kyethra

This is what I do, and I can't speak for anyone else. I avoid caffeine in general as it tends to bother my stomach. I have GERD and caffeine is an irritant (yes the band has helped my GERD). But I do have some caffeine now and then. I would be very careful about caffeine right around the surgery-- about a month before and a couple of months after as that is when your body is going to be the most sensitive. And don't have a ton of it. As far as caffeine and dehydration go, I'm not sure if that is really true. To be honest, I have read one or two recent studies disputing this. I feel that these days decaf coffee is pretty tasty. I have a little bean grinder and I grind my own and then I use my electric percolator. Its a nice cup of decaf. Now, on to carbonation. I drink soda. Diet, caffeine free, generally speaking, but yes I do drink the stuff. I didn't drink anything carbonated until at least a couple of months post op. And then I took it slow and easy and let things get partially flat or more so in the fridge. For a while now I've been drinking regularly carbonated soda-- things like Fresca and diet caffeine free Pepsi. I also really like diet tonic Water for some reason but I prefer to let that defizz a bit. To be honest I am not a carbonation fan. I would prefer it if things were sold flat or with just a tiny bit of carbonation, but I find the drinks tasty and conveniant and I am not patient enough to wait for everything to go flat-- nor do I have the storage space to do so practically. My stomach has not exploded, but I do burp a lot. A burp a lot in general after the band. If you do try soda, let it be partially flat and take it very slow and easy. One thing I do and like is carry around a sigg water bottle and use the little crystal lite to go packs. White grape is one of my current favorites. These are also good for after the gym when I want to get some extra hydration in, or in the winter.

Last month, as I passed my bandiversary it occurred to me I hadn't been on here in ages. So now I'm finally logging in. I had a project to work on. School is keeping me busy, and I'm looking for assistantships. On one good news front: I should be able to get my Master's degree in August! I think it will be nice to have my M.L.S in hand. Then when I'm working on my Certificate of Advanced Study (its sort of like another masters here) and the K-12 teaching cert over the next couple of years it might make finding part time employment easier. This grad school thing sure is addictive. I'm already thinking about options for my next masters (I think children's lit), etc. I imagine I might get burned out and want to just work at some point. But right now I'm just adoring all the learning and really want to work on developing more of my research. And I'm finally moving in the positive direction weight loss wise again, rather than the evil yo-yo. I went to get a baby fill last week. I was done 11 or 12 pounds from my last fill! Woohoo! And the jeans and stuff are looser. I'm just 2 pounds away from my ever elusive 220 pounds goal. Way too much chocolate this week though. But I think by the end of the month I can get it. And then I need to get my behind in gear so I can lose what I can before we go on vacation in may. DH and I are going to Great Britain mid May and i'm so very excited-- 2 days in London, one day in Edinburgh, one day in north Wales, three days in Mid/South Wales and then one day in Bath. I've been doing better about getting to the gym too. I started Pilates in January and I go once or twice a week for that, and I started kickboxing aerobics about a month ago and go the same for that and do my weights as well. I have to keep the kickboxing low impact and I can't do certain things like stepwork or too many squats or else it really bothers an old SI joint injury of mine (my hip) but otherwise its great fun. Good for stress! The pilates and weightloss combined have been really helpful for an entrapped nerve ending I have in my abdominal wall. At the end of March I took a medication holiday from one of my wakefullness meds for my narcolepsy since the new neurologist mentioned that and I wish I hadn't. It really screwed up my sleep schedule for about 2-3 weeks even though it was just a one week break over spring break. I missed the gym, was late on homework, late for class, etc. Winter was a litter hard on me-- my neurologist is ill and has been on medical leave for a while so I had to schedule with a new one and I missed a regular apointment and med adjusment. Nothing big, but a few little things that can add up like a cold that turned into a nasty sinus infection. So now that spring might come I'm thrilled and I'm glad I'm feeling much more energetic too. I gave a performance of telling a version of sleeping Beauty the other day (Brynhild) :smile2: I'm thinking of trying another group class at the gym this summer and I want to try hang gliding. Now that I am under 250 pounds I can go for a tandem flight and lesson. I'm trying to plan out a few meals for this next week, mostly light stuff. I'm thinking Soup one day, frozen lean cuisine the next, and making my husband pick something up, and then fish, and then whatever. I like yoghurt for lunch. If I leave it up to choice without much thought I go for chips and dip a lot, which is ok but not for every day. I like bean dip and cheese dip and those have Protein and I eat it with pretzel bits or corn chips, but the calories can really add up. I also have been skipping Breakfast lately and that is just not good-- I end up eating more junk later when I do that and less energy. In order to have the appropriate amount of milk without spending too much one thing I have stared dong is freezing milk. I bought a couple quarts of milk and then washed out those containers. Now I get a gallon of milk and half of it goes into the quart containers. Those get frozen. then the other half (well a bit more since I leave room for expansion in the quarts) gets used. Then the frozen stuff gets thawed one quart at a time, and its time for a new gallon. This summer I have an internship working with kids so I'll need that energy! Then in the fall I'm going to be working with teens. Regarding telling people-- I do tell people, if they ask. Or I might mention it sometimes in passing. Its not a secret. I tend to be pretty open about things in general. I tend to advocate for inclusivity in terms of things like disabilities and so forth-- I'm someone with multiple invisible disabilties, narcolepsy and Asperger's Syndrome and Nonverbal Learning Disability. This is a related issue, to me. I think being able to have dialog about these things is important. I can see where people wouldn't want to share things about themselves and I certainly think time and place and environment are important considerations. I am in a liberal university environment-- thats easier than a more conservative corporate environment. I'm also in a field that tends to be liberal, at least where I am. I am enjoying planning for the warmer planting weather- I ordered a couple of apple trees to plant in the back yard, a golden delicious and a honeycrisp. I can't wait until they ship and then I can have DH dig the preliminary holes and when they come we can refine those and get them in the ground. It will be about 5 or 6 years until I expect them to bear fruit, but I have all sorts of things to protect them and baby them along. I got staking kits to help them grow tall, trunk wrap, fleece cover for winter, slow drip fertalizer stakes, some natural pest repellents, rabbit and deer repellents, rabbit and deer barriers (hey they eat at least half the garden every year, and I tend to kill most of the rest) and so forth. I'm trying some new garlic clips to keep rabbits at bay and I'm going to put my herbs in really big container gardens outside I've decided-- I am very bad at keeping herbs alive, I tend to kill them just putting them in the ground if I start seedlings. Not my talent. I also have some tomatoes I am growing hanging and some peas and I ordered some roses and more peonies and a little ground cover. I think thats all I'm up to! Plus I'll be busy with school and trying to get to the gym and so forth. Ok time for me to read last month's back posts!

