PhotoNut

This forum is a good idea, but remember. We aren't here to attack each other personally. There is absolutely no good reason to hurt people with our words. No reason at all. The rules say attack the idea, not the person. Let's stick to that. And as far as I'm concerned the other stuff is over. In my eyes, behind the scenes, the Moderators were doing their best in difficult circumstances. I appreciate others being concerned for me, but everything's fine now, so let's let it go where it should go now. Away from our thoughts so it doesn't drag us down anymore, ok? *hugs to all* Oh, and Dody, I don't think willbethin was directing that at you. It sounded more like a response to Jenna's original post on this thread. Many people don't follow the entire thread, but rather just respond to the author's original statements. *hugs*

Well I'm the oddball. During my TOM I felt like I lost all restriction and wanted to eat the entire kitchen in one sitting. After the TOM had passed, I went back to my usual restriction and could care less about eating.

Several people have asked for a copy of my food journal, so I thought I'd just put it here. You'll see that I'm a very boring eater. I pick out a good variety of things I like and I just stick to them for the most part. It's easier for me to not have to think about it and make so many choices. My shopping list is almost identical everytime. Sorry for the formatting. It's cut and pasted from MS Excel. I have been very slack about journaling over the last two weeks, so May isn't complete. Blanks will occur when I forgot to log and the X's mean I didnt take my Vitamins or meds. Nope, I'm not perfect! LOL! The fish fillets are Gortons frozen - not breaded - either Garlic Butter or Lemon Fish HC meals = Healthy choice - I only eat the ones with chicken or turkey and mashed potatoes. Not the big meals. The tuna lunch packs are by Starkist. They have 6 Ritz type crackers, a pouch of tuna, low fat mayo and pickle relish packets. I use only real butter. Canned fruit is DelMonte in light syrup. Applesauce is no sugar added, any brand. Cottage cheese is Viva low fat, small curd. Roast beef or SWS (sweet n sour) chicken are cooked in my crock pot. I use Contadina SWS sauce, and all I put on the roast beef is a can of Swanson's low sodium beef broth and seasonings. My vegetables are mostly the frozen variety, except green Beans which are canned. The popcorn is Pop Secret's 100 calorie bags of "Buttered" or Kettle Corn. April 2006 May 2006

Before you go to get a lapband, I would suggest you do some further research on what the tool is, how it works, and what all of your options are in choosing who bands you. I don't say this to be condescening or rude, it's just very important that you don't go into this "blind". A fill is what makes the band work. It is the amount of saline that is injected into the port (which is under your skin) and fills the bladder of the band, causing it to tighten around your stomach. Here are some sites you should read, some are threads from here at LBT: Questions to ask BEFORE getting banded: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=15595 A very informative video of band sugery and surgeons answering basic questions about the band and the proceedure: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3190472028990485080&q=lap+band Things to have on hand before surgery: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=14814 Also, keep in mind that if you go to Mexico you will need to have a local Dr set up to help you if you experience any complications with your band. You will also need to find a Dr or clinic that will be willing to give you fills, or remove them, as you need. It is not uncommon to find that most Drs will not touch someone who has been banded by another Dr and especially if you are banded out of the country. Follow up care is essential. Best wishes for a successful band journey.

Some of my earliest childhood memories with my grandparents include Krispy Kreme donuts. I'm from Tennessee and there was a huge KK factory/bakery just down the street from my dad's mom's house. My mom's parents would always have some when we went to the lake on the weekends. My grandmother would cut them in half like a hamburger bun and fry them in a skillet. When they opened one here very near our home, the lines for the drive thru were unbelievable for about 2 weeks. It was insane. I think it was just the novelty of it. Prior to the store arriving, people were selling boxes of them out of there cars on street corners! Who knows where they got them.. the internet? Gaahh... no thanks. I think they are so sweet I can hardly stand to gag one down. We did buy them a couple of times (pre band), but we just aren't big sugar eaters so we drive by it everyday without even noticing it anymore.

food was always the center of any get-together with family or friends for me too. I was really worried about how it would effect the "fun times" but I've found that it's only affect has been good. I get a small plate of food, things I know I can have, and I just talk alot, put my plate down a lot, nibble a bit, and nobody notices what I'm eating. I am very careful to avoid eating things that are known to cause bandsters problems when I'm in public. I never try anything "new" in public. If I haven't successfully eaten it at home, I won't risk the public embarassment. I was on the pre-op diet over Christmas, so I didn't cook the big dinner like I usually do. But this year I will. Everyone in my family has focused on eating healthily so I'll just cook things I can eat too. No problem. I was scared to death to go into a restaurant the first time. But now I do it quite often with friends and for local bandster get togethers. If anything, this has set me free to enjoy my time with family and friends rather than being so focused on the food. And I never walk away feeling miserable and embarassed because I've made a pig of myself again.

Jacqui - *laughs* Don't count on it. While my rear is shrinking there are other areas that aren't co-operating as well. Like my boobs.. and my mouth. *laughs*

I would think that watermelon would be classified as a mushie. It practically turns to Water in your mouth. I've had watermelon accidentally freeze before - its like frozen lettuce, icky. Anyone eat salt on their watermelon? My mouth is watering now. Guess I'll be going to the store soon... AFTER I go walking with Linda V who is being a good friend and dragging my arse outside today! :clap2:

Sure there is. Cut out a small "plug" on the side, pull it out and poke around in there with an icepick. Then, stick a funnel into the hole and slowly pour in Vodka, Rum, or champagne.. come back and refill a few times. Replace the plug and keep on ice for a few hours before serving. *grins*

DITTO! I see women with these long thick lashes that aren't all clumpy and I can't figure out what they're using. I think my lashes are just weird. There are a certain few that instantly glom together no matter what mascara I put on them. How do you train eyelashes??

