*susan*

Hi Katt and welcome. You are doing great so far. I love your attitude, it is so positive and will definitely help you get through the liquid stage. If you have any questions as you start your journey, please don't hesitate to ask.

Hi Stacy, congratulations on being approved! I am doing the happy dance for you, that is great news. :Banane51: :Banane08: :girl_hug: :Banane52: :Banane41: :Banane09: :Banane59: :Banane48: :Banane27:

Hi, sorry, I don't know anything about getting banded in Mexico. I just wanted to tell you and your daughter congratulations on making the decision to "join the band" and welcome you to LBT.

Hi Fran, welcome to LBT. I was self pay too. Darn BC/BS of Florida, why do we even have it??? Anyways, it sounds like you are doing great so far, congrats!

Hi Kim, I think it is great that you are adopting. I work for a child-serving agency that takes care of abused, abandoned and neglected kids. There are so many kids out there that need wonderful, caring parents. I admire you for choosing adoption, although I am sure you were disappointed when your other efforts did not work out as hoped. But, somewhere there is a child just waiting to be blessed by you. How much of a fill do you have in your band now? I am sure you will get back on track again soon. I am glad you are posting with us.

Hi Kim and welcome to LBT! I am glad you found us. Check out all the stickies at the top of each forum, because they are loaded with great information. And, don't be afraid to ask questions, we are all here to help and support one another.

Just checking in to see how things went. Hopefully you are at home, recovering well and taking full advantage of getting waited on hand and foot for as long as you can. :girl_hug:

I have heard of the colon cleanse, but never the liver cleanse.

I'm in. In addition to Halloween, they are doing the United Way stuff right now. They had a game yesterday where they went around to everyone's office and had them write down how many m&m's were in the bowl. The person who guessed the closest won the bowl and the m&m's. I guess 1343. Well, naturally, I, the person with the band won. I gave the m&m's to my co-workers and told them to get them out of my office.

Don't get discouraged, please! The real weightloss doesn't usually start until you reach proper restriction. Most people do not get that on the first fill. It usually takes 2-3 fills, but when it happens, you will know it, the weight will start falling off and you will love your band again. How long does your doctor make you wait between fills? Also, what size band do you have and how much fill did he give you?

Wow, you are absolutely gorgeous girl! Way to go!

Once in a very great while, I will get a craving for an ice cold beer. When I have, I have not had any problems with it. One is always enough for me though. I get silly enough from just that.

Hmmm, not to be obscene, but I am definitely feeling less self conscious, less inhibited and a lot more in the mood with my hubby. I am not going to complain if that is an addiction.

Brandy, I fixed my page and sent you a request. :biggrin1:

Thanks for the words of support and encouragement everyone, it really means a lot. My hubby told his kids yesterday that this has gone on long enough. He left their mother back in 1991 and had no plans of ever going back to her. He told them that with him, there is me as we are a package deal. He said if they want to be a part of his life, and he wants them to, then they have to accept me as well and treat me respectfully. The step-daughter-in-law says she can't, but the son says he has never had a problem with me. The other two kids won't respond to us.

Congrats, I think clothing NSV's are truly the best!

Oh my goodness, good luck to you! I am sure everything will go well. Let us know how you are feeling as soon as you are up to it.

Drinking water while you eat is not a good idea because it pushes the food through your pouch quicker and therefore you do not feel full as soon and are hungry again much sooner.

Ok, not trying to further instigate here, but you remind me of a relative of mine. When she states her opinion, it is law, she is right and that is the end of that. Nobody elses opinion matters unless it supports hers. You can present her with all the factual information to show she is wrong, but it doesn't matter. She is right, she knows everything. End of story. I really don't believe for one minute that Carlene or anyone else is a bad parent because of the choices her daughter made. Just because one is under the magical age of 18 doesn't mean they don't know the difference between right and wrong. Does that mean when a 13 year old kills someone, they should not be tried for it, but their parents should be. Even if their parents are very good parents, go to church, have high morals and always talked to their kids? Bull. Even at age 13, the kid knows the difference by then between right and wrong. We can teach them as best we can. All we can do is hope they remember what we have taught them and make the right choice. If they don't, that does not mean we are bad parents or that we screwed up. It is not our fault. It just means they were faced with a lot of pressure and made the wrong choice even though they probably knew it was wrong. What the good parent then does is make the child realize they made a poor choice, make them own up to it and accept the consequences for it and hope they learn a good, hard, lifelong lesson from it. Unless you live in Oz, then everything is different. Do you live in Oz?

Neither, nor do I count points, protein or anything. I have failed at diets all of my life. I don't want to spend the rest of my life on a diet. Instead, I just make healthier choices and listen to my band when it tells me it is time to stop eating. I am losing the recommended 1-2 pounds a week by doing this and thrilled with my progress.

Wow, that is awesome, congratulations and save a place for me, please!

I only weigh on Sunday mornings. I don't want to obsess over it and the daily fluctuations would drive me nuts. I took two pieces of tape and placed them on my scale. Every time I weigh, I make sure my big toes line up exactly on the tape. By doing that, I have found I can step on and off the scale ten times and still get the same weight reading every time.

I love popcorn and eat it at least once a week. I tried it when I was about 8 weeks out and had no problems whatsoever. As for the carbs, I don't think you should swear off of popcorn forever just because of the carbs. I personally believe everything is fine in moderation. I know I didn't get my band to diet. I don't count calories, carbs, points, protein or anything else and am doing just fine and losing the recommended 1-2 pounds a week. So, with that said, give your tummy time to heal and when the doctor says its ok, try some of that popcorn!

I believe I am a very good parent. I have always been very open with my children from the time they were old enough to talk about sex, drugs, alcohol, crime, you name it. I try to instil in them good morals. I try to teach them right from wrong. However, I am not with them every minute of every day. They are faced with choices every day when I am not with them. All I can do is hope and pray that when faced with those decisions, mom's good upbringing rings louder in their ears than the peer that is pressuring them and they choose to do the right thing. However, if they were to make a wrong decision, which thankfully they never have, I do not think I would feel responsible for that. I did everything in my power as a parent to teach them what they should do. That is all I can do. From there on out, it is up to them. The bottom line is, kids from good homes go bad and kids from bad homes go good. But, everyone needs to stop hiding behind their parents, childhood or upbringing as an excuse for why they do drugs, alcohol or crime and accept responsibility for their own behavior. I doubt anyone held a gun to their head and forced them to take that drink, smoke the pot, abuse a child, etc. They made a conscious choice to do it and they need to own up to it, accept responsibility for it and accept the consequences.

You are all doing so well, way to go! I have been slacking this month. I have been putting in extra hours at work, and by the time I get home and have dinner I am wiped out and go straight to bed. I don't think I am going to meet the challenge this month, but I am going to try and step it up for the remainder of the month. Especially because for the first time since getting my first fill, the scale did not move this week. 10/4: 35 minutes on the treadmill 10/6: 35 minutes on the treadmill 10/7: 50 minute walk around the neighborhood 10/8: 35 minutes on the treadmill 10/9: 35 minutes on the treadmill 10/11: 35 minutes on the treadmill 10/12: 40 minute walk around the neighborhood 10/13: None 10/14: 35 minutes on the treadmill 10/15: 35 minutes on the treadmill 10/16: none 10/17: none 10/18: 35 minutes on the treadmill 10/19: 35 minutes on the treadmill 10/20: none 10/21: none 10/22: 4 hours walking around the zoo<!-- / message --><!-- sig --><!-- / message --><!-- sig --><!-- / message --><!-- sig --><!-- / message --><!-- sig -->