donali

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The Mitzi Sue... Grown into a fine young lady now, but oh so cute then...

My Sadie-lady... That tongue!! lol

The love of my life, son Max (gone to the great fire hydrant in the sky ), and our late adoptee, Sadie (also gone to the great fire hydrant in the sky ), and Mom's pomeranian Mitzi Sue when she was a baby. Max and Sadie are sorely missed, but I'm so grateful for all the joy they brought to my life while they were here.

Hey, Lis!! A ticker tape just for you! Did someone mention PIE?!?!?! http://www.TickerFactory.com/ezt/d/3;10705;106;0;0/c/-70/t/-100/k/b1f9/weight.png

Hi Megan - Congrats on your wonderful progress!! I'm sure you can guess my opinion on whether or not you need a fill... but here goes. If you know you are doing things on purpose that allow you to eat more than you think you need... Then you need to fix that behaviour first. If, however, you make what you consider to be a healthy meal in an acceptable portion, with hard Proteins and good veggies, and you eat it the bandster way - chewing well, no liquids, concentrating on only eating for your 20 minutes - and THEN you are still hungry afterwards, or hungry sooner than about 3 hours later, then maybe you should get a fill tweak. However, if changing your habits allows you to feel full and keeps you satisfied, then NO - I don't think you need a fill. I think everyone reaches a point where they are very comfortable with their fill level, and they have learned their boundaries, and, being creatures of habit (and being human!), of course we find ways to revert to old habits, or look for ways to push the envelop, just to test how far we can go. There will come a point where you will not be able to tolerate a greater fill level, but your current fill will be "too" comfortable, like where you are now. I hear it happen over and over again - people start coasting, and then they want the band to take up the slack instead of sticking with the "newbie" recommendations. Then they get too tight and start having problems, have to have unfills, etc. Many find that they can no longer tolerate the level of fill they had BEFORE, which is incredibly frustrating for them. I know I try to err on the side of caution, but I always get fearful for those people who have no problems who start making changes in their restriction level... Foremost in my mind is Sissy from the main bandster site - banded for 2+ years or so and doing great, but decided to get "topped off" and started PBing and ended up having slippage and a repair surgery. She had been maintaining her weight, but for some reason decided to get a little fill... But again - if you eat consciously the bandster way and you're NOT satisfied after a reasonable portion, and you stay hungry, then a fill is the way to go. Good luck my friend! And be safe out there...

((((LEATHA)))) Hope you're feeling better soon.

Hey Girl - No sympathy from me. Buck UP!! So you have a little ouchie - get over it, already! Sheez. With all your whining and caterwauling one would think you'd been having some kind of problem or other since May of 2004 or something!! :dead Seriously, you know I'm wishing you all the best. :sleep This is a horrible thing to wish on anybody!! :tired Although today I was only 25 pounds above my low... Sigh. I wish I were more like my Mom, who wasted away during her 3 month courtship with my Dad - he kept her so entertained during their dates that she hardly ate anything, and he would always finish off her portion... lol Maybe I just need a more entertaining S.O.? JUST KIDDING, My Love! Boy, am I full of vinegar this morning? Waiter, more caffeine, please!! Lis - you know I love you to bits, and think about you everyday. Hugs, kisses, and some major flirting thrown your way!! :devious

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I'm game - please remove spaces. donali @ myrealbox .com Thanks!

Congrats, Sue!!! But... Is Mr. Sue okay with this? lol Even if I wanted a reduction, I don't think Mr. Donali would allow it... lol Perhaps the docs could take the extra from all their reductions and make them into surrogate breasts for all those guys out there who just can't get enough (Greg, Ryan, Jack, Tall Guy... ).

Hi Everybody!!! Boy, have I missed you guys! Thanks for the "Where's Donali" thread a few weeks back. I check in occasionally, but I confess that it has be impossible to keep up over here. I am so proud of all of you as you meet your journeys with courage and strength, even when you think you are not up to the challenge of what your life entails, YOU ARE DOING IT!! YOU ARE A SUCCESS!! Because you are HERE, and kicking, and breathing. First, let me give all of you who are struggling with one thing or another a great big hug - hopefully your current trial/tribulation will be short-lived and that life will get better and easier very quickly. For those of you rejoicing in goals met and dreams come true, whoooo hooo!! Congratulations!! I rejoice with each and every one of you. Well, my beloved LBT family, a quick update. I am SO in love!!! lol :knockedou :banana lol Yes, those are stars in my eyes... :knockedou Life just keeps on getting better with my beloved S.O. - he's in Germany for a couple weeks, so I have a little down time on my hands which is a nice balance for our whirlwind of activities when he's here. He's a paleontologist, so we go on field trips almost every weekend. This may sound a little crazy, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE road trips, digging in the dirt, and looking for stuff on the ground. As a self-confessed packrat, I am in seventh-heaven collecting stuff that actually gets approval!! I don't care what it is, as long as I get to collect and hoard. heheh So on our 10 day road trip to the Dallas, TX area, no one was prouder than I that we came back with 350 POUNDS of fossilized sea creatures and various mineral bearing rocks. When we're not digging in the ground, we're at the beach, collecting shells. My current obsession is the wavy turban - a snail shell that can get up to over 4 inches wide across the base. I won't even try and tell you how many we have now, in various sizes. Suffice it to say that on ONE day of collecting we came home with over 30 of them.... Multiply that by five or six times, and... lol No, we can never have company over again! The only little cloud on my horizon of happiness has been the creeping up of my weight. I know exactly what I need to do to arrest the trend, and maybe even start it back downward... It's just, well... Doing it. :guess I know you ALL understand exactly what I mean! But I'm happy and healthy, and hopeful. And isn't that the main goal of life, anyway? So in a way, I'm AT goal - in the big picture, at least. I still have some mini-things to work on, like my weakness for free food... :ermm My aversion to exercise... I just need to dig out my plan for success posted back in 7/04, and reacquaint myself with the "plan". I love you guys - you truly are a second family to me. Hopefully I can drop by more often, but even when I'm not here, please know that I'm pulling for each and every one of you! Oh, and if you want to contact me privately, would you mind sending me an email? I have 69 messages in my PM, and we only get 100, and I hate to delete any of them... I know, true pack rat to the core. FlyLady would not be proud... lol Hugs, Sunshine, Happiness, Joy, and Love!!! xxoo

