a dairyfarmers chubbywife

Don't worry, this happens to everyone during the weightloss process. When I reach a plateau, I increase my caloric intake for about a week then drop back to my normal intake. About 2 days later I see the scale moving again. Also, I have noticed that if I have a steady weightloss for 3 to 4 weeks, my body then will stop losing, but inches are still coming off. Have you checked your inches? Just because weight isn't coming off doesn't mean inches aren't. Good luck, and don't give up! ~Annette~

I guess I should add my name to this list!! I had my surgery on 2-22-10 and I started at 300 pounds. Today, 4-19-11, I am 151 pounds... That's 149 pounds lost!!! My initial goal was to get to 150 pounds, but now that I am here, I am thinking that I might as well go for 13 more pounds so I can say that I have a normal BMI. ~Annette~

As everyone else says, full is no longer hungery. Now my cue that I better not take another bit is I will sigh in mid-bite. After that sigh, I best stop.

This is tough...it happened to me last year. I had my surgery in February and I was to be in a wedding that November. Calculating that I would only loose 2 pounds a week I went for a dress 3 sizes smaller than what I was then wearing (I was in a 26, bought a 20). Come October I was in a 14! There was no way that 20 could be taken down to a 14, so I scrambled and lucked out and found one on Craigslist. See why this is tough?! I would honestly suggest you wait as long as you can, because your weight loss might be as aggressive as mine was and you'd be stuck with a dress you can't wear. Good luck! ~Annette~

My first thought is gallbladder. Last Friday I went to the ER think I was having a heart attack. It was the worst chest pains I have ever felt. It felt like I had an elephant sitting on my chest and if I took a deep breath it was a stabbing pain. It radiated to the right and then into my shoulder blades. The ER doc diagnosed me with having a GB attack. So don't neccissarily chaulk it up to being your band. ~Annette~

My first reaction to your dilemma is to get an unfill. I know for me, personally, that when I am too tight for too long I stop losing weight, even though my calorie intake is minimal. About 3 days after my unfill the scales start moving for me again. I also know that for me, when I’m not losing I get into a funk and eat crappy food, especially if I’m too tight, cause it goes down easy. Get an unfill…at the very least, speak to your surgeon. My concern is that you might have done damage over the years. As the previous poster stated, you can eat your way around any type of WLS if you really wanted to. The choice has to be yours. You still control the fork. I have a friend who had the bypass and within months of her surgery she was back to eating a whole pizza! Proving the fact that if you’re not mentally ready to accept your new lifestyle rules, then don’t bother. The band, or the bypass, will not do the work for you. As I tell people, the band is just my “full-button” reinstalled. It tells me when I am full, and I listen to it. I am 13 months out and to-date I have lost 147 pounds (pre-surgery weight: 300 pounds; current weight: 153 pounds). Good luck to you! ~Annette~

Here goes nothing!!! 2 weeks before surgery 13 months after surgery, lost 140 pounds Pre-weightloss jeans From a size 26 to a 6!!

notateechanow... since you are self-pay, can I ask, how much is this procedure going to cost you? I'm still loosing and I am quite a ways off from being able to have this done, but I too will be self-pay as I have never had any rash problems. Sorry to be so nosey, I just want to have a ball-park idea of what my goal needs to be to save towards. Thanks! ~Annette~

HI!!!!! I am finally here!!! As of today, 7 September, Onederville AND the 100+ loss club has a new member and her name is Annette! On 4 November 2010 I reached my highest weight of 300 pounds...:thumbup:...and I knew I had to do something. I had my first consultation with my surgeon on 18 January 2010 weighing 293 pounds. I had my surgery on 22 February 2010 weighing 279.4 pounds. And now, 7 September 2010 I weigh 199.4.... I am so excited I just can't stand it!!! I started out wearing a tight 26 and now I am in a comfortable 16. I can cross my legs again, I can...well...enjoy life! This is the best decision I have ever made in regards to my health. There are times I think "why did I do this", but eh, I'm sure everyone does. But the benefits surely out-weigh the pitfalls!!! Thanks for letting me share! This site is the greatest sanity-saver ever when it comes to the lap-band® and my questions and concerns. I wish well to all! ~Annette~

**Deep breath** Here goes nothing!! Stats: Banded 2-22-10. Starting weight 300#. Lost 113 pounds to date. (Sorry if these images come out too large, I have never posted images before!) Thanks for looking! ~Annette~

First, a quick introduction: My name is Annette. I had my surgery on 2-22-10 in Dayton, Ohio. I lost 20 pounds pre-op and 19 post-op. I had my first fill 3-24-10 and since then I have lost 6 pounds alone:thumbup:! Please don't misunderstand me, I am beyond thrilled about the weight loss, but I have a "I don't get it" question: I have lost a total of 39 pounds, but I still fit into my pre-op clothes, albeit they are getting baggier, but I still wear them. I got brave over the weekend and tried on a size smaller jeans - what a depressing thing to do - I'm still no where close to wearing them. I was willing to bet that by this point I would have been transitioning to a new wardrobe . Does anyone have any words of wisdom about why I'm not seeing size shift yet? Has this happened to anyone or am I an odd duck?! Thanks in advance, Annette

I am! I live 30 miles north of Dayton, but had my surgery done by Dr. Siddiqui at Miami Valley. I totally reccommend him! I had my surgery 2-22-10 and I have now lost 106 pounds!!! :biggrin: Welcome aboard! ~Annette~

