AMayo1

thank you for the encouraging words

Tomorrow is my orientation day, Since I saw my primary I have lost 9 pounds of the 32 that I am required by my insurance company. The blood work did not come back good for my cat. After a discussion with the Vet it has been decided that we will have her put down on Saturday. It will allow us time to say good bye and make her last few days good ones. She has been living in pain and the look in her eyes that she gives me. She is not that same cat that she was last year. She can not make jumps; she walks like she is drunk. Trying to give her medicine is stressing her out too much. It will be a sad couple of days.

I have not read it but I think I will download it. Will let you know my thoughts.

One step closer. I pick up my letter from the doctor on the way home from work today. Thursday is orientation night. From my discussion with the receptionist, they will schedule the first appointment with the doctor in 5 days of the meeting. I am thinking that means they will call me to schedule the appointment within 5 days if the meeting. That always confuses me. I am sure a lot more of my questions will be answered on that night.

I am surpised that you can not find the information else where. I know here where I live they are required to at least put the calorie count on the menu. I would do a google search.

that can be a sign of dehydration. Are you hydrating well before, durring and after exercising.

It's difficult dealing wiht the loss of a sibling. I know. But I also know that my sister would rather have me healthy, then persay make one of her signature dishes. I am sure your brother would want you to be healthy too. There must be other things that remind you of your brother and concentrate on those.

Great progress, keep up the good work. I am at the begining of this process. I have orientation this week and pick up my letter from my primary tomorrow. It is postings like this that give me hope.

The day started with a 10 mile bike ride through the back roads of my town. It was Beautiful. I then had to take my older cat to the vet. She is not doing well @14 years of age. She has bad hips and possibly diabetes. The doctor said she is in a lot of pain and possibly had seizures last week end. She walks like she is drunk and no longer jumps. She is started on pain meds today hopefully the hips get better through the week. If not next weeks check up will be her last vets visit. .

I wrote this several days ago and posted it on my other Blog Have you ever been ridiculed, have you ever been embarrassed. The last 15 years of my life has been very difficult, and I am not asking for anyone's sympathy but I just want it to be known. I know that I have no one to blame but myself. Addictions run in my family on both sides and I have an addictive personality. I am addicted to food. I have lost 2 sisters; my marriage broke up, one of my best friends passed away. I always turned to food for solace. In that time I have probably lost the same amount of weight that I currently weigh. I have 5 different size pants in my closet and 3 different sizes of shirts. I have exercised, done weight loss challenges, used Xenical, done the South Beach diet and starved myself.I no longer can ride rides at the amusement park, I can no longer fit in booths at restaurants. I have to shop in the big and tall stores. I need the extension belt when I am riding a plane also I cannot fit in the exit aisle seats. My knees kill me, I have problems going down stairs, and my back bothers me at times. My doctor tells me that one of the reasons I have reflux is due to my weight. I need to get healthier, I need to get smaller. If I want to live more then the next 10 years I need to do this. Part of what is spurring it on is I will turn the age my father died at in exactly 1 month from today. Again I know I have no one to blame but myself and I am trying to get better.

I blogged for a while previously on Live Journal under the name AndybearNY, but it has been awhile. I have started to blog again over there and I will be cross blogging between the 2. The title is the same for both blogs Many things cross my mind as I start the process of the new me. I have less than 1 week now till the orientation meeting. I am the type of person that puts the cart before the horse. I know I have a long road ahead of me and I am not even approved. I have started working out and started to diet. But then I wonder should I be doing this? From what I understand the group I go to requires a 10% weight reduction prior to scheduling the surgery. Is that 10% based on when I was weighed at my primary's office the day he referred me to the group, or is it based on the weight that I am when I have my appointment with the bariatric doctor. I always push myself too hard and I am also the hardest on myself. An example of this would be my bike ride. My first 2 days on the bike I did 30 minute ride. I felt OK, not great, but I decided to push myself and did a 45 minute ride. Well I became over heated. I broke out into a cold sweat and started to throw up once I got home. I need to do things in moderation; this is always an issue for me. Whether it is food, drinks or exercise, I tend to binge on everything. This is a habit I need to break.

Stay strong, I have a feeling that there will be many temptations along the way. You have to remind yourself as to why you got that band, and to not try and eat around it. I too am looking at this as a life style change, there are some things that I love that will not cross my lips once the surgery is performed.

I too worry about drinking water, especially with working out after my surgery. At this point in time with trying to decrease my weight I am trying to drink the gallon of water a day. It is nothing for me to chug a bottle of water in a minute. I am a huge wing fan, that veggie wings sound great. We do not have a Trader Joes in upstate NY, but when I go down to NYC I may have to go some to try them out.

Thanks for the Blog, trying to get all the info I can before I make a final decision.

I gues I am totally clueless. Where would I call around too.

I noticed the same thing my BMI is around 42, and it also says that my BMI is 35. It must be stuck at 35.

I just has something similar happen to me. I told one of my best friends that I am thinking of having the surgery. I did not get the reaction I thought I would get. I hope she comes around. Just remember that you are doing it to get healthier...and by gettig healthier you will be around longer for you to be friends.

How long do you have to wait before retuning to work if your job? I have seen that some people say 5 days. I work as a physical therapist and I need to be able to lift and transfer patients.

I like Yoga and I did go for several years, but as my weight increased, I became embarrassed to go. I found the stretching and relaxation techniques great for the stress of the work week. I have had difficulty with balance all of my life, being called a klutz many times (I think I have a minor undiagnosed issue with it) so I have difficulty with the poses. Once I get banded and get to a point that I do not feel embarrassed to be in a class I look forward to getting back into it. I think finding a good instructor is key, yoga should not be a hybrid Americanized aerobics class, at least in my opinion.

I like biking better then Running. For me it is a matter of knee and back pain. The compressive forces of running bother them, biking does not. I have not hiked in awhile and I hope to get back into it, but when I did, I did not seem to bother my back or knees. As was said above, bike shorts help as well as gel seat covers that you can buy for $20 at Walmart.

Because you like anal sex does not make you gay. It is an erogonous zone, some people enjoy having it stimulated. Just becuase a straight man enjoys anal sex with a female partner does not mean he would enjoy it with a male partner. The most improtant part about anal sex is being relaxed enough and comfortable enough with the partner so that you are not clenching down there. Not all gay men like anal sex,I have several gay male friends that are turned off by the idea of anal sex... that does not make them straight. So a straight male who can relax and enjoy it with his girlfriend or wife, would not be sexually stimulated or relaxed enough to enjoy it with another male. This topic has come up several times in Dan Savage's columns and podcast.

Thanks for the help, you guys are all inspiration for us newbies,

What is the policy on Coffee, in the pre op and in the post op? I love coffee so much that my partner is Colombian.

To the bears that have been banded. What has been the reaction in your local community? I maybe jumping the gun since I don't even go for the orientation until 2 weeks from tonight.

Sounds like a good idea. I promised myself a new tattoo when I hit my goal weight.