Jonathan

It's never too late. People may join at any time, but they have to use the weight as of the date that they start. So, the earlier you start, the better =) Everyone's in, so far...

As of this point, I think I have everyone who's posted or sent me quicknotes or PM's. Check the site, and if you're not there and think you should be, let me know again! Jonathan

I think I have everyone so far. Just to clarify, you have to list your starting weight here, or send it to me via a "quicknote" on the challenge website. If you do that, be SURE to include your user name. I'm using ONLY user names this time, so there's no confusion over who's who. With your starting weight, PLEASE also include your GOAL weight as of the end of the challenge. I'll update the software to record that later, and will have it do something cool to your name when you reach goal =) Once you're in the system with a starting weight, you may update your weight at any time on your own. Jonathan Mods... can we sticky this thread?

If you guys post the pictures here, I'll get the code written SOMETIME this summer, and then I can just upload them to the site then. I think that's a great idea =) I don't know about wearing the same clothes though. I lost my shorts in the electronics section of Wal-Mart last night. Fortunatley, nobody saw me... I think anyway. I went straight to the Men's section and bought a new belt I think it might take suspenders to keep them up by the end of the summer =) Jonathan (50 lbs down as of this morning! 56" waist to a *gasp* 48" waist!)

Since a lot of people missed this post, I'll repost it =) I believe this is the current plan... as I said, I'll be implementing the necessary code changes to to the challenge software this weekend... we should be able to start on Monday. Jonathan

Just bear with me a few days, and the new and imporoved "Before and During" challenge will be and running. In the mean time, feel free to post your progress here if it helps you with accountability =) The movers come Friday. I plan on having my new house unpacked before I go to bed that night. (Yes, seriously. =) ) Then Saturday I'll make the code updates and start the challenge over. Plan on having it start with weigh-in and picture upload (if you so choose) on Monday. Jonathan

Alpo does smell REALLY good. =) Still, I'd pass...

That's why your doctor needs to see them. It's not really something a nurse can answer over the phone -- unless you've reached some maximum time limit at which the doctor is comfortable with it. My doctor wanted to see that my wounds were not only closed, but healed enough that they weren't going to split back open, even a tiny bit, with the motions needed for swimming, etc. It's just too important to screw up, in my opinion. The last thing you want to deal with is an infection.

Do NOT go swimming... DO NOT GO SWIMMING... Do NOT go swimming until your doctor tells you you can. No matter how badly you want to, it's not worth getting an infection.

This is one of my journal entries from last year -- pre-band, when I was still trying to fight this battle on my own... every day thinking that tomorrow would be the day I'd turn things around... I thought I'd share it with you all, in case there's anyone out there still waiting for tomorrow to change their life... If Tomorrow Never Comes If tomorrow never comes Will she know how much I loved her Did I try in every way to show her every day That she's my only one And if my time on earth were through And she must face this world without me Is the love I gave her in the past Gonna be enough to last If tomorrow never comes - Ronan Keating You may not know who Ronan Keating is, but there's a good chance you've heard these lyrics sung by either Garth Brooks or Barry Manilow at least once in the past ten years. The thing is, with all due respect to Barry, Garth, and Mr. Keating, I've come to a realization about "tomorrow" that has enormous ramifications for those of us who need to make sweeping lifestyle changes. Obviously, it's impossible to change yourself yesterday. It's incredibly difficult, as we all know, to change yourself today. But changing yourself tomorrow -- that's the easiest thing in the world, isn't it? I can't begin to tell you the number of times that I've said "Tomorrow I'm going to start a new diet, so I'm going to enjoy the rest of today." In fact, I said it as recently as yesterday, while eating a tub of popcorn (with layered butter, of course) at the movies. The problem is, however, that tomorrow never comes. You go to bed, thinking that tomorrow holds the key, that tomorrow is a new day, that tomorrow you'll make every right choice, that tomorrow you'll begin a lifelong change for the better. Then you wake up, and to your dismay, it's not tomorrow -- it's just another today. And there's nothing about today that makes your struggle any easier. Then, sometime, after making all the wrong choices for all the wrong reasons, you pick yourself up and think, "Tomorrow will be different." What that brings, at least for me, is the realization that I will never change until I am willing to change today. As much as I love both Garth Brooks and Barry Manilow, it turns out that little Annie had it right all along. Tomorrow, you're always a day away, and evidently that's just one day too far.

I concur. In either case mentioned, the first being that you're just moving onto solid foods, and the second being that you seem to have some restriction already, you're probably not ready for a fill. If you talk to your doctor and tell him what's going on, he'll probably say the same thing, but of course, you should follow your doctor's advice, unless it's completely outrageous =) There's nothing harder for me NOT to eat than that last bite. I can leave half of a piece of chicken, but if there's just one bite left, I feel a STRONG compulsion to eat it. However, after having more than a few PB's as a result, that compulsion is fading. =) Best wishes, Jonathan

Superb advice, and the biggest surprise of the whole thing for me. You WILL eat again, as much as you want ("as much as you want" will mean something new to you), and you will love it, and when you're done, you won't hate yourself or feel so full you can't move. It gets better, not worse, in every aspect. Peace, Jonathan

Ahhhhh, the light dawns. It still would have been cute if you had done it and creepy if I had And thank you, I think she's adorable too, but I've been told that daddies are sometimes biased about their little girls... =)

Rachel writes that note, and it's very cute. Now imagine if *I* wrote it... people would accuse me of being a fat, white Michael Jackson! =)

Adorable Paula =) And you look great too! Ok, I can't resist.. here's my little one at her 2nd dance recital, last week =) http://images.mellette.net/grace/grace_recital.JPG

... I thought I'd share some news with you. My wife and I have filed for divorce... for the 2nd time. Yes, from each other. For the 2nd time. No, you're reading it right, and you're understanding it. We're divorcing each other, again. I thought marrying the same woman twice was unique... wonder what the percentage of the population who have divorced the same person twice is... I'm a slow learner, I guess. Anyway, it's a testament to the wonderfull tool that the band is that I've LOST weight instead of gained it during this turbulent time. In addition to the marriage thing, I "retired" from the software development world today, and will be pastoring a church for the next 4 years as I go to the divinity school (seminary) at SMU at get my Masters degree. The squids (10 year old boy, and 5 year old girl) will be moving and living with me. It's been a BUSY BUSY BUSY month... but my chin is up, my waist is down, and I'm looking forward to the fall. So why am I posting? I dunno... maybe I need a few "hang in there"s from my LBT family. =) Jonathan

Has anyone seen the Friends episode where Ross gets the spray tan? =)

I lost 42 lbs in the first week after my surgery. Due to internal swelling, I was completely dehydrated (well, ok, not completely, else I would have been a pile of dust) and had to have IV fluids a few times to keep going. Last week, I re-hit that 42 lb mark... 4 months post-op. I was depressed at first, but it's really nothing. I spent 15 years of my life steadily gaining weight. Then I spent 4 months losing it FAST FAST FAST (100 lbs). Then I gained 60 lbs back in one month, and 40 in the next month. With the band, I know that those kinds of weight gain are simply impossible. (Ok, I tend to use the extremes.... how about almost completely improbable?). Even weeks when I lose 1 lb, or stay the same, are weeks when I've done better, on average, than any other week in the past 15 years of my life. If you lose half a pound a week (a ridiculously conservitive rate), in 4 years, you will lose over 100 lbs. Where would you be in 4 years without the band? I know you're discouraged... I've been there -- we all have. You've done a wonderful thing for yourself, and all you need to do is keep your eye on the ball. Don't be fed up with yourself. You've turned the corner, reached the apex, made the change. Don't beat yourself up at all anymore -- I bet you did plenty of that (we all did, if you didn't, you'd be unique =) ) over your weight a lot in the past, and it didn't really get you anywhere, did it? =) Keep your eyes on the present, your heart on the future, and leave the past where it belongs. Gaining a few pounds of Water right now means *nothing* in the end. It's nothing you're doing wrong, it's nothing you *should* prevent. And best of all, it's a short term problem. =) I'm not trying to lecture you at all -- I hope it didn't come across that way. I just know, personally, the frustration you're feeling and know that it will pass. Peace to you, Jonathan

I'm in tears. I'm so so sorry for everytime I whined that my band was a little too tight or a little too loose or a little too anything. How lucky most of us really are...

<joeyvoice>How you doin'?</joeyvoice> Just kiddin You do look wonderful. =) Congratulations.

