Kaydotrn

(((Roband))) being trapped in the house makes for things tough for anyone! At least you burned some calories cleaning. Good for you. Now get out of the house! haha

Siyah-I think there is a button at the top that says "new thread". Just click it and begin...

Good morning. Ibrahem-good luck on the fill and the transition to mushies. For me, that break from liquids has been pure Heaven! I hope you enjoy. Thanks for the kind words everyone. Man, I hope I didn't come off preachy. I think that was an out of body posting. haha. I do feel really positive right now though. I sure hope it lasts because there is always that little fear of failure after attempting to lose weight so many times in my life. Gerbera-giggling about the firt real meal. It is so strange isn't it? I will say though, I really still enjoy my food. I look forward t eating something yummy. I just don't eat much of it and I eat really slowly-which is way different from how I used to eat. I don't think I even tasted half of my food before. Okie-I too have considered counseling. God knows I could use it! I am pretty insightful into why I have done the things I do. I feel that I have worked out most of my issues with the eating and what started the problems as a kid and all..but now for me it is about changing the habits that have been with me for most of my life. It is hard work. I hope you do find someone. I imagine most people could benefit with working out their "stuff" with an unbiased person to guide us. Good luck with that. Jameza-girl, if there were a secret, I would be selling it (at a discount for my LBT friends of course:) ). I think for me, something just clicked. The food cravings have not gone away. I battled the urge to eat a bunch of oreos last night. I just am learning I have a choice AND the power to make it. I know giving up most of the white flour, sugar and refined stuff, the cravings aren't so bad. Knowing that after I eat I need to wait before drinking my Water. I have a lot of water to get in, so it doesn't leave me anytime for snacking. That helps...I also know I need to make a choice between eating what I want or wearing what I want and I REALLY want to wear some cute clothes. May sound silly but it is a big motivator for me. AND I am loving the power I feel. I feel stronger than I have in a long time-not just physically but menatlly too. I know we can all do it. We have a tool that can help us and ultimately we have a choice to use it to its full potential. I am trying everyday to make the right choice. BEst wishes. If you are feeling physically hungry though, I imagine a fill would really help your tool work better for you. I honestly don't feel hungry unless it has been a while since i have eaten. Head hungry is a completely different story-hehe. I do get that even when not hungry physically. I just try to ignore it. Have a great day everyone.

I am wracking my sleepy brain and cannot remember...I know we mentioned in the faneuil hall area, the Purple Shamrock. Oh..in Allston area the Kels. That is a fun place. Honestly Carol, my bar days haven't been around in years so I don't know what is best for you and DH. My DH and I will sometimes do a comedy show in town and then a quick bite or drink (in my case) at a nearby pub. Last time I went to the Kels though I was pretty tipsy and danced my heiny off. Good time... Good luck.

Okay-that American Idol show last night ended with me about rolling off the couch laughing. The boy with the juggling sticks..WTF? And then when he was all pissed and his mom was hugging him "baby, you will be famous"..yea, that is a huge future of disappointment. And then the girl right after "American Idol's Biggest Fan" -OMG DD and I were laughing so hard..but felt so sad for the wacko at the same time. People just want their 5 minutes of fame I think because they can't really believe they can sing. Can they? OMG-I start clinicals today. I want to to cry because I am so nervous. I have to get over this. I get myself way too worked up and ultimately, I know I will be fine. I have done well up to this point. I just get worrried about new teacher, new hospital...will I remember what I am doing? Will I get some scary patient? deep breath.... Have a good day everyone.

American Idol here I come. Myself and my 10 year old love to watch it. Nat-I didn't see Dreamgirls..wish I lived nearby since none of my girlfriends get out to the movies and hubby is a drag..would never see that movie! I love her though..and I too am a sap for a strong singer. I used to be in choir and my sister beat me and joined gospel choir. Every time I went to one of her shows, I would look like a fool wiping tears away from my eyes. The music was unbelievable. Girl-you are awesome and can totally get back on your exercise track. I think you are right that you are not eating enough. I have been worried about that too but I am increasing and up to about 850 to 1000 cals depending on the day. The "p-rot" could have a lot to do with what you are feeling and having work and the sick lil man sure doesn't help. Dust yourself off and get back in the saddle. You are awesome and worth it. Not to mention, you are gorgeous no matter how dimply and yellow you think your butt is! VA-thanks for the kind words. I tell you, I am pumped and feel great. Better than I have in a long time (despite the little part of me that fears it won't last!). Ok-kids are up my @ss and I have to go before I throw one across the room. oops, there goes my mom of the year award. Damn..... Love and hugs to you all.

I take a small HCTZ pill for my high blood pressure. It is pretty small and I was crushing it, but I felt I was losing half of it and it was a pain in the butt. I now just chew it at the same time I chew my multivitamin. That was I cannot taste it and it goes down fine. Don't know if that helps but I would do the same with Allegra.

((Okie))) I think ChubbyGirl took the words out of my mouth. I am glad you decided against a quickie/crash diet since that is not going to do a thing for your well being in the long run. You have lost a good amount of weight in a short time, your body is going to take little spells in the journey to readjust to the changes it is going through. That may include a plateau or even an occasional gain (I know that is horrifying-but possible). You have to believe if you make healthy choices, follow the bandster rules and exercise, you will lose weight in a normal amount of time. You can do it girl! Hang in there and deal with those emotions..do eat them or diet them away! (I battle this too so you are not alone). nn3-moms are funny creatures aren't they? I am sorry yours sent you to the fridge. Mine has done that in the past too. You need to make a choice to deal with this stuff, stand up for yourself and convince yourself that you are stronger than a comment from a loved one. What satisfaction are you really going to find in that fridge? Sure, there will be something sinful and tasty, but that quickly spirals into self loathing...don't ya think? I say this knowing that I have spent the past 10 years or more doing the same darn thing. It is so easy to tell you what you should do, but then to practice it is hard. But the point is practice! Sometimes we will all foul up but if we put our best effort into it, we will succeed. Hang in there. Hi everyone. Just posting that I need to share that I am feeling better than I have in years. I am not hungry for the first time in my life. I am here, on mushies, loving it, no fill, exericising consistently, and full of energy. I wish this feeling would last forever. I am having a lot of anxiety over my upcoming school schedule (starting tomorrow) and my younger daughter tests me enough to push me over the edge...but the beauty is, I am FEELING IT. I am not running to the fridge/pantry and downing a sleeve of oreos to numb the aggravations. It is hard. I was joking with my husband yesterday. I said "I don't drink, I gave up coffee, soda, cigarettes (years ago), and now I don't eat..would it be bad is I started smoking pot to calm down?" Of course I am joking as I feel too old to start that habit now..the thing is, it is hard to cope when you don't have a crutch. I have always had a crutch. Sometimes it hurts, but I am learning to deal for the first time in my life. I am hopeful that it will become easier and a habit...wish me luck as I wish all of you the same.

Good luck Brandi and Thinde with your fills. Brandi, I am sure your doctor knows what is best for you. DO you feel that you need a fill or that you can get by without one? I am not due to get a fill until Feb 15th. That is 8 weeks post op for me. My MD said if I feel that I am starving or stop losing before that, that I should call him to come in sooner. And if at that appt I am still satiated and losing, I don't need a fill. It is interesting how it all works. At this point, I feel fine without the fill. I don't know what kind of restriction I have but I don't very often feel hungry and I stop eating way before I am full so I just am not sure yet if I need one. That being said, I lost 2.6lbs again this week. I am thrilled. Sure I would love to lose 5lbs a week but I know that is not in the cards for me and the 2.6 is great. A loss is a loss!

Brandi-I am not sure about the carb thing. I don't eat a lot of them anyway and the ones I do are mostly veggies and occasionally wheat thins. Sorry I cannot help you there. Way to go on the exercise! You are a machine! By the way, I just heard of sparkpeopl.com. It is a more comprehensive version of fitday. Check it out and let me know what you think. I just signed up and I plan to play around a bit, but as of right now I am crunched for time. SmithK-have fun at your YMCA consultation today. Let us all know how you like it. Steph-yay on the insurance settlement. I am glad that worked out for you. Girl, dust off that pilates set. You will feel like a million bucks (and look like it too! haha). I have never tried it but I would like to. My sister loves it. Is it hard? I will try to borrow my sisters set...she is pregnant so this would be a good time to try it. I am off ot my weigh in. I think I am down another 1.5lbs or so. We'll see. I am definitely eating more now than I was on liquids, duh...but still under 1000 calories. hmm.I never thought I could eat this little since before on WW I averaged about 1600 cals and was losing about the same as I am now. Of course on WW, I always lose steam at the 12 weeks mark and gain all the weight back...and here I am week 14 or 15 and still going strong! Can I just share an odd NSV, I noticed yesterday that when I rub my neck, I can feel my collar bones sticking out. I still can't quite see them without scrunching my shoulders, but man those babies have been covered by fat for YEARS!!!! I know it seems like a weird thing to be excited about but it is really cool! Have a good morning all...I will be back later.

Okay-I am a terrible journalist (journal-er, journale writer??? whatever!). My new goal is to train for a 5K. This is something I have always wanted to do. I have walked races, but never ran them. I have never run more than 3 miles. I found a race on St Patrick's Day. It is "Ras ns hEireann" "the Race of Ireland". I think that may be a bit ambitious but I know if I cannot run it, I can walk it. I really really want to walk it though. I am registering for it this week. I am going to make my runner friend do it with me too (she doesn't know that yet) because there is a huge Pub sponsered party after with live bands (and food, but I don't care about the food) Now I need to focus on my training. Week 1-plan is to run M W & F walk/run 29/6. Monday-I walked 5 minutes @ 3.0-paused and stretched, then 3 minutes 3.8, 2 mins run @ 4.2, 3 minutes 3.8, 2 minutes @4.2, walked at 4.0 incline/3.5 speed for 5 minutes, ran no incline 3 minutes @ 4.2 then walked briskly for a couple minutes and then cooled down. It was a total of 28/7. I am sore but I stretched really well and feel good!!!! I will edit this for the rest of the week to add what I do. I also did a upper body weight circuit today. Tuesday-brisk walk 45min. Wednesday-Walked 28min, avg 3.9@3.0incline/ran 7min@4.5 and 1.0incline Thursday- Friday- Saturday- upper body circuit

OMG Surby...I almost did that earlier for real, but was afraid no one else had my sense of humor. haha I didn't want to get anyone peeved for fear you were all into the polls. Silly....

Audree, I hope you are feeling better. I would just rest it off and chalk it up to an unpleasant learning experience. At 4 weeks post op, I have not once felt full or the urge to stop eating. I eat my allotted amount and stop. Sometimes my head tells me to finish, but I am fearful of pushing the envelope so to speak and risk damaging my healing pouch. You are still early post op so I would recommend paying close attn to the portion size. Even though it was liquid. It was probably just too much in one sitting. Remember, small sips-I know it is tough and probably not what you are used to..me too! What's done is done and I am sure you will feel better soon. Take it easy. I hope by the time you read this you have no more nausea!

LOL Okie! Enjoy your pickles. Just watch the sodium and make sure you are getting enough water to balance it out. Otherwise you will be retaining fluid. Man, I sound like a fun killer! Enjoy nonetheless.....

oOO Brandi-I love FitDay. I actually bought the downloadable version a few years ago and I loved it even more. I just spent an hr going through all my cd's to try to find the hard copy since it was installed on another computer...to no avail. ugh. I use it a lot to help me track and I LOVE checking if I make my nutritional requirements and seeing the weightloss graphs. Too cool. Sorry to hear about your Mom. Sometimes Moms do those things. I sure hope I never do, but I did catch myself telling my daughter that eating shovelfulls of popcorn instead of taking a piece or 2 at a time was piggy-like. I don't remember the exact words I used but it was enough that my stomach flipped remembering being talked to that way. I immediately apologized and told her I shouldn't have said it like that, but that she should not be shoveling popcorn into her face..bad table manners/bad habit. She was fine and didn't seem concerned at what I said. She has amazing self esteem-I wish I had been as confident as she is when I was her age. That being said, I don't want to continue the cycle and make her feel bad because I know that pre-teen girls are at a very fragile time! Luckily at this point, there are no weight issues and my kids are very healthy...I hope it stays that way. At any rate, I don't want to have them take the course I did with my weight. Steph-can you believe that Ellen wasn't on at the gym? Ugh. But there were some good music videos on. I started a running program today and now everytime I go to the bathroom I actually groan because my muscles hurt! haha. It is just from the act of sitting down and getting up but anyone outside the bathroom may be concerned. hahahahaha Maurdan-string cheese was always a big trigger for me too! I would eat one, then go back and eat 4 more sometimes. (they are full of calcium, right?haha) UGH! You are DEFINITELY not alone. BTW-you and Brandi have some CUTE puppies!

