IndioGirl55

Thanks Bonnie... Yes just concentrate on today.. This moment and each day do that - don't worry about tomorrow or next week - just take it one day at a time... I am glad I can help - I really am !!! This goes for all of you who post or just read this thread - I'm really truly want you all to succeed at this - it's so impowering to gain control over your life and the issues that we all have.. For those of you who post - to me you are more than my cyber buddies - you are my new found friends/sisters. In fact wheres Becky --- she hasn't posted in a few days.. - ok I am coming looking for you girl - I know that new kitchen isn't taking up all your time... Bonnie - I am so glad that you are tracking your food !!! food - eat healthy it will help that cold - make a pot of chicken soup - it's low in calories (just don't put too many tatoes, rice or noodles in it ok :0) and you can eat on that for a few days !!! Ok just cking in on my lunch hour - am suppose to be working - but you know how that goes.. TTYL - Hugs - Janet:tongue:

Congrats Long on your cruise - and oh yes so much shopping to do - so much fun - for me just getting ready for the cruise is the most fun... Back from Mamo & Ultra Sound - didn't know I had the ultra sound too - but after those lumps last yr (I thought there was one now found out 2 but 1 looked funny and that's what they biosyied last yr) well they are still there haven't changes - so now I go back in July 09 for my annual and we will see what they find.. Apple - I thought Florida was suppose to be warm this time of year - 50's heck that's cold for me - but again I'm a desert rat and anything below 70 is cold... Ok gang gotta get to work - I will cbl as usual

Good Morning Ladies 8:00 mamo - hope they don't find anything this time around but it's usually the one that I have in July that they find something - I wonder if it has to do witht he heat Not much to report since last night and I was able to sleep even with the cup of coffee I had last night Steph - what did you buy?? Gotta tell ya'll I love the Chaz Dean hairstuff called "WEN" it's a shampoo conditioner (no soap) as most of you know I have fine hair and didn't think it would work on my hair that it would weight it down - but oh no it's great - Sweet Almond Mint - My new fav product.. My hair feels so great - well time to jam - ugh I really don't want to do this - but I guess I have too... TTYL

Good Morning Gang !!! Thanks for the props - but that's what this thread and LBT is about - support - inspiration - therapy truly.. It's therapeutic to all of us to be able to tell our stories - to share our losses and help each other with our struggles... And to know that you can lose the weight - that you can and do deserve to be the best that you can truly be.. I had bladder problems too - I had to wear a pantie liner all time and OMW and something more if I had a cold !!! Now I don't:wink2: - I haven't had a cold since banding - so that I will have to wait and see if I have a bad cough - but on a daily basis that problem is gone... Well just cking in this morning - have to go for my 6 month mamo let's see what they find this time around - 7/12/07 calcifications that had to be tested - then 7/15/08 biospy on a lump - all came back clear - but it seems like every time I go they find something - well I guess not in the Feb test but will have to go back in July and that's when the seem to always find something - maybe it's the heat of July I will ck in later - Have a good day - good food choice - drink your water !!!!

Yep Long - Food hang over :tongue: i get them from when I eat too much real sugar... Phyl - I am sure they have eggbeaters if not egg whites for omelets - and on the last cruise I went on the "diet - spa" desserts were better than the real stuff - I really don't think I will have a problem with the food - it's the drinking cuz those drinks of the day do add up - but I do plan on taking the tennies and checking out the gym - this will be a 1st for me :thumbup:- cuz 2 yrs ago (2/07) went I went on my last crusie I was 245 and couldn't walk from one end of the ship to the other with out my feet hurting... Ok til tomorrow - I gotta go eat my fish...

