DeLarla

So where are all the pics of these hot chick bosses? How can we have a contest when I'm the only one that registered with the required photograph of the nominee?

Neiman Marcas carries a cologne called "PHEROMONES" for about $80.00 but it doesn't have the mood enhancers.

OMG, I didn't think this would be such a funny thread, but I second Best PB and Best Looking Dude for sure. As far as best LBT secretary, uh, hello, where is she to tally all these votes?

You got it, Patti - the average weight loss for someone that has to lose 60 pounds would be about a 30 pound loss. But please keep in mind that we are ALL different, so some people might lose more, some might lose less. If you stick with the rules that your doctor gives you, you can lose all your weight sucessfully. My doctor explained the "Honeymoon Period." In the beginning when we are first banded, we are all afraid to break the rules. We have this awesome new tool that makes it hard to eat, so we lost steadily. But little by little we tend to "test" our band. Hmmm, could I try just one piece of candy today? How about a small movie popcorn? A little extra dressing won't hurt.... The honeymoon ends and good food choices become more difficult. However, many people are strong and continue to lose. I'm just telling you that Inamed (the maker of my band) has a list of statistics published, and according to them, the average person loses 1/2 of their excess weight by restricted eating, and the rest you really have to work at. My original band surgeon is in another country. I live in the US but I had my surgery in Mexico. Due to all my complications, I've been back to Mexico 3 times for surgeries, plus I've traveled to another state for my last surgery. I'm cooked, I don't have it in me to travel any more. I'm tired of spending all my money on band maintenance. I want to live a little, not just devote my entire financial portfolio to this band.

NJ Chick, how about another one of your games?

Salad is great, but sometimes I have fruit issues.

All votes must be placed by Christmas. I have no idea what I'm doing, so please don't ask what the rules are: I nominate: Cutest screen name: Wheetsin

Zoe, are you out there? Has anyone seen Zoe? What about Theresa Hagar? Hello?

Ya know what's funny? The guy next to Chris in the one pic is his friend, Craig, who is also wearing the same boring shirt as last year. At least Chris got a new boring tie!

OMG, YES! Well, no to the "Johnny Cash" comment but all he wears is black and gray. He's got 100 black shirts, boring. It took me years to get him in a silver tie. He's afraid of change and color. Sad thing is he's got beautiful green/blue eyes so anything with those colors really snaps. Where's the number for Queer Eye for the Straight Guy?

This was the first year we didn't dress to match. We normally plan our outfits but we flew back in from Texas in the afternoon and had to be to the party by 5:00 with a nice flat-tire-breakdown inbetween. Before we left for vaca I tried desperately to find a lime green or purple tie or shirt. Amazing - there are about 9 billion ties and shirts at the mall but not one electric green or purple one. Odd.

I sell Basic Instincts pheromone cologne from home or through my website, and I NEVER leave home without it. I add it to my bath Water, my body spray and hand lotion, or I dab some behind my ears. The kind we (Slumber Parties) carries also contains mood enhancers, so it makes me feel good. I absolutely LOVE the stuff. Jenna, he mainly works out of his California office (he & his wife own both firms) but he comes to Vegas regularly. Not only is he hot, but he gives fat ass bonuses and is really fun to party and dance with. Super nice, brilliant, great wife, amazing father - Wonder Man.

So here's my diet plan: Breakfast: Protein shake (milk, nana, low carb powder, Vitamins, fish oil, fiber) Lunch: Raw veggies and either 2 tacos, 1 slice pizza, Kid's meal, 3 Fingers or 6" Sub Dinner: salad with chicken breast, tuna or steak & vinegrette instead of Ranch Water, water, movement and laughter.

Patti, you have good reason to be confused ~ I tend to do that to people. First, if you look at Band stats, you'll see that the average banded person loses about 1/2 of their excess body weight by restricting their caloric intake. But then many of us start falling back on bad food choices. Even though we can't eat large quantities, we can still get too many calories from fattening & unhealthy choices. I lost 1/2 of what I wanted to lose, and now I'm slowly gaining due to eating junk food, snacking between meals, drinking, etc. I'm a rare Bandster since I don't have a port. I lost my first port due to infection (they had to remove it.) Then I got a new port, but that one also got infected and was removed. So now I could really use a fill since my band isn't very tight, but I've been through so many complications and heartache over my band that I'm ready to throw in the towel. I'm no longer losing weight, so the band isn't doing me much good. Since I was banded in another country, my local US doctors won't help me. I'm here to encourage people but also to let everyone know the truth. I don't sugar coat my posts because everyone should hear the good and the bad before getting banded. Nobody here will tell you that the band does all the work! The band is just a small tool to help restrict food, but it's up to YOU to stay away from goodies, fried foods, snacking, late night eating ~ you know, all the stuff that got us fat to begin with.

