bugwitch

I have been belly dancing since 1999 and I can say I agree with you155%!!!! I absolutely love it and it has done wonders for me. It is going to be hard to not dance at least a little in that 6 week period post surgery when I am supposed to just walk. In all honesty I likely will be doing some drilling and combo practices. But I will focus on legs and arm stuff I bet. But that's still a ways off. Yes! Belly Dance is awesome and will be a great thing. It has done wonders for my arthritis and always makes me happy once I've started. I find myself practicing while I am brushing my teeth and shopping in the store! Feel free to keep in contact if you ever have any questions. There has to be other belly dancers out here...come out come out wherever you are!!!

Wait...who are we talking about?

Yeah...this is the internet! If there are no pictures, it didn't happen!

I have a few tattoos (shoulder and back) and have a bunch more I want/plan to get. I want one that goes down my back and around my hips. I wonder if it would be better (read less painful) to get it when I still have some "meat" on my bones than when I get to goal. So, maybe when I still have 20 or so pounds to lose. My goal weight is still technically "overweight" according to those BMI things, but I don't care. I've seen virtual images of what someone my height would look at a "healthy" (read BS) weight and I would look like a boney twig. Curves are sexy and I definitely plan on keeping mine. I too worry about the excess and flabby skin. I hear pretty much the same things: stay hydrated, moisturize, lose gradually, work out...plus it will depend upon your skin type, age, etc. I won't have any money left after I pay for this surgery so I hope I don't need plastic surgery.

I imagine it would depend upon what type of sexual activity you are engaging in. As with any other physical exercise, it should be done in accordance with what your body feels comfortable doing and easy to start. So, don't whip out the chains, cross and other goodies until you are good and healthy. But I imagine the light stuff would be fine within a week or so and then work your way back up to your normal (and then some!) routine.

I was under the impression that the percentage of the US population that was atheist, agnostic, skeptical or just a general "do not believe in the all powerful space daddy" was about 20 to 25%. I've been looking for that statistic. Anyone see Religulous?

1) cry 2) belly dance stuff!! 3) boots that fit my smaller calves 4) classy, professional nude photos 5) breathe

March 21rst for me!

Miso is yummy. It is fermented soy bean paste and tastes mmm mmm. Heat up some water or broth and mix it in. It is a traditional Japanese soup often used as a quick and hearty breakfast. It comes in tubs similar to margarine. Typically found in health foot sections.

Something I have noticed by reading the boards here is that there is a consistent stall around 3 months or so. My assumption has been that this is due to the starvation response. What needs to happen when you hit a plateau and your body becomes adjusted is to trick it into thinking it is getting enough calories again. Continue to exercise, because building up that muscle is going to be one of the best things to help you along your path to weight loss in any circumstance, but just add some more calories for a couple of weeks then drop back down. Again, this is not going to be true for 100% of the people here or in the rest of the world. Why? because we all have different life experiences that can affect how our bodies accept and process energy (calories). And as Chilo said earlier (or someone else) we have done a decent amount of damage over the years with our yo-yo diets which causes our body to act differently than it "should" (notice quotes). When I was at 275 a few years ago, I ate between 1800 and 2000 calories a day, walked to my classes every day (well, I walked to classes all the time) and had a gym class twice a week where I did cardio and strength training. I averaged between 1 and 3 lbs lost each week that quarter. But when that quarter was done? Yup...you guessed it. Actually, it was more like after the following quarter I started gaining it back, so I kept up some good habits for a while.

Breathe? **gasp** What? **gasp** BREATHE!!!!!????!!!! **thump** Om........ Okay...all better now...for the moment anyway. I've been putting it off for a few reasons, part of which was the unexpected prices of the plane tickets. Before the new year it was running around $350 RT (I was just in San Diego in early December) but then all I was seeing was $450+! Yikes! When you're a grad student, every single penny has to be saved. I've even taken to "permanently borrowing" condiment packets from the cafeteria. Who needs to pay for honey, Peanut Butter, mustard, mayonnaise or jam when you can get serving sized packets for free!?! To be honest, I had started to chicken out a bit even before getting the ticket. I kept thinking, "Man, this is a ton of money. What if I just take it and put it towards a personal trainer and nutritionist or something? or Jenny Craig? That worked when I was in middle school (yes, middle school)." But, I am committed, whether I like it or not!

