ShrinkingViolet

This is for people who like to cook and like spicy foods. Tortillas 1 tablespoon butter, melted 2 (10-inch) fat-free flour tortillas Soup 1 tablespoon butter 1 med. onion, divided into quarters 1 chipotle pepper (opt. for more spice; make sure you seed pepper) 1 to 2 tbsp of adobe sauce (from chipotle pepper) 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh garlic 1-1/2 teaspoon ground cumin 2 (14-1/2 oz.) cans chicken broth or vegetable broth or homemade Five fresh tomatoes 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice 1/2 cup lowfat Monterey Jack cheese, shredded 2 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro fresh ground pepper, three twists 1. Heat oven to broil. Core tomatoes and cut in half. Place face down in glass baking dish along with 1/4 section of onion. Broil until tomatoes are blackening. Remove from oven to cool slightly. 2. Reduce oven heat to 375, setting bake. Brush 1 tablespoon melted butter on both sides of each tortilla. Cut tortillas into 2-1/2 x 1/4-inch strips. Place on baking sheet. Bake for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until light golden brown. 3. Meanwhile, in medium saucepan melt 1 tablespoon butter until sizzling; dice and add remaining onion, chipotle pepper (if using), garlic and cumin. Cook over medium-high heat until onion is softened (3 to 4 minutes). Add broth, tomatoes, adobe, and pepper. Continue cooking until mixture just comes to a boil (4 to 6 minutes). 4. While soup is coming to a boil, put roasted tomatoes, onion and any juice in glass pan in blender and puree. Add to soup. 5. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add large handful baked tortilla strips. Cover; cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes. Stir in lime juice. 6. Place soup in blender or food processor. Blend on low until smooth (30 to 60 seconds). (May have to do this in batches.) 7. To serve, top soup with remaining tortilla strips, shredded cheese and chopped cilantro. **For the liquid only period (after clears), you can omit the tortilla strips on top and maybe the cheese, although the cheese just melts. The soup does have tiny tomatoe seeds that don't get blended very well. Not sure if that's ok on the liquid stage, although I ate this for three days. Blend the cilantro with the soup at the end. **Should be okay for the mushy stage; the flour strips turn to mush in the soup. **And for post-mushy, my doctor told me when eating soup, one has to consume liquids and solids separately, which is a bummer because this is really good with little pieces of chicken and some fried strips of corn tortilla, lightly salted. You could consider those options if you are making this for guests. I actually drink this soup. It's very lowfat and delicious.

One interesting thing to note is that although the studies for banded patients show American banded patients lost only 35 to 50% of excess weight, European patients on average lost 65% of their excess weight in three years. Australians did even better than that. They decided one of the differences was in followup care. In Europe, patients had more followup visits with their doctors and more opportunities for support groups. This is starting to gain traction in the US, and I think you will see people doing better as more people get banded and they can find people like those here to support them. Don't be discouraged! If it can be done, there's no reason why you can't be one of those who does it.

Congratulations!!! You are such an inspiration! Thank you for being here. You prove that just because the "average" person only loses 35 to 50 percent of his/her excess weight with banding, it's possible to beat that. And this gives me great hope.

I wonder if it's a number the doctor just pulled out his a--. Sorry to be blunt and skeptical (I am by nature) but it seems like the kind of statistic that would get media attention, especially with weight loss surgery rising considerably among the population (seems like there would be a concurrent rise then in the overall divorce rate). I've also never read anything about that--it would mean 8 out of 10 patients who have WLS get divorced. That is just astronomical. I do believe weight loss surgery results in some people getting divorced; I've read about it on other boards. But I think there are other underlying reasons. For example, one woman posted that her husband had cheated on her through thirteen years of marriage but because of her obesity she blamed herself and lacked confidence to do anything. After surgery and weight loss, she left because she realized she wasn't to blame and deserved better. Another guy said his wife apparently was attracted to "dependent" personalities and when he lost weight he was no longer a dependent/needy person and she couldn't deal with her "loss of stature". My husband has stayed with me literally through thick and thin, and I expect he'll stay here when/if I'm thin again. But he's made it known he prefers me thinner. I have only ever found that as I lose weight our relationship improves. At the same token, when I'm at a lower weight I get much more male attention, and I admit I enjoy it. Maybe for some people this temptation is very hard to resist? It's one reason I've decided to join an all-woman's gym. Last time I lost weight (50 pounds on Atkins), I had a difficult time with a few guys at the gym showing interest in me, etc., and it made me too uncomfortable to work out so I stopped going. When you start feeling like you have to look good and put on make up or fix your hair to work out, you know you're at the wrong gym (or in the wrong mindset)! My husband says he's worried I'll lose weight and be so beautiful I'll leave him. I remind him the one time I left him (we separated for a time years ago), I had just had a second baby and was hardly thin and gorgeous so that's not a pre-requisite for me to leave if I wanted to. I think if you and yours have a solid relationship, it will endure. I also think Lisa's story is germane. If you have two overweight people and one is motivated to change while the other cannot/won't, it's not so different from other situations in which people grow apart because one partner experiences something life-changing (like finding God or wanting to adopt/have a child or a traveling or a housewife pursuing a career or even a man retiring). Any major life-altering situation puts strain on a marriage. It's a very complicated issue, and I concur with the counselor that if there seem to be any problems along the way, have counseling. It's a good idea.

