phyllser

Hang in there, Jackie!! You've done so well! We all go through this up and down stuff. Just stick with it and the scale will start going down again!!

Very good!!! I had forgotten that!! I'm older than you, though! I have an excuse!

You've come to the right place!! This whole LBT site is packed with info, support, encouragement. And this Christian thread is GREAT!! Don't worry about the different phases, liquid diet, etc. You'll get through them... with a little help from your friends, as they say! There will be some tough places to walk through, but it'll be worth it.

Yeah, I think what she said is that doing the 5 day test would help you to know if your band is still working for you.. I presume then, or if you need another fill. Does that sound right?? Now why can't you remember what that stupid exercise bell thing was called???? I've been searching on Google and Amazon.. yeah, I know... email Marsha!! I didn't do that yet. Stubbornly trying to find it on my own. I did find a watch that New Balance makes that is water resistant and shows your heart rate and calories burned. Amazon has it for $69 and free shipping. I might order one. For the record.... I am FIVE FEET TALL!! One nurse at my 2nd pre-op appointment measured me at 4'11" but I made her change it!! Didn't see how I could've shrunk an inch in a month... I had lost some weight... think I was a FAT HEAD??? Anyways, I was mad because it made my BMI go up. My doctor wanted it to be under 60 before I had my surgery. So I was so happy that I'd finally gotten it under 60 and then she measures me at 4'11" and it goes back OVER 60!! She wasn't the OFFICIAL weigh in/measure nurse. She was a study project nurse. I guess I intimidated her because she changed it back to 5'!!! :regular_smile:

I absolutely AGREE!! It's the 25% that is my guarantee that I WILL succeed this time, though! I can do the 75% because I know the band is there doing the other 25%!! Know what I mean?? I know it will kick me in the butt if I try to overeat or eat the wrong things, etc. and that helps me to stay on track. UH-OH, Our little teacher lady is going postal!! Settle down, Honey.. everything is going to be OKAY!! Plateaus are a horrible thing!! But, we can get through them. I lost more last week than I did the whole month of January!! Didn't do anything different either! It just happens and we have to plod our way through it and try to not get discouraged! Hang in there!

That's great, Karri! Congrats! Bra's...... ugh! I need a good fit, too. Don't know where to go. Need new ones the right size. Can't wear the new sweat pants until I cut off about 8" at the bottom and re-hem!! I'm SHORT!!

I usually have a 3-4 oz glass of dry red wine almost every afternoon, but just one. It's best to avoid liquid calories, though. Most doctors want you to avoid all carbonated drinks. I had a long-standing Diet Coke habit, usually not more than 1 or 2 a day, though. We have our own carbonator, so when I wasn't drinking Diet Coke, I would drink either plain carbonated water or I'd add a little sugar free flavoring. So, I was kind of addicted to the carbonation and I had to give it up. A month or so ago I thought I'd try a little carbonated water. But I found myself very afraid to drink it so I was just sipping at it and my water intake went way down! So I quit it and went back to my Crystal Lite, my new addiction! I drink it all day long (after my morning coffee... 1 cup).

Thanks! No, it didn't sound that bad!! I'm teasing you! She had it coming. But, Marsha kind of gave her a bad time, because of her choice of doctors. I think that was why she was a little defensive and wanted us to know she "did her research". Marsha said that doctor's patients are not "educated" enough prior to surgery.

Hi, Gang! Yes, this is the BEST support group. Though it is good to have a face to face with other bandsters. And Janet really did say to that girl, "I thought you said you did your research?? How could you do your research and not know what PBing is???" :biggrin: LOL!! As we all know, our girl doesn't pull any punches!! She says it like it is! I thought I would laugh out loud! I had my official weekly TOPS weigh in today.. down 4.2 lb for the week!! I rewarded myself with a new pair of sweat pants! I like to put on my nice warm, cuddly sweats at night when I curl up on the couch to watch TV and the ones I've been wearing are falling off! Down to a 2X, which is pretty good for me considering a year ago I was wearing anything from 3X to 5X! Oh, I had a Starbucks Skinny Latte as my other treat. Hope everyone is having a great day! I better go. We're transitioning to our new TOPS group and tonight is the night I volunteered to do the "program" so I have to go make some copies and finish my getting my act together on what I'm going to do.

Soups... I used tomato Soup, pea soup, soups with no "chunks". Has your doctor had you meet with a dietician? I had to have a dietary consult before my surgery and that's when they told me all the things I could eat at each phase. Ah, just found my list.... under "liquids" i was allowed light yogurt (no fruit, etc), sugar free pudding, custards, strained cream soups, cream of wheat/rice thinned with lots of milk, broths, Protein drinks, fruit smoothie, sugar free popsicles & Jello. Water, sugar free drinks (non-carbonated) and decaf tea/coffee. Of course, then after surgery when I asked when I could have my caffeine back, dr's nurse said "who said you couldn't have caffeine??".... Uh... the dietician!!?? So I'd take that "decaf" with a grain of salt. Best of luck to you!

Interesting... wonder why it was okay the first time and then made you sick the second time?? I love chili. We make it with ground turkey, diced and/or crushed tomatoes, no green chilis but usually 2 cans of red kidney Beans, onion & green pepper, chili powder and curry powder.