Phyl How was your Red Hat Lunch ??? Steph & Denise - Yes I saw this morning the Ground Hog Day Special Payment - but I am not watching - those easy pays seem to last forever - and I just sent them $500 on the 1st - I don't need to be extending anymore easy pays - I still have 2 due on my gold bracelet - I got a $25 gift card for my bday - I am going to buy more Wen hair stuff - I love it... Denise - I had a pair of pants like that - I paired it with a burnout velvet jacket.. with a lacy tank underneath... Steph - GF shoulder - I thin you need to see the real doc and get xrayed !!!!! I did 200 lbs leg press tonight - 160 was the max I have ever done before... Feeling pretty damn good for a 54 yr old grandma !!! Ok it's 8:30 - I need to go eat - and hope I can go to sleep tonight - I had a cup of coffee around 7 - just cuz it sounded good..

Apples - Sorry for the rain - but hope you are enjoying your time though - yep after all that work you do harvesting cooking for the guys hospital stuff and all the other things you do books etc - you deserve some time for you... This tread didn't start till the end of May when they revamped the site Thanks for the other Protein and protein bars-ideas - I forget about cottage cheese cuz I don't eat it - Didn't like it as a kid - had a bite the other day not bad - pretty good in fact - but I forget to get it at the store cuz it's not normal thing for me.. And since I am so far out I really don't do Protein Bars too much any more - I rather eat real food for 200 calories :drool: I gotta say your restriction is tighter than mine - mine has been acting up lately - lunch today was my chicken one pot wonder and I think it was too much a slider - I ate 1 1/2 cups and around 2 was hungry - 3 had a snack cuz today was gym - in fact I got there a little early and did 1 mile before my weights - I did 200 lbs with my legs today !!!! But gotta say when I got home GS wanted pork chops so I ran to the store - took a gulp of Water and omw - so exercise does make me tight... Sharon - GF this is all about you and that's ok - I want to know you and your story - for once in your life it's about you!!! You deserve this - and I can tell you that you really are a butterfly inside There really aren't enough words to explain how great I feel - how liberated - but also I still do have some insecurities - I can still be that fat chick - then I think oh that person doesn't know that I use to weight 112 lbs more - they think this is normal for me - well it's not - I love walking into what we consider normal clothing stores - but it's still weird - Yep I love your homemade conncoctions - that's how my one pot wonders came about... I am so happy that you are beleiving in you and that this is possible - cuz it really is - You are going to do this and a year from now you will look back and be so very proud of yourself for the transformations that you have made.. This whole jounery has been very impowering for me... Keep that imagine in your head of the butterfly - think about it each night before you go to bed and every morning when you wake up - put a picture of a butterfly on your fridge and before you know you will be post pictures of you as that butterfly.... Oh ya - Apples can tell you about kidney stones - she has had a couple bouts with them... Drink your water... I don't think you want the pain... Hi Icthy - Yes I remember you :tongue: Don't worry I won't tell and I am not in contact w/them anyway - I do talk to my XMIL & xDH everynow and then.. I didn't think I could do it without the surgery - I really felt I needed the tool - and it's was about keeping it off - we all have lost weight a million times before - but it always creeps back on - once we go off the diet - That's why I stress that this has to be a lifestyle change - I can with the help of my band use all the information I have from prior programs to lose the weight and keep it off.. I was lucky only one 1 preop diet and I got to have salad & fish for dinner - It's wasn't total liquid.. Prayers for a safe surgery and speedy recovery and please feel free to join us... Welcome Swrktp - Yep it's normal - this is a drastic thing we are doing to get the weight off - and for me - it was my ah ha moment - if you are going to go thru such great lenghts to lose the weight - then you have to be really committed to working the program.. This was my second surgery - 1st was when I was 30 and had to have gall bladder removed - I don't go under the knive for any old reason - But it's will be fine and you too will be in my prayers for a safe surgery and speedy recovery... Look forward to having you join our group... Hey all you who read this thread - Please feel free to join in - it's not just for the ones who have been here for a while - it's open to anyone who want to jump in... Well, it' 8:30 - dinner is done - but haven't eaten - I had to go to the store after gym, GS wanted pork chops - then a gf who had bypassed called wanting to know what to take for heartburn - so I am just finishing what I started an hour ago..:w00t: So I better go eat my Fish & Veggies before they dry out.. I'll talk to you all tomorrow - :thumbup:

Thanks Long - Yep it's just a way of life - that's exactly how I look at it !!! Marty #1 Janet Rule Take hope out of your vocabulary and replace it with I WILL :tongue::thumbup: and I see you did read the 1st page :drool: It's true if we talk negative talk to ourselves that's what we are going to believe - if we talk positive to ourselves then we will begin to believe it and act on it. Would you call your bf stupid dumb a failure - nope you would try and boost them up when the are down - so why do we talk crap to ourselves.... We need to love - honor and cherish oursleves just like we do our friends.. This doesn't mean to enable - but to give provide motivation.. Protein snack - those little 3 oz cans of Tuna or salmon, beef jerky, low fat string cheese, a hard boiled egg - heck a dannon lite & fit yogurt has 5 grms of pt and 80 calories - add a sliced banana to the vanillia - its good.. Well I have gym tonite - so will ck back around 6:30 - TTYL

I guess I am very lucky cuz I still eat starches just not in the quainities that I use to - - that's why I like the WW eat plan - as I do get a little bit of everything.. I have a gf who looks at starches and gains weight... I guess being able to have a little bit of everything does make it easier for me not to feel deprived Hugs....

Hi Velvet For the 1st 8 months I did nothing but the treadmil - started out 1 mile in like 20 minutes then went to 1.5 miles in 30 so on and so forth - then last March got a trainer and now do weights 2 x week along with treadmill 1 or 2 times a week. How long are you working out - what's your intensity - and as you lose the weight you have to increase your intensity or lenght of time to burn the same amount of calories - When I weighed 250- 200 - I think I burned like 300+ calories in doing like 2 miles on flat surface - now I have to add incline and am doing like 3 miles at a faster pace and incline to burn that same 300 calories.. Saturday I did 4 miles on the treadmill and burned like 400 calories - but i walked at speed of 3.0 to 4.2 and inclines from 1 to 10. I have to add the incline to burn the calories other wise if I was just walking on a zero incline for 4 miles I would burn only 250 calories...

Flowers - Just trying to help you get in a better frame of mind that's all - I hate it when pple think they are dieting cuz they (diets) just don't work..

Flowers - gotta disagree w/you here - this isn't a diet it's about eating healthy - it's about a lifestyle change - our "normal" diet is what got us fat in the 1st place - My lapband doesn't choose my foods - it doesn't exercise for me - Even with restriction - if I quit exercising and went back to eating "normal" I would put the weight back on in no time. I could choose to eat around my band - I could eat candy cakes and cookies - but I want to be healthy I want to live a few more years - my quality of life has improved 100 fold. and that in itself is worth skipping the bread plate - the 2 dessert - and high fat high sugar foods. I eat and I eat good and don't feel deprived- omlets or yogurt and ceral for bf - lunch chicken veggies & rice - dinner fish veggies rice - snacks ssf puddings - sf fudgecicles - snack pack popcorn - lf string cheese and 4 cracker - I have plenty of food and even enought feed my head hunger I am going on a crusie in March - taking tennis shoes for the gym - I will be one of those pple who on vacation still exercise - so that I can eat that extra something - plus the last time I was on a cruise the sf cakes they made were just as good if not better than the full fat full sugar versions.. I truly feel that if you think of this as a new healthy lifestyle change and not a diet it will become easier..

