Michee

I was hearing a lot about different "cleanses" and was eager to try one to get off this plateau. A coworker gave me the BEST advice, which I followed so I am passing it on; He said "go to a Doctor of Naturopathy. they have at least 7 years of training (this is true here in Ontario Canada), they will suggest the right cleanse for you after taking a thorough medical history, and tests such as hair follicle, urine, blood" Well the cleanse that was right for me is a 21 day cleanse, I am on day 6. I have eliminated dairy, eggs, caffeine, sugar (and aspartame), gluten, corn, tomatoes, soy, shellfish, beef, pork, chicken. I was told to expect to feel tired (hasnt happened yet) and perhaps to have foul smelling BO (toxins leaving through pores) I will be sure to post after the 21 days, and tell y'all if it was worth it.

Here in Ontario Canada the lapband is considered a cosmetic procedure. If I had told work I was getting lapband surgery, I would have had to use vacation time instead of sick time. If you are undecided, I say dont tell a soul. Later you can decide to tell, but you can never "untell". My surgery was outpatient, I was in the clinic for 4 hours (they did lapband and hernia repair) I had it done on a wednesday, and the clinic suggested I could go back to work on monday. Barring any complications, most people I have met at bandster lunches etc, stay off work for 3 or 4 days.

Many years ago in Canada restaurants stopped just bringing Water to the table unless someone asked for it. Environmentally it is very wasteful, not only does it waste the water they pour into the glass, but then they use more water, soap, electricity etc to wash a glass that no one used. Perhaps you could ask them not to bring water, because you are not going to drink it, and to bring it "just in case" is not very eco-friendly. On another note, I waitressed a few years ago when I got back from a long sabbatical in Europe. I am sick of people saying that waitressing is such a hard job. It was the easiest money I have ever made in my life. I didn't continue because I wanted to use my education.

I didnt say anything to my work mates or my boss. On the day of the surgery I called in sick. Turns out the doc found a hernia which he fixed. So I called in the next day and said I was in pain went to hospital and had emergency hernia surgery. Worked like a charm. I would be afraid to use the gall bladder excuse, in case you really do have a gall bladder problem in the future......then what do you say?

I saw a special news report some months back about about some balls being of poor quality and popping. It showed a man who broke both his wrists when it popped, he was suing the company that made it. He was not a particularly big man either. I have a feeling that it may be a "get what you pay for" type scenario here is someone else complaing about quality defective yeti: On The Ball I've used them at the gym, perhaps call a gym and ask which brands they buy and why

I have been taking Metformin once per day since april, was banded in Aug. My sugar levels have been perfect. My GP's office called me to come and "discuss some test results" a few weeks ago........turns out doc wanted to congratulate me on my excellent numbers. He promised that I will be off the metformin by April !! WoooHoooo

Can you convince these brides to go with a different style that doesnt require so much lead time? .......I mean 6 months!! that is crazy, what if someone in the wedding party gets preggo, in 6 months there will be quite a bit of shape change. OR ........Just thing how FAB it's gonna feel to say to the dressmaker, Please can you take this in, its just way too big on me (he hehehe) That feeling may be worth the buckaroos spent on alterations

Whole foods is great for certain items, I bought bulk soy protien there. It has no flavour so I can add it to anything. THey also have a delish lobster bisque that I lived on in the full liquid stage. If you can find a product elsewhere it is probably cheaper, but some products are impossible to find elsewhere. Even if you dont buy anything its a great place to look around and get interesting and healthy meal ideas

Breakfast: slimfast shake with one scoop of protien powder Lunch: 2 oz chicken breast, half cup broccoli, half cup plain yogourt snack: one orange Dinner: half cup carrots, 4 oz cooked tuna snack: sf choc pudding

I am going to state the obvious here...........why are you guys spending money on jewellry when you are gonna need this money for a fab new wardrobe. My reward is that I get to buy one new pair of pants and one new top whenever I get down a size. My lower half is shrinking faster than the top, so I dont buy them at the same time

I think you have to really cut the ties with this person. Learn what your rights are as an employee. Educate yourself. Find out what the employment standards are for your area. That way you will know when she crosses a line, and will have the accurate terms by which to make a formal complaint. You were under no obligation to tell her that you were having lapband surgery. You could have just requested the vacation time, or if you are using sick time, supply a doctors note that simply says " this person is my patient, and they will not be able to return to work until such and such date" She does not have the right to ask what the medical condition is that is requiring time away from work. You volunteered the information, so she felt it was her right to provide her opinion. Hopefully you will be job hunting after your surgery and can get away from this situation Good luck

My doc gave me a prescription for liquid codiene. Worked wonderfully !! Ask for a script. Good Luck with surgery

I dont understand why the judge did not insist that the Mom disclose the name of the "baby daddy" that way, she can get child support from him, and reimburse her poor ex husband !!

Hello Sorry I havent been on line this week due to increase in my exercise regime. I read Kay Shephards book, I didnt know she had more!. I actually met her. I went to 2 FAA retreats, and we paid for Kay to come and "run' them. THe food plan really works but it I find it hard. Since being banded I have very occasionally eaten white flour, and since I couldn't eat very much it wasnt that bad. I find though, that I feel sluggish if I do eat even one serving. I would love to go to another FAA retreat to get on track!! I am not sure I want to do the whole 12 step thing again though

I