Betsyjane

Half way home and totally stalled. I must be adding muscle mass.....:-)

the Spivak thread http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=29122

Spivak rules. His patients are all over this site. Get this... I have Lupus. When my husband and I went over for the surgery, he had arranged for a banded Lupus person to meet us there, answer any last questions and hold my hand until they knocked me out.

One thing that really threw me a month ago was going to my lap band dr's support group. The 3 leader/role models who had lost all their weight each said that they eat about 600 calories a day. they said they don't deprive themselves, but it they happen to choose to eat ice cream for example, they know to go to the gym fast. They say they go to the gym daily or twice a day and treadmill for an hour plus other stuff. It defies logic that you can treadmill for an hour on 600 calories a day. And if that's what it takes to lose all the weight, I'm going to have to think really hard about it.....

Marni, I am right where you are. I'm pleased with the loss, but I'm now having to really fight for any success, and I hadn't thought it would be quite so difficult. Many of my old habits are returning, and I'm really having to struggle. But even with the plateaus, I'm not gaining, so that's new for me! I do think the ads on TV make it sound sooo easy....and even having studied the process before I did it, I thought it would be a bit easier than it is. I've lost just under half the weight I wanted to lose, and I guess doing that within 6 months is nothing to sneeze at!

My friends: Want to come over Sat morning and do Tai Chi by the lake? (Or some other time?)

I think the literature says you can make it up if it's during the same week. After class, he asked about you. I told him you had a meeting for work and you were going to try to get out early but it had been iffy. It was wonderful. We started with breathing and stretching and then we did the basic routine. Then he had me over to one side and we did our same routine again, but this time we showed me the exact, I mean exact, placement of hands, feet, and body. Just those little enhancements really made it an all body workout. I felt stretched and lighter. It was actually pretty amazing. There are only a few more moves to learn and then practice to get it exactly right, and we can pass the test to the next belt, in July! Lana, whenever you start, if it's soon, we could all pass together. That woman that was there last time told me what you do in the test, and it sounds like we can do it. I also learned that when you enter and leave, you bow first to the flags, and second to the teacher. And that you stop whatever you are doing and bow to a black belt, if one arrives while you are there. I really feel so good, relaxed, stretched and strong..compared to last time. (I also figure the outfit has a purpose. The sweating is good for me.) Sorry you guys missed it. I guess it's one of those things that gets better as you learn more and flow more. Lana-if you want to catch up a bit before you start, I can show you.....

For me, eating breakfast insures that I won't be too hungry at lunch and over eat or eat the wrong things. It's also a way to keep my blood sugar level stable. But I'm so restricted most mornings that all I have is a diluted shake to sip on...... I was surprised that I had several cramping muscles after Tai Chi. But I get ouchy from Lupus, so I wouldn't worry about Tai Chi being too strenuous. Last night, I practiced standing on one leg and did our routine a couple of times from the last class. Haven't been diligent about homework. I'm going to try one more time of washing and conditioning my jammies. They're already so soaked in fabric softener that they have white swirls in the black! Suzanne, you looked so great Monday! Do you feel slim? You sure look it!

Atasc. United Meth Church 7PM. It's in the education building closest to Walden...on the far end. I'm not sure if I'm going. I'm at the mercy of a repair man..... If you go and I'm not there, tell thenm the new kid from last week will be there next time....repair man blues. The garb hasn't softened, but actually, it wasn't restrictive at all. Just made funny noises. I'm going to go beat it on a stone at the river until it gives in. :-)

Hi Lana. We have sold some minis to The Commons in the past, but there are lots of mini breeders around here, so you'll see a bunch of them! We actually sold our last 13 to the next door neighbor who has 70. We share custody depending whose pasture looks best. Our first Tai Chi class was interesting. Hard to imagine that you can get a workout in slow motion, but we did. I'm pleased. Dinner was fun too. Suzanne showed up dressed in black to compliment our Tai Chi jammies.

Yeah. I even get the munchies from drinking Protein shakes. It's equal parts, and a touch of vanilla extract is good in it too. It's better after being refrigerated, but good either way.

Yes, you can go any other days if Joy does it.

Just keep close watch... Being overfilled can cause pouch dilation. And being a new bandster, you won't have a learning curve during which to make mistakes. You'll have to be dead on with your behaviors and choices.

I'm self pay and go to the surgicenter. I really like them. they are quick and they do use the barium. AND my third fill did the trick for me! If you go in the mornings, you'll probably get Joy, and she's terrific.

Be careful. Sugar substitutes raise blood sugar levels just like sugar does, per recent studies. So it will also give you cravings, just like sugar. Such a shame after all the years diabetics were encouraged to use it. It does, though, save the calories! Another good one is to mix up fat free cream cheese and fat free ricotta with a bit of sweenener, and you have cheese cake!

I agree, but I think it's interesting that we've stopped at pedophiles. There are lots of career criminals who will never change. Why are they roaming society? On what basis do we get to choose to limit freedoms for some and not others? Murderers, drug dealers, rapists, aggravated assault.... Shall we put our money into building more and more prisons? Freeing up death penalty regulations? Build a big island? Make them wear scarlet letters in public? I don't know the answer, but I'd certainly be in favor of a prison system that makes them work off the cost of their stay...and keeps them out of some trouble through hard work. I don't buy the arguments that it either infringes on their rights, or that it takes jobs away from other noncriminals. I just don't thhink their prison stays should cost us anything.....

congrats on 50 pounds!!!!!!!!

It certainly wouldn't make me uncomfortable. I'd rather they don't know I'm banded.

When I was in grad school, a bunch of us lived together, including two of us who were a couple. One day, Dom, the fellow, came running screaming into the living room naked. His girlfriend Laurie ran in saying they had used cinnamon extract to heighten sensations, his penis was burning, and the extract wouldn't come off. So we all piled into the car to take Dom the the college Health Center, where they fixed him up, AND handed us a pre-printed list of what extracts don't burn, as the nurse commented, "We see this all the time."

1. I don't think this thread should be banned. we ARE in Rants and Raves. 2. I don't see the site as rehabilitative. One post of the 10 commandments of boy love seems to be gleeful about stalking and raping boys. I think they're just jacking off together on the site. 3. I haven't read that anyone here is pro-pedophilia. What I have heard is that Christians don't like to be put down because someone has a site about Christian pedofiles, and that gays don't want to be put down by being linked to pedophilia. So to me, this thread is about the damage of stereotyping.

Here we go! My local lap support group...we're all starting Tai Chi class together tomorrow. Should be fun, if I can ever figure out how to un-stiffen those Tai Chi pajamas. It's like wearing starched jeans at this point!

I'm going into the stone washed Tai Chi jammies business. There's a need.

It's surprisingly comfitable, even as stiff as a board. I drip dried, since it says not to put them in the dryer. I'll probably fill the washer with water and softener and just let them soak.

Go to the main page of this site, scroll down to local support groups, and look for one near home. Then also go to Texas support groups, and look for Humble Kingwood and you'll find ours.....

I got mine, and also signed up for a month. I washed my pjs with plenty of fabric softener, and the came out just as stiff! I may wash them over and over between now and Monday..... I watched a guy getting a private Tai Chi lesson and it was so elegant. I'm psyched! They have stacks and stacks of uniforms. No problem.