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Fantastic news, Pete! I'm so happy for you and your wife! Best wishes on your surgery tomorrow. You'll do great!!

Thank you so much for letting us know how your daughter is doing. I'm glad surgery went well. Sounds like it was very involved. I'm praying she heals very well and they got all of the infection. Let us know how she's doing. Take care!

I'm so sorry your daughter is going through this. And, really, you too, as her mom! I hope everything turns out well for her. She is in my prayers. I've not heard of this happening before but that doesn't mean much. Please keep us up to date so we know how she is doing. It's also great too b/c if it is a complication of the band, we all should know about it. Take care of yourself so you can be there for your daughter. Give her my best!

I noticed it too (can't remember if it first happened Sunday PM or Monday). I always go to subscribed threads first and can't get there off the home page. I click on my name in the top right corner, then use the quick links to get to subscribed threads. Probably an easier way but that's how I've been doing it. I was going to let Alex know but if Susan's going to do it, I'll just wait til Alex fixes it.

Welcome! Thank you for sharing your story! You've done a fantastic job! Question- Why was school a controversy in your family? Was it b/c you're going part-time, or b/c you wanted to go at all, or ...? I would think your parents would be thrilled that you are going to school while you're working. Anyway. Just curious! Oh and I'm cold too! I'm thrilled with it! LOL!!

Sounds yummy, I'm looking forward to it! One question, just to clarify, you add a can of tomatoes and a can of sauce? I'll let you know how it turns out!

Jaime, Overall, I'm glad the day went so well. I am sorry tho that you had such a hard time. Good for you for actually STOPPING!!! I think a lot of us are amazed at what catches us by surprise. We all think we're so ready- we've read everything we can find, we've researched til there's no more to research, we've looked deep inside ourselves to make sure we're READY for all of this! In spite of hearing other people tell their stories, we're all different and some things are going to surprise us. I've been surprised with a few things. The least of which was how much I ate just b/c I wanted it. I always thought I ate b/c I was hungry all the time! Turns out Hungry wasn't the only time I ate! I've also been surprised at how hard it is to slow down. If I'm allowed (I have a 2 1/2 yr old DD) I have to sit and watch the clock while I eat. If I don't, I'm eating in 5-10 minutes, not the 20 that I should be taking to eat! Hang in there. Do your mourning for food but also remember that it's really only the QUANTITY that you're mourning. We should be able to just about eat anything, it's just in much smaller amounts! I did some of the same things. Things were so good, I would have just kept eating before surgery. This year I couldn't and I was thrilled later when I got away from the IDEA of the food! I weigh in on Fridays and managed to still lose almost a pound this week. Last year, if I'd have weighed on Friday, it would have shown a significant gain! How COOL is that!! You've got to find those little victories and make them exciting and happy for you! I think you did a great job!

Thanks, Nina, but I'm NOT ashamed. Just not really wanting to tell people. I'm pretty private but with family and even church, there's always a need to tell all to the whole group (meaning it's freely done by all) so to keep quiet about something so big (no pun intended) seems strange. Thank you for your support and telling me your story! Lots of best wishes on your journey!!!!

FROGGI!!!!! I didn't even know you were getting your surgery this soon and then HAD it!!! I know I've been hit and miss lately but sheesh! Didn't realize I'd missed all of THAT!! Congratulations on your surgery! Hang in there, the first few days are tough. At least for me they were. All I wanted to do was sleep. I'm so happy for you!!

Glad you're back!!

T-day DH, DD and I stayed home this year. We usually go to my Aunt's house an hour away but we just didn't want to do it this year (not band related). We had a wonderful day staying home and making our own menu with lots of turkey just for us! (We always cook a turkey this time of year b/c we never get enough at dinner!) Friday we went to my cousin's as normal and it was weird when cousins or aunts said I looked great and asked questions. I've told NO family other than my mom, mil and fil that I had surgery. Part of me felt like I should say that I had surgery and I'm working on my eating and trying to exercise but I didn't. I only mentioned the eating and exercising parts. I really just DON'T want to tell people, including my family. When I told my mom later, she said don't worry about it, I needed to do what I felt best. It happened at church this AM too. Several people noticed that I'm losing weight and wanted to know what I was doing. I just said I'm working on it, I've got to do it. Part of me felt bad about that too. BUT I also don't plan on announcing it to the congregation either! I'm in a strange place with tell or no tell. I'm not ashamed that I had surgery. I look at it as a tool and I needed the help that tool would give me. BUT I know how hard it is to lose and keep off the weight and I don't want to discourage someone who is struggling by looking at me and thinking I'm doing this so easily. I'm not! Even with surgery, I still have to watch what I eat and do so carefully as well as exercise. Right now, I'm not ready to tell. If an overweight person is seriously asking me how I'm doing it in order to help themselves, then I'll tell them about the band. Maybe later, I'll be ready to tell, maybe...

