kyethra

I searched for a thread on this and didn't find one, so I'm starting one. What is a good brand of bathroom scale? I prefer the digital ones so that way I can't fudge that results and pretend the needle is really five pounds below where it actually is. But I don't want the body fat percentage stuff. Just a scale. I broke my scale again. It is supposed to hold up to 340 pounds. Nope. I originally broke it (by weighing myself) pre band at about 280. Then DH fixed it recently and it was working ok and it broke again, when I was weighing myself. I'm writing the manufacturer! I'm 100 pounds under the supposed limit.

Outlets. JCPenny Outlet online store had some good deals recently-- I got a few blouses and nightgown, and all the clothes were less than 10 dollars a piece. In blouses they had my shirt (Ok, I have this thing for 3/4 sleeve striped button down shirts (blues and greens) to alternate with my tshirts, but in all fairness I am trying to get a little more variety into my wardrobe. I now also wear hoodies and I'm considering branching out into tanks I can layer over henlys and long sleeve ts) and in my prefered length-- talls (I'm not even that tall or anything, but I have a long torso and big shoulders), so that was even better. Torrid also recently had some good clearance online and I was able to get some nice skull prints. I love skulls. Gordmans is another place that is good to shop for trying on clothes. They have junior plus sizes and while it isn't nearly as much variety as the plus, they have some cute blouses and their misses section is large. Some things that I haven't been as able to skimp on are jeans and bras. I recently discovered a cut of jeans that actually fits these days-- Levis Curvy Fit (529), which I got at Kohls. It was cheaper than it would be elsewhere there, at least. Lately I have been buying bras at Victoria Secret. I went with some friends last time and found one that fit and it works well for me and the salesperson was really helpful. Its comfy and helps with the back strain plus it keeps my boobs up where they belong, otherwise some blouses just look strange, like if they are sagging below the part that is supposed to hold the chest-- not that I can think of the term for that. Skirts on the bottom are nice (and cheap and easily adjusted-- I like Holy Clothing on ebay for long skirts and dresses), and in the winter I like leggings underneath. I need a new pair though, and because the couple inches above my ankles can get old I might see if I can find a pair a little longer. But those aren't usually expensive.

Personally, I do think it can make a difference. Sort of like goldilocks-- not enough, too much, there has to be something that is just right. My last fill was only .3 cc and that was back in mid October and I've still got good restriction. Talk to your doc.

This year I am going to make a couple of things for holiday celebrations-- some mini sweet potatoe pies and sugar Cookies. Mostly because I really like making cookies. Maybe a pie. I enjoy baking more than the eating these days. I throw things out eventually, usually half of the recipe yeild, but I don't mind so much. And these size 16 misses jeans are fitting well! This year I am not at all focused on food. Though I have been drinking more-- After new years I need to stop that :eek: But my best friend is with me this year for the holiday, she flew in from Boston where she is at grad school. She has had a hellish past few months-- she has colon cancer now. And a year younger than I am too! But she is doing great, doing some oral chemo which isn't so much fun, and on a mostly liquid diet, pretty restricted. So I'm making sure she is getting soup and tea and fluids down and taking her meds. And then in the evenings I go out with my friend and my other old roomate (my friend was one of my roomates before I got married) and maybe one or two other people. I find myself watching what she eats because I know what she is allowed and what makes her feel nauseated later and those things can be hard for her to resist-- I get that! Reminds me of when I had my gallbladder out, but she is doing pretty well as long as she has a nice comfy spot. She starts a second and last round of her chemo on christmas eve (so she is doing better in time for her flight back) and of course thats when we will be traveling and have family gatherings. I'm just going to make her food she can eat (she has lots of allergies too) and make sure everyone knows she isn't feeling that well. DH pulled up some pictures and I really am much thinner this year than I was last year. I look pretty good, comparing the two. How will I look next year? Hopefully hot, and great and be at goal then...

I think with today's standards its ok to have fun colored hair and facial peircings. Yes, some industries might not like it, but with others it really is ok. I have three nose piercings, for example, and I've been known to have oddly colored hair (currently I favor blue streaks). this has never negatively affected me employment wise, and I know of others with things like multiple facial peircings who don't have problems with work.

burn out. I've seen it happen, as a student. I know that it can happen easily, especially in certain categories, like special ed. I think thats a bad thing. And bad for the kids. While they are rare, some just aren't able or willing to work with those kids who are annoying/frustrating-- for whatever reasons. Also bad. I've even had a mean teacher who pulled hair and twisted arms. One told us we were all going to live in trailor parks. He was going through personal issues. Overall though, I'd have to say that administrators are the ones who really make me want to be critical. I could go on and on and on about the roles administrators play or don't play when it comes to supporting teachers, providing training, helping with school discipline, retaining good teachers, etc.

