lindata

Laura, I've never heard of Publix (I'm Canadian, eh). Is it a grocery store? I'll have to see if they have them here in Little Rock. I would SOOOOO pay a little more to have good service. In Canada there were two grocery stores people liked to go to - Superstore and Safeway. Safeway was always clean, everyone was nice, it was relatively fast and they bagged your stuff, but a little more expensive. Superstore was the exact opposite - grey walls, everyone in a bad mood, no one around to help out, but cheap. Guess where I always went - Safeway. It is worth the extra money to feel good when you're done shopping rather than feeling like you could stab the nearest person in the eye with your keys.

Oh, for shame, for shame!! I LOVE the Eagles - can't get enough of them. I must admit it's a high school thing. You know when you hear a song and relate it to a really good experience? That's Eagles for me - a hell of a good road trip to Montana, met some awesome people, and came back with an Eagles tape.

Night time is the worst for me - full-blown, rolling, thundering tummy growls.

I totally agree with that. That's why I got him to phone! I'm on my way to check out that web site.

Ah, the greed in a little kid's eyes - not a great sight, is it? I'm trying hard not to let my kid turn into a spoiled brat - but it's HARD!!! He's so cute and I want to make him happy. It's hard to reign myself in when I go shopping. A BIT off topic, but I'm planning on taking my son someday to one of those work holidays where you help people in poor areas build a well or school or something like that. I figure that'll teach him to be grateful for all he has and realize how little others have. I just don't know at what age I'll do it yet. When there's so much surplus in our Americanized lives, it's hard to teach a kid to be grateful for things when things are all around us. Oh boy, that sounds a little preachy!

Amen to that! Handiwork never gets paid what it's worth. I used to do a lot of stained glass and never got paid what it was worth - so I quit! I'm a lot happier now. You should just do what YOU want to do for YOURSELF, whatever makes you happy.

Wow, I love all your bios! I guess I could add a few things to mine - it seems so sparse. I grew up in Saskatchewan. I've been married 11 years and met my husband working as a waitress in a country bar!! (I was working as a waitress in a cocktail bar, that much is true - cue the music). We decided we didn't want to spawn (as Tish so succinctly put it! hahaha - had to laugh at that - that's exactly how WE felt), then discovered I WAS pregnant. I was a flight instructor but I quit when I was pregnant. My son is 3.5 years and I just finished painting a mural on his wall today of the planets - yes, that's what I did instead of eating. We just moved down to Arkansas this spring. We have a Eurasier dog named Caspar. Along with reading, I also love to travel. When we moved we had to get rid of our tent trailer, which we all loved and were sad to see go. I got banded because I didn't want to diet my way up to 500 pounds - which I knew would happen in very short order. I'd love to see some more bios. Everyone's is so interesting!

Hi all. Got a question. For my so-called "mushies" stage, this is what my info reads: "The Lap Band Pureed Soft Diet (Four Weeks)." Then it talks about the foods I can have. It says, "The following is a list of soft textured foods for you to try. Chew your foods to a mushy consistency." So the title says puree, but the instructions say chew to mushy. Frankly, I've been just chewing until everything is mushy. I've been eating what's on my instruction list, chewing basically until liquid. Anyone else doing this, or are you actually blending things in a blender? It's a little late in the stage to be asking this - but frankly, I'm a little tired of it all. I thought I totally understood everything the nutritionist said, then I had the surgery, and I feel like I've have mommy brain ever since the surgery. Everything seems very unclear and foggy. I don't know if it's due to lack of food :faint: or what. My nutritionist has yet to call me back, and the nurse has already heard enough from me and doesn't seem that receptive to questions. I guess why the instructions seem confusing is because with the list of food it will say beside certain foods to mash them (ex. bananas), and beside tuna and chicken salad to puree it, but it doesn't say puree or mash beside anything else. I know some of your info is very specific, but just from what you've read on my info, what does it sound like to you? Just to eat soft food and chew really good, or actually blend the stuff? Just your thoughts on this would be nice.

I was banded Nov 2 and my fill is Dec 4. It was supposed to be a few weeks later, but I am flying to Canada on Dec 18 and I wanted to have a few weeks with the fill here near my doc before travelling anywhere in case of complications.

Too funny! That's what I feel like too. Or how about how your gut hangs all over the place from bending over to grab the handlebars? I was in a bike store once and they had REALLY big, wide seats for sale. I told my hubby that's what I needed! LOL

Good point! I didn't think of it that way. Putting together that machine probably wore you out more than using it, eh? What did you get?

Where's all the Arkie's?

Telemarketers

Hey Dee. Welcome!

Again, thank you both! Steph, I know you're right - I just have to believe in myself and my doc. I mean, my doc is great. And I know that I need positive thoughts, not negative ones to help heal my body. You're right, you're right, you're right! I think what's happened is I THOUGHT I was educated about the band, thought I knew what I was supposed to eat when and what and how, then I got on these boards and realized maybe I don't know all I'm supposed to. The more I read, the more confused I get.

