Great2BThin

Huggie, So sorry to hear of all you have been through, but good for you for getting back on track and getting some counselling to get things going in the right direction again. You'll be back in 'onederland' in no time! Come back and post again. This thread has gotten so quiet, I miss everyone.

Janet, that is how I am beginning to feel. I am tired of putting myself out there and then get swatted down. I hate acting like things are fine when we are together as that just seems to empower them to keep acting the same way. My grandma is very special to me and for that reason I tolerate more of the family stuff than I otherwise would when we are all together, which isn't often. Apples, what an amazing woman you are to have survived that and put it behind you and have the life you do now. Thanks for sharing. I've kindda decided that it's worth 'keeping it together' while my 100 y old grandma is still living but after that, things either will change or I am out of there. I know a lot fo my sister's issues due have to do with jealousy over the weight. I've always been the fat sister, now that I am not that any more and am in fact the thinnest sister it messes up their whole pecking order. btw, you sound so much younger! I can just see you prancing around the house. LOL Linda, congrats on being 'overweight' isnt that a great feeling? something someone who hasn't been there and done that could relate to. Laura, how was the first day of school??

Good morning, I am ready too early for work so thought I'd check it. I hate it when I have extra time this early in the morning as that means I could've slept another 10 min! :sleep: Feeling a little better about things this morning. It's my mom and sisters that are driving me nuts. DH tells me that I have too much of a Norman Rockwell image in my head that we are some how going to be this close family and it isn't going to ever happen. I think at 50 yrs old I am finally getting that and am getting tired of trying. I put myself out there and then just get knocked down. I have a wonderful husband and kids and that is my family now and the heck with them! I can't force something that's not there. My folks announced yesterday they are coming for Christmas and it's already messy. :tongue2: Meredith, you are the same age as my son, are you single? LOL I know you are in a relationship. You sound so much more mature than my 26 yr old! Neither of my kids can live w/o their cell phones. Good for you on the credit cards! We are almost debt free when it comes to cards and are strictly cash folks now as well. Wish I had done that at your age! Eva, can you get a fill sooner than a month? I got them every 2 weeks at the beginning, it helped a lot. I unfortunately took many fills to get to my sweet spot. Hang in there it will get better, even if you have to wait.

If, well I had 2 of the 3 surgeries already, the band of course, also had a hysterectomy that also changed my life for the better. So maybe I should go for the trifecta too and get the knees. Am anxious to see what the doc says next week. Apples, maybe Fritos are such a good fire starter due to all the oil in them. I think from the stress I have tightened up, I had a hard time with dinner tonight. IT's the first I've noticed stress being a factor in my band. I hadn't PB'd in a long time til tonight. Peas, good luck to your little one going back to school tomorrow. It's always nice to get some structure back to your routine. Speaking of structure, I am going to get a little bit of that with working out. I may have a new workout partner at the rec center. Our first appt together is on Friday morning when I get off work. I need to remember to take my clothes with me and then I can just change and workout before I come home from work. Oh, a trainer at the rec center is giving a weight loss seminar next Friday night. Guess who they asked to speak about weight loss??? Your's truly, not sure what I will say yet and she is going to give me some talking points she wants me to cover. Kindda cool, this is the same rec center I won the Biggest Loser competition last winter. It's amazing to me for someone to think of me to talk about weight loss. Guess in the head I still don't see it yet I know it's there.

Ahhh, Janet, so sorry for your horrible, awful, really bad day. But now you know eating or drinking yourself to oblivion isn't going to help one iota. What would you tell us? I'm having a similar day though mine is due to extended family issues and I am just ticked off, and hurt, right now and having a bit of a pity party with a bag of Fritos, Fritos aren't helping. So I know of what I speak at the moment that eating isn't going to help! Why is doing the right thing and then getting squashed like a bug for it seem to be the norm?

