ReneBean

I am pretty fat - and I joined the local Express Fitness. So far, the folks there haven't treated me badly - and there are even some of others that come close to my size. If you have Express Fitness where you are, I recommend them. The fees are really low (at least in my town) and they have all the basics. Good luck!

Wheetsin - I have bandaid problems too - the Adhesive, just like you. I use 3-M brand "nextcare" or something like that. I haven't had any issues with the waterproof normal (not heavy duty) version of these. Maybe they can stitch and NextCare... Hope that helps!! Good Luck on the whole process.

Wow!! You look fabulous. I want you to know that you are my personal inspiration. I am shaped so much like you were - and my initial starting weight was similar. Seeing your photos really gets me inspired!! If you can look that good only two years down the road, so can I! Thanks, Brenda! I hope to follow in your weightloss footsteps, soon. CONGRATS! :]

Well, I must have been the luckiest bandster ever, or the doc just managed to deaden some nerve in my tummy - because I have had so little pain that it hardly bears mentioning. The gas has been present - occassonally a little pressure, but not painful or problematic. I have been reading about new bandsters with pain for a long time and I was quite surprised NOT to be one of them. I am generally such a wuss!:knockedou I went on Tuesday (2/21) to my two week post-op visit with Doctor Fox. While I haven't lost any weight officially, I know that my measurements are still catching up to the 16 pounds I lost on the pre-op diet. My clothes fit again - and my face is visibly thinner. I forgot about that pointy chin I have... While this makes me happy, I still need to get up and get back to the gym. Work has been so crazed lately that I have been very bad - I haven't been to the gym since prior to surgery! This weekend - it's the Treadmill or Bust. I have not been very compliant on the food side, either... I started eating things consistently a day or two prior to when the doc's diet said I could... Bad me. I have currently eaten everything except steak - including bread. I had a fish sandwich for lunch. I have the Vanguard band - and while I have some limited restriction during the day, I have little or none at night. So far, though, this has not distressed me too much. I am practising my chewing skills. Knowing how much I have to concentrate on this act, now, I guess I spent the last 40 years swallowing my food practically whole. Considering how fast I used to eat, that's not impossible. :yuck: I have to guard against getting hungry - since that is when it is very difficult for me to get the food fully ground up before swallowing. There have been several times when I knew that some not-quite-well-chewed bit got past me - and I was waiting for the pain - but it never came. The big band means that the food is pretty much just Pausing - and then moving right by. So far, I haven't had any major portion control issues - maybe just slowing down is enough that the stop signal gets hit. I am on the fence about getting a fill. My doc says I can have one after my one month visit on the 7th - but I am afraid. I mean, geez... I have no pain and I can eat anything I want if I chew it well. My bathroom scale said I was down a couple of pounds today - so do I really want one? But, on the other hand - I have already said that the food is only pausing - the big band is mostly worthless without a fill... and the danger of being able to eat anything is that I will eat everything. No restriction is too much temptation. I think I will have to get a small fill - whether I want to or not. I got this surgery for a reason, and no matter how nice it is to be spoiled, I better take the next step. *fear* I hate pain and I don't want any PB's!!! I really am in this for the long haul, though. I don't want to lose weight so fast that my whole body sags and I get that big wattle under my chin. I am doing what I can to stave off the panni problem - I wear a girdle 24/7. A comfy one to sleep in and a tougher one