Zoe

Thanks for starting this thread, Lisa. Count me as one of the bandsters who's been thinking about a fill when what I really need is a whack upside the head. I'm eating less than pre-band, but still making some bad choices. On the Fourth of July I had a real junk-food binge, my first since I got my band. I could only get down one BBQ chicken drumstick, but had no trouble with Cookies and potato chips at an all-day food fest. I got scared when I saw the old food-obsessed me coming back in her rotund glory, eating everything that wasn't nailed down. One reason I got banded was that I was sick of counting calories, fat grams, carbs, etc. But the truth is that weight loss is really a numbers game; if you take in fewer calories than you burn up, you'll lose weight. I hate that! Nearly a year after I got my band, I'm still coming to terms with the real meaning of the band as a tool. It takes care of business once the food is on its way down, but my brain is in charge of the delivery, and it needs help making good choices.

Brilliant suggestion! Count me among the number-obsessed, too. Sure, I can tell myself that the scale number or BMI doesn't matter, but that's not what I really feel. Alex, if you're going to try to "banish all thought of number-goals OUT of my head forever," maybe some of the rest of us can join you. I love your goal of having no reflux for six weeks. I'm going to try to have no PBs this week, for a start. Anyone else? (Sorry for the mini-hijack.)

I am a paleface brunette -- think Michael Jackson without the eyeliner -- and I just wear SPF 30+ sunscreen. I've got foundation by Prescriptives (color: Library Paste) and Shiseido (color: Kabuki), but I almost never wear it. . . I'm very low-maintenance that way. Lipstick and cheap black mascara and I'm good to go. But even in Chicago in January, sunscreen is a must!

You've already received enough responses to show that other bandsters have dealt with the skepticism you describe... in fact, if you read some of the old posts in the support forum, you'll find that your situation is all too common. Plenty of people think that surgery is "the easy way out" of what they see as a moral failing, namely gluttony and lack of self-discipline. And you can bet that a lot of us have beat ourselves up for that same reason. But anyone who doubts the promise of surgery isn't paying attention: 95% of diets FAIL. That means that 95% of dieters eventually consider themselves failures. Most of us bandsters were serial dieters who lost a lot of weight several times, but each time we gained back the pounds (and then some). We got sick of feeling defeated and -- I'll speak for myself here -- saw the band as an elegant solution to the problem of a bottomless pit stomach. After the surgery, we still have to deal with our relationship to food. The band doesn't fix our heads (unfortunately). But it does give us a tool for managing hunger and food intake. Keep on researching, lovecats. Read old threads with titles that interest you, including the "stickies" on the introduction, general discussion, and support forums. Whatever you decide, know that you are not alone in having to deal with friends and family who don't understand the band or for that matter what it's like to be subjugated by the food monster.

(Reluctantly raising a hand) Guilty! One of my brothers introduced me to that show when he stayed with me last winter. When he first said, "You've got to see this reality show with Flava Flav and Brigitte Nielsen," I sneered and walked off. Then from the other end of my apartment I heard him laughing his ass off and I crept back to the set. Incredible! I haven't watched "Strange Love" for months, but I was hooked for a while... who could imagine Ms. Nielsen playing kissy-face with her "Foofy-Foofy" in his giant clock necklace? I love America!

Only those of us who've been seriously large know exactly what you mean! Congrats on your own significant loss, A. No one has ever called me a skinny little thing before, Christina (much less called my butt "little," Paula) -- thanks! Good thing you can't see me! Yes, and here's proof that I am an idiot: I have felt a hard lump in my lower belly for a couple of months, and (even though I had a huge ovarian cyst removed nine years ago and should know better) I figured it was a normal part of my anatomy that I couldn't feel before because it was covered in a lot of fat. The doc rolled her eyes when I told her. OK, since I started this V thread, I should also mention that I have achieved one of my goals from last year: I now weigh less than my four brothers. This is partly because they're all getting heavier, but I'll take it!

What great replies! You've really inspired me, Alexandra. And Jorjet, you are far from alone. Many, even most, of us find that junk food goes down oh so easily. I could eat a pint (or more) of ice cream, no problem -- but give me a piece of chicken as Michelle suggests and I feel restriction. When I first tried tortilla chips after I was banded, I was very tentative, but then I discovered I could eat a whole bowl, plus guacamole and salsa. This soft mushy stuff slides right past the band. So, if you're ready, follow Michelle's recommendation and see if it helps. It probably will. That said, it's possible that you really don't have much restriction, even after two fills. But put your restriction to the test by trying to eat the classic bandster way with those hard Proteins first, and I bet you'll notice a difference. If not, better check with your fill doctor. Good luck! Hang in there -- we've all been discouraged at times, but as Alexandra says, the band is still there for us. BTW, if you still need "a good kick in the ass," I will post my giant boot picture!

I've been on a plateau for a while, hovering around the 200 mark. So I thought I'd check my BMI to see how I was doing... at 29.5, I am officially overweight, no longer obese! After being very heavy for years and years, it's a small victory I'll gladly take. I know, it's just as silly to get hung up on BMI numbers as on scale numbers, but see http://www.prevention.com/bmicalculator/0,5766,s1-2-0-0-1476-1,00.html if you want to check your stats. I recently learned that I have a giant fibroid about the size of a grapefruit. Looking at the bright side -- at least this explains why my belly is still so far from flat! And I should lose a pound or two if it's removed. Not the way I wanted to succeed in the summer weight-loss challenge, but . . . Has anyone else here had fibroid trouble? Not little ones, but big honkin' mamas? What did you do? I find out my options next week.

I vegged out last night watching part of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy (the S.G. in question had lost 100 lbs. and needed a new wardrobe), BlowOut, and, yes, I Want to Be a Hilton. It's truly trashy -- and irresistible!

Teresa and Robin, you have both made extremely difficult decisions after trying to do everything possible to help your dogs. You're going to have a wretched day today, no doubt about it, but you are doing the best thing for your animals. Sometimes they just can't be fixed, no matter how desperately we try. My heart aches for both of you, and I hope you will find comfort in loved ones -- human and furry. I love Robin's image of your two dogs romping together in a happy canine afterlife, free from fear and anxiety. I know that all of us dog lovers will be thinking of both of you today, wishing you peace.

What really makes me nuts is the skinny celebs who get boob implants. If they want some cleavage, all they have to do is eat.

I'm having dinner with an old friend on Saturday, then heading off with the dog on Sunday to a big barbecue in Indiana where all the fur babies can run up and down the giant sand dunes and play in Lake Michigan! Dune fireworks on the 4th, unless the dogs go crazy.

Happy birthday, dude! Michiganders, beware -- Greg has reason to celebrate, and it's Speedo season.

What wonderful news! We'll have to see the movie when it finally makes it to theaters... see if we can spot the bandster on the pier!

I've seen Pimp My Ride a couple of times too. Love it! When my car's paint job starts to chip away, I'm heading for LA. BTW, my brother informs me that the show is Wild Boyz, not Rude Boyz. And I got the host's name wrong in my original post. Call me Doofus! I could be mother to any of the Wild Boyz on the show.

Sad but true; it's a "sizist" variation on the racist "they all look alike." A more inocuous comparison might be found in blondes who call any hair color darker than medium brown "black," whereas brunettes see infinite variety from chestnut to ebony. There may be other reasons for the silence. Some people -- it runs in clans, unfortunately -- just don't give compliments. Ever. Others think it will sound rude if they sound as if they're drawing your weight to your attention. You've lost a lot of weight in a short time. It must be frustrating not to have your family notice. But they will, they will. Meanwhile, you're getting healthier, so just take a deep breath at your next family event and concentrate on having a good time.

The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. -- Oscar Wilde (from The Picture of Dorian Gray)

Everything sounds more serious in German! I love quotations and have a constantly changing group of favorites. Here's one that's cited in so many places that it's become a cliché, but it's still worth repeating: "If I am not for myself, then who will be for me? If I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?" -- Rabbi Hillel LBJ, when asked why he didn't fire FBI director J. Edgar Hoover: "I'd rather have him on the inside pissing out than on the outside pissing in."

Absolutely. I've been suffering from band burnout lately. . . and need some motivation. So I'm in! I weighed exactly 200 this morning (we'll see what the doctor's scale says this afternoon) and hope to reach 190 by Labor Day. Jonathan, please add my name to the challenge site, and I can post my own stats.

Love all the pictures -- TraumaNurse, is that a little French Bulldog? He is adorable!

In another few days you'll probably feel much better. I think most of us feel pretty wretched for the first two days, then improve. Some lucky souls feel great from the moment they wake up from the anesthesia! Hang in there -- by the end of the weekend, the pain will probably be much reduced and you'll have a burst of energy.

OK, I'll leave the dirty double-entendres to someone else. How about naming your (lap)band Aladdin?

Sounds like I must rent "Shaun of the Dead." And how could I have goofed on my new TV hero's name? It's Johnny Knoxville, not Nashville! Got my Tennessee geography all mixed up. At least he's not Johnny Chattanooga.

Junk TV:You know, the kind you're embarrassed to admit you watch, even if it's just by accident, but once you've turned on the set you're hooked. Well, I was channel-surfing late last night and found the TV sequel to "Jackass" on MTV (I think). It's called "Rude Boyz" and (like Jackass) features Johnny Nashville. The show is nothing more than a bunch of dumb young guys doing dopey stuff like playing Twister in a tub of alligators. Maybe it's because I was raised with a whole lot of brothers, but I couldn't stop laughing! But then, I was one of only two people over 40 in the theater when I went to see "Jackass: The Movie." The other geezer was, of course, one of my brothers.

(Lewd alert) An Irish friend of mine claimed to have heard a band called Dick Penis and the Four (Fore?) Skins.