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Hi everyone :wave: Chim, glad you've finally got your first fill and it's working in your favor so far. YAY! :whoo: I got my second today. My doc told me at my first fill that it might take another one or two to find my sweet spot. I haven't been ravenously hungry, but I've been able to eat more than I should have and not lost any weight in two weeks. But the good news is I haven't gained either! So now I have 2.5cc in my 4cc band and am assured I'll definitely feel the restriction. I'm looking forward to it. There are times when I miss eating and sharing different foods with my family, but I sure don't miss the insatiable hunger and over-eating. I also managed another NSV this week. I went for a check-up with my GP for Insulin Resistance. I had blood drawn and tested for free testosterone and insulin levels. The results came back good! I'm doing better now than I've ever done on the medication I used to get those levels under control. So good in fact I'm NORMAL!!! It's been a good number of years since anyone's told me I'm normal. :confused:

It still amazes me that I can get in a size 12! I am pretty sure that the last time that I was a size 12 it was size 12mo when I was an baby:tongue:! I can't fit in all size 12s, but I can feel that the ones that I am wearing are starting to get a little looser. Maybe I can fit in all of them now, but a month ago I couldn't. It still is that dang top roll that is killing me. My brother's girlfriend gave me some of her old clothes that don't fit her any more as she is now a size 4, but the cut just isn't right for me. She gave me a pair of size 9 jeans, but they are so low waisted that my top roll sticks out like a sore thumb. The jeans fit and my BF liked what they did for my butt, however I don't think I could find a shirt that I would be comfortable wearing with them. Besides, I would have to get new underwear to wear with these. They are very low rise! I even fit into the pair of size 8s that she gave me, but again it is the top roll. I have got to find something that will take it away. I have not even contimplated plastic surgery as I just don't think that there is anyway that I would ever be able to afford it (especially until my surgery is paid off), but I don't know that this top roll is ever going to go away. Also, my breasts are getting really bad and I am only 28. I look alright when I am fully dressed, but naked :eek::eek: it is not a pretty sight. Janet - as for the food, you may be like I am right now where mornings are tough to eat anything and then you open up at night. I am still not where I would like to be optimally, but I am doing alright. I am getting to 1000 calories now so that is good for me. I have been battling a lot of head hunger this weekend but I think that was because I was sad. However, I did relatively well and when I went to the store specifically to get something for dessert...I got fresh melon instead of cheesecake which is what I really wanted. It turned out that the fruit was just as good and took care of my craving. Good NSV for me! Well we are on a 2 hour delay here so my lunch time has been way off, so I am completely out of whack! But I have to get my portfolio's together for my evaluation so I should probably get that done. Later!

NSV - went shopping last night for some cool weather clothes..Heading up NORTH, Rochester, NY for the weekend.. I amazed myself. I was able to buy a size "M" for my sweat pants... I can't remember the last time I could say that.. and a size "L" for my tops.. I have lots of trouble with my midsection and getting things to fit..too much excess skin. but thiis shopping trip was a big ego lift for me!!

Livin - Congrats on your NSV :biggrin:- Yes those compliments really do give your ego a boost and make you that more determine to get to goal... Hugs :thumbup: Janet Yea Blklab70 - it won't be much longer now. I will tell you I still remember the day I was approved - I wanted to yell it from the roof tops...

Hi Gang - just doing my morning catch up since i wasn't on the computer last night. Just want to share a NSV 3 miles in 1 hr last night. That's pretty good for a 52 fat couch potato who 2 wks ago could barely do 30 minutes :confused: Lynette - I tried the hip hop abs - but my dvd had terrible audio and my knees just couldn't do it - but agan i am twice your age. I lwanted a dance excerise so it didn't seem too much like work.. Laurend & Ruby - OMG - I am sorry that your parents were so forceful in making you eat things you didn't like. I guess i was lucky - there was only 1 thing my mom ever made that i didn't like (baked tomaote w/cheese) and she was drunk and was very instance that i eat it - i might have taken a bite but that was it. I have never force my son or grandkids to eat something thing they don't like - The 3 yr old is the only one who isn't picky - my son & grandson - meat & potatoes kinda guys no veggies. I really don't understand people who force other to eat things they don't like - we are all individuals and we eat have different taste. Anna - I too want to feed the world and ALWAYS over cook - last night was trying to make 2 portion of dinner ( 5 oz ground white turkey, onions, bell pepper, 1/2 small cabbage 5 tiny red potatoes - with some garlic & BAM Spices) weighed an measured every thing - but when i cooked it - it came out enought for 3 servings... Dini - Congrats on the small - size 12 usa clothes - I am starting to fit into some of my 14/16's. Lindaa - I feel your pain - all the gathings i go to have Food & alcohal. Caolin - Congrats :whoo: Jeanie - Sunny - Chim - Phyl - & all those i am missing - Have a great day - I gotta get to work... :nervous:rolleyes:rolleyes: - this site is just too addicting - i am not getting my work done:eek:..

