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Have my new outfit on this morning. I keep looking at the tags.... Yep, XL!! And the pants aren't even too long!! If they were I wouldn't have bought it because that's where al the fru fru is.... fancy stitching, embroidered flowers and sparklies! DH likes it. We have park's Christmas dinners here next Thurs/Fri nights. Choir is singing at both, so director wants us to sign up for both! I think I'll just show up when it's time to sing on Fri. No need to face all that food two nights in a row. I'm taking desert on Thurs and I'm going to use that SF cheesecake pudding, mix it with some pumpkin and SF/FF Cool Whip, and maybe ginger snaps on the bottom (good idea, Janet) .... sound like that will work??? Or do you think I need to add some Splenda??? And I will add a little pumpkin pie spice. Kind of gutsy with no recipe, but it should turn out okay don't you think???? Please say yes!! :biggrin::biggrin::biggrin: We ususally take green bean casserole or scalloped potatoes. This should be easier and I will know exactly what's in it when I have some!! DD who lives near us in WA just sent me a picture, on my phone, of their back yard covered with snow. Looks pretty but I'm glad we're here and not there!

So sorry for the trouble you're having! This is not normal. Something is wrong. You should not be vomiting like that, especially with nothing in your band. Glad you are seeing your doctor on Monday! The book is available on Amazon.com, and you can also see reviews there and view the table of contents, etc. I don't rememeber what she covered as far as complications, but I'm sure you can find out there. Another good source of information is the Yahoo group Orea mentioned, Smartbandsters.com..... and Jesse Ahroni monitors that pretty much daily and will usually answer any questions you might have as well as advise you if you're having problems. Keep us posted. What you are experiencing is not the norm!

LOL!! NO, you're NOT in the wrong place! This is the 60+ thread! I even hang out on the 50+ thread. I just turned 65 a couple of weeks ago. Where is Atwater CA?? We are "snowbirds" and spend the winter in Desert Hot Springs. Love it here!

HI, Yeah, too much Facebook. I haven't seen Steph there in a day or two, though. I'm having to play Sudoku by myself! Busy today... water aerobics, went shopping in DHS.. oh, found a really nice three piece outfit... had to buy it because it is an XL and it FIT!! Everything was 30% off.. I thought it was $36.99, but salesgirl couldn't find a price tag or another outfit like it, so she decided it was $29.99...so she gave it to me for $20.99! Went to get a new bathing suit... one I bought two months ago is already all stretched out and faded. Bought the very same suit in the very same size because they didn't have any other prints in that size... 18... I can get in to a 16, but still a little too small. i got a free pair of pants, too, special promotion for buying a bathing suit. They were on sale, too.. so I got all these clothes for what the bathing suit would have cost full price! So by the time we got back from DHS, it was time to go to choir practice! And when I got back, DH had invited folks in the RV parked behind us over for dinner (my suggestion), so he had dinner almost ready and table set up in the living room with Christmas table cloth and plates... looked really nice. So, it wasn't only Facebook and Sudoku that kept me away today! TOPS weigh in yesterday and I was down 2 lb... BUT, that's the 2 lb I was up last week, so I'm even for the month! I am determined to get that last 3 lb off to make my next mini goal of 100 lb by next week. I can do it!!

Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Banding: Achieving Permanent Weight Loss with Minimally Invasive Surgery (Paperback) by [ame=http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?%5Fencoding=UTF8&search-type=ss&index=books&field-author=Jessie%20H.%20Ahroni%20Ph.D.%20A.%20R.%20N.%20P.]Jessie H. Ahroni Ph.D. A. R. N. P.[/ame] (Author) You can find it at Amazon.com

Little witch??? Surely you can't be talking about that sweet little kitty???!!!

Jesse's book is the one I always recommend to folks considering LB surgery. I love her one-liners. "Just because you can, doesn't mean you should!", etc. i crashed one of her support gropu meetings last year with some gals I'd met through a local support group in WA state who had their surgery at that center. And I completely agree with your "common sense should prevail" comment! That is so true. I have a good friend in TX who is very discouraged right now and one of her complaints is that every time she has a fill she has to be on liquids for FIVE days! Common sense tells me that is too long, but I hesitate to tell her that sometimes it's okay to bend the rules a little if it doesn't make sense!

GREAT picture! You look FABULOUS!! Darling family! Had a good dinner.. grilled salmon w/rice, coleslaw. Concert was wonderful... about 20 of us from the park sat together. Really enjoyable evening.

It'll be a while before I venture in to any of those, but I AM getting comfortable outside the PLUS dept! Still need to get my pants there... 1X or 2X, depending on style, but I'm now wearing some L/XL tops. I found a brand of pants at Target that I like because they fit right! If I get the cropped pants that are supposed to ride below your waist... fit so much better than anything else I've tried. When my weight is down and stable, maybe I'll get out of Kmart, Wal-Mart and Target!! :biggrin::thumbup:

That little job is going to be worth GOLD!! What a wonderful opportunity!!

Well, I was feeling sorry for you in all that snow, for about a half a minute, until I read the post about Cuba... no more tears! Every now and then I miss that snow I grew up with... for a few seconds... until I remember the boots, warm coats, ice and slush, etc.! CONGRATS!! That is a wonderful feeling! Sounds like you're definitely back on track! That's great! Facing some temptations today! It's a busy day with Christmas Brunch for men & women this morning... I did pretty good... some scrambled eggs, small sausage patty. I had a couple of bites of sweetbread. It was sitting right in front of me talking to me or else I probably wouldn't have. And I had a few bites of fresh fruit. Tonight we're going to Marine Band Christmas concert with 8 other people and we're all going out to dinner first. But we picked the place, and we picked a place where we know I can get a healthy meal... fish place that has "Lite House" meals & I love their scallops, salmon, etc., so I have multiple good choices. Looking forward to a pleasant evening. Hope you're all having a GREAT day!

Kathy, It was so nice to meet you! It's so much fun to meet other bandsters and share our experiences. And thanks for treating us to that wonderful brunch! What a beautiful place that Marriott resort is! So, did you have that wind today??? It was a sweatshirt day for me!! I hate it when it gets that windy! We went to Water aerobics anyway, but I tried to keep my shoulders underwater!!

Hang in there! My BMI was just under 64 when I started. Now I"m down almost 100 lb, but want to lose about another 75. Slow but steady progress is okay! You can do it! Healthy choices, portion control, exercise. Stick with it!

Did you buy the machine on eBay, too?? If not, where did you find it? That sounds perfect! That is a pretty scary story!! Have only heard of one other death from band surgery and don't remember the details, but seems to me it as about a year after this person's surgery and there was some sort of a complication that could or could not be attributed to the band. Massive infection would probably be the result of just being in the hospital. Doctors & nurses make the worse patients, they always say. She should've known to go see someone! Diagnosing yourself never a good plan! Janet and I had a very nice visit with Kathy (Boos) at her hotel today. No serial killers in the bunch! :biggrin::biggrin::tt1:

In a word, IMHO, BEANS!! They have lots of protein in them. Mash them up a little with a fork. Try some fat free refried beans with a little melted low fat or fat free cheese on top... maybe a little fat free sour cream... use your imagination... make it good, keep the calories low. And I used my Magic Bullet blender a lot during that stage. There's lots of things you can make in to mushies in a blender!! :biggrin:

Yeah, I think mine needs to be recalibrated, at least. Doc told me to see a pulmonologist last summer... gave me a referral form, but I never got around to it. Will do that for sure when I get home in the spring, but I'm sure it will involve another sleep study. I was just thrilled to be able to drop a cholesterol Rx and both BP pills strength cut in half. CPAP is next, but probably won't be able to go completely without it.

Hi, So sorry I did not see these posts until tonight. Terrible internet connection for the past two weeks, so I was reading posts on my Blackberry and I did not always get the emails. I hope you were able to find the website Denise recommended and found it helpful. I found it by googling "five day pouch test". I did it last summer and found it to be a very positive experience. It gave me a new little jump start and it was actually kind of exhilarating! Apparently, Vit. B deficiency can happen because we get a lot of our Vit. B from bread/bread products and typically, bandsters can't or don't eat much bread. I was told to take Vit. B supplements for that reason... esp. Thiamin. My doc found a Vit. D deficiency, which I was really surprised at because I spend a lot of time in the sun. But I guess that is quite common. So when folks tease me about lounging in the hot tub for 30 minutes each day I just grin and tell them I'm working on my Vit. D deficiency!

Good sales on right now if you need electronics. Try looking online. Lots of free shipping offers, too. Yes, she used turkey kielbasa and it was WONDERFUL! Lots of good stuff in it! Janet is a gracious hostess! And she has a most beautiful home! Enjoyed the dogs, too, and the little kitty is adorable! All those Christmas goodies sound pretty yummy! Earl is making some brownies that someone gave us in a jar! They smell too good! Sounds like a PERFECT day!

Chicken casserole... throw in some low sodium/low fat or whatever.. mushroom, cream of celery, or similar soup, some stove top stuffing... fat free sour cream, maybe chopped broccoli or mixed veggies or whatever... and chicken breasts or strips or nuggets (not breaded). PUt some onion crunchies on top if you want... use your imagination.. Or you could "google" chicken casserole recipes? I am delirious... sorry.... we're finally on the internet. We're doing the Time Warner dance! It took us two hours to set up the router and wirelss network and get both laptops connected, but it's done and we're still married and nothing got broken! It's even encrypted!! And now I have to go to choir practice.. hope they can't smell the wine on my breath!! After that we're off to Janet's fr "ONE POT WONDER"!

It comes with little extra feet you put on for carpet. I haven't been using mine much either, except to do the body test about once a week. But I'm doing an hour of water aerobics 5X a week instead. My DIL has that Jillian challenge on her Christmas list so I thought I might get it for her, but I have no idea what it's about. Anyone know?? Woo Hoo!! Tomorrow is our big Time Warner install day!! We are excited!!

Wow! I'm online! It works late at night! Another day and a half and we get hooked up toTime Warner cable internet! We can't wait! Talked to Janet tonight and heard all about her adventure to L.A.! Sounds like Seattle traffic to me!! Yuck! Weigh in tomorrow! I don't have great expectations! Thanksgiving and my birthday last week. I'll be happy if I didn't gain. Didn't pig out but did eat things I don't ordinarily eat. Gotta go..it's late!!

You are NOT too old for this surgery!! One day's food: small eggbeaters omelet for Breakfast, usually with some kind of seafood in it... i like imitation crab. lunch is a medium size salad, usually with more seafood on it! Sometimes chopped up ham, though, or whatever left over meat we might have in the fridge. I use fat free Catalina dressing and I like a little vinegar sprinkled on top. dinner is 3-4 oz of some kind of meat or fish. Last night I had a small filet mignon! Yeah, we deserve it!! Chewy meat is difficult to tolerate, so since I can only eat a few ounces, I can justify splurging on filets! I buy a package of six at costco and can get probably two meals out of each one. So if it costs $20, so what if can get about 10-12 meals out of it! With my meat/fish, I have 1/2 cup of so of some kind of veggie. I try to alternate high carb veggies with low carb. So if I have peas one night, then broccoli or spinach, etc, the next. I usually have two Snacks a day. In the afternoon, about an ounce of cheese with a few veggie crackers (120 calories for 14, but I have about 4 of them). In the evening, I may have some more of those crackers with some salsa, or a little cottage cheese with diced peaches or some kind of no sugar added fruit. We buy those little individual fruit cups for me to have with my cottage cheese, and I always sprinkle some cinnamon on top. I do one bad thing.... I have two small glasses of wine every afternoon. I use a very small glass.... like a brandy sniffer type glass... so I can have two! It's psychological!! Yeah, I could have one regular size glass, but I prefer to use the small glass and have two! So, that's my day of food. We do go out to eat occassionally, usually not more than once a week if that. If we go out for breakfast...maybe once a month.. my favorite place has a seafood omelet! (Yeah, I eat a LOT of fish!) My leftovers will give me about four more mornings of breakfast! Last week I celebrated my 65th birthday and I wanted to go out to dinner. Italian is my favorite, so I had spaghetti and meatballs. Serving size was fairly small, so I ate both of my meatballs and most of my spaghetti, had a small piece of bread crust (do not tolerate bread well and must be crispy), and I had a big girl glass of wine! Thanksgiving... very small portions, but I did NOT deny myself any of the traditional Thanksgiving foods. Ordinarilly, I NEVER have taters & gravy, but I had a small poriton, and I had some stuffing, and corn casserole. Went it came to desert, DH cut himself a piece of pumpkin cheesecake and I took the little part that fell off of his piece! It was enough to satisfy me, and he gave me one bite of his pumpkin pie. I find that deserts taste too sweet for me since I am no longer accustomed to eating them, so a bite of his will satisfy me and I don't feel deprived! This is doable!! Yes, I could lose faster if I restricted myself more than I do and if I gave up my wine. But I"m down close to 100 lb in 16 mos and I am still losing, so I am satisfied. I plan to lose another 75 lb. and I WILL DO IT!! Very best of luck to you, and pray wisdom for you as you make this decision. I am an RN, so I understand dialysis. If you have your doctors' blessings, GO FOR IT!!

Good Morning! Internet access stinks right now. I'm waiting for Time Warner to come on Friday to install cable internet. Thanks for all your birthday wishes earlier this week! I appreciate that! Had a great birthday and a wonderful Thanksgiving! Hope you all are having a great weekend!

Wow!! You're right!! Quiet around here this weekend!! I still have internet problems!! That's my excuse and I"m stickin' to it! It's horrible! I'm online now because it's early in the morning! Next Friday we get cable modem/TimeWarner install! I give up on this ridiculous "new" Wi Fi system the park has put in. I have "free access" right now while they test the system. It stinks! Did pretty good on Thanksgiving... few bites of this and that, small amount of mashed taters and gravy, dressing, corn casserole. Didn't feel stuffed or uncomfortable when all was said and done! Well, going to try to do a few other things before I get bumped off again. Later it gets, more people online using the bandwidth and clogging up the works! Sorry, Steph, not sure how much Sudoku I'll be playing between now and next Friday, but enjoying the heck out of it when I can get online to play! Glad to find someone who will play with me! I'm playing Earl's turns, too, BTW!!

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Internet connection has been awful all week, to the point that we caved in and scheduled Time Warner install... a week from tomorrow we get cable internet & phone. Birthday was great fun. Didn't win a lot on the slots, but came home with almost half of my $$ to spend on something else, and that after playing for 3 hours or so! Decided against the buffet and went to a favorite Italian restaurant for some spaghetti & meatballs. That was a disappointment. Here I splurge on spaghetti and they've changed their sauce and it was grim. Oh, well! Today we had a very enjoyable day with old high school friends. They live up in the mountains above Palm Springs... about a 50 mile drive. They invited us up for Thanksgiving dinner and we had such a nice time! Kids, grandkids, FOUR dogs, beautiful home and warm hospitality. OH, and good food, too! What more could you ask... a very nice day!