Bandster support for us Heathens/Pagans

[RHONDAKO 0]

Ok. today @ 2:45 was my post op appointment and 1st fill. I walked in, & they weighed me. I was kind of dreading this because 1. It's that 'special' time of the month 2. I've been hungry 3. this weekend, though I still didn't eat volume wise what I normally do, ate things I shouldn't have, like bread and brownies 4. last but not least, I weigh about 4 lbs heavier in the afternoon than I do in the a.m. Water retention I guess.

Much to my delight I have maintained myself at 318.. I was 331.5 on the day of surgery, which means I weighed even more than that before surgery and lost some before because of the hellacious pre-op 'all food is evil so you must drink your meals' diet. So I lost around 20 lbs and have kept it off without gaining any before my fill. From what I've been reading on the forums, some people gain before their 1st fill so HOOfreakinRAH for me!:clap2:

They had a "basket 'o Needles sitting on the desk.. boy that cheered me up and fast.:faint: Todd was like... well look honey.. they aren't THAT big...

Dr. Morton thought my incisions sites looked great and where healing V well. They also thought my matching tie dyed undies/sports bra and socks were a hoot, I informed them that of course, I wore them for this ever so special of occasions. At this point, they had me laying down on the table in my colorful skivies and it occurred to me that this bragging on my homemade undies was a clever ploy for them to distract me from the bee sting of a numbing shot they administered to the incision on my sternum. I think Todd's fingers may still be tingling...:rolleyes but I have to admit.. it was like a baby bee sting and not one of those big A$$ scary bees....

So.. after this he sticks in the saline needle and all I feel is pressure, I was like.. wow, that's kind of weird, he then informed me that he was going to help me SIT UP with said needle protruding from my sternum. uh....:guess

He gave me his hand and helped me sit up.. I didn't pass out or anything! In fact at this point, I didn't feel a thing but I guess my eyes were still bugged out like a fly in a frog pit cause he commented on my expression..

It was kind of weird to look down and see a needle sticking out of me but, it didn't hurt:)

They then gave me a cup holding 9 ounces of water and asked me to sip on it. Apparently the band I have holds 4 thingies of saline (cc's maybe?) and while I sat there drank water and burped profusely he put in 2.2 thingies of Fluid. He seemed pretty happy with how it was sounding and he pulled out the needle and slapped on a bandaid. I was like... 'THAT's IT?" As I predicted, I felt silly for being to worked up over this. It all took about 10 minutes from weigh in/strip down to fill up.

I was grinning like a cat in the fish market on the way up front because my stomach had been growling like crazy when I got there and all the sudden.. I was FULL. HOLY CRAP>>>> I went from ravenous beast to pleasantly just ate full.... on 9 ounces of water. NICE. I scheduled my next appointment for 3 weeks from now to weigh in and see if I need more fluid in my band. I am on liquids until wednesday afternoon then I can switch to soft stuff like cottage cheese/apple sauce then gradually at my own pace, work up to real food again.

I am ever so slightly sore now where my port is and he said I might bruise a little. I got a Protein Drink and some veggie juice for supper and right now I'm full as a tick.

I DIDN'T KNOW HOW DIFFERENT DR'S DO THEIR FILLS COULD BE. MINE USES A FREEZE SPRAY. THE FIRST TIME I WENT IN I WAS LIKE "THERE IS NOW WAY THIS IS GOING TO STOP THE PAIN FROM THIS FOOT LONG NEEDLE DRIVING INTO MY STOMACH". IT WORKS GREAT THOUGH. HE SPRAYS FOR A FEW SECONDS AND IMMEDIATELY AFTER HE STOPS, HE STABS AND I REALLY DON'T FEEL ANYTHING BUT THE COLD AND PRESSURE.

[RHONDAKO 0]

My 1st fill is W O R K I N G

I have the small band (4) and doc put in 2.2 and OH man does it work.

I am 6 weeks post op today & one week one day post 1st fill. I've lost 10 pounds JUST SINCE my fill, yet I am still able to eat and not feel cheated!!!!:clap2:

I am right now, on the back side of my 1st pb:sick (productive burp)

My hubby travels and is out of town this week. by the time 4 came around I was REALLY hungry:hungry: and so far for the day I had only consumed about 400 c's not including coffee.

