Vikki

30 pounds is great for 5 mths. Have you had a fill yet? That can help speed it up. The slower you loose the more your skin will have time to catch up. That is what happens with a lot of bypass patients is they loose fast but end up with saggy skin. Welcome to this site and hope to hear from you again.

Thank you Anglea for your compliment. I am just struggling right now with just wanting to reach my goal NOW and I need to remember I am 33 pounds less than I was last year. Your mind plays tricks on you and I look at pictures of myself of when I was thinner and just can't believe I had let myself get so heavy. I am going to tackle this demon of being overweight and keep the weight off for good. Now that we are at the 6 mth mark (congrat's to everyone) what do you guys feel has been your most beneficial exercise to loose inches. I have been trying to keep up jogging and climbing up hill at my park. My butt is showing a big (smaller) difference. My pants are looser in the butt (thank goodness). What has made a difference for you guys!! Do you recomend any exercise tapes you have found or exercise routine to share. Have a great day you guys!!!!!

Things I cannot live without...... 1) My Victoria Secret lotions....they smell so good 2) Starbucks vanilla Latte with extra foam 3) My blender......I have become a big Protein shake maker and the kids are wanting fruit shakes now which is great!!! 4) My Digital cable taping device.....I love to sit down and fast forward threw the commercials and watch my favorite shows. 5) I cannot live with out my tapatia hot sauce.....I love everything spicy but the band has not made that very easy to continue with. You know you live in the year 2007 when you have to enter a password to use your microwave.......................a joke I read recently but so true. Have a great day everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow you have lost 63 pounds...........that is GREAT!!!!! I am so close to getting into Onderland and it seems impossible when I have worked this hard to only drop 33 pounds. I know it is 33 less than 8 months ago but it still feels soo sooooo far away to my goal. Once I get the Onderland how do I stay there. I just don't understand what to do for my body to react the way I want it too. I know that I did not do this to be a thin model but to just be at a healthy average size. But being overweight is not just physical and that is what is the truely hard thing to manage and struggle with every day. Patients is not my strong point either. Thanks for the compliment on the picture. I hope to look at a picture some day soon and actually be happy with what I see. We are our hardest critict.

You guys sound exactly how I feel. I honestly felt dizzy this morning and have really been tight so I have barely been getting anything down. I honestly felt this morning like why did I do this to myself. Why am I practically starving myself (exaggeration) to loose weight. Why am I so frigen obsessed with my weight? Why did I get the short end of the stick when it comes to fast metabilism. I have lost 33 pounds since Nov which is almost seven mths avg of 4 pounds a month. I have been going up and down the same 10 pounds for 6 weeks now and exercising like a mad women..............................I am frustrated too. I hear what you guys are saying. This is not just a battle of the bulge for me but a battle of being a happy me!! This year has truely been a year of just trying to figure out myself again. Trying to find what will make me a happy person inside and OUT. It is a battle everyday for food choices and exercise choices. I really, really am angry that I have to deal with obesity as a part of my life. My best friend is gorgeous, thin, eats all the time. Has no clue what it is like to not even fit in her cloths anymore because they are all too tight. Can't even find a size at Old Navy that will fit because you have gotten so big. Why do I have to deal with these food demons!! WHY!!! But I do and I have to live for the choices I do make and be accountable for them. If I binge on a bag of chips or a gallon of ice cream and the scale goes up.............No one put a gun to my head. But I have to deal with the guild of it and that is hard. My butt hurts from kicking it. Let me know if you guys understand how the mental part of being overweight is just soooooooooo exausting at times to deal with.

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Okay Angela they are posted on the general discussion page. Have a great day!! Vikki

I don't know if I hate it but it has confused me. I can't figure out how to post a new thread to post your son's wedding pics????? It does look like we are going to downtown disney to meet for June 10th. Not sure how many of us but I will add your email addr to my distribution list. I can't wait to meet up and get some local support too.

I did it I did it.......I finally got under 220!!!! It has taken me 6 weeks of being stuck between 225 and 220. I have been at an annoying platue forever. I got on the scale this morning and re weighted myself three times to make sure it was correct!!!!!!!!! I am so close to Onderland that I can hardly wait!!!!!!!!!!!! It looks like everyone is doing so good. This weekend I could barely eat anything. My fill has really changed and I am really tight now. It seems the band changes so one day tight other days more loose. It keeps you on your toes because it only takes one PB of OUCH to remind you to be careful. How is everyone else doing....so quiet lately. I hope your having good weight loss success. Thanks for the compliments from the picture. I am trying really hard to just stay focused on the long term and not the today. It almost becomes obsessive but it is not easy at all. Have a great week everyone!!!!!!!!!!:nervous :clap2:

Thanks Karen, It was nice to meet Angela. I am setting up a meeting in June for locals if you want I could add you to my distribution list. We have people from all over such as San Diego to Santa Monica that might join for a meeting. I was thinking downtown Disney is a good central location. If you are interested send me a message to vikki4mymail@yahoo.com and I will add you. I think that it would be great to get a group together to share stories and support. Happy Friday to all!!!!!!!!! Have a great weekend and I am still waiting to break this platue I am in.........UUGGGGGGGGGGG

You should be able to play Softball. You would need to take a season off just to make sure you are completely recovered or take a few weeks to recover after the procudure. I don't see why you couldn't wear some type of stomach guard like a belt they have for dirt bike riders. My husband has one for a kidney belt and it is velcro. It would protect your stomach if a ball hits you. If you get hit any time hard in the stomach you have the potential of damaging the port. It is very small the size of a quarter. I can do anything with my band that I did before. Actually a lot more because I am exercising and doing a lot more with the weight coming off. Feel better and look better. Good luck with your journey. I love my band and it isn't easy but I am determined to get down to my goal weight and keep it off for life!!!!!!

I sent a message out to the ones that have personally emailed me to try to get something together for June. Maybe Downtown Disney in Anaheim. Let me know if I don't have you on my list and you are interested in a meet up. My email is vikki4mymail@yahoo.com

Here is a picture of Angela and I at the Orange Circle in Orange, CA last Sunday. We met for breakfast and they were having a classic car show in the circle. It was so nice to meet her. She is a very inspirational women. Lets keep up the support and if any of you ever come to Orange County send me a message so we could set up a meeting. Have a great day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I know when ever I get a fill it irritates my band area from it going tighter. So the next day I am usually swollen along with the fill and can't hardley get anything down. Just sip as much as you can like a protein drink mixed with some hot water to get some nutrients. Sip warm tea all day and in a couple of days it might open up. If by Monday you still cannot get anything down then yes you will need to get just a little removed. Did you get it done with Floro so you could see if liquids were going down? That seems like a big fill for your band. Be careful to make sure you don't get so weak that when you stand up you want to pass out. Just concentrate on getting some nutrients in even if you have to go to the vitamin Shop to get something to put in threw liquid drops in your tea for vitamins. I hope your better soon.

The exact thing happened to me the other night. I am a week since my fill and I tried to chop up some really soft carne asada with refried beans day before yesterday and after 5 bites...............I could tell I was in trouble. I kept having to get up to the bathroom to burp up foam and slime and all of the food finally came up after 30 min of this and total pain. OUCH!! I was really sore yesterday so stuck to protein shake and chili for dinner but ate really small bites and chewed really good. You will be sore for at least 24 hrs so go with warm liquids for meals and nothing solid. Sometimes you feel like you can each just about anything and then boom you have a very painful PB which reminds you that you have to be careful. Just let your insides heal from the irritation.

