Apples2

Oooops....forgot...VZ congrats on the new job. How exciting and sounds like you actually like the job. Long....give yourself awhile after you get to goal to think about doing anything like PS. It's all about what you can live with and what you cannot.

Sending the love right back at ya, Allie! And you too Susan! Always nice to hear the "L" word! Congrats to all having the bandiversary!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LOL, Joanne....

Just checking in after a long (chilly and windy) but wonderful weekend. Spent time with friends and quite time with DH at the lake. Now am home till Wed morning...a little catch up time at home, volunteer, bookwork, etc. Hope everyone had a great weekend. Been doing a lot of thinking about the past 18 months lately. Have my bandiversary on the 17th. Started this process over three years ago and pre-op diet in Nov, 2007. I have been so blessed that this entire journey has been on such a positive road. No complications to speak of. A lot of work was done to transform me into this healthy and energetic person that I have become. I wish now that I am where I should be, I could reach inside and pass the torch to any of you that are struggling. The only advice I can give right now is to go back to that moment when you made the decision to change your life for good. Back to the time when you KNEW you did not want to live with the excess bagage on your body anymore. Back to the time when you felt so crappy about dragging that extra body weight with you. When I would get weak during this trip, I would think of that moment of walking about 50 feet accross my lawn at the lake to visit a friend of mine. I BARELY made it. Huffing and puffing and feeling as if I was going to pass out. I was only 49 at the time. I was so ashamed and disgusted and felt just plain crappy at that moment. I just knew I couldn't do it any longer. Tempted by foods that I know could put me back in that situation? Yep...we all most likely be tempted by "not so good for you foods" every day for the rest of our lives. Is giving into those foods on a regular basis going to help us? Nope! I have treats...I get hungry...but I choose to have some self-control. Self-control is something I threw out the window years ago when I gave up on myself. I've got it back now and it's staying! I am so thankful that my band helps me with portion control with some foods. (Notice the "some" foods part). While I was in the weight loss phase I chose to be stronger than I ever was b/4. I was focused on the end result and was never going to throw it to the wind again. I would just see those weak moments as little bumps in the road and told myself that if I gave into those "little" weak moments that it would turn into the "big" problem that I was trying so hard to leave behind me. OK...sorry to sound preachy....getting off the soap box now. Hey Long.......great photos! Great inspiration to all of us!

You should be sooooooooooooooo proud of your accomplishments, Allie! Your b/4 and after are truly amazing.

First of all...Denise...so sorry to hear of your father's passing. You have my sympathy. What I got from your posts is that you were a very good daughter and did whatever you could for your dad. You have my sympathy. So happy that the sleeve is doing what it should for you. Hear's wishing you and easy ride from here and on down the road! Got caught up on this thread and just a big WELCOME to the new people. Orea...hang in there with the job situation. Staying busy with packing has got to take your mind off of it some. Please do not feel badly about your upcoming bandiversary and where you are sitting with things...you have been through more than a person should and have had MANY setbacks with your health. Hopefully, you will get to that place where you feel the appropriate amount of restrictions and things will be a little easier for you. Susan...(Livin')...how have things been going for you? How are things with your health? Any news? Just concerned. Hey, Elayne.....have a great trip up North. I am from MN and LOVE the Duluth area. Hope you can get a fill b/4 you go but be careful to not do it too close to trip date as Joanne mentioned above. If you are worried about food, just make sure you have something available just in case you are limited on choices at certain points of your trip. Make sure to stop at Betty's Pies! They have low fat, low sugar offerings and you can always taste and share. Lynn...let us know what you hear (if you are willing to share) from your PS. Hope everyone had a good weekend. My favorite saying this time of the year: "I'd rather be lost at the lake and to be found at home"!

