Suzzzie.

Lol! YES! I've done this since surgery! It mostly hapens to me now when a bite of food is passing through the band. I usually have to belch right afterwards. People I eat with rarely notice, its so lioud to us because its inside of us!

I've been saying that I was going to shave my head and buy a good wig. Lol. Think of the money I'll save on shampoo/conditioner and hair cuts! Lol.

Hey Insub! The chew/spit thing - Yeah.. I've been thinking about doing this!!! I was driving by Burger King the other day and thought OMG! Whoppers smell good! I want one! I seriously almost got me a jr. whopper - with the full intention of chewing and spitting. I didn't do it thouhg, mostly cause I was scared that I'd forget to spit one of the bites and get stuck. Lol.

Ohh, I just tried a banana this morning... haven't had one since before surgery I don't think... and I took a big ole bite - like I would have pre-banding - not even thinking ... and OW! The pain. Haha. I hate being stuck. So now I have 5 bananas I'll never eat. Lol.

I'm still DEFINITLY going! I'd prefer to go as cheaply as possible... so during the week is perfect for me... but overall I will go with the majority here. I just need to know minimum of 45 days in advance to secure my days off from work. As I said before I can also share a room with who ever else is going alone... haven't heard from BeckieT in a while, but we'd talked previously about sharing a room.

OK all!!! Just home from my first meeting for the weightloss challenge thingy I signed up for. Everyone was super nice, and they didn't push ANYONE to by the Herbalife stuff! I was shocked! They mentioned it a few times, but it wasn't like "This is awesome and the only way you'll lose weight." Haha. Actually, one of the distributers that was there has GB last year and that is when she discovered Herbalife, and started with the protein shakes. ANYWAY. It was all very awesome. We all got weighed and measured (let me add here that I am seriously the only one that has more than about 40 pounds to lose... they were all so thin!) AND!!! Tonights guest speaker was a personal trainer from a gym here in town... and she is offering up a 30 minute personal training session for the next 5 weeks for each of us for only $5 per session!!!! OMG! Thats freaking amazing! I'm soooo doing that! That will help me out for when I got to my gym and work out on my own. I'm very very excited about this!!

Wow Dan! WHat an AMAZING difference!!!

OK - I just posted about this tonight on the June 2007 thread! MY HAIR IS FALLING OUT! And its dry and blah looking. I used to have beautiful thick hair. (OK, its still thick...) As someone else said I'm also clogging the shower daily, and then when I comb out my hair after the shower I lose even more! My bathroom trash is filled with my hair. Some days its a handfull, other days its very little. I hate it! I've been taking 2-3 childrens chewable vitamins a day, but just today switched to a liquid multi vitamin that the lady at GNC recommended. We shall see if it helps any!!

Hey there gang! I'm back in it to win it for October!! I really want to start FEELING thinner and more energetic... not to mention totally WOW my family at Thanksgiving! Lol. I'm in for 800 this month... I'll start tomorrow. (Lol, seriously!)

Yay for flushing the chocolatey minty goodness! I swear I was about to get in my car and drive to your house to get ther rest of the box. Lol. (Of course it would be MUCH closer for me to just go to the store and buy them!) I haven't been able to have a chocolate free day yet! Its one of my biggest weaknesses... Today after work I went to GNC and bought some unflavored protein powder and some liquid vitamins that the lady swears up and down will absorb well. I've been taking 2-3 childrens chewable vitamins a day and I don't feel like they do any good at all. My hair is definatly falling out and looks all dry and icky. Not to sound stuck up or anything, but I've always had beautiful healthy thick thick thick hair!Everyone in my family and all my friends, co-workers - everyone always compliments my hair ... I can't lose it! I'm VAIN! What else do ya'll suggest?!??!

I've lost nearly 40 pounds and the only comments I get from co-workers (who don't know about my band) are random things like "That shirt is too big for you." (!!!) I just wanna scream - THATS CAUSE I LOST 40 POUNDS! Haha. But I don't.

yeah, I tanked this one. I think I did like, just under 200 minutes. Bah. Here's hoping for OCTOBER!