OMG, if Chris knew someone caught him wearing the same thing he'd burn that suit! Truth is, he planned on going casual this year till the very last second. But when he saw me all dolled up he jumped in his suit and wondered if anyone would notice. I told him people don't pay attention to what men wear!

Hang in there, it was almost 3 weeks for me before I felt human. Heating pad and pampering will help. Maybe get a spa pedicure where you sit in the vibrating chair for 1/2 hour.

Alex, it's your turn to duck from the flying shoes! And Kim, I'm right there with you and gave up on dieting long ago. But Dr. Billy said that I never tried a diet while banded, and the band might make it easier. I like the sound of the Med Diet since it looks like it's based on veggies. I actually know the answer to my own question, but I wanted to see if anyone was willing to at least give something one last desperate try. I want to weigh less than 200 pounds. I want to weigh less than 200 pounds. I want to weigh less than 200 pounds. The only way to do it is for me to know how many calories I'm consuming, and that involves a very ugly morbid word known as MATH. Jenny Craig & Nutrisystem won't work for me since I've failed too many times, and they aren't realistic. They call a dry sponge and teaspoon of fake tomato paste "pizza." I think I'll write my own diet and post it here. The Fast food Diet. Like a Protein shake for b-fast, a taco n' salad for lunch, a salad n' chick breast for dinner. Simple. Thanks for your input!

Terri, we need to start planning the bash more carefully so we can get it all in! I would LOVE to do makeovers at the bash! So you gotta show up really early next time. Is it summer yet?

My Christmas splurge shirt is lime green, and I LOVE it. It's a 2 piece with a little silk cami for under. But it sucks that even though I paid way too much for it, there's already little snags and sequence coming off. Damn, I might have to wear it twice then get a full refund! It's probably the prettiest shirt I've ever owned. As far as me hooking up with all the HOT men, it's called Basic Instincts. I never leave the house without my pheromone cologne! NEVER. Last night Bruno's wife (yep, married) couldn't make the Christmas party. I snuggled up close enough for him to smell my Basic Instincts and told him to pick the prettiest girl to pose with since Jill was gone, and he said, "Why can't I have you?" It's the pheromones!

I actually splurged on my lime green shirt from Nordstrom, and I LOVE it! I wasn't really looking for compliments though (well, yes I was, hahaha.) My point to this post was due to all the recent freaking out over erosion with newbies deciding NOT to get the band after all the hell they read here. Even though I'm currently "considering" band removal, I still think the band worked for me. I have not decided to have the band removed, but I'm starting to work on other weight loss options. So thanks for letting me toot my own horn and thanking my band for doing it's job. I DO NOT have a port. I never really had a port, actually. My first port was infected before my original wounds healed, then my 2nd port only lasted one week before getting infected and removed. If I had a port, hmmmm... one could only imagine. Thanks for all the compliments. I never post ugly pics of myself, but trust me that they do exist! I'm more than happy to help people with makeovers. I LOVE doing makeovers. I could make any one of you just as pretty with a little makeup and hair. Just let me at you!

Jen, I could use you right now. And YOU can use me. I need to start all over again from square one. I pick horrible food choices, terrible habits, bad, bad, bad. Right now I'm looking for someone dead serious to diet with. Phone calls, support, friggen weekend visits, whatever it takes.

"Feeling" your port doesn't sound like a problem. However, if it bothers you, or if it's red, inflamed, itchy, warm, hot or infected then you've got a problem. Sometimes people are so uncomfy that they opt for a port replacement and the doc is usually happy to place the port somewhere less irritating. But pulling, like a pulled stitch feeling??? That doesn't sound right. Call your doc, k?

I have two of the most amazing, remarkable, loveable fur babies in the world. I just lost my 15 year old sweet Kitty Milo to old age, too. Being overweight has nothing to do with owning pets because I know tons of thin people who are just as in love. Doctors and studies do show that pet ownership helps with stress. I've even read pet owners live longer. Cats are wonderful but dogs are more like people. My cat was the best companion ever, but cats are funny and come and go as they please, while dogs follow your every step. I miss my kitty terribly, but I have the love of my two dogs to keep me filled up with life for a long time.

I wish I had time to really dive into this post considering I'm on thyroid meds for underactive thyroid, PLUS I have Sarcoidosis, an auto immune disease. And YES my port immediately became infected. But if Sarcoid or Thyroid would reject the port, why didn't it reject the whole band? I personally don't believe my thyroid or autoimmune had anything to do with it. I think my surgeon did sloppy work or just a fluke. Donali, Karen, Michelle, Diane, Penni, Francesca, Karen, etc... all eroded. Did they all have my same conditions? Uh, nope. I'm not being mean, I'm just too busy to get fluffy right now, but I mean well!

I'm really excited about the red flower... every year I take couple's photos at our annual Christmas party, and every year the snots snarl at the camera and make me force smiles out of them. This year I made everyone pose with the beautiful red flower, and all the pictures came out really pretty. Here's our flower shot: