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I'm thinking the weekend after Easter, April 9th might be a good time for people or the June 11 weekend. I've combined people's posts. If I got you wrong or missed someone hit reply at the bottom of this post, put in your data, and hit post. Apples - Anytime Charlene - Can't commit yet. You decide Great - prefer the April dates that Cheri mentioned, prefer no holiday weekends, prefer spring/early summer vs later summer/fall Cheri - April 2-11 I'm off work so that's two weekends. Can do it weekends of June 11 & 18. May be available July 16 or first two weeks in August. Waiting to find out when my niece schedules her wedding. Laura -prefers the April time but may be able to do it early June as she's going to Turkey late June and early July. LauraK -can do it any weekend except last weekend in March Julie - Phyl - Tina - Eva -not till after May, in class till then Janet - Open I can go w/the flow (except for 7/15) Linda - Joyce - Sandy - I am open to anytime Jodi - Melissa - Jessica- The only break I have in school is March 28- April 1st. It spring break. I will not have another break until I graduate in December. I may just catch up with yall after I am a nurse. I hate to miss out but I have to make sacrifices to reach this goal. Meredith- May, or spring/early summer is best. Might be going with my aunt to FL in April and summer time gets crazy around here. But, will be able to adjust schedule to fit it this trip. Chris Candice - She's gone for 2 weeks Am I missing anyone ????

Funny, I feel the same about the ocean. I need to be near the beach. It helps my sense of direction and the breeze and smell relaxes me. Love the quote from your son. Cracked me up. Janet, Thanks so much for the beautiful compliment. I was thinking today about another change I need to make. It goes along with what Cheri said she needs too. I need to reach out more and make face to face friends. I have been very closed off to people. I feel judged so much because the first thing people would see about me was that I was fat. I don't believe that anymore so I am gonna try and make a face to face friend this year. I have invited old friends to do things but they blow me off so I think I am gonna try to bond with a classmate outside of class. I think I am ready.

lol I thought it was normal for a glass of ice tea to sweat. I have only traveled in humid areas I guess.

Last feb I met some of the ladies in Florida and my hubby was so nervous about me going to meet people from the internet. He came along. Everyone was wonderful to him but he did feel like the third wheel. He didn't understand some of what we were talking about.

I too was an athlete in high school. I was actually considering training and trying out for the olympic softball team. It was still kinda new then. I ran 3 miles a day on top of practicing. Then I got injured and it took the doc a year and a half to figure out the problem. Put me out of commision because I was in a brace the whole time. I asked the doc to do exploratory surgery. He asked me not to because I was so young he didn't want to scar me for life. Too late, I was already scarred. (But my eyes were diverted from my sports onto my hubby.) I had the appetite of an athlete without the metabolism. Not to mention I was the manager of an ice cream shop. Things just started to roll down hill. Depression took over and I ended up in a pit. A great life but unable to enjoy it. The past few years expecially this one have helped me climb out of the pit. I love my life and most the time love myself. I gave up on everything but have hope now. That was the biggest thing I got from the band HOPE. All the promises of being thin and seeing all the examples on LBT and YouTube to think I have the ability in me to do that too. I just needed to reach the pit so I could learn to do these thing for myself. Exercise because I need it not because coach is pushing me or there may be a scout, or college money. This is for me not my family, or my team. Eat right because it not only makes me look better but feel better too. Instead of eatting right because someone is looking at my plate, weight or laughing at me. Not letting my guilt decide my actions but my confidence. Tina, I am so glad you found us. These ladies have helped me so much and now I get to see the same transformation happen to you.

Happy Birthday Cheri! My tummy was sagging before weight loss because of my child. I was looking at it yesterday and think I may need to start saving for a tummy tuck. I read during my research that some doctors recommend 2 years of maintenace before having the tummy tuck. May take me that long to save up. Some also say to wait until your done having children so as not to get stretched again. I wouldn't do it unless it was pretty bad and it is getting there. But I prefer to feel great and be sagging than to look and feel awful. I am still able to put on some cute things. Can't wait till I no longer need Just My Size clothes.

