Marimaru

Toss them clothes girl. I keep my clothes that are one size up, just because size is never constant and it kind of varies by day (but in a general downward motion). A few times lately my mom has said that I did something better than her, and I really just don't know how to handle it because I've never heard encouragement like that, lol. Anywho, you could 'what if' your mom the same thing. The RnY isn't any more a sure thing than the lapband is. *try* not to take it personally, I don't know your mom, but it's possible she was voicing her own fears for her own situation. *hugs*

I've never heard that exersizing doesn't help you lose weight. Hell, my primary doc says walking is worthless (that was a shot in the gut, when I was walking 3 miles a day after doing nothing for years). I'm 25 (today).

I don't understand why people don't understand that walking rules are the same as driving rules. In the US, we drive on the right, people should walk on the right. I HATE it when I'm walking somewhere, like the mall, and the general flow is going pretty well, but someone insists on walking on the WRONG SIDE. It screws everything up. If I go somewhere where you drive on the left, people should get mad at me if I insist on walking on the right. I hate pedestrians. If you are on a crosswalk, walking when the little green guy tells you to, this doesn't apply, but NO ONE around here seems to do that. I work on a street that has cross walks seriously every 50 or less. I damn near ran this guy over this morning because he decided he was crossing HERE and NOW. He didn't even hardly look until he was already off the sidewalk. I thought I had more, but I guess that's it for now.

I agree that it is possible that there is some underlying fear as a reason that he does this. That doesn't excuse lying about it when you found evidence and asked him about it. Especially since it seems to me that you found it by chance, not because you were snooping into his affairs. My fiance and I work at the same place, and I manage payroll, so we would never have this problem, but my mom had signifigant issues with my dad and money before they got divorced and I've had some arguements with him about money, and he just will.not.see that it's not about the money. It's about the lies and the sneakyness. Our problem was the opposite, that we should have had money we didn't have because he was spending it *somewhere*. In counceling I've discovered that his behavior looks more and more like an addiction of some sort, but I can't even begin to imagine what it could be. Anyhow, I don't mean to go against the other posts of people saying to give him the benefit of the doubt, because I believe you should to begin with, but money troubles can become large, and it's not about the *money*.

I'll be glad when this information is pretty main stream. Hopefully as this becomes more and more the way doctors think of obesity, they really will be able to come up with a drug you can take for it.

TOM, another idea for her birthday would be to get some nice candles, and a good smelling lotion or massage oil and give her a nice back massage or foot rub. Another thing too is to get her a birthday card that says something to the effect of "Happy 47th Birthday" One year my mom decided she was 35. She's gone up from that, but working for her and having taken copies of her driver's license and things, she's 6 or 7 years older than anyone thinks she is. :welldoneclap: Regarding tension and whatnot, sometimes a good cry is all a girl needs. There's nothing to *do* about whatever it is, but it's bothering you and the emotions fill up and just need a way out.

I've had my thyroid checked. My doctor says it is within normal levels, but I've read of people who were low-normal who benefited greatly from synthroid, but it all depends on the doctor as to whether they'll give you anything for being 'low normal'.

I am also interested in seeing the pictures if you are willing to share them

I've been able to feel my port since the beginning. It doesn't stick out yet, but it doesn't take as much for me to feel it.

I haven't had a fill in over 2 years. I had one unfill june before last. I've lost 30 of my 80 lbs since that last unfill. I stick for a few months, and then drop 5, 10, or 15 lbs, and then stick for a while. It's frustrating as hell, but not near so much as before I realized there was a pattern... Some days I can only get liquids down if I sip all day, so another fill is really out of the question, so I've just been doing the best I can with what I've got. Some of the times that I've dropped weight have been from me buckling down and trying different things (counting calories, carbs, whatever), other times the weather (or something) makes me super tight and I lose some from that, other times, I'm not even sure what I did. For me, the band keeps me from gaining weight when I'm not losing it, and really that's enough for me. Anyone can lose weight, it's a matter of continuing the diet plan long enough, or not gaining it back when you are done, so having the band to keep me from gaining lets me pick up where I left off...