Not for everyone. Sugar can kill a diabetic a lot faster than Sweet-n-Low, Equal, or Splenda. And for every article like this that rips up one of the sweetners, there's another praising it and debunking everything the bad article says. Then another one comes around debunking everything the good article says. Then doctors will tell you that eggs are bad for you. Then they'll say they're actually good for you. Then they'll say that Sweet-n-Low will give you cancer and Equal will give you brain damage and Splenda can cause anal leakage (I'm not making that up), and later they'll say that you'd have to drink 20 cans a day of soda for 20 years to make any of that actually happen. I swear it's something different every week. Always consider the source when you read an article like this. I'm totally for educating yourself and finding out as much you can about the things you consume. But it wasn't exactly Newsweek or the New York Times reporting that... and if everything in that article were true and undisputed, don't you think Newsweek or the NY Times would have had something to say about it by now? Just my opinions.... I totally respect all of yours, and am not trying to say this article is wrong or anyone is wrong for being scared of Splenda after reading it =)

That's just about what you can expect to find. While I do think there are a lot of open minded people here, you're not really going to find many (if any) that will say "You should really get bypass instead". Just like you're not going to find a bypass patient who says, "You should really get a band instead." This is SUCH a major decision, with a major cost (either to you or your insurance company, or both) with such major ramifications, that you'll just be hard pressed to find somoene who will admit they shouldn't have done it. Sometimes it comes down to some things that people just CANNOT do. Some people CANNOT have their intestines replumbed. Some people just CANNOT have a foreign object lodged around their internals. Those are black and white issues... there's a WHOLE lot of grey to wade through, if you can get past those. The key for SUPPORT, I think, is to find people who've made the same choice you have. You'll need to hear the "yes, that happens all the time" responses when you think you're going through something horrible and unique. You'll need to hear the "This is how I got through that" speech a few times too. Ultimately, to decide which surgery is right for you, you'll just have to do A LOT of research. Asking people whov'e already had one or the other will, usually, get you a biased opinion. Oh, and get the band -- it's better! =) Jonathan

Congratulations =) And please, be careful with the juicer idea. Remember, as a bandster, you want to avoid drinking calories. The whole point of the band is to create a physical barrier that can help you not eat too many calories. If you juice up a bunch of stuff, you'll be able to drink it until the cows come home. And most people don't get any feelings of satiety from drinking liquids. Again, congratulations, and welcome to bandland =)

Most doctors won't let you get fills that often, but if you're honestly feeling NO restriction, and you can convince your doctor of that he/she might. Mine did =) For what it's worth, it took 2 fills for me to feel ANY restriction, and a 3rd for the band to start working. I'm at 2cc's now, and trust me when I tell you that: A) After my first fill, I had *NO* restriction whatsoever ... and At 2ccs, if I had ANY more saline, I don't think I'd be able to drink liquids anymore. Thick Soups give me troubles if I don't really take my time with them now. =) I LOVE it. I agree that weighing every day isn't probably the best thing to do (even though I do it, and I'm comfortable with the habit... I only weigh first thing in the morning). On the other hand, don't let it go too long. The band is a tool that will only work when it's adjusted correctly, and your weight loss rate will be a crucial key in knowing when it's adjusted correctly. Best wishes, Jonathan

Let me offer the guy perspective. (Everyone forget that I'm a pastor now, for the sake of this discussion... I *used* to be human ) When you wear the right clothes, I'm sure nothing looks out of place. I've seen a .. couple .. of naked women in my life. Nobody looks like the girls of Playboy or any other magazine using the magic of air brushes. (Not that I've ever seen a Playboy... ) I played football and wrestled in highschool and college, which means I've spent some time in lockerrooms with guys too. Never once did I ever hear someone say "She looked great in clothes, but when I got her naked in my room, she just didn't do it for me." You are, clearly, scared. food, for most of us, has been a comfort to us. We need lots of comfort, so we ate a lot. Voila, here we all are. I'm sure that's why you're craving food, and thinking the thoughts that you have been thinking. And there's nothing wrong with that -- it is a scary thing, and fear is something we were created with so that we'd stay away from things that can hurt us -- a neccessary survival skill. As we grow and mature, we learn (and forget and relearn) what can really hurt us, and what won't really hurt us. I'm a firm believer in therapy, and from the situation as you've described it, this might be a really good time for you to sit down and talk with someone for a few sessions, just so you can really get in touch with what you're feeling, and what you're *really* afraid of. Then you can, with both your mind AND your heart, figure out what's safe for you to do. Again, just to reinforce this concept -- don't give us guys too much credit. As deeply loving and tender as we are capable of being, once we're in the bedroom and the clothes come off, we tend to be a little one-track-minded You've done an awesome job. Keep up the good work. Jonathan