vinesqueen

Excellent Sarah! Remember, this is about *you* not anyone else. This is you find sexy about yourself. This is you defining you, not someone else's opionion. Not unless you want to cary them about in your brain.

I don't know about anyone else, but with my band, and a good dinner, I'm not interested in food. As amazing and... wrong as that sound, it's true.

I think there are a lot of people who overtly thing that fat people need to be punished. Gluttony, is after all, one of the seven deadly sins. Fat people are lazy, stupid, have poor hygene, and probably eat babies.

I'm the same way Nana~. But I find that 'rita's shut down my band... must the be frozen part. I don't drink ice cream milk shakes any more so it might be the cold.

Lisa, Lisa, Lisa. Amazing itsn't it. You loose 65 pounds and you whole life changes. Why did you get banded n the first place? I mean, what was the real deep down reason? What kept you fat all those years? What does fat mean to you? What does being fat represent? What are some of the most amazing NSVs you've had, what brain things clicked or snapped, what relevations hav you had since loosing your weight? If having lost 65 pound, can you see how your life would change further with more weight loss? Are you ready for those changes or are you at some level afraid of them? You have not booked excuses. You just have to learn how to manage these parties. And how to manage your life before the parties so you don't undo all your hard work. I think the number one thing you are going to need to do is manage your time. You have all these other things booked, so with the extra income, you really need to think about getting a personal trainer. Think of this as a professional development expense. Even if your eating and drinking get out of hand, at least the trainer will be able to mitigate some of it. You must figure out how to schedule time to excersize. Must Must Must. Besides you deserve it. Make sure you are getting in your Water. Stave off dehydration and flush out the toxins from the martinis. Eat a good dinner before your parties. And you know what I mean by good. Get some protien, get some fat, get some complex carbs. Low-glycimic baby.

Hi Kat, no I don't believe you are being overly sensitive about needing extra TLC. You are about to make a drastic and life altering step. This isn't "the easy way out." But then, many people like to turn weight into a moral failing.

Hi Erin and Janie, welcome to LBT and to the Banded Gentry! Yes Erin, you will be able to drink again, but you will probably find that bubbly things like beer will loose their former appeal because many people find fizzy painful. Many people have reported that they are now "cheap dates" because it only takes a little to do what a lot used to do. I'd recommend drinking at home before drinking in public because you probably don't want to drink too much.

Mari, the first place to start if you want to be sexy is to THINK YOU ARE SEXY. The most important sex organ is the brain, not the dangly bits, not the hidden bits. Some times you have to start small. Positive afermation (sp?) are very very important. put a sticky note or write in lipstick on your mirror "I am sexy" or "you sex kitten you!" or something like this. Even if you don't believe it at first, fake it. (the only time I ever advocate faking it is when you are learning it...) Find something that makes you feel sexy. For some women it is wearing lipstick because it makes us aware of our lips and all the nerve endings there. Some of us like to wear silk scarves, again, the neck has lots of nerve endings. Some like to wear sexy panties, not so much for the nerves but the idea. Some like to not wear any panties. Do this in the privacy of your home or room, some place safe at first. Is this making sense? It's all about the brain. One of the lessons I learned through belly dancing is terribly, terribly important. To be a great belly dancer, you have to have attitude. I mean ATTITUDE. You have to get up in front of people and be hot shit. You have to KNOW you are devistatingly gorgous. Have you ever seen a belly dance who didn't think she was all that? Even when I'm not dancing I know I'm sexy. I've internalized it. Oh and trust me, if I can do this, any one can, even you. I monitored my son's movie & TV watching. But not for sex, but for violence. I want my son to have a fulfilling sex life, everyone deserves that. Sex is a sacrament, a gift from the God and Goddess. I want him to have a fulfilling sex life, but I don't ever, ever want him to kill anyone. I just chose to not have such things fill his psyche as a child. I didn't let him watch porn, but I hope you get the idea. Heh, last summer my son told me that he's the laughing stock of his peer group--he can't watch slasher movies...

I've been thinking about this. Why do you want to look older? One of the things I have seen over and over and over from the before and after pix is that when people get closer to their goal they look younger and younger. It is as if Fat ages the face. I'm sure it ages the body, all the extra stress...

Careful with the tomato juice... it can be very very irritating for some people, espeically in the first few weeks.

Hi Vtobon, welcome to LBT. Okay, first off, it's not about being a good/bad anything. I gained weight when my milk came in. I mean, a lot of weight, but it was all breast. You have to look at where the weight is. Like Kathy said, are you breastfeeding? that has a huge impact on what you are doing, or are going to do. We've had a couple of recent births with the new moms breastfeeding. Do a search on "breastfeeding" to see what you come up with. They may not catch this thread.... Okay, next thing you have to realize is that YOU HAD A FILL ALMOST 1 YEAR AGO. I'd be amazed if you didn't need a fill. But search for other breastfeeding moms to see what/how they are doing.

May the cities in your wake, burn like candles on your cake! I was just thinking the same thing, we miss you!

Lisa, "little girls" are not giving men oral sex in... Young women are doing this to/for young men. Big difference. I'm deeply saddened by this. Kids are engaging in all sorts of risky behavior without realizing that it is risky. They don't want to have sex, but they do want to have sex and they are engaging in sexual activities. ... Young men and women have been engaging in sexual activities since... oh the dawn young men and women. I think they need to have complete and total access to knowledge and honest information to keep themselves and their partner safe and happy. Masterbation is part of human sexuality, and I think the vast majoryt of young children touch themselves. I just always told my son that was something that needed to be done in privacy.

Woot! This is amazing! I can hardly wait for my turn. You go Gurl!

JohnQ, I do believe it is time to update your avatar to reflect your new sucess! Starts chant... New Avatar! New Avatar! New Avatar!

Count me in. What an amazingly generous prize! I need a new cloak too. Okay, I want a new cloak. Underbust 41.5 waist 45.5 hips 48 Geeze, those measurements make me sound like look look like pear shape. I'm not, honestly... i"m one of those super sexy apples... Say, I've lost 4 entire inches off my bust line! Whoo-weee! Someday I might get to be one of those tiny little "D" cups. I don't know what I weigh, but I've been feeling self destructive... I'll weigh myself tonight. That will piss me off for sure!

I dont' own a scale, but I do own a body fat % meter. (yeah, yeah, it's a scale in a different form since it measures the % of body fat...) My current body fat % is 42.5, down from 44.9% in May

Oh my Estella! I didn't even see the thread about your mom! (stupid-dial-up) I'm so glad she's okay.

I will have pix taken this weekend! Wheee!

Excellent work Pavarthi! Excellent work! Oh Jachut, I know exactly what you mean. Except there are plenty of fat boys. This semester I am able to fit in the desks better and in the lecture hall my sexy tummy isn't squashed against the table...

I'm not chilled, but I'd always heard that when you lost weight that you would be. I'm having hot flashes... come stand by me -- maybe we can even things out.

Congrats and welcome to the banded gentry! I think all the chewable multi-vits are ICK but I manage with the viactiv multis & Calcium. Less ick. Excellent! one week out and you are go-go-go! Now that's what I like to see! Remember to be kind to yourself in the next few weeks when you are feeling tired and dont understand. You've just been through a major surgery, and need to be kind. Excelent work!

So Ducky, does your mom often go to stange cities to meet strangers she met on the internet?

JQ posted this on the Summer weightloss thread, but I thought I would call it out special. He just reached the 100 pound loss mark. One Hundred Pounds Gone. That's tremendous work, you deserve your own thread, and some one to hearld the wonderful news!

"So, what are you doing this weekend mom?" "Oh I'm going to fly to another state to meet people I met on the internet." "you're gonna what?" "oh yeah, I've gotten a hotel room with a strange woman I've never met before." "your gonna what?" "oh yeah, then we are gonna go part at this other stranger's house." "your gonna what? Mom, you're gonna what??? So.. when I asked if I could go to another state, meet with people I met on the internet, and go to a party at some other stranger's house you wouldn't let me...." "er, uhm, go clean your room." (actual converstaion with my son)