ljv52

Hi everyone. Bunco is a dice game, we play with 12 people. You throw 3 dice at a time and you are trying to get a bunco which is all three dice of the same number as the round. For instance, in round 1 you are trying to roll all 1s, round 2 all 2s, etc. up to 6 and then you start back over at 1. It's a lot of fun. Each person pays $5 to play and there are categories for winning -- the most buncos wins the most $20, first bunco wins $5, last bunco wins $5, etc. It's a fast paced game -- you play 3 tables of 4 players each. I had heard of it for years but never started playing until about 3 years ago. It's great fun. Emma, yes, I'm now a nite owl, in fact I have been working nights the past few years -- for 30+ years I worked in offices and had to be at work at 8:00 so I enjoy my new retirement fun job I have now. I also enjoy having my time in the evenings to myself. Hope everyone is doing well. We got our snow -- it was late, didn't start until about 3:00 p.m. today. We have about 4 or 5 inches on the ground but supposed to be 50 tomorrow, so hopefully it will just melt away. Linda

JoAnn, you gave Emma great advice and also thanks for the reminder of the 3500 calories per one pound, I had forgotten that. Emma, I went through about a month after surgery where I lost only 1/2 or 1 lb. per week and then one week I lost 5 lbs. and I didn't do anything different that week. After that I went back to losing about 1 or 2 lbs. per week -- it's different every week it seems. That's why I only weigh once a week -- and sometimes I think it might be better to only weigh once every two weeks as it tends to make us discouraged when we don't feel like we're losing. Niecey, you've lost 62 pounds in 6 months -- that's fantastic! Congratulations. Don't forget to give yourself credit for your other accomplishments (not just for the weight loss) For example, give yourself credit for sticking to the bandster rules, for following your doctor's orders, for getting through the surgery and give yourself credit for exercising. Also, if you've been taking your measurement periodically, you can check your measurements and see if you've lost inches instead of pounds. There's a lot more to losing weight and changing our lifestyles than just what's on that scale every week.

Hi everyone, I've been busy all week and didn't find time to check in. Took me awhile to catch up with reading everything. Welcome Emma, and another trick re portion size is to use a small plate (salad or luncheon plate) instead of the big dinner size ones. It tricks our minds when we see a small plate that is somewhat full even though it might only have 1 cup of food on it. You're doing great -- you've already lost 24 pounds -- congratulations. As JoAnn and Long said, you are in bandster hell which I only recently got out of when I had my first fill about 2 weeks ago. It will pass, but as they said, concentrate more on healing right now. All doctors are different, but my doc lifted all restrictions on me one week after my surgery so I was allowed to go back to water aerobics right away which helped me in my weight loss. Many other doctors make you wait 4 to 6 weeks however, so listen to your doctor. It's amazing how different they all are. We are supposed to get snow overnight tonight (like right now). Hopefully it won't start until I leave work (in the next hour or so). We're supposed to get 5 inches but again, supposed to be 50 tomorrow, so it will melt. I just hope our Easter is warmer than last year - it was rainy and very cold last Easter. I had my red hatters at my house for bunco last night. I made all low fat food (we do pot luck, but I made extra low fat things so I could have plenty to eat without being tempted). It went well and all my low fat food was well received. I enjoyed making it, as I too love to cook and haven't been doing it much since I got banded (except for cooking for myself). Anyway, it was fun, but as usual, I don't win much at bunco, I can't seem to get lucky in that game. Holly, yes, it's been such a struggle with the Juvenile Diabetes with both my step children. And I worry every day - my step daughter has a little 2-1/2 year old and she's a single mom and I worry about her driving the baby around in the car knowing she never takes a proper reading. I just pray that they will cure it in the next few years and I pray my little granddaughter doesn't get it. It's a very very tough disease for kids to live with. I guess Apples made it out of town before the blizzard. Long congrats on buying more size 10s -that's terrific. Julie, you poor dear, hope the water situation gets resolved and you don't have to deal with that for 2 weeks. That sounds horrible. Also hope you get rid of that snow and get on with some nice, spring weather. Phyl, I don't have Rite Aid here, but I do love the Papaya extract - and they really are delicious. I usually just take them with my chewable vitamin every day and I haven't had any heartburn or anything since I started using them (and I used to carry a huge bottle of Tums in my purse as I had heartburn constantly). It's so nice to be free from that problem now. Hope everyone has a great weekend. Linda

Just saw the latest People Magazine. They have an article in it about Catherine VanZandt who is a star on Guiding Light, who lost 90 lbs. in the year since she had lap band surgery! Her pics look great! Good for her!

Apples, i love hearing about what you are cooking, especially when you describe what you do to make them lower in fat. I broke out my Susan Powter cookbook (remember her)? She actually had some great recipes in her cookbook. My problem is that my DH refuses to eat anything that i have prepared using lower fat ingredients -- he convinces himself beforehand that it won't taste good, so then he tastes it as says he doesn't like it. It's all in his head. He could stand to lose some weight too, but oh well. So that is one of the reasons I just tell him to cook for himself. Long, so sorry you are sick, hope the bug goes away quickly -- get better soon. Julie, congrats on the weight loss, that's fantastic! I'm also impressed that you only had one bite of that cake. I have a favorite banana cake with cream cheese frosting I used to make a lot and if I made it, I'm sure I'd be too tempted. On the other hand, my neighbor did send over one half of a store bought cake last week but that didn't tempt me at all -- DH was happy to take care of that -- it's my own cooking that tempts me more. Phyl, I love your little saying -- I'm going to print one up and tape it on my desk where I'll be looking at it all the time. Sharons, glad you had a good visit with your mom and you are feeling more confident. I know I worry many days too that this won't work, that's why I come here and read everyone's blogs because it is proof that it works. We just gotta have that faith and just DO IT. It is 70 here now, but expecting thunderstorms and colder weather later in week. Hope Janet's weather is better than when she left. It would be miserable if it's rainy and cold during her cruise. Linda

Pen, congrats on your 20 lbs. too -- we are all doing great. Isn't this a fantastic new year for us? I'm loving it! Linda.

Congrats Carolina Mom on both the lbs. and inches. I never measured myself before surgery (and the nurse forgot too) so I finally took my measurements after my last fill. I have lost a lot of inches, though, so I'm disappointed I never took them before. I completely cleared out my closets (had a friend come and take it all) and have gone down almost 4 sizes - I'm short, only 5'2" and so I have a long, long, long way to go until I see size 12s. Plus, I have to admit, I did wear my clothes on the baggy side before, so truthfully, I probably have only gone down 3 real sizes -- since I was probably wearing a size too big to begin with. Does that make sense? But I like them loose when I was topping out at 245! Pen, glad your fill went better than mine. I didn't get a numbing shot so I felt the pain with each of the 15 or more "tries" the doc took to find my port. We're going to visit my son and daughter-in-law in Vegas the first week of April. We had scheduled a trip last Aug. but I was in the hospital at the time so the airlines gave us a credit. We are going in August, and I had hoped to use the credit for that trip, but found out I have to use it or lose it before June 1. Since I have a holiday (Good Friday) the first week of April, we're flying out. We'll get to see their new house (they just moved there in Oct.) and I miss them terribly, so glad we are going. But I'm worried about eating while there -- I'm worried I'll go "crazy" and eat like a maniac. I'll have to really be disciplined. We're going to stay at the Rio (we have free nights there) so at least I'll have a gym to work out in and a pool. But I am worried about the food. Have a good week everyone!! Keep in touch. Linda

Hi everyone, I probably missed Janet, but if not, have a great time! Julie, you are an inspiration to me -- you're quite a success story with your loss of 80 lbs. You just need to keep on taking care of yourself first. I know it's hard to do. I decided when I made the decision to have lap band surgery, that I needed to be selfish for the first time in my life. That's why DH is fending for himself in the kitchen and why I spend part of every day at the gym doing my exercise and water aerobics. I couldn't do what Apples does, at least not yet. Maybe after a year I'll be more up to it, but I can't even imagine trying to cook like she does. I'm impressed by all of you ladies who are still cooking for your families! Long, congrats on the size 10! That's fantastic. I wish I were tall, I'm only 5'2, so it'll be a long, long time before I see size 10. Have a good Sunday everyone! Linda

Pen, How was your fill? Hope it was okay, and no problems. I'm doing fine, lost another 2 pounds this week so now at 48. Very happy with my results, but I do work very hard at it -- doing lost of exercise 5 times a week (I work on the weekends so I can't exercise Sat./Sun. but it's nice to have those two days off from the gym anyway). Let me know how you're doing. Tx, I feel more restriction when I eat, but can eat just fine in the morning. But it is nice to have that restriction feeling again when eating. I've had a couple of instances where I feel a tightness while I'm eating, but I just stop for a few mins. and it goes away. I'm so afraid of pb'ing (I never have, but read about it a lot) and just don't want to hurt my band in any way. I have to remember to eat slowly and chew, chew, chew. Would love to hear from everyone -- Carolina Mom, how are you doing? Hope everyone has a great weekend. Linda

Hi Janet, I'm here, fine, just been busy lately, going to the gym, water aerobics. Had an eye dr. appt. yesterday in Des Moines, had a red hat luncheon today and back to work tomorrow. We had a plumber here today, dealing with a leak in one of our showers. The plumber thinks that the contractor "forgot" to put in a bladder (liner) under the shower before he tiled. Great. So, we may have to tear up that shower. We'll see. We will be going to L.V. first week of April to visit DS. We had a credit on an airline we had to cancel when I was in hospital last summer, and have to use it before June 1, so decided to go visit and see DS's new house. Looking forward to it. We've had some nice warm weather here, grass is getting green. Keeping fingers crossed that spring is actually here to stay. Hope everyone has a great Fri. and weekend. Linda

Hi everyone, just checking in. Missed you all, we've been busy, busy these past few days. Long and PJ, I had a very negative mother too -- I chose to live far away from her and almost everytime I talked to her on the phone I would cry when I hung up (and I'm pretty tough and not usually a crier). Visits were tough -- she would visit me when I was a single mom and would especially criticize me on how I was raising my son. My baby sister on the other hand (I was the oldest girl) had a completely different relationship with her. My mom never criticized her, thought everything she did was wonderful, etc. This was especially hard to take as I excelled in my life too. My son grew up and has been very successful, so she wasn't right about that. I loved her dearly, but never, never got any kind of praise from her. I mentioned here before that when I lost 100 lbs. earlier in life she kept telling me I was anorexic (I was not). All I ever wanted from her was to be told she was proud of me. She got lung cancer in 2003 and died 6 months later. I visited often those last 6 months and was always a devoted daughter as was my sister. I just still don't understand why she treated me so differently. Sometimes it still bothers me, but I just have to remember that just because she said it doesn't make it true, as was the case with my son. I was always just the opposite of my mother - constantly praised my son and step kids on all their accomplishments and successes and we share very close relationships. The only conclusion I can come up with was that God gave us those mothers because we needed them, for whatever reason. He only gives us what we can handle, as we all know. Don't expect them to change, cause that isn't going to happen. Janet, have fun on your cruise. If you have a few too many treats, go out on the dance floor for a little late night aerobics. Linda

Hi Everyone, had a lot of reading to do to catch up with all of you. Long, God Bless you and your DH, what an ordeal and so glad your DH is okay. What a scare. I hope he's doing okay and will keep him in my prayers. Also congrats on the 113 lbs. That's just fantastic! Janet, you are such a great role model - thank you again for sharing about the mini muffins -- that's why we all love you so much -- because you admit it when your head hunger gets to you and give us the strength to follow in your footsteps. Ellen, welcome back and I look forward to getting to know you. Feeling better since my fill ordeal, I did water aerobics Thurs. night and that seemed to help the ab pain go away. It's so nice to have some restriction, so it was definitely worth all the trouble. Well, it's late and I gotta get up and work in the morning, so will say goodnight. Hope everyone has a great Sunday! Linda

Hi everyone, Well, I've been very sore today -- kinda like after surgery - like I've done a bazillion sit ups. I guess when he was poking around he poked around my abs tissue? It's kind of weird, I didn't expect to be so sore today. Janet, thanks for letting me know it happened to you too and especially for letting me know it was okay for your next fill. At least I have better restriction -- I feel so much less hungry so it was worth it as today I've hardly felt the need for food. Gotta run and go to water aerobics. Will check in later. Linda

Hi everyone. Went in for my fill this morning. He couldn't find my port. He kept poking and poking and it did hurt when he was poking around with that needle. Finally, he sent me down and did it under fluro -- but even then he had a tough time. He reassured me my port is fine (I could see it on the x-ray) but for some reason he just had a really tough time in locating it when he had the needle in his hand. He promised he won't have any problems next time (which will be on my b-day so hopefully not). All in all, it wasn't bad, but I do have a bruse where I was poked and about 10 little holes where I was stabbed with the needle. I had a little burning pain for about an hour after the fill but seems to be going away now. Always seems like if there's a problem, it'll be a problem for me. LOL. I love my surgeon -- he's a good guy - I know he felt terrible. I lived to talk about it. Anyway, he put 3 cc's in a 10 cc band, so hopefully that will give me some restriction. I've been pretty hungry the past couple of weeks and really had to rely on sheer will power not to eat too much. Janet I had a repetitive dream before our trip to Hawaii in December -- probably had it 3 or 4 times -- I was always trying to get to the airport and was running late and then would get there at the last minute only to realize I didn't have my suitcase or any clothes to take with me! It's amazing what our minds do to us. Holly, thanks for the note -- you'll be there before you know it -- I can't believe I'm doing as well as I have. I keep waiting for it to end, but so far so good. Keeping my fingers crossed. Hope everyone has a good evening. Linda

Hi everyone. Went in for my fill this morning. He couldn't find my port. He kept poking and poking and it did hurt when he was poking around with that needle. Finally, he sent me down and did it under fluro -- but even then he had a tough time. He reassured me my port is fine (I could see it on the x-ray) but for some reason he just had a really tough time in locating it when he had the needle in hand. He promised he won't have any problems next time (which will be on my b-day so hopefully not). All in all, it wasn't bad, but I do have a bruse where I was poked and about 10 little holes where I was stabbed with the needle. I had a little burning pain for about an hour after the fill but seems to be going away now. Always seems like if there's a problem, it'll be a problem for me. LOL. I love my surgeon -- he's a good guy - I know he felt terrible. I lived to talk about it. Pen, have you had a fill yet? Funny thing is, I had to go to a luncheon at work right after and although he told me to have soft foods for a few days, I was able to eat a salad and a little meat and really didn't feel any restriction -- will have to wait and see. Linda

Hi everyone, just checking in and reading today's posts. I was gone all day and most of the night -- had meetings in Des Moines. Today was my weigh in day and managed to lose a few more, I'm now in onederland (barely, but still I am there). Have my first fill tomorrow so am a little nervous but sure I can handle it. I'll check in tomorrow. Janet, th pic was wonderful and you, Linda and Phyl and all your other lucky 7's are so inspiring to us newbies! Congratulations again. The pic was beautiful. I miss the ocean. Our weather turned cold again. Right now it's 17 out and lots of wind gusts. I'm sure it's much colder with the wind chill factor. Linda

Barb, sorry I missed your post yesterday -- I work on Sundays and it gets busy. I'll be thinking of you all day tomorrow and anxious to hear how you're doing when you come home. I may see you tomorrow at the meeting, I'm definitely going. If you feel up to it, would love to see/meet you. I would love to keep in good touch and maybe we can motivate each other and help stay on track (since we have similar ideas and goals). My e-mail is lvilcone@yahoo.com. Feel free to e-mail me anytime, but put Lapband buddy in subject so I know it's you so I don't automatically delete it. I get so much crap e-mail that once in awhile I miss one from friends/family. Just remember, if you have any pain, to take your meds and to walk walk walk -- it's the best thing you can do for the uncomfortableness after surgery. You'll do great, I know you will. Linda

Carolinamom, sorry to hear you're having problems. I'm wide open, can eat anything and experiencing a ton of hunger, so can't imagine that without a fill you are so tight, but they say everyone is different. Do you know if your doctor put saline in at the time of your surgery? Mine does not put any in, and I go for a fill this Wednes. I worry about getting my fill and being too tight, it seems to be the worst of the problems I've read about. Hope you are feeling better, I'll be thinking of you and hoping things will get better. Linda