I saw the news last night and thought of you! It sounds like there have been some pretty hellish ice storms your way. Take care of yourself. We are getting the cold rain part of it now, but I think more is coming our way. Kids in the house and cabin fever is tough! I have some of the same going on. I also think you are being too hard on yourself. I like what Steph said as far as what you should have told your dad when he asked how the weight loss was. 2.5 pounds is right on track. A loss is a loss and welcome each on you get. Beating yourself up will only continue the poor choices we make with food. You are learning new habits and like learning anything new, you have to expect some setbacks. Hang in there.

First off I am bumping this thread back to the first page! I found it on page 3 :::GASP::::

Okay-I am a terrible journalist (journal-er, journale writer??? whatever!). My new goal is to train for a 5K. This is something I have always wanted to do. I have walked races, but never ran them. I have never run more than 3 miles. I found a race on St Patrick's Day. It is "Ras ns hEireann" "the Race of Ireland". I think that may be a bit ambitious but I know if I cannot run it, I can walk it. I really really want to walk it though. I am registering for it this week. I am going to make my runner friend do it with me too (she doesn't know that yet) because there is a huge Pub sponsered party after with live bands (and food, but I don't care about the food) Now I need to focus on my training. Week 1-plan is to run M W & F walk/run 29/6. Monday-I walked 5 minutes @ 3.0-paused and stretched, then 3 minutes 3.8, 2 mins run @ 4.2, 3 minutes 3.8, 2 minutes @4.2, walked at 4.0 incline/3.5 speed for 5 minutes, ran no incline 3 minutes @ 4.2 then walked briskly for a couple minutes and then cooled down. It was a total of 28/7. I am sore but I stretched really well and feel good!!!! I will edit this for the rest of the week to add what I do. I also did a upper body weight circuit today. Tuesday-brisk walk 45min. Wednesday-Walked 28min, avg 3.9@3.0incline/ran 7min@4.5 and 1.0incline Thursday- Friday- Saturday- upper body circuit

Welcome Bandida, Congrats and best wishes on your upcoming band date! I was banded 12/18 by Dr. Schneider at Beth Israel. I had no liquid diet before the surgery but was told to try to lose 10 pounds (I was motivated and fearful of the whole fatty liver issue and I lost 18lbs). I did have to eat lightly the day before surgery. Like Chrispy, I too stayed overnight and I am glad this was not a day procedure. I felt very well taken care of. For me, the worst thing was the nausea from the anesthesia but I think that is an individual thing and does not happen to everyone. Otherwise, the whole procedure was not bad at all. Not a tenth as bad as I was afraid it would be! Best of luck and I hope that sinus infection clears up soon.

Happy MLK Day. Just a quick note because I want to get to the gym and watch Ellen while I am there. She cracks me up and it keeps me on those dang cardio machines longer if I am entertained. BK-glad your dad is doing better. Praying he will be out of bed ASAP! Good luck on your job. Keep us posted. VABand-hugs to you and your sis. That is great that she is supportive. It is not easy to have jealousy and insecurity in families so it is nice when there is none of that. Steph-love ya girl. I love your perspective. I too have always battled with the after dinner munchies. In the past I could undo a whole day of healthy eating in the time between 7-9pm. I seem to have a hndle on it for now. I hope that lasts. (((Nat))) (((Brandi))) just quick hugs to you. Transformer-are you ready for school? I want to crawl under my covers. I am so afraid for it to start and so scared of my clinicals that I forgot all of the info I learned last year. aaaaahhhh. Good luck. I have to run, literally and burn some calories! Weigh in is tomorrow morning.

