Betsyjane

They were housebroken until they were about 6 months old because baby deer are so dependent on their Moms that they won't go to the bathroom until she tells them it's safe by licking their behinds to stimulate them to go. So we took them outside with a wet paper towel and rubbed their backsides and they went. Then we took them back in the house. At about 6 months, they decided they could go anywhere anytime, so they had to go live outside. But they still come in to visit, and they come when they are called and love hugs. They are fallows, so they are native to Europe, so we don't need a permit to keep them. And they are such wonderful animals!

I have two pet fallow deer named John Deer and Jane Doe. They grew up in our house with us, slept in bed with us, watched TV. The are so sweet and loving. They think they are dogs....the dogs taught them to bark.

I think Mississippi should pass a law that everybody who does self-injurious things should be outlawed from the state. No smoking, no drinking, no overeating, no motorcycles, no risky sports, no driving cars (the cause of most accidents), no reacting to stresses in live. No sugar, no artificial sweeteners, and certainly no politicians!

So...what do you do with a fat person who comes to a restaurant and orders a salad? Can a restaurant be sued by the obese if they contribute to the weight of a fat person? Will this apply to people who can only get food by having it served to them....like a dining room of a nursing home? Will they simply be starved to death? Why don't we just kill all the obese people and feed them to all the starving people in the world, solving 2 problems at once. Should grocery stores be included in this ban? No food period for obese folks? What about feding transfats to skinny people? Shouldn 't that be outlawed too? How about banning twinkies in general...oh, wait. They have a lobby. Too ridiculous.

There's a thread that just started by an insulin-dependent diabetic wanting to know if there were others who had the lap band and if it chenged their dependency. The notes so far say yes! One woman also quoted research about it, but of responders, 100% were saying they were able to get off their insulin.

I'm for square and round tables, not rectangular!

I went off my meds and have no evidence of diabetes at all, since about 40 pounds lost. My osteoporosis also reversed completely. The lap band has been really hard work for me, but I'm so pleased with it!

It was great to see everyone! Sorry I had to leave...my pain meds wore off a little early. Just a thought....We spend a portion of our time together talking about food. Duh. Gee, I wonder why..... What would you think about making a group commitment to talk about exercise for awhile? Sounds like we all have a desire to do more. So maybe we could put as much dinner energy into talking about moving as we do about fooding. I'd like it if someday we could even meet to exercise instead of to eat...even for just a stroll around the mall chatting. I'd love some support and ideas about exercising. I was also thinking we could bring the lap band rules to the meeting, read them and discuss one once in awhile. Even with something like drinking enough water, I'd love to get your ideas about how you fit it in, how you haul it around, etc.

6 PM Hasta La Pasta in Atascocita, same shopping center as Kroger reserved as Betsy

I would go to the head nurse, with a paper and pen in hand and take notes. Ask her what the plan is for getting your Mom out of bed. Ask her wnat the effects will be on her muscles to have her on 24 hour a day bed rest. Ask her what physical therapy is being done. You get my drift. Every time you go in, ask for an update of what has been done since you were there last. Ask the doctors. Be patient. Wait them out. Make them stop and answer questions until they are ready to bolt and then ask them more. Make it easier to work with your Mom than to take the time to deal with you. Don't get angry. Just hold their feet to the fire and always be taking notes. If nothing happens, call the insurance company and ask them the same questions. It's better if they get her up since they are trained to do it. Save your back!

OK. I'm a sucker. I just ordered the book How Not to Look Old. I read an excerpt, and I agreed with everything, and certainly recognized myself as being stuck in the last decade in which I enjoyed buying clothes! I'll pass along any earth shattering tips.....

Sorry....Walmart

Drive east on 1960 into Atascocita. You'll pass Walamrt on your right and in a couple of blocks you'll see Walgreens on your right and Kroger on your left. Hasta La Pasta is in the front part of the Kroger shopping center.

I'll email the people who have expressed interest on this site who haven't come to see us.

How about if I leave the name Betsy with the front folks at the restaurant.

