donali

Audrey, you are doing SO great!!! Congrats!!

Whooo hooo Carmen!!! Congrats!!! Happy b-day, and I hope life gets a little easier soon.

Alex, you're wonderful. I <3 U...

Saffy, that is indeed unfortunate. The truth is, both of these boards can be read by anyone - you do not need to be a member to read posts, only to post. There is no privacy on the internet - you have to basically assume that anyone can read what you write. Even moderated sites that are for members only cannot guarantee that their members are who they say they are. I think your doc's office is way out of line - particularly if they think that you are not perfectly normal. The lapband is about reduced portions and hunger, not deprivation. I hope your doc is either able to get past this, or that you can change to a more realistic doc. These groups are about SUPPORT, not policing! **hugs**

DH = Dear Husband; dh = damn husband (depending on context, of course... Other popular ones, besides those that Alex mentions: BF = boyfriend GF = girlfriend SO = significant other OMG - Oh my gosh! HTH = hope this helps FWIW = for what it's worth MHO = my humble opinion JMHO = just my humble opinion ROTFL = rolling on the floor laughing ROTFLMAO = rolling on the floor laughing my a$$ off TTFN = ta-ta for now! WTF?!?! = What the f#*@?!?! There ARE tons of them - these are just the ones I can remember offhand that I've actually used. HTH!

Hi Saffy! Welcome! Here's an avatar-sized version of your pic, if you like.

Oh, Leatha... At least you are keeping your sense of humor... Remember, "Less is more..." Chin up!

Whoo hooo!!! Congrats, Carmen!!

So glad all is well - I've been keeping you and your family in my thoughts and prayers.

Marie, that is absolutely amazing! What a fabulous victory!! KUDOS!!!!

Mary, I see what you are experiencing time and time again, and it concerns me that almost every single bandster has lying in their subconscious somewhere the thought, "If I stop losing, I can just get another fill." This is NOT true. There ALWAYS comes a point where "more fill" is NOT the answer. A person can only be so restricted before they can no longer meet their caloric/nutritional needs. When it becomes difficult to eat Proteins and vegetables, a person is too tight. Period. If a person stops losing weight, but are consuming a "normal" amount of calories (for most women that is 1200-1500 a day), then it is more likely you are on a plateau that needs to be waited out, OR those 1200-1500 calories a day are coming from foods that are not your nutritious friends. I don't care what any nutritionist may claim - 1500 calories of ice cream is NOT the same as 1500 calories of Protein and vegetables. Why? Because eating sugar requires the body to release more insulin, which stores excess blood sugar as fat, and then crashes your blood sugar levels so low that your appetite is turned back on. Not to mention that there are very little vitamins/fiber in our less nutritious choices, which are invariably from the high glycemic index and loaded with fat - the double-whammy. Not to mention the fact that this stuff goes down easily, and does not create a sense of fullness like more solid foods, and does not give us HEALTH. It always comes down to our food choices in the end, banded or not, restricted or not. The band helps with our hunger levels, which helps with our food choices UNTIL we get too tight. And then it becomes a downward spiral. For those of you who have stepped over the line from eating less without feeling deprived to so tight that you cannot comfortably consume adequate quantities of nutritious foods, YOU ARE TOO TIGHT. Yes, it is frustrating to stop losing weight - but the band can only do so much. Just like with anorexics - the eating/not eating is NOT the root of the problem. The band fixes the physical defect, but only treats the symptoms, not the underlying disorder of our psychological reasons for MO. JMHO...

Thinking of you, Leatha! I am also gallbladder-less...

Best of luck, Anne!! We'll be thinking of you! **hugs**

Ginny - Remember, this is NOT a diet - this is for life!! Life includes b-day Cookies, and cakes, and chips, and donuts (two filled and a donut hole for me yesterday...:eek: :eek: ), and pizza, and fried chicken, and chocolate, and (insert personal weakness here... :eek:) However... Life does need to revolve around nutritious choices the majority of the time. You need to find a way to feel secure that your weakness foods are NOT going away or off limits, so that you indulge in them only when you really, really, really want them. It may take you forcing yourself to eat nothing but cookies for two or three days, until you are absolutely sated and sick of them. With every bite, say to yourself, "I can have this WHENEVER I really want. I promise myself - no more dieting!" When you can't bear the thought of eating another cookie turn to the foods your body will be craving by then - nutritious Proteins and vegetables. I don't think my suggestion will work, though, unless you believe in the core of your being that cookies will NEVER be off limits if you really want them. The question to always ask yourself in the future, of course, is, "Do I really, really want a cookie? Or am I really just thirsty, tired, bored, angry, lonely...etc? Would going for a walk, or sitting at the computer, or calling a friend, or taking a hot bath, or ??? satisfy this craving just as well?" Practice eating nutritious foods first in IMMEDIATE response to physical hunger - do not EVER make yourself go hungry. If you are not physically hungry, try an activity other than eating when you get the urge to eat for non-physical hunger reasons. A lot of our eating is habit, and has nothing to do with the need for food. You will not always be successful in diverting your attention away from foods you don't really wish to consume, but it gets easier with practice. Give yourself high fives when you substitue an alternative behaviour! Recognize every little success! And for the times that nothing but a cookie will do, indulge yourself and be kind. Know that you are doing the best that you can, and that you ARE getting better day by day. You DON'T have to be perfect!! Mini goals, mini steps - they all add up to success over time. We're thinking of you, and we are all there with you, to some degree or another, every single day. Chin up, girl!

