Parvathi

YaYYYYY vines - that's one plateau down Congratulations!!!

Movie - Sunset Blvd Leader - Bill Clinton .. I'm a social chameleon, oh boy! lol (and I like a good cigar heh)

Thanks everyone!! Vinesqueen truly is an inspiration to me and many others. Making this list really made my day yesterday - I was in a great mood the whole day through. I'm sure that if I come back here and read it when I'm feeling down, it will help as well. I'd say to anyone who's feeling like they've not accomplished what they had hoped in regards to the band, to do this. You'd be surprised at how far you've come Jachut, lol, you're so right about the conversion thing. Anytime my family asks me how I'm going, I tell them I've lost x pounds and have y kilos to go hehe. "I need to lose 20 more kilos" sounds heaps better than "I need to lose 44 more pounds" lol.

Fantastic post, Pam. This is exactly what I need to do. After a 3 week stint at home with my daughter for school holidays, I've let myself fall into old bad habits. Back at work today, thank God, so jumping back on that wagon.

Hey Magic, I recognize the name, which means I've probably atleast read a post about him here. If you click on 'Search' at the top of this page (over near the right), then put in Frering, something might come up. I'm not being lazy, just fixing to go to work lol, or I would do it. Good luck Oh, and I still say you're a cutie

Monday, 03 October 2005:- Weight: 198.1 Under Bust: 36 Waist: 36 Hips: 47.5 Not much of a budge, again this week. Going for a fill today and finally school holidays are over so I can get back in the gym. Hoping that will get me going again.... If not, expect a major whinge from me on the boards sometime this week LOL. And again, thanks Nana for doing this!

Another week, another half a kilogram down. Going for a fill today, so hoping it will re kickstart the weight loss - plus, haven't been to the gym in 3 weeks due to school holidays, so surely that will get it going?!? lol can ya tell I'm desperate here? So this week's weigh in:- 03 October - 89.9kgs/198.1lbs

Everyone elses advice was so great, that I don't have much to add lol. But regarding not having time for the gym, I said that myself for ages. You've just got to learn to *make* time. I find that if I leave it til the end of the day, I'll find an excuse not to work out. So instead, I get up an hour earlier and go to the gym before work. Even 30 minutes of workout is better than none. It takes a while to make a habit of it, but pretty soon, you'll be feeling guilty when you don't go. You're doing great so far! Chin up and back on the wagon

Try not to stress over it too much. While its always best to follow the doctor's orders just in case, not all doctors make people stay on liquids after a fill. Mine doesn't require this, but I do try to do liquids and/or mushies for the first 48 hours after a fill, just because I've found it makes me feel better. The first time I went for my fill, it took the doc a while to find it/get it in, but every visit since then has been heaps easier. Usually in and out of the office within five minutes or so...

I don't think you're being unreasonable at all, but that said, if your family is anything like mine, you tell one, you might as well tell the whole lot. Last year, my SIL was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. My brother told my mom and instructed her not to tell anyone. She of course, was concerned and believing in the power of prayer as she does, told me. My brother was furious when he found out, but eventually got over it. Same thing happened with my band. I told my parents, but did not intend to tell the rest of the family. It slowly got around. I was annoyed, but in the end I figured, perhaps this will help other family members in the end (my whole family is over weight). Yes, when I go home I will have to educate them on the band and that will really get on my nerves, but so far, they've all been supportive. As your SIL was under the impression that your surgery was an emergency one, your Mom was probably just trying to set her straight, as messed up as that may seem lol. You're justified in being peeved, but perhaps just explain to her calmly about why you wanted it a secret and try to move on. Life's too short to remain upset with those you love. I wish you the best of luck getting this all sorted out.

Well done, Kim! hehe.. I find myself laying down at night and stroking my hip bones now. I absolutely love that I can feel them Keep up the great work!

Crystal, your positive attitude is such a breath of fresh air. I have no doubts that you'll succeed in this journey!

Glad to hear you're feeling better! Good luck with the next visit to the surgeon. I'm glad they didn't have to remove the whole band!

LOL priceless - thanks for sharing Good luck on your op!

Gosh - a medium seems so far away at the moment. Well done on your accomplishments! Keep up the great work

Are you still on liquids? When I was on liquids/mushies, because I wasn't chewing, my teeth always felt nasty, like they had a layer of film on them or something. After starting solids, it did get a bit better. I still have to brush my teeth more than before surgery and I do carry a small pack of mints wherever I go (or gum, my doctor is fine w/ gum), but I just chalked that up to the fact that I rarely eat bread or refined carbs now...

Those are all fabulous! Thanks for sharing. I haven't been keeping a solid list of NSV's so far, but I think I'm going to start as they seem to be happening more often now hehe.

YaYYYY Sarah - Congratulations!!! You must be so excited Wishing you both a very happy life together.

Good for you, Zoe! Its great being able to hear about yourself from other people's eyes from time to time. I'm fairly confident that no matter what size I end up, I'll never see myself as small, or even normal/average. I look back on old pictures from high school. At one point I was bulemic and wore a size 10 petite. I thought I was bloody massive! Now when I see those pictures, I would kill to have that body again - I looked good!!! I am seeing a psychologist though, to help me deal with these issues, as I think its just as important to address the issues that got me here in my head, as the physical reasons I'm overweight. While waiting for the movies to start yesterday, I made my lil one pop into a clothing shop here, mostly geared towards young women, called Sportsgirl. All their stuff is sized quite small, in my opinion. I've never been able to fit into any of it, as they only go up to a 16 (that looks like a teeny tiny 16 lol). Well, I tried on a pair of black slacks and I could fasten them! Okay, so they were skin tight lol .. but it was a regular shop and I could wear their clothes. I did a full on dance in the dressing room sitting area when I showed my daughter LOL. The salesgirl thought I was insane, for sure! Still can't fit my big ole boobs in any of that stuff though yet lol

For about a month after a good fill, I'm very restricted in the mornings - to the point where I can't have my coffee even. Three things I have found work for me (and I do realize this might not work for everyone):- Work out in the mornings. While I find it hard to even drink anything on a normal morning with a good restriction, if I go workout I can really down some water at the gym. When I'm done with that, I'm lose enough to go for a protein/fruit smoothie afterwards, which I thoroughly enjoy Eat less at night. Its hard the first few nights, yes! But if you get in the habit of eating less at night (and earlier in the evening), then there is usually more room in the morning to fit something in Drink hot tea - seems to losen up the band enough to fit something else in at times. Especially good if you're one of those ppl that gets two or three bites in and then get pain. But you've got to come to grips with the fact that the band is a tool, to help you lose, not the end all, be all. It does take work and good decisions. We all have our days/weeks when we don't make good decisions or eat too much - its a matter of pulling yourself out of that rutt. This place is great for that, because people will be honest with you (sometimes, brutally so lol). For me, I need that...

Have a fantastic time, Kel! Wish I could have made it, but with school holidays and lack of funds at the moment, just couldn't fit it in. Next year for sure...

It's normal to be nervous before surgery. If you weren't nervous, there would be reason for concern. Before I went in for my surgery, I did the whole freak out thing. Left a letter with my husband for my daughter, with lots of pictures of us together in it .. just in case. But like Rene said, we could all go at any time. This surgery has most definitely prolonged my life, given the path I was on.

Just checking back into this post. Candy, let us know how you're doing when you feel up to it. <hugs>

Krystal, I hear ya! Last night I sat down with a bag of FritoLay corn chips and a big ole glass of Water. I've actually not done this since being banded and haven't a clue why I chose last night to start. So this morning, I'm pulling myself up out of that rut I was in and vowing to be the best bandster I can be, as I know that if I don't address it now, it will become another habit I have to break later. We're here for you if you need to talk (its hard to eat and type at the same time hehe).

... my husband's gonna love me for it LOL. I love flowers and such, but I'm not a gardener by any stretch of the imagination. I've tried it once or twice, but it always made my back and knees hurt and hey, I'll admit, I'm a lazy girlie lol. Add to that, I really can't stand getting dirty hehe, I can be a real girl's girl when it's convenient. I'd much rather pay someone else to do that manual labor thing and have it come out looking decent. We live in a townhouse with an ocean view. One of the downsides to that though, is that we don't have a yard. Instead, we have a courtyard out the back that's filled with all kinds of shrubbery, flowers, trees, etc. We just rent. One of the biggest pluses of this place was that a gardener was included and meant to come once every three months. Well, two years later, he still hasn't shown up, even once. This morning as my husband was leaving for work, he asked if I would please sweep the courtyard if I had a chance. We've just let a good friend have our dog (my best friend Fudge - I'm still heartbroken but I know he'll be happier there), as he needed a yard to run in and we just can't provide that at the moment. So anyway, the courtyard had alot of dog hair and such in it. After I finished my online work this morning (I rushed through it cause its a beautiful day), I suggested to my daughter that we ride our bicycles along the beach to a nice restaurant on the Water for lunch. When we came back, I thought .. hmm, I might as well go ahead and clean up the courtyard. Got out the broom and started sweeping, only to say to myself, "this just isn't gonna work". So into the garage I went and found a pair of gardening gloves (courtesy of my Mum's visit last year lol), pruning sheers and one of those lil rake things .. not sure what they're actually called? Anyway - four hours later, I have the most amazingly clean (and weed free) courtyard in the world! hehe.. okay, so I probably killed half the trees in the process as I over pruned, but I can actually walk through it. I even gathered up all the green waste and put it in the skip we have here for the week (garage cleaning time of year). This time last year, I would have tired out in 20 minutes flat, hurt my back or stuffed up my knees. Its amazing how much added energy you can have after a bit of weight loss!! I'm loving my band! So tell me, what can you do now, that you couldn't (or wouldn't) before the surgery?