Don't you think that's probably why they say on average you'll lose half of your excess weight? I figure the first half is just going to happen one way or another. The second half requires premanent behavior changes...at a time when the band isn't so new and it's easy to be less vigilant and fall into old habits. I figure if I'm going to go any farther with weight loss, I'm with you...I need to get very very serious. (As I sit here in front of the computer eating a spoon full of peanut butter.) Anybody want to go have a salad or something at Hasta La Pasta? PS: I found the phone no. Lana gave me. Now I'm hesitant to intrude since it's been so long.....

Hi Everybody. Hard to imagine I was banded so long ago! I still love my band. I am stuck at my current weight, but I know the band is there waiting for me to get my act together again so I can lose some more. And the fact that I've fallen into some of my old habits and am not gaining is a good thing. Congrats on the elliptical! Those machines work for me when I force myself to get on them, and when I have my music with me. It's only 5 minutes to the gym, but somehow it often seems like toooo long a drive to go!

Hi everybody. I'd eventually like to lose another 30 pounds, but I am stuck and in some bad habits. Still grateful for the band. I know it's there waiting for me to be good again so it can help me. Gosh, time passes. Hard to believe I was banded that long ago!

I'm glad to hear that it's still important to meet. I do wonder why our group doesn't grow. We've had people contact us, but very few have ever attended. I can probably meet any time. I'm certainly not at goal weight, but I'm struggling....I want to buy some Spring clothes...nothing expensive but just to get me through. But I just don't know who I am. Or what age I am. I actually went into Forever 21 at the mall, and LIKED the things I put on. But I kept asking myself if only a teenager should wear them. I've always been a fairly classic dresser, but now I understand that classics age a person. I've also ysyally had my ranch clothes and then dressier outfits, and I hear that over dressing ages too. At this rate, I may end up in a babydoll and leggings! Jeez.

It's funny. After I passed my one year anniversary of being banded, I found that I was just living the life and not analyzing it too much anymore, for better or worse. My need for information, support, and everyhting else decreased a lot. Seems like to maintain a support group, you almost have to have the next "generation" of bandsters that have been banded less than a year, in order to keep it going. Does anybody else get to feeling that way?

Every doctor is different. We're on solid foods within a week. Hasn't hurt me......

Stopping smoking was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life! I was an emotional and physical wreck at first! YOu get past it, but it doesn't seem like it will happen while youa r ein the middle of it. I kept straws everywhere and I sucked on them like a cigarette. Sometimes I even inhales and then blew out like I had actual smoke. I also chewed on straws. Just know that even if you gain some weight, you'll get back under control later and the band will help you. Carrot sticks....celery.....bags of lettuce to eat mindlessly. Every time you want a cigarette, get up and jump around or dance or exercise until the yearning settles down. Nicorettes. Stretch alot. Get a massage...anything to think healthy and think detox. Scrub your skin in the shower and think about releasing more toxins and getting healthier. Yoga breathing every time you want a cigarette. LOTS of yoga breathing. You'll get there.

Hi Everybody. I'm not at goal weight, but I do want to buy some clothes. BUT....I go in the stores, and I'm amazed how cute I thinks ome things are on me...and then I realize...I DON'T KNOW WHAT AGE I AM. Am I trying on things that should only be worn by a teenager??? I went into Forever 21 and actually adored myself in a babydoll top and leggings. Oy. What am I supposed to wear at my age???? Any suggestions. I'd like to be mildly stylish but not look like an idiot.

I haven't had other surgeries, but I cna tell you what the scars look like. It's done laproscopically, and I have 4 small marks. 3 of them are 1/2' long by 1/8" wide. There is one on each side of my belly about 5 inches below my bra line. The other one is in the center about 4" above my waist. The last one is where my port is....It is a horizontal line an inch long, and thin. Kind of looks like a cat scratch. Where they put them varies, but mine is in the center about 2" below my bra line. I can only imagine what you are going through thinking about having yet another surgery. My only thought on it is that unlike your other surgeries, this one is about weight loss, and my scars are nothing compared to how good I look and feel....... I'd gladly wear a bathing suit with a few scars than wear a bathing suit at my old weight. Good luck with your decision making. I can tell you that having the band is hard work, but I've never been successful at weight loss before,a nd now it's different...With ahrd work, I actually succeed! Pretty amazing....

I'm not fond of getting dressed for the gym, driving there, etc. Have any of you been consistent with DVDs, or is it just too easy to blow it off?