banded, banding, bands--verb--To assemble or unite in a group

[Bree99 1]

Hi everyone,

I just got back from my first post-banding motorcycle trip. I was worried about how I would handle it, especially since we eat every meal in restaurants. Also I have a long standing habit of eating a lot of junk on these trips. I think it went pretty well. No snacking but I did have my first piece of pizza since the surgery. One piece of thin crust and 1 bite of toppings from another piece was all I could manage (I had some salad first.) We ate at several restaurants that did not even have low-fat salad dressings. I won't weigh until in the morning and I hope I did not gain any weight over these four days. We ride all day so I did not have my usual walk. I love to ride so I really have to find a healthy way to travel this way. I am very near to my next appt. for a fill and can eat more than I could 2 weeks ago. Still I don't know whether I should get filled or not. I have never pb-ed or been stuck, but I think with a fill I will and that would make trips like I've been on dicey and embarassing. I do get the "look" everyone else is talking about and have to stop eating at times. I know I would lose faster if I do, but I don't know where the balancing point should be between speed of loss and normalcy of lifestyle.

[LeighaMason 19]

Anne, If you are going to binge, you could not have made a better choice, low calorie, no chance of stretching your pouch. Good job. ( I am not recommending binging, but at least you didn't hurt yourself doing it.)

Bree, Just riding burns a lot of calories, you might be surprised when you weigh. I think this is a very personal journey, if you want to stay loose and lose at a slower pace because it fits your lifestyle, more power to you.

Dottie, Mason is my middle name, I was named after my grandfather and my family has always called me by both names. (Mostly because I was always in trouble, LEIGHA MASON DAMN IT!) but I friend requested you on Facebook so you don't have to look for me.

Denise, I am glad that I am not the only one who calls my husband in so I can read to him what y'all are doing.

Christie, Is there anything better than a son? Thats why I only had one, I was afraid I might not like the next one as much.

Laura, I'm glad your eating. My fill nurse says the band is about learning to eat well, not about not eating. You should always be able to eat quality foods, just small quantities. (Not counting the days when you have to be on liquids after fills, stuck episodes, etc. )

Everyone that I missed, I love you guys too! I also posted some pictures on my profile that I took at Easter.

[shadst8 8]

Catching up--glad everyone survived Easter. Starting my spring break this week--going to clean and cook alot to freeze. In search of good casserole dishes that freeze. Low sodium dishes as well.

BobbieND--my name is Shammah Barrett--and trust me there are not a lot of Shammah's. Btw, it rhymes with mama!

Sorry to hear about the job--My husband has been without one for 2yrs, so I understand the financial stress. I fight very hard to relieve my stress in other ways, but I know is hard. Hang in there

BetsyB--if you stayed home, you deserve the break

Can't get to everyone--congrats to those who did not gain, met their challenge, etc:thumbup:

[Cocoabean 430]

Magnitude 6.9 quake hit east of here just a few minutes ago. House was rocking and rolling. Thought the TV was going to fall over.

It lasted over 30 seconds. Yeeeehhhaaawww!!!

Gotta love SOCAL!!

[wanna be fit@40 0]

Hello everyone, I hope you all had a very nice Easter. I did and feel blessed to be able to spend it with my family! I feel like I ate a bit too much, but no "stuck" issues so.......... Tomorrow I get back on track!!! Bye for now................Laura

[AnneGG 0]

I realize I sounded like I was whining yesterday when I said I binged on sugar-free popsicles. Yes, it was a lot better than what I could have binged on and have binged on in the past, but it's the binging I hate- going into the zone of no self control.

I just hate that place, and am hoping that's where the band helps. Will it? If it limits me to sugar-free popsicles (that was all I had in the house), maybe I'll make it. But, seriously, does the band help with binging?

At any rate, I hope everyone has a great day! Denise, I hope the earthquake didn't so too much damage!

[BetsyB 9]

Denise, I thought about you when I heard about the quakes---that must be freaky to experience on a relatively frequent basis! We had one here not long ago, and it definitely did make for an interesting start to the day! What does Butters think of quakes? Truman was so perplexed.

