Great2BThin

Thanks for the kudos on my steep hike. It was definitely a defining moment for me and an emotional one. As for bears and guns, Joann is right, no guns in the Nat'l park, that law was just passed however, and I believe it's next year that they will allow it in that park. Instead DH had a hammer. LOL He's in his flannel PJ type pants, some dorky slip on shoes, a tiny flashlight in one hand and hammer in the other. Thank God the bear didn't see him or was interested in him. How'd the bear get in the window? Seems DH may not have closed it tight when he sealed up the car for the night. He got all the other windows and locked the vehicle, and put a tarp over the coolers as we were instructed to do. Bears can recognize coolers they said and have been known to break windows to get in as well. OK so I had my wild animal experience early SUnday morning with the bear. Guess what I had today? A coyote! We have lots of them around our area as it was all prararie until a few years ago, we can hear them howl at night. This morning when I went to work, I pulled in the parking lot and he was across the street and started to come over my way. I decided I was waiting in the car until he was well on his way whether I was going to be late or not. My boss gave me a bad time all day for attacting wild animals. This after he came to the desk to give me something and kills a yellowjacket on the floor by my chair. That's enough critters! Well other than the beautiful deer and elk we saw this weekend. I've heard folks say when they fly that the altitude affects their bands, I've never noticed that flying. But I did notice with our camping trip at about 9,000 feet elevation that I was much tighter. One night I skipped dinner so i could have my s'more. I mean what's camping w/o a s'more?? I knew if I ate dinner there'd be no room for the s'more. WEll I gotta get off the computer, just found out my folks are coming tomorrow instead of Wed. and staying at my house Tues. night before moving to my sisters on Wed. I thought I had til Sat. to clean which is when they were goign to come. EGADS!! And it's a mess, just stuff to put away from the weekend etc. Arlene, good luck with this fill, hope it's the one for you! Julie, I enjoyed your Bible verse. Meredith, please check in and let us know how you are doing! Laura, sounds like you have a great relationship with your parents. You are lucky! Mine is better now than it's been, but is strained a lot with my mom. The ol' 'nothing is ever good enough' syndrome. But finally at 50 yrs old I got better about not needing her approval. Took me long enough.

I did it!! I made it to the top of that trail. It was freezing cold, we were in the clouds but I did it. I was surprised at how easy it was starting out. It wasn't until I was about 3/4 of the way to the top that I really started feeling it. I got really winded and that could've been the altitude as well as being exhausted. I had shorts on because it was 86 degrees at home when we left, it was 41 degrees at the bottom of that trail and windy the windchill and colder temps at the top had to have made it only in the 30's. I am attempting to attach a photo at the top. I didn't have my Tshirt yet as I bought that when I climbed back down. It was such an exhilerating experience and very emotional for me as last year that looked so insurmountable. And then for some more excitement. We spent 2 nights in a tent camping in a campground in Rocky Mtn Nat'l park. There were bear warnings all over. Well we got visited by one last night at 2am He got in our car and ate all our food. He had hot dogs, chips, cookies, marshmellows, a tub of butter, 2 bags dog food, buns, bacon & eggs. I was never so scared in all my life. I wasn't scared of death but of the pain getting there. Oh and he had chicken. The chicken container was on the ground outside our tent about 2 feet from my head. I couldn't wait for daylight so we could pack up to come home. It was so pitch dark out that we couldn't see to pack up even with our flashlights plus the noise we'd have made packing up in the night. We got breakfast at McD's in town on our way home and I was still shaking this morning. DH is afraid I won't go camping again. I had an awesome time til then.

Welcome back Hunzi!! And congrats to DH on his band too!! ANd for reaching 50 lbs!! As for mushies, one thing I recently heard but never tried is to take cottage cheese, mix in some marinera sauce (nothing with chunks in it) and melt some cheese on it and it's like a mini lasagna minus the meat and pasta. My favorite mushy was a bean and cheese cup from Del Taco or Taco Bell.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery Meredith. I will be out of town for the weekend, but checking in on Monday to see how you are doing. Arlene, sounds encouraging for DH. Hope he gets a new date soon. I just got done watching an episode of Big Medicine and thought of you. It was actually one I must've missed. Not sure I'll have time to post in the morning, if not I will let you know MOnday how my climb went.

Peas, your story about Nelson brings back memories of my rambunctious son and our many trips to the ER. Worst one he went nose first over the front of his big wheels. Boys! You will do that Inca trail again soon! I charged my camera so I can get a pic from the top tomorrow. About this time tomorrow I should be climbing. I do know I am tighter in my band some days than others, never noticed if it correlated to being dehydrated, will have to watch for that and see. Linda, they do make some nice cots these days. We got a mid range one but it's higher and wider than the cheapie one but not as delux as the deluxe model.

There's probably as many answers to that as there are pre op diets. It is supposed to shrink the liver however and make surgery easier. But it would do all of the above. Some docs seem to require it for up to 2 weeks before surgery and others not at all. I only had to do 24 hours of liquids. But then again it may not be so much differing docs opinions but differing patients conditions as well.

Love the new pic Joann!! Dh is telling me all the time I need to get a job at Bass Pro for the discount! LOL

Joann, now's the time to get the big tent. It's on sale for $40 off. I was so frustrated when I got that ad in the mail today. So off we went to Bass Pro with our receipt and yep they credited us the $40. I wanted it credited back to my account but nope, hubby saw and opportunity and said he'd take it in a store credit. LOL

Hi Joann, Bass Pro has some pretty nice cots these days! We got the kingsize ones. Then we got home and they didn't fit in our tent so , yep you got it, we got a bigger tent. Hubby didn't complain too much as he has ulterior motives for the cots and tent for hunting.

MountainGal, good luck in your research. One other thing I forgot to mention, I was self pay and all my medical costs were deductible on my taxes. My tax refund this year was about $4000 higher than it's ever been before as a result of that deduction so a bit of it did come back to me. Of course, everyone's tax situation is different and I am in no means giving tax advice! It was a cost that was so worth it to me, it has given me my life back. And of course the grocery bill is much smaller! BUt clothing bill much higher! LOL

Mountaingal, I was self pay for my surgery, I took out a loan to pay for mine. Many doctor offices have a cash price and it's less than the insurance price. Also, there's a dr Kirschenbaum here in Denver that many people on these boards have flown to from across the country to have surgery with as he charges under $10,000. Look for the Dr. K thread they are all very happy with him, as an option to going to Mexico. I am in Denver but did not use him as I liked my surgeon so much and he came so highly recommended to me and his secretary/receptionist was so rude on the phone but after talking to many of his patients who all love her, I must've hit her on a bad day, everyone is entitled to one here and there! Good luck to you. I got banded at age 50 and lost 125 lbs in one year so yes us more mature folks can do it. I think being older has an advantage, we are wiser, we are more motivated and tend to be doign it more for our health.

And you look good, Allie, can't imagine how great you'll look after December! This weekend, I am going camping in a tent! YIKES!! LOL Anyhow, last June DH & I went for a drive over Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mtn Nat'l park. At the summit there is a gift shop and next to it a huge staircase to the top of the mountain (about 14,000 feet). It looked so daunting, but I said then that this summer I was going to go climb that staircase. We are meeting my best friend from HS too and her husband, all 4 of us graduated together. Anyway I am climbing those stairs on Friday afternoon, then I am going to the gift shop and buying the Tshirt that says I climbed them. I'll try and get a picture at the top. Hope my knee holds out. It's worse on my knee coming down though than up. This morning I went to Goodwill and tried on some stuff and got a nice pair of capris in a size 8!!!! Funny how sizes work I tried on 8, 10's and 12's. Some fit in all sizes and some were too small in all sizes. Can't they just make sizes standard?

Good afternoon. I had to go visit Grandma this morning so thought while I was over that way I'd pop in at Goodwill and buy those size 8 shorts I liked and didn't get on Monday. But, alas, they were gone, BUT.......I got me a pair of size 8 capris and they fit!! They are in the wash now so I can wear them asap. Thanks for all the input on my new screen name. It's looking like it will be Great2Bthin, I will change it when I get back this weekend. And Joann, you are more than welcome to my old name, I'll let you know when I change it. I'm on Facebook too, I like friends!! Oh this weekend, can't remember if I told you what I am doing yet or not. If I am repeating myself, chalk it up to a senior moment. LOL Anyhow, last June DH & I went for a drive over Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mtn Nat'l park. At the summit there is a gift shop and next to it a huge staircase to the top of the mountain (about 14,000 feet). It looked so daunting, but I said then that this summer I was going to go climb that staircase. So we are going camping, in a tent no less, EGADS!! What have I gotten myself into, but I got a nice cot, it was a condition of me tent camping! We are meeting my best friend from HS too and her husband, all 4 of us graduated together. Anyway I am climbing those stairs on Friday afternoon, then I am going to the gift shop and buying the Tshirt that says I climbed them. I'll try and get a picture at the top. Hope my knee holds out. It's worse on my knee coming down though than up.

Oh I like that too!! Long2StayThin LongNoMore Great2BThin I had never shopped Goodwill before losing weight before either. But have found lots of great summer clothes. Almost all are brands like Ann Taylor, JonesNY, Liz, etc. too. Now when I just wear something a time or two I don't feel guilty. I've gotten most of my summer bottoms there as sizes were changing so quickly. Most tops I have gotten in the stores, I haven't had as much luck finding tops as bottoms at Goodwill. And one particular Goodwill store seems to have more for me than another. The challenge of the hunt!

Interesting how I was perceived by others. Last night I went down to the hospital's lapband support group at the hospital. I have not gone to that one before but went because a special speaker was supposed to be there (who no showed). Anyhow, I get there and the door is locked. The facilitator was there and 2 other people. She called security and we waited for 45 min. in that hallway for them to open the door. So when I get there I ask if they are there for the lapband meeting. They said yes, they asked me if I was there for the diabetes meeting I said no. So I assumed, they knew I was there for the lapband meeting as well since I asked even. But the whole 45 min. waiting no one talked to me. I asked questions of them, how long they were banded etc. But they just weren't real inclusive of me in their conversations, I thought well I am just the newbie to this group. Finally the door gets unlocked and we go into the meeting room. They look at me funny. They then go around and do introductions, where we say our name, our surgeon, when our surgery was and how much we have lost. They were all shocked I was a lapband patient. They then said they couldn't figure out why I was there as I looked so normal. ME!! NORMAL!! That they'd have never guessed I ever had a weight issue. When I told htem I once weighed 305 they were amazed. That totally rocked my world! And the leader helped me put it in perception. I had said how I wanted to lose that last 9 lbs to be 'normal' as in BMI. She said, honey, you are so normal. We'd never have guessed you fat ever, and if you ask any woman on the street if she weighed her ideal they'd all want to lose 10 more lbs even the skinny ones. So I'm normal!! So this has got me thinking, I need some opinions. My screen name here has always been Long2Bthin. Now that I'm longing no more, should I change it? Though I don't think of myself as thin yet, but maybe something like LongNoMore?? any other ideas?? hoping this post didn't sound like bragging, but it was a huge light bulb moment for me!

Janet, I was thinking the same thing after I left Goodwill especially since the 8s had a yellow tag which meant 50% off so they'd have been $1.50, what was I thinking? But alas, Grandma loves to go to Goodwill so there's always next time.

Apples, I was supposed to see my doc on the 30th and it's awesome to know I would've made the goal of under 180 by then. But it got cancelled and rescheduled not til Jul 28th so I will be able to be firmly in the 170's! I'm shooting for 175 now. Well gals, just got home from a Goodwill shopping trip. After wearing shorts this weekend, I decided I needed more than 1 pair so I got a pair at goodwill. Jones NY for only $3 not too shabby. Size 10's too!! WOO HOO!! I couldn't decide between 2 pairs and one was a 12 and one was a 10 so my daughter said when it doubt go with the better size. LOL

I'd love to see your pics, I sent you a PM. You must be getting our cool weather we had last week. today is the first day it has felt like summer. FINALLY!! Just got home from Goodwill and a 'new' pair of shorts for $2.99 and they were Jones NY too! Size 10's, 8's didn't make my legs look good. You know me and my leg complex

I didn't even know Smashbox had a bare mineral makeup that must've came out after I left there. Have you tried other shades of BE?? I get the tan. Leslie is a little phony and Lisa R OMG. All the hosts there were pretty nice except her and Bob B. (he's no longer there) they had a real celebrity air about them. They'd hardly acknowlege you if you ran into them in the halls etc. Everyone else there was a joy to work with and it was really a fun place. The Quacker Factory lady, Jeanne Bice, was a hoot and her shows were fun to work. Question, I get up a little after 4 every day for work. How come some days I am ready 20 min early and have time to kill before work and others I am rushing out the door? GRRRR Don't like having spare time I could've slept in the early morning hours.

I thought of Beckyo the other day. She used to post what she ate every day. And Ellen (Wiredshut) where are you?? Just ordered me some QVC today. My DD got an email to advance order the Bare Escentuals Todays special Value so we got our's ordered. Love that make up! Janet, the sleeve person on 50s wasn't stirring up too much like the other person but she's just so negative about the band to others. I feel for those that had bad luck with the band as it's been so wonderful for me, but sometimes think they get a little zealous trying to save the rest. We all need to be aware of the risks of whatever procedure we have but because one has a bad reaction doesn't mean another will. I believe all types of WLS are good for different folks for different reasons. Of course, I am partial to my band right now, but sleeve was not an option for me at the time either.

Ah Janet, your post almost brought tears to my eyes. You have been such an intrigal part of my journey and I owe a lot to you! I mostly just post here and my Junebug thread now. I still go to 50's somewhat but am finding it not to be as friendly or supportive anymore. Too much band bashing between the person that got sleeved and the other that got bypassed. I understand the band isn't for everyone and some have had bad experiences, but feel this is a band support forum and they shouldn't be so negative about it either, I mean to tell a newly banded person that maybe they didn't get the right surgery more or less was cruel. Yes I do feel in a way I have earned the gold. I am far beyond where I ever thought possible for me to be weight wise. If I never lose another pound this will all be totally worth it. I can live in the 170's and wear a size 10 and stay off my b/p meds forever. BUT....it would be so cool to lose every ounce of my 'excess body weight' to first of all be a 'normal BMI' and 2nd of all to prove all those stats wrong that say banders lose only 50% and it takes them 2 to 3 years. I lost about 90% of my excess body weight in a year. So I am in no way offended by saying I still have the gold to reach, heck maybe it's the platinum? Doodle, enjoy those 'new' clothes. I still have a few in my closet that I hang on to, but am probably going to be tossing them soon. Goodwill has gotta be liking me these days. Speaking of Goodwill am taking my grandma shopping there tomorrow. Maybe I'll have to check it out too. I am loving my shorts and only have one pair, if I can find a cheap longer pair that would be great. My legs are what bother me the most skin wise.

Evidently all my jumping around and hootin and hollaring the day before about reaching 179 caused me to lose another pound yesterday as I'm now at 178 and officially only have single digits to go to goal. 9 pounds to a normal BMI!! WOO HOO!!! Today is the first day of summer and the first day it has really felt like summer for us. We've had such rainy weather and tornadoes. Today 90 and sun, I have my shorts on and tank top on and going to soak up some of it now!

Happy to report a 2 lbs loss. Sad to report I won't be making my goal. These are my last pound to my ultimate goal and these last 10 are going so slow. This is the first challenge on the boards though that I won't make my goal. Not too bad. Name........................ Start Wt....... Current....... Goal....... To Go 3ShotRoc..................... 345.............. 244............ 220........ 24 Alabubba..................... 464.............. 446............ 400........ 46 Alleycia....................... 255.............. 217............ 198........ 19 Annieemmm................. 200.............. 198............. 170....... 28 Ashleyrenee................ 240........ 240............. 199........ 41 Barb12590..... 173.......... 155.......145........- 10 Betelnut..................... 295.............. 262............. 245........ 17 Bklyn1984................... 317.............. 235............. 230........ 5 Blaze21...................... 200.8........... 179.4............. 170....... 9.4 Blklab70282................. 241............. 241.............. 220........ 19 ChickyAbby................. 314............. 282.............. 270........ 12 Clcort......................... 236............. 200.............. 200........ 36 CountrygirlNY.............. 253............. 217.............. 182........ 35 Crzytchr.................... 237.............. 229.............. 210........ 19 Ewiedbingcott ......... 215.5.......... 205.9............ 198........ 7.9 Fab by 50.................. 215............. 190............... 175........ 15 Fordgal88.................. 199.............. 175.............. 193........ 18 Hdsantoni.................. 252.............. 198.............. 190......... 8 Htaylor1021............... 210.............. 199............ 185.........14 itsjustducky................368...............368...............328... .......40 Jazma....................... 261.............. 261.............. 235......... 24 Jeni 85...................... 170............. 169............... 158......... 11 Jennyt71................... 245............. 197............... 170......... 27 Keepingfaith08........... 225.............. 225.............. 190.......... 35 Lalaredd................... 240.............. 190............... 150......... 40 LessJess................... 228.............. 199............... 199......... 0 Letsgetitstarted......... 229.............. 211............... 199......... 30 Libbyjane1976........... 283............... 262.............. 250.......... 12 LilMissDiva................ 251.6............ 247.6............ 227.......... 20.6 Liz_hager................. 158............... 151............... 145.......... 6 LisaRT..................... 254............... 248............... 225.......... 23 Long2BThin.............. 192............... 178............... 169..........9 Loveislovely............. 191............... 175............... 169.......... 6 Mair....................... 222............... 215............... 199........... 16 Mamacj.................. 316............... 269............... 233........... 36 Melody_Mary_42f..... 277............... 231............... 170........... 49 MsNickelback.......... 172............... 155................ 149........... 6 Nicolerose.............. 365............... 288................ 260........... 28 Nursemelly............. 245............... 197................ 185........... 12 Onehotmama.......... 272............... 237................ 210........... 27 OneHotMomma........ 285.............. 275................ 250............ 25 Pbpuniser............... 212.............. 212................ 182............ 30 Peachwood............. 251............. 251................. 230............ 21 Picklesix................. 197............. 170................. 170............ 0 Sexylips................. 238............. 238................. 199............ 39 Sadie77................. 277............. 250................. 220............ 30 SillyGoose.............. 258............. 234................. 228............ 6 Simone.................. 182............ 172.................. 160............ 12 Ukcatsfan.............. 340............. 340................. 300............ 40 Workingmom........... 214............. 214................. 175............ 39 ZiggyLove.............. 226............. 202................. 180............ 22 Health4life..............279.............222.2................195..... .. .....27.2

Two teaspoons definitely isn't enough food. However, regarding the 3 meals a day. My recommendations were to eat 5 to 6 mini meals so I do that and eat about 1/2 cup portions. If I ate o nly 3 times a day, I'd probably need larger portions. But I find eating more often and smaller portions keeps me satisfied more.

Good afternoon! All my jumping up and down yesterday over my hitting the 170's, I must've worked off another pound, in the 178's now. :biggrin: Meredith, this too shall pass. Hang in there. I don't want to discourage you but do want you to be prepared. After surgery, many lose a good chunk right away and many do not. FOr me I lost until I hit mushies and then I even gained a couple. I was so freaked out and just so sure this surgery wasn't going to work for me. It wasn't until my fills that I really started to drop, so hang in there. BSW, hard to say what you are doing wrong, if anything, without knowing what you are doing. What are you eating? how much? how often? exercise?? Water??? Are you eating 4 to 8 oz a meal, 80% hard Protein first, then veggies, then starches if room. Are you not drinking with meals? Are you having slider foods, Snacks? etc. Some folks take many fills to hit that sweet spot and for some it's just one or two. Janet here only needed 2 fills, I've had 7. Everyone is different. Give us some more to work with, there are many successful folks here and Janet is an amazing mentor and am sure will be happy to help you as well. Laura, what a cutie!! I wanna go to the beach now. JOann, Missed ya! Congrats on the Wii Fit, I hope you enjoy it. I really like the 'Active' progam, it's a much better workout once you get the hang of fit or if it starts to get easier.