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Well I had a relapse into chocolate land, I didn't count the wrappers but I do know they were 75 cal a piece. I needed the saratonin. The official word on my Mom is that she has a few days to a couple weeks left with us. I have been with her in the hospital so I haven't had any access to the internet. At this point I am trying to maintain my sanity. She will be coming home in the next couple of days to spend what time she has left surrounded by familiar sights smells and sounds. She is barely conscious only a few times a day now so we are trying to take atvantage of those brief moments to remind her that we love her. It is too hard to count calories right now, it just is, that can wait till after right now I am stuck with hospital food and the fast food and the fattening casseroles friends and family bring by for us. Keep up the good work everyone cause when I get back I want to hear all the good news of your successes and NSV's

I love the K20 water!! My favorite is the lemon but the strawberry kiwi and tropical punch are good too. Still looking for ideas on getting the gas out of my chest/rib cage area. I hope that's what it is......usually doesn't happen unless I'm walking or standing. Then there is a sharp pain, sometimes I burp and the pain goes away, other times the pain goes away a little bit later. Other than the gas pains and being a little weak I feel great. Any ideas would be appreciated!! Congratulations to everyone just banded, good luck to all being banded in the next day or two!!! Also congrats to the nsv's I've heard....can't wait to have one of my own!

Pinky --I might be able to make lunch this week at Nifa's. I have an interview at 2 p.m. It will depend the location of my interview. I also agree that I need to stop living by the scale. I think I'm at a small plateu and I will get through this. Congrats to everyone having NSV this week. Vegas --sounds like a girls weekend out!!! Looking forward to it. Barbara465 I don't know what time I will be able to fly out yet. But It would be cool if all the Houstonians can be on the same plane. Melissa Lea

Sending prayers and best wishes to those joining the land of bandsters: PruposeDriven4, Juno610 and RSBell. Please come back and let us know how you are doing as soon as you feel up to it. Audree, Oooh, I love to hear those NSVs. :clap2: Congrats! The only thing that I have noticed is my bra is getting a little loose. My hubby notices that my tummy is not as swollen. <O:p</O:p How many calories are in the Kellogg’s Protein water? How many grams of protein? What is your favorite flavor? <O:p</O:p I took up your advice and named my band too. Bandele – which means “given life”. That seems so appropriate for me, since my Bandele is going to restore my health, reduce my dependence on medications and will liberate me! <O:p</O:p Shesha – Will be sending positive thoughts your take to care of that cold. Call the doctor to check before you go. I was told that as long as I was not running fever, and there was no congestion in my chest I would be okay to go. <O:p</O:p PurposeDriven4 – I was told I could drive as soon as I quit taking the prescription pain medicine. <O:p</O:p Sunshine2 – I hope you call your doctor if your blurry vision isn’t totally resolved by Monday. It might just be the meds, but better to be safe. Thanks for your work on the master list. <O:p</O:p Lap – welcome to the losers side. I had all those same thoughts before surgery just like you. You have given good advice to those waiting and scared – do it anyway! <O:p</O:p NickNack – That light- headed feeling is probably from not getting enough liquids. Try to take just a small sip every 15 minutes if you can. Hope you feel better real soon, if not call your doctor on Monday and let us know how you are doing. <O:p</O:p MySpace – I am very new to my space, but have started a profile. I have tried to add friends from this thread at lapbandtalk. I have Audree and Olga’s page link but am still trying to find out how to get them added to my friends. Is there anyone else out there with a my space page? My page is http://www.myspace.com/joytowin <O:p</O:p This has been so nice to catch up and read how everyone is doing. I’m improving each day. <O:p</O:p Is anyone else on “soft foods” yet. What is your daily menu look like? For me I had oatmeal at breakfast, Split pea soup at lunch, and some tomato soup with a scrambled egg for dinner. Around 3 in the afternoon I had snack of lite yogurt with unflavored Unjury mixed in. I definitely got my 64 oz of fluids in today (but didn’t do as well yesterday). Took a 20 minute walk. <O:p</O:p Looking forward to hearing from all of you. <O:p</O:p Terry <O:p</O:p

Lady and Poodles - Changing sizes is so amazing. I tried on my anniversary outfit tonight and it was great not to have to worry I got too fat for it! (admittedly I was taking out all the seams in the camisole) Your NSV's mean a lot. Lady - I hope you can make it to Vegas. I'm a former Michigander and I miss my Northern buddies. As far as the driving goes - it will thaw soon enough and you will find your sanity. OOOH! It's looking good! We saw the sun today!

