TerriDoodle

Cool! No, I grew up and live in Houston but we have the family farm in New Taiton and all my best memories are there. I still have some family in El Campo and that's where we gather for holidays.

How are you feeling now, Robert?

Well, I am officially not losing weight either and my restriction is all gone and I am getting hungry. I am having to constantly remind myself that I WILL one day get to where I want to be, but this is a PROCESS that takes time. Sure, there are people who post that they're losing steadily, but the truth is that 90% of people lose in "spurts". PATIENCE, DEAR ONES. PATIENCE.

.....and you're losing weight and I'm NOT!! I'm doing okay, but know it can be better. If Dr. Spivak's good to go, then so am I!!!

OMG! I called my doctors office and they said, "Oh yeah, you definitely need a fill!" Cool! I'm going for my second one in a week! May 22!

Wow! I'm a member of Unity too! That's very unusual to find ...it's a very small church! But I sure do love it! Laura - I have my wedding ceremony and vows text on my computer and many said at the ceremony that it was the nicest they'd ever heard. It was pretty 'generic' and nothing about "obeying" your partner!! LOL There also was a part where we lit a unity candle. I'll be happy to send you the text if you're interested. TO FILL OR NOT TO FILL? I'm not feeling much restriction again :youcandothis: I have a couple of long weekends planned in the next month with friends who don't know about my surgery. Should I get a fill or not? I want to be aggressive this 1st 6 months and can get one as early as May 25. Leave for my first trip May 31. Then another June 14. I would really like to have a fill, I think. When I posted on the "fills" forum I got one response that said not to do it because I'd be away from my doc. I guess I should call the surgeon and ask them what they think. I hate to be a pest, but I DID pay dearly for their services!

Well, no, not 'normal' in the sense that everyone has that pain, but some do! You must have quite a bit of swelling from the surgery. Drink some warm tea, it does help. Can you dissolve your meds in water or juice? Call your surgeon's office if you continue having problems...they may have some other suggestions. Are you taking your pain meds?

First thing you should do is check the setting on your camera. You want to take the picture in a "small" format with a "low" resolution. Most people make the mistake of setting their cameras on "large" and "high"....thinking that this will improve the picture quality. Actually, all it does is make it HUGE!! The small, medium and large format determines the actual optimum size of the photo...so if you have it set to 'large', it will make it poster size!! :youcandothis: The resolution can be set to low or medium. Low is fine for computer screen display. Medium or Fine should be used for printing onto photo paper. However, if a photo is sized large already (like Lunasa's were for instance), I copy them into PowerPoint and edit them there since that is the program I use most often and am most familiar with. In PPT I go to "format picture", 'compress' the photo then manually resize it using the click and drag method. So, that's how I do it. There's probably a hundred different ways to skin that cat.

Wow....BEAUTIFUL!! Just like a dream!

I'm 4th generation Texan... my ancestors settled around the El Campo area after leaving Czechoslovakia. What about ya'll? Can't imagine living anywhere else (except maybe Colorado...during the summer!!)

Weight loss does sometimes come to a halt after beginning an exercise program and that is the time to start measuring instead of weighing. Muscles retain Water while they are repairing (after heavy workouts/weight-lifting) and that is why the scale will not reflect your true progress. Before starting a program be sure to take measurements of your neck, shoulders, both upper arms, chest, waist, hips, both upper thighs and both calves. Take follow-up measurements every month. A few years ago I was 6 weeks into an intense weight=lifting program. My weight had 'stalled' but I persevered. I suffered a back injury and had to quit lifting entirely for a few weeks. During that time I lost 6 pounds in 10 days. Just shows you how much water I was retaining! A good program should include weights 3x a week and cardio 3-5x a week.

Laura - I coordinate special events for my company and I know how complicated this can get! Have you considered hiring a wedding planner? They are wonderful sources because they've got so much experience and know the good venues, good caterers, the good DJ's, the good florists, etc. They really are worth their weight in gold.....IF THEY'RE GOOD at their jobs. Ask for references, talk to the brides who've worked with them. They work on a sliding scale of what things they arrange....all or parts.

I started with a trainer last week and I can barely lift a pencil I'm so sore. Somebody please tell me it's not always going to feel like this!! I can't live this way! Aaaaaaaaccckkkk! .... especially since we're not allowed to take Advil, my wonder drug! :eek: :mad: :help: Oh, BTW, I've tried hot tubs, heating pads, stretching, glutamine, Aspercreme....nothing seems to help much.

