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I never thought the day would come, that I could eat and not gain weight but it has. I have been very strict with my lapband but did have some goodies over Christmas because I love to bake. Waking up and stepping on the scale to see it not go up was a great feat in its self as I remember always gaining 10 to 20lbs from Halloween to the new year. I cooked a lot of food for Christmas but I put so little on my plate of everything. A spoon full is satisfactory to me now not 4 helpings. It's funny how things have changed for me in the aspect of food. I don't love it anymore, its just a need to keep living. It's what keeps me healthy now and not what makes me miserable. Every time I ride past a fast food joint, I cringe. It somehow sickens me to think I use to like that crap. How eating a six hundred calorie burger with 3 days worth of fat in it made me happy. I enjoyed my turkey this year because if I never could cook anything in this world, I make the most to die for turkey that is perfectly moist and seasoned all the way through. My desert yesterday was some sugarfree jello with whipped topping and I enjoyed it because I got real whip cream to put on top of it. I ate some chocolate and it really didn't taste so good to me because I haven't had sugar in ages. I don't eat sugar anymore. I hardly eat meat either but it tasted good. Today I return to my journey of eating normal again and knowing I won this year it didnt' beat me.

Merry Christmas to everyone in Lap Band land. I went to my son's to see what Santa brought my grandsons. Santa was very nice to them. My son has a Texas BBQ/smoker, from Texas. He does catering, also. He was up all night smoking beef brisket. OMG!! it taste so good. I am going to my other son's for dinner and he is serving one of the briskets. Can't wait. The burnt ends are the best. Now that I am finally having the brisket, 3-4 oz. isn't too much food. I hope I can have a doggie bag. I hope everyone gets to eat wonderful food with wonderful people/family today and always. Enjoy the day. "Eye Candy"/Arlene

Hello I am a very weird eater. Recall the movie, When Harry Met Sally? Well I eat worse than Sally. My food never touches, I use a different plate for each item, in my house. I dislike more foods than I like. I hate fast food restaurants, my poor grandsons, they get sit down restaurants with me. I never use condiments, never tried salad dressing or soups, so why am I over weight? I love bread!! I could eat 2-3 bread baskets full of wonderful breads in a restaurant with either oil or butter. Then eat my meal. Since having the band, I am so good. I do try the breads but a very small piece and stop. I also would always have ice cream either in a restaurant or at home almost everyday. I have had maybe 2-3 small tastes of my husband's since the band. I am really trying and so far so good. I guess it took me 62 years to wake up and say, STOP, being the overweight Arlene. I can move much better. Because of back problems, I can't stand in one place for more than a few minutes, weight loss will not cure that. I am not as tired as I was and I still have a lot to lose. I hope to be a onederlander within the next week or two. That would be F'n awesome. Yes, I have a potty mouth, that comes with me where ever I go. Have a wonderful Boxing Day, all.

Well I wrestled over posting these pics in my gallery...but they are there and I think they arent any worse then what I would look like on the beach... so have a look if you are interested.... I think they came out AMAZING! Can't wait for the upper swelling to go down.

Well I finally joined the gym yesterday. The doctor told me to join in September, better late than never. So I went today and rode the recumbent bike for 1.3 miles. That is a lot for me. I felt great that I moved the body. I tried the elliptical but it hurt the left knee too much. I will try to go again tomorrow. My fat went on slow over the years and now the gym will be slow too. Some days I look in the mirror and see fat me and other days I say, WOW, I look thinner today. After reading other's blogs I think my size goal is around a size 12. My husband thinks I could go smaller. Never been smaller than 12-14 when we got married 42 years ago. I was thinner then because of diet pills. Nasty way to lose weight. Have a great day all.

My daughter-in-law sent me a copy of Santa talking to my grandson. The site is PNP home page. It is really cute. Santa talked to him and his picture was used a few times. Great for all the young at heart for Christmas.