Hey Joeygirl, I feel the same, even though I've lost a bit more then you. I just have SO MUCH to lose that I feel like the normal 2-3 pounds a week is not enough! Lol. I want to lose like 5 a week... which is not normal or healthy for a banded patient. I just stick with it. I'm pleased as pie that I was able to lose as much as I have over the past 3 1/2 months. I can't wait until Thanksgiving - to see much of my family that hasn't seen me since last Thanksgiving (and no one knows about my band) I hope to lose about 20 more by then, even though I'm sure I won't... Hoping for 10 though. It's only six weeks away! Hang in there everyone!

Name...Challenge Start Wt...Current Wt...Challenge Goal...To Go Huntersmom...... 174........... 172....... 159............ 13 SWEETY.......... 202........... 198....... 180............ 18 MJsafari........ 268........... 260....... 238............ 22 captdanbo....... 211........... 211....... 185............ 26 PaulaD.......... 216........... 216....... 199............ 17 Stefanie42467... 206........... 201....... 175............ 26 Suzzzie......... 349........... 337....... 320............ 17 glindab......... 277........... 269....... 250............ 19 MM.............. 242........... 231.4..... 218...........13.4 finallythin..... 254........... 254....... 225............ 29 BeckieT......... 259........... 259....... 239............ 20 Miscontext...... 303........... 303....... 275............ 28 ja9va........... 207........... 199....... 182............ 20 wombat712....... 180........... 174....... 165............ 9 Texasmom5573.... 252........... 252....... 230............ 22 Waters.......... 214........... 213....... 190............ 24 lessnless....... 206........... 195....... 179............ 16 MissDarlene..... 223........... 223....... 195............ 28 o2bthin..........238........... 233....... 215............ 18 insubordination..300........... 296.5..... 283...........13.5 Holliwagz........325........... 315....... 295.............20

I hear ya Holli!! I started this journey at 382. I've been over 300 since my Junior year of high school... I was over 200 when I was about 11 or 12 years old... So I absolutly have NO idea what it would be like to be thin!! I have no clue what I'll look like! A part of me can't even wrap my mind around it. It seems like something that will never happen. Every time I get on the scale and am down another pound I get so excited. Right now I'm weighing in at around 337 (was 333 the other day, but I fluctuate alot during the week) and I haven't been this low weight-wise in about 3 years. Everything is just insanely exciting for me.

No problem Stef! OK, question: WHY do I think I can still eat? Lol. I was hungry, so I decide to fix me a scrambled egg... And i made THREE eggs cause one looked so small and lonely in the pan. Haha! I've probably eaten less than one egg and I'm stuffed. I hope my eyes adjust to my band SOON! I'm tired of wasting food!

Name...Challenge Start Wt...Current Wt...Challenge Goal...To Go Huntersmom...... 174........... 172....... 159............ 13 SWEETY.......... 202........... 198....... 180............ 18 MJsafari........ 268........... 260....... 238............ 22 captdanbo....... 211........... 211....... 185............ 26 PaulaD.......... 216........... 216....... 199............ 17 Stefanie42467... 206........... 201....... 175............ 26 Suzzzie......... 349........... 337....... 320............ 17 glindab......... 277........... 269....... 250............ 19 MM.............. 242........... 231.4..... 218...........13.4 finallythin..... 254........... 254....... 225............ 29 BeckieT......... 259........... 259....... 239............ 20 Miscontext...... 303........... 303....... 275............ 28 ja9va........... 207........... 199....... 182............ 20 wombat712....... 180........... 174....... 165............ 9 Texasmom5573.... 252........... 252....... 230............ 22 Waters.......... 214........... 213....... 190............ 24 lessnless....... 206........... 195....... 179............ 16 MissDarlene..... 223........... 223....... 195............ 28 o2bthin..........238............233........215 ............18 insubordination..300............296.5......283.... .......13.5

Name............Chall. Start Wt........Current......Chall. Goal......To Go alwayscurious........245......................245. .............212..............33 Amelia40...............270.................... 270................240..............30 areellady...............232....................228 ...............212.................16 argon..................162...................160.2 ...............142...............18.2 Ariel....................207...................... 199 ..............182...............17 aussie_jode...........212......................212 .................190...............22 BabygotBack..........164.....................164. ...............145...............19 Babygrl1234...........215......................205 ................190...............15 Becky42................253.....................251 .5.................220............31.5 bekafina.................225.....................2 25.................199.............26 Cherrybomb...........311....................306 ..............291................15 chickatee..............203.....................201 .................175..............26 chocolate_snaps....344......................342... ..........299.................43 cQQlgirl..................225....................2 25................185................40 Chris_NJ................284....................268 ................250................18 cindyluhu...............194....................194 .................180...............14 dacer123...............243....................243. ..............223................20 Denise...................170....................17 0...............155................15 Denise..................244.....................24 4..................220............24 Desertbunnee.........232....................207. .............180.................27 DonnaD................185......................185 ..............170..............15 eclipse..................215.....................2 12... ..............199.............16 faithmd................303.....................303 ............ 283...............16.7 glindab................ 277....................269...... ........250....... .......19 gonnabfree............231..................231. .................205................26 Guinessgirl77..........241.....................241 ...................210.............31 gweniper................253...................243. ...............223................30 hf2havefun...........240......................240. ..............210..............30 ihadenuf................216....................216 ...................190.............26 itsjustducky...........317....................317. ..................297...............20 james2539............235.4.................235.4 ................220.............15.4 jfran……………………….212………………………212……………………..196………………1 6 jglong54...............206....................206. ...................195.............11 jadrad7.................224....................224 .................200..............24 jazzystouch...........246......................246 ...............220...............26 Jeni 85.................237....................231 ...............207................24 joisey....................307....................3 07................290................17 josiebies...............188......................1 80...............165...............15 JulieNYC................155.....................14 9.................136..............13 Kaelin's G-Ma.........272....................272............. ......220.............52 KarenG................. 240.....................234...................225. ...........9 katalin.e................230.....................1 79.................150.............29 Kellymovingon........207......................207 .................187..............20 Kimmie..................296.....................29 0..................270.............20 ladydi............. .....233.....................228.................2 08...............20 legster..................261....................25 1................235...............16 LeslieLee...............216.....................21 6................186...............30 lisa_in_toronto.......180......................180 ................160...............20 losingjusme...........273.....................269. ...............238................31 luvinke..................225.................. ..223..................195..............28 maddog.................230.....................230 ................205.............25 marcar35...............277.....................273 ................250............. 23 mcgreen...............236....................230.. ...............210................26 METALBAND...........187.....................184... ..... .......167..............17 momlambert............207....................207.. ..............185..............22 mpalen.................229.....................229 ................200................29 Peache8887...........330.....................306.. ...............275..............31 pmmegm................248.....................248. .................228..............20 Rainer....................298................... 284................258................26 robgoblin87............279......................27 9...............250..............29 SC2VA.................233...................... 233.................200..............33 sdakotaRN.............254.....................254. ................225..............29 Short C................. 166....................166.................146.. ............20 Soniacan...............198.5..................198. 5.............175.............23.5 Stacy73................259.....................242 ...............230...............12 Sunny112..............215.....................165. ...............140...............25 Suzzzie. ...............349....................337....... ........320................17 sweethot143..........197....................190. .............175.................15 tanderson..............231.....................231 .............199..................32 ToniaPatt …..........286……….....……......283………........2 43.…........……40 UK-Lady...............255.....................223.... ............210...............13 Wannabthin...........231......................222. ..............211...............20 want2beme...........225.....................225.. ............195................30 wen.....................288......................2 84................255..............29 Whosyadaddy.........388.....................369... ..............335.............43 LifeLover..............289.....................289 ... ..............259.............30

WOWZA!! ONE-derland?!?! I'm so jealous! I'll be happy if I ever make it to TWO-terville!! Lol. CONGRATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What you need to do is switch your body weight (which is now changing daily!) from pounds to kilograms - NOT mess with the gram/kilogram ratio. That is how the nutritionist figured I needed about 90 grams a day. (of course when I do this it comes out as about 152! There is NO way, thats gotta be unhealthy!!) ANYWAY... Here is a GOOD TABLE that you can convert your weight from pounds to kilograms. THen just rememberto eat 1gram protein for every kilogram that you weigh.

