Wheezy

Mandi, I bought some Zone bars at Costco. They have 15g of protein per bar and loaded with vitamins. You have to buy a case of them but there are 3 flavors, caramel, peanut and double chocolat. They taste OK and are easy enough to eat.

When driving on the 401 heading towards the "big smoke" you see the smog from a distance and yet you drive in anyway. Go figure.

Good Luck Lila, Let us know how it goes.

Awsome Mandi!! WTG

I'm back from the big city of Toronto. Had a great time. Hope everyone a great holiday and Happy New Year to you all. Thanks for being there for me in 2006.

Yoda, I love the way you are so protective of our heritage. WTG gurl...... I love ya!!! We live so close to the border so I loved your Farenheit, smarenheit. I actually used that one on my dh today when he said that Saturday it would be about 48 degrees. LOL.

Green, you're a hoot and your dh would get along very well with mine. LOL

Mookie, consider yourself lucky you found this site before your surgery. I met 2 women the day of my surgery who told me about this site. I really didn't know what I was getting into. Thought that it would be smooth ridding. I would have the surgery and not feel hungry after eating only a little bit of food. That was naive, in reality, 1. It may take you several fills before you experience any substantial weight loss. 2. You may be hungry, but the band, at times, will tell you you cannot consume anything but liquids 3.The feeling of being "tight" can actually be considered as painful. At least that is how I describe it. But I think I have a very low pain tolerance....just ask my husband. 4. You may substitute the addiction with food with some other addiction. 5. After surgery you may ask yourself "why did I ever do this?" "Why could I have not done this without such drastic measures?"And the truth is that I could not do it without the surgery and even with the surgery, I am still struggling. Do I regret it? Sometimes. Would I do it all over again? Probably. Everyones journey is different. I wish you the best of luck and that you find what you are looking for.

OK so here is my response. Once I decided to have the surgery, I figured that this would be the last weight loss thing I would ever buy but this intrigues me. Flavor without Pbs, there may be something to this.

I have a problem with Jacks response. I haven't been able to find consistently what habits I should be forming. I was told to follow the Canadian food guide but found out quickly that whole grains don't go down so easy. Fresh fruit and raw vegetables are quite an ordeal. Breakfast is almost impossible and from day to day some foods are OK and the next forget it. So for now I try to get some form of Protein during the day and anything else healthy is a bonus. To fill or not to fill, that is the question.

The day after surgery, I had a 6 hour drive home, I felt awful, lots of pain although I did stand in a Tim Horton's line up at one of the service station off the 401. Maybe your dh could drive by the falls so you could at least see them. Let's call it a drive by viewing. Seriously you won't know until you are there, everyone is different. Hope you feel up to it, it's worth the trip. Good Luck

Pbs can happen at the strangest times. I was Christmas shopping in Sears. I was at the perfume counter waiting for the clerk to wrap the gifts I bought, I was feeling rather unconfortable when suddenly I knew it was going to happen. I asked the clerk if I could have a bag, that I was going to be ill. She promptly handed me a bag. I told her that I would be right back to get purchases. I walked as fast as I could to find a place that I could be somewhere to do it in private. I was in the ladies' clothing department when it happened. I ducked behind a rack of clothes when it happened. I'm pretty sure no one saw me. I found a garbage can to get rid of the evidence then I went back to the perfume counter, the clerk said " false alarm?". I said yeah.

Can't say anymore that hasn't already been said. Take care.

The holidays are going great so far. Spent a night in Montreal at a very nice hotel downtown. Went to the casino in Montreal and won $350. It was so much fun. Christmas eve, I exchanged gifts with my kids. Christmas day we all went to my brother's. There were 39 people for Christmas dinner. We all contribute for the meal and I brought my homemade tourtiere. It was really a very nice evening, I love being with my family (all of them!!). New Year's eve we are going to Toronto to visit my dhs sister and New Year's day we will be at the Air Canada center for dinner and the Boston, Toronto game. It's been busy but very nice. Hope everyone is having a great holiday

Mandi, I saw you 40 lbs heavier, the last pics you posted really made a difference. Hot baby hot babeeeee. OK so I am slightly familiar with the Beegees doesn't make me old!!! hehee

Thanks Yoda

Have a great trip and Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas!!!

Mandi congrats on being no 1 and 194.8. You are doing soooo well. About the band, it can be so finicky. The good news is that it is temporary so hope you will feel better soon.

Hey that's so kewl Becca. I am a Charge Tech. in a Biochemistry lab. What department do you work in?

Thank you Angel:girl_hug:

Wow Mandi, sounds like a cool place to work. We will be going through some renovations starting Jan 3rd. Tomorrow the packing company is coming in to pack. Some stuff will go into storage for 6 weeks (during the renovations) some will go to a storage area with easy access and some will be put in the hallway for access at all times (which is most of it). It's pretty funny to deal with people who have absolutely no knowledge of what you do. I had to explain why we need access to some of the inventory, manuals, consumables etc and the manager said "it's all very technical isn't it?". Of course I didn't say anything but I was thinking, we are Medical Laboratory Technologists ....duh.

Just got back from Ottawa. Brought my mom to the Heart Institute for an angiogram. I was very worried about her. She has had angina for the last 8 years and lately it's been getting worse. Anyway good news....I think...No blockages found but her heart is enlarged. There's no treatment except for her to keep taking all of the medication she is already on. So good news and now I can look foward to he Holidays.

Sounds wonderful Lila, I've never been to Mexico, would like to go someday. Be careful about keeping hydrated and enjoy yourself

OK girls get along. Sorry I brought up the subject about weather. Let's talk about something else that won't bring up such emotions like religion or politics. Lol :embarassed: