vinesqueen

Yeah, I did briefly go to the site, but I didn't stay very long. I sort of felt they were telling me how to interpret the movie. Heh, almost said "dream." Isn't that interesting. .. .hmmm... Anyway I felt like the website was sort of like that English teacher that tells you that your interpetation of poem is wrong. Hello! It's MY interpretation... Sorry... It's like that seen from "Back to School" with Rodney Dangerfield. He hired Kurt Vonegate to write an essay on the meaning of one of his books. Rodney got an "F" on the paper because the teacher disagreed with what was writen... I think I'll need to watch it again.

This is the quotation I used in my Sig when I was at your stage. It helped me quite a bit. Our doubts are traitors,<o =""></o> And make us lose the good we oft might win By fearing to attempt -- William Shakespeare One thing to keep in mind is that the vast majority of folk who have the surgery have NO PROBLEMS. Support boards can give a skewed view on things because many poeple who don't have any probems never post. I don't konw of any support groups for people who don't need help. And there are lots of folks here who've had simply great experineces with their band. Lots of us. But is isn't very dramatic.

My mother is 70, and she's just too stuborn to die. She's been MO for the vast majority of her adult life. And when she wasn't MO she thought she was MO. Two of her Aunts died a few years back and they were both in their 80's, and both MO. I think you see a lot of MO elders. Does "Plump little old ladies" ring any bells? I see lots of them, but then, I expect to see lots of them. That is my model for old ladies. Granny, the dear sweet owner of Tweety and Sylverster, is no skinny-minny... Of course, I don't see lots of super obese or super super obese elders.... (Those two classes being the ones that follow MO)

About 3 years ago I was one step short of giving my husband an untimatium. One baby step. Get WLS or I leave. I know that probably makes me sound cruel, heartless or at best, very shallow. I'm sure we've all experienced dating someone who gave that ultimatium, or used our weight as a stick to beat us with. The one difference between me and "those" people is, I suppose, a matter of degree. My husband had reached 600 pounds. And being about 400 pounds over weight is quite a differnent matter than being 40 pounds over weight. Not only was his weight causing him all sorts of really bad health issues, it was starting to negatively impact my health, namely depression. It is very hard to function when you are greiving for someone's eminate death. Especially if that process goes on for years. Hamu, You didn't say how big your husband it, other than big. But you know what, that doesn't really matter. This will probably sound hard, but it probably doesn't even matter what you say or want. WLS is intensly personal. It may be that your husband will never have WLS, and that might be hard too once you start losing serious weight and find your energy level outpaces his. I've always been skeptical about using the "I'm doing this for other people" motivation to change things about ourselves. I'm not saying you didn't get the band or the right reasons, that isn't for me (or anyone else) to say differently. But I don't think that if we do something for someone else in an ultuistic manner that we can seriously expect other poeple to act in kind. It would be nice, but I think it ain't gonna happen. So, I suppose that is a long winded way of saying that I don't think your husband will get the band unless and until he decides that he needs the band. He might be motivated in a couple of years to do something after you've been sucessful, but then, he might not. He may simply not think that he's got weight issues that are severe enough. It is hard to watch the people who are in a death spiral. It is doubly hard if we love and cherish those people. After all, who wouldn't push someone out of the way of a speeding truck to save their life? Unfortuantely, we can do nothing for those who like to play in traffic.

Very interesting question Joe. I don't know how much longer I'll live. I haven't really thought about whether it will extend my lifespan. Folks in my family are generally quite long lived, like well into their 90's long. I know that my DH will live longer, before he was banded I didn't expect him to live more than a few years longer. Now I have real hope that he will be along for a good long while.

I've been banded 11 weeks. I love my band. Everyday I am stronger and stronger. Everyday I have more energy than I did the day before. My husband loves his band. He's lost almost 200 pounds and regained his life back.

bumping because it's fun...

Bumping along my journey

well... I suppose that if diets actually worked then .... the band could be cheating. But diets don't work. If they worked we would all be thin and no one would ever need WLS. They think if we had the proper will power we could do it. They think we are weak, but the same sort of mentality keeps people from getting any sort of help that they need. "If you have to ask for help, you don't really need help." Which, of course, is utter nonsence.

Also, if you don't get enough Protein, you body will consume your muscles looking for that protein. Soy is a very good source, as are nuts including peanuts and hazlenuts.

Jody, I would say do the atkins thing only because you know it worked for your before. I don't know the answer to your question Shirly, but lots of people report the same sort of craving. Some think that it is because the artificial sweeteners are sooo sweet that it sets you up for wanting more sweet.

