NewLife'sGr8

* auto-correct sux sometimes... I meant to type: ...the more we WALK... and ...STRAPPY shoes....

2 things I know for sure: - Our noses grow as we age - Feet get wider the more we wall barefoot That said, my own personal nose can't afford to get any bigger! It's always been big & bulbous. Now, it takes up 1/3 of my face (as I see it-though we don't always see ourselves the way others do). To me, it looks bigger because I'm far less 'cheeky' than I used to be so the overall face-width doesn't offset the wide bulbous nose. I wish there was a nose-band to get rid of it like the Realize band got rid of the other wide-spots around my bod. My feet stayed the same size but the Mary Jane & stripy shoes no longer have foot-goo pushing up over the edges resulting in less indented red marks on my feet at the end of the day. Thankfully, I didn't have to buy wide but I was more comfy in wider shoes/boots like Uggs. Another NSV was when I could see the defined tendons on the tops of my feet, and my ankle bones are well defined- & not just a skin-bump there anymore Fingers & toes are slimmer & appear longer. I can see the tendons are defined and also there's a bone at the base of my hands, at the bottoms of my thumbs, that sticks out & my wrist bone pops way out too. I've been shifting rings to bigger fingers - and they still spin around. When they start falling of my thumbs, I'll resize them. ha

I'm sorry to read about your symptoms and food poisoning. *hugs I hope they find the problem, fix it and get you back on the road to good health again. I'm sorry my band is still installed so I can't offer any advise. I do have a question: What's swallow Vasovagal syncope? I've never heard of it.

Congrats on your BandAversary, Chica Bonita! You look amAZE!

If it's a fill- you know it. They jab that needle right into your stomach to the port. There's no way not to know In the beginning, you won't feel a restriction and be ravenous until they fill it to close to your sweet spot. If you want to see how they do it and how much fill you have or are getting ASK the doc to show you before/after he fills you. Personally, I watch what's going on rather than stare at the ceiling. the more inquisitive you are at the more you'll be 'connected' with your band.

No pain nor discomfort during the first 3-5 fills. No prob. ever, swallowing the Water after the fill. Keep to the post-fill instructions. It will be inflamed. Frustrating time. You'll feel ravenous without much/any restriction- yet. be patient during this time.

Congrats on your milestone and for the visual sharing of your success. Thank you for this inspiring, thought filled post. It made me ponder my own journey; how I did it, what I'm doing now, and where I want to go. Best wishes for continued successes

AvaFern You are SO right!

No NSAIDS for me either. Bummer! Curcumin, Vita D3, The enzyme in hot peppers, pepper (red, white, black), Omega3's ALL have anti-inflammatory properties. Also, eating an ALKALINE diet (as opposed to acidic) also reduces inflammation. Google it for details on which foods are alkaline and which are acidic. Ice & heat packs reduce inflammation. Re: exercise- I had long "run" with ortho injuries too. Bummer 2 There's always SOMETHING you can do, regardless of level of incapacity. My suggestion is to see if you can get a SPORTS MEDICINE PT RX approved by your ins co. Your 1st appt will be with a DOCTOR of PT. Ask them to give you a series of exercises you can do as a runner, now unable to run. They got you! Trust me, they are awesome! Highly skilled & trained in hi-tech biological responses to various "input" (exercises/manipulations) & will keep you top-notch (better than you could do for yourself running alone). Also ask for re-integration & re-injury prevention exercises/program to ease your way back into SAFE running when/if you're able & ready. My take-home: Bummers aren't the end of us as we know. They're obstacles to overcome or circumvent to get to who we're meant to be. Sometimes the universe thumps us down (re-balances us) for being over-achievers and losing focus of what really matters. You'll get through this better than you were before. Best luck

So, I've posted comments about making broth-bases in a few threads.This is a correction/ revision to what I've posted about making beef broth from bones. I posted that I don't skim the fat off the broth after boiling, because there's a negligible amount per serving in the finished product (Soup or au jus) if you make a big vat. It's been a long time since I've made beef broth, so I thought since I've been posting about it and it's that time of year, I'd make some. I do save and freeze steak bones and when making beef broth from these bones, it's true, the total fat is negligible per serving when making big vats from these. Since I don't eat that many steaks and my household has shrunk with the kids on their own, there's just not enough bones to make beef broth with- so I buy marrow bones. *HERE'S THE CORRECTION: I'd forgotten, marrow bones do have a LOT of fat that leeches into the broth. I definitely recommend skimming off the fat at the end of beef marrow-bone, broth-production, before freezing. Sorry if I misled anyone. It wasn't intentional.

