stateofzen

Sure, but there are so many factors that lead people to seek out food in excess, right? Or are we all really just lazy and too weak to push away from the table? Obesity is a complex disease, one in which we certainly all do our parts to contribute (I'm not going to make excuses there), but I don't think Paula Dean made anyone but her (and maybe her family) obese. And now, like the rest of us, she has consequences associated with it. We're just lucky that no one in the media cares enough about our personal medical history to make us "fess up" in public On that point, I'm glad I'm not a celebrity.

The band definitely helps me with hunger. I hope that it will do the same for you. Part of that was figuring out what was real hunger and what wasn't. For example, my stomach is sometimes VERY noisy to the point other people can hear it (and have joked about it), but the sounds are digestion sounds, not hunger-- and with all of that protein, I bet your stomach is noisy! But yes, to me, part of the job of the band is to reduce hunger and promote feelings of satiation after smaller quantities of food.

I lost 30 lbs in the month before my surgery doing Atkins, then it took me 1 year to go from 264 on my surgery date (september 2010) to 164 in september 2011). I lost by following the rules for the most part. High Protein and skipped most carbs for the first 6 months or so, then, although I slowly reintroduced more regular carbs in, still kept my portions tiny (i.e. when I have Pasta, I have it in a tiny Fiesta fruit bowl). I did not exercise regularly for the first year. Now I'm stuck at the last 15 lbs, so I have to exercise now to get me over this long plateau.

I'm hardly going to be wagging my finger at Paula Dean. She isn't much different than the rest of us, except that she found a way for her love for fatty unhealthy food to make her a heck of a lot of money (when the rest of us just got fat). I wish her the best in her quest for health.

I got stuck-stuck once (if you mean, complete with sliming and upchucking). It was not-well chewed raw broccoli. About twice a week I swallow and feel something move down "slow". I don't call that stuck-- it's just a sign that either I didn't chew well enough OR what I'm eating (almost always bread) is just not going to work and I need to ditch it. It is not unpleasant or noticeable to anyone but me.

Congrats! Now I hope you feel better soon.

It is a change, but it's not the drastic change you may fear. I really dreaded giving up soda because I used to drink so much of it, but I can honestly say I don't miss it at ALL. I drink wine, and I have dinner parties. Although I don't drink other beverages while eating, I will drink wine while I eat. I go out to eat with friends. The difference is, I keep my portions small and I make good choices. For example, at my last dinner party, I made a baked eggplant parm that was super healthy and low-fat and a homemade salad dressing that was no-sugar and low fat and NO ONE knew but me. The fact is, though, that we have to make changes and there is mourning involved for some of them. If you want to keep living the exact life you live now, then the band won't work (and neither will bypass or sleeve, for that matter). All of them require a commitment to do your part. Good luck in your decision!

Sometimes different SSRI's (Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, etc.) work different for different people, so if one didn't work, it might be worth trying a different one considering how (relatively) benign they are in terms of side effects/etc. Depression can be a genetically-influenced condition that is exacerbated by stressful life events, or it can, for some people, be more situational (i.e., change the situation and you're no longer depressed). It sounds to me that yours is more the first type. For most people with that type, an antidepressant plus cognitive-behavioral or interpersonal therapy in combination have been shown through systematic research to be the most effective in reducing or eliminating symptoms. Also, if you haven't already, consider talking to your doc about your "up" periods-- how up are you talking? Do you feel normal, or do you feel extra energetic? Low grade hypomania, if uncontrolled, can actually make the depression worse. Good luck!

I've been stuck at the same weight since August, but I feel like things are on the brink of change for me. I have to admit, I just got lazy. I've been going out to eat a lot more, my portion sizes are up, and the choices I make aren't good. So I actually joined Weight Watchers just so I could have an "official" weigh in every week. I'm also trying (again) to adopt some exercise routine.

I agree, it's crazy! But, I will say this-- I wear a size 8 now and I am still overweight according to BMI charts. So a size 6 for me is upper-range normal in BMI. Don't get me wrong-- I still think the idea that size 6 is plus size is insane (or size 8 or 10 for that matter), but clothing sizes in the U.S. have gotten more and more generous over the years. I wonder if part of it is that as women, we (and society) just refuse to accept that it is natural and normal to wear a larger clothing size as women than we did as girls and very-young-women and there is an unnecessary stigma to "plus size". We have such insane names for clothing sizes in the U.S. anyway-- juniors and missy and women's/plus. It's the names that carry the stigma, in my opinion, not the actual size in your pants-- when you look good, you look good, and only you know what's written on the label . I'll tell you this-- you'll never catch me pining away to be able to fit into junior-section clothing. I'm 36, not a teenager, and I don't care how thin I am, you won't catch me yearning to buy the same outfit as an 18-year-old. Nature declares that 18-year-olds are SUPPOSED to have better bodies than me, lol

The only thing that may stand in your way is your age and the fact that 125 might not look as good on you now as it did when you were in your teens and twenties. But you get to set your goals, no one else. I know that during the seminars that the local surgeons do, they continually warn people that they shouldn't have the surgery if they think they're going to be skinny when it's all over. I believe they do that because on average, most people won't lose all of their excess weight. But heck, just look around you here-- there are lots of super-star success stories from people at all ages and starting weights so obviously it IS possible with the a well-tuned band, a committed bandster, and possibly a little luck.