I weighed myself just now before I head off to bed out of curiosity and I've lost more weight-- I'm down to 260 now. Now thats great and everything, but it seems to me like I am loosing weight faster than I should. Since the surgery on March 14th I've been losing at about one pound a day. And it doesn't seem to be slowing down. I'm not eating very much. Right now I am in the mushies stage. I have been for nearly a week. And there is plenty for me to eat, but I'm just not that hungry. Yesterday, for example, I wasn't hungry at all, but I drank a low carb slimfast and then some cristal lite. Today I had a smoothie for breakfast and it filled me up all day. I meant to eat today, but I just didn't get hungry after that. I have less restriction now then I did after the surgery, so I know it isn't some sort of problem with that and things are staying down fine. Just lack of apetite (which is really wonderful). Loosing weight this fast though just makes me nervous. Any input?

I'm not if it is just me, but how do people know when clothes fit, and when they are too small and too bit, other than being obvious like falling off, or not going on? For jeans thats one way that is easy-- its too big if it doesn't stay up or if I can take it off without undoing the buttons and zipper, I figure. But I have a hard time telling with tops. Right now, for example, I suspect the shirt I am wearing might be too big for me. Its a long sleeve button down shirt, slight bit of stretch (like 97% non stretch, then maybe 1-2 percent stretch), thats the sort I tend to like. I also really like 3/4 sleeve. Now the reason I think it might be too big is because it looks sort of pretty loose, including the collar being sort of low and I can push the sleeve up over my elbow without undoing the button at the cuff (but it is only a one button cuff). So does that mean it is too big? How loose/tight are shirts supposed to be? This morning I tried layering a T shirt over it and I just looked silly-- like I was wearing my older brother's clothing as a kid or something. At the same time I don't want things to be too tight and when I wear fitted clothing I tend to worry that things are too small. Does anyone else feel this way? I never had this problem before, but then I wasn't trying to wear things from three or four different sizes in one week before.