Yoda, that is absolutely AWESOME. Great NSV

Vegas? I'm also going single. DH hears enough lapband talk without making a weekend of it. Barbara12 and Melissa and any other Houstonian out there - Barbara4 and I are meeting for lunch on Wednesday outside Ninfa's in "The Park" shops on McKinney and Caroline (near George R Brown). ll:30 a.m. if you can make it. Tricia - refresh my memory, you had vein surgery? How did it go? I've been sidelined from exercise and have started back slowly. Are you stir-crazy in Chi-town or enjoying some down time away from work? Melissa - I think obsessing over the scale is hurting me building any good habits to keep the weight off once I've lost it. I'm trying to focus on good healthy habits rather than numbers. NSV - I am now wearing my 14 jeans "for real". I didn't make the size L tops. Who am I kidding? I have shoulders like a football player.

I had a great NSV!!! I have been wearing 14's very tight and today I just tried on some size 12 slacks and they fit!!! Not perfect, a tad too tight, but I was able to wear them!!! I still don't want to weigh in. Maybe next week after I start solids! How are we all doing? Who wants to start the South Beach Challenge with me in a few days on Saturday? I met a girl at a support group yesterday who had lost 130 pounds in a little over a year!!!! She looked fantastic!!! And wouldn't you know.... she follows the bandster rules and a South Beach diet type of eating plan. Lots of water and exercise. I also met other ladies who had lost 20 pounds in 8 months. Wouldn't you know, they eat what ever they want and don't exercise..... HHHMMMMMMM. I for one want to follow after the one who lost better following the rules. I didn't do this to just stay fat!!!!

It's so nice to see everyone checking in! Everyone seems to moving along great. I seem to be motivated more by the various reported NSV's than the weight losses these days. They are so important to my success. I can't wait to fly again just to feel the difference in the seatbelt! My latest NSV is the fact that I took a bath for the first time in years! My doctor recommended that I soak my leg incisions in the bath tub for a few minutes and I cringed. I always showered. I never really fit in the bathtub so my body acted like a giant dam. This was especially humiliating for me. I fit last night! No damming and my legs got a good soaking. I'm going for bubble bath today!

Good gawd Mandi...go and try some stuff on in the "normo" stores....I can fit into some of the stuff so YOU DEFINITELY can!!!! BTW, Penningtons is having a sale with ridiculously low prices right now!!! We were driving by one yesterday and I saw the sign and read it out loud (but more to myself) and Mr Yoda (thinking I was hinting - which I wasn't) pulled into the parking lot. I said "whatcha doin'?" and he said, "you now have some empty hangers in your closet and you need to fill 'em up" (I had been putting "big" things away in a bin for a later giveaway). Isn't he awesome! So, we went in and I cleaned them out man!!! I got 11 clothing items for a total of $140 (incl tax). I totalled them up separately when I got home and it came to just over $450!!!! YEEEEHAAA! One of the things I got was a beeeeeautiful pant suit (I'm calling it my "power pant suit"); very professional looking and....it was a size 14!!!!! OMIGAWD!!! Granted it was snuggish and I wouldn't feel comfy wearing it but 10 more lbs and it will be comfy! Some of the tops I got were an "X" ...not even a 1X. Happy happy NSV!!! and I love Mr Yoda!!!