I was in the mood for chicken so I stopped at KFC's and got a drumstick and a thigh. about three bites before I stopped, I remember thinking, I'm not hungry so I should stop... but my head hunger was like.. but wait.. you aren't FULL yet.. just a few more bites.

Well, Three bites later the PB started. All this of course while I'm trying to drive a stick shift home on a 25 minute drive of course. Thank goodess I followed a thread on my lap band forum by the name "Flaming Golf Ball From #%@&!" where people tell different PB stories and jokingly/seriously suggested keeping bottles/papertowels and cups in your vehicle for just such an occasion.

I bought some Vitamin Water and left two of the empty bottles in the truck just in case, even though I was like.. i won't need these because I'll stop before it's to late...

Famous

Last

Words.

All the freaking way home I was having to spit profusely into my bottle and a few times a little chicken would come up with it. This started about 4:20 and though I feel better, my chest is still tight.

It was/is such a surreal experience, I wasn't 'throwing up' it was just coming.. gently and my chest was NOT HAPPY.

ANYwho. Lesson learned. I don't have to be STUFFED to quit eating. 1st impressions/instinct..if you think you should stop,,, then by god stop already.

Now, for the weird part. This PB (productive burp) gives me hope. This really is going to work for me and not just to take the weight off, but more importantly KEEP IT OFF. Unless you have a thing for slime covered food you have already chewed and swalloed ending up in your pie hole, you will NOT over eat.

'nough said

I JUST FOUND THIS THREAD YESTERDAY, SO I'M PLAYING CATCH UP (ONLY A FEW MORE PAGES TO GO). I NEVER KNEW PEOPLE KEPT EMPTY bottles IN THEIR VEHICLES FOR PBING (I THOUGHT I WAS THE ONLY ONE). DO YOU HAVE THE NASTY SLIME THAT I GET WITH THE PBING? I CAN'T EVEN BEGIN TO TELL YOU WHAT IT IS LIKE. ALMOST LIKE MY SALIVA HAS BEEN MUTATED. I REMINDS ME OF THE TRAIL SLIMER WOULD LEAVE BEHIND FROM THE GHOSTBUSTERS:omg: THEN WHEN I HAVE PBING WHEN IT GETS LIKE THIS IT REMINDS ME OF A LAVA LAMP WHEN IT HITS THE WATER. THE SLIME TOTALLY ENCASES WHAT I HAVE SWALLOWED. HORRIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!! I NEVER EXPERIENCED ANYTHING LIKE THIS BEFORE THE BAND. SORRY IF ANY OF YOU ARE WEAK STOMACHED AND I WAS TOO DESCRIPTIVE. JUST WANTED TO KNOW IF I WAS A WEIRDO WITH THIS OR THERE WERE OTHERS OUT THERE.

[kyethra 0]

I don't tend to mine descriptive. I had my gall bladder out a couple of weeks ago. Now I sure had some interesting stuff come up prior to that. I never knew a person could throw up the variety of colors I did in such a short time-- and I did all of that without eating a single thing! Silry, I'm sorry to hear about your fill issues. I wonder if maybe you are losing fill? I get what you mean though... I tend to be an overachiever in certain things where I wish I wasn't, at times. I hope it gets better for you. I'll be thinking of you.

Personally, I like long needles. Thats cause I assosciate them with pain relief. One of the treatments for entrapped nerve endings in the abdominal wall is trigger point injections--naturally during the injection itself you want to rip the doctors face off. But twenty minutes later once it has kicked in you want to sing hallelulah!. The last time I was in the ER the blood drawing guy (can't think of name of profession) asked if I was afraid of needles or blood. I said that actually I liked to watch the blood come out of the needle into the tube. He said "that's different".

[RHONDAKO 0]

:paranoid Where Did Everybody Go? Please Come Back. I JUST FOUND THIS AWESOME THREAD AND THEN EVERYONE DISAPPEARS.

