DevilMayKare

I don't know what I started at, but I can easily walk 4 miles in an hour now (on the road). I remember when I had my elliptical trainer set at 0 incline and 0 resistence and could barely go 5 minutes. NOW I have everything set to the max and run on that thing for 25-30 minutes--while pumping my arms--and am barely tired. If you have a treadmill or any kind of equipment at home I'll tell you a little trick I used the first winter I got my elliptical. I kept off the heat during the day and EVERYTIME I got cold I'd go jump on the trainer for 5 minutes and get warm. Depending upon how cold the day was I'd be on and off that thing once or twice an hour all day long. Not only a calorie burn but ENERGY SAVINGS! My gas bill was really low that year. (Good thing, because that elliptical cost a fortune!)

Wow! That's GREAT Michelle! Congratulations. I guess all that lusting after the cook must burn some calories!! (lol) I'm down THREE this week--Yippee! So that's an SV...but what's the OPPOSITE of an NSV? Because my hips/waist/etc are exactly the same but my BRA CUPS ARE TOO BIG!!! I do not exactly consider that a victory! :'(

The DVD collection is very affordable. $30 on Amazon. Good Xmas present for those hard-to-buy-for tech types.

"Clint Eastwood by Gorillaz" ! Well I've got to hear what this song could be! Mambo #5 is so fun to walk to, isn't it? I'm out walking at night and it's good that it's dark because when that one comes on I half-dance it. I have really gotten into making playlists and burning custom CDs for friends w/ my Ipod. I just made a "cheer up Pauline" CD for a pal who's been down. That was so fun. How did I ever live without my Ipod?

Damien Rice O! I've never even heard of him/her/them??? Fast--good for exercising? Thanks for listing the songs, I'll go see if they're on Itunes and download 'em. These music threads have been really helpful in introducing me to some new artists. I'm just crazy about Gloria Estivan & k.d. Lang now and I had nothing of their's before.

Yeah I didn't want to say it, but I kind of thought you might need to go down to 1,000. I know that's what I need to do sometimes to get that darn scale to move. It seems like if I keep to 1000 4 days a week and 1200 the other three and get a minimum of an hour of AEROBIC exercise in each day I'll lose 1-2 for that week. Remember, this low calorie regemin is NOT FOREVER. Losing and maintaning are two very different things and I do think those of us who have gone up and down for years have certainly trained our bodies to put up more resistance! So Crystal, at the next Bash are you going to give us all belly-dance lessons? I'd love to learn some moves as long as Lisa & Jenna don't get out the darn cameras!

Well, this thread is gettin around--but that's the fun of it! All that stuff about me and my pathetic dating life will have to wait because I have to tell you about how I taught my sons to kiss. (Okay...stop going "EWWWW" it's nothing sick!!) Several years ago (the LAST time I got to a decent weight) I dated a man who seriously knew what he was doing. There were quite a few times I went "Whoa--where'd you learn THAT??" And finally he told me his secret. When he was a young, inexperienced man in the service stationed in Camp Penndleton he found a professional woman down in Encinitas (MX!! I guess it IS good for more than just LB docs!) who TAUGHT him how to please a woman. Let me tell ya, I wish I could've sent every man in my life to her. His kissing... oh my. He described to me how she taught him how to kiss with STRAWBERRIES!! So one day I had picked some wonderful peaches (fresh off our tree) and was sitting around with my sons (14 & 17 at the time) and I took the opportunity to try to teach them something that may improve their relationships down the road as much as my lessons on how to clean a bathroom. I said, hey guys take a bite of peach...they did. And then I said, this is how you should approach the lips of a woman. (MOOOOOMMM! YUCK!!! You can imagine--but my sons are used to me being a little different in what I think is important) I said, stay with me here... you want to taste her lips--like a lucious peach... feel the texture and just sip the juices, try to approach them like you've never tasted a peach before and you're trying to totally explore the taste and texture with your lips and tongue. And don't always do it the same way... try to find as many ways to taste a peach as you can. Well, as you can imagine they were grossed out and my youngest said he'd probably never be able to each a peach again! (lol) I dunno if the lesson took but I have every intention of asking some future daughter in law if whichever son is an exceptional kisser and if he is I'll get to see the look on her face when I tell her she can thank ME for that!! (The lengths I will go to to be a good mom!)

