green

I think it often helps to have an explanation for the post-op dietary restrictions. It is often difficult for us folk who love to eat to abide by the rules when breaking them results in no immediate damage. I speak as one who broke all the pre-op rules that my band docs laid down. Instead of trimming back on my food intake, I went on the blonde ambition farewell food tour. And I continued smoking right up until the night before Big Day. My post-op behaviour was much better, though. I did stick to the rules and lost 11 lbs before my first fill. Anyhow, you are back on track. Congratulations! I hope you enjoy the weight loss journey as much as I did. You too, DaMomb.

Unsure, when I was banded I was on clear fluids for the first week, fluids for the second and third week, and mushies for the following two weeks. That is 5 weeks of careful eating. The theory behind this is that it will allow the surgery to heal and your band to "seat itself" properly. This will minimize your chances of problems further down the road. What problems? Well, slippage is the big one. Please, do try to eat carefully during this post-op period and think about getting some counselling for your food issues. That can't hurt and might be of help.

So I guess missionary is out as a vocation for Pattygreen....?

Pattygreen, in my opinion Beth's comments to you make a lot of sense. There is something awfully alienating about your judgemental style. I am certain that your God did not appoint you to be His hall monitor, nor His judge. It is the practice of most judges, when sentencing felons, to look at the circumstances behind their crimes/sins. Someone who kills a burglar who has invaded his home and is threatening his family is unlikely to get the same sentence as rapist-murderer. Your comments indicate your lack of flexibility and, yes, kindness when viewing the activities of your fellow man. Most of us who have posted here feel that it is wrong for you to smack us with your Bible. Should you wish to teach, you must do this by providing explanations to back up your statements. If you are not up to this task, then perhaps you should consult your pastor. You could even reread your New Testament: Jesus was an excellent teacher. Simply announcing to us that according to your God and your Bible prostitution is a Sin and no mercy should be shown to those who Sin is terribly counterproductive. Prostitution is a complex issue and has been around since the beginnings of civilization. It is possible that many of those women who turn to prostitution have done so because of earlier Sins (to use your term) against them: rape, incest, child abuse, poverty.... Why should we, as a society, seek to further punish them? And do remember that there would be no prostitutes without men eager to buy what they are selling.

What I am saying, Pattygreen, is that mankind is a social organism. One single man cannot survive on his own. We need each other in order to survive. We need, as a society, farmers, the folks who bring the food they produce to market, manufacturers, labourers, doctors, dentists, etc. Man can only survive as a tribe. Therefore, those good practices that assist in the survival of the tribe - no stealing, no murdering, helping one another out in times of distress, etc - will logically form the basis of our morality and these strictures will be taught by all religions, I think you will find. Why does man do those very things which are counterproductive to the survival of the tribe? It is because he, as an individual, also has a desire to survive and he may feel that his chances of surviving are enhanced by theft and murder. Thus we see these two contradictory urges in our human tribe. (It may be argued that these two contradictory and very human urges are well displayed each and every time a woman decides whether to carry her foetus to term or not.) Anyhow, I happen to believe that we are hardwired to be fairly moral individuals and that is why all religions teach us more or less the same lessons concerning our behaviour. When a society is treating its own members badly, murdering them and stealing from them, this is a sign of a dysfunctional society.

Thanks, girlfriend.

Survival of the species tailors our moral code although we often do not realise this. We behave just like the rest of the species. When our survival is best served by co-operation, by loving, giving and kindly behaviour, we will do this and we are hard-wired to feel good about it for we are pack animals. If this will lead to our individual/collective demise then we will attack, we will go to war.

Yah, we Torontonians do have an easy time of it. TLBC is only 6 subway stops away from my house, a longish but pleasant walk with lots of shopping! along the way.

Doddie, you have been a great help and inspiration to a lot of fellow Canucks on this forum, you know. I think that you are very cool.

Plain, yer avatar is slipping.......

I agree with you, gingerb.

I don't watch Oprah because I find her show very boring - boring topics interrupted by endless commercial breaks. Ugh! I find Dr. Phil very boring, too. I do think that Oprah is an extraordinarily talented and very beautiful woman. She is a fine actress. And she seems to want to make a difference in this world. This is a good thing.

Make sure that you are comfortable with it before doing it.

Yep, consult a lawyer and hide the goods. Just in case, eh....... You do want to minimize the exit wounds if it comes to that.

I can wear belts and tuck in my shirts and sweaters.

Thanks, Doddie. I think your answer was posted while I was still typing out my comment. I prefer TLBC as a title. I think it sounds more dignified, eh.

Ebony, it was a real treat to read your post today. Thanks and congratulations, grrl!

Yah, I am curious about this myself. I was banded by Dr. Yau back in Sept 07 and my experiences with TLBC have been positive ones. I was, I guess, an ideal patient: I got banded, had fills, lost weight, and that was pretty much that. I haven't had an experience at all with the new TLBC (although I will be needing a fill 'er up soon) and so I am unable to comment. I do think that this is the place to air ALL comments - the good, the bad, and the ugly. I also have no problem with TLBC monitoring this "conversation." Afterall, how are they going to be able to understand that there are problems and to be able to fix these, if they do not hear our complaints?

Morality and ethics most certainly are subjective. They vary considerably from region to region and from era to era. This is why I am inclined to take the pronouncements of individuals like Pattygreen with a large grain of salt. In some cultures and in some eras, for example, it was considered just fine for a much older man to marry a girl who was just entering into puberty, or for a man to have more than one wife. In most regions of North America, such practices are frowned upon. At one time the practice of keeping slaves was considered acceptable practice on this continent. It certainly was considered an acceptable practice by the Judeo-Christian God according to certain passages within the Bible. I think, moreover, that what believers choose to worship will depend upon what geographical location they happen to have been born in. Had Pattygreen been born in the middle east, she would be spouting surahs from the Qu'ran to us for she would have been exposed to Islam, not Christianity. Careful examination of the Bible will indicate that it often contradicts itself and that it is often a sombre, violent, and even a racist document - or, I should say, series of documents. Because the Bible does contain so much contradictory material, believers are inclined to cherrypick its teachings and tailor these according to their own temperaments.

They say that living well is the best revenge. Congratulations on a positive step. (They also say that the best way to get over one man is to get under another. *wink*)

I think I lost 11 lbs before my first fill but I cannot remember how much I lost between my first and second. My weight loss was never dramatic but it sure was satisfying for me. And after 10 months of eating much, much less (thanks to the band) and much more carefully, I was at my goal. I weighed 145 and my total weight loss was about 50 - 55 lbs. I was very content with that. I think that I was thrilled by my relatively slow weight loss because of a few factors: 1) until I got the band I had been gaining 2) the only times I was weighed was during my visits to TLBC or my doc. This meant that I wasn't obsessing about weight gain/loss on a day to day basis. Whenever I was weighed, the loss was a wonderful surprise for me. Oh, and 3) I did receive a lot of positive feedback throughout the process of losing weight. Those NSVs are important to a grrl, eh. Since then I have lost a lot more weight but this has been due to cancer. My band is currently defilled but my appetite is returning and I am thinking that I am going to need filling up fairly soon.

Damn! I've always been a dangerous apple, not an elegant pear!

Yep, that is exactly how I feel! I would be rich and satisfied instead of just satisfied.

You see, that's why I posted that. Green is sometimes more than just a sarcastic b..... *wink* lol