CandySmooch

Sorry I didn't have time to read through everyone elses' posts here - I just read yours. A possible suggestion - do you have to do the job that your doing? You said your hubby makes enough money so if money is no objective - why not find a different "career" - or take up a hobby where you can make money - take for example - I am a 911 communications specialist - my life is completely wrapped up in the fire dept. it is a very stressful career choice - used to be a full time emt/firefighter before going into dispatch. I wanted to do something else with my time so I felt like there was a part of me outside of the fire dept. So I have always been interested in cake decorating - so one day I said I'm going to do it! I signed up for cake decorating classes and off I went. I don't do it as much as I'd like to since I do have to work full time for financial reasons - but at least it brings me joy when I do get to do it and I feel productive selling my cakes. I'm just trying to shed some light that there are other career choices even if you don't have degrees for them etc. If money isn't an option - why not try something you've always wanted to and you can still find ways to make some side money from it? Just a thought.

HAHA - that one needs to go under the other thread for Deceased lovers. She had some big ol' knockers didn't she? Here's a little trivia - certain fire hydrants are called Mae Wests - these are because of the 2 huge knobs on each side for opening up the hydrant. Guess some preverted fireman back in the day was fantasizing about something when he named them! Ok so here is my list - I can't believe no one has named him yet. #1 - Matthew McConaghey - whew I would take him anytime, anyday, in any form, but mostly I'd like to have him on the night he was arrested for smoking pot and playing his drums too loud - oooohh I get hot just thinking about that mug shot! Wish I coulda been there that night - WHAT A DELICIOUS PIECE OF MAN MEAT!!! #2 THE ROCK - for his charisma and smile - he could PUT THE SMACK DOWN ON MY CANDYASS ANYDAY!!! #3 Jack Johnson - for those of you who don't know he's a mellow musician who sings with just his guitar - kinda like Dave Matthews but wayyy sexier. He owns his own recording studio in Hawaii at his house where he records his albums. Sexy sensitive type. #4 Eminem - he's just all sorts of messed up - I LOVE DEM BAD BOYS! The rest I will list in no particular order and some have already been listed. Jean-Claude Van Damm - back in the early days Kickboxer, etc. he's looking pretty rough lately with all his straight to video releases. Sean Williams Scott - the infamaous "Stiffler" from American Pie - just a cutie - and goofy guy. Not much else. Vin Diesal - in XXX - what's not to love about a badass undercover agent! Bill Pullman & Aiden Quinn - I too am a lover of these older, but goodies. Aiden Quinn in Benny & Joon - who COULDN"T fall in love with that. Bill Pullman is great too. And FINALLY - I'm not bisexual - but I COULD BE for ASHLEY JUDD - is she not just the sexiest, hottest little girl next door type who'd also be a blast to hang out with?? She's the ulitimate great all around girl! And the SKANKS - Here goes - PAMELA ANDERSON MINUS HER DISEASES! Come on - she is just hot and I'd love to look like her! I'd have to say I wouldn't turn her down if she was disease free. ALSO - I'd do Angelina Jolie too - she's got it all going on except she looks like she's been punched in the mouth one too many times - I'd still let her lick the carpet........I'm terrible!

Ok dead guys. mmmmm I too am a fan of Gene Kelly - he had such a rockin body back in the day "Singing In the Rain" - I'm a sucker for musicians. Gay or not I'd teach him a thing or two. Also - I know I know - but Charlton Heston in the "Ben Hur" filiming - another rockin body - getting all sweaty in the grand horse race and rowing on the slave ship....yummy! And the stifling commander Christopher Plummer in "The Sound of Music" days....he had such a mean stiff demeaner I just wanted to break through and be the soft side to him. He could dress up in uniform and yell at me any day! Andddddd after reading all of this youmight think I'm older than I am. Nope only 24 years old but grew up loving old musicals and classic theater. Whoops - I'm so retarded - BUT I think Christopher Plummer and Charlton Heston should BOTH count since they're really old and on their way out of this world so I say it stays.

GIRRRRRRLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL! We must be twins - welcome to my club. Let me tell you about my situation. May 24th, Lost 8lbs out of surgery but gained 4lbs back before my 1st fill on July 7. 1st fill didn't do too much for me but ended up able to lose 1lb before my 2nd fill on August 31st - then I was too tight and I lost 3 lbs in 2 days. He then had to unfill me .5cc thus bringing me back to the original 8lbs lost. I think i may have lost a couple more pounds in the last few weeks but I don't keep scales at home or I'd be obsessed with them. I think I will schedule another fill in another 4-6 weeks and I'll check in and let you know if my last fill did anything for me. I too have not had the motivation to do more excercise - I was wanting the weight loss to be my motivation and since that hasn't really happened yet. One thing I have started doing - its small but a start. I park at the end of parking lots and make myself walk the length to whatever store I'm going in. Gotta start somewhere - I also just ordered a fabulous new dvd I will recommend it's called JUST MY SIZE YOGA which came out this past year. It's a plus size instructor who does it for plus size women. I also recommened Tai Chi and Qiqong - these are mental & physical breathing techniques and moves etc to right your whole body - not just physically - I can tell you the specific ones if your interested in the Tai Chi and Qiqong - I haven't actually started using them yet but I ordered them off amazon and they are on the way. The plus size yoga came highly recommended for fluffy girls who don't excercise - which is MEE!!!! I'm afraid to do anything more as my boyfriend doesn't know CPR - gotta start somewhere and parking further from the store is how I'm starting! Yoga is the next and then the tai chi and qiqong after i can get my stamina up I have Budokon which is a higher intensity workout of martial arts, yoga & meditation - I'm actually pretty excited!

Wow great post - I'm still trying to figure out a good system for my boyfriend and I when dining out. I've noticed I've been wasting A LOT of money on food I never eat anymore. When we go to the Olive Garden it's easy because I order a salad and he orders and entree which also comes with a salad so I take a few bites off of his plate. But mostly I order my own separate thing everywhere else because him and I have different tastes - I eat a very small portion and then I take the rest home where it usually sits in the fridge without being touched and I throw it out a few days later thinking what a waste of money.........so I'm still trying to figure out how to eat what I like without having to waste most of it - no luck yet - anyone have any other suggestions they use when dining out?

ALRIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Way to go!! I can't wait to have these same feelings!!!!!!!!

Yes I have heard of this. even .1 and that is .1 not 1 full cc - but even .1 cc can make all the difference in hitting the sweet spot. Here is my deal. 1st fill - had 1cc - did nothing - second fill - another 1cc for a total of 2cc in a 4cc band - could barely sip water and eat yogurt and pudding - so he took .5cc out leaving me with a total of 1.5cc - and no difference from when I was at 1cc. Soooo it's pretty much a guessing game and every single person is different. For me 1.5cc is not enough but 2cc is too much. So I'll go for a 3rd fill next month to get that gap a little closer and think I'll ask him for .3cc to make a total of 1.8cc. Remember even .1cc can make the difference. Close the gap and you'll find yours too!

One thing I've been reading in my Natural Cures book is that - you know you were going to do it - you did it - so instead of feeling bad - you should just splurge and don't feel guilty - instead enjoy every bite and you'll be less likely to forbid yourself from splurging in the future. It's helped me - I was cravvvvvvvvvving a snickers - so damnit I went and bought it and enjoyed every bite - now I'm good and its off of my mind. As long as I don't make it 2 and 3 snickers and start doing it every single day. So you had some pizza - sounds good to me - what kind was it?

I don't know the answers to your questions, but I do know that everyday I'm like man I need another fill! And then the next morning comes when I can barely eat a thing and then I'm like ooohhh no I don't need a fill or I wouldn't be able to eat anything. It seems I am tight in the mornings - open through the day - and tight before I go to bed. It's really fickle and I'm doing my best to figure it out although I do think a little fill would help me more, but then I'm worried it could be too tight again. I'm just waiting it out to see what I should do.

After being banded - I was supposed to start my period 2 days before surgery, but it was late and came for only 1 day on the day I had surgery. So I thought I got off lucky with only one day - then a week later it came full force and lasted 10 days! That's the longest ever. SO I chalked it up to surgery - then a few days later I started bleeding again! And that's how it went the entire 1st month after surgery. I'd go for 2,3, & 4 days, then would quit for only 1 or 2 and then it repeated itself ALL MONTH LONG. After that I've been regular - I went to the GYNO for fear something was wrong - I told him of my surgery and he explained it was from the anesthesia shedding the uterine walls or blah blah blah - but the was my case as it doesn't sound that way according to you and others on here - but that's the only problem I've had with Aunt Flo - understand the frustration of wanting to jump your hubby! Boyfriend and I abstained the entire first month due to the issues I was having. But everything's A-Ok now.

