phyllser

I was 63 when I had my surgery in July. My 5 month Bandiversary is later this week and I"m down 55 lb. No complications whatsoever. It's been smooth sailing from day one. Best of luck! Keep us posted.

We've missed you, Dini!! Glad you had time to stop by and fill us in a bit! Do tell us why NYC was so disappointing for you. So sorry to hear that. I know how you were looking forward to it!!

What a neat collage of pictures! How did you do that??? We were waiting for you to come back, Denise!!

Yeah, this is an excellent support group! I crashed one in WA. It was another doctor's, but I was invited by another bandster I'd met. So I just avoided the weigh in line and pretended like I belonged there. But there was very little time for sharing with one another... too big of a group. But I think they were all bandsters. The one I"m supposed to go to is too far away, too...like 60 miles!

Wonderful!! What progress you've made!! That's great!

I enjoy watching the snow on TV!! Glad I'm not up there in Buffalo where I was born!! Yuck! I just hope my mother has the sense to stay inside today! There is going to be a bandsters bash in Seattle in Feb (Seattle Splash). Wish it was going to be in the spring or summer so I could go. We ought to throw a bash down here in the desert, huh, Janet??!!

Isn't that weird!!?? Last night after I posted them, I couldn't see them either so I posted them again. Then I closed my browser and came back to see if they were there and they were there twice! I can still see them both on pg 489 and pg 490. I have yet to master the art of posting photos on this board. Someone tried to tell me to post them on Photobucket first and then add them per the url using the little picture icon above. But I couldn't get that to work and I consider myself fairly computer savy. It's beginning to get frustrating. I don't know what the answer is.

sorry! Pictures wouldn't show up and now they're there TWICE! Tried to delete one entry to no avail!

Had my picture taken with Santa this morning before our Christmas Golf Cart Parade... DH decorated my scooter so I could ride in the parade!! HO HO HO!

Wow! Kari! That's great!! You're looking good!!

OH, my!! I’m wearing JEANS today!! I have this pair… well, capris, really, but on me they come to my ankles!! I bought them several years ago…. I mean, about 3 or 4 years ago. They were 3x but in jeans, I should’ve known they wouldn’t fit. So every time I lost a few pounds I’d try them on… too snug. When we moved from OK last year I got rid of most of my clothes that were too tight, even if they were new and never worn! But those I loved because they have little flowers embroidered on the cuffs and I still had hope….maybe one day!! So I tried them on after a month or so on the pre=op diet…. Still too snug, but I could get them on. Then I tried them on two months post-op…. still too snug, but better. Could’ve gotten away with it, but would’ve been uncomfortable. So I tried them on this morning…. Baggy!! Had to roll down the waist band. I’m mad that I waited too long, but I’ll be able to wear them for a while. DH has decorated my electric scooter and I’m wearing them in the “Golf Cart” Christmas parade this morning! This morning's weight..... 271.4

May 2007 - Start of Pre-op Diet Dec. 14, 2007 - down 55 lb.

Christmas dinner tonight here at our RV park. Going to try to upload pictures.

Good Morning Lucky #7's! Where is everybody?? Looks like a beautiful morning here! Glad we're not back east with all that snow! My Mom & sisters are in Buffalo NY and probably getting hit. I'll have to call them later.

Sometimes we have to "fake it 'til we make it"!! Maybe this is one of those times! It's okay. We'll make it! We've spent our last few Christmases in an RV park with no family around. It was hard at first, but it's okay. We get in to the activities going on here and we keep in close touch with our family by phone and we end up having a nice Christmas. We had to adjust our expectations. Am I making any sense??

Christmas card exchange would've been fun. We are all too busy to think of these things until it's too late... like Secret Santa, too. We could take Janet's suggestion and do a Summer Secret Santa! I can't imagine making handmade Christmas cards! I'm having enough trouble just writing the addresses! I'm up to the "J's" now!! Think I'll get them in the mail before the end of the week???

That's great, Jackie! Congrats!!

