paula

We missed the show lastnight, so I didnt get to see the performances. But what a shock.... Scott is still there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What is the deal?

1. What is your first name? Paula 2. How long have you been banded?almost 10 months 3. How much weight have you lost? 52lbs 4. What was your favorite food pre-banding?hot buttered rolls 5. What is your favorite food now? nachos 6. Are there any foods you can't or don't eat? soft tortillas & anything really spicy 7. What is your favorite snack food? popcorn 8. Has your SO changed towards you in any way since you were banded?dont think so. 9. What are some of the things you can do now that you couldn't do before? cant think of any 10. Do you have any pets? What kind?1 bad dog & 1 huge cat 11. What would your dream vacation be if you could go anywhere you wanted? some place tropical 12. If you won a million dollars, what would be the first thing you would do with it? fix the bell system at our church 13. What are your favorite books to read? spiritual books & books on the lives of the saints - hoping that they will help me be a better mother and wife. Funny thing, none of the saints had a computer. hmmmm 14. What is your favorite TV program? American Idol & home improvement shows

Now its your turn to get the high five! WTG! See??? You were so worried about that stupid scale.

Gosh John, youre doing what we had surgery to make us do... eat less! GREAT job! You have a tremendous amout of discipline.

If your hubby wants to go - let him! The only reason mine couldnt come with me & because he had to stay with the little ones (babysit).

Yep! Id say you are now definately one of us! And here's a BIG high-five for that -30.... woo hooo!!!!! And to think, youve just started!!!

Hope you have a WONDERFUL day! Happy Happy Birthday to you!

Oh Babs... actually I have too many Funny, Embarrassing, Humiliating or Painful pb's to list any particular one. My favorites are the ones that you can predict and you have plenty of time to get to a safe place. The ones that are very humbling are those that just spring up on you... Im suprised that the older lady didnt ask if you were pregnant!

Yea!!!! Jamie, John & Crystal!!! Soooo happy for you! With great disappointment, I am honestly adding my 1 pound gain! all that junk Ive been eating is catching up!

Hi Debra! Havent had that happen, but I have had problems where LBT was running slower then normal, or hard to log into.

Theresa, Ive wondered so many times about how the band affects pregnancy. What a wonderful story. Glad it was such a positive experience! Like you, Im curious to know how much weight shes lost. (((hugs))) to the new little family!

Lets see, each surgeon has their own set of post-op instructions. I suggest you calling your surgeons office and asking them. The 'normal' rule is..... (give or take a few details) week 1 - Clear liquids (Water, tea, broth) week 2 - full liquids (milk shakes, creamy Soups - thicker liquids, anything that goes through a straw) week 3 - mushy stuff (pudding, cream potatoes, thicker soups - soft stuff) week 4 - another week of mushy foods week 5 - solids Hope this helps. Let me add that most of us here strongly discourage solids at 10 days post op. Please be careful. Just because you can, doesnt mean you should!

OMG Betty! Ill get Marcus right now & we'll start our praying.

How long have you been banded? almost 10 months What do you eat each day? anything I want - no tortillas, or VERY spicy/hot foods though How much do you eat? Usually a protien bar for am, bag of popcorn for lunch & too much to consider listing between 4 - 8pm. Do you eat sweets? ooooh yeah! too much How much have you lost? -53 Do you feel its worth it? Im going with Estela... somedays I do, somedays I don't. I truly thought the band would magically make me NOT hungry. But Ive realized that Im overweight because Im bored, or stressed out, or very tired - and these different emotions make me want to eat. So in essence, the band does its job - cause Im very seldom hungry! I just have to do my part - and find other things to do in emotional times other then eat.

Wooo Hooo Corgi!!!! -17 in 5 weeks???? I wouldnt say thats slow!!! Keep up the awesome job!

Hi Hopeful! several months ago I heard about Splenda being a bad thing, so I did a little seach on the internet about it. From my search, I copied & pasted an article on LBT that was the easiest for me to understand. Ill try & locate it for you & copy the link. There was some question on the arthur of the article, but basically everything I read via internet gave the same info. http://lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=3036&page=1&pp=15. Also, i want to add.. my mom used tons of Splenda. She was having so much pain - thinking it was arthritis - horrible joint pains when she would stand up & start walking, feeling so bad all of the time. She ran out of Splenda & went w/o it for a couple of days... guess what??? She felt like a different person - all the aches were much better. So she tested herself. Consumed more splenda... pain. SO? No splenda, no pain! True story!!!

Just wondering... How often should we have blood work to ensure us that our body is getting enough of all the nutrients??? yearly??? every 6 months???? never???

bandit - this stew sounds yummy. I love the 'fix it & forget it' meals. Kelly - country style ribs??? this receipe is too easy. Im definately adding it in my receipe book!***Im editing to ask what temp to set the oven on and how long do they cook for*** Mandy - Im so very serious, the taco one is making my mouth Water. I have to try this one! .... are you talking about the cheese & sour cream?

Hey Margo... welcome to LBT! I dont have anything to add or recommend. Just wanted to welcome you and tell you that you get a big LBT (((hug))) for doing so much investigating on WLS! SO many people go into this blind! Good luck!

Hi Karen! Welcome welcome WELCOME to LBT! Where in Texas are you from? (we have alot of Texans here)

My goodness.... already -10lbs??????????? WoW!!!! How are you feeling so far? And still no smokes?

wooo hooo Alex! A 14-16???? you go!!! Pat, Im like you, bigger on top (xl) and 14-16 on bottom. And Alex, you are right, this is getting to be a fun! Last Sunday me & Anne had a "girlfriend day" (what she called it) we both wore lime green shirts with b/j shorts... we went to Target and she insisted on me getting some PINK flip/flops to match hers - so we could complete our clothing ensemble. We had so much fun. But the most excitement was from the fact that we were able to dress alike!!!!!!!!!!! Wouldnt have felt comfortable doing this as a 24.

Christine, Welcome to LBT! Just wondering, where are you located in Texas? Are you close enough to the border to continue aftercare in Mex?

Hi Bobby, There are only a couple of things that are on my "forbided" food list. Other then that, I continue to try things even though the last time I had them, I was brought into a pb moment. My guess is that different things in our enviroment.... stress, allergies, lack of sleep, being too hungry, (for women) PMS, over exhausted.... MANY things determine our level of restricion at different times of the day! I know, weird, eh? This unpredictability is what has my mom and sister turned off - b/c they are both WLS candidates. How true! But whats really mental, is that when I 'recognize' this feeling, I still test myself and try to eat..........

Being sore is to be expected... gosh, you just had surgery. And your just 3 days post op! sick? what exactly do you mean. Are you nauseated? vomiting? fever? About gaining 3 pounds... have you had a BM yet? During my first week post op, I had a little diarrhea off and on. I think this is why I lost 12 pounds my first week, and nothing again until I had a fill. Hang in there... yes! It does get better. But remember, this phase is about healing. After your first fill is when youll start the real weightloss. Good luck & God bless!