lizrbit

also reading..at night.."Hannibal Rising" Thomas Harris. i know...wierd contrast eh? by day the dalai lama, and at night Cannibalism at its finest. I guess i just revealed a great deal more about myself than planned...ha...

well...i think that naturally we have come to the next phase... care and maintenence of our hoohoodillies. weve started being naked and thats a good thing i love how it makes everything sensual, the brush of the bedsheets, breeze from the windows, love this one. so i think the next logical step has already been brought up (thanks sister faith lol) and lets see how nice we can be to ourselves in this one. Self Care and Maintenence: what ways can we care and maintain our bodies that are pleasurable and make us feel more feminine? You know how it feels the day we shave our legs, maybe we can up the amount of times we do that? maybe treat ourselves to manicure/pedicure/waxing.... IN WHAT WAYS do you care and maintain yourself that make you feel more feminine that you can share with us to try???? im going to start out small. im shaving my legs today, and i MIGHT make an appointment to get a haircut and have my eyebrows done (i have the MOST monkeyed up eyebrows ever. they are put on backwards) and i will inquire about a pedicure....i...may address the hoohoodilly area while attending to the legs...

shrinkin... hi... the first time i was banded i lost like twenty lbs or so, but since ive been rebanded i lost ten, then gained most of it back. i know i need a fill...this is referred to as "bandster hell" and its usually the first few months before you get enough gradual fills to get good restriction. This is when i usually diet and really excercise. Walk briskly thirty minutes each morning. it cranks up your metabolism for the rest of the day. bike ride, walk instead of drive anywhere you can. Just make your body as active as possible and tell yourself that its only really this tough during this phase. once you get adaquate restriction it isnt so hard, and your body will already be used to its thirty a day regimine and may desire more! also...FitDay - Free Weight Loss and Diet Journal go there and sign up for a free account, and log EVERYTHING you put in your mouth. again, this is only for this time when you are wide open and your body has healed so the swelling has gone down and the hungry has come back. it will pass with adaquate fills.

jack? whered ya go? COME BACK JACK!

hehehehehehhe....hoohoodilly....i know what ya mean. i used to do alot in terms of maintenance too..that..i just ..dont anymore. but i CAN shave my legs now! losingjustme, I am still in my 24's and occasionally the 22's works (pants size). Faith, One day..im going to go have someone else do it. :eek: theres a milestone.

Losingjustme!!!!! right on! at least you tried it out. Did it affect your dreams at all? (the week you did this?) Congratulations on the pretty panties and their enticement! Did he look at you funny, like, "whats up?" Now we know what works for him. Time to start collecting! i STILL have strange flying dreams most nights i sleep naked. ive had to start putting long gowns on from time to time just to get some rest. lol.

Faith! :::HUGS:::: congratulations and welcome to bandland! Your life is about to change completely, subtly, but completely

where i got that statement "no one has died from Lapband"...i Found it. it was from a lapband solutions site that i had read every inch of. The mortality rate and this information is at the bottom of the faq page. it reads, " What is the mortality rate for the LAP-BAND� procedure? The mortality rate is extremely low for LAP-BAND� surgery, less than 0.1%. Have you ever had any patients die? No, none of our patients have died." and the link: LAP-BAND SOLUTIONS Frequently Asked Questions | Weight Loss Surgery - Dallas, Texas but i STILL think...its dangerous to go with the "i heard of a girl who..." stories in regard to actual mortality...but i also think its important for people to know that there HAVE been actual deaths, because of the information I found that leads people to believe otherwise. Im STILL holding out for my surgeons response though.

sharon...do you need a fill, girl? I am coming back from having this on the back burner for a little while myself. go get yer fill, lets start again...

Faith!!! i know you from some other threads and CONGRATULATIONS!!!! i have the small ap band too! Fairy, i WISH i was at 211 right now. I started the same place as you. im hoovering around the 275-279 mark, but the last three weeks have been insane with work. id been working from noon till around two am every day, and saturday i quit. so...im looking forward to a more physically active week ahead the weather here is beautiful right now, makes it easier.

seriously? i didnt have access to medical journals when i looked into this surgery for myself. Im thinking about going back through and editing my posts where ive said that there have been none so people dont believe that. i did say from the beginning that "to the best of my research"... im glad the stats are in this thread..they should probably be posted in a new thread of their own too, MAINLY so that people who are thinking of getting this surgery have access to this information. Fab, would you consider starting a new thread with this information so that people can easily find it? Like i said, i looked everywhere i knew how to look, and could find nothing. this would have played a factor in my decision making and im sure could help someone else.

nume, this is great news. i also think its a step in the right direction. dont lose heart. this is a good direction forward.

thanks! so far though, by the time i buy a ticket to mass, i might as well fly to Houston. i get a break by buying way in advance. i have relatives in south texas and i try to visit them while im there, as well as just enjoy the gulf in galveston. Im originally from the southern united states and i moved here four years ago. I love maine this time of the year, but i hate the winters.

Kim! i live in northern maine, but had my band done in houston. Ive been looking for other bandsters in maine to connect with and perhaps share support.

its not harmful at all, all it does is wash the food out of your pouch, so you are likely to get hungry faster. try drinking BEFORE you eat or chew ice if you just have to have something after. Wait an hour before sipping on anything so that your food can satisfy your hunger.

Bamalama, I fly from Maine to Houston Tx to get my fills each month. I can TOTALLY relate to the expense...but i chose this, im glad i did...hang in there. if you want this bad enough, you will get through it. The pre op stuff is nothing. just get through it. once you have the surgery thefills are once a month and to be honest, a nice break. hormones are a b$tch.

yeah ive heard these conversations. I never felt like i had a disease either...i knew that when i was much more active, it wasnt as MUCH of an issue and that id go through periods where i just gave up. im not sure what it was, but it was/is beyond what i can regularly maintain. STILL... if someone would be so callous as to entertain that conversation in front of me, my response would be quiet too for a while to see if it would pass, then look the instigator right square in the eye and say, "F*(k You and yer opinion."

oh man yeah...im really private in person. I love quiet, probably because things rarely are day to day. i have a few close nutty people that have adopted me and let me hang out from time to time im grateful for them..but the last 20 years of my life was ferociously lonely, and the same lonliness that used to isolate me from the world now lends itself, dressed up and reworded into "privacy" and i treasure it. My job is public. my few nutty people i found through going to things that were interesting to us respectively..for me art shows are alot of fun, and i wind up meeting people very similar to me by going to them. (not to mention theres free booze and free food, but when your dressed up you dont talk about that so much) lol... Band support groups are another source im looking forward to meeting people that live with the band, again..similar interests. Look through the paper for announcements or even go online and google your area and "events" and see if theres anything that interests you. Coffee houses, book clubs, even taking a pm course at a local community college in something you are really interested in?

i just got 'The Art of Happiness', his holiness the Dalai Lama Fantastic in a way i cant begin to describe.

aubrie, no kidding on the trading places! i love northern maine this time of year, and for these three months, its better than anyplace i can imagine.... but winters bite. im starting to spend winters down in galveston...we really do trade places.

nume! you work and stay there, but have you ever gone..for fun? buy a book youve always wanted to read on the way, and just hang out and read? its not the same if the 17 yr old is there, BECAUSE she needs you. (i have a 22,18,14 array, all boys) that doesnt qualify as "a break" if your still being put into a role while you are there, you know what im sayin? i mean..to really get away. Plan fun things for yourself to do while you are there. Things you dont do now at home, for whatever reason. Things that dont require anyone else. i still think, that if you just tried sleeping naked, you would at least feel more luxurious and rebellious when you woke up, than you usually do. Since hes asleep or downstairs, he wont bother you. :scalesno: light candles, read, study yourself in the mirror, make promises to yourself to be kinder, to try to do something that week that only YOU want, that involves NO ONE ELSE. if you do try it, i think its important to not have any expectations. If he ignores you well so be it, its his loss. I bet money that he will at least look at you with his head tilted to the side and go, "wha?" in the worst case (then just keep reading your book or doing the mirror thing and dont explain. it will stick in his head all day what the matter with you is, much more so than if you screamed at him), and in the best case....well...you know... seriously, that audio book (or the book book) 'the art of happiness' from the dalai lama has some excellent insights into this. i just started it tonight. Love this perspective.

i think the differences in the standpoints, is that chickie has gotten her body used to working out rigorously, which helps a LOT with the grazing and appetite control and shes used to being filled to adaquate restriction. Im a doover. and currently in bandster hell. I 'had' great restriction when i first started solids cause of the new band, and a slight fill in it at operating time, but im healed now and hungry a LOT... heres what i know.... a) get a buttload of those special k protien bars, they actually stay in place for a while. :scalesno: i lay my fork down too, breathe, talk, count to ten, ask myself if i can live without half of what im eating c) CRUNCHY NATURAL Peanut Butter AND JUST FRUIT NO SUGAR JELLY..if absolutely starving and you KNOW youve eaten all the food you are supposed to, go get a small plate, and put TWO TABLESPOONS no more of each on it, a small baby spoon and sit with it nursing it. it will definitly curb your hunger but be careful because peanut butter is very high in calories, although its good for you. get the natural kind its even better. d) DO NOT DRINK WHILE YOU EAT, even a little. DRINK BEFORE you eat, like when the food first comes out, it forces me to wait to eat, and im not so ravenous when i do. e) GET you some small baby spoons, and small plates. it really does help. f) if eating out, give half your food to your friend, or order off the senior menu. portions are less and your less likely to be tempted. g) i hate this one, i used to love it, and i will again, but right now i hate it and its true and shes ABSOLUTELY RIGHT that IF YOU EXCERCISE IN THE MORNINGS..even if its only thirty minutes a day...you will increase your entire metabolism for the entire day. BRISK WALK, or TREADMILL for thirty minutes. Plan an ipod mix that lasts thirty minutes that you can play and change it once a week to keep things cool...but theres no getting around it. 10) Dont be discouraged we ALL go through this, even those long timers who might not remember this stage. Its called bandster hell for a reason, and once you get adaquately filled it will be MUCh much better. so...develop good habits, listen closely to your doctor, walk thirty minutes a day, (remember what i said about peanut butter) and know you arent alone.