BONNIE YOU NEED TO WRITE THIS LETTER TO YOUR LOVER SAYING GOODBYE !!! Dear food, I’m breaking up with you. Don’t be surprised. I’ve certainly tried to do it many times before, but I always weakened and went back to you. I finally woke up and realized this relationship is not good for me. I’m not getting what I need from you. It’s hurting me, not allowing me the space to grow in the ways I need to grow. You’re holding me back. I know I’ll have separation anxiety, but I’ve stayed with you too long, way past when I should have. This just isn’t working for me. You don’t listen to me. You don’t give me attention. You don’t care about what I’m going through. It’s almost like you don’t have any feelings for me at all, yet I’ve stuck close to you, helpless and dependent. I know you won’t let go of me so easily. I know you’ll keep calling me, asking me to come back. But please, let me go now. In the beginning you were always there, ready to calm me and soothe me, but it went too far. I came to rely on you. I looked to you for everything. In all fairness, it was too much to ask of you. No way could you fulfill all my needs. For so long I’ve settled, afraid to go out there and find something better for myself. I need to do that. I now withdraw my heart from you so I can be free to put it elsewhere, some place where I can be loved back. I’ve tried to break up with you before. This time it’s real. I want to be on the cutting edge of my own life, and I can’t do it while I’m still tied to you. Thinking about being free scares me, but I want it. I must have it. I know I’m brave enough at last. I know I’ll long for you. I know I’ll think of you a lot, especially during those hard times. I know I’ll be tempted to come back to you. But this time I’ve got a plan, things I’m prepared to do when I get lonely and sad. I’ve been thinking of other ways to Celebrate when I’m happy or proud. I have remedies in place for being bored or tired. At this point you’re a troublemaker in my life and I intend to keep my emotional distance from you. So in a way, this is goodbye. Of course, I’ll still come into contact with you day to day, but let’s just be friends, not lovers. Don’t cry (although you never do, it’s me who does all the crying). Courtsey of Phyl who read this letter in her TOPS meeting the other day - gotta give props to the person who original posted :w00t:

Good Morning Gang Candice ck'd out the site - flying out of vegas saves like $100 and that's for a 4 hr car trip - I would rather - pay the $100 :0) - I will have to see how $$ works out right now - going to TX this month - Crusie next month - but will do my best to work it in the budget... I won $50 the 1st quarter of the game - I taped and only ck'd out the quarters cuz we had a pool here at work - I wanted AZ to win cuz I don't like the Steelers as I am a Cowboy Fan... Kari - I don't have your winters so - that may put a crimp on my exercise too - I an not enabling you here you understand - but you really should on the days that aren't bad get to the gym - I wouldn't put my life at stake to get there but I would try to go.. Denise - Yep a fill & treadmill should do the trick and no you can't say at 800 c a day just low carbs - this has to be somehting you can do forever !!!! Phyl - Red Hat I love it - how neat your Mom sent you $$$ Love the letter too - I know when I first joined lbt - some one wrote a dear John letter to their lover food sorta like this one... Well gotta get my butt in gear - tons to do cbl:wink:

