jhawkchick75

Sorry been out of town all weekend and now catching up. Happy beleated birthday and congrats on your success thus far!

Do a search of this and you will find several threads about this and in every one you will hear nothing but positives. No worries, just be smart about where you go just like you would in a major city and you will be fine.

I had a lot of trouble as well - just take it one meal at a time one day at a time. If you mess up on a meal, don't worry andj just get back on track. My issue was I kept thinking to myself I needed to eat everything in sight b/c I wouldn't get it again, which I know now is not true. But back then I had this idea that I needed to go on this "farewell tour" of sorts to get in everything one last time. Besides bread I can still eat everything just not as much. Good luck! You will do fine!

Ohhhh I can't wait to see your pics!

Too funny same here! I am fine without the pop, but might have a beer here and there. I miss it so much the other day my brother had one and i asked him if I could smell it! I'm accustomed to wine now and fine with it, but this summer at a ball game a beer would sure be nice! Although i'd like to try it out at home first in case it makes me sick. But beer will be few and far between for me. I haven't tried pop, but I know once I went pop free for about 6 months and then when I tried it again it tasted like crap.

Can you stretch your pouch when you are not too tight? I feel like I can eat too much sometimes and I always have a fear of that. I try to use portion control when I can, but dang that is hard. I am getting a small fill in a couple weeks, but my restriction is hit and miss and I don't want to be too tight. But a small one will be good. It's funny I freak that i'm eating too much but really when you look at it i'm not eating nearly as much as I used to. But I hear people say no more than a cup of food at a time and I know darn good and well sometimes i'm eating more than that. Especially at dinner. Thanks!

Oh wow this made my night reading these. You all are cracking me up! That is what I love about this group - nobody else would find as much humor in this as we do. I love it!

I get a hungry feeling when i'm hungry! Duh! Wow....I need to go to bed!

I know exactly what you are talking about. I get this burning, hungry feeling when I'm hungry. You said exactly what I was going to say - oatmeal! It fills me up and keeps me full for a long time. We have a water cooler at work that puts out hot water as well and so I keep oatmeal packets at work and they do wonders. I also keep cottage cheese at work and cheese as well. Just make sure if you are hungry to EAT! Good luck!

No kidding...what the heck did they expect!!!??? Too funny. That is like here in KC - for a while Krispy Kreme had a promotion where if the Royals scored 12 or more hits you got a dozen donuts free. We tried to go get them one night and the line was down the street, so we gave up. You say free food folks are gonna show up!

Exactly what I did! I told those friends and family that I knew would be supportive as well as a couple of co-workers out of necessity, but again knew they would support me. As I lose, there are more that I tell when the time is right, but again only those that I think will be supportive. Some need to see the progress before they will support it - sad, but true. I've had several friends that have asked if they can tell someone for one reason or the other and I have no problem with that - i'm not ashamed of what I did and have nothing to hide. But I also don't need the negativity to bring down my excitement. So those "kind of friends" that would judge I don't bother telling. If they find out eventually I really don't care, but i'm not going to take the time to tell them. My dad was resistant, but I knew he would be. He got into it about it beforehand, but my mom talked to him and now not only is he supportive, but he fronted me the money and i'm paying him back. I say use your gut and just tell those that you think will be supportive. Then, as you feel comfortable you can tell others. Besides a few small blips I've had great responses from those I told. Some close friends did have a lot of questions, but that was just out of concern for me and once I told them all about it they were OK. Good luck!

Congrats! I am so glad that everything went well! Take care and don't push yourself too hard. Take it easy and rest up. Can't wait to hear about your progress!

Thanks so much! My weight loss has really slowed down, but recently i've noticed inches are coming off, so i'm OK with that. As long as there is progress! I've been doing a lot of Zumba so my guess is i'm gaining some muscle. Still got a ways to go, but getting there!

I think that is a great question! I don't, but I do have my card Dr. O gave us right in the front of my wallet by my drivers license. So hopefully if they went for ID they would see that. But I think the bracelet is a great idea too. Never can be too careful!

Same here, I used to get that when I was full. Sadly, my body has stopped doing that recently, but it was nice when that would happen it was my signal to stop eating. Really wish I could get that back. Sometimes still out of nowhere I just get one really hard hiccup - very weird not sure why.

Congrats!!! You are very fortunate to be able to do this so early in your life. Read up as much as you can in this group and I encourage you to take notes. Any questions just ask! Keep us up to date!

So glad to hear it went well! I hope you aren't having too much pain! Definitely keep me up to date on your progress. I'm glad to hear you really liked your doctor and i'd be interested in seeing how the scars look since that is one of the doctors on my short list. It's gonna be at least 6 months or more for me, but already keeping my eyes peeled. Did you get any lipo on your arms? I know some do that when they get the lift so I was just curious. Congrats and I can't wait to hear about your progress!

Thanks so much!!

Thanks SOOO much to both of you! I'm still getting used to the hair but I do like it. My hair is so fine and thin it doesn't do anything so I always kept it long, but now i'm realizing that keeping it shorter works better. The little one there in the pic is my niece Haley. She lives w/ me part time (my brother lives there full time) and she is my little mini-me. Poor kid even got my hair! She is the best and pretty much the reason I was banded. I hated not having the energy to play with her. Now we are both all over the place! Hope you all have a great weekend!

I did the one Jazz mentioned last week and it worked well. I lost 4lbs in 4 days! I did gain one back once I was done with the 5 days, but have since lost it. Maybe it's just coincidence, but since doing it I feel more restriction and can't eat as much. Perhaps I had stretched my band a bit and it helped. Definitely got me back on track and watching more what is going in my mouth. Good luck!

That is too funny! What a cutie! You don't look like you can be a grandma at all. Congrats!

I took some 6 month pics and wanted to share. Really, my big scar is the only one that is really visible and the others look like bug bites. I didn't use any Mederma or scar stuff, but I am a stickler (and was before surgery) about using lotion every day and drinking lots of water. Healthy hydrated skin heals better. I took pics the day after surgery but they grossed me out so bad I deleted them. Kind of wish I would have kept them now. Everyone is very different on how they heal, but mine have done pretty well.

Congrats! I think that is tough for all of us. I know I sadly have a wharped perception of what I look like. Or so i'm told! We all still see that fat person and it's hard to get past that, so remind yourself of those moments like the size going down or times when you get compliments from people. Keep up the great work!

I didn't have much restriction until my 3rd fill and that was short lived. I did the 5 day pouch test which has helped tighten me up a bit, but I still could use another small fill I think. Gonna really eat well and work out and see if I can get by with one more month before getting one just due to money. Everyone is different, but totally normal that you aren't feeling anything yet. You will get there!

I am so glad everything went smoothly - congrats! Keep up the great work and I can't wait to hear about your progress! It's also nice for those going down soon to hear from someone that was just there on the current climate.