Don't be TOO committed to getting in your water! lol Are you SURE, though, that your headache is gone? I could walk you through another feminine remedy... :devious

Depression is a common side-effect of anesthesia, so don't worry, you'll get over it! I'm with you - the Mexican pain-killers did NADA for me. I just lay like a lump on the couch whenever I wasn't working and tried not to move. After two weeks I was a new woman... lol Hang in there! It DOES get better. Just don't try to do too much too soon. And if you're a singer, I recommend waiting AT LEAST four weeks before doing any singing. The diaphragm sits right on top of the band, and that deep breathing is murder if you do it too soon... Try liquid Tylenol - that really helped my pain level when I tore my port sutures.

Hi Aubrey! Have you joined the San Diego Bandster Yahoo! group? They're having a meeting this Sunday, and are a great bunch of people if you're interested. http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/SanDiegoBandsters/

food was the furthest thing from my mind after I joined this thread... lol :devious I'm cured!! :banana The bad news is... Sweetie doesn't get back until 1/16... "Flying Solo" takes on a whole different meaning sometimes... :guess I did NOT just say that! :rolleyes I guess I'm going to have to add a disclaimer to my sig line like DeLarla has... What's "said" at LBT, STAYS at LBT! ROTFLMAO :speechles

lol I have to write something else - apparently, messages less than 10 characters can't be posted, and quoted text doesn't count... lol Now THAT's a good joke!!

How's that headache, Whip? lol

I'm stressed and want to eat, too. My problem is I can... lol Luckily I have scientific chores to complete tonight, so I can be listed as a co-author on my sweetie's next paper. Ryan, time to resort to the feminine ways of relieving stress... I know you're hanging on every word now... Run yourself a tub full of hot Water and put in some bubble bath or soaking salts or something, and lean back for a nice long soak. You may want to try a little moisturizer massaged onto your face, paying particular attention to your temples. Use that slow, sensuous, hypnotizing touch I for some reason KNOW you have... Maybe even light some scented candles and put on some soothing music. Sigh... Wow, I feel better already... Thanks for the psychic sandwich, Jack! Yum.... I'll take a bath with you guys anytime... lol :devious

Lynn - The spasms you describe are quite common - I experienced them myself. Try drinking a hot beverage before your meal to help relax things down there, take one bite, and then get up and do something for 5-10 minutes. I found that usually primed me, and I could finish my meal pain free. Eventually the spasms went away, so having them now doesn't mean you'll have them forever. If you are as active as you say, your caloric intake is WAAAAY below your basal metabolism - go to www.fitday.com (free) and see what they recommend your minimum caloric intake is for your height and weight and activity level. It is my understanding that you never want to go less calories than your basal metabolism, and you want to eat enough calories that your deficit each day is reasonable. A gal on another board who was very into this kind of stuff had stopped losing, sounding basically very much like you. Her personal trainer told her she wasn't eating enough, so she took her faith in both hands and decided to be an honest experiment. She increased her calories, and lo and behold, the weight started dropping off again. I know that 43 pounds does not meet your expectations, but 43 pounds is MUCH better than 0 pounds, or gaining, so big congrats to you. Bear in mind that in order to lose weight permanently, you have to make permanent changes. If your current lifestyle is not liveable for the rest of your life then you are going to have difficulty maintaining your loss. I don't mean to sound depressing, but this is the whole key to NOT dieting - this is "forever" - so whatever you do, remember that this is how it must be always. Be good to yourself, don't deprive yourself, and focus on the healthy permanent changes you are making. I know that losing weight was the number one thing on your mind, but don't lose sight of the fact that the REAL reason you were banded was to maintain your health. It sounds as though you are living a very healthy lifestyle, so you are succeeding!! If you try upping your caloric intake, please report back and let us know how you fared! Best wishes -

Ouchy is right. I've had problems along those lines myself. Prune juice, and Benefiber (doesn't bulk up) are my suggestions. Please, people, I wouldn't try the bulking fiber like Metamucil unless you can chug a couple of glasses of Water one after another. That stuff expands, and gels up. Not a good thing for someone with restriction.

Alex - Truly fantastic! Congrats! Happy New You! I mean, New Year...

Ryan - Hope Patty is home by now, and that all is well. Such small words, but the wishes for health and happiness for the both of you run to the core of my being. **hugs**

AND the slutty red glove?!?!?! Have I died and gone to heaven????

Oh, YAY!!! The bra post is baaaack!!! :banana lol