Band_Groupie

Thanks Lena! I forgot about the higher carb thing, but during the mushie phase I don't think it will matter as much...maybe. Good to know you didn't have to rely on shakes long. Guess what I did all most of the day...made my broth...AND the chicken salad...AND cream of broccoli soup! More tomorrow! Gotta go bag it all up before the kids come home and eat my liquids and mushie supplies! Yummy!!! THANKS!!!

LOL (sorry, but it was funny). Tonya, I'll sign the petition! I hate Monday's too (especially the Monday after we turn the clocks ahead). Getting anyone moving this morning was rough...I think I laid there for 10 min. just trying to get any part of my body to move! Hang in there...Friday's coming! -BG

Thanks gals for the support! It can't come soon enough :-)

Today is Barbie’s 50th Birthday (Barbie Millicent Roberts that is). We were born the same year…1959. I figure if she looks this good at 50, maybe 50 isn’t going to be so bad (and she does have about 6 weeks on me). Say what you want about her creating a bad image or stereotype (interesting info. below) for our daughters, I love Barbie. What girl doesn’t have wonderful childhood memories of playing with her Barbie? My 3 sisters and I got a lot of hours of creative play out of our Barbies. Sometimes we’d steal the Ken Doll and the Johnny West Doll (He was a Cowboy, complete with chaps and hat…think ‘Marlboro Man’…dreamy) out of my brother’s room (much to his annoyance). I remember making furniture out of cardboard…a long tissue box was the perfect bed, and with a few tissues you had sheets and a comfy pillow (4 girls, 4 tissue boxes with tissues everywhere...Mom was mad). My Mom used to buy actual patterns for Barbie outfits and sew them up for us as gifts. Back then, other than hair color, you had to give your Barbie her personality with clothing, accessories and by styling her hair…it required some creative thinking to decide what mood your Barbie was in that day…evening gown with the silver clutch purse, or mini dress with the fishnets and go-go boots? Some of my best sister memories are with our Barbies. My DD was born in 1987 and by then Barbie clothes and accessories were now cheap and readily available. I relived my childhood again…my DD had the pop-up playhouse, plastic furniture, a bathtub that ran real water and a car with a remote control. She loved playing Barbies as much as I did. When my two DS’s came along they got their Ken dolls, and a jeep, fire truck, police truck and even a Baywatch Boat that they loved taking to the local baby pool when they were tots. What’s not to like about Barbies? Here’s the interesting comparison of Real Women vs. Barbie Real Women Average woman's height is 5'4" Their weight is approx. 140 lbs. They wear a size 14 dress Their bust is between 36" and 37" (B cup) Their waist is between 30" and 34" Their hips average between 40" and 42" Barbie (as a human) Barbie's height would be 7'2" Her weight would be 101 lbs. She would wear a size 4 dress Her bust would be 39" (FF cup) Her waist would be 19" (same as her head) Her hips would be 33" Her shoe size would be a 5 (some say her boob size and small feet would make it impossible for her to stay standing. Her neck is twice as long as the real women Poor Barbie has also been the source of some controversy lately. Apparently she’s getting some new flack for coming with stick-on temporary tattoos now. Parents are upset that this is the wrong message and that Barbie’s wholesome image is now changing to compete with other products (OK, I hate those Bratz dolls too). They're calling it her midlife crisis. It’s OK Barbie, I can relate. Just like you, I’ve always been considered the girl next door…and no one ever believes I have a tattoo either! Happy Birthday! Totally Stylin Tattoo Barbie

Has anyone who has actually met this woman NOT said that she is nuts? ...Her Mom, Her Dad, Her publicists, Dr. Phil, Her interviewers/press...