I love the svelt belt in body by nancy ganz. I wear that just about every day, because it doesn't seem to matter what bottoms I wear, I know have enough loose flabby tummy stuff that it makes my outline just look plain odd under my tops unless they are super thick and so forth. I like the belt because its just a big round thing of spandex, no undie part and no boning. Thats better for me for daily wear. Its actually two belts. A smaller one in case I just want to compress that one flab bulge and I can put the two together for extra compression but normally I just wear the larger one for overall smoothing. It wasn't expensive either, only about 20 dollars online. I'm a 16 in jeans (a little snug but 18 is too large) and about a 20 on top. Now my bust is exactly the same circumference as my hips are, so I find it sort of funny that there is such a difference in sizes, but thats the way it is. My jeans, the jeans I adore and think are wonderful are Levis 529 Curvy Jeans. The back is cut higher than the front and they are flair/bootcut. They are built for people with hourglass sorts of curves. These jeans fit my ass! Its a miracle!! LOL. Normally that doesn't happen and in all honesty I really don't have a big butt, though I do have wider hips and a smaller waist compared to size standards. Thanks to the new directions of my workout I think my butt is shaping up nicely too, albeit its under some loose skin.

Unless some amazing elasticisty and shrinkage happens, I'm going to need some plastics. My skin is just disgusting. Disgusting! Actually, in some spots, like the upper arms its so bad its fascinating. Seriously, I look in the mirror and stare entranced at the folds of loose skin. Its like some science experiment. It now has folds! For a couple of months I have not been at all able to wear sleeves that reveal upper arms. And I swear that a couple of days after every pilates session, my thighs get looser. My tummy is actually pretty bad. It gets lower and lower. I got a girdle thing, its called a svelt belt for daily wear because my silhouette was just that off under shirts and stuff. My grand plan involves having a kid in a couple of years. And after that I plan on having surgery to tuck, liposuck, and tighten and whatever else it is that needs doing. My boobs, for example, just keep migrating south. I know its cold out, but I am not even 25 yet! Sometimes I like to think about life as a cyborg. The high end kind, naturally where there are no bugs and all the machinery works correctly. I think about what parts I would get fixed or replaced and so forth. And I suspect that boobs cross not only my list but the list of many women. Think of it! If we were all cyborgs, we could adjust for things like sensitivity levels. I'm tone deaf, aka amusica, and I'd like to experience music the ways other peolple do since they seem to have completely different criteria. So I'd think they could make a chip for that or something. Because I watched the inspector gagdette cartoons as a kid, I think a swiss army knife thumb might also come in handy. Yes, I know there are issues like Gattica, etc. But sometimes its nice to imagine. I could open anything with that thumb! Ok sorry for the tangent, but yes I do plan on plastic surgery being in my future.

I thought that the pre op liquid diet felt like some sort of form of torture. Hideous medieval Torture. It was hard! And my scale wasn't moving. I felt like I was starving and here the weight should have been just about visably melting off of me, I was that hungry, but nope. So then I had the surgery and of course afterward the liquid diet is no big deal. Its all fine and dandy. I just got a fill tuesday. I needed it! I was told not to wait so long and let the band do more work. Thats what I needed to hear-- and to tell the truth it makes me feel like less of a failure having been plateued these past few months. I'm to go back in in six weeks.