Well, Arlene...you and Janet will just have to custom hire your harvest. Experience has proven that you can get it done for about $95,000 on 2500 acres! Yep, we do have a nice time at our lake place. Usually have friends come up and stay on Wed and Thurs and DH comes on Friday nights. He is such a workaholic...he's up and heading home to work each weekend by 7am. We only live 40 miles away so very convenient. DH learns to relax about 1/2 through the summer and then starts gearing up for harvest about the same time. Could be worse...he could be in the bar or a couch potato!:confused:

Bet you will do just fine with everything, Arlene. Watch for stress symptoms. My band tends to get really tight when stressed. Not sure if you have experienced that. Just had a bout of it from Friday thru yesterday. I've bumped my calories again to make up for the loss over the weekend. My point is....if you know you are under stress because of this big step your DH is taking, just be cautious with certain foods so you don't get in trouble with getting stuck and not getting your nutrients in. Make sense? :confused:

Awww, Laura, your poor sister. I have a friend that had bypass and she says she did not handle it well at all. More than she expected (didn't know her when). Said it took her two weeks to accept it all and by then most of the pain was gone. She admits it was just plain unpreparedness. I hope today goes better for your sister and that she is up and walking. Bet you cannot wait to go see her. Wishing everyone a great weekend. Mine is starting early again. Heading out for the lake in a bit and will be back maybe Monday. Gotta get our wireless installed up there!

Well, Allie, maybe my little man has fallen out of his boat...S.O.S!!!!!!!!! He is sending out a call for help! I maybe should have taken this subject to the "Powder Room" and do appreciate your answer to my post. Lack of sensation has never been a problem...even during the throws of menopause (I am now post). I will be 54 this year and feel that I am still in my prime. I have no extra poundage in the mons area...just has drooped to a different space. I guess I already knew the answer to my question even b/4 I posted it and know you are correct in saying a lift would help. I think what I will do is make an appt with my LB doc to see if I can get a referal with a PS that he would highly recommend and go from there. I may be 53 but not dead and know I want the years ahead to be as positive as possible. I am somewhat disappointed due to the fact that I have been patting myself on the back for coming out of this with so little extra skin. But now I am thinking that if I go through with getting the mons done, I might as well get the thighs done at the same time. Was just really hoping for no other surgery. Just so weird the way things turned out. My legs and arms have always been the skinny part of my body. My boobs and midsection were always huge. My boobs are in good shape and do not sag...neither does my stomach. Why the thighs? :confused: You go for that goal of getting into a bikini. I used to live in a bikini and miss the swimsuit thing. Got one this year but it's a tankini with shorts. Last time I wore a two peice is when I was 39 and looked good in it. 150lbs is not an unattainable goal and is a smart step if you are going for PS. I know you are tall but if you are still in the healthy BMI range, why not go for it????????

Lynn...hope the unfill and letting your stomach rest will do the trick for you. So difficult to get rid of that swelling sometimes and just need to baby it for awhile. Getting stuck with most meals is not normal. Hang in there!

Good Evening to all you LB chicks! Meredith......hang in there, girl. This is your decision and not anyone elses. I am sure after hearing what your father did from you "uncle" he was worried. I agree with Julie. Maybe he needs to be more informed about facts about the LB. Put him busy reading. Not long now and you will be in LB world! Hope your liquid diet is tolerable. It's all worth it. There's a reason your doc wants you to do it...it will make his job easier. Laura...what a day you had. Your doc sounds like he is doing the power play in saying he told you so. You know what they are like....they never like it when someone does the self-diagnosis thing. I switched docs one time for that very reason. I was right...he was wrong and he could never get over it. Happy to hear your sister came through surgery fine. And, NO, it shouldn't be a race between the two of you. Heck, it shouldn't even be a race of any kind between us LB ppl, let alone a LB racing against a bypass. Again....like in Meredith's case...time to educate your father on the difference. You're doing great and cannot compare your accomplishments with anyone else. Charlene....sounds to me that with all that "farming" you are doing on FB, you've got what it takes and found your own cup of energy! Thinking of your DH and make sure to keep us informed on how things are going for him and with you in all of this. What a nice wife to drink shakes with him in evenings. Long....last summer I got eyelash extensions and permenent eyeliner as a mini-goal gift to myself. I go in every 2-3 weeks for touch-ups on the lashes. I actually fall asleep during my one hour appts. Just something selfish I did for myself after years of being the "farm servant", the mom, the run down farm wife and at everyone's beckon call for 30 years. It's ME time every once in awhile. Joanne......I've been terrible lately and not at all caught up with acknowledging everyone on this thread. If I forgot the congrats on your scale moving...sorry. Hope it continues for you. Sounds like you are eating right. How exciting that the kids are coming home!