Pinkylee the cashews are not your enemy! Actually they are good for you if you only eat a few each day. Maybe what you need to do is line up your snacks for the day so when you go into the kitchen what you see is what you have planned to have. I set out a V8 and 5 cashews (sometimes) and I eat each one very slowly. The rest are safely tucked away in the cupboard. Of course I am a visual eater - if I see it I want it but if it is not in sight I don't think about it. That probably doesn't work for everyone. Congrats Barbara465 on being able to send someone your too big clothes. It is a great feeling isn't it? And wearing clothes that fit really does help with the self esteem! I also agree with what you say about making sure we eat the hard protein first. I have made that a habit and I find that the biggest problem I have is that once I have eaten my 2 ounces of hard protein I can not hold anything else. So I worry about not eating very many vegies. That's why my snack of choice is a V8. I have trouble still eating raw fruit. I have only been successful one time eating a raw apple. I tried to eat a banana and it went down ok but only a little bit. My problem all along has been portion control and now I wonder what to do with an opened banana that I only ate about an inch of? What do you guys do? Julie congrats on reacing your sweet spot and doing so well on your weight loss and welcome back. I forgot to mention that there were other NSVs on my trip - like the seat belt fit around me with 6 inches to spare and, like you Pinkylee, my seatmates had smiles on their faces and no scrunched shoulders. It's amazing how much larger the airplane seat was!!!

Just stopping by to say hello. I'm finding this banding experience interesting. Of course, I'm still on liquids (full) and not experiencing the hunger that you are. Also, because of my weight - I'm in the 300's - and age, I know that I'll probably lose a lot up front, before it starts to taper down some. I just wanted to say that you are all doing very good! I'm glad that you are sharing the good and the bad. It helps. Oh, and I wanted to talk about plateaus. I just attended a health living workshop yesterday. One of the presenters (the RN) had the bypass several years ago. One important thing she mentioned was that plateaus are natural. They are our bodies way of adjusting to all of the changes that are taking place. She said that when you are plateauing the worst thing you could do, is to drop your eating below what is healthy (that's if you were eating the correct amount to begin with). Because you can inadvertently end up prolonging your plateau that way. Her suggestion was to try something different. Switch up your exercise plan...take it the next level...alternate the foods that you were eating. She also suggested that you look for alternative changes in your body (the NSV's...nonscale victories...that we've discussed) to get you through this period. Finally, if your plateau is lasting for longer then, I think it's 3 weeks, AND you've tried some of the above steps, you should consult your surgeon/nutritionist for direction. Almost forgot...I've lost 10 lbs!

B-man you little hottie! You go girl! Thats a NSV if I ever heard one! Just when we hate men they totally redeem themselves! What I mean is it HAD to make you feel sexy! Oh yeah the b-man is back! So how much of a fill did you get? Did he tell you? I'm hoping its in and out before I know it but doubt that'll happen for me. Dr Dreamy will do it under fluro so it'll be this long drug out pain induced affair (hey take the 'under fluro" out and it sounds like a fantasy ) Nat - omg I wish we could go see Dream girls again - together! I loved it so much! And I agree about the dialogue being sung - could've skipped that but it didn't take from the movie and there wasn't that much of it. Eddie Murphy deserves an Oscar and so does Jhud - I can see Eddie getting a best supporting but J definitely should be the lead. No one clapped but then there was only me and about 8 old ladies in the theater.. LOL gotta love small towns! I heard on E that Bouncy was pissed bc she didn't get nominated for a golden globe and she made a comment that she could have gained weight and taken that role but she felt she was Dina - yeah right - if Jhud had been Dina she would have blown us away in that role too! Miss Mattress situation - let me give you a suggestion. I realize you want them to take the thing back but until then for your own bodies sake - why don't you run to walmart and get an egg crate foam pad - OR - better yet go to www.overstock.com and buy a feather mattress pad for about $60. Ok I'm going to share with yens and don't take it as gospel because you know my scale lies - but I think I'm down 5 lbs! No kidding - that darn scale said 205 today - actually yesterday he said 206 and I thought nah aint no way - and then this morning I got on and off and on and off - I really hate getting my hopes up and try to tell myself to only go by the dr scales but then I go and weigh my self anyway! I almost forgot to tell you I had a HUGE victory yesterday at the movies - I bought a small popcorn (even charted 4 cups on fitday before I left) but when I left I threw a half bag away! YEA me! I used to eat a bucket by myself! Nat I hope the sitter works out! You meant $3.25/hour not day didn't you? You're not hiring some illegal immigrant or something for $3.25 a day are you? And I think thats a very good price.

