harlito

I think as a society we do it to both sexes. Men and women are suppose to act and be a certain way. Any deviation form what is expected and the person is looked down upon. Even though most people do not act like they should. Both sexes are held up to an unattainable standard or expectation. How many Brad Pitts has anybody actually seen in their lifetime?

If you got pregnant and your husband doesn't want the child would you expect him to pay for the child? If it was your boyfriend? How can a person expect it to be all their body, their decison but only half their reponsibility? The physical aspect of having a child aside, men do have alot to do with it and they should. They should take responsibility for the child. I don't know what society you are living in but where I live it is not acceptable for men to abandon their children - ever. Unacceptable before or after they are born. I think we all know what those men are called. Men may not know what it's like to actually have a baby but I am sure there are plenty of men who know what it's like having a crazy nut job coming after him because she didn't use any birth control. People should just be careful. I can no longer believe that a child is a choice. Pregnancy is a choice. Sometimes its not planned and sometimes it is. But either way it should be a blessing and not a curse.

Children's birthday parties have gotten out of hand over the last 10 years or so. A cake party and freinds is just not enough anymore. A child has to have a "theme" to their party. And now there is a gift registration... what next?

I was on Metformin (2000mgs a day) before surgery and my readings were somewhere between 90-low to 150-high. After surgery I stopped taking the meds since the pills were too large to take and my blood sugar has never gotten above 120. So the food restriction and weighgt loss does work.

Angelica, Don't hold back, tell us how you really feel... I've been reading quite a bit about the raw foods diet: "In Defense Of Food" by Michael Pollan(sp) and a book about Biblical times diets. Both books are OK and they both seem to stress alot on the raw foods diet. It has definitely got to be more healthy for you but I would find it sooooo hard to do. I just can't think of enough vegetables that I would like and it would probably get old. Although I never thought about sushi... yum! Good for you for trying it and I hope it works out for you. Friends! Gotta love 'em. They look down on you when you are successful woth weight loss and then they look down on you when you are not successful. Could be jealousy showing its ugly face.

BigGuyChicago, I have only lost about 50+ in a year and a half. This is because I haven't been following the rules. But I would never ever change what I did and go with the bypass. No offense to anyone who has ahd it done but those people just do not look right. the weight comes off so fast that their bodies do not have time to adjust and most of them just end up looking like someone is pulling down on their entire body. The weight loss is also so fast that many of these patients do not have the heart to take it - literally. Their heart fails and that's it. I know that with the lap-band I am in control. I can use it or I can abuse it. But I am still in control. With the other surgeries I can not see where the patient has any control.

Ginny1, I had a test in May '05 and I was really bad. The nurse said I was only sleeping about 2 minutes at a time and then I would come out again. I never hit that deep sleep that was needed - ever. They hooked me up to the machine after about 4 hours of no sleep and then my oxygen levels dropped so low theat they had to put a tube of the stuff in my nose. When they woke me to do this I was basically a pancake flipping all over the place, I had no energy. Imagine trying to move a 400# man around in a bed? What a difference the CPAP machine has made for me. Without it I do not think I would have had the desire to lose the weight. I was getting depressed all the time and just in a funk. When I spoke to my PCP about the thoughts in my head he immediately hit upon the idea of a sleep test. he knew right away. I truly owe him my life, I don't know what would have become of me had I continued to not get the needed sleep. Heart failure? Suicide? Who knows? I am glad to hearr you have caught this illness in time. Here's to some great nights sleep!

MicheleK. Depression happens and it does suck! I've been having my TOM for about 6 months now and I'm a guy! I think those funk moods are there to make us stronger when we finally get out of them. It's like a bad date, you never want to go there again. So each time you hit that funk you learn something new to watch out for and never go out with that one again. Pretty soon you'll meet the right one and by that time the weight will be gone - no more funk. I've been in one now for about a week - I realized I am going to have to give up beer. See? I'm already getting funky again.