[kyethra 0]

Oh people are around. Different threads get busier or slower as times and current topics change and things come up. I was feely pretty lousy lately but I'm starting to feel more alive these days so I've been posting a bit more again. I've been thinking about pagan activities actually. So what fun, exciting, nude perhaps activities have I been thinking of? Sorting rocks. Yup thats a day in the life. I got a bunch of different stones from an online store I am fond of (I like their candle variety and general variety plus pricing). Now I have to figure out what is what and label them. What sort of container is good for sorting out small stones and labeling them?

Saw my surgeon today for two minutes. Said nope, no fills would be needed here. Yesterday I ate half a burger (minus half the bun) and I PBed after! Its not the meat that did it-- I can eat beef and stuff just fine. I just took one or two bites too many. That old, just one more bite maybe mentality. So then of course I kept up the splendid eating habits. Had ice cream for dinner (oh it was so good). Then for lunch DH asked where I wanted to go/what I wanted. I said he could go where he wanted since all that sounded good to me happened to be potatoe salad and I wasn't very hungry. So he says ok, where do they have potatoe salad, could go to deli counter at store. I say don't bother. Then he is thinking, thinking... Decides that a new place in town McCalisters deli/sandwhich place might have potatoe salad so we go there. Then after nagging me forever ("Have you decided yet?" No! Be Quite and quit nagging me so I can think. Have you decided yet....") we ordered. I got some potatoe salad but since we were there I also ordered a veggie pita and some ice tea. So I ate my potatoe salad. That was a good satisfied full. I also had a tiny taste of DH's coleslaw and I have to admit it wasn't bad (normally I hate coleslaw). Then we got a box for my pita. I was saying that the serving cup for the potatoe salad looked pretty big to me, that I thought it was about 1 cup. DH looks at my container and turns it over- 5oz.

I'm not quite used to eating the way I eat yet. I know that I don't eat much (well if I eat the right things usually), but I still order a full meal. And then I'm shocked when they bring me so much food. And I look around me at other people lots of food and I know it really is just me cause everyone is eating and no one is huge. And I'm always surprised I get full so fast-- sometimes that gets me in trouble. Half a hamburger! I can't be full! But I was and overfull.

To our surprise and delight peonies we planted last year are blooming this year! Yah! for peonies! I love those things. The ones we have now are purple with cream/white in the middle. I want some pink ones and white ones. There is something about peonies that makes me feel incredibly girly and I don't know what. Like I should I have a 20 inch waist (yeah right) and be strolling in a white linen dress with a parosol while we drink lemonade and play cricket perhaps. And no I don't know where I got that from. Yes I do. The drowning tree. It was good, but it got tennyson stuck in my head and all sorts of romanticish imagry too.

And then this reminds me of something I've never understood. Why did all those nymphs et al want to be transformed into something instead of just having sex with a god? I would think that the sex with a god would be pretty damn good. Oh maybe that was the problem! Maybe these guys had a bad reputation for getting done early or something. Who knows.

[anonemouse 1]

I love McCallister's, Kyethra! Their beef, peppers, and onion sandwich is yummy! Their baked potatoes are incredible, too.

And peonies are one of my favorite flowers! I love the smell of them. Gorgeous!

[demmemoon 0]

hi rhondako!

i'm here! glad you found us!

[demmemoon 0]

So, I'm in a mom & pop toy store this afternoon looking for some magician type items for my 8 year old to use in a school talent show.

The owner, about 38, comes over to help me. I tell him the items need to be easy, visible from a distance and not too expensive as I see this being a fleeting thing once the show is over.

He takes me to an aisle that has a few card tricks and such and I tell him "nope, too small. the audience won't see what he's doing".

Ok, he next shows me a wooden, old fashioned type set made by Melissa & Doug. Great company but the kit runs 30.00. I hem and haw and he proceeds to tell me this is a great beginner kit. And to boot....none of the tricks involve Black Magick.

Great. Here we go.

I say, "I know that and I am Pagan so magick is rather a part of me". He goes on to say that, you know, Black Magick is more of those Tarot cards and Crystal Balls, that kind of Witch stuff those devil worshipers use.

Oh Great Hera!

I left the store just shaking my head and went to pick up my kids!

Oldest son just laughed when I told him. Funny an 8 year old can understand the difference between a magic trick and real magick!

