argon

No, no, I'm sorry. I didn't realized that when you said "I started" that you meant that YOU actually started/created the challenge, so I just joined the first Sept to Thanksgiving challenge I saw! I was just givin' you a hard time, but not for real :eek:

I just joined.... don't see your name there, Marcar! Is this just some ploy to dupe us into joining challenges while you run away giggling!!??

Count me in. I would LOVE to make it to my final goal by my birthday, which is Nov 25, AND by Christmas, so this challenge is great. At this point, 20lbs seems really ambitious for me, but I'll give it a go anyways. Name.............Chall. Start Wt......Current......Chall. Goal......To Go losingjusme..........273......................273..............238.............35 faithmd................303......................303.............283.............20 mpalen.................229......................229.............200.............29 want2beme...........225......................225.............195.............30 mcgreen...............236..................... 236.............210.............26 wombat712...........179..................... 179.............155.............24 Suzzzie. ...............346......................346.............315.............31 Chris_NJ...............284......................284.............250.............34 Cherrybomb...........311......................311.............291............20 legster..................261.....................261..............235............26 Desertbunnee.........232......................207.............180.............27 areellady...............232......................232...............212............20 sweethot143..........197......................197.............175............22 gweniper...............253......................253...............223...........30 Jeni 85..................237......................237...............207...........30 dacer123...............243......................24 3...............223...........20 momlambert..........207.......................207...............185...........22 Rainer..................295....................... 295................255...........40 glindab.................277....................... 277.................250..........27 Soniacan..............198.5....................198 .5..............175...........23.5 ladydi..................233....................... 233.................208..........25 argon...................162........................162.................142..........20

Vikki, have you been trying anything to switch up the flavour? The only thing that got me through the Optifast during my pre-op was adding Crystal light singles to each shake (and making it like a smoothie with tons of ice, in my magic bullet). If you haven't, I'd HIGHLY advise trying it, if you can't switch your vanilla for chocolate. People have also suggested adding cold Chai tea, various food flavorings (you know, the little bottles you can get near the baking foods)... I even tried sugar-free DaVinci syrups in Dulce de leche and Irish Cream, that I had leftover from my Atkins days. There are TONS of options, I'm sure some other people who've done Otifast will chime in with what they did to make it more palatable. Are you just drinking them as a way to get Protein in, or what? Cause... there are better Protein drinks and/or ways to get your protein! (and yeah, me too... towards the end of my pre-op diet, I was lucky if I had more than ONE Optifast a day, I dreaded it that much.) Mandi

Also... once I find out whether or not I'm leaving NB, I'll decide whether to start back at the gym. If I stay here, I'm going to join Curves. There's one VERY close to my apartment, and ideally, I'd go there in the morning before work.

I just want to say this out loud: I am addicted to ribs. Pork back ribs. (just discovered that they are the better when you have a choice between back and side ribs) It started with me attempting to make greek ribs, which turned out great. I'd never even TRIED BBQ ribs before, but the night Dan proposed, he took me to Montana's, and I tried them, and have since been trying several different preparations of my own. I even made them in a slow cooker last week, and they were pretty good. I had to add extra sauce, and broil em at the end, but....mmmmmm. Last night I made some by 'slow cooking' on a rack, in a Water filled pan, covered with foil, in the oven at 325 for 2.5 hours, then saucing/broiling/flipping like 5 times per side with some Tony Romas sauce from costco that I decided to give a try. They pretty much fell off the bone, although not as bad as the Crockpot version, which was a good thing. I love them, and I'm only slightly ashamed to admit it. If anyone wants to add any rib cooking tips, feel free...

I feel your pain. I only got Vanilla, and it was horrrrible. I wish I'd got chocolate instead. I ended up with enough left over to sell one box, and I STILL have about 10 packets in my cupboard that I can't bear to throw away, even though I'll never drink them again!! How much longer does your surgeon want you on Optifast? We were supposed to keep taking it for a week or so after surgery, but I couldn't take it, and had maybe 2 !

Interesting... I don't think I've heard of him. But that's great to know. How long of a wait did you have to get surgery?

Can I guess!? Dr. Christou?