I am feeling frustrated with my slow progress, at least it seems slow compared to that of a lot of others who post here. I am now almost six weeks post op and have only lost 19 pounds. Fourteen of those were in the first two weeks, which means I've lost only five pounds in four weeks. I wouldn't be unhappy about it if I could say "Well I don't feel restricted and I'm eating a bunch" and then get a fill and "do better," but I do feel restricted, and I'm not eating a bunch. I'm certainly eating way less than I ever used to. I can manage to finish one slice of pizza. Is this typical or atypical? Should I not be able to finish a whole slice? I don't always get my Protein shake in. Would this slow down my weight loss significantly? Today so far, I've eaten a boxed meal of chickpeas and potatoes in a spicy tomato sauce, which had two hundred calories (12 grams protein). I'm not particularly hungry. Oh, and I do not drink anything with calories. Nor am I sneaking any sweets (just not interested in them at all) or chips. I feel like I have to eat 300 calories a day to lose any weight. Sorry for venting. I am just so sad. I plan to join a gym this coming week, which will help some I hope.

Last night, I had really bad stomach pain. It felt like someone had punched me in the stomach or was squeezing my stomach. It was two to three inches below my sternum right in the center. It felt strange to breathe. The pain would be strong, then lighten a little, then be strong again. I finally fell back asleep. This morning I just feel a slight ache. Although I've had no acid in my throat that would indicate reflux, could this be caused by acid reflux, just not coming all the way up? Or would this happen if one of my Vitamins got stuck? (I take two vitamins every night and never had any problems so far with them getting stuck) I have my regular appointment to see my surgeon in two weeks, and I don't want to go in early if I don't have to. Is this anything to be concerned about if it happens again? I figured as long as I can get food and fluids through and tolerate any pain, I can wait it out the two weeks. In case it's relevant, for dinner that evening, I had eaten stir fried vegetables with some chicken breast and about one or two bites of white rice. I didn't feel any pain or feel anything stuck. Then two hours after that, I had my Protein drink, then two or three hours after that, I went to bed.

Hi guys! Boy Zoe, you have an excellent memory. Wish I could borrow it Yes, I had my gallbladder out years ago, which I believe was also related to weight loss. I didn't have this feeling again or get sick the next day so maybe it was just the pills. I have been chopping them in half now before swallowing. They are very high dose Vitamins and really seem to be helping with my hair loss (it's slowed down significantly) so I am hesitant to switch...kind of like a baseball player who doesn't want to change his socks after a winning game! I didn't know things getting stuck could feel that bad though. That was awful.

I'm not sure how you find out, but I called the hospital where I was having the procedure done and the hospital told me they had had six weight loss surgery deaths in the past year, but it's a hospital where a high number of these operations are performed (mostly bypass) and that was a very low statistic. Remember, gastric bypass operations actually have something like a 1 to 2% chance of death, which means out of every one hundred patients who get this, one to two will likely die! I would find it hard to believe that the number of deaths you were told are band-related since it's really quite a safe operation. Most of the band related deaths I've heard of (a total of two, in the media) occurred well after the surgery and were related to improper band placement, etc. If a large number of people are getting the band and dying during surgery, I'd say the most likely culprit would be the anesthesiologist! That's not to say there's no risk from the band (like inadvertent tears and punctures) but six just doesn't sound right. Maybe the hospital would have information for you?

