Nobody's Girl

Do you have before/after pictures posted on here somewhere? That would be so inspiring!!

He thinks I weigh less than him (he weighs 160 and I weigh 180) LOL. I tell him that I am heavier than him but he absolutly will not believe it. Kinda sweet, really.

I had my Lap Band surgery on August 12th of this year and it has been a challenge to learn how to eat again. I especially have trouble with lunch. I work/go to class all day, so it is tempting to go out to eat daily which is expensive, wasteful, and generally unhealthy. So this is what I did; I went to the grocery store and bought a bunch of individual-sized lunch “ingredients” (either a protein, veggie, fruit, or dairy; see below) and brought them home and spread them on the table. I then took cheap ziplock sandwich-sized bags and in each one I put one choice from my protein foods, one veggie, one fruit, and one dairy. I made a bunch of these little lunch bags, enough for 2 weeks and put them in a drawer in my fridge. Each morning I just grab one and run out the door so that I will have my lunch all ready and I won’t make any bad lunch choices. Wal-Mart and places like that now offer many food products in individual sized servings (even pickles, LOL) so it is easy to go buy the “ingredients” for my lunches. There are so many combinations, go see what you can find! Here are some ideas of the things that I buy to put into my lunch bags. Protein: beef jerky, just throw a couple pieces in the bag mini 3 ounce cans of tuna individual serving cups of peanut butter soy nuts/other nuts Veggies: mini bags of baby carrots (4 for $1 at Wal-Mart) cut up fresh veggies individual size canned vegetables Fruit: individually wrapped prune (they look like candy J) little box of raisins fresh fruit cut up fruit cups Dairy/Other: package instant oatmeal string cheese individual size cup of cottage cheese yogurt These are some of my lunch bags this week: Monday Protein: Beef Jerky Grain: package instant oatmeal Fruit: box of raisins (put on oatmeal, yum!) Veggie: baby carrots Tuesday Protein: Mini can of Tuna Veggie: few slices cucumber Fruit: Diced peach cup Dairy: individual cup cottage cheese (add the peaches on top, yum!) Wednesday Protein: Individual cup of peanut butter Veggie: Celery sticks Fruit: Raisins add the three together and get ants-on-a-log! Dairy: yogurt

I was at walmart in the paenut butter aisle and they had a package of individual sized plastic cups of peanut butter for on the go. They also sell pickles and so many other foods like that. I havent seen them at the regular grocery store but if you check out a wal mart super center they should have them.

I had to stop taking my birth control pills a week before surgery (doctor's orders) so of course I was expecting to start anytime. I wasen't bleeding or anything when I went into surgery however, but when i woke up the nurse had stuck a rag between my legs because apparently I started while I was on the table. (Embaressing!) After a few hours it stoped thou... odd. -Oh, and sorry for the TMI ! :wink2:

Just seeing myself in pictures. I always try to look the best I can when I go out with my size, and I think I look OK when I walk out the door most of the time. But then someone takes a picture of me and I see it and realize just how big I am.

I also HATE protein shakes and I wont touch them. Ive tried a couple times but I said 'forget it', I will just get my protein from hi-protein low fat milk and meat!

Hi everybody! I was banded on August 12 (two weeks ago) and I am now able to eat cream soups if I put them thru the blender. I have no pain or problem eating anything yet. I'm worried thou because I can eat ALOT of soup! I can eat a whole can of soup by myself without feeling full or staisified! That makes me very nervous that I will not be able to lose weight because I can still eat a ton of soup. Will I not be able to eat as much soup after I get a fill or does soup go right through the band? How much soup can you guys eat?

