ReneBean

It is literally like sand in an hourglass. Anything bigger than sand would get stuck - but even sand can't all run out at once. You get full - but the food can still pass on to where it needs to go to be digested. Make sense? The band has turned your stomache into a biological hourglass. :]

Hey there are three commercially available types of protein: Whey (milk) Soy (Soybeans/vegetable) Albumin (eggs) Whether one is better than another, I don't know - but I don't think there is a substantial difference. Some of the body-builder type products offer a blend of two or three - if you are concerned. Maybe some of our more protein/nutrition educated bandsters will comment. Good Luck!!

And shame on anyone who complained that you were boasting!!! Girl, you have every right to shout from the rooftops. Kick @$$!!! 50 lbs is something to brag about!! You can bet you folks will hear from me when I hit that goal!! Huge hugs and keep up the great work!!

Good Luck!! It felt like I was never going to get a band, either - but I did, and you will too. Great work with getting to the gym. You get a gold star. :]

What sweeties they are!! I have never yet gone looking for a pet - they always find me... Maybe these two have found you. I think people that mistreat pets should be hurt - severely. If you aren't going to love and care for an animal - you should never have it to begin with. Abusing pets ranks right up there with abusing children - as far as I am concerned. I hope that, whether you keep them or not, you get all the good karma you deserve for rescuing them. :]

Again, The Phantom appears... Hey Y'all... I was SOOOOO horridly busy at work this week that I couldn't even make it to the boards... and when I got home, it was late and I was tired. I thought of you often and missed you guys the whole time. Patty - I guess your job was Heaven sent - Angel included. Who could ask for more? I hope that all the stupid stuff gets sorted out soon. I don't know if anybody has celebrated 12th night in the US ever. It's an old, old holiday. Shakespeare wrote a play about it - but that's most all I know. Have fun researching that. Maybe it's a good one that we should bring back into fashion... :] Betty - No, I am not doing anything I can't talk about - we were just out running around yesterday. Dang it was COLD. We went to Fry's Electronics in search of a spare cord for my lap-top - but ended up finding it at Radio Shack. And we also hit Walmart for some stuff. DH wanted varnish for the kitchen cart we picked up at Ikea on our last trip and I needed some more low-carb shakes and SF pudding. By the time we got back, I just wanted to veg out. Ira - hopefully that 2nd fill will do the trick - but if you lose restriction again, you get on back to those docs and make them put some contrast in there and check for leaks. We don't want any back-sliding on your progress due to technical difficulties... You are our favorite LapBand Poster Dude!! Besides - you are SOOOOO close to goal. Eileenie - I'm Guinea Pig for a couple of folks at my office, too. Happy to do it, too. And I have decided I am going to forego guilt over food from now on. If I want pepperoni crackers, I am going to eat them. So long as I am losing weight, I am not going to "diet" per se. I will just be sure to get my nutrition stuff in and then eat whatever I want in moderation. Oh and anybody who volunteers to clean at Eileenies is welcome to come here, too. DH is a fab cook - but a lousy housekeeper. Fortunately his other skills compensate for the housekeeping... (is that tmi?!?) Oh, and Eileen - you are failing in your duties as a Mom if you don't get your @$$ into the docs for your Girlie exam. No excuses - JUST DO IT. Even I, the worst person ever about going to the docs, has had a recent girlie exam! Sherry - (you know, I always want to call you Sherry Baby - but I am betting you have had your fill of that in your lifetime...) - I had that pulling thing too. It was awful and it caused pain I could do without. It was just the infamous panni pulling on everything. I solved the problem by pulling on my comfiest girdle and keeping it on. It's not really tight - it just keeps everything from moving around too much. I have been wearing a girdle 24/7 since surgery - to keep those panni pains at bay AND to give my skin a fighting chance of shrinking with the weightloss. I have been wearing a sports bra when I am not wearing the regular one... Bestform makes a nice comfy one for big girls that slips on over your head - no tags and nice cotton/spandex. I told my DH that I am a superhero, fighting the evils of gravity. I hope you feel much better, soon. I hate the thought of you having to go back to work feeling so poorly. Get lots of rest. xo. Anne - I agree - and entire forum for XXX would cause a plethora of threads to appear. I guess I just want to see this site be mostly about the band - but since our thread runs wildly in many directions, I really I can't... :]. Of course, our thread stays largely in the area of support - if not just for the band, it is still support - so maybe I can get away with saying that this site should be about supporting each other in all areas with emphasis on the band. In the mean time, I guess I will just read what I have time for (which isn't much, these days) and respond to whatever I feel I can contribute to... A little ribald fun is one thing - but sometimes it does venture into the Gross and Tasteless... Cindy - Big Hugs!! I hope you get through all the testing and stuff without a breakdown. You cry, and vent and do anything else that you need to do here. That's all that is keeping us sane. And that Heart of Gold shines through - even when you are being a smart ass. :] And how tall are you? I am thinking maybe my goal of 150 is too low. I know that the last time I was down around 200 I looked pretty good. Hmmm. I am going to have to ponder that mystery. Of course, at 150, I think the charts will still show me as Obese - by like a pound or something. Geesh! Oh, and Cindy - STOP IT!!! I moved here to get AWY from the cold!! I can hibernate even if it's warm outside... and so can you!! :] Pat - I must confess, I still don't have all the stuff that we bought at Ikea put together yet... At least two bookcases remain in boxes... And Eagles are awesome. We were at the Oregon coast one year - parked on a lookout pointed out to the ocean - and a huge eagle rode a cliff current up right in front of us. It was really cool. Of course, we didn't have a camera or anything - but it was great to see. Of course, we don't feed birds at my house. Luring innocent birds into a cat's yard is not exactly acceptable, in my book. We still get a ton of birds though. Thankfully, my cats have no front claws and the birds are pretty sharp. We have only found one feathery carcass, so far. I don't want to hear one word about how de-clawed cats are defenseless. I have seen my cats catch both mice and birds with no front claws. I have had my share of scratches from playing with them and they can still put up a respectable fight against the neighbor's cat who has recently decided that he likes OUR food dish better than his own. Anyway, I hope you get a picture of your eagle. I would like to see it. Dianne - Codeine is clearly not your friend!! I hope you get rid of that medication! I am glad you had a good time with GMA. Keep your chin up about DH's meeting with the boss. Maybe he is going to get a raise or something. Maybe an increase in bonus? Hopefully it will all be for the good. I love the Personality thing. So funny. I guess they can't teach that bedside manner stuff. It's nice that you and the nurse hit it off, though. The docs are important - but it's the nurses who will be there after the deed is done. Zan - I hope you are having a great time. Check in when you get a minute. You know, Even when I don't have the time to come visit, it comforts me to know that there are folks out there thinking good thoughts about me. I hope all of you know that I am thinking good thoughts about you - even when I am not checking in. Love & Hugs Irene