See?? Isn't that the coolest thing ever??? Even when you think you've been eating like a total 'pig' -- you haven't!!! Gotta say it: I LOVE MY BAND! Just think that it gets even better after your fills! :eek: lctexas -- Gosh that is an awesome poem!! I sure wish i could get to my journal so I could post it there! Mdrai -- Best of luck with your liquid diet....take it one day at a time...one hour at a time, if you have to. Keep your eye on the prize. Wouldn't it be great if you could get a 10#+ jump on the weight loss?? LUNASA - How are you sweetie? Kat - sounds like an awesome trip!! Lucky you!!!! ....and glad you're OK, we were kinda worried!:phanvan

SARA - You'll do just fine, but I'll send lots of good energy your way just in case!! xxoxox

(((Pamela))) - I'm so sorry, Honey. Life can be so hard at times. I am glad you have your partner to help you through this. Those 8 years with your mom must have been terribly lonely and exhausting.

Yeah, that's the way I was leaning....better to be safe than sorry. Thanks Carlene!

I voted for Vegas because I love it there! DH would have plenty to keep him busy and would happily join me. Houston would be my second choice because that's where I live! The Galleria area would be perfect because there's tremendous shopping and restaurants in the area. Keep in mind that the best months would be Oct, Nov, Feb, Mar or April. The weather is usally quite nice then...a nice break for snowbirds! It's also a major air traffic hub which keeps airfares low.

Has anyone heard from Kat??? I'm getting a little worried....4 days since she posted.

I'm new at this fill stuff so I need some help deciding about when to get my 2nd fill. I can get my next fill as early as May 25th. But I have a couple of long weekend vacations coming up back to back shortly after that and don't want to be having trouble. I only had my 1st fill a week ago. Right now I am averaging 1000-1200 cals/day, having no problems at all. I've lost 1# this week, but also started working with a trainer so the scale is probably not an accurate indicator. I do want to be pretty aggressive during these first 6 months but don't want to have problems during my vacations either....especially because they're group vacations with friends, none of which know I am banded. any advice?

when I was at about your stage I posted a poll here asking "Would you do it again?"....out of almost 200 votes 92% said they'd do it again! That's a pretty darn good percentage, don't you think? I've only been banded since April 4th, but from this vantage I can tell you that it is an amazing difference in the way I eat and I couldn't be happier with the amount of control that the band helps me to maintain. Most days I eat about 1000 calories a day. On days when I really feel like I've "pigged out" and go count my calories, it turns out I've usually had maybe 1400! compare that to pre=band days when that figure would have been 2500-3000! Like tonight, for instance. We went to one of the finest restaurants in town to Celebrate an early mother's day. I had a glass of wine, 1/2 of a small filet mignon, about 4 bites of sauteed spinach, 2 bites of bread and 4 bites of bananas foster. That is about 1/4 to 1/3 what I normally would have eaten. I never could have managed that kind of control before. Never. What you are going thru is perfectly normal and we have all gone thru the same thoughts and emotions. You are so not alone there!

Stacey- you sound like me...so I think it's just a little too early to tell until you see whether or not you're going to loose weight with this much restriction. You DO want to eat normally, just not too hungry between meals or eating a whole lot at each sitting. So just enjoy it and obey the rules and see how you do in the next 3-4 weeks. If you lose weight, why get another fill?

Lunasa - still having issue with DH?? Are you okay?

Have you recently had acrylic nails?? Those totally ruined my natural nails after I had them removed...took months for my nails to recover and in the meantime I had a heck of a time with splitting, peelng and tearing. I think that menopause is also not nice to our nails. Here's some good info from the Mayo Clinic about nail health: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/nails/WO00020

I suggest keeping track of your calories and exercise at www.fitday.com or www.thedailyplate.com. You might be surprised to see how much you are consuming and don't realize it. I think most people's targets arre 1000-1200 calories/day...some have to drop to 800...some have to increase to 1400. Healthy carbs only and try to keep them below 75grams. If you want to lose weight, sometimes (unfortunately) you have to get a bit more scientific about it and experiment to see what combination works for you. dont get in ruts with your food, change it up constantly and see if that helps. Sorry....probably not the answer you were hoping for...but that's just the way it is. Best of luck to you all!