meyouus

Thanks Mellio! Those are perfect! I have an image I wanted to post in this thread, but don't know how to do it. It's in my Pictures on my computer. Would you know how to post it?

When I go to a public restroom and I wash my hands, I look down and avoid the evil mirror that tells me how ugly I am. The worst is when I get a haircut. The hairstylist puts that humungous robe over you and ties it snuggly around your neck, that's extremely difficult for me as well. I barely look up and see what she is doing to my hair, I have to trust her as I cannot look into that mirror. I glance at my hair as I comb it in the morning, I don't look, I can't. Mirrors are my enemy. I hope to conquer them one day, but some say the bad feelings about your looks stays with you even after reaching goal. It is a trained behaviour. I have a saying... Mirror, Mirror on the wall What the hell happened!

That was incredibly breath taking! I can't run as I have two prosthetic knees, but I work out on the recumbent bicycle, and I attempt to use the eliptical. I'm one of those that blasts my music and doesn't have eye contact with all the fit people at the gym. But now I feel that maybe I can meet their eyes, not be ashamed of sweating with little effort and not be ashamed and embarassed at going much slower than the others at the gym. I am going to print this out and read it everytime I'm afraid to go to the gym. Bless you for posting this. This was my take on your post...

Hey there, A friend gave me 4 scoops of vanilla whey Protein powder to try because I was afraid to buy a whole tub and find out I don't like it. Well, I want to make a coffee type Protein shake with simple ingredients I have in the house already. I'll try all those other yummy flavors later on. Do you have any ideas for a cappucino or whatever, coffee type shake thingy? Can I be more vague? I'm in a good mood cuz I just got back from my WLS clinic and I lost 6 more pounds! I can do better, but YAY anyway.

Yeah, where can I find it?

Oh Thank you, thank you! All of you! I'm going to try it tomorrow for breakfast.

Do either of use ice, in the blender?

I agree, Banderama. From out of no where comes this opinion...perhaps it should have been posted in the Rant & Rave section. Just sayin.

OK, I had a technical problem last month that was corrected by an administrator (?)...and it was taken care of by pressing one button! Phew. Now, I have a new problem, this time with the format of the LBT website itself. There is a long rectangle covering the top of the page, the "...photos, forums, magazine, etc." list is covered, I cannot find the "newest post's" link, I can't access my messages sometimes, if I can, the messenger's photo and info is gone. I wrote to the "Contact Us" at the bottom of the page, but have heard nothing. I seriously rely on LBT and the wonderful people on here to live a sane banded life. PLEASE help me figure out what is messing up all the info and graphics on my LBT page!

I'm so confused. My NUT tells me to eat three meals a day and two Snacks. I go many times without feeling hungry, at all, and miss a meal or two. But then I make up for it at night, still a small meal (protein, veggie, starch if desired). If I don't eat, I end up seeing the NUT, being weighed and finding out I've lost muscle, not fat. I want to eat only when I'm hungry, but that leaves a hole in my food journal that I have to account for. I am not a volume eater, I just chose the wrong things to eat. Right now I'm eating properly, but just not so much. I see my NUT tomorrow, will talk to her about all this. Someone mentioned that they need their NUT to train them on how to eat, I think I'm one who needs to retrain myself. One day I want to eat everything I can't, the next I don't feel like eating anything at all. Like I said, I'm so confused....

Man O Man am I relieved it wasn't my computer, or something dumb that I did! Again, on this forum in one way or another, you're not alone! :wub: Logging in just now and everything is fine! I hope everybody else's page is loading correctly as well! Thank God my LBT is back!

Oh, I visited the VST site, and it's fine.

Hi...I'm reaching out to you guys. I've seen you help people when they were down. Well, I'm down. Tackling issues in therapy that are extremely intense, falling off the wagon because I know of no other way to deal with the issues I have. I'm really raw right now, and have not been following my NUT's food plan. I did it wonderfully last month, but this month I'm failing bad. Right now I am eating to punish myself. I'm feeling the pain. My therapist is working hard to get to the core issues that make me destructively eat. It's hell. I have no saline in my band, so I am just "dieting" and I'm losing the battle. I'm not eating when I should, I'm eating the wrong thing, I've jumped off the bandwagon and kicking myself when I'm down. I know, tomorrow is another day, start over. I tell other folks on here the same thing! But uncovering issues AND following a diet plan feels impossible! It's just too much. I'm flooded with feelings, emotions and it is SO hard to be mindful of my eating. I desperately want to take out my food journal tomorrow and fill it with the right foods, not the slips I've been having. I'm scared to death to fail again. I have it in me to do this, it's just boggled up in my head right now. I'm thinking I might need a fill. Haven't had one in 4 years. PLEASE help me, I'm trying so hard! I'm self-harming by food, a bad path to be on. Again, my therapist is working very hard with me. I just need to hear from you!