Each Dr. is different. My Dr. told me to stay away from protein shakes and such as someone else was mentioning they keep you full.........my DR. told me the EXACT opposite - said to stay away from them because they are empty calories that WILL NOT keep you full. I've found that to be true in my case. My Dr. stressed moderation as the key - I was not doing this to go on a diet but to eat like a normal person. I'm also going the natural way - I've been reading Kevin Trudeau's Natural Cures They Don't Want You To Know About. EXCELLENT READ! I highly recommend you reading what the government and food industries are doing to Americans to make us the #1 Fattest Country in the world. So I am buying all organic natural foods along with moderation. NO Fat free, sugar free, low carb crap anymore - it is all highly toxic. SERIOUSLY EVERYONE NEEDS TO READ THIS BOOK - its an eye opener - if anyone has any questions about it PM me. And yes to answer your question - I cheated post-op - nothing huge - but i moved onto mushies earlier etc. I felt I was healed and so hungry I was able to get things down with no problems and had my band checked afterwards - no problems there either. Now i didn't go eatin steak and chicken etc. so I wouldn't recommend that so early.

I'm a closet bandster and don't regret it. No one needs to know my business except for my parents and my boyfriend - not even my siblings know. And its true - I was wondering how in the hell I could conceal this - but if you don't draw attention to what your eating or what your NOT eating - NO ONE NOTICES! If your at a family gathering etc etc. you can put more than you can eat on your plate. Eat what you want and push around the rest - no one has noticed yet and I've been banded almost 4 months. There are times when I'm tempted to even tell my "big girl" friends about my band, but I haven't yet - if I did it would only be to encourage them to do so also and maybe I will once I hit goal. But as of yet I have one good friend, my boyfriend, and parents who know and I don't regret it one bit. I also have heard people talk about WLS being the "easy way out" - these people are plain ignorant - until they are fat - they will never understand. My boyfriend sometimes has a hard time understanding, but he supports me - he also has NEVER been fat or big. For the first time in his life he's put on some weight which is like 20lbs and to me - he just now looks healthy - he was too skinny before - NOW since he's put on 20lbs in 2 years he thinks he's fat - HE HAS NO IDEA!! It bothers me immensly sometimes when he might make a comment - and I just tell over and over - he needs to shut his mouth because he has no idea what I've dealt with my whole life. That is why I have this website for support of my journey - people here understand what its like and those who don't - have no idea. I don't regret keeping it MY secret. I'm not ashamed one bit, but for simplisitic reasons I have not told.

I think I could manage to rummage up $5.00 in the couch cushions - count me in! I like the idea of having to walk a mile in between toppings and not eating anything else for 2 days. That should make it all even out - sounds good - let me see how much a greyhound ticket is and I'll meet you there, but you gotta pick me up at the bus station - I'll be wearing nothing but ratty old underwear from your other thread you got going on. LOL

Yes inquiring minds want to know - what kind of whitey tighties?????

YEA!!!! I believe an essential piece to any woman's wardrobe are some decent underthings including one good bra that makes your gal pals stand up and say HOWDY! White Oscar De La Renta lace push up bra - the gals are waving hello! Sheer black panties with sporatic Red Glitter Flowers all over (just happened to grab a good pair since I felt sexy today) And I noticed the other day that I needed to do underwear & bra inventory as I'm down to one last good bra which I happen to be wearing today. Other bras have underwires poking through the arm pits and some undies are fading and getting holes. I'm trying to hold off as long as I can because I plan on going on MAJOR panty and bra spree as soon as I drop a couple sizes!