Us old ladies like to get together and gab over cheesecake and coffee, Rob... sheesh. :rolleyes (that's why I'm lucky that LBT is my support as well! hehe)

Congrats angel, we're all proud of you and I definitely will keep an eye out for when you post your 2 cents, and you do the same for me Take care, Mandi

Tracith, I was banded in ON by Dr. Cobourn. I would go to ON too, over Maine. Dr. Cobourn specifically, has a lady in Pictou, NS doing fills, who is FABULOUS, and another in Fredericton, which I haven't gone to see yet. Honestly, Freddie's only about half an hour closer to me than Pictou, so I'd probably opt to go see lady #1 for my fills. (If I were you) I'd probably go back to TO for my first initial fill, at about 6 weeks, but after that, going to see the closer-by fill people would be easier. I was living in SK when I had my first fill, and Dr. Cobourn happened to be going to Calgary at that time, so I drove there to see him. I had to fly to TO for a day trip fill once, and it wasn't bad. Feel free to PM me if you want to ask me anything else! (or right here is fine too!)

I eFiled also, the very first day we could... so... March 1st? So don't worry, they still have lots of time to hassle you for your receipts. Mine 'went through' without any problem that I knew of... I got my refund quickly and without any questions, until now. I'm sure it'll be fine. The amount I claimed is the exact amount I HAD receipts for, so I'm not worried. Lucky this thread keeps being brought up, cause I keep forgetting to send 'em away!

Congrats Cindy... that's great you're up and at 'em so quick

I'm sure you'll have had a hefty weight loss in 7 months... but whatever it is, it'll make your plane ride significantly more comfortable!

start paying attention to how close to going to bed you eat or drink, and stop everything a couple hours at least before bed... and if that doesn't work, try 3 hours, and longer til it does work. I had to get a defill because of this. You shouldn't live with it, and it's not good for you. You could get aspiration pneumonia from inhaling the stuff that comes up. That's why you're coughing right? You inhale and choke on whatever the liquid is that comes up? That's what it was for me. I'd get a defill. It would help it. I know it sucks, but you can't live with that... it's hell. Has it been like this since your last fill 5 months ago?

Ok, I have to do it... this thread being brought back up is a sign! I just got 2 kittens from the SPCA on friday... got a 'it's kind of ok' from our landlord, so we ran with it. The grey and white one is mine and her name is Muffin. The black and white one is Pan, and Dan named her that after a character in a book we just read. They're both girls... we wanted boys cause they're cheaper to 'fix', but oh well... we fell in love, what can ya do. I loooove cats so much, and I'm so happy to have one (two) again. I know it's going to make moving and finding another apartment difficult, but... I'm prepared to deal with that!

Awww Chickie... did you delete your scar pic?! I must see!

Just got my 'review' of my medical claim in the mail today! Lucky for me, I have all the receipts set aside for just such an event! Anyone know if you need to send the originals of the receipts?

That's incredibly ridiculous. Wow... maybe I should have Inamed sign me up for a course, and I can start doing it too. I've been playing video games for years, so I've got the hand-eye coordination. I guess all the training these surgeons do learning not to KILL US laparoscopically, doesn't count. WLS IS covered in Canada. RNY/bypass/DS, whatever you chose, whatever you want to call it, is free for all... just find someone to do it, and wait the 5+ years it's gonna take to get it done. Alberta has not set the precident. I don't know if there's any prov. doing it longer, but New Brunswick has been covering it (just not the cost of the band) for at least a couple years now.

Welcome, infamous Maral! I'm a big fan Not from Fort McMurray, but there's gotta be SOME lurking around here. Glad to see you posting... get your self a ticker! *wink wink* Mandi

Wine makes me feel 'funny'.... I get all hot and purple-faced splotchy, and it hits me WAY fast. I'm supposedly a Rosacean, and may come from that.... or maybe I'm allergic. I dunno. I wasn't always like that though. It's annoying, cause I like wine.

Hey guys! Guess who's at 20lbs to go!? 162 this morning. I don't know why, but it's like when I say "screw it, i hate this scale!" and seem to not care or think about it, I see scale movement! I'm not even thinking about a fill anymore. I can eat a fair amount, but I like it, and as long as I'm losing again, I don't mind.

Congrats sweet! You're well on your way to doing awesome!

I'm curious what reasons, besides the aftercare (I'd like to know what kind of aftercare he offers that's so great to a long-distance-er, like me), you had for choosing Dr. K? Also wondering how much he charges?