You aren't alone! Everyone's saying calories in, calories out, but like I said 2 Tablespoons/meal and two Protein shakes, how can I eat less than that? I've started exercising too. The other thing that worries me is I feel faint getting up and down. I was painting the other day and getting up and down the ladder I thought I was going to pass out. So I definitely can't eat any less! And everyone keeps saying many people don't lose during this time, wait until you have restriction, but I just don't get how restriction is going to help when I'm eating already like I AM restricted - know what I mean? Oh well, wait and see, I guess. I hate being Ms. Doom and Gloom on these boards all the time, but it does make me wonder if I will succeed. I guess for me it's hard to stay positive during this phase.

I can't wait to get out of the pluses!! When I could wear "normal" size clothes, I was 170. I'm 5'4". They would be the largest they had though! Right now I'm in plus size 18's.

How long after surgery did you FEEL completely healed on the inside? I was banded Nov 2 and I get weird feelings and twinges and then I go to the complications board and think everything there has got to be happening to me. Then I phone the doc's nurse and she says stop reading those posts! :biggrin1: I can't help it. I'm drawn there like a moth to the flame.

So I checked out the thread where everyone posts their surgery date. Holy crap, there's a lot of November Nymphs out there. Where is everyone? Let's all post and get to know each other!

Lizzie, I'm in hell with you! I'm starving and neurotic and haven't lost in about a week too. What I don't understand is how I'm supposed to start losing with a fill or two or three. The reason I say that is because I don't know how I can possibly eat less. I'm on 2 tablespoons/meal with two Protein shakes in between. How do I eat less than that? I get you about the scale. I'm on it every day! First thing in the morning I gopee, take everything off, even my watch and hairband and weigh!

Thanks you guys for responding. I have to say this LBT thing is good and bad. I like posting in the Nov thread because everyone seems to be wondering the same things at the same time, but I'm frankly scared to post a new thread anywhere else because of dismissive responses. Everyone says follow doc's orders, but my orders seem to be so vague, and like I said when I phone the doc, the nurse who answers questions is very dismissive as well. She says I'll know when something is wrong - a fever, severe pain, vomitting, that sort of thing, and to stop reading the complications on this board. But then I read the complications thread and a lot of the people said they just felt something was wrong - no fever or severe pain. My husband and mom read my info too and they agree that it's vague. Like I said, it's probably too late now to worry about it since I would technically be past any puree stage and into the official soft food stage where I chew to mush anyway, but I thought I'd just ask. I think I'm going to do liquids for a few days just in case. I'm getting these weird little twingy feelings in my chest area (just beneath the boobs). Have you ever ate nachos and didn't chew enough and then they were sticking in your esophagus? That's the kind of feeling I'm having, except a bit lower down. I didn't get it eating nachos though, it's just the same feeling as that! I'm just so petrified of screwing this up, but at the same time I'm still fighting my impulses and that "switch" that turns on and tells me to binge, BINGE NOW!! I guess I should call it a binge switch. No, I haven't actually binged - but the urge is definitely there. Do you feel like your band experience is going well or are you terrified something is wrong with it like me? See, you can tell when it's late and I'm tired - I'm rambling ALL over the place.

I have one on my left foot - two flowers entwined in vines. I'm thinking of getting a dragon on my back when I lose all my weight - a goal present.

I agree that some people are horrible to sales clerks, and those people don't deserve service. Myself, I ALWAYS treat everyone with courtesy and patience - at first, even if they are being jerks to me. I think people get what's coming to them. If customers treat clerks badly, then why should they be treated good? Totally agree with that. When I have lost it (which I could count on the fingers of one hand), is in situations like this where it seems like they're butting heads with you because they can - they've got your money, and honestly they don't about you or your problem. People in customer service are there to do pretty much just that, if they can, to help the customer, to be polite to the customer, to have good manners, basically to be a good person, just to be humane is all I ask for - especially if the customer is nice to them!! My husband phoned back (because I figured I wasn't getting anywhere), he got the manager, and she agreed totally I was not to "blame" as the supervisor told me I was, and that I should still get the books on time. She talked to us both nicely, understood our problem, was sorry that this had happened, but there wasn't too much she could really do about it. HUGE difference between her and the previous two people. Same outcome though. But that's all I needed, just to be treated as a fellow human being with courtesy and respect. By the way, when she looked at the order, it was STILL on HOLD and was still not going to be processed - gee, I wonder why that was. Even though I still may not get the books on time, at least she listened to me, heard the problem, and didn't dismiss me. It's just all in how a person is treated. You can say the words, talk the talk, but you know when you're being treated fairly or dismissively just by the tone of voice, the actions of the clerk (rolling eyes or smiling, sympathetic or couldn't care less attitude, sighing and moving in slow motion or phoning someone else if they can't fix the problem). And when all else fails there's always karma.

Yeah, I just had meat the other day for the first time - and I did puree it because it said to puree it. But everything else it just says soft foods like: canned veggies and fruits without peel, yogurt, that kind of thing. I guess every time my tummy has a twinge I think I've done something wrong to the band and I panick and post something here.

Well, I HAD to look up what a Frog Bra was! It looks way more comfy than the Enell ones - it looks like it gives a bit. That's what I don't like about the Enell bra - no give whatsoever. When you're in it, it feels like a band of steel. When it fits properly it's okay, but I started gaining weight, and I'd have to keep opening up one snap after another just to breath.