[RHONDAKO 0]

Yay! There You All Are! Kyethra I Totally Know The Feeling Of Being Overwhelmed In Restaraunts. About 85% Of The Time I Can't Eat Out. I Get So Worked Up About People Watching Me Eat, And Is This food Going To Stay Down. Purely Psychological I'm Sure. Once I Get Home I Can Usually Scarf Down What I Ordered. I've Pb'd So Many Times Going Out To Eat That I Dread The Words Leaving My Dh's Mouth. Then It Never Fails We'll Get Our Food And He'll Look At Me All Loving And Concerned And Say Those Horrible Words "now Take Your Time, And Chew Really Good". Am I Three Years Old? Don't Think So. So Let's Magnify My Anxiety A Little Bit More............honey. Anyway. They Do Serve A Lot Of Food On A Plate At A Restaraunt. So Help Me Out With The Pagan Stuff. I Need Educated Here. I'm Pretty Open Minded. What Does Paganism Do Your Well Being? I Love Flowers. I Planted A Bunch Last Weekend. We Had A Late Frost This Year And It Really Wreaked Havoc On My Beds. I Lost Two Of My Rose Bushes And A Few More Perennials That Were Poppin Up (stupid Frost). So I Replaced Them And Bought Some More. Love Playing In The Gardens. My Daughter Had Two Soccer Games And One Of The Fields Had The Absolute Prettiest, Lush Grass I Have Ever Seen. I Was Ooohhhh'ing And Aaaahhhhh'ing And Before I Could Think Before I Spoke, Out Blurted How I Would Just Love To Take Off My Clothes And Roll Around Naked In The Stuff. Oops! Got A Few Strange Looks And A "go Right Ahead". I Love How My Mouth Works Faster Than My Brain At Times. It Does Usually End With A Laugh Though. I Hope Everyone Has A Marvelous Day. I Need Some Good Thoughts On Eating Good Today. Yesterday Was A Disaster With A Capital "d". It Amazes Me How The Band Flucuates From Day To Day. Well Yesterday Was A "no Restriction" Day. I Started Out Ok, But By Mid Afternoon It Was All Over But The Crying. I Ended The Day With Cheetos And Rice pudding (whatever). Does Meditating Help With Eating Good? Have Any Of You Tried It?

[Lucy 0]

This was in the New York Times today. I thought you would appreciate it. It's so sad that so many people misunderstand paganism:

Wiccans Keep the Faith With a Religion Under Wraps

By NEELA BANERJEE

DUMFRIES, Va. — Above the woman’s fireplace hangs her wedding picture, taken in a Lutheran church years ago. Below it, on the mantelpiece, is a small Wiccan altar: two candles, a tiny cauldron, four stones to represent the elements of nature and a small amethyst representing her spirit.

The wedding portrait is always there. But whenever someone comes to visit, the woman sweeps the altar away. Raised Southern Baptist in Virginia and now a stay-at-home mother of two in this Washington suburb, she has told almost no one — not her relatives, her friends or the other mothers in her children’s playgroups — that she is Wiccan.

Among the most popular religions to have flowered since the 1960s, Wicca — a form of paganism — still faces a struggle for acceptance, experts on the religion and Wiccans themselves said. In April, Wiccans won an important victory when the Department of Veterans Affairs settled a lawsuit and agreed to add the Wiccan pentacle to a list of approved religious symbols that it will engrave on veterans’ headstones.

But Wicca in the civilian world is largely a religion in hiding. Wiccans fear losing their friends and jobs if people find out about their faith.

“I would love to be able to say ‘Accept us for who we are,’ but I can’t, mainly because of my kids,” said the suburban mother, who agreed to talk only on the condition of anonymity. “Children can be cruel, and their parents can be even more cruel, and I don’t want my kids picked on for the choice their mommy made.”

She worries that because most people know little about Wicca, they will assume she worships Satan. She fears that her family and friends will abandon her and that the community will ostracize her.

David Steinmetz, professor of the history of Christianity at Duke Divinity School, said, “Wiccans have so many things stacked against them, from what the Bible says about the practice of magic to the history in this country of witch trials, that the image of them adds up to something so contrary to the consensus about genuine religion that still shapes American society.”

Wiccans worship the divine in nature. Some practice it privately in their homes, and others worship with large congregations. Most people do not grow up Wiccan but come to it from another religion.

