kyethra

I dunno. Just one study. I'd want a bigger sample size, more diverse. Compare it other women. Compare it to men who are gay and straight and bi too. The biggest women I know also happen to be lesbians. But that is hardly scientific, esp considering the thinnest ones I know tend to have eating disorders. But then I know some big heterosexual women too. Single lesbians verus partnered. Long term partners versus short term (we all know people of either sex who like serial monogamy, never alone). What is the age of the people studied? My friends and I are discovering that if we thought it was hard to lose 20 pounds at 20, adding just a few years on sure didn't help. Its been a sad shocker. We thought we would at least have until we were about thirty before our metabolisms changed... Now regarding pirates... There are the modern day ones. But so not the point. My husband got me a machette (or however it is spelled) for my birthday. Isn't that sweet? Sometimes he gives me blades because I like weapons. And I like pirates, hence the machette. When I write Peter Pan essays I like to make sure to write about the importance of the pirate as cultural figure there too (yes I like to research Peter Pan. its ok. I'm in Library Science). Long live the classic pirate!

Thats pretty much what they told me when my gall bladder went evil last month. Its all about the cholesteral. At first I was confused because I had always had really good cholesteral and I was now eating a low fat diet, so shouldn't that mean there was less cholesterol, not more. I was even mad because I thought the doc was telling me my cholesteral had gone up. But no. It just so happens that most gallstones are made out of cholesterol. When we stop eating as much fat (like with weight loss) that causes the stones to form. Because we are obese, we had a lot of fat stored. So that means there is more fat that can become stones, or something like that.

You know its pretty damn funny actually. I seem to have both thrush and an UTI. I do try to be versitle. The thrush I noticed last night when I went to bed. For a couple of days things had been tasting funny and I had a wierd taste in my mouth that I just couldn't figure out. My sinuses have been ok so I was pretty sure it wasn't a sinus infection, and I was brushing my teeth so I just didn't know what was up with it. I was about to brush my teeth but first decided to stick out my toungue and open up my mouth just to take a look see and thats when I noticed that on both sides of my toungue, there was white stuff. Eww. And a good brushing did not remove it. So I took a diflucan right away that I had lying around (I might still have a refill on it...) and made a note to call my doctor. Definite white stuff though, I'm pretty sure its thrush. Its sure something on my toungue. I even have a theory about how I got it. The hospital. Well they aren't that clean, I mean with all the patients and stuff those places are crawling with germs. After I woke up from my gall bladder surgery I had a big ole sore on the inside of my lip and it was annoying me, esp since I didn't know where it came from (DH speculated it was from breathing aparatus stuff during surgery on its way in or out if I bit myself at some point). So I figure that sore would have been a good entry point. And I also have a lovely UTI. The past couple of days I have been in denial about that because I don't like peeing in cups. Then I finally decided to deal with it so I have been drinking cranberry juice to see if that does the trick. That I'm pretty sure is related to the catheter I got after the surgery. I know those can lead to infections. So damn, I'm just all messed up it seems like. LOL. And I managed to sleep all day so I didn't manage to call the doctor. I guess I will do that tomorrow. They will probably make me come in. I don't like being sick and having to go to the doctors office. I know it sounds silly, but I have this dream of not going to see the doctor for illness for months and months. Regular checkups and stuff are fine, thats another thing, but always being sick gets really old. The scheduling, the waiting. The poking and prodding and then figuring out which antibiotic will work without making me stop breathing. The way staff always start to recognize me on site and can greet me by name. I hate that. That is a sign you are sick too often, when you are on a first name basis with the staff at the medical center. LOL its true, it really is. I haven't bothered to weigh myself for quite a while. I'll get aound to it. But first I want to make sure all the surgical swelling/ Water retaining goes away cause that throws off the numbers and makes them useless. Tammy, your restriction now sounds like what my restriction was initially. And also what it was right after my gall bladder removal. For what ever reason the swelling from that made me mega restricted for a couple of days. The first day post op even applesauce was a challenge. See how it goes. If you can't get solids down or not being able to eat enough is too frustrating, get a little unfill. For me, having trouble getting enough food in was leading to some bad behaviours. I can eat a little more now so I'm doing better. But these past few days I could just eat so little following all the rules that it would frustrate me. Noway was I going to meet Protein and nutritional requirments like that, for one thing, plus its really annoying to have food and then not be able to eat more than a few bites. No enery either. I suppose I could have gone back to Protein shakes, but since I'm able to finally eat solids without throwing up I want to eat them. So I was doing some not so good things. Like drinking through meals (ok I still do that one). Stuffing my pouch-- not good and something I wasn't always aware of as I was doing it. Not eating slowly enough so that I don't know when to stop-- I would be at the brink of a PB or I would slime frequently. I know the drinking is a bad thing and my goal is stop doing that, at least like I am, over the course of a week. Its just that I get so full so quickly otherwise and I can't eat anything. And I'm a little scared of rapid weight loss now. Thats another reason I'm eating junk food sometimes and not weighing myself. I don't want to start losing weight again until I'm all healed from my surgery. I know that probably sounds crazy to most of you, and the gall bladder can only come out once, but the rapid weight loss made me so sick... I just want it to come off at a healthy rate. As far as computer skills, I'm ok with that stuff. I used to be good at computer stuff, a few years ago, like when I was going into college. But then I got to know computer people. Thats the problem with having friends who are good at stuff, you don't need to be good at it. Sophmore year 2 of ten of my housemates (I lived in a house with mostly guys. It was great. People to eat all my baked goods!) were computer science majors. Instant tech support. Then the next year I met my husband. He does network server architechture or something like that. Big computer guy, more instant tech support. So while I have picked up a couple of things here and there being surrounded by smart people, I know less than I used to. By the time I finish my MS I should be fairly good at tech stuff again since for my program I'll learn a couple of basic programming languages and networking things. For my field, I need to know some computer stuff (I'm going to be a librarian). I'm looking forward to getting back a bit of technical independance. I think that here they have some posts on how to do the tickers and things like that. I went to tickerfactory.com and it gave me a code I cut and pasted onto my signature.