You picture junkies are all alike. You want your fix and you want it NOW! *laughs* I'll think about it.

Bumping this thread in hopes of getting some responses to Iulizbug's question about fills when you reach goal from those who are at or near goal weight. This is something I've been wondering about as well.

Thanks everyone! My first pics were at the -50 lbs mark, although my before pics weren't taken at my highest weight in December 05 when I started the pre-op diet. I'm only 27 pounds from the second 50 pounds gone so I'm going to wait for that before I post more pics. I'm guessing that will happen in about 3 more moths. This is realy starting to get exciting! Thanks for sharing the joy with me. *hugs*

Personal care products I'm particularly fond of: Thermasilk conditioner - Volume enhancer banana Republic for women (perfume) Lubriderm unscented hand and body lotion Home care products I'm particularly fond of: 409 Orange - wow, awesome stuff Carpet Fresh for pets (prefer the scent) Febreeze air freshner Clorox wipes (original scent)

Dont drink anything. That usually makes it worse. Ive had it happen twice and both times I was able to get it to pass by standing in a door way and putting my hands up on the door frame, higher than my head. Then I stretched and leaned this way and that until I burped and I guess it worked its way through.

I agree, it is very tiresome. I've said my peace about it now, so I'll not be contributing to anymore of this. It's hard not to defend yourself when you've been singled out in posts which lie about you and call you foul names. I'll really try to ignore it publicly now and take my defense and complaints to Alex. Which, I did last night.

I agree, it is very tiresome. I've said my peace about it now, so I'll not be contributing to anymore of this. It's hard not to defend yourself when you've been singled out in posts which lie about you and call you foul names. I'll really try to ignore it publicly now and take my defense and complaints to Alex. Which, I did last night.

Great pics! You look awesome! And yes, he does look good in that hat.

Ooo.. I just saw this. Hmm.. how about.. Bike rides on the Green Belt. Off road bikes in the foothills. Like to raft or kayak? We have some world famous rivers up here, within a 30 minute drive of town. Like museums? We have a great pioneer museum. Take the trolly through Boise and get a bit of history behind the city. Visit the Old State Pen. Creepy but interesting. See the capitol building. Check out the Birds of Prey Sanctuary south of town. Boise has some great clubs... what kind of music do you like? Spend the day in McCall - a quaint little town by Cascade Lake. Beautiful scenery, nice 1 1/2 hour drive north of Boise. Absolutely see the Sawtooths, Stanley and Redfish Lake. We also have the outdoor Shakespeare Festival, Art in the Park, and various outdoor musical stuff in the Parks. We did have the annual Boise River Festival, but the city dang near went broke on it. Too bad really. It was a lot of great stuff to do and ended with some fantastic fireworks. Oh well. Of course, all of this would depend on the time of year that you visit. And, we'd be happy to be your guide to the out of town sites. We jump on any opportunity to head north. :grouphug:

Of course they will! It's a conspiracy I tell ya. Every time I find a product that I dearly love, they stop making it. I swear I should wise up and buy enough to stock up for years. I basically pack my bathroom. From the toothbrush to the hair dryer. I always take a small baggie filled with q-tips, fingernail clippers, and bandaids. Oh and usually a couple of garbage bags... for the dirty clothes.

Watch out for coffee and tea. They don't count as Water because they contain caffeine, which is a diuretic that dehydrates. So coffee and tea are counter productive to your water intake. This site has some great info on how to determine how much water we should drink and why it helps us lose weight. http://www.inch-aweigh.com/water.html

*chuckles* I usually have 6-8 gallon size ziplock baggies full of products when I travel. You are talking about personal care products, right? Like shampoo, toothpaste, make up, etc?

Cool Alison. Let me guess, you dont like conflicts... hehe I have odd dreams about exciting adventures with movie stars. I'm not even a movie star buff and I don't watch that many action movies. They usually involve tall buildings and elevators (both of which I HATE). When I was a kid, I used to have a reocurring dream about this giant who would look in the windows of my grandmother's house as I ran around trying to pull down the shades so he could't see in. But the strangest dreams are the ones that come true. Like the night I dreamed about this weird elevator that you had to walk into this strange small brick room about the size of an elevator and then the elevator doors were on the left wall of that room. The very next day, I went to an appointment downtown in a building I'd never been in before and sure enough. There was the elevator! I was almost afraid to get in it. I was glad I'd told my husband about that elevator dream too, because he was with me and understood why I was so freaked out! hehe

I agree with both Jacqui and Sue. The soft stuff will allow you to eat too much, and things like bread and dry meats are known to be problematic to bandsters. A couple of foods that I would suggest you try are the frozen Gorton's fish fillets. They are very juicy and very tasty. Two fillets are only 200 calories and have 34 grams of Protein. Also, try cooking meats in a crockpot. I toss frozen chicken breasts in the crock pot with a couple of cans of sweet n sour sauce and put it on high for the day. If I dip each bite in the sauce it makes it juicy enough to eat with no problems. I also cook roasts in the crockpot, only adding some beef broth and lots of seasonings. I cook it until it comes off in shreds. You probably have pretty good restriction. Just try focusing on foods that will give you good hard protein, then add in some veggies and fruits. I think you'll find yourself satisfied with smaller amounts and enjoying your meals more.

Carlene - 56?? No way! No freaking way!! You look awesome! :grouphug: