Suzzzie.

Hey all. Just checking back in again. Don't let this thread die. All the threads I like are dying. Maybe it's me - everyone misses me so they quit posting... Lol. OK. Bike question - since winter is knocking on my door... What is that thing called that you put your bike on indoors and ride like you are outside... kinda makes it stationary? A trainer or something> How much are they and where do I get one. I know I know - Ya'll will tell me to go to my LBS. Why do I even bother! haha! Seriously though, are they called trainers, or am I thinking of something else?!

It might be just the 2 of us, but I'm glad I found your thread!! Name........Challenge start wgt.......current wgt.....chall. goal.....To go. Dakota1984....... 211......................211......................199................1 2 Suzzzie.............. 305....................305.....................285...............20

WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG TO GET A FILL!?!?!?!? OMG. I was in the office every 4 weeks on the dot to get a fill until I had restriction, then I kept going... I've even had to have one unfill and just posted on the june thread that I'm considering another unfill. WELL! I'm soooooo glad you went back for a fill. An unfilled band is like a smoke detector without batteries - It's good to have one, but it ain't gonna do you any good!

Hey all. I'm checking in with sad news - I had to buy new jeans today cause mine have gotten too tight! UGH!! I'm going on vacation TOMORROW to Houston to visit my best friend (and look at apartments cause I want to move there) she just had her band done in August, so I'm hoping that her excitement will re-motivate me... I'm also considering a slight unfill... I really do believe that I am gaining weight cause I eat sweets all the time. I eat the sweets cause they go down so easy. I'm a volume eater, so eating mouthful after mouthful of sugar foods is more satisfying than getting full on 3 bites of chicken, ya know what I mean? So I think that if I get an unfill and am able to eat a slight bit more of real food without a discomfort (that I get now after a few bites) I will do better in the long run. Does that plan make sense to anyone else? Any other words of advise of encouragment? I'm really struggling!

Wow Insub! I soooo admire you for being able to do, and having the courage to go on your world trip!

Have I asked this here before?? Alli... Should I take it to help keep me from over indulging in ice cream, Cookies, etc? I know for a FACT that I choose sweets because they go down soooo easily. I eat them because I can eat and eat them without feeling restriction. I can eat almost as much ice cream as I did pre-band. I get frustrated with 'real' food cause I WANT to EAT. If eating real food, like last night, I ate maybe HALF of a chicken breast and was done. I feel defeated when I can't eat very much real food, but also know that if I were to get an unfill (to allow me to eat a more 'proper' meal successfully) that I would probably use that to eat more junk food. I dunno guys... It's HARD!!! My head says I 'need need need sugar', my body says 'you're going to explode!!!' I'm frustrated. I can't eat salads at all. Most veggies get stuck within 2-3 bites. I'm NOT a fruit eater, never have been. Not much of a meat eater anymore, and I really believe that is because I can't eat much of it. Bread just tastes nasty to me now, though when I do have a dinner roll or something I feel like a stay puff marshmellow (wo)man. The MOST REDICULOUS thing is that even when I am stuck-ish or 'full' off of a 1/2 chicken breast, dinner rolls, etc... I can STILL EASILY get a cookie or ice cream down. In fact I beleive it helps in the discomfort of that 'full/stuck-ish' feeling. Am I crazy?? WHY WAS THIS SOOOOOO EASY FOR ME FOR THE FIRST 6-7 MONTHS AND THE PAST (almost) YEAR HAS BEEN SOOOOOO HARD?! Am I mentally defeating myself? (Any and all advise or butt kikcing are MORE than welcome, in fact are incouraged... either by reply here or in a private message.)

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww! I wanna cuddle with a TIGER!!!! Heheee. that could be taken two ways. Lol. Lol. You look great Dan!

I dunno... it's gone now. But the other day every few posts, by you and J would have a dark border around them. Weirdness...

how do you get the fancy border around your post? Lol. CUTE!

Hey Janine. Stef is still MIA... I hope she is doing well though. I think I need a support group, but... yeah. I'm just going to make excuses. Lol..

Well if you insist!! (This pup is the love of my life I could talk about him all day and night!) He is a Lhasa Apso/Poodle mix. Found him on Craigslist for free... 7 days later he lost a fight with a stray cat and took a claw through his right eye - 7 hours, $1500 later we were home from his emergency surgery. Lol. He's good though. Might end up with a big cataract, but for now he can see pretty good! BTW, his name is Tiki. In the last pic he'd just been to the groomers, and she put bows in his hair.. not sure why - he's a BOY!

Hey all. HP sniffed me out of my hiding place. I figured I'd come by here to check on ya'll. Just been busy with a new puppy - and eating badly. I need a kick in the rump, but not sure a 'virtual' one will do... My BFF just got her lapband a little over a week ago, and through talking with her and answering her questions I"ve been re-evaluating my own banding and remembering why i initially got the band and my old resolve and determination to LOSE THE WEIGHT. I might be good now. I'm trying... Speaking of trying - puppy and I need to go for a walk.

Hey. I haven't been on in a while. I hardly use my Bugg anymore - seems I have a senstive skin allergy to the metal censors that go against my arm. Anyway, I've made the decision to sell it off to a good home that will love and cherish it the way that I have. The current subscription is good through mid-late Oct, so you would only have to pay for a renewal, not a whole new setup. I don't know about the user name, but I know you can change the password and all the parameters to reflect your weight and your goals and such. I also have the digital display thing. And the spare armband that came with the Bugg when I got it. I have original boxes too. (Unless my puppy chewed them up, he's been into eating cardboard lately!) Just PM me for more info, or if you have questions. I'd like to sell it ASAP. (Don't reply here, I don't check this site as often as I used to.)

Hey all! I'm HERE! So sorry I've been in hiding. Still not losing. Still struggling with wanting to eat (and eating!) crap foods. I'm in a huge slump. When I eat the RIGHT things I have GREAT restriction.... so it's all on ME to make the right choices... I've been MIA cause I got a puppy 4 weeks ago today, and he has consumed my whole world! lol. I'm so in love with him. He's a Lhasa Apso/Poodle mix. So stinkin cute. Anyway. When I'm at home I'd really just rather play with him than play online. I have been so neglectful of all of my online friends - I'm sorry! - I think about you all so often, and i hope you are doing well. I'd like to see everyone pipe up this coming week and write a blurb about how you've been doing - the good/bad/ugly... ANYTHING! here is my puppy - this was the night I got him, he was 10 weeks old.

I agree Big Baby! It's just so hard! Wahhhhhhhh! I was going to the gym again - 4 nights a week... but then I got this puppy and he takes up all my time. Lol. I should have gotten a bigger dog that I could at least walk with. This lil guy has lil legs and he is tired after just walking in the yard! Hopefully as he gets older he'll get better... But right now, especially after just having eye surgery (the dog did), I just want to be home with him whenever possible. As for the GB, Rhonda, I've thought the same thing.... I know with the GB you lose a ton of weight really quickl, but typically gain it back... but I also know that GB patients can also get the band a few years after their initial surgery to help control the amount that they eat, after their stomach starts to grow larger... a friend of mine who had the GB 6 years ago is looking into the band now. Anyway... I gotta go get ready for work now. Have a good day!

I'm certainly not losing! As a matter of fact I'm back up to 304 from my early May low of 270-ish. THe gain really shows and I'm so depressed by it. I really need to go in for another fill... In other news - I got a puppy on the 8th. He was 10 wks old at the time, so he's 11 wks now. He is a Lhasa Apso/Poodle mix, I got him for free off of craigslist. I was looking online at the shelters, and saw a few I was interested in, but someone told me to check graigslist and I found him and fell in love... of course, for me a free male animal always ends up costing me an arm and a leg! On Friday morning (exactly one week since I got him) we were outside on the leash for a 'potty' and he got curious about a stray cat. I was holding him back from her - about 2-3 ft - when she jumped forward and attacked him. He took an entire claw fully into his right eye. A few hours, and over $1000 later my 'free' puppy was recovering from emergency eye surgery. He still has light sensory, but may not have full vision once recovered... only time will tell. He hates the eye drops we have to do 4 times a day... I usually try to get him while he is sleeping. Poor pup has to wear one of those lamp shade looking collars so that he doesn't scratch the stitches in his eye. Anyway. So I"ve been pretty busy with him. And, obviously eating. Garrr...

Thats so awesome Insub! I'm jealous of you!!! I hope you are taking lots of pictures to share with us whenever you get the opportunity!

Lol. We should all be so lucky...

Good to see everyone is doing well. Beckie - It's TIME to beat that MRSA and get a new port put in! I think I might finally be back on track... I've eaten crap and gained about 25-30 pounds back... but I'm chagning the way I eat and going to the gym again. GYM - So, I thought I would just go in and do what I used to do, not paying attention to the fact that I hadn't been regularly or done a regular routine in a long time. As a result my left knee is killing me... I was fine with the elliptical machine, but I think I pushed myself a bit too hard when I was doing leg weight lifting stuff. Ugh. So now I gotta baby it for a few days. I did manage to still do about 20 minutes elliptical last night before my knee reminded me that it was hurt, then I just did arm and ab stuff on weight machines. HOPEFULLY I'll start seeing a loss again soon... I'd like to be back into the jeans I was wearing a couple of months ago!

Hey everyone! I haven't been posting much cause i've been too busy eating bad sugry things! Ugh!! BUT!!! I just found out that my best friend (the one who lives in Houston) just got approved for her Lap Band surgery! She is all set for Aug 29th! I'm soooo excited for her. She texted me yesterday and said she feel like she has to eat everything in site. Haha! I told her that MOST of us have went through that 'Last Supper' feeling, and that she'll be fine. I can still eat most things now that I could before, just less. THe only thing I LOVE to eat that I can't tolerate now is salads. I even asked my NP for a complete unfill last time I was there so I could go out and eat a HUGE salad, then I would come back for a fill. Lol. Tonight starts my changing from Day shift at the Hospital to the evening shift. I will now be working 3:30pm - midnight. Then I'll be going to the gym when I get off work. Since it's so late I'm there by myself... which I LOVE!! Haha. SO hopefully I'll be more motivated to eat better too, and will start losing weight again! Hope ya'll are doing well.

D - You look GREAT! But I think you have a cell phone problem. lol.

Whos, that is completely AMAZING!!! Just think, if you hadn't gone through this journey and started exercising THAT would have impacted your daughters life in the oppisite direction. You are teaching her GOOD habits and that is an awesome thing! Congrats!!

D. Remember I promised you I'd go to the gym? Yeah. I worked 3:30p-12a and went to the gym right after work. Worked out from 12:20-1a. Not too bad... just trying to get back in the swing of it. Did elliptical and some weights. I totally need to work on my fat flabby arms!! Anyway. I didn't get pics cause I really didn't think of it, but I promise I went. And can you imagine that at midnight on a Wednesday night/Thursday morning I was the ONLY one in the gym? Lol I love it.

Yes I'm moving to TX next year. My lease is up here on Feb 28, but I"m not sure if I'll move right then, or stay for an extra month and move at the end of March. It depends on money and stuff. I'm going to Houston, where my best friend abandoned me to go to about 9 1/2 years ago. We joke that I've conceded and since she'll never move back here I have to move there. Lol.

SIZE CHART: CHILD SMALL - 11/12 CHILD MEDIUM - 13/1 CHILD LARGE - 2/3 ADULT SMALL - 5/6 ADULT MEDIUM - 7/8 ADULT LARGE - 9/10 It was about 101 here yesterday. Ick!! My apt has crappy insulation, so my outdated central air unit was struggling to keep my apt at/below 80!! I hate hot days like that!... and yet I'm moving to TX next year? Lol. At least they don't have ice storms like we do... it's a trade off. Ireland sounds awesome. One of y close friends is getting married in Summer 2010 (after she graduates from Med school) and she and her fiance are planning on an Ireland honeymoon! I'm 'helping' them plan some of it, just cause I've never travelled anywhere, and it just looks like such a beautiful country!