My advice is not to overbuy-- I went a little crazy with the broth and ended up not being hungry/not being able to eat much during my liquid stage so a lot of it expired before I could use it. This stage is so individual-- a lot of people seem to be very hungry but I was not at all so I really didn't need to buy as much as I did.

Congratulations! Your progress has been amazing- what a superstar.

I think the way we view our bodies is a choice, and only you (not your boyfriend, best friend or me) can truly choose how you're going to live in your own body. If you choose to focus on the loose skin and the imperfections, and allow yourself to stare in the mirror and beat yourself up mentally, then you're going to feel bad. Instead, when you have those negative thoughts, you can make a conscious effort to "talk some sense" into yourself. That loose skin is a battle scar of a battle WON. If you can work on accepting that your body is not perfect, but it's YOURS and it's amazing, then you'll feel better. I look pretty dang good in clothes, but not so good naked. My breasts bother me the most (if I let them), because they are 90-year-old breasts on a mid-thirties woman. I do plan to fix them when I can afford it, but until then, I work on accepting them. I treat myself to really really good bras that make them look awesome, and I've moved to the point where 95% of the time, I accept them and can even make jokes (that even I find funny- not defensive jokes) about them to my husband and close friends. The other thing I do is catch my own negative talk (i.e. ewww, my boobs are so disgusting!) and choose to be more balanced (i.e. ok, so they don't look great BUT wow, I don't have back pain anymore, I can see my ribcage under them, I wear a much smaller bra and they DO look good in a bra/clothes, plus, I can be active without being bothered by my enormous fat breasts so it's not as bad as it seems). This helps me a lot. It is up to you to work on accepting yourself, and you have to do that consciously by monitoring your thoughts about your body and not allowing yourself to be your own worst enemy.

You look great! Congrats on the progress!

You're in my thoughts and prayers Fran-- you are an amazing person and you will get through this.

I don't tell people I'm not close to (i.e. coworkers who aren't also personal friends) because it's really none of their business and I've gotten enough judgment from other people about my weight and eating-- I'm not interested in more. Now that I'm a year and 4 months out, I feel like it's too late even if I wanted to tell-- some people might feel "betrayed" even if they legitimately have no right to feel that way. I don't really regret being cautious, but I do feel like I'm in a corner where it would cause problems now for me to "come out" to acquaintances who have been very complimentary about my losses. I suppose if someone came right out and asked I would definitely tell the truth, but so far that hasn't happened. People who haven't struggled with true obesity (and even some who have) are still very ignorant about what it takes to successfully lose and KEEP OFF excess weight. The research is very clear that dieting in the traditional way does not create long-term weight loss, and in fact, stimulates long-term weight gain, but "common sense" says it's so easy to lose weight- just don't eat as much and exercise! I think it is going to be a difficult thing to change opinions about bariatric surgery, but it will happen someday. In the meantime, you have to do what is right for you. This is YOUR LIFE.

I joined WW a week ago. I'm a little over a year out and have been plateaued about 20 lbs from my personal goal for almost 3 months. I need a little fill, but have to wait until after the holidays to get into my doc's schedule. After I gained after Thanksgiving (my first weight gain since August 2010), I knew I couldn't wait until January to get back on track. I don't know about you all, but now that I'm wearing medium clothes, the mental motivation to keep pushing had disappeared. I need the structure to get the last pounds off. So since I've always found WW to be effective for me for about 20 lbs and that's how much I have left to lose, I figured it was worth it. First week and I've lost my Thanksgiving gain, so that alone was worth the money for me. It's the tracking that's imperative. I was really starting to eat a good amount of volume again, so I have to pay better attention.

My doc said I could take liquid (they sell it as children's ibuprofen- just watch the dosage to get equivalent), but wasn't thrilled about it.

Your fill should be based on hunger, NOT what you can eat (unless you can't get anything down, and that's too tight). I can eat EVERYTHING. And I do, just a lot less of it That said, two pieces of normal size thin crust pizza is not a big deal for me if I budget for it in my calories. I can and do eat that much now that I'm close to goal. When I was losing, I ate one piece. Here's the question. Did you eat two pieces of pizza because you were hungry? Or did you eat two pieces of pizza because you could (not because you were hungry) and you just like pizza? If it's number one, then maybe you need a fill, though one single time isn't enough evidence in my opinion. If it's number two, then your fill is fine-- it's your choices that need some work.

I always bought tight so I could wear them longer, but like you said-- it's such a bummer to lose weight but still wear ill-fitting clothes. If I were you I'd get a minimal number of pieces and wear them to death (like, 3 pairs of pants, all solid and non-descript so when you wear them 3 days in a week, no one will notice). You'll probably get through most of the "season" in them if you start tight and when it's time to buy the next season's clothes these will be falling off and you'll be ready for a smaller size. I have gone through entire wardrobes during this process.

Actually, that's what my surgeon told me too, and I started at a BMI of 47. He was right! It did work really well for me Good luck to you! Edited to add: He chose to put in a lapband (the "regular size" he told me-- so the 10 or 11 cc one). He actually uses both brands, but for whatever reason he thought the lapband would be better for me and I trusted him to know more about it than I did. Actually, the fact that he uses both kinds made me trust him more, because I know he didn't put in one brand ONLY because he had a deal with the medical supplier to be brand loyal.