Jessiebear

I'm so sorry Jenna! My dogs are my children. I lost my first baby 5 years ago. I truly feel for you. (((((HUGS)))))!!!

WTG! I always wear shorts under my skirts & dresses just because of the chafing. I cannot wait for the day I can post this NSV myself! Awesome!

Happy Bandiversary Betty! Party girl! You've earned it!

Congratulations Megan! It sounds to me like you have won the hardest part of the battle! A very special friend of my Mom's had LB surgery today & he did great! I can't think of a better person for him to share a bandiversary with! Congrats again!

Good grief! I didn't know they cost that much! Okay, my cousin is crazy! Sorry!LOl!

I'm not sure. My Grandma says you can. I think you have to have a special recipe if using Splenda. My other Grandma use to make low sugar jelly cause my G-pa is diabetic. I know for a fact that she used alow sugar recipe that was in the package of the low sugar Sure Jell. I'll look into this!

Too funny!! I actually laughed outloud! I know that had to be awful, but I hope you got a copy of the pic! Thanks for sharing! You're a good sport! LOL!

Thanks for all the responses & support! You guys are always here when I need you! I know I haven't ever been sexually abused. So that's not it. I think I'm a lot like you Anwyn, Everything else in my life (at least the things that other people care about) seems to be all "peaches & cream". I know I have a real problem with trying to please people. I'm thinking the sabotage has some roots in this. I don't want to come off as perfect, because I'm not, so "Hey look at me!" "I'm fat!" "Nothing to be jealous of here!" I pretty much know that that is one of my issues. I guess I need to cultivate my inner B**ch! LOL! Maybe stop worrying about what other people think & how they perceive me. Who cares right? All that matters is what I think of myself. Am I making sense or just rambling?

I know you're right about the counseling. I went through 2 years of it already. Whenever she would bring up my weight I would always shut down on her. I probably should go back to see her. I'll think about it.

Thank you! I'm trying!

Okay, so I have been on every diet ever invented! I even have a diet book that my Aunts used in the 60's & 70's that is falling apart. It has some of the weirdest diets you have ever heard of in it! I have really been thinking about the weight I have lost & regained in the past 5 or 6 years. I realized that when I get to the 300 lb mark, I always stop dieting & return to old habits. Of course the weight comes back + 20 or so. Why do I do this? I can't figure it out! Has anyone else done this & if so, why do you think you do it or did it? I have set my first SV or goal to be under 300 lbs. As of today I am 7 lbs from my first goal. I guess I'll see what happens. LOL!

Hey ladies! I too have PCOS & IR. I am not currently taking any meds for it. My little sister also has it. She is really struggling with it right now. I was banded in Jan. 2005. I have lost 43 lbs so far & still losing. There are a lot more women on this board who have PCOS. I have talked with a few of them. You can & will lose weight the band. You have to work with the band though. Don't expect the weight to just fall off cause you have the band. That's where I messed up in the beginning. I expected the band to do all the work for me. Since I figured it out (exercise, protein & low carbs/good carbs) the weight has steadily been falling off. Good luck to you all! Keep us updated!

I have a cousin that custom orders her Levi's from their website. They make the jeans to custom fit you going by your measurements. They are pricey though.

Happy :Bunny :Bunny Birthday! :Bunny :Bunny

Wow! I'm impressed! Congratulations! :Bunny :Bunny :Bunny :Bunny :Bunny

1. Organs donated if they are still any good. 2. Cremated 3. Good old fashioned potluck/keg party in the country in my honor (everyone better party!) 4. Ashes dumped in the ocean!

LOL! That was good! Thanks!

I'm impressed! Those are some really great NSVs!

"BUT, the hungrier you let yourself get, the more likely you are going to eat too fast, take too big a bite, or do something to get stuck or even PB, and is not healthy for your band." _ The Best Me (Kathy) I totally agree with this statement! The first few times that I had that stuck feeling, was in the beginning when I was trying to follow the 3 meals a day thing. If you let yourself get too hungry, you eat too fast when you finally do eat! At least I do! And that is just not good! Lately I have been keeping chicken salad made & if I get to feeling hungry i eat a couple of bites. It satisfies me till the next meal. Doing this I have lost 10 lbs in a week (of course that was after gaining 7) It still counts! LOL!

1. Bread - for me, only in the evenings (my band is looser in the evenings) & only if it is taken in small bites & chewed very very well! 2. Pasta - with lots of sauce, but it fills me up quickly too! 3. Pop - I wasn't told not to like a lot of the others, but taking everyone's advice, I mostly steer clear of it 4. Tortillas - I actually do these better than bread, but they fill me up fast 5. salad - no problem 6. Steak - has to be tender with some kind of sauce & chewed very slowly & carefully (tiny little swallows when through chewing)! 7. Roast - actually haven't tried it, sorry! 8. Cereal - not in the mornings (band is too tight), but it is doable in the evenings. 9. Hamburger - not a problem 10. pizza - sometimes I can & sometimes I can't (Iwouldn't suggest it though, bad habit to get started) 11. Apples - no problem if peeled 12. chips - no problem (which is not good! The deep fried crunchy stuff is easy to eat) 13. cheese - no problem 14. Shrimp - no problem 15. Pop corn - can't 16. pretzels - can't Also if you go out somewhere and need something quick and only fast food is available what would you order? Could you order a Mc Donalds hamburger and just eat the meat? I try to stick with some sort of Protein or salad. I can't eat potatoes, mashed or baked, so I really just try not to eat out for lunch. If I eat a couple of bites of something in the mornings, then by lunch time I can pretty much eat just about anything. It helps to loosen my band. I figured this out last week. I was able to eat a huge piece of pizza & half a ham & cheese calzone (warning: I gained 7 lbs last week! But since then I have lost 10 more.) If I had to eat out for lunch, I would go for chicken strips or nuggets with a sauce. That's for something from a drive-thru. Soup or chili is always good too.

I got the notice that mine have shipped too!

:Bunny :Bunny Congrats!! :Bunny :Bunny

Wow! Looking good! Congrats on the NSV & the honeymoon!

Found one! RED PEPPER JELLY 6 sm. red peppers (1 1/4 lbs.) 1 c. vinegar 1/2 tsp. salt 5 c. granulated sugar 1 bottle liquid Certo Chop peppers fine. Measure 2 cups pepper and juice in large pot. Add vinegar and salt. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer covered 10 minutes until tender. Stir in sugar, return to rolling boil and boil, uncovered and stir one minute. Remove from heat and immediately stir in Certo. Stir for 5 minutes to blend. Pour jelly into sterilized jars and seal. Serve over Philadelphia cream cheese with crackers. check out cooks.com for tons of jam recipes also.:Bunny

Green Pepper Jelly Ingredients7 sweet green peppers 1 jalapeño pepper 1 1/2 cups vinegar, 5% acidity, divided 1 1/2 cups apple juice 1 package Ball 100% Natural® Fruit Jell® Pectin 1/2 teaspoon salt 5 cups sugar Green food coloring (optional) Instructions Wash peppers; drain. Remove stems and seeds. Cut into 1/2-inch pieces. Purée half of peppers and 3/4 cup vinegar in blender or food processor. Purée remaining peppers and vinegar. Combine purées in a large bowl; stir in apple juice. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Prepare Ball® or Kerr® jars and closures according to instructions found in Canning Basics. Strain puréed mixture through a damp jelly bag or several layers of cheesecloth. Measure 4 cups juice. Add apple juice to make 4 cups, if needed. Combine juice, pectin and salt in a large saucepot. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Add sugar, stirring until dissolved. Return to a rolling boil. Boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim foam if necessary. Add a few drops of green food coloring if desired. Carefully ladle hot jelly into hot jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Wipe rim and threads of jars with a clean damp cloth. Place lid on jar with sealing compound next to glass. Screw band down evenly and firmly just until a point of resistance is met - fingertip tight. Process 10 minutes in a boiling-Water canner. Yield: about 6 half-pints. Note: When cutting or seeding hot peppers, wear rubber gloves to prevent hands from being burned. For altitude adjustment increase processing as indicated below: 1,001-- 3,000 ft.....5 minutes 3,001-- 6,000 ft...10 minutes 6,001-- 8,000 ft...15 minutes 8,001- 10,000 ft...20 minutes All I could find was green pepper jelly. Warning.... I made some muscadine jelly a couple of weeks ago & I gained 7 lbs! I couldn't quit eating it! But since I quit, I have lost 9 lbs. I guess it evened out after all. LOL! I found this recipe at homecanning.com . They had a bunch of jam recipes too. I went to Wal-Mart & bought a book put out by Ball that has nothing but canning recipes & it also tells you how to can step by step. It was only $3.00. Good luck to you!