathlon. I need info!

I'll tell ya, that's never been a favorite spot of mine, anyway. I think it gets the guys more excited than the girls. So when I have my enlargement in March, I'm not too worried about losing sensation. It's always kinda hurt when they get touched anyway.

I think getting a fill will get you motivated, for sure. You start feeling restriction and you begin to feel control over what you eat. It's empowering. It took me awhile to feel any restriction. But once I did and the weight started to come off (although slow), it was more and more motivating. THEN I found that I just absolutely love outdoor exercise and hate the gym. I found cycling, mostly. I rode my bike to work, to the store, I took long rides every weekend with my friends who also cycle (and introduced me to it). Then I started to like jogging and hiking as well. When it hit winter time I learned to love skiing and snowboarding and showshoeing. I continued to jog in the winter time. With this tummy tuck I'm sort of now limited to indoor activities for a few more weeks at least. But I have been going to my cycling league indoor cycling classes. Anyhow, what I'm saying, basically, is find that one exercise that you can do that motivates you to no end. For me, I forgot about how hard I was working when I was cycling and just focused on hitting the summit of the hill. Once you start to love exercise it just gets better and better. You can do this. We can ALL do this! Food has no hold on us and neither do our current bodies. It's about what's inside that counts. It's that inner skinny bitch SCREAMING to get out that we should pay attention to.

Yup. Right under the bikini line, not midsection waistline! I'm really, really happy with the placement, and even now the scar is not bad. I'd take the scar over the hanging belly any day. And I'm with ya on plastic surgery intervention. I'm all about surgical intervention these days! I want a boob job. The ex was going to pay for it, but now that he's out of the picture I have to finance the sucker myself. But once my house is sold I'm taking some of that equity money and running to Mexico with it. I love my doc here, but I think a boob job is something I'm willing to go to Mexico for, in order to pay half the price for it! Thank you so much! I needed to hear that today.

Hey Marys - I'm doing the sprint in May by my house, then at the end of June I'm doing the olympic in Edmonton. I'm starting my 16-week training program in 4 weeks, and until then I'm building up to it (had a lower body lift 3.5 weeks ago). I'm recruiting people to come with me! So if any of y'all are interested in going, let me know!

Back atcha babe. It's fun to lose weight. So what kind of exercise are you into lately? I know you're always switching it up, getting into something new. Today I tried on size 10 curvy fit jeans at Express. They fit PERFECT! I think it's the top that was fitting but the legs were kinda tight in the 10's. With the curvy girl 10's, it fit like a glove. I'm hooked now. Then I went and tried on some new bike shorts so I can start training for the triathlon in June with them (it's slowly warming up around here), and I had no stomach! I could wear the tight pants with PRIDE! I love it. I wanted to do a little stroll around the bike shop in them LOL. This is a whole new feeling. And then when I bought my swim gear, I tried on a new speedo bikini. For heaven's sake, I looked good in it. This is definitely a whole new experience!

I didn't really start losing until like 3 months after I had the band. And even then, it took me another 6 months to get on the ball. I probably only lost like 60 pounds my first 9 months. It has been the last 8 months that I have lost the most weight. It was all about where my motivation was. Please don't get discouraged if weight loss doesn't happen immediately. You can ALWAYS lose the weight. There's no "magic period" with this band.

Thank you. I know I can repent. It's getting over him that I'm worried about. Do you think that I can ever open my heart to someone else again? I'm still very much in love with this other man, but I don't think he loves me back any more. I hate that I compare everyone to him.

Marys - FUN! I wish I could ski right now. I just had a lower body lift and can't freakin do anything except non-impact exercise that don't involve your abs. I'm going to start training for a triathlon in 3 weeks, though. It will require 2 hours of exercise a day! I don't know how I'm going to fit it in, but it's going to have to happen cause the triathlon's paid for!

Heck yes! I had a lower body lift done on January 12. It was the 2nd best investment I'd ever made!

Leatha, thank you so much. It has been the hardest thing I've ever gone through in my life. Thanks for your encouraging words.

Here's my two cents on the issue: I lost my virginity only a few weeks ago to a man that I thought loved me and I loved him. We were planning on getting married. Yes, we are both Mormons and don't believe in sex before marriage. I was ADAMANT that I wouldn't have sex before marriage because it's part of my belief system... but the fact that we did it before marriage ruined everything. He didn't respect me and I didn't respect him after we did it. It killed the relationship. IF we had waited until after marriage, things would have been different. And IF we had chosen to break up, without doing the dirty deed, I'd not be feeling nearly as much heartache and longing for him as I do now. In my opinion, waiting til marriage just makes it a much more special event.