I needed a fill in a bad way-- I got on on Tuesday. A good .4ccs, and it feels very appropriate to me, puts me right back at that happy spot in terms of adequate restriction. When I went in this time I had not been in previously since October, I got a .3cc fill then. So that means I have .5, .3, and .4 cc fills to date. Thats a total of 1.2! So far I've got room for plenty more. I was saying that with my plateu I have been having such a hard time with I felt like a large part of it was really also mental and knowing when I needed a fill earlier and that I should try and keep better track of what I was eating, be more aware of details and accountability to help with discipline and to also know that. Doctor said I was trying to take too much on myself and to let the band do more of the work and to come back in six weeks-- not to wait. So I was thinking about that and I have to admit it sure is a lot easier with more fill! But I do want to keep track of things better as well. So I'm going to work on that, and I'll definitey go back in six weeks even if I am not sure if my restriction has changed because a baby fill probably would do me good. I have been working out more. I've been ramping it up to twice a week and I just starting kickboxing aerobics, which was good, but exhausting. Though this week I haven't been to the gym at all because tuesday I wasn't physically feeling up to it and this morning we were snowed in still. And now I'm comming down with a cold! I hope it stays mild and doesn't get bad. I just absolutely hate colds. I really think they are among the worst sorts of things because if you can't breath normally its just about impossible to get comfortable. I used to have a cold more often than not as a kid because I had terrible allergies that were not treated and it was misserable. I don't get them often now. Though a couple of years ago I had pneumonia twice in the fall and that was hard-- it took a long time to recover from in terms of overall health. Of course I am much healthier these days than I used to be. That is likely in part due to the weightloss. I think that helps me move better and makes things a little more comfortable physically. My birthday is in mid april and I am wondering how much I could lose by then and what a reasonable goal to set is.

I made an apointment to get a fill next week. I need one! I'm not getting full nearly as quickly, and I'm getting so much faster now. I should have had one earlier this month, but it took me a while to recognize the signs. Plus I had behavorial issues to deal with too and I figured that all my problems were due to that. Like gee, I don' feel like being healthy, I feel like eating junk food, etc. I'm really liking the pilates. i feel really bad on some exercises where others are more advanced than I am, but I quickly get over it I think tomorrow I am going to try the kickboxing aerobics class as well. I used to really love that sort of thing. I still have my advanced tae boa videotape somewhere, actually. I started that in highschool. Then I worked out my first couple years of college, off and on, then the year after I got sick and since then I haven't been physically able to do things I used to do before I got sick like kickboxing aerobics, or aerobics at all. Or fencing. I imagine the kickboxing class might be a bit much for me at first, but I'm ok with that. I'll stay at the back and pace myself. I know aerobic activity is certainly good for weightloss, though I have to admit that I have always tended to prefer the strength activities. If I get into the cardio stuff and get into that zone and am feeling good and having lots of energy, its all good. But some days its all blah and its all I can do to not go take a nap on one of the stretching matts. The muscle/strength building stuff feels good and I can see the results and those are applicable even in cardio and just so much else and in daily life. I remember back when I was in physical therapy and I first noticed the difference in little things like carrying the laundry basket, or grocery bags and how big those little differences were-- thats a strength thing to me, if that makes sense. And I'm working on my head issues. I think part of it is a general mind set that I see in other areas of my life and it gets influenced by how I am feeling, etc. I just keep thinking of how awesome it will be to be as healthy as I can be. It sounds like everyone is doing great!

I've got big feet, while I prefer to call well defined calves, large ankles, and some big knees, and some really big thighs. It could be worse. I have family members with even larger legs than I. I believe the term hearty peasant stock might be used. Personally, my legs aren't the sort of thing I'm going to lose sleep over. But I find it frustrating when I can't get much in the way of hoisery or socks even because they don't make things that will fit. So I'm happy to report on stuff that does, in case there are others with big feet and well defined calves. I've known about we love colors, Colored Tights, Fishnets, Leggings and Fashion Hosiery | We Love Colors for a while now. And I love their nice bright tights. Personally, I wish they had more of their selections available in plus sizes, but i'll take what I can get! dream socks is a recent discovery of mine. dreamsocks.com I ordered a couple pairs of thigh high socks that actually go up over my knees. Since it was 5 degrees today, thats the sort of thing I like right now. And they have some cool stuff. One pair of over the knee socks I ordered went up to my knees-- I wasn't expecting them to fit over my knees. The ones that went up on over my knees, and yes, over part of thighs, but just a couple inches of thigh, were their large Super Ms and their Super Dreamy Stockings. While I'm on the subject of undergarments I might as well add that I decided to get a girdle sort of thing for daily wear due to the loose skin and so forth-- I'm happy with my svelte belt by body by nancy ganz.

