grlwunderkas

I LOVE making stuff in my crock pot. :thumbdown: I made 3 envelope chicken recently... boneless, skinless chicken (I used white and dark meat), about 1 - 1.5 pounds 1 packet of dry ranch dressing (powder) 1 packet dry chicken gravy (powder) 1 packet either dry italian dressing or alfredo sauce (powder) 1 cup Water Put everything in the crock pot, cook on high 4-5 hours or low 6-8 hours. I also added potatoes to mine (the little round ones) and closer to the end, I added frozen broccoli. Yummy! I can only handle broccoli when it's mushier now...so I put it in the microwave first, then added it about 45 minutes before you're ready to eat. People usually serve this with Pasta instead of the potatoes, but I made this only a couple days after a fill...and didn't want to chance something getting stuck.

Just some goings on in my life at the moment... :glare: :cursing: :glare: :huh2: :cursing: :glare: :thumbdown: :huh2: Okay, I know some people may not understand what I'm going to say, and maybe some will even be upset with me, but I am going to put it out there. I have a step-daughter. She'll be 13 four days before I'll be 30 (she'll be 13 on May 18th). Several months ago, when she was with us for a week in the summer, she made a MySpace page. I didn't care, her dad didn't care...and for a while, she was happy and everything was fine. Then we got an email from her mother saying that she wasn't allowed to have a myspace page until she was 13, that was HER rule, and she made my step-daughter delete her account. I never ever told her to lie to her mom about it, which her mom accused me of doing. Her mom said that I made her do it, and made her lie to her, etc...I was pretty upset. But *I* was supposed to apologize to my step-daughter for not following her mom's rule in MY house. SO, anyway, I let her create another myspace page...and put it under my email so her mom couldn't make her delete it. I never even gave her the password until last night. So, she was only on the myspace page when she is with us, and only when I log her in. She's not doing anything she's not supposed to on myspace, she's just connecting with her friends. Last night, I discover that she has a facebook page - her mom created it for her. She's still 12. She was at a friend's house...so I thought maybe while she was there, she'd want to log into her myspace page...so I told her to call me. She didn't have her phone with her (that's a whole other rant). So, I told her through the facebook IM the username and password so she could get into it if she wants. This morning, her dad gets an email from her mom saying about myspace again, and complaining again that I'm not following her rule. Okay, when I was growing up, I had two homes...and they each had their own set of rules. My parents divorced when I was two. I followed the rules in my mom's house when I was with her, and I followed the rules in my dad's house when I was with him. My step-daughter's mom doesn't come from a broken home, so maybe she doesn't get it, and I'm sorry if anyone disagrees with me, but I'm not going to follow her mom's rules in MY house. We have our own rules for her to follow...and I don't get mad when my son follows the rules of his dad's house. The environment is completely different at our house versus her mom's house...we have two other children that live with us, she's an only child at her mom's. My son has one other child (sometimes two) at home with me, but there are FIVE other kids at his dad's - of course some rules are going to be different. I'm not looking for validation for my actions, or to get bashed if anyone thinks I'm wrong...I guess I just needed to vent a bit. I get so sick and tired of double standards where her mom is concerned. She doesn't even involve my husband in any decisions regarding his own daughter, unless it suits her. WTF? I can't wait until she's 18. We don't even get to see her for over a month because her mom switched around all of her weekends with us this month and we can't have her on the off-months because of other things going on with them. It really is very frustrating because I'm just the step-mom, but she's like one of my own kids. Okay, I guess I'm done venting for now. Thanks for reading if you got this far.

I have hypothyroidism. Since I got the band last May, my meds have gone up...I was on 125 mcg, now I'm on 137 mcg and may have to go up again...because I'm not in normal range. I'm also not losing.

I use Sparkpeople.com the most...I have joined up on myfitnesspal.com, but I like SP better. I'm angelgrlkas29 if you decide to join. They have recipes, blogs, webpages, forums to post in, nutrition trackers, exercise trackers, points, track any other kind of goal you want to, and it's all FREE!!!!!! So is myfitnesspal.com, but I've been on SP longer. Hope this helps. :wink:

Hey Bonnie - my work email is kstentzel@multiserv.com - I'm there every day from 6:30 AM to 3 PM M-F. On weekends and evenings, I can be reached through k.stentzel@verizon.net. Give me a shout!

