HolliJ

It was a holiday - I ate what I wanted. Half a pulled pork sandwich, some baked Beans, some veggie salad, couple wings, and maybe a couple others things. Definitely less than everyone else, though. But I was satisfied. Oh... and monkey bread. And drank sangria.

I still have some abdomen fat to lose, so it's not noticeable to look at, although it can be felt. Maybe once I get a flat tummy, I'll be able to.

My reasons were both health and physical appearance. I started gaining weight when I was 16 and was the only person in my family that was overweight. Now, I have plenty of overweight relatives, but no one else in my immediate family. I kind of gave up on life. Or I was living my life on pause. I didn't do the things I wanted to do because I felt I couldn't, actually couldn't, or didn't want to be seen or noticed. I remember going to the Grand Canyon in my late teens. By then I had already gained considerable weight. And struggling to lose weight knowing that we'd be walking a lot. Or even on a trip to Europe in my 20's. Slowing my parents down because my legs hurt so bad carrying all the weight I had on me. Taking rests. I always wanted to sky dive, but was too fat for it. I was starting to get too large for airplane seats and always feared the next time I got on a plane would be the time where I was just too big to fit in one seat. I never took the stairs because I'd get out of breath. And taking the elevator was almost as embarrassing.... knowing people saw it and you know they'd think that I should take the stairs, that I was lazy. Had I been alone, I probably would have. But I didn't want anyone to see me out of breath from a simple flight of stairs. That all feels like so long ago now. I've been sky diving, I take the stairs everyday, and I spent days walking miles and miles through New York and Amsterdam without a single problem. I can sit in airplane seats with plenty of room to spare and plenty of seatbelt slack. I'm no longer borderline diabetic and I no longer have borderline high cholesterol. My PCOS symptoms have disappeared or decreased. The biggest thing throughout it all and what still sometimes hits me in a "Wow" kind of way is that I'm no longer the fat chick. You know when you're fat and eating something unhealthy, people think "She shouldn't be eating that" whereas you know they're not thinking that about a thin chick eating the same thing? Or when you're eating and driving.... and you wait until no one can see you to take a bite.... because you know that people probably would look at you in disgust? Because for some reason, there's nothing worse than a fat person being seen eating, right? It's hard for me to get past that, though. To stop being seen as the fat chick... even though I'm no longer even overweight.

Right after I got banded, an office mate of mine was very negative about the whole thing. She talked about how everyone she knew didn't lose weight from it, blah blah blah. Well, she saw my weight loss over time. Around the time that I lost 100lbs, she decided to get the surgery. This was back in October 2011. She has since lost 80lbs because of it. She said I was her inspiration and that she was ready to do this for herself. I know several people who didn't lost weight from the band, but I also know they weren't prepared to make the changes in their life that they needed to make to be successful. It's not going to magically lose weight for you. You still have to change habits and behaviors. And if you're incapable of allowing the band to help you, then it won't work. People are negative and afraid of what they don't know. I've been banded almost 3 years (at the end of this month) and it has been a great experience. Has it always been easy or fun? No. I've sometimes been in pain for hours from food being stuck. I've had a second surgery to replace the tubing that was stabbed with the needle (had wrapped around the port) and was leaking. I've sometimes gained a bit of weight back, then lost it again. But I'm down 113lbs. If I hadn't done this, I probably would have weighed more than I originally had. I've seen friends go from weights in their 200's to weights in their 400's. I didn't want that to be me. I wanted to be healthy, to feel good, to feel attractive, to be able to move around and do everything that the weight always prevented me or stopped me from doing. I've been skydiving, I can run up the stairs without having to pant, I'm engaged, I fit into size 4 pants. Do I still go out and eat a 20 piece chicken mcnugget in one sitting? God no. Do I still get to enjoy what I want to eat? Of course! Don't let anyone else bring you down. There are negative people around you always. But as long as you remain positive, you will succeed. And show those people how wrong they were! And who knows, maybe it'll help someone else make that decision to change THEIR life, as well.

Nothing has changed with the flow.... But my band does get tighter.. November of last year I got an unfill because I thought my band had slipped because I couldn't eat/drink. I believe it was really because I was swelling from my period. A month ago I got a fill. I'm on my period now and I've noticed I've been tighter.

I went almost 3 years without any soda. A couple months ago work stress was getting to me and I was eating everything under the sun and started drinking soda, which started from a sip from my fiance's. For about a month I was drinking coke almost everyday. Then stopped again about a month ago and haven't had even a sip since.

