donali

AMEN, Leatha!! So here's my take, you guys. My advice would be to let the band help you to develop a healthy relationship with food. That means that food is still wonderful, but we no longer live/breathe/obsess about it. Doing all the measuring/counting calories/timing stuff keeps our obsession to the forefront of our lives. I wanted to be "normal" - meaning when I was eating I enjoyed it, and I looked forward to a good meal, but except for the occasional craving/obsession (which I think "normal" people go through), thoughts of food would be pushed waaaay back on to the very back burner, where most of the time the flame wasn't even on. And you know what? That happened for me. It's an amazing feeling to be released from the what/how much/how often/must compensate for yesterday/should I?/will I? internal dialogue that has plagued my life since jr. high. This peace with food is what I wish for all of you - it's a fabulous place to be. :mad: **hugs**

lol Sometimes I wish I was more of a YDI than a DIY... As far as being absent online from the 28th on, I shouldn't be ex-communicado too much. Probably nothing from 9/30-10/3, as we'll be in Austin, and of course the Vegas Bash 9/8-9/10, but other than that, I'll be popping-in throughout the work day. SHHHHHHH!!! Did I really say that? lol Well, I do get a lunch hour and breaks.... :mad: I can't guarantee how much post-workday time I'll be spending on the computer, at least at first, but most of you will be the first to tell me that eventually the "cow-eyes" period fades, and life returns to somewhat "normal" - meaning we start doing our seperate things, and never see each other again, even though we live in the same house... lol Surely it won't get to be that drastic, right? I was just kidding about that last part! I'm counting on him dragging me to the beach and fossil-hunting, and vacationing, and eating lots of Mexican food together, even if we don't spend every waking moment gazing into eachother's eyes... :knockedou lol

Maurice - Even though you feel like you can eat anything, I'd be willing to bet $5 that you're STILL eating less than what you were pre-band. You are going to be absolutely amazed and humbled by this wonderful experience. You're outlook and relationship with food is changing, even if you don't think it is. Do your mental part, make the best choices when you can, and let the band do the rest. No need to worry! This is going to work for you - honest! :mad:

You people are so cute and wonderful!! I guess it's pretty obvious by now that this "lapband support group" has transitioned into an overall support group for me. I come here to read about what's going on in the lives of "strangers" I have come to love and care for, and to socialize, laugh, cry, and even occasionally try and give back to! Thanks for letting me stick around. YOU PEOPLE ROCK!!! :mad:

My first PB was on over-easy eggs. Believe me, it was a HUGE surprise, 'cause I eat them all mashed up like you would for a baby. But I was running late for work, and was eating quickly over the sink (which turned out to be a handy location... lol) I think Sue has nailed it on the head - eggs don't dissolve, they just turn into smaller pieces. The same holds true for most meats, particularly if they're dry, as there's not a lot of lubricant to help things slide through, which is why you'll often read recommendations to have sauce/gravy with your meats - to help them slide through. I personally think if you need lube to get your meats through, you're too tight - but that's just my personal opinion. I would say that most people still eat too fast and don't chew well enough, and that causes problems, and symptoms of being too tight, when they're really not. Like me - after I had my band removed, I had a couple of PBs. Now, you KNOW I wasn't too tight!!! lol But I still had some residual restriction, and I was swallowing faster than I was emptying, and voila! Return to sender! :mad:

And so the saga continues... the French doors still are not square/true/level, or whatever their problem is, but we have moved on to bigger and better things - the window panels!! I feel almost halfway there - tomorrow the front door and the rest of the inside, and then Saturday (fates willing) up goes the siding and then the painting, and on to the rest of the myriad of chores I have set for myself to accomplish in the next TWELVE :mad: TWELVE TWELVE days!!!:eek:

Hi Chris - I think that's great that your doc wants to do an endoscopy just to rule out erosion as a possibility for your lack of restriction. My endoscopy was a breeze - I don't know what they slip into that IV, but it seemed like I was awake, and then I was awake again, but time had passed inbetween, where I had some uncomfortable dreams about something stuck in my throat... lol I did have a sore throat the rest of the day, a little nagging cough, but all in all I have to say it was no big deal. Let us know what they find out, okay? Good luck, and wishing you all the best! **hugs**

Chantal - How truly amazing!! You might be surprised how you don't recognize yourself! I've stood in a crowd or walked by a reflective window and glanced over, scanning the images for me, and unable to FIND myself! Try it - it's fun!! And then there will come the time that you encounter a mirror that you don't realize is there, and you'll think to yourself, "That's an attractive woman." And then you realize in amazement that it's YOU!! :banana !!!