Hi All - For those of you who are interested, I got this announcement from Spotlight Health today: Dear Community Members, In this month's chat, we'll be discussing why weight loss with the LAP-BAND is typically more gradual than with the gastric bypass. How do you determine when you should reach your goal weight? And what should your goal weight be, anyway? Is 50% of your excess body weight a good result? Dr. Helmuth Billy, a board-certified surgeon from Ventura, California, discusses how to gauge your success and the importance of setting realistic expectations. The chat will be held Tuesday, August 10, at 6 p.m. PST / 9 p.m. EST. Note new time! To participate, log on to http://www.spotlighthealth.com and go to the Morbid Obesity chat page. To submit your questions ahead of time, simply email us at webmaster@spotlighthealth.com. We look forward to chatting with you soon! Best of Health, Spotlight Health

I thought this story was very interesting, and am DYING to know if MO people have the same kind of brain function reaction to the foods we eat as drug addicts. I have always said that food was my drug of choice, and for me it is definitely a sedative-type of reaction. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/03/health/03addi.html?pagewanted=1&th It would be swell if these drug addiction scientists could spare some time to look at the MO population and do some studies on us as well, in this kind of context. I also wonder if some of their drug addiction solutions are inspired by drugs like Meridia. I like the idea of blocking the pleasure pathways that eliminate the "high" feeling - I wonder what other senses of pleasure get affected, though... Anyway, an interesting article, I thought...

Leatha - I have had some sharp pains like you describe as well, but not as long lasting as yours sound. I just chaulked it up to gas in high places, but really have no idea what it was. I hope your surgeon is able to figure out what it is, and fix you up without another surgery. Please keep us posted, and let us know how it goes! **hugs**

**wolf whistle**

I believe Iron isn't supposed to be taken in combination with other things - either it interferes with the other vitamin's absorption, or vice-versa... I don't recall for sure, but that's my initial "vague memory"... Also, because getting too much iron is bad, I imagine the Vitamin companies are just covering their bases and leaving it out, since a lot of women are on iron supplements already, they wouldn't want to take the Vitamins with iron, too...

Dang, Bright!!! I was really waiting for the photo to upload... lol I was going to do a compare to see whose were sadder - yours or mine. Maybe make a collage of saggy boobs... lol

GORGEOUS girl!!! LOVE the new photo!! Actually, if it's the sugar-free part that's the problem, must be one of those artificial type sweeteners that have a very mild laxative type side effect, like the maltodextrin (?) in some of the SF chocolates. Boy, the gas pain over over-consuming that stuff is a horror not be be repeated! I thought I was going to be the human blimp over San Diego!! Not that I would ever overindulge in anything... I haven't had any probs with SF gum that I've noticed, but then again haven't chewed any in a real long time. You go, Brittney!! :eek: :eek: :eek:

I still need to get that book! For those of you who missed it, W.O.E. = "Way of Eating". I have to substitute that for the word "diet", as "diet" sends me into an emotiona tailspin, because I can never hear it without thinking of suffering, deprivation, low-self esteem, etc. So Bright, are you totally off sugar, or can you maintain your good feelings on just less sugar? I definitely go through cycles of little to none, and then WAAAAY too much...

Whoo hooo!!! Congrats on the culprit! But I wonder if the gas the gum causes is from swallowed air? If it makes the tummy feel swollen and distended, that sounds to me like a similar effect that overeating would cause, so I'm sticking to the referred pain from the diaphragm theory - it just wasn't overfullness due to food... Surely I'm right?? Regardless, congrats on being painfree!! And having a Brittney tummy! Whoo hooo!! P.S. I miss you! :eek:

Those are 42DD bras you're looking at, folks. Bright, I don't know if Lane Bryant's ships overseas, but they do have an online store! Have you tried extenders? I just may have to send you a little surprise in the mail...

Two eggs and two sausages sounds like a lot of food for a meal? I think that sounds like less than what a "normal" person would eat - no toast, no potatos. Same for the rest of Michelle's menu for the day. To me the band is about eating NORMAL portions - NOT eating nothing!! You do NOT need to be restricted to 2-3 bites per meal. This journey does NOT need to be drastic to work. I bet if you added up the calories from her meal they'd be around 1200-1500, which seems to be the generally recommended goal, depending on your current basal metabolism.