Protein: WhenI went to see the nutritionist she told me that based on my height and weight (which is more than all of you!) I should consume about 90gm of protein a day. ANd my NP just says that I should eat protein, then fruits and veggies - but didn't really give me a number that I recall. Basically, I can eat so little right now that I don't count ANYTHING. I'm happy if I get in my water, and at least 2 cups of total food a day. I have been drinking my veggies and fruit in the form of light fruit juices, which I'm not supposed to do, but I can't eat them... And my hair is falling out... I now take 3 chewable childrens vitamins a day... one at each meal. I don't think they are absorbing well. And today (I know, I whine alot, I'm sorry!) I saw a pizza commercial and I wanted it so bad! Not just the 3 bites I might have been able to manage, but like, the WHOLE thing. Lol. I totally miss binge eating. Please tell me I"m not the only one that wishes I could get a total unfill for just a few days so I could EAT again? haha.

I'm a nurse. Woot.

Whew! Go Stef! You're our very own exercise guru!! Haha. I wish you lived closer to me, I'd pay you to be my trainer!!! So, this morning my scale says 333.8 (15 days ago at my fill I was 349!) I'm so excited about this, but worry that some of it might be muscle loss, cause I can't eat as much protein as I should. :confused: I've been out of protein powder for a week, so I need to stop on my way home today and pick some more up!! Did ya'll know that the V8 Fusion (light!) goes down VERY WELL?!?! Not only is 8oz a full serving of fruit and veggies, but I can drink it almost like I used to!! That means big ... alomst gulps!! Seriously. I drank 2 glasses of it last night just for that reason! It felt good to drink fast again. Lol!! I signed up for the weightloss challenge in my city that I was telling ya'll about the other day. Its hosted by the nutrition center - which is actually just a little Herbalife store. Lol. Of course you don't have to buy their stuff, but they do push it. I was in there and the guy was telling me about a guywho lost over 300 pounds just doing Herbalife... and gave me a pamphlet of people who all lost 100 lbs or more, while he handed it to me he said, "Here, this will be good for you." LIke I don't KNOW that I need to lose over 100 pounds? Haha. Oh well. I won't be buying the Herbalife stuff, cause it's very expensive, and I have a secret weapon already!! (LAP BAND!!) OK, GOtta go to work!! I'm gonna be late!

I'm good today. For some reason thicker liquids go down easily, as long as I sip. I think maybe the water just tries to flush down to quickly or something. I've eaten a yogurt, about 1/4 cup of pulled pork (from Tuesday! Lol!), 1/2 of a chicken breast (in reduced fat alfredo sauce to moisten it up!) 17 m&ms, a carnation instant breakfast drink, 60+ oz water, 8oz of the V8 Fusion (light)... I guess thats it. I swear I will feel like I ate a LOT... like I pigged out, and really I've had very little. Its weird. I used to actually pig out and convince myself I didn't eat much. Lol!! Does anyone else get the hiccups when they eat - when they are full? Cause, omgoodness! It's driving me crazy! - Also, I've never had heartburn before, now I get it all the time! Thank goodness I work in a hospital, I just go to the med room and get me some mylanta! Haha!!! I hope everyone has a great weekend!

I initially only told about 4 people - my best friends. Only one of them is negative about it - but I truely believe that that is only because her insurence wonlt cover it and she is about 200 pounds overweight. She's never been able to stay on a diet longer than a month, and she always had me as a friend that was fatter than her. Anyway... these 4 people told most of their family... which I guess is fine. I don't care too much about that. NO ONE in MY family or ANY co-workers know. I have not lied to them, only mentioned that I've given up fast food and colas, and bread, and... well ALOT. Lol. As I continue to lose weight and they see that I'm not gaining it back in a few months then I'm sure more questions will surface... I'm not too worried about that. I really was only worried that I would be unable to keep the secret, because I am very close to my family!! But I've had 2 aunts and my dad have had the bypass and they've all gained ALL of their weight back, so I don't feel that they would be very supportive. Besides... one of my cousins has now given up fast food and colas too!! I don't want to ruin her own dietary progress by saying "Oh, well I had surgery, but if I could have those things I would!" Lol.