Marimaru

Stress will definately do it. I had to have an unfill during a particularly stressful time last year. Glad you are feeling better!

When my mom and I go out, we try and share. She's not banded, but says she eats alot less since I got my band, just thinking about me. She wants to lose 10 or 20 lbs, so I'm glad my band can be of help to her, lol. Both her guy and my guy like Steakhouses best, and last time we went, her and I shared a meal and neither of us even finished that! Alternately, try and do what Jachut does, and think of it as paying for the time you are spending with friends, rather than the money on the meal. It's a great frame of mind I think.

Unfortunately lots of things still don't truly support FireFox. I will say though that I've downloaded the Beta of IE 7, and the tabbed browsing experience in that version is nearly identical to that of the current Firefox. I too like understanding why things irritate me. It's like you are irritated that you are irritated, but once you figure out why you are irritated to begin with, you only have one set of the irritation... or something. Seeing some tickers drives me mad, lol. I'm so so happy for the person the ticker belongs to and so so jealous that it isn't mine. Thank you for sharing your frustrations with us. I think sometimes it just helps to see other people sharing in your feelings, even if you wouldn't wish it on anyone.

Mom's Yummy Salmon The best way to do this is to have a fish griller. I don't know what they are really called, but it's a metal wire thing that you put the fish in, so that it doesn't fall apart all over your grill and get lost. Use salmon filets. Spray the griller with Pam, or something nonstick (or else it's going to be really obnoxious to clean the thing). Place the salmon on the griller skinside up. Squeeze some lemon on it (all of the spices are to taste, there's no amounts), put some chopped garlic on it, salt, pepper, and some cajun spice. Spread some mayo over it (not a whole lot, but it locks everything in and keeps the moist. I've NEVER had a problem with mom's salmon post band). Close the fish griller and flip it over, open it and do the same thing to the other side of the fish. If you do this over plastic wrap, after you get the fish already, you can just put plastic wrap over the griller and shove the whole thing in the fridge and it'll be all ready for you when you are ready to cook. Mom usually does this the night before so that everything can mesh together. Over warm coals (not super hot), grill the fish about 5 or 10 minutes on each side (a little longer if you used more filets and had to jam them in together). When you poke the salmon with a fork and turn it a little, it should be flakey when it's done. I have zero nutritional information on this recipe, but the biggest things are the salmon and the mayo, and the mayo is going to be the most calorie dense thing. You CAN do this recipe without it, but the fish will be dryer, and you will lose some of the flavor. You only need enough to just coat the outside of the fish. And even if you don't like mayo, it really cooks off the fish while you are grilling it, so you wont taste it.

Deep... Fried... Oreo... Cookies... OH MY GOD. The people at the fair must sit around at their camp fires and play a game... this game is "What can we invent that will be SURE to ruin someone's diet?!" Funnel Cake alone would do me in. I cannot go to the fair now, I must avoid the deep fried oreos. They better give you milk with those! I like the idea of taking the money you want to spend on food and doing something nice for yourself that isn't food. That would have been my suggestion if Nana hadn't said it.

I like lowfat yogurt better than nofat yogurt, but plain yogurt is really supposed to have some 'tartness' to it. I like the ones that aren't quite so tart. For me, Vanilla is the best 'plain' yogurt, even though it's not really plain.

Holy crap. I just realized that I did not eat ONE SINGLE Valentine's day chocolate! I didn't even pick up a box at the store to even think about buying it! NOW, I just have to make sure I don't buy it on sale tomorrow when I go to the store, LOL.

Well, At six months, I think I'd lost about 30 lbs, and now I'm at about 18/19 months and I'm at 55lbs lost, so even if you aren't going to reach your goal of 100lbs in one year, you are still doing really great.

Well... It *could* be gall bladder surgery, because most of the scars for that are almost the same, but I know we probably don't believe that, lol...

The injectable BC (Depo) is the one I was on. It works very well, you don't have to worry about it, BUT weight gain is a very common side effect. I switched from it because I was having trouble losing. I couldn't tell you whether it helped, lol

To the original topic on hand, I do find it easier to fight temptation if I leave the bad stuff out of my house. And like others have pointed out, that also means fighting temptation at the grocery store as well. Funny story on that; I had a root canal last week, and went to the grocery store. I meant to get a pint of lowfat icecream as something soft to have, and a planned treat. I was so determined to not put crap in my cart, that I didn't get my planned ice cream! But on the other hand, sometimes I do well having stuff in my house that I just don't eat much of, planned treats in my alotted calories... and sometimes I eat too much no matter what I do (it feels like). I kind of go through stages. Fortunately, right now I happen to be in a stage where I quit arguing with my band for a while, lol.

Why would birth control be less effective after surgery? Most birth controls are more effective if you weigh less, arent' they? I was on depo when I had my surgery and I recently switched to the pill. I haven't had a problem with either one, and I haven't had my doctors say anything about them being less effective.