LOL. Thanks hun. I love stalkers, as long as they're not ex-cons or peeping-tom's. But I sense that you are neither, so thanks for feuling my need for voyeurism on the Internet. I kid, I kid. Thanks so much!!!

Wait, I don't understand. Is it anorexia or bulemia? And why don't they simply remove all the liquid? Sorry you have to lose your band either way!

Arms! Yeah, my arms are ghetto, but not ghetto fabulous, just ghetto. I guess they're not TERRIBLE, but they're kinda saggy. I don't hardly ever wear short-sleeved shirts any more. The shortest-sleeved shirt you'll see is like the one in the pic on the previous page. If I DO wear short-sleeved, I've usually got some kind of shrug or jacket to cover up at least my upper-arms. But I can see them shrinking back, so I'm not going to have my arms done.

LOL. No, I knew that. I just brought it back to Jeff Foxworthy status. I'm not THAT young (wink wink)

Don't you mean "where's your sign?"

Hey mom, I mean Karey, the doc just said since I haven't worn one for the first 3 weeks it's not going to make a huge difference the next few weeks if I have a compression garment or not. The first compression garment was causing a lack of blood flowing to my lower abdomen and some major bruising. Once I took the binder off the bruising went away. I tried on some "compression garments" at Dillards the other day. They push my back-fat up and give me a little roll back there. How do you get rid of that??? I have a larger ribcage and broader shoulders, so I think it compresses me more at the top than other people.

You guys are super sweet, thanks for your awesomely kind words! Brenda, I gotta travel a good 30 miles to the nearest Abercombie, so I think I'll try Aeropostale today. I liked their jeans before. JC Penney also has some cute jeans in their Jr. section. I just hate spending money on pants when I know they're just not going to fit again in a couple of weeks.

Brenda, how big do their jeans go right now? I SWEAR I tried on size 13 jeans yesterday and they were tight. I was so upset. But I know it's this stupid swelling. If I were to try the same jeans on this morning they'd probably be loose. This swelling is a nasty biotch.

Ryan Ryan Ryan, please don't ever, ever underestimate your own strength. This has been my personal life lesson, especially in the last 6 weeks. Fear, discouragement, worry, and doubt are all emotional baggage that does no good. I've been there. Can you REPLACE those consuming thoughts with other thoughts? I think you're also missing food because you were addicted to the emotional component (well, I think we all were/are) and it was suddenly taken away. I was the same after banding. Time will heal it if you can endure it and TRY to think positively. Can I tell you that in the beginning, I had this LOOOONG plateau and kept thinking "well that was a waste of money." And posting things like "What if the band doesn't work for me?" Then, I don't know what changed, but something did, and I was able to think, "Hey! The band just doesn't 'not work' for someone. You gotta MAKE the thing work!" I know it's not a new revelation, but for me it was. I began to work out doing things I enjoyed doing, which, by the way, does NOT include the gym (except now I have a personal trainer MWF for weight training). Slowly I began to ENJOY working out. Then I started to even crave it. Walking was my solitude time and time to reflect on my goals. Some days it was just rock out on the iPod while walking. Walking turned to jogging. Then I learned I LOVE LOVE LOVE to cycle. So I bought a road bike and joined a league. That's when I started lossing MASSIVE amounts of weight quickly. Then I learned I love soccer and volleyball and joined leagues for those as well. I got into ATV riding and motorcross (because of a guy). I learned to love hiking every morning with my friends. This winter I got into snowboarding, even though I suck at it. For me it was about setting a standard goal and shooting for it. I paid for this VERY physical trip to Guatemala with my friends a year in advance, knowing I couldn't do all the physical activity if I wasn't incredibly physically fit. So I HAD to do it. Now I have paid for an olympic triathlon and HAVE to be able to do it by June (this tummy tuck has set me back a tad in that department, but I'll catch up). This is what motivated ME. Find your own personal motivation and you will be successful.

For all you who want a dressed pic, here's a sorta before/after that I also posted in the other before/after forum (because it just made sense). Oh, yeah, here's my pic disclaimer: It's a bad one - my swelling is terrible, I'm up a full size because of it, my waist looks huge in this one. I measured this morning and it was 31 inches, even with swelling, and tonight it's nearly 34 inches. But trust me when I say, I'll look hot naked in 6 weeks. Anyone who wants to see can come on over and I'll give ya a peep show and maybe even a lap dance

A'ite, here's one with me today in my dirty bathroom. It's not very clear, and my swellling from the tummy tuck is like a overfilled balloon, but you get the idea:

Hedwig, you are so awesome! I can't imagine taking something that monumental on at age 29!!! And without the support of a husband, too. You sound like an incredibly unselfish person. What an awesome experience for you, despite all the hardships that come with it. You're a saint.