Anne, you didn't sound like you were whining about your popsicle incident. You sounded like you were owning your behavior, which is really admirable. Yes, the popsicles were sugar-free, but it was the behavior you want to change. Identifying that is great.

Did everyone have a happy Easter? Ours was lovely---minus the food aspect. My tummy has chosen to voice its outrage at my recent fill (mainly because I've been stupid/stubborn and have not really appropriately honored it), so I had no difficulty staying on the straight-and-narrow, food-wise. I had a nice, WLS-friendly meal planned, but it was not meant to be. No biggie--there will be other nice, WLS-friendly meals. Everyone else enjoyed it, which was nice to observe.

We had a beautiful rain that washed the massive amounts of pollen from the air, and today looks like it will be a gorgeous day. My pear tree, magnolia, and crab apple trees look like they're about to burst into bloom, and the oregano, thyme, sage, and marjoram I have tucked among the (not yet emerging) flowers in my front garden are all coming to life.

I think that today, I will go to the garden center to get a new patio planter for tomatoes, peppers, and a few more herbs.

I can't remember being so joyous to see Spring arrive as I am this year.

Maybe it's 'cause I have cute new jeans in a REGULAR size :smile2::laugh:

Abby heads back to school tonight. Preston's spring break has ended, too. I guess that means I have to buckle down and do the work I've been postponing---no fair for them to be hard at work while I'm slacking off!

Truman and I are heading out now for our walk. I won't have a car this afternoon, but Preston and I have a pact to do the gym on T-Th-S this week, which will bump up my activity. This is much-needed; I think I have reached a plateau (though my size is changing quite a lot even as my loss is stubborn), and things need to be shaken up a bit.

Have a great day, everyone!

[BetsyB 9]

whoops--duplicate post!

Edited April 5, 2010 by BetsyB
duplicate post

[juliansmom2003 3]

Holy wow! Our ever growing group is getting larger and larger (and making it so much fun keeping up with everyone LOL).

Anne — I don’t think you were whining. I think at one time or another we all have issues with our food addictions. You were good to choose a healthy item to binge on, but I agree with Betsy that it’s a good thing that you recognize the behavior, which unfortunately the band won’t help with. It’s something over time that we need to work on. I’ve only been banded since October, but I am noticing changes in my way of thinking and sometimes I notice my brain talking myself out of a bad choice. It’s a slow process for some of us that have been eating the wrong way most of our lives, but it will happen if you continue to work at it!!

Leigh — Glad you got to get out for a ride!! Did you eat some chocolate yesterday?

Denise — Scary about the quake! I hope you didn’t get any damage and glad you were okay enough to post after J! I’m sure you’re used to it by now, but again, us east coast folks are a little nervous whenever we hear the word “earthquake” LOL

Laura—your Easter dinner sounds awesome! I want some of that fruit cocktail fluff!!! Are you feeling restriction? Were you able to eat any of yummy Easter feast or were you still on liquids? Please be sure you go nice and slow. That fill sounds like a BIG one! Thank goodness you got it done under fluoro!

Christie—how cute! My son is the same way. He’s 6 and he is constantly telling me, “Now mommy, remember, eat really slow, okay?” He knows all too well. And while my husband and 4 year old daughter are supportive, my little buddy looks out for me all the time. He was so cute yesterday when I said I need some exercise and he took me into the back room and played “Just Dance” with me on the Wii then asked if we could Wii Fit. LOVE him! God really blessed us with some cuties J! Hope you enjoyed the rest of your sandwich without incident!!

Dorothy –just sent you a request too. I’m Karen Ladzenski Tilton on fb. Forgot to put a message on there because my fingers were moving a mile a minute LOL

Jennifer—I hear you about this board being so active! It’s so tough to keep up LOL! I bet TOM did have something to do with you just missing goal. Bet you’ll see a bigger difference after. I LOVE pineapple cottage cheese! It is the best!!!! Absolutely awesome and you’re right! A great way to have a nice treat for dessert with good Protein while everyone is eating their ice cream! I should buy those cups. The crazy thing is, I honestly think my portions are still exceeding 6 ounces (on days I don’t have time to make lunch — very rarely, I’ll bring a Smart Ones to work and the average one is 10 ounces and I know for a fact that I finish those things and still be hungry on most days!

