Car

Hi Steph, Nice goin' now it's snowing fairly hard down here. Can't you send that weather due east rather than south? Are the pups staying warm?

Hi Phyl, Have you given any consideration to selling your too-large-clothing at a consignment store? It really feels good to get some money back for all of our hard efforts.

Hi Steph, It sounds like you are in an even colder/windy area than I am. It is spitting snow and is windy (as usual). Too bad the buffeting of the winds can't shake the fat off of me. Had to reschedule my fill for next week due to waiting for UPS yesterday. Bum way to waste a day off from work. Can't believe that my old size 12 jeans sold at the uppity used clothing store in Boulder. Thought all of the citizens of that town were super skinny, but there must be some normal ladies out there too. Got to take a computer apart. Note you soon.

What I wouldn't do for that feeling again. I think I'll make an appointment for a fill. Lapband life has just been too easy for the past 3 - 4 months. Thanks for the input. We're going away for 3 weeks over the holidays, so if I'm going to have it done it should be soon. I seem to give the scales a wide berth, but I'm holding steady at my current size 10 Joe's Jeans (my big treat when I hit a size 10). Ooo-ooo just got an appointment for a fill next Tuesday. Yippee! Where do you live in Montana? Sounds like your weather is just like ours. Thanks for the help, Car

Hi Stephanie, Glad to hear you are feeling better. Just got a flu shot last week and hoping that it can keep away some of the sniffles. Sometimes, being alone with the "kids" can be rejuvinating. My husband's brittany, Big Boy Bob, aka The Bobs, aka The Goof, can give me the biggest belly-laugh. After his evening feeding, he flys (yes, he definately takes to the air) from the floor, over the arm of the sofa, onto the seat, flops over on his back, arches his spine as he wiggles and moans. What a site! What a sound! I've been thinking about getting my band tightened. Haven't seen the surgeon for close to a year and seem to be able to cheat far too much...rice cakes with "chocolatey drizzle", chocolate covered pretzels...kinda pass by the difficult stuff like meat, veggies and fruit. (Take my vitamins and fruit/veggie pills from Swanson). Throw Swanson fruit/veggie powder into my coffee (gooood stuff) and make like I'm eating healthy. Too little time. Too easy to toast 1/2 a bagel and plop some cheddar on it. What's your take? To tighten or not to tighten? Car

Hi Stephanie, We have several racing greyhound rescues here in Colorado and I have a soft spot in my heart for them. We currently have 3 Brittanys ranging in age from 2 to 14 and taking in another dog is out of the question for a while. Do your pups have doggie coats to wear? I live at 9000' and it would be easy to turn a GH into a dogsicle during the winter. The rescues list some of the cutest dogware sites. Maybe I just want a GH to outfit it in a coat and hat (not).

Hi Stephanie, I've been sitting on the sidelines for a while not having anything to say just listening, but the photos of your new babies got me going. OMG!! they sure look like racing GHs? May I live vicariously? Carolyn

So all you cottage cheese people....I picked this one up from my father...1 slice of toasted whole wheat bread spread with cottage cheese and then a thin layer of all-fruit jelly. Really yummy. Just a jump in from the sidelines....Have to go back to studying for my CISSP. Kind of like a bar exam for us computer security folks. 6 hrs of shear agony. Love

Hi Janet, I just taped some pictures of size 10 designer jeans up right over my laptop computer at work. I'm down from a size 20 to a size 12 with my pants slipping off. When I can make it into a size 10, one of those fab jeans is going to be mine!! Of Course, then I'm going to have to get some of those 4" heals with the super pointy shoes. I have been getting clothes from a store called "Rags" in Boulder to tide me over in the interim. I can't believe, though, that this store's biggest business is in the size 2 - 4 range. Has the world gone nutz?? Since when is size 10 a large? Oh well, it's walking time. Better hit the track (actually a loop around our big testing equipment in our lab across the street). It is so cold and windy here in the winter that this indoor option is a godsend. Car

