Shoshanna

"How much weight have you lost?" "More than a pound, less than a ton. How much have you lost?"

I am 2.5 years out, within 4 pounds of my goal weight, and there are still times I wish I could just sit down and eat one meal of whatever I wanted. But one meal of whatever I want is never enough and that's why I got the band. I am content. Mostly.

BRAVO!!!!

Mispellings, incorect punctuation: and Wrods in CAPS make me crazy.

Another recovering fast food addict here. I just can't eat the stuff any more because of physical restriction and when I do nibble a french fry or hamburger, I find that after a couple of years without the stuff, it just doesn't taste as good as I remembered. I'm sure the majority of my weight loss is thanks to not being able to eat a big hamburger and large order of fries any time I want. Unfortunately, chocolate still goes down pretty easy and I've just come through a phase of being devoted to M&Ms. I've noticed that I'm actually tired of them and have begun to eat them out of habit instead of desire. THat has been a big thing for me- identifying what is true desire and what is habit and acting accordingly.

I decided to get the band to deal with maintenance issues and not strictly in order to lose weight. I can lose weight- I've done it hundreds of times. I have not been able to keep it off, though, and I liked the idea of physical restriction to help me not return to bad old habits as soon as I reached my goal. So people think you're crazy. Big deal. I think they're pretty presumptuous to try and make decisions for someone who has done her research and made an informed decision, especially since they are making those decisions based on gut reaction and not research. Poo on 'em.

I am six pounds from my goal and it has taken me two years and four months to lose 87 pounds. The entire time I've lived the lifestyle I can deal with, which slowed my weight loss down but did not prevent it. I don't regret taking this long to lose the weight or the plateaus I lived on for months at a time. Those plateaus helped me adjust physically and mentally to the changes in my body and life. The trip to your goal is as important as reaching your goal. My advice to you is to regard the next couple of years as an interesting leisurely journey and not a headlong dash toward being "a success story." Your success story is you have lost 36 pounds in six months and that is absolutely perfect for you. It took me a year to lose that much, but I've still managed to creep up within six pounds of my goal. Good luck.

When I compare fat pictures to current pictures, I think, "You've come a long way, kiddo. Hang fast." If pictures from the past upset you, put them away and don't look at them. Beating yourself up over what used to be is a waste of time and energy that can be spent on more positive things. If you can't quit torturing yourself with the past, find a good counselor and talk it out. You've accomplished an amazing physical transformation and deserve to enjoy the results.

I get to the numbers with a zero at the end and bounce up and down a few pounds for a while before dropping into the next decade. It seems to be my body's way of dealing with a new situation since the same thing happened when I lost weight before getting the band. I'm at a bouncing stage right now and know that while it may last a month or two eventually things will work out and down the weight will go. I'm hoping this is my last bounce session and that soon I'll just be looking at maintenance.

My deepest sympathy to all who are experiencing pain and suffering. Thank you for sharing your experiences and gving the rest of us a heads up to possible problems.

I originally set my weight goal just barely within normal BMI limits. When I reached that goal, I lowered my goal another ten pounds. When I reach that, I'll rethink the matter and decide if I want to stick with that or set a goal five pounds lighter to reach my college weight which is the lowest I aspire to.

My psych exam was an interesting process. I answered a bunch of multiple choice written questions, then returned to review the results with the doc and to take an oral exam as well. It was complex and expensive, but my insurance paid for it. The doctor said her only concern was that I might have a struggle with the restrictions since I am "unconventional" and not naturally a rule follower. I was afraid that might be enough of a negative to decide the insurance against the surgery. In fact, the insurance company took so long to approve the procedure that I was sure I'd be refused. Thank goodness I was wrong about that. I don't even want to think where I'd be right now without my lapand,

People didn't start to comment on my weight loss until I dropped under 190 pounds, down from 240. It was worth the weight- er, wait.

When this aunt isn't making unkind remarks to you does she get her jollies from pulling the wings off butterflies? Honey,if you will pardon a usually dignified older lady's language, f**k your aunt and the mule she rode in on. Toss the scale into the closet for a couple of weeks, use the mirror to reflect a smile and pride in your accomplishment, and concentrate on "hell yeah, amazing job." To quote Eleanor Roosevelt, "The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." She also said, "When you know to laugh and when to look upon things as too absurd to take seriously, the other person is ashamed to carry through even if he was serious about it." Next time the Wicked Witch of the East makes a nasty remark to you, laugh outloud at her. She really is ridiculous, you know.

Time to get a boat and drown bait by dropping the line over the side. Seriously, it didn't take me anywhere near two months to heal and return to normal activities. Maybe it won't be as bad as you expect.

I lost about 35 pounds per year and am now down 85 pounds. Like Cindysmom, I'm losing the weight in the time I am supposed to lose the weight. No one is going to hand out an award for fastest weight loss so you may as well take pleasure in each stage of the loss. No doubt making better food choices and adding exercise with speed you up a bit, though. Good luck to you.

Voted! You are gorgeous.

I mostly regard plateaus as nature's way of allowing my body to adjust to its new reality. Of course, some of the plateaus were my own darn fault (invariably too many sweets) and cutting back on the M&Ms helped considerably then! Keep the faith, stay with your program, and sooner or later you'll fall right off the edge of that plateau without hardly noricing it. Good luck and congratualtions on having come far enough to hit a plateau!

YAY!!!!!!!

If it wasn't for Goodwill and the other wonderful second hand shops in town I wouldn't own more than a pair of jeans and a couple of tee shirts. When I can buy a pair of Wrangler Jet jeans for $8 instead of $60 and a Land's End shirt for $3 instead of $35 why would I ever go back to buying full price? Second hand stores are full of shopping mistakes other people made and rarely if ever wore. I've even bought things with the tags still on them. You have to check the racks often and know how to look in order to get the best bargains but it is worth it. Best of all, it's tons of fun.

My surgeon asked me to be the poster girl for the hospital's weight management program. That sorta outed me to the community. 99.9% of the feedback has been positive and I don't give a rip about the.1% that disapprove for some reason.

Condolences on what must be a very difficult time for you. May the surgery proceed apace!

I don't know about it getting you over the plateau, but maybe- why not? What I did notice the week I had no fill was a feeling of panic because for the first time in two years I could eat anything I wanted. I took advantage of having no restriction to have a hamburger (which didn't taste nearly as good as I thought it would) but mostly I felt sort of out of control and more than half frightened until I got my fill back.

At the time I had surgery I had seven cats, four dogs, and two horses. We managed just fine, but I live in a situation where I don't have to walk the dogs several times a day. It obviously makes a difference if one has a fifty pound puppy!