How's your weather this week?? Did it warm up any, or get worse?? This thread sure isn't very active!! Where are all the 60+ people?? I know there are lots of us out there! Anyway, hope you're all shoveled out by now!!

Janet made some good suggestions regarding clothes selection. And, I agree... take someone shopping with you... someone you can trust to be honest. Like I have one daughter who would say, "that looks great, Mom" no matter what I put on. So I'd have to take my youngest daughter who would be more apt to say, " I don't think so, Mom" if I looked ridiculous!! :tongue:

Looked at your profile and noticed you are a retired nurse. Me, too. When was your surgery? Your ticker isn't showing up in your signature. There is a tutorial somewhere, but I can never find it. But if you "copy" the bbc code and then "Paste" it in to your signature, it should show up. Welcome to our site!

Hope you're having a better day today, Joyross! It will get better, especially when you get to "mushies". Hang in there. You can do this! I agree with whomever it was that said even the things you didn't used to like will taste good... like the yogurt. It's all worth it. "Bandster Hell" is not fun, but short-lived, I promise!! God Bless!!

Thank you, thank you!! We're all royalty here!! We've taken control of our lives and we're REIGNING OVER our OLD BAD EATING HABITS!!!

Yeah, that phrase "did it all on her own" irks me, too! Don't know if I want to watch that Oprah show or not! I'm kind of pissed at one of the TOPS rules in that regard, as well. If you've had WLS, TOPS puts you in a special division. That's fine... so you "compete", so to speak, with others who have had WLS, both bypass and lapband. BUT... that division is not eligible for what they call "Royalty". Each year, the person who has lost the most weight in their division for their chapter, state, national, win the title of "King" for the men, "Queen" for the women. So, if you have had WLS, you can't compete for those titles. I'd never lose enough to qualify, so that's not the point, it's just the principle of the thing that is annoying. I don't imagine anyone who has had lapband could "win" because you'd be competing with people who have had bypass. No contest. They lose faster. Anyways, I guess I'll quit rambling. Yeah, I haven't been able to do malls without my scooter for a long time. Walking is definitely getting easier, though. Partial replacement in the right knee, but when we go back home, hope to have the left one fixed. No, you didn't go overboard!! That's GREAT!! Congratulations!! I will be very happy, also, when I am no longer MORBIDLY OBESE!! What an awful distinction that is!!

We're here for you, Steph. You can vent any time you need to!! I'm way past teenagers and toddlers, but I still remember quite vividly!! I did have one kid who refused to be potty trained at 3 1/2 also... and had two others in diapers at that time and a husband in Viet Nam!! So, see, I completely understand! And we had one year when all four were teenagers at the same time!! That's about the time I decided I better quit working for a while!! They needed my undivided attention! So, hang in there, kid!! This too shall pass, as they say! My DH measures and weighs ALL my food!! In some ways I appreciate it, but usually it just really pisses me off. Yesterday I wanted a snack during the Super Bowl. I have baked chips and baked "Scoops". Well, he started to weigh me out 1/2 oz of the chips when he remembers that he ate all the dip so there's nothing to go with the chips. So I said, fine, I'll have some salsa and scoops.. nothing left but crumbs. So he gave me 1/2 oz of Scoops crumbs and salsa and a spoon to eat it with!! And on those days when the scale goes up, if I make the mistake of telling him that, he tells me exactly what I did wrong to make that happen. Grrrrrr!!

I'm with you, Mango!! That was one of the best SuperBowls EVER!! Fantastic!! And I was sitting here in the RV with THREE people who were rooting for NE!! It was great!

Old Broad, indeed! You're just a baby! One Hot Grandma! Hey, I gotta tell you.. going to church the last few weeks has been a real upper! Last week it was the ladies that had started noticing my weight loss, this week... FOUR men, including our chaplain (who is a fellow TOPS member), an usher and a greeter and another guy all telling me I'm looking good. Nice to have people noticing. And, I'm proud of myself because I was up helping to move chairs and helping to get set up for our after church potluck instead of sitting and watching. So I signed us up to be in charge of set up one Sunday next month. I've let myself get in the habit of being so sedentary!! So... making a real effort to get up and MOVE!!

Great idea!!

Shake your booty, girl!! You look great!! Amazing difference, and your face... you don't look like the same person!

Wow!! That's great, Karri!! Congrats! She said she was going shopping today, but unusual for her not to check in by now!! Who gave her a TWO DAY gate pass???!! Will have to call her if we don't here from her tomorrow! Yeah, I've taken things to a consignment shop before. You don't get a lot, but something back for your investment. And, the place I went to, if they didn't sell your stuff, you could either pick it up again or they would donate it and give you a receipt. My DIL sells a lot of stuff that the grandkids outgrow on eBay, which is another option.

Hmm.... that's a tough one! It would be exciting to see the Pats make it 19-0, but might have to root for the underdogs, NY... Also, I'm a native New Yorker (Buffalo). DH might be rooting for Nebraska... he can't seem to get it that "NE" means New England and not Nebraska!! He watches football with me, but, obviously, he's not a big fan!! Hey! Where'd you get that neat blinking banner?? Very cool!