I'm not losing weight any faster than I would be if I'd been dieting 'on my own' this whole time I don't think, but I don't have any issues with that. At first I was discouraged that I wasn't losing faster, but I've realized that now that doesn't matter to me. I'm on the way down, and I'll get there. The band helps me keep on track, and if I do get off track, I stay the same weight, I don't gain anything back, so, I'm fine with that too. I've lost 80lbs, and I would call that serious weight, even if it's taken 2 3/4 years to do it.

I've recently been peeling my own onion. Both of my parents are in the middle of it, but with regard to my mom, she says lots of comments that I'm not 100% sure she means as insults, but they come out that way, or at least sometimes I take them that way. A little bit at a time, I've gotten better at letting some of her comments roll off my back.. it's a slow process, but knowing that she's not going to change, I just need to get better at dealing with the behavior you know? Worse is my dad, but that's a long story.

I went and looked it up, I'd never heard of it before. Based on nothing more than a short video clip, it looks like it could work well IF you use it right. It looks like you could easily trick yourself into thinking you were doing something good for yourself, but you really aren't getting any benefit because you aren't doing it correctly. Does that make sense?

As a planning bride, I say Auntie is being unreasonable. It's 'her' day, blah blah blah, but at this point it doesn't cost her anything to give Emily a role in the day, even if it's not in the bridal party. I wanted one of my future nieces to be my flower girl. As soon as I realized that another one of my future nieces was only 6 months younger, I didn't have to give it any thought to say "we're having 2 flower girls". It's a small wedding, and the family of the 2nd girl may not be able to come, but if they do, she's in it. I think that things like this really reflect how people really feel about things in life... they may compromise on a normal day, but once they are given the impression that it's "all about them", their "real" thoughts come out. I, on the other hand, am having a HARD TIME making some 'selfish' decisions...

Thank you for thinking of us and sharing your story. I do think it's important for us to hear this stories, in the research process, and after. I hope you'll stick around and keep us posted on how you are doing. You're still a 'bandster', even without your band.

17 lbs in roughly 5 weeks is nothing close to "ONLY"... get that word OUT of your vocab!

When I first woke up I was shocked by the pain. I didn't remember anything after talking to this one doctor in the prep room, but I evidently had another conversation with someone, handed my fiance my glasses, took a pill, and then went into the OR. I think my brain tripped out because it didn't remember why I was in pain. Once I woke up for a minute, and sat up a little bit, I felt much better.

Very interesting indeed. I wasn't a particularly chubby LITTLE kid, but around 7 or 8 I started gaining, and definately hit puberty around 9...

Green beans are easy for me, I usually steam them or boil them. Cooked carrots are good too. Vegetable soup is a great way to get some veggies in, and makes a good low cal snack.

Alcohol is recommended against simply because of the empty calories. I seem to be able to stand spicier food now than I used to (maybe because I'm pickier about quality??). Pardon the pun, but go with your gut!

I say skip the scale for a while (if you can stand it) and just keep a measuring tape handy.

I'm at 33, yay!

I don't disagree with the people saying to just relax for a while and not stress so much, but I also want to mention that if after that, and you start working at it again if you aren't losing, you should make a doctor tell you why. There ARE true medical reasons to not be able to lose weight, and you should definitely know if that's your reason. Lookup Vinesqueen on these boards if you haven't already seen her posts. Btw, I don't know when you were banded, but 70lbs is nothing to turn your nose up at. Also, I will tell you that I am about 2 1/2 years out, and I just passed the 75 lbs down mark before Christmas. I don't lose for MONTHS at a time, sometimes, no matter what I do, and then I'll drop 5/10/15 lbs all at once, and then be stuck for another number of months.

Yes, those singles are VERY clingy. They seem to know how much you want to leave them for the 90's (190's ), and they just don't want to let you go! Congrats!

If you got nasty PM's in response to some of your posts, the best thing to do would be to alert a moderator. They can then decide if they think that the PM's to you were above what the rules allow. If you still around, I think you will find a number of people that you can feel comfortable around, and then just ignore the rest. This board has lots of great information and you can get good answers to questions if you are having trouble, but sometimes someone says something not nice, or says something in a way that seems not nice, and an online forum is a good place to start to learn to ignore harsh comments and to try not to take things so personally. It can be fun to jump into the rants and raves section and throw a comment into the more controversial threads, and see what kind of response you get. It's only fun though, if you've decided you are doing it for fun, and it's not personal. I hope that makes sense.