steph_co

I take a chew able pineapple-flavored multi. Called Nature's Plus, or something like that. I actually LIKE taking it. I don't dread it like my other supplements.

I'll have to add that to my list of fun games that makes a person exercise. I also recommend the Wii Sports games (DH's kids played that this last summer and each and every one of them was sweating like crazy) and PS2 has a game that works with the EyeToy (little camera that goes on top and puts you into the game) that has little workouts on it that are fun...the kids went wild to that one, too. Now I'll have to look into DDR...anything to tire those kids out is just fine with me. LOL

Haha...you're the one that inspired me to get my rear into the closet to look for things that might fit. :thumbup: That's so awesome about the suede skirt...I bet it looks great. It sounds beautiful. I love different fabrics for clothing - they're so fun. Work that skirt, woman!

Delete the ticker code from your avatar...it won't turn up there. Paste that code into your signature. Then make sure when you post that you have "post signature" checked as one of your options. shortgal: I understand eyes being bigger than my stomach in the worst way, now. LOL I've had it happen before, but good heavens - this is ridiculous. I got some boneless buffalo wings today (craving hot stuff all the time) and I LOVE these kind so thought I'd be able to eat at least half of them. They gave me 10, I ate 3. :| I should be happy, but I'm trying to make today a high calorie day to throw my body off when I go back onto low calories tomorrow and I can start losing again. I'll have to get my higher calories today from a Bolthouse Protein shake. It really still surprises me how little I can eat. This takes a lot of HEAD adjustment. But I am getting to like it. It makes my choices easier if I don't want to be in pain.

Name.................Start.....Current....Goal....To Go TxArcher............360.......346..........345....1 Shortgal.............198.......192.6.......192.....1/2 (now I'm aiming for 191) Trixie.................264.......248..........244.....4 tyman311...........168.......161..........150.....11 Shalee04............218........208.........206......2 Steph...............203.5......188.5......188.5....0 Yay! I'm hoping I can possibly lose another 7 lbs by Valentine's, but I won't kick myself if I don't.

I got a loan from my bank. I guess it's like a credit card, so that's what I voted. I applied with surgeryloans.com and they turned out to be the biggest assholes I have ever dealt with. I have decent credit, excellent income, and can easily make extra payments. They asked for near everything except my arm and leg and treated me like I was some kind of high-risk, or some crap. They requested proof of my hubby's income, too, even though I didn't want him on the loan because his credit sucks. I provided it and then they wanted all his info to include him on the loan. I told them to forget it and just send my stuff back. That was in November....still waiting for my ORIGINALS to be sent back that they swore they would return. Interesting that while all that was going on, I walked into my bank and got a $15,000 loan on the spot without half the headaches that Surgery Loans put me through. Make sure you shop around.

Even though my surgery was 3 hours from my home (which meant stopping every hour to get out and WALK), I would have been climbing the curtains if they had made me stay. I hate it when I don't feel well and I'm sleeping in a strange bed. Yuck. I couldn't wait to get the heck out of there and start heading home.

I hope this one does it for you, Sades. It can make so much difference, it's unbelievable. I hope they get you to that sweet spot. I'm struggling with this stupid thing. I guess while I didn't have restriction I didn't get myself used to the habit of SLOWING DOWN and chewing a ton and taking tiny, tiny bites and waiting between swallowing and taking my next bite. This sucks. LOL I am happy I have restriction, but at the same time, it is SO frustrating. We went out to dinner last night and I ordered 3 different appetizers from the menu since I knew I wouldn't be able to get much down and I wanted to get several different tastes. I ate 2 chicken hot wings (you know, those little tiny ones), 3 mozzarella sticks, and about 2 tablespoons of corn chowder. Sheesh. Even what I DID get down was a struggle and I felt the pain and impending PB feeling several times. I didn't PB, thank goodness, since I had no clue where the bathroom was. I just really have to fight my food addiction, now. It's weird to me that NOW that I have restriction, this is when the TRUE work begins. Water still takes several seconds to gurgle through and my Slim Fast shakes are interesting to drink, too. It'll be nice if this lasts because I really think this is what's going to kick me in the rear end to face my demons when it comes to food.

I bought a pair of 14 jeans from Walmart...just waiting to be able to wear them. My 16s look silly, but the 14s don't jive with my butt. Ugh. BUT, I tried on my old pair of leather pants that are 14s and good heavens...I LOVE those things. I haven't put them on since about 2000 and then I've never gotten to wear them out of the house. They fit on me, they zip, I'm able to move around and don't feel like anything's getting cut off. But they are too tight to wear out of the house, yet. I'm just THRILLED I got them on. Those things are hot. DH was panting. LOL This is a SV, but I'm finally OVERWEIGHT. I celebrated with a nice massage and a great new haircut and color. I look like a totally different person. I FINALLY got my first compliment from somebody that didn't know I was trying to lose weight. She was AMAZED at how different I look and she said she almost didn't recognize me. She said I looked FABULOUS and she bet I felt a whole lot better, too. That felt really good to hear. Nobody else but my mother and husband have said anything about how I look. :biggrin:

You can't stretch your band. Now your POUCH, yes. But I wouldn't be worried about that downing liquefied soup. The point of being on liquids is to let your stomach and the stitches heal. There's no way for anybody to tell if you've done any damage to your band without x-ray specs. But I'll say that it doesn't sound likely that you have done any. You could always call your doc and ask what they think.

Do you mean for a self-pay or for insurance? Because the wait can vary GREATLY depending on who your insurer is. But I was self-pay. I had my pre-op appointment on October 18th where I saw the nutritionist, the social worker (psych consult), the surgeon, and the nurse practitioner. I scheduled my surgery at that appointment for November 15th. Between October and November I had a nutrition class and a blood draw.