My port incision is located on my right side about midway between my belly button and the bottom of my bra. About an inch to the right of my port incision I can feel a large lump just running my hand over the skin. It hurts (a lot depending on how hard) if I press on it. Is that my port? Is this normal? I thought we weren't supposed to feel it. I haven't felt it before. And since I still have so much weight to lose it sort of makes me wonder if I can feel it now, what will it be like later? Why isn't it under my incision? I had my surgery March 14th so all of this is still new to me.

1. Parasailing 2. Thigh High Socks and Stockings, etc. 3. Attempt to learn a martial art.

He has always known. It is not a secret. Its not a secret to anyone. It stoped being a secret quite a while ago. I'm fat. I think people noticed. Its ok to talk about. Not talking about is, I figure, the sort of thing that makes teens think everyone is supposed to weigh 120 or whatever. DH and I are the same height and I've always weight more than him. Though he has gained weight since I've gotten banded- I find that ironic. He went to the Dr. recently for an annual physical (it has been several years) because I made him. According to the BMI chart, he's a little overweight (almost halfway to obese-- that can't be right!) is how he puts it despairingly). He needs to lose 10 pounds. I'm not about to cry him a river. His blood pressure was also a bit high, and he gets stressed, and headaches, so he is supposed to start exercising on a regular basis, the doctor says. So now I remind him and encourage him to join me at the gym. I did laugh at him, just a little when I heard he was supposed to exercise. But that is because not only I, but also friends have been telling him this for a long time. Of course he also has this retainer he never wears (he has braces that recently came off after 3 years). Sometimes he is supportive- most of the time. But sometimes he nags about stuff, like when I eat some junk food. Then I remind him he drink way too much mountain dew and its really unheathy for him, and he eats honey buns by the case. I warn my husband that when I lose all the weight I'm getting my wedding dress taken way in and we have to get a picture retaken with him in his suite and me in the dress, looking all nice together.

Yeah, the liquid diet felt like evil or torture to me. I like unjury myself. I add some benefiber. I need to get a fill-- I'm hungry these days. My tummy is talking to me, and I listen all too readily. I'm trying to focus on healthier Snacks these days and working out more. My gym is the Mettler center in Champaign. I like it because they have different classes and are conscious of various health issues and I can get physical therapy there when I need it and make sure everything coordinates. Did everyone here? The weight loss surgicenter for Champaign that Dr. R plans on building actually was approved. It was in the paper. Personally, I am interested to see what sort of plastic surgery specifically is offered. Looking at the way the skin is sagging already, I'm definitely going to need some in the future (I'm going to wait a couple of years until after I have a baby though-- get all that skin stretching done). The News-Gazette.com: State OKs weight-loss surgery center in Champaign

You know, I think I'm hot stuff too. LOL. It really is 95% about health for me. I don't want to develope other issues. And I came off of blood pressure meds. I have a hip injury that acts up from time to time. I have fibro. I have an entrapped nerve ending in my abdominal wall-- weight loss is helping with that. And other issues. I'm a freaking mess. My body went from 20 through to old age without stopping at the midpoints, I sometimes think. I want to be able to have a healthy pregnancy. A lot of pregnancy complications and so forth are related to weight-- a banded pregnancy is healthier than an overweight/obese one. I want to be able to do more physically. The bigger I got, the less I could do. There were spaces and places I was having trouble wedging myself in and I would worry about some chairs holding me up sometimes, etc. Sex positions!!!! Martial arts, etc. Falling more gracefully and having less people feel the jolt because I sure am a clutz. That sort of thing. Thats the other 5%. Now that I am working on losing the weight, etc., I've decided that I want to be able to wear standard sizes. My dream size is a size 12. Quite frankly I don't think I'm getting smaller than that. My mother is a size 10 and she is a few inches shorter than me and she is at a normal weight and normal BMI. She is sometimes a size 8 if she loses more, but then she gets bony. So that sure would be one big bonus for me. That ability to wear things I can't now. Like whole store departments. And not standing out because of my weight. I want to stand out for other things, like my gorgeous hair, my hourglass figure (soon to be thinner hourglass figure), my insightful thoughts, my skull accessories, my delight in alphabetizing, ladies footwear that is fashionable yet comfortable, whatever-- so long as it is me and not something that just happens to surround me. Thats always true. But losing weight can make it more of a reality.

I don't think wraps do anything permanent-- I believe they are more of a dehydration thing. Personally, my skin is getting disgusting. I'm hoping it improves, but quite frankly if things keep up at this rate my plan is that It can all "hang" around for a couple of years until I have a baby, then my body is getting some major plastics. My upper arms I knew were going to be bad. But I didn't think I would get actual skin folds at this stage. Do you know what I mean? The loose skin now actually creases when my arms are down at my sides. Oh so not good looking, and maybe I need to work on some sort of serious weight lifting routine or something, because while I might be getting stronger at the gym, there is no one anyone could ever tell looking at me. And I swear that for every pilates class I go to, I get more jiggle in the thigh. I recently purchased a svelt belt for daily wear because all my tops just look odd now, due to the wierd shilouette of my deflating upper spare tire. And my lower belly gets lower! My husband is wonderful about it. I will look in the mirror and whine. I'll say, but I'm down in sizes! Or But its looks so much worse! And he reassures me its loose skin and that the loose skin is just because I'm losing weight and toning up, etc, and can be fixed eventually. My doctor said she went to a conference over the summer on weight and a study presented said regular massages can really help with the loose skin issue. It helps skin retain its elasticity and so forth-- or something along those lines. Microderm abrasion and things like that dont help with it because it has to be that deep pressure massage. So I figure I might try getting some massages, I was going to do that for my shoulder blades anyway at the community college (they have a program) and try massaging sagging bits of myself other than my back at home.

I've gained weight. Blah. I need a fill. I figured that out Friday night. I made a frozen lasagna for dinner. I had a slice. Ate it all. then was still hungry! Ugh. Plus I've been making some bad choices this winter re head hunger and food that is easy to go down and an old fav. versus healthy for me. I need a swift kick in the rear. One thing I did recently though was get some healthy snacks at the grocery store. So when I do want something it is easier for me to stay on track-- things like my soy crisps, some trail mix because in small doses that is good, etc. I feel like a junk food addict sometimes. If I have good restriction and am in a good mental place, then its all good. Just a bit will do. But other times its easy to get on that downhill slope. And it doesn't help that my favourite junk food, ice cream, goes down well. At least I can't go crazy with things like cinnamon rolls though :girl_hug: I started pilates a week and a half ago. I like them. The first session I was very sore the next day. We also move a sofa bed that day as well. I just curled up in a little ball for a couple of hours. The next time, I wasn't as sore the next day. But I swear that these days every time I go to the gym, a couple of days later my body gets saggier somewhere else. honest. A new wrinkle in the thigh. A fold of loose skin in the upper arms cause its increasing, etc. I thought at my age I was supposed to have some skin elasticisty left? I bought a svelt belt by body by nancy ganz for daily wear. I like it. Otherwise I just look odd in most tops due to my upper belly now. And I swear the lower belly (and boobs) have never sagged this low. Despite these thigns, I am sliming down in some spots. Or at least retaining the slimness I achieved despite gaining a few pounds. The size sixteen jeans I have still fit me the best, the size 18 are still too loose. Things like that. My bra band needed snugging not too long ago. I think I should start using sparkpeople or fitday more seriously. Maybe get a bodybugg and see how the numbers help me out. I dunno. I need a job too, if I can a good one. DH and I are going to Britain in May so thats a goal for my body and for us in terms of budget. Hmm... I think my gym tends to look for childcare for their room, and free membership is one of the perks.