Bonnie Hugs GF for your struggles. You ask why we have managed to lose the weight - Well here's my story and I will let the others tell you theirs I was 52 when banded - The quality of my life sucked big time - I slept away my weekend - I was tired all the time couldn't walk for a long period and adjusted my life to doing almost nothing but going to work come home eat and sleep. I have 3 grandkids 17 14 4 - I want to be around for them - the 17 yr old lives w/me.. I knew prior to being banded that it was only a tool that it wasn't going to lose the weight for me - the the tool I needed to make the lifetime lifestyle change in my eating - you have heard this a million times before "it's not about dieting it's about making a lifetime lifestyle change" I am not dieting - really gf I am not - I eat healthy - limited sugar - low fat (I ate very high fat prior to banding) I added exercise into my life.... #1 - the band isn't going to lose the weight for you - it's only a tool - it doesn't make your food choices only you can do that - it's just a dumb piece of plastic around your tummy- as I say they banded our tummies not our heads and that's where the real problems lies.. I had major surgery - that in its self for me was a major incentive and everyone knew it to.. I really wanted to improve the quality of the years that I have left on this earth - this is my time - it's about me and I deserve to be the very best that I can be. Sounds like you have restriction - since you say you are eating around your band and giving into head hunger. Well here's what I do - I follow a weight watcher type eating plan cuz I think it's the healthiest out there and what I would consider normal - meat - veggies - starches - treats/sweets nothing is off limits. I plan what I eat - I shop for foods that are healthy - I keep the junk out of the house - and I don't do unplanned treats I kept a food diary for the 1st year - and I counted calories - I still do - I bought a scale and weighed and measured my foods until I knew what 4 oz of fish looked like - as fat chicks a pint of ice cream is a serving size - we don't know what a 1/2 c looks like - and all these things go into losing weight - yep it's work gf - it is - but it's doable and after a while it becomes habit... I eat with children's utensils - I eat off sandwich/dessert plates - I have bowls that are 1 cup size - and gladware in small sizes too to pack my lunch. I follow the band rules - Protein 1st - eat slowly and chew and no drinking til 1/2 hr after meals. I eat mostly sf stuff - sf ww fudgecicles and sf choc pudding are great for treats.. I bake my fish - I don't fry anymore and I use I can't believe it's not butter spray instead of margine.. I fight my head hunger during the day - cuz I am at work and don't keep food at my desk - but at night - well that's when my head hunger is strongest - and you know what I give into it to a degree - within my calorie budget for the day - I don't usually eat Snacks between bf - lunch or lunch and dinner - I save them for after dinner - it works for me. That's the secret you gotta take the rules/plan and make it work for you.. Exercise - Yes that dreaded word - well you know what - God didn't make us to sit on our butts 24/7 at a desk or infront of a t.v. our bodies need exercise if they are going to stay healthy and get us thru our lives.. Ya it's hard at first - I won't tell you it wasn't - but I didn't make it so hard that I quit - I started slowly and just kept plugging along - and each month it got a little easier - and now when I look in the mirror as I am doing my 3 miles - I like what I see.. You just gotta get your mind wrapped around the fact that you can not keep up your current lifestyle and think you are going to lose the weight just cuz you were banded - you can't think that the band is going to do the work for you - you can't think that changing your lifestyle is going to mean that you are deprived for the rest of your life - I go to parties - I have a drink or a piece of cake - heck last week was my bday - went to dinner with a friend - had seafood Pasta dish - ate the protein 1st shrimp & scallops - then a few bites of pasta was full - then we went back to her house and had cake - she served me a slice and said - oh I know you won't be able to eat it all - I told her hell yes I could that the band doesn't stop you from eating the bad stuff - but that one piece of cake was ok - it's not what got me fat - it was cuz I ate the whole damn thing... That's what got me fat - No I won't be eating cake 3 times a week and think I am going to lose the weight - but I can have a piece every now and then and not be afraid that I am going to gain 10 lbs... It takes 3500 extra calories to gain a pound - eating 500 once a month isn't going to hurt.. You gotta focus on eating healthy not dieting cuz once you are off the diet and go back to eating normal - what's going to happen - you are going to gain the weight back - cuz your normal is what got you fat in the 1st place. I am not deprived - I eat healthy - I exercise - I have lost the weight and have been maintaining w/no problems. This can be you too - Bonnie - you are no diff than me - Food was my drug of choice - but I just decided that I no longer wanted to be addicted - I decided I didn't want food to ruin my life - I came to the realization that it (food) wasn't going anywhere - I can have it everyday and enjoy what I am eating without it killing me... Who's stronger - you or the food - food is just something - it doesn't have a soul - it doesn't breath - it has no muscle why are you going to let something and innate as food control your life - you got your tool - now get your butt in gear and use it.. Show food that it's not in control - show that stupid bag of Cookies that you have the power to throw them in the trash and say "better in thee than in me" You will really find it liberating... Today is your day - today you will take it one minute at a time you will thing about now - not tomorrow - just now - for now you will eat healthy - for today you will walk - and tomorrow we will repeat the same process - take it one day at a time - you can do this - I know you can.... When you want to eat come here and post tell us why you want to eat - what's really going on - are you bored - feeling unloved - pissed - what - tell us about your day - tells us about your struggles - we will do our best to help you thru them... Like the title of the thread say "I'm here to Help" Hugs - Janet