WOW! Thanks for all the detail; that really helped explain things. The day I say 1 C of food is a lot, is the day I do the happy dance! You give me hope JA. Thanks! -BG

Another request- If you happen upon any bean soups (in the next month 1/2) I'd appreciate it for my mushie stage since they're so high in protein. I'm hoping to avoid the 'protein shake' completely if possible since my NUT doesn't recommend them (wish there was a protein pill). I'm so excited...I'll have so much variety to eat with all your recipes! THANKS! -BG

Lena- I want you to know I've got 3 small whole chickens going in the oven right now (house smells great). I'm so proud of myself and I'm only at step one (I'm a terrible cook)! I've cooked a turkey, but never a whole chicken (had to call Mom to ask how long). DH doesn't eat anything that's on a bone (he's a freak of nature), so I'll be carving his off for dinner tonight. Can't wait to start my broth! We bought stuff for the chicken salad and the vegetable, mushroom, cheese, and tomato soups as well. It's going to be a week of soup making and freezing (I was ready to eat my shoe after one day of jello and boullion for my colonoscopy...can't wait for some good broth!). Thanks! -BG

Heeeheehee. Funny...dog...gone...hee hee. How how can I tell what people are going to think is funny? I'm easily entertained, so I laugh at everything people write/pic (well, unless it's sad)! I let DH read my very second blog of what I thought was a somewhat funny incident at my first PCP visit (remember, I Peed My Pants HERE). He didn't get the funny...OK, maybe it's a girl thing...I've not offered for him to read any more. I probably have a warped sense of what I think is funny (I cracked up when I saw that pic)...ooops, that means you're warped too !

Whoo Hoo! I can finally update my Ticker! One “ten pound head” (with my fat face) gone and nine or so more to go. I think I win the award for slowest weight loss pre-band…actually, probably not as I’ve run across quite a few others here who also weren’t allowed to lose much on their Six Months of Lingering Torture. I know, I know, you’re saying what’s so torturous with not losing much weight??!! Gee I REALLY feel sorry for you BG! I’m telling you if you’ve come to this point in your life where you feel desperate enough to get WLS, then you’re ready to make the change, and you want it to start happening sooner, rather than later. I’d describe my feelings much like an alcoholic would about ‘hitting bottom’. For me, and I think many others, we had some sort of turning point, or ‘moment’ where we hit bottom and decided to consider WLS (I’ll share my moment another time). It’s actually been hard while you’re researching and learning all this not to be able to put it all into practice. I swear it's made the time go slower too, probably because you don't have as much to do (tracking calories, exercising, planning/cooking diet meals). If you’re someone like me (professional dieter) who is always either gaining or losing it’s been weird staying about the same weight. I haven’t stayed about the same weight this long in I don’t know when! So ‘breaking’ my plan, and actually starting my stricter diet this last month of the Six Months of Lingering Torture, has been a great feeling. I started my dieting last Monday and haven’t really been cutting the calories too drastically yet (I’m planning to step things down) as I didn’t want to lose a TON of weight this month. Well, you can all call me an ‘April Fool’ if I mess this whole thing up and get denied! Time to update my Ticker tomorrow…FINALLY!...I hope I remember how! Me, Summer 2010: “Lost Weight? Me? Thanks for noticing!”

Good job forgiving yourself! Question- I know about the PB thing, but when you overeat now, what does it feel like...do you feel fuller, like it hurts (you know, those times pre-band like Thanksgiving where you ate until it hurt), or does the band just slow down the food so much that either your loose enough for the food to wash through (especially if you're drinking too), or at some point you'll PB if the pouch is full? Until I can get my head around what is real nunger and what is head hunger I'm sure there will be times I eat too much...just wondering what 'too much' feels like post band (especially when you don't have much restriction at the beginning) and if it feels the same as pre-band? Thanks- BG

The best motivation for me was to come here and read all the success stories, look at before/afters and ask the 'banded' your questions. It's been so motivating not only to see how quickly some lose weight, but even more for me; how their relationship with food changes. Hearing people say things like "I hardly think about food anymore" or "I now have a normal relationship with food and I just eat until I'm full...wow, I only ate 1 cup!" Those statements more than the weight loss keep me going. Good luck to you! -BG

We fat people (no longer you) wear our self-image on our sleeves. It's like hanging a big sign around our necks that says "don't bother talking to me, I don't feel good about myself so why bother". I feel invisible in big crowd that doesn't already know me...probably because I try to be invisible. You got your groove back Girl! Too cool! -BG

What's the new book title? It's too small for my old eyes (I've got my first pair of reading glasses, and I can never find them). -BG

Logged in this morning and there's a new "Give Feedback" overlay in the bottom right of my screen. After a short time I got a full screen pop-up asking if I wanted to give feedback. I clicked yes, but then canceled...nothing says Lap Band Talk on it. I've looked all over this site and can't find an announcement about this, and I'm guessing there would have been. We recently got a virus just by clicking OUT of a pop-up (not from this site) that took us a long time and $$$ to fix two computers. Can you tell me if this is from LBT or not? I don't mind giving feedback, but I want to know from the administrators that it won't hurt my computer first. Thanks!

Last visit April 1, so I'm hoping for the end of April or early May. Good luck to you!

Hey, if you haven't found it yet there are groups on here by your surgery date. It helps to get support from people who are at the same place you are. Just go to the forum tab and then down to groups, click on 2009 and then it will give you a choice by month. Start a thread there or join in one and let people know you have a date. Keep blogging here though, it can be your journal of how you're journey is going. I'll be joining you soon (maybe in April!). -BG

Excellent post! It really hit me, and I hope it only takes me 3 months to make it a lifestyle change. And "I wish I was hungry..." still sounds like magic to me. -BG

Congrats teeny! Did they give you anything for the nausea with your anesthesthesia?

Love the book jacket...is it a new book you've written? What's it about? I'm guessing you've done a 'Scottish Theme' one by now! Two of our favorites! Pork Tenderloin and asparagus! Thanks! -BG

In my area of the U.S., tonight is the night we all lose an hour of sleep. Daylight Savings Time means we all turn our clocks ahead an hour tonight or ‘Spring Ahead’. I officially have Spring Fever. Our seeds are up (under the grow lights in the basement) and we’re having an unseasonably warm weekend. I thank my DD daughter for that. She’s spent the last week in Florida on her college, Sr. year Spring Break, where it was unseasonably cool. She sent me a beautiful photo from her phone the other day…the sun was setting and there wasn’t a soul on the beach…her text “I’m alone on the beach, and I’m freezing!” She’s driving back today and bringing what I call warm (she calls freezing…well I guess it would be if I was trying to wear a bikini) 69° weather with her...thanks Honey. Apparently, Daylight Savings Time has a mixed effect on health. In societies with fixed work schedules it provides more afternoon sunlight for outdoor exercise. It alters sunlight exposure; whether this is beneficial depends on one's location and daily schedule, as sunlight triggers vitamin D synthesis in the skin, but overexposure can lead to skin cancer. Sunlight strongly influences seasonal affective disorder. DST may help in depression by causing individuals to rise earlier, but some argue the reverse. The Retinitis Pigmentosa Foundation Fighting Blindness, chaired by blind sports magnate Gordon Gund, successfully lobbied in 1985 and 2005 for U.S. DST extensions, but DST can hurt night blindness sufferers. Clock shifts disrupt sleep and reduce its efficiency. Effects on seasonal adaptation of the circadian rhythm can be severe and last for weeks. A 2008 study found that although male suicide rates rise in the weeks after the spring transition, the relationship weakened greatly after adjusting for season. A 2008 Swedish study found that heart attacks were 5% more common the first three weekdays after the spring transition, and 5% less common the first weekday after the autumn transition. The government of Kazakhstan cited health complications due to clock shifts as a reason for abolishing DST in 2005. So try your best to get enough sleep this week…if you’re feeling blue, it’s normally (please don’t even think about suicide)…and for those of you with heart issues, be extra careful this week. The up-side is that we all have a built-in excuse for being grouchy for at least a week or more. Make the most of it! “I’m sorry I’m so grouchy, but it’s not my fault! It’s this d*#@n Daylight Savings Time!”

In my area of the U.S., tonight is the night we all lose an hour of sleep. Daylight Savings Time means we all turn our clocks ahead an hour tonight or ‘Spring Ahead’. I officially have Spring Fever. Our seeds are up (under the grow lights in the basement) and we’re having an unseasonably warm weekend. I thank my DD daughter for that. She’s spent the last week in Florida on her college, Sr. year Spring Break, where it was unseasonably cool. She sent me a beautiful photo from her phone the other day…the sun was setting and there wasn’t a soul on the beach…her text “I’m alone on the beach, and I’m freezing!” She’s driving back today and bringing what I call warm (she calls freezing…well I guess it would be if I was trying to wear a bikini) 69° weather with her...thanks Honey. Apparently, Daylight Savings Time has a mixed effect on health. In societies with fixed work schedules it provides more afternoon sunlight for outdoor exercise. It alters sunlight exposure; whether this is beneficial depends on one's location and daily schedule, as sunlight triggers vitamin D synthesis in the skin, but overexposure can lead to skin cancer. Sunlight strongly influences seasonal affective disorder. DST may help in depression by causing individuals to rise earlier, but some argue the reverse. The Retinitis Pigmentosa Foundation Fighting Blindness, chaired by blind sports magnate Gordon Gund, successfully lobbied in 1985 and 2005 for U.S. DST extensions, but DST can hurt night blindness sufferers. Clock shifts disrupt sleep and reduce its efficiency. Effects on seasonal adaptation of the circadian rhythm can be severe and last for weeks. A 2008 study found that although male suicide rates rise in the weeks after the spring transition, the relationship weakened greatly after adjusting for season. A 2008 Swedish study found that heart attacks were 5% more common the first three weekdays after the spring transition, and 5% less common the first weekday after the autumn transition. The government of Kazakhstan cited health complications due to clock shifts as a reason for abolishing DST in 2005. So try your best to get enough sleep this week…if you’re feeling blue, it’s normally (please don’t even think about suicide)…and for those of you with heart issues, be extra careful this week. The up-side is that we all have a built-in excuse for being grouchy for at least a week or more. Make the most of it! “I’m sorry I’m so grouchy, but it’s not my fault! It’s this d*#@n Daylight Savings Time!”

Do you think this is 'freezable' after you make it? Are the numbers that are hanwritten calories/carbs per serving? Thanks!

