Paulax

Wow, you have worked hard and deserve much praise. AWSOME!

You've lost a lot of weight by the way you look AWSOME! Good for you. Hope to be posting similarly sometime in the future.

Oh now I see. Definately afraid NOT to. Thanks pplqueen!

And I hope to hear your story one day RaeK. Much success to you.

Well, I have to say with similar stats and height, I am very scared and wondering if this is the right answer. But what scares me more is NOT doing this. Hugs and keep us up on your progress. Paula

I like big men. I think Johnny Travolta is hot......

OK I feel dumb. Twice now I have seen stats on % of weightloss and I need someone to spell it out for me. If someone lost 50% does that mean 50% of their weight, or 50% of the weight they SHOULD lose? Thanks in advance. I will try to find an example of what I am talking about.

I get it thanks.......% of the weight you 'should' use.

Congratulations Kelli, awsome and inspiring post. And to you too Betty, AWSOME STATS. 8 TO GO, WOWWEEE! Gives us prebandsters something to work towards.

BRAVO!:clap2: There are as many people on here as personalities. I am a very private person and I agree with everything you just posted. BTW I am pre op. Charlene, I agree with you also. I may open up as time goes on. I would share wtih anyone who asked and would benefit from the information I have to offer about banding.

Did you get the decimal in the wrong position? That is very inspiring what a difference only 15 pounds makes. Awsome work!

I appreciate hearing both sides.

Ain't that the truth! As for Oprah, ISN'T SHE JUST GORGEOUS!

Congratulations!

Ya, I'd have to say at MY age, 42, I like a shape with a little more meat. I agree with the Sara Rue. She is just stunning. For me and most of us, a hollywood body is just unrealistic. But IN MY DREAMS, I love Sophia Loren's shape. She has never been tooooooooooo skinny.

Great thread people............that is why I come here. :clap2:

I ABSOLUTELY MUST keep things like that out of the house. I have 3 kids and often buy something 'for the kids' then I eat more than they do. Like Dr. Phil says, get it out of the house and make yourself a 'fail proof environment.' Cheetos are junk, there is no nutritional value in them, no one in the house needs Cheetos. I agree with the other advice, get your doctor to check your fill level. Let us know how you are doing...

That is SO awsome! Congratulations! May I one day follow in your footsteps.

I feel for you. I was so afraid to talk to my middle aged female and yes, obese doctor about this procedure. She was AWSOME and gave me the referral I needed to start my journey. I am probably a BMI of 36 or so. She retired, I am still waiting for my turn and today I met my new very young, female, adorable and yes, extremely skinny as a bean pole doctor. She was very supportive of my upcoming surgery. I told her that my former doctor had recommended me and that if she didn't have any new or amazing advice that I was going to go ahead in 6 short weeks. I was so impressed. I was so afraid. But really, WHY would you or I or anybody be afraid to take a positive step in losing weight. Judging by your height and weight, I'd say you were a very good candidate. If this doc doesn't have any brilliant ideas, and I doubt he does. I'd chaulk it up to "doctors are just people too" and find a more forward thinking person that you can feel good talking to. Good luck and keep us up on what you decide. and a hug for support :hug:

You were beautiful before BUT LOOK AT YOU NOW. WHO HOO! Love pictures, thanks for sharing.

AWSOME! Very inspiring. Good for you girl!

Awsome! Happy for you. Get well soon and tell us how it is going.

Awsome, tell it girl!

You are absolutely correct Yo, it is a gamble. But I feel as though staying 100 pounds overweight is a gamble that I don't often consider enough. Go read the sticky at the top of the page of the before and after pics. I go there for inspiration and see that every single one of those people who have lost are healthier for it. Good luck Yo! Yo, Kool name! http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=4642

Those damned grocery store displays is right. We are surrounded by temptation, damned commercials, damned ads in magazines. But Tricia is right, the first line of defence is keeping a 'clean' house. I have 3 young kids, 11, 8 adn 6. I often feel as though I have to have 'something' in the house, 'for them' But often I am eating more than each of them. So I am starving my kids off sugar. That can only be a good thing, or at least training them that treats are for weekends. But certainly I feel your pain. I am all for throwing them in the garbage. I had to do that with much of the crap candy from Halloween that my kids had. I didnt' even want them to eat it. Good luck with this, it is a very difficult thing to do. hugs here is a good article I read on Canada.com Michelle Lang, CanWest News Service; Calgary Herald Published: Wednesday, May 10, 2006 KANANASKIS, Alta. - With an abundance of cheap, high-calorie food all around us, eating is replacing cigarettes and alcohol as the new "drug of choice,'' says a University of Calgary scientist. At an Alberta obesity conference on Tuesday, Jaideep Bains argued food may have more addictive properties than many people realize, with both eating and drugs activating the same regions of the brain. Back to Body & Health A molecule called orexin, for instance, is critical to stimulating appetite and also makes the brain more sensitive to the effects of cocaine, noted the neuroscientist and assistant professor at the university. "It's not drugs and alcohol that are the drug of choice these days it's food,'' Bains said. "Feeding behaviours are not dissimilar to addictive behaviours.'' The Alberta Obesity Summit is a two-day conference bringing together scientists from across North America to discuss their research into the growing problem of bulging waistlines. Bains also told the conference that stress appears linked to eating and addiction, triggering both behaviours, particularly binge eating and relapses in recovering substance abusers. He noted stressed-out university students, for example, may "pig out'' during exams. "Stress could make cravings (for food and drugs) more profound,'' he said. "There's also some thinking it could relieve stress. That it's a coping mechanism.'' Another presenter at the conference said it's never too early to start tackling weight problems, arguing a predisposition to obesity could even begin in the womb. Rhonda Bell, a human nutritionist at the University of Alberta, noted a Dutch study of pregnant women who were malnourished when their country was occupied during the Second World War had children with increased obesity rates. Bell's own research in animals also suggests early eating habits have a profound impact on weight gain later in life. In one study, Bell introduced fructose, a type of sugar, into the diets of rats between seven- and 12-days old when they would normally be feeding on milk from their mothers. The rats grew up to be 20 per cent heavier at 12 weeks old than rats who consumed a normal diet in the first weeks of life. Her research also found rats on high carbohydrate diets passed their weight problems onto their offspring. ``We look at kids and say `they can eat anything. They're so resilient.' But that isn't always true,'' she said. University of Calgary scientist Keith Sharkey said research presented at the conference suggests obesity is a disorder of the brain that's also strongly influenced by early life experiences. He said more research needs to be done to understand obesity so scientists can advise policymakers on how best to intervene in the problem. "We're not in any doubt as to what we have to do,'' said Sharkey, who helped organize the conference. "We're in doubt as to the best way to solve it.'' © CanWest News Service 2006 Oh ya, and love yourself enough. <!-- / message --><!-- sig -->