JanetC

Tammy: Wow, that's awesome how understanding your oldest is! It really sounds like she has her head on straight! You & your entire family are in my thoughts & prayers. I know eating disorders don't go away overnight.... Stacey: Have a blast in KY!! Hopefully a change in scenery will help with the blues! Becky: Oh my goodness, grats on joining the gym!! Wow, you've really come a long way in a short time! You rock! That's awesome that you're keeping with the calories, hehe, glad someone is! Hang in there until the scale moves again, ya know it'll happen, especially with the exercise! I'm sooo glad you're on mushies now! Nanster: Hang in there!! I know a bunch of us are stalled too. I keep telling my mom & friends that this is THE toughest part of this (like this is harder then surgery, lol). It IS hard... you pay out all this money, go through all this pain, watch the weight just fall off after surgery, then BAM!! It comes right back! AUGH!!! Remember, though, that you were on full liquids, and probably not getting all of your nutrition (it's almost impossible to get enough of everything on clear liquids). So most likely your body went into a mini-starvation mode. When you start adding calories, it freaks out. Give it some adjustment period, remember you're still healing! I'm with Becky on the weight in the intestines... I KNOW I'm carrying more now. I wouldn't limit your calories to less then 1000. Give your body time to bounce back... get a couple of fills into your band & see if that doesn't help! At least then if you have to cut back you won't be feeling as hungry! It sounds like you've got your work cut out for you in finding exercise that doesn't hurt! If you can, find a swimming pool, it's much easier on joints. I do know that when I first started "solid" food (scrambled eggs, lol), I felt intense pain. I went back to mushy for a week, then when I tried eggs again, they went down with no problem. I'm almost 5 weeks out, and am now able to eat almost anything, as long as I keep it really, really moist. Food lube for the win!! There was a cool thread about getting your metabolism burning, but I can't find it, augh!!! It had great ideas... and some whacky ones, lol, like drinking 32 oz of super cold Water 30 min before a meal. I'm going to try that one, hehe. Happy weekend, everyone! Hope we're all having fun!

LOL Kim!! You should video tape the bubbles!! Send it to AFV & make some money! And how are you doing this morning? Hope it's better!!

Go Michelle with the "ME" time!! That's awesome! And good job on the weight loss! Good luck on the vacation Dena. Just remember to chew & eat slowly! Tammy -- How did the meeting with your sis go? Good job on avoiding the vending machine! HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!

That's awesome news Alex! So glad you can relax now! Sending healing thoughts your way!

Oh my word, Kelly! I'm so sorry you had to go through this! I'm glad you're doing better & are working on that May goal. You go grab that prize!!

That's the coolest NSV!! I love that it snuck up on you! Congrats!

(( Hugs Kellie!! )) Hope you're recovering quickly!

Welcome to LBT Kat & grats on the band (yeah, lol, I'm behind). Let us know how you're doing!!

Oh my goodness!! I'm so glad you kept pushing until you found what was wrong!! 4 POUNDS!!! Wow. (( Hugs!! )) Hope your recovery is speedy!

Welcome to LBT! Glad to have you here!

The top 12 all tour with Idol as well. So they'll get great exposure. (Wish they'd extend the age limit! LOL)

Remember that in the end it really isn't about how good we think they sing, it's how much AMERICA likes them, lol. It really is a popularity contest in a BIG way. Of course, LBT could help swing it, lol. :hat: Not that we could agree on one person to vote for! I was surprised to see Ace in the bottom 3, Lisa too. But we're at the point where everyone there has a pretty big fan base -- country, rock, Alabama, blonde, whatever. So now it's just which one is bigger today.

For me, the best part about this thread is that we're all dealing with the same (or similar) stuff... and everyone posts! Ya'll rock! Welcome Ms. Vicki! Glad to have you! :hat: Go Nanster!! As long as you're feeling satisfied & are losing without white-knuckle dieting, I think you'd be ok without a fill. Talk it over with your surgeon, nurse or dietician. About the GERD... I also find I have issues if I go too long between meals. That's also when the gas pain comes back in a big way. I'm trying to eat 1 bite of something (1/2 oz of cheese or 1/2 T of peanut butter) just to keep my stomach from kicking a fit. I don't want to have 6 meals a day... but 3 meals + 1 bite here & there (as long as I count the calories)... it seems to be working for THIS week, lol. Tammy: Wow. Your poor niece! Definitely get her some counselling. And tell her daily how much you love her & how beautiful she is. Stacey: Wooohoooo!! That's cool stuff! Diane: Happy bandiversary!! And that's awesome on the lost weight! I normally do a protein shake for breakfast (I'm SO not a breakfast person). I read others doing oatmeal or fiber cereal... I know I used to be able to do that at work. Someone else said a Zone Bar. Good luck! :tea: (( Hugs to everyone! )) Happy Thursday!

I'm afraid he really believes it. He reminds me of my nephew SO much! But then you see that little twinkle in his eye & wonder if he's not just laughing at the world! :hat: Not the best singer, but I wanna pinch his cheeks! And I always find myself smiling when he's on.

They're only cutting 1 (per the website)... so, um, overall, I think Kevin will be packing it in. Though Melissa may get the boot instead, not sure how the girls will stack up, now that they're running against the guys. And Stevie's performing tonight, woot!