(((Jill)))) Congrats on the loss and especially since it is a first for you. That must feel so fantastic! Keep it up. Thanks for the kind words. It is really nice to hear. As far as my loss, I am currently at the weight I always manage to get down to before my diet loses steam and I start to gain it all back. This is a really big deal for me because I am still so motivated right now and having the band will certainly help. I cannot remember the last time I saw the 220's. I think I dipped to 229 once since my first pregnancy and quickly piled the lbs back on! I am only weeks away from that! Nat-GO PATRIOTS!!!! Did you watch that game? My 4 yo got the hot sauce out of the kitchen and told my DH to put some in his mouth because there were som bad words flying around. He actually did too which was kind of funny. It was a stressful few hours here. Transformer-good luck with school. I start back on Wednesday and I am STRESSED! I know this is going to be a really hard year for me and I only have 2 weeks off between the start next week and December when I am done!!!! UGH. No summer break this year. Good luck to you and kudos for going back for another degree. My stomach is making the loudest gurgling sounds tonight. I swear it is actually forming words. I made a fattening dip that we had with wheat thins for dinner tonight (football food) and stuffed mushrooms. I had a mushroom around 4:30 as well as 6 crackers with dip. Then another mushroom around 7pm and 4 more crackers. It was not the healthies choice but I still stayed around 800-900 cals and got my Protein as well as all my Water so I am not too annoyed about it. I will work it all out at the gym in the morning. I did a crap load of squats, lunges, and weights last night in my living room and I am still so sore. It is a good feeling though. Is everyone off tomorrow to observe the holiday? Have a good one.

Kathy-congrats on a wonderful evening with friends. Did you find that you enjoyed the company more since you were not busy scoffing down food? I have found that to be the case with me. Just wondering. Okay, so were are talking about 19 bites that you chewed to mush. Think about it...what does 19 bites actually add up to? Probably not 1/4 of what you may have eaten in the past. I am glad you savored and enjoyed it all. I doubt any damage is done. Especially where you are talking 5 days..not 15 until solids. I would just jump back on the wagon today and chalk it up to a nice indulgent evening. Sounds like you had fun!!!!

Nat-glad you are back. mmm McFish sounds to die for. I had a great eating day and ended the night with 2 oreos. Not even the good oreos, but the crappy store brand. ugh. Old me would have eatne the sleeve. Babysteps girl. Get on the elliptical beast and work it off. Whatever. You are human. Share the details about your sister if you don't mind. I am curious to see how you handle this. I am glad you didn't tell her though I am sad she would not be more supportive. My sister has always been the thinner one. She is not skinny but I think fluctuates between a 10 and 12 (skinny by my standards, but not society nor my mother's standards-as we are both "big" girls in her size 2/4 eyes). Anywho, I was honest with her and she tells me that she has never seen me as fat. She was actually shocked when I told her my weight. She said she just sees me as her sister...that brings tears to my eyes. I just assumed everyone sees me as the fat slug I have felt like in the past. She is pregnant with her 3rd baby, has thus far gained 5 pounds in her 6 months of being pregnant (I am so jealous-haha) and looks fantastic. She did say the other day, "you better not get smaller than me" but I think that she is only kidding. It would be weird to think I could be smaller than her. I think she is up to about 170 or so right now (after 2 kids and half way through another pregnancy!) She is someone who I think will be supportive no matter what. She does not have the self esteem damage that I had growing up in our crazy home as she is 6 years younger than I am and I think was too little to know what was going on during the worst of it. I hope we always remain as close and supportive of each other. That being said, she is the only person I have that I can be that forthcoming with since I so few know about my surgery and I wouldn't dream of telling my 120lb mom how much I weigh!!! ;;gasp;;;. I do however had a few friends that I think like having me as the big friend and this will test our friendship as I turn into the hot mama I know I am destined to be! Sorry, I did not mean to ramble. BKwalling-I am glad you have support in caring for your dad though I know it is in no way easy. I am thinking of you. Did I mention that I met some LBT boston bandsters yesterday? We went out for a nice lunch, about 11 of us. What a nice time to talk to people in different stages of the game. It was great. These were some beautiful women who will only be more gorgeous when they reach their goals! Watch out!!! Shoutout to Carol/Levi who was there :::waving::: It was great to meet you. Anyway, I am going to take the kids out for a bit and then it is PATRIOTS FOOTBALL time!! woohoo (never mine you Nat and the Chargers crap-blech. j/k) It will be a tough game though. Have a wonderful Sunday.

As far as who knows in my non LBT life-my husband, mom, sister, 1 friend who is also banded, and my older daughter. That is it. Maybe I will tell someday but as of now, I am enjoying my privacy. I don't want to hear the judgements, the lectures about if I just tried harder to diet and exercise ::blahblahblah:::..I don't want to the food police bothering me. And then there is the fear..what if it takes a long time to lose the weight or I don't lose much-I don't want people telling me "I told you so". So for now, I keep it to myself.

Yay Ladies and Gentleman (notice the singular -man)! It was so great to meet you all today. It is fun to have a face with the name. I am off to check out that other website you mentioned Chrispy-thanks!!!