jenibeni

I'm currently 24 but had the surgery when I was 22. I had it on a Friday and was back to work the next Tuesday, where I moved slow but my coworkers knew I had had "abdominal surgery" so they were accommodating and helped lift anything I needed and understood when I couldn't do something. I haven't told the people at work yet, but all my friends and family know. My family knows primarily because the majority of them had gastric bypasses, so this was just another weight loss surgery to them, no worries there. My friends know because I'm not really ashamed of it. Before the surgery I was really shy and upset over my weight, but after I had it something instantly changed. I did it for me and I didn't care what they thought, and most of them were happy for me and ask about my progress. Heck, some people even forget that I had it and ask me why I'm not eating very much! I got back into dating a year and a half ago (about 6 months post surgery). I felt extra confident in my new weight, even though at 210ish I was definitely not skinny! First dates I chose not to do a food date. If they suggested dinner, I suggested something more fun like going to an art walk downtown or just meeting for some coffee first. After the first and second dates, if I liked a guy, I said yes to the dinner date. If they commented on how much I was eating, I would tell them. If they didn't notice, it was up in the air whether I told them or not. It's more of a feeling you get, if they're going to be receptive or not. If they don't like fat people, then to hell with them! Fat people are awesome. I could not abide by someone saying they didn't like fat people when I was one of them. You're doing a great thing by getting the surgery and changing your life. Your health conditions will improve and you will feel so much better about yourself and your body. It's okay to be scared, but know that what you are doing now will change your life forever. I whole heartedly encourage getting banded at a younger age, because it's just that much sooner that you will be able to get more joy out of your life, especially if you are experiencing health issues. After the initial recovery period, you are much like a normal 20-something. You can go out, you can do strenuous activities, and you have the added benefit of helping your health problems. It's a great life choice Sorry if this is so long, I just really wanted to help encourage you! We can do anything we set our minds to

Besides walking up to complete strangers and talking to them about it, I've told pretty much everyone I know if the topic of how much I was eating or my weight loss came up. I'm not ashamed of my band, and it's actually led the people I know to understand more about it. Pre-banding my friends were worried about the surgery, not whether or not I was going to become skinnier than them. I might just be lucky and have really supportive friends and family Also it should be noted that all of my mother's family (my mother, two aunts, grandpa, and step grandma) and half of my father's family (himself and his sister) have had some sort of weight loss surgery, so it's more accepted in my family than perhaps in others.

I'm a night snacker too! I was banded in November '09 and had my most recent fill in February...but then got sick and swollen almost shut. I had 2ccs taken out yesterday, and I'm trying my very best to not have to get another fill, and instead lose weight by portion control and exercise. I still have my band filled up some, but I'm not sure how many ccs are in there right now. Right now I'm having 1/4 cup of cottage cheese for breakfast with a little bit of strawberry jam mixed in for flavor It's actually a very tasty breakfast!

Was a size 22, now a size 14/16.

I'm excited for this weekend. Last July I was way too tight, so I made an appointment for August to get unfilled. My doctor took out 1 CC, and I haven't really had much restriction since. I gained about 15 pounds but have been holding steady since the intial re-gain. This Saturday I am getting another fill, hopefully to get some restriction back! I can't wait to have that feeling again. 1 year is on Nov. 27th, so two weeks after my fill again. I hope to be back down in the 180s by then :smile2:

Congratulations! That's awesome :laugh: If you stay the course at even 1 pound/week you should be able to lose 10 more!

Hello everyone! Last night I woke up to pain in my left shoulder, which I'm not sure what it came from. I haven't done anything to aggravate it, but it feels exactly like the gas pain did after surgery. Is there any way... I dunno, a pocket of gas could have moved around and started causing problems, even though I'm almost one year out from surgery? I know it will dissipate, just wondering if anyone else has this. Thanks! :thumbup:

My advice is to start walking now, however much you can. That will get you in the habit of it, will help you lose some weight before the surgery, and help you be healthier overall :smile:

Adjua....................347...............337...........240......... ....97 Amy......................289................226.5..........160........ 66.5 Angie64.................270................270...........210....... ......60 Astrasmom.............254................254...........170............ . .84 Babe.....................265................265...........199.... ..........66 Band_Groupie.........172.5..............157.5..........0-148........0-9.5 BetsyB..................226.6..............206.8.........109...... ......97.8 BigMomma..............209................209...........135............ . .74 Bklynike.................258...............258...........150......... . .108 BobbieND...............224...............207...........150..... .......57 Bree99..................259...............234...........155..... .......83 Brigette................198................198............150.... ........48 Bristlecone............157................145............130....... .....15 crzytchr................217................217............180..... ... ...37 Dana36.................233...............229.............160....... .....69 daqui26.................274...............274..............200....... ....74 DDGALARZ..............185...............183............150............ .35 destined4thinness..215.5.............215.5...........150.............6 5 5 Diamondgirl81........317...............270..............225........... . 45 ericanda1973.........198.5............198.5...........130.......... ..68.5 Fourme.................189...............168.............145.......... . ..23 Healthy-me-in-Az...242................183.6..........139.............44.6 HummingBird..........204...............161.............150............ .11 jenibeni.................224...............187.............165........ ....22 Jennih...................232...............232.............130.... .......102 Jeni 85..................185..............192..............150............. 35 KDEE....................240................240.............150...... ......90 kyleegirl01.............245................194.............160...... ......34 Lady LAP...............217................217.............125...... ......95 Lisa65...................174.5............165..............145..... .......20! Liz........................193.4............174..............155...... ......19! lotzasunshine..........271..............269.6............225.......... ...46 MaggieGT..............238...............236..............208.......... .. 30 newdicarlo.............187...............174..............135...... .. ...39 Northernmist..........289...............265..............175.......... . ..90 ol55andahalf..........184...............184..............144...... .......40 Peggy1.................308...............308..............225......... .. ..83 RandaPanda...........194...............161..............150........ ....11 RAYNE913.............234...............210..............160....... ......50 RobinAnn.............232.4.............185.4.............154...... ....31.4 scoutmama...........270...............270...............180........ ....90 shadst8................333...............291.2.............233........ ....58.2 skinny31................261...............236..............182..... .......54 SNDYCNRD.............207...............194.5............150........... 44.5 sueinne.................220................226.............180.... ........46 swjtlongdrive..........242................217.............179......... ....38 Tabithan................244...............234..............190....... .....44 TARASGIRL.............305...............259..............225....... .....34 tdtucker................256...............256...............160...... . ....96 Teacher2010..........192...............174...............150...... . ....24 Tealeaves..............305...............289...............150...... . ...139 TeriLu....................215...............212...............150.. .... .....62 TIGGER71G............224...............224................130....... .....94 Tinksmom..............256................213................145....... .....43 unshackled............277...............277................180....... .....97 Valerie.................190................190................150... . .......40 wonderwoman2009 175...............175................160..............15

These are pictures from my race yesterday, weighing in around 186! I'm the one in the blue dress... team name Walk of Shame, haha.

Hey guys :smile: Haven't posted in here in a while, but yesterday was a huge NSV for me. I ran in Urban Dare with my friend Suzy, which is like a 1-day Amazing Race. We covered about 7.5 miles in less than 2.5 hours and got 7th place out of 43 teams! I didn't run it all, but we were able to power walk and choose a smart route to get 7th :ohmy: My knees and hips are killing me today, but I invested in some Joint Juice and a bottle of liquid tylenol :smile2: Weight loss has been slow, but it's the little things like this that make up for it.