PrtyAntOvrYt

I couldn't agree with you more! I have always said that! Actions speak SO much louder than words to me! YOU can say anything you want, but if you're not backing those words up with actions, they mean nothing to me! Being hateful during the day, day in and day out and then wanting me in the bedroom -- is not going to turn me on!

I'm so sorry to hear your son's friend is having a hard time. Unfortunately, he will probably have pnemonia many times in his future. He's got a tough road ahead of him. Poor Guy! The good thing is he's young and probably much stronger than an older person. My heart just aches for him and his family. It's so sad. How is your son doing with all of this? Can your son visit him if he wants? Can you make it to Red Robin next week? Tues, Wed., Thursday?

Yeah! I wouldn't want a therapist who couldn't remember important things either! I called to let the therapist know that I will be not returning. He was very nice. I felt bad. But I'm hoping I find a good one!

I'm still eating my oats too! I've been following a modified vegetarian diet lately. I'm going to go on the 21 day Detox diet that Oprah went on. It's 100% Vegan and you're supposed to lose 7lbs a week. The calories are 1200-1600 a day. Lower version fat, good carbs and adequate protein (60grams) - I love those soy products and currently I'm eating lots of fruits and veggies! So this shouldn't be difficult! But first on Sept 1st, I'm doing a research project for Dr. Kuri's Lap Band Coordinator - she's studying the weight loss results with the different Liver Shrinking Diets. I'm going to follow Dr. K's LSD for 14 days. After that, I'll do the 21 day Detox! I hope I lose weight! I've got to get this poundage off!!!

I posted that I'm open for Red Robin on the 26th, 27th or 28th. That's Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. Will any of those dates work for you?

Miss Munchkin! I wondered about those ugly neighbors of yours and how they are acting recently! I am so sorry! Your plate has been filled with bad stuff for awhile! :eek: Keep YOUR CHIN UP! Don't let those uglies make you stressed. Get your ducks in a row and figure out how you can work this situation with the least amount of money. I wish I could help! I don't know what I'd do, but I'd at least give you a BIG HUG!!! just dee~

Hey Bella, My heart goes out to you and your dating situation. I am in the same place as you. I went online and met a wonderful man. He's sweet and loving. However, I know with all my heart that I am not where I need to be to be attractive to him. As sad as this is, it's the truth! I do not understand how men think. I do not think like they do and I think most women do not. My ex was extremely attractive. He was fit and very hot. He had a strong french accent that melted all of my co-workers when he'd call my work. BUT there were times he treated me like total crap! AND being unfaithful was the most disrespectful of all behaviors. I believe to this day that foreplay begins in the morning and lasts all day. It's the sweetness of a conversation with your partner that makes loving them amazingly wonderful. However, men don't see it that way. They want the Supermodel, the Playboy Bunny, the Fantasy Babe! All of which, I will never be. They are shallow and for the most part, stupid. Forgive me, I'm not saying all men are that way, but the ones who focus only on looks are. Where are the men who know the importance of falling in love with a woman's heart and soul? They are few and far between. When I read Dork's words about meeting her hubby and he loving her for who she was, I was happy. Happy to hear that there are some men out there like that. Then I was on OH the other day and one girl had gone on a blind date and the date was rude to her because of her weight. She must have gotten over 30 replies from women who had met their spouses online - when obese - fell in love and are now happily married. SO my point is this (sorry, I took the long way to get here!) most men are very shallow, they will look at your picture and turn away. BUT Thank God there are a few sweet, good and SMART men out there, who will fall in love with you for your personality - realizing that years from now, the sweetness of Bella will be who they want to wake up next to each morning. That is the MAN you and I are deserving of! (I'd rather have my man desire the sweetness of Dee, not Bella, however.) It takes patience and understanding, knowing WE ARE very special, we have a lot to offer and I'm not talking about our weight, I'm talking about our sweet souls... AND one day, a knight on a white horse (or driving a white Camry) will appear in our lives, look deep to our inner cores and fall head over heels in love with us. I believe! I'm a hopeful romantic! BECAUSE DAMNIT, I deserve to be loved! Stay strong Bella, don't let those fools get your down. Take this time to prepare yourself - to be the best Bella you can be - take this time to fall in love with YOU! dee~

You know fills are very very individual. When a single fill brings restriction for one person, may not for another. It totally depends on the shape of your stomach, the amount of fat you have around your stomach and other things. I have had good restriction since surgery. I didn't get my first fill for 8 weeks post op and then I had a teeny tiny fill at 4 mos. (0.25ml) and I have been in the green zone since. I'm 6.75 months post op and my weight loss has been fairly good. I have 3.55ml in my 14ml band. Your goal should be to be as loose as possible and still be able to work your band. A too tight fill is the worst enemy of your band. If you want to keep your band forever, you have to keep it on the looser end. When you're too tight you run the risk of slips from frequent vomiting episodes and the risk of erosion. It's difficult to gauge your success by others. Dr. K uses the "drink fill, drink fill, drink unfill, drink fill" method. He will put saline in and then back it out until you're able to feel the water pass your band. This is just my opinion of the fill process and reaching your "sweet spot." I've been very blessed with my band. There are doctor who insist on just putting 1ml regardless of the patient and others who fill like Dr. K. I think we're pretty lucky Dr. K administers fills like he does. Anyone else want to give their opinion?