Well, for starters, cook everything you can in cast Iron. The iron from the pans will help you with your iron intake. The cast iron pan is considered by many to have saved many, many women from anemia. Why do you think steak is a bandster no-no? There are no forbidden foods. This is not a diet. We can have enything and everything we can tolarate. Now it may be that your band doesn't tolerate steak... Some people can handle steak, some people can handle ground beef, some cannot. So far I can eat everthing, but my DH cannot do ground beef in any form. Live is very good, but it may be that you need to figure out a different way to prepare it. Pate is made from liver of various types. Perhaps your deli has a good selection? But Pate is very easy to make. you just need to cook the liver with the spices and extras you like, like mushrooms, garlic and/or onion. Run this through a food processor or use something like a highpower mixer like a Kitchen Aid. Hope these suggestions help.

Hey Juju, I haven't lost a bust size yet, but I've lost some size round my bra band. There have been a couple of converstations round this subject. I'll bump a thread, but please do a search on this topic. It will be interesting to see what you come up with

Oh Teresa, this is a very difficult situation. A couple of years ago we decided that we wanted a second dog and got a puppy. We had to put him down because he was a vicious dog. Our other dog is as sweet as can be, but this pup was just not right in the head. The final staw was when I woke up with his teeth in my jaw. I didn't want to risk having some poor innocent kid get bitten by this little dog. He wasn't very big, only 25 pounds, but he was so bad the obedience trainer refused to work with him. It sounds like you are having a similar problem. It is not acceptable for dogs to bite. Ever. Can you afford the liability that this dog poses? I'm not just speaking from a legal standpoint. But also from a psychic standpoint. Can you really aford to live in fear? Because it sounds like you are living in fear now. Do you really want to continue to live this way? I'm so sorry you have to deal with this.

uhm, no. Not gonna stop it. Kenyan served via French Press, with turbinado and heavy cream. But we'll serve Jack a cup of naked coffee...

I don't avoid sugar, but when I use sugar, I try to use something like a turbinado or a muscovado sugar. Muscovado is one of the earliest stages of sugar, so there are still huge quantities of molasis still in it. It is sooo good in my beloved Kenyan coffee...

Zoe, I love the idea of Tripoli. And besides, Twonesia is right next to Tripoli. (Tunisia borders Libya) Thanks for the great idea! I think I'll take him camping. That will be romantic... camp fire, soft lanterns.... (He knew it was true love when he discovered I had more and better camping equipment than he did...)

This is great news! Congrats on the new job, and is it pretty amazing when we open ourselves up to the blessings of the universe.

Welcome to Bandlandia!

Well, it depends on how early I get up. I am not filled and don't have any restriction. If I don't eat breakfast I get hungry earlier with a "hard" hunger.

Welcome to LBT Tera! We have several folks in the UK who are banded...

welcome to the Banded Gentry!

Last week I realized something rather interesting. I don’t eat in my car anymore. I used to get fast food and eat that on the way to somewhere. Gobble it down really. My car was always full of kids’ meal bags and toys (for me, not my kid), or sandwich wrappers. Now it just looks like I have a drinking problem with all the half finished Water bottles, or the occasional Sobe bottle. Because I have to chew everything, as opposed to gulping, I have become more mindful of when and what I eat. I have to be very careful to not get really hungry. I know, that sounds like crazy talk, me get hungry? If I get really hungry I forget the proper Bandster etiquette and end up with something getting stuck. I find myself cooking for myself now. I hardly ever do any fast food anymore, even though I can actually eat little cheese burgers and pizza and … stuff. I don’t do this very often, and my calorie intake is still within range on the days I do have fast food. It is so different from the before time. I didn’t have to think about food. I didn’t have to be mindful of food. It is almost easier when I didn’t have to think about food, because now it can hurt. Oh sure, it was hurting me before, but a slower, more insidious hurt. Not the “oh my gawd, that is stuck and it hurts” sort of hurt. I can eat everything I ate before the band was installed, at least everything I’ve tried. Cheeseburgers, pizza, Pasta, rice, eggs, bread… Things get stuck, but I’ve been fortunate that I’ve never had a PB or the slimes. Just smaller quantities than before. Food is now deliberate.

Ah shucks! Well, my hair is curently about 6 inches long, wildly curly in about 6 different shades of purple and red. I have lots of silver right now, so it's high time I got in for another round of red. Or maybe I'll have some streaks of black thrown in for good measure. My son says the silver looks like someone took a can of silver spray paint to my hair. Funny about you thinking me intimidating and very big and tall. Well... you got one of them right! The very big part anyway... that's why I got the band... I'm only 5'5", although one of my old military IDs had me listed as 165 inches tall. I do look younger than my age, so after I loose my extra weight, I am hoping to be mistaken for my daughter. Oh wait, I was mistaken for my daughter, and I only have a son.

why is it awful to eat bunnies but not chickens? If you've ever had a pet chicken you would think that chickens are pretty funny. Lots of people don't/won't eat any meat. Some people won't eat anything that was ever cute. Some won't eat anything that had a face. No difference in eating beef than eating bunnies.