I had a loss this week. Very happy. Last week: 196.3 This week: 195.6 Total loss: .07 Then this AM I weighed again (I jump on everyday, just about, to check) and was down to 195.1! So hopefully I'll keep that and work on more for a good loss next Friday. We'll see! I go for another fill on the 9th. I don't know that I'm going to need much more. Maybe .5 instead of 1cc. I'll see what he says. On a happy note I'm into regular size 16 STRETCH jeans. Can't quite get the normal jeans closed but I can get them up! AND I'm wearing a top that's an XL! Have a good week everyone!

I did well today and am happy with myself. Shamrock, I'm so sorry you got sick! That's called PB'ing by the way. Sorry. Ro, sorry you had to work today. Hang in there! I hope everyone had a Blessed Thanksgiving! I know I did! Kristen, safe travels!

I did really well too. Didn't overeat at all. Wanted to but didn't. I ate A LOT less than I would've normally. It was just the 3 of us this year (on purpose) and we still did the whole spread. We usually go to my Aunt's house and end up cooking a turkey around t-day anyway b/c we like the leftovers. Anyway, with that I made a new recipe for dressing (soo good), mashed potatoes, broccolini, cranberry sauce and rolls (that we forgot to eat!). I had a small serving spoonful of each thing and 2 small slices of turkey breast. It was sooooo good and I REALLY wanted to go back for more but I didn't. Now we ate early so I got hungry about 1/2 an hour ago so I went and got a small plate and put a couple of bites of mashers, dressing, sauce and a small slice of turkey on it and I'm full again! DH made a pie after dinner but we haven't gotten into it yet. We'll probably do that tomorrow. I don't have any room for it! Such a HUGE difference from last year! I heaped my plate, inhaled that and then went back for more favorites! Tomorrow night (Friday) might be kind of tough. We'll be out at my cousins and other than Soup, it's all snack-type foods and you just stand around and talk and dip into things. I'll have to be really careful that I don't overeat and get uncomfortable. I'll have a bowl of turkey soup and then hopefully I won't get too far into the chips/veggies and dips. I'm just going to have to really pay attention.

You are very welcome. We'll figure this out. I was also thinking that later down the road, if there are other books that you have that you'd like on tape, you could send me tapes and the book and I could then send it all back to you once I've transcribed it. It sounds like there is a need. If just for your personally. Let me know. Have a wonderful weekend!

I'm sorry but I can't STAND this stuff! I have a partial case of it sitting on the floor in my kitchen trying to figure out what to do with it. I also have an opened container of Pure Whey Protein Isolate that I don't know what to do with. I can't use it. I may check with my support group to see if anyone there wants it.

It's not a long book. It's less than: 9 1/4 inches tall, 6 1/4 inches wide and 1/2 inch deep and the font is probably 10 or 12 and has 260 pages excluding the acknowledgments, glossary, resources and index. With those included it goes to 295 pages. What kind of tape deck/player would I need? Regular sized tapes or mini's? I don't mind purchasing it and if this works out and there are other books you would like translated, I can do that. Is translated the right word? Putting it into a different form other than the original? Anyway. Oh and I forgot, the preface and introduction add another 12 pages. How would you want this? I've never listened to a book on tape so don't know "how it's done," so to speak. Do you want me to read the Contents, listed by chapter? Do you want page numbers or just chapters? Etc. Give me some specifics so I can best help you. Too bad I don't have a braille machine. I could braille it for you. I'm pretty good with a keyboard too. Of course, I have NO idea what that all entails either! LOL! Is there a need for someone to be doing this? Both on tape and in braille? Aren't there resources or are they just doing kind of what they have too and can't or won't keep up? Like I said, I have no idea. Let me know how best to help you and we'll see if we can't figure this out.

Debbi, I have the book that Slim is talking about. People tell me I have a nice voice, if you could tell me the best way to do it, I wouldn't mind reading the book to tape and sending it to you. Might be kinda weird for you to listen to but maybe not. I've never done "books on tape" so don't know what it's like to listen to a book like this. I'm sort of imagining it to be like having a person read to you. Anyway, just a thought.