Hummingbird—I am sure when I go in for my fill in 2 more weeks that I’ll end up with .1 or .2 Honestly, I hear about people getting full after 1 or 2 bites and I get jealous sometimes, but if I can manage to get full on 6 to 8 ounces, I’ll be happy! I know I eat more than that now and it used to hold me 3 or 4 hours, but I find I too am getting hungry between meals, so I’m going to let the doc take a look and if I need more, so be it. Last time he was telling me I was restricted and I told him that was because it was the morning, when I’m usually tighter, but I am a freaking night feeder and am legitimately hungrier in between meals and even though he could argue the point either way, he gave me .8 which I thought would be “it”, but now I think the swelling has gone down and I think I’m ready for a little bit more (although I do pb and stuff, that’s totally my issue for being a bonehead and eating too fast LOL) I was like you after your 2nd fill — 2 weeks of being very tight, then good restriction, now not so much. Here’s to hoping fill #3 (and a little top off) brings me back!

Bree — glad to hear you got to ride!! Good for you deciding to take things at your own pace and not fill too tight. Sometimes restriction can be a blessing and a curse. I find myself struggling with this one on a regular basis (should I or shouldn’t I get more?!?) I am sure you burned off the calories (and then some) from that pizza by just riding, so it’s good that you treated yourself (pizza is my favorite food ever!!!)

Stacie—sorry to hear about your public incident. It’s the worst. I wish the ordeal itself was quicker, but I too find it requires a few trips to the porcelain god and when you think you’re done, of course, you’re not L. (LOLing at Denise with the splashing toilet Water trick!!!! HAHA)

Bob-- where the hell are you????

Betsy—good for you shooting to bump your activity this week. And you deserved to sleep in yesterday! Honestly, church is so full of people who NEVER go except on Holidays, so I think that earns you a get out of church free card J!

I slacked off last week between TOM coming and my brother being home (he’s in the Army). We’ve been spending a lot of time with him because he leaves for another tour in Afghanistan in May L and he leaves for Kentucky this Saturday, so we’ve been doing tons of things with him.

I did manage to have a slice of my favorite pizza on the NJ boardwalk on Saturday and watched my entire family pigging out on multiple slices while the whole time they were jamming it in their mouths, I was still on my first and only slice. That still amazes me—I used to be a 3 to 4-slice girl and it took me 30 minutes to eat my slice (it was big, but still!) Gotta love this band. I walked up and down the boardwalk putting the kids on the rides, so I am sure I got at least 2 miles in, so I didn’t give that pizza a second thought. It was hysterical though. I didn’t even give it a second thought when they were all munching on funnel cake and curley fries. Keeping my eyes on the prize J!

Easter was nice. I made two turkey breasts — one the regular, greasy way and the other skinned and filleted in a crockpot with herb stuffing, cranberries and apples. While I didn’t exceed my max calories for the day, I found I was munching on jelly Beans and sampling the low fat Desserts I made (got a couple of the Hungry Girl cookbooks and I was making a lot of the dessert recipes since everyone was coming over). I didn’t gain (and managed to get some exercise in yesterday despite the hectic weekend), but I really feel “off” for not exercising as much as I’ve been!

Edited April 5, 2010 by juliansmom2003

[illuminationlady 7]

Good Morning everyone! Well we're shakin' and rollin' here in SoCal. I was in a movie theater when it happened and boy did I head for the exit. It was pretty strong and we shot for the door. Everyone did. It was right at the end of the movie and I missed the best part, although the movie wasn't very good. We saw The Bounty Hunter with Jen Anniston and was disappointed with it. Besides that Easter was a beautiful day and I spent it with loved ones! Getting a fill today and boy do I need it. I can eat just about anything and did on my vacation. Ready to get back to business. Thanks to all who added me on Facebook. I'm pretty new to the site and am learning. So bear with me. Have a great day everyone. Take care. Dottie

[LeighaMason 19]

Good morning everyone. Well I guess its back to work! I had a great Easter, but you aren't going to believe this I forgot to go buy myself some chocolate for Easter! So no I didn't have any, but I guess I will live. My husband cooked hamburgers on the grill so I had a no bread hamburger with bacon and mushrooms which I had to eat really slow but it was worth it.

