TerriDoodle

NO!!! That's my point...I ate the bun and it just about did me in!!! No more buns for me!!

Teach -- Best wishes to your DH. Tell him he's got a whole crew of purple angels praying for him. What an exciting journey for you two. My DH is not a candidate but he sure does love food...and all the wrong ones! He's working out with me, so he should probably lose about 20# along the way too. That'll be good. We'll both be HOT by Christmas! Went shopping again today and bought some work clothes...tops that should fit thru another 15-20# loss. (How's that for wishful thinking?) Bought 16W pants and even fit into some regular women's XL's! Gawd, I'll be so glad to get back into 'regular' clothes again. Maybe by August!

Jennifur - Try really pushing the water today and you may find you're ready to drop a pound or two. that seems to be my pattern. Judy - You really are an amazing success story! I don't know how you're surviving on so few calories, but it's definitely working for you!! Congratulations on the 2# loss!!!!! Angie - My son just started driving, too and we got him a (cheap) car so he could GET A JOB! Anyway, my best friend sold us her Pathfinder and within 9 days he had his first wreck!! Just a little fender bender and could have been much worse so grateful for that! But the experience taught him to be more careful and was a good lesson for him....took him down a peg, y'know? I'm really sorry about your wall!! But hey, maybe you could fill the trunk with dirt and plant some daisies!! We went to a graduation party yesterday and I had ...I dunno...2 or 3 glasses of wine. I am SUCH a lightweight now that I have practically decided to quit drinking altogether. All it seems to do for me anymore is make me sleepy. What fun is that? And to think that a year ago I was drinking that much 3-5x a week!! :ermm: One more vice down the tubes.

Denise - Great pic!! Looks like ya'll had a great time! Are you gonna clean and cook all those fish?? You're a better woman than me! I don't do any of that stinky stuff....no way, no how! HEY! Are those pants looking a little baggy???? :what: Mdrai - I'm so sorry honey. :hug: Honestly, I don't think I could have done what you're doing. VERY fortunately, my doc did not require a liquid diet pre-op so I can't really relate and don't have any wonderful, magical advice for you. I'm sorry But I do what to tell you that I'm extremely proud of you for being so strong. Passing popcorn back and forth is the ultimate test and if you can pass that one, you can do anything!! And besides, just think of what a great head start on the weight loss you're getting! All of the girls here who did it had wonderful results and you will too. It's just a few more days. Do the best you can...that's all you can do.

WOW, Kristen!! Look at you! Almost 120# gone!!! that's incredible! You have so much to be proud of and a great life ahead of you!! Congratulations! Sharon - Congratulations to you, too for sticking to your word that you would start exercise at 199!! Jazzercise is a blast (but take it easy!) and yes, walking thru the door is 1/2 the battle. The other 1/2 is to keep walking through it 3x a week!!! Keep your eye on the prize. Exercise makes you feel soooooooooo good!! I have 200% more energy and I've only been at it for 5 weeks.

Alex - thanks for validating what I was thinking yesterday. I had a near PB incident after wolfing down a couple of bites of a hamburger because I was starving!! That bread hit my band and OUCH!!! Immediate pain. The first thing I said to myself when I replayed what went wrong was "I let myself get too hungry and made a really bad choice". That is just SO right.

EXACTLY!! This board is chuck full of people who have successfully lost weight in the past...MANY times!! That's not the trick, is it? The trick is keeping it off. The vast majority don't. Obesity is a subject that is just not well understood at all and magazine articles like this sure don't help. Oh well. Just add it to the list of pet peeves and be glad you're smarter than that.

Well, I don't know what meds they have in Australia, but here in the states Gas-X is highly recommended....it's main ingredient is simethicone, so look for that. you want to get that gas moving, so move as much as you can, when you can. I remember standing at the kitchen sink doing dishes and just kind of marching in place to keep things moving. Also, I read if you lay on your stomach (in bed) and put a pillow under your hips so that your bottom is higher in the air than your shoulders that will help move the gas up and out. Makes sense. Try that. I hope it helps. I know that shoulder pain can be far worse than the surgery pain....it can get quite intense. Good luck. You'll be fine in just a few short days.

Me too!! I could hardly sleep last night because I was so anxious to step on the scale this morning. (wierd, even for me!) I just KNEW that I had dropped another pound (after 2 weeks of nothing)....and sure enough I had! Man, isn't it wild how we can detect just a one pound drop?! so I went from 199 to 198 today....and I'm hoping I will never see a "2" again. wouldn't that just be the coolest thing ever??????

TracyTx- there are some issues with signatures right now...there are certain changes I am not able to make either. So try again in a week or two. I think Alex is still tweaking. In the meantime, why don't you just create a simple signature that has your starting/current/goal weight on it, like mine?....sans ticker. You're doing great on your weight loss!!....21 pounds already!! Awesome!

We've discussed this from time to time on this board ...and my patient advocate at the hospital warned me about a bout of depression post-op, too. Estrogen is stored in your fat cells and when you lose weight the estrogen is released (probably along with other hormones) <shrug> so the feeling of PMS is normal and will go away after a short time. Mine lasted about 2 weeks. Funny, now that I think about it, starting my exercise program seemed to help. It's widely accepted that exercise releases endorphins which eases depression. So, you're not going crazy...this is normal...and will get better. If it doesn't you may want to consider talking to your doctor. When I got on Lexapro 4 months ago I became a new woman and MUCH easier to live with.

thanks for the kudos you guys...that was really nice of you and very encouraging. Now that I have a few sessions under my belt, I do feel better. I worked quads for the second round Wednesday and am hardly sore at all...just the 'good kind of sore'. It's just when you work those muscles for the first time and intensely, it's a killer!! I think I'll be alright and I LOVE my trainer. He is really great. Thanks again to all who responded!

HH - First of all, this is perfectly normal behavior...well, at least I went thru it and seem to read about it all over this board! So it seems normal to me. It is just part of bandster hell...plain and simple. Especially the part where you say "just to see how much I could eat"...that sounds like me. I think part of it is that we miss that REALLY full feeling that we used to have after meals and the other part is just that you ate too fast. I know I am guilty of that. I really don't think that this is worth all this self-flagellation....you are not a robot and you are going to revert to old patterns occassionally. You are absolutely fine!! Just get back on the program, look at it as a learning experience, examine what you could have done differently and try again today. It's all good!:mad: Well, it's not so much a scary thing when it happens, it's just a "oh, crap...I screwed up" thing. But because I stopped eating and drinking at the first sign of a problem, it wasn't really a big deal except that I had to find some kind of excuse for not eating when i had just been talking about how HUNGRY I was!! That was my point was that you really have to stop eating at the first sign or else it will get worse. When it gets worse that's when the bad sliming happens and that creates the embarrassing public situation. So again, STOP EATING AT THE FIRST SIGN. Yes, it was my first regular ol' bread...I'd had pizza crust and tortillas with no problem and I thought I had lost my restriction. I was hungry and just went for it w/o really thinking. But at the instant that bread hit my band it started hurting. As far as after effects, yes I was a little sore last night. I had baked chicken (very juicy) and broccoli and found that I had to cut up the chicken into tiny little bites (like the size of a peanut) and only ate the flower of the broccoli....and I couldn't eat much...and was a little sore. Today I will stick with soft foods, most def. Announcement: I *FINALLY* dropped another pound today. Last time was 15 days ago!!! :mad: But I do think I've been retaining water due to my workouts at the gym and have been trying to not get discouraged. After all this hard work, it was gratifying to see a new number today. Hopefully from here on out I won't be seeing the 2's ever again! That deserves a charm!! Love you guys. Have a great day!

Exactly, Laura! The thing is when you're pre-band you worry so much about "what will I eat???"...but what you don't realize is that after the band it's not nearly as big of a deal anymore! Like you said, just a couple of bites of this or that and you're good to go. I can make do with a couple of spoonfuls of peanut butter, a scrambled egg or two, an ounce or two of cheese, etc. That can carry me for another 2-3 hours! Laura, you made a great choice with the tuna kit! You make me proud! I always used to eat nuts on the run like that....but if I eat them now I have to chew the heck out of them! I also am finding that if I'm feeling hungry, I just drink some water or Propel and that'll keep me going for awhile too. I LOVE MY BAND!!

This too shall pass!!! How many meals have I had since I got banded? something like...125? And this is the first real problem I've had. I've been able to eat chicken, eggs, any and all veggies, fruit, crackers, peanut butter, etc. Today I was 'pushing the limits' of my band...I was breaking the rules and I paid the price!! I'm not worried at all about my future with the band and being able to eat normally (just less). Please don't let my story scare you.... bumps in the road are inevitable...it's just a part of learning to live with the band. This is how we learn. I won't eat bread again. Simple! Let's see.....there's a zillion other things that I CAN have!! YIPPEE!!!

Hi Purple Gurlz- Hope you all had a good Friday! I had the day off today and spent mid-day helping my elderly mom run a couple of errands. Well, I didn't have time for breakfast so by lunchtime I was starving! Mumsey wanted a burger and I was so hungry I just agreed to 'whatever'. I haven't had much restriction that I could tell for the last week or so, so I figured a burger, eaten slowly, will be OK. ***WRONG!!!*** I took two bites quickly and then experienced immediate PAIN!!! Well, my mom doesn't know I was banded, and I had just been talking about how hungry I was....so now what was I to do?? At least I did have the sense (thanks to this board) to stop eating immediately, not to drink anything and just wait it out. I made the excuse that I must be having an esophogeal spasm of some sort...that it's happened before...and I got up to walk around outside. I was soooooooo close to PBing...I could feel that all I had to do was will the food to come up and it would have, but I didn't want to dothat. I toughed it out...and then I 'slimed' for just a little while....so now I know what both of those things are all about, but I stopped eating in time so that it wasn't uncontrollable. Thank God!! Now I can't hardly eat solid food anymore...so I'll go back on mushies for a day or two. Bread is obviously a HUGE no-no for me, but I can have tortillas, crackers and pizza crust :rolleyes. But I tell you what, you PB once and you don't ever want to do it again!!! I'm glad I have had the experience now....and I'll be much, much more careful in the future! The big lesson here is: 1) if you start to feel a big golf-ball feeling iin your chest, STOP eating and don't start again until the pain goes away. 2) If you start eating again and the pain returns, WHATEVER IT IS YOU'RE EATING ...STOP EATING IT IMMEDIATELY. 3) Do not drink anything...it will make it worse. 4) Get up and walk around, stretch your arms, take deep breaths....anything and everything to get that stuff moving down. 5) From there on out be very careful about eating...tiny bites, well chewed. Yikes.

WAY TO GO, LUNASA!!!!

Jenn - are you and dbf together or not? I thought ya'll had patched things up?! You are incredible for working in the pizza store and not eating all that stuff!! That's the kind of discipline that will really pay off for you-- resisting the urge to graze. I mean, it's one thing to say that you won't "deny yourself" because you don't want to diet again, etc....but it's quite another to recognize bad habits and rectify them. Grazing at a pizza parlour while you're working would definitely qualify as a bad habit! So kudos to you, girlfriend!!! TracyinKS - I am glad you decided not to mix it up with the "other family" this summer. Sperm Donor doesn't seem to me like he's all that interested if he's only paying $20/mo in support. Nothing makes me madder. Anyway, I think you'd be opening a can of worms and your DS is just too young...so much of his personality and the way he views the world is being shaped in these years...you have to be really careful. You have a very good heart and want to do what is right...but I think you ARE doing the right thing right now for your son. Protect him for 3-4 more years as best you can. My $0.02. I had the most frustrating day shopping yesterday Ican ever recall. Like 5 hours in the mall and only bought a 3 t-shirt-like things and a pair of very casual capris. I need work clothes but I don't want to part with the money!!! I'm still damn fat and the clothes still look like crap on me. This is very frustrating. And if I knew what size I was going to be next year, I would have gotten some nice Spring things on sale. Bah!! Sara - hey, what are you testing for, anyway? Did you say and I missed it or what? Getting a masters or a special license?? LUNASA - DID YOU GET OFF YOUR BUTT LAST NIGHT??