Whoa! Get too busy to log on all day and look what happens! My name in a heading! Guess that's what I get for bringing up my (lack of) love life. Yeah, I'm just now trying to ressurrect it. Finally to the point where I can fit into a skirt or nice dress (forget pants, my thighs'd scare 'em away) so--being that I keep getting older (even worse SO do the men)... time's a wastin. I've only met one man and I knew that wouldn't work, so what, how and when I would try to explain this bizarre banding (you've got to admit, the whole subject of fills & restriction sounds bizarre--W/O even bringing up TJ!) hasn't been more than a theoretical issue. It's more a when and how than an "if" issue. <So meet him, shake his hand, if you might like him, shove him against the wall and plant a wet one on him. If he can't kiss, move on.> Well, he was a nice man. I liked him as a person. I let him kiss me when I left and he was a decent kisser--would probably be a very sweet lover. The problem was that he wasn't nearly smart or strong enough for me. I do have a "nice" feminin side and this seems to be what comes out when I meet a guy, but I can usually tell that they'd be trampled by my bitch side when it appeared (& you know, sooner or later it would). That's kind of always been a problem for me. That's why I ended up married to a Vulcan (Caltech engineer) for 17 years who actually was strong enough--but boring as hell with not even a concept of a true emotion. Attracting guys isn't really the problem. Finding someone I WANT to attract is. I could just go for the physical stuff (Lord knows I NEED some physical stuff) but you know, you DO have to talk AFTERWARDS. And now I find the added problem in that many men in my age group (45-55) are just too damn old for me. I don't care if they're balding or wrinkled or fat--but they've got to be able to WALK (at a good pace) with me. And I'm still too chubby for the guys this age that ARE in good shape (& too old too as they're going afer the 30-40 year olds). My face does look much younger than my age, but when the bra comes off--these are very obviously 50-yr-old boobs! Wouldn't want to give anyone a cardiac. *Sigh* I'll keep trying. Thanks for the encouragement. Don't worry, if I ever get laid again in my life the MULTITUDES here (!) will be the first to know! (LOL)

Okay, although I know I'm asking for it, I just HAVE to talk about this. Does anybody else start to get that "choking/PB" feeling and keep eating so they WILL urp up? I've never been bulemic probably because it was always very difficult for me to throw up, but now this productive burping spitup is pretty easy with the "right" foods. And now this is REALLY gross, but sometimes I actually enjoy it because the food is so fresh you can taste it coming up and it's almost like getting to eat it twice! (And don't even have to absorb the calories.) I KNOW it's disgusting...and no doubt really BAD for my band, but all of you know how easy it is for us to get caught up in compulsive behavior. This isn't something I do OFTEN, but I haven't even had a fill yet, and I'm a little afraid if I get one I might get even worse at this behavior. I CAN'T be the only one that does this?

Wait a minute... this is Thursday. A little early to be so sure or unsure of your decision. Most of us did not have an experience anything like that. My surgery and overnight stay in TJ was really very nice and I had no problem drinking at all after the first 24 hours. I'm really sorry you had such a bad experience, but (i know I'll get hell for saying this) that is an advantage of going to a Mx surgeon who has done thousands of these and therefore is more experienced than most of the US docs. Please give yourself 2 weeks and see how you feel then. And to everyone reading this, take a look at other posts and see how MOST of us feel. Yes, of COURSE there are exceptions. Believe me, if everyone had the BIRTHING experience I had with my first, there'd be a lot less babies in the world!

But isn't it just a bitch sometimes that losing weight doesn't solve ALL one's problems?!! It's just SO UNFAIR!! (Insert foot stomp here.) Yeah, I guess I'll have to approach dating like I do dieting. For me the alternative to dieting is being Morbidly Obese like the alternative to dating is being Morbidly Alone. Friends are prieceless, but let me tell ya, the timbers for my fire are slowly turning into petrified wood! And that stuff is damn hard to light!!!

Nykee, You sound like you're in a very painful place. I won't offer any advice because I don't have any you haven't already heard. I do so understand how frustrating it is to be told the same things you've tried many times. Certainly the band-- but weightloss in general to me is sometimes a real mystery. For instance, I have no idea WHY sometimes I have the willpower and sometimes I don't. You can sure as hell bet I ALWAYS want and mean to have to willpower to stop eating. It's my experience that--often--many WL tips do NOT work... but SOMETIMES they do. I keep trying them all for those sometimes. Please don't think I'm some 188 pound skinny (it's all relative) that does not know what she is talking about. I was 312# in 1999 so I've been close to where you are and well I know what it's like. Your frustration is heartbreaking. Your courage to share it is inspiring. I feel for you and as a sister in this often Hellacious journey, I salute you. And consider yourself hugged for good measure.

Omigosh--You're a LIBRA... well, that explains a lot. Happy Birthday! (Now where is the line to join in on that spanking?)

Wish it were so. Reality sucks. It's really depressing to face the possibility that no matter how thin I get I'll never have romance in my life. He was a very nice man and he wants to see me again, but... well...no bells, no whistles, no nothin. Just the hummmm of my widdle bunni rabbit...

Deserve or not--we NEED Her and ALL of you. Don't forget in this game a rabbit today can become a turtle tomorrow. (You know that metaphor doesn't work for me nearly as well as it did before I met Lisa's rabbit.) I won't apply for membership today because I know all you hoity-toity turtles would boot my fluffy ass--but I'LL BE BACK. And you all better not get all comfy over here because Inertia has a way of ertia-ing--or whatever the hell it does.

