vinesqueen

I'm seen this litterally dozens of time, and it makes me laugh each and every time. "Cat, I'm a kitty cat!" http://www.30ishregs.com/kittycat.swf Do you have a favorite flash movie?

what a great gift to give yourself! I'm glad to see that you didn't do it for other people. (meaning the things we do for ourselves are sometimes the most important) If we don't take care of ourselves, how can we take care of others?

Well, I suppose it all depends on what you think your problems are. So far, it has helped with my little "not breathing" problem quite nicely. But I don't think my weightloss so far is going to help me pass my finals tomorrow! My DH's current weightloss has saved our marrage, so I suppose that is a plus on the losing side. I know there will be more challenges once he loses another 100 pounds though.

Just be sure you don't over do it, I would have been able to go, but I would have been very,very tired by the end of the recital. I had prescription pain meds, but they didn't affect my mind

Sometimes I get tremedous breast pain during my cycle, but I figure it is part of the whole stupid PCOS crap. Dunno about the hair loss though. I have almost no body hair, I believe only facial hair is part of the PCOS

Hey Alex, does this mean I get to be vain and self-involved?

Thanks for posting this xoxocat (in my mind I translate it to "kissy-cat" ) The part where they talk about people people becomeing more angular as we loose weight has me thinking. "After losing weight, some bariatric patients develop almost an angularity to their personality. It’s not just their jaws and cheekbones that leap out, but a certain sharpness and assertiveness of character" (last page, near the top) I don't know if I could get any more assertive... I'm already damn sure of myself. I think if I wasn't, I would have never stood up to the wolves.

Rena, my DH has lost almost 200 pounds so far. I can speak for myself here, I was a big baby and needed to whine. Couldn't even have cheese with my whine either.

I have to laugh Zoe, because Astro's new favorite food is Thai! I not sure what makes him happier... he knows when I come home he gets Thai food... not sure which he looks forward to more! He loves this one tempura dish we get, I don't like eggplant or greenbeens, but you should see my dog gobble up the veggies!

Welcome Lynn, I too thought it was just a hormon thing. I don't have the skin darkening though, but I do have the pad of fat on my back. Heh, and laser treatements keep me from being the bearded lady...

Great success! Cheers!

Margo's getting her ba-and! Margo's getting her ba-and!

Hi Margo, I have to agree with everyone else. Get to what you see as a goal, and then once you arrive there, see how you feel. I was a little freaked out because our nutishonist says 115-ish for my 5'5" frame. My bones probably weigh that much!

Sssh, don't tell my DH that it is for folks who only want to loose 40-50 pounds! He might be tempted to give back 150 just to make them happy!

Nope, I haven't heard of it, but then I'll need a breast reduction to run anywhere. (I just can't see running for fun if I have to have my arms crossed firmly accross my chest... but that is just me... )

I hate incompetence. You've been having this issue for a while, and I don't blame you one bit for needing to vent!

Since Sunday was Mother’s Day, it got me thinking about good advice from mothers in general. Well, my mother taught me something very valuable. It wasn’t anything she directly said or did, but like all the good things I’ve learned from my mother, it was just the opposite of what she did or said. <o =""></o> My mother has spent her entire life waiting. Waiting until she lost weight so she could do something. Waiting until someone else did something so she could do something else. When I was quite young I resolved I would never wait for my life, I would just live it.<o =""> </o> Yes, I was fat, except for the times when only I thought that I was fat. Even at my heaviest I still went swimming, I still changed in the ladies’ locker room, still went on amusement park rides, even though I felt like I had to shoehorn my way into the cars. I belly danced, wore cute skirts and had my hair cut the way I wanted.<o =""></o> Granted, there are things that I physically cannot do, such as cross my legs. But since I’ve been banded, I know that this is going to happen. <o =""></o> So, if you want that cute hair cut, GET IT NOW. Don’t wait for some arbitrary scale number to give you permission to do something. You will feel better with the cut you want, and if you feel better, you will look better. If you want to go swimming, GO! Don’t wait, just do it! It’s great exercise and fun too. If you are worried about what some stranger thinks, TOUGH for them. They are not the boss of you, so don’t let them act it. Only you are in control of your life, so take control. One of my favorite biblical passages is “judge not lest ye be judged.” I think this goes for not judging yourself as well. Don’t accept the judgment of strangers; don’t let it keep you from doing what you want to do either. Say it with me "I deserve the best the Universe has to offer!"

I would love to go on Oprah too... Have my DH show off all the weight he's lost... all the size he's lost....

I was a Navy wife... Also, my Dad was always stationed in a differenct city from my mom (both parents worked for the airlines), so this is sort of normal for me. But then again, I was raised by wolves ... Some days I make a game out of it, pretenting that they are in the next room while I instant message them. Instead of yelling from one end of the house to the other we will IM each other. Paula, if my Spudboy was little like yours I couldn't have done it. He would be here with me, no question. But he's a young man now, so it is a little easier.

Sunday night I woke up because I was laying on something hard. I figured that I must have rolled over on a book or something like that. (I sometimes fall asleep reading). I felt around in the dark, but I couldn't find anything that didn't belong in my bed. The hard thing? it was my ribs.

I'm going home in less than 2 weeks, and I'm starting to get home sick... I get to go home for the summer, yay! for me. I'll be getting home in time for my son's high school graduation, but I miss his prom. Of course, once I get home I'll be getting my first fill, 10 weeks out. I feel like I've done really well so far, 25 pounds in 8 weeks isn't bad by half. But it is definately time for a fill, since there are many days I doubt I actually have a band, just a port! The only bad thing about going home is actually a bitter sweet thing. I have a very old dog, his name is Astro, and we got him used 6 years ago. He was 10 when we got him, which is old for a lab, but now he's really old. I know that he won't see the end of the summer. Sigh Well, next week I have to finish packing up my apartment for the summer. Ick.

oh Penni, Penni! I'm so sorry to hear this. I understand they are very painful! Ouchies!

Funny how one person will read something and take it one way, while another person will take it completely differently. Jenna, I'm sorry you feel that low bmi folks are being "blasted." I have NEVER read anything on this board that I would consider blasting a low bmi person. Expressing surprise that someone with a relatively low bmi is considering the band is not blasting, it is simply expressing surprise. I'm sorry you think of yourself as a pig. I know that you are a cop, and "pig" used to be something that cops were called. I don't know if it is still the case. Could this be part of where part of your self-image comes from? This has to be a painful thing for you, and I am sorry for your pain. But your pain is not my pain. Your pain is not universal. I started my Band journey weighing almost 300 pounds. But you know what? My weight has not kept me from doing anything. And it certianly hasn't kept the boys away. At the last frat party I went to there were men clustered around me, plying me with drinks, wanting me to dance with them and in general vieing for my attention, wanting my phone number. And these boys were in the 20-25 age range for the most part. I'm 43, and these boys were facinated with me, all 275 pounds of me. When I enter a room, I if I so desire, I own the room. When I want to, I have a commanding presence. My weight has nothing to do with that. It has everything to do with my confidence in who and what I am. I too am an over achiever. I'm fat for lots of reasons, but mostly because I have been on masive doses of steroides since I was a little girl. I've been on other medications that cause a huge weight gain. I certianly wouldn't consider a PM a "chicken shit" approach. I would view it as a way to try to resolve a matter privately, and with some sensitivity. I know that people in different parts of the country and world for that matter, handle conflict differently. I probably would have also sent a PM. I believe that Babs did just the right thing. We have lots of lurkers here. Just because they don't wish to participate in your poll doesn't have anything to do with anything. Some are not ready to introduce themselves, others don't need what we offer. And that's fine too. I'm sorry Jenna that you have such self esteem issues. But your issues are not my issues. They are not universal issues. Fat does not equal ugly. I am not a pig, and I don't believe anyone else is either.

Monday will be my eight week bandivarsy. All my pants have been very baggy, so today I tried on a pair of pants I haven't been able to fit for 4 years and I could button them! Size 22 black jeans.

Emmy, this IS my weight-loss journal! Maybe one of the blog spots? I think all the major portals (MSN, Yahoo, etc) have a blogging tool... but your milage may vary!