:eek:No rumbling or tooting, but a lot of burping here! LOL:eek:

Wow! I didn't know teachers could be so mean!! LOL You're right... no dumb questions, especially not here. Sometimes I think there is no rhyme or reason as to why the scale just won't move sometimes. My routine seems to be to drop 10 lb in a couple of weeks and then the scale doesn't want to move an ounce for a couple of weeks. So many other issues come in to play... hormones, water retention, etc. I get to thinking I'm to old for hormone fluctuations, but, notice when my depression lifted last week the weight started dropping off... 5.4 lb in one week. So, who knows!!?? Thanks for your well wishes, gals. I've just ignored the crud today and kept on keeping on and I'm doing pretty good. Definitely a little congestion and slight headache, but I think my flu shot is fighting it off because whatever it is, it isn't getting a grip on me thus far! Janet.. I'm washing it away with a glass of wine instead of chicken soup!! But your one pot wonder sounds "wonderful"! I love cabbage. Used to make those huge pots of cabbage soup when I was in WW. Read about your new grocery store in the Desert Sun today. Might have to go check it out! Will be great to get together after the holidays. DH will bring some two buck chuck!! LOL. And you'll have to come out here and hang out with the senior citizens some time soon, too! We're among the youngest, so that's kind of nice!! But then I have to keep up with these 70-80-90 yr olds who are doing water aerobics and playing tennis, etc!! Neat group of folks out here though!

Secret gift exchange sounds fun. Wonder how they managed that. Sounds a little complicated, but fun. Yeah, July will be expensive whatever we do probably. I was looking for a cruise for us for right after school starts because that's when the prices go down usually. Sounds like you're going to have another busy day! I'm going to lay low today as I feel like I am coming down with something. I think I'll go to water aerobics anyway, but take it easy after that.... stuffed up head, achy, etc. i had my flu shot, so maybe I'll get a light pass! Oh, on the portion size again..... DH asked if I'd like some shrimp cocktail yesterday afternoon... snack. I said yes & I see him get out these two huge bowls! I said "No! No! Smaller" so he got out a much smaller bowl for me, but I still could only eat a few bites and had to finish it in the evening. He hasn't changed his mindset on my portion sizes yet. And he still doesn't get it that I'm not feeling all that great!

Wow! You had a busy day. I'm glad your dog is feeling better. Vet bills are outrageous these days. DH gets mad every year when we have to take the cat in for her shots and checkup. If that's a routine med you need for him all the time, I wonder if you could get it on the internet cheaper. So you're down near where that Super Target is going in. Lots of development down there I guess! We went shopping today, too. DH can never resist buying some steaks! He got some really big rib eyes. I just rolled my eyes and told him ONE will more than feed both of us for one meal. He bought two. But he did buy some seafood, too. Shrimp and scallops, which are my favorite. Wasn't very hungry all day, though. Feel like I might be coming down with something.

Yeah, I thought we'd hear from Dini after her trip to NYC. Many of those who were so active here back in the summertime are now among the missing most of the time! I'm assuming no one is really interested in the cruise idea anymore? I think I'm still going to keep watching for a good deal on an Alaska cruise for next fall. DH and I have gone twice, but I found a little different itinerary.. and he loves the Alaska cruises! Especially when we can find one out of Seattle.. no airplane trip! It's such a hassle to fly these days.

Your new picture is great! I thought your suggestion about taking a plate/tray of your favorite fresh veggies to a social gathering was a really good one and I used it in my TOPS lesson today! We have to learn these survival techniques and that is a good one. I've been keeping a bag of beef jerky handy for some of my hungry moments.

Hi, You're too kind. I didn't exactly "run" the meeting, but just did about a 15 minute lesson on social eating. I got lots of thank yous & compliments, so I guess it went pretty well. I really like that "THREE BITE RULE" thing I found so we talked about that, and I brought an issue of "Nutrition Action" newsletter that featured an article on the calories, sodium, etc. of menu items from Olive Garden and Macaroni Grill. How many of us "fluffy" people consider Italian food our very favorite??!! Spaghetti and Meatballs from Olive Garden... the same calories,etc. as two Big Macs and a 21 oz. Coke! Yikes!! Also, I was down 5.4 lb for the week!!! Woo Hoo!! I was very excited about that. The scale is moving again. DH was only down 1.8 lb. How did the dental appt go?? Next time we need a dentist in the desert I will call you! DH had a dental emergency last winter and it went okay, but could've been better!! He ended up having to go to an orthodontic surgeon. No fun!