Thanks Shalin! I'll download those tonight. UFORTUNATELY... I can't download any of the others because I don't know which specific songs you guys like and I can't download the whole artist (charged PER SONG). Am I the only one who uses ITunes?

Okay...oldies but goodies, add The Weather Girls: SUCCESS! & It's Rainin Men Huey Lewis & the News: The Heart of Rock & Roll/ You Crack Me Up/Honky Tonk Blues Brian Setzer Orchestra: Jump, Jive & Wail/Americano/Crazy Little Thing Called Love & Gettin 'In the Mood ALL of these are FAST--great for the elliptical or spinning. Good luck keeping up! I'd love to hear more of your suggestions, but pleeeeze post the song NAME as well as artist so I can find it on Itunes. It costs too much $$ to download by album. Thanks!

So what do you have that's GOOD to EXERCISE to??? I'm going to go resurect my old MUSIC TO MOVE TO thread because I've added some songs. If you're interested or have workout tunes to add, please click there! (BTW, I sure would appreciate it if you could list the actual song you like to workout to besides the artist, because I search & download on Itunes ($.99ea) by song and it's impossible to tell which songs are best by artist or group)

Well Devilish DeLarla, I think when someone writes "(no naming names!)" it's automatically assumed YOUR name is on that list!! Gosh... am *I* ever feeling devilish today! TONIGHT I'm meeting a man I contacted on Match (my profile isn't visible so they can't see me). We talked on the phone for over 2 hours last night. It's been YEARS since I felt so hopeful about a man so cross your fingers and wish me luck!! (So should I tell him I just lost 40#?) (I sure hope I like him) (but I probably won't) (& that he likes me) (what are the chances?) (Probably by tomorrow I'll be joining VInes in authoring depressing Haiku.) (AND YET.... ..... ..... anticipation is sooooooooooo sweet.) Okay, I'll stop now.

Sarah--that's great! Three and a half years is a long time to wait, but worth it, right? Just don't forget you're gonna have to get that ring's band down-sized someday!

That is exactly what I did. And I don't regret it a BIT. From the time I read Dr. O's ad in the OCWeekly (while eating a sandwhich & chips in a cafe at lunchtime--blowing my diet yet AGAIN) & got my band was TWO WEEKS. So I'll be paying it off for a year or two. I didn't need a new car anyway. Seriously, I usually research things up and down but this move was pure desparation and intuition. Some things ya just KNOW. I follow my gut on those and they usually work out better than my best laid plans. I didn't know at the time about this wonderful group and how NOT alone in this I was. You're really fortunate to have that. Take full advantage of LBT (do a topic search on as many things as you can think of) and you will be WAY ahead of the game.

Well I sure hope you don't think you offended me. In fact, I'm pretty hard to offend. Those of us who tend to state our opinions forcefully (no naming names!) generally have pretty thick skins. I appreciate how considerate everyone on LBT is for the most part, but no need to pull punches or anything else w/ me. And I hate to admit it, but I totally pre-date Care Bears.

OH MY LORD! THAT one had me ROFLOL!!!

And if there is anything (more) that makes me glad to be divorced it's reading things like THIS!! I was married for 17 years and did my best to make nice to my ML for about a dozen of them. Finally she did somehting that angered me so much I couldn't even talk about it. Believe me, I usually have no problem talking. I just seethed. For weeks. Finally everyone got that I was not going to be conciliatory and they seemed to gain a new respect for me. If it's at all possible for you--just REFUSE to discuss it--AT ALL. If they bring it up (either MX OR the band) just say "Since you are not going to be supportive, I'd rather we talked about..." and just bring up something else. This is REALLY HARD for some of us to do, but believe me, it works.

Clevergrrly, (Clever name We are actually talking about 3 different things here. All this stuff is hard to understand until you experience band life. 1) A full-on PB is an INCREDIBLY UNCOMFORTABLE experience and I'm sure every one of us does our best to avoid having them. In general by following all the eating "rules" you can avoid having them--but sometimes they just sneak up. My first one was with cottage cheese--not something I would even think could get stuck. They involve gagging, sliming, and the worst heartburn you can imagine. Do a search for PB threads, there are several. I have only had 3 of this kind of PBs and the "sessions" lasted about 20-30 minutes, which is typical although they can go on longer. 2) The second kind of PB is something I will now call an DU--Diliberate Urp. (How's that guys?) A DU is when you get that full--almost, kinda stuck, feeling shortly after or while eating and you go to the sink and (at least this is how I do it) kinda flex your gag muscles and force the food out. It's really nothing like vomiting to me. (The food is not the least digested.) It does not involve the lower abdominal muscles at all. 3) The third thing we are talking about I'll call C&S (Chew & Spit) where you just chew the food and spit it out to fulfill some need to CHEW or (this is more likely for me) finish eating something you have it in your mind to eat. I have found when I fix half a turkey or tuna sandwhich and I get that full feeling I just CANNOT seem to not finish HALF a sandwhich. Sandwhiches are something that seems to bring out this behavior in me. Anyway, hope that clarifies things a little.