Welcome home Apples!! Dang it all if you are cooking at the 'retreat' I am really going to be missing out. Linda, thanks for the cell phone alarm tip. When the power went out that night, I did set it. But then in my sleepless stupor worried it wouldn't go off because it was plugged in to the charger. Phyl, hope the surgery is over now and you are on your way to a speedy recovery. I am so nervous and anxious about my knee appt next week. Part of me wants surgery so bad, then the chicken part of me that hears how horrible the recovery is says nah, I can live with the constant pain. JAnet, you are right, I am now an official shopper. I am going to the outlets on Saturday! LOL I am in need of winter clothes as last winter I was still mostly in Plus sizes for about half of it. Like Apples I have the brands I like and tend to stay away from trendies or if I get trendy stuff I get that in the cheaper stores, but a comfy pair of good fitting jeans I'll pay for! Last time at the outlets I got an Ann Taylor cashmere sweater for $7!! I'd love to find that bargain again! Julie, hope the neck/back are okay from the fender bender. Take it easy and don't over do it with the child care. GitR (frances), my screen name used to be Long2BThin but when I hit goal I changed it to Great2BThin but my name is Lori and go by Long or Great on here though Great sounds kindda stuck up! :thumbup:

I didn't used to be so good on my vitamins but then I had some lab tests come back either at 6 or 9 mos that said I was deficient in Vit B1 and B12 and iffy on calcium. So since then I've been pretty faithful and my 1 yr lab tests were perfect! Moral of the story: TAKE YOUR VITAMINS! I recently started taking something called Cormega for Omega 3's. They've started really recommending that at my appts. It's much better than those fish oil capsules. It is orange chocolate flavored and you squirt it out of a packet like you get ketchup in. It's supposed to be great for cardiovascular health but another benefit they say is decreased joint swelling, so am hoping it helps that. I've only taken it less than a week so far though. Meredith, see fills aren't too bad. Glad it went well for you. You are doing great! Arlene, probably good you aren't getting another fill since you've had issues. Maybe try journalling if you think it's a 'head issue', some say that helps a lot. You are doing great though. How's DH doing since his bypass? Florida, I am so jealous. Just don't think I can swing it with going to Isreal a week later, sure I can fly free but might as well forget that over Presidents day weekend, flights will be too full. I will look forward to lots of photos!

Janet, interesting that you think I like to shop. But I guess I do now, I always hated it before as I hated trying stuff on and trying to find something that didn't make me look 'fat' as if that was possible at 305 lbs. But it's so fun now to go in any store and be able to find stuff that fits and sometimes that's even Mediums or size 8's. WOO HOO!! I got a M sweater today at Ann Taylor Loft, they didn't have the color I wanted in an L so tried on the M. It's tighter fitting but fits. DD says I wear things too loose the way it is. Arlene, thanks for the update on Big Medicine. I miss that show and when they air the reruns now I think I've seen them all. No camping isn't my favorite thing to do. LOL But I do like getting away and the beautiful CO mountains and for the most part DH's cell phone doesn't work. LOL This past weekend was special as both my kids came up for the night, we were all 4 together. I have one trip left and that's Sept 18 to Rocky Mtn national park to hear the elk bugle and watch them fight. It's the 'rut' and those big bulls are fun to watch fighting for their harems. LOL We are going with some HS friends and my kids are joining us then too. I just pray it's not too awfully cold in a tent! Sept could be hot or it could be freezing! One never knows in CO

Was excited to come home from camping and see some activity here! I am doing good. Still maintaining, though would like to get to the lower end of my range. I went to the nutritionist last week and she gave me some 'tweaks' to what I am doing and will see if that does the trick. One such tweak was instead of eating my kashi with skim milk in the mornings to put 2 TBSP of Kashi Go lean in a Dannon light and fit yogurt. She said more protein and would make me full longer, and boy does it! I can't even eat the whole yogurt container. Went shopping with DD last week and am now the owner of a few new pairs of size 8's!! So maybe the one size 8 I had wasn't a fluke after all!! Though some styles I still need a 10 but that's okay I'll take it!

Good morning! I am back from camping and had a wonderful time and best part, NO BEARS. The 2nd best, the weather was PERFECT! Both my kids joined us on Sat. night so that was perfect too. You folks were busy posting while I was away, I read them all but can't even begin to catch up and respond to each one. Other than to say, welcome newbies, congrats to losers and 'bandiversaries', and hugs to strugglers with family, health, and other issues. I did see a post or two about how to spell dessert. The way I always was taught to keep desert (the place Janet lives) and dessert (the yummy stuff) straight is that you always would like a 2nd piece of dessert so that's why it has 2 S's. :biggrin: Off to the mall, meeting my son to help him pick out a shirt and tie for a big meeting at his work.

Greetings! Wow 3 pages of posts to catch up on and 1 1/2 of those were from Apples!! LOL Love it! Now I missed her it sounds like as she is off to the lake again. HOpe you are having a good time as I know you are! Feb meeting. I'd LOVE to come, but rather doubt it. My folks live north of Orlando too so I could've visited them and then joined this gathering. HOwever at the end of Feb I am going on a trip/tour over to Isreal and the Holy Land. Doubt I can swing this trip just a week or so before that. DANG IT!! But...Julie, you ought to go. This trip by yourself would be such a growing experience for you and such a confidence booster. Sure, you'll be nervous and scared, but when you get there and meet all these beautiful women you will feel so good about it and have these gals to celebrate with. I hear just what you are saying about middle seats, seat belt extenders. I am in a position where I can fly anywhere in the world when I want for free, but yet I never went for those same reasons. We fly standby as employees and get the last empty seats which many times are center seats. I'd get so panicked. But now 126 lbs less I fit just fine. Now I just need unlimited $$$ so I can travel. Yes I can go free, but it costs money when I get there for hotels, cars, shopping, etc. Melinda, I have 11 ccs in my band (it's a 14cc band) everyone is different. I needed 7 or 8 fills. I had some restriction all along but would lose the restriction really fast as I was losing weight. I am good now and have not had a fill in months. The average your nurse was giving you is just that an average. That means some folks were less and some were more. However, be sure you are eating the harder proteins and not soft or slider foods as that makes a big difference on the full feeling as well. Freezing, butter, cheese, meats, I freeze it all too. I buy stuff on sale and put it in the freezer. No problems except when I forget to date it or rotate stuff in my freezer and it gets forgotten. Those new ziploc freezer bags are great but we have also recently invested in a seal a meal type thing that is even better. Laura, glad your dad is taking a turn for the better again, let's hope the road to recovery is now straight with no more turns for the worse! Janet aka kitty grandma, congrats on your new additions! LOL How's the one doing? is it going to make it? are you going to sell them or give them away? I'd take one if I wasn't so so so allergic to them, (to the point of needing steroid injections and very close to hospitalization last time I spent some time with some kitties). Well off to lunch with a friend, then gotta pack for camping.

Susan, I had my gall bladder out exactly 2 mos after my band surgery. The same surgeon did it and he was able to use some of the same incisions, only had one new one. You'll do great and feel so much better afterwards.

Good morning! Meredith, CONGRATS! I lost like that too, nothing and then suddenly 3 or 4 lbs. I never was numbed for a fill either and other than the first one, none of them ever hurt. The first one maybe I was still tender from surgery?? Who knows. My fills were just the opposite, they gave them if you lost weight because of losing that fat pad, evidently I had quite a bit as I had 7 or 8 fills in my first year. My first couple were only 2 weeks apart. My last ones were a few months apart. Now I am good and don't foresee ever needing another, but one never knows I suppose. Laura, sorry about your dad, hope you get some answers soon. Well off to work. Why do I suddenly want a cookie???