Tina, Yes. My husband is a true believer now. He loves the fact that I am changing. I have grown so much. Before I felt like I couldn't do anything. I was so disappointed in my self and my life. I am happier and that makes him happier. Our relationship has changed alot because I participate in family life. Back when I had surgery we were living with his parents and he was really stuck on the money. We didn't even have our own place and I was spending all this money for a lapband. He also was unsure if I would lose. I had failed so many diets before. He is so excited now and sacrifices to help me out. He does without some foods too. I have a home without temptation. If he wants a food that is tempting for me he goes out to get it and eats it without bringing it home. A few weeks ago he did bring cupcakes home and saw that it was hard for me. He also keeps some junk food at work out of my sight. This past week I went on vacation with my inlaws and they brought a ton of junk food. I didn't eat one lick of it. I did start to pop some popcorn but then gave it to hubby without a bite. I am getting stronger against the temptations and he tells me all the time how proud he is of me. Some people eat popcorn but my doc wants me on low carb so I passed it on. JIC your wondering.

Cheri, Thank you so much for the beautiful compliment. It brought tears to my eyes. I was worried I was gonna chicken out. I knew when they came to roll me out I was gonna bolt. Thankfully they gave me something for my nerves when I arrived. I was thinking today about all the disappointments I have faced in life. I kinda just accepted and expected to be disappointed. I didn't trust others or myself to keep a commitment. Things are changing though. I am becoming more positive. Expecially about myself. It is normal to have some worries but I know when I am depressed it seems to magnify. I found things to keep my hands and mind busy. I learned to crochet and before I went back to school I spent most my day doing that, painting, sudoku and puzzles. I know some people who even make collages to represent their goals for the up and coming year. I may do that myself since I'm on break from school. Really take it easy until your meds become effective. My hubby and son use to enjoy doing puzzles with me. It may be something your spouse is willing to do with you until you are able to find more active things. Now we play soccer and tennis instead. I know it is hard to see but your actually already taking a few steps on the right track. Making the decision for the surgery, getting the approval, getting back on the meds you need. Your already moving up. Congrats on your approval. I feel like I won the lottery with this surgery. It is helping me develop the life I wanted for so long. Thank you everyone for the congratulations and the sweet words. It feels like Christmas today. I wish I could see you all and give you a HUG. This band is not a gimmick. It works if you work it.

Morning everyone, I got back from our brief vacation yesterday. We had a great time and food was not an issue. We even went out to eat twice and I did great. I have decreased my carb intake even more than I had previously and stuck to it even on vacation. I even worked out on vacation. There was an exercise bike and heated pool in the house we rented. I have exercised everyday so far this month. Just a few more days and I will meet that goal. Also another huge goal I must have reached while on vacation I hit ONEDERLAND! I was 198 this morning. My goal was to reach it before New Years day. This is awesome an I never wanna go back. My sister came over on Christmas Eve, she hasn't seen me since last Christmas Eve. She was stunned. Yesterday I also ran for 25 minutes nonstop. I have 3 weeks left in my 5k training. I should be complete by my next race on Jan 22nd. Which means I should be able to run 3.1 miles nonstop. I can run about 1.75 miles so far so I am beyond being halfway there. Tina, Sorry to hear you and your spouse are struggling. I have found that on this journey I have come alive. I use to spend all day in bed or lying on the couch. Couldn't even stand long enough to shower so I would just sit in the tub and let the Water run over me. Then it was a pain to try and get back out. I felt like I was dieing. Even on high doses of antidepressants. Losing weight and sticking to my meds has brought me back to life. My entire family is enjoying the new me. My doc has even cut my meds to only 1/3 of what they were. I feel like I have fought to get my life back and I love being back in the game. I hope the same for you. Fight to get your life back because you are worth every ounce of energy it takes. I am excited to be here in the begining of your journey because I will get to see your progress.

Hey gang, Cheri, love the story about ripping in the car. LOL Apples, I also would do away with child abuse and neglect. Tina, it is awesome to see you get that fire to fight the weight. It all starts there. You are gonna do awesome. I woke up at 201 today. I have a feeling I am gonna hit onderland in the next 2-3 days. I am so excited. I woke up early this morning and couldn't get back to sleep cause I wanted to see how close I was. I am hosting my family for christmas eve. I am gonna be very careful not to gain. I wanna see it for Christmas! I have been on liquids due to my fill so I am really losing right now. Plus the running and working out. If I don't get back before Christmas, I do hope you all have a grand time. Merry Christmas.