Well growing up, my Dad would always call me thunder thighs... And every time we would drive by Weight Watchers or Jenny Craig my little brother would tell me I needed to go there (this was when I was 12-14 years old). And more recently, I was at a "mud run" where people bring their big mud trucks, 4-wheelers, and tractors to drive around in the mud. I went with my tall and skinny (but not pretty in the face or friendly) friend when some guys called us over to where their truck was parked. They asked if we would pose in front of their truck while they took a picture of us. My friend and I were standing side by side in front of the truck smiling for the picture, and right when the guy was going to take it one of his friends jumped in front of me and put his arm around my friend so that it would look like I wasent in the picture. Ouch. Not even good enough to stand in front of some dumb redneck's muddy piece of crap truck... A bunch of equally heart-breaking stuff happened to me in that week, and thats when I decided to get Lap-Band.

Im in Nacogdoches TX but I only need to lose 60 lbs... I would love to be your buddy!

He was great, I was banded on August 12th. The doctors are all young and handsome too :smile2: My only complaint is that the nurse blew a vein in my hand. Very painful...

My doc told me no carbonated drinks until you are 6 months post-op

I ride dirtbikes, street bikes, and horses. I had my surgery on August 12th. As soon as I got home I was on my street bike, but it hurt pretty bad when I went over bumps. My doctor told me not to ride horses until 3 months after my surgery because the bouncing might make the band slip (but Im riding in a horse show this weekend anyway . I wouldent dare get on a dirtbike [or ATV] until a couple months after my surgery thou. All that bouncing around could make your band slip if it hasent been long enough after your surgery.

Ok, Im sure this question has been asked before but... I had my surgery in Mexico a few days ago and ever since I had the Lap Band put in I have been in alot of pain. Not port pain or shoulder/gas pain, but internal pain. I have been burping alot since the surgery and every time I am about to burp it feels like I swallowed a golf ball and it is stuck somewhere inside me. It feels like I am trying to get that golf ball through the band and it gets momentarily stuck. I feel like this whenevr I try to swallow water, and the pain comes and goes every few minutes for apparently no reason. It is SO painful, it stops me in my tracks. Is this kind of pain normal? I know I should call the doctor, but I dont want to bother him if this is a normal part of the healing process. Also, even if he asked me to come back down to Mexico to check it out I would not have the money to fly back there so Im kind of screwed.

Dr. Ariel Ortiz. I had a great experience there. They were all very nice and took good care of me.

I am having surgery on Tuesday. I have told my friends and every stranger who will listen about my surgery, but I havent told my family. I think that they would frown on it because it is expensive and they think it is lazyness. I plan to tell them when I come home for thanksgiving, when they can see some weigth loss. My mother is overweight but looks down on WLS, so I want to show her that it does work and it is safe so that she might consider the surgery for herself.

Thanks for all the encouragement guys! Im being banded in just a few days on August 12, 2008. Im very positive and optimistic, I just thought it might be nice to write a list I can look back on a year from now and see how much has changed. Im actually only 60lbs overweight but I want to nip this thing in the butt before it gets out of hand! WHOO HOOO IM SO EXCITED!!!!!

Here is my list, I hope there’s not too many repeats! Ripping the butt of my jeans all the time Being too embarrassed to eat in public or in front of anyone Not being able to wear tall boots because my calves are too big The stores with cute clothes where all my friends shop not carrying clothes big enough for me Low self esteem Being single Everyone being asked to dance at the bar but me Everyone having their beers bought for them at the bar but me Back fat Cellulite on my arms (and everywhere else, for that matter) Not owning a tank top, pair of shorts, or a bathing suit Buying shirts too big for me to fit my boobs Not being able to trade clothes with my skinny friends Not being able to find cute bras that fit How fat I look on my motorcycle How fat I look riding my horse My fat jiggling when I ride my horse or go over bumps on my motorcycle Having trouble getting up on my horse Having trouble getting into tall pick-up trucks People asking me “Have you tried diet and exercise?” Being COMPLETELY IGNORED by men Feeling like the fifth wheel, a burden to my friends Crying in fitting rooms because nothing fits or looks good on me Sucking in my stomach all day Being afraid of rejection Thinking no good man would ever want me Not being able to see my hip bones Sex in the dark Not being on top Only old men hitting on me

