Melissa Lea

Lizrbit --you will be just fine. Today is Tuesday so you may be in surgery right now. Let us know how things worked out for you...keep us up to date. Welcome to the banded side! Melissa Lea

Valentine's goal --I can see that I am not going to make this goal by tomorrow (195 lbs). Anyone else make or not make your goal?? My Easter goal (April 8, 2007 ---190 pounds!!!)

Socalgal --congrats on the bike. I too love bike riding. I do not currently own a bike. But in my younger years, myself and sometimes my family would go on 20 mile bike rides just for the pure joy of it (out in the country away from the city). I loved it. I hope to one day get back to that. Kimsretro --congrats on the 50# lost. That's an emazing accomplishment and you should be so very proud of your achievement. Pinky --so glad to hear that you are doing well after your fall. Barb465 --I agree with you and Pinky ---our weight loss is slow and steady but I can't remember the last time I staid on a diet for 7 montsh and NOT FELT DEPRIVED. I truely have not felt deprived on this diet. I generally eat healthy but there are times I want things not so healthy. I have a small portion of that and I am satisified. I have also found that some of my old time favorites (cheese burger, fries, etc) ....are no longer my favorites. Right now I'm hot on Chick fil-a southwest grilled chix salad. Love it! Dancing queen --i'm starting to feel like I need more than a poop, maybe a little diarrhea will do me in to onederland?? LOL. I am almost there and I will succeed. I feel like I am on the edge of greatness with my weightloss. Well, at least my reality or lack there of keeps me motivated to continue moving forward. Melissa Lea

Wow Pinkylee --are you alright??? Thank goodness you didn't break any bones. I'd take that jacket back to Kohls and buy you something nice that you would like to wear instead. Just a thought. Barb4 and Socalgal --I'm trying to get to wonderland but up a half pound this morning. Did you all ever see "The Devil Wears Prada"? There is a line in the movie where the assistant says, "I am one stomach flu away from my goal weight". My version of this line ...."I am one really good poop away from Onderland!" LOL Well, it's funny to me. Leecelove --glad that your feeling better after your unfill. Let us know how your husbands heart cath turns out. Ladies (especially the ones that know me)...I'm wondering if I should get a little fill (like .2cc prior to moving???) I'm pondering this thought. Hummmm Well, talk to you ladies and gents tomorrow.

I am very happy to report that the last 2 days the scale has moved down a bit more. I weighed 200.5 this morning and as PinkyLee would say, "CLAIME IT!!". I turned in my resignation from work yesterday. I can now allow myself to be truely excited about the opportunities ahead of me. Barb4 --I do a lot of the South Beach meals because they have a lot of proteing and low CHO. I love the Kung Pow Chicken. That is my all time favorite. The pre-made meals is sometimes easier for me. But I'm lucky because it is only me. If I want cereal for dinner, that's what I eat.

Aimee --Glad to hear that Alexandria isn't that far away. We will have to get together for lunch or dinner one day. Pinky --thanks for the congrats! I turned in my resignation today at my current job. I am now able to allow myself to feel the excitement of this opportunity. Barb4 --don't fret too much over the 3 pounds. It may be just fluid since you are able to get more fluids in now than you were before the unfill. if you were dehydrated that would make up the difference in weight. Cathy --it's alright. don't beat yourself up because you had some m&m's. i think since you know that is not the healthiest choice you will not chose it most often. but you know....sometimes a woman just needs a little chocolate. Leecelove --glad to hear that your band is alright and that you have no slip, etc. Let us know how your husband does with his heart situation. Melissa Lea

Hello Everyone! I too am a patient of Dr. Spivak's. I was banded June 9, 2006. Best wishes to those of you recently banded and soon to be banded. On Surgery Day --every staff memeber was very supportive, answered my questions, and eased my worries. Also, everytime I call Dr. Spivak's office, someone answers the phone and I have the answer that I need before hanging up. Ok --so I'm a bit biased, I love Dr. Spivak and his staff. I feel they have truely saved my life.