“It’s a very open religion,” said Helen A. Berger, a sociology professor at West Chester University of Pennsylvania. “Each person can do what they want, and they don’t have to belong to a group. They take things from a number of different sources, like Eastern religions, Celtic practices. You are the ultimate authority of your own experience.”

But its symbols and practices elicit suspicion from outsiders, Wiccans and religion scholars say.

Many Wiccans practice some form of magic or witchcraft, which they say is a way of affecting one’s destiny, but which many outsiders see as evil. The Wiccan pentacle, a five-pointed star inside a circle, is often confused with symbols of Satanism. (The five points of the star represent the elements of nature — earth, air, fire and Water — and the spirit, within the eternal circle of life.)

It is unclear how many Wiccans and other pagans there are. The 2001 American Religious Identification Survey by the City University of New York found that Wicca was the country’s fastest-growing religion, with 134,000 adherents, compared with 8,000 in 1990. The actual number may be greater, Ms. Berger said. Some people may have been unwilling to identify themselves as pagan or Wiccan for the survey. Others combine paganism with other religions.

Wiccans face less backlash now than in the past. The Internet provides information about Wicca, and the popularity of the Harry Potter novels has made magic seem a force for good, scholars and Wiccans say.

David and Jeanet Ewing, coordinators of two pagan groups in the Washington area, estimate that at least 1,000 Wiccans and other pagans live in Northern Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia. At least half actively hide their faith from their relatives, Ms. Ewing said. Many also hide their faith from their employers, Mr. Ewing said.

One such person is a 58-year-old former Roman Catholic who has been an auditor for 30 years in what he calls “one of the most buttoned-down departments in one of the most sacrosanct agencies” of the federal government.

“I put on this Joe Taxpayer suit, and it’s like living two lives,” he said. “A minority would have a problem with me, but it would be a big problem. They would assume we are doing weird things, illegal, immoral things, at all hours. They wouldn’t want to really know what we do, but they would go with their presuppositions instead.”

The auditor said that by “coming out of the broom closet,” he risked ostracism at work and perhaps being pushed into early retirement, which would affect his pension. “I don’t even want to contemplate it,” he said.

A New York marketing executive finds the city so secular that being passionate about religion is often met with a smirk, and it would be worse if people knew he was Wiccan, he said. “In my personal and private life, I like to be taken seriously,” he said. “Pagans are associated with the ’70s and hippies and counterculture. New York is a Type A city, and it’s all about getting ahead, and the kooky ones don’t get ahead.”

Members of other religions, including Jews and Catholics, have sometimes been forced to mask their faith in the past because of religious bias, Professor Steinmetz said. But it is rare, he added, for people to keep their religion from parents and grandparents, as many Wiccans do.

The Virginia mother has not told her mother or grandmother that she is a Wiccan. “I have a deep-seated fear that they will say, ‘I can’t be a part of this, you’re raising your kids as evil,’ ” she said.

She attends classes about Wicca on Friday nights, and she has yet to caution her older child, a preschooler, not to tell anyone about them.

“My son says, ‘Yeah, Mommy’s going to witch school,’ ” she said. “I’m just waiting for the day he says that in front of a teacher.”

[synicalchick 0]

I thought i had replied to this already. I've been having trouble with the site since they reformatted.

Thanks for this article.. it's a good one.

Y'all should see my hands. I leave late this afternoon for my Pagan Unity Festival to ven my tie dye stuff. We'll just say I am V. Colorful!

T

This was in the New York Times today. I thought you would appreciate it. It's so sad that so many people misunderstand paganism:

Wiccans Keep the Faith With a Religion Under Wraps

By NEELA BANERJEE

DUMFRIES, Va. — Above the woman’s fireplace hangs her wedding picture, taken in a Lutheran church years ago. Below it, on the mantelpiece, is a small Wiccan altar: two candles, a tiny cauldron, four stones to represent the elements of nature and a small amethyst representing her spirit.

The wedding portrait is always there. But whenever someone comes to visit, the woman sweeps the altar away. Raised Southern Baptist in Virginia and now a stay-at-home mother of two in this Washington suburb, she has told almost no one — not her relatives, her friends or the other mothers in her children’s playgroups — that she is Wiccan.

Among the most popular religions to have flowered since the 1960s, Wicca — a form of paganism — still faces a struggle for acceptance, experts on the religion and Wiccans themselves said. In April, Wiccans won an important victory when the Department of Veterans Affairs settled a lawsuit and agreed to add the Wiccan pentacle to a list of approved religious symbols that it will engrave on veterans’ headstones.

But Wicca in the civilian world is largely a religion in hiding. Wiccans fear losing their friends and jobs if people find out about their faith.

“I would love to be able to say ‘Accept us for who we are,’ but I can’t, mainly because of my kids,” said the suburban mother, who agreed to talk only on the condition of anonymity. “Children can be cruel, and their parents can be even more cruel, and I don’t want my kids picked on for the choice their mommy made.”

She worries that because most people know little about Wicca, they will assume she worships Satan. She fears that her family and friends will abandon her and that the community will ostracize her.

David Steinmetz, professor of the history of Christianity at Duke Divinity School, said, “Wiccans have so many things stacked against them, from what the Bible says about the practice of magic to the history in this country of witch trials, that the image of them adds up to something so contrary to the consensus about genuine religion that still shapes American society.”

Wiccans worship the divine in nature. Some practice it privately in their homes, and others worship with large congregations. Most people do not grow up Wiccan but come to it from another religion.

“It’s a very open religion,” said Helen A. Berger, a sociology professor at West Chester University of Pennsylvania. “Each person can do what they want, and they don’t have to belong to a group. They take things from a number of different sources, like Eastern religions, Celtic practices. You are the ultimate authority of your own experience.”

But its symbols and practices elicit suspicion from outsiders, Wiccans and religion scholars say.

Many Wiccans practice some form of magic or witchcraft, which they say is a way of affecting one’s destiny, but which many outsiders see as evil. The Wiccan pentacle, a five-pointed star inside a circle, is often confused with symbols of Satanism. (The five points of the star represent the elements of nature — earth, air, fire and Water — and the spirit, within the eternal circle of life.)

It is unclear how many Wiccans and other pagans there are. The 2001 American Religious Identification Survey by the City University of New York found that Wicca was the country’s fastest-growing religion, with 134,000 adherents, compared with 8,000 in 1990. The actual number may be greater, Ms. Berger said. Some people may have been unwilling to identify themselves as pagan or Wiccan for the survey. Others combine paganism with other religions.

Wiccans face less backlash now than in the past. The Internet provides information about Wicca, and the popularity of the Harry Potter novels has made magic seem a force for good, scholars and Wiccans say.

David and Jeanet Ewing, coordinators of two pagan groups in the Washington area, estimate that at least 1,000 Wiccans and other pagans live in Northern Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia. At least half actively hide their faith from their relatives, Ms. Ewing said. Many also hide their faith from their employers, Mr. Ewing said.

One such person is a 58-year-old former Roman Catholic who has been an auditor for 30 years in what he calls “one of the most buttoned-down departments in one of the most sacrosanct agencies” of the federal government.

“I put on this Joe Taxpayer suit, and it’s like living two lives,” he said. “A minority would have a problem with me, but it would be a big problem. They would assume we are doing weird things, illegal, immoral things, at all hours. They wouldn’t want to really know what we do, but they would go with their presuppositions instead.”

The auditor said that by “coming out of the broom closet,” he risked ostracism at work and perhaps being pushed into early retirement, which would affect his pension. “I don’t even want to contemplate it,” he said.

A New York marketing executive finds the city so secular that being passionate about religion is often met with a smirk, and it would be worse if people knew he was Wiccan, he said. “In my personal and private life, I like to be taken seriously,” he said. “Pagans are associated with the ’70s and hippies and counterculture. New York is a Type A city, and it’s all about getting ahead, and the kooky ones don’t get ahead.”

Members of other religions, including Jews and Catholics, have sometimes been forced to mask their faith in the past because of religious bias, Professor Steinmetz said. But it is rare, he added, for people to keep their religion from parents and grandparents, as many Wiccans do.

The Virginia mother has not told her mother or grandmother that she is a Wiccan. “I have a deep-seated fear that they will say, ‘I can’t be a part of this, you’re raising your kids as evil,’ ” she said.