We are a one banded marriage. My husband has never been fat and has little idea of what it is like. When we have difference of opinion about band issues I explain the best I can but this is what I need and why. At the same time I DON'T enforce my lifestyle onto him. I don't push him to eat the same things I eat nor excercise like I do. This is my hole to climb out of. I would appreciate his help very much but it's not required. We have a temptation free home for me. No food that is a temptation for me is allowed in until I trust myself to stay away from it. However if he wants to go out, we do. He orders what ever he likes and I order according to my guidelines. If he wants chips for his lunch, he keeps them at work. He is willing to do this because he loves me and understands how important it is to me. He listens to me when I explain what I need. I had heard the rumor too that marriages fail after weight loss but it doesn't have to be yours. Share in this together and he will be proud of you for overcoming. I ran my first 5k last week and he declined to run with me but rushed over from work to see me cross the finish line and cheer me on. It was an awesome show of support even though I would have preferred him to join me. It was a great compromise. You can make it.

I have medicare and was covered. You can always call and ask that is how I learned it was covered.

Tina, I have been on meds too. Since my surgery on Jan 4, 2010 my meds have been cut to only 1/3 of what they were. I believe it was partially to do with my weight and my life style. I am learning new ways to cope with my depression and rely less on the meds. I feel more proud of myself and what I have accomplished. My decision to have the surgery was also the begining of me developing a life that I can be happy with. I have made huge changes this past year and don't feel bad about myself as much as before. I hope the same for you. I didn't even realize how bad I was feeling until I started to feel better.

I was all color coordinated but now I share the tree decorating with my son. He picked out the tackiest star to go on top. I tried to convince him to go with another but he really wanted it so I gave in. Now the tree has some ornaments on it he made in preschool and kindergarten. It is neat to see when we pull out our decorations his little hands and pictures of when he was little.

Congrats Great, So glad things went so well. Cheri, That is great advice about the carbs. I keep hearing that ADHD people usully are above average intelligence. I see that reflected in you. We have learned a ton from you. Well, I learned to drive a motorcycle today. I went up to about 30 miles per hour on it. My inlaws have an extra one and wanted to see if I would be capable and I am. So maybe they are planning to let me use it or sell it to us. Also did 20 minutes of flat running today. No stopping or walking in that 20 min. I was nervous about the attempt but I made it. I am thinking about adding strength training to my workout routine. I have been doing just cardio for awhile now. I will be increasing my cardio next week. I am following a 5K training plan but it may be the reason I have slowwed down in weight loss. Also doing well with my commitment of 30 min a day for the month of December. I have a doc appt tuesday. I know it is close to Christmas (dinner) but I believe I am ready for another fill. I declined it last time. SO I will get the docs opinion and possibly be on softs over Christmas. My priority right now is weightloss not food. I explained to my MIL that I don't allow junk in the house right now because it is too tempting and she went along with it. So hopefully I won't be faced with the decision to throw her hard baked goods away anymore. I like the idea of giving up guilt though. Guilt over Cookies, say it that way and it sounds silly.

Evening gang, Just discovered my C actually is a B. So thrilled. I get nervous about entertaining too but everyone always raves about how special my parties are. My Dad expecially loves them and wanted me to host on christmas eve this year. I am just serving pizza, wings and beer. Also making apple pie al a mode and a cheese appetizer that everyone loves. Doesn't really go together but I'll have wings for me and some special foods for my guest. The best part though is I always start the party off with a game. This time it will be Cranium. Last few times it was pictionary and Mad Gab. At my Inlaws we always play rook. It is so awesome to watch people who barely know each other really open up. Plus once the games over they have things in common to laugh about and share. For my sons first birthday we had a huge party of over 40 people. Hubby dressed up like clown and did a hour of magic tricks and jokes best party ever. I am very timid so if I can do it you can too. The best thing is you pretty much know everyone who is coming and they love you so they don't care if you set the table wrong. I am slowly slipping off the weightloss train. I am just gonna start fresh right now. To many goodies are getting through the door and into my hands. I was 203 earlier this week now I'm 205. Not giving up another pound to this nasty food. Still working out really good. I have worked out everyday this month for at least 30 minutes. I will reach 199 by the end of the year. Will I always struggle like this? Either way it is worth it. My relationship with my son has improved so much. On thanksgiving his teacher asked him what he was thankful for and he said Momma. Then he drew me a christmas card that says I love you. Way different than this time last year. I think it has to do with me being more able to play with him. We ride bikes, play soccer and tennis now. I am not so tired I am half asleep watching him anymore. Even my hubby says he gets so thrilled to see us playing together. Finished my christmas shopping this morning. Now I am getting ready for our trip. We need snow gear and an oil change. The meals my MIL has planned sound good to me. Gotta get some gifts wrapped so I will talk with yall later.