I lost my father right in front of me when I was 19 due to a massive heart attack at his age of 54. I am an EMT and had to endure performing CPR on him at my young age. He survived for 2 weeks on life support after cardiac surgery, but never regained consciousness and we had to make a family decision to remove life support. It was completely unexpected even when he had gone to his Dr. the day before for chest pains and he didn't do anything for him, but sent him home with a false diagnois of a strained muscle. This incident devastaed and changed my life forever as this as with you as well. Just from experience, the pain NEVER goes away, you just have to learn to live with it as a part of your life and you will find comfort by not denying or expecting it to go away. I kept expecting for the pain to go away until I realized it never will - keep your chin up - we're all here to support you with whatever you need!!

My fill history is also on my signature. 1st fill 1cc - nothing. 2nd fill another 1cc - grrrr - too tight!!! Unfill of .5cc for a total of 1.5cc in a 4cc band - a little but not quite there. I'm going to wait a few weeks before attempting another fill - think I'll ask him for .3 as with 2cc I was too tight, but not extremely tight. Haven't hit the sweet spot yet, but at least I know my band works after being too tight and my sweet spot is somewhere between 1.5 and 2cc's.

These are in no particular order - just as I think of them. 1. Horseback riding 2. Fit comfortably in seats at some rocking Music Concerts 3. Have my fiance' carry me over the threshold or pick me up period or sit in his lap! 4. Not break out in a sweat from doing minor activities where no one else is sweating. 5. Get out of my low-ridin 35th Anniversary Edition Camaro easier. 6. To be comfortable completely and openly naked and lights blaring with my fiancee' instead of always trying to move an arm this way or a leg that way to try to look better and cover up my stomach or thighs etc. 7. To have smaller fingers to show off jewelry. (I got chubby man hands) 8. To be more comfortable when trying to shave in the bathtub. 9. To get a sexy tattoo right on my ass! 10. To Get my belly button pierced. 11. To look decent in a bathing suit that isn't a swimdress. 12. To be able to balance in sexy stillettos without breakin an ankle instead of wearing chunked platforms. 13. To buy cute belts and have the option of tucking in my shirt! 14. The look on everyone's faces at my 10 year high school reunion. 15. Being able to see ALL the way down south without a mirror. 16. To have seatbelts fit better. 17. To feel comfortable on a hot air balloon ride. 18. To shop for even cuter styles I can't wear now ie sleeveless etc. 19. To have more confidence in my body. 20. TO NEVER EVER HEAR SOMEONE SAY AGAIN - OH BUT YOU HAVE SUCH A PRETTY FACE!

Keep us updated!!!!!

Knowing you DeLarla - I was opened this anxiously to see what kind of controversy was being started now boy was I disapointed LOL

I love soy milk - my mom is a health nut and recommends SILK as it has more nutrition or something over the other brands - I can't quite remember but she's a health nut and I trust her judgment since she researches everything that goes into her body - I love the vanilla flavored one.

This is what you need to take with you to the hospital just in case. I took hard candy to suck on afterwards - I took sugar-free jolly ranchers and boyyyy was that ever a lifesaver. 3 other ladies being banded with me kept coming into my hospital room wanting some - it got us through the tough times. Also I took Gas-X chewable tablets even though they say the pain afterwards is not in regards to this - we felt it helped get some things moving. Also the heat pads you wear and throw away. I also took Tylenol gel tabs with me just in case I needed it. I think that's all I can think of but it all helped at least to keep me comfortable.

I am a 911 Communications Specialist which is a fancy title for a 911 Emergency Medical Dispatcher. I've been doing it for 7 years now. I work for a large Communications Center that dispatches for 9 Fire Departments across 3 counties near Kansas City, Missouri. I started when I was 17 y/o. I was also an Emergency Medical Technician and Firefighter for 5 years. I love my job although it is not an easy one - lots of people can't hand it and end up burned out quickly, but I had a calling for it and here I am! I've been working night shifts for 7 years now also so I cruise these forums all night long during slow times at work. I am looking to move to a day shift when the opportunity presents itself. I work long 12 hour shifts. 911 call - gotta go!

I WOULD NEVER HAVE A BYPASS PERIOD - unless for some ungodly reason I gained twice my weight back and ended up being like 4-500lbs. If I had to have my band removed - I would do it on my own for as long as I could until I could afford to be re-banded - even if it took me 10-15 years to save up and do it again I would have to do it that way and fight like hell not to gain much weight back. BYPASS is not an option for me. EVER!