Marimaru

I'm 23, and at first I was ready to jump in and get the whole thing done, TT, Thighs, Arms, Breasts; but now I'm thinking I might not want that much at the end. I wouldn't say I'll NEED any of it, but I think I'll at least be happier with a breast lift and my arms done. I've read a good deal about people who wait over a year after they get to goal, and the skin pulls itself together during that time as well, so when I get to goal I might feel I 'need' the work done, but if I wait a while there are some places that might tighten up on their own given time. After what I've lost so far, I was lookin' pretty droopy, but I haven't lost anything in a while and I feel like things aren't quite so droopy so even after I lose more I might be ok.

I was banded in July of '04 and I have lost 55 lbs. It's not as much as I would like to have lost at this point, and I've been stuck at my current weight for a long time. But, I've also been given time to get used to my body size NOW, and see the difference from when i was at my highest (280), because I didn't see it at first. I've also learned alot of things about myself and the way I eat and the reason I eat, so that's good too. Currently I think I'm eating just enough and exersizing just enough to maintain my weight. I'm working on that, so we'll see how the next month goes.

I got a gift cert for Foot Locker and got some Nike's. The sales people there really don't know about shoes, they just have a job. The lady kept telling me how cute they were when I told her I wanted running shoes. I like them well enough, they did nicely on a full day walking around at an amusement park and they do fine when I walk for exersize or go to the gym, but next time I spend that much on shoes I'm going to a shoe store with a sales team that knows about shoes!

Good to know information! I don't get the rashes often, but it sounds like I need to keep a tube of that stuff on hand for when I do get them (have one now even). I'm also interested to know that it helps with the eczema. My sister suffers horribly with that stuff.

(*@%(&%^#@*$%$^#@&*$ *sigh* I read before that you 'sinc up' with your girlfriends on your monthly cycle if you hang out with them enough. I swear it seems to be true here too, I can't believe how many people are complaining about PMS, bloating, the monthly weight gain, etc, etc. I hate my scale with a deap dark passion. One day it will move and I wont hate it quite so much. And by move, I mean GO DOWN, of course.

I keep buying more and more cute shirts. I try and curb it down by reminding myself that I need to not spend too much money on stuff that wont fit (hopefully) soon!

Hey guys, I need a little help with some recipe ideas for 1 or 2 people. If I make a big dish, I'll eat some left overs, but a good portion of it goes to waste. There are 2 reasons for this, 1 is that my fiancee doesn't often eat what I make, opting for fast food or something else (which is fine, he's a skinny butt), and 2 if he eats what I make, he doesn't often eat leftovers. I need ideas for recipes that can at the very least be cut in half, or made for 1 or two people. Even if it's for 2 people, if I make it I'll eat the leftovers. I'm also kind of lazy, so the easier the better... :D One thing I made that might interest some: I got a french onion Soup kit that basically had dried onions and a soup base. It called for 4 and a half cups of Water, and I put in 7, mixed in the soup base and the onions and put in 4 boneless chicken breasts. I let it get to a low boil and left it that way for about an hour, stirring occasionaly. When I could cut the chicken breasts in half with my plastic spoon it was pretty much done. A quarter of the soup has 84 calories, then add however much chicken you happen to have to that and you've got your count. Oh, I also added some white pepper and garlic powder to it when it was almost done. The chicken shreds right up and is very moist. I'm having some for lunch today, and I'll either have it for dinner tonight, or do something similar with a leek soup packet I have. :hungry: Thanks all!

I've been in the same spot lately with the head hunger, and have been eating just enough not to lose I guess. Warm fuzzies sent your way in hopes we can all get it back together!

Thanks Eileen for the links! Paula, thanks for all the good ideas. We both have picky Mikes! Tacos sounds like a good idea. I can't eat tortillas, but I'm not against a little dish of taco insides . Mike would eat tacos. I think he's rather order a pizza than have me make one, but I will give that a try too. Any more ideas you have would be most helpful. I find myself resorting to frozen meals and canned Soups, and I'm getting sick of them!! Thanks!

No weight change... NSV... I went to a bridal expo on Sunday and realized today that the entire time I was there I wasn't self conscious of my weight. I think that's pretty cool.

This is a great idea. I'm starting a cafepress store, and have found that you can do 'print on the fly' books from there too. Basically they print stuff as it's ordered, so you don't have to order a bunch and have them and hope to sell them. The way they work is that they tell you what the cost of the item is, and if you are selling it, you can choose to mark it up, or not. Just another thought, because I imagine that those laminate pages can get kind of expensive, yeah?

Man... your doctor would HATE me. I was banded in July of 04 and have lost 55 lbs so far. Keep in mind that he's a surgeon and not a nutritionist. I think you would do better to listen to your nutritionist when it comes to food. If you are restricted well you probably can't get your protien all in with 3 meals. I need 4 meals usually. If he gripes at you again, first, I think you need to tell him to back off and be more professional, and second, you need to tell him to talk to his nutritionist because they are giving different instructions and they should make sure they are on the same page! You are doing great, and if your doctor doesn't think so, he needs to be asking you questions, not berating you.