during the day. I started wearing it about 2 days after surgery. My belly flopping around was way more uncomfortable than wearing the girdle! I wish I had started doing it 10 yrs ago when the panni first started to hang!! I know I will have to have PS if I ever want to have a flat belly. It's just a fact. I am wearing a sports bra to lounge and sleep in, too. I don't want the girls getting bruised on my knees!! It's an adjustment to sleep with garments on - but I guess it will be nicer if I ever have to run from a fire in the night or anything. LOL! Thank goodness for Bestform. They make a lovely cotton-spandex sports bra that slips on over your head in big-girl sizes. No tags, no hooks, just soft support. Again, I should have started sleeping in one when I was 14. Oh well... I will never mess with the girls - not even if I have to roll them up to get dressed in the morning.... So far, this thing is working... I have evolved a little bit now that I have the official ok to eat real food. I was eating yogurt & cheese and soft things all day at work and then eating a little bit of whatever DH cooked for dinner. These last couple of days I have just been drinking my breakfast shake (min. 40 grams of protein + vitamins & calcium) and eating some small thing for lunch. Yesterday, I had a cup of Chili. Today I had the fish sandwich. I am pretty sure that my calories have gone DOWN by doing this... I was parcelling out about 800-900 calories worth of protein shake, SF pudding, cheese, yogurt, etc and just nibbling all day long - which was GREAT for keeping me from getting hungry - but with just the shake and one thing for lunch, I am probably at 700-800 calories instead - depending on the day and the phase of the moon. But DANG - you could eat a lot of stuff, if everything comes in under 70 calories! I think that I will never properly count calories - I mean, I hate that crap - but I need to keep in mind what the calorie counts on my food are. I imagine after my fill, everything will evolve again - which is fine, too. Ruts are bad. I don't ever want my body to "get used" to anything, except for exercise! I think I will have to boil myself up some chicken breasts and do like I used to do when I did Atkins - low carb during the week, anything on Saturday. Maybe banded, I can carb on Sundays, too. It's hard being pure around my beloved. But, I do lots better when I don't have to worry that I have the right foods. Chicken & cheese sticks with dipping sauce were a staple during the Atkins days. I just need to make them up again. If the food is here, and easy access, I will eat it... most of the time. I also know that, even with no fill, exercise would make the difference. It takes A LOT of calories to move my beautiful bulk... Now, if I could just get work under control again, so that I could consistently get to the gym, life would be good. The biggest problem is that before I was banded, I would work until 7 - get home at 8 - run to the gym, come home and eat at 9:30 or 10:00. That won't fly any more. Not only will I drop from low blood sugar; but I have to eat before 9 so I can go horizontal without a pouch full of food. I *might* have to try going *GASP* in the morning before work. (ICK!!! Did I just type that?!?) I am going to have to do SOMETHING - cause I have to get to the gym at least 3 times a week - and there are only two days in the weekend! LOL. Maybe a snack in the late afternoon and coming in a wee bit earlier to work. Hmmm. A little earlier to work seems easier to accomplish than actually working OUT before work - and the whole showering in public thing has never really worked for me. Yeah, that's the ticket. If I get in earlier, SUPPOSEDLY I can leave earlier. We'll see how that goes. I got here just after nine today. For me, that was early - by almost an hour! If you are not me, and you have read through all this blather, I love you too. I figure you must love me to read through all this personal sorting out. Hope you are having a great day, and that something more exciting than this entry happens to you, soon. (in a good way.) :]