I actually have no idea what is normal for my surgeon. My six week post op check got canceled because the day before he removed my gall bladder. I think I am one of those few bandsters who goes from solids back to clear liquids for reasons other than the band. And since I still have swelling from my abdominal incisions I actually have more restriction that I would really like. I'm having trouble getting food in. So lately I have been cheating, eating softer stuff, junk food, overstuffing, drinking while eating. I'm still not eating very much. I don't want the weight to start dropping off again like it was before. I know I can only get my gall bladder taken out once, but that experience has made me wary of rapid weight loss I suppose.

I actually have no idea what is normal for my surgeon. My six week post op check got canceled because the day before he removed my gall bladder. I think I am one of those few bandsters who goes from solids back to clear liquids for reasons other than the band. And since I still have swelling from my abdominal incisions I actually have more restriction that I would really like. I'm having trouble getting food in. So lately I have been cheating, eating softer stuff, junk food, overstuffing, drinking while eating. I'm still not eating very much. I don't want the weight to start dropping off again like it was before. I know I can only get my gall bladder taken out once, but that experience has made me wary of rapid weight loss I suppose.

I dunno what I should weigh, not really. But when I was picking out my goal weight I didn't use the BMI chart. Thats because the BMI chart doesn't distinguish between frame sizes. I'm not a small woman. And I also have a large frame. When, like me, you have man sized apendages (hands, feet), you tend to wary of what the *average* woman is supposed to weigh, I think. So I looked up some older insurance tables that did take frame size into account. I also thought about how realistic I felt my goal was, how difficult I wanted my goal weight to be to maintain, that sort of thing. I decided that if I went below 150 I would probably look too thing. And I also decided that I would rather weight 20 pounds over my "ideal" weight and maintain that weight than have a weight 20 pounds lighter but always be yo yoing between that and a higher weight. THe next thing I am going to do is ask my doctor about his idea of a goal weight for me. Just for his opinion though. And I reserve the right to change my goal at any time and for any reason.

You could try ankle measurements. http://www.iahsaa.org/Body_Comp_Methods.htm it has guidlines in there, on the second page. Now my feet and ankles haven't ever gotten bigger due to weight. I wish, because then I might have hope of my clown feet shrinking... Instead, I just let my husband know that if he ever wants to start cross dressing, the closet's open. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>

Oh, and I actually think if you are at the cutoff, like 6.25, you go to the above category. So you would be medium framed, not small (hey it gives you a few more pounds!)