Hoooray for Julie and welcome back. Congrats on losing what someone once said was equivalent to her manicurist. Eight bowling balls? Lucy, a big congrats on being "incognito" weight wise. You know, that could come in handy if you had a mischievious soul. Today has been a better day for me rule wise and I have to admit I've felt better and had more control. (most of the time) Timing of liquids is a better help than I thought. It's those *&%#@! cashews that called me out between lessons. Not much damage done. I thought about throwing them away, but I want to build some willpower into this new life of mine. Why oh why didn't I remember to drink some water or even a V8? Today would have been a nice light day if it weren't for those buggars. NSV - I had jury duty today and we had assigned seats. The people I sat between actually smiled a welcoming smile as I sat down. No scrunched shoulders today!:clap2: :clap2: :clap2:

I just wanted to add... If you can stick to this, it really works. I've been doing some light exercise along with it 3 days a week, and I've lost almost 20lbs! I'm officially down a pant size. It's pretty cool to have an NSV before even being banded!

Neenagh, Don't beat yourself up about the pb cups... at least you went for something yummy!! We all slip- don't ask me about the pot of gold over Christmas!!! Great NSV btw. Dawn Banded April 4th, 2006 Montreal

The only thing that effected me....I FIT in the seat with SOMEONE ELSE...it's such an NSV not to be afraid you will have to get off because a seatbelt doesn't fit...go, ride, scream, laugh...think how much more stamina you will have...!!!!!....ROLLER COASTERS RULE!!!!!!!!!!!!

oh, i almost forgot, an nsv, before the whole ugly reeses thing! this morning i was clean out the shoe closet and started trying on all my summer shoes and sandals, deciding which to throw out. Well they were all WAY TOO BIG!!! I mean my feet were falling out of them too big! hugely too big! so my nsv is that my feet are no longer fat:rolleyes: !

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.

Hey everyone, It takes a little time to catch up with all the posts if you don't get online everyday!! Sounds like everyone is doing well pre-op and post op (with a few complications). Thanks Audree, for the info on erosion. I'm 6 days post-op and feeling great. It's amazing not to have hunger pains and to be satisfied with small amounts of mostly liquid food (I'm not crazy, I know it won't last forever). Today I had a staff retreat at the nicest restaurant in town with a catered lunch. I had made arrangements to have tomato basil soup as my entree. So while everyone else ate soup, and then their entrees and finished things off with cheesecake, I slowly ate my soup and it was great!!!!! I felt satisfied, and everything was okay. I also went out to eat after church yesterday to Souper Salad where they charge the one price no matter what and I told the guy that I had WLS last week and I could only eat a very small amount of soup and he needed to only charge me for a to go portion of soup - and he did! I've never been shy but I feel a certain empowerment with the band that I haven't had before. I just know I am going to be successful this time and I just made the decision that I have the right to ask for what I want and what is best for me. Just thought I'd share my NSV's (non-scale victories!) the scale victory this morning was pretty great too - drum roll please - for the first time in a year I weigh less than 300 pounds - WOOHOO - 12 pounds down (I know Cindy said not to weigh - but that's an addiction I haven't been victorious over!) To all of you that haven't been banded yet - it's only been a week and I already believe that this little silicone band is one of the best things I've ever done for myself. Later, Amy