I don't flirt. Or at least I wouldn't know it if I was doing it. Nor would I know it if others were flirting with me. In the past, like in high school, I can remember times where I was told so and so must like me because of certain things, or so and so was checking me out, but of course I dismissed such things as foolishness. If I didn't like them or didn't think it made sense for them to like me, then obviously it wasn't so. The first thing was when a guy in one of my art classes would offer to do little things for me like sharpen my pencils, or offer me sticks of gum. Another girl thought he liked me because of that and since he didn't offer other people gum. I thought it was because he just got restless in class and he offered me the gum because my teeth are yellow (they were stained by antibiotics I took when I was very small). Or sometimes another guy would look at me. Those things are confusing. Trying to figure out why another person is staring at you can be difficult. Are they "checking you out", are your clothes on inside out, shirt buttoned wrong, perhaps there is something on the face, or the hair is weird, do they think you look weird, like someone they know, look interesting, maybe they just like to stare at people and don't realise it can make others paranoid? Or at least these are the things I wonder about. Flirting is not my only disaster. I am not really able to decipher most body language or facial expression. I can't even start to figure out tone of voice. So I'm clueless. I had some dating disasters before I met my husband. I didn't think some things were as unsubtle as they-- as I was-- before, as I know they are now. Once I left a date early, a first date, all dates were first dates, because I bored and hated being bored. As an excuse I said that I told my roomate I would tape Friends. And I really did think that was a great excuse. When I met my husband I sometimes think it was fate or he was starting to get desperate. Or a bit of both. The first time he asked me out-- he asked if I wanted to go get something to eat-- I said no, not right then, because I was really tired because I had been up far too long, but perhaps another day we could get coffee. And I meant it. So we did go get coffee. He said he didn't like coffee and I asked if he meant none and he said he liked some of the really sweet coffee drinks so I said ok, lets meet at borders. We talked for hours. There was no subtley. I always told him things, or he asked me things, and then I might tell him. Or I would ask him/tell him. Or we would talk about things. I don't do subtlety. Once some guy followed me for a bit and then he grabbed my hand and propositioned me. If that was flirting I noticed that. But I don't really recommend it. It was at the Tropicana in Vegas. Not the best place on the strip. Or in my single days sometimes guys would offer to buy me a drink. They tended to be short guys. I like being married.

Yup, I have hair again! And my hair grows fast! it grows a good 1.5 inches or so a month. Its now poofy around my ears. I experiment with different styling products to keep it down-- when I wake it up it tends to like to stand up straight or else I have a hairdo that sort of resembles wolverines. Not the best looks for me. But when I get it to behave, its adorable

I had my gall bladder out six weeks after my lap band was put in. And I was a couple months recovering from that. Well its been over six months since it came out and I now have no long term difference, thankfully, except for my skin. My complexion has changed. And darn't, I know its from getting my gall bladder out. I've always been prone to milia, those hard tiny hard little white bumps that don't come out like white heads or black heads. Those are caused, at least in large part, from excess cholesterol on the surface of the skin. But this isn't related to blood levels of cholesterol. For a while I'd done at home microdermabrasion and that has helped me not get new ones and with my skin in general. I have combination skin, so I also used 5% benzoyl peroxide gel on my face in the evenings. I also use face wash, whatever is nice, biore or bath and body works, or something. thats followed by Origins united state toner. love that. Then their white tea perfect world serum. Then moisturizer (st. ives) if I was using the benzoyl peroxide. Of course I wear sunscreen everyday, nice light texture stuff, can't really tell its on. I don't wear makeup everyday. Wash face twice a day, etc. So my skin did just fine under this routine. Then after the gallbladder came out, I got a lot more milia. My pores started getting bigger, especially on my cheeks. I now get those cholestrol bumps on my eye lids, but they are very tiny, I think they are called xanthelasma palpebrarum. My blood cholesterol levels are just fine-- it has always been excellent. That runs in my family-- good cholesterol level no matter what we eat. My liver enzymes behave a little oddly, but they always have, and from what I can tell that doesn't seem to have anything to do with these things. And since its the same odd... I have to say that this is really bugging me. I don't have any more acne, and my skin isn't oilier. But its uglier. Bigger pores, milia, and scaley texture under my eyes. I'm not sure what that is. I think it might either be a bunch of little milia or else the skin is sort of scaley. My skin isn't dry though. If I can't come up with something soon, I'm going to see a dermatologist. I use the home microdermabrasion (exfoliation) every other day. I take my vitamins-- including stuff for skin in them. I get Protein. I get enough liquid. I do a face mask (aspirin and honey) once a week. Right now I am trying both moisturizer and benzoyl peroxide twice a day to see if that helps. Any ideas? Anyone else with the same problem or other gall bladder skin woes?