Thanks everyone, I'll try not to be stressed about it! How do you break the scale addiction? Sometimes I have to exercise restraint not to weigh myself TWICE a day. I know the numbers don't really matter and it's percentage of body fat, etc. and that we gain and lose Water weight, but I seem to be psychologically fixated on weighing myself! Nancy, the Inamed book has a chart (it's also on the website I think) with the band's success rates and I just noted that among diabetic patients there was a significantly reduced success rate. But I did this anyway and told myself that the rates showed that some people WERE successful at it so if it can be done, there's no reason why I can't be one of those who succeeds. We may just have to work a little harder. Nana, I made sure I got my Protein shake yesterday and I've been re-evaluating my eating habits. Last night I made chicken parmesan for the family, and I ate the chicken first, which left room for only one or two bites of Pasta. And I bought some new low carb Lean Cuisines instead of some of the rice ones I had been eating. So I'll try to restrict my carbs and take a look at the glycemic index someone kindly posted in the Foods section. Then I will try try try to just weigh myself once a week, but it's very hard! I don't know if I can do it. I'm going to the doctor Monday for a follow-up visit so I'll try to make that day the weigh-in day. Ladie, you do bring up a good point! At least I'm not gaining, which I certainly did a lot of pre-band. My weight would fluctuate ten pounds in a month sometimes, up and down, up and down! I was approaching three hundred pounds when I decided to try to watch what I ate better and I managed to get to 278 then went up to 286 and kept fluctuating between 278 and 286. This is the first time I've been below 260 in about two years! So I should be grateful for that.

Hi Jen! You're definitely not alone. I've been banded six weeks and no fill yet, and I get the same thing. I only recognized it because one of the other bandsters here described her first PB and talked about the feeling that a 'golf ball' was stuck in her chest. One day I ate a tuna sandwich on wheat bread, and had this feeling like something was stuck. Stupid me took a drink to try to "wash it down", then I remembered what the other woman had written (wish I could remember who it was on here!) and sure enough the Water and everything started to come back up! Ack. So I guess what happens (and I'm only guessing) is that it gets stuck further down in the stomach, so things are backing up. It's not stuck on the way down but rather on its way back up! Anyway this has happened to me several times. Like you, I tend not to chew my food carefully enough. :/ My nutritionist said chew everything until it's the consistency of oatmeal. I have also been avoiding untoasted bread and vacuum packed tuna in the foil pouches, which is drier than regular tuna. And I also found out that sometimes I just wait a few minutes like Leatha said and take a tiny sip of water and the feeling goes away. PB-ing left my stomach very sore.

Glad you are starting to get better! Don't kick yourself for not getting the flu shot...it wouldn't have helped. Your symptoms sound more like gastroentiritis, which people mistakenly call "stomach flu." The flu shot only helps with influenza, which is a respiratory virus. So the flu shot wouldn't have prevented this. :/ Also, if you're getting an antibiotic, that means it's something bacterial...because antibiotics won't do a thing for a virus. So I wonder what you contracted! Sounds like a nasty bug! I learned all this because all three of my kids and my husband went through "gastroentiritis" the week before Christmas. I was the only one who--knock on wood--didn't get sick! I PB'd twice since having the band and it left my stomach feeling very sore. So I can't imagine how awful it is to have an upset stomach. Glad your band is still okay too!