Hi everyone, just checking in. I work on the weekends, so get too busy sometimes to post. Apples, we have one of the Geoge Foreman grills with interchangeable plates at work and it works very nicely. I'd never had one at home and I've been very impressed with it. I work at a call center and we eat all our meals at our desks while we work. Janet, hope you have a great time on your cruise, although we will miss you greatly. Thanks for posting the link to the instructions for the tickler. As you can see, it helped me greatly. DH wanted to go to a casino last night and eat the buffet. I did okay - had crab legs with cocktail sauce (not as good as the butter, but it was still tasty). I did have a bite or two of his prime rib and I also had about 1/2 a piece of cheesecake and a smidgeon of soft serve ice cream. I figure I've been good and exercising so will call it a "planned" treat. Got back on track today with no problem. Hope everyone has a great week! Linda

Hi Ms. Kelly, thanks for the update and info on your fill, I'm starting to feel less worried about it after reading your post. I too am starving and can't wait for my fill - right now I'm very hungry but I won't eat cause I already brushed and flossed my teeth, but I feel ravenous. Linda

I everyone. Seems like everyone is doing well. I'm pretty boring with my eating. Usually I eat 1 envelope of instant oatmeal cooked with water and then about 1/4 cup of skim milk added to it with a little Splenda brown sugar blend or I have 1/2 cup egg beaters soft scrambled with Morning Star Sausage crumbles and a slice of 2% cheese melted on it. For lunch/dinner I usually have salmon patties or oven baked fish or a boca or morning star veggie patty with vinegar green beans. I had my first salad today and that tasted great with non fat ranch dressing. I also usually have an evening snack consisting of sugar free jello, a non fat yogurt and a sugar free/low fat pudding cup (helps to get my calcium in as I don't like to drink milk). I've made a good chicken/black bean soup (recipe is on the recipe thread) which I really enjoy as well. I bought some tofu noodles and tried those but decided they aren't for me. It's great to read what others are eating to get ideas. Thanks. Linda

Carolina Mom, Somehow when I checked in yesterday, I missed your post. I'm so sorry you're feeling so lousy and having such a rough time. I do hope you start feeling better soon. I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers and sending you a big hug right now. Pen, what kind of work do you do? I was a legal secretary and worked at Woodburn, Wedge most of the time I lived in Reno. That whole area has grown so much it's scary -- I was back there in 2005 and I couldn't believe how much it had grown. My son graduated from McQueen H.S. in 1991, and there wasn't much out there at that time except the school and now there's miles and miles and miles of houses beyond that area. Unbelievable. The exercising really really works - I was pleasantly surprised when I got on the scale Tues. for my weekly weigh in -- I had lost 5 lbs. this week, so I was thrilled. I had so much gas after surgery that I stopped drinking protein shakes pretty early on. But I ate only very soft foods -- egg beaters, scrambled very soft (with some non fat or low fat cheese melted on them), salmon patties, Boca and Morning Star veggie patties (much softer than real meat), baked fish, and black beans, pinto beans. I eat a lot of canned green beans. I dice up onion and put the onion in the pan with a tablespoon or so of those real bacon bits (only 1.5 grams of fat per 1 Tablespoon) and cook that until the onion is soft and transluscent. Then I add a couple of cans of green beans and then some pepper and a couple of tablespoons of vinegar and letting that simmer for about 15 mins. I like them this way adn they're very low in fat and they are soft and easy to eat. I like a lot of veggies, but I LOVE butter on them which of course I can't have, so that's why I like these beans. I've only had carbs a couple of times since I started the pre-surgery diet. One time I had a small red potato with non fat ranch dip on it and I've had a couple of bites of rice a couple of times. I've never had any problems with getting anything stuck or PB'ing. In fact, today was the first time I tried salad and real chicken (I had a salad with grilled chicken at Applebee's) and boy did that taste great -- I'd been craving salad but was afraid to eat it (not sure why). I took my own fat free ranch dressing with me. Like I said, I've been so hungry lately and have to be careful when I chew cause sometimes I am eating way too fast. When I get restriction, I'll have to be careful. Can't wait to get that fill next week. Pen, have you had a fill yet? Good luck and let's try to keep in touch. Linda

