Alicia521

Nov-Dec 05 - around 250 this week I have finally got some before/after shots. Here ya go!

Yeah, you are a complete light weight after banding. I can't remember how long I waited but it was probably at least a month, maybe longer. I used to LOVE beer - probably part of the reason for the weight gain. I can drink it a little now, but have to let it sit for a bit to settle carbonation otherwise it makes me feel horrible. Generally I stick with wine or mixers now but I rarerly drink anymore.

For me, it is a combination of things. I am 5'6. My starting BMI was 41.2 and I am now at 30. For my height, my healthy BMI/weight range is 117-154. I can remember weighing 154 and still feeling chubby. I initially wanted to weigh between 125-130 but realistically, I am almost 30 and have had one child, I figured 140 was more attainable. That may change once I get to 140 but right now that is my goal. I can remember being 140 and looking back, I wouldn’t mind being that size again. Back then I thought I was fat, but I have always had a distorted body image. I will probably never be high school skinny again and that is okay. I’d really like to be in a single digit clothing size as well. So that is why my ticker says 140! J<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->

bkwalling - that is hilarious. Those little guys take everything so literally!

YAY LINDA!!! I am so happy for you! I haven't went skiing in years - I have probably forgotten how!

Ah, you have got to love those little ones. They say and do such funny things! Flabuless – that is so cute about Abe’s little big boy comment. Mvpov – I am with you. Harrison was a huge motivating factor in my decision for surgery. I had my surgery 2 days after he turned one. My doctor told me to try not to lift him for at least a month but use judgment. I was still breastfeeding him when I had my surgery so that was not an easy task. I think the first week or so my DH just handed him to me, but after a week or so I was starting to lift him a little here and there. It was rough but we got through it okay. Sweethot – that is funny about your little one speaking German. One of my best friends growing up was German. She taught me how to say all the bad stuff J Jacqui – I have been trying to convince my DH to get a jogging stroller. I think that would help me teach Harrison to be active and be a fun quality thing to do together.

I'm not pregnant but plan on trying for #2 next year. There is a great website for tracking food and helping manage weight gain if you aren't already using it (babyfit.com) I plan on using it when I get pregnant again to track everything. Best of luck to all of you band mommy-to-be's

keep us posted!

Ousooner - that is awesome that you already surpassed your doctor's goal. You are going to be at your goal before you know it! My doc never actually gave me a goal but he told me at my last adjustment I was one of the highest losers at 6 months post op. That made me feel good. Drews - I know exactly what you mean. I was in the 100s briefly in 2001 because I did WW right before I got married, but college was the last of my 100s. I couldn't remember what it was like at all. I totally know what you mean about having to admit you want to lose more than 110. That is partially why I bumped my goal up to 140 instead of 130. But keep on trucking girl, you are doing great and look great and we are all here to help you in any way we can. Marz - I am like you. If I get down to the 140s I will be doing cartwheels but I stopped in the 170s I could live with it. I think I could wear a 12 again in the 170s and that was my main size during college. I wasn't 100% happy with my weight but I was comfortable and learned to accept it. I'm glad to hear your support group went well. I need to go to one of mine but they just don't work well with my schedule at all. Alright everyone else, tell us why you chose your goal! It's cool to hear it so far plus we can help support each other even more.

Ok – here’s a topic for discussion - I am wondering how everyone has arrived at your target weight. I think this topic has been posted in other places, but I'd be curious to know how all of us came to this number, especially since many of you are so close! Was it a weight your doctor suggested, a weight that you were comfortable at in the past or is it based on height/BMI etc? For me, it is a combination of things. I am 5'6. My starting BMI was 41.2 and I am now at 30. For my height, my healthy BMI/weight range is 117-154. I can remember weighing 154 and still feeling chubby. I initially wanted to weigh between 125-130 but realistically, I am almost 30 and have had one child, I figured 140 was more attainable. That may change once I get to 140 but right now that is my goal. I can remember being 140 and looking back, I wouldn’t mind being that size again. Back then I thought I was fat, but I have always had a distorted body image. I will probably never be high school skinny again and that is okay. I’d really like to be in a single digit clothing size as well. So that is why my ticker says 140! J

dear husband

Chubbola - I work in insurance and I think you should be okay. Since you are already covered under another plan and just changing over, generally you are not penalized for pre-existing things. However you may want to check the new insurance plan to be certain. It you had a lapse in coverage then you might have to worry.

I think the bigger you are the longer it takes to see a difference in clothing sizes because plus sizes are roomier all around. I also think body shape plays a role. I started out at 255. I am 5'6 and a pear shape. My pants size is almost always a full size bigger than my shirts. I wore 20s or 2X in shirts and 22s or 2X's in bottoms. I am 185 now and wearing Larges in shirts and 14/16 in pants depending on how they are made. After I lost 25 lbs I was able to wear 20s in pants. For me it was about 25 lbs to change sizes initially. Once I hit a 16 it was about 15 lbs to change sizes but darned if those 15 lbs don't take longer to shed now!

Wheetsin - I agree with your mom. For me XXL is most similar to 1X. I actually think the 1X's might be cut slightly larger than XXL since 1X is a plus size.

3 ½ years ago when I initially checked into the surgery it was more for vanity reasons. Insurance did not cover it and I could not afford it out of pocket. I think it was God’s way of telling me I wasn’t ready. I didn’t push the issue…I told my DH if it wasn’t approved I would not fight it because it was not meant to be. At that time I weighed 240 and my BMI was just barely 40. I did find out through the process I had sleep apnea. I already knew I had arthritis in my knees and I was insulin resistant. I became pregnant in August 2004 and had a very unhealthy pregnancy (pre-eclampsia) and delivered a 10 lb baby by c-section. I was placed on bed rest at 32 weeks and got up to 290 by the end of my pregnancy. I was miserable. Trying to keep up with a baby at my weight was not easy and I realized by the time he was about 6 months old I could not do it. Fortunately for me, my insurance started covering the procedure and I started the process in 12/2005 and had surgery 5/2006 right after my son turned one. So this time around it was more so for health and quality of life. I wanted to play with my son without being tired, I wanted to be pregnant again and have a fit/active pregnancy and go non stop up until time to deliver. I wanted to be able to be active and be able to stand and walk without being miserable. I wanted to grow old and healthy. I will say that vanity was a small part and I am not ashamed to admit it. I want to look nice and turn heads and I want my DH to be proud of his wife. I wanted to shop in regular stores. I wanted to feel my best inside and out. I can say it was the best decision I have made, almost 70 lbs lighter. I no longer use my c-pap, I exercise on a regular basis and I love playing with my son. Regardless of the main reason to have the surgery, I just think you have to be emotionally ready for the changes. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>

Yet another thought provoking question from Telly! I think she would be shocked and happy. Shocked that I ever let myself get as big as I did and that I basically had to start over from scratch earlier this year with selling my house and moving into an apartment to get stabilized financially and pay off debt. Also shocked at my career. She would be happy to see I have been happily married for 6 1/2 years with a precious 19 month old son. I think all in all she would be proud that I am generally happy!

Good luck. Keep us posted on your progress.

Marz - Congrats on the new sizes! I also wondered about all of the other members. Some of them may only post on the B2G website now but I'm not sure about that. It would be nice to see how everyone else is doing. I tried to take some pictures of myself last night to post on here. My DH is working nights this week so I had to set up the camera and use the timer, etc. The pictures are not that great. Plus they are in some weird format and I am not sure how to switch them to JPEG so, hopefully the hubby can work on that for me today. I might have some on here tomorrow. We have dial up internet at home so I won't attempt it at home. I have a NSV that I just realized this morning. I can finally use a regular sized bathtowel to dry off with until of the giant bath sheet. It actually closes together now! And I am almost just overweight. .8 lbs away from never being obese again! Woohoo!

Drews/Ousooner - the pics are great. You both look amazing. I keep meaning to get mine on here but every weekend when I think I will take some pics, I have something come up. This past weekend my whole family was sick so I didn't take any pics. Maybe tonight... As far as the clothes thing, I know what you all are talking about. Last week when Nana passed away, the day of the viewing, I went to my closet and had nothing to wear. We went shopping so I could get some nicer things to wear to her services. When I walked in I saw a shirt that immediately caught my eye. It was in the Misses section. I initially thought, well let me go back to the tiny corner of the back of store in the plus section to see what they have but I was able to buy all of my stuff from the misses section size 14s and Larges. Not only is the misses dept overwhelmingly larger than the plus sizes, but the clothes are cheaper! It was awesome. Another cool thing - as I gained weight over the years, I would always just pack up my skinny clothes and buy a bigger size. The fatter I grew away from a certain size, I would weed out what I was saving in smaller sizes. I had pretty much given up all hope of wearing any of my college clothes again but saved a few things. I have this really cute size large Abercrombie shirt I saved and it fits great. I never thought I'd ever be able to wear Abercrombie again! Never again will this body wear plus sizes again!! That is an amazing feeling. I can't wait to get my butt in size 12 pants!

Glad to hear everyone is doing well and had a nice holiday. We had two stops to make for Thanksgiving so I just picked at the first stop and ate more at the 2nd. I got off all of that stupid 6 lbs I gained + .8 more. Unfortunately my husband's Nana passed away on Saturday. She had battled cancer on and off for years. It's been a rough week because we were both really close to her but I know her pain and suffering is over and she is in a better place. It's going to be tough without her though. I hope to have some pics on here after the weekend because we are taking some for our Christmas card. Thanks to everyone for the support you offer!

Just wanted to share a huge NSV - I bought a pair of size 14 jeans from Old Navy on Sunday and they actually fit YAHOO!!!!!!!!

Missy - (correct me if I am wrong anyone) but the challenges are more or less just personal challenges that we all work toward together. I think there have been 2 so far. A September Challenge and the Turkey Take Off. If there was another one, I missed it. Anyway, Janey mentioned something about the challenge in the October thread and Marz brought it up yesterday. The goal is to take off 15 lbs (more or less if you want to adjust it) by January 15th (Martin Luther King Day) – hence, “I Have a Dream”. You aren’t stoned if you don’t make it to goal but it just gives us something to strive for. It's almost a full 8 weeks, so if you want to participate, think about how much you think you can lose in that time period and go for the gold! :eek:

Yay Marz! You rock! Mvpo - Glad your slip is better! I lost 3 of my crazy 6 lb gain from this week - I hope it is fluid retention. I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving! Our bands will help us so much this year.

Janey I just realized how close you are to goal. Once you do this next challenge you are almost there. You go girl!!! You rock!

thanks for the encouragement everyone!