I've only been banded about six weeks (tomorrow), so my experiences are kind of new. I, too, am a hoarder. My childhood experiences don't sound quite as horrific as some, but we were very poor and food was rationed. The funny thing is now that I look back, that rationing is probably the only thing that kept me at a normal weight up through high school. dinner would be one hot dog, a small portion of mac & cheese and green Beans, with no seconds. Now I realize that was probably an adequate sized portion but boy at the time I felt deprived! I seem to have lost all taste for sweets. Usually during my cycle, I crave chocolate, but this last time, I just craved beans. For my son's birthday, I tried a bite of his chocolate birthday cake and it was so sweet, I had to spit it out. The two boxes of ice cream I bought for his party are still in the freezer unopened (the kids were too full from pizza to eat them). So that's a huge change for me. Also, when going out to eat, ordering appetizers was a must for me. I haven't gone out to eat too often yet but I didn't order any appetizers. I've pretty much changed the way my whole family eats to avoid temptation myself. Anyway, one of my son's is overweight, another is getting pudgy, and my husband was a little overweight. And my third son is the skinniest little guy, so I worry about cutting out all his Cookies and things but I just can't bring myself to buy them. Instead, I buy cinnamon graham sticks for them or crackers. No more chips, cookies or sugar-laden sodas anymore. And no more white bread. Lots of bananas, apples, and for my oldest, sushi. I also love to cook a lot and have always tried to make things from scratch. Lately I am torn. Part of me says "Well I can't eat very much so I want to make it the best tasting thing I can" and another part of me says "I can't eat very much, so why go to all the trouble?" Since my surgery, my oldest son has lost six pounds and my husband has lost about eight pounds. One of the biggest things I did was take the deep fryer out to the garage. I had this expensive professional deep fryer that made the best fried foods! I replaced it with a steamer that I bought my husband for Christmas. Mentally I'm not there yet. I have always had some problems with binge eating, where I would open the refrigerator and take bites of everything (used to do it when babysitting during my food-rationed teen years). I found myself doing that one day while cooking. Fortunately I can't "binge" much because my stomach is too small! But I recognized what I was doing and I'm working to keep it under control. Also, every time I sit down to eat, I feel a little sad that I can't eat "everything." I can't have a heaping plate of spaghetti or if I eat salad, garlic bread, and grilled chicken, having more of one means less of another. I don't make huge multi-course meals anymore because of that. I also struggle with the no drinking after eating rule. Sometimes I do drink after I eat but then I just force myself to wait until the next meal time to eat even if I feel hungry (usually I don't feel hungry anyway). I don't snack. I also dream about food a lot lately. I dream about heaping piles of food. I am still in love with food.

Thanks. I can't take them in the morning because I have to drink this really awful cholysteramine every morning, which is a result of having my gallbladder removed. If I don't drink it, I have a "dumping" problem. The drink absorbs most of the Vitamins and nutrients in my system for several hours, so they recommend witing at least five before taking any vitamins. I guess I could try to take the vitamins in the evening sometime, but I just remember better before bed. Someone said something about liquid vitamins. Are they at GNC? Do they taste really icky? These vitamins I'm taking are like horsepills.

Sheryl, I am new here, but welcome back! I have no doubt that all of us in our long weight loss journey know what it's like to "start over" again, and the important thing is that you are here now and you are going to do it. If you've only gained a few pounds in nine months, then you have only taken a teeny tiny step back (practically stood still) and so going forward will be great! Without the band, nine months could mean forty-five pounds or more for me, so perhaps it helped keep you from sliding back! Glad you're here and back on track!

Lauri, I am sorry to hear about your health problems and hope you find out what it is so you can begin dealing with it the best way possible. Since you can't get unemployment, is it possible you could get some sort of disability payment until you get your situation resolved? Please get better soon! I always enjoy reading your posts and seeing your smiley picture.

Good idea! I don't think I could drink a whole gallon of Water (wouldn't that be 16 glasses???) but I'll work to get my eight in and I'm going to write down everything I eat and make sure I'm not lying to myself about what I'm consuming. Your advice is good! Time to make some New Year's resolutions.

Thanks everyone. I just get frustrated seeing the scale stuck in the same numbers. One day I was at 256; the next day, 258.9; the next day 258, then 257.8, then 257.4, then 258 again...so it feels like I'm not making much progress lately. I'm going to really try to get my Protein and Water in. I don't think I've been doing enough of that. And I don't eat pizza everyday. It was our New Year's dinner. Mostly I eat chicken and spinach, sometimes with a small amount of Pasta or rice but not always. Oh, and for some reason I have a continual craving for taco meat. I've bought extra lean ground beef and made tacos once or twice (the soft kind) and I use lowfat cheese. And I'm craving Beans, which is weird because I have always disliked beans. I think it's just hard to have reality not match your expectations. I thought I'd follow the same pattern most everyone else seems to be following on here...almost everyone has lost at least 20 pounds in the first four weeks, and I'm six weeks out and still haven't lost 20 pounds. I should have expected this, though. The reason I was banded in the first place was that even on a regular 1200 to 1400 calorie per day diet, I couldn't lose weight. I am insulin resistant, too (borderline diabetic) and in Inamed's book, the test results show less success with the band among those who are diabetic. So maybe I will just have to fight that much harder. I'm going to sign up at a gym today instead of sitting on my big butt moaning about it. At least if I stay the same weight but manage to shift some fat to muscle, I'll look a little better and feel a little better. Thanks everyone for being so nice and not telling me I'm being a baby. :0