Aubrie, I can TOTALLY RELATE to your goals as if id written them myself! im still relatively new in this since being rebanded, but i wanted to put where i was with these goals, since mine are SO similar. i dont share your love of canoes or kayaks though 1. getting in a canoe or kayak with my husband to go fishing I can do this NOW!!! (couldnt before 2. fitting in a movie theater seat without the armrest up Still cant do this. but even when i was thinner, i have really wide hips. Its just not as embarrassing to ask for a seat extention as it used to be. 3. getting the seat belt on an airplane to fit and buckle safely I know this embarrassment, As of about thirty lbs ago, its no longer an issue :scalesno: 4. reaching to clean myself appropriately Can do this now!!! 5. walking upstairs to our guestroom without being completely winded I used to kid that i should just take a handful of whatever i was eating and just smear it across my boobs since it would wind up there anyway. Not such an issue anymore. 6. not having to lean over to drink out of a glass with a stem because my boobs are in the way Still do that. wish i didnt. 7. not covering my double chin with my hand when my picture is taken always did this, just not in public, still not brave enough to do it publicly..maybe seventy more lbs down eh? 8. dance the night away like I used to I will probably still do this even after i lose another 100 lbs. 9. not snoring worse than my husband This never goes away. Later it will be for other reasons, but it never goes away. I just assume theyve never seen anyone my size so ABSOLUTELY gorgeous. :scales: i keed...but you know what i mean? 10. not being paranoid about what people are thinking if I catch them staring This one is getting better. im even back into some old bras ive insisted on keeping from 'the old days'. 11. my bras lasting longer instead of the wires popping out because of the added weight Did this fairly recently. i like stretchy silk in multiple colors 12. buying pretty underwear instead of basic white or black Do this all the time now. 13. wearing short sleeved shirts again i still do this. but its because im extremely clumsy and my shoes dont fit well. 14. not bruising my arms walking through a narrow doorway to quickly not quite there yet. 15. not having the steering wheel touch my stomach Tried this last week, we laughed a lot, it will happen eventually, just not last week. 16. being "on top" for a change yeah me too. 17. enjoying walking the mall again and going shopping STill have some trouble even shaving my legs, BUT I CAN NOW!!! 18. painting my own toenails i can sit on the floor now. 19. getting down on the floor to play with my dog Yeah me too. 20. Crossing my legs. Oh yeah definitely. i just havent gone to the hair place in a while. 21. Wearing my hair how I want. oh hey btw..im in maine. I live in Presque Isle.

marimaru, i dont think anyone on this thread thinks that way about our marraiges. i dont know anyone who (besides maybe your sister? :scalesno: ) , on the day they were married, had even the slightest thought that it wasnt going to be "forever". people do change. the person you are right now, might not be the same person who walked down the isle. you KNOW him alot better for one thing. he knows you too. i dont know anyone that honestly looks forward to divorce, or anyone whose gone through one who sees it as an easy way out..its just that sometimes people get to the 'end of their respective rope' and that door starts to look damn good. weather its the door to a clandestine relationship's house, the door to an entire new life by yourself, or the door to a much needed break. those doors start to look tempting. i envy those people who are so well grounded theyve never noticed them. I think when we walk down the isle, thats what we think we will be, one of those fortunates. I hopped back onto here because im listening to a new audiobook while im working (its not new to the rest of the world) but theres a chapter in there about intimacy in marraige and im listening to this and saying "wow, i wonder if anyone else on our thread has heard this" ...and... heres where i scare everyone off ... the name of the book is called "the art of happiness" and its by his holiness the Dalai Lama. its the third chapter in. (you can get it on itunes, and its ten dollars) you dont have to convert. I think its pertainant to what we area talking about and offers some really great insight into our respective situations.

my icon was taken during that time. thats me in galveston, about thirty lbs heavier than i am right now.