Manatee

Right now you don't have any restriction beyond that caused by the post-surgical swelling. That will change as you add fills. Exactly how tight you get is entirely up to you and your doctors. I backed off a super-tight fill so that I can eat and drink more normally. That will delay my weight loss somewhat, but really made the quality of life better.

Denise, yours looks fine, but I would put in more photos if I were you, and maybe something about who you're looking for Di, again, there's nothing there about who you're looking for. Good photos. On the profile review I was told to remove my paragraph about losing weight so I did -- maybe that works better on a female's profile? I know my profile is long, but it started short and I kept expanding it as I had more and more disappointing conversations. I figure that if someone reads that and still contacts me, she has a good feel for who I am. As far as body type, that's just what I feel. Doing better, yeah, but still got a big spare tire and a convex shape. You all know how the right clothes and angles can hide things in a photo! When I hit my goal, I'll change it to average. If I can ever see my abs, I'll change it to athletic

You don't have to get the band removed to fix the port if that's all that bothers you. Talk to your doc about moving it and getting a low-profile port installed. It's relatively minor work compared to removing the band itself.

High <-- Feb 07, highest measured weight, but I was already trying to lose then. I hadn't weighed myself for quite some time before that, so I might have been heavier. Consult <-- Mid May 07, started liquid diet then Surgery <-- Late May 07 Goal <-- I might never make this, it's just chosen at random

Wenjea, you may need a slight unfill. I had a bit taken off of mine, and things are better. I can actually eat real food now, and the weight is starting to fall again. Before I was so tight that I was defaulting to a lot of liquid calories and high carb mushies, and ended up completely stalled.

So I stuck this in my profile after getting several emails from the Single Mom Brigade (not that there's anything wrong with that...) ==== IMPORTANT: I'm not looking for any situation that involves children. I make a great uncle, but that's about my limit -- wind them up for a few hours, and then give them back :-) ==== Feedback? I can't really think of a way to phrase it that's nicer but still gets the point across. Congrats Di on the date!

My gym made the local new. Fluff piece, but still fun Gym Weeds Out People Not Committed To Fitness - Videos - KXAS

Ah jeez.... looking at your last blog entry, all I can say is that you really need to quit internalizing these forum posts. A generic comment on body types doesn't necessarily reflect directly upon you. If you're happy with yourself, what does it matter if some random people don't agree with you -- especially if they're living quite literally halfway around the world? Screw 'em. Take a look in the mirror, have the last laugh and go enjoy your life.

See my ticker. You can lose weight fine with a lapband. You'll definitely need to add exercise to your routine when you start feeling like you can do so safely. It's a tool, not a magic bullet. The initial loss rate will be slower than a bypass, because you're not chopping out part of the intestines. That's not necessarily a bad thing. I would discuss both options with your doc. For me, the lap band was the only choice because I didn't want my innards rearranged.

From a guy's perspective: Too thin looks sick. What "too thin" means is usually in the eye of the beholder. I do know that I have seen women who are quite definitely too thin, and I'm certain they don't believe that. Women who look like 12 year old boys just don't look good, IMHO. That said, I don't personally believe that 'skinny' is an insult, any more than 'fat' is. The word is just a descriptor -- you have to give it power to hurt you.

PoF, and I do have "don't want kids" and "don't have kids" selected. I suppose reading comprehension may be a bit lacking around there. What surprises me is the number of folk who have "don't want kids" AND "have children" selected. Just a mistake, or Freudian honesty? And yeah, I know the long odds of finding someone of my age who isn't either a multi-daddy baby machine OR a biological clock watcher, but there's bound to be a few out there. (no offense intended towards multi-daddy baby machines and biological clock watchers)

I went and got a very slight unfill today. I'm still very restricted, but I could tell at lunch that I was going to be able to handle solids better. For some reason my restriction increased over the past few weeks and I was having issues with keeping food down (urgh). All better The ticker is killing me. For some reason the closer I get to goal the further out that goal seems to be. I'll get over it, but that last 30 pounds is looming large

Gracias. That's precisely what I did, just as if this were real life. I appreciate the advice.

Ok, online dating guru type folks. Forgive me for being clueless, but I haven't dated in a decade. I got a wink or whatthehellever it is from someone. I can tell by the profile that we'll never click (I don't want to raise kids, period), but I don't want to be rude. Is it better to tell her up front that it's a deal killer? I just don't know the etiquette. I can't just ignore it, because the site has some sort of built in tracker that tells the other folk that you read the email. (I hate all this, BTW) Thanks

Sorry, I'm a geek by trade. UI == User Interface. In other words, I don't like how the site is laid out and how it seems to function. Just my opinion, of course.

Congrats to both of you, and to JC too. (of course, if too many people do well this thread will die :boink:) I checked out that plenty-of-fish site, the UI is way to weird for me.

My doc DOES say it's 1/4 - 1/2 cup of food, and flatly states that that bread and most pastas are things of the past. Seems to work for me, and the before and during photos don't lie.

Oddly, I've never had a problem ordering from the kid's menu. I simply tell the waitstaff I'm not very hungry and they give in. I also recently found out Razoo's offers half portions of their menu items if you ask for them.

Tiny, but brand new and rents for under $100/hr. 5-6 GPH, about half of what a 172 runs. Due to the way the canopy bubbles out it has more shoulder room than a 150/152 and is way less claustrophobic. Still, it's a 100K airplane. Too much for my budget. If I get my house on an airport, I'm buying a PT-19

You can eat lasagna? Heck, I'm more jealous of that than your dating success

Well, it's official. I'm too small for Casual Male XL. I couldn't find anything there today, and got some odd looks from the clerk. So on to Koles, and a selection of shirts without an X in the size, and three pairs of 38" waist pants

Maybe they do it just to piss you off? Rude people are rude people regardless of the subject. 2 factors really 1) At least here, overweight really is normal these days. That distorts the mind, and so "normal" weight by the charts starts to look a bit strange. Not a good thing, but a fact. A few weeks ago I went to a vintage WW2 aircraft show and got to climb though a B-17. There was a placard in that plane that said "max crew weight 1200 lbs". I asked the captain what the number of crew was it carried back then. 10 people. Can you image an adult male weighing 120 pounds these days? Talk about skinny and anorexic! 2) I don't think most fat folks have any clue about what weight they should be aiming for. I was almost 300 lbs at my heaviest. 160 is WAY down there, almost unimaginable at the beginning of this journey. If some doc told me I was headed to 120, I would have laughed him out of the office.

Well, for me the goal weight is just some random number pulled from the BMI charts. I don't know if it's reasonable or not, especially given the strength training I'm doing. Certainly it's adjustable based on how I look and feel when I get near it. If I think I look great @ 170, that's where I stop. If I'm still pudgy at 160, then I'll keep going. Mostly likely everyone's goal is similarly chosen and variable.

Ok, I've had a few PBs before, and I always knew immediately that I had made a mistake. Today was different. I ate lunch (fried chicken, and not much of it). An hour and a half later I drank some orange juice. About 10 minutes after that I had to run to the bathroom, and up came the chicken and OJ. What caused such a late PB? I thought I was safe after an hour or so?

I debated about posting this in this thread, but in truth I feel more connected to you characters in this thread than the people in my monthly group. So here it is, if anyone objects I'll delete the post.<br /> <br /> Before and during.<br /> <br /> I so rarely get in photos, but twice a year I organize a car rally, and someone always gets me during the driver orientation. The shot of me in in orange shirt and khaki was shot April 29th. Those shorts are a 46 waist, and look at that overhang! The other shot is today, I'm in white with denim shorts -- 38 waist.<br /> <br /> Still a ways to go, but feeling good today