Well, I must have been the luckiest bandster ever, or the doc just managed to deaden some nerve in my tummy - because I have had so little pain that it hardly bears mentioning. The gas has been present - occassonally a little pressure, but not painful or problematic. I have been reading about new bandsters with pain for a long time and I was quite surprised NOT to be one of them. I am generally such a wuss!:knockedou I went on Tuesday (2/21) to my two week post-op visit with Doctor Fox. While I haven't lost any weight officially, I know that my measurements are still catching up to the 16 pounds I lost on the pre-op diet. My clothes fit again - and my face is visibly thinner. I forgot about that pointy chin I have... While this makes me happy, I still need to get up and get back to the gym. Work has been so crazed lately that I have been very bad - I haven't been to the gym since prior to surgery! This weekend - it's the Treadmill or Bust. I have not been very compliant on the food side, either... I started eating things consistently a day or two prior to when the doc's diet said I could... Bad me. I have currently eaten everything except steak - including bread. I had a fish sandwich for lunch. I have the Vanguard band - and while I have some limited restriction during the day, I have little or none at night. So far, though, this has not distressed me too much. I am practising my chewing skills. Knowing how much I have to concentrate on this act, now, I guess I spent the last 40 years swallowing my food practically whole. Considering how fast I used to eat, that's not impossible. :yuck: I have to guard against getting hungry - since that is when it is very difficult for me to get the food fully ground up before swallowing. There have been several times when I knew that some not-quite-well-chewed bit got past me - and I was waiting for the pain - but it never came. The big band means that the food is pretty much just Pausing - and then moving right by. So far, I haven't had any major portion control issues - maybe just slowing down is enough that the stop signal gets hit. I am on the fence about getting a fill. My doc says I can have one after my one month visit on the 7th - but I am afraid. I mean, geez... I have no pain and I can eat anything I want if I chew it well. My bathroom scale said I was down a couple of pounds today - so do I really want one? But, on the other hand - I have already said that the food is only pausing - the big band is mostly worthless without a fill... and the danger of being able to eat anything is that I will eat everything. No restriction is too much temptation. I think I will have to get a small fill - whether I want to or not. I got this surgery for a reason, and no matter how nice it is to be spoiled, I better take the next step. *fear* I hate pain and I don't want any PB's!!! I really am in this for the long haul, though. I don't want to lose weight so fast that my whole body sags and I get that big wattle under my chin. I am doing what I can to stave off the panni problem - I wear a girdle 24/7. A comfy one to sleep in and a tougher one during the day. I started wearing it about 2 days after surgery. My belly flopping around was way more uncomfortable than wearing the girdle! I wish I had started doing it 10 yrs ago when the panni first started to hang!! I know I will have to have PS if I ever want to have a flat belly. It's just a fact. I am wearing a sports bra to lounge and sleep in, too. I don't want the girls getting bruised on my knees!! It's an adjustment to sleep with garments on - but I guess it will be nicer if I ever have to run from a fire in the night or anything. LOL! Thank goodness for Bestform. They make a lovely cotton-spandex sports bra that slips on over your head in big-girl sizes. No tags, no hooks, just soft support. Again, I should have started sleeping in one when I was 14. Oh well... I will never mess with the girls - not even if I have to roll them up to get dressed in the morning....:mad: So far, this thing is working... I have evolved a little bit now that I have the official ok to eat real food. I was eating yogurt & cheese and soft things all day at work and then eating a little bit of whatever DH cooked for dinner. These last couple of days I have just been drinking my breakfast shake (min. 40 grams of protein + vitamins & calcium) and eating some small thing for lunch. Yesterday, I had a cup of Chili. Today I had the fish sandwich. I am pretty sure that my calories have gone DOWN by doing this... I was parcelling out about 800-900 calories worth of protein shake, SF pudding, cheese, yogurt, etc and just nibbling all day long - which was GREAT for keeping me from getting hungry - but with just the shake and one thing for lunch, I am probably at 700-800 calories instead - depending on the day and the phase of the moon. But DANG - you could eat a lot of stuff, if everything comes in under 70 calories! I think that I will never properly count calories - I mean, I hate that crap - but I need to keep in mind what the calorie counts on my food are. I imagine after my fill, everything will evolve again - which is fine, too. Ruts are bad. I don't ever want my body to "get used" to anything, except for exercise! I think I will have to boil myself up some chicken breasts and do like I used to do when I did Atkins - low carb during the week, anything on Saturday. Maybe banded, I can carb on Sundays, too. It's hard being pure around my beloved. But, I do lots better when I don't have to worry that I have the right foods. Chicken & cheese sticks with dipping sauce were a staple during the Atkins days. I just need to make them up again. If the food is here, and easy access, I will eat it... most of the time. I also know that, even with no fill, exercise would make the difference. It takes A LOT of calories to move my beautiful bulk... Now, if I could just get work under control again, so that I could consistently get to the gym, life would be good. The biggest problem is that before I was banded, I would work until 7 - get home at 8 - run to the gym, come home and eat at 9:30 or 10:00. That won't fly any more. Not only will I drop from low blood sugar; but I have to eat before 9 so I can go horizontal without a pouch full of food. I *might* have to try going *GASP* in the morning before work. (ICK!!! Did I just type that?!?) I am going to have to do SOMETHING - cause I have to get to the gym at least 3 times a week - and there are only two days in the weekend! LOL. Maybe a snack in the late afternoon and coming in a wee bit earlier to work. Hmmm. A little earlier to work seems easier to accomplish than actually working OUT before work - and the whole showering in public thing has never really worked for me. Yeah, that's the ticket. If I get in earlier, SUPPOSEDLY I can leave earlier. We'll see how that goes. I got here just after nine today. For me, that was early - by almost an hour! If you are not me, and you have read through all this blather, I love you too. I figure you must love me to read through all this personal sorting out. Hope you are having a great day, and that something more exciting than this entry happens to you, soon. (in a good way.) :]

Just a note on cilantro - sometimes it tastes a little bit soapy. If you get a good batch, it is GREAT - but once in a while, if your salsa tastes like soap - throw out the cilantro! You might try chewing on a leaf before you mix, just to be sure your cilantro is good. :]

Wow, everybody is so busy! I am no different. I should have left for home 45 minutes ago - but I wanted to stop by and give a shout out to all my favorite guys and gals. Nothing terribly exciting going on, here. Oh, just a few lay-offs at my office (EEEEK!!) but it's kind of expected after the last month or two. We have been overstaffed for a while - and attrition wasn't working fast enough. I have survived this set - but being in the higher salary range and having a somewhat "miscelaneous" job title, I am worried that there might be more. Everybody think good thoughts - or Betty and I will be interviewing together! I am not too worried. I figure I have about a 90 day window before they do anything else - and lots can happen in 90 days. So, what we need here are no natural disasters (anywhere) and lots of refinancing and purchasing in the next 90 days. I know you guys can do it for me... LOL! Hope everybody else if having a great day. Hugs!!

I personally have removed the high-carb, high sugar treats from the house and replaced them with sugar free pudding and popcicles. I would personally like to nominate Blue Bunny for an award. They make the most fabulous splenda sweetened low/no fat yogurt, and their SF Ice cream bars are the best in the universe. It's hardly like a diet when you can slurp the occassional creamy sugar free treat. Good Luck.

Hey Julie!! Congrats! Tammy - girl, you gotta get some food in you. Fat Girls cannot live by Water & Vitamins, alone... Is it just that the Protein drinks pass thru too fast? My doc told me to take some immodium or something if that was an issue. If it's just cause their yucky - try a different one... I get one called Six Star at Walmart that is pretty doable - especially if you blend it up with some coffee and splenda. Good Luck - and if you start to feel poorly from lack of food, call your doc and tell him. Maybe there is some solution. We can't have you fainting on the roadways or anything... Hugs!

DH makes tomato salsa and Tomatillo salsa. I think they are pretty basic. Fresh ingredients are the key. Tomatoes, garlic, onions, jalapeno or pepper of your choice, cilantro and some lime juice. Salt to taste. Blend up everything but the tomatoes pretty fine - rough chop the tomatoes and stir it all up. Yum!! you can cook it, if you like the cooked kind. Just heat it in a pan til it tastes right. Tomatillo's need to be cooked. (green salsa) Peel the papery skin off and then you can boil or broil. Once they are cooked, blend them with garlic, onions, jalapeno or pepper of your choice, cilantro and some lime juice. Salt to taste. Salsa is a personal thing. Play with it til you get it right. :] **the tomatillo's Jell up - they have pectin like jelly. DH combats this by stirring in a little Water once the salsa is done.

*I will say that you may still have to fight the insurance company - if you have a high BMI like me. I started at 59 - and Blue Cross said I had to get By-Passed or Switched. Since I wasn't having any of that, I fought - for four months - before I got my surgery. If you do decide to battle for insurance - be aware that it MIGHT take some time - maybe lots. However, for the follow-up care and any potential complications, I would still fight for it - no matter how long it takes. Just my opinion.

Yep - avoid anything with carbs or hidden carbs and keep the fat as low as you can. Lean meat, fish & chicken + nice veggies... I ate lots of raw veggies - but cooked ones are ok, too. Stay away from the sauces... they usually hide both fat and carbs. Clean up that liver, Baby!! **I lost 16 lbs pre-op, and my liver was STILL fatty - so much so that my doc commented on it to my DH. It's important. If your liver is too fatty and squishy - they can't get around it to do the surgery on your stomach. Be good! and Good Luck! Hopefully, once you get healed up, you will never have to do such a controlled "diet" again. :]

Congrats!!! Good luck with your surgery! :]

Hey Y'All... Just checking in. I haven't lost an ounce since my surgery two weeks ago - BUT, I had lost like 16 lbs on the pre-op diet - and my measurements are just starting to catch up. It seems the rolls of fat on my back are diminishing - and I can't tell you how exciting THAT is. I am wearing some clothes that I couldn't fit into last month - yay for happy wardrobe! So, scale Victories: 0. NSV's: Measurements/clothing fits. Additional energy to get up and move around. I will do my "Official" measurements after March 1 - and update with the actual "inches lost" figure then. Hopefully, I will actually lose a pound or two, also!! :]

I think if nothing comes out it's not "productive" so not a PB - however those little episodes might indicate you need to slow down and chew some more... It's odd how we can feel every little thing now... I guess we just weren't paying attention before! :]

Great Tattoo, Miss Vines. I hope that it stimulates all the healing powers for your benefit. Hugs!!

Oh, the knees.... so many years since I could bounce on the knees... When I hit THAT NSV - y'all will hear me screaming nationwide...

Go, Shanna! Go, Shanna!! Coolness!