We really worked in the yard this weekend, my stepson raked and bagged the leaves for me and Rob mowed so it really is starting to look good. My azaleas are blooming as well as the dogwood trees.

My dog is really happy about his cleaned out pond.

And for the first time ever, I was the one who got out the camera and was in almost every picture.

Have a great week everyone!

[BetsyB 9]

Oh, Leigha, I miss Texas azaleas! They just don't do well here...but they are so pretty there!

I do have a little magnolia that's about to bloom---so I get a tiny taste of the south way up here.

[juliansmom2003 3]

Good morning everyone. Well I guess its back to work! I had a great Easter, but you aren't going to believe this I forgot to go buy myself some chocolate for Easter! So no I didn't have any, but I guess I will live. My husband cooked hamburgers on the grill so I had a no bread hamburger with bacon and mushrooms which I had to eat really slow but it was worth it.

We really worked in the yard this weekend, my stepson raked and bagged the leaves for me and Rob mowed so it really is starting to look good. My azaleas are blooming as well as the dogwood trees.

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My dog is really happy about his cleaned out pond.

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And for the first time ever, I was the one who got out the camera and was in almost every picture.

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Have a great week everyone!

How cute is your lil puppy? OMG, you are so cute! Love the fact that you're the camera happy chick now LOL! Great pic by the way!!! You are glowing, woman!!!

[LeighaMason 19]

I forgot to tell y'all, I rode my bicycle to work today, (I am so proud of myself!) I am going to try and do this a lot. It takes about 45 min but if I ride both ways I get a 322 calorie burn per day. Here in East Texas there are no bike trails or bike lanes so I had to find a way to go where there were sidewalks to ride on. (Our drivers are really dangerous!) So Saturday I went and rode my bike and looked and I finally found a way to go where there is only about a 200 yard stretch that is grass so I have to push my bike through that area but other than that it is smooth sailing. I think its probably 5 miles, I am going to measure it in the car. Nobody rides bikes to work here so I really got a lot of stares and honks, I even had 2 people try and give me a ride! The good news is if it starts raining I have lots of cars to choose from drive home in. :smile2:

[Cocoabean 430]

Hi Everyone!

Wowser! The US Geological Survey upgraded the quake to a 7.2! Our home was rocking for about 45 seconds. DH was in the shower at the time. Butters had his girlfriend Stella over, the were OK with things until stuff started rattling, then they were not happy.

I was wondering if Don, my hubby, could feel it (he never seems to feel them and gets all kinds of upset when I report them), and then realized he was stading in a glass coffin (corner shower stall).

As things kept shaking, I realized that over my head behind the couch is a brass sculpture of seagulls and perhaps that was not the best place for me to be. So I took off down the hall. As I went into the bedroom, hubby was jetting out of the bedroom, soaking wet, having just exited the shower. We nearly collided with the house STILL shaking, his eyes the size of dinner plates. "CAN YOU FEEL THAT?!?" We both yelled at the same time.

The shaking in San Diego went on for about 45 seconds. Which in earthquake standards is a very long time. Our pool was sloshing around, our hanging lamp was swinging back and forth, and things were rattling and making noises.

I felt about 3 more aftershocks within the hour following.

I read this morning that one man was killed in Mexico near the epicenter when his house collapsed on him. There was more damage in Mexico that on the US side of the border.

I guess for me, earthquakes are no biggie, the threat is always there. I am more afraid of tornadoes for you in the midwest.

I have posted a map below from the US Geological Survey's web site. The red are quakes that have happened in the last hour, blue the last 24 hours, and yellow the last week. The size of the squares has to do with the magnitude, the bigger the stronger.

The San Andreas Fault Runs from NW of San Francisco to the Gulf of California (the Water between Baja California and Mainland Mexico). It has been extremely active!!

Earthquakes.bmp

Edited April 7, 2010 by Cocoabean
I can apparently neither type nor proofread!