Evening gang, Got my final grades in. I passed everything, 1 A, 2 B's, and a C. I had one bad test hence the C. I spent yesterday afternoon at the school and took Jake to a counselor for ADHD. I plan to spend all day tommorrow volunteering at the school. His class is having a party. I appreciate his teacher taking on such a task but I wouldn't leave her to do it herself. I don't know how she handles 18 kindergarteners all day by herself. Kelly congrats on another pound down. It's exciting isn't it?

Sandy, No I never had imagined I could do such a thing. I am amazed at how well I did it. No cramping or sprained ankle despite dodging the walkers. I thought only super fit people did these things. Never me at 203 pounds. My family kept saying how proud they were. Hubby wasn't even paying attention cause I shaved 8 minutes off my time. He wasn't expecting me. My brother saw me and told him to pay attention I was on my way across. It was hard to sleep last night. Thank you all for constantly cheering me on. These accomplishments and you guys sure are good for self esteem. This morning I got up and went for a brisk walk on the treadmill. Get right back to it. I have another 5k in 6 weeks. I gotta work on beating my time. I am actually trying to get 30 minutes of exercise in everyday this month. So far so good. A friend of mine online challenged some of us to join her in it. I am wondering what to do when I go on vacation the 26-28 we are going to stone mountain GA. I don't want to blow it those 3 days. I guess I'll be getting up early and running. Just haven't really run on inclines like there are in the mountains. Where we are staying has a heated pool indoors. Considering swimming, I am not a good swimmer at all. And My inlaws think 2 pieces are sinful. Either way I'm gonna get it done. I wanna be in onderland by new years. 4 pounds left and I will be. Learned my lesson today about what I allow in the house. Mil brought my son home from staying over and gave him a bag of homemade Cookies. My first thought, "I gotta throw these away". But I thought that might be mean to throw my sons cookies out. Next thing you know I have eatten 2. Shoulda gone with my gut. But I let an excuse in and the fat girl won. I let Jake eat what he wanted and got rid of the rest. There is a reason I don't let them in here. I want this to be my safe temptation free zone. Maybe one day I won't need to do it this way but for now I do.

Thank you all you sisters and mommas. It was an awesome experience and I finished in my own record time 45 min. I am amazed at how far I have come. So is hubby. He told me he used to have to walk slow when walking next to me so I could keep up. Now he struggles to keep up with me. My brother fished in 19 minutes! My dad showed up with his girlfriend and another friend to cheer me on. I had quite a cheering squad as I crossed. I posted a video to you tube, You can click on the link in my signature if you wanna see me cross the finish line. I am walking on cloud 9 right now. There were 3000 runners there. I never saw my doc but that doesn't mean he wasn't there. I will ask him about it on my next visit.

Hey gang, I am so excited. My first 5k is tonite. I am trying to study for exams next week but I am struggling to concentrate. I have 3 finals mon, tue, and wed. I already received one grade and it was an A! The other classes are looking like B's. I had a mock up of the licensing exam last week and scored really high on it. Much higher than the first time I took it. Also took some current photos today and compared them to my before's. That is always a good boost to my confidence. Not sure how to get them on here for you to see. I feel great and am so pumped. I am still at 204. Thought I would have lost some seeing as I am sticking to it but my body is holding onto it. Ok I figured it out. This is me preop and today, dressed for my 5k. Julie, So sorry to hear about your still being in pain.