Hi Peaches, I gorged myself in order to do the same thing. I was definitely far too heavy to be healthy, but I read somewhere re the minimum BMI for most surgeons. It worked out that my surgeon didn't follow the minimum recommended BMI so I was ok. By the way, I am also 5'5" on a tall day, but a much older fart, 57. Car

Hi Sonya, I was just sitting on the sidelines (as usual) until I saw your all to familiar discomfort. I have had that pinching almost since day 1. When the NP asks whether I have any pain, I mention the port-pain and she chuckles. I have lately noticed that with my lower weight, it has almost completely gone away. I have probably jinksed (sp) myself and will be in constant port pain....naaa. Anyway, just an observation. Now, back to my sideline. Car

Hi Karrie, I'll swap you. I have an upcoming "bootcamp" for a week followed by a 6 hour exam on computer security. Classes start at 8:00 AM and finish at 9:00 PM. Is it a trade?

Ok Jackie, Don't panic. Now listen...there are two types of cholesterol, high density lipoprotein (HDL) and low density lipoproteins. HDLs are really good, while LDLs suck. If you are exercising or losing weight or eating right, your HDL level can go soaring. This is good, although it makes your overall cholesterol look lousy. Your doctor really needs to always check for what is called the HDL/LDL Ratio. The higher the % of HDLs in your blood, the healthier you are. If he/she is not providing you with that score, the overall number is worthless!! I too have a genetic predisposition to a high score, but the magic is in that ratio. Hang in there, kid and don't let the bastards get you down.

Hi Phyl, 178.5 as of last Friday. Car

Oh Dini, you are getting sooo svelte!!!!! Car

Hi Jan and company, Broke into the 170s (178.5). Just when I think I can find a pattern in the band tightness, it gets blown to heck. I only know that if I'm eating with someone other than mdh, I tend to choke on what I'm eating. It's unfair on how easy chocolate goes down. To beat this problem I make chocolate dipped rice cakes like I had in Italy, and can only handle 1/2 per feeding. Very chocolate and very filling. Take care gang.

Hi Luckys, Janet, I think we need your policing cause I want to discuss Thanksgiving strategies and menus. I know that I'm not alone with choking on chicken. Have we given any thoughts to attempting turkey? Smothered in gravy? Swimming in grease in order to get it down? It's not hard to plan a healthy menu...roasted veggies, mashed potatoes made with 1% milk, light pumpkin pie, but the turkey!! PB city!! Any thoughts, you-all....

Yea CeCe...Slip sliden' away. Good going!

You go girl!!!!! Car

Hi CC, It's quite normal to plateau. Your body has setpoints and to get beyond them can take time. Then, out of the blue you walk onto the doctor's scale and you'll have dropped a chunk of weight. Hang in there. We all hate those stinkin' plateaus. Car

Hi Phyllis, Would you please update me to "down 6". Thanks, Car P.S. Aren't you sorry you started this.

Phyllis, You lost me on your posting....Car (-6 10/31)

Dogs work much better for the task. They are available day or night and they lick your fingers as an added bonus (yes, I know that husbands can do that, but do they?). Car

Hi Marcy, Ya, I found that great bread and cakes don't hang up at all. The richer the better. And ice cream....can't get within 100 miles of it, even the reduced calorie. Slides right down. Then there is chocolate.

I get scared when I down a huge plate of salad. I'm not trying to be cheeky here. Shouldn't the lapband prevent mass consumption of everything except liquids? I'm working under the understanding that until I get full before I eat this huge quantity, that I need to go tighter. Am I off track? Ah, I think you also asked me about Italy. We've been there twice. Once we flew into Naples directly and last year via Narbonne Plage (the house) to Barcelona (train) and Rome (plane). It took less time to fly from Denver to Naples. My husband is the Italyphile, while I'm the Francophile. I do love Rome and Pompeii though. Car