Hi, papa -- i won't call you bigpapa anymore. You have done fantastic! I was banded 3/27/09 and am doing fantastic! I will be 70 years young next month. My starting weight was 305 and i am down to 277. I wanted to respond to you by telling you that one of the mind-set changes i know i had to make was to stay off the scale. I was a slave to the scale. And i allowed my day to be happy or depressed by what the scale reported. What a farce! What a waste of precious time and life! It is very rare now that i weigh once a week. Usually i weigh once every two weeks. That way you don't know what day it was that you stayed the same or for how long, etc., etc. Believe me, it has made a difference in my life. The scale is only a tool for me now, just as the band is a tool. I am the one in control. You take care and know that you are an inspiration to the rest of us.
Cheers,
pat (pattyrich)