anonemouse

Janie, don't worry, it will definitely change! It may not change with your first fill, but you'll definitely start losing again once you get decent restriction.

I asked about that at my pre-op, and my surgeon said she saw no reason that I couldn't wear a normal underwire bra if I wanted to, since the edge of the bra wasn't anywhere close to my incisions. The closest incision to the edge of my bra is still a good 4 inches away.

*sigh* I wish I could buy clothes at Lane Bryant. They seem to primarily run on the principle that wider always equals taller or bigger all over, though. Even at my heaviest, I had a very hard time finding clothes that looked halfway decent on me there. Even their petites were generally too long.

At the moment, that sounds both wonderful and terrifying. I keep getting flashes of, "That would be an amazing experience." Then I get flashes of, "What the HELL am I thinking? I'd be going into what is quite likely a male-dominated culture, with few to no other Americans around, a language that I don't speak, and incredibly primitive surroundings." :phanvan I keep thinking no, yes, no, yes. Sigh. It's a good thing that I have a while to think about it. There'll be an information session held at my university in late February, so I'm probably going to go to that. Hopefully, I can make up my mind by then.

I eat the frozen unshelled edamame by Seapoint Farms. They also sell frozen unshelled edamame in a Dora the Explorer package that contains 6 snack-size bags that you can defrost individually. I've thought about buying some of the shelled edamame and using it in soups or as a side dish. I had teriyaki ginger chicken sausage last night, and that would have been good sliced up in some brown rice, mixed with shelled edamame and a little grilled pineapple.

Ooh, that sounds pretty good.

The 100c Sandies are YUMMY. I'll sometimes have those or boil some edamame to eat.

Wow, Wheetsin! You're kind of a changling, when you consider the rest of your family! I think you probably lucked out with the parents you have!

I've found a very good brand of chicken sausage, and it isn't half-bad for you, either! The brand is Al Fresco. So far, I've tried the teriyaki ginger, and if you like teriyaki sauce on stuff, you'll love it. It's not super-strong flavored, but it is yummy. I just can't eat the casing (hard to chew it enough), but the sausage itself is very good (IMO, better than regular sausage because it has a better texture). In fact, I had it for dinner tonight, along with some edamame. A serving size is one sausage, but I've never been able to eat an entire one. They range from 130-170 calories per sausage, depending on the variety, and have 15 grams of Protein. Here are all the varieties of their dinner sausages: Sweet Italian Style Teriyaki Ginger Roasted Garlic Sweet Apple Spicy Jalapeno Sundried Tomato and Basil Buffalo Style Mango Chipotle They also have smaller chicken Breakfast sausages, too (60-70 calories per sausage, depending on variety): Apple Maple Country Style Wild Blueberry So if you're ever in the mood for sausage, these are a pretty decent alternative to a lot of other sausages.

If you've ever been in the rants and raves forum, you probably know me. I've been hanging around here for a while, since it took me about 9/10 months to get approved and have surgery. I'm 24, banded 7/3/07 in Memphis, TN. I'm basically a 50/50 resident of Kentucky/Tennessee (getting a MS in Biology in Kentucky, but spend a lot of time with my family in TN when I'm not working on my thesis or teaching). Ha! You wish! Ain't NO ONE seeing this fat chick naked until I'm a heck of a lot closer to goal! :eyebrows:

Hi, guys! I'm 24. Like someone else said, I decided to get the band because I wanted to experience life while I was still young. I'm in a career field that is really biased towards people that are physically fit (as it should be, IMO, because it's heavily rooted in fieldwork), and I wanted to be able to apply for any job that I was interested in, without wondering if I was too fat to fulfill the requirements. I also wanted to be able to go clothes shopping for once in my life without being forced to stay in the fat section of the store ('cause it SUCKS to try and find clothes if you're fat AND short). I knew that if I didn't do something soon, I'd wind up with a lot of severe conditions. I already had very high cholesterol and diabetes and heart disease are very common in my family. I didn't want to turn out like my mom, with diabetes and a double knee replacement.

Have you tried switching from regular salt to sea salt? I think sea salt is supposed to either have less sodium in it or a saltier flavor (resulting in less needed), I'm not sure which.

I'm so glad to see you back, Lisah! You have definitely been missed around here!

We'll convert you yet!

Damn. There aren't any even remotely close to me.

That would be great! I'll PM you with my email address. Ideally, if I do it, I'd like to be in either Africa or the Pacific Islands, doing wildlife stuff, but who knows where they'd put me.

Try keeping healthy foods around. Like someone else said, the 100-calorie packs are good, as well as edamame (soybeans). If you buy un-shelled edamame, it gives you something to do with your fingers, as well, and it makes it seem like you're eating a lot more than you actually are (which helps with head hunger). Plus, it's good for you and a very good source of protein.

I've got Nectar Fuzzy Navel, IDS Multi-Pro Whey Vanilla-Cinnamon, Matrix Chocolate, and Nectar Vanilla, plus some pre-packaged samples of Matrix Cookies and Cream and Nectar Strawberry-Kiwi, Roadside Lemonade, and Green Apple.

I would think you'd need more than a week. Heck, I barely felt up to doing anything a week after band surgery, I can't imagine having a TT and going back after a week.

Ooh. I may harass you for a sample of some of those! (Not that I need to find more Protein that I like, of course, since I still have 5 jugs of the stuff sitting around that I rarely use. :faint:)

Hey guys, I need some help writing a cover letter for one of my job applications. It's for a position as a zoo keeper. Any pointers that y'all can give me would be greatly appreciated! I'm having the most trouble finishing up the letter. Here's what I've got so far (I'm stuck on the "In closing" paragraph):

Which Whey Gourmet shakes did you get? The chocolate pb is probably one of the better Protein shakes I've tried, but the milk chocolate literally tastes like cardboard.

Definitely! My hair had finally stopped falling out, and then I found out that I'd probably need to find a new job. Apparently, my hair is VERY sensitive to stress and sheds like a Persian when I'm under any.

I definitely agree with this. I mean, I doubt people would look at it any more than they do the FAQ or anything, but at least it would be there.

Thanks, guys!