<p>I dislike shopping in general unless I know I will be going somewhere where I will be happy with the selections and choices and prices and so forth. I'm way too picky.</p> <p> </p> <p>I dislike crowds. I hate unhelpful salespeople-- they are worse than not being there. I hate a lack of selection, prices that are ridiculously high, and things being sold out.</p> <p> </p> <p>I had my wedding dress custom made I'm so picky... </p> <p>I would shop online more if I could try those things online. If the virtual model had saddlebags, flab, and cellulite, that might be an option. But they aren't customizable. They fit into things I wouldn't or don't into things I likely would. They have no crepey arm flab or horror, for example, and the body proportions, even with adjustments, aren't the same as mine. They are too like the sizing proportions or something. And sometimes I know just what I want, but I can't find it. Or I don't know but I still don't find it.</p> <p> </p> <p>I'm picky about fit-- I'd prefer things to get close to doing that. About color-- I can only wear just a few that don't clash with my own coloring or look bad on me. Then I would like to like things, things I enjoy or find pleasing. Quality has to be decent. Price shouldn't be prohibitive. So add to this the idea of fashion. Fashion confuses me greatly. I don't understand it or know how to learn about it so that I can understand it. This makes it even worse. Plus I'm picky about sensory stuff like some textures and fabrics and things. </p> <p> </p> <p>I do shop. But I'd rather not. I'd like to have a personal shopper or seamstress I think.</p> I should add that I shop for occasions, like birthdays or holidays months ahead of time. For Xmas/Yule, I start shopping earlier every year and I am done by Thanksgiving, usually well before then.

Unless its a small bag for some special reason, I tend to judge bags by book capacity. A bag must absolutely be able to carry a paper back book in addition to other essentials. If it cannot, then I have no use for it. I travel with books. Ability to carry a hardcover/larger paperback is a plus. Ability to carry more than one book is a definite bonus. In terms of design and aesthetic, I like green leather, and I also like things with skulls on them. I like a bag that I know will hold up well over time. Its so disapointing to find a nice bag and get attached to it and then have it end up dying on me. Of course I like other things as well. I can really only wear about three colors (blue, green, and neutrals) due to my coloring so if I want a bag to match an outfit that will go into consideration. I've noticed I tend to like hobo bags I think, and satchels. But really, a nice bag is a good thing. I don't spend much on my bags. My income is negative at the moment (student loans), so I just lust after things. Though I have to say the best pair of sunglasses I ever had was a pair of fendi's I got from TKMaxx. They were about 25 dollars and wonderful. I still think of those sunglasses wistfully... I want designer sunglasses. But I worry about the slippery slope. Because then I know it will be designer and other more expensive things like bags, etc. Though I do have my eye on a cute plaid bag shaped like a daschund. I appreciate fun bags. I don't like bags with those initials all over them. I can be surprisingly picky about things-- this is probably good when it comes to spending money. As I can only buy shoes that fit online, that helps with impulse purchases in that venu. I'm also fond of hats.

What do you love about your band surgeon and their practice? They care. When I got really sick after my band was put in and I needed to schedule a HIDA scan the office was wonderful. I had seen my primary care doctor earlier that week, after a visit to the ER, and I was having trouble scheduling that HIDA scan and I was sick and miserable and worried-- I had had bad health care experiences in the past. The office went and schedule the HIDA scan for me, and got me in right away too. And then my surgeon took out my gall bladder quickly. When I called the office because I wasn't sure I would be able to make it to the scheduled surgery they were also great-- they talked to me about which ER I should go to if I had to, who to ask for, etc. I was really impressed. And I knew that they all really did care-- I hear my doc say to the nurse at one point outside the door that he would handle the scan if he had to. What do you hate? Well I don't hate it, but I would like it if I could get in quicker for apointments like fills and adjustments at the local office, rather than the main office, quicker. And when I do have an apointment I tend to sit in the waiting room a while. What do we do well? I thought the nutristionist was great, as was the overall level of coordination. Patient education is done well. What could we do better? I know it can be hard to find a doctor for follow up care like fills and so forth if one had the surgery in Mexico or if one has moved. Thats a shame. What more could we do to help you succeed? Understand that people don't always think rationally. If I plateu or am "behaving badly" and maybe would benefit from comming in and talking to the neutritionist and others, those are some of the times I am least likely to come in, esp. if I know that I do not need a fill. Thats because I don't want to disapoint everyone, esp. the people who put the band in me, and especially after I did so well at the beginning. Thats because I think that maybe no one has to know. Maybe I'm worried they will get mad at me. Or, or something. When I stop to think rationally, I realise that isn't likely. That I would probably talk to the dietician or someone and learn something and get back on track faster. But I might not get to that rational point and the frightened me might be too loud. I suspect there are other patients like that, ones who maybe care more about what others think of them, ones who have self esteem issues, who are likely to stop comming in when this sort of thing does occur, or not come in and make contact soon enough. How could we improve your customer experience with our practices? Offer more information/interaction online, including papers and forms. Thank you in advance for the feedback.