I can't eat steak, medium rare or well done, doesn't matter. I learned a long time ago that I don't do well with bagels either. Dry meats are a no-no. As for a donut, well I tried one a few months back and it went down great, unfortunately! Some times asparagus won't go down right and it comes back up, I think it's about the stringiness in the fibers. I;m a complete unfill at the moment, so all may change should I get filled in the future.

Hello Ladies, I took quite some time to respond to each and every one of you, but then I hit the wrong button and erased it. I lost the momentum. All in all, Bless you for lending an ear, offering advice and telling your own stories :wub: . Sometimes you just need to ask for help, especially when you're down. My therapist says "At least you're trying !" I am going to try some of the things you mentioned. I will be asking for a fill on the 4th, but I'm only scheduled to see my NUT so I don't know if they can do it then. The wait to find out whether I gained or lost this past month, and whether it was muscle that I lost. But like BeeBlueHeron said, "Get one good day, and the rest will follow." I'm taking it one breath at a time...

I'm having a problem and I wonder if anyone can help me. My NUT and Surgeon have me on a strict three meal, two snack (optional) a day diet. The point to try and keep my tummy full. But there are days where I am not remotely hungry, and I go one or two meals without eating. Usually Breakfast and/or lunch, sometimes dinner.( Not all three at a time) I've always been this way. I keep a food journal, and cross off when I don't eat and my NUT does NOT like that. But I'm not hungry! And, yes, sometimes that leads to eating more at night to make up for the lack of food during the day. That's why my NUT wants three meals a day. Sometimes I force food down just so I can fill the space on my food journal. That doesn't seem right. Do I press the issue of wanting to only eat when I'm actually hungry, with my NUT? I see her point, but sometimes I hate food. Oh and BTW, I'm not NOT eating because I'm trying to lose more pounds. No, no! I'm more worried about losing muscle mass by not eating. What do I do?

What is your take on any type of artificial sweetener? I'm researching it, well, I just started, and I'm finding that artificial sweeteners (AS) in the end cause weight gain. I read an article on Dr. Oz's website about it, I tried to copy and paste to this message, but I don't know what I'm doing, so it's not here. I use a fair amount of AS, and I'm thinking I should stop. I have to admit, I'm addicted. It's an easy way to get "sweet" and not gain weight. And in my favorite, Iced coffee, it is sweeter than sugar. I'd have to use a LOT of sugar to equal my AS's sweetness. I hear it is bad for you. I want to use mostly natural foods in my diet, you are what you eat, right? So if you can give me your opinion on AS's, the pro's and con's, I'd feel good having your input. You guys know your stuff! If I'm going to be losing weight, I'd like to put the most nutritional, safest foods in my body. It can't be avoided completely, but I need to cut down. If you used AS's and stopped using them, or cut down....I gotta ask, HOW did you do it?

tmf, You know? You're totally right. Besides, don't want my nutritionist to yell at me! Thank you. I just don't know how to not hate food sometimes. I really, really have the hardest time forcing myself to eat, sometimes it makes me nauseous just thinking about it.

Toddy, thats a good idea, drinking a Protein shake. When I have the money (I'm flat broke) I'm going to test out Protein powders. When they weigh me at the clinic, they see if I'm losing fat or muscle...don't want to lose muscle. Will the shakes prevent me from losing muscle?

It was so long ago I don't remember. But what a great topic! I loved reading all your answers.

It was cool to read all of your responses, thanks! I'm going to give Stevia a try. When I thought about where the 'sweet' was in my diet, I realized that it was almost entirely in drinks! I get me 'sweet' from fruit. No, that's not completely true, I also get it in SF FF pudding and SF Jello. I probably get it somewhere else but I can't think of it. I know I like hot black coffee, but black iced coffee? Uh uh. And Crystal Light has artificial sweeteners in it. See, drinks are my vice, therefore, my problem that must be addresed. I've managed to do well in the food rearrangement in my life, I'll just have to work on my drinks. I can do it, just don't wanna! tee hee. Thanks again for all your lovely responses!

Here, I found this to both help me understand, and also confuse me. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/artificial-sweeteners/MY00073

I couldn't have said it better!

Sphinx, I don't know how the Insurance thing works anymore, or the self-pay. But I can introduce you to my surgeon in Buffalo, NY. Dr. Alan Posner. He works out of Buffalo General Hospital...The Comprehensive Weight Loss Clinic. There's another surgeon working there too, I think his/her name is Hoffman. I don't know if this helps, but you could give them a try. Good Luck!

I'm so sorry, I must not be in the loop....What does SPK4TRS mean?