Suzzzie.

Rhonda, I've gotten everything stuck! Lol. Tuna, chicken, pasta, of course bread, eggs, a cookie... Lol.

Woot, we could stay together. Lol. Since we're band-sisters. Lol.

Sounds good to me!! April is great. I get plenty of vacation time at my job so taking those days off would be no problem! I'm so excited!! WHich hotels did you check with?? And I must add that I will so miss out on mot getting a huge hot dog from Slots o Fun this trip!! Lol! They're only 99 cents each!! Hahaha!

Yes, we should get together! We've been banded for 2 months today! Kinda seems like I've had this band for longer than that somedays... Have you been to one of the support group meetings yet? I haven't been about to, but would like to go sometime. My port site is still a really hard knot, I go for my 2nd fill tomorrow, I'm gonna make sure that the NP feels it and see if its normal or not. Lol. the swelling is all gone though. Missy, I think I occationally have that first bite syndrome. I was trying to eat a scrambled egg this morning and the first bite got stuck. I wanted to cry. And then tonight I went to Bucca di Beppo and ordered lasagne (OK, OK, I know its not good for me, but OH it was delish!) and the very first bite of it got stuck and my friend I was with was like "whats wrong?" when I told her (she's a medical student) she was all curious about what did I feel, and where did I feel the 'stuck' pressure. Its so crazy, and frustrating. My eyes filled with tears and I told her "This is what makes me have days when I quit eating." I think it took a few minutes to pass, then I managed a ew more bites before I gave up. Lol. Its not that I was full, just tired of the stuck feeling. And its all types of foods that do it to me.. and some days I have no problems with anything. ANYWAY... QUESTION FOR ALL: Anyone who is focusing on protein and limiting carbs, do you have problems with your blood sugar bottoming out? I do!! It will just hit me all of a sudden when I least expect it. I get dizzy, instant feeling of being b*tchy, flashes of light or darkness behind my eyes, and a full body cold sweat. A few times it's happened at work and I've checked my glucose level and it's been down as low as 45. (Norm is 70-100) So this happened to me yesterday afternoon and I thought I was going to pass out. The only thing I had with me in my purse was some sugar free mints!! A friends ran and got me a snickers bar, which I only took a few bites of, cause I"m trying to avoid sweets. I've always had problems with my blood sugar levels, I remember my first attack at around 9 years old, though at the time I didin't know what it was. I'm not a diabetic, I've been tested. Just curious if anyone else is having problems??

Beckie, where are you taking that class at? It looks like fun! Maybe I'll by a DVD so I can do something on the days I don't feel like getting out in the heat to go to the gym!

Lol. Yesterday I had a 6" turkey on wheat with lettuce, tomato, pickles, and mustard. Very low fat. and yummy. I was worried about the bread but no problems! I think it was easy to eat cause the bread was kind of hard. But I ate the WHOLE thing! I'm definatly ready for my 2nd fill on Thursday!!

Stef, I'm 5'10" also, and have a larger frame. I've kinda set 150-160 as my goal, but I haven't been under 200 pounds since I was about 13 years old, so I have NO CLUE what I would look like. I'm excited and scared to find out. Of course NO ONE in my family or at work knows about the surgery, but most of my friends do. My biggest problem is some friends like to be the 'food police' for me. But I have heard a few comments from well meaning friends about losing weight. I have an overweight friend who said something the other night about how she doesn't know what she'll do when she is the fattest one in our group, since I'm now losing weight. She had also asked what weight I wanted to get at and when I told her she acted like I was crazy! Pft. I just blow it off. I've also sworn off telling anyone how much weight I have lost. No one knows. I tell my friends that if they can't see a weight loss then there hasn't been one. And when they do see it, I asked them to just compliment me and not to worry about numbers.

DAN!! YOU look AMAZING. But I do have to say that even in your before pic you were a hottie. I tend to like guys a bit 'stocky-er' if that makes sense. ANYWAY. You look great! Insub, I have a friend who lost nearly 300 pounds in 2 years by simply spitting his food out. It was insane. But if he wanted pizza he would just chew and spit. Tacos? candy? same thing. I found his reserve to spit it out amazing, because I personally am not satisfied simply by tasting the food. I want it ALL! I was to chew and swollow and feel stuffed. For me it is the sated feeling that overeating causes that makes me over eat. Either way though, it IS a self destructive behavior. you can't do that forever... Good luck to you!

Binges: I can't binge like I used to. Its crazy, upsetting... and NICE all at the same time. I'm very grateful to my band for that! I can however still eat naughty things. haha. a week ago I was stressing over work and a comment a friend made (about the band being the easy way out!) and other stuff. I made some chocolate chip cookie dough and started eating it. Didn't eat too much before I just felt icky from all the fat and sugar in it. But still... I gave in the the craving and i hate that. Bah.

Dan you look GREAT!! You should post a 'before' to go with the new you!!

DRINKING w/ food: Ya'll already know I'm bad on this one. I still occationally sip with meals, but I've cut back alot. Just a few sips per meal now. I've noticed if I drink much more than a few sips that i get full really fast, and it's an uncomfortable full. I do drink all I want before a meal, cause my NP told me that the reason to not drink is cause the water makes the food rush through the band faster, like flushes it through. So I figure that water goes right through and doesn't stay above the band, I'm going to DRINK! Now..... for a little rant! One of my very good friends who has been totally supportive of me implied that the lap band was the 'easy way out'... what happened was I asked her if she had checked if her insurence would pay for it, and she said to me "I'm not getting lap band. I'm gonna do it the actual hard way and be healthy." I was so mad at her, because NOTHING about this has been easy. And I'm stuck at 20 pounds lost. I can't seem to budge the scale. I AM doing it the hard way! I STILL have to watch what I eat, and even the good foods get stuck and I PB. Today freaking TUNA wouldn't go down! I was very hurt by her words, and frustrated cause I thought she understood... but obviously she doesn't.OK, I just needed to rant to someone who would ACTUALLY understand! Have a good day.

Hey Michele, don't worry too much about the emotional eating. I figure we've done it all our lives, the spell cannot be broken overnight. I've had a time here too. Friday and Saturday were all about the bad foods. Not as much as I used to eat, because I do have some restriction, but still. I am up four pounds today. And I've felt sick today... I'm sure its cause of the bad eating. I haven't eaten hardly anything at all today. And hairloss. I have very thick hair... and I've always been a 'shedder' but I have noticed that I'm losing more than usual. I'm pretty vain when it comes to my hair, so I don't know what I'm going to do if it becomes visibly thin?!?! I swear I will go out and buy a wig or something. I can't live bald! Lol.

You look amazing!

Ya know - I find it very sexist and double stadard-ish that stores sell mens clothes up to size 7x and yet they only go to 24-26 for women (which is what, 3x-4x?) Its insane. AND the large womens clothes, as you mentioned, are gawdy floral prints, or horazontal lines, or just not at all in fashion. Whereas in mens clothing you can find the exact same shirt in a size small as you find in size 7x. All the styles and prints are the same. They even have the whole 'Big Daddy' clothing line that caters to large men. I saw one the other day that said "Once you go BIG you never go back"... would they EVER put anything like that on a womans shirt? Would they ever celebrate a womans curves like that? Nope. It's very irritating and I can't stand it. OK, I"m done ranting now.

I'm with you Toni!!

COngrats Hazelbunny!! I was out shopping with my (skinny) mom the other day and I was admiring a size 16 sweater... I'm still in 28s right now. I can't wait to start dropping sizes!!

Glad they got you all fixed up. AND gave you a fill!!! yay! Oh no!!! HOPEFULLY they will be able to fix yours quicklylike they did for BigBaby!! You'll be in my thoughts and prayers. Keep us updated.

Hey!! I live in KC and am a Chiefs fan!! But I don't want to move. Maybe it would just be easier, and closer to the CHIEFS if he moved here? haha!

I agree with you Missy. Obesity is the last ACCEPTABLE prejudice. Look no further than Hollywood for evidence of that.

I only got 4cc in my 10cc band! I BEGGED for 5. Lol. I think that is awesome!

YIKES!!!!!!!! That is one of my BIG fears! Especially since I'm a floor nurse and I'm always lifting/tugging/pulling/pushing on patients all day. Let us know what they plan on doing... and how the revision goes. I wonder, do they just have to re-open the port site incision?? or do they make a new incision near it?

..........

Go Captain Danbo!! OMGoodness. You rock, and thats why you're going to be skinny soon!

This continued struggle with food, and having to face making 'right' choices just solidifys my decicion that I NEEDED this surgery!

(Hey Huntersmom! I found them too.) The Twelve Steps of Overeaters Anonymous We admitted we were powerless over food — that our lives had become unmanageable. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings. Made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these Steps, we tried to carry this message to compulsive overeaters and to practice these principles in all our affairs.