marcyinak

WAHOO Jackie and Chimboree! That's just terrific! And we KNOW jeans don't stretch so there's no way to MAKE them fit! I just bought some jeans this past spring...some that actually fit and looked ok. Now I can take them on and off without unbuttoning/unzipping them! Weird! I'm going to wait a bit before I buy new ones though. I DID, however, buy a size 18 dress (I wear 20ish right now) for my cruise in November. Because of the material, it fits now, but I'd rather wear it without control top pantyhose! Now, THAT's something to look forward to! Denise - I think some of those "criminals" moved up here!

Someone asked "What's a warm day here"....please note that Alaska is BIG and one area's weather is completely different than another. Soooo that said, in Nome a warm day is 75-80...happened for about a week in June. Someone told me that August is the "nice" month, but I have yet to see nice! This is pretty typical weather for "northern Alaska". In Anchorage it gets warmer and the winters aren't that bad...reminds me of Idaho. Southeast Alaska gets a lot of rain and rarely snows...a lot like Washington/Puget Sound area. Things are good today, although I'M HUNGRY! I'll just have to have a protein shake and "shake it off"! :-) Dini - the tattoo is on my right thigh....high enough to not be seen with shorts and keep hidden, but easy enough to show people. I think it's the perfect spot...by the way, it's quite huge. My whole hand cannot cover it! It took HOURS, but I'm happy with it. That would be "Thuper Awethome" (as my 4-year old would say) to see you in Miami. I'm off to Kindergym with the chitlins (my children) and don't anticipate talking more today...have a good one!

Ummm...Mal, aren't you supposed to be at Red Robin right now? You could save on electricity if you turned your computer off! LOL!

dmtjet - my sister once moved to N. Carolina to be with her military husband...she lasted 7 months! She said she liked living somewhere where there weren't any crazy ugly spiders and no natural disasters...yeah, Alaska has earthquakes all the time, big deal....I can't imagine what a tornado would do to the citizens of our state...it would be a mess!

OK, I'm just going to brag a little bit.... A friend stopped by the other night saying he didn't have any room in his freezer for all this KING CRAB! So....I got 10 Crab, cooked 'em up and just finished a heaping plate (shared by my son who ate faster than I did)! YUM, YUM! He's going to be giving us some Silver Salmon this weekend! Gotta love this place! Well, I finally did it! I'm now one pound lighter than my surgery weight. Yeah, it's just a pound, but the way I've been able to eat for a couple of weeks sure didn't make it easy to lose! Funny though, I actually don't eat as much this week as I have in the past two...maybe I'm just figuring out that I don't have to be full, just satisfied and I'm learning what that feels like....although, I tell ya, I could eat a few more crab right now! HAHA! Yeah, you go have your fun at 'ol Red Robin, I'll be here with my King Crab and Salmon! :-) Mal - sure, send me your art...my only "outlet" is my kids right now.

WELCOME DONNA!

Denise - can't say as I've ever had crayfish...never seen any up here....we get shrimp near Southeast Alaska, but not this far up north. I'm sitting here eating a heaping plate full of crab...kills the hands to get the meat out, but the rewards are sooooo worth it!