I asked my NP about this and she said that the band is designed to last your whole life. Not enough research, nor has it been used long enough to PROVE it, but that is what it was designed for. No way of knowing for sure.

LOL...heck, yes. I hear my digestive tract doing ALL of its work. It's really strange because I can feel the gurgle at my left hip bone...a couple of times I wondered if my phone was vibrating. LOL

A deck of cards = 4 oz. One of your thumbs = 1 oz.

Because if I follow my nutritionist's guidelines to a T - protein first, then veggies, then if it'll FIT whole grains - I am low carbing, anyway. We have so little room for quality food. Protein is most important for us. Besides that, I've also read of people having problems with bread going through the band. And any processed sugars/flour isn't good for anybody, period. I agree, though, that moderation should be key. I do usually get my protein first, but sometimes when it's a meal like chili, protein is mixed in with the veggies so they get an equal shot.

The video of the transcript: Exclusive: The Cruise Indoctrination Video Scientology Tried To Suppress Can you say muy loco? He's a fruit cake. He sure cracks himself up, though. Good for him. I got an image in my mind of him in a straight jacket laughing like he did on the video...he'll end up in that jacket soon enough if he truly ever does pull off the road to interfere with rescue measures in an accident. Maybe somebody should tell him not to go 80+mph down an incredibly curvy mountain road that is 50mph...that causes accidents. Just know this - he has a private jet that he rides into Telluride and I'll just say that the local law enforcement is NOT impressed with him.

I was a self-pay. No serious health co-morbidities. I claimed infertility, plantar fasciitis, spider veins, and depression. But quite honestly, they didn't impact my life all THAT much - I could have just dealt with them. But why should I? I'd rather feel normal and at 100%, not just "good enough." But I also knew that diabetes was on the way because I was dealing with hypoglycemia which can definitely be a pre-cursor to diabetes especially in those that have a family history of diabetes. I was scared nearly everyday when I was eating terribly that the next day I would wake up diabetic. I got pregnant in July last year and was so scared I would end up with gestational diabetes and pre-eclampsia. I ended up miscarrying which ended up being a blessing in disguise because it spurred me on to finally DO something about my weight instead of living with the feeling of impending doom. I also want to say something about "normal" eating. I'd sure like to know who the heck defines "normal" eating such that I keep hearing that banded people don't eat "normal" anymore once they've had the surgery. I sure don't think it was normal to be able to eat a pint of Ben & Jerry's or a whole bunch of oreos or other similar life-shortening food. Nor do I think it's normal to be able to pound down about 3 cups' worth of food to the point that I felt like I was going to burst. Once I'm down to my goal weight, I'll be able to eat more like a "normal" person rather than being on a restricted calorie diet that I am using to LOSE the weight. Once I hit maintenance, I can balance what I eat with how much I exercise. That is a whole heck of a lot more normal to me than being able to go to a buffet and get every imaginable form of carbs I could find and eating until I felt sick. I'm still experimenting with foods since my most recent fill, so I'm not sure if there's anything I won't be able to tolerate. But just before that fill, I could eat anything. I think that level of restriction that I WAS at will be ideal for me in maintenance because while I was able to eat any variety, I was NOT able to overdo it on quantity. But isn't that how most normal weight people are? They CAN eat anything, but do it in moderation. Sounds normal to me.

Make a list of things that you can do to fill your time. If they require materials, get those ahead of time. You can make a box full of things to do. Like reading, crocheting, knitting, puzzles, etc. Is there something you've always wanted to try? Like maybe playing the guitar or doing origami (two that I chose to keep on hand for "bored" times). Make a list ahead of time and make sure you're prepared to be able to do anything on that list. Then when you're bored, pull out the list and pick something. You could try online games if you're into that. Come chat on LBT. Pick a movie to watch on TV (no commercials...less temptation to eat). Write a letter to somebody. Hubby or boyfriend? Think up something romantic to do for your honey. Go take a bath with some candles lit and soft music playing. Find other ways to indulge yourself. Good luck!

For some people it can, I have read on here of people going in for a port conversion to a low-profile port. I think I've read those type of threads in the plastic surgery forum. Usually in conjunction with TTs or LBLs.

I count my protein shakes in my water intake.

Sounds like your surgeon's instructions are to start mushies at 4 weeks, so it sounds like to me, you are good to go.

EXACTLY how I felt.

NICE, LH! That is really awesome. I have some clothes in the closet that I need to get to trying on, but I'm scared of the disappointment. *sigh* Maybe I better get in there. That's really exciting about the skirt! WTG on the size 16, too! I LOVE going down in sizes. I think it feels even better than the scale, IMO.

There's only a couple things I can think of. First off, your body may be getting used to the same amount of calories every day and adjusting your metabolism accordingly. Try upping your caloric intake for a day or two and then cut back down to regular. That usually kicks my weight loss in the rear big time. Another thing - doing weight training, it's possible you are gaining MUSCLE and not fat. Have you measured yourself at all? Are your clothes getting looser? It may be possible that your heart isn't getting enough of a workout with the cardio portion of your workout (making it harder to burn fat at the same time you are building that muscle). Try switching things up and doing a different kind of cardio (like stairs instead of run/walking). The body is a fascinating and sometimes very frustrating thing. It will do all it can to hold onto its fat stores just in case a famine comes along. It's a survival thing. You kind of have to surprise it and do something different and it can startle it and catch it off guard so the pounds can keep coming off. Good luck!

You'll get back to it soon enough. At least now I know what everybody was talking about! I was starting to lose hope that I'd ever get this feeling! WB BankChick. That's great to hear you are feeling it, too. I wish I had felt it at around 4. But it took me until 6.5 to feel it. WTG on the loss! You are burning it up! Keep up the good work!