TerriDoodle

It sure doesn't take me an hour! I only brown the meat if I feel like it...and most of the time I DON'T! I just cut it into small bites and throw it in there. The other veggies I chop into pretty large chunks so things don't get too mushy and cutting larger pieces goes faster too. I think I'm going to make Chicken Tortilla Soup today. I'll cut up all the stuff and get it all put together tonight then let it cook tomorrow. I don't have a favorite recipe, but I'll find one. I use All recipes – complete resource for recipes and cooking tips as a resource. Next week I'm going to try Italian Sausage & Lentil soup...I had some at Carabba's the other night and it was delish! TRACYK- (Hugs) I think that we're all going to have to make some adjustments in our attitudes and thinking as our weight goes down. (Except for Judy!) Remember that as your weight goes down you will need fewer and fewer calories....so you can eat the same way but now it's not coming off as fast. So it's just something we're all going to have to be ready for! And besides...how long has it been since you dropped that last pound? It doesn't seem that long to me! Do you keep a chart? I've hit 3-4 week plateaus twice already! I expect there will be more to come! I eat very similarly to Kat....when I'm really diligent I'll lose a pound or so, then relax a little bit and maintain. Are you tracking calories?...maybe you're eating more than you realize? One way or the other, you'll figure it out! This is a process, remember??! The process is not always perfect or reliable...there's so many factors at play here! Don't be hard on yourself. Enjoy your day! It's nice out! Laura - Hope you're feeling better today! Well, I gotta get back to my closet, laundry and kitchen chores!! Sheesh!

Gosh! You, me and Texrose ought to get together...we really live close to each other!!

Yep, drinking ALWAYS makes it worse and it's ALWAYS what I want to do! LOL OY!! I've been in the kitchen alllllll day. Got DD in there cooking dinner now!! I went to Sam's and loaded up on meat & veggies and I've been dividing it all up and sealing it up in my new FoodSaver. Tomorrow I clean my closet!! How long have I been saying that???

GET OUTTA HERE!!! FOR REAL? I want a report in 2 weeks!

Kat - you are just so wise! I just love your sweet philosophies. You really warm the heart and I would LOVE to meet you and Rick sometime in person. (I'll call first :eek: ) I think your artistic child sounds so interesting!! My DS kinda walks to the beat of a different drummer too, but I love that about him. My DH (his stepfather) thinks he's just weird. His kids were all 'perfect'....if you know what I mean. Mine are more like me....very flawed!! I love DH's kids, dont get me wrong, but they were athletes and cheerleaders, now they are professionals with high salaries. My DS will probably be a bartender or a tattoo artist! LOL No, I hope not...but even if he is, he's got a beautiful, sensitive heart and treats all people with kindness....and that's very important too. If he could only love himself as much as he loves others.... Laura - How are you feeling today? Stay on top of the pain by taking your meds as prescribed for a couple of days. By Monday I bet you'll be feeling much better. After all, you're a veteran!! I'm sure DH will take good care of you, so you're in good hands. Remember all your 'rules' from the previous surgery?? We're here to remind you if you dont!! LOL As of today I have officially lost 30 pounds!!We all have our little threshholds that we look forward to and mine is coming up....the halfway mark....33 pounds lost. That will also mark my previous all-time high that I reached in 2001, 182#. I am relieved that I am still able to lose weight while not smoking. Whew!!!

My favorite is the garlic peeler roller and I think I'm going to have to break down and buy a Food Saver (vacuum sealer).

Well, I'm going in next week for my 5th fill in 6 months! It just takes a little time and patience. I'm only going to ask for about 0.1cc because I've been too tight before and I don't want to do that again! The adjustments now are so tiny but make a big difference!

In my experience 15-17 are the dangerous years!! Ugh. I haven't seen 17-20 yet!!?! They might be worse!

Houston has some GREAT medical schools!! :waytogo:

Not for facial work, I'm not waiting!....but then again, I "only" have 35 more pounds to lose. Well, I won't be doing this until next summer, anyway....so I better be at goal by then!