Fenton, Are you talking about an actual gym like a fitness center or a home gym? The equipment at the gym I goto is very stable and could easily hold more than 350#. I know what you mean about this weight limit. How can every piece of equipment out there have the same maximum weight? I was trying to buy a bike recently and became very depressed by it all. Weight limit? WEIGHT LIMIT?!

Weight loss is difficult when you drink everyday... gotta work on that!

Weight loss is difficult when you drink everyday... gotta work on that!

I've found myself drinking more and more in the last year or so, sabotaging my weight loss. It has always been nice to have a beer now and again. The carbonation has never been a problem for me. But I have found that alcohol might be taking the place of food in my life. Has anyone else found this to be the case? One bad habit takes the place of another? How do you give up something that never seemed a problem before? I know this is the reason I am not losing weight. There's about 4000 calories a week (at least) in beer! Anyone else out there looking to get out of this trap? :shades_smile:

Again last night... I keep telling myself that this is not me and this morning I really wish I was someone else. I'm looking into making some changes.

I'll be going in for a physical at the end of April or beginning of May. If things aren't any better by then I am definitely going to say something to him then. He's been very supportive of my weight loss efforts.

Oh, yeah. I'm having a good time myself.

Alcohol seems to relax the band and now my food addiction has a buddy. I have gotten to the point where I drink with many of my late meals and I get a double whammy of calories. All the trips to the gym and healthy food is not going to help if I keep this up. The weight loss has been stalled since last June.

Thanks. I plugged in "alcohol" and got nothing. Searching thru the maze of forums and posts is not practical for me at the moment. Thanks again for the link.

I only had broth, sugar-free gelatin and protein drinks during the first week after surgery. But I really didn't feel like eating anything else, everybody is different. You have to remember that you are probably completely infilled and only have the band in right now. Once you heal then the fills will start and you will have restriction. At the moment, if you did not have the swelling from the surgery, you would be almost as open as before. No, it's not odd to be able to eat as much as you are saying. Just be careful and try not to overdue it. It's hard so don't beat yourself up if you slip. As soon as you heal you need to get in and get those fills until you feel like you have the restrcition you are going to need to be successful with your weight loss.

I had my band tightened recently and feel like I am finally going to start losing. In the 15 months that I have had the band I have had 8 fills and had my weight go up and down. Monday, when I got my fill, I showed that I had only lost about 20 pounds total (according to the doctor's scale :paranoid ) since my banding. So I am up for a challenge now. let's go.

Don't wonder why. Food tastes good, plain and simple. You have one hell of a sweet tooth but I completely understand. I tried and tried to do good. I would go days doing exactly what I was suppose to. Then I would kill all my efforts by going out and eating a large Mexican food platter. Why? Because there was nothing to stop me and it all tasted soooo good. Did I mention how easy beer was going thru? So don't kick yourself, you are not alone. Peanut butter... mmmmm... sorry, I was drifting away there. I finally went in and had another fill and I am extremely tight. But that is what I needed. There will be plenty of time later after I lose the weight to eat more Mexican food platters. Hopefull by that time I will have changed the way I look at food and will never want the platter, maybe the smaller plate. It's not easy to just put down the fork or spoon. It's very very hard. If it wasn't so hard then there wouldn't be the need for a lap-band.

I had a fill on 12/17/2007 and now stand at 9cc in my VG band. This journey has not been going the way I had planned but I am still determined. I just wasn't having the same results as others and was beginning to think there was something wrong with my band. Did I have a dilation? WHAT?! WHAT?! WHAT?! The doctor told me I just needed a fill. Some people have thinner stomach linings and would need much more than average. So here I am with 9cc and it is tight. My morning protein drink is going thru very slow, so slow I can not even feel it. I have to wait and then try and drink some water and see if the water hits the back of my throat. I know, I know... that sounds too tight. Not for me. i don't want to give myself an inch to work around the band. It is going to be hard here on out. There is still food addiction issues (if you believe in that) I will have to deal with.

I had a fill on 12/17/2007 and now stand at 9cc in my VG band. This journey has not been going the way I had planned but I am still determined. I just wasn't having the same results as others and was beginning to think there was something wrong with my band. Did I have a dilation? WHAT?! WHAT?! WHAT?! The doctor told me I just needed a fill. Some people have thinner stomach linings and would need much more than average. So here I am with 9cc and it is tight. My morning protein drink is going thru very slow, so slow I can not even feel it. I have to wait and then try and drink some water and see if the water hits the back of my throat. I know, I know... that sounds too tight. Not for me. i don't want to give myself an inch to work around the band. It is going to be hard here on out. There is still food addiction issues (if you believe in that) I will have to deal with.

It's been awhile... I got to the point at 3AM Monday morning that I actually woke up full throttle, angry about my weight and the band. The morning before I was able to eat an entire biscuit with no butter without any problem. Then that evening I ate an entire enchiladas platter and felt nothing. My old habits were coming back and I was getting depressed, then angry, then depressed, then angry... on and on and on... I called my surgeon's office and "explained" to them that I was not happy. His office suggested that I come in for a consultation and that I might need a fill. But I didn't want to hear it. I mean I had 8cc in my band already! How much is it going to take?! Another fill would make it 8 fills total. I reluctantly went in expecting to get in an argument with the doctor about dieting - something I didn't want to do. But in a way I did want to tell him I was mad. I couldn't relate to any of the people who were having success with the band. Why wasn't I feeling the same way that these people were feeling? Where was this "full" feeling people were talking about? Surely at 8cc I should be feeling what I needed to feel. Well, I guess not. The doctor told me that I could have a thinner stomach lining and may need more fill. My band could hold up to 11cc but that I shouldn't need that much. So I had 1cc added for a total of 9cc. It's now tight, good and tight. I can not feel anything going thru the band and even water taps at the back of my throat. There is no pain at all, just very slow going thru the band. I can't wait until I can try regular foods in a few days. I think I may actually be here now. It may sounds extreme to some bandsters out there but I know with my history and issues with food I needed to be this tight. I don't want another enchiladas platter sneaking through. This is a big deal since I have been banded for 15 months and according to the doctor's scale I have only lost about 20 pounds. This is so far from where I wanted to be right now and I feel like I am just getting started. It's all good though. I've made friends in my support group and I think I would have stopped and given up long ago had it not been for them. My family and friends have stopped the encouraging words, they feel that the band had failed long before I felt like it did (never tell anyone, ever). So without the support of fellow bandsters and seeing the success of others I would have never thought it was possible. I am still far from where I want to be but I know now that there is hope. So to all you other people out there with the the VG band who are having trouble I can say only one thing... "DON'T GIVE UP!" I'm back and I am planning on making this work... damn it!

We still have our meetings in Pasadena off the Beltway and Fairmont. We've moved it over the last few months to inside Target at the Barnes & Noble Cafe. Our meeting time is still 6PM every Thursday. There is also a new group that meets on Saturdays in Alvin once a month. I think the next meeting will be next Saturday, 10/20, at 1:30PM. They are having their 3rd meeting. They were meeting at the Chillis but I believe they have moved this months to a different location. If you are intersted in the Alvin I can find out the location. Also, what does SAHM stand for? In Pasadena we have group members who bring their children sometimes with no problem. The only problem is for the kids, they might get bored. We all love kids!

I am usually the first to start eating and the last to finish. Well, "finish" isn't really the right word to use since I never finish what is on my plate. Most of the time I only eat the main item on the plate. If we go out for Mexican food then I end up only eating the enchiladas - no beans and rice. It's not that I can't eat the beans or the rice, I just can not finish the enchiladas. Plus it takes so long to eat when you take such small bites and have to chew and chew and chew. My friends are waiting on me to finish and I still have eaten less than half the amount that they've eaten. Is it a problem? For them, yeah. They have to wait until I am done! LOL!