The kiss blowing tightens up the musles underneath the saggy skin, ostensibly sucking the sag up with them. Try it - I swear we won't laugh. Another one that might help is to try and reach forward with your chin without moving your head, neck or back. Just shove that jaw forward. Good Luck!!

ticker factory offers 2 codes - try copying and pasting the other one... Usually the BB code works - but you might be missing some little part of it, or copying from the other box. Try, try again... Good Luck.

hey Anne - first fill is ok after my 1 month follow up on the 7th of March. Doc gave me the green light for fills after that visit. Eh-hem... uh, "can't" exercise might not be entirely accurate. Not having gotten up off my lazy @$$ might be the correct term... I could exercise after about the first week... Oh Well... I will get motivated soon, I know! Kelly - how's the Mederma workin on your son? I have been seeing an add for a kids scar solution on TV - but I forget the name. Hope it's working well!! But of course, for boys, scars are "cool" when they get older. Well, I have to run. Tomorrow is another day.... :]

Welcome Pattman!! Slow but steady wins the race... that's the lap band way. Good Luck!! I'm with you - anything under 200 would be SWEEET. (of course, I am only 5'5"! lol!)

Hey Y'All... Another exotic and exciting day in mortgage lending has passed... only 3 more to go until the weekend!! Cindy - how's that new hair? I haven't had new hair in so long I can't imagine anything different than long and curly... I think I will cling to my "big" hair for a while longer. Maybe if I get REALLY thin I will try something new and exotic - but then again, maybe not. It took SO many years to grow it out the first time... :mullet: And slow is ok by me. I am pretty sure that I could be happy at 150... but then, I am only 5'5". I will still be plenty curvy and soft at 150. I hope your stress level is a little lower today. Big hugs! When do the urchins take their tests? Patty - thanks for the info on 12th Night. I guess we'll have to try that one out next year... I always love being queen for a day! :moony: I hope you and the boys are well. Hugs! Betty - no numb butt!! You had better get up and jog around the house... Hope your day was a good one! Sorry bout your boy Jeff. :[ But hey, the US pulled a Silver medal in Ice Dancing... that's something, at least! :] Kelly - the party is always on in NJ - even though most of us are from other places!! We are actually getting pretty spread out. Cali, Texas, Michigan, New York... and Jersey, of course! Yep, Eileen & Ira are gracious hosts. There's always hugs for one more.... :mad: I expect all that "stuff" out there will settle down, eventually. Until then, it's just ok to hang out here. Sherry - I hope your first day back to work wasn't too rough. I'm thinking good thoughts for you. Eileen - I caved in to the chocolate craving yesterday, too. *&(%^ hershey's kisses! Must have been something in the air. Big hugs for you and your whole family. I hope Uncle Joe's passing was peaceful. Kim - thanks for posting us on Dianne. We weren't nearly as worried as she was!! I am glad that all is well. Stop by any time! Dianne - HUGS, BABY!! We knew it would all come out all right. Hope you feel better and can post with us soon. Well, my dears - not much going on for me. I went to the docs for my two week post-op - and I have lost not one once... Of course, I have not exercised, I have been less than diligent on my water and I have eaten things I probably shouldn't eat... so I guess I can't complain. I am going to have to get off my duff and get back to the gym... The good news is that my incisions are healing and the doc told me to uncover them this weekend. I have been keeping them well sealed up so that they will scar less. I think I am going to have to PM Nana to see what the heck she put on her scars. I mean Geez - you can't even see them in the bikini shot - and that is what I want. Not that I will probably ever put on a bikini without plastic surgery - but I still don't wan't the scars. I mean, who knows? It might suddenly be come fashionable for old fat ladies to wear crop tops!! LOL! Anyway - Love Youse Guys!! (best jersey accent) xo

Hey, DeLarla - I didn't know I had been promoted to the Biggest Ass - Wow! Thanks!! If we are voting here - I think that we don't need an Adult Content forum or section. I think that the Mods should be encouraged to mark anything they consider to be Adult Content and move anything to the lounge that seems appropriate. While I enjoy a little play as much as the next gal, I don't think we should have a special area that is designated as a Raunch Fest. I haven't felt overwhelmed by Adult Content - but then, I have been busy lately. And people - if you buy into God - then you have to buy into the fact that God created humans, sex and all the other stuff on the planet. Taboo is what we make it. Personal choice is yours. To Read or Not to Read... That is the question. :]

I am wearing a shirt that I couldn't wear last month... It's ALL good.