BlueEyedBaby

Wow Janet!!! That's awesome!! You looking great girl. And don't it feel good to be able to get out and do things that you used to sit around and just wish you could do? I can't wait till I get to 180. I specifically remember weighing 180 about 14 years ago. That was the point where I went on my first low fat diet with a coach who would come to my house every week. I remember loosing 30 lbs with that diet. And I remember how sexy I felt at that time. We are getting there!!!!!!!

"1" is a beautiful number I got up this morning and the scale was down 2.4 more lbs. So I may not fluctuate back up to that terrible 2. Hey, about the ring. I would have had to put my rings away a long time ago if I had not had a ringer sizer put on them. I can bend it in and adjust it as I loose and as soon as I hit goal then I will go have them resized. Any good jewlry store can put it on and it is a very minimal cost (mine was around $9.00, I think) and well worth it. I have had to bend it in twice since and it is loose again but it is sure better than having to have them resized more than once. That thrift shop was a jewel of a find. And she says she is taking "larger" sizes so I have got to pack up my clothes that do not fit any more. And the way she talks it is not on consignment, she just buys them outright. I considered consignment, but this would be easier. You all have a great Super Bowl Sunday. I gotta get ready for SS.

Cool...I never knew you were in N.O. I never got to go before the hurricane and so wished I had. I was living in Pensacola during Katrina and got the hurricane end of it. Hubby's uncle lives in Gulfport/Biloxi area and we went back for a visit in Dec. Things are still tore up there. Is N.O. starting to get back to normal then? I am a nurse and wanted so bad to go to N.O. to help but with my name I couldn't bring myself to do it. We got lots of patients from there shipped in to our hospital and their reaction was so horrific when I would walk in and write my name on the board that I nearly started going by my middle name. So I never went. We had enough problems ourselves trying to run a hospital without water and electricity for days afterwards. But by that time we had become pro's since Katrina was our 4th big storm in a year. Needless to say, that was all the reason I needed to move back to my home in Tn. No hurricanes can make it across these mountains. You have lots of fun at Mardi Gras this year! OK...I have an announcement Drum Roll Please (tadatada) I hit Onderland today!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yay me!!!!! Yippee!!!! Can't you tell I'm excited. Haven't seen that "1" since 1993. Wow...14 years ago. Now, grant it, I am .2 lb away from fluxuating back up to that horrible "2" but I won't let that bother me. Oh, I found the neatest place yesterday. I refuse to pay big prices for clothing while I am loosing and my big clothes just fall off of me now so I am always looking for some "temp" clothing. I was driving home yesterday and passed a new Thrift store and just out of curiosity, decided to check it out. Most Thrift stores don't have very good quality clothing so I did not have my hopes up but I walked in and went "WOW" This store was filled with brand name, many brand new, style clothing that believe it or not was mostly in my size. Can you believe that? I am talking about in style, georgous outfits. Could you imagine walking into a store that carried just your size? There was, of course other sizes but the majority of the clothing was my size. That was soooo cool. And I am talking about beautiful suits and things for 11 bucks or less. I wracked up...Bought $76 worth of things and the lady owner was so excited when she found out that I had a band. She questioned me the whole time I was there and even gave me some of the things. Is that a NSV? I would never have been able to wear any of that clothing before..... You ladies have a wonderful weekend. LIFE IS GOOD!!!

:frown: SINGING..... "A HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, A HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU. EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR, MAY YOU FIND JESUS NEAR. A HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, A HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU. AND THE BEST ONE YOU'VE EVER HAD" :party:

LOL, I knew you'd appreciate that. Was a "what'd you bring me back" gift from my parents when they went on an Alaskan cruise last year

Ok...as promised...Then and Now pics. (My first time attaching...sure hope this works)

Sings...."Happy Bandiversary to me, Happy Bandiversary to me" :tongue: I really wanted to hit onderland on my bandiversary but am still at exactly 200.0 as of this am....oh well. :cool: It won't be too much longer now. Hubby took pics today and I will post "then and now" pics as soon as he uploads them. I was sad to see all you wonderful ladies that grew up without dad. My dad was all I had (stepmom resented me) I was "daddy's little girl" and boy did that just kill the step. Anyhow. I don't know what I will do when I loose my dad. Anyhoo....Ya'll have a great night and even better Monday, it's my bedtime:wink2:

Hey guys, Does anyone know of a GOOD bariatric clothing exchange online?