It's wonderful to see so many making good Halloween choices! Kudos! My Halloween plan was to save money by buying early at the big box store to get much better pricing, larger quantity, and they had a really good coupon- big-time money-saving Halloween- Yay! I bought a giant mixed bag of those itsy-bitsy, teeny-weeny, popular, commercial (lots of additives) milk-chocolate-based candy bars. I, of course, had 'evolved' past any desire for 0-nutritional value, over-sugared, commercial milk chocolate- Now only eating good-quality dark chocolate to satisfy my choco-attacks. What a GOOD GIRL I am! Ha! ...and there it was, calling to me, loudly, from the pantry every night. We hit the bag- just a couple- late nights. That evolved into: Well, 3, 4, 5, 6 teeny weenies don't even add up to one regular-sized candy bar. It's not like I'm eating a full candy bar (every night). When all the 'good' ones were gone, only malt balls were left. I really don't like malt balls. Never did. We ate those too. This whole self-sabotage 'project' was over the course about 2.5 weeks. Candyless, and with Halloween just around the corner, next trip to big box store, I bought three big bags of pretzels in little bags to pass out. I have no interest in eating pretzels- at all. Interestingly, I suggested we buy pretzels at that first round of halloween candy- buying & my companion said," Yea, but are the kids going to want chocolate? Or pretzels? I caved and bought the candy (peer pressure). I wish I'd been stronger. Post Halloween, only about 28 little bags were passed out and I'm left with a huge, floor-sized basket full of little pretzel-bags & about 2.5lbs up. Tally: I spent double the money, even with coupon. I filled myself with unnecessary guilt & loathing I loaded sugar, which made me crave more sugar. Vicious cycle to get out of. Now, I Need to spend even more money (like $30) for a body-cleanse to help detox sugar I have enough pretzels to last me 3-5yrs. I hate wasting food & money My weight is up 2.5lbs with Thanksgiving, Xmas, & New Years right around the corner. It'll be that much harder to A) Get rid of the added weight and keep losing weight through the holidays. Lesson Learned: I come first! Doesn't matter what the kiddies prefer to get on Halloween. They're going to be zinged-out from sugar whether or not I pass out pretzels. Bonus Take-Home Lesson: I'm not contributing to the global obesity problem if I pass out pretzels.

I've flown with no problems at all. Everyone's band-sensitivities are different. Don't remember doc giving me special flying instructions back in '09 when I was banded. I'm pretty sure You can bring sealed, unopened liquids in your carry-on. Muscle Milk Protein shake is sold in most convenience & grocery stores pre-mixed. It's pretty good tasting & has a lot of added Vitamins in it. It's also what I buy for road trips. Easy meal, not messy & satisfying. I've stopped at restaurant/lounge on layovers for cocktail & meal- unrestricted as to what I eat except for the quantity restricted by my ban. I make good, healthy food choices- usually lol. They have some fairly healthy options at these places near the gates and also at this quick grab-n-go coffee shops w/ sandwiches, yogurt, salads, etc. One of these quick stops near the gate (forget the name) has smoothies, and you can ask to add a scoop of protein powder. THAT was a great find! I think the issue with flying for bandsters is cabin pressurization. I've noticed when I bring a sealed Water bottle in carry-on, it looks "squeezed out"/ crumpled- sort of like when they squeeze plastic milk bottles- indented like- but more so in flight. I imagine pressurization has a similar effect on the liquid-filled, plastic band. It's never a good idea for banders to eat until full. It's probably best to keep it light in-flight. Another reason why I eat light is, I wouldn't want something to get stuck & have to run to ladies' room to purge- and (horrors!) miss my flight.

I've had trouble eating / keeping eggs down too. I think it's because they're rubbery-ish (whites) When I follow instructions and chew until mush, I found I can enjoy eating them again. Word of caution: Sometimes if I feel ravenous or cooking Breakfast for visiting friends/family, I cook two for myself as well. Every darn time, I can only eat one! (huge problem, huh?lol) Even if you think you can get two in in one sitting, thick twice, cook one. lol Of course, everyone's different so maybe some of you can get two in... Two or one, I LUV the yolk best. Moreover, I'm thrilled to be free from being a slave to all those: eggs are good/ eggs are bad/ eggs are good again scientific study BS! Weeeeeeeeeeeeee @ I'm freeeeeeeeeeeeee...!

eggs, made by any method are thee best Protein source available. The yolks have cholesterol but the good kind, plus a lot of other nutrients. I eat the whole egg. WLS is more of a 'diet' of restriction. It's not like ALL that other 'diet learning' we were indoctrinated with: No carbs, no fats, no sugars... etc.. We now simply can't eat nearly as much quantity as we used to. Therefore, I eat mostly what I like (within reason- no cakes/candy etc). I enjoy it to its fullest and feel satisfied and content that as long as I can't eat as much, I will continue to lose weight. I've been making healthy food choices for a long long time. My prob was quantity- never feeling full/ always hungry. Of course, anyone can 'eat through' the restrictions. I tend to not set myself up for failure & focus on Dr's instructions for my new life: Eat whole foods, not sliders; don't drink high calorie liquids, stop eating at satisfied, etc Enjoy the whole darn egg, forever more!