ssanka - I hear you on the overeating. I, too, worry that I'll be able to eat around the band...expecially since I haven't lost a significant amount of weight wince the surgery like some other folks. My mother is the SAME way...what I think is hillarious is that she tries to give me nutritional advise (she's always been obese) and her "advise" is always very wrong...even from a layman's view, very, very, wrong! I'm surprised the woman is still alive! dmjet - It's not hot EVERYWHERE! LOL! It's about 55 here, good enough for a brisk walk and chicken yard cleaning! IdioGirl - YES, you're so right! It's not about being full, just not hungry! I'm trying to explain that to my 7 year old! LaNalga - No, you're fine! My recovery was fantastic. I, too, can eat ANYTHING and too much of it too. I've had a couple of "issues" when I eat too fast and don't notice that I'm FULL and then over-fill myself....it's uncomfortable and not pretty. Funny, now that I'm 4 weeks out, I seem to be eating less than I did a week or even two weeks ago! Be patient!:biggrin1: SHAKES/PROTEIN: I have some Satori Eat-Smart protein powder that I've added to broth, pudding, and yogurt, but I don't like it and don't use it. I stick to Slim Fast shakes and I really like Myoplex Carb Sense shakes because I can make them with water instead of milk and they still taste pretty good...I usually don't like strawberry flavored drinks and since I don't like chocolate that much I usually just stick to vanilla. WEIGHT LOSS! Ok, it's just a pound, but now I'm FINALLY lower than I was when I had surgery! I tell ya, it totally helped with my psychologically! Next week I'm filled and then I'm sure things will speed up a bit. I was thinking last night that at even 3 lbs a month, that's 36 lbs. a year! At that rate (and I'm sure I'll be faster) I'll be at my goal weight in no time! YEAH! Slow loss is still loss! LOVELY ALASKAN NEIGHBORS: So, the other night I'm playing Risk with my son and husband and we get a knock on the door...it's 9:30pm so that was a little strange. It was a fella that welcomed us with some reindeer stew when we moved here in April and haven't seen since then. He says that he pulled his crab pots and doesn't have the freezer space for all the KING CRAB he has in the back of his truck! HAHA! SCORE! :hungry:We got 10 Crab and cooked 'em up right away. We figured it was about $300 worth of crab (here we pay $6.00/lb, I know it's more for you suckers in the south!)! He said he'll be bringing some Silver Salmon (the best kind) this week and we're going to go help on his boat tomorrow (that'll be my excersize). WAHOO! Really, living here can really be great! At least it's not 110 degrees! Heck, I got a tan/burn the other night when it was 60 degrees and 10 pm out on the deck! Congrats to the other "LOSERS"! Yep, now I'm ready to cheer everyone on! Sorry so long, but I just finished all the posts from the past couple of days!

- YES, I've had this nauseated feeling from being full....it happened last weekend after I PB'd on steak...obviously I was FULL. It happened on Sat. night and on Sun. I had a shake for breakfast and a shake for lunch...I still felt full and a little "queezy". There was some toilet action too, but by Sun evening I was fine. Just drink some water to get that "through" you and you should be fine.

dieka - First, don't get depressed about the dang corndog! Just accept it for what it was and get back on track today! It's okay to fall off the wagon, but just make sure you get back on! Beating yourself up about it may lead to MORE eating! Let it go! Remember, it's not a BAD thing to be hungry, just eat enough to get rid of it... Peaches - I have the INAMED 10cc band...pretty typical for the states Well...it's officiall 3 WEEKS now and I finally LOST! :whoo:Okay, so it was 1/2 lb., but it's still losing! I have to admit that I don't get all excited for all those who have lost a heaping mound of weight...I'm insanly jealous and wondering where all the motivation and "stick-to-itness" that everyone else seems to have. I did a bunch today...worked with my chickens. Got a couple that are layin around too much and gave them a "bath"...they didn't like it and I think I'll be pulling bird crap out of my hair for a few days! :cryI did manage to clean out the "coop" too and sweat a lot! So, I just have some more crazy monkey jungle love tonight :kiss2:and my excersize will be done for the day! I don't know if anyone has noticed, but when you do a New Reply instead of a Quick Post you can set up your email notification...this totally helps with reading all the posts...you can set it for "daily email notification" and it posts everything from the last time you were on....without all the signatures so it A LOT faster for people like me with slow internet and you don't have to load the new pages all the time. Anyway...just a tip

Caolin - trust me...the Doritos are pulverised before they are swallowed (boy, that looks like it's misspelled...oh well)! Cheetos go down easy too....I just eat them VERY slow - suck off all the cheese then chew, chew, chew....since it takes so long I only eat about 1/2 cup (and I don't do this all the time, but its a nice treat). Chim - no "Walk for Anything" here...there are some crazy people who do some long distance runs...and there seems to be some insance race every week here. Now, why did we move here? Lynette - yeah, you get a nice 'ol sign and I get...."where's my dinner?" and "see you in a few days"....the irony! I managed to get motivated and go for a long walk with my daughter...I was cold when I left and wore a t-shirt, sweatshirt, and windbreaker...when I got home I needed a bathing suit! At least I broke a sweat!

