vinesqueen

Anwyn, I would hazzard to say that along with the weight you've lost, you've also lost at least 10 years! I am constantly amazed at how young people look in their after pix, just amazed. In some cases the change is subtle, but with others it is sooo dramatic.

I've had one unfill, and three more fills. No going hog-wild, although I did run for the bus a couple of times. Does that count? (bounced in placed I forgot I had... )

Hmmm, I've been to about 7 Dead shows, and I got to see them when Santana opened for them! That was the most amazing show ever! Pearl Jam, Echo and the Bunny Men, Oingo-Boingo (THE night of the Oakland fire-storm), and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. (our new holiday tradition!). I almost saw The Ramones in 1980, but they were sold out... Oh, and I saw Nervana at the Puyallup Fair (pew-al-up) before they got big. Oh, and The Little River Band played at my DH's company picknic two years ago. Who would have thought that one of the biggest bands from when I was in high school would be playing at company picknics?

Chicken is really hard for me too. Sorry about the prolonged sliming. Better?

Oh, and while not specific to banding, your hair could catch on fire.... Super Train could crash into the hospital... Or The Atomic Train could crash into your hospital... a meteor strike could take out your town, an alien invation could be scheduled while you are in the OR, a masive EMP strike could nock out all power to everything in a 5 mile radius causing 3 jumbo jets to simultainiously crash into the hospital while shutting down every piece of equipement in the hospital, or a weird power surge could cause all the electrical equipment to suddenly come to life and hold the entire hospital staff hostage until their demands to be moved to the desert are met.... Just a million things could go wrong. Better not even leave the house. Heck, better not even get out of bed. Just grab your snorkle and hunker down in your blanket fort... And yeah, I know, skylab fell a long time ago, but I was feeling nostalgic

Yup, that is pretty funny.

Ah, two $64,000 dollar questions! Ultimately, only you can answer these two questions. I can only offer insight to my issues. You have just lost 15+Kg in a matter of months. That is a lot of weight and more importantly, that's a lot of mass gone from your body. I know I've used my fat as shield and armor to protect myself from the pain of the outside. The last time I lost a significant amount of weight, I completely freaked out over the sudden attention I was getting. Strange men were flirting with me, guys from work were flirting with me. Hell, even women were flirting with me! I was completely unprepaired for all this sudden attention. I had become quite comfortable with the invisiblitly that being fat brings. Suddenly, I wasn't so invisible anymore. I'd lost this weight under a really great supervised program, but they completely discounted what I was saying about suddenly being a object of desire, and my complete inability to deal with it. That program had a wonderful diet program, and I mean diet as in sound eating practices along with meeting with a nutritionist for an hour a week. I also met with a personal trainer 3 times a week. It was intense, but it got great results. But without the psych support that I needed, I freaked out and gained the weight back, with added padded just to make sure I would never get back down to that scary place again. So. That is one of my issues. I am convinced that if I don't do the head work, the band is never going to work for me. Oh, I will inevitably lose the extra weight, but I have to do the work to keep it off, the brain work. So m'dear, I strongly suggest you start looking at why you are fat. Not only the why you are fat, but what keeps you fat. What are your demons? From what are you protecting yourself? Without my sheid and armor, I will stand naked against the world. I could don a burka but I will still be naked, defenseless. I have to learn a new way of defending myself. Or maybe I need to learn that I don't need to defend myself and that my demons are only shadow puppets. Caricatures that have no real power and substance.

Okay, I won't sweat the calories, but I sure do sweat the dance! In a good way of course! Dancing and walking. And not freaking out about calories Agreed, a mentally unstable Vinesqueen would just not be a good thing... not good at all.

Hey Amos, I would say that breads are not part of mushy, not by a long shot. Search the food thread. There is a great thread on ethnic foods somewhere there.

Yeah, well, the best news is that this means you have less weight to lose! You are gaining muscle mass, which means that your body becomes more efficient at burning calories. Which means that you win. You have not been filled, and the band doesn't really work as designed without a fill.

Mmmm, no you won't. You will continue to hijack threads. But that's part of your job description, right? hmm, and here I've hijacked your hijack... hmmm. Some of the other specific risks of the banding are bands that are improperly placed, a band placed over a nicked stomach, the wrong size band used, and sky lab could fall on you.

welcome to the Banded Gentry! My doc said anything that would fit up a straw was good to go.

America's Waistline http://www.slate.com/id/2128999/?GT1=7407The politics of fat. In the war on fat, fat isn't just winning, it's crushing the opposition. A new study reports that in the course of a lifetime, 9 out of 10 men and 7 out of 10 women are going to become overweight. The CDC says that a third of the country is currently obese. This puts a large portion of the nation's population in an unenviable predicament, since antipathy toward the fat, it's frequently remarked, is the last sanctioned form of bigotry. But bigotry is traditionally the plight of minorities, and the fat are fast becoming a majority. So, is America's spreading waistline at least a plus for anti-fat-discrimination efforts?

Here's my latest creation... This is why it's so hard for me to figure out what to do for the gift exchange.... Could someone with skill with pix please resize this thing? I'm clueless how to make them size right.

YOU CAN'T MAKE ME CHOOSE! YOU CAN'T! YOU CAN'T!!!!! now, if you will excuse me, I will wander off and cry in a corner...

Trish! Where the hell have you been?! We've missed you! Stupid anatomy class! Well, as a person who will never take a biology class, I can't say for sure, but yeah, let's blame anatomy...

I know excatly what you are talking about! It seems as if my life and my time are not my own. I have to be very careful about that famished feeling, and yes, it leads to a PB or a major sliming episode every time. Plus, I just get downright cranky. I try to always have nuts and dried fruit with me. A serving of nuts has about 170 calories, depending on the nut, and is full of the heart healthy oils we need. The dried fruit adds much needed Fiber, and well, fruit things. So the fruit helps boost the blood sugar, while the protien and oil in the nuts helps to stave off hunger and prevents the sugar crash. (it's part of the low glycimic index eating) I also always have something crispy with me, usually 6 triscuts. (yeah, I know, 6 measily crackers???!! ) They have added fiber, and they are crispy. I find they are very filling, and better for me than a bag of chips. I have to be very careful while I eat them, have to practice "mindful eating" otherwise I'll spend a chunk of time barfing in the bathroom. When I get hungry in class I'll just haul out my little baggy of fruit and nuts and nibble away. I used to worry about people looking at me. Well, okay, I stressed about it for a week then said to hell with it. I need to eat so I don't get into trouble later. And besides, what makes me think I'm so interesting that everyone is going to pay attention to me instead of the instructor? Luna bars, or some other protien bars, are good to keep in my book bag too. My biggest issue is finding time to work out. I make sure I take a PE class every semester to make sure I have scheduled time to work out. This semester has been rough because I'm taking 21 credits, but other semesters have been tough because I was just so damn ill. I'm better now...

One thing to keep in mind is that often what we write doen't translate to how other people will read it. That's why written communication can be so damn tricky. I know that when I'm sick or upset, I will read things into what was said. And I become less than my diplomatic self. Not saying this was you, just me. Glad it's just a UTI an not something serious. Oh, and Welcome to Bandlandia!

For all intents and purposes, I'm a 3rd year undergrad as well. I have a year and a half before I finally finish and get my BBA (it's a baby MBA). I had my band installed during Spring Break last year, so I didn't miss any classes from that.

Well, if the band is for life, which it is, then the lifespan of the band should be your life span. Right?

Okay, I know we have a few banded students, and I thought it would be interesting if we could share some of our experiences.

Oh {{{{{Kare! }}}}} I'm sooo sorry to hear about your dad! Here's hoping everything goes well for him. I'm sorry this happened but it is really great it happend now, and not when they were on their way to China! I'm sure that sounds wrong, and I don't mean it wrong. Ye Gods, I'm rambling. Sorry Kare!

*sigh* Speaking of rabbits... My DH just left me to go home. Spent a wonderful weekend with him, and I get to go home in a couple of weeks for Thanksgiving... So my love life is practically non-existant being separated by a couple of mountian ranges.

Right Kare <3 Bear. I started today. I ended up walking 2 sets of 40 minute walkies. I am not counting calories Kare. I can't. I make myself insane when I count calories. (an once of nuts has about 170 calories (depending on the nut) and is about 28 nuts. I had 1/2 ounce of nuts for Breakfast with 1 tablespoon of dried fruit for breakfast, which is about 25 calories. I had a cup of tea, with 2 oz of milk, for an extra 33 calories. See, it makes me nuts...) Oh, and the week where I went wild with my food and ate 1600 calories one day... that's the week I actually lost 4 pounds.

well, pork is the friendlist solid meat to my band. ... And I believe FF sour cream is a free food, or just about 2 tablespoons has 20 calories.