Leecelove --Thanks for the congrats! I'm actually very excited but a bit nervous about the whole thing as well. I'll be glad when I start my new job and get settled in. Aimee --I will be in Shreveport but my territory is down to Alexandria and South East Texas. I'm not sure how close Alexandria is to Baton Rouge but if it's close we will have to get together for lunch or dinner one day. Barb465 --Those are excellent reminders. I will admit, I still drink with my meals. However, it's very seldom that I snack between a meal and I don't seem to be able to eat more when I drink. Since I've been on this plateau though for almost 3 weeks. I think it may be time to not drink with meals and see how it goes. And yes, more regular exercise.

Sorry ya'll. I haven't been keeping up with the signature thing. I have been doing great with my food choices. No changes in my weight though. Still stuck. But at least I'm not gaining. Excercise has been non-existant as I have been traveling much the past few days. Water --some days are better than others. I PM'd Barb --I'm in for Celine as I adore her. I too have noticed that my shoes are getting bigger. The actual size if fine..but I guess I've stretched them out to the max. I put on some pants I've been wearing and when I first started wearing them they felt a bit tight. Today, they fell baggier in the stomach area. So I guess I'm losing some inches. Yippee!! To those that know --I have been interviewing for a new job in the pharmaceutical industry. I just accepted a formal offer yesterday for a new job in sales for a major pharmaceutical company. I'm very excited. But also a bit sad. I will be temporarily leaving my home state of Texas and relocating to Louisiana. It's a great stepping stone for me and the money is too good to pass up. So in advance --forgive me now if over the next couple of weeks I lag behind in my posting as I have way too much to do. I hope that they craziness of my life in the near future will help me to forget about food.

Leecelove --Ditto to what Lisa says above. This forum moves so fast that if I go several days without reading it I get lost and can't keep up. But who am I kidding, that's me most of the time (the one in the corner lost and confused). Don't fret --I wised each and everyone of you all could go to Vegas. But I realize that's not going to happen. But you also have to realize that our Bandivarsary comes every year. I'm sure for June 2008 something else will be planned. At least that's my hope. We all are a banded family and like all families have disagreements, mis-understandings, spats, etc. And like family we offer unconditional love and support. Glad you decided to stay in the group! Melissa Lea

Wow -- Lots of activity going on the past few days. I've been out of the loop since I've been out of town. Socalgal --so glad to see that you are doing alright and recovering well from your surgery. Keep us posted. Also glad to see some of you post that haven't in awhile. I think of you from time to time. As for Vegas --I absoluetly adore Celine Dion and will pay any price ot see her. I will go alone (I don't mind) or with others if they want to go. But, it's not the end of the world if I do not get to see her this Vegas trip. What's meant to be will be. Melissa Lea

I did pretty well with the challenge. I was able to get my water in and I ate very well yesterday. I was not able to exercise. My schedule has been crazy, busy the past week and a half. I know that is no excuse. But if you knew what my schedule was like you may be a bit more forgiving for this past week. Barbara465 --good luck being ice cream free this week. I guess one good thing about living alone is that I buy foods only for me and not having to buy for anyone else. I have been able to keep the chips, ice cream etc. out of my house. I do have a general rule of thumb that I use for these types of things. I MUST have the craving for a food (like ice cream) for 3 days in a row before I allow myself to go and buy a scoop. This works really well for me. Most often I forget about the craving or I'm just too tired after work to leave the house and go buy it. Well, it works for me. I think the challenges are good and it's getting us back on track and focusing on our goals. I think that's something we all need after the holidays and the new comfort levels we have with our bands.

The next North Houston Bandster meeting is: February 8, 2007 6:30 p.m. to ? Cafe Express 9595 Six Pines Dr., Suite 150 The Woodlands, TX 77380 All are welcome! Melissa Lea

Lizrbit --you may want to go to the yahoo groups to Houston Area Bandsters. You may have more response there. It's a very large group of people around they Houston area. There are multipe support groups through them. Good luck! Melissa Lea

Socalgal --glad to hear you are on the road to recovery. I think the challenges are great. I'm already behind on the water and exercise though. The food, no problem thus far today. I will have to check out sparkpeople.com. I haven't heard of that site before. Count me in on the challenges but not sure how well I will do the next several days...I will be traveling and that always makes it more difficult to get your exercise in. Melissa Lea