I was thinking in terms of long term goals recently because that helps me get up off of my ass and not eat junk food, etc, for one thing. I think I'm going to give myself a date to reach goal weight/size by. For right now that is Mid August of '08. I reserve the right to push this back. I'm thinking this gives me a little over 8 months to lose a little over 60 pounds. Its 8 pounds a month. I think that sounds like a reasonable goal. I want to push for 10 pounds a month for the first 3 or 4 months of '08 because I'm eager to get established in onederland. Then the closer I get to goal the lower the rate of loss will get I imagine, maybe five pounds a month I guess, if not even less toward the end. I too find it helpful to remind myself of what I want and how I will get there. One thing I do to motivate myself is work on trying to learn about clothes now and bodies and so forth. I just subscribed to lucky magazine because I know it has a lot about shopping and clothes and trends and I'm hoping to pick up information from that. Does anyone know of any other good sources of information on that? I find many books on the subject matter that I have seen to be inadequate in addressing the subject of fashion for my purposes. They might be great for neurotypicals, but I'm not. I shall have to see if there are any books written for people on the autistic spectrum. I also try and remember to watch shows like What Not to Wear when I have time because I find that has interesting information on it. Of course its not necessarily something I could apply to myself, but sometimes there is something. I think it helps to build awareness overall.

I think the rules/guidelines on fills are a good idea. Before, when I realised I was a plateu I looked at them. I realised I didn't need a fill, as that is just fine (.3 ccs has been doing good since Oct) but I did need a behavior adjustment.

I'm a gym member. I like the gym. I haven't been laltey and I miss it. At first I hadn't gone for 2 or three weeks because I was overwhelmingly busy. Then I didn't go because I couldn't find my gym shoes. I still can't. I'm giving it a few more days. I think that if I still can't find my gym shoes at that point, then its time to order some pairs from zappos to try on (big feet) and get back to working out.

No, I don't, not unless I am sick and having trouble getting food in in general or there is some compelling reason for me to eat. If I don't get hungry for lunch, I don't eat lunch. Thats ok. Then I'll be able to enjoy dinner more. And usually when that happens it means I did something right, like have lots of Protein for Breakfast and take Vitamins. But if I start eating for the wrong reasons, then the band doesn't help as much as it could. Do I eat then because I get happy or sad? How about because I'm bored? Etc. Thats sort of like some of the things I did before. I eat because I feel hungry or a craving or something. Otherwise, i feel it is best if I do not.

When butts go flat... my butt is getting flatter too. Hips are as wide as ever, but the bum is flattening... Back in the day when I used to battle against the stairmaster I remember that would give me results. Of course this required 20 minutes on the stairstepper for 3 days a week. Flat butt, flat boobs... at least they match.

Yes, losing weight helps. But I must say that the more I lose, the more I worry about DH. I mean he could never keep up-- I have a crazy sex sex drive. We have beeing house remodeling type stuff. Including master bed and bath. We just ordered furniture for the bedroom. Our bed arrived. We now have a four poster canopy bed. I can't wait to set it up and give it a try. I've convinced DH to try a little bit of kinky stuff once we do get it set up I'm more flexible now than i used to be and thats nice for variety and so forth.

I'm not worried. I went through a brief moment or two when a hit a plateu, after I had regained ten poudns, before my last fill. But then I thought about why I wasn't losing weight and I realised, honestly, that it had to do with protein and also with behavorial issues and bad choices. Sometimes it gets easy to make bad choices and that become a habit, so you have to break that habbit. Surround yourself with good choices instead and then you feel good confidence wise too. I've never been in a rush to lose the weight either. I know I'll lose 100 percent. I'm still figuring it all out, so I might plateu sometimes and occasionally regain a few pounds and so forth. But I feel so different...

My gallbladder was removed six weeks after my band was put in. And yes, it was from the rapid weightloss giving me gall stones. I never even knew I had a gallbladder before... Then not even a month after the surgery, I'm sick, and it just keeps getting worse. By the time it came out I couldn't sit up for more than ten minutes at a time without throwing up such interesting colors and blood and so forth... and I hadn't eaten in over a week! Zofran helped for a while. Doc said it was absolutely full of tiny little stones. Nothing showed up on the ultrasound either. But I hear most aren't like that, they are less adament.