Sharon - Don't worry you didn't offend anyone- you won't find fighting on this thread... I know when I 1st joined there was some of that going on and there are a few pple out there who don't like my tough band love stans.. But so be it Yes it's very hard to see someone lose the weight faster than you are and that can be hard - but you have to take into consideration - starting weights - metabolizms - amount of calories consumed and amount of exercise - I have a friend on the 50+ thread Oreagondaisy - she was a slow loser - she had her metabolism tested and it was very slow - with this knowlegde she never gave up but just kept plugging along and she got to goal - not as fast as some but she got there - REMEMBER THE TURTLE WON THE RACE !!! and remember the band isn't losing the weight - it's you who does the work that is losing the weight and the reason for the band is to help keep the weight off - we all have lost weight before - the trick here is to KEEP it off for the rest of our lives - that's why we have the band. With the band you can expect to lose 1-2 lbs a week - you lost 3.6 lbs you are doing better than the average... Darling quit comparing yourself to others ok - you are wonderful in your right and you don't need to worry about if Jane lost 2 and you lost 1 - all that matters is that you have lost!!! This is about you and no one else !!!! On my Lucky #7 thread - Salsa1877 was my competition (yes I am competitive) we were alot alike (as you will find out we are all more alike than we are diff) same height - same starting weight - the only thing is that she is like 24 yrs younger than me (she is now my band daughter). I didn't offically compete with her - but I wanted to do just as good as her - and I did - we stayed about 5 - 10 lbs within each others weight - I worked very very hard at getting this weight to come off... I did the work not the band.. Marty - #1 rule - follow your doctors orders. I had 10 days each stage so be happy you only have 7 days full liquids Didn't your doctor give you a shopping list of what you will need - I think there is one on the forum page of what you will need - are you spending the night in the hospital? I used unjury Protein Powder - choc & unflavored - also my doc's office sold Protein stuff - I loved the clear liquid protien it's like crystal light put with protein in it - 70 cal for 15 grm pt - I can't find much proti online - but at Bariatric Advantage they have something very similar - check out their website Can't say I LOVED the protein powders but they were ok - livable - but after 10 days of sweet stuff you are very ready for savory food I never used pain med once I got home from the hospital not even the tyelnol. Counseling is good - it will help you with this journey and it is a journey - you will discover the real you that was hiding under the fat - I feel like a new person - a butterfly who has escaped it's caocoon... Good morning gang - Happy Monday !!! A new week a new today - Why are you going to stay on program today? - What's on your menus for today - What's your execise goals for today ??? I am staying on program today - cuz this is my new lifestyle change - this is now my life to eat healthy and it feels great putting on a size 4 pari of pants instead of squeezing in to an 18!!! Menu - BF - yogurt & granola - lunch - One pot wonder (2 chicken breast cut in chunks onion bell pepper garlic salt & pepper 1/2 c rice - 3 zuchinne - 2 carrots -1/2 c corn jar of spahegitti sauce) this was my dinner last night and made enought for lunch all week - Dinner 4 oz fish - 1/2 c rice - 1/2 cup veggies - Snacks - snack pack popcorn - sf fudgecicle - 1 oz lf string cheese - 1 sf pudding cup. Exercise - 1 hrs w/trainer doing weights working legs .. That's my plan for the day... Well gotta get my butt in gear and get some work done - As usual will cbl:wink:

Long you sound like me - I don't buy them either - but would love to win - Yep the sag is totally better than the fat !!! I just buy 3/4 length or elbow length sleeves - they aren't that easy to find but you can.. I think we should go into fashion design for 50 + pple or even just wl pple - we could design stylish clothes with sleeves - everything is sleeve less or cap sleeves etc... Rose - I think I have 5 in my band - to me I never understood why pple cared what was in their bands and I never asked when he filled me - what diff does it make - for me it could be 5 and for you it could be 3 - I still don't get it - all I cared about was that it worked.. I got to my sweet spot in 2 really - 1st fill in Sept 2nd fill in Oct - then went 1/07 thinking I needed a fill he gave me one - but ended up taking all but .01 of that fill out (this is the only reason I know but really don't remember exact #) - so in all reality I got a tweak of about .01 added - and I think that amount was more mental than physical - That's all we read about on here is fill this fill that and I think that we can become addicted to them or think we need them when we don't - it's almost like those sugar pills - I think that fills are sometimes more physiological than physical.. You have to listen to your body... You have to understand what the new full feeling is - this does take work - like I keep on spouting I am physically full - but not mentally - they banded my tummy not my head... Don't worry about the sit ups - but do clear them 1st with your doc before doing them - just a precaution cuz of your port... Sharon my avatar pic has been softened (well really whatever program I use soften the wrinkles and it's just happens to be a good pic of me that's why it's my avatar:tongue2:) but there are wrinkles - I have hooded eyes and excess skin under them (bags that make me look tired when I'm not) Neck doesn't bother me too much - tummy - isn't great but not that bad I do have excess skin and same goes for legs you won't find me in shorts - arms are terrible - like I said I really do have the body of a 90 yr old lady - but heck - I will take that any day over the fat. This is when you wish you hadn't stretched out your skin so you could look like Helen - but again - any pic in a magazine has been airbrushed - so I don't always believed them - but again if you have taken care of yourself and have good DNA - you can look pretty good even in your 60's... even 112 lbs ago - I didn't wear sleeveless and I complained about my eyes then too :thumbup: - it's just my vanity - my head thinks I'm 30 - but my appearance says a whole nother # - but I am ok with who I am - heck I still look in the mirror or hold up a size 6 or 4 and say - ugh those are huge - when in all reality they aren't - and I am not !!! I did this yesterday in costco - Mushies - refried Beans. fish (not breaded), tuna or chick salad, oatmeal , scrambled eggs - spag sauce with ricotta cheese - mashed tatoes made w/skim milk - go to the food thread on the forum page - there is a thread there for mushies stage... Since I make up stuff - like corn meal mush with spagh sauce over it - oh ya zucchini well cooked with yellow crook neck squash - life saver - I still get gas pains in my shoulder if I over eat... Marty - Welcome !!! Yes it's natural to be scared - I wanted this surgery - but the night before - omw - I was nervous - We are here for you - LBT is a great site for info and support.. Pain issue - ya it hurts - it's surgery - I won't tell you it doesn't - but that's why they have pain meds and I gotta say it was just the first few hours - not everyone has the same tolerance for pain - gas - I did have a little problem with it in my shoulder but that doesn't mean you will and the gas x strips work.. Port site hurts for a week but really just a discomfort - again it all depends on your tolarence... I was back to work day 6 and I really would say by day 3 I was feeling good.. Heck Joannmaire - is older than me and she really never had much if any pain at all... So don't let other pples stories scare you - it doesn't mean it will happen to you - just like labor - my big sis told me ya it hurts but once you see that baby - the pain will disappear - it's the same with the band - you don't have a baby to see - but once the fat starts disappearing - you won't remember the pain :tongue: Good Morning Gang - My fur babies had me up at 6:45 - i have read the paper - had my coffee - now need to get my butt in gear - I think I might have a nap today - since I didn't get to sleep in !!!

Yep - thats so true !!! I feel pretty good going to work - it's at night if I am going out - then I really feel old.. Thankfully I don't go out too often..

Candice How come you can fly from canada to vegas for $425 incl hotel and it's 730 for me to fly just to yyz....

