Zoe

DeLarla, you did the right thing. And I think you're right: there's nothing more you can do. With luck, the parents will care enough to check animal control, and they'll get to speak to someone more thoughtful than the shelter worker who called Molly. Get your pets microchipped, everyone. Kinda wish we could do the same for kids.

It's a miracle that my parents didn't send me to the Schick Center. I'm sure they would have if it had been in our area. I went to the University of Wisconsin Medical Center to eat nothing but Jello and Fresca for a week, which was bad enough. . . but at least no psychological torture was involved (other than pure deprivation). Oh Kare, how horrible! Any old-timers here who remember liquid Protein in the early 70s? That stuff was vile. The theory was: if you fast, you lose weight, but your body starts destroying its own protein, so why not consume only low-calorie Liquid Protein, about 300 calories a day? I lost a lot of weight quickly, although I was very lightheaded and weak. Of course, I soon regained every ounce, and then some.

Tell us more! Were you on one very loooooong trip, or have your jammies made a number of journeys? And who are your travelling companions? Looks like fun.

Jack: FYI, a stone is 14 lbs.

I couldn't understand all of it, but I was giggling at the bits I could figure out: "If you're a fat bastard, just be a fat bastard."

With all of you 5'10" women around, I'm feeling kinda stumpy at 5'9"! Well, DeLarla, once again you've said what I've (sort of) been thinking. I'm hanging around 198-202 lbs., and while I'd like to lose more, I can't help but look back on where I was a year ago and shouting Hallelujah! Sixty-five pounds gone! My current thinking? If I'm going to stay this size forever, that's OK. I'm actually ahead of the curve -- I needed to lose about 100 lbs., and I'm about 2/3 there. When I can get past my ice-cream jones I'll lose more weight. I am not burning my bras. I injure my feet enough as it is.

You have got to come to the Midwest, DeLarla! Specifically, Wisconsin, home of frozen custard. No, it's not a dish of gooey puddingy stuff thrown in the freezer, it is super-rich ice cream and it is wonderfully evil. It probably doesn't appear in the book you mentioned because it's a regional thing. . . and pictures would just give people ideas about having to get some, pronto.

Pam, that's pretty much exactly what I've been going through. Our stats and band dates are very similar! Mind you, I'm not complaining. Life at around 200 lbs. is a lot easier than life at 260-270, that's for sure. I'm just tired of wearing the same two pairs of trousers over and over again, since I don't want to get a whole new wardrobe until I'm smaller.

I think everyone here already knows the staying power of the fat demon. I wasn't addressing new bandsters (like Kare) nor about-to-be bandsters (like Mercedes and Carrie); make no mistake, the band does work big time for most of us. Just look at the weight-loss stats from most of us on LBT! The thing is, after you've been banded for a while, the novelty wears off, and the initial significant weight loss slows down. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it is a reality for some of us. Do the not-so-great things about the band outweigh the good? I don't think so -- far from it. And I certainly don't regret my decision to get banded. On the contrary; it was one of the best things I've done for myself. But that rah-rah sentiment aside, if you're a bandster who's feeling less than 100% gung-ho all the time, I think it's good to be honest about it. I can't speak for DeLarla, but I offered my initial post (and this one) not to request encouragement nor to discourage others, but just to relate my own experience.

Hmm... that "honeymoon period" sure rings true to these ears. I think I have Lap-Band fatigue. I'm fed up with all the chewing, and I'm kind of bored with all things having to do with the band. Sure, I'm delighted that I've lost 65 lbs. and kept them off, but the last 35 lbs. seem to be having fun sticking around, and I haven't been able to chase them off the property. Some of my attitude is probably a normal reaction to a long-term change in eating habits, some is plain old boredom with routine, some is just plain orneriness on my part. Is anyone else out there going through this, besides DeLarla & me?

Hey, anyone in Bandland -- how about starting a list of mushy foods for people slugging through that phase of post-surgery life? Here are a few pan-ethnic suggestions that may be beyond super-obvious foods likely to be on every doc's recommended list; I use "ethnic" loosely, to describe anything past applesauce and cottage cheese. Please add on suggestions. Note that this is not a prescription; your doctor may not want you to eat some of these foods. When in doubt, ask. Middle East: Hummus, soft fresh feta cheese, baba ganoush. Italian: Polenta, Pasta & plain sauce, garlic/olive oil, pesto, or (gasp! calorie alert!) creamy Alfredo sauce. The pasta should be pretty soft; al dente purists, skip this. Also, if you can handle cheese, the inside of a stuffed pesto pizza -- no meat, no veggiees -- is to die for. This is a Chicago specialty that's caught on in some other places. And let's not forget gelato and cannoli filling! Mexican: Outside of tamales (masa), guacamole, horchatas, virgin margaritas, Soup (caldo), refried Beans. . . which also solve a constipation problem. Indian: You can have just the sauces & work around the solid meat in most dishes. Just don't order a big-hunk-o-meat dish like chicken tandoori. Just plain American: grits, mac & cheese, shrimp dip, mashed potatoes. . . and, if your stomach can take it and you chew thoroughly, rare hamburger. (Especially good on certain days for pre-menopausal ladies with certain cravings.) That's a start. If you have some great mushy suggestions or recipes, please post them!