I am SO hoping this thing doesn't just fall over... lol That would be a great testament to all those DIY women out there. I still have hope, but last night was a little disheartening trying to set the French doors. I think I'll stop at Home Depot tonight and buy lots of metal Ts and angles and corner braces and... :guess :cross-eye :rolleyes :nervous

Update - got three panels set... The French doors (of course) are a b#*&$(W#* to install, particularly since they don't really have anything to hang on too... I need to put up more of the inner wall to help keep the door frames true before nailing/screwing them in. But hey, the first window panel is pretty solid! Maybe tomorrow I can finish setting all the panels, and get the front door in. Then Wednesday siding, and I'm almost home free.... Oh, please, please keep your fingers crossed for me!! And thanks for all the support and encouragement!!!

Penni: 4/6/04 -- 47 lbs Lisa: 5/5/04 -- 51 lbs Becky 6/03/04 -- 53 lbs Denice: 8/12/04--20 lbs Leatha 05/29/03 - 67lbs Michelle 4/6/04 -- 49.75 lbs Marie 5/26/04 -- 39 lbs Donali 1/23/03 -- 102 lbs Total Loss= 428.75 lbs

Whoo hooo!!! Girl, you rock!! I'm so proud of you... **sniff** :banana :Bunny :banana

Hi Ryan - I have heard the "shrinking of the liver" excuse as well. I don't know if I buy it - my BMI was 48 when I had my band placed, and I was never told to go on any special diet prior to my banding, nor was I required to lose any weight. I think it mostly has to do with the doc's experience, and the availability of the special trocars needed for the larger patients. If your BMI is 50 or more, I would look into this Yahoo! group: http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/ExtraordinaryBandsters/ They have exclusive membership, restricted to those of 50 BMI and greater, so if you fall into that category I'm sure you will get a lot of good info on what to expect and what your options are in regards to docs/pre-surgery diets/etc. Hang in there!! You'll get this done, one way or another!!! **hugs**

My Dad used to have a motorcycle that he rode to work - I rode on the back sometimes, and always felt safe (my Dad was that kind of guy) - but... I don't know that I'd have the courage to ride one alone. I remember how heavy Dad's was - I couldn't lift it back upright by myself in highschool, and I was pretty strong (I thought!) Plus, I can't imagine hitting something just right and getting thrown across the road, like can happen with a regular bicycle. I know the tires are a lot fatter, but still... I remember Dad telling me how motocycles only had about an inch or two of traction on each tire... I guess I've had too many bicycle crashes to be convinced that I could ride a motorcycle safely... No, BF doesn't ride. There are some things he feels are worth risking his life for, but a motorcycle isn't one of them... lol

Leatha, you are doing amazingly well! And what a wonderful treat - I call this kind of activity "sneaky" exercise - something you do because of the fun an joy of it, not because it gets you moving. Whoooo hooooo!!! And line dancing looks so fun....

Damn, Ryan - you make me want to have a mo'sickle now!!

I've been doing the happy dance for you, too - here's my "verbal" happy dance for you! Babs, you have done an amazing job!! Can I tell you how jealous I am? Onederland is SOOOO elusive! Keep dancing, girl!! :banana :Bunny :banana

Thanks for all the compliments, but I am scared spitless! What the HE&*#$^ was I thinking?!?! lol I'm a little numb - the only thing that keeps me going is knowing that if I DON"T finish by 9/28, BF will have no office, and no place for his computer or boxes of books soon to arrive. That's the only thing that is powering me through the fear!! Today I finished all four window frames. I think that should be the most intense building thing, although the front and back will be a little complicated because the doors are so tall, and the awning is so short. I tried to put up my first section of inner wall and it was too tall!! Yikes! So tomorrow (or sometime soon!) I'll have to take it apart and cut it down a 1/4 inch or so and try again. Sigh. My knees hurt... I have a huge bruise on my left arm from almost losing control over the first window frame - better the huge bruise than the frame crashing through the French door windows!! Yikes!! It has been ungodly hot the past couple of days. I lost 5.5 pounds yesterday - all fluids, I'm sure. Unfortunately it wasn't enough to get me under 201!! Someday soon, I hope... Keep your fingers crossed for me... :sick This is one of those projects where I can honestly say I don't know if I need a frontal lobotomy, or a bottle in front of me... Probably both!! lol

I'm driving with manly man - not sure when we'll arrive - probably 2ish if we leave here by 9am. Dinner/price sounds fine by me. Hopefully Sweetie will think so, too. If not, he can fend for himself. See everyone Friday night, 10/8!!! I can't wait!!! :banana :Bunny :banana

Poor Alex... so glad it's over, and hoping you never have to go through that again!! **hugs**

