Penni60

Funny you should mention this. I just got some added Life Insurance through Chase and they asked me all kinds of questions about the band but nothing they asked would have negated the increase in my Life Insurance. The guy was just curious about it. He said the only thing that might make it delayed being accepted is they might need to contact my Band surgeon to get some info. So far I haven't been denied Life Insurance. I have alot of coverage and this was just some extra I was going for.

Milli Vanilli

I kissed my doc when he told me I needed a hysterectomy. I was hemorrhaging from the fibroids almost constantly. I had my last baby and never stopped bleeding for 8 months. Passed out at work and rushed to the ER. I had a hysterectomy a month later. Doc told me mine was about the same size Zoe. They had to take everything out cervix and all because everything was covered in endometriosis and looked pre-cancerous. I was 27 years old at the time. I have NEVER regretted the decision one day. I feel great and don't take hormone replacement therapy. I just take extra calcium. Where are you having the surgery?

Kathy said it best, "allowed myself to be loved" sounds simple doesn't it? Believe me it isn't. If it was then none of us would be in the shape we are in. I have recently come out of a horrible depression where I wasn't sure I wanted to continue living. After some intensive therapy and an enormous LOVING man (who I had to set straight on one issue, LOL), I am now understanding what it means to truly be LOVED. The other thing is to LEARN to love yourself. Once you do that the REBEL will die. You can bury her and put her way down deep. Yes she will try to climb back out at times but you just stomp on her head and tell her "NO, I am loved and you go away now." You gotta get stronger. You have started down this road and fear of succeeding is what can hamper our success. We get comfortable in our skin the way we are and when we start to see a change it scares us. Or at least that is what happened to me. I work at it every day to improve myself. I have this same inner critic that I fight with every day. Only mine is about my art and my classes and other things. So be aware that if you kill one inner voice then another one might pop up in a different area. Therapy is a good thing. I also agree with Vines, I journal like mad. I holler and scream in my journal at my inner voice. That makes me feel better cause I am directing the anger in the right direction. Take what I said and use it or ignore it. Just my ramblings.

Wanna be part of my idea? I am starting a book of "before and after" pics on weight loss. It stands to reason that I cannot take the before pics of some of you but I can certainly take the after pics. I love photography and am in the process of developing several different types of books full of my photography. I thought it would be cool to do one on weight loss. If interested in this project then email me at penni60@aol.com for more info.

WELCOME BACK PAULA

I will accept whatever people want to send me and if I ever get enough I will do the book. I won't abandon it completely since I think it is a GREAT idea and such a motivational tool for others out there. When I get enough people to participate then I will submit for publishing.

I'm with you on that caffeine thing. I have stopped it almost completely. I have the occasional cup but then immediately regret it. So I have been weaning myself off for the last few months now. I have stopped STARBUCKS altogether and that alone stimulated my weight moving in the right direction. I drink a subsititute called Raja's Cup. It smells like coffee and tastes like coffee. It is an Indian blend and if you let the bag sit and steep too long it can get rather strong. You just don't get all the nastiness that comes with the caffeine. I have also sworn off any artificial sweeteners as well. I use HONEY to sweeten my Raja's Cup or my herbal teas now. Amazingly it is sweeter so I use less and less. I am there for you. I know all about those nasty headaches. Drink LOTS of Water and that can help flush the caffeine out faster. I just did a detox and that helped me immensely.

I have tried just about all the flavors and find them way too sweet for me. I will stick to either plain Water or crystal light peach tea or the lemonade. Anyone tried the Propel water?

I have a personal trainer come in at least once every two weeks to motivate me. I try to walk every morning for at least 10 min sometimes longer. You just gotta move your body if it is nothing but for 10 min a day. THat is better than nothing.

Ok here is another marathon guys and gals. January 8, 2006, Sunday, at Newport Beach, Calif Here is the link if interested. OC Marathon John and I have already signed up for the 5K. Remember 5K is only 3 miles. You can run it or walk it. When I did the one in Los Angeles in March this Year I walked it and still ranked middle of the pack. The cost is minimal as well.

Hey Sarah, Michelle all you OC people come do the marathon wiht me. What fun it will be?

OK so no other takers? LOL!!!

Ok here is another marathon guys and gals. November 6, 2005, Sunday, at Santa Clarita, Calif Here is the link if interested. Santa Clarita Marathon John and I have already signed up for the 5K. Remember 5K is only 3 miles. You can run it or walk it. When I did the one in Los Angeles in March this Year I walked it and still ranked middle of the pack. The cost is minimal as well.

OK since I haven't gotten as much interest as I had hoped I will drop this idea.

I wear underwire bras as well. I could not wear them for at least two to three months. I just got some sports bras and that did just fine. Of course you aren't as lifted and separated as you would be with an underwire but the pain is a factor to consider.

This thread should not be an advertisement for Eric's business. Please refrain from utilizing it as such. I will discuss this with the other moderators. On another note, all I ask of people that need fills to please please investigate the person doing them thoroughly. You are risking losing your band or worse if the person uses less than sterile techniques. Inamed does a thorough instruction on doing the fills and then gives them a certificate but they do not "certify" anyone. You do not need a degree in the health field to perform a fill. But if you are a physician assistant you must work under the umbrella of a physician. It is a simple to call the Board of Health Licensing to verify the credentials of the person doing your fills. They must be licensed in the state they are practicing. We just need to do our homework.

This did not happen to me thank god but I did just have one done. They are a new torture device most likely invented by a man that we as women subject ourselves to and the sad thing is WE PAY FOR IT. Anyway, someone sent this to me in an email and I thought I would die laughing. Have fun. POWER OUTAGE DURING A MAMMOGRAM I actually kept my mammogram appointment. I was met with, "Hi! I'm Belinda!" This perky clipboard carrier smiled from ear to ear, tilted her head to one side, and crooned, "All I need you to do is step into this room right here, strip to the waist, and then slip on this gown. Everything clear?" I'm thinking, "Belinda, try decaf. This ain't rocket science." Belinda skipped away to prepare the chamber of horrors. Call me crazy, but I suspect a man invented this machine. It takes a perfectly healthy cup size of 36-B to a size 38-LONG in less than 60 seconds. Also, girls aren't made of sugar and spice and everything nice....it's Spandex. We can be stretched, pulled, and twisted over a cold 4-inch piece of square glass and still pop back into shape. With the right side finished, Belinda flipped me (literally) to the left and said, "Hmmmm. Can you stand on your tippy toes and lean in a tad so we can get everything?" Fine, I answered. I was freezing, bruised, and out of air, so why not use the remaining circulation in my legs and neck and finish me off? My body was in a holding pattern that defied gravity (with my other boob wedged between those two 4" pieces of square glass) when we heard, then felt a zap! Complete darkness and the power went off! "What?" I yelled. "Oh, maintenance is working. Bet they hit a snag." Belinda headed for the door. "Excuse me! You're not leaving me in this vise alone, are you?" I shouted. Belinda kept going and said, "Oh, you fussy puppy ... the door's wide open so you'll have the emergency hall lights. I'll be right back." Before I could shout "NOOOO!" she disappeared. And that's exactly how Bubba and Earl, maintenance men extraordinaire, found me, half-naked and part of me dangling from the Jaws of Life and the other part smashed between glass! After exchanging polite "Hi, how's it going" type greetings, Bubba (or possibly Earl) asked, to my utter disbelief, if I knew the power was off. Trying to disguise my hysteria, I replied with as much calmness as possible. "Uh, yes, yes I did thanks." "You bet, take care" Bubba replied and waved good-bye as though I'd been standing in the line at the grocery store. Two hours later, Belinda breezes in wearing a sheepish grin and making no attempt to suppress her amusement, she said. "Oh I am so sorry! The power came back on and I totally forgot about you! And silly me, I went to lunch. Are we upset?" And that, Your Honor, is exactly how her head ended up between the clamps.

I have actually seen a cartoon of this and it is called a "MANOGRAM" LOLOL!! I wanna be that technician. LOL!!!

Yeah Darcey come and check in and let us know how you are doing.

I saw her in April when I was in Nashville for a month and she was on getting ready for the big move then. So I am not sure what has happened since then. I was thinking about her the other day. She showed me her ring and it was darling. So she may be in the throes of wedding planning and still settling in.

Here is my experience with coffee and tea. First, let me say this is my personal opinion and personal experience. Second, no doctor told me to avoid coffee and tea. I have found that drinking any form of caffeine can over stimulate the gastric juices in my tummy and cause some indigestion. So keep that in mind when drinking caffeine. I have also found that a diet cola or any diet drink just isn't worth the aftertaste to me. I try to stay away from any kind of carbonated drink. It just fills my stomach too much and doesn't leave me room for the good things. Caffeine is just not good for our bodies in general. Now having said all that, I do find an occasional cup of coffee after a meal to be rather enjoyable. LOL!! So I find a substitution for the coffee fix. I drink Raja's Cup which is an Indian Coffee. Very NICE and gives me the coffee flavor without the caffeine. I was a HUGE VENTI CAFFE MOCHA STARBUCKS fiend for a long long time. I have broken that habit now. If I want that coffee flavor I fix a cup of Raja's or drink some herbal tea all decaf I might add. The caffeine does horrible things to my body. I get headaches, heart palpitations, and I am bouncing off the walls. So I avoid it now. I find I am feeling lots better. SORRY this is so long but had to share. LOL!!!

Muffin and Primadonah can you make it to the get together on Aug 30th?

Hey you two where in NY you located? You know a lot of us are coming to NY City in Sept for a bash. The Walk from Obesity is happening on Sept 24th wanna join us? It will be a blast. ANyway, I am in town from the 22nd to the 26th. Would love to connect with as many people as possible.

I tried copy and paste into Internet Explorer == NO LUCK I tried loading it several different ways == Still no luck It doesn't time out at all. It says the website can't be found period. I have emptyied my cache as well and still no luck. That website on my computer can't be found. OH WELL!!