sbmorgaine

before (both of us, surgery the same day in August, 2006) AFTER December 2006 not even close to goal, but still going

I have heard this from others, that during the 6 weeks between surgery and your first fill that you can easily gain weight. Some people refer to it as "bandster hell weeks". It is pretty normal. This stage is for healing, not for weight loss. (says me, who just got banded last week, and have not really been losing weight since).

We were supposed to do 2 weeks of liquids before surgery, but we didn't do that. we did all day liquids, and then south beach for dinner. It seemed to have worked. No problems with surgery and I lost 18 and DW lost 10.

I don't know about tipping, I always tend to overtip, so I don't give advice about it. But, if you haven't been to Mexico before, be sure you negoitiate the cab fare before you get in. Make sure you tell them exactly where you are going too. Also, watch the change they give you, because the cab drivers will sometimes not give you enough back. The cab drivers are really helpful, but they dont' make a lot of money, so they tend to try to take advantage of the americans. Also, remember that if you are buying anything, not much is priced. YOu have to negotiate. If you really want something, don't tell them how much you really want to pay. Go lower. Also, don't pay the first price they tell you. We bought a amber necklace for about $70, but the first price he quoted was $120. We just said "oh, no thanks" and he kept dropping the price.

I know that I did the same thing for a long time. I finally asked a nutritionist about it and she said that one reason people do that is they aren't getting enough calories during the day. I tried to add a few more calories during the day, and I didn't have the same eat a huge f;ing pile of food thing at night. Just an idea.

Man, I wish I had some of my old pictures scanned in. I remember when I was wearing a 34 waist jeans, and thought that I was the fattest in fat land. Yeah. Now, my goal is to be in 36 waist jeans. Hmmm.

We leave tomorrow after work to drive to Kansas City then Thursday morning we get on a plane, and have the surgery that night. Yikes! Seems like just the other day we had a month to go!

If anyone has an odd sense of humor, then I highly recommend "Strangers With Candy". I do not recommend it if you are easily offended...because, well, it could easily offend.

Our "kids" at a local lake going paddle boating.

I am not really nervous, I guess it helps that I have been working so much I can't imagine not being at work from 8am-10pm. Wow, I can't wait for school to start! First though, I can't wait for our surgery date. Less than a week. I hope you all are feeling good, and ready to start the New Life.

There are these 2 cook books, both by the same woman, and they are the absolute best for meal planning and quick meals. I am not normally a cook book person, but they are so simple and step by step (sometimes overly so. there is a recipe for how to cook a baked potato in the microwave) that they are wonderful. Almost everything takes less than 20 minutes, and they are all tasty. They are wonderful books for people who don't know how to cook. Plus, they have shopping lists and menu help for people. It is all around a great book. [ame=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0962916013/sr=8-1/qid=1154614242/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-2664382-2297500?ie=UTF8]http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0962916013/sr=8-1/qid=1154614242/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-2664382-2297500?ie=UTF8[/ame] [ame=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0962916005/sr=8-2/qid=1154614242/ref=pd_bbs_2/104-2664382-2297500?ie=UTF8]http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0962916005/sr=8-2/qid=1154614242/ref=pd_bbs_2/104-2664382-2297500?ie=UTF8[/ame]

Once, I was standing in a bank, when I heard "Oh MY GOD, I didn't know they made pants that big." So I turn around, looking for the "fat" person so I could give them a "I understand" smile, and then realized this woman was talking about me. She was maybe 75 years old, and with an assistant, who looked like maybe she was a nurse. So I stood in line, my face RED thinking about what I was going to do. I was embarrassed, but also PISSED! How dare she say something like that! I finished my banking, then stood there and waited. She finished her banking, and started to walk by me...still talking about how big my pants were. So I stopped her, and said.... "ma'am, I heard what you said about my pants, and I wanted to let you know that before you make comments like that, you should think about the fact that maybe the person can hear you. I have thyroid cancer, and can't control my weight, so that was very hurtful". She started to stammer something about how sorry she was, she had no idea, cancer is horrible......etc. So I waited for a minute, and then said "see how you feel now? Embarrassed and not sure what to do? That is how I feel everytime someone makes a comment about my weight. I don't have cancer, I am just fat. But the fact is, if you feel bad about saying it now, you shouldn't have said it at all. Did you think the whole bank needed to hear about how fat I was? Do you think no one else noticed? You just needed to make yourself feel better? How sad is your life, when you have to make fun of someone to feel good about yourself." And turned on my heel and walked out. As I left, one of the bank employees who was a bigger woman said "you tell em".

There has been so much drama going on in my life in the last week that I haven't had the chance to say CONGRATS to all of you who have finished your banding, and WHOO HOO! to those of us who haven't. We are close! I can't believe my partner and I have our new life starting in less than a week. We have been on a South Beach/liquid pre-diet, and I am ready for that to be OVER! I have lost 16 lbs, so that is good.