I adore my cymbalta. It does quite a bit for me-- takes away that depression, helps with pain oh so much, helps with sleep stuff too. Now that being said, I also want to say that whiel I have no side effects now, it was a bitch to get on/off and adjust in dose. It takes a while to adjust to. For me it was worth it-- your mileage may varry. Good luck!

Thats so sweet, celebrating like that. There are some great books out there on the subject. I had been on a plateu, but I finally lost a pound. Now I know a pound isn't much, but hey, I'll take it! Then my husband took apart the bathroom scale. A long time ago, months before my surgery, I broke the bathroom scale just by stepping on it. I cracked the plastic around it. And it was supposed to have a higher weight capacity! Anyway, since then it didn't work right unless something flat was on it like a board. So we've been using a small board. Works just fine that way. Its a digital scale and actually quite accurate. Would I prefer it hadn't broke, yet. Did I want my husband to suddenly decide to take it apart without telling me? No. So for over a week now I have not had a scale. And I won't have it for a while. My semester just ended a few days ago, but I was sick. Now I'm wanting us to get a lot of stuff done around the house which means I micromanage. So I mentioned to DH the putting my scale back together. he said he could fix it and so forth, but it would take a good couple of hours and he just didn't have time to do that now. Unless of course I would rather he do that than put of those shelves I've been needing in the laundry room. So no scale for now. I think that item will go on the shopping list. The new jeans I bought don't fit so well after a few hours. You know how it is when something comes out of the dryer, but then it loosens up, etc? Well once that happens they start to get loose and then after a while I can just take them off without undoing the button by the end of the day. Frustrating. So I actually went and tried on jeans at Kohls. I'd been avoiding that. It was so very confusing. What section, what size, etc. I ended up with two different pairs in 2 sizes from 2 different sections to take into the dressing room with me. I ended up with these Levi jeans. They are these 529 curvy jeans. Its a big buy for me for a couple of reasons. They are a size 16-- tight, but not too tight (though I suspect if I stand a certain way I could get the sausage thigh effect, but I think I will get smaller...), and still, this is the first time I've bought size since I was about 16... at least in jeans. And I can actually bend over in them without a huge gap in the waist band. They have this cool tilted waistband so its higher rise in back, desigined for those of use with more of an hourglass-- you know, wider hips with a relatively smaller waist. So that was exciting. Now if only there were different shirt cuts that took boob shapes into account... Or belly flab. I'm still about a 20, I think, in blouses, though of course my top measurements are exactly the same as my bottom ones. But thats the way sizing works... Its nice to go down in number. I feel like the dream size may be obtainable. I do think it would be somewhat frustrating, however, if I ended up being plus size on top, and not plus size on the bottom. (like a 12/14 or something) That would just make shopping for clothes completely traumatic or something. but I need to get down to those numbers before thats even an issue. And that means fighting the PMS monster and putting away the brownies and digging out the drywall tape to fix a crack in the wall-- i figure thats light exercise.

Yes, hello and welcome! Personally, I'm a big fan of school. I'm a grad student and plan on getting my Certificate of Advanced Study right after my masters is done (probaby in a year, maybe a little sooner), along with my teaching cert. Then I realised that other than a PhD there aren't any more degrees for me to get in this field (there is contining ed, of course). That made me a little sad. At those times I remind myself of my plans to get that second masters in another field... I can string that out by doing it part time for years

Really... And whats worse anyway? Age or weight, etc. I've been reading about pregnancy stuff a little bit lately because DH and I will probably be wanting to get me preggers around the end of '09. So that means, for me, at least, that I'd have to start dealing with all the preconception stuff in about a year. I know a year's worth of prep sounds crazy, but there are some crazy medical issues to deal with, including the meds I am on, and the crazy wierd health problems that are in my family. I suspect my genetics are too risky to use, and testing and egg donors and obgyns and a possible visit to a high risk obgyn... that can all take a long time. So I've been told a year of prep. So I'm prepping myself now for my prep (silly, I know)... I'd like to enjoy a few months at goal before a large belly. Then afterwards I figure I can things lifted and tucked. But is there ever really a good time? the "right time"? There are always a million reasons to put it off, and then the years have gone by and its too late.