Darla, I have adopted this philosophy about "wasting" food... Sometimes there are two choices...eat it or throw it away. If I eat it and it's more than I really need, then I'm wasting it just as much as if I'm throwing it away. Yes, the best option for excess portions of healthy food would be to store it and eat it another time or send it to starving people overseas, but for unhealthy food you wish you hadn't eaten anyway, far better to waste it in the ol' trashcan than on your hips! Either way it's wasted! (And we know that food ain't going to survive a journey overseas anyay.) Adopting this philosophy finally allowed me to hand in my membership to the "Clean Plate Club." I used to eat everything on my plate down to the last grain of rice! I'd even take my fork and scrape the sides of my bowl and lick off that last creamy bit of cottage cheese or sauce...(God, can you imagine how gross I must have been to eat with???) Come join my new club! The "Guilt-Free Food Wasters" club!

I have always had fine hair, so even a little hair loss is significant. I started losing my hair *before* I was banded and I now believe it may be because of the beta blockers. I did some research and found they are associated with hair loss, and it was shortly after I started one that my hair started thinning noticeably in front. Well now, it's thinning at the crown. I feel very distressed by this. I know I'm not eating enough Protein because, honestly, I abhor the Protein shakes. I have WheyPro. Maybe there is something better out there? I mix it with Skim Plus, six packets of Splenda, and sometimes blend it with crushed ice (sometimes just drink it). Either way, it has an awful taste. I'm eating mushies now and trying to have high protein things like soft poached white fish with very mushy chopped spinach. Anyway, anybody have any recommendations for a good Protein Drink that will be more appealing? I also take cholysteramine every day, which can result in Vitamin deficiencies and, of course, hair loss. I do take a vitamin supplement each day but I'm wondering if I should take more? I take Women's 1 A Day. I have always taken great care of my hair (I don't blow dry it, never dye it, etc.) because it has a tendency to break and tangle, being as fine as it is. But now it's looking bedraggled and wispy. Ugh. I even thought about seeing how much it would cost to get a hair weave. Oh, and I'm no longer taking the beta blocker. I was on a fairly low dose and I'm watching what I eat carefully. It was for very slightly elevated high blood pressure and a non-dangerous arrythmia that annoyed me. I would rather deal with the arrythmia sensation than the hair loss, and my blood pressure has been very normal every time I've had it checked recently, even after stopping the beta blocker. (I think it has to do with the new eating habits.) Anyone else have hair loss? Did you try Rogaine?? How long before the hair grew back? And if worse comes to worse....who makes the best wigs?

Get this checked out right away, if you still have a gallbladder. It might surprise you but intermittent back pain that you know is not injury related is a strong sign of gallstones. I used to get these occasional backaches, and then a year or so later, I would wake up in the middle of the night with horrendous backpain. Nothing would fix it--not analgesics, heating pads, etc. Sometimes it would last just a minute or two; other times it lasted hours. I had no other symptoms. It was in the middle of my back right where you describe. I finally went to the doctor and immediately suspected gallbladder and sent me for an ultrasound and sure enough, I had tons of gallstones and had to have my gallbladder removed. I had lost 80 pounds a few years prior on a Weight Watchers diet. It is very very common when reducing food intake to have gallbladder issues. Don't wait with this. I have no idea if there is early treatment for gallstones, but they do have diet recommendations. The fact that you have this around eating makes me doubly suspicious. That is one of the most common times for gallbladder attacks, and at night. Hope you feel better soon!

Are you taking beta blockers by chance? I was doing research on hair loss (as I'm losing mine, which started before the band) and since my anemia is in "remission," I had no clue what was causing it. Apparently beta blockers can result in hair loss, which makes sense since mine started falling out shortly after I started on the beta blockers. I went to GNC today and they have several Vitamin configurations specifically for healthy hair (mostly extra A, B, etc.). Some have Chinese herbal ingredients and before I take those I'll have to see what these herbal ingredients do; others were just pure Vitamins. I'm going to take a mega-vitamin and increase my Protein and see if that helps. Also, this may sound silly, but if you have longer hair, try sleeping on satin pillow cases. It really helps keep my hair from tangling, which makes brushing easier. And don't pull your hair back into ponytails or barettes. It puts stress on the hair follicle! Good luck! Let's hope we get our hair back soon.