<p>I am also 5'8" (maybe a little bit more but definitely not more than 5'8" and 1/2"). My wrist circumpherence is between 7 and 1/4 inches and 7 and 1/2 inches. My ankle circumpherence is between 10 and 1/2 and 10 and 3/4 inches (the left side of my body measures 1/4 inch bigger). I don't remember my elbow girth measurements but I have done those before and those are always in the definitely big category too.</p> (according to my ankle measuremets per the link I posted above, I have a large frame for even males, at least for high school wrestlers )

About periods. My weight always affected my cycle before. It was one of the good things about gaining weight. I remember my freshman year of college I told my PCP that I thought my weight gain (about 40 pounds) was unhealthy because it was affecting my periods (they were lighter, shorter) and I thought that was a good sign. So I said, help with this please. He said don't worry about it. I insisted (he was a bad doctor). So he refered me to the campus weight loss program-- I lost 30 and kept it off for a year. But yeah, thats always been just about the only good side effect of weight gain. It made the periods less excruitiating. I remember back in Junior High I would wish that I would just pass out (I used to get terrible vaginal pain with them too in adition to the lovely cramps). LOL. As a teen I got my periods about twice as often as everyone else and they lasted longer too. Sure didn't seem fair. Then I got on birth control. It was like the clouds had parted and the sunlight came streaming through. What hadn't anyone told me about this miraculous thing before? I adore my birth control. Though I did notice last month mine came about two days early even on that. With my lovely birth control my period only comes once a month. And its light!! And it only lasts about three to five days! No cramps either. Before I always actually lost weight during my period due to the vomitting and diarhea. If men had periods, the world would be a different place. They think they are all so tough... HA! (or at least this is what I think to myself when my husband whines because maybe he pulled a muscle a little).

I got married in Vegas in August. It was great! I'm still waiting on an official honeymoon though (no funding for what we have planned yet). We (well ok I and DH has agreed) want to go to Britain. I studied abroad there my sophomore year and he has never been so I need to show it to him. Wales is especially beautiful- thats where I lived. At some point we would also like to go to NYC-- there is a lot of stuff to do there. I hear they have good hot dogs for one thing, and shows and museums. He has spoken of DC before. We live in the midwest. I want to go to St. Louis for a weekend sometime-- their zoo is wonderful. I'd also like to check out the Pacific Northwest. I've never been to the Grand Canyon-- the previous times we've been to Vegas we never had time, but the mountains and stuff nearby are nice. Vegas is also pretty affordable compared to some other places. Sometime I want to go down to Mexico and visit the Mayan Riviera. Europe in general. I really like Europe. If only I could afford Europe. One of my dream vacations is to take the QE2 from new york to Britain and then do an extended european tour. I'd also like to take a mediterranean cruise. I love greek food. I know what you mean about not being able to walk. I hurt my hip in June in a car accident (well two car accidents). SI joint injury. I could barely walk at all afterward. It took a long time to get better. And I walk funny too because I have really high arches and stuff so I walk on the edges of my feet cause if I walk completely on the bottoms it hurts. But if I use the arch supports the podiatrist gave me it causes that old hip injury to act up again (plus an old knee injury). I also used to get regular injections to an entrapped nerve ending in my abdominal wall. And the injections would get closer and closer and closer together with darvocet (and then oxycodone) in between. Pain is a horrible thing. Then I started using the lidoderm patch it actually works on my abdominal pain and no more opiates for me! Though I am supposed to try a series of nerve blocks (more tedious than anything else). Its nice to be able to hope to be young again. Now I think that maybe, just maybe, I might have a young women's body by the time I am 30. Before I used to think that maybe I would I have the body of a 90 year old by the time I was 50.