*blush* Uh, I think "scarfing down pizza" basically says it all at the moment... lol Actually four pieces is a vast improvement over past pizza binges, so I'm not really complaining... I'm good!! Still within 10 pounds of my lowest low, touched for one day weeks after my unbanding. Oh where, oh where can onederland be??? When BF gets here he's promised to walk my butt off. I'm taking that promise literally. In the meantime, I'm being very butch and spending a lot of time with my power tools. I've installed a new door, a new metal security screen door, vented the dryer to the outside (instead of under the trailer, which apparently is a big no-no, but hey! That's how it was when I bought the place!), building shelves to display BF's fossils, shells and petrified wood, building shelves for our combined 200+ videos, installing window air conditioners, cleaning pond filters and relining the ponds, and - the piece de resistance - enclosing my porch. Yes, by myself. In fact, my boss called me today and insisted that I take tomorrow and Friday off to work on these innumerable projects. He said he didn't want any phone calls from BF when he arrives, complaining about the disaster area he just moved into!! lol So, wish me luck!!!

Happy, happy day!!! How wonderful to spend it on vacation!!! xxoo

DIETING MENTALITY!!! ALERT, ALERT!! WARNING, WILL ROBINSON!!! lol This "journey" is your LIFE - not a destination! Losing weight is something that happens along the way - there is no "finish line". This is just one of the many challenges living our lives bring to the table, so to speak... So be glad that your journey is long! A long, happy life is a wonderful blessing. Yuummmmm.... oatmeal Cookies.... The carb days come and go for most of us, I think. Now that I am sans band I feel it is doubly important for me to not get my panties in a bunch over my dips and rises - I know it would be waaaay too easy to start feeling hysterical, which would drive me to eat even more, even less healthily. I DO feel the need to be ever more vigilant, but NOT dieting - which is a fine line to walk, particularly for someone who has only "recently" gotten off the dieting wagon - three years of non-dieting stacked against 31 years of dieting seems "recent"... lol I worried less about the dips and rises while banded, because I knew I couldn't get too far off track - I was somewhat complacent in that regard. I kind of miss that complacent feeling, that relaxed, sure feeling, that my "phases" would not adversely affect me "in the end". At the same time, I cling to that memory of complacency, reminding myself that I will always have phases where carbs call my name, followed by more sane periods where I am deaf to their calls. I promise myself that as long as I don't panic, I can take the phases in stride, just like when I was banded. Knowing that nothing is off limits, and reminding myself that "health" is the goal, not weightloss, really does help me not go off the deep end emotionally when I'm scarfing down pizza. I got my pizza fix, I don't feel guilty, I feel no need to order in a large deep dish sausage pizza for one... lol I'm good! So, this is a long, round about way of saying... 1. Carb cravings come and go. 2. It is my belief that the cravings will "go" sooner and for a longer period of time if you satisfy them WITHOUT guilt, without thoughts of "making up for" it later. 3. Genuine focus on HEALTH (NOT weight) seems to keep my panic at bay when I push towards the rise back to the "high road" of more nutritious foods. No panic = no dieting = peace with food = stable weight. I no longer have the word "shouldn't" in my vocabulary when it comes to food. Instead I ask myself, "How healthy have you been eating lately? Is this something you really want to eat right now? Why?" Sometimes that's enough to get me to make a healthier choice, sometimes not, but at least I was acknowledging any feelings that might be driving my cravings, and giving myself an opportunity to address THEM first, in a non-food way. Let the carb rollercoaster begin!! lol

Whoo hooo!!! Congrats, Teresa!!! You're doing great!! xxoo

My appetite feelings remain the same - pre-, post-, and un-banded. What is different is how long I remain satisfied. Being banded, I remained satisfied longer on a smaller amount of food. However, even when I was banded, when I was hungry I felt like I could eat a ton. Of course, when I started eating, I was only able to eat a little bit. Or a "normal" amount - which looked like a little bit to my eyes! lol So, my appetite is the same, but now when I eat I don't have the band to stop me when I've had a "normal" amount - I have to rely on my mind now to do that. I have to rely on my mind now to eat slowly and chew well, so that my stomach has a chance to register that "full" or "satisfied" feeling before I have overeaten. It's hard. One trick is to never let yourself get too hungry - if you wait until you're starving, you're going to wolf your food, and you'll have consumed too much before your stomach has a chance to send the signal, and then you're going to walk around groaning, holding your stomach, thinking - geez, I didn't feel like this when I stopped eating!! Good thing I didn't eat even more... lol As far as habits that I picked up that are carrying over - I think meal planning is the biggest one - preparing foods for Breakfast and lunch at work ahead of time, pre-packaged, pre-portioned. It sounds corny, but it's really true that we eat more if we have more put on our plate. We just eat until it's gone. So if we put less and eat until it's gone, unless it was drastically less than we needed, chances are that's all we'll eat. Also I am much more structred about getting in my Water, which I wasn't before. And I try to remember to eat more slowly, put my fork down between bites, chew a little better. All really geared towards dragging out the whole eating experience so the stomach has time to send that "satisfied" signal.