Wheetsin

That is very respectable, and I have a deep passion for conversations like that. Generally when you mention you are an atheist, you can literally see the offense wash over someone's face. You've probably experienced it and know what I'm talking about. It's something you can literally see happen before your eyes, like a shade being pulled. A frequent response is, "Then let me ask you this... <insert "about to have an upper hand" smugness here>... what are you going to do on Judgement Day?" Hello... McFly... When I read "in ministry" and then "are you serious?" and then "have you done your homework?" -- I knew which direction we were headed in. There was no desire to share just for the sake of sharing. If there had been, all of you non-believers might have had a chance of sharing your story without getting the "I was there too, until I..." responses, that weren't asked for. Maybe your story could have been your story, and ended there.

Really? Because I pretty distinctly remember you spreading lies and misinformation, and then having to double-step to try and talk your way out of it. E.g.: 1. Atheists hate god. 2. Well I don't mean atheists hate god, I mean they hate christians. 3. Well I don't mean they hate christians, I mean they abhor christians. 4. Well I don't mean they abhor christians, I mean they generically display disdain for god and christians. So which one of those statements does not count as "misinformation" or "lies"? 1? 2? 3? All of the above?

Forgive the misspells, I have a headache and don't want to edit.

I personally can't believe anyone would choose to be gay. For a while it was trendy to be gay or bisexual, and maybe there were some choices made then, but I doubt that's true homosexuality as much as temporary attention, like someone would choose to have purple hair, or a girl will kiss her girlfriend in front of a group of guys just to get the gyus' attention, not because she is truly attracted. Choosing to be gay would be like saying, "Please hate me! Please give me a difficult life! Please treat me as less of a person because I am attracted to the same sex! Please cut my civil rights off at the knees because I do not live my life in the same way heterexual do!" Who would ask for that, and make it a choice? Gadget, do you have any gay friends? Truly homosexual. And true, know them inside & out friends - not casual acquaintences or "chums" from down the block. It's fine if you do, but it would surprise me. Because I persinally don't understand how someone who is really tapped in to what it's like to be a homosexual in our society could believe it's a "choice".

Then you concede that could have occured on your side too?

Is yours bing done in- or out-patient? My surgery was on a Wednesday. I went shopping Friday, and took an out of town road trip Saturday, worked Monday. And I'm lazy.

Now that I'm the wise old age of 30... It's easy to look back at my younger days and think, "Boy you REALLY had no idea..." But at the time, I really thought I did. Oops, I lied, I was 31 two weks ago. Dammit!!! Jody - honestly - every post you make sounds like it is full of so much pain. "I'm happy" just seems so empty when you look at what's creating that happiness. Part of me wants to tell you to live it because you will learn from it, and part of me wants to tell you that LV and Prada don't mean anything other than "I spent way too much money on this, hopefully it can make me feel better." So I guess the two will cancel themselves out, and I'll say nothing. But like someone else posted - damn, I'm glad I'm not there anymore.

Yeah, scrambled eggs hurt me, and those processed eggs, but I can do over hard just fine. And bananas hurt me, and applesauce. Other than that I can do just about anything as long as it's after 12.

The first time I could have thick liquids (as opposed to sugar free thin liquids like broth and jello) I had some strained cream of chicken soup. And just about had... one... if you know what I mean. I remember thinking, "Now I know what the man in the desert who finds a bottle of water feels like".

Hmm...are there any disclaimer signs in the parking lot? Is it owned by the aquarium? A month is a long time to go with no headlight. One way or the other you want to get it fixed. You can't go popeye b/c they won't pay for it. Maybe yu could run it through your insurance? That way they're working with your employer's insurance and you don't have to do that much. I don't know for sure, and it might depend on the ownership of the lot land. At least you had clean underwear.

