Picture time

[mduffy31]

Hey folks, I am 2 years out from having a Gastric Lap-Band installed, and I thought I would share my sucess so far with you all.

BEFORE



335 Give or take a few pounds

AFTER



235 Bare-ass naked on the scale this morning. You can notice that my pants are belted down quite tight, they are size 46 waist and I am down to a 36-38 depending on what kind they are, and the shirt has gone from a 4XL to a 2XL

[auntAgonist]

1. absolutely awesome!!

congrats. I often wonder how you're doing.

aA
kesha

[mduffy31]

3. I'll answer you questions here

The band will be removed at my autopsy, you can't have it removed and put back in, unless it is a failure of the equipment. I may at some point have fluid removed when I get to where I want. I haven't had an adjustment for about 3 months now and I feel that I am in a good place. I hadn't had an adjustment in over a year because I lost my health coverage and it can be quite pricey. I had started to gain again so when I did get coverage again I was able to get adjustments right away and didn't have to wait for the "preexisting condition" period. Once that happened I started to really lose the weight again and I lost 30lbs in just this year, and I feel great. I do miss being able to eat things that I really enjoyed in the past, but I do remember that those things got me in trouble in the past. Now all I have to do is start buying clothes that fit properly. The down side is that I had some really great stuff that is WAAAYYY to big now, but it is worth it.

Thank you for all your support and well wishes.

[auntAgonist]

4. It IS expensive replacing all your clothes. I had

to do it in many steps over a short period of time. I was very fortunate in that a few of my co-workers were more than happy to pass on their cast offs hehe.

Take a look at Yahoo groups for any freecycle groups in your area. Lots of folks there clean out their closets and have good stuff to offer. I went to goodwill, salvation army stores etc.

One big thing I found was that the smaller sized clothing was a LOT cheaper to buy :shrug: More styles too.

I'm glad you've got coverage again.

You do look terrific!

aA
kesha

[mduffy31]

5. I have been doing it in order of importance

I was just basically just replacing my scrubs because I live my life in them for work, but I recently blew my knee out at work I have become a "paper nurse," I have been dressing business casual so I have been getting by on all the old stuff I had. I have washed things in hot water, but they can only shrink so far, and yes now that I don't have to go to the big and tall shop any more clothes are cheaper. The price always seemed to rise whenever multiple "X's" were involved in the size. I was lucky though I did have some clothes from before I gained the massive amount of weight and so I have a few pairs of jeans. I did find that mentally I was having a hard time getting my head around the fact that I didn't have to buy such large clothes and when I did, it actually made me look larger.

[Zuiderelle]

13. It would be cheaper to take everything you have to a tailor and have them altered.

Not the jeans, probably, but if you have nice clothes that you really love that cost a lot, it can be quite a cost savings. If you take a lot of stuff, they might give you a good deal. You could end up paying $10 per pair of trousers, for example, as opposed to paying $50 or more for a new pair.

It's worth looking into.

Oh, and congratulations! You look great. :toast:

[mduffy31]

17. I thought about that

My grandmother is a retired seamstress. Some of the stuff, yes it can be altered, but the other stuff it cant. I had some jerseys of my favorite players and they can't be altered, but they can be framed.

[siligut]

2. Looking good! nt

[I Have A Dream]

6. That's wonderful! Congratulations!

:bounce:

[LeftyFingerPop]

7. Damn good job!

You look great!

I must say though, you did not look that bad at 335. May I ask what you height is?

Very well done...you look much happier and healthier! :toast:

[mduffy31]

8. 5' 9 3/4"

I know because I got measured to find my body mass. I have actually lost a half an inch since.

[flying_wahini]

9. Wow, you look Marvelous!

you look so much younger, too.

[mduffy31]

11. Thank you

[Maestro]

10. Congrats!

You've shown a lot of dedication with what you wanted to achieve.

[Phillycat]

12. Wow, you look great!

You must feel so much better.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

14. wo0t !! way to go !!

Dude! You look awesome !! :applause:

[graywarrior]

15. You look fantastic!

Good goin', dude!

[livetohike]

16. Congratulations!

:toast: I hope the weight loss brings you many, many years of good health, too. You're looking great!

[Midlodemocrat]

18. WOW! You are one studly looking dude. Good for you!!!!

:hug:

[mduffy31]

20. Yeah well

Tell my wife that, if you can get her on the phone!

[fizzgig]

19. way to go!

:thumbsup:

[mduffy31]

21. Thank you very much