Yep, I've had the "switch" flipped a couple times for me. The first time I lost like 50lbs in 6 months. And then it just happened again after having a stressful past 6 months at work (I gained back 10lbs). But I've lost 11 so far and I will continue on to losing! I'm actually eating too little right now and need to start consuming more foods. My mom, fiance, and a friend are all fussing at me about my diet the past week. I'm really only getting around 500 calories a day right now, which definitely isn't enough.

It has taken me 3 years to lose 112lbs and I still want to lose another 20 or so. That's to have a super hot body, lol, since I'm already at a normal weight. Slow weight loss is good - it allows time for your skin to shrink down. There's nothing wrong with the amount of weight you've lost in the time you've lost it.

I've had vodka/OJ, beer, wine, margaritas, martinis, and other drinks. I don't drink anything mixed with soda, though, because I don't drink soda.

I've tried plenty of alcohol, lol. It's no problem.

It'll be gone soon and you'll forget all about it. Believe me, I was thinking that something was sewed in there tight and I was going to feel it forever, but all pains and tightness went away and I felt just as I did before the surgery.

Wow, I totally just realized reading your post that I already reached my original goal weight of 155lbs (from 263). Nearing the end, I had extended it, but didn't really register the fact that when I started this journey, my goal was 155. Now my goal is like... 130. We'll see, lol! I weigh myself everyday. When I'm on an "off-time" and eating poorly, I may not. And yes, I have put weight back on.... since the beginning of the year, I put on 10lbs (stress from covering someone's maternity leave and doubling my responsibilities at work). In the past week, I've taken off 9lbs of that. I'll lose the next pound and then continue on with losing weight. I try to be better, become healthier, and lose more weight (even though people tell me I shouldn't).... but I feel good now. I hit a point where I became very confident and outgoing - I felt attractive (and boy has there been a response to that). Since I put on weight, I lost that a bit, and I'm trying to re-gain it. We always worry about those small little pounds and how quickly we want them gone, especially when you've reached or gotten close to your goal weight. The thing that always grounds me is that I still have the rest of my life to improve myself. I'm only 29 years old. In one month, I will have been banded 3 years. And in that time, I've lost 110lbs.... which is great and incredible! But if you were to break it down and figure out how much weekly weight loss I had.....less than a pound a week spread out. Sometimes it was more, sometimes less, sometimes none, and sometimes I gained. But in the end, I'm no longer overweight.

Anyone have success with The 17 Day Diet? I started it on Sunday and have lost 9lbs… in 4 days. Basically you eat unlimited veggies (except starchy ones) and lean Proteins (chicken/fish). Two fruit servings a day, none after 2pm. Two Probiotics (yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi), green tea 3x a day, and lots of Water. Cycle 2 adds more foods, then Cycle 3, etc… It was featured on Dr. Phil and The Doctors. Of course most of the weight I’ve lost so far is water weight, but it’s still nice to see gone! 9lbs is heavy. My weight in my signature is not accurate. I’m currently 153 and had been at 162. I started gaining weight at the beginning of the year because of starting birth control (made me ravenous) and taking on extra responsibilities at work (stress/emotional eater). So since January, I’ve put on 10lbs. Not horrible, but when you had just lost 111lbs and feel great, it’s a shitty feeling. I’ve been feeling really down on myself and pudgy. I was healthy, had energy, was confident…. and then I let it kind of slip away. Several times I had tried to get on track, but failed. During my periods of weight loss, I could be very strict, but I had to be in that mental place. Because I’ve been so busy, I couldn’t get there. The person whose job I took over (in addition to working my own) is finally coming back on Monday, so I can focus a little more. Since I started the diet, I have been extremely strict – even cut out coffee. So at this point, I’m all good. Not even hungry! So I’m looking forward to continuing to lose weight. I’d like to get down to 130 or so, but we’ll see. Everyone fusses at me when I say that because I don’t look like I should lose another 23lbs, lol. Both my mom and sister have done this diet and it worked well for them. Looks like it’s working well for me, too!

It's definitely low carb at this point, only getting it from fruits. The next phase in THIS diet introduces some healthy carbs/grains, like brown rice, quinoa, Beans, and starchy veggies (corn, potatoes). Also more meat choices - steak, pork, etc...

I hear ya. Last night I was stuck for 3.5 hours on sashimi. Guess I didn't chew well enough. You'd think I'd learn after almost 3 years, lol. But that was definitely the longest I've been stuck and retching 5 times didn't help. Once it got later on, and I got most of it out, I drank some hot green tea. It pushed it through. Most of the time I won't touch liquids when I'm stuck because it makes it worse, but I had a correct feeling that it would help this time. I used to take papaya tablets, but a couple years ago I had an allergic reaction the day after Christmas to SOMETHING and blew up like a pufferfish. I had read that you can develop sudden allergies to the papaya extract, so I never took it again because it freaked me out so much. I also had eaten rudabaga for the first time, so it could have been that. OR it could have been completely unrelated to foods since it occured the next morning while I was sleeping. I woke up and could see my cheeks. I looked in the mirror and I didn't even recognize myself.

