LeslieLee

Congrats on your terrific year! I also love your website and I am thinking that there is a little puppy girl here who might just be in the market for a few little gifts. She has been so good about getting me to walk in the morning..lol (gads I have created a monster, she starts yakking as soon as she hears me move in the morning now, doesn't stop till we go! lol )

That is AWESOME !!! Congrats on thebest thing you could do!!

Good for you Ginger!!! And you have already started losing!! That is so wonderful. I am excited for you too and I also understand about losing food, but I try not to look at it as giving up or losing anything (except extra weight) I try to look at it as finally getting a grip on being healthy!! Have a great summer and I am looking forward to reading your posts and watching your progress!

LOL okkkkk but I am in Alberta and I am payin! cause I am not waitin!... and I am not really an albertain... I am an import! -=chuckles=-

lol Stay away from the fudge!!! -=attaches a 20 pound weight to Argon's ankle and smiles=- try running with that!!! lol cause if you eat too much fudge that is what will happen and there go those new capri pants!!! You'll be runnin in a circle! -=winks=-

ummmmm.... lol Alberta??? I thought it was Australia???

-=HUGE SMILES=- Way to go Mandi!! I can't wait to see what happens when you start your new adventure in the world of Running!! You are going to love it!! Good luck with the Running Room!! Remember to ask about the return policy! It really is about living the best life you can right now and you sure are!

May 22nd... One week to go. wow, it is almost here, this time next week I will be laying in a bed trying to sleep. Wondering what the next day will bring. How I will manage with the anesthetic... and what ever other discomforts that are possible after this kind of surgery. I weighed in today and was happy to see that I was down 5 pounds since last thursday. I had gained a few pounds at least 2 in the week prior. I did enjoy two of my favorite resturaunts and just plain eating whatever I wanted. I guess I am lucky I didn't gain more than that. I kinda of figured I would not be losing a huge amount during these pre-op weeks, so I was and am very happy to see those 5 pounds gone. One more week to go. I am hoping for a smaller liver! Because that means I can have surgery and safely!! ~Goose News!~ Well George and Gracey are doing great! Today they were both out on the water just paddling lazily along. Kind of reminded me of the last few days before my babies were born. (They are 17 years apart) I remember taking lazy walks in the woods and spending time looking at my tummy and smiling. Talking to them both and telling them how much I was looking forward to holding them in my arms. mmmmmm those were good days and are wonderful memories. I also remember thinking that times like those would be few and far between once they came. lol and that was soooooo true!! Now I am on the verge of watching my youngest leave the nest just as George and Gracey will be soon enough. I will get new pics soon.

HI Susan, Glad to hear you are doing better and that you tried Yoda's recipe! I am looking forward to trying them too. They certainly make them sound yummy. I have to be careful when I read the posts as my mouth tends to water LOL. I noticed there was a warning posted along with the last menu..lol which of course I ignored and although I did once again have to wipe my chin I will be checking them out once I am able to! I am flying into TO Monday the 28th. I land around 10:30 or so. Then off to the Novotel in Mississauga. I will be there all week. I hear that the Square One Mall is pretty good. I am hoping I will feel up to checking it out at some point while I am there.

The optifast is going well I think. I don't mind the taste too much and with adding the flavourings I got (coconut and kahlua)and sometimes fresh strawberries or raspberries, it seems not so boring. Also those pre-op pickles!! Like they say variaty is the spice of life...lol I don't think I have cheated, unless I have somehow eaten more vegetables than I should have... I sure hope not!! Hunger does rear its head and I just tell myself "keep fighting! it will all be worth it... deep breath in.... slow exhale... there ya go" That is my new mantra LOL I also imagine myself wearing a size 12 pair of jeans and a t-shirt! lol without a roll around the middle!! I am getting my band in one week tomorrow!! so not many more sleeps. I am a mix of feelings most of the time... 8 more sleeps!!! I have to share this with you... my son came in while I was writing a post here yesterday and asked what I was doing. I told him and he said, "Add in that I am very proud of you and that I hope everyone there is doing really good." -=smiles=- so although you have never met Matt he is cheering for you too! Green, I will be getting my band done by Dr. Cobourn. I am excited to meet him next Tuesday! I am hoping to get a picture taken with him! -=cross your fingers=-

Hi Susan! I wondered where you had gotten to. I am so happy to see you back posting again. I am sorry to hear that you are struggling though, and as I am not banded yet I can't answer your question about damage, but I sure can say... you are going to be ok! Confession... lol ... is good for the soul and I am sure that you are feeling better having gotten back here and written. We are in this together so to speak! We all have hard times and difficult days but what we once faced alone we can now face with others who understand. It could be all part of learning how to use this new tool. Some things can't be learned over night. I don't want to come off sounding like some kind of motivational speaker or a goof, but here goes... this is a new day and you can start again on another path. Let go of yesterday and get moving with today!! Live the best life you can right now! -=big smiles and a hug too=- Be good to yourself. ps. George and Gracey say HI!! -=winks=-

Right on Miranda!! Welcome aboard! I am looking forward to being on the banded side as I am sure you are too! It is all good and only getting better!

So was this because you were overfilled? Had you been filled recently?

Holy Crap is right! That is a very scarey thing. I can only imagine how you must have been feeling. I am glad you are doing better now and yes it is a lesson that we all need to learn from. Thanks for posting and keeping us up to date.

Hi Mandi, The running room is a great place to shop for runners. (and all kinds of other things) I as well as a few others I know go there and for the most part the service is great. I say for the most part because problems can and do still arise even after being fitted. Last year doing the 60 k Walk for Breast Cancer I went through 2 pairs of runners until I found the third pair which was the charm. One of my team mates also had to try a couple pairs. One thing I recommend and they do it at the running rooms here in Edmonton is to wear them in the house for as long as you can and see if you can feel any issues coming up. I think you might even be able to wear them at the gym and give them a try on the treadmill running. The second pair I got I loved and they were great until I met a really long hill... going down... lol Waterdale hill for those who know Edmonton... Well we had walked about 20 k that day and Walterdale was the end of the walk. I felt great till later that night when I noticed that both my big toes felt kinda sensitive... needless to say after all the walking my feet likely were swollen and going down hill although I felt fine at the time caused a problem. A problem that resulted in the loss of both my big toenails.. They call it runners toes. Your toes bang into the end of your shoe and cause bruising and sometimes the loss of the nails. Long story short I had to go back and find something else to wear and it was nothing that they could have forseen, just one of those things. I did find a terrific runner called the Nike Free or the barefoot runner. I am now on my second pair and I have to say they are the best runners for my feet. I did the entire 60k (wore the tread right off the first pair) and I was one of the very few who got no blisters!! Well I did get one right at the end, 2 k from the finish but it was so small that it never bothered me. -=big smiles=- you will love running I am sure, and if you can test drive your runners a bit first it might just make your running even more fun for you!! lol Another book!! sorry about the long post... I don't always go on and on! ... honest.... really..... I can be quit quiet...lol -=rolls eyes=- I will blame it on being at day 6 of my pre-op and trying to find things to do...lol -=winks=- yeahhhh that's it! Keeping busy!

:help: Well today is day 5 of my pre-op with Optifast. Mostly I am doing fine I think, the hunger I feel is not horrible but last night for the first time my stomach was growling and I was hungry. I am trying not to over do the vegetables, I have a couple of pickles usually in the afternoon. I have put a few strawberries in my optifast and last night I put in some raspberries, but I am concerned about being in ketosis... How do I know if I am or not? Any of you optifasters feel hungry after four or so days of starting? What kind of protions did you eat of the allowed vegetables?

Go to Yoda's jedi journal and it is on page 52! -=smiles=- I hope it helps you. Both the Yoda's had there surgery at the clinic you are going to. The pre-op is a bit different from mine. I envy you being able to eat cottage chesse and yogurt!...lol I am on Optifast. you will do it!! you will see -=winks=- It's all good!

HI there marcar, So far I have been totally faithful. I keep thinking that I do not want to be told I can not have my band down on the 30th, nor do I want any kind of complication. Getting the liver to shrink is very important. It isn't easy I have times like right now when I am REALLY hungry but I won't give in! Have you read Mr Yoda's little post on his epic battle?? It might help you, and also finding something to keep you busy is good, at least it is for me. You can do it!! it is a very short time in the grand scheme of things and will be so worth it! Who is doing your surgery?

OH MY GOSH!!! Mr yoda you are making my mouth water!!!! LOL only smokes...sounds delish!!!

Hello all!! First of it is day four and I am hanging in there! The first few days have not been too bad all in all. I don't really mind the taste of the optifast. I sure hope I am mixing it right! lol I find it a bit thick sometimes but nothing I can't get down. For me the trick is to make sure it is good and cold! Yesterday my son and I went on a quest to find Davinci Sryups. I had done a bit of phoning around and found out there was a sweet shop sugar free and gluten free products down in Mill woods called Sweet tweet. What a cool place, not very big but very friendly and lots of free samples! Which I did not take but my son did and he actually really enjoyed. So he got sugar free cheese cake and marshmellows while I got flavourings! Last night I tried the kahluha with chocolate optifast it is was great! They had a few flavours in small 3 serving sizes so I got Raspberry and coconut too. I will try those today. Dame J ... I have also tried the chocolate with cold coffee and ice and I agree it is a great way to get it down! JLB... I tried your asparagus dish and it was yummy. what I am curious about and maybe you or Andrew can help me with this is just how much vegetable equal 225 calories?? LOL that can be a lot of lettuce! Andrew I didn't go too crazy on the flavourings but it was hard not to...lol I just kept thinking of your post and held back!! Thanks for that bit of wisdom! and ohhhh yes I love my pre-op pickles!!

ok I have to ask if anyone knows what those new little icons are at the bottom of our posts?? What do they do?

LOL.... I am reading your replies and my mouth is watering!! Thank you Yoda, Andrew and Janice for the hints on how to keep the optifast flowing! You are all so great!! Now to find these flavorings, can I get them at the grocery store...save-on, superstore, sobey's ?? I lead a boring life I don't think I have really ever seen them cept maybe the ones they use at starbucks. Hey can we have sugarless gum? -=big smiles=- Susan I am excited too... day one is going not too bad. I have been busy working out in the yard most of the day. Drinking and peeing like crazy today! ps...I also went walking to the pond this morning and one of the geese was there, not sure if it was George or Gracey. I hope the missing one is ok. Well it is time for supper.... hmmmm I wonder what I shall have????

Well this is it, when I wake up tomorrow morning I will be starting day one of my pre-op diet.... It seemed like this day would never get here and now it is just a few hours away. I just read Mr. Yoda's entry and was so very impressed by his account of what pre-op was like for him. I hope that I too can fight off the temptations. I am feeling a mix of emotion as I start on this new path in my life. Mostly I just want to be thin. I want to bend over to dry my feet after a shower and not have my tummy get in my way. To see the bumps and rolls fade into the curves I know are still there. I am doing optifast, so if anyone has some pointers/recipes they can share to make this next two weeks a little easier PLEASE feel free to add them here!!! This time three weeks from now I will be on the banded side!!! WOW! ps. thank you to everyone here for all the info and hand holding, for reassuring and encouraging. The support here is without a doubt invaluable!!

I have to say I was a little .... not sure of a word to fit the feeling... a bit sad a bit depressed a bit why does that always happen...lol when I heard about the bands that will be done here/ Calgary but then I remembered all those people will have to go through the weight wise program first and that can be a bout a year... or more start to finish. I am glad I am getting my band done at the end of the month and note waiting for even 6 months! Some things are worth paying for!

I am sorry to hear about your problem but really happy to know that Dr. Cobourn was there for you!! What happened? Did he explain why you were not able to get your Water to go down? Were you overfilled?