Yes, but did you stay at a Holiday Inn?

So, I was laying in bed the other night trying to drift off to sleep when my formerly obese cat JD jumped up on the bed and then slowly walked up my leg, onto my belly and then stood on my chest, purring like mad while staring at me and purring some more. It was then that I thought two things...1...I was quite thankful that he had lost so much weight, though still a bit jealous (why can't I have hyperthyroidism instead of hypo-?) and 2...wow...this is gonna suck after I have surgery. How on earth am I gonna sleep at night? So, how do you sleep at night? My eventual sleeping position is my stomach. I'm gonna go out on a limb here and suggest that laying on your stomach right after surgery is probably not the best idea...just a hunch. But what about on your side? My cats still crawl on me when I'm on my side, but the belly is a bit more protected. If I lay on my back, the belly is less protected. There are no doors or spare rooms to lock my cats away into (or me into) so that's out. What have you done, my fellow cat people?

I'm still debating between vsg and the band and won't be getting either done in Ohio...but I live here! In Columbus. Should we arrange a weekly tea meeting & support group or something?

Well, I am just curious because on all of the boards and at the surgery websites it says the 600-800/1200. And that is just so little. I worry that it's not enough. I also wonder why, if it is okay for the body to have such few calories, why is it okay after the surgery but not before? Not sure it is just choice in the long run. Our body needs fuel and if we do not provide it fuel we have complications. Thanks for your reply...I'm still surfing through the literature. I should try and find a local nutritionist who could answer this.

I would think carbonation in anything would be a definite no no. But what if you let the carbonation subside by opening it and letting it sit opened for quite a while. This is what I have done in the past with sprite when I am ill. It takes a while for it to go away completely (and should be room temp too, not cold). Maybe just leave a bunch on the counter overnight and see what happens. As always, ask your doc.

I live in Columbus and have not yet done much investigating into my local doctors. If it ends up that my insurance will cover it, then I will be checking and double and triple checking the local docs. However, I have a hunch the insurance will not cover it so I am planning on heading to Mexico. I should know soon either way. If you are self pay, you might want to consider other locations. As someone above said, experience can and is a significant factor in the number of complications (thought not always the deciding factor). Good luck! I'll let you know if I find anything significant out.

I would recommend visiting your local library (public or university) and asking how to use their online journal sources. Look up professional journals (Obesity Surgery, etc) and then do a variety of searches. You will get a bunch simply discussing new technique, etc. But others which are specific to your question will be there as well. I am a grad student and wouldn't you know it, instead of using my university resources for being productive (student-wise) I've been spending all of my time searching online journals and other sites for just this sort of stuff.

There is a video on youtube where this guy talks about some problems he had after the sleeve surgery and it ended up being an abscess on the stomach. Quite scary. Mention that to your friend and have them ask the doctor about that as a possibility. I hope she gets better soon.

psst... We're everywhere... **looks around with shifty eyes**

I am still trying to decide which surgery I want, band or sleeve, and if my current insurance does not cover either (which is starting to look more and more likely) I will be heading down to see Dr. Aceves, also in March. Although I am planning on turning my spring break into my weight break...or something like that. I'll figure out some witty phrase to describe it. I know I will more than likely be the only college student down there NOT getting drunk! I am nervous too, especially now that I have been researching how the procedure is conducted and all. That and the whole idea of surgery is scary to begin with right? But, we'll get over it...all I have to do is look at those sexy a** pants I've been drooling over for years.

Okay...I googled 'Spinal block' and read up on the wikipedia article. I gotta say, that scared the ##tootsie fruit## out of me! Slicing apart the stomach...I'm becoming a little more okay with that. Putting a needle in my back? ACK!!!