Barb, you're doing great!!! You're losing about the same amount of weight that I did pre-op. I also had low potassium (in fact they had to give me a couple of IV bags of potassium after my surgery), so I wouldn't think that's a huge problem. Your having surgery on Tues., which is the day of the support group meeting. Do you know yet what time your surgery is? If you feel well enough, you should come down to the meeting -- last month it was only like 5 or 6 of us there, so it's not a big crowd. I'm planning on going, they are very informative. I get my first fill next Wednes., so I'm getting a little nervous about that. I've lost 43 lbs. since I started my pre-op diet, but I am "dieting", watching my fats and calories (I log everything I eat at www.thedailyplate.com -- it's a great website -- very easy to use. They recommend using that site to stay on track. I also exercise 5 days a week -- water aerobics Mon., Tues., Wed., Thurs. Friday and on Mon., Wednes. Fri. I ride a recumbant bike for 30 mins. and do some weight machines for about 20 - 30 mins. My philosphy is to get the weight off and then after I lose it all, I will just eat regular food (just much less of it), but I want to get the weight off first. I don't know if you read many of the other posts on this site but so many lap band people have only lost like 50 lbs. after a year or so. I basically wanted to have the lap band done so I have a tool to help me not gain the weight back after I lose it (again). So it's exciting for me to say, 43 pounds gone FOREVER. After surgery, I was not hungry at all for several weeks. Your stomach makes noises and rumbles and grumbles, but I didn't feel "hungry" when it did it - but it does really make a lot of noise. I also had a lot of gas (I believe from drinking protein shakes -- I was using Iospure) and so I went off them pretty quickly after surgery. Make sure you take Gas X strips to the hospital and be sure you walk a lot after surgery -- it will really help you not to have as much pain. I started walking the evening of surgery (mine was at 10:30 a.m.) and I bet I walked 40 times around the entire floor of the hospital before I went home the next day at 4:00 p.m. It's hard, but you gotta do it. You'll have a big room, it's private -- very nice room. And they'll give you broth and jello for your meals in the hospital (I thought the broth was good) but didn't much care for the lime and lemon jello they gave me. If you have any other questions, please let me know and I'll be sure to check here in the next few days so I can answer them. Hope to meet you soon and I'll be thinking about you next Tues. Linda

Apples, I grew up on a farm in Ohio and even there we had "dinner" and "supper". Even my grandma in the city had her largest meal at midday and then a lighter meal for supper. I think about the all the food we ate back on the farm -- we were never fat -- worked much to hard to be fat, but boy did we eat. I love to cook also, but I couldn't stand to smell homemade bread/rolls rising and baking -- that would drive me crazy. Just thinking about homemade bread makes me hungry. Becky, that woman is so lucky you are such a caring person -- you saved her life. My MIL died at 87 when she was recovering from her broken hip when she got a blood clot. Congrats Julie on your loss, now try to stay off that scale for awhile. I love your GD's name -- that is so beautiful. My GD's name is Aylah which I also love. Holly, congrats on your loss too -- that's fabulous! I had a great day today -- a couple of my friends and me went to a bigger town (about 30 mins. south of here) and had pedicures and our eyebrows waxed, lunch (salad at Applebee's) and shopped. It was 73 here today -- a new record and it was heavenly! Sorry for those of you who still have snow. We might get some next week, which will be tough to take after this great weather. Phyll I loved your story -- that's a classic and congrats on your new weight loss milestone - that great and your an inspiration to us newer bandsters. Janet I do hope you're feeling better tonight, colds are the worst. Charlene, your little Charlie is so cute -- I have a little long haired dashound named Merry -- she's turning 10 this year, but is so sweet. My previous dog lived to be just a few months shy of 20 years old. Well, hope everyone has a great evening. I'll check in again later. Linda

Hi Holly, thanks for the congrats, but as Janet said, you are doing a great job too, so congratulations on your success as well. I have my fill next Wednes. and I can't wait. Girls, the noodles were not my favorites -- they are very chewy and I don't particularly like the texture -- they are like top roman noodles but much chewier. So I don't necessarily recommend them for us bandsters. Janet, hugs and hope you feel better. Sharons you too, hope you feel better tomorrow. Linda