DeLarla

I come here and just feel better and better. And better and better. Every time I think I should take a break from LBT, ya'll say the most incredible things to me. It's all you gals and your compliments that got me to this point of acceptance. I'm so proud of us. And as soon as I get that science award for my theory of Delarlaism (bits of burrito flew out my nose with that one) then I'll have the resources for research and development of the ability to direct the fat on command.

I still believe and support and praise the band, but now I can let go of this huge sigh of relief knowing all you awesome people feel just as beautiful. I'm sticking with my own theory (still waiting for a science award on this one.) But the world has to weigh a certain amount, so any and all weight we lose gets piled onto other poor unsuspecting skinnies. If I keep losing, my friends have to get fat (sorry, but this theory doesn't allow us to direct the fat only to our enemies.) So, we are saving Earth from spinning off its axis and flying into another galaxy. We are super heros!

According to statistics, I am the perfect Bandster. Stats show that the Band will help you lose 1/2 of your extra weight, which is exactly what I did. I made it down to 243 at one point, but now I'm staying right around 250 no matter what I do. I've watched "normal" people, and I'm eating like a normal person but maintaining at 250. I've been eating really well lately, but the numbers don't go down. I'm convinced that Mother Nature and the Angels and the Earth and the Powers that be want me to weigh 250, because life shouldn't be any harder than it already is. Sure, I could measure 2 ounces of tuna on a celery stalk and lose more weight, but for today I am a beautiful, plus-size 250 pound gal that eats much slower, much smaller, and much healthier than I have for a decade. I've maintained an approximate 65 (SIXTY-FIVE) whopping pounds of fat loss. That's incredible. Just for today, I accept who I am. Most of you will think that 250 is way too heavy, but let's remember that I'm a giant at 5'10" tall, so 250 to me is like 200 to you. Would anyone like to ride along with me on the Acceptance Train?

Hi Sonnie, something tells me I'll be in the same boat as you within the next year. I know how devastating that will be, but the only way to succeed is to try. You gave it your all, and you'll never be a failure. Would you mind sharing the exact reason the band had to be removed? Was it erosion, slippage? Who was your surgeon? A certain percentage of banded people run into complications, and I'm really sorry it had to be you. Peace n' love. As far as weightloss, my Band Buddie lost her Band last year and is still doing remarkably well on her own. Another one said even though her Band was removed, she still feels a little restriction from time to time. Keep your good habits, don't go back, and things will work out the way Mother Nature intended them to.

There's no way to answer that since we all heal differently. Most people heal pretty quick and are back to normal in a couple weeks. I, on the other hand, had an open wound for 8 months and never healed at all. Most people get their ports fixed and move on, while I had two port removals already. Just plan for the worst but HOPE for the best. I've always had a black cloud, so I'm sure you'll do great.

And those furry bellies are darling, too. Nothing like a puppy! And thanks for telling me what a yurt is. Daddy, I want a Yurt. BUY ME A YURT, NOW!

All I can keep saying is WOW WOW WOW. T-girl, you are darling! You look so tiny in that boat, and your new avatar was worth waiting for. Seriously big congrads to you. You're glowing. Hey, pregnancies come in threes, and there are two other Band babies on the way... why are you glowing?? HAHAH, JUST KIDDING.

I was apparently confused the first time around, let's try this again: I need to make a sentence out of IWTBS, which is: Isn't Willy the bigest silly? (You gotta know Willy the bartender to get this one.) Now you make a sentence out of POOPY

Boy oh boy do I know your pain, sister! That happened to me ONCE only when I took a drink too fast from a frozen margarita. But that was pre-band. It's like an esophogeal-brain-freeze thing. Awful. Just sip slowwwwww.

I hate vanilla so I just tried plain soy milk. I hate when people wear vanilla scented stuff, or vanilla scented candles. (Funny, I have no problem when it's baked in cookies though.)

Why was the old "Liquid Vitamins" post closed? Anyway, just wanted to share a good one. My friend's mom owns an herbal store, so my friend is always pushing weird herbs n' junk at me. I usually don't use them, but she just gave me a bottle of liquid Vitamins that actually tastes really good, like thick mango syrup. It's called Floradix. I keep it in the fridge and add it to my morning shake to sweeten my shake. But I also take it alone sometimes, and it really goes down easy. It's like thick fruit nectar with just a hint of that vitaminy taste. Pretty good stuff. I prefer it over my new chewable Viactive vitamins.

I got some rice milk. It's good - sweet and very light. I prefer the rich, creamy soy milk, but I think I'll alternate between milk, rice milk and soy milk for variety and to be on the safe side. My husband always makes fun of me because I mix everything up, so I'm using up the 2% milk by adding it to my new rice milk. The bottom line is I still LOVE soy milk, which really shocks me.

Thanksgiving. Would you rather live on the Moon, or in the ocean?

Tina, I'm not the one that coordinated hotels so you'll have to click through these pages or wait for someone else to respond. I think several people have reservations at the same place. Next week I'll start a new thread. For now, I have kept "my end" of the itinerary very simple because last year I burned my candle from too many ends and turned into a major stress freak. This year's itinerary is the same as last year: Friday night is dinner at Buca di Beppo. I'll pre-order the menu (I did this last year and everyone loved it.) It came to less than $15.00 per person, but everyone has to pay for their drinks separately. Most people showed up an hour late, but nobody went hungry (there's no way to go hungry at this place.) Saturday everyone showed up at my house around noon, though I was ready much earlier. A few of us went to the market, and the rest of the day we all cooked, laughed, drank, swam, played a few games, had a white elephant exchange, had a clothing exchange. Nothing was organized but we all had a blast. Other than dinner and the actual party, everyone kind of grouped up and did their own thing. Vegas is fabulous, so if you've never been here, don't try to plan in advance because the minute you see the lights you'll get hypnotized and will want to do 100 other things. This year I've asked for volunteers to organize the clothing exchange, White Elephant Exchange, a couple games, new ideas… Nothing major, but just a little structure so nobody misses out. One thing that was so special was almost everybody left with some kind of souvenir to remember the awesome time. Penni passed out "Winner" necklaces and Donali passed out cute German goodies in addition to gifts exchanged in the White Elephant game and clothes from the exchange. It's not my bash, it's YOURS, so wear a funny hat if you have to, but bring anything you want or nothing at all. Once again, I've had differences (okay, fights) with several people that want to avoid the Bash because of it, but I really hope we can put those issues aside. Don't show up for me, show up for you and your friends, and make some new ones. We don't have to be warm and fuzzy, but don't miss out on this over my big mouth. Water under the bridge. Bygones. Party on, Garth!

Great, now I'm horny.

Here, read another trashy book. LARLA

Well, I really will be selling remote control panties, if you can imagine that! But none that have the electrical shock for torture (uh, kinda the opposite.) I guess anyone coming to the Bash will know the rest since I don't have enough closet space to hide everything. Just don't open closet doors if you don't want to know the rest! But honestly, I won't have room for any more clothing exchanges after this year - things are getting a bit cramped.

Kari, sorry I missed the beginning of your journey, but every day gets better. It really, really does.

CWTBB - Can We Take Bubble Baths? IHTFN P.S. Why the HECK didn't someone PM me and tell me I'm missing out on such a fun game? Hoyveh (sp?) with the poodles already!

P.S. Now please pass me the moon.

I call my band, "Buddy." I never leave the house without a friend. I guess the reason I stay so cheerful is because I cry when I need to cry, and I laugh when I need to laugh. Needless to say I either cry or laugh or cry and laugh, or cry while I'm laughing, or laugh while I'm crying EVERY SINGLE DAY! Somewhere in the journey of life I developed a sense of humor. I used to live in gloom and doom and point fingers and blame people for my unhappiness while wishing somebody would show up and make me happy and improve my life. Then one day Abe Lincoln kicked me in the ass. I saw a small quote of his, and now I live by it. "YOU ARE ONLY HAS HAPPY AS YOU MAKE UP YOUR MIND TO BE." Abe Lincoln.

Every doctor has different rules. When I got my band, my head was spinning from all the different opinions of what I should or shouldn't eat the first few weeks after surgery. I put all the suggestions into a blender along with the rules my doctor gave me and the rules from all the other doctors and came out with the following: Week 1: clear liquid, Jello, tea, popsickles, broth, apple/grape/cranberry juice. Week 2: cream soups puree'd in blender, thick juices, nectars, V8, milk, Protein shakes (no bits of food, puree.) Week 3: Mashed potatos, cottage cheese, baby food, liverwurst, refried Beans with hot sauce, anything mushy.00000000000000000 Week 4: Start slow with one real food but chew chew chew, slow, slow. If it goes down okay, add one new food at a time so you know what you can tolerate. Naturally, try the softest things first like fish, chicken, steamed veggies, etc. Easily summarized, one week of clear liquid, one week of thick liquid, one week of mushies, then start trying new foods one at a time.

But if all else fails, I sell lingerie with lots of Queen Sizes to chose from. But let me kind of double-quote the wise Vine, it doesn't get any more intimate than sharing your vagina. Start off in something sheer and sexy, which will end up flung onto the ceiling fan, which is about as much attention as the scars will get once he gets hold of your fun parts.

If you are still looking for an answer, instead of being worried about your scars, he should be worried about that funny looking twig and berries and his hairy back. We all look weird, especially naked. My hubby has a hot butt, but he's got scars and bumps and barnacles. Nobody is perfect so if he's into you, then he's not going to care about scars.

According to my original doctor, NO SNACKING. But then I started seeing a new surgeon, who told me to buy a book called Picture Perfect Weight Loss. I'm not telling you to buy the book, but just to be aware of caloric values. It sucks, I know it does. Even the smallest bite of fudge or a simple cookie can carry more fat than 5 pieces of fruit. If you have to snack, do some price comparisions to see the differences in calories. I haven't finished the whole book, but before I started reading it I'd snack on anything and everything. One thing that popped out in the book is I could either have one corn muffin or an entire pineapple, an entire melon and 2 small wheat rolls. Another picture showed a poppyseed roll as a much, much lighter alternative. Now when I'm hungry, I grab 1/2 poppyseed roll with a smear of Peanut Butter. Maybe that's not a good snack for some, but it beats the hell out of a bowl of ice cream, chips or Cookies in the calorie department!