I do really well on topamax. I take 150mg, divided dose (100 at night, 50 in am). I also take imitrex at onset, though maxalt has helped me too. If its a tension thing then I take flexeril or baclofen. Other things that have helped with knots in the neck include lying flat on my back and using only a rolled up towel under my neck for neck support and then having my head flat on bed. Heating pad on knots, lidoderm patch on them, etc. But yeah, sometimes you have to go in... They have zofran that disolves under the tongue for nausea. It works pretty well. I've had lidocain up my noise before in doc's office and that helped. Less side effects than demerol.

well I think my interview went well... I'll know in a couple of weeks. On alchohol. I like it. Actually, having the gallbladder out I think affects me the most in that regard. I'm now a cheap drunk. This can be annoying on occasion, but also nice. My tolerance is way down. I suspect I need to work on drinking more, more often to bring it back up. I like wine. I love partially flat diet tonic water-- I mix it with everything. I adore anejo tequillas. Especially corazon and tesoro paradiso. Margaritas are also nice. My most fav drink is good tequila with a bit of lime juice and some tonic water. I can drink carbonation, and I do, but I burp a lot, and I need to take it really easy after a fill. I recently bought myself a bunch of clothes. I didn't like the idea of clothes when I know my size will change, but I need some that fit and don't have stains or rips, etc. And I bought them all on clearance and sale. I got some shirts at JCPenny's at their online outlet for less then ten dollars. I have this thing for 3/4 sleeve striped shirts. I just love those-- don't ask me why. my "uniform" I guess. That and anything with skulls. Ok, so I probably need fashion help, but I find that stuff incredibly terrible confusion. I was able to learn how to do basic makeup in only one season and was starting to get a hang of hair-- those things seem more stable. But other than learning my colors (for me its simple. I'm a summer with reddish hair, and thanks to Henna, its now red. Since my dad was a redhead I've inherited the redheaded pale complexion, only I have just a few freckles. So I am very pale and pink. This means I can only wear three colors-- blue, green, and neutral. I can wear certain shades of pink, but quite frankly its too confusing for me to navigate the difference from nice to ugh, so pink is a no. If I try to wear purple, people actually sit me down and talk to me. Its kind of funny. And even I know better than to put on things like yellow) I wouldn't know much of where to start. I bought a pair of jeans. This might sound simple, but I haven't bought a pair of jeans not from Lane Bryant since I was a teen. Then after I got the band they moved out the mall and it took me a while to notice. Of course I don't wear the W cut anymore-- its too baggy in the seat for me. Of course the misses cut still gives me extra fabric around the waist, but I've got a serger to play with. So I had to find a place with a size 18 misses. Oh and I wanted it in a tall. Thats my new thing-- tall sizes. I discovered those when I got my shirts. I'm not that tall, but I've found it really does make a nice difference in things like sleeve length, shoulders sometimes, torso proportions (I have a long torso). I like things to be where they are suppposed to be. So I found the midrise flair/bootcut jeans with a bit of stretch I wanted as cheap as I could. I'll need to hem them a bit. So that means I gained what, an inch? oooh... still, it was worth it to try on a pair that actually fit. Made me feel good. I also got a skirt from Torrid, size 16. Some blouses they had on sale with skulls on them. Seeing the smaller sizes on clothes is a confidence booster. So is fitting into older clothes. Another thing I've noticed is that protein, my large unjury shake in the AM, is a big deal in terms of my hunger and eating habbits. My last fill was small, just .3 And its lasting... But I eat here and there and lots of bad things if I don't get my unjury. But with unjury I'm so much better. Obviously I need to work on my head issues and habbits, but I think I underestimate the role of protein sometimes. Ok, I'm off to school. I have the most fun in grad school. Honest. Today I volunteer at the children's book center. I'm working on a project about video games in libraries-- I might have to go play some. I'm doing another one on closed captioning and DVS movies and the advantages of them. The third project is on sex ed books. I'm looking at allegedly dirty pictures, and its all for class.

Cardio kickboxing is the best! Yes, I know I'm late replying to this one, but I used to adore that, I want to work back up to it too. Its great for stress relief. You just picture the person annoying you most and punch your heart out!

by new year I want to lose five pounds and get off of this damn plateu and start working out more regularily. I let academics rule my life, which is fine, except when I'm spending hours on end staring at a computer screen and skipping the gym. A longer goal is to get under 190 by March of 2008. DH and I are likely going on vacation then to England and Wales (with a day trip to Edinburgh I'm thinking) and I've got some old friends there I knew back when I was around 220, take one. Long term goal is to be at goal weight-- whatever weight it is that gets me in a size 12, by May or June of 09 because I'm thinking I might want to get preggers at the end of '09 start of 10 (thats a whole nother thread) and I'd like to enjoy six months at goal. In terms of fitness and health, one goal I have there is to try pilates again before January is over (hip injury prevented me before) and to start fencing again in the fall.