Good Luck, Audra! If you haven't heard anything within a week, I would call again. :]

OK, so they were the most expensive 40 lbs you ever lost... $412.50 a pound. I have no idea how that stacks up against liposuction - but I bet it's comparable. Sorry, Dude. It really sucks! I hope that your insurance does come through for you. You deserve the best!

Same Sh*t, Different day. Sherry, the day AFTER the surgery was the worst for me - that is when the anesthia (sp) wore off and I felt the joy of my incisions... But I just took lots of Elixer and slept through it! Hope you start to feel lots better, soon. Pat - you ought to be able to grow the flowers in VA... We used to have them in Oregon - so I betcha you can. They are pretty, aren't they? And your ring is pretty, too. I couldn't wear that big pretty rock, though. I would be cutting people and breaking things... I love my ring because it doesn't catch or snag on anything. I am just a big ol' clutz. Betty - hope you had fun outdoors. And those low-ride pants are not for me, either. ICK. Maybe if I had a 12 yr old boy body... But that ain't going to happen in THIS lifetime! DH is making me some yummy taters and gravy for dinner... mmmmm Patty - sorry about the BP thing (AGAIN!!). I can't believe that chick wants to hear about treatment for a problem that doesn't really exist... But even if it did - the WLS should help that immensly. Eileenie - I envy you having just ONE boss that actually goes away once in a while... It seems like EVERYONE around here has a say in what and when I do things - and they never ALL leave except after five! Cindy - ok, ok... I will try to get a full head shot soon in deference to you and Pat... :] Dianne - hope your ankle feels better, soon. You want to be able to keep up with Granny!! Pet the puppy for me. :] Hope everybody is doing great! I am starting to notice some little things... the seatbelt doesn't have to be fully extended to reach around any more... and I am wearing a shirt that my Mom gave me that was just THAT much too tight for public exposure last month... I am on my way!! :]

hey you guys - it's me, the phantom... I promised I would make time - and I did - but only enought to read - not enought to write everyone. I am healing up well - now sneezing is just a dull ache. It's only rolling over in bed that still causes that gasp of pain. Soon, even that will be a memory. Sherry - CONGRATS!!! I hope you heal up as fast as I have!! Hugs! Patty, HUGE HUGS!! Everybody else - love you. Talk to you soon, really.... :]

Yes, Friends - those are my parents in the photo near the flowers. Just fyi. Well, I don't even have time to read all of this post today, much less read all the negative stuff. Bummer about that. Glad I missed it! Anyway, I hope everyone is well. I am doing great - and it only hurts when I cough or sneeze - so I am healing up well. I will find more time tomorrow. Love you guys!!

And here are the beautiful flowers from Eileenie:

Gosh you guys! Work was so busy that I didn't have any time to visit here, today... But I promised pictures, so here they are: Anne's Gift: Just call me "pretty in pink"

My favorite response is "gosh, I can always lose weight, but you will be an ASS for life. So sad..." or, if you want to haunt them for days: "Bad Karma's a Bitch, Baby". Then every time anything unpleasant happens to them they can think of that fat chick they insulted at the bar... I just figure that nobody can say anything to me worse than what I have thought about myself. It may be that he was referring to the late thing - but whatever the reference - do talk to the managers or owners of the place. Even a relative will get chastised for that. Trust me, maybe MORE than a "regular employee" would get for the same thing. Dawg - STOP - laughing still hurts... lol - ouch - lol...

I have my fingers crossed for a quick approval. Good Luck! And welcome to LBT!

Welcome Theodore! (In the US we call Theodore "Ted" or "Teddy" for short - are you ok with that?) Congrats on your new band! Am I reading that date correctly? Feb 7th, 2006? That's the day after mine. Hope you are feeling as well as I am. :]

Hi Newbies! Welcome to LBT. For those of you asking if we are getting your msgs - you may need to start your own new threads to get the responses you want. Go to the main forums page - pick a forum and click on it. Look at the top left for the New Thread button and click it. If you start your own new thread, people will respond to you. If you try and piggyback on someone elses thread, people may not. That piggybacking is called "Hijacking" and the most common response to that is for everyone to ignore you and respond to the original poster's question. Just so you know. :] As for the weight loss being faster or slower than you expect - it all depends on what you expect. LapBand "Normal" or "average" weightloss is expected to be 1-2 pounds a week - 52-104 pounds a year. If this is what you expect, then you probably won't be dissappointed - but some folks do lose more slowly than other. Search for "turtle" and read up on Turtles and Rabbits. Alcohol is ok - carbonation is not. That is what most of the folks say their doctors told them. Ask YOUR doctor, or your Nutritionist. As far as telling or not - it's a personal choice. If you don't want to tell, it is certainly easy enough to do the band thing without the world knowing. Welcome & Good Luck to all of you. :]

scales are such liars anyway. I am only going to count my weightloss as "Official" from my Doc's scale at his office. My scale at home is off about 2 lbts from the scale at the surgery center. They are all different. Who knows how it will rank against my doc's office scale. Good luck with the new scale! :]

My Doc told me he wanted me home for a full week - BUT - I had surgery Monday, and I feel like I could have made it through a day of work today. Ask your doc. If you take more than 2-3 days you will need a letter from him for your HR dept anyway... :]

food at work and food for "emergencies" are not really the same thing. Food at work is easy. I have always kept oatmeal and miscelaneous canned things in my desk. I haven't really got a plan for emergencies, though. In TX it gets too hot to leave even canned food in the car - so I am at a loss. I guess I will have to get a Protein bar to shove into the bottom of my purse. I'm with Susan/Photonut - 100 calorie packs only work if you can stop after 1 - so none of those for me! Anybody have any better suggestions for Travel Food that will keep in a car at 150 degrees?

Congrats and Welcome!!

Congrats on the new Band, and the new Baby! Soon enough, you will have to change your screen name to Going Down... (or maybe something like that with less connotations... lol!) Sorry about the hospital. The gas is fun, isn't it? Hopefully it isn't the painful kind. Good Luck and Take Care!!!

Congratulations and Felicitations! Welcome to LBT!

Congrats on the Approval. Try to lay off the dancing until that ankle is healed! :]

Hi Yvonne!! Welcome to LBT. Good Luck with your band. Yee'll be a wee lassie in no time! :]