That's something I am (flexable) I am more flexable than my workout partner who's 28 - both her and my trainer are amazed at that.. Now she is way stronger than me now she can do legs pushes 500 lbs - I can do about 160 Great going on the exercise - you know me the x-hater of it now the biggest pusher of it...

Ok you got my interest - $6k for a facelift - I have heard about them - I think a doc here does them - I have seen the commercial- but that's a great price - I am only 4 yrs younger and that's not much - heck I have a lot of friends who are 60+- my face could very much use a lift - my eyes are awful... I may just have to ck into it - can't hurt to get a consultation - and my arms - I just don't feel great about spending $15k for face & arms - The way the enconomy is right now - Summer is coming and my arms seem worse than last yr - and I have a gf who keeps buying me short sleeve stuff - I don't wear short sleeve - she knows I am very self conciouse about my arms - is she saying something do you think.. My gs is talking about going to college and I am going to need the $$$ for that.. I am going to ck into that face lift though... there was something else I wanted to say = but now I forgot... See I'm 54 and forgeting stuff - heck I was putting food up and took the sherbet out to put the scallops in - then went and did something else - tried on the clothes I got at costco (they need changing rooms) and then came back out - guess what was on the counter melting :thumbup: Ok I remembered - I have the body of a 80 yr old lady when naked - so don't feel bad - put in my clothes I look ok with the right foundation - so I am happy for the most part !!!

Well you think mangement might get the hint?? Doubt it !!! Ok I will ck out flights to that airport ... Steph - I hear you - glad to know the teachers are frustrated too - and I do know it's about the job - it's that way here too... I haven't been able to help with homework (math) since gs was in 6th grade :thumbup: !!!

Hugs Charlene - does it ever go away - I don't think so - but it will happen less often - the more it happens the more you will think when you are eating out about small bites and chewing - I am usually very very careful when out - I have had to go to the bathroom 2 or 3 times - and like you it usually comes up - sometimes it goes down depending on what it is - but usually comes up - then I am fine and can continue to eat... I pb'd on Peanut Butter the other night - well reall just bp'd slime - but you know what I mean I find exercise makes me tight - after my 4 mile walk this morning - drinking Water was hard - my band seems a little looser lately - ate way too much last nite but to me Pasta is a slider food especially if you chew well - the better you chew the more you can eat..I have learned that lately. Just be super mindful when you eat out - that's all I can say - chew the crap out of your food - that's what I have been doing lately - I would say that my chewing has gotten alot better -especially when I have taken a big bite... I just chew chew chew... But again I have about a year on you - so ya it does get better.... I was at costco today for my lunch :0)- tasted hot link - 3 wings - spinach dip - hummas - meat ball.. but didn't buy any of it !!! I love the spinach dip but to many calories - hummas 70 for 2 tblsp - no that's too much too... So just got my fish and veggies.. Practice makes perfect :thumbup:

Beach - Yep by 2010 you will be one hot 50 yr old and remember the 50's is the new 30's and with the weight gone you will really beleive that.. On the clothes - don't buy expensive - I will tell you that - I bought 12 said ok that's it - then 10's oh that's reallly it - then 8's ya that's as small as I am getting - well today mostly 4's & some 6's and an occiasional 2.. Can't tell you about the wine - don't think that was it - most likely the steak or salad (you weren't drinking with meals were you;0).. Ljv - Glad your surgery went well, the only real pain I had was the gas - had a llittle problem with that but after a day or 2 it was fine... Well, gang just cking in - went to costco - got shrimp scallops salmon a dress 2 capris - green beans... Now washing clothes and getting ready to watch some boob tube and read.... CBL:wink:

Rose Awe you are too kind :0) Have you been cleared by your doc on the sit ups?? You are what about 6 weeks out - I would check w/them before you do any situps/crunches - you want to make sure that your port site has healed... How it is feeling. Doing good on food - when is your 1st fill around 2/15 ?? Ok I am getting ready to get out of the house - do my grocery shopping etc - so will cbl:wink: