Band_Groupie

Yep, but ride it 'downhill' only LOL! Great attitude! -Bg

Good job! I'm a chocoholic...1 SF Russell Stover's has saved me on more than one occassion. They're not good for you (all that chemical synthetic stuff), but just one every once in a while when you feel the need won't kill you and it satisfies my craving.

It took 40lbs before anyone noticed my loss...hang in there, it will happen! Oh man, I just got the hair recolored and highlighted and I whacked too much off the bangs and they're driving me nuts...sweepy bangs are so much better because you can get them out of your face if you need to (pin them up or to the side). They were past my nose in the avatar pick (me watching the parade on the 4th...bigger pic HERE) and now they're just over my eyes (but that's if I pull them straight, need to let them grow again). DD has the sweepy ones too...she does them to her cheekbone and has them angle cut at the edges. Can't wait to see the new do!

Holy cow girl! 37 pounds in four weeks???!!!! That's nothing short of amazing (you sure he didn't do an RNY LOL?). You won't be able to recognize yourself soon!! Go girl go! You're the inspiration! -BG

You look great...and yeah, exactly right...Who ever thought I'd be proud to post pics of myself at this weight LOL. I'll bet your house sounds like mine, but a lot nicer...have a 13 yr. old who plays electric guitar, very well, but he likes it loud! Have a great fill, hope this does the trick! -BG

LOL...yeah, I think most of us count the pre-op diet as well as it's part of this process. 30 pounds is great (good job catching yourself)!!! We all need to learn how to take a compliment too (haven't had enough of these about our weight over the years)!!! I found myself blogging here this morning about finally making it to 'Overweight' and in the same blog making excuses that I lost that one last pound because I was sick last night...like I didn't do all the work to get the other 46 pounds off. I'm so used to putting myself down when it comes to weight loss. We need to be proud of how hard we're working and how far we've come!

Holy Cow JT! 70 lbs.! I hope he's happy, I'm sure you are! Time for a new avatar (I wanna see those skinny earlobes!)!

tcb- You're definitely in starvation mode...I was told anything around 800 or lower will put the average person into this...you're body has slowed your metabolism down to compensate and it's hanging on to every calorie...you need to up it to at least 1000. More protein is a good metabolism booster, so add some calories and see what happens (I started doing this same thing this week and counting cals. again and I'm losing again).

202 today...I was the same weight right before we left for the 4th holiday...sigh, but it's down 4 lbs. since our last weigh in. More importantly...one pound from moving to an 'Overweight' BMI!!! ...and 2.5 from Onederland...there's my mini-goal!

Well, you helped me get started here, so what do I know, but here's what I think...I set a 10# range for myself as a goal. If I get there and I'm a little higher than the range and I'm feeling and looking good then I'll have no problem stopping...the goals we set for ourselves at the begining are weights most of us haven't seen in a long time, so really it's a 'best guess'. I'm as goal oriented as you get, but who knows what the goal should be exactly. Also there's nothing wrong with a plateau when the band is there for a lifetime. If you're burned out on something, let's say going to the gym, take a month or two off and get exercise this summer doing other things...I'm not saying cheat or stop everything, but maybe you just need to switch things up. As important to me as losing this weight is, it's equally important to be able to live this as a lifestyle and not another diet that I'll eventually get burned out on and then gain the weight back (done that). OK, that said (and you DO look great/size 12/10 is wonderful!). I'd be asking myself if I've met all my health goals...do you have any medical conditions left...are you still taking medicines for any obesity related reasons...how does your body feel? Then I'd take a hard look at that BMI...you're still (barely) in the obese category. Now, you're younger than I am, but I'm exactly the same BMI today (30) at 202 pounds. I can tell you at my age, this is NOT a healthy weight for my body...my back/osteo still hurts from the excess weight, I'm still on my blood pressure meds from the weight, my adult asthma is still a problem, etc. Being in the 'Obese' category, or even the high end of 'Overweight' puts us at risk for all kinds of health problems...maybe not now, but as you get older. My focus has always been on getting healthy. Give yourself a few weeks or a month while you 'maintain' (not gain) and then reassess what you need to do. And take some bathing suit pics of yourself now to get motivation going again. You might not need to lose 35 lbs., so it's OK to reset your goal... take a close look at the BMI chart and set yourself a new healthy goal and go for it. You truly are an inspiration! -BG

WOW! What a relief to have such support from your employer...one less thing to worry about! Time will really start speeding up now! Best Wishes! -BG

WELCOME to LBT!! I had the benefit of having had a major surgery a few years before the LB, so I wasn't too nervous, but I think everyone is. If you've been preparing since January, then you've got everything in place. Trust me, it's all worth it and I'd do it again in a heartbeat! You'll do great! -BG

WELCOME to LBT Jem! Good luck! -BG

I'm wondering if you're eating enough calories and enough solid protein? If you're near 800cals. a day or lower your body will go into starvation mode and will hang on to every calorie. Does your doc really have you drinking protein still 6 weeks out (you should be on solid proteins by now, I'd think?). Hang in there girl, I only lost one pound the entire last month...Bandster Hell WILL end for us with fills! -BG

CONGRATULATIONS Bander! Scooching down on the loser's bench to make some room for you! -BG

It's hard as women to take care of ourselves...we're all so used to nuturing and putting others first. I got my mammo reminder a few weeks ago and threw it on my desk. Thanks for reminding me. Glad the food issues are going well for you...and Kathy's right, those NSV's will come when you least expect them, that's what makes them so great. -BG

Cheryl- You poor thing! You've got a great attitude. I thought they could do a test injecting dye into the band and then a scan to see approximately where the leak is? I'm sure if it's anywhere near the port then they'll say the doc punctured it (which can happen). I'm not big on suing, but I would get the help of a lawyer to see what you can do and get some advice on how to approach Realize about all this (and doing things like making sure you ask for all the pieces of the original band just in case). Having to pay for yet another surgery would be a real hardship, I'm sure. It sounds like you like your doc, but are you sure he's done everything correctly? I don't understand why he wouldn't have tested your band when he did the port replacement...while he still had you open? What kinds of testing and scans did he do to lead him to believe it was a port problem if that's not it now? I'd look into this a little more and get a second opinion if you're not satisfied with what was done. Waiting a little while shouldn't hurt anything, right? I guess I'm a little perplexed as these incidents are so rare I'm not sure what the protocol is. Good luck to you and I hope everything works out for you. -BG

I eat super thick oatmeal every morning so I don't know why grits would be any different? Maybe as you get really tight, but you can always thin them down. -BG

WOOT! That's got to feel so great after 2 years...CONGRATULATIONS!!!

No, it's not a football stat… We had a great long weekend back home with my family. We left Thursday night (DD had to work until 7pm) in the sedan rental car (my car still getting fixed from the accident) and it was tight quarters. We upgraded to a somewhat bigger car, but they had no vans/large cars available (we thought about taking 2 cars, but didn't want DD driving in the horrible holiday traffic; especially on the return Sunday). Three tall teenagers/21 year old cheek to cheek in the back seat did not make for the most pleasant ride. They're spoiled with riding in my minivan where they each get their own seat and a built in screen to watch videos or play games. We gave them DH's laptop and an earphone splitter so they could still watch movies, but DS2 in the middle had to hold it as still as he could and it gets hot on the bottom. DD kept saying "Kill me now!" every time one of the boys would whine. I tried to entertain them with stories of how my Mom wrecked our station-wagon the morning we were leaving for a camping vacation and after a family vote, we squeezed the whole family of seven and the bare essentials of our week long camping trip (with a huge canvas tent) into a Dodge Dart and rode for 8 hours each way (3 in the front bench and 4 of us in the back seat). They weren't sympathetic. Then I tried to enlighten them on their comfy quarters with the tale of how when we drove to NY to visit my uncle's family once my parents caught the antiquing bug from them and bought a grandmother clock, several chairs and other assorted antiques. Yeah, we had the station wagon with the third flip up bench in the rear, but I still had to ride home 9 hours with my head through the rungs/seat of a chair…still, no sympathy (OK, suck it up…it's a 3.5 hour ride…they settled into the movie and all was quiet again). We stopped at Phantom Fireworks once we got inside Ohio at about 11pm (along with half the state) and loaded up. We arrived around midnight and started dropping kids at different sister's homes and then we went on to stay at Mom and Dad's with my older sister and her two boys. Friday we slept in and then I got to see all 4 siblings, two of whom I haven't seen in about a year (we went to lunch with them). We helped Mom and Dad get ready for the 4th and shopped a little and then we had a big family rib dinner. *Portion of Post Deleted for Lap Band Book We got ready on the 4th with finishing decorating the roofed golf cart my parents were riding through the parade with 3 of the grandchildren (as past parade chairmen – first ones). Then we were off to watch the parade at noon. DS1 carried the banner with his cousin for the street float. It was the nicest parade weather in years (it's usually fry-an-egg-on-the-pavement-hot). I got choked up as usual as we all stood and clapped for the flag and the old veterans marching by. We all went to the street picnic for dinner and then lots of backyard fireworks before walking up to the golf course for the big show. Sunday was just as busy as we ran to pick up food orders at several places for the 80th surprise birthday party my Mom was hosting for Dad at my youngest sister's home. We told him we were having brunch there before my sister from Chicago and my family departed for home (a normal thing we would do). There was a great turn out of about 75 people and he was so surprised…even their best friends surprised us all by coming from Indiana driving out and back Sunday for the event. He got all teared up, so I know he was happy. We arrived back home after a harrowing drive on packed roads last night.