Happy Sunday morning, all! Dorky one, I LOVE your new glasses. And your hair is so cute! With all the NSVs going on in your life, you must be feeling really good! I hear ya' with the out of state thing. I think it's only natural that, if we were seeing Dr. K. every month, we could ask him those things that come up in our minds. But since we're not, we end up with little and/or conflicting info from aftercare people. And the conflicting info is the worst! We should always follow what our doctors say, but which one should we follow? As you stated, though, that's kind of the price we pay for making the decision to go out of town, so thank heavens we do have this site!!! Denise, it really sounds like you need a little unfill. Do you take anything like prilosec on a regular basis? The guy I went to the other day highly recommends taking it every day to prevent "gastritis" problems down the road. Just a thought. You must have been so thrilled with the deals on the dresses! I LOVE a good bargain. Oh yes I do :thumbup: On a completely different note . . . DH and I have been having some wacky thoughts lately about retiring in 5 or 6 years, selling everything we own, and living in a motorhome. We could spend the summers on the Oregon coast (our favorite place on earth), spend more time with our grandbaby in northern california, get out of the cold in the winter, etc. Are we nuts? Any thoughts on this plan?

Hi Kidlings! I just got back from Safeway! I was starving! AND voila, they have their little peanut butter tasting area AND I remembered that I can eat Peanut Butter on the Plateau Buster diet! So I did! It hit the spot! Mal: Good girl! You did great yesterday! I know you had a hard time after returning from the gym, but you were victorious! That is what you need to focus on! You got through the first day! BRAVO! I promise it gets easier! I can't believe you missed your One year Bandiversary! Happy Bandiversary Ms Mal! Congrats on completing your first year! You look wonderful and I know you have been granted a whole bunch of NSV's! Michelle: Hey, Lovergirl! I missed you at RR this last time! It's not the same without you! My daughter and I are going to Seattle so I might PM you and you can tell me where I should avoid getting a hotel! It's so hard when you make reservations online, you never know where you'll end up! I remember staying in Flagstaff one summer, our hotel was practically on the railroad tracks! What a nightmare! We couldn't get an hour of sleep! Toot Toot!!! I'm so glad to hear things are going well with the man in your life! Minidriver: You can be sappy all you want! I know I appreciate everyone here! They are very sincere and very caring! Good people! BTW, we're glad you found us and Dr. K! Be careful on the bench - Shelbi can't keep her hands to herself! She's totally out of control with the poking and pinching! I think she needs to go to the Naughty Chair! (you know, I love you Shelbi!) Sidann: Don't worry about the scale right now. I gained after surgery from all the fluid in my IV's -- then I didn't lose for a while. I looked at my excel spreadsheet the other day and saw how I went up and up during that time. All in all the trend started downward around the 3rd week -- then when I started solids it went up again before heading back down. It's a time to heal! Don't work out too hard on your bike yet, Dr. K told me 3 weeks to let my body heal before I could ride my bike. Well, gotta go Ladies! (I'm not referring to JT anymore, since he NEVER comes here! Brat Boy!):cursing: Be good! dee~

Denise - It's so hard to dress our age :thumbup: some stuff is too young - some stuff too old but with the weight loss we still want to look cute. I tend to dress really classic traditional - assessorising(sp) I have a nice gold & diamond heart necklace that I were 24/7 and my earrings (3 holes 2 have diamonds and I wear gold hoops in the bottom) and I wear a tennis bracelet & gold rope like bracelet - but here is the non traditional side I have my nose pierced and wear a little diamond and a sun tattoo on my ankle :lol:- but I won't wear legging and a long top - i just think it's too young for a 53 yr Cathy I LOVE absolutely LOVE being able to cross my legs - i do it 24/7 now - that was the BEST NSV I'm 5'4 and my pants were 18's - tops 22/24 (hate tight clothes - well that has changed too - I no longer have the rolls of back fat) - the smallest I had in my closet was 14's - now I have 10's 1 pair of 8's and even a 6 (total fluke but they say 6 so i bought them) Truly I am a solid 10 in pants - Large tops - I am very aware of the bra fat...

Lap - that's exciting! I'm actually looking forward to getting the pannus ripped off me (and some days I'm ready to take a knife to it myself - that might MAKE insurance pay for it! Gross, I know, thats why I haven't done it...that and I'm not crazy!) Good luck! A couple of weeks ago I had a major NSV that I don't think I wrote about, but wanted to. Anita and I have a total aversion to excercise so it's a pretty big deal when I even head outside at all! Well, I got myself a new bike, hooked up the kid trailer and set out for town. (It just happened to be the ONE nice day since.) I planned with a friend to meet "in town" at a park and our girls would play. I was VERY apprehensive because there's a BIG hill on the way into town and then once I got there...would I be able to come back? Well, I decided that if I had to I'd just walk my bike up the hill and call my husband to come get us if I just couldn't get back....so there were no excuses. Turns out I didn't need my back-up plans a all! It was about a 3 mile ride each way with several hills, but I made it and wasn't even a little pooped when we got home! My daughter had a great time too! This is big... My husband FINALLY made an unsolicited comment on how good I looked today. And that was after the Chief of Police told me I was lookin' good! So now I have both bosses of public safety telling me I'm hot....I can get away with anything! Right?