Not so sure about our LB support group meetings. Our coordinator does a good job but most ppl that come don't share much except for a lot of complaining about wrong food choices, etc.....most of it really negative. I know we all have our struggles and that is what support groups are for but these are ppl that are 3-4 yrs out and have not lost much and really don't know if they ever think about the end result anymore or if they have given up. It just puts a cloud over the room. I almost feel out of place and a little shunned because I am at goal. Sorry....but 1/2 gallon of ice cream per day does not make for great weight loss and continually complaining that you are off to the store every day for that 1/2 gallon gets old month after month. I am not an unsympathetic person; I am just realistic and some habits need to be thrown out the window. I have considered not going anymore but then I really do go for the advice our coordinator has to offer and consider her a real mentor. Guess I need to just screen the negatives and ignore.

Rose...sorry I missed your trip into onederland. Congrats! Long....I got younger last week....eyelashes done, color, cut and highlights. Always feels so good until the grey starts showing up again. I had almost black hair growing up and was almost white at 29 (surgery that went wrong and hair turned white within a month). I have dyed it ever since. Anyway, going lighter helps with not noticing grey so soon and also the highlights help. I was blessed with lots of hair with lots of curls and body. I need to straighten mine with a flat iron each day or it is very unruley. Good luck and hope it turns out the way you want it!

Long....don't change your ticker. That weight will come off by the weekend. Try to get enough fiber this week. Throw a cup of canned spinach in you diet once a day until you anniversary date and see what happens. It always seems to get things on track for me...flushes my system and gives me energy. Not eating any at this stage and really miss it. It's worth a try. Allie, Teach and Long....I bet if you took a poll, 90% of ppl complain of slowing down on wieght loss the closer they get to goal. Try to be patient. You will be "yahooing" b/4 you know it. Then all you need to do if figure out what it takes for you to stay at goal with cals and exercise. When are you planning PS, Allie? I guess the only thing I would like done is a mons lift (yep, it's been discussed here b/4) and maybe a thigh lift. The tummy and girls come out of this pretty good....arms are barely affected....I am lifting weights and it has helped tremendously. Just not sure if I want to go through yet another surgery but know I would feel better (ego) if I had the thighs and mons done. I put a question into Dr. Schulman yesterday regarding the sagging mons and how it relates to (trying to say this without tmi) sexual pleasure. I have noticed in the last couple of months that things just aren't the same as b/4 in that dept. In a 30 yr marraige and things have not changed with DH and I...just think it is a physical thing and where things down there are now hangin'. Do any of you know anything about a mons lift making a difference in the bedroom???????

Julie...that energy will come back. Just try every day to bump up the activities a little more. I know it's tough when the energy is not there but try with some activities that you really enjoy. When I first started to work out, I started with 3lb weight for ankles and upper body. :frown:

Laura...I have never had this happen but ppl have talked about a "first bite syndrome" where they get that stuck feeling with their first couple of bites, give it a rest and then they can continue eating. Just maybe something to discuss with your doc. I guess only you know how you are feeling but he might have some insight on this. I would love to see what my resting metobolic rate is. Now sure if our medical facility has the machine but going to ask today when I go in to volunteer. Wondering how accurate it is? Probably one of the most difficult thing since banding is trying to find the amount of cals it takes for me to maintain. I am now leveled off and maintaining and find it difficult some days to get in the calories that are needed to maintain. Janet.....we have someone looking into getting wireless up at the lake. We are high on a hill with lots of trees so we are unable to draw from the resort. Not worth spending a lot on it but have a couple of neighbors that want to go in on it with us. I miss not staying in contact on LBT daily and have a difficult time catching up with my threads when I get home cuz so busy trying to get things done around here. OK....I'm off and running...lawn mowing day, laundry to do, floors to scrub, guys are hauling corn to town so will have extras at the table today and then volunteer from 1pm-6pm. Homemade beef pot pie, homemade sourdough bread and caramel cake is on the menu for noon. Have a great day!

