As you lose weight what are you looking forward to??

[emmas mom 4]

I really want to see my face defined if that makes sense lol

I want to be able to feel comfortable in my own skin to physically see a difference!

YES! I can definately relate to that! I want to smile in photo's and not have a full face and double chin and my side profile needs help! LOL!

[Ren<3 11]

omg emma lol my whole life I've had chubby cheeks && a full face I completely know what you mean by a side view not yet sleeved waiting for insurance to approve me then I'll get my date I've been going through this long pre surgery journey since September 2010!!! awhole year im so ready goodbye 230's lol goodluck to you on your journey<3

YES! I can definately relate to that! I want to smile in photo's and not have a full face and double chin and my side profile needs help! LOL!

[emmas mom 4]

omg emma lol my whole life I've had chubby cheeks && a full face I completely know what you mean by a side view not yet sleeved waiting for insurance to approve me then I'll get my date I've been going through this long pre surgery journey since September 2010!!! awhole year im so ready goodbye 230's lol goodluck to you on your journey<3

Wow Ren! a whole year! Thats so long! What is the insurance company waiting for? I have been sleeved 5 weeks now and I feel great! I think I am adjusting well! The weight loss is slow but steady! I wish you lots of luck on getting approved! It will definately be worth it! Good luck!

[minniekitty 44]

I look forward to:

-Actually enjoying getting my picture taken, and not having to "check" the picture right after it's taken to make sure I don't look like a fat blob. To tie into that, also not feeling awful and embarrassed when someone tags my picture on Facebook.< /p>

-Not feeling like I'm being watched while eating.

-Being hit on by guys MY OWN AGE. I get hit on by mostly older guys (I guess they're into fat young chicks?) and it creeps me out

-Not worrying about weight limits and fitting into an amusement park ride. I can just *barely* fit into them.

-Fitting comfortably in an airplane seat. I am not at the point of seatbelt extenders, but on my plane ride to San Diego for my surgery with Dr. Aceves I was very uncomfortable. I felt guilty for spilling into the other person's seat next to me so I leaned over to the side the whole trip and kept my arms crossed. I want to be able to relax!

-Buying ALL my clothes in the Misses department and normal stores! I can fit into XL's in the "normal" section, but am mostly banished to the Plus Size/Women's clothes for my pants. At my heaviest, I fit into the size 14/16 shirts at Lane Bryant without them sagging on me. I didn't like that.

-Going out and being the social butterfly I was meant to be! I've been obese since I was 10, and I strongly feel that messed up my adolescence when I was supposed to be learning to be a more independent and social person. I'm shy because of my self consciousness about my size. I want to be carefree and go out and make some friends! I only have one "real friend" (since we were 11- I'm 23 now) and a boyfriend.

-Seeing people who knew me when I was fatter, and shocking them!

-(This one's really shallow). Showing my exboyfriend how skinny I've become. He was a jerk who gave me a hard time about my weight. He'd call me a fat loser and disgusting, saying I made him nauseous. He always made me feel guilty about eating. I haven't talked to him in forever, so I doubt I'll see him. It would be nice to casually run into him though :devil:. Of course, part of me has a feeling he'd just find something else to make me feel bad about (like sagging skin or bones sticking out). Negative people have no place in my life, so I'm conflicted on this one.

-And this isn't something I don't have to worry about for awhile, but not worrying about getting diabetes or heart disease (both run in my family). I'm at HIGH risk for both of them. My paternal grandma and uncle both died from complications of their Type II Diabetes, and my dad has it now. The scary part is that they were/are all at a healthy weight, so I'm at risk no matter what. At least soon I won't have obesity as a contributing risk factor. On my mom's side, most people of have high blood pressure and they're all obese- so I am dodging that bullet at least

[Ren<3 11]

lol ok so im terrible at making long stories short so im going to do my best! anyhow so my dr had me on Phentermine I lost a ton of weight this started in august 2009 finally in 2010 September to be exact I told my dr ok now I want my lapband it'll benefit me long term because I was taking my Phentermine for over 2 years it was no longer helping me but hurting me im in college so with lack of sleep && my whole sleep pattern was off completely I was just filled with stress!

finally she agreed for me to have the lap band I had to have a 6 month monitored weightloss so my lowest weight was 207 no matter what I did I could not lose a thing! then my weight would go to 210-212 then finally 220 stayed there for months I had to complete a psych eval & nutritionist appointment as well as cardiac tests I stopped taking my Phentermine my weight just kept going up every month so my 6 months was over in February 2011 I was denied 5 times until my weight shot up to 240 finally approved!!!!

howwwwever lol wait for it......its only a approval to go to the seminar on july 23 & see the surgeon this was on August 17 August 18 I had my labs done everything they wanted I did immediately

August 29 I had my upper G.I done every procedure I had done I needed some type of authorization then finally my exercise & nutrition class was September 12 my surgeon finally went over my profile and gave me the ok on September 22 I was looking forward to a September surgery date like they said I'd have because id already done all the requirements surprised I've been this impatient sorry for my long story lol oh I forgot to say in early September I decided the sleeve was the best decision for me because after reading a thread here all my lapband thoughts of it being not so invasive changed completely glad I picked the sleeve no productive burping or slime yuck lol but thanx also I hope im as successful as you && others<3

Wow Ren! a whole year! Thats so long! What is the insurance company waiting for? I have been sleeved 5 weeks now and I feel great! I think I am adjusting well! The weight loss is slow but steady! I wish you lots of luck on getting approved! It will definately be worth it! Good luck!

[emmas mom 4]

lol ok so im terrible at making long stories short so im going to do my best! anyhow so my dr had me on Phentermine I lost a ton of weight this started in august 2009 finally in 2010 September to be exact I told my dr ok now I want my lapband it'll benefit me long term because I was taking my Phentermine for over 2 years it was no longer helping me but hurting me im in college so with lack of sleep && my whole sleep pattern was off completely I was just filled with stress!

finally she agreed for me to have the lap band I had to have a 6 month monitored weightloss so my lowest weight was 207 no matter what I did I could not lose a thing! then my weight would go to 210-212 then finally 220 stayed there for months I had to complete a psych eval & nutritionist appointment as well as cardiac tests I stopped taking my Phentermine my weight just kept going up every month so my 6 months was over in February 2011 I was denied 5 times until my weight shot up to 240 finally approved!!!!

howwwwever lol wait for it......its only a approval to go to the seminar on july 23 & see the surgeon this was on August 17 August 18 I had my labs done everything they wanted I did immediately

August 29 I had my upper G.I done every procedure I had done I needed some type of authorization then finally my exercise & nutrition class was September 12 my surgeon finally went over my profile and gave me the ok on September 22 I was looking forward to a September surgery date like they said I'd have because id already done all the requirements surprised I've been this impatient sorry for my long story lol oh I forgot to say in early September I decided the sleeve was the best decision for me because after reading a thread here all my lapband thoughts of it being not so invasive changed completely glad I picked the sleeve no productive burping or slime yuck lol but thanx also I hope im as successful as you && others<3

Dont worry Ren! You will be successful! I thought I was going to be the 1 person it wouldnt work for! LOL! But, when you physically cant eat, you lose weight!!!! But the best part is, im NOT hungry for the 1 st time in my life! I have to make myself eat so I get in my calories and protein! The weird thing is, if you have too low calories, the weight doesnt really come off. I found my body needs like 700 to 900 calories a day to lose weight consistently. It really is a balanced diet! You choose to eat the right foods, high Protein, nutritious, cause you cant eat very much so you dont want to waste a meal with carbs and sweets. Good Luck! I am so happy I chose the sleeve over lapband! My poor friend is miserable with her band!

[Ren<3 11]

yes several people said losing weight with the band is also tough im glad I found this place so much support and good information how was the pain after surgery? how long did you stay in the hospital? lol sorry I have lots of questions! im a bit nervous about surgery because the hospital I'll be at will be a hour away and they have no free patient parking for my seminar which was 2 hours long it cost 12.75 ican just imagine how much it'll cost my parents! glad your doing well can't wait till food is the last thought on my mind lol<3

Dont worry Ren! You will be successful! I thought I was going to be the 1 person it wouldnt work for! LOL! But, when you physically cant eat, you lose weight!!!! But the best part is, im NOT hungry for the 1 st time in my life! I have to make myself eat so I get in my calories and protein! The weird thing is, if you have too low calories, the weight doesnt really come off. I found my body needs like 700 to 900 calories a day to lose weight consistently. It really is a balanced diet! You choose to eat the right foods, high Protein, nutritious, cause you cant eat very much so you dont want to waste a meal with carbs and sweets. Good Luck! I am so happy I chose the sleeve over lapband! My poor friend is miserable with her band!