I went to an amusement park and didn't need to sit down in between anything after being on my feet for most of the day. I can break a sweat at the gym without feeling like I am going to die. I GO to the gym. Yes, sex is better, lol. I'm doing things to stand out again, instead of doing things to blend in so that no one notices me. There's probably more, but they aren't coming to me right at the moment, lol

I agree that your husband needs to go talk to her. It's find if she doesn't want to talk to you about much, but it's a horrible thing to do to her grandkids. If she's not responding to your contacts, your husband kind of has a responsibility to step in I think.

Along with what MykdsDad said, I think it's important to have mini goals. Little milestones. As example: I started at 280, and my first mini goal was 250 lbs. It was 30 lbs lost, and 250 was a nice round number. After that was 230, because that is what's on my Driver's License. My next mini goal is 210, because then I'll be halfway to my original goal of 140 (even though I know I might not make it down that far in the end). After that of course is 199, then 180, because I'll have lost 100 lbs, then 160, and then after that, I think I'll be happy with whatever happens. Also, some of my mini goals have rewards. When I hit 250, I bought a sweater poncho I'd been wanting. Now there is a hat that I want, which is a rather unjustified purchase, since I don't really wear hats, but I've decided if I still want it when I hit my next goal, I can have it.

Sounds like a crazy mess. If it were me, I think I'd lock the door and let the kids knock on it if they want to come in. If they are jumping through your garden, ban them from the backyard for a week? Kids need to be trained on what's ok and not okay, and while positive reinforcement is good, sometimes negative reinforcement is needed. There's also the option of talking to the parents and saying something to the effect of "I don't mind them coming over, but you need to talk to them about their manners". Hope you get a chance to relax soon!

I had the 'calorie is a calorie' conversation with my sister the other day. She was griping at me because I don't eat salads for every meal and that's why I'm not losing weight. I tried to explain to her that if I eat 3 to 4 small meals a day, I will lose weight, pretty much no matter what I'm eating, since I can't eat very much at once, but my problem lately has been that I snack and graze, therefore eating enough calories to maintain, but not lose. If I showed you guys a picture of her and told you that she wanted to diet, you'd all want to fly out here and kill her (I'd be your alibi!). I don't have to count calories if I don't snack, but sometimes counting calories keeps me from snacking, because I know what i'm about to put into my mouth and how it affects my eating for the rest of the day. I think I am going to start a thread to list my intake just so that I can be accountable for my snacking, because it truly is my biggest downfall.

I'm kind of pulling this out of thin air, along with calculating you against my own hieght/structure. I'm 5'6" and have a decently thick build. I can wear a women's watch, but on the longest setting, or one less than that. My original goal was 140, but I've since decided to call it 140 ~ 160. For you I would say somewhere between 190 and 200 would be a good goal, and you can always re-evaluate it when you get there? Is there a place near you where you can get your body fat % checked out? That would probably give you the most accurate goal, since women are supposed to be about 25% body fat.

Being banded can be frustrating. I haven't lost a lb since... July? I go through stages. Stage one where I get super determined and bust my butt and watch all my calories, etc, etc. Then I go through a stage where I quit counting my calories, but I'm still busting my butt and watching what I eat. Then I give up altogether and don't care for a while. For the last however many months I haven't gained or lost on any of these cycles, until I crept up over the last couple of months by 5 lbs. Then I quit snacking and lost that really fast, but I still haven't lost any 'new' weight. I will tell you though, I did not see a difference in how I looked until after I'd been stuck for a while. It's like my brain caught up with my body and realized what I really look like now and updated the picture of myself in my mind. You will see the changes eventually, and I'm sure that other people can tell. Feel better!

Kathy, it's good to see you! I agree with Alex that it's likely that your brochitis isn't band related, but at the same time, it might not hurt anything to get an endoscope if your insurance will cover it. Both Penni and Lisa had feelings of "not-right"ness, and an endoscope discovered their erosions. I feel okay, but I'm getting to be a year and half out, and am looking for a local doctor who takes Mexico patients and takes my insurance to get checked up and I am also going to see about an endo, just for peace of mind. I hope you feel better soon!

The vitamin water is probably fine, but the stuff has a decent amount of calories (at least the ones I looked at) so be sure to watch for that.

Lisa, I'm so glad you are proud of yourself for how far you have come! It's easy to get discouraged with how far we have left to go, but it's really good to just step back and say "I've done DAMN GOOD so far!". Congratulations!

Glad to hear you are doing well, here's to a quick recovery!

Last night I dumped a whole gallon of milk that I bought for my fiancee's family to have while they were in town that they didn't even touch. I drink some milk, but they didn't even finish of the quart that I'd had for myself, so this one sat unopened and expired. I just moved in here a little over a month ago, and the fridge is new too, so that's about as wierd as I have in there right now.

Another opinion for a kid of divorced parents. I seem to have a similar situation to Anca; I'm 23, my parents divorced right around when I was in the 5th grade, and my mom is always right . I talk to my dad, and I still have ties to him because he's my dad, but I don't like him very much and I don't trust him at all. When my parents split mom had to move to CA from CO for work and we stayed in CO where we were in school. As soon as mom was settled she fought tooth and nail for support. I wanted to live with her the whole time since the beginning of their issues when it looked like they wouldn't be staying together. I would recommend talking to your son and finding out what he wants to do, or will want to do if your separation turns into divorce. My mom always listened to what we wanted, and my dad never did, which has alot to do with the way I feel about him now.