Hi all. Sorry so long since I blogged...... I just wanted to report on how things have been going. This past week I had some issues with eating. My stomach was really hurting and I think I just introduced some new foods to quickly. My tummy was burning. It was bad. I talked to the Doctor and they said to slow down with my diet and go back to the full liquids. I did for the most part and I am getting very little calories but I have been loosing weight. I am down to 254 from 295 which is 41 pounds and tomorrow is my 4 week anniversary. I am just eating protein mostly and not eating much because I don't want to disturb my tummy. I have lost a lot of inches too and I really have not been working out too much since I have been a little lathargic. Things are now on the upswing and I am really only eating now just because I know I need to to live. I am trying to get in 800 calories a day but sometimes it is hard. Next week back to exercise and I mean full on work out so I can begin to tone up and loose more fat (not muscle). I have a Doctor follow up visit on Wednesday so I will post about that as well. They put me on Carafate which is a liquid you drink before you eat and it coats your tummy on the inside and it really helped. Sorry to sound rushed but my hungry family awaits

Ever since my surgery I've not once experienced that trigger of madness that carbs use to cause before.Until yesterday. Everything was fine until about 17:00 when I decided to have a slice of christmas fruitcake.One slice became 2 and I thought I was fine.But I couldnt stop eating after that.I want to list what I ate,so that I can remember how easy it is to just slip right back into old habits if not cautious! We came back to the B&B at about 18:00 and that is when the binge started.Over the next 6 hours I had 3 rusks (about 40 carbs and 200 calories each) one of those round lindt chocolates,5 blocks of fruit and nut chocolate and then I decided I needed protein (not!) and ate about 5 thai pork riblets. Now Im not sure if it the gin and tonic I had before the fruit cake that made me not think things through or if it was just the sugar that triggered me.The thing that bugs me so much is that until yesterday,I couldnt touch chocolate as the taste was just to revoltingly sweet.It would make me feel so aweful.But for some reason in combination with everything else It tasted wonderful and I could munch away at it just fine. Not having access to a scale today is driving me absolutely crazy now and I am wondering how AM I GOING TO PRACTICE WHAT I ALWAYS PREACH.I can eat a breakfast of 1 egg and a sclice of bacon but as for the rest of the day,the whole family's going to spend all of this day on the beach and I have no idea what food there will be.I find myself eating fried foods and not grilled (by choice,bad choice) and I have had quite a couple of french fries already this holiday. Maybe I should first find out where I can weigh.Then I should see if I can find any shop thats open (small town,everything seems to be closed on boxing day) to buy some deli meat (ham or turkey if they have) and then I should just stick to 3 meals and a few beef jerky sticks as snacks. No one seems to understand that being so close to goal,I dont want to gain any weight now.It is not a matter of just losing it again.I have to try to get to a point where I dont gain with every special event in life. Anyhoo,no use obsessing about this as a lot is out of my control at the moment.This is why I prefer hotel stays to Bed and breakfast stays it is just easier food wize. Ok,now to tackle the issue of 1.no umbrella for the beach 2. ME NOT WANTING TO EXPOSE MY FLAPPING ARMS,BOOBS AND LEGS in front of all these people today. Happy holidays everyone!