Socalgal --so glad to hear that you did well with your procedure and that you were able to keep your band. Pinky --I feel your frustration with that pound. I keep going back and forth between the same pound. I actully dropped a pound last week (yippeee!!!) but it went back up. I guess I'm ok with the yo-you pound as long as it moves down from time to time. Barb12--let us know how you do with your fill Barb4--glad that you are doing better with your unfill. Melissa Lea

Welcome aboard kynekke! Barbara465 --glad that you are feeling better after your unfill. I hope that this will hold you for some time to give you much needed relief. socalgal --please let us know how things are as soon as you can. Your in our thoughts and prayers today. Today I'm feeling a bit frustrated ...the scale not moving much, still stuck between the same pound. I have confidence that it will move down (in time). Melissa Lea

Sorry to hear that you having problems again Barbara465. I hope that this unfill brings you the relief that you are needing at this time. Randi --I agree with the other posters. You may be overfilled. You may want to consider a partial or complete unfill to allow the inflammation around your stomach resolve. I went shopping for a new pair of pants over the weekend. I was able to get a 16petite in regular sizes. It fits very comfortably. I could have squeezed into a 14 P but that would not have looked very good on. It's nice to have some NSV when the scale seems to be a stand still for right now. Melissa Lea

Barbara465 --I hope that your band does what you want and need it to do this weekend, BEHAVE!! Give it a few more days and see how things go. Socalgal --your in our thoughts and prayers. Keep us up to date on your progress. Melissa Lea

Socalgal --sorry to hear about your slipped band. You know that you have plenty of prayers and support amongst us Junebies. I wish you the best with a quick recovery. Barbara465 --I don't know what to advise you to do. Do you stick it out a day or 2 and be miserable over the weekend?? Or, is your fill still adjusting and you are able to tolerate it better. That's a tough call. Melissa Lea

I had such a great time at lunch yesterday as well. Surgery day Barbara12 --that's starting to feel so long ago. You too look like a completely different person. For those that don't remember, Barbara12 and I had our surgeries back to back by the same surgeon. I was first one in, last one to leave (post op nausea got me). Barbara4 and Pinky also looks emazing. It's so easy to see the transformation in other people. I wished I could see it in myself a little better. Pinky --my take on splenda. Go for it if you want. SPLENDA® is the brand name for the ingredient sucralose. It is made through a patented, multi-step process that starts with sugar and converts it to a no calorie, non-carbohydrate sweetener. The process selectively replaces three hydrogen-oxygen groups on the sugar molecule with three chlorine atoms. Chlorine is present naturally in many of the foods and beverages that we eat and drink every day ranging from lettuce, mushrooms and table salt. In the case of sucralose, its addition converts sucrose to sucralose, which is essentially inert. The result is an exceptionally stable sweetener that tastes like sugar, but without sugar's calories. Melissa Lea

Barbara465--sorry to hear that you are once again having problems with your fill. Hang in there a few days and see what happens. Things may relax for you by then. Melissa Lea

Lizrbit --I'm afraid I won't be heading to Galveston anytime soon. I'm sure there are other Galveston bandsters out there. Start a new thread and look for All Galveston Bandsters. Best wishes with you and your journey. Melissa Lea

Pinky --I might be able to make lunch this week at Nifa's. I have an interview at 2 p.m. It will depend the location of my interview. I also agree that I need to stop living by the scale. I think I'm at a small plateu and I will get through this. Congrats to everyone having NSV this week. Vegas --sounds like a girls weekend out!!! Looking forward to it. Barbara465 I don't know what time I will be able to fly out yet. But It would be cool if all the Houstonians can be on the same plane. Melissa Lea

Hey Barbara12, it's so good to hear from you. Sorry to hear that your feeling a bit depressed these days. I can somewhat relate. When we have no sunshine for days I get cabin fever. Glad the sun is shining bright today. I'm going to venture out here in a bit for fresh air. I think I'm getting a bit of a cold right now so not wanting to do too much. I will be going to Vegas as a single. But I'm not married so I do not have to worry about the other half. I'm looking forward to the spa day. I can hardly wait for the trip. It will be so fun!!! Melissa Lea