That's wonderful news!!! I hope you get to feeling better soon!

More NSV's (compiled from the rabbits/turtles challenge) I bought a NON STRETCH pair of Jeans from the Jr's department in a size 16 and they fit perfectly. No "w" either! I wear the smallest size shirt that Torrid sells. I bought a really cute shirt from there the other day in a "0" (probably a 16/18?). It 'fits' instead of being baggy, which is also kind of an NSV because I usually don't wear things that 'fit' because some how if your shirt doesn't hug your fat rolls, other people don't know they are there or something, LOL. I went to a bridal expo a few weeks ago and realized that the entire time I was there I wasn't self conscious of my weight. I think that's pretty cool. In the regular economy section of an airplane last weekend, the tray table didn't touch me when I took it down. I used to have to lean my seat back so that I could bring it down all the way and it still hit my belly. I suppose it's kind of an NSV that I am having my teeth fixed. My weight is still my top priority, but I'm to the point where I can focus on other things that need work. Last week on my lunch break I had no idea what I wanted to eat, so I started walking. I ended up walking 2 miles, just because it felt good.

Wow Crystal... I'm sorry you were so sick... Glad you are getting to feeling better though. I hope the PS gives you some good news... {{{hugs}}}

My surgery was on a Friday, I flew home Monday and worked on Tuesday. I did fine that day, Wednesday I ran some errands and wore myself out, but I finished the rest of my work day and just napped for an hour or so that night and felt fine.

That's fantastic!! Man, I'd love to have been there.

No weight change. Vines, can I go with you for that ticker tattoo? My NSV is that last week on my lunch break I had no idea what I wanted to eat, so I started walking. I ended up walking 2 miles, just because it felt good. :cool:

Nykee, I find it interesting that in one post, you say your daughter is fat at 160, and in another post you say your mom is pretty skinny at 165 when she is shorter than your daughter. I'm not trying to dig, I just thought it was interesting. I'm the same hieght as your daughter and would kill to be 160, lol. My sister is my same height also, but has a different build to me, and at about 150 right now looks chubby to me. She's always been very thin, and so now with an extra 15 to 20 lbs she looks chubby, even though if I didn't know her and saw her on the street, she'd be another person I looked at and said I wish I looked like that". It's funny how perception works. Anyway, I don't have kids, but I have 2 cats. One of them is at the point where I start to think she might be gaining, but then she looks okay. I took her to the vet the other day and she's the exact same weight she was when she was there about 2 years ago, and they didn't say anything about her weight. She could probably stand to lose a pound, but I think she's fine. The other cat is fine. I leave food out for them and they eat whenever they want, and they seem to do fine. I don't give them treats TOO often, but sometimes. My fiancee is a beanpole, but he'd gained a few lbs. But he's started losing them so in just a few more lbs he'll be a straight beanpole again, lol. When I do have kids, I want to start with good habits so that later in life it's just "that's the way it's always been" you know? I have some work to do on my own habits, because I don't want it to be a "do as I say, not as I do" situation either.

A nice thread. Unfortunately general 'netiquite' is often ignored on message boards, and I always liked that there weren't usually flame wars on this board. I'm sure it's bound to happen and sometimes it just need to blow over I guess. I do like the idea of having a sig on the first post of a thread, but not throughout the rest of the thread, if we can manage it. :cool:

Awesome Job yesterday!!!

I have a decent amount. My fiancee is really skinny but he's got one really gnarly stretchmark on each of his inner thighs. It's kind of bizarre to me, but that's what they are. I don't think anyone can predict who's going to get what kind of stretch mark, you know? Post those scar photos girly!

Lisa, I don't feel my band at all if I'm not eating or drinking something. When I eat, I almost always have a tightness in my chest, if I'm stuck, it does feel like it's squeezing my stomach. If I don't PB after getting stuck, there's nothing really like the feeling of relief I get when stuff starts moving again. My fills were done in MX also. I think they do the best they can to get you as full as they can so you don't have to come down as often, but I ended up too tight that way and got an unfill.

Well, it's only 2g of carbs per serving... but it's also only 25 calories... so, the percentage of carbs in a serving is high I think, lol. But yes, I've had pure coolwhip as a desert on a number of occassions. French vanilla is yummy, lol.

Restriction for me does not feel the same as DeLarla describes above. It if was, I'd probably be on the side of getting the band out pro-actively. Having an impending feeling of 'not rightness' probably isn't healthy in the long run. But, as I don't feel that way now, I would have to say that I would not go get my band removed in order to avoid something that may or may not happen. I don't feel my band unless I am eating (although my port often makes itself known). ALTHOUGH, I'm a little over 18 months out, and I've been told that there is a band doctor in my area that is about to open up to MX patients, and as soon as he/she does, I'll be bangin' on the door for an endo to check things out. If he doesn't open up soon, I'll drive a little farther and have someone else do it. Dr. Billy is like 4 hours away from me, lol.