She attends classes about Wicca on Friday nights, and she has yet to caution her older child, a preschooler, not to tell anyone about them.

“My son says, ‘Yeah, Mommy’s going to witch school,’ ” she said. “I’m just waiting for the day he says that in front of a teacher.”

[synicalchick 0]

My Dr.s appointment and my appointment with the nutrisionist was yesterday and went really well. They are both v. happy with my Protein intake, however my doc. wasn't happy that more of it wan't actual meat so I will work on that one. He says the band works the best with REAL food/stuff you have to chew up. So now instead of just eating meat for supper I have to try and get it in for lunch as well. When I told him why I wasn't really eating meat for lunch (it's uncomfy) he told me to take smaller bites and chew longer, so I'll be giving chicken a try again. Basically the reason is the meats stay in my pouch longer and cheese/prunes/salad go right through.

I am at 297 and my BMI is down to 48. & it hasn't been quite 3 months yet. They are v. happy with my progress and said that I was right on track if not a smidge ahead. He doesn't want me losing much more than 10 lbs per month and I'm at 11.5 lb loss per month.

I told him how vocal I was about having the procedure and every one knows & how sometimes that made me a little self concious because I know people are looking at me and thinking... I thought she had surgery.. shouldn't she be shrinking a lot faster? He reminded me that the slower weight loss was why I chose this procedure and that my body and skin would thank me later. I saw pictures of myself that were taken this weekend and I still can't get over how huge I appear. It's weird. When you see yourself in the mirror it doesn't seem that bad... you don't realize what you look like until someone snaps a photo of you.

It is so nice to no longer belong to the 300+ club and to know that I will never again be weighing in at those numbers.

I leave work early today to go sign House/land papers and get insurance. We are both SO excited. We'll take possession as of today but won't be moving in until sometime in September. We have a lot of work to do on the house in the meantime. We are going to rip out all carpet and replace with wood laminate and redo all the walls. Take out the 32x32 shower in the master bed and turn it into a laundry station, take out the old dinky dark looking tub/shower in the guest bath and replace it with a nice large shower. Line & border the rooms in cedar planks, replace the h-vac(heating & cooling) & various other things. We are doing the air/heat & walls 1st, then after all the walls are done we'll start on the flooring.

[synicalchick 0]

Hey Houston Gal,

I have a detailed account of my days after surgery in this forum near the beginning. How are you doing so far?

I just got back from a much to short trip to my Grandma's in Oklahoma. It's always so good to see everyone & made me feel better that I was ever so slightly smaller than the last time the saw me. I've always been so self concious whenever I would see my relatives because I just kept getting bigger and bigger. My Aunts/Uncles and cousins have been excited for me and v. supportive. I am very fortunate.

When we got back from Ok on Sunday night we passed out then got up the next day and drove to KY to our new house. Todd mowed and used the weedeater and I attacked the inside of the house. They have these beams on the ceiling to cover up ceiling seams that are made of 2x4's covered in a thin wood veneer that's covered in fake wood contact paper. uh.......... ANYwho, I ripped all of those down in two rooms. The beams will be replaced with cedar. Also, where the sheet rock joins another piece of sheet rock, instead of using joint tape or whatever it is you use, they nailed small strips of annoying wood on top. The only thing those are good for is messing you up when you are trying to hang pictures. I like things to be balanced and with these you have to hang in between the wood slats. This is about every three feet. Three rooms had this so I ripped all of those off while cackling like a maniac. This weekend we are going to replace the heating/cooling system (H-vac) paint the ceilings, prep & mud the walls. the stuff has to cure so I can't start painting until the following week. When all the painting is done we will start on the floors.

I'm about ready to start some light weight training & just have to muster up the mo jo to actually show up and do it.

I've been doing pretty well eating meat twice a day instead of just eating some type of Protein. I only had meat for supper yesterday because we were rushing around and working on the house and boy could I tell the difference.

