Mrs.Doxie

Everyone loses differently, so there is no sure-fire prediction of what your body will do. However, I was what I would consider "pear-shaped" and I lost from my bottom half first. I had a very large bottom, hips, and thighs and could only fit into W sized clothing. Before I was able to change the size of my tops, I was able to get out of the Ws and into regular sizes. I am now wearing size 12 or 14 pants and Large (12/14) tops, so it seems I evened out. I teach high school where teenagers often speak before thinking and are brutally honest most of the time. I had a student return to our school after an extended absence and the first thing out of her mouth when she saw me was..."Miss, what happened to your butt? It's gone!" One last thing. I was not ALWAYS pear-shaped, but when I gained weight, it landed from my waist down, so this may be why that is where I lost it first. BTW, I am also 5' 4 1/2" and my goal is 148. Good luck on your journey!

I can TOTALLY relate! Most of the time I don't mind because of HOW it is woven into the conversation, but there is one woman at work that asks me almost weekly. She always starts with a positive comment like "It's the incredible shrinking woman...how much weight have you lost?" or "The weight just seems to be falling off of you...how much weight have you lost?" or "You look really great...how much weight have you lost?" First off, there is nothing "incredible" to it. I took the steps necessary to make it happen and am busting my butt and doing everything I am supposed to be doing. Second, I promise you the weight is NOT falling off of me. I am losing an average of 1-2 pounds each week. This week was Spring Break and I was just happy the scale didn't move in either direction. I am ok with 1-2 pounds per week, but that definitely is not falling anywhere (unless you count "the girls"...they've fallen and I'm not sure they will EVER get up). Finally, if I look great, just stop there. That way I can say "thank you" and we can both move on. I have finally started replying with "I don't really know, I've been avoiding the scale and just focusing on getting healthy." Thanks for bringing up this sore subject!

We share a bandiversary!!! I have lost a total of 57 pounds, but 9 of that was from August-November before my first consult, so only 48 of it has been surgery related. I hate to admit in writing (for fear of jinxing it) that I have been one of the lucky ones who have not needed a fill and everything has gone super simple for me. Sometimes I feel like I am cheating the system. I can pretty much eat what I want and have not had any stuck episodes or PBing. I THINK I recognize when I am satisfied and of course "what I want" is not the same as it was before being banded. For example, I chose a grilled chicken sandwich from Chick-Fil-A for lunch today, ate about 1/4-1/3 of it, then gave the rest to my husband. The (wheat) bread didn't bother me, but after that little bit, I was satisfied and done. I feel like I SHOULD need a fill, but I am afraid I would end up too tight and start having issues. I know what you mean about wanting to walk in and fit into whatever I choose. I carried the majority of my weight below the waist, so my pant sizes have dropped considerably (from a tight 20W to a loose 14), but I read about these people fitting into 4's and even into 0's and I just can't fathom it. People comment all the time about the weight having just "fallen off" and I am not sure how to take that. There were a couple of weeks that it dropped quickly, during my pre-op liquids phase and for a week or so after surgery, but it has been 1-2 pounds each week other than that. Sometimes I actually make it to 3, but this week it was only .6, so it averages out. Pretty much everybody at work knows about it (I teach) and have been extremely supportive, so I am very fortunate in that aspect. As a matter of fact, another teacher had it done a little over a month later (but had been trying to get insurance approval long before my consult...I was self-pay), and I have had 3 others get the name of my doctor. So far the best compliment I have received has been from my 18 yo daughter. Her graduation present is a mother-daughter cruise and she was perusing the various excursion options. She was getting excited about all the cool things available and said... "...and you know what the best part is, mom? A lot of these have a weight limit and you meet ALL of them now, so we can do whatever we want!" Isn't it funny how we think our weight only affects us and not those of us we care about? Well, VERY long rambling to your check-in. Sorry about that! It just seems like there are very few people out there that might actually UNDERSTAND my rant. Take care and keep in touch! Renee

Not on the list, but I think I'm gonna go with...DOOHICKEY!!! And yes, my DOOHICKEY was installed.

So, last night my neighbor, who I haven't seen since the day before sugery, comes by to visit with my husband. I saw this and decided to go out to say hello. He made a big deal about my weight loss by saying "who is THIS?!?!" Following along with the joke, I responded by saying I was his (my husband's) girlfriend. Without skipping a beat, my husband grabbed me in a hug and said "yeah, I got rid of the fat one." To others this may seem like he was being negative, but if you knew him you would know this DEFINITELY was not. He NEVER commented on my weight when I was well over 200 pounds. When I asked him if he was more attracted to me now that I have lost weight (in a separate conversation, of course), he had the perfect response. He said, "you know I love you the same no matter what you weigh, so nothing there has changed, but... I do think you are getting sexier". I love my husband...20 years and counting!!!

Just to let you know. I added my name to the Challenge, but changed my percentage to the percent of the goal that I have reached. This just makes it easier for me to stay motivated when I can say I have reached 20% of my current goal (aiming for 100% obviously), etc. If this is a problem or makes it confusing for anyone else, feel free to change it back.

I can't say that I can totally relate, but I do know that different people react in very different ways. My husband and I had a HUGE fight about whether or not to get the surgery several months beforehand. I had already been down that road once before, but insurance would not cover it. At that time, I scheduled an appointment to have it done in Mexico, but chickened out before surgery date. Fast forward 4 years...we had money left over in our Medical Spending Account that we would lose if we didn't use it by the end of the year and we over-allocated for the new year, so the money was there. I priced getting it done in Mexico and told my husband I wanted it done. I then had to listen to him tell me how "if I would just exercise more and eat less I wouldn't have a problem"...etc etc etc. I lost it with him and then did not mention it again. About a month later, he commented that if I was gonna get this done, I needed to get started so I could get it done before the end of the year. I don't know why he had a change of heart, but I didn't hesitate to take him up on it. Fortunately, I found a surgeon here in the states that would do it for the same price and was able to move quickly and I was banded on 12/16. Since then, he has been perfect. I think he just needed time to wrap his brain around it. He hasn't pushed one way or the other and comments about how I am "a cheap dinner date". I think he has been frustrated that I don't get excited about going out to eat anymore (too much to think about), but he has become more affectionate than he has been in years.