Apples2

OMG...that would be great. We are leaving home around Jan 1 and taking 2 weeks to get down there (going to do lots of fun stuff on the way down. Have museums, etc. chosen to stop and see). We rented a cabin in the Ocala National Forest from 1/15/08 through 2/15/08. Would absolutely love to meet up with you! We'll talk about it the closer the time gets. Wow...how exciting!

Congrats on the great NSV, Katies. I bet you felt 20 yrs younger on you vacation. We spend a lot of time in FL but have never been to the Keys. Plan on putting some time at the Keys in Jan or Feb. We have a son that can fly us there and pick us up again so we don't have to do the drive from Ocala. Would love to parasail but not sure if I should. Did the sling shot a couple of years ago while in FL (shot me 360' in the air) and had trouble with verdigo after that for about 9 months.

Janet, makes me happy to see you back on the forum. Nothing I can say except I've been thinking of you at this terrible time and just know you have so many people here that care for you. Peace.

Congrats on the 50# milestone. I bet you feel wonderful. Hate getting stuck. It's only happened twice and HURT for about an hour. I have never taken anything to get unstuck. I just ride it out. It's a great reminder to chew and eat slowly:blush:

Hi everyone. Been so busy with volunteer jobs that I have not been home very much. Losing...hang in there. You've had a couple of tough weeks emotionally and you will handle things just fine. I had extreme issues with my parents (sexual abuse) and it took me years to LEARN how to put a blank tape into my brain when those things surfaced in my head. I know that there was a lot of anticipation for you b/4 your parents visit, the long visit, etc. Don't let yourself backslide. You have been so successful and such an upbeat person (and I include all my 50's friends in that) to all of us here. Just thank God that you got through the visit, lost weight in the process and not anything tooooooo negative came out of it. Isn't it just fun to shop? I haven't done it for years except for Lane Bryant tops and elastic waist jeans. To everyone else.....love ya all! Gotta go to a National Guards meeting and will talk to you all later. Phyll....just want to thank you for your words of wisdom and stepping up to the plate with Janet gone. You have great advice...I guess it's "tried and true" since you have quite a bit more experience than most of us here.

I can tell you right off the bat that it was not easy but once I got used to the idea I was not going to screw up yet another diet, it got easier. I started out by eating 1000 cals. a day and each week I would cut back 100 cals. until I was eating 600-700 cals. a day. (This was approved by my doc.). I just made sure I was not eating any empty calories and that I got plenty of Protein, fruits and veggies. Nothing else went in my mouth except for that. I don't know if this made a difference or not but I ate a can of spinach each day and took 2 Flintstone gummy Vitamins. There were days when I was sooooooooooooo hungry but I tried to take my mind off of it by walking, taking a bath, calling a friend and what really helped was drinking a warm drink (tea, coffee, low cal. hot chocolate (25 cal). All I knew was that I was determined to not break my pattern and get my head wrapped around what I was up against once I got my band. I wanted to be prepared for that. Did not want to have the feeling after surgery that the rug was yanked out from under me. I know a few people who had band surgery and went through a period of grieving and had a hard time adjusting. You are welcome to PM me any time and I will get back to you as soon as possible. Our friends do not always understand what we are going through. That's why it is so nice to have friends here that are in different stages of this process. This is a huge commitment and it's a lot easier going into it if you have the mind set that it IS going to be work but it's all worth it. I wish you loads of luck as you set out on this journey.:tongue2:

Thanks...feels good but know that I will still have to be very careful for years to come to stay where I want to be.

Long...I have had a few pelvic ultrasounds and they just told me to come in with a full bladder. I'm not sure if I could get down that much liquid anymore, especially with the band. I think I would make a call to my band dr. and ask him the question just to be sure. One thing I have noticed since being banded is that my general practitioner has no clue about anything to do with the band. If I mention anything about it he sits there with the blankest look on his face. I do know that in the future I will always check with my band dr. b/4 any questionable treatment.

Forgot to add. I think people react differently when it comes to surgery. 15 yrs ago, at the age of 38, I had gallbladder surgery and because of complications I ended up in the hospital for over a month. My hair turned completely white during that time period. I went right from the hospital to the beauty salon for a good dye job.

No hair loss for me. Have been banded for 4 months and started the weight loss process last Nov. I do make sure I get the required protien each day and take Biotin and vitamin E each day. Not sure if it helps or not but take it just in case.

I reached my goal on 10/15/08. I started at 242# and now weigh 134#. I lost 54# from 11/22/07 until time of surgery on 06/17/08. It's been a good ride. No complications. Basically followed each and every rule my surgeon requires and things fell into place and the weight loss happened. I went from wearing a 3X top and 18 or larger jeans. I am now in a medium top and size 6 jeans. The best part of all of this is the way I feel physically. Plus, no more worries about my health when it comes to BP,etc. I am me again!!!!

It's not like you said "You can park those boots under my bed any time!". It's pretty sad that we have to be so overly careful in the work place. But, the way I feel about it is that it is better to make no comments than have harassment run rampant as it did not too many years ago.:biggrin:

I feel for you being so far away from your doc and any support group. We live in a rural area...I'm only 15 miles from my doc so I feel fortunate and to have my support group is another plus. Just try to make an effort every day to check in on the board with your questions and concerns. Make this thread your base. There's always someone that has been through something similar and can support you. BTW....Good Sunday morning to all of my friends here. Hope you are all having a good day. I am working...Grrrrrrr. My volunteer jobs are getting in the way of my real job. At the present time I am learning the new volunteer jobs and they will not take up as much time in the future so I can handle it. My husband is working today anyway so like to stay busy. DH is a true workaholic but just gotta love him! Struggling with figuring out what my caloric intake should be to maintain now that I am at goal. I dreaded this for months. Sounds funny? I am going to just take this next two weeks and experiment. I bumped my calories up quite a bit and will see where I sit on the scale after that point. Did not help that a tummy bug was passed around the farm this week. No vomiting but a real sour tummy any time I ate. Dropped 5# and did not in any way want to. Going to eat some pumpkin ice cream once a day besides my other calories to see if it will go back on. Doc does not do fills on anyone under goal and don't want to have to struggle with hunger in the future. I find that my band is quite fickle. Five days that are really good and two days of hunger. That tells me I should have a small fill. But, I am willing to go until my 11/04 appt. to see what happens. I have a feeling most bandsters have the same problem. Kind of sitting at an OK place with restriction but a little unsure of fills because being too tight is worse than being hungry once in awhile. Am I making sense?????????? (I've been known not to!) You all have a great day!!:biggrin:

Househuntress...congrats on the weight that you HAVE lost. You somewhat answered one of your own questions when you said that you have not quite gotten the chewing and eating too fast where it should be. Take these next two-three weeks to make a conscious effort with EVERYTHING you put into your mouth to chew and take your time. You should be able to see a difference with the pb'ing. It cannot be good for you to pb so much. Also, for emotional support. Do you have a support group in your area? Go online and see if you can find one close to your home. It does not have to be your doc's support group. I think most accept any body. I cannot imagine doing without my group. Great information comes from a variety of tried and true actions. I, too, struggled with 4#s for a couple of months. I stayed away from the scale and tried to just stay on plan. I have read other posts of people alternating their days from a bit higher calories and the next day stay within the plan. Supposedly that will kick things into gear. Haven't tried that plan but I know it has worked for others. You sound like you are at a place where you are fairly frustrated and I feel for you. You have come a long way and if you can find a way to get things moving again things will seem so much better for you. I wish you loads of luck and hope your scale moves soon. Take care and good luck with finding the support you need. You always have tons of people here on LBT.

Katydid...Love your Op shops over there. We have been to Australia a few times (we were able to stay a month at a time four diff times). We had two foreign exchange students and have had their families visit us quite a few times. One of the girls is an Op shop addict. We had so much fun digging through racks. We could spend all day and we always had a great time. Please take the time to look into what is going on with your own health. I have had a number of hernia repairs. I stayed on top of going to the dr., insisting they take a look at what was going on. I had a split in my lower abdomen with the first one 4 years ago. I was rushed to another hospital for a CAT scan. Well, needless to say, they did the CAT while I was laying down and nothing showed. They said that most likely it was an ovarian syst that had ruptured. Found out a couple of weeks later all on my own....a HUGE hernia fell out of my belly while I was bowling. If they would have recognized what it was to begin with, my emergency surgery would have not been so extensive and the recovery time would not have been what it was. The sucker was the size of a football when it popped. I guess the warning I am trying to send is that it is unsafe to let it go. You could be a short step away from a strangulated bowel. Something that is life threatening. Three weeks ago I again had surgery for a number of hernias and adhesions. The adhesions had my entire bowel system wrapped up. I do not like to lecture but reading your explanation of your symptoms gave me a scare. I realize you are hugely tied up in taking care of your parents but please take care of yourself also so you can be around for them when they need you in the future. Please, Katy, take the time needed to see what is going on and insist your doc does all the tests necessary to take care of the problem. "Hugs" and take care!:w00t:

My LB surgeon advises waiting a year or more b/4 TT, etc. States the reason is that things can fall into place in that time period and maybe the patient would be more satisfied and not feel the need to go through the surgery. We work so hard at getting this weight off. I know most of us don't for strive for perfection...we just want to be able to pull up our slacks and not have a hanging bulge. I guess my point is that each of us has to decide at a certain point what the trade off is. The surgery that can be painful, expensive and put our life on hold for awhile or are we satisfied (if only somewhat) with the outcome without PS. There's so many factors that come into play. About midway through my weight loss my belly looked like melting butter. I told one of my good friends that no matter what, if it looked like that at the end of this weight loss journey, I would definitely get a TT. If we get to goal and look pretty good in our clothes, can a person accept that? The way I see it with my jiggly thighs...I just cannot go through another surgery after all that I have had (especially elective surgery). Been married for 29 yrs and my husband says he loves every part of me. I guess the only time those thighs would be out in public is in a bathing suit. Think I am going to just buy me a pair of boy shorts to go with my bathing suit top. But, I do admire people that recognize the need for PS and that it will make their journey complete.

Katie...good for you for being proactive and doing what you need to do for yourself. At least you recognize what is going on and are able to name it. Take care, sweet girl, and all the best.

Don't get me wrong...I do have places where my skin looks like melting butter (especially inner thighs) But, they are my thighs and I liken 'um. I just happened to luck out and not have flab on my tummy, boobs didn't go south, my arms are OK and no back flab. I can deal with the inner thigh thing. If my DH were repulsed by inner thigh flab...he just wouldn't be invited to visit there any more! I am a fairly active person and even was when I was heavy. I am not sure if that helped at all? I did walk a lot during the weight loss process and would do exercise to dvd's also. I certainly did not kill myself exercising. I really think that a lot has to do with genetics.

Iteach..I found Biotin in the vitamin isle at Walmart...also the vitamin E. I am sure you can find it even in your grocery store.

Thanks for the info, Lulac. I am going to try your recipe. Have never had them and they sound wonderful!

Thanks for the words of encouragement, Orea. I am also a jewelry person. My husband takes care of that dept. I think it's so cute when he says "Well, I consider it a good investment". Hmmm...it could help pay for my funeral when I kick off and also a pretty nice Irish wake!

OK...JoannMarie was talking about rewarding ourselves. This may sound vain, self-indulgent or what have you but I guess I am brave enough to share how I have rewarded myself throughout this process. I kind of watched what I spent on clothes throughout the weight loss process. I shopped at Target and Walmart for tops during the summer and tried to get by with stretchy bottoms. At my 75# milestone I went and got permanent eyeliner and eyelashes. LOVE THEM. I now wear no makeup. When I started to see the light at the end of the tunnel (goal) I went shopping. (Blush) Bought everything I needed and now have a closet full. Today I treated myself (goal day) to a boiled wool red winter coat. It is soooooooo beautiful I could cry. When I was thin 14 yrs ago, I was truly a clothes horse. I guess I'm back on that pony!!!!!!!!!

JoannMarie...thanks for the congrats. But, you are an inspiration to me! You are not even banded yet and are so full of wisdom and always has the nicest way of giving advice. Thank you for that. Long...your question on what size I was. I weighed 242# in Nov when I started pre-op diet. I wore a 3X shirt and 18 slacks...sometimes larger. I now wear a medium top and size 6 jeans and dress slacks. I am all arms and legs. (I carried most of my weight through the mid section). I am VERY smalled boned but 5'7" in height. I have to special order my jeans in at least a 34" inseam. I think I am happiest about just the way I feel physically and also happy that I did not end up with sagging skin. I cannot pinch anything through my middle. When I weighed what I do now 14 yrs ago, I did have an issue with flab. Go figure!

Congrats of your 41# loss. Lots of work and paying attention to your band and what it can do, plus, doing a lot of the work yourself. As to your question about how much lost after surgery...I lost over 50# b/4 and 52# after being banded.

Congrats on your 70# loss, iteach. Try not to panic about losing some hair...could be just a short term thing but I guess I would discuss this with you doc. He could have some ideas on what to do. I, too, have tons of hair but I would feel like you do and not want to lose any. I wish you lots of luck and hope you can get the needed protein in your daily diet.