Hi guys Im new to the forum, Im going to be banded on August 12th. I have been riding dirtbikes all my life... Then on my 16th birthday I bought 2 motorcycles. I got thrown out of the house for it but it was totally worth it! I used to buy and sell motorcycles so Ive ridden about every kind out there. Now I try to ride Italian bikes, cafe racers, naked bikes, and street fighters whenever possiable. I'm lucky enough to live in a warm climate where I can ride EVERYDAY. So yeah, I live, sleep, and breath riding!!!! I currently own a Yamaha R6 (crotch rocket) for track days, :wink2: and a Kawasaki Z1000 (naked bike/street fighter) for everyday riding The pic is of my Z1000

Hello! I am scheduled to be banded on August 12th by Dr. Ortiz. I’m am very excited, I can’t WAIT to go through with this! But I wanted to get some people's opinions... Here's my situation: I just turned 20 years old. I am 5'3" and 190lbs. I have a very stocky build (lots of proportionate curves and all muscle). People would never guess that a weigh as much as I do, I carry it very well (no protruding belly, etc) I am a size 12. I became 'overweight' at puberty (just kinda chubby I guess). Since then I have perpetually been on diets. I lose some, then gain, then lose, then gain, etc. I am extremely active. I love physical labor and work on farms and ranches. Even thou I spend every day doing hard physical work and rarely eat junk or fast food, I still don’t lose. I want the Lap-Band because obesity runs in my family. All of the women in my family have literally the exact same body shape (about 300lbs, weight held mostly in the midsection) and health problems. They are all farmers also and eat healthy home cooked meals. I want Lap-band because I see my self going down the path of my mother and grandmother and that is somewhere I don’t want to be. People are highly critical of my decision to be banded, saying that I don’t really need it. But my reasoning is, why should I wait until I am 40 years old and massively overweight to get WLS?? Wouldn’t it be easier and easier on my body to lose 50lbs now than 150lbs 30 years from now? I guess my question to all of you bandsters is; if given the option, how many of you would have gotten this surgery earlier in your life? If it would have been available, would you have gotten the band in your 20’s? or when you were only slightly (50lbs or less) overweight? Do you feel like you ‘lost’ or ‘wasted’ years of your life being overweight when you could have had weight loss surgery and avoided the whole problem from the beginning?

Thanks for all the responses! This really helped me feel more confidant with my decision!

I was always an slim, attractive girl when I was little. This story may sound silly, but from kindergarden through 4th grade I was very popular in school. Me and my two girlfriends were the "top dogs", and they were very beautiful, outgoing, well known, and popular. We played with the popular boys and got everything easy, life was great! But then the summer between 4th and 5th grades I guess I started to hit puberty or something, because I plumped up. I wasent really big or anything, but I was just a little chubby. When I came back to school in August to start the 5th grade I had gone from most popular to least. None of the 'cool' (shallow) kids wanted to talk to me anymore, they ostracised me. The only people who would talk to me were the least popular kids in my class (who were, as it turns out way nicer and smarter). From that moment on through high school it seemed I wasent wanted by anyone, and it was devestating to me. I had very low self-esteem and would eat because I was depressed about my weight after that. Looking back now, I know that I shouldent have been so vain and shallow, but I was 9 years old and didnt know any better. It seems insignificant, but I will always remember that moment, where it all headed south. Since then, I have always been a very active girl who loves the outdoors and working out. I enjoy physical jobs, and have worked on turkey farms, sod farms, landscape companies, feed mills, cattle ranches, etc. Everyday for me is full of extreme physical labor (and I enjoy it!), and yet, I am still overweight. Part of the problem is that I love to cook. I was raised by my great-grandmother who was a widowed farmer's wife with 13 kids. So she knew how to cook! She taught me to cook everything from scratch and in large quantities. So, while I literally never eat out, eat junk food, processed food, or sweets, I am still big from all the home cooked meals that I make. I LOVE to cook & eat, it makes me feel safe and happy, I just need to eat less!