Man, I always feel horrible for people who have to fight the insurance companies for approval. From my seminar to surgery was 2.5 months. So insurance fell somewhere in there, lol. Comgrats, though!!!

I don't know about all of you, but being fat was a dealbreaker for me getting involved in a relationship. I was so petrified of it that I was in complete denial about even wanting a relationship. Granted, it was easier to not want sex or love, but it doesn't compare to actually having it. I was single for 10 years - pretty much since I started gaining weight. For a long time I considered myself asexual, avoided flirtations (I felt disgusting), and swore myself to a life of being a spinster or crazy cat lady. I met someone online about 15 years ago. I sent him a picture when I was 16 (I'm 29 now), but nothing after that. We never met and he didn't know what I really looked like, although I knew what he looked like. We were friends over the years and always kept in close contact. Sometimes we drifted somewhat apart, like if we got too close and he started getting demanding (pics or meeting)... then I'd push him away again. Years later.... I got the lapband and I lost weight. I finally agreed to meet him in the beginning of the year, after we started getting closer (because I finally emotionally opened up and blew away my denials and mental walls), and it couldn't have been more perfect. We're now engaged and I'm moving to Wisconsin in a couple months to live with him. He's been my best friend and really the person who has pushed me to open up and "get out of myself". I was a person that never thought I'd get married, so my life has dramatically changed since the lapband and losing weight. How has it changed you and your relationships?

Gave a **** load of clothes to Good Will. Some still had tags.

I actually don't mind it. It makes me feel proud knowing what I used to look like. I wear a badge at work with an old picture on it. Everyone tells me I should get a new one taken because it doesn't even look like me, but I think it's funny to keep wearing.

Enell sports bra. No question about it. I LOVE it and it keeps those puppies secured. They're not very attractive, but damn do they work. I wear this bra everyday and have been wearing this brand since I was at my highest weight. I went from a size 4 bra to a size 1 bra. A few weeks ago I went "real bra" shopping.... first off, I can't get bras everywhere because most don't have my size. So I ended up having to go to Victoria's Secret because I wear a 34DD. Even then, still not comfortable, so I don't typically wear it day-to-day. Too bouncy!

I've been on Ovcon-35 (well, the generic.... Zenchent) for about a month and a half. I was not able to lose weight for a while when I first started taking it, although didn't really gain. Well... sort of true. My boobs have gotten bigger, which is nice. I've always had big boobs and when I lost weight, I lost weight everywhere, so my boobs were starting to look like sad sacks of flesh. The estrogen in the birth control has since made my boobs fill in a bit more, so they look less pathetic than they did - although still unattractive, IMO. It also made me RAVENOUSLY hungry at first. I seem to be ok losing weight now, though. I've lost 5lbs in less than a week since I went back to calorie counting.

I've told a number of people..... My family. Parents' neighbors (we're all friends). Friends of the family. Numerous co-workers. My boyfriend. But then there are also a good number of people who don't know. I don't mind people knowing, but I don't make it a habit to tell everyone I come across unless there's a reason for me to do so. The good thing is that being successful at losing weight with the lapband can also be an inspiration for other people to have the surgery and change THEIR lives. A co-worker that I shared an office with was somewhat discouraging when I had the surgery. Not like "You shouldn't do it", but "I've known this and this person that it didn't work for". Well, my surgery was 2.5 years ago and during that time, she has watched me lose over 100lbs. She, herself, is overweight. So in November she had the surgery done, saying that I was her inspiration. She has lost close to 50lbs at this point and couldn't be happier that she made the decision to do it.

No, I haven't had a pill get stuck - though I do often think about it when swallowing pills. I swallow 5 small pills at once every day.

This is one of the most amusing things I experience since having lost so much weight. When discussing weight loss with people, just about everyone wants to be discouraging about me losing any additional weight. I say I have more weight to lose and they say, "What? Where? Don't lose any more, you'll be too skinny." I'm still technically overweight. I don't have much to lose before I'm in the "normal" range, according to the BMI, but I'd still like to be smaller than I am. I know my body. When I'm wearing clothes, I look ok. But that's wearing spanx and flattering clothing. And because my weight is appropriately distributed. Without clothes, not so good, lol. Does anyone else get comments like that from people? "Great job with your weight loss, but don't lose any more." I just... never thought I'd get to a point where I'd hear that from people.