Jenn - Cheese is a dairy product and has lactose!! silly girl! Jen - Careful with the fills at this stage. 0.1cc can make the difference between sweet spot and way too tight! You don't want to be too tight, trust me! :phanvan Eating the last of my vegetable soup :hungry:. I'll have to try something different next week. Maybe tortilla soup?! Pamela - If it's any comfort to you, my kids are exhausted, too!! Getting back into the school routine has not been easy for either of them and there's just not enough hours in the day. DS (17) is having a fit 'cause we want him to get a job to help pay for his car. He was working but quit right before school. He got caught smoking a little doobie on Tuesday and now has his car, cell phone & computer taken away from him for 3 months! :tired What a dummy. I hope it was worth it to him. He's such a good kid....and makes such stupid choices! Seriously, did he think there would be no consequences?? Duh! Did he think we'd pay for his car without him taking any responsibility?? Duh!! AAAAAACK!!

I hear ya. Artificial sweeteners are my last vice!!! (well, almost :waytogo: ) My next step is to swear off of sugar alcohols....they just don't agree with me. Splenda & aspartame make me hungrier, but don't mess with my blood sugar beyond that. I'm very happy that you've got yours under control. Just awesome!

got this in my email today....don't know if it's true or not, but I wish it was!!! -------------------------------------- This is the message that the Pacific Palisades High School (California) staff voted unanimously to record on their school telephone answering machine. This is the actual answering machine message for the school. This came about because they implemented a policy requiring students and parents to be responsible for their children's absences and missing homework. The school and teachers are being sued by parents who want their children's failing grades changed to passing grades - even though those children were absent 15-30 times during the semester and did not complete enough schoolwork to pass their classes. The outgoing message: "Hello! You have reached the automated answering service of your school. In order to assist you in connecting to the right staff member, please listen to all the options before making a selection: * To lie about why your child is absent - Press 1 * To make excuses for why your child did not do his work - Press 2 * To complain about what we do - Press 3 * To swear at staff members - Press 4 * To ask why you didn't get information that was already enclosed in your newsletter and several flyers mailed to you - Press 5 * If you want us to raise your child - Press 6 * If you want to reach out and touch, slap or hit someone - Press 7 * To request another teacher, for the third time this year - Press 8 * To complain about bus transportation - Press 9 * To complain about school lunches - Press 0 * If you realize this is the real world and your child must be accountable and responsible for his/her own behavior, class work, homework and that it's not the teachers' fault for your child's lack of effort: Hang up and have a nice day! *If you want this in Spanish, you must be in the wrong country. "

Oh!! LAURA!!! .......... THINKING OF YOU TODAY!!!

Jenn - The best thing you can do in the meantime is keep your throat CLEAN. Gargle with warm salt water or Listerine (if you can stand it), drink hot tea w/ lemon, and stay away from dairy products. The strep bacteria LOVE the lactose! Do you have any Chloraseptic in the house? It numbs the throat. Not great, but it does help. ((hugs)) Ms Jen - Have you talked to your doctor about the possibility of depression? Lexapro saved my life .... and marriage! If you're already on something for depression, maybe it's time for an adjustment. Sorry you've got the blahs :woot: Been there and it sux. Kat - you and Rick make me ill. Get a room already! :waytogo: Oh wait.... TracyK - Cooler weather is coming!!....someday. Can't wait! I'm ready for some outdoor festivals and cleaning up the yard and cycling in the 'hood!!! Aren't you?? Pamela - Your moods sound to me like your hormones are alive and well!! You're pretty stressed out right now, too...be good to yourself. But NOT with chocolate!! I need to schedule a teeny weeny fill too. Can't for a couple of weeks though. <snarl> Denise - I'm kinda glas your DD decided not to move back in with you...that sounded like trouble to me! There's a special place in heaven for you! We're having a bit of trouble with my DS in that regard, too and it's so damn frustrating!! Just want to hit him over the head with an iron skillet! Oh well, I made stupid choices too and survived to tell about it! I guess they will too, eh? Judy - Where are you? Today was my official weigh in day and I'm back to 186.x since my Las Vegas debacle. That was a relief! I thought for sure I'd have to work it off for 2-3 weeks!! So, ONWARD! Love you guys. :love: Have a great Friday!!!

Does putting your clothes in the dryer on the "hot" setting hoping that they'll shrink count as an improvement??

Denise - The Mile High Club counts as its members only those people who have done "it" in an airplane or jet while the plane is in flight. Woo Hoo!!

Yes! I think many make a 'natural flavor' protein w/o sweeteners...just ask at the store! Here's an example of one from my favorite online vendor: Optimum Any Whey Protein Powder

Sara - Great to see you!!! I'm sorry the weight loss isn't going so well. Me neither...but at least I am NOT gaining!! Hopefully you aren't either. So wonderful to hear Dave is doing alright! How's your job? Still thinking of making a change? Move to Texas!! Haydee - Let's try to get together soon! I know you're busy...but let's try. If you're 'in town' let me know! I got an email from Josie; she sounds good. She won't be back to Houston 'til November. Is your beading class today? There's a killer bead show in October at Reliant Center, just FYI!! Michelle - You are having a ball, aren't you?! Things seem to be finally clicking for you. I think you believed this was just going to be 'like all the rest' of your diet plans and now you've even proved yourself wrong! I hope you spend a TON of money today! Pamela - :wave: I got your bracelet but prolly won't get to it 'til this weekend. You said it's just a 'smidgen' too small, right? You think 1/2" will do it or do you want it bigger than that? Ya'll have a great day!

Oh ....and I remembered that I ended up putting 3 cubes of beef boullion in at the end.

Everyone is just doing AMAZING things this month!!! I'm just so ecstatic for all of you!!! Makes me so proud!! There's this part of me that's jealous, but it's just a fleeting thought really. The part that's happy and proud of you is SO much bigger and louder!! You're all my sistas and your success is as important to me as my own is. I"ll get 'there'...........eventually!! I've decided that I'm going to make a big ol' crock-pot of vegetable beef soup (almost) every weekend. I made some on Sunday night and have been eating it every day for lunch and it's so good! I took the time to calculate the nutritional value on dailyplate.com and it amounts to 200 calories per 2 cup serving...and 22g protein, 3g of fat and 19g carbohydrate and 4g of fiber! And what a great way to get a wide variety of veggies and micronutrients! Getting enuf veggies is always my challenge. I eat salads but need more variety. I'll post my recipe just in case anyone wants it. CROCK POT VEGGIE BEEF SOUP 1.5 # lean stew meat 1 qt (32 oz) beef broth (I used Swanson's) 1 sm can organic tomato sauce 3 cloves garlic - chopped seasoned garlic salt to taste(I use Garlic Dude Dust) black pepper to taste 1 can chopped tomatoes (I use Rotel 'cause we like it spicy) 1 zucchini cut into bite size pieces 1 yellow squash cut into pieces 1 crown broccoli cut into pieces 1/3 crown cauliflower cut into pieces 1 can Green Giant niblets corn 2 white potatoes, quartered 1 small bag baby carrots 1/2 sweet onion, chopped I trim the stew meat of all visible fat and gristle. If I have time I brown it in oil..otherwise I just throw it in the pot. I just mix all this stuff together in a 4-5 qt. crock pot and cook on low all day (10 hours). I think you can get the same result by cooking on high for 4-5 hours.

This is YOUR body that you have to live with for the rest of your LIFE!! This is YOUR decision....not your surgeon's and not your co-workers'. Remember that.

Have you seen this sticky? http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f17/who-has-lost-over-100-pounds-16050/ Losing 100+ pounds has been done many times!

Oh, I'm with you all the way on this one!! HOWEVER, Dr. Spivak is an excellent surgeon who advertises 'heavily'...so that may not be the only barometer of how good a surgeon is. I'm thinking referrals from other good doctors. I'd be scared to death to get a lift overseas!!! Aaaack! Let's keep each other 'abreast' of what we find out, ok?

You can get the Isopure drinks at The Vitamin Shoppe. I bought a few for post op but I didn't like them at all. I would suggest just buying one or two before you invest too much $$!