Oh Nicole - there are soooo many variables for your alleged weight gain - hormones, fluid retention, clothes, building muscle.....and the list goes on and on. There's a few things you can do to combat this...First, weigh yourself consistently, that means rely on one scale (at home or at the docs), weigh yourself first thing in the morning, and don't weigh yourself more than once a week. This will help with your mindset! You're doing much better than I am...heck, I just finished a handful of Doritos and I'm not drinking nearly enough water...call yourself a success and next time, take a hammer to "fix" the scale at the doc's office!

gurlygirl - I had surgery on Tues morn. and flew back to Alaska Thurs night. I had an EXCELLENT recovery (I was at Health South Surgical Center and I thought it was top notch too.) and could've left Wed, but I'm glad I had the extra day. I saw Dr. K on Thurs morning before I left. He did no pre-op testing for me and gave me a prescription for some anti-nausea suppositories (which I didn't need, but good to have just in case). I also had an anti-nausea (scolpamine) patch that was placed behind my ear prior to surgery- gave me dry-mouth, but I was not nauseated at all! I've had 3 c-sections and I recovered from them fast and well...this was NOTHING compared to those! Good luck! Three weeks now and last night I got totally nervous about my first fill (on the 16th). I'm worried about the needle pain. I was more worried about the doc finding my port...I hadn't felt it until last night when I did some "pushing around"...boy did Dr. K bury it! I had an "incident" with steak the other night, but other than that have been doing well. I have yet to lose any weight, but I'm sure things will start moving when I get that fill. Hey, did any of you have to go on liquids or anything for a day or two following the fill? What's the best protocol to follow? Woofay - about the weight gain...have you considered that it's "new food" or at least a new diet and your body isn't used to it. Your colon can hold 30 lbs of crap (pun is totally intended!). Give it a few days and see if you have a really good poo. I would bet this is the issue. Not a pleasant thought, but it DOES give some hope! I'm totally with you on the "why not eat what I want if I'm just going to gain" it's in my head...working on getting it out! Mal - I hope your son is doing better. It's been a while since I read the thread and I was wondering how he's doing. Michelle - thanks for your positive support and attitude! I'm sorry that I will not be able to make it to Denver...maybe next summer when I can get my MIL out here again to watch the kids. Then we'll all be skinny!

No...really, that's ALL the posts there are for this morning? Hmmm....now I KNOW everyone is back to work! Hahaha!

Kathy - thanks! I never even thought to have the restaurants puree food/soup for me! That's a great idea for when I have my fills. (Since I have to leave home and eat "out" when I go in.) Lynette - HELLLLOOOOO, what about me? I feel so lonely! Potty training for my boys was totally different - one day I just put Connor in underpants and told him to keep 'em dry and he did...never an accident, even in bed with a cup of water at the bed-side table! Owen, on the other hand...took three months and a lot of yelling! FINALLY, he too can have water at his bed-side! Wonder what will happen with my little princess... BTW have fun at work!:biggrin1: Dini - I was thinking about you saying that you just don't have energy, etc. right now...have you thought that maybe you might just be a little teensy bit depressed? You have some serious stuff going on and it's all going in the same couple of weeks! You still need to recover from surgery, you need to get more positive people around you (I'm still wondering what idiot called you FAT! I just don't see it in your pictures! I mean, where's the double-chin? ) Take time to recover and relax, I'm glad you're going to Italy...make sure you really VACATE on your vacation!:bounce: Almost WEEK 4...BAD THINGS HAPPENED LAST NIGHT! First, my sweet DH grilled steaks for the family. I haven't tried steak yet, but since I can down almost anything I though, "why not?" It started bad when I noticed he drowned the poor T-bones in BBQ sauce, I mean, who does that? :tired I, for some reason, at ravenously and after about 2 oz of steak I got that "oh crap" feeling...Yep, got all flushed in the face and headed to the bathroom. Thought I'd just PB and get it over with....boy was I wrong! I didn't quite vomit, but it was more than a PB! It was like there was a wad of meat (thoroughly chewed by the way) that "topped off" my new stomach and couldn't fit. This was strange for me because, frankly, I haven't felt full in a loooonnnngggg time! I guess I need to get used to that new "full feeling". It was a terrible learning experience...didn't last too long, but my stomach was still queezy today. Point taken! I let Andrew finish the BBQ steak today! I just had soup and a shake. :hungry: Also, I haven't lost any weight still. I'm actually up 2 lbs. from my surgery weight. I'm not upset about it, just a little frustrated. I don't like using scales, but it IS a good way to see progress. Pray for my sanity! Oh, and even Paula Dean says that the food she cooks is meant to be taken in moderation! She does not suggest people eat like that all the time.

Shannon - yes, some of us have heard of the AP band, but I don't know if any one has it. Your doctor should give you a little card with the information (serial #, model #, etc.) on it for you to have on hand. There's been some of us who have docs that also give us a card that says something like, "please let this person order from the children's or senior's menu because they've had WLS". I haven't used mine yet...I wonder if anyone else has....hmmmmm. Anyhoo, just a little tidbit for you. I just realized that I complain about the prices here a lot. I just like the shock value, really. There isn't much else to brag about! We DO get paid well enough to deal with it though. Thank heavens!