Ooh, lucky you! I'm trying to rearrange the wall/vanity decor in our main guest bath. Maybe I'll post pictures and we can have a "redecorate Wheetsin's walls" party! What, that doesn't sound fun to you?? :heh: :heh:

Yes Teresita... :hail: :heh: :heh: I'm between 5'10 and 5'11. My goal is 180 (personal goal, no idea what my surgeon's goal is) which should put me around a size 12 or 14. I used to carry my weight well until I reached almost 400 lbs. There's just no way to carry 400 lbs gracefully. As I lose I'm becoming more and more disproportionate. E.g. most of my tops are 18s or 20s, and most of my pants are 22s or 24s. I used to say I had the profile of a rubber duck. Now I have to say I'm built like a diamond all hips and thighs (and pannus ) / /

I wore sweats in, but for wearing home (same day) I brought one of those knit dresses that have the empire waist. I call them "house dresses" but I see ladies wearing them to work. There are little ties at the waist that tie in back. Surely someone knows what they're really called. Anyway - didn't want to risk a waistband, so I just brought one of those dresses and some "Crocs" (ugly but comfortable) so I could just slip in and out of them. hair went in a ponytail with a headband to hold back the short pieces. I didn't need a pillow on the drive home but the bumps in the road did hurt - but just uncomfortable, not great pain. What hurt was using the muscles, so sitting down, standing up, walking, going up stairs, sneezing, coughing, etc. Whomever had the 10 hour jounrey - I don't know how long post-op your flights are, but if they're within the first 3 days, I'd recommend making sure you have wheelchairs booked or shuttles. Especially if you have a gate change.

Oooh, a regular liberalpalooza. I can't wait!

This is my cynical nature showing through, but I've often wondered if WL surgeons don't "pad" the weight on their scales - you know, like set it so that 0 pounds registers at 10 pounds... ...I can tell you that when I was weighed at my consultation and saw a number over 20 lbs higher than what I THOUGHT I weighed, it certainly didn't HURT my decision to go through with it.

My surgeon's scale weighs me about 14 lbs heavier than my home scale. My PCP's scale is about 6 lbs heavier. What's ironic is that my surgeon has no way of tracking how much weight I've lost. I was weighed at my consultation (in really heavy clothes), but he never weighed me on my day of surgery (I weighed myself at the hospital, but it wasn't a number that ever made its way into his records). So whenever I go for a fill, it's depressing. Not only does his scale weight so much higher than my home scale, but there's a ~15 lb loss (what I gained between consultation and surgery) that is never accounted for. By my records, I've lost about 130 lbs. By his records, I've lost about 108.

Just curious, how tall are you guys?

"JBT" (jbtullis) was the original poster - the member who created this thread. I think TracyinKS was drawing a parallel between her situation and jbtullis'.

Oh also, you may want to check out this thread http://www.lapbandtalk.com/thread-super-sized-t16168.html?p=404751. I started it long ago for people with starting BMIs over 50, and it has attracted a fairly large following.

Just read some of the responses to this thread and - wow - we all have such a common spine in our stories. Giving up. At one point I had told myself that I really needed to start working on "being happy" with myself, because I was going to live and die obese. Don't focus on "200 lbs to lose" because that will seem like a mountain you can't climb. 200 lbs is only 20 pounds, ten times.

Hi tasha111. When I got my band, I had 202 lbs to lose to hit my personal goal. Yesterday was my 1 year band anniversary and I'm down a total of 130 lbs (ok, 129, but who's counting?!?). I was very reluctant to do this because it seemed like most people getting banded weighed closer to my goal weight than my starting weight! So I actually hopped on another board and posted in the lapband section about people with 200+ lbs to lose, and I got SOOO many positive responses. And then (because this is me, afterall) there's always the logical approach. The amount of weight you lose is only limited by the effort you put into losing it. It's not like each band comes pre-packaged with a set amount of pounds the recipient will be able to shed. I truly believe that it doesn't matter if you have 10 lbs to lose, or 500, the band will HELP you get there, but it will not get you there on its own.

That's what I'm saying! It's like poetic justice to the extreme. And it was a two-fer (two yaks to get it gone), AND I had to do it while hosting a conference call... "You know what, I'm being frantically flagged down to help with something. <insert name>, can you take over for me while I go take care of a fire real quick?"

I doubt Ron Cusano would flame you. That seems to be reserved for the people who disagree with him. I can't say liberals, because it's more than that, so I think I'll just go with general disagree.

Never heard of it, do tell!

Why would me being a "mod" cause you to get defensive and offensive?