Hmmm...interestingly my web site part of my post did not come out. I guess they block them. The webpage for Smoothie King is www . smoothieking . com without all the spaces.

Janet, I can feel for you on that liquid thing. I too get fills every 2 months or so and this last time when he filled me, I had been complaining about being able to eat anything, including the kitchen sink, so he put .6cc in my band this time (was averaging .2cc at a time) and OMG was I tight. I bet I did not eat more than 300 calories a day and nearly nothing to drink from that Monday till that Friday. I was kinda getting worried but suddenly on Friday it eased up a bit. I am still tight but no where near as tight as I was. I like where I am right now so this may be my sweet spot (if Doc agrees that is...I lost 6 lbs that week alone and cont. to loose a bit faster than I was). The protein power I was talking about is Smoothie King's signature protein powder. Do they have Smoothie Kings where you live? They are like a "coffee shop" for nutrition shakes. It is actually officially a juice bar. So kinda like going to GNC where you can find all kinds of nutrition powders, going to Smoothie King you actually buy the shakes themselves. They have a huge assortment of different types of nutrition shakes from shakes specifically for weight gain, muscle bulking, protien specific shakes and of course their wonderful low carb, high protein shakes which are awsome meal replacements. They can put all kinds of different flavoring and fruits in them. I crave those things sometimes. If you are currious, you can look them up online at Smoothie King Look specifically for the Gladiator Low Carb Meal Replacement under supplements. It is so YUMMY! My doctor is kinda picky about protein shakes and suppliments but he absolutely LOVES Smoothie King. I am sooo weighing every day now. I have got to be present the second I drop below 200. As much as I have lost the last 2 weeks, I have suddenly come to a screeching halt just before hitting "onderland" and am pouting greatly. I will be yelling from these mountaintops the second it happens :hurray: Ok, bedtime for me...you all have a great weekend...

Hi guys... I'm from Kingsport Tn (about 1.5 hrs North of Knoxville) I was banded in July and am having a ball:lol:

I am definately going to refer you to your MD. I too suffer from migraines and I take Midrin for it. They are few and far between and Midrin is a migraine specific pill, and not a NSAID which don't work well on real migraines. Your headaches may very well be coming from your back problems which is another reason to talk to your MD. KathyB-Great to see you back but so sorry to hear about your dad. I know what it feels like to loose someone you love so quickly. My heart goes out to you as my prayers for you go up. With all the talk about protein powders I have been meaning to ask if anyone has tried the Gladiator powder from Smoothie King. This is one of my favorite places to "eat", even before this surgery. I crave the protein shakes they have and I use the powder to make my own very yummy protein shakes. They are so good. Taste just like a chocolate milkshake. And 45 grams of protein per shake. Totally awsome...

Kari, Tylenol is not an NSAID. You should try that. NSAIDS won't immediately zap your stomach with a dose or 2 but taken every day and or frequently will most likely eventually eat holes in the lining of your stomach. Tylenol is truely the safest for your stomach. Janet, I'm used to being bombarded with medical questions when ppl find out. I don't usually advertise because I don't want to come across as preachy or know-it-all. I am actually impressed with everyones' immense knowledge surrounding this surgery. It shows a high degree of research has gone into this thing before decisions were made. &s for your leg pain, it could be caused by exercise (growing pains), too little potassium if it is cramps, or ummm...(whispers) age. Ok, bedtime. Nitty-Night all.

OH GOSH...Nearly forgot.... I got up this morning and weighed....I am getting ready for the Onderland Dance....Scale says 200.0 this am....one more lb., one more lb.