Merry Christmas Everyone. Ok, I'm a day late and a dollar or two short but it's the thought that counts. Hope you all enjoyed a wonderful day with family and friends. I had a very interesting and different Christmas than I normally have...but I have to say, it seemed to end with wonderful memories and a great story to tell when I'm old and frail. So, my day started tthe same as it normaly does on Christmas. Nothing really exciting. Due to finacial reasons, my husband and I did not exchanged gifts so there was no "under the tree excitment" to be had here. Not that it's a bad thing at all. We've always said that as long as we have each other, we don't need much else. I mean having a roof over our heads is REALLY nice and I wouldn't want to give it up but if we had to...well, then we would have to figure something out...TOGETHER. Now, my normal day consists of going to my parent's house for Christmas dinner with my sister and her family (husband and four children). I was really looking forward to the family time until I made the call to my parents to wish them a merry Christmas. What do I hear? Phlem!! Lots and lots of it. Not only can my mother barely talk, I hear my father in the back ground doing the same thing. Long story short....Christmas at the Morgan's is CANCELED unltil further notice. So, my husband and I venture out to find something to cook for dinner. I didn't have anything that would rise to occasion of a "Christmas Meal" so I figured i would go get either lamb, prime rib, or a ham...yes, I know one of these things is not like the other...but hey, at least it's not CHICKEN!!!! LOL So, we go store to store...meaning we went to two (we live in a small town) and much to my surprise, they were closed. We even went by our 24-7 Walmart and that was closed too. HUMMMM...now what? Again, we take a mental inventory of what we have in the freezer....CHICKEN...and maybe some hamburg. Neither seems worthy of a Christmas feast. So, I get an idea...let's see if the Chinesse place is open today. Sure enough it is. Yippie. Looks like we will have our own version of "A Christmas Story" this year. So, around 2 I call and place our order. Not sure why I odered so much but I am sure my husband can handle most of it. I also figured due to my Christmas day food intake already, i would be able to pack more than normal away in my little tummy. I am still not sure where all the extra room came from. So, we changed our clothes so that we wouldn't be eating in our P.J's, took the five mile drive to the Chinesse store and picked up our food. Once home, my hubby set the table (as best he could at the last minute) and we sang...."Fa Ra Ra Ra Ra, Ra Ra, Ra, Ra." I figured it would be very insensitive to ask the people at the resturaunt to sing "Deck the Halls" like in the movie...I mean it is a complete stereotype and I in no way wanted (or want) to offend anyone. Then, we ate...and laughed...and talked. We talked about how sometimes the best memories come from an unexpected change of plans. And to be honest...I agree. After dinner, we enjoyed a bottle of wine and some ciders. Took some photos and watched "A Christmas Story." Around 9:30, I went to bed with a full tummy, a fuzzy head, and a huge smile on my face. Don't get me wrong, i would have loved to spend the day with my family and I wish they weren't sick...but it's nice to have a story to tell for years to come. I hope you all made your own memories yesterday and I hope they were good ones. Merry Christmas everyone!!! This was our Christmas Feast....notice, there is no peaking duck This is my meal...and no, I didn't finish it all. LOL Me Showing off my Husband't "lighting skills' (3rd floor) Also, I find it so funny that when I saw this photo I was like, "WOW, I'm thin!!!" And, I said that while wearing sweats that were two sizes too big, a huge oversized sweat shirt, and a bulky coat...again...too big. Funny how times have changed. LOL And of course, the chopstick shot Last one...Me by the tree

I messed up my post yesterday, today I'm officially 5 days post op. I'm down another 2 pounds. 253 from 271! I woke up feeling horrible though. I had a sour stomach. I quickly grabbed my pepcid and took it with a swig of water followed by an anti-nausea dissolveable. I then took my first real shower since Sunday night. WOOHOO! However, I felt so weak. My arm muscles started to burn when I was washing my hair. When I got out, it was nice putting on fresh comfy clothes. Being so tired and drained, I slept for another 5-6 hours and I still felt awful when I woke up around 7PM. My sleep is all reversed now. I sleep all day and stay up all night :[ I went for a walk this evening, but it was way too cold and I wasn't properly dressed. (Note to self: Don't walk around with leggings as pants in winter). I definitely hydrated more this evening, and I'm feeling much better. I started getting incision pains, but not the external kind, it's the internal kind. I'M SO PARANOID I'M PUSHING MY SLEEVE TOO HARD WITH ALL THIS PAIN FROM DRINKING. It's not bad pain when I'm drinking, it's only after when I realize I did it too fast. I'm not having an issue drinking and keeping things down at all. I just really don't want a leak or an abscess. I wish Tuesday would come (Merry Christmas to those who celebrate it!) so I can start some protein shakes and drink some milk. Maybe I could even try some egg nog (non-alcoholic of course) and water it down with skim milk. I know I could use the fat and protein to help me with energy because right now I'm barely getting any. and still no protein after trying isopure clear drinks this week. I think maybe max a day I'm getting between 5-10grams. WHICH IS HORRIBLE! I'm going to Wal-mart tomorrow to get some vitamins, lactaid, sugar free syrups, powdered milk, and a temporary protein powder until my nectar chocolate truffle comes in the mail. I know by next Thursday, I'm going to be sick of protein shakes!