Welcome Shannon...that shoulder pain will subside, just give it time...at least it's not tummy pain! Danny...wait 'till that baby starts moving so much you can see it from across the room! That's my favorite part! Lynette - you are so lucky to have appraisers nearby. In Alaska (especially the rural areas) you can wait up to 6 weeks to get an appraiser out here...and an appraisal costs $850! It's a total sham I tell ya! My husband keeps encouraging me to look into becoming an appraiser...maybe it IS something I should do?! That'd be a GREAT part-time job! Haha! Not like I don't have enough to do right now! I'm working on our trip in November. We'll be in Fl 4 days before the cruise (going to Orlando for that and have accomodations already), but then we'll be in Miami for 4 days after. I'm still working on a place to stay - you know, get a suite because of the kids, or just go to bed early with everyone. The d***m Priceline won't let you bid more than once every three days for the dang rental van (and we do need a van now) so I have it all timed that every three days I put in a bit. It's a PAIN IN THE BUTT, but it's keeping me away from the food! :-)

Phyllser - That's great that you get to start eating real food again....you had a killer of a pre-op diet and I'm inspired by your dedication to follow doctor's orders pre and post op! I'm sure you will be on the top of the "success" list! Dini - Preparation H is for hemorrhoids! Keeps the swelling down! Some folks even use it for under their eyes if they haven't enough sleep! LOL! I'm curious, how did you manage to get on with Miami Ink? Do they have a reservation list or something...the show doesn't show them really busy, but I know better. When I went to Vegas last year I looked into the other place (can't remember the name, but the show was "Inked") and you couldn't call ahead, you had to go in at the crack of early, wait in line a couple hours to find out if they'd even "do" you and then wait around all day for your appointment! I found a professional down the street who did a great job! Maybe we could all meet at the shop and get tattoos together (my husband would be so pleased!) The scale moved down, one pound, but at least it's moving down again! I'm still feeling good. Something good must be happening because my daughter pulled my jeans off....without the zipper or button being undone! LOL! She didn't even pull hard!

Lynette - the picture of the tattoo was just after it was done (last Aug.) and still had petroleum jelly type antibiotic all over it making it really stand out! A key to keeping tattoo color is to put sun-block on it and keep it out of the sun. It still looks good today though! About the belly-button ring...I had one in college and although the piercing itself wasn't too bad, it took SIX MONTHS to heal! Really, I had my pants unzipped for 6 months! Apparently, that's normal...I had a friend do it with me and she had the same thing. It's not red or anything, just painful...funny how that little hole hurt more than my three c-sections and this banding TOGETHER! Welcome to the new folks and I'm glad to hear that healing is going so well with our group....no problems! I don't know if it was a blessing or a curse that my doc let me progress on foods as I felt good about it....would I have been better off on a liquid diet for a couple of weeks like everyone else? As it was I was only on liquids for about 6 days! Now I can eat like a pig - if I want to. I started to just drink a protein shake for breakfast and excersizing more so I hope that helps, I'd like to lose some lbs. before my first fill.

Oh, someone asked about burping...YES, I'm burping more, but some things are gone. For some reason after my first pregnancy, every time I laid on my left side I'd have these little gurgling burps...they are gone now...and it's been 7 1/2 years of that! WAHOO! That was a BIG and NOTICABLE thing for me. I can deal with the burping...I was raised on Miss Manners and can stifle a burp pretty good! I like the pedometer idea...I think I'll get one next time I'm in "town". (That means Anchorage or Fairbanks...a place that has a regular store.)

I'm glad everyone likes my bracelet idea...I really do think it would work...for me anyway....I just ate some chocolate. Bad, Bad, Marcy!:bandit It was goooood! Hey, all this talk about Dini going to Miami in November....wouldn't you know...I'm going on a cruise in Nov. and will be in Miami 11/18 - 11/22! LOL! Maybe we could just have a little group get-together? Haha! I like the tattoo idea. I had an UGLY tattoo from college and just got it "covered up" last year while I was in Vegas. I covered it with my children...Connor "Bug", Owen "Bear", Stormy "Ray"...I'll try to attach it so you can see...it ended up being quite cool (compared to the ball of fire that was underneath!) Rainy day in Nome...at least we went to the gym and I got some excersize in...does that cancel out the chocolate? Hmmm....maybe I'll have to have some crazy monkey jungle love tonight to burn some calories?!:kiss2::heh:

