phyllser

GOOD FOR YOU! You've got the right attitude. You'll do great! Fitday is a GREAT site! I've used it a lot!

We are ALL rooting for you, Katy! Your strength and determination come through in all your posts and you encourage us as we encourage you! :thumbup: :biggrin: :tongue2:

So glad to hear your band and pouch are okay! Must be pretty neat to have a picture! Any possibility you could scan it and post it? Would love to see it!! Sorry... the RN in me raises it's ugly head again! OUCH!! Thought I had a problem, too... sore jaw for a couple of days, but it went away. Going to the dentist next week about a "hole" I found in the side of my tooth. Sure hope you get a good night's sleep tonight!! So glad to hear that good news! After last time, we were all concerned with you. Was glad to hear yesterday, that our son, the one who lost his eye to eye cancer, had a complete physical and got a clean bill of health this past week. Always worry about him! FAA recently insisted on a CT of his head to r/o brain cancer, and it was clear, too. It was really stupid to begin with... FAA doctors don't understand this type of melanoma! It goes to the liver or lungs or maybe bone, but not usually brain like other types of melanoma. But he has to comply with their silly demands to keep them happy and keep his private pilot's license up to date. At any rate, he's a healthy guy..he worries a lot about recurrence, and of course, so do we. It's always exhilerating to get a good report, so we're rejoicing with him and with you, too, Janet. Cancer is a miserable thing. Had a 1/2 lb gain this week... not surprised after my 5 lb loss last week. And I was out to lunch twice last week and one potluck, so more than the usual week. Next week WILL be better!

When you're all finished, highlight the "BBC Code", right click and choose "copy". Then come back here, go to "Edit Signature" and right click again in the signature box and choose "paste". Then hit save and se if it worked.

CONGRATS!! YOU DID IT!! Looks good! :thumbup::sleep:

Try this: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f5/ticker-tutorial-pictures-41782/

WELCOME, Penny! Good to get acquainted with you. So where do you live now?? So glad that you found LBT. A great place to get support, encouragement, and a slap on the wrist when you need it!! We don't always stick to subject, so you don't need to apologize for that! Whatever is on your mind is okay! Would enjoy seeing a picture of that copper red hair! So your surgery is tomorrow! Have you been on a pre-op diet? Most of us had to do that. My dr. wanted me to lose 10% of my body weight prior to surgery. I didn't quite make it, but I did get my BMI below 60 and that was another thing that made him uncomfortable, so that put a bit of a smile on his face and he agreed to go ahead. What kind of post-op regime have they given you?? We're here for you, so keep us posted! And, I highly recommend another thread as well... under the "Mentors" threads, "I'm Here to Help" is a GREAT place for "newbies"!

The fills will get better as you lose. Even the surgeon had trouble finding mine the first few times. Last summer when I went in for my 5th, I was in and out in no time at all! The PA laughed when I commented on how fast she found the port this time and she told me that was why... I lot less fat to get through to find it. It was wonderful!

Thought some of you might get a kick out of this... our youngest son, 36 yrs old, just bragging on Facebook that he ran a mile in 7 minutes 35 seconds... was trying to catch his breath! That doesn't sound like he's in such great shape, does it!?? But then I don't know that much about running... maybe 7 1/2 minutes is pretty okay! Runners??? Help me here! Is that good or not so good???

Stay calm. Thursday will be here before you know it, and getting yourself emotionally tangled will make it worse. I know if I get upset, mad, cry, etc., I immediately feel my band tighten up. Good that they plan to check it with fluoro. That will show them exactly what is going on. Can you sleep with an extra pillow the next two nights? That should help a little. Dental work and antibiotics are probably just coincidental. Wondered if any of you still get that nasty post-op shoulder pain? Doesn't happen very often, but every now and then, and it's uncomfortable. Bothering me right now, in fact. Get arthritic pain in the same shoulder (left), but this feels quite different and is more towards center.... shoulder blade, sort of, but in front. Think I might know what triggered it today and it's probably my own fault. Sometimes I have these very immature waves of jealousy when I see DH indulging in all sorts of snacks! He ate lunch around 11-11:30 a.m., and before it was even 1 p.m. he was sitting down with a glass of wine, a bowl of tortilla chips and some salsa. So when he left to go down to the laundromat 1/2 hr later... guess what I did!!?? And this is not a normal thing for me... I just had a wild hair or something!! I got me a couple tablespoons of salsa and about 6 chips and I scarfed them down WAY TOO FAST, because I knew it wouldn't take him long to get the clothes out of the dryer and get back to the RV. And as soon as I sat down again I felt miserable and a little while later the shoulder pain started! Stupid chick, huh!!?? Did any of you get an email from "Obesity Help" a few weeks ago about their new magazine?? They offered me a special introductory rate of.. I think it was only $10, maybe $20 for a year. So my first magazine came today. Just now starting to look at it. I'm OLD so I forgot that I even ordered it and when I saw the big OH on the front, I said to DH, "I wonder who sent me this stupid Oprah magazine!! I don't even like her!!" Then I started looking through it... OH, NEVER MIND!!

Thought I'd get my two cents in here.. this discussion of snacks/treats, lifestyle change vs. diet, etc. Popcorn.... I think it smells WONDERFUL when it's cooking, but don't like the way it gets stuck in my teeth so I've never been a big fan. Now if you're sitting next to me at the movies eating a bag of it and you lean it in my direction, I may take a handful, but it's not something that tempts me. Cookies would be a bigger problem, but haven't kept them in the house for years. And, just for fun... our cookie jar at home is a policeman. When you lift the lid a VERY LOUD voice says "STOP! Move AWAY from the cookie jar!" So if they're in there, there is no way you're going to sneak one unless you are home alone! I try to vary my daily snacks so it doesn't get too boring, but usually have a small amount of gorgonzola cheese with a few veggie wheat thins in the afternoon with a small glass of wine. Yes, I have a small glass of wine every afternoon! At night I may have about 1/4 cup of cottage cheese with a little fruit, or maybe some salsa and a few more of those crackers... 14 = 130 calories, I think.. and I usually have about 3 or 4. And once a day... usually with my lunch (salad w/imit. crab... a couple of oz...most days) , I have a 60 calorie Jello SF pudding... I LOVE the rice pudding w/cinnamon. We are thinking about possibly going on a cruise later this year. If I were to go on a cruise, first I'd find out if the breakfast buffet place makes eggbeaters omelets. that's what I always have for breakfast. If so, I'd go get a small one with salmon & mozarella cheese every morning. The dining room menu on most cruises these days offers at least one healthy entre at each meal. And they are always VERY accomodating as far as trying to meet your dietary needs. So I would strive to eat as closely as possible to what I eat at home. I LOVE my seafood and there is usually plenty of that on most cruise ships. And I prefer my lobster/crab, etc without the butter, so that's not a problem either. Garlic, onion, lemon is what I like with my seafood and NOT butter. And if they ever offered a filet!! Yeah, I'd be having a small one of those, but without the bacon! And lots of veggies. You can go on a cruise, eat healthy and still ENJOY! And the exercise facilities are always top notch. My very special Aunt Genny, who died last year, LOVED to go on cruises. She was a kick! We were two of a kind. But she outdid me on cruises! She'd often order two entres, maybe two desserts, etc. She truly enjoyed eating, but alwayshad to watch her weight! BUT.... you would see her EVERY morning walking laps around the top deck... around and around. The last time we went on a big family cruise, I remember she earned herself a t-shirt by the end of the week, for her exercise.. the morning walkers.. they had some special name for them which I've forgotten.

Okay, just found this and it's much closer to the letter I read yesterday. But ours says something like... I've found a new love and his name is "Health"... etc. letter Dear Food, I’m breaking up with you. Don’t be surprised. I’ve certainly tried to do it many times before, but I always weakened and went back to you. I finally woke up and realized this relationship is not good for me. I’m not getting what I need from you. It’s hurting me, not allowing me the space to grow in the ways I need to grow. You’re holding me back. I know I’ll have separation anxiety, but I’ve stayed with you too long, way past when I should have. This just isn’t working for me. You don’t listen to me. You don’t give me attention. You don’t care about what I’m going through. It’s almost like you don’t have any feelings for me at all, yet I’ve stuck close to you, helpless and dependent. I know you won’t let go of me so easily. I know you’ll keep calling me, asking me to come back. But please, let me go now. In the beginning you were always there, ready to calm me and soothe me, but it went too far. I came to rely on you. I looked to you for everything. In all fairness, it was too much to ask of you. No way could you fulfill all my needs. For so long I’ve settled, afraid to go out there and find something better for myself. I need to do that. I now withdraw my heart from you so I can be free to put it elsewhere, some place where I can be loved back. I’ve tried to break up with you before. This time it’s real. I want to be on the cutting edge of my own life, and I can’t do it while I’m still tied to you. Thinking about being free scares me, but I want it. I must have it. I think I’m brave enough at last. I know I’ll long for you. I know I’ll think of you a lot, especially during those hard times. I know I’ll be tempted to come back to you. But this time I’ve got a plan, things I’m prepared to do when I get lonely and sad. I’ve been thinking of other ways to celebrate when I’m happy or proud. I have remedies in place for being bored or tired. At this point you’re a troublemaker in my life and I intend to keep my emotional distance from you. So in a way, this is goodbye. Of course, I’ll still come into contact with you day to day, but let’s just be friends, not lovers. Don’t cry (although you never do, it’s me who does all the crying).

I think the closest you can get with Amtrak is Buffalo... then you'd have to rent a car and drive, take a bus or something like that. Unless we can coordinate our trips and I pick you up there and we could drive up the rest of the way together. I'm trying to figure out how this is going to work. Want to see my Mom, sisters and family in Buffalo this summer. Trying to talk DH in to a big RV trip and go there, and then to OK either before or after. Then I have to talk him in to letting me leave him there without a car for the weekend. But, with all the family we have there, someone might have a car he can borrow. I am so excited that I hooked up with a Red Hat ladies group in the area. The one in the park is CLOSED! Makes me mad. They say they have 12-15 and they can't handle any more because it complicates the car pooling when they're going somewhere and makes it too crowded when they meet in each other's homes (double wide mobiles or park models), or go out to lunch. LAME excuses!! They're just cliquey, plain and simple!! And some of them are pretty good friends of mine, or so I thought! But, fashion show here last week that I almsot didn't go to.. but they were featuring mostly "Red Hat" clothes, etc. And that's where I met this lady that is in another RV park down the road. She says she has over 50 ladies in her group and, "the more, the merrier". So she invited me to come to lunch with them tomorrow. Looking forward to it. Then I told my three sisters about how excited I was about this and one of them sent me a new Red Hat t-shirt, really nice one, and a Red Hat watch... for my 100# loss!! Did I tell you guys my Mom sent me a $100 check??? I'm feeling really pampered. So, back on my make-up table I have laid out my watch, 2 prs of Red Hat earrings, some purple eye make-up! And my swim bag is packed with the clothes I'm going to wear so I can get ready at the locker room after water aerobics. I've found that since I now have 3 holes in each ear, it gets a lot more complicated and takes a lot of time to change earrings! So I don't swap them out very often. I always have trouble with that one high one which I now consider my 100 lb commemorative piercing! Even though I did it in August...! So, I took out ALL the earrings thisafternoon, cleaned them all, cleaned my ears real good and just put one diamond stud back in the high hole. So I'm all ready to put in the Red Hat earrings after swimming. Is this sounding pathetic???? Doesn't take much to excite me, I guess!!

"Dear Food" letter I read was much funnier than this one, and longer, but this is the idea: Dear Sugary, Fatty, Unheathy Foods, It’s over, baby! For most of my life, I have turned to you in times of trouble. When I was anxious, you calmed me down and helped me forget about my worries. When I was bored, you gave me something to do. When I relaxed with a book, you were there with me. Oh, it was no problem when I was young, because my metabolism was high and my feet did not hurt when I walked. I was active, so you had little effect on me. But as I got older, how you betrayed me! You put unhealthy pounds on me and geve me a BMI that is bordering on obese. Shame on you! Of course, I can’t live without you in some form, but I have a new love. Fruits and veggies will take the place of chocolate and chips. Yogurt will suffice where ice cream used to reign. Yes, our relationship is going to change, dear food. You will no longer be my crutch, but my assistant in the pursuit of good health. You no longer control me, baby—I am in charge now! Love and hate, Jessy

Did you check to see what it would cost if you flew out of Vegas??

Checkin' in! Had an all day TOPS thing today "Fun Day"... they have them every few months... 17 chapters in the local area, to recognize people for their weight losses and other achievements. Theme was "Rock 'n Roll", so we dressed in jeans and white shirts. There were some pretty cute outfits there. There were a few little skits, and I read this "Dear John" letter to "Food" that was in a newsletter I got from my WA state group. I'd read it at our open house and the area captain was there so she asked me to do it again today. Only she made me get up on the stage.. and we hammed it up pretty good. She was "Food" and she put on this straw hat and a little black mustache. I dug a kleenex out of my pocket for each of us and there was a lot of sniffling and pretend crying, and we had a good time with it. It was a good time. There were over 100 people there... and DH was one of about 3-4 men!

Put the dates on my calendar as "tentative". Sounds good to me... and I like Vegas in Nov, too. My head still hurts. Have to go to an all day thing 50 miles away tomorrow. Hope the headache goes away by then!

My losing pattern has been exactly the same. I lost 5 lb this week, but I'd been up ad down for the past several weeks. It's been that way since the beginning. Just have to keep on keepin' on!! I'm going to get another fill in two weeks and I hope I'm not making a mistake! I have good restriction, but I want to be a little tighter. Going up to Seattle for a few days, so I'm having it done early in the week in case I have problems... like Monday afternoon and I fly back down here on Friday morning. That should be long enough to know if I'm going to be okay with it!

Well, email notifications are coming again, but having trouble getting on the site this morning! Feeling much better today after a queasy, kind of a headachy day yesterday. Think I had a VERY SLIGHT case of the flu that had me feeling just mildly miserable. Cut my water aerobics short after about 20 minutes and didn't do much all day... other than meet some friends for lunch. Almost canceled that since I didn't feel much like eating. Then I tried to shop a little, but my heart was'nt in that either, so we went back to the RV and I stayed in the rest of the day. Hope you had a GREAT birthday and enjoyed your BD dinner, Janet! Especially since you couldn't do that last year! Ruby's birthday today. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Ruby, if you happen to be lurking. :party::eek::party::w00t:

Good Morning! Good weigh in today... actually down 5 lb, but last week I had a gain. I know I was retaining some fluid from too many hours sitting the day before... our day trip to AZ. But, I'm at a new low so very happy about that. Not too happy about my stomach this morning, though. Feeling very queasy, so I only stayed for the first 20 minutes of water aerobics. Thought it was from taking my vitamins on an empty stomach, but I do that every day. Only difference is that usually I have my breakfast about 1/2 hr later, but Thursdays I wait until after I weigh in and then I Have a granola bar. But it never made me feel sick before, and that was hours ago now & still feeling the same, so hope i"m not getting the flu!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JANET!! :bored::party::eek::party::w00t:

I'm not getting email notifications again either!! Wish they'd fix the site and leave it alone!! I don't know how the other gals post their pictures. The only thing that works for me is to upload them to photobucket.com, then resize them so they're small enough for this site. When you do that, a url address gets assigned to each picture. So if you copy/paste that, you can post your pictures. Interesting reactions from your family! Sisters must feel threatened! I have three sisters and they've all been very supportive and celebrated my 100 lb with me. And my Mom! Yesterday I got a check for $100 from her... $1 for each pound, she said!!

Congrats, LONG!!! 100 lb That's GREAT!!! :cursing::party::tongue::party:

I don't like water either, Sharon. I get mine in by adding Crystal Lite... (store brands are cheaper.... Albertson's, Wal-Mart & others have same thing as Crystal Lite). Keep a large jug of it in the fridge at all times. I use a 20 oz Rubbermaid water bottle and usually make my goal of emptying it 3X every day. And the first bottle of the day has Benefiber in it to get my fiber in, too, and it doesn't change the taste at all. I don't think it would matter if you started using it now, during the liquid stage, and it might help the diarrhea problem, too. Anyone else have thoughts on that??

YES, it HAS been quiet here for a LONG time! Good to hear from someone! I'm doing great.... slow but steady progress. I reached the 100 lb mark just before Christmas but have been stalled ever since. But that's been typical for me so I just keep plugging along. I gained a few lb over Christmas, then lost it, then another gain! We are in southern CA for the winter, but I'm coming home for a few days in Feb and plan to make an appointment to get a fill while I'm there. Will do it early in the week to make sure I"m not too tight before I leave again.