vinesqueen

oh dear. I think you will have to kill him with kindness. So sorry.

great NSV!

I think if you only set a goal of weight lost you could be disapointed. I thought I would loose about 100 pounds my first year, but that is not the track I am on. I am one of the slow loosers. I am coming to terms with that. But I am learning to measure my success in NSVs and not just pounds dropped. Also, you might put on muscle mass. Let's hope to the gods that you put on muscle mass. Muscle weighs more than fat, it just takes up less room. So if you only "loose" 50 pounds by scale weight, but put on 25 pounds of muscle how would you feel? (I'm thinking you'd feel pretty terrific physicaly, but the head thing gets in the way.)

What a great NSV, I think Zoe had that some "looking like hooker" one. For some reason that makes me laugh. My DH, while he hasn't lost anything recently, is in the process of redistributing everything.. he looks like the amazing melting fat man. His his sholders and neck are starting too look almost like a normal person (who needs a boob job in a really bad way)... I know that a lot of poeple lose bulk top down. Congrats again, and a good bra can make anyone perky!

I'm so sorry you are in such pain! Please don't be so hard on yourself. I gained weight before my first fill too. Sure I stressed over it, but I on'ly gained 5 pounds and not the 20 pounds I would have gained without the band. You have no fill, hense you have no restriction. So of course you can eat everything under the sun. But you must start to understand why you are sabotaging yourself be eating around the band. If you don't, you will probably eat around your filled band as well. I don't kow if you are seeing anyone for your overeating issues. Being filled will help with some of these because you will be forced to stop by a PB. But I must stress that will not help with the head issues. I know that being thin, I mean, like regular people thin kind of scares the crap out of me. Letting go of my armor of fat scares me. But those are my issues. You have to figure out what your issues are. How do you do that? well, talk to people, like trained counsilors. Read that other people are going through, or have gone through. Journal what you are going through either in a paper book, or on a blog or here. Its important because you are important.

well, depends on what you mean by significant. Kelly (dylan'smom) has done very well, especially considering her special issues. But Capt'n Jack has done very well indeed. Jessybear is so right, chew to goo, but never, ever let yourself get really hungry. That's just asking for trouble.

okay, here's my progess for the week. Walked atleast 30 minutes everyday except Wednesday. I had a PB from hell. Full on vomiting. Stupid toast.. Anyway, like I said, walked at least 30 minutes a day, carring a a heavy bookbag and yesterday I had my belly dancing class. It's going to be challenging, since with the exception of the other phat gurl, I think everyone else is a dance major. *sigh*

Excuse me, but what do you mean, "no big deal?" Hello! This is a tremendous deal! Do not fall into the trap of "oh, if I can do it, then it isn't anything special." I don't care if you speed-walked (no idea how to congugate that thing), the important thing is that YOU DID IT! Excellent work!

Sending white light your way! I'm sure that the unfill will help things tremendously. Funny how someone we really care about can say just a few little words and make the world right again.

wow, great work the two of you!

glad to hear you are feeling better. I find that if I stand up straight and open my mouth while tipping my head back (think baby bird) helps. Yeah, I'm weird. I have no trouble with tortillas, soft or otherwise.

Wow! wowwowwowwowwowwowwowwowwowwowwow! Amazing work the two of you!

What's an NSV? One of the best things in the world, and one of the best things about getting banded.

glad to see you back!

Just so ya'll know, I was in my horseback riding class for PE at 1 week out, riding at 2 weeks out. The riding part was fine, it was picking the horses' feet that was difficult for me. And yes, I had the blessings from a must amused/bemused surgeon.

How did I miss this? Zoe I Hope you are not in any pain and feel better soon.

being raised by wolves, I have that post-tramatic stress thing. I startle very easily. Anything sudden and unexpected will do me in. The last time was Sunday. DH was heading out the door, so I headed into the potty at the new apartment, leaving the door wide open. The next thing I know DH is saying something to me and I'm screaming. I'm fun to go to the movies with though...

why are you waiting 2 hours to drink???? Drink sooner! All the guidelines I've read say ONE half hour to one hour, not as long as your a waiting. You are probably going to be dehydrated soon! Yikes! Drink sooner! I too miss drinking with my meals. But I was mostly a Water drinker, never a soda drinker.

My NSV yesterday was that after walking down two flights of stairs at my University I realized that I didn't need what I thought I needed. So I turned around and ran back up to the 4th floor. Not plodded up the stairs, but ran up the stairs. Okay, probably more jogged up the stairs but still!!!! And this is while i'm still getting acclimated to the high altitiude! (going from sea level a week ago to 4,000+ feet)

Oh Loopylou, I don't know if you've read the thread on circus freak families, but are definately in our club. Sorry, part of me is glad but that is the sick and twisted part that hates to be alone, that fears being a freak. The majority of me is very sorry you had to to deal with such a crappy childhood because I understand pain. After my first husband left me, I took a couple of years away from dating to figure out who the hell I was. I was malable, I had no real personality, or if I did, it was so burried after a lifetime of abuse not only from my family but from the men I chose to date. (You hurt me, therefore you must love me.) And chaos and strife and fights and pain were normal to me, without them I felt lost and ill at ease. I actually broke up with a man becaue he was really terrific. I just couldn't stand waiting for him to hurt me. How sick is that? You might find that journaling helps. I don't remember who told me to do this, but when those tapes of my mother start playing in my head to say to her "thank you, I'll take that underadvisement." Or something like that. Journaling helped me and continues to do so. I use LBT much in the same way I use a journal, but it's different too. Because I was so neglected as a child, I horde food. Well, lots of reasons why I horde and lots of things I horde too.. But I am starting to get a handle on that behavior. I still refuse to clean the kitchen before I got to bed though. I'd love LOVE a clean kitchen in the morning, but that only happens a couple times a year. It isn't reasonable to leave your husband for a year while you are trying to figure out who you are. I think the only reason I'm able to live away from my husband and son is because I've already done that hard work. I know who I am now, but it wasn't an easy journy.

Thanks Doc! I thought it sounded implasable.

I'm going to hazard that you are a professional dieter. That you've tried 8 million different diets... Okay, first off, get rid of the guilt. It isn't helping. You haven't done anything "wrong." Guilt is only useful when you've done something wrong, like hurt a child, robbed a bank or kicked a dog. Choosing to eat something, unless you've stolen it or used it to abuse someone, cannot be a source of guilt. The band is not a diet. The band is a new way to live. For some of us it means a huge change in lifestyle, for others of it it only requires a small adjustment. Do you really want to life to be devoide of ice cream??? I don't want to live in that world because to me, ice cream = love. Talk about your comfort foods. But you know what? I don't eat ice cream everyday. I don't even eat it every week. I was going to have some last night and I decided that I didn't want any. WHAT??? That's right, I didn't want any of the Dove ice cream. Not a single bite. I just put the pint back into the freezer and had a glass of Water in stead. I'm not deprived, although some might thing a bit depraved, or at best touched for not choosing to eat the ice cream. The band gives me choice. It puts me in control. It takes the power away from food. Now about that salad. Some people have no trouble eating salads while other people have all sorts of trouble. You may find you don't like shrimp anymore. I know, I know. But when you have to sit with something in your mouth while you chew it to goo you might decide that you don't like the taste or texture of something anymore. I haven't decided wether I like shrimp anymore. Just the idea that I don't like shrimp is well... weird. I also think I might like scallops, where before the band I didn't like them very much. And calamari just isn't worth it anymore. But I digress. Meatballs might be a good choice for you, or they might not. Some folks have trouble with ground meats, while others have trouble with regular meats. For me, chicken can be very trickey, but not if I grind it up. Go read La Madam's thread in Support for new and struggling bandsters. I think that will help too. But stop feeling guilty! It is counter productive.

Well, if you do tell him you are going to have your gall bladder out, then aren't you going to look special if you have to have it out for real? Honesty is always the best policy.

I always felt like tracing was cheating until recently. The books I've been usingto learn to draw actually encourage tracing if it makes the student feel better and more confident. The Jack Hamm book is much more advanced than what I feel my skill level is, so I've been mostly tracing. So I'll trace a head a dozen times and then start drawing it on my own. still looks terrible, but that's the way things are in the beginning.

how can you steal the artwork thread if you are posting artwork???? My DH bought me "Drawing the Head and Figure" by Jack Hamm before he went home. So far, my stuff looks like crap, but I'm trying to put in an hour a day. Somedays I make it, some I don't. ... but if I'm drawing, I'm not eating.