I tend to agree with Dorkable, a loose fill is actually a safer and much better fill than a too tight fill. It's not easy to be too tight and then not be able to eat healthy foods. Getting an unfill can sometimes cause problems. It's hard to get you back where you were before and sometimes, for whatever reason it takes longer to get restriction once you've been filled and then unfilled. I don't have personal experience, with this, but I have several friends who have. Being too tight can cause erosions or slips from vomiting. This is a journey and along the way, we're learning about ourselves and our habits. We are growing on the inside and becoming stronger people. The Lapband is a tool, it's the most work of all the WLS. There are others that will get you to goal in a faster time, but they aren't always the safest. Just my 2 cents Lotza. I hope it's okay, I shared my opinion with you.

I think that's a great idea! How does next Wednesday look? August 27th, is good for me. If not the 27th, how about Thursday the 28th? I think we all need some therapy. You deserve to be happy too. I don't think I'll see him again. I don't think it was a good match. I hope I can find another person. I do eat when I'm happy or bored. But when I'm sad and depressed, I don't eat. I also eat when I'm angry and stuffing that anger! I tend to not be an angry person. Once you get a fill, you have to be careful not to overeat because that is who you can stretch your pouch, which causes other problems. It's better to eat more frequently rather than larger portions with each meal. I'm sad to hear you started smoking again. See if you can get some help with that. I haven't ever smoked, but my father did and I know it's a tremendous addiction. Not an easy thing to give up. Take care of yourself Bella! You're on a journey to better health. Okay? You're so right Lap. If the fit isn't right, it's just a waste of time. I'm too ready to work on my issues to be left with someone, I don't fit with! You hit it right on the head when you said, "fail to bond" -- we failed to bond! That and the fact that he seemed distracted, didn't help! I'm glad they figured your back stuff out. I hope you can get some relief with PT and the changed meds. My heart goes out to you. I'm sorry you're having so much pain and suffering. You're such a strong and sweet woman - I hate to think you're having a hard time. you are right about the therapist! Oh my goodness! I would be so devastated if a therapist fell asleep on me! You poor girl! That's just horrible! I would have cried and cried! :cheers2: Your puppy is absolutely adorable! I think Snickers is a good name too! Her little face is so cute, I just feel like snuggling her! Tell Hannah Banana to have a wonderful first day! She's so sweet, her teachers are going to just love her! Have a wonderful time at your tree house! Can I come sometime? I finally hit 100 and passed it by .4 lbs! I was shocked this morning! I haven't been eating more than 400 cals a day. It was hard to eat with this huge lump in my throat! But I guess, it helped get me to that milestone! I was hoping you were doing okay with all of that mess too! Being off your meds and still maintaining is good! I would work at Starbuck's too!! I love the smell in the shop!! I have often thought of getting a part time job at a Flower shop. I love flower designing. I'd love to do cake decorating too, but I'd be too tempted to eat the cake!!

Well, I'm back from the therapist. What an interesting man, he was. He had to have me repeat things several times which made me wonder if he was absent minded, hard of hearing or just distracted by his own thoughts. I.e. we discussed my profession, then about 10 mins later he asked, "what do you do at the hospital?" Sometimes, I think a therapist serves as a 'sounding board' -- they allow us to vent, speak outloud and hear ourselves say things - that we're anxious about, depressed about or stressed. I believe there is value in that. I have another appt. to see him again, but I'm not sure I'll keep it. It may not be a good fit. However, I do feel better. I needed to talk to someone. AND even if I had to repeat myself several times, it helped... a lot. Thanks Munchkin and Mini! Mini and Munchkin -- hey, I think those would be great names for tiny puppies! Really cute little beagles! Love you Guys! dee~

Shelbi, Munchkin, Bahotmamma, Mini, Dork, Greenie, Rene, Deb, Lap! Thank you! You're all so sweet to me! The song, Mini is just so cute! It made me cry! Not sad tears, but happy ones! I Love you all! You are all my sunshine too. You've been here with me, every step of the way. My head hurts so bad right now, from no sleep and not eating. I can't seem to eat much. I have this huge lump in my throat and it just sits there! Not the band, but emotions. It's interesting. My behavior hasn't changed. I always knew I wasn't an emotional eater, I'm a emotional non-eater. Even before I had the band, I couldn't eat when I was sad. I've figured out that I'm a Happy Eater. When things are good in my life and I'm happy, that's when I eat... or used to eat. Now the band helps me! Life goes on... I'm praying therapy helps. Love, me~

just do what you're ready doing... take it as slow as you need to - or feel you need to. when you're ready, you can add more solids. I didn't rush my solids, I was chicken too (no pun intended) -