I have a question for Dr. Schulman (or anyone with a similar experience). I am a few days away from my LB anniversary date. I have been very successful in taking off all of my excess weight and am very happy with most areas of my post-weightloss body. Not a lot of excess skin on this 53 yr old body. I have noticed that with the last 20lbs or so that it takes me what I consider to be "too long" to reach orgasm. I am in a 30 yr marraige and things have always been great in that dept. Just wondering if a mons lift would help????????????

Just be patient and see what happens with the fill you had. My last one took 3-4 weeks to show itself. I have had only two fills and have been banded almost a year. My doc does not say how much he has put in the band either. All he has said to me is that I have been able to lose with very little in the band. I have a large band and very little in it. But, I have restriction. I get hungry every 3-4 hours and like it that way. Never want to be too filled.

Aww....nice to be missed, Long! Came home from lake this morning. Not sure if I will go back up on Wed or Thurs. Have a lot to do here at home this week and volunteer job all day tomorrow. NSV!!!!!!!! You know those tracks on patio doors????? I am cleaning those today and don't need help to get up from the floor. I can sit crossed-legged on the floor now and get up without using my arms. Pretty good for an old lady!!!!!!!!!

Long.....congrats on the weightloss milestone. Happy to hear your DS is doing better. Lucky it was caught in time. I remember driving myself to the hospital in 1994 when I bent under my desk and the pain hit. One good thing...those things are gone for good! Meredith....I can hear the excitement in your posts. That little bit of fear just comes with every surgery. Try to think positively and imagine what you and your band can do together and the life you will have a year from now. JoAnne....those lbs will come off. I am like Janet and also believe in upping the cals every once in awhile to fool the system. Well, back to work. Knee deep in a little bit of everything today. If I wasn't knee deep, DH would get a swift kick in the butt. Enough said...he's being a real pill today...so unlike him. Everyone have a great day.

Hey Fellow Junies! Here's hoping everyone had a great year with the band and is happy and healthy. I've had the ideal Lap Band journey but worked very hard at it. I lost a total of 139#, came out of it with pretty good skin tone for a 53 yr old and am very happy with the results. The best part about this is how GREAT and healthy I feel. I kid you not....I have the energy of a 19 yr old. My hope for the future is to forever have my band (yeah, I know, crap happens) and go through life as the energetic person I am today! Would be so fun to hear from all of you!

Denise...I, for one, really appreciate (and will in the future) the fact that you are on this thread and LBT keeping us informed on your progress and the different aspects of the sleeve. One never knows where they will be with their band in a year, two years, three. You had success with the band and then all of a sudden could no longer tolerate it. There's nothing in this world that is 100% and nice to be informed by a sleeved person if one of our bands became intolerable. I'm similar to Long. No troubles to speak of and in hopes of hanging onto my band for a good long time. (fingers crossed). :thumbup:

Wow, Phyll........you photo is georgeous! Drive by post......just home long enough to plant flowers that I have babied since they were seeds. Started over 200 of them in my sun room a few months ago. Better get after it so I can get up to the lake and plant up there too. Then, off to a party tonight with girlfriends! Hope everyone is doing well...have a nice weekend, friends!

Meredith....CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR APPROVAL. I remember the day and finally could relax after almost a year of jumping through hoops. You're on your way, girl!!! Laura...it IS difficult at first when it comes to social functions. I would get so worried days b/4 I knew we were going to a wedding, a party, or just out to eat. Now it's a breeze. If it is a function that I have no control over the menu, I try to eat what I can and always have other options in my purse. (Soynuts, beef jerky, almonds, Pure Protein bars, cereal, etc.) (Not always possible to pull something out and eat it but do it when I can). You will get there. Just takes practice to put your mind at ease.