Nice! Just when you think it's safe to eat healthy at a restaurant, you find out it's not. UGH! Guess you just gotta be careful and choose as best you can. Tho, I guess that's tough if you're not getting the right information to begin with. It'll be interesting to see where these lawsuits go.

I have a 2 year old and I told her that mama was having surgery and that her tummy was going to hurt and we had to be really careful. There have only been a few incidences and they haven't been too bad. She did get me in the port the other day and that hurt. She felt bad and wanted to kiss it to make it feel better! So, that's my advice. He might not totally "get it" but he can understand hurts and you just have to tell him... again and again and again and again... LOL! How's he going to do without you picking him up for awhile? DD did pretty good for the most part. I had a 6 week, 10lb lifting restriction. Best wishes!

Same. Was looking like close to a lb loss but then Thursday we ran errands in the city (an hour away) and we had chinese for lunch and dinner wasn't much better. Too much sodium and too little Water equals gain for me. Thought it was weird that it was the same as last Friday tho. Congrats to all of our losers! WTG!! Have a great week everyone and a very Happy Thanksgiving for us Americans!

Thanks, y'all! I think I need to start counting my Protein again. I think I'm getting enough but maybe I'm not. I do take a liquid B-combo. It's a complex with a sublingual. I hold it under my tongue for 30 seconds, then swallow. I'm only taking one dose in the AM. Maybe I need to take another dose in the afternoon? I usually really crash in the late afternoon/early evening. I forgot about the Iron as far as really being low. I'm having problems with a lot of breakthrough (sorry guys!) since surgery. Even though I'm on Depo Shots. I'd just started them before surgery so didn't get my levels right in time, then had surgery and with the hormone stuff, I might be low in that. I've heard of side-effects from too much iron and that's what scares me but I betcha I probably need the supps. I'll look into liquid form at my natural foods store when we pick up our farm veggies on Monday. I'll work on different things and see what happens. And thanks to Lellow's advice on another thread I have another idea for getting in more exercise (treadmill after DD goes to bed)! I'll keep in touch and we'll see what we all come up with! THANK YOU!!!

Anyone else just absolutely exhausted since surgery? I was pretty tired all the time BEFORE surgery but since surgery it's been worse. I'm seeing others and talking to others who've had surgery around the same time as I did and they all have tons of energy and feel great. I don't need tons of energy but I'd like SOME! LOL! I do have a 2 1/2 year old DD that I'm home with. I work about 5 hours a week, at home. DH is a fireman and works a 72 hour shift so for a good part of the week, it's just me with the kiddo. I know that's tiring but I'm not feeling like I should be THIS tired. I could've been in bed at 6 tonight and been happily asleep. It's crazy! I think I'm going to have to talk to my PCP. My bloodtests all show my thyroid levels are normal, tho I think they're on the low side. Maybe I need to be retested. I'm getting plenty of Protein, supplements are fine, I'm not taking Iron 'cause it scares me so I don't know how I'm doing on that end. Anyway, in the meantime, I thought I'd ask if anyone else is just sooo exhausted as well. Oh, and my mom, who's had several surgeries, says to give it 6 months! That would be end of February!

LOL! I wish! Re-read my stats. I've lost that since starting the program in March. About 26lbs of that was BEFORE surgery. Since then it's been only about 15lbs (not quite). I WISH I'd lost 40lbs since surgery! And you are right, slow is relative, so is age. I don't think you're old at 58! I was just making the age point to the OP regarding others making excuses for her quick WL due to her age. Thanks!

I agree with Beth. You really need to just stop them and even ask them why they feel the need to qualify the hard work you're doing to something out of your control. That's not support! And it's rude. It might come from something that they know they aren't doing as well so they put your success down to make them feel better. If they aren't eating right or exercising and having slower losses, that's their problem, not yours. I'm a slow loser and it frustrates me BUT I know it's due to poor food choices once in awhile and my lack of regular exercise. I don't attribute it to my age (I'm 40). It's my own darn fault. I joke that they should have done some brain work while they were in doing the stomach work! I'm working on both the food choices and the exercise. And trying to not make excuses for myself. Oh and I bloat as much as a couple of lbs but that b.c of too much salt intake. I love my salt. I'm working on that too! I don't think you should stop going unless it just gets too unbearable. I go to a monthly support group at my hospital that includes both bypass and bands. It's been pretty good so far. I don't always get to go b/c of childcare issues but it's nice when I can go. Hang in there and see if saying something doesn't stop it and make this person think about what they're saying.