i was reading the news. And there was a little blurb that said the lap band was gaining in popularity and something about its comparison to gastric bypass. That was it. It was about a year ago, I guess. So I asked my then fiance ("hey honey, you know what this band thing is?") if he had ever heard of it. he hadn't. Now I'm a curious person, so I looked it up. That got the idea implanted in my head. Before I heard of it I wasn't even considering weight loss surgery at all. Of course I knew about gastric bypass but I also knew that it was something I didn't want to do as it was too drastic for me. Doctors had also been telling me to lose weight. Pain doctor says, lose weight, get down to a normal weight... Right, like I can do that... Regular doctor was much more encouraging, five pounds here, ten pounds there, but I couldn't keep it off. I felt bad seeing the dietician because I just couldn't do it. Or there would be doctors who would tell me how simple weight loss was, just eat less and exercise. So of course I was always starting diets. I looked it up on google then because I was curious. And I read about it and it sounded like this really cool, amazing thing. I mentioned it to my DH and he thought it sounded cool too. I signed up for another weight loss program that didn't work. Then I had been thinking about it, reading about it sometimes. Then when I got evaluated for sleeping disorders and I was misdiagnosed with apnea (which I don't have) it was then I decided I definitely wanted to do it-- no more waiting for me to do it myself while my health gets worse. In the mean time DH had kept his years open and heard good things about my surgeon (his line of thinking was like mine). And I had started seeing other things about the band here and there. A couple of months ago I first saw a tv commercial for it. I like the commercial. So I had never intended to get weight loss-- at least not until I heard about the band.

I was just thinking about this. Decided that I was crazy to want to be a size ten. Thats not going to happen unless I either starve myself or take advantage of both vanity sizing and spandex simultaneously and manage to squeeze myself into something I shouldn't. Better for everyone if I don't do that. I think 12 or even 14 is more realistic for me. My mother, who is a few inches shorter than me, and a perfectly healthy normal weight is a size eight (sometimes ten petitie). All the women in my family are tall-- I'm one of the short ones. My aunts are taller than my and so are all my female cousins (on both sides of the family). And I'm not a shortie either. Last time I got measure I was closer to 5'8" and 1'2" and of course thats barefoot (I know one or two people who count gym shoes as part of their height...). A size six may one day fit on one of my thighs. That way I can just get two so I can have one for each thigh perhaps. Might look a little odd perhaps. A size six or even eight fitting on my whole body? I just can't possibly see that happening. I think its great to dream big and all, but I also find it important to do reality checks for myself from time to time. Today DH and I were watch the discovery health channel, mystery diagnosis. After that the before and after plastic surgery show came on. One of the people on it shocked us. Because she had such low self esteem. On most of these shows these people seem like real people. This was a woman who had had a couple of pregnancies and stuff. And now she had a belly and saggy boobs (Mine are saggier and I haven't even had kids yet!). She needed counseling or something. She talked about how she wouldn't go anywhere and didn't want to do anything because she felt so bad about herself. If she went to the beach with her family she wore a big black sweat suite. She didn't want to be intimate with her husband, etc. So she had the boob lift and tummy tuck and of course she was thrilled. DH was disapointed. He said "but she doesn't even look that different". He was expecting some major unparalled transformation after the way this woman was carrying on. I don't ever want to be like that where I let my self esteem get that caught up in my body or looks. So for now a 12 is my goal. But maybe it will end up being a 14. We'll see.

I remember I used to have trouble shopping before when I was thinner, like a size 16 and smaller. I think that clothes are cut for women who have square shapes (rather than hourglass, pear, or spoon). Back then I couldn't wear any plus sizes because those were cut way too loose in the seat, but extended sizes weren't any worse than regular sizes. Of course with all sizes I would find that everything would be too big in the waist. It just fit wierd. After they started selling them I started buying low rise jeans where they don't go up the waist and instead just go up to the hips. That helps. Gaining weight also seemed to help with my issue too since that caused an increase in my hip to waist ratio (or is it waist to hip ratio?)...

I think its rare from what I have heard. You can try, but don't count on it. Save up those pennies instead.

