WLSResources/ClothingExch

He picked the kiss and I gave it to him on your behalf!! Heheehe Thank you! I'm so glad you could make it real. Between you and me, F2P, the idea of steak and potato in the blender makes me queasy. A thousand years ago when I was inpatient for appendectomy, I felt hungry after a couple of days on IV and suggested pizza in a blender. It sounded okay then, but queasy-making now. You are a loving partner and he's lucky. I've seen your screen name around, but not the Kentucky connection. I wish you both all the best as partners in crime and all else.

@@Stevehud, I heard you hollerin' all the way down here. It sounded good, Champ.

I don't remember. That's the best part.

@@Fatty McFatster, My dear FMF, you don't need cake and ice cream when you can have a birthday kiss on the noggin from moi. Or, to put it another way, "Pick one." [And be careful of what you say.] Many more to you. @@liannatx, a very merry UnBirthday to you! Only a day late. Don't be shy next year, okay?

"I can do anything for seven days." Repeat as often as... Stay occupied.

@@Sharon1964, in that case, you are double-wonderful at three-quarters the weight.

@@gowalking, the new ER at NYU is amazing. (I was there in May after being injured in an accident.) @@meggs353 -- I'm certainly not qualified to advise on whether you should go straight to NYU today or if you can wait for Monday. It occurs to me, though, that you might want to call ahead to be sure the ER has the needle and someone who is able to extract some of the saline. If not they may want to keep you overnight in order to put you on IV for hydration. I have no idea how long a person can be without hydration. It's a Huber needle, isn't it?

I don't see signatures, but you have an honest face. Therefore, I believe you. You are wonderful.

@@fly-high, ditch the old clothes and you'll fly higher. I don't think people keep the old, enormous things thinking they'll regain the weight, but because of an unspoken, half-conscious decision to regain. Lots of people also keep one or two items so that, down the line, they can hold them up and marvel or put them on and see them wrap around three times. If you think you'll take some satisfaction in that, go right ahead. My own thought is to get rid of everything because I'll never forget where I started anyway. Rather than taking everything to Salvation Army, you might do a little research for a local organization that provides interview- and work-appropriate clothing at no charge to underprivileged men entering or re-entering the workforce. These would be men who are completing job-training programs of various sorts. If their training programs don't have a clothing component, they are referred to such a non-profit. Congratulations on your success.

Dairy absolutely has a place in weight loss. Like many things, though, moderation is advised, given the calories and saturated fat and sodium content. My mouth thinks that dairy is a reason to live.

This is something to discuss with your gyn.

Is there no hospital in or near enough Beckley that does bariatric surgery? If you haven't actually checked, do call to ask if they have support groups. Most welcome people who have had surgery elsewhere.

@@Dancing Fool, whatever you do, continue to do it alliteratively. At least, change the subject and admiration of the food with your native wit and charm. I suspect that people don't really want to make food worship the focus of the get-together; somehow we've been trained to think it's expected by the host or we have nothing else to say for ourselves. Bring up whatever topics you would talk about in social settings any other time. You'll probably be greatly appreciated for it.

You already surpass it. Diamond is my birthstone. Take notes. I saw the movie for the first time ever this past week on TV. Maybe I'm too old for a first time, but Dick Van Dyke's younger physicality is always a treat.

@@JupiterinVirgo -- I'm not sure that some of the respondents are familiar with your other questions. I think it's important to stress that exercise must be part of a healthful, aware, realistic, grounded, overall approach to weight-loss.

@@JupiterinVirgo, because you're talking like someone who has the potential to endanger herself in the name of weight-loss, I'll skip the coddling. If improved health had anything to do with your decision to undergo surgery, you should be aware that you seem to have lost sight of that. When you wrote about wanting enemas to speed weight loss, you left out the fact that you've been losing 4 1/2 pounds a week. I think you would do well to alight on Earth, attend your practice's support group to discuss your thinking, and perhaps see a therapist who has particular experience with weight and body-image issues. Don't you want to lose weight in a safe, healthful manner?

@@songsmith -- That's fine as long as you pile on the jewelry, as gaudy and as elegant as you've got. Gaudy and elegant together, as a matter of fact.

You always have a reason: "Because I want to wear an evening dress." Your assignment: Wear an evening dress or at least a cocktail dress the next time you have leftovers for dinner and stay in to watch TV. After than, take your show on the road. If you watch the Oscars, dress for the red carpet. I mean it.

Lack of standardized labeling is one thing, but criminality in labeling is another. Let's parse this: We're fat and, therefore, we're stupid? How insulting do manufacturers have to be before they're satisfied? To attach 14 and 16 labels for a woman who weighs 240 is beyond the beyond. (I'm squawking about them, not you, @psychprof.) Around 40 years ago when I weighed 160-170ish, most of my things (dresses, shirts, pants, et al.) from most manufacturers were marked as 16's.

@@strawberiegirl, I'm sorry that you've been having such a miserable time. How long have you had your band? What have you been doing for follow-up care since band surgery in Mexico? If you reply, start by clicking the little blue "mention" under my i.d. info or I'll never know that you replied.

@@jembell01, you can do this. You are JemBell the First. Plan family dinners ahead and make them what you need to be eating now. Let the kids be your "deputies" so that they're on board with important jobs to do. If they're young enough, pin some sort of badges on them. Your husband is on your side and will be happy with whatever. Beside, it will all be tasty.

That's a half-joke, right? Perfect. It works well only when two people who have disregard for each other jump into one bed. Anyone else, don't try this at home. My 30-year old appendectomy incision isn't at all the usual, low, 3-inch horizontal cut. The surgeon did some exploratory, as pre-tests showed gallstones and something else, so I have an approx eight-inch vertical cut starting above the belly button and running down alongside and below it. (Had I known then what I know now, I would not have consented to anything but the traditional incision). It's quite a scar. In the first two years after, when I still couldn't look at it myself, I'd explain to those who saw it that I performed my own emergency appendectomy while camping in the back country of Yellowstone. They believed me. You can get away with anything if you say it with a straight face or a smile, depending on the subject matter.

You're not describing what sounds at all like an "issue." Not all incisions and subsequent scarring are identical and yours does not sound out of the ordinary. As it's only a week old, it's also too soon to know how it will change over the next few months, but it won't become more prominent than it is now.

There's nothing I can add to what all the others have said, so I'm here just to let you know that you have East Coast support. The transformation goes way beyond the scale.