Hey Guys :cool2: Takes me so long to catch up on reading when I miss a day or 2 that it is nearly midnight before I get to say anything:lol: Anyways, I too miss some of the "old timer" posters whom we do not hear from anymore. Lindaa and Chim-Allow me to clear up the NSAID issue. First off, I agree about consulting your MD. That being said (disclaimers and all :biggrin:), Naproxen (Aleve), Aspirin, Ibuprophen, Relafen, Celebrex, Diclophenac, etc, etc, are all NSAIDS. You have 2 category of meds that decrease inflamation. Steroids such as Prednisone and Non-Steroidal Anti Inflamatories. If it is not a steroid and it decreases inflamation, then it is most assuredly a NSAID. But to further break it down, there are several categories of NSAIDS. Naproxen is actually considered a COX 1 inhibitor, even though it actually blocks COX 1 and 2. Vioxx was a COX 2 inhibitor and was actually taken off the market d/t severe cardiovascular side effects (and the fact that they were hidden from the FDA during trials). Bottom line, all NSAIDS could be detrimental to our bands d/t the fact that they can errode the lining of the stomach and that's all we need, something erroding from the inside with the possibility of the band erroding from the outside. That is a double whammy. So I personally will not take a chance on it, no matter what my doc would say about (he has never mentioned it and I have never asked but I do not need to ask). Sorry guys, my only excuse for the Pharmacology lesson is that I can't seem to leave the job at work. Being an RN Educator for the hospital kinda gets in your blood and you always feel like you need to educate when an opportunity arrises. Do you teachers on here ever feel like that? I know my sis is a English teacher and she constantly fights that urge...:ohmy: Well, I'm yawning so hard my eyes are watering, so I guess it's time to go to bed. Gotta get up at 5 for a 6am exercise class so off I am...

Phyll....All I can say is WOW. And I do mean WOW what a diff. You are looking awesome. Now that is a cool idea. Maybe I will post surg. and 6 month pics on my bandiversary.

First off, I want to thank all of you who answered my questions and all who answer in the future. I truely know how hard it was to talk about sensitive issues. Karri-Wow, your story really shocked me out of my shoes. I really had not thought about "why" I had gained so much weight in my early 20's. But I got to really thinking and remembering.... My health issues did not really start until I was in my 30's but I guess I had blocked out a lot of things until you started talking about your mother. Now, my family life was far from being the worse, in fact I now know that I had a pretty decent family life compared to what I see coming in to the hospital all the time but I was raised by a quite adoring father and a step mother that resented being a step mother to me and was very jealous about the relationship I had with my dad. She did every thing she could to derail that. Now that I really think about it, I would be willing to admit that I stayed skinny growing up out of spite for her and the stress she caused me. But when I grew up and moved out of the house, the only thing she could do was use words to hurt me cause she had no control over me any more. I now distinctly remember hearing "Your too skinny" literally every time I saw her after I moved out and you know what they say about hearing something over and over...you really start to believe it. That is when I started eating so much.... Jackie, That is exactly how I feel about myself. Exactly.... And you described it so well We could be Minds Eye sisters...or maybe self esteem buddies:tt2: Ok, enuf for me tonite...I am so sleepy I cant hold my eyes open. Talk at ya later... OH, nearly forgot...Welcome Twilight we would be happy to have you as a friend. Just curious...were you recently banded? Nite guys...

Hey Guys :mad: Sounds like everyone is doing great!! Dini-YOU LOOK HOT!!!!! Well, I went for a fill yesterday. Doc says I am doing "perfect" with my weight loss but I feel like it is so slow. He says 1.5 lbs a week is just where I need to be. It just kinda frustrates me. I guess I am still in the "diet" mode. Where you get used to loosing 3-5 lbs a week when you go on a diet, even though it doesn't last long enough to count :silly: But he did put 0.6cc in my band as opposed to the 0.2cc last time. I believe this is the most he has put in at one time and OMG am I tight... I haven't been able to eat more than a couple bites here and there since. I did get a protein drink down tonight. OK, so I shouldn't complain, I asked for it. I told him I felt like I could eat a whole house, so I guess he just accomodated me... Maybe this won't be all bad. I can imagine a few lbs coming off this week alone. Hey, I am reading this cool book that has the most interesting concepts. It talked a little about being overweight and why diets dont work. It is a book that can change the way you see and think about things. And the idea for weight loss was very interesting. It said that the reason most diets don't work is that when we diet our thought processes are concentrated on losing weight instead of on the "final product" (pardon the terminology) It says that instead of concentrating so much on "omg, how much weight did I loose this week", we should concentrate on our IBW. If you have a picure of yourself at your IBW, then put copies of it up everywhere to keep it in the front of your mind or if you dont have a pic of yourself, find a pic of someone who weighs what you want to weigh and do the same. You should constantly think about weighing your IBW. That, along with the positive thinking concepts, was very interesting indeed. Now for the posed questions at hand: 1) I am just really nosey now... what is everybodies Marital status...??? Married. Just DH and I 2) Does everyone live alone and cook for one?? No on living alone, but yes on cooking for one at times 3) Who prepares family meals and who eats what they cook their family? Sometimes I cook, sometimes DH cooks (he's a great cook) but at times he fixes what he wants and I fix what I want. 4) Or... do you prepare special meals just for your bandster self? See above Happy bandstering :happy:

Hey guys :myscared: Just checking in. Can't seem to get on here every day and takes forever to read all the wonderfully supportive posts when reading every other day. You guys have got to be the greatest support group around. :redface: Jackie-Hang in there with that cholesterol. If it is hereditary cholesterol problems it is much harder to get the numbers down. That's how we tell the difference in ppl usually. If someone looses weight and starts watching what they eat and their numbers don't go down or even go up, then it is a pretty good bet that it is hereditary. It has nothing to do with you not eating right or anything you may have control over. We can't pick our genes. I thought my cholesterol was hereditary until I lost this weight. My dad has horrible levels and his is hereditary and I was convinced that mine came from him. Until I had a few lab tests done a couple months ago and my cholesterol actually registered "low" on the labwork. Now that was a shock. Just remember, there is nothing you can actually do to change the fact that it is hereditary and you have not failed in any way. Try to accept it and do what the doc recommends. Even if it is meds. For example, no amount of weight I loose will change the fact that I will be on Synthroid the rest of my life. Hashimoto's is a hereditary condition, I have no control over it, and I will be dependent on the med forever. Oh well, guess I am just glad that it is a small pill :smile: I remember someone a while back mentioning port placement and talking about it being placed under the brestbone. I believe you may have been talking about where mine is. My port is located directly below and just a tad to the right of my xyphoid process (the little bone that is a landmark in CPR for correct hand placement) and it is a wonderful place for it. I have never had a bra, whether underwire or otherwise, bother it. I don't have to worry about waist bands hurting or anything. It is also in the "less fat" part of the abdomen and is very easy to access so no probs with fills. Speaking of fills. I go Monday for my next one. I sure hope he fills me well. For the last week or so I think I could eat a Mac Truck and not blink an eye. He only put .2 cc in last time cause he said that I was loosing too fast. My doc shoots for 1 lb a week and if it is more then no fill. But with holidays and all this time, I have not lost near as much so I have my fingers crossed.... Speaking of fills again. I have never looked to see how much they are charging my insurance. I pay my $35 co-pay and just go. I will have to look next time I get an EOB... Till next time....:wink:

I missed a couple months of reading so I was really lost on what the numbers meant. Now I understand and, yes, I will try this myself. Now, was the weigh-in any way related to this?

Hey Guys:teeth: I just know I asked this question before but for the life of me I can't find my post even with the serch and I didn't find any answers. So if anyone answered this question before...please forgive the repeat. Could someone please explain the monthly challenge? I mean how does it work and what do all the numbers mean? I think this could be something I need. I totally ditched on the exercise last month and I could use some motivation.

Why did my editing my previous post cause all those HTML tags to show up? Hope you all can ummm...read between the tags...

<p>Happy new year everyone!!!</p> <p> </p> <p>Wow, I see all these great weight loss numbers and I am jealous. Now, don't get me wrong, I am 60 lbs lighter than my HW, but you guys are doing awsome!!!</p> <p> </p> <p>One question, what is the monthly exercise challenge and how does it work?</p> Marcy, That is one great looking moose!! DH loves to hunt deer and I love the taste of it. Don't think I have ever tried moose but would given the chance. Tell your DH "Congrats"

Hey guys!!! Just checking in for my monthly update and trying out my Christmas present. I got a Palm Treo w/Windows OS and this site does very well on the Mobile IE. Anyways, as for the update....I am 7 lbs away from "onderland" and kinda stuck. Good news is that I did not gain any through the Holidays. It helps so much to read your all's posts and see that I am not alone with the restriction and getting sweets down easier than nutritious food. BTW, I have really discovered the things that I can't eat any more. Breads will not go down, neither will lettuce, nor will potatoes except mashed. And of all the wierd things, Honey Buns make me literally puke (not PB). I am sure this subject has been discussed bunches but I find it very interesting how everyone differs on what they can no longer eat. I am discovering that the drawback to this smartphone is that I can't use the smiley faces..hmmmm...