Well today I again ate too much for brunch. I didn't mean to! I think that since my gall bladder and not eating for so long with that I'm a little more sensitive now after surgery-- it seems to get better as my swelling goes down though. But I am just surprised again and again by how little I eat now. I decided to have pancakes today. Not the healthiest choice, but I figured just a few would be ok as long as I eat well the rest of the day. So I heated up three pancakes figuring that should be enough and put a little bit of butter on them and some syrup and started to eat them. Now pre banding I would have eaten at least six. Today I was FULL after 1.5. No fills in my near future. I actually slimed a little, though I tend to think of that as spitting up. Thats because I remind myself of when I took a class that had me spend a lot of time in the infant room at the campus childcare center. It really can be like spitting up, I think. So that was that. And then I remained satisfied for quite some time. I need to start making less. And for when I do have left overs I have a food sealer. Its really nifty. Its good for buying in bulk and dividing stuff up and also for preventing freezer burn and stuff and for bags that I reopen but want to seal again so stuff doesn't go stale like marshmallows. Part of my not so healthy eating these days is experimentation-- I want to see how my non existant gall bladder reacts. I know its probably foolish of me, but I feel the need to know this stuff now while I am at home before I go out and order something for the first time. If I gain a couple of pounds, then I gain a couple of pounds. it will come off again, a little slower. I also told DH I would make dinner tonight. I'm going to microwave it. Hamburger patties (angus, naturally), and then frozen veggies mixed with some frozen cheesy potatoe bites so that there are more veggies than potatoes. I figure that will be a good meal in terms of protein and then veggies and then starch. Plus I can just give DH more food or make him another patty. I haven't had beef yet except for in soup since being banded so that will be interesting. What I want to try next is various types of cheese. I was dreaming about cheese last night. Yes, I still dream about food. LOL. But now I dream about food that usually fits in the bandster rules. For example, I was dreaming about mini baby bells (low fat ones) and laughing cow low fat cheese. Normally I wouldn't dream of low fat anything. I think thats pretty funny, my dreams adapting. Another even more amazing thing: There is still half an ice cream cake in the freezer untouched since the beginning of march. I lost my state ID so I need to go get a new one before too long. In August I also need to get a new student ID since that is when my grad program starts. I wonder what I will weight in August? Once I get down to 220 I'm getting my hair cut.

Mine was taken out six weeks after my lap band was put in. I'm feeling so much better already! The ultrasound was normal, but my surgeon said that it was totally full of tiny little stones. Either the ultra sound wasn't high enough resolution, the tech messed up, or the stones weren't high enough density. Fortunately, the HIDA scan did show that my gall bladder wasn't working right. I was pretty darn sick and getting sicker by the day too. From the onset of symptoms to removal it was less than one month-- and I wasn't sure I would make it that long some days.

Well I ate too much today. I think I was just so excited that I could eat finally that I got carried away with it. My husband woke me up for dinner and said he had made Salmon-- we had some blackened Salmon in the freezer and its yummy and asked if I wanted mine heated up. Of course I said yes. But he gave me two pieces! One peice would have been plenty, about three onces maybe four I think. But it was all so yummy and he did make it for me so I just went to work on that second piece. I paused a moment or two. I started to drink ( I know, I know) and it went down. And then I figured I would have some veggies in a couple of hours. But after I was finished he asked me if I wanted this cheesy augratin potatoe thing. He said he had two of them earlier. I said yes! It sounded good! But I waited several minutes. Then after that got down that was it. Then later in the evening I was talking to DH. I was saying that I wanted to eat a peanut butter cup because I like those and also to see how my body would handle it digestion wise now that I don't have a gall bladder, but that I was thinking maybe I should have some veggies first and then a big cup later. He said I could have the peanut butter cup now and veggies later (talk about little devil on my shoulder)! And then he even got me one. So I ate it. And it was good. And no digestive problems with it at all. And then later on in the evening I did get some brocolli in along with some rice and cheesiness. (frozen veggie thing). Now I'm up way too late. I was getting a little hungry. So I was thinking to myself that a milkshake sure sounded good about now. But I then thought that I always had my junkfood for the day and since I was able to eat normally I certainly couldn't justify adding a milkshake on top of a peanut butter cup. So even if I wasn't going to have yummy junk food I wanted something. So I went to the kicthen. Wheat thins-- I have issues with whole wheat (I have an odd wheat germ intollerance or something). Plus I wanted something healthier than just crackers. I do have soy crisps, but I wasn't feeling them call me. Then i decided peanut butter toast was the answer. So I took out two slices of bread, put them in the toaster, and got out the peanut butter and jam. I put peanut butter on my toast and a little bit of jam. Now toasting two peices of bread is the sort of pre band thinking that now leads me to waste food. I can't eat two slices. I ate the first slice. It was good. I was full and satisfied. But I had a whole nother slice waiting for me. So I had a few bites of it. Foolishness. I threw it out. Then I felt bad like maybe I would PB. So I drank some water. Thankfully after a few minutes that feeling went away. But I definitely feel overfull. I didn't eat any of it slowly enough either. If I had been more carefuly and thinking better I would have either made myself some frozen veggies and mixed it with some frozen cheesey potatoe bites so it tasted yummy and was still healthy, or I would have had a protein shake or something. Or only put one slice in the toaster. And eaten that one much more slowly. So today hasn't been my best food day. I'm not following the rules. I wasn't drinking before I ate, but I was drinking during and right after. And I was eating too much and not getting foods in in the proper order. While I realise there can and will be exceptions to the rules (like the few times a year I get movie theater popcorn I'll drink with that freely), those exceptions should be few and far between. I don't think "just because" should be a valid exception. Just because happens way too often in my culinary history. So one thing I think I will do is figure out what my exceptions will be-- I'll make a list of ok exceptions. (and not ok ones too). That way I can be more prepared. Most of the time when I have a day where I feel like breaking the rules I can ask myself, well is it on my list, and it probably won't be so then I will have to stick to those rules. In the past its those ever increasing exceptions that has always gotten me. Well, its a bad so, so today can be the exception to the rule. Tomorrow its back on the diet. Or its a tired day. Or its a long day. Or I have a headache today. Or its laundry day, etc. And pretty soon rather than being exceptions to the rule, those days are the rule. I do love my band though because it lets me make better choices and stick to my rules. Without I think my willpower just wouldn't be able to stand up to my stomach, my hunger. Now I can do it. It isn't always easy. Sometimes I have to bargain with myself-- if I get this I can only have it once and only this much and that means none of this, etc. But now that process is there. I know the ice cream is safe in the freezer. I can get more milk if ours goes bad. I can get more chocolate syrup and malt. I can have a milkshake next week. Its not too late to have milkshakes anymore. But I need to make them smaller. And it means no other "junk" food on the day I do have one. Thats the sort of reasoning and thought process that I know I will be able to live with forever. Maybe as I get closer to goal I will make more choices about what is important to me. I might decided to have less and less junk foods because more weight loss is more important. Or maybe I will decide that being able to eat what I want is more important than those last 20 pounds. Either way its not something to worry abut right now. Once my swelling goes away I want to get out my tape measure and see what my measurements are for my waist and hips and boobs and stuff. Because of the surgery the waist measurement would be artificially high due to swelling. I'm going to start keeping track of this stuff. I think back when I was a size 16 my waist was about 30-32 and my bust and hips (they are always the same) were about 44. Seems so long ago, but it wasn't.

First of all, they aren't going to be paying attention to your tummy. Trust me. And if, oh whats thats comes up, the say its a scar. Tell them that you can tell them all about how you got it later if they want to know, but it isn't that interesting. Make a joke. Say it just hasn't been airbrushed yet. Now where were ya... Another thing to remember, especially for the beginning, is that have some cool lingerie. I have got stuff that is both boobless and crochless. Its some versitile stuff. Then its true that no one has perfect skin. Make up might help. Mederma might help. But things happen. Right now I have some really dark spots on one breast as well as scattered scars all over. You know how I got those? I learned the hard way that one shouldn't fry anything in the nude, not just bacon. I really find that saying misleading. I know those scars will fade. I used to have hideously scarred knees from when I was a kid and I was always scraping them. I can wear short things now without looking like I was tortured. You can always cover more prominent scars with a tattoo or two. I have a tattoo on my right foot. I love the thing. It doesn't happen to be covering any scars, unless they got there after the tattoo. Of course I did get a rash last summer and it helped disguise it where the tattoo was. There are whispy fabrics, metalic ones, etc that are great for that almost uncovered look. Now I want to get thin enough so that I can be a Genie for Halloween one of these days. Silly? Of course. But it is something I've always wanted to do. And I have double the scars of the average lap bander, seeing as I got my gall bladder out six weeks later. I figure they will all mostly fade in time. And the ones that remain visible can be covered up with some good concealer and so forth. I also have some areas where my skin is darker than others, like around my neck. I think once I lose weight that will help. and then I might see what I can do about it.

you know when I first saw a magic bullet commercial I spit out my drink in laughter. Its the name. I still think its hilarious. You see, I automatically think of a vibrator when I hear magic bullet. I'm not the only one I know who first thought of that either-- my friends were the same way. We figure someone in marketing brought it up as a joke but it somehow stuck. We have a regular handblender (but I use my kitchenaid much more. The hand blenders just don't last long with me and my doughs. I was goining through more than one a year when I got the kitchen aid pro). It has a couple of attachments that we use a lot. One of them is a little drink mixer thing. It works really well in big cups. The only caution is to make sure it is deep enough in before you turn it on otherwise you will have splashes to clean up. We used to use it for milkshakes all the time, now it gets used for Protein shakes more. It also has a mini food processor attachment that we use. But I got a real mini food processor for one of my bridal showers (I never even knew they made such things) and I adore that thing. I've never even used the big one since. The little one is better for things like pesto and spreads that I whip up since I'm not cooking large batches and it even comes with a little lid so I can just stick it in the fridge.

My husband says its pretty accurate too. Only there are some flaws, of course. For example, you can't get bigger boobs. And naturally, it doesn't let you play around with flabby areas or saggy areas or bad areas, (or good ones) or other things that are more individual. That sort of thing. On mine I find myself always wanting to make the boobs bigger, the shoulders broader, and the hips a little wider too in order to have it more accurate. Then I would make the calves more defined. I've got calves that aren't easily hidden. But of course it doesn't let one do all that. I imagine there is more sophisticated software that does allow that sort of thing, including photoshop, but one would also need to be proficient in such software.

While I dream about size 10's, I doubt that is actually reasonable. So my goal is going to be size 12. I'm not sure if thats quite reasonable either. I might need to settle for 14. We'll see. I just got back into my size 20's so that is nice at least. In high school it was mostly 16s and that was too heavy.

I have a large frame based on my measurements. I also know this based on my broad hips and shoulders. I'm not sure if my legs are long for my height or not- 32 inch inseam. But I do have man sized hands and feet. I also have a big head. Plus I was also always able to carry extra weight well. It takes much more than five pounds to make a dent in either direction. Now I thought I had a medium frame growing up because I figured it would make sense. I'm not that tall at all. And most people do have medium frames. But I don't. No one in my family does. http://www.healthybykiona.com/join.htm just send some measurements and get told stuff like frame size for free http://www.1is2fat.com/body_frame.htm this tells you all about using wrist and elbow measuremetns http://www.iahsaa.org/Body_Comp_Methods.htm in here this even tells you how to determine frame size using ankle circuference.

I get a sore port some days. As far as carbonation goes, I think this is to prevent bloating. I imagine that for me, at least, carbination would feel pretty uncomfortable at this point. I'm in chew, burp, chew, burp, chew, burp, mode as it is now. I suppose you chould try a sip or two of something and see how it feels. I had originally hoped to be getting to the gym and starting crunches at around this point, but I think that is going to have to wait, obviously it will have to wait. I have a check up in three weeks so I will ask about that stuff then. Maybe I will get the thumbs up at that point, I guess it depends on how the incisions are all healing and so forth. my tummy is going to look quite a mess. Five from the band, four from teh gall bladder. Good thing most of them are small. I used to use a big exercise ball. Like tons of my other stuff, it is packed in a box somewhere. It was also good for stretching my back and stuff too. And I have some bands and things I got from physical therapy. I was in physical for ten months after I first developed fibro before I was strong enough to use a regular gym at all. Then when I was able to it was so exciting to me. I was in a regular gym! Then I was strong enough to use machines! Some day I want to be all buff and strong and have toned abs and thighs and upper arms. i figure if I do end up getting plastic surgury than I had better look damn good underneath for it to be completely worth it. Looking and before and after pics online it seems to me that the thighs are one of the hardests regions to tone, even with lipo. So thats going to be on the top of my list for when I do start back at the gym. I'm excited about the idea. I want to take pilates again too.

I've had a pretty bad case of the stomach flu that doesn't seem to want to go away. It started on Monday (today is Friday) with a low grade fever. Nausea, indigestion, gas all present. The fever got a little higher on Tuesday but then it broke on Wednesday. I thought I started to feel better but anytime I try to eat anything or take any of my pills that just makes it worse. THen it started to get worse again. I ended up going to the ER today. At first the ER doc thought it was my gall bladder because he said it felt tender and it sure hurt when people pressed on it but other than that it didn't give me symptoms. Also while I have been losing weight very fast (about a pound a day) I still have only lost about 25 pounds and I'm young, etc. Plus the ultrasound came back normal. So I got some zofran in the ER (anti nausea medicine) and also a precription for some. I'm making an apointment with my regular doctor and I see my surgeon next week, I think, for follow up anyway. Anyone have things like this? I don't think it is my band. I have some restriction- same as before. But stuff still goes down fine. Its after stuff is all down and in the stomach and starts digesting the prolem occurs. Maybe its just the flu...