JaimeSTL

I do. MySpace.com - www.myspace.com/jaime920

I wish I'd lose some boob! :smile:

Thanks everyone! Today at work, one of my bosses came out to my office for the first time since surgery. She last saw me 2 days pre-op. When she saw me, she kept saying, "Wow!" It felt so good. I told her that all of my bosses really feed my ego (I run my own office and only see them once every 2-4 weeks, if that).

I don't watch a lot of tv. I do watch House, Law and Order SVU, and American Idol. I also like Big Medicine and medical type shows on Discovery Health or TLC and Dateline type shows.

Are you guys planning rewards for meeting certain goals? I always rewarded myself with food in the past so I'm trying to think of non-food rewards. So far mine are: Lose 50 lbs/under 300--new haircut and highlights Lose 100 lbs--get my nose repierced Goal--my husband has to buy me a 3 stone diamond ring I'm trying to think of something for 75, 125 and 150 lbs.

I bought myself new underwear last night. I was so excited, it was kind of sad. :thumbup:

I just can't believe my 20s are almost over. I am coming to terms with it, most days. I plan to be much healthier and enjoy my 30s much more than in my 20s, so it'll be ok. My husband turns 30 in less than a month and he's really freaking, so I'm doing my best to rub it in. I am four months younger, after all. :biggrin:

I hate when people say Missour-uh instead of Missour-ee. There is an I on the end, not an a. It drives me nuts. I could almost understand from people who don't live here, but so many people who do live here still say Missour-uh. I also hate the word panties. I don't wear panties, I wear underwear. Or if I'm being goofy, drawers. My five year old insists that girls wear panties and only boys wear underwear.

Mine is easy. I'm Jaime and I'm from St. Louis. Usually I add my birthday (9-20) to the end of my user id on things, but I wanted to change it up a little, especially since 9/20 will not come ever again. I am staying 29 forever. :smile2:

Des Peres people--do you know when the next support group meeting will be? Is it the fourth Thursday of each month? Will anybody be going? I think I will come. My brother in law is having surgery that day (if it is the 24th like I'm thinking) so we'll probably be up there to visit him anyway.

You sound a lot like me Gibson. I haven't even gotten a haircut in about a year because I just kept thinking, what's the point. I refused to buy clothes for myself over the last year or so because I just wanted to cry when I had to buy bigger sizes. I told my husband that he better watch out because I'm going to buy myself tons of clothes from now on.

I do. Well, technically we have their national plan but it is all administered the same. I was approved either the day my information was submitted or the day after. I'm not sure what day the surgeon's office actually sent it in. A nurse manager called me on the afternoon of Jan. 30th and approved me over the phone that day.

I didn't really think about rewards until a friend mentioned that she rewards herself for weight loss goals. The truth is, I haven't felt worthy of even the simplest things in a long time because of how I look and feel. Plus, in the past when I've rewarded myself for things, it has always been a food reward and I want to get past that.

My feeling of restriction comes from the fact that I feel full faster, can't eat as much, and feel full longer. Right now, I feel like I'm losing restriction because even though I feel full faster, I am eating a little more than I did immediately after and I feel hungry sooner. I have no PB'ed or slimed even once, and I really don't want to. I've had one episode of minor discomfort but it passed without anything getting stuck or coming back up. I don't think that PB'ing, sliming, or regularly getting stuck are optimal or something to strive for. If I was PB'ing or sliming a lot, I'd probably want an unfill. That isn't how I want to live in order to lose weight.

I thought about a massage, but I get kind of freaked out at the thought of a stranger touching me. I'm so weird. LOL

I want to be able to wear nice business suits. I'm in school working on a business/accounting degree and will probably have to wear those to work everyday. I'd also be happy in any shirt that falls flat from below my breasts to my waist instead of a big bump of a stomach.

My highest weight was at my pre-op appointment on 2/20. I was 350 lbs. Lowest? Well, I weighed about 180 when I graduated from high school almost 12 years ago. I've gained steadily since, putting on weight in 20-30 lb spurts every few months. When I had my youngest child 5 years ago, I weighed 270 so I gained quite a bit in the last 5 years.

That's great, Gibson. Well, not the vomiting, but that you have a restriction. It's a great feeling, isn't it? I had a similar experience before my first fill and I am so glad I managed to get one early. I was supposed to have my first one this week, but I had it 2 weeks ago. Between my pre-op appointment 8 days before surgery and my post-op appt 10 days after, I lost 27 lbs. I went on purees and in a week, I gained back 8 lbs. If I hadn't had a fill when I did, I have no doubt I would've gained back the whole amount I lost. Within a week of the fill, I lost those 8 lbs plus 2 more. It will be three weeks since my fill on Monday and I've lost a total of 11 new lbs since the fill. I'm not supposed to have another fill until May, so I'm worried and hope I can hold out that long. The lbs will drop for you now!!

LOL I was trying things on last night and got so mad. Most of my stuff in the next size down is too tight, but the bigger stuff is too big. WTH? I found one pair of jeans that fit just right and they had no button. I had to do button surgery this morning before work. I think you're right though. I took my one month pics in the same shirt as my pre-surgery pics, and it is way too big now. I think I'll take my next pics in a shirt that actually fits and see how it comes out.

Angie, you look great! Way to go! I'm taking in progress pics too, but I can't tell any change yet. My clothes are freaking falling off though. LOL

I have 3.2 cc in a 14 cc band. I've had pretty good restriction with that. Everybody is different. I've lost about 10 lbs since my fill 2 weeks ago. If I'm hungry, I eat and when I'm full, I stop. I just eat really small amounts at a time.

I've been eating 800-900 calories a day. I had a period of time that I stopped losing, then had a fill and started losing again. However, the last few days I have plateaued again eating the same amount. I feel like I need to get in more calories a day, but I really don't know how to do it. I eat when I'm hungry and stop when I'm full. Any suggestions? I am not a fan of Protein shakes so I really don't want to go that route.

I tried rice before I had a fill. I had no problems. I eat pasta all the time, mostly the noodles in my lean cuisine entrees and I've never had a problem with them. I haven't tried bread, but the other day I did try a South Beach kit that was ham and turkey on a wheat tortilla. That didn't feel too good going down. I'm definitely not trying bread anytime soon.

I have BCBS (Empire) also. My information was sent in on either Jan 29 or 30th and I was approved over the phone late in the day on Jan 30. Congratulations!

I think it varies for everyone. I had restriction from surgery until about a week before my first fill, which was at 4 weeks out. The only time in those three weeks that I felt really hungry was during the last half of the week of liquids. Once I started solids I was fine until about 3 weeks. Then I was starving and wanted to eat everything. Even then, though, I ate maybe a cup of food, as opposed to the 1/2 cup my dr recommends. I had my fill 2 weeks ago and I am feeling less restriction than I did at first, and I'm eating more. Of course, even w/the amount that I eat, I get about 800 cal a day. I personally haven't found it hard to stick to smaller portions. There is no way I could eat as much as I used to before surgery. I also make much better choices now so even if I eat more than I'm supposed to, it is low calorie healthy food as opposed to the complete junk I used to eat. Keep in mind that the first 4-6 weeks are about healing and not about weight loss. It is very important to eat well, get in your Protein and heal.