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I agree with carol....I have been fat and thin and let me tell you EVERYONE is your friend when you are thin. Not only is everyone your friend but you are NOT invisible... when you are thin people make eye contact, smile at you and generally engage with you. I have noticed since gaining weight 7-8 years ago that I slowly became "The Invisible Woman"....ignored by most people from shop assistants to parents at my children's school. I have even "lost" friends over the last few years due to my weight gain. I know I have to take some responsibility for these failed friendships (due to declining invitations to go out, becomming a bit of a recluse at times because I was embarrassed or felt uncomfortable with my size) but let's face it.... it's difficult to completely participate in life when you are morbidly obese. veggestyle.....I believe that as we shed our pounds we will also shed our insecurities....and that is what will draw people to us.

Hi All, Mandy... Your daughter will be in my prayers... I hope the medication changes will help with the weight gain. She is very lucky to have such a loving and caring Mom. :eek: Dianne... So glad that Lucy has got her groove back! (((hugs))) Beanie... So glad you had a fun vacation and don't worry about the gain... that is what vacation is all about! Anne... Hope you had fun running errands and hope I follow through with the plan to workout... I feel like a big bump on a log! Kat... I bet you are going to be able to buy a sporty little t-shirt at the next rally... won't that be awesome??/!!! Patty... Hope you enjoyed your last day of freedom! You have cyber exercise buddies... right here. Eileen... Glad you are here... don't be askeered... we'll protect you from the evil hacker...even if LBT seemingly seems unconcerned. I make this assumption as there have been zero announcements about any of the ruckus. Cindy...LOL... one of these days you are going to forget to cover us up on your computer screen...lol I think the make-up thingy party would be fun... as long as I don't have to do it....hehehehehe. Allison... It sounds like you all had a great time with the party...so glad! I'm not much of a party gal... when my DD had her B-Day party with 8 young teenage girls I thought I would need a rubber room by the time they went home... OH THE DRAMA. (((hugs)))

Green I hear you about the history of depression and yet have little to feel depressed about. Interesting times we live in huh? i mean so many popel on depression meds. What is going on? Cloe do not wean yourself from Effexor it can be hell, do it as your doc tells you so you don't have a hard time of it okay? I don't know is it our weight that contibutes to or is thecause of our depression or a side effect of being depressed is the weight gain? I mean look at me now, banded, liek I am taking care of this busness and still stuffing my face, although I can't get in half of what i used to, even before the restriction, but I have messed up already so many times. I am now on pureed but sick of that so I am eating normally sort of. Anyway correlation definetly between the wirght and depression although i like the depression with the losing weight issues others have. I could've used that for a year or two. Anyway I am stil goign to try and get to the gym today bt I ahve to take my Newf sophie to the vet and I have a feeling it might be time to put her down.

Green Have you tried to switch from risperdal to geodon? it works basically the same without the weight gain. My son gained 120 lbs in less then 1 yr on risperdal we took him off of that and put him on geodon and topomax and the weight came off and he had wonderful control. Have seen terrific control with other patients as well. Just a suggestion for you and that may help you to get rid of more weight and keep your psych issues under control.

I think carbonation varies from person to person. For me, I feel no pain at all and I enjoy a nice cold beer fromt time to time :welldoneclap:. That being said, there are a lot of calories in alcohol so make sure you compensate for them in your calories for the day by cutting back or exercising more to keep from weight gain. I have lost over 70 lbs in the past 6 mos and have had alcohol in my life since the get go and do not plan on giving it up any time soon (I am only 25...) but it really is inidvidual. I have a friend that absolutely cannot stand carbonation, she says it causes intense pain. IMHO anything that causes pain you should avoid but for me there is none so I sip sip sip and i am fine. ~Liz~ 03/10/06 241/168/160 5'7''

I have decided that tomorrow I will start weight watchers. I need something since I no longer have my band. I have been doingthis on my own since November and have had minimal weight gain (4lbs) but it is getting harder and harder everyday. I need someone to be accountable to other then myself, the weekly weigh in with your counselor really work for me. Even if I never go to a WW meeting but I follow the "Points" diet and go every week to weigh in I feel it will benefit me 100%. I refuse to gasin this weight back. I just need something to motivate me. I havenever done WW before but have tired al lthe others before ( Jenny Craig, NutriSystem etc...) For $12.00 a week to me it is worth it to have the accountability, plus there are severa lgirls at my work who are going to join also, we are going to have a little contest . I love a contest. :welldoneclap: Also my brother lost over 100 lbs with a different weight loss program (optifast) and has put every lb back on and thenb some so I want to support him since he wil lbe joining WW with me ( we live together) Wish me luck, I will check back in this thread weekly

I don't know what happened, but I stopped getting messages, and had to hunt around for you guys again! My surgery was August 10. I lost 20 pounds prior to surgery, and have lost another 19, so I am almost down 40 pounds. I am eating normal food now, and will have my first fill on the 21st. My hunger returned last week, so I can't wait until that fill. I had one episode of overeating (Benihana, and I didn't touch the rice and barely touched my entree) but I managed to keep it down. I notice that when I eat normally, I have a four-pound overnight weight gain, that goes away within the next day or so. Who knows what is going on inside. :confused:Anyway, this weekend was tough, because it was my daughter's birthday (therefore, Benihana) and we had a barbeque with food around all day. I didn't think that I ate that much, and last night all I had for dinner was half an ear of corn, a tiny sweet potato and some grilled veggies. Got on the scare this morning, was up four pounds - got on the scale this afternoon and I was up another two pounds! BUT, my clothes are getting too big! Of course, I had a lot of things that were too tight to begin with, and fit perfectly now, but some are just TOO BIG. Hooray! Eileen <a href="http://www.TickerFactory.com/"> <img border="0" src="http://tickers.TickerFactory.com/ezt/d/3;10732;125;0;1/c/206/t/150/s/243/k/ddda/weight.png"></a>

I am on a cocktail of meds for major depression as well. It's actually a very common approach to treating depression. I take effexor, remeron and seroquel. It played a huge part in my weight gain. Kimmason - what area of psych do you work in? I have an MA in counselling psychology, but unfortunately with my depression am unable to work and have been on disability for a few years.

woo three different meds for depression..holy crow. what are they? I have worked in psych, and thats alot. Do you have adual diagnosis maybe? I knwo things liek Zyprexa ( Olanzapine) but etc have huge correlations with weight gain and even diabetes. Chances are you are not taking that med. But I am concerned and I do not want the weight gain and therefore am on wellbutrin.

Kimmason, I am 3 different drugs for depression at the moment, it used to be 4, and yep, they really help with weight gain!!!!

Exercise Routine & Weight Training Ok, I made up my routine however I did use a Personal trainer to get me aquainted with the circuit machines. My P.T. reviewed proper stance, movement and isolation using free weights. Please feel free to copy and paste my workouts and use them for yourself. Get a very supportive sportsbra, I would get mine a size smaller than I normally wore b/c it held me together better. Try to get 4 of them, that way there are enough to have for a 4 day per week workout. I have 6. Get a sweat jacket if you can. I used to wear the sauna suits to drop water weight and inches but it got to be too costly as I wrecked those suits every week. I use a sweater or sweat jacket and it works great. Keeps the heat in as I run and workout. Heat also allows your muscles to be less tense and more relaxed, so in other words, it will loosen up your muscles. After I run, I tend to get really cold so it keeps me warm. Just think about boxers in training. They wear sweat jackets, with their hoodies on. :cool: Weight training is great for you, toning your muscles and tightening your skin as you lose weight, however your weight will stall a bit during weight training. You will be building muscle hence speeding up your metabolism, causing you to be hungrier, more often. That's why I eat 6 times per day. I weight train 3x's per week. Word of advice - if you just want to tone and not bulk up then go with bigger repetitions and lower weights. If you want to bulk up and build muscle then up your weights heaviness and lower the repetition. The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn. Muscle burns more calories than fat. Food Choices & Food Portions Try to drink 64fl oz to 128 fl oz (1 gallon) per day. This will keep you hydrated and keep your system clean. Stay away from sugar and flour products. I stay away from pasta as well. Eat tuna if you can. It's packed with protein and very low in fat, abvout 1.5g of fat for 3oz. Albacore is the best. Salmon is high in protein and has good fats such as Omega 3's. Lean Chicken or any kind of Lean meats. I eat alot of Spinich leaves. It is high in iron, folic acid and full of nutrients, not like your iceberg lettuce. Iceberg is all water. I will also mix the Spinich greens with a bag of garden salad mix. I use fresh lime juice as dressing or I will use Asian Sesame or Mikoto dressing. I stay away from Italian, Thousand Island, French, Ranch, etc. They are very high in fat. Try to stay within whatever your nutritionist layed out for you with regards to caloric intake. If she said to stay around 1,000 calories then darnit, you better start counting. Calorie counting is a chore but it works. If you take in too few calories, you will lose weight BUT your body will go into "starvation mode". We don't want that. Starvation mode kills your metabolism and will allow you to survive and maintain at that calorie count. However, you will ruin your metabolism and if you started to take in more calories because you are hungrier then ..uh oh. Weight gain with a slower metabolism. Don't go under the recommended amount. If you are stalling on weight loss and you are taking in 1,000 calories.... crank up your exercise. You will exert the weight off in a healthy way. If you are running marathons or biking, jogging and lifting weights in the same day then you will need to up your caloric intake to over 2k calories. You need to understand that in order to drive yourself to these extremes, you have to fuel your body. If you are banded and are filled then you should be able to feel restriction and will know when to stop eating. However, the purpose of the band is to help remind you when to stop. You should be aware of portion size as well as be aware of how much you are eating on your own. You should pay attention to how much you are eating and stop yourself before the band does. I mean, we all know when enough is enough right? I got here b/c I had a bottomless pit I think, but I ate good foods, I just didn't know when to stop. I kept eating and eating and stopped exercising. So review time: Water - Drink lots of water Food Choices - Eat good, wholesome foods with alot of nutrients and low in fat, low in carbs. Complex carbs are better for you. Complex Carbs - potatoes, pasta, grains, beans, etc. Also may want to invest in some protein shakes. Isopure, Spiru-tein, Myoplex are good protein shakes to check out. Try to replace at least 1 meal a day with a shake. Cardio - Put in 45min - 1 hour of cardio per day for 5 - 6 days per week (if you can). Weight train at will but alternate muscle groups. Never work the same muscle groups 2 days in a row. It will do more harm than help you. (If you lift weights in a muscle group, you will create small tears in your muscles. This helps to build muscles as they heal. However if you go and weight train the same muscle groups the next day you will hurt that muscle and possibly damage it due to too much work and stress on it. Give it a day or so to recooperate). Portion Control - Know when you feel satisfied or pay atten to the band. Do not try to pouch pack. Vitamins - Take a multivitamin. I take GNC's Nature something..I forget it's a women's multivitamin. I also take biotin for hair, skin and nails and my hair is growing back after some recent hair loss. My skin is very clear, even glows and my nails are stronger than ever. I hope this helps a little.

Exercise Routine & Weight Training Ok, I made up my routine however I did use a Personal trainer to get me aquainted with the circuit machines. My P.T. reviewed proper stance, movement and isolation using free weights. Please feel free to copy and paste my workouts and use them for yourself. Get a very supportive sportsbra, I would get mine a size smaller than I normally wore b/c it held me together better. Try to get 4 of them, that way there are enough to have for a 4 day per week workout. I have 6. Get a sweat jacket if you can. I used to wear the sauna suits to drop water weight and inches but it got to be too costly as I wrecked those suits every week. I use a sweater or sweat jacket and it works great. Keeps the heat in as I run and workout. Heat also allows your muscles to be less tense and more relaxed, so in other words, it will loosen up your muscles. After I run, I tend to get really cold so it keeps me warm. Just think about boxers in training. They wear sweat jackets, with their hoodies on. Weight training is great for you, toning your muscles and tightening your skin as you lose weight, however your weight will stall a bit during weight training. You will be building muscle hence speeding up your metabolism, causing you to be hungrier, more often. That's why I eat 6 times per day. I weight train 3x's per week. Word of advice - if you just want to tone and not bulk up then go with bigger repetitions and lower weights. If you want to bulk up and build muscle then up your weights heaviness and lower the repetition. The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn. Muscle burns more calories than fat. Food Choices & Food Portions Try to drink 64fl oz to 128 fl oz (1 gallon) per day. This will keep you hydrated and keep your system clean. Stay away from sugar and flour products. I stay away from pasta as well. Eat tuna if you can. It's packed with protein and very low in fat, abvout 1.5g of fat for 3oz. Albacore is the best. Salmon is high in protein and has good fats such as Omega 3's. Lean Chicken or any kind of Lean meats. I eat alot of Spinich leaves. It is high in iron, folic acid and full of nutrients, not like your iceberg lettuce. Iceberg is all water. I will also mix the Spinich greens with a bag of garden salad mix. I use fresh lime juice as dressing or I will use Asian Sesame or Mikoto dressing. I stay away from Italian, Thousand Island, French, Ranch, etc. They are very high in fat. Try to stay within whatever your nutritionist layed out for you with regards to caloric intake. If she said to stay around 1,000 calories then darnit, you better start counting. Calorie counting is a chore but it works. If you take in too few calories, you will lose weight BUT your body will go into "starvation mode". We don't want that. Starvation mode kills your metabolism and will allow you to survive and maintain at that calorie count. However, you will ruin your metabolism and if you started to take in more calories because you are hungrier then ..uh oh. Weight gain with a slower metabolism. Don't go under the recommended amount. If you are stalling on weight loss and you are taking in 1,000 calories.... crank up your exercise. You will exert the weight off in a healthy way. If you are running marathons or biking, jogging and lifting weights in the same day then you will need to up your caloric intake to over 2k calories. You need to understand that in order to drive yourself to these extremes, you have to fuel your body. If you are banded and are filled then you should be able to feel restriction and will know when to stop eating. However, the purpose of the band is to help remind you when to stop. You should be aware of portion size as well as be aware of how much you are eating on your own. You should pay attention to how much you are eating and stop yourself before the band does. I mean, we all know when enough is enough right? I got here b/c I had a bottomless pit I think, but I ate good foods, I just didn't know when to stop. I kept eating and eating and stopped exercising. So review time: Water - Drink lots of water Food Choices - Eat good, wholesome foods with alot of nutrients and low in fat, low in carbs. Complex carbs are better for you. Complex Carbs - potatoes, pasta, grains, beans, etc. Also may want to invest in some protein shakes. Isopure, Spiru-tein, Myoplex are good protein shakes to check out. Try to replace at least 1 meal a day with a shake. Cardio - Put in 45min - 1 hour of cardio per day for 5 - 6 days per week (if you can). Weight train at will but alternate muscle groups. Never work the same muscle groups 2 days in a row. It will do more harm than help you. (If you lift weights in a muscle group, you will create small tears in your muscles. This helps to build muscles as they heal. However if you go and weight train the same muscle groups the next day you will hurt that muscle and possibly damage it due to too much work and stress on it. Give it a day or so to recooperate). Portion Control - Know when you feel satisfied or pay atten to the band. Do not try to pouch pack. Vitamins - Take a multivitamin. I take GNC's Nature something..I forget it's a women's multivitamin. I also take biotin for hair, skin and nails and my hair is growing back after some recent hair loss. My skin is very clear, even glows and my nails are stronger than ever. I hope this helps a little.

Well thank you Kato. I'm happy to help where I'm not causing trouble:guess Ok I am not a personal trainer, nutritionist or a doctor, but I have done all that I am about to post and it is working for me. I've had lab work done and all of my labs came back negative for everything. I am very healthy. So here's what I've been doing. Forgive me if I seem a bit scatter brained. Exercise Routine & Weight Training Ok, I made up my routine however I did use a Personal trainer to get me aquainted with the circuit machines. My P.T. reviewed proper stance, movement and isolation using free weights. Please feel free to copy and paste my workouts and use them for yourself. Get a very supportive sportsbra, I would get mine a size smaller than I normally wore b/c it held me together better. Try to get 4 of them, that way there are enough to have for a 4 day per week workout. I have 6. Get a sweat jacket if you can. I used to wear the sauna suits to drop water weight and inches but it got to be too costly as I wrecked those suits every week. I use a sweater or sweat jacket and it works great. Keeps the heat in as I run and workout. Heat also allows your muscles to be less tense and more relaxed, so in other words, it will loosen up your muscles. After I run, I tend to get really cold so it keeps me warm. Just think about boxers in training. They wear sweat jackets, with their hoodies on. Weight training is great for you, toning your muscles and tightening your skin as you lose weight, however your weight will stall a bit during weight training. You will be building muscle hence speeding up your metabolism, causing you to be hungrier, more often. That's why I eat 6 times per day. I weight train 3x's per week. Word of advice - if you just want to tone and not bulk up then go with bigger repetitions and lower weights. If you want to bulk up and build muscle then up your weights heaviness and lower the repetition. The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn. Muscle burns more calories than fat. Food Choices & Food Portions Try to drink 64fl oz to 128 fl oz (1 gallon) per day. This will keep you hydrated and keep your system clean. Stay away from sugar and flour products. I stay away from pasta as well. Eat tuna if you can. It's packed with protein and very low in fat, abvout 1.5g of fat for 3oz. Albacore is the best. Salmon is high in protein and has good fats such as Omega 3's. Lean Chicken or any kind of Lean meats. I eat alot of Spinich leaves. It is high in iron, folic acid and full of nutrients, not like your iceberg lettuce. Iceberg is all water. I will also mix the Spinich greens with a bag of garden salad mix. I use fresh lime juice as dressing or I will use Asian Sesame or Mikoto dressing. I stay away from Italian, Thousand Island, French, Ranch, etc. They are very high in fat. Try to stay within whatever your nutritionist layed out for you with regards to caloric intake. If she said to stay around 1,000 calories then darnit, you better start counting. Calorie counting is a chore but it works. If you take in too few calories, you will lose weight BUT your body will go into "starvation mode". We don't want that. Starvation mode kills your metabolism and will allow you to survive and maintain at that calorie count. However, you will ruin your metabolism and if you started to take in more calories because you are hungrier then ..uh oh. Weight gain with a slower metabolism. Don't go under the recommended amount. If you are stalling on weight loss and you are taking in 1,000 calories.... crank up your exercise. You will exert the weight off in a healthy way. If you are running marathons or biking, jogging and lifting weights in the same day then you will need to up your caloric intake to over 2k calories. You need to understand that in order to drive yourself to these extremes, you have to fuel your body. If you are banded and are filled then you should be able to feel restriction and will know when to stop eating. However, the purpose of the band is to help remind you when to stop. You should be aware of portion size as well as be aware of how much you are eating on your own. You should pay attention to how much you are eating and stop yourself before the band does. I mean, we all know when enough is enough right? I got here b/c I had a bottomless pit I think, but I ate good foods, I just didn't know when to stop. I kept eating and eating and stopped exercising. So review time: Water - Drink lots of water Food Choices - Eat good, wholesome foods with alot of nutrients and low in fat, low in carbs. Complex carbs are better for you. Complex Carbs - potatoes, pasta, grains, beans, etc. Also may want to invest in some protein shakes. Isopure, Spiru-tein, Myoplex are good protein shakes to check out. Try to replace at least 1 meal a day with a shake. Cardio - Put in 45min - 1 hour of cardio per day for 5 - 6 days per week (if you can). Weight train at will but alternate muscle groups. Never work the same muscle groups 2 days in a row. It will do more harm than help you. (If you lift weights in a muscle group, you will create small tears in your muscles. This helps to build muscles as they heal. However if you go and weight train the same muscle groups the next day you will hurt that muscle and possibly damage it due to too much work and stress on it. Give it a day or so to recooperate). Portion Control - Know when you feel satisfied or pay atten to the band. Do not try to pouch pack. Vitamins - Take a multivitamin. I take GNC's Nature something..I forget it's a women's multivitamin. I also take biotin for hair, skin and nails and my hair is growing back after some recent hair loss. My skin is very clear, even glows and my nails are stronger than ever. I hope this helps a little.

I am with Marimu. I weight every day. (Don't have the self-control to stop! LOL) My weight fluctuates up to 5 pounds at different times of the day. I have also decided that it only counts toward my ticker if it is down on Sunday. Somehow, that helps. Oh yes, and I have noticed a pattern where I lose a bunch of weight, gain 2 back and then lose it again quickly.

Hi again Jack, I agree with you completely. I too have an interest in the psycology of weight gain & loss however I wonder if it's not a bit 'too much too soon 'for a lot of bandsters. I know myself that I am just so greatfull to have the band and it's finally working. Maybe down the track, if I'm no longer happy with my progress, I'll look at it more closely but right now I feel like I've won the lotto.

C 261.0/ CB MI 44.6 +1 (-118.9 lbs total) This is what I get for bragging on a other thread yesterday about no weight gain in 6 months! No more vacations!! I'll lose it next week.

Oh how I love to talk about the band! 3Loves (Michelle) congrats on the fill and 6 lbs that is great! Drewslove. Sorry to hear about leaky port. Hope they find it not leaking! it would be hard to have to go back in again. An aaamom Good luck with the PS. I know I will be head there too. I have great Bat wings! on my arms, elephant ears! on my thighs, and a tummy flap that could take out a person should It hit them. But with all this, I have never been happier in my life than I am now! I have had great success with the band. This past few days I have had a few PB's but I think its me and eating to fast. Need to slow down and focus on what I'm doing. AND my water! have had a hard time the past few weeks to get it in. But I will do it. I have been very lucky that since March 2006 I have not had a weight gain. I had one week of holding the same, which is OK, but I can't believe I could of done this! In the past maybe 12 weeks into a diet and I would give up! NOT now! I hope others are enjoying theirs as much as I am. I love the band! :mad:

GE Mom, you are ok. You are building up matter in your colon. DONT go back to liquids because you think you are gaining weight. Please make sure you are getting in your water and your protien. If you are, you will be ok. As far as the port hurting. Where is it? Mine is at my bra line and I layed on my stomach last night and its hurting me now. Think of the last 24 hrs and think if you turned the wrong way or bumped it. The port and the weight gain shouldnt have anything to dowith each other.

Edie, thanks for your message. I don't think I am trying to hurt myself. Why do I eat or anyone here who go to this place? I dunno, But all I know is that I have eaten for celebrations, grief, just about everything and even numbness and continued well after i wasn't hungry. I am seeing a shrink right now as I know I needed help with the eating thing and it was she who suggested the lapband, I didn't know anything about it before. AS far as why I eat....I still do not know or how I got here. I have taken wellbutrin and as you know many antidepressants have side effects that are worse than what they are for and the one big one is weight gain, so I had little alternative. Thankyou for your concern. This has been hard for me...I have stumbled and fell a few times and this is the only place I feel safe and accepted to discuss my fears and hopefully success. I am inspired by the many folks here who are there for each other and me too, so I tell all, and do not worry about judgement and that alone is very freeing. I must say I had a non weight victory today if that is what they call it. This was the first day I actually did some excercise and was able to do half an hour on my tread mill. I may not have been able to get with it in the aug challenge that Cloe started but hopefully I can get with it for Sept. I thank you for your care and concern.:hug: Kim

I have to agree with the rest of you, also caloric intake is also important, it may be a small amount of something but if it is loaded with calories like chips could be another reason for the weight gain.

I have the VG 10 cc band. Just had 2nd fill and has slight restriction for about a week then it went away...going again on the 7th for another one. My Dr. refuses to give me any kind of aggresive fills. He says the more agressive the fill the more likely it is to slip from his experience. The last time I went he said he didn't pull barely any Fluid out from the 1st fill and I might have a leak!?! He said the original Dr. who put it in (Dr. Joya) may have punctured the band if I did have a leak. However, Dr. Joya's people are saying that would be impossible since they test everything during and after surgery to make sure the product is not defective and nothing is leaking out. They are saying that since my Dr. does not use fluro (Dr. Billy) that perhaps HE put a hole in the band if there is one. I am so confused...At $175 a pop I am wondering if I should just go to Puerto Vallarta for a fill under fluro since they are free for life? However, I want to believe my Dr. because everyone says he is so good and he certainly seems to be very educated and well liked and spends plenty of time talking to me when I go in....I also love that he is in the US and only 10 minutes from my home. I'm also very luck that he will take patients from Mexico. Any suggestions? I am so discouraged because I'm gaining back original weight I lost and I think I am only down about 10 lbs now since surgery back in June with the recent weight gain! Oh, I do exercise 3 + days a week at Curves and log everything I eat at fitday.com and I'm averaging about 900 - 1300 calories a day. I drink a ton of Water and my fit day calculations I am burning about 2000 calories more a day then I am taking in. I guess I need a fill to take my calorie intake anymore. Oh and no I am not losing inches either.

I set my goal based on how I looked before the weight gain. 135lbs is reasonable for me but if I really want to be extremely fit with like 4% body fat on my big boned, short height, 125lbs is good.

WOW T thanks I've never heard of Seasonale. what about Weight gain with the pill? I will talk to my doctor SOON about this. My PCP mentioned medirean(?) maybe it's meridian, andyway it kind of scared me. Thanks for the info I will look into to further. We all need to post our pictures on our anniversaries coming up on this thread, don't you think!!

Thanks for answering so quickly! You are the very first person to respond to my very first day as a lapband talk member! It does seem frustrating to gain weight in order to lose it...by the lapband. According to the insurance, I do need to weigh more or have more serious problems. The main reason I want the lapband is after 15+ years of weight loss that is always followed by (more) weight gain, I'm just tired of it! I can go on one more diet, I just can't go on 100 more diets! Thanks again. Winner

Fills are done based on the individual's experience with the band. If your weight loss has slowed, you feel little to no restriction, and you can eat solids with no problem in good sized portions, you're due for a fill. Some people "like" to be overfilled thinking it will make the weight loss faster. In effect, NOT being able to eat solids usually results in weight gain. As for the place, I would go where they are the best priced as long as they have a proven track record.