Report from the Pittsburgh Tribune News GS Cookie Sales Crumble Nationally, cookie sales are reportedly down 19 percent from last year. Regionally, the outlook isn’t as dire. "I think the economy has something to do with it," Vance says. Since the cookie sale is the primary fundraiser for troops each year, Vance says decreased sales may hold girls back from great experiences in the coming year. My cookies have arrived, from not one, but two different Girl Scouts. I have no idea what my family ordered (remember I avoided that HERE) because I didn’t look. But I think my family help with the Regional Outlook being better…I’ve been told there are many boxes on our shelves…I’m staying away. This got me thinking about how I’m going to deal with my sweet-tooth as part of my lifestyle change. I’m a huge chocoholic and as you’ve heard me say so many times I’m all about starting into this change as a lifestyle change and not a diet, so it’s all about being able to make better choices without feeling deprived. I’ve never cooked/used many artificial sweeteners, but I’ve started some research on this. I’ve got some sugar free Russell Stover chocolates, individually packaged that work for me, so I thought I’d like to learn about artificial sweeteners, possibly even in cooking/baking. *Note I’m no Dr. or Nutritionist, I read a lot of articles and this was the gist of what I found out, I don’t claim to know what’s truth, and experts come down on both sides of the safety issues on all these. I started with the LB; What I’ve turned up so far is that several people have blamed band issues on artificial sweeteners…one declared that it was a major contributor to her band slippage, and many people have said their docs have told them not to use them (some say they cause sugar cravings). There are two types of sweeteners available on the market, nutritive and non-nutritive. Nutritive sweeteners provide sweet taste and a source of energy (calories). Their sweet taste comes from the presence of natural sugars glucose and fructose, alone or together, as sucrose. They are higher in calories than non-nutritive sweeteners, but they are all natural. Exceptions* - Common examples of nutritive sweeteners include typical table sugars (both brown and white), molasses, honey, agave nectar, and syrups such as maple and high fructose corn syrup. - Erythritol/Polyols, energy-reduced sugar alcohols: Slightly less calories than true sugar. Often called sugar replacements, these sugar alcohols are derived from natural sugars- fruits or produced commercially from dextrose. The most common include: sorbitol, mannitol, xylitol and maltitol. Products are Organic Zero, Zsweet, Sun Crystals. Gas and laxative issues. - Stevia: almost 0 cal. New product. Truvia*(Rebinia), PureVia* (*some say both have artificial additives), or raw/natural Stevia. Some say has a bitter aftertaste and causes gas (I’ve actually grown this plant in my herb garden before). - Whey Low: 75% less cal. than sugar. Fairly new product. Made with different sugars-sucrose, fructose, lactose; studies not clear on calorie absorption-they claim 75% less calories because of the way the combination of sugars acts to not be absorbed in the intestines. The only studies were done by the company. Some say more studies need to be done on this product. Non-nutritive sugar substitutes offer no energy (calories) and sweeten with little volume. Non-nutritive sweeteners include: saccharin, aspartame, sucralose, acesulfame potassium and neotame. For many of you who drink protein shakes, almost all of them contain these. - Saccharine: 4 cal./pack Sweet ’n Low- thought to be dangerous was almost banned by the FDA, but public outcry kept it as it was the only substitute at the time, and it used to be labeled ‘cancer causing in lab animals. Made from petroleum based products. - Aspartame: 2 cal./tsp. Nutra Sweet, Equal, Spoonful- some studies show that aspartame is dangerous/cancer causing and is considered dangerous by most, by law has to show PKU (disease in infants) warning. Found in Diet Pepsi/Coke, SF Jell-O/Pudding, and Crystal Light. - Splenda/sucralose: Says 0 cal, but it's NOT calorie free-has 4 per serving, which can add up if you’re baking with it, i.e. coke zero has 4 calories. FDA rule- they can claim 0 if it’s less than 5, the same is true for all packaging; i.e. they can claim something is 0 carbs if it is under 5 per serving. Splenda has sugar: maltodextrin & dextrose/corn syrup and sucralose, the process changes the sugar molecules and turns some atoms to chlorine (other chlorinated products include pesticides). So, although it’s made from natural sugars the process changes the atoms. Remember that everything is ‘natural’ it just depends how you define artificial vs. natural. Most consider this the safest low cal. nonnutritive sweetener, but there have been no outside studies. - Acesulfame K/acesulfame potassium: 0 cal. sold as Sunett, Sweet One- thought to cause cancer (no new studies underway). It’s found in Crystal Light, SF Jell-O & Pudding. - Neotame: Newer product. From amino acids- Clabber Girl Sugar Replacer, Domino Pure D’Lite. Many consider it to be much more dangerous than even aspartame, which was considered the worst. Used in many gums, Herr's pretzels. The bottom line of what I found out was that although there are opinions on both sides, one thing that most everyone can agree on is that even if artificial sweeteners aren't bad for you, they aren't good for you either. I'm no health food/organic nut, but even I was appalled at the lack of studies on these products and the role of big business in keeping these on the market (ie. Saccharin is only still on the market because Congress passed a 2 year moratorium against any ban of the product by the FDA when they wanted to ban it in 1977, which Congress has continually extended). Even Cyclamate that was banned by the FDA in 1970 is currently being reconsidered (I lived on TAB in my teenage years...no wonder I was so skinny). I don’t have time to read every nutrition label and I’ll probably still chose to eat some things with the non-nutritives like SF puddings (let's face it, obesity will kill me sooner than aspertame caused Cancer). As with most things…all things in moderation. I do plan to limit my intake of Crystal Light, which I have always drank to excess on every diet, and just up the water intake. I don’t intend to start baking with any of the non-nutritive, although I might look into some of the nutritive ones more. I think this will turn out to be like the rest of my theme for my ‘lifestyle change’ …I’ll be using real sugar, and just like other bad foods…in VERY small amounts. Besides, I love really DARK chocolate…Like Hershey’s 70%, which are lower in calories and higher in the good aspects of chocolate like antioxidants (cocoa has more antioxidants/flavanoids than green tea)…a tiny bite satisfies my chocoholic cravings. The cave woman got most of her sweets from fruits, which were seasonal, so she bulked up in the summer and fall to survive the long winter. So stick mainly with the natural sweets...nature knows best!

WOW Wendy! Very moving...really! You've summed up my fat woman thoughts. Thanks for sharing! -BG PS Have you bought the garters yet?