I think this is common. Before the surgery I had an image in my head that I was thinner than I really was...until someone posted a picture of me on FB. Whoa...what a rude awakening. My eyes were instantly opened and I saw me as everyone else saw me. Now, since my surgery, I have lost 90 pounds, and I still see the fluffier me. My mental self image is totally messed up. This past weekend at our county fair my husband and I were just enjoying the shade and people watching (a secret enjoyment of mine...shhh! ) and I had him point out other women who had a body shape like mine so I could get a better grasp on what I looked like. Might sound crazy, but it works for me. ~Annette~

I had this experience last month when I had a sinus infection. It got to the point where I couldn't even swallow my own spit! I went in and got .25 CC removed and I felt better almost instantly. My Dr. says it's because the mucus is so thick that it doesn't pass through easily. Maybe get a tiny unfil until your allergies clear up. Good luck! ~Annette~

Chi2Indy - I had GEHA when I started my process back this past November - I switched to FBCBS when I learned of the 6 month supervised diet - I just didn't want to wait! Anyhow, if for some reason GEHA denies you, you can always switch to FBCBS this open season. I am, however, thinking of switching back to GEHA as they seem to be much more cheaper then FBCBS. Good luck, Annette

For me, what I have found is that when I'm stuck I bend deep at the waist while standing. I stumbled upon this by accident. I had a horrible stuck episode and while I was up walking trying to get the offender down, I was doing laundry. I was bent over picking up the clothes and I felt the offender move, it almost felt like it was coming back up. I stood up, had a huge gurgle come out and I was no longer stuck. So now when I'm stuck I do the bending and 75% of the time it works...but that's what works for me, maybe not everybody. ~Annette~

I asked this very same question about 1 1/2 months ago when I had lost 35 pounds. I was so upset that I could still wear my same pants. But now that I have lost 64 pounds I am down 2 sizes. At about 50 or 55 pounds is when I could finally drop to the next pant size. So...moral? Be patient, it will happen. All of my weight came off of my face, my chest :thumbup:, and my legs. Finally, it's coming off of my butt and my belly. And I am finding now that with every pound lost I am noticing a difference in my clothing fit. Good luck to you and congrats on your success thus far! ~Annette~

I just had one this past weekend...I cleaned out my closet and was able to get rid of two (2) 18 gallon totes of clothes and shoes...yes, even my shoes have gotten to be too big! I can now wear clothes I haven't been able to wear since I was pregnant with my first child - 8 years ago. Note: I was banded on 2-22-10 and I have lost 60 pounds thus far...and the scale is still moving!!! I went from a 26 to a comfortable 22 pants and a 2x shirt to an x. ~Annette~

I live 40 mile north of Dayton, Ohio on a Dairy Farm. We milk 70 cows and we farm close to 1000 acres. Our closest neighbors are about 1/2 mile down the road, but our road is so quiet that if more then 10 cars go down it then it's considered a busy day! I've often thought how neat it would be to live in an urban environment, but when evening time rolls around and the tree frogs start chirping and the stars are out so bright I quickly remember why I don't ever want to move. Here in Ohio we enjoy the four seasons...sometimes all in a single day(!)...the morning can start off with a little snow and it'll be 70 by evening time! Thanks for this thread, I'm so fascinated by where others call home. ~Annette~

That is awesome, hamltmom!!! It feels so good doesn't it! For me I am quickly approaching a weight that my husband has never seen me at before, and what's even better is that I am 10 pounds away from, for the first time in my life, ever being lighter than the man I am with. Awesome! ~Annette~

I've noticed this thread has been moving rather slow lately...How's all my fellow February bandsters doing? This is our 3 month aniversary month and I was hoping to kick start this thread again to provide encouragement and motivation. I have hit a big milestone for myself...the 50 pound loss mark!!! :thumbup: I am down 52 pounds as of this morning and I am loving it!!! I exercise 3 times a week at an hour each. I do 30 minutes of weight lifting for toning and then 30 minutes of cardio (bike, rowing or treadmill). I don't track my food or caloric intake, I just make healthy choices and eat until I'm full. I have had 2 fills which equals 3cc's in a 12cc band. I do need to work on my water intake and maybe step up my exercising to 5 days a week. I'd love to hear from others on their progress at this point. ~Annette~

Since I was the OPer, I thought I would give an update... I am now at 47 pounds lost and I am now able to squeeze (:eek:) into the next smaller size. I must admit, thanks to the wonderful insights given earlier, that my original clothes were very tight on me and in my denial I thought they fit fine. I have lost, on average, 3 inches around my trouble areas and am noticing a difference. It seemed as if overnight I lost the inches, so the initial weight loss must have been in my upper torso instead of my troubled areas, i.e. waist, hips, and thighs. Moral to the story? Be patient, moving into smaller clothing will happen, and when it does it feels soooooooooo great! :wink: ~Annette~

I started this thread and I am now down 45 pounds...and yes, I am still in the same dag-gone pants!!! I, too, am having lots of people telling me how great I look, but I don't see it when I look in the mirror. It's a mental thing for me. Before my surgery when I looked in the mirror I saw that I was fluffy, but not horrible. Then one day I was looking at some recent photos of me and I saw for the first time what everyone else saw...a VERY large me. I was in shock. I then took off my rose-colored glasses and began to see the real me in the mirror. Now since I'm loosing my weight I've become very critical of my image in the mirror and I don't see what everyone else is seeing. Make sense?

Lisa, How many pounds did you loose before you could move down to the next size in pants. That's primarily my problem. I'm bottom heavy. I can tell a difference in my tops - enough so I can move to a smaller size. But the dreaded saddle bags I carry around are killing me (lol)! Thanks to everyone who has posted a comment thus far, everyone on this board is truely an inspiration!! ~Annette~