I feel as though I am in the same boat as you...I was banded May 12, 2008. I was 288.3 pounds on the day of surgery. This morning I was 277.5. Now...part of it I know is water weight - and Aunt Flow is supposed to be here. I've also been eating around my band by eating things that are "easy" and won't get stuck. I'm still learning. I have to learn to not be so impatient with myself. I also signed up at the gym and went three times last week...and I will be there for the third day today after work. I told myself that I HAVE to make time for ME to do what I need to do...and that is to get into the habit of exercising, so pretty soon it will be automatic. I'm proud of this one accomplishment for me and have to remember to take this journey one day at a time. I don't know if I can be a mentor to you, but maybe we can check in with each other and see how the other one is doing?? I'm willing if you are.

Hi all, I was banded on May 12, 2008. To date, I've only lost about 21 pounds. I'm pretty disgusted with myself. I have no energy to do anything. I don't go to bed early, I don't eat right, I'm not getting enough water or exercise. I have all the excuses in the world, and I'm tired of living the way I am. I have 4.1 cc's in my band and I can tell the restriction is there, because I still get sick sometimes. Yet, other times, I feel like I could eat a cow! It's frustrating. I work full time, I go to school full time, I have two children, a husband, a business, a cat, and a home to keep up (yeah, you guessed it, my home is a wreck too!). Oy! I have very little time. I work from 6:30 AM to 3 PM and I guess I just would like someone who could maybe walk with me even a few days a week...email me to help keep me motivated, stuff like that. I think I'm pretty good at motivating other people, I just suck at motivating myself! :thumbup:

Bump! Am I the only person in Hummelstown, PA to have been banded??

I started bowling 3 weeks post-op. I bowl with a 14 pound ball...and I was good. :regular_smile: I love to bowl!

Bump. Anyone?

I will be going on my second cruise leaving December 28th (my first was December 2006). I didn't even think about having problems with the band. I'm at 3.6 cc's and if I don't change from there, then I'll keep it at that, however, if he does give me fills between now and then, I might go in for a slight de-fill just so there aren't any problems. I guess we'll have to see. :thumbdown:

I had breast reduction surgery in 2003 and my throat was sore for about 2-3 weeks afterwards...and with the lap band surgery, I think my throat might have been sore for maybe a day...if that. And I could talk right after - well, okay, several hours after because that's how long it took for the anesthesia to wear off! :biggrin: But, I could talk, so nothing happened to my vocal chords...

Okay, I'm sorry, but am I the only one that thinks it's odd that she got surgery when she was only 228 pounds to begin with? I thought your bmi had to be a certain number to even qualify for the surgery? Or maybe they do surgery on you at any weight if you're self-pay? I have no idea...just find it kind of odd, that's all.

If you are eating foods that slide right through the band, because foods like chicken, tuna, fish, steak, etc are getting stuck, then your doc is right - the band is too tight. If you try to eat chicken and it gets stuck, make sure that you're taking tiny bites, it's in some kind of sauce (gravy, mayo, bbq sauce, etc) and chew, chew, chew. And take your time eating. Maybe that will help things not get stuck and maybe you'll see the scales start to move again. :biggrin: To the original poster - I get frustrated sometimes too...I was banded May 12th and to date have lost about 21 pounds. My weight fluctuates too. One thing that I know are helping me to lose the weight but that I don't do every day: drink lots and lots of Water - I drink at least 100 ounces a day - if I drink any less, the numbers on the scale do not move - at least not in the direction I want them to! If you're "hungry" all the time, perhaps you're not getting enough water - if I am feeling hungry, I drink some water first, and if after 10 minutes I'm still hungry, I either eat something (depending on the time of day) or I drink more water. I am also not losing weight because I'm not exercising like I should. I'm going to change that. I have an hour between the time I get home from work and the time my kids get home from school. From today forward, I'm going to start using that hour to take a walk. I'm posting this all over the place so people might want to help hold me accountable for walking. My doctor had told me before too that it can take a few weeks for the fill to "settle in"...and he schedules my office visits about 6 weeks apart and then decides when I get there if I need a fill or not. If it were me, I'd sit down and talk to my doctor and tell him what is on your mind. If he is a good doctor, he will take what you're saying into consideration...and make a decision with you that you both think is best. It can take 3 + fills until you find that "sweet spot"...don't get discouraged...you're on a journey - a life altering journey - this is no quick fix.