Suzzzie.

The Riviera is still standing. Its been sold, but not tore down. Same with Sahara. Alladin is not there anymore - its now Planet Hollywood. I think the Excalliber or Treasure Island would be OK, they are both mid-strip and shouldn't be too expensive for those of us on tight budgets!!

Owwwie! I've got to learn to SLOW down. I am so hungry today. At work I ate a yogurt around 10am. Starving at 12 I ate about 3/4 cup of tuna - I was STUFFED. Then about 2pm I was starving again. Ate about 1/2 cup tuna - stuffed again. Weird! Shouldn't I stay full longer? And I mean I was hungry! My stomach was growling and everything, water didn't satisfy me. SO I get home from work at 4:30 and decide to make myself a wrap with turkey and grated cheese and FF ranch drsg. I was so hungry I forgot to chew well and STUCK CITY. I paced the house for about 20 minutes before it finally went down. Thought I was going to drown in my own saliva!! Now, I have slowed down and I feel better. I'm stuffed again - and I've probably only had about 1/2 of the wrap. I'm sure I'll be hungry again in about an hour. Sigh... Made an appointment for my next fill - Aug 16. Yes, I have to wait 4 weeks between fills.

Hey all, I found this fabulous website yesterday - Recipezaar: Where the World's recipes Are - It is too cool. You can search for anything. I put in 'low fat, high protein' in the search bar and got thousands of good, easy recipes. I'm not big on cooking, so I made my search even more focused by saying that I wanted low fat, high Protein, crock pot recipes, still got over 3,000! It give the nutritional info for each recipe too. Janine - Congrats on joining the gym!! Don't worry about the popcorn and cake! If we were all perfect we wouldn't need the lap band!

I thought these were kinda cute: "The two biggest sellers in any bookstore are the cookbooks and the diet books. The cookbooks tell you how to prepare the food and the diet books tell you how not to eat any of it."~ Andy Rooney "I've been on a diet for two weeks and all I've lost is two weeks."~ Totie Fields "When I buy Cookies I just eat four and throw the rest away. But first I spray them with Raid so I won't dig them out of the garbage later. Be careful, though, because that Raid really doesn't taste that bad."~ Janette Barber "I've been on a constant diet for the last two decades. I've lost a total of 789 pounds. By all accounts, I should be hanging from a charm bracelet!"~ Erma Bombeck "My doctor told me to stop having intimate dinners for four. Unless there are three other people." ~ Orson Welles "I have flabby thighs, but fortunately my stomach covers them."~ Unknown

Thanks everyone for your comments. I"m feeling MUCH better now. I ate a few bites of tuna and waited about 15 minutes and could tell I was starting to feel better. The stomach pain was lifting and the nausea went away. Now I'm eating some more tuna that I mixed with some low fat bacon ranch salad dressing. Its so good. Haha. I'm eating really slowly, still a bit fearful. To anser Insub's question, no there were no chunks of fruit in my smoothie. I blended it for FOREVER, plus I mooshed every bite in my mouth, Lol.

PS. to last post - (too hard to edit) - I was fine Friday and Saturday. Also Since the milk incident this morning I have felt nauseated and my stomach has hurt.

OK... sorry to be whiney here... I'm HUNGRY. But I'm SCARED to eat! I had a fresh peach & necterine smoothie this morning, and all was well. Then a few hours later I was a little hungry, but decided to just sip on some skim milk. The MILK got stuck in th throat an di nearly cried. It hurt so bad. I haven't had anything since then, except water. I just opened some tuna, I'm thinking about trying it. I'm looking at it... but so scared ot will get stuck and I'll have to go to the hospital to have it either pushed down, or sucked up. Anyone else having probblems? I had my first fill of 4cc (10cc band) 2 days ago (Friday).

during the week is cheaper - but it doesn't matter to me either way. My work schedule is pretty flexible.

Oh how awful!! So will they have to open you up to re-stitch the port in place? I can't imagine going through all that again so soon. DO they have any ideas on how it got flipped so quickly?

10cc band - got 4cc on my first fill.

I talked to the NP about that yesterday. I"ve always been a 'quantity' eater. That all has to change now. I feel a little sad about it. Why am I already missing large portions - almost like I'd miss a friend?? It's kinda scary that I ever allowed myself to become so emotionally dependant on food.

Farmer - I just saw your post. Maybe if we're both still pathetically single we could room together,. Haha!

Yeah, I also stick mainly to the June threads. Such snobs we are! Haha. OK, I (financially) will not be able to go until at least April/May/June of next year. I have gone there 2 years in a rown now, both times in May. Its hot, but its a dry heat - which means in the shade its not bad... unlike the mid-west where its about as hot in the shade as it is in the sun. Dang humidity gets me. Anyway. So I've stayed at the Riviera and Sahara. I like both pretty weel. THey are very reasonably priced, but at the far end of the strip. I think mid-strip would be better, but I don't care as long as its not too awfully expensive. ANd if anyone out there doesn't have a significant other to stay with, I could room with someone. I'n fairly neat and tidy when I travel and I don't snore. Haha

Oh, I'd also only lost 2 pounds since post op appit 4 weeks ago. Darn that regular food!!

Just got home from my first fill. The NP did it under flouroscopy. So cool. Found out I have a 10cc band, she put in 4cc. I can drink water fine, but it feels funny. Like it kinda 'pauses' in my throat. Feels like it pauses higher up that I'd imagine for where the band should be. Anyone else feel this way?? Also - I'm clear liquids only now for 24 hours - and I;m starving. Was anyone else hungry right after their fill???

Marga - you make me laugh so much! I'm not sure on the PB thing. Haven't done that one yet... but I haven't gotten my first fill yet. I have slimed several times though - from not chewing well enough. Faith, I said earlier that I drink about 6oz with meals now. ANd it is in small sips (vs. the giant gulps I used to take) and it will last me all meal.

OK, It's hard to explain to those of you who drink very little water. I have ALWAYS been a huge water drinker. If I go out to dinner (pre-band) I would drink 3-5 glasses of water. Now I drink about 1/2 glass. My NP says that is great that I have cut back that much, but does still push me to avoid drinking. I'm always thirsty. I was tested for diabetes insipidus a long time ago, Lol. I'm normal, just thirsty. My first fill is tomorrow, so I'll talk to the NP again... maybe she has more suggestions. But ice water is one of my weaknesses. (My granny used to be afraid I would get water toxicity cause I drink so much. Nope, I'm FINE!) I have a friend (naturally beautifully thin, but very supportive) and we were discussing her birthday which is tomorrow. We wanted to go to dinner at one of her favorite places, but since I'm getting my first fill tomorrow we went yesterday. Anyway, She has a coupon for a free ice cream from Cold Stone Creamery, but didn't want to use it tomorror cause I'd be with her (we're going to see a movie with other friends) I told her to GO! Lol. I would get a smoothie or water (haha. there I go with water again!) but seriously, I would be fine with going there with her. She gets all 'policey' on me and it makes me mad. She is in medical school and likes to tell me what I can and can't do/eat now that I'm banded. Its irritating. Even though our friends and families mean well, its still frustrating to hear it constantly. I'm going to try that next week (when I get paid again.) A friend of mine said it works wonders!!

TWO HOURS!?!?! I would die. Honestly. I absolutely cannot even make it through a meal without sipping about 6-8 oz water. I feel like I'm going to fall over dead from not being able to drink. Quite seriously, I would much rather never eat again if I cannot drink with meals. ... Of course my doc says no no no drinking for 15 mins before, and 30 after... I talked to the NP and told her its impossible. I cannot do it. (even thinking about it now I think I need a gallon of water! Haha!)

I don't do the protein bars, but I HAVE to start my morning with a FiberOne bar!!Its the only thing that help the bathroom issue. Haha. I know I over-share. Seriously though, ever since surgery my bowels haven't been the same. I go from one extreme to the other, and trust me, I get PLENTY of water. I'm a friggin camel!

Lol. I will miss the buffets in Vegas - but I knew I was only 2 weeks from surgey my last trip there, so I ate enough then to get me through the next several visits. Haha. Also, Slot-A-Fun has this HUGE hotdog that I like. Lol. Oh yes, fat people always know where to go for food quantity!!

MEETING - I'm all for meeting in Vegas. Who wants to be the 'leader' and make all the plans? Haha. The hotels will give discounted rates to big groups. I've been there twice and I've stayed at the far end of the strip both times (RIviera and Sahara, the cheap end, aaha.) I'd like to stay more in the middle next time I go. About HAIR LOSS - I think I would CRY if I started to lose more than I've always shed. I used to joke that I would be bald by 25 (I'm 30 now) cause I've always shed so much, but my hair is so thick and never seems to get thinner. Lucky me. I am very careful with my protein and vitamins. I also know that thinner hair will look fuller if its cut shorter. My mom has always had thin hair and she keeps it short, looks beautiful, but if she lets it grow at all it looks scraggly and blah. SLEEPING PATTERNS - I slept for about 3 days after surgery (all day, all night) but I did start to notice that I was waking up earlier after that. By the time I went back to work I would get up the first time my alarm went off. I think I've only hit snooze once since surgery - and I used to hit snooze about 3-4 times!! There are also days when I go to bed at 8pm!!

I think it would be great to meet up with all of our wonderful June group. What are some of ya'lls thoughts?

OK, I won't stab you. Haha. Ya know, drinking doesn't satisfy me AT ALL, EVER! Unless it is something of substance... like a smoothie. But I swear I can drink gallons of water, crystal light, etc... and not feel 'full' from it! I'll feel bloated and water logged, but I am still 'hungry' for food. I'm an eater, it's what I do. - Can't WAIT to get my fill on FRIDAY!!

I had a diet coke at a baby shower a week ago. I think I drank half of it beore I even thought about it! I was fine though. Belching was pretty normal... I will say though that I was majorly addicted to diet coke before surgery, and I hadn't had one in 3 weeks... and this one tasted funny. It was the funny taste that got me thinking about it and realised that I wasn't supposed to drink it!!

Haha. Well, I try to inspire - mostly cause it keeps ME going. It's purely selfish, I assure you. I try to get my aunt to go to the gym with me so much this past winter that she quit answering her phone! She said I was too pushy and made her dread the gym!!! I was so crushed! ANYWAY. OK, so walk now... warm up for the August Challenge. (I'll probably still be working on my JULY challenge! I'm only at 195 of 900 minutes! I think I was overly ambitious!)