[synicalchick 0]

Hello,

:Banane20:My name is Tracy and I, have to wear...... a 46 DDD :omg:

My saga begins the day before yesterday. I have a desk job and tend to slouch. Since I have been slowly shrinking, my back problems have migrated from lower back to right under my shoulder blades. Some days I'm just aware of it, and others I have spasms.:whip: Tuesday by the time I got home I was bowed over periodically with 'ram butting me in the back with sharp pointy horns' spasms and couldn't straighten up. This ram butting continued through the night & Wed I decided to call in to work and go to my chiro.

I get there and two different Docs worked on me. There were a couple of moments when I was like.. what on earth are they doing back there??:paranoid

They Cracked stretched, used roller balls & I suspect a small herd of Llamas were dancing on my back:llama:

The second doc did this.. "Ok lets pull on your neck and stretch you out maneuver and I heard a small explosion:target:which turned out to be my spine popping and my toes being yanked up into my nostrils. They send me over into therapy then were we discussed why this pain was occurring.

1. I slouch when I'm sitting

2. All of my over the shoulder boulder holders are 5-7 years old and wouldn't hold pebbles in place little long what I'm packing around:guess

They slathered about a gallon of fire:flame: on my back then sent me on my way with me promising to look in to purchasing some support.

Dear Hubby comes home then drives me to Catherine's, or as I like to refer to it, Your Grandmothers Dress Store, to purchase new 'back support'. I called a head to find out if they would measure and fit you for this most important piece of cotton & spandex & they informed me that yes.. they do. I haven't been measured for one of these LOVELY contraptions since high school if even then, so I was like, so do I go in wearing one already or comando??? Todd just looked at me blankly.. like "How on earth would I know that??":tired So, I armed myself with one of my 'best' ones and off we go.

Alrighty, we get there, I march to the back and announce that I need to be measured. I can tell you now, they had NO IDEA what they were in for.

I'm standing in the store with arms raised in the air:clap2: while the nice lady in her 70's measures me. She informs me that I'm a 46" Of course I was like "What??? are you SURE" The last time we measured this I was in the upper 50's ~ This is the section underneath the poking out areas..

She then said, "Ok..you need a 46DDD.. let's see what we have."

We have two sales associates involved at this point.. could it have been the announcement that all my bras were about 5-7 yrs + old:cry ?

I of course told her that there was NO WAY I was a DDD. To demonstrate this, I well, uh kind of, uh, smoothed my shirt over one and framed it with my hand and said "Are you SURE?" To which she replied very exuberantly... "OH YES HONEY" I informed her that what I was currently wearing and everything I owned was a D. To which she replied.. "I bet the back of your bra strap is up high in between your shoulder blades huh?"

"mmmmmm yes"

She then showed me where it was supposed to be & I was horrified. Holy flea biscuits, I don't recall ever having one go down THAT low.

I then made the following announcement...

"Ladies, My Chest Is In Your Hands" (I am so not making that up, it was out of my mouth before I could control it...)

I thought the older lady was going to drop her hanger...:nervous I don't believe that in the almost 5 yrs I've known Todd that I have ever embarrassed him... this might have done the trick.

15 minutes later I am now 'armed' with three new contraptions... I got a DD since I'm losing weight and I just refuse to acknowledge that third D. I threw away my old one at the store and tried not to knock everything down I passed with my chest that is now positioned under my chin(s)

It looks like someone is poking me in the back with a stick :boink:now and my lovely annoying huge orbs enter a room before I do.. but, by gosh... my back feels better.

The End;)

[RHONDAKO 0]

Tracy, You Are A Hoot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I Love Reading Your Posts. You Should Really Go Into Jouranlism. I'm Sure You Make Everyone Smile. Great Job On Getting Out Of The 300 Club. I Have Problems With meat During The Day Also. I Have Been Stuck At This Weight For A Couple Of Months Now. I Went And Got A Fill Last Thursday (.1). Surprisingly, It Hasn't Made A Difference. I'm Going To Give It Another Week And See. Sometimes They Can Creep Up On Me. I So Need To Exercise. It Seems Like I Am Constantly Being Pulled In 100 Different Directions And When I Do Have Time I Just Want To Sit And Be Quiet For A Few Minutes. Is There Anybody Out There That Reads This That Is In The Cincinnati Area? I Could Sure Use A Motivational Buddy. Congrats On The New House Too. I Hope The Trasformation Goes Well.