Sp how is everyone doing in the new year? I'm Ata, from Champaign. I just finished my 1st semester of grad school at U of I in December-- I'm getting my masters in Library Science and also my K-12 teaching certificate. I also went to U of I for my undergrad. I was banded by Dr. Rohrscheib in March. Did anyone else lose their gall bladder? Mine failed rather spectacularly. I had mine out six weeks after I was banded. Though I have to say my initial weight loss was really fast-- it was a pound a day, maybe a little more. It slowed down. I had gained back about 14 pounds in October, then had a fill and lost six, then been platued until early December. So I'm finally losing again (well except for the last couple of weeks. All my fault too when I don't lose on account of bad habits like not having a Protein Shake for Breakfast and then eating too much junkfood and sweets. They taste good and go down easy). I broke my bathroom scale. again. Crumpled on me. So I ordered a new one, just arrived. I hope to meet goal sometime in 2008! Though I have to say I am seriously thinking about getting a girdle or waist cincher. I have one pair of the spanx type panties that do that and I love them. I have this belly flab up front and it seems like these days it just shows through most of my shirts and so forth. It sticks out too, this flab...

I'd hate to spit up that much. I call PBing/throwing up spitting up because, at least for me, it really seems like spitting up. A couple of years ago I learned how to screen infants and toddlers for possible developmental delays and I remember the process-- they get fussy or get that look and stuff just comes back up. Then its all ok. Well thats the way I feel. I admit that stuff still comes up more than I would like. Not daily, but more than once a week. I think I must be a slow learner. That gets frustrating. I'd think I'd figure it out faster. But it takes me a while-- I have to remember to eat slowly, pausing between those bites. When it starts to feel a certain way, thats it. Still I eat too fast enough of the time or don't recognize that feeling soon enough, and then it catches up to me, and uh oh!

As for leg cramps. You can try Calcium as well as malic acid with magnesium. Those supplements all help. And bananas do too because of the potassium! I have a list of resolutions. Getting the house done and clean and organized is tops on my list! Today DH brought in my last big boxes from the garage-- these are moving boxes from my apartment from August of '06. Well they are now empty and I'm sorting through stuff. The only things left of mine out in the garage now are a couple of boxes of kitchen stuff he wouldn't bring in because he was cold and crappy and about a dozen small boxes that have books in them. The books can stay out there for just a bit longer seeing as I have no place to put them. My current books that I am unpacking are just getting stacked up against the wall in my office. My shelves are overflowing, again. And I have boxes full of books and stacks of them downstairs. I need shelving! Lots and lots of shelving. Then this week I am scraping the popcorn texture off of the dining room and living room ceiling. I am not looking forward to the living room celing. We might need a scaffold for that part-- the celing is at an angel-- it rises so it gets up 16 feet and its a large room, so the square footage is huge. Then those celings can get primed and painted (I got a pro painting sprayer thing, thinking it would help with the celing). Then the old carpetting is comming up. The lovely new high end laminent is going down. New trim. Then the walls get painted. I hate scraping off the ceiling texture, not because it is hard, but because it gives me a sore back and shoulders. So when I do work on that, I count it as a work out. I spray it with a fabric softner Water combo and then scrape the area I sprayed with a putty blade. It comed off pretty easy. Another resolution of mine includes the stair stepper. Five minutes a gym visit. I also start pilates on the 8th. I hope the gym isn't too crowded in January. I'm also going to be better in terms of scheduling my time and working ahead on things. And getting my husband to go household chores and doing them myself. oh, and I am sticking to a routine. I like routines. I think thats the gist of it. Maybe play with the animals more-- I think they want more attention. I ordered a new scale recently, what with the way I broke mine again and all by stepping on it. What was I thinking... standing on my scale like that. This time I got a health o meter high capacity for about 70 dollars. a digital. I figure if it can handle up to four hundred pounds, my weight shouldn't be an issue with it. And its supposed to be a good brand, reliable. Happy New Years, all!

Ditto on the magnesium. When I was adjusting doses of a med that causes temporarily sore muscles, I added that in. I used magnesium with malic acid and took some calium with Vitamin D. You might also want to try diet tonic Water for the quinine- though I doubt it is enough quinine to actually do anything. You could also see about different meds. I don't have RLS, but I do have Periodic Limb Movement Disorder, and I just kick my husband all night long without requip. I tried other meds before that and they weren't for me.