Oh! I almost forgot to tell you gals, I had my first NSV the other night when I floated to SICU at the other hospital. One of the nurses that hadn't seen me in awhile walked into the unit and said "Oh my God, you have lost so much weight!" Hey, I've only lost 20 pounds, but it sure did make me feel good that people that don't know I was banded have started to notice!:tt1:

NSV - my underwear are getting too big.

Hey there Bandsters, hope everyone is good and having a Great New Year!! I know I have been MIA for a while. Took some time off of work and just been enjoying the home life. Back to the grind now. Got on the scale this morning and after two weeks it finally moved 4 lbs. YAY ME!! Got a NSV, my 8's are getting too big...lol...that was funny just to type it. Could I be going into a 6? Just blows my mind. Down 50 pounds in 5 months. WOW!!! Made a new years resolution to start going to the gym at least 3x's a week. I have had a membership just always able to make an excuses of why I cant go. Not this time. Exercise starts now...I have lost 50lbs without exercising, i can only imagine how much would be gone if I had been doing what I was suppose to. Only 14 lbs till my goal of 135...

Chim and Jackie - those are great NSV!!! All my clothes are big and stretchy to begin with, so I have not had any of those yet....but look forward to being able to fit the sizes you are talking about!!! AND YES, it's the LAST FAT SUMMER of our lives!!!!

Hey, Guys! I've been having a lot of fun reading the new posts. How neat are the NSV? How about not having to take a ton of ibuprofen/aleve just so your knees/feet don't hurt too much to function? Or... Taking your blood pressure in a Target/Walmart and its normal??? I have lots...but anyhow! Did you all see the weather forecast for tomorrow??? CRAP! Not sure I'll be present for the RR.... I've only missed one....{sniff, sniff} But, after last months trip home, I think I'll listen to the forecast. Of course, things can change quickly here, so who knows until tomorrow. Have a great night all!

So I have decided that my fill is still too tight. We have been told that we are supposed to finish our meal in 20-30 minutes. But in order for me to get in everything that I am supposed to it is taking me at least an hour to eat because everything under the sun is getting stuck! I got stuck on YOGURT this morning. How in the world does that happen? Then trying to get in my high fiber cereal took about an hour and I did have that much. GRRRRRRR... My snack went down alright, but here I sit trying to eat my quiche for lunch and I feel like I am swallowing an elephant. I am really hoping that it loosens up soon because I don't have very many sick days and I need to save them in case something really comes up. Right now it is just an inconvenience. Nicole - Vegas can be fun, I just didn't like living there. We were supposed to go down there for vacation at the end of the school year but with the upcoming tummy tuck and my soon to be hubby taking 2 months off of work to take care of me we just aren't going to make it. I would really like to go back as a visitor. It really can't be as bad as I remember it! Ruby - That is one of the very few things I like about where we live - no allergies. There is nothing growing over here to be allergic to. But I guess if it takes sneezes to resist the cookies, I am glad you have allergies:tt2:! Jackie - nice job on the cheese cake. My DF and I bought 2 small slices of cheesecake the other night but I only ate 3 or 4 bites cause I didn't really like it. before I would have eaten it anyways but now it just isn't worth it. Huge NSV for me! Peaches - Thanks for the tip on the spag squash. The same thing happened to me that happened to Janet...it was too crunchy! As for a new fill, YIKES I would think that would hurt! That is why I am going to have my fill almost totally removed before my TT because I don't want to end up too tight and have them sticking that big ol' needle in my belly when I am sore. Chim - I sometimes wish that I had gotten a personal trainer. I think right now...what is the point, but maybe after I heal from the TT and am ready to focus on sculpting that I might need to. Janet - Hope your day is going well. You are right about hating being the fat chick. I have always been incredibly shy and refused to talk in front of people unless I KNEW exactly what I was going to say. I could give a presentation or a lecture because I had prepared it but just joining in on a discussion or group participation I refused to do because I always figured if I said something that wasn't right that they would think I was stupid AND fat. At least if I kept my mouth shut they would just think I was fat. Not much self esteem. I am happy to report that I am starting to have some self esteem and confidence. It is an odd feeling as I have never had it my entire life. Well I have copies to make and activities to prepare for tomorrow so I had best get busy. I would like to NOT have to come in at 5AM tomorrow. I miss my sleep during spring break!

Back from vacay (where 90% of my intake consisted of over easy eggs and alcohol) and i finally get to enjoy a decent bowl of food: Smoked salmon, seaweed salad, horseradish aioli and a bit of Gorgonzola. #yum 320 calories, ate it all. P.S. I’ve always disliked the food served at All-Inclusive resorts down south, so I had very low expectations, which were met, lol. I actually packed 3 bags of those salad kits from Costco (to deal with my salad addiction), which were total life-savers! P.S.S Side-note NSV…i am the same weight I was when I left…BUT I haven’t pooped yet so i’m gonna guess once I get these 12 days 😳 of food out of my intestines, i may drop a few pounds. P.S.S.S I asked Mr. to make me a steak tonight cuz i miss meaty meat 🥩🤤