Someone in some thread said that food was their best friend... and that they buried that friend on their surgery day. I like that analogy, cuz I'm going through classic grief symptoms: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance (hmmm, haven't felt that one yet!). I bounce around among the top 4, lol. Oh to hit #5!!!

Oh my word, Stacey!! Stop, stand up, put your arms around yourself & hug yourself HARD!!! Breathe deeply 3 times... tell yourself that you're ok & you're doing amazing!!! Walk to the bathroom & splash your face with cold water (use a paper towel & pat it -- if you're wearing make-up). Stretch in the bathroom a couple of times -- get the blood to flowing. Then hug yourself again, get yourself some protein & water... or warm tea, yum!! ... And go schedule an appointment for a haircut, manicure, pedicure, something for YOU!!! Surgery is known to cause mood swings. AND it's a full moon right now, so the tides are against us... Be nice to yourself!! You need some pampering!! (( Hugs!!! ))

Boy do I hear you!! And with the media attention on you, ouch!! Talk about living in a fish bowl! Hang in there... fills are coming!

Oh my word, lol, you were the "1st bandster in Springfield"? Hehe, too cool! We have a celebrity in our midst!

Awesome!! Welcome mommy! And happy 1 month bandiversary!

I'll take a rough count next week (and call Jason's)... glad to hear folks are talking about coming!! I can't wait to meet all of you! Woohoo!!

Wow! LOL, things have been hopping! I had to make notes to keep it all straight! We're doing great... though we totally ran out of steam on our diet. I was doing great as long as we were on the post-op diet... but our doc's diet is only for 3 weeks, can you believe it! I was terrified of not following it... but now that we're off it, **sigh**. Yeah, thank goodness we don't have a scale... I would be SO depressed! I'm dreading getting on it next Monday! In the past, I haven't been able to successfully diet for longer then 4 weeks. I made it to 6 weeks this time, lol, that in itself is a miracle! We've been trying to gear up on the exercise... but we've fallen off that wagon too, lol. Today is a new day!!! I have found that as long as I chew well & eat slowly & use "food lube" (salad dressing, catsup, etc), just about anything goes down. I really didn't need to know that, lol! When I don't eat slowly (my big downfall), it HURTS!! But 15 min & the pain is gone... **sigh**. It hasn't slowed down my calories much, lol. Cannot wait for our first fill! And on to my notes: StormGirl: I hear you on the starving bit! That's so exciting that you're getting married in June! Congrats! If you're seriously needing to drop poundage before the day, you may have to suffer through a diet... I don't know if the fills will catch up in time! But at least anything you lose, you should keep off this time! Cuz by June your band should be all full & happy! nanster: Our surgeon doesn't even require liquid for fill day! I think I might do it anyway, just because, but he doesn't require any special diet at ALL. SherryW: I read an article last week that advocated THREE months of rest before fills! It strongly suggested it, lol, made me feel guilty for getting it before that! So know that you're being safer then the rest of us. (Don't know if that helps, lol, but it's all I've got!) I love your tips for in-between hunger! Thanks! Stacey: Hehe, I hear you on the nuggets! As long as stuff has "food lube" (something to dip it in), it goes down just fine (well, after chewing forever, of course, lol)! ReneBean: We're getting our fills on the same day! Woot! Cannot wait! Tammy: Hehe, we've been in "last meal" mode for a month now, lol. We did it before we started the pre-op diet, lol, then the day before surgery, and now (AUGH!!)... we're doing "last meal before the fill". **sigh** When will we learn! Michelle: Hope you're feeling better! Becky: SO glad cutting out dairy helped! Hope you can ease back into it later! And congrats on getting through the liquid diet... you're almost there! :lovechoc: Julie*: Congrats on the weight loss, wow! :welldone: That's awesome! Stacey: Awesome news on the 2nd fill! Wow! Julie*: I'm glad Tilly was able to help you! It seems that for right now at least, lol, everything is gas (or wind, lol), huh! :welldone: nanster: LOL at the steristrips! :success1: They told us we could take ours off after a week, lol. Go, um, take a bath & hope they soak off! Hehe. :waytogo: Grats on the loss!! Stacey: Keep us updated! You're the guinea pig for all of us! :waytogo:

He may just be saying that he's not going to give you a tighter fill just to get you below 150. But if you have sufficient restriction, there's nothing keeping you from doing it! You could even do it without sufficient restriction -- I couldn't, lol, but you can!! If I ever lose my weight, I'm going to be having this same discussion with my doc. He said 190 would be great. I'm going for 130, lol. But as long as my band keeps me from OVEReating... I'll get there eventually! The truth is, he CAN'T stop you... if worst comes to worst, you can go to an "a la carte" doc & get another fill. All that being said... you might want to camp a little while at his "magic number"... get a feeling for it, see how it fits you. Take some pictures there. Keep a food & exercise diary there. Then, after you lose more, you can remember what that felt like & how much you were eating & decide which way you want to live. I've got to think that eventually I'll get to a number where being smaller takes too much exercise & too little food, hehe. So then I'll be done. Good luck & congrats on all that weight gone!!

Congrats Leener!! Let us know how it went with the no-pain-killer route, ouch!! Can't imagine! Liquid Tylenol at least? Just remember, 3-4 weeks & this pain will be a distant memory.... (( Hugs!! ))

MsButterKup's pics: Can you say wow!!! (Sorry for the touch-up on the 09-24-05 pic, I changed "Now" to read "1 month".)