FeliciaLevy75

I went to REI Sports in the District (Henderson (Las Vegas), NV) today and test-drove a few models. I am looking for a hybrid - one I can use to ride to work and back but also take on the occasional trail. I rode for about 20 minutes on various bikes and fell in love with a hybrid that has great shocks, great geometry (posturing) and handlebars that let me switch it up a bit. One of my best friends is a triathlete and he made some suggestions and gave advice that I took to heart, thought not on a $2k road bike like he has. I am looking at spending about $600 or so and this one not only looked and felt great, it was within my price range! Considering the gas I will save (16 miles a day = $5 or so in gas), the savings will wash in just a few months! I am so excited, I am planning trails and checking maps to see how far I can really go in this town. My goal is to go from home (North Las Vegas) to my Mom's (southern Las Vegas, Henderson border). No timeline for that yet, but I'll work one out.

Update - 10 days later and 10 lbs gone! WOOHOO!!

I tell anyone and everyone. Out in the open = nothing to hide. If people can't handle it, it's not you with whom they have issues, it is their own battles they don't want to face. Do it for you and only you.

Maybe next weekend we can meet up with you two? Tomorrow afternoon is bad for me (cable guy coming) or I would say I could do both.

We'll miss ya, Grace. Maybe we can meet at Cannery or somewhere near there someday. I live behind Shadow Creek golf course; my roommate is Army and he wanted a house close to base.

Count me in!

I'd love to! I posted to VegasGrace on the other thread about this weekend and said I was game. When and where? I am up very early, so nothing is out of the question. I'll be there with bells on! Anyone who wants to join, let's do it!:frown:

Sounds good to me! Grace?

I'll be in San Francisco on the 28th. Anyway to do this the first weekend in July? I am still up for seeing who I can get this weekend, too!

Hey Grace, Still up for something this weekend? What's good for you? I am open!

Unflavored Proteins powders are everywhere. Try mixing them with nonfat yogurt and fruit (blend the hell out them, no chunks). Kellog's Special K Protein waters are decent, and if you drank 5 of those a day you'd get 25 grams of protein and only 250 cals. Not recommended for everyone, but they are a Water, not a thick liquid, and flavired well. Not too horrible overall if you watch how it all adds up.

I am not a big snacker, so I usually stick to Water. But! I have also popped into my purse a 60-cal SF Jello pudding snack or a small bit of cheese if I am feeling hungry and I know it will be awhile before mealtime. Better that than some of the other choices. If you are going to be eating it within a half hour or so, and you aren't hiking there in the Vegas heat, you shouldn't experience any issues with refrigeration (or rather, lack therof). I have also debated on picking up a grilled chicken salad at one of the cafes nearby and just carrying a large purse! :smile: Then I can have my meal, forget the Snacks, and enjoy the movie.

Hmmm, weird! I live in Las Vegas, and I have pulled out my "she had her stomach banded, please let her have a kiddie portion" card that my surgeon provides... and it works quite often! Whether a buffet or a standard restaurant, I show the card and I have been given discounts, smaller portions, substitutions where none are usually allowed, or a kid's menu (don't recommend this unless it has healthier choices). It's been great!

Sweets, Ice Cream, etc. are not hard to eat once banded... the problem is that the band is a tool to help you eat less and does not perform as a malabsorptive. That is to say, it doesn't negate calories, it helps you to not overeat by limiting physical quantity. Ice cream, shakes, sweets, etc. will go down as easy as anything else, maybe too much so. I forget the post I saw recently, but someone said you don't have to count calories, just mind your restriction. That sounds to me like the biggest myth of all - one that propogates as a result of a lifetime of bad food choices and justification. A bander living on ice cream, burgers, pizza, etc. will not succeed. I am not saying that those posting here will do that, but the point is that too many calories and fat is still too many calories and fat, regardless of whether you have a band or not.

Nneurell, does it happen with certain foods or all foods? How are you tolerating liquids and soft foods? If those are going down OK, what about chewing until the food is essentially liquid in your mouth? Chew, chew, chew, and the food isn't big enough to get stuck.

Some disclaimers: -- This is far from scientific -- This is not about the person, but PARTS of their personality -- There are a lot of generalizations (i.e. what and who is attractive), but I didn't want to make this too long with caveats every third sentence. You get the idea. There was an interesting quote on an episode of House (see, I told you it wasn't scientific) wherein Dr. House states (paraphrasing, can't find the exact quote): "You can't be with him. 9s go with 9s, 4s go with 4s. He's at best a 6, and you're an 11." Generally speaking, one can see this in our society. We're attracted to pretty people, fit people, because it means (a) they're nice to look at and, more important, (:smile: it implies health necessary for propogation of the species. Sure, there are breaks from that standard, but it's pretty fitting (no pun intended), nonetheless. There is more that goes into this than just looks, and I don't even mean general personality. The ugly truth (pun intended here) is that bad habits commiserate with bad habits. That adage about misery loving company? It applies to more than just mental issues, it applies to bad eating habits, justification of sedentary lifestyles, and all of the other destructive habits we carry as burdens, trophies, and shields. Obese people tend to have more obese friends than anyone else. Thin people have more thin friends. My immediate family is a shining example: My father died of ill-controlled diabetes (which caused a number of mental, cardiac, renal, and opthamological issues). He was 64, Type II for 20 years or so, and did so little to control it as to cause a snowball effect. My mother has had a stroke (smoker, sedentary, refuses to go to doctors and dentists and has been like this all my life). She is 60 this year, and on the fast track to not making it to 61. My sister and BIL, older brother and my eldest SIL (who is Type I), do nothing but justify bad nutrition, bad habits, and overindulgence. They support these bad habits, this detrimental lifestyle, as if it is some kind of reward for earlier life experiences. My ex-husband was one of them: eat crap, don't move. The only one of these people who support(ed) me for making good choices was my late father. Everyone else has excluded me as much as possible because, as my boss says it, " am the one walking out of the smoky garage saying don't want to smoke the weed anymore." I am now an outsider, a representative of all the things that they themselves SHOULD be doing but WILL NOT... because in each other they can find a way to accept and be accepted for not trying. I made myself fat and, while I firmly believe that WHO a person is shouldn't be defined by HOW they look, fat is part of who I am. Rather, who I was. They can't be separated because ultimately, it is me that made my decisions, no one else. But I am changing that. I am emerging from that, literally and figureatively. I *hope* that I get more attention as a thin person. I am not angry about that concept, I see it as appropriate. The WHO will no longer be hidden by the WHAT, and I will have every opportunity to expand my support network with people with good habits, good attitudes toward food, exercise, and living the life we were all meant to live. Carrying anger or having unrealistic expectations about the reactions of others is the surest way to add another shield to the already-bulging sheilds that most obese peopple carry. Step away from that, and enjoy what you are doing. If it means more attention and more firiends, great. You don't have to abandon your old friends, it's not about that. It's about adding to your life and moving forward as a healthy and trim person.

Doing great! Down 24 lbs (as of last Thursday), which includes a little weight lost pre-op (no prescribed pre-op diet, just excited and started changing eating habits). :smile: My clothes are starting to hang on me and I am able to wear some I haven't been able to wear for some time. It's so exciting! Never any PBs, sliming, vomiting, or anything. One Brussels sprout stuck, but that's it. Working out more and more. Between walking and balance ball workouts (still avoiding anything where I have to lay on my stomach), I thinking I am doing OK on exercise, but I am looking forward to something a bit more strenuous). I keep track of everything I eat so I can watch my nutrition and my caloric intake. I am a bit militant about it, but I am OK with that. That's what is making this so easy and so successful! Loving this!

Thread started here: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f244/anyone-up-meet-greet-weekend-66228/#post880215 Anyone else up for saying Hi this weekend? No date and time specified just yet, trying to see who wants to meet up and when they are available. Please go to the thread linked above and post so we can keep it all together. Thanks!

I have to admit I am not a fan of buffets... BUT, I am willing to go if it means meeting up and saying Hi. I am going to post in a couple of other places as well, see if I can generate some more interest.

So far it has only happened once. I knew it the moment I did it. It was a Brussels sprout. I was not paying attention, popped it into my mouth, chewed quickly, and swallowed. I could feel it going down and I felt it get stuck. It hurt, I didn't want to breath. Thankfully, I haven't had a fill yet. It passed after a short period of time and I was fine. I didn't finish my sprouts, regardless. I was a bit nervous.

Magic bullet all the way. I still do smoothies for breakfast, it's great for homemade soups, and just a convenient little kitchen helper all the way around.

Ideas: 1. Call your doc to see if you can get in for a fill; it sounds like you need more restriction. 2. Track your food so you can control it. Use FitDay.com, NutritionData.com, or something else. If you can see what you are eating (and the breakdown), you can make a conscious effort to change it / adjust it. 3. If you are hungry, and you have already eaten your 4oz or so for your meals, drink more Water and go do something that will distract you from eating. Water your plants, take out the garbage, vacuum, take a quick walk... something away from the kitchen and food. Just some thoughts. Good luck!

Last night I had my first dinner out. My family and friends took me out to Celebrate my birthday. Everyone there was already aware of what I did/what I am doing. I chose a tapas restaurant so that I wouldn't be stuck with a meal I couldn't eat; tapas affords many choices of tiny dishes, easy to choose just what I want and share the plate once I get a taste. About halfway through, my friend Roman* shows up. Roman and I have dated sort of randomly on and off for about 2 1/2 years with a lot of complicated garbage in between. Because of that, he has never met my family and very few of my friends. Suffice it to say, I was shocked to see him. Anyway, he was there, sitting between me and my mom, getting along with everyone and socializing. We kept doing our thing, passing around plates and having a good time. He finally looks at me and says, "Something's different." I smiled and said I had lost 24 lbs (since consultation - ticker is since surgery). He said he noticed, and noticed that I wasn't eating much and asked me how I was doing it. I told him about the surgery and the changes I have made living with the band. He looked at me and, for a half a second, I found I was a bit nervous of his reaction. He grinned from ear to ear and said he thought it was awesome. I am pretty vocal about my decision to tell anyone who will listen about my choice to be banded. But telling a suitor/SO/romantic friend... that was definitely different. I know there are a million threads out there on this very subject, but I wanted to share my first band confession in the dating sense.

I am in North Las Vegas. I was banded by Dr. Soong on May 15. I haven't been to any support yet because I have school on the nights they hold group sessions. I am up for meeting anywhere; I'd love to meet some locals.

When I go, it's the Venti Skinny (nonfat, sugar free, no whipped cream) Mocha, iced, decaf. 120 cals + I get my milk. It makes a decent-enough Breakfast in a hurry because you get 10 grams Protein without all the other crap. The only sugars and carbs are from the milk. It's not substantial enough for every day, but it's better thank skipping altogether. And because I get decaf, my hunger isn't goaded into reappearing later. I heard that they are discontinuing the already-short-lived SF Mocha, so I bought a bottle and have it behind their counter with my name on it. Two other options I like are brewed coffee, either black or with a little nonfat milk, or iced green tea, unsweetened.