I admire runners. So sleek and dedicated. Congrats on your NSV & for your transformation. Best wishes for your continued success

Wow! What a transformation! You look fabulous! *applause @ your success I'll bet you're tickled to death with your new lighter self Thank you for sharing your infectious excitement and transformation pics Keep us posted

Interesting thread

LUV the sounds of these pumpkin-y fall recipes! I'm going to try some of them for sure. That pumpkin parfait made me drool. lol

Just saying: Most Mexicans say they wouldn't have a drug problem if AMERICANS stopped using. That said, I'm still very cautious about 'surgical tourism'. I keep seeing a lot of botched up surgeries from Mexico on that show BOTCHED. Scary. Really scary. One woman, whose Va-JJ ended up way up on her belly said the anesthesia used was a block of ice- that's it. I would FREAK! Is the savings really worth the risk once you factor in air & ground travel expenses & rehab lodging? I'm not judging. Just asking because I really don't know what the International costs are compared to costs of doing it here in America. And I'm researching WL plastics now, for when I reach goal-weight or pref. under and have maintained it for awhile. I would HATE to go in too soon & have to do any of this, twice.

Yummy sounding soup base & jish it up tweaks. I would make a lot of it and freeze it, and then add the tweaks according to what we feel like eating on any particular night. I like a grab n go lifestyle- keep it simple, so I pre-prep a lot of foods and freeze them pre-portioned in zip bags (they stack well). Also, I eat for nutritional value (=satiety) so don't buy or eat much processed food. ex: Bread- I get the 12-15 grain kind, dry Cereal is Mesa Sunrise; qionoa, flaxseed, amaranth & corn grain-blend, my 'chips' are Riceworks; baked wild rice chips (so yum). I do buy flash-frozen fruits & begs with no added anything. I like home cooked meals. I like to make them but not everyday. I did that 3x's/day-7days/week-365 for 22years. So now I have cooking days. No particular day, just when I feel like or when I'm running low on freezer-portions. One example I do is roast whole chickens or small turkeys, eat them hot, and cut up for leftovers, sammies etc, as usual, then put the carcasses in a bag in the freeze. Then, when I feel like it, I take out whatever carcasses are in there and boil them up in a big vat of Water and then freeze the broth in gallon freeze zip bags for use whenever I want to make soup later on. I freeze vegetable ends, pieces & peels for veg broth (toss the vegs in the trash or compost after boiling). For beef soup, I do freeze bones if we have T-Bone steak to bone-in cuts but we don't have those often enough to make a big vat of broth. Usually, I just get those marrow bones at the butcher case, give a couple to the dogs & boil the rest for broth. Sometimes I add veggies to flavor the broth but throw away the cooked veg cuz basically, I want clear broths. For great flavored broths, simmer on low for a day or two. It leeches all the nutrients & flavor out of the bones and really intensifies the flavor if you reduce the volume by 1/4 or 1/2 (boil it down). This way, I know exactly what's in the broth & what I'm putting in my bod. FYI: I don't skim whatever fat is in the broth because once the bones are reduced to carcases, there's very little fat left on the birds- tiny little bit & very little skin left on after being fairly well though not completely picked over. Any fat grams per serving are negligible when making large quantities to freeze plus the little bit of fat left adds to the overall flavor. when making the actual soup, I throw in chicken breast or thigh or portioned out beef, or whole cuts - frozen & let them defrost & cook in the soup = increased flavor. Don't use frosted or freezer-burned meats of course. Then, when it looks cooked, I take out the meat and cut it up into soup-sized chunks & plop em back in the broth just before adding veggies, starches & seasonings. I package everything I cook in individual serving snack & sammie zip bags & freeze, to grab n go to work or heat at home on those days i don't want to cook. I make big pans and crock pots of every meal I make & do the same; portion & freeze. Healthy & in accordance with the WL diet for life & in the right measured amounts. No calorie counting! This gets me through, Particularly in the fall & winter. When I'm ravenous & could eat the bark off a tree, I grab a ready-made frozen meal that I made- that's good for me & my family.

I was told Clear Liquids first 1-2 days, then light soups for a day or two, then Protein shakes & soft foods like cottage cheese, then soft foods like eggs, then ease back to whole foods slowly & chew until mush forever more. If I felt like something was 'sticking' then back off to the previous phase for another day or two.