the best me

B is too small for you Dianne. Do a Full C/D. You'll feel odd going that small. Especially if they are perky. Just think, though...you *could* be starting THIS big...

See the blue bar up top? Left Corner shows "User CP" for User control panel. Click there and you'll see the options for editing user name. Good luck!

Cool! I'm not Jewish, but what a great idea for support! Well done!

:faint: You GO, Girl!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :pound:

1) a cup of coffee with flavored creamer and sugar-it's usually the sugar I want and that's a nice low-dose for me and I get the hand/mouth thing with the coffee mug, plus the caffiene. Works for me, I think. 2) a Breakstone's 2% cottage cheese 4-ouncer. 3) a packet of Weight Control oatmeal 4) hopping on the 'puter for a Message Board Fix 5) a nap-quite the opposite of you Cardio-Freaks out there. But, you are losing faster than me, so have at it! I'm certain Cardio is a better choice-still, it makes me ill that you have it in you and I, clearly, don't 6) oh, and what Teresita said about Men...good one! Hubby's pretty handy about those sorts of things. Wait, isn't that Cardio?! I KNEW I could do it!!!

Do it, Dianne. I have no doubt you will NOT regret it! You look great...but OH! how much for comfortable you'd be! Go for it.

:love: I love Jack :love:

Hey Audrey, I read your update and replied on that thread...it posted! Just so you know.

Good luck on getting preggers, Audrey, and thanks for the reality update. Our bands really do help us! And a properly filled band makes a huge difference. I'm glad to see you up and running again. It's been quite a year for you. Hang in there, you are a total inspiration! I always love your pics. How is your sister?

I dig it, too. Feels great, don't it?! :heh: Well done! Hey, thanks for the kudos, folks! I have a digital camera on my Christmas Wish List, so I hope to be updating some pics soon. I keep running across old fat pics, I should post them, but not without some newer ones to compare! I'm not at goal, but the difference is amazing. I feel like me again. :peep:

Okay, it seems I have been inducted into the Slow Losers Club. Odd, but I guess it's true. I haven't been all that worried about being a slow loser, as long as I am losing. But, my stats speak for me, especially considering I lost 15 pounds in 12 days post-surgery and nothing more for 3 months. So, sigh, here I am. I haven't been a good NSV keeper. I will do my best to keep track and post them here. But I'm hoping they'll have to kick me out of the club, since I really really like seeing the scale move I can cross my legs now. It's easier if I am sitting back or lounging, but if I'm sitting up and scootch sideways a bit onto one hip, I can comfortably cross. WOW! My shirts are just too big. I go to put one on and I'm choosing the smallest one I have because all that extra fabric bugs me. Time to shop, but the budget prevents it right now. I'll do it, really! I need new bras. Forget the fact that the ones I have are stretched and old and ragged, they are too big! The girls just hang, I have no good support with them, and I look bustier than I really am unless I have the Body Dysmorphic Disorder thing going on about my chest size. Some of my bras are 40D's, some are 38D's, a couple are 40C's. I think I need 38, maybe 36D's? I can't imagine needing a 36C but it's possible? Anyhow, time to shop. I got a hair cut and can't keep my hubby from chasing me around. Wait, is that the new 'do or an NSV? Friends at church compliment me just about every week, tell me how good I'm looking and what a difference they can see. Yay! My undies are a little baggy in the butt. Sigh. There goes more money. I sleep better, don't snore anymore, and rolls in the hay with hubby are no longer uncomfortable...I can breathe when I'm laying down!!!! My new pants, something I actually shopped for, are size 18-20W and they are loose. Not baggy yet, but loose. My panni is shrinking a little. It's still there, the overhang above my C-sect scar, and it still looks terribly ugly and it's still in the way, but it's smaller. I even bothered to shave the bikini area the other day. I could almost see it!! My slide on shoes slide off if I'm not careful. My feet have shrunk/shrank (which is it?). I used to trudge up the stairs, but now I can walk right up. If I have my slippers on at home and need to go upstairs, I take them off and almost jog up. Okay, that's it for now. I'll post more as they happen and I promise to do a better job of paying attention to them. Slow Losers...I did it! I posted NSV's!!!!!

How was your appt? what did the doc say about your port pain? Did you get a fill? Update please!!!

My second fill made a sound similar, to me it was more like a click. My port is super easy to feel and access, there's no question about the center of my port. But, when the doc put the needle through my skin, it didn't keep pushing down into the port. He had to press and adjust the angle of the needle, then *click* it pushed down into the port. No pain (he gives lidocaine before a fill) but it was interesting, to say the least. Hope this fill works well for you. Evening eating is difficult. I keep a cup of coffee nearaby to sip on. Thankfully the caffiene doesn't bother me, but you could try decaf hot tea? Keep popping it in the microwave and sip sip sip. It really does help.

Wow, I haven't checked in here in a while! here's a clothes NSV. Since I'm freezing cold all the time, I'm now keen on long-sleeved shirts. Go figure. So I go to Kohl's and try on the XL (in the regular Women's sections, not the Plus sized 1X, 2X or 3X I used to buy) and the XL is too big! WOW! So I now have 5 long-sleeved cotton stretch t-shirts in pretty fall colors in Large. Plain ole Large. My numbers game isn't going very well. I'm sooo stuck on actual weight loss, even inches aren't budging much. I'm out of the Curves habit, and recovering from the Halloween candy habit. That one got me pretty good for a few weeks. I thought I could finish this journey without another fill. I so want to avoid the fill/unfill game, but I give up. I have a consult Wed with a local band doc. A REAL band doctor. I'll get a flouro fill and discuss an endoscope with him. I'm tired of wondering if something is wrong with my little band friend. I'm 18+ months out, and haven't done a thing with my band in 13 months. No fills, nada. Time for a check up. I was hoping I'd be in MX with my sister getting her band, but she's not ready to fork over the cash just yet, so I'll not wait for her any longer. I want to see my band. I'll start with a flouro fill and go from there.

Tired of fighting for the last 30, too. I'm going in for a fill. I haven't had one in over 13 months. I guess it's time.

Oy vey, there are lots of us. I feel like I'm doing enough to lose, slowly, but I'm not exercising regularly, and I'm not logging my food. So what feels like eatimg smaller portions of nutritious foods, is probably just fooling myself. Or I'd see better scale numbers, right? I should log my food! I should exercise! I have my consult Wed and a fill soon after that. I'm nervous I can't do this. I'm glad to see all of you out here. Thanks for posting.

*spewing coffee* So true! We shall see.

I'm right here with ya, Keri! Banded just over 18 months, haven't had a fill in 13 months, and I have an appt next week for a consult with a local doc (I was banded in MX) to schedule a flouro fill. I want to make sure "the band" is doing okay, and I'm ready to move forward. Let's restart this game together! We can do it! Girl, you are soooooo close to Twoterville...come one! The water's fine!!!!!

That's odd, Carlene. Please call your doc. And let us know what you find out. I'm interested in knowing what this could be!!!

Too cool, Josephine. Well done! Just, WOW! Congratulations!!! Hey, how 'bout some pics here?!

Good to hear form you, Jess, and I'm glad all is well and on the mend.

You hang in there. God bless you for not giving up on her. Maybe she can't thank you right now, but I will on her behalf. Thank you for not giving up.

I agree with this, too! Just be careful it's not an ultimatum, unless you are willing to follow through on your end of the deal, right? Yes, she needs to step up to the plate, and perhaps she needs you to be firm about your expectaions in some areas? Be careful, though.

Kathy the Underachiever-don't be dumping all kinda self-actualized motivation BS on me cuz it's over my head...I'll be elsewhere, thanks I'm being tongue-in-cheek, hoping it gives you something to chew on. No disrespect intended, okay?

Forget the band for now. It will be there waiting. Feed her spirit. Fill her up. Find what it is that fills her, motivates her, encourages her, find out HOW to love her up. If you are taking care of it, why should she have to? What keeps her from getting on "overwhelmed and shutting down" mode? I really do see myself a bit in your wife. Being so heavy pre-band was miserable. I was so stuck and discouraged and alone and tired and angry, too. My hubby was trying to fix it. Telling me "don't eat so much, your body doesn't NEED the food, just don't eat it" wasn't fixing it for me. HIS will didn't work for me. I have had to find my own way. And what motivated me to want to try was my anger and dissappointment with myself. All hubby needed to do was keep me loved up and encouraged. I remember one turning point was him saying "I don't understand this thing you got with food. I realize I don't get it, and I don't pretend to understand it. You do what you gotta do." and suddenly he wasn't taking care of my problem, but he was helping me do what I had to do to take care of it MY way. Some resources that have helped me: www.flylady.net because I feel like keeping my routines at home helps me stay sane and less overwhelmed (Im a SAHM too) And there's a booka bout the 5 languages of love, and I can't rememeber the author. I'll edit this post if I run across it. If you can figure out what your wife's love language is, maybe you can speak to her more effectively, not just in what you say, but what you do. Good luck. You are on the right path and I hope you will keep us posted. Many of us can relate to your wife.