Hi Guys, Julie, the apartment sounds great!!! Wow is all I can say. Guysis you are exercising so much these days and that is great. kat... can you cut down wood for me too?? Well, it was COLD here this weekend- Iknow the Arctic is January what would you expect, but I mean COLD. It was -31 F (putting in the F for you guys in the States) and with the windchill that made is -42!!!! But, because I am crazy I went for my run, but i did it in the afternoon instead of the morning. I was warm enough, except for my feet. I just can't run in boots, so my new balances were it. I had to soak my toes in warm (not hot) water when I got home, but I was proud of me! So... let's hope it warms up a little. Have a great Monday everyone!!!! p.s. a great nsv... sliding with my kids and being able to get my backside up the hill over and over again!! Dawn Banded April 4th, 2006 Montreal

Congrats!!!! That's a really funny NSV. =)

KAYDOT...Lets here it for the PATRIOTS!!! Whooo hooo!!! What a come from behind!! I'm soo excited! And I'll also give a shout out to my supportive Sis as well...she is younger, but has always been the 'skinny' one too (size 12-14, but able to run a marathon!). She has been sooo supportive of me and since my Dr. is in her state and near her, she took care of me after my surgery and let me borrow her car on Friday so I could go to my fill while she was at work! I know she'll be happy for me no matter how skinny I get b/c she knows how much my weight has always bothered me.... anywhoo! NAT...don't worry about the fish sandwich!! Remember...I had a Cheesburger the other day! I think its all about perspective...what we would have had in our "old days".....vs. what we're doing now!! As for your sister....if she can't be supportive then find other "sisters" like us that can be!! :confused: Speaking of Auntie Flo....I met a fellow LBT bandster this weekend in CO that had been banded by the same Dr. I used...and she mentioned that after she had her period, she got a lot more restricted!! Has anyone heard about your period affecting your restriction?? I figure we've talked poops here, we can talk Auntie Flo right?? LOL KATHY.....Don't worry about what you had!!! I was on solids way before you are going to be....and I haven't done any damage, so I'm sure you didn't! You're fine!! TRANSFORMER...good luck in school and check back w/us when you can!! Congrats on your NSV!!! That is awesome!!! I'm starting a new job (after having been laid off in November) tomorrow, so I'm excited that I finally will have real benefits again and will be getting a paycheck!! woo hoo!! So if I'm not on as much, its b/c I"m busy getting settled!! Have a great MLK Day guys!!

Hi all! I just wanted to let everyone know that you probably won't hear from me too often over the next two months or so! I think I'll try to catch up with everyone once a week or so. I went back to college at the end of August to earn my Education Specialist (Ed.S.) degree in administration and classes start up again on Tuesday! I'm taking two classes for the next 8 weeks on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The classes last for four hours from either 5 or 5:30 until 9 or 9:30 PM. It's so tiring after working all day, too! Those of you who are in school know exactly what I mean! After these two classes are done, I'll be halfway through my degree. I'm hoping to finish by the end of the summer. I'm hoping I can keep sticking to my eating plan like glue despite taking on all of the extra work again! It's a rigorous schedule, especially since I'm doing my job and my boss' job right now at work and I'm a single mom! I gotta have the degree if I want to keep my boss' job (and the higher paycheck)! What doesn't kill us makes us stronger, I guess... Since I've made a pact with myself to avoid the scale until my first fill appointment on January 31st, I thought I'd share a small NSV in the meantime! Last week, I was able to wear three outfits that did not fit me before Christmas! :clap2: I'm sending positive vibes your way--hang in there everyone and keep your focus on eating healthy and moving around!

Aimee, how many grams of protein per serving? Special K has a new Protein Water out. Kinda pricey if you ask me ($1.50 a bottle). It only has 5 grams of protein. If they get that price down to fifty cents a bottle I would love a protein water to tide me over when protein isn't going down. I'm really doing well today. Not too hungry because I'm so tight. I'm so tight because I'm so stressed about a condo we are renting. Our renter is a friend of mine and need I say more? Extreme cold weather coming and I'm concerned about freezing pipes. Wish I could bottle this tightness when I need it! Poodles - great NSV. Twentyseven pounds plus or minus is progress any way you look at it.