So, at this time next month my partner and I will be on our way to Mexico to get banded. Wish us luck! I am new around here, always looking for information, friends and support.

I will be going to Dr. Joya in Puerto Vallerta MX. I am excited! It is almost here!

We recently got pictures of our "family" taken, and I am so proud of my boys. Anyone else want to share??? Here are the people in our neighborhood! White shirt is my partner Erin, then green shirt is me. The guy is one of our staff workers/best friend, Jason. Then the littlest boy is Brandon, the one I am holding is Carlos (his legs are completely off the floor) and the yellow shirt is Roy. Roy and Brandon are half brothers, and Carlos and Roy have lived together for over 10 years, so they are "brothers".

I have seen some really beautiful glamour shots pictures, it just depends! I think the biggest thing is that you should stand up for what you want when they are putting on the makeup. Because a lot of the time, if you let them do it and don't check on it....dragqueenstreetwalker shows up. But if you watch them and say "no, that is too much" then you will look nice. :Banane56:

I am super excited. We were doing a full liquid diet, but then decided that since the goal is to lower your liver size, that having liquids during the day and then a protein veggie combo for dinner would be ok. So far I have lost about 16 lbs, which is very exciting. I am getting nervous, but at the same time excited because we will have a few days off! And I am excited that the surgery will be done, and our new life will be really started.

I couldn't do it. I think that all I would see is my partner's face, with the hurt look on it. I just couldn't.

About a month ago, we went to visit my inlaws in Georgia. They are both fat people, and my partner and I are both fat. First, when we got on the plane, we were in the row of 3 seats, and this poor skinny man got to the row, looked at us and his face showed this horrible look...like "oh fu**, I have to squeeze in with THEM?" Of course, my seatbelt didn't fit, but I put it in my lap so they wouldn't notice, because I can't admit I need an extender. Then, we are in Georgia, and go to one of those Chinese all you can eat buffets, and the people in the booth across from us were making comments and turning around to look at us. It was really embarrassing. We were that "OMG fat family". Sigh. We were going to go to downtown Atlanta, because I have been to Georgia 3 times (Marietta, a suberb of Atlanta) and never seen the downtown. So we had planned to go to the Coke musuem. Well, the in-laws didn't want to go, because they can't walk that far. So that plan ended. For the plane ride home, we get to our seats, and AGAIN on the row of 3 seats (seriously, I think if a fat couple is traveling together, they should be allowed to switch to the row of 2, so at least you are only crammed in with your SO). What do we see? A very fat man sitting in the third seat. All three of us looked at each other, then looked at the seats, and the man said "well, ask the flight attendant if she has any lard, cause we're gonna need it". So we jammed into the seats, and had the most uncomfortable ride ever. This is the weekend that broke the camel's back so to speak. A month later, we decided on surgery, and in 13 days we will be getting it. I can't wait.

My $.02. If you go to the shelter, think about getting a grown dog. Others have said it before, but I will say it again. Not only are they more laid back (normally) and IMHO easier to train, but...welll......if you are a serious dog/cat lover stop reading now. I used to work for animal control, and on my first day I went to drop off a dead possum at the local shelter. There were giant rubbermaid containers full of dead adult animals. I asked why so many, they couldn't all be sick right?? (my first day) The response was "we get so many animals, that there are no room for more, we have to put some down". So I said "i don't see any puppies or kittens". Anyway, they don't put down puppies and kittens because they are so "cute" that everyone wants them. But the adult dogs and cats are not as interesting to people. That was one of the most eyeopening days of my life. So please, go to a shelter and get an older animal. Even a year old is "too old" for a lot of people. Ok, off my soapbox now.

This is funny, I had a friend who was a drag queen who went to glamour shots to do his "drag photos" and came out looking like something else. It was funny, they make the girly girls look like drag queens and the drag queens look like something from hell!

Nope, she is a Red-Tick Coonhound mix (of unknown mix). I got her at a shelter, when I was there looking for a small dog. Whoops! She is about 80 lbs and knee high. She has these big brown people eyes and I walked past her and everytime I had to stop, and finally realized there was no way I could say no. She is the sweetest dog ever. We had a friend bring her baby over, and the baby was playing on the floor and samanther laid there and inched over until they were snuggled up. It was really cute. Her name is Samantha, but we call her Samanther Sue Electric Boogaloo, or just samamanther, or smoocho puppy. (yeah, sickly sweet, I know.)

Sorry that one is so big, I tried to make it smaller but it wouldn't work. And Jenna, what a great looking family! Actually, to everyone that has posted pictures, what a great looking group we are.

Now you have done it! This is my poor puppy during a thunderstorm. She is so scaredy cat. This is her on the couch in our old house.