Guess what guys.....I got to meet Dr. A yesterday. It was so cool. We met at the Orange Circle which was having a big car show. We had breakfast outside and walked around looking at the beautiful classic cars. It was so neet to meet someone from this page. She took some pictures with her digital camera so when she sends them to me I will post them. She is such a cool person. We discussed our Band adventure and shared stories. We would love to set up a Vegas trip or something for us to meet each other. It was really cool!!!! I hope all of you are doing well. I love to see pictures of everyone's progress. It is really an incentive to keep on truckin....if you know what I mean. Talk to ya all later!!

Who can explain how to post a picture on the site to us so we can all find some pictures of us last summer and take a picture today. Angela and I are going to meet for brunch on Sunday since she is near me for her son's wedding. I will bring my digital so I can post a picture of us. I will try to find a before and take a current. I know that I have gotten a lot of comments on how my face looks thinner. I think that is from being off of the carbs I used to eat. I ate bread all day long with every meal. I hope that all of you have a great weekend. It is actually raining here in Souther Calif. and we need the rain bad!!!

I am not sure why when I get a fill I get a headache. I guess it is from being scared before? Anxiety? Who knows. I do feel I need more of a fill but my Dr. is in Mexico 2 1/2 hours away and it my all day to go in and then come back out and drive home. I will just have to bump up the self control and just be good!!! I am the most hungry at night. Connie- Your weight loss is great!!! 66pounds..........I would love to be at 60 pounds but am struggling with a platau I am at right now!! My body is as stubborn as I am.........UGGGG!!!! I hope that America does the right thing last night and stopped making the show a joke!! Sanjaya needs to GO HOME!!!!!!!!!! I am so over him!!!!! I can see him being a famous hairdresser in Hollywood after this. He seems right at home in Hollywood.

I love the throw up smiley!!! I did that with squash that I thought was mushed up enough. No, just stringy.................Ouch. Now you will probably swell so go to liquids for 24 hrs.

It has been quiet. I got my second fill last Saturday. I wanted to ask you guys if you get a headache the evening of the day you get a fill? I think mine is partly because of the anxiety I feel going to get the needle. My first fill I passed out from the needle and then started throwing up after I came too. This time it was quick and easy but I still had a really bad headache that evening. I am still very hungry which I am bummed out about because the hunger is just not going away and it is driving mad. I am going to have to get some appitite suppressents from the vitamin store to help me now want to graze all day. What do you guys suggest? Thanks

The best thing you can do when you throw up like that is go steight to liquids for a couple of days. It swells the area so no matter what you will even feel tighter. I threw up when I got my first fill because I got dizzy and I felt so tight for a couple of weeks. Even when I drank water I would get that girgle sound and was afaid I was going to have to go back to have some removed. With in a couple of weeks I was fine and just stuck to mainly soft food. Eggs are funny because sometimes I can eat them and sometimes they stick. Good luck but stick to liquids for now.

Welcome fitzgerald and gadgetlady, if could send me a message I will add you to my distribution list to get a meeting set up. Thanks

I am so glad you are okay Misty.......what a scary experience. 70 pounds is sooooooooooo great!!!!!!! You need to send us some pictures. What do you mean by obstruction? Was that from food? Or the band?

I think it is because of the texture of Oatmeal. When you put boiling hot water in it and let it set it gets very soft. I can't see why it would be bad for us. If you swollow a big bite it might end up plugging the band and then if it doesn't continue to slide down you will end up PBing and oatmeal would be painful going back up. If it is watered down then it should slide down just fine with small sips. That is the only thing I can think of to say no to it. It is a great way to put the Protein powder in and it is very healthy for us? Let me know when you find out because I eat it all the time!! Have a great weekend everyone!!!!!! I am going for my second fill tomorrow in Mexico. Have you guys seen the Lap band commercial that is on TV now? They are advertising it kind of like a diet pill commercial. It tripped me out. I am glad the word will get out more and help other over weight people control their weight.

Dr. A- I live in Huntington Beach, Orange County. Where is your son getting married?