Congrats on your banding Gardner! AND your Girlfriend's too! You can eat before a fill, however, I never eat a larger size meal just prior to my fill. I have only had 2 fills and both times, I just did a small meal early in the morning and a protein shake for the meal just prior to my fill. My fills are usually in the afternoon. After my fill, I do full liquids that night and softs the next day or two. This is not advise from Dr. K, but it's what I've learned from my research. Are you eating a regular diet at this time? Or are you still on mushies?

You know Mini, each time I think I need a fill, something happens to tell me I do not. I can't really discuss this right now, but I'm dealing with some big things. Yesterday, I had an emotional breakdown. I have cried and cried and cried. Around 11am, I finally thought, I better try to eat something. I had some steamed veggies. I warmed them and took a couple of bites. Stuck! Stuck! Stuck! No sliming or vomiting, but pain! I guess crying and eating with the band is a bad thing! I have an appt. to see a therapist tomorrow morning. Being stressed, dehydrated and on my TOM have all proven to make me tight. I also have heard of others having a delayed restriction. That might be you!

Oh my Goodness Rene! Are you doing okay now? How are you feeling? That's horrible! I am so thankful you are okay!

Dork, I have lost 5.2 lbs since the start of the challenge. I have also been riding my bike daily 35 mins a day. Congrats on making it to Twoterville! Cute toes!

You might want to ask another friend to stay with you. I had to stay over night in the hospital because of my Malignant Hyperthermia and I'd say I'm glad I did. The Slim Fast Low Carb is one of my favorite protein drinks! I remember during my post op days, I couldn't even drink half of one! I was amazed!

Good Luck with your surgery Deb! I things will go well and you'll be back home in your own bed before you know it! I have no YUCK for your sleeping arrangements, so I say, it sounds good to me!

Thank you to everyone who posted messages to me. I appreciate you all! I love you all! Having you all in my life on this journey has made it that much sweeter! Thank you! I guess, before I got banded, I thought my biggest battle would be learning to eat properly. I have now found that - that is the easy part compared to learning how to love myself! Nutrition has always been an interest of mine. I lost over 100lbs once doing a very healthy low fat, low calorie vegan diet. I knew what it takes to lose the weight, I also gained it back plus more! But I guess, in all my years (perhaps the reason I always gained it back) I never learned how to love myself, accept myself and see that I'm worthy. That in itself has been my biggest challenge! It's tough for all of us - for whatever reason. Hugs!! dee~

I have to tell you Mini that your grandbaby boy is absolutely adorable! He's one of the sweetest babies I've ever seen! Be careful with Shelbi, it sounds like she could just gobble him up!!!

Yes I remember the same thing! He does do them, but he charges because it has to be done elsewhere. Plus think of the trouble for him to have to meet the patient at another facility and then return to his office to continue seeing his patients. I think it would be good to be able to see a fill that way! You could see if your band is working properly. And just kind of interesting!

Here I am Munchkin! Thank you for looking for me. I feel I've been lost for a long while. My blues got the best of me. I've found that learning to eat properly is not an issue for me. However, learning to love myself is... Thank you to everyone who PM'd me and called me to see if I was okay. I'm sorry, I was so silent. I just needed to take some time to get my head on straight. I hope you all know how important you are to me. You've been with me from day one of this journey. A journey that has taken many turns and curves and has landed me in the gutter a time or two, but a journey that has given me hope of a better tomorrow. I pray that as my body changes, my mind and emotions towards myself will change too. I'm fighting years of verbal abuse - abuse from my childhood even during the lean years. Abuse that was carried over to my marriage -- and I've carried it over to today. How can we do that to ourselves? Why do we do that to ourselves? Why do we believe that we are the worst and no one would ever want us or love us? I think because we can't give ourselves a break - and realize that we deserve better -- we deserve to be loved... cared for. Please pray for me and my struggle. I need the prayers right now. Thank you. Love, dee~

Dr. Kirshenbaum from Aurora Colorado was my surgeon on January 29th, 2008! He's the best! If you're considering Dr. Kirshenbaum visit this thread and "Considering Dr. Kirshenbaum" - My name is Dee~:thumbup:

Thanks Shelbi! This morning he and I were talking and he asked me, "If I asked you to marry me, would you say yes?" I didn't even have to think about it! I said, "YES!" He told me when the time is right... he and I will know. I almost cried thinking about my -- appearance! I know he loves my personality, but the looks are very overwhelming! I try hard to not allow my negative thoughts to enter, but sometimes, it's very difficult!