Thanks everyone! I will try the Unjury! They didn't have it at GNC, so I will have to order it and for now, I picked up a new Protein powder that the guy at GNC said was really good. It has twice as much protein in a serving, so at least I'll only need to have it once a day instead of twice. I also picked up some Vitamins for "hair." I don't know it will help, but I take cholysteramine every day, which also robs you of your vitamins, so a little extra probably won't hurt me. I decided to pass on the Rogaine for now. It said side effects can include hair growth on your forehead and cheeks. If something has a side effect, I'm the one that's going to get it. Claraluz, when I was thin (in my teenaged-years), everybody told me I looked exactly like Pat Benatar. Strangers would come up to me and kid around and say "Hi Pat!" So I guess the resemblance was strong, though I don't really see it. After I gained weight, one or two people told me I looked like Linda Rondstadt. So it's something I've heard before. I've also been told I look like Morticia...lol. That's in my middle weight range.

I have never had a fill so I have no experience with that and can't address it. But I do have experience with losing large amounts of weight. You have lost a lot of weight and your current weight is 188 if I am reading correctly? It is very normal for weight loss to slow down, sometimes significantly, as you get closer to goal. I know your goal is less than 188, but our bodies are by nature reluctant to lose weight, which is one of the advantages of banding. It helps you restrict your calories to the point where your body is forced to give up the fat, because there's not enough fuel to meet its needs--a 'famine.' The consequence of this is that your body imagines it's being starved and functions less efficiently in order to "conserve" what it can for times of "famine." Then when you eat more than you regularly do, you will gain weight. So if you are 300 pounds, eating 1200 calories per day, the more you lose weight, the lower your caloric needs and eventually 1200 calories will not have the same results. Also, unless you lift weights/strength train while losing weight, you will lose muscle along with fat. Muscle burns more calories per pound than fat. One way out of this rut is to increase the amount of muscle you have. This will speed up your metabolism so that you can eat the same amount and lose weight again. Of course, you probably know all this....but maybe it will help someone who doesn't so they don't get discouraged. You have done great so far. If I do as well as you have done, I will be over the moon!! Oh, and I want to add that I am sorry about the difficulties you've been going through. Stress also makes it tougher to lose weight and this may be part of why your weight loss has slowed down somewhat. Stress releases some chemical that tries to hold onto fat. (Is it cortisol or something?? I can't remember what it's called.) Good luck! You look great.

I think I've heard this story before...I swear, there's one in every office! I think some other people here are right; this is Erin's way of making friends and also wanting someone to "share" in her crime (of eating unhealthily) so she doesn't feel as guilty. I think the idea of the jumping jacks is funny. I have a couple of other ideas that may or may not be good ones. Keep healthy things at your desk, like carrot sticks or edamame (my personal fave). When she comes in and offers you her unhealthy garbage, you can say "No I don't like that stuff anymore, but would you like some carrots?" I agree with the person who suggested inviting her for salads or to healthier places. Maybe if she learns that she can still socialize and have food when that food is healthy, she'll be more receptive. Next time she says "Do you want to go to Panda Express?" You can say "No, I don't like that greasy food. But I will go with you to Soup and salad Express." Then after a few times of this, everytime she invites you somewhere with bad food, you say no. Then later, walk past her desk with a bag that has the name of some healthy food place on it. Eventually she should realize that if she wants you to go with her she has to invite you someplace healthy. It works on kids anyway...my son is a squirmer and at Gymnastics class, the teacher doesn't call on him whenever he's not sitting waiting his turn. Then if the teacher sees him behaving, he'll call on him and say "Aaron, since you're sitting so quietly, it's your turn next." Which motivates my son to sit still when it's not his turn. Of course, this puts the burden of everything on you and it's not fair and it's not fun, but you have much more at stake here. And...honestly...if you really don't like this woman and don't like going out to eat with her, I'd just say no. Eventually she'll stop asking.

Thanks Betty. I think you're talking to me because I think I'm the only one who just put my picture up and if not, I'm so embarrassed and I hope you don't think I'm vain for responding! I've been looking at everyone's picture here and I think we're a group of some pretty nice looking big girls who are going to knock everyone's socks off after having these bands on for awhile!