Sunny - Thanks for the encouragement! I really DO need some support out here. I know there are a ton of folks in Nome that have had WLS so I'm putting together an actual LIVE support group. It will be helpful to have "close" friends. I'm going to also suggest that we get our own "specialist" out here...a doc at the hospital that is "up on the info of WLS" just in case someone has an issue....maybe it can be dealt with here instead of flying to Anchorage! Chimboree - At work already! I'm glad you're doing well! Yes, use the drugs! I know that when you're able to MOVE it helps heal, but you can't move if you hurt! Good luck sister!:clap2: Tinkerbell - Yep, the excitement is gone and now I have to "get on with my life". I'm not getting depressed, but I was on a good high for a few months and now that's gone...gotta find a replacement for it....that's NOT food! LOL! Brumbie - Wecome! You're a day ahead of me, but closer to my time zone! Yeah! Everyone goes to sleep too early around here and I end up missing out! I figured you weren't American since you had your surgery on July 4th (our Independence Day)...Good for you, hope your recovery is going well! I'M HUNGRY PEOPLE! My husband asked if I was really hungry or I just wanted food...I had him listen to my stomach grumble to prove that I really AM hungry! I can't wait for the fill! I'm actually thinking to have him make me a little extra tight to get rid of the hungry feeling! Scary thing is...I'm eating more than the rest of you! HOW ON EARTH CAN I BE HUNGRY?!?! I KNOW the band is there because of last weeks' chicken "incident", but, man, I hope it gets better....ok, having a bad night. I'll get out of this funk tomorrow!:help: I was just thinking, wouldn't it be great if we all could get that little ankle bracelet (like Lindsey Lohan's alcohol bracelet) that measures how much we've eaten and if we eat too much our surgeon calls us and "talks us down"? Yes, it is a sad, sad life that I lead sometimes! Just gotta find the humor in retarded things like rich socialite girls....

Jeanie - I'm glad you think it's busy! If only the scale would reflect the fact that right now is the first time I actually SAT DOWN today! Yep, I ate breakfast and lunch STANDING!

Doing fantastic this week! No pain and my energy level is doing great! I started really excersizing this week...lots of walks with the kids and I'll be hitting the gym soon...gotta work out a schedule with my husband. The pain is gone and I'm actually zipping my pants all the way up! Woohoo! I'm having trouble making good food choices. I don't think I'm eating too much (even though I easily could right now), but I'm definitely not making low-carb choices as often as I should...I haven't lost any weight since surgery...actually went up and down a few pounds. I'm hoping my fill on the 16th will at least restrict me somewhat. I'm trying to drink more throughout the day - that keeps me from eating because I'm trying to get to the "no liquid whilst eating" frame of mind. I'm doing better today though...I would just like to stop seeing 250 on the scale!

Hello all! It's been too many days now for me to go back and read everything...takes WAY TOO long! Chimboree - I hope all went well with the surgery, as one of our first Cheerleaders, I'm ashamed that I wasn't there for you. The intention was all there, but the computer time was not. PM me about how you're doing. I have prayed for you and thought of you often...then I sit down to the computer and someone pukes on me, or spills milk, or pees all over the toilet, etc....don't you just love children? My update: It's been 3 weeks today and I've managed to eat 1/2 a English Muffin at lunch. I didn't have any problems and haven't since that dry chicken I had last week. All's good. I tend to eat between meals (something I used to rarely do) so I'm tricking myself now and leaving water out so I drink that instead and since I'm trying to get on the "don't drink 1/2 hr before or after you eat" thing my little trick seems to be working. I've been feeling hungry and am looking forward to my first fill on the 16th. I haven't lost any weight...I'm still hovering around my surgery weight, go up and down a couple of pounds, but nothing significant. It's irritating, but I have to admit that I'm not making the best of choices when it comes to food. I've started REAL excersize this week, lots of walking and I'll be hitting the gym this week too (lots of support from my husband). I have no pain and realized that the other day I zipped my jeans all the way up! My energy level is much better too! The blueberries are ready for picking and the kids and I spend an hour or two each day picking them...my husband thinks it's just terrific that the kids think that frozen blueberries with a little whip topping is dessert! The salmon will start coming soon so we'll have those to count on and the chickens will be slaughtered at the end of the month! Lots going on! If you really need to hear from me, PM or email me....I'll get it faster!