EricaG

hey nice to hear from you again!! soo.. scar revision? what exactly is that?

Well no, of course it did not go away just like THAT! (snap) It took some time to adjust. My friend was way bigger than me over 100lbs bigger and she made mistakes like going out to big parties while she was still in her liquid phase or post op. She tortured herself by watching others eat the things she loved. I would spend time with my family and when time to eat came around I'd grab my things, spray air freshener in my room (i think that was to rid of the food smell) grab some pudding or soup and sit in my room and do some scrap booking. After my liquid phase was over I started to eat with them, just like them...but smaller of course and didn't exercise. And of course... no weight loss for the first few months. My friends weight just melted off even though we ate the same and she did not exercise either, she got to my weight and I believe it has stopped. She still does not exercise. Now I decided to take over my weight loss and make it happen. I was eating lots of chocolate and ice cream and forcing bread and things that get stuck and are terrible for me into my body knowingly that it wasn't going to help. I quit the sweets and started exercising and saw some results only because I came to the conclusion that I had to look at the things I was going to put in my mouth and think twice, "are these empty calories" and "do I really need it" that helped a lot with my food choices. Now for lent I gave up the things that I knew I loved and craved so badly. I gave up white bread, pasta, soda, and chocolate. Those are the things I love to eat more than anything in the world. Now Easter is coming up and I don't feel like I need those things anymore.

I think gum is not allowed on the school bus, I THINK. but Wow... I didn't know that about life savers either.. and I pray for your mom's speedy recovery. god bless.

i will be reading on your journey! thanks for sharing.

YUUP I RELATE 100%... I don't have that emotional attachment anymore but I do have a friend who would cry herself to sleep because she couldnt eat the things she used to... that's a terrible mentality, as for me, i learned to let it go and am really happy my life has changed

When I was banded I wasn't sure if it would work for me, even though I did tend to over eat, my biggest fault was stuffing my face with chocolate and gummy bears... pretty much any sweets, you name it, I ate it...all day. But I came to a conclusion that I wanted to do this and was going to make it work. I don't depend on the band to melt the fat away. I know that even I'm full from having my regular meal, I can still sneak in some ice cream or a piece of chocolate, but seriously... after 5-6 months of seeing no results in weight loss, It's so not worth it. The band helped me learn a lot about picking your food wisely and taught me this little thing we all lacked in common DISCIPLINE. So don't discourage yourself, you can do it you just have to want it.

Lindsay is right.. any surgery has it's complications. I have the band and I love it, I also researched complications and wasnt too sure at one point, but the success rate out shined the complications and I couldn't be happier.

To be honest, when I see that my weight loss has slowed I get back into the gym. I realize that what I'm eating is not helping the weightloss and hitting the gym harder always does the trick. Then I treat myself to a nice relaxing session in the sauna.

Oh I can so relate to that. My dad was one of those, "eat everything on your plate!" guys... "don't waste food" so what I do, I eat off little plates. Grab what I think I'm gonna eat and that way, I eat all my food.

I think weights are a great way to tone your under arms. I'm really looking into kettle bells but haven't really gone there yet. I look on youtube for different weight lifting exercises and tips to tone my underarms.

WOW... this sounds painful. I got banded the day before you and I had an experience with pain on my port area after I ate but this was due to irritation.. I drank too much one day and threw up and totally irritated my band. A few days of liquids fixed it back up. But CALL THE DOCTOR. I wouldn't expect anyone on here to tell you what's wrong with you and be right. I suggest you call. I made a post when I was irritated wondering if anyone else experienced it... but I got a sense of relief when Dr. So knew exactly what it was when I explained the symptoms. So call them. It seriously only takes like a few minutes and you should be able to talk directly to the Dr. Keep us posted. I really want to know what it is that you're going through. I really hope you feel better.

I would completely stay away from bread during the healing process.

http://www.smartervegas.com/ they have awesome discounts and list of shows. Have fun love!

I had my band checked a little before my first year anniversary and it was nothing major. He checked the pouch and the restriction and I was good.. Nothing major.

Let's be realistic... not all of us sit down and count every chew and focus on our meals 100% and never PB... I wish it was like that. I sometimes find myself forgetting that I have to slow down and focus on my meal when I'm sitting next to someone that just eats like a duck. I'm at work right now and I usually take my 30 minutes and sit and eat.. AT MY DESK. I can't concentrate and I find myself reading POST on here or watching YouTube videos while I eat. That's so bad... I've had to spit because I wasn't completely focused... I'm 1year and few months banded and I'd love to hear your experiences while eating in a rush, on the go, or at your desk.. I've found myself looking at dresses that I would like to get into on websites.