ReneBean

Hey Y'all! Respiratory Girl - beware - don't give up the NJ secret handshake on this thread!! Something about NJ Chick has drawn a whole mess of Texans and a few other folks to the NJ site to chat. Welcome to our little gang. Ira - those little cocktail weenies are pure Protein, Baby!! And there is usually some cheese kicking around. That's definitely ok. You should be fine... Of course, you could just drink heavily to avoid the food... But somehow that doesn't seem like the best option. I guess maintenance is the best plan.... It's only a month, after all. You'll be fine. No Green Mountain, here. It must be a local or East Coast thing. Re: the eliptical, I just go SLOW, SLOW, SLOW. Every 30 seconds or so, the machine goes into PAUSE mode because it thinks I am stopping... lol. Eventually, my heart will toughen up so that I can maintain the 2.9 to 3 mph pace required to keep the machine officially on... It's good for my knees, too. Cindy, congrats on the fill and the scale movement. You will surely have more of that now that you have yanked the choke chain on your tummy. :] Betty, sounds like you have been busy, too. My pesky co-workers keep finding work for me to do, so I can't even log in until after they all go home. I must confess, though - we skipped the gym last night. DH has a little cold and I was just tired from staying up past my bed-time. I did spend the evening finishing the infamous IKEA shelves. They are all put together and ready to load up. I still have books in boxes from when we moved in 3.5 years ago - so it's about stinkin' time, dontcha think?!? I called our friends at Blue Cross a little bit ago. The poor customer service guy tried to ring my "Grievance Specialist" John for like 10 minutes before he gave up. I have to give him points for trying (or an Oscar for lying). No resolution is noted in the comments and tomorrow is the deadline, so I will be calling them, again.... I really don't know how I am keeping my head attached to my body at this point. Somewhere deep inside, there is loud screaming and gnashing of teeth - but my exterior self seems to be taking this in stride. I guess I really almost don't want to hear the answer, if it is going to be "NO" again... Deep cleansing breaths... tomorrow is another day. Love you guys!! I will check in at the earliest opportunity tomorrow!

Hi Chez! Welcome. 27 lbs since late September? That's fantastic! Keep up the good work... :]

I think you can probably get anything if you order it on-line.... Try www.FitRX.com I can't face food in the morning now, pre-band. I don't know what it will be like once I am banded - but I can't imagine changing a routine that is working. I use Ultramet shakes. The are a "meal replacement" with 50% of the Vitamins you need for the day and 42 grams of Protein. :]

Break out the Hoola-Hoops and let's PLAY!! Playing with kids is a great NSV! I want to play with my Grandkids! Go Kellie! Go!!

Inamed has a service that they offer to doctors to help fight insurance denials. Have your Doctor call Inamed and ask them about that.

Check out the insurance thread too. There are a couple of Obesity Attorney's in "Blue Cross of California" thread.

Hear Ye, Hear Ye! Honorable Citizens of Texas (and anybody else who wants to stop by...), Bubbame (Mary) is coming to Irving.... Since so many of us live in the Dallas area, we are going to have a little get-together and meet each other and Mary. Right now, we are planning on meeting up in the Lobby of the Howard Johnsons in Irving - BUT, if we are going to be more than 10 or 15, we probably need some slightly more formal arrangements. Please RSVP to this thread if you will DEFINITELY be available for lunch at 1pm in Irving on November 5th. (That would be THIS Saturday). If we are going to be a huge group, I will see to making some reservations and stuff for us - and we can meet there. :]

Felicitations!! Hope you had a great day! :]

Whoa. It's days like these that I am proud and happy to be a "Cat Person". Ewweee. Creepy.

Congrats, Piper... How are you doing?

Congrats on your surgery, BigMan. You will have to come to our next Texas Mini-Bash! Hope your port-site feels better, soon. :]

Pat, you look Gorgeous. I don't expect that anyone is laughing! But we definitely want the newest picture asap... Lisa - we work on the honor system, here. You just made it public that today is Day One of your Quest. If you want a constant reminder - you can put your start date in your signature line. Once you make 30 days, we will get you hooked up. Eileen - I had mixed emotions because Dr. Fox indicated that it was likely the insurance company would jerk me around some more.... Several Appeals and all that. That was kind of a bummer. The scale-thing was wonderful and I was pumped about that - hence the mixed emotions. So, how was the coffee? Zan - loved your food list for the island. I guess Pierce Brosnan could replace the Beef on my list... Oh Yeah. So, what was the verdict? Did you gain or lose? Well, last night at the gym I went straight to the evil eliptical machine and made it for 10 minutes before my heart rate got too high. Yippee. Plus, we worked up to 50 minutes of cardio last night. So far, I can't complain about the results of the small changes I have made. Of course, if I continue to lose 8 lbs every 90 days, (I only weigh at the docs office) I will be like 95 years old before I lose all the weight... but I am keeping my fingers crossed for my insurance company to be rational. So far, things are slow here this morning. It's a cloudy humid day in Addison and I will probably spend most of the day studying for a test I have to take (and pass) before the end of the year. It's all about statistical analysis. Lovin' that. Anyway hope everyone is having a fabulous day!

Diane, Honey - we are all thinking good thoughts for you!! You are going to be just fine. Stay tough on the liquids. Alas, Keri - no surgery date, yet. I am bucking the system. I am TRYING to get in just before or just after Thanksgiving - but there is no guarantee that our friends at Blue Cross will agree to pay for the surgery... So, right now, I am just doing all the prep as if they ARE going to approve me and preparing in case they deny me again. Everybody think good thoughts... Maybe this can be my holiday miracle. Cindy - another Mini-bash sounds great! Maybe early in December? I have a vacation scheduled through Dec 4th - but I am available after that. I would love a chance to meet you and Keri and Leatha and Makena... and of course a chance to meet up with Diane & Betty again. Hope everyone is well. :]

So that pesky fat is going away, right? Who cares what you weigh if your clothes fit better? Good Luck!!

Adkins makes one, if you want to go low carb. FitRx.com has what seems like every supplement known to man - at a fairly reasonable price. I have been doing protein shakes for breakfast, just to be sure I have breakfast. Protein is good. :]

I think Obesity Help has a board - but I haven't gotten into that one.

Congrats on getting a surgery date Maggie!! You can stop by and Chat with us in the November Chat thread any time! (until December when we will probably start a new thread!) Welcome to LBT! :]

Gosh, I don't think I have worn a 12 since I WAS 12... Way to go!! I am so happy that things are going great for you! You tell Herman he had better mind his P's & Q's or he is going to have a whole boatload of angry fat women tracking him down! lol! :]

Howdy All! Another day in the salt mines, down. Let's see... This morning I had my first consultation with Dr. Fox. He was very nice. He told me about all the things that a person considering the band needs to know - and I told him that I have been researching here for several months and I just want to get my Blankety Blank insurance company to approve me. He indicated that it is often SEVERAL appeals with insurance and gave me the name of a gal at Lap Band Solutions to call... Best of all, he put me on the scale and I have lost 8 pounds since starting my Breakfast & no snacking after dinner thing. Woo Hoo!! I left feeling pretty mixed emotions. I am hoping for a miracle on the insurance appeal - stupid thing to do - but I can't quite stop myself. Actually the insurance company has until the 13th to respond - which is SUNDAY - so chances are good that no answer will be available until Monday. That won't keep me from calling on Friday, though. The friendly folks at Doc Fox's office did tell me that they had not heard anything about Blue Cross no longer covering bariatric procedures next year - so maybe that information was inaccurate - or maybe it just applies to the state where that particular bandster lives. Of couse, my Blue Cross coverages change after January 1 - so who knows if I will still be eligible. GRRRR. [Whine mode on] I want my band!! I don't care if I have to have the surgery on New Year's Eve. I want my Band. [Whine mode off] So, tonight it's back to the gym - although I am a little whipped. I had to get up early to make the doc's appointment. I had a minor set-back there. Last night, the eliptical bumped my heart rate over the top after only two minutes... I had to stick to the treadmill. I think it was so great on Sunday because I had slept for like 12 hours on Saturday night and I had not eaten for several hours when I got on the machine. Yesterday, I was working on about 6 hrs of sleep and I ate a little dinner right before we left. I will see how it goes tonight, although I don't expect much, since I am already tired. I just wish that it were Friday so I could call to harass the insurance company, again. :]

We need one more - a full body shot of that gorgeous dress... Did you get one of those? Huh? Didja? Huh?

Hey, I had my consulation with Dr. Fox - a great bariatric surgeon. He said that erosion happens in less than 1% of patients... If you take the basic precautions and follow the rules, you should be fine.

Furniture Re-finishing? Walking through a chicken Coop? ok, I am not writing, either - but only because I will be vacationing for the last two weeks of this month. I am strictly here as a cheerleader. Give me a "W"....

OK - here goes 1) Onions 2) Tomatoes 3) Butter 4) Red Bell Peppers 5) garlic 6) cheese 7) Tortillas (or just flour, maybe. I can make my own) 8) Beans 9) Beef 10) chicken I seriously considered switching out the beef for some red chili peppers... I may yet change my mind.

Oh! You should be all banded by now. Hope you have a quick recovery! Happy Band Day!!

Congrat's Ladies, on your surgery dates. I am officially jealous! Welcome Ga_Girl!