Half the woman I used to be...

I got my band June 2009. 2 years, 10 1/2 months ago. It's been very slow going for me, but I had a lot of weight to lose. I started out at 330 lbs, my weigh in today was 164.4. BEST DECISION I'VE EVER MADE!! During my 2 years I've regained my health, my self confidence, and I now have an 'oops' baby to show for it! I guess I never realized that with the weight loss my body and hormones would regulate. My 'oops' is the sweetest 5 month old in the world. (He joins his 9 and 6 year old siblings!)

Those are the same jeans that I'm wearing in the before picture. I kept that outfit. The jeans are Lane Bryant size 5, blue. I'm now wearing Arizona jeans from JCPenney, juniors section, size 9.

 amazing! You are such an inspiration. I hope to be as successful as you :)

Congratulations!!!  

You were exactly the same size I was when I started!

Congratulations! I hope I do as wells you did. You. Look great!

Thank you guys! It's been so hard, but worth it!

SueBee, you can do it! You're off to a wonderful start!

Thanks! I love hearing from people like you. It really helps to keep us motivated to hear and see the possibilities!

I cannot tell you how many hours and days I spent on this site, looking at the before and after pictures. That is the reason I posted this :)

 you look beautiful. How did you do it. did you get many fills? I am still struggling to reach goal , and been at it about the same length of time as you. any help you can give me would be so appreciated.

I got to my 'sweet spot' about 5 fills in, I'm very lucky. I haven't seen my doctor since June 2010.

As for any tips, I guess I just have to say to watch what you snack on. I'm so sick of nuts I can't stand it- until I step on the scale, kwim? Every time I get hungry I grab a (as in one only) handful of almonds, if I'm wanting something sweet I put them in a ziplock bag with some cocoa powder and sweet-n-low and coat them. I love pistachios and peanuts, too-  they keep my hands busy. I do a lot of eggs, especially in the mornings, but also keep a bowl of hardboiled eggs in the fridge. They make a great snack and are high in protein. I also split my meals so I'm not tempted to overeat. I keep my band on the loose side, so when I go out to dinner I find something that I can split with my 6 year old.

I do drink with my meals- it makes me feel normal. As you can see by my pictures, I value my privacy. No one outside of my husband, brother and father knows about my surgery. I tell everyone else that I adopted a low carb, high protein diet- which is true. If I were to refuse a drink at dinner then everyone would wonder why, and watch my eating habits. I don't want to be stared at, I want to be NORMAL. So I drink during meals. I do excuse myself 1-2 times during the meal (I use my kids as an excuse. They need to pee a lot  ) so that my brain has time to realize I'm full. Otherwise I keep snacking and eating. I walk a lot now, instead of driving to pick up the kids I walk. I try to find fun activites to keep me active because I despise the gym. I love hiking now (slowly), fishing with the kids.

Good luck!! I know you can do it, but it is very hard! Lap Band isn't 'cheating', it isn't 'easy'. It's hard to lose weight! I'm STILL addicted to food- which is why I've only lost 166 lbs in almost 3 years. I still have to watch what I eat. I still diet. Lap Band is a tool that helps us, and I'm so grateful for it!