Definitely no judging here, was just trying to offer solutions to the cookie munchies. I'm not one that loves to cook so that's easy for me to say too. But do like to bake cookies. My solution would be to bake raisins in cookies then I won't touch 'em! :sad:

Good morning, Well today is another one of those days. Just got home from work, leave in a bit to get my gray covered in my hair and then have to take that bad tire in to get fixed at Costco, will shop some there. I hope to be home in time to take a short nap. I get up at 4am and try and take naps 2 days a week on Tues and Thurs sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Tomorrow is hospital volunteer day. Thurs is get Grandma's RXs, stop by her place and lunch with a friend. Friday is camping again! Lookout for bears. I just made a knee dr appt for my knee to get it looked at. It's bothering me more and more and I am starting to think about getting it replaced. The knee cap or something is starting to cave in too. Also this new health insurance the gov't is trying to push through is scaring me and I'd like to get it done by who I want and when I want so am thinking of sooner rather than waiting. The soonest appt was Sept 2nd so I have time to compile all my questions. Phyl, any pertinent ones I should ask?? Your surgery is soon isn't it? Bubba, do you have to make cookies? Can't he take store bought ones or some fruit or something instead? Explain how difficult it is for you to do that and I'd think he'd understand. Of course, our guys love our baked goods but DH has learned to go without pretty easily. Plus he really didn't need to be eating them either. Janet, how's that new 'cube' doing? Sorry you had to go through that, I know it's gotta be tough. Any idea what happened to boos and bochs??

Good afternoon. Today was my turn to see the nutritionist in my docs office (never saw her before) and she helped me tweak things a little so I can maybe lose a few more pounds so I have some cushion at the upper end of my range. Things like put my Kashi cereal in the morning in yogurt instead of milk to make it last longer, cut down on the calories, and more protein. There was a discussion a bit ago about nutritionists that charged. Mine charges too, but I am over a year out as well. It was $55. Today has been a whirlwind of a day. Went to work, got off an hour early to go to court with DH. Today was the day FINALLY that one of the carjackers in DH's carjacking attack last month was to be arraigned (the other was killed in the shoot out). Well seems they got a delay now til the 9th of Sept but is sounding like he may plea bargain and get 30 to 40 yrs!! If not it will go to trial and DH will have to testify. But in between work and court I got a flat tire in my brand new tires! GRRRR seems I picked up a screw. So tomorrow will have to take it back to Costco to be repaired. I hate driving that far on that baby spare tire. But first things first tomorrow, first it is my hair appt! LOL Today I got a pedicure to relax me. LOL

Oh Janet, so sorry about your bad day, but thanks for being so honest and transparent with us, to show us even our 'hero mentor' has bad days and they are to be expected and we can learn to deal with them. Even though you were upset with yourself in turning to food, etc. it is so much less than what you would have done prebanding. This must be the weekend for car woes. DH is out in the garage replacing the brakes on our mountaineer. Last weekend at 10,000 feet elevation they started making noises. I was a tad nervous with all the steep inclines we had to go down if they brakes were wearing He kept reassuring me that it was just an indicator telling him they were going not that they went yet. I figure at that elevation you need every bit of brake you can have!

Well here you folks all are. I just knew that there was no way that everyone has been quiet for 2 days. I stopped getting email notifications again and that is how I usually always visit. So today I came to the site to find I am 3 pages behind on posts. DH has been out of town to SFO but came home today. I didn't eat well while he was gone, too much snacking. Last night DD and I went to see Julie/Julia and my dinner was movie popcorn. I also didn't sleep well, my power went out for 4 hours one night and I was so afraid of oversleeping in the morning (I get up for work at 415am) that I didn't sleep at all til the power came back on which was 330. Tired + loneliness+stress for all I had to get done does not = wise food choices for me. But at least I was able to identify my problem instead of just eating more out of guilt, etc. like I did in the past. Sorry I am so behind in reading to respond to each person.

Good afternoon. Busy busy day for me today but got a lot accomplished. For those that think I am outdoorsy, HA HA!!! Not at all, I am just trying as I know DH loves it. I'd much rather be in a fancy hotel, room service, etc. But I do love the outdoors just not crazy about tents and outhouses! But to have my whole family together this past weekend was priceless and the absences of the comforts of home was worth it. Peas, sorry to hear your Dad isn't better. Hopefully he'll get the care he needs at Duke.

I'm back and the bears didn't get me!! Didn't even see any sign of them, though they did have all the warnings out about them in the area. We were 20 miles from Steamboat Springs and went into town yesterday, fun city! Looks so different in the summer seeing as how it is such a huge ski town. WE camped about 5 miles from the Continental Divide so we were way up high about 9500 to 10,000 feet up. It got cold at night and I wasn't as prepared as I should've been. Of course, DH wasn't cold at all but since losing weight I get so cold so easily. The wildflowers were just gorgeous too. Just beautiful up there. LJV, I lived in Vegas (Henderson actually in the Green Valley area) in the early 90's too or maybe it was mid 90's. Exercise, I agree on the I hate it part. I hate the sweating, etc. And depending on what one means when they say 'be more active' would depend to me on if they need more exercise on top of that. To me parking further, taking the stairs is good, but isn't a substitute for a good cardio workout or strength training workout. But if your more active is say riding your bike to and from work, well then I'd say that qualifies. What I do like is what the exercise has done for my body and my health. Well I've skimmed the posts can't remember all I read, and will try and catch up more later. Hope Laura's Dad is doing better.

WooHoo!! Congrats on the 3 lbs!! How's DH doing by the way??

That dang ol' acid reflux would be a bad thing. Glad you are taking care of it right away, that happened to me once. Just a small amount out and I was good.

Good morning! Been a busy few days. Today should be calmer, but I got some packing to do and shopping to do for our camping trip this weekend. Hopefully w/o bears! My kids are both coming as well as DD's fiance so should be fun. Peas, hope your dad continues to improve, am glad you have your sister to share this with! How's Nelsons sniffles? Arlene, could you have eaten something or too much too big and that irritated your band? Would a day or so allow it to settle down? Seems odd that it would be fine then so tight, but I have heard of people's fills kicking in after the fact. Good luck in figuring it out! LTV, have fun on your vacation! What kind of resort are you going to? Apples, am sure you are enjoying your company! Well I am running late for work so better get, a shout out to all I didn't get mentioned! Doesn't mean you weren't thought of!

Janet, you are right. No more than 5 lbs is ever coming back on this body. I guess I am having a hard time wrapping my head around that. I have lost and regained weight so many times in the past that it's scary to think this is it! But that is one main reason I chose a band surgery, I want to always have that restriction to help me maintain. I am going to wait on the dresses. It was fun to try on, reassuring to know that yes I can do a dress now, and will wait til closer to the holidays to get one. Around that time of year they should have lots of nice dresses out and heck might even get a bargain after the holidays. Just got home from taking Grandma to lunch. We went to Golden Corral and I can do a buffet no problem now. Was not tempted to over indulge even. It was the perfect place for me to take her to eat. If we go to a sit down place she only orders soup as she is afraid to spend too much. If I buy she is even worse as she doesn't want me to spend money on her. If I take her there, it's paid for and she has to be sure she gets her money's worth. She's so funny that way and the whole family has been worried she's not eating enough or right lately so this was great. Think it might become a weekly stop for us. She loved it. BTW, this is my 100 yr old grandma, still going out to lunch and shopping one day a week with me. How cool is that?? We so hope she lives to see my daughter get married, it's one reason my daughter wants a shorter engagement, it would mean so much to her.

OCO, sounds like you handled your vacations super!! I am originally from Wisconsin, beautiful country I love the lakes and trees, not so much the humidity in the summer and the super cold in the winter though. As for the food, sometimes we gotta do the best with what we have or what is available. Sounds like you did. Congrats!