WLSResources/ClothingExch

@@NewKarliGirl, some sense of humor you have going on there.

Common standard for doing well with a band is one to two pounds per week. You say you're counting calories, but for all that the statement reveals, you may be counting 4,000 calories each day. For starters, do more than count calories. Track your nutritional intake and the foods and likwids you're actually ingesting. People love My Fitness Pal, which I'm not familiar with, as I use sparkpeople.com's tracker. Get one or two weeks' worth together and take them to an appt (make one) with the RD in your surgery practice. Sitting down with someone who knows the drill will help most. .

That's called an eating disorder. If you're looking for others who do the same so that you feel validated, that's another problem. If you looking for others who do the same to tell you it's a bad thing to do, you don't need them. You already know it or you wouldn't have posted. Take better care of yourself. How do you expect to make it through to the end?

@@Babbs got here first with sentiments I share. I'll say it anyway. I eat food every day, therefore, I do not miss it. I do not miss eating like a mindless beast. I do not miss lying to myself about eating as comfort. The truth is that it's eating in search of a stupor, disconnected from my rightful place in the world.

Wash your mouth with soap. "Only" is a four-letter word. Lost weight is weight lost. Instead of pooh-poohing nine pounds, let shedding them be its own motivation. You worked and you were rewarded. Think. Don't over think. You're fine.

If you do have clearance from your surgeon to begin a more rigorous program and your budget allows, you can arrange a couple of sessions with a trainer at the gym. Then, each time you're ready to step it up, you can have another session. Sparkpeople.com, as @@Pazza mentioned, is also an excellent source. There is so much there that I'll tell you now not to get frustrated. Take your time reading through articles about getting started and reviewing the exercises. You'll find lots of videos on the site, which is important to learning good form. There's even an article in there somewhere about how to choose a personal trainer.

http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/nutrition_articles.asp?id=1963 The question of how much proteein and an equation to calculate it comes up often. The article covers quite a bit. The last paragraph on the first page points out that, when the weight is fat, the equation becomes irrelevant. I'm not recommending anything, as I'm a pro. Just passing it along.

Whew, that should have been "I'm not recommending anything as I'm not a pro." Bring back the forever edit feature! Things could get dangerous.

You are asking BP participants for a prescription. What does that suggest to you? How do you know how "well healed you are?" Feeling well is not necessarily the same as being healed.

You can stress yourself so that you'll feel even "sicker" or you can make a better choice. You won't know anything until your appointment, so put your attention elsewhere until then. Go for a walk or a run or use this time to get into the pool. Paint pictures. Sing and dance. It may be that your band just needs to be loosened a little. In the meantime be sure to follow the old news -- small bites, chew to smithereens, probably avoid acidic foods and the rest of it. That you lost "only" (that's a four-letter word) 65 lbs has no relevance here, since you say nothing about how and what you were doing. Therefore, nothing to say. Best wishes. Swim.

My bariatric practice routinely deducts two pounds for clothes and shoes. I just write whatever their scale says on my pad. It occurred to me long ago that, when you're talking about losing 100 lbs, a couple mean nothing. For the same reason I long ago stopped messing with tenths of pounds. I round up or down to the nearest whole number just as I learned in school.

I have some cardiac concerns, but not what you're describing. You've probably done some online searching, so I won't bring the link here, but I did notice that the Cleveland Clinic suggests that PVC (of which I'd never heard) may be the result of stress and some not-great habits when no heart problem is known. I'm not suggesting that that's your answer, just that it's something to consider.

@@shedo82773, you have school spirit. Oooooh, look at that! I just noticed your weight. You're a heroine.

I've known of Toastmasters for decades, but was never clear on its exact purpose. It sounds like a great organization for socializing, doing fun things even if they may be nervous-making and for gaining confidence and challenging one's self. If it strikes a chord with anyone, performers, especially comedians, often talk about being shy from childhood into adulthood. Getting up on stage is a way of connecting with people and shouting "Look at me!"

There's nothing like a little 'smother love' from sisters and others who love us. It seems that you hesitate to let people know what you need so that you can get the most from communicating with them. Don't shortchange yourself that way. A friend who is deaf and has implants lets the people she's with know what she needs. "You sit here, you sit there. You -- look up at me so that the sound comes this way and I can do some lipreading when necessary [if in a noisy place, for example]. When she misses a remark, she asks for a repeat. Sure, some places are too noisy, so there's little to be done. At those times, she lets the others enjoy the conversation and she entertains herself with people-watching. When she goes out with anyone (date or otherwise) for the first few times, she's specific about places that aren't especially loud. By making her status known, she's very much a part of the company and the others get to enjoy her all the more. Your roommate has issues, but that's a different topic.

Heather! You've given yourself the magnificent gift of fabulousness. You'll maintain, no doubt..

Wait, wait, wait. To be fair to Dee-Dee, she did not say that she treats patients. The rest holds.

Ptish-tosh. C'mon, folks, let's pretend to be grown-ups. This isn't the least entertaining. Will "run along" do it? Just kidding you. You know it.

Huh? The very fact of being here is an "admission" of being human and making mistakes or at least needing an aid [in the form of surgery] or aid. Resorting to colace or other products, including laxatives, for other than their intended purposes, is cause for concern. They are among the signs of serious eating disorders. I hope for your sake that they're not part of your history and that this was a one-time thing. If your goal was to put one over on the surgeon, you're the only one who may be affected.

Raenh, I don't really know the answer to your puzzle. It seems to me that, if you've had enough conversation with this man to think he's at least a nice person, there's no reason not to challenge yourself and maybe even enjoy yourself (what a concept!) over a beer with him. If it hadn't occurred to you that he seems nice and you still have no basis to think so, skip it. The idea is to get a little more socializing under your belt. The part about being nice to someone and having him end up thinking you have some romantic interest is a trap we're all -- men and women -- subject to. Of course we're nice to people we're socializing with, but being nice and flirting are two different animals. It's unfortunate that it's sometimes difficult to know the difference. The best solution I can come up with is ... none. There's always the risk that someone will be disappointed. I see no problem letting him pay for one beer. It's only a few dollars. If you're enjoying the time with him enough to stay for a second, tell him you'll cover the round. If he insists, remind him that friends reciprocate. If he still insists, let him pay. The tab still isn't high enough to fuss over. Should you think, "hey, he's a good guy," and would get together for a friendly beer or something again, announce in advance that next time is on you. Then just see how the whole thing plays out. If you really are a little socially inept, so be it. Few people can say they've never been awkward. On the subject of social ineptitude, your roommate sounds like a champ. If you think you don't know how to spend time with a man as friends, consider that he can't even spend friend time with you in public! Whatever you do, don't take lessons from him. It'll be cool if more of the men around here give their views.

@@bgood597, there's nothing to add to what @@LipstickLady wrote, but I will anyway. Folks in the surgery practices have heard it all before. If you want to reverse direction so that you resume losing weight -- that is, if you want to succeed -- they want to back you up. They know about your thyroid, right? They'll include it in blood work. Let them know about depression, too. If you're in treatment for depression with or without meds, take it up with whomever you see. ---------------------- P.S. You added this as I was typing, so now there is something to add: "I am ashamed to look at myself. I'm ashamed of judgment." That definitely sounds like depression speaking. No one is judging or will judge you. You don't have to feel this way. You have done nothing to feel ashamed of. You're experiencing medical and emotional effects that the universe tossed into your lap. Good help is available. You can do this.