Ok, this just made me spew Propel out of my nose!!!! And then I read where Judy is gonna slip hubby some milkshakes and I started coughing and spewing all over again!! Oh, you girlz!! Jenn - I'm so happy for you getting all that homework done!! Did you ever sleep??? :notagree And now off to the gym!! Man, my hat is off to you!! I'd be making all kinds of excuses for myself to lay around and do nothing!! You have so much to be proud of...don't you dare sell yourself short!! You are amazing!

PURPLE jungle print w/ tiger heads???? :pound: Lovely!!! ....you must post a picture for us!

Lunasa - LOL....are you by chance a Gemini?? You sound just like me with needing the "next big project"! But, trust me, you do not want to get pregnant at this weight, have to get a complete unfill, and use your pregnancy as an excuse to eat everything in sight. I gained 42# during my first pregnancy (starting at 160#), at the age of 32. When DS was born I only lost 17#!! I held on to that weight until I got pregnant again 3 years later...now I was starting at 180#!! I gained 26# that time (smarter then) and only lost that weight with the help of Phen-Fen. Trust me again when I say that it is much harder (impossible) to find time to exercise, shop and cook after a baby is around! And that time is gone for many years. My very cheap advice is to take advantage of this time to get your body in great shape, break the old bad habits, and get down to your goal weight....THEN get pregnant. THAT can be your reward for all your hard work! And by the way.... GET OFF YOUR ASS AND GO EXERCISE!! MsJen - Congratulations on your first fill!! It's not so bad, eh?...except for that bruise! Wonder why? My port is real close to the surface so there's very little need for all that trauma....lucky I guess. Janie - ya'll crack me up with your 20+ year old clothes in your closets!! OMG! That's so funny! Reminds me, I'll have to save one or two of my 18W pants for my "after" picture!....y'know the one where I hold out the waist for the profile shot!?

Well, I don't really want to be buying a bunch of new clothes, but I hate wearing clothes that are too big! And I'm an executive secretary so I have to look half-way decent at work. I do have some nice clothes in my close that are from when I weighed 160 4 years ago that were expensive and I refused to give to charity! I think the smallest I have is size 14 reg. However, I am a bit of a closet-cleaner too and I have given away thousands of dollars worth of clothes ...which now makes me ill to think about. I seriously need to clean again but this time my bigger clothes are going to my best friend...so that's OK! I'm glad she can wear them. I worked with a new personal trainer tonight and he is wonderful!!! I wasn't too thrilled with the other one that I had and was having 2nd thoughts about the whole deal. But "Rory" is great and I'm really looking forward to it now. He's been training for 9 years so he knows what he's doing and is very attentive and NICE. Not an egotistical sadist like some of them are. This last week was pretty painful working those muscles for the first time and going thru that initial soreness (with NO Advil!), but I'm hoping it won't be so bad here on out. Gawd, I hope not!!!

OH OH OH!! And I had an NSV today at lunch! Was trying on some new clothes (everything is BIG in my closet!!!) and instinctively went for the 16W's, which is the next size down for me. They were all too big! Guess what?? 14W's are just right!! That's a drop of 2 sizes so far!! Almost into the regular womens sizes!...maybe another 10#. Now THAT is gonna be one helluva day.

Hi girlz - In this book that I'm reading about how to break old habits and reach for new goals, it says that you have to KNOW GOING IN that you are going to falter!! This isn't the first time, nor will it be the last, that you graze all day, or eat kolaches, or have two pieces of cake! What needs to be done is to have a plan for what you will do WHEN you falter. Will you slide into an oblivious binge or will you get a grip and get back on the horse the next day? My calories have been slipping away from me the last few days (thank you, peanut butter). So starting today I'm making better low-fat, high protein choices until I see that $*#%&! scale move. No chocolate, no sneaking treats, and lots of water. What is your plan the next time you have a setback?