This interesting piece from Newsweek quotes several well-known band doctors, including Dr. Horgan from Chicago: http://msnbc.msn.com/id/8619190/site/newsweek/

What wonderful news! Congratulations.

So many of us have heard those comments, usually from other women. Now that I'm an old broad I'm not on the receiving end of these catty remarks. But just once I would have loved to have said, "You have such a great ass; you'd be so pretty if you got a new face."

I saw a new GP for the first time yesterday. While she was palpating my belly she noticed a bump and asked me about it. I explained that it was my Lap-Band port. She asked me to tell her about my banding experience, how much I had lost, etc. I did. And then to my amazement she said, "You know, I was extremely skeptical about these surgeries, but I've been converted. They work. I've seen it over and over. You did the right thing." Yippee! Anyway, I thought everyone should know that there's at least one doctor out there (other than the bariatric surgeons) who's come to see that the band is a great tool. If only I had known about her a year ago, maybe my insurance would have covered the procedure!

Aw, Helen, we're glad you joined us again. Even though your surgeon is now eight hours away, if you haven't had any luck finding a local doc, maybe it's worth a trip to see him. You say you need a head adjustment, but your band might need an adjustment too. Even if you don't need a fill, at least you can get checked out to make sure your GI system is OK. What you do next is up to you. We'll try to see you through whatever decision you make. Hang in there!

Fantastic NSVs, Vines! And I love Penni's message -- sealed with a kiss, I'm sure.

Karen, I know just what you're going through. I never had this problem until I got banded. I have a green salad almost every day, but still. . . those refried Beans I mentioned in an earlier post help, but -- yikes! the musical side effects! I farted during a choral rehearsal last week, and unfortunately I wasn't even keeping the beat. I've been eating Grape-Nuts lately, and that seems to help, but it's not a perfect solution. People suggested apple juice in an older thread on this same topic, so I'll try that too. Good luck. We can all share suggestions on this icky topic.

And now it's happened again. Unfortunately, several London-area mainstream mosques received threatening phone calls yesterday in the wake of the bombings. Let's hope that racist hatred is kept to a minimum; terrorist murder missions are the work of a small number of fanatics and do not reflect the beliefs or wishes of most Muslims.

Oh, man. . . my parents can't even come close. They screwed up a lot of things, but they seem like the Cleavers compared to DeLarla's Momster and the families of Vinesqueen, Babs, and Big T. This thread is a testament to human resilience. Y'all have taken some of the worst things that parents have to offer and not only survived but prevailed! I'm in awe of you -- and feeling very lucky indeed to have been the child of garden-variety neurotics who at least (most of the time) had a sense of humor.

Hi Jodie. I think it's great that you are managing control of your life at such a young age. I have had problems with depression (not just bad moods but total despair and paralysis) since I was a child, and I wish I had been as assertive about getting treatment as you have been. Remember, everyone has problems, and lots of people think they might be crazy -- but if you are "dipping down" the way you describe, you really do have depressive illness, and no one should judge you for it, including yourself. You sound like a very wise girl who's been through a lot, and is trying to create the best possible life for herself. Keep on the meds as long as your doctor recommends them, and remember that you have lots of wonderful things in life to look forward to, especially since YOU are helping to make them happen!

This just in: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050719/hl_nm/heart_chocolate_dc Maybe my lowered blood pressure has more to do with Godiva than with the band!

I have no idea how you'd get the stuff to gel in the heat. Dry ice, maybe? I made a bathtub full of Jello when I was in grad school: Pick a cold winter weekend, make your Jello in the tub, open the window, and seal the door.

I'm back from an ice-cream-filled vacation. . . and in Onederland again! Drumroll, please: 199. Down one bloody pound in a month. But that's something of a miracle considering how much frozen custard I put away recently.

I love LBT! It's wonderful to hear everyone's stories from the diet wars. Lisa, you still win the prize with your first post. . . but look at all the crap we've gone through (literally, for those of us who tried Xenical). When I was 13 my mom took me to a local doc who was considered on the cutting edge of weight-loss treatments. His hands shook and he smelled of bourbon, but he was thin, and a big advocate of a pre-Atkins regimen. No carbs, period. I got down to 140 lbs. I was 5'7". He said I was still too fat and wanted me to lose at least 20 more lbs. while eating noting but Protein -- no vegetables, no fruits, nothing but meats, eggs, and cheese. I went mental with a bowl of plain strawberries and gained five pounds overnight. A couple of years (and 50 lbs.) later my parents sent me to a university clinic where I had nothing but diet Jello and Fresca for a week. I lost 12 lbs. When I came home, my father berated me for not being disciplined enough to stick to that "simple" (i.e., two-item) diet. I never forgave him. I tried speed in college; my boyfriend (who I thought was extremely street-wise and sophisticated because he was 28) scored black beauties off some funky dealer and we spent a couple of weeks not sleeping but getting thin. We thought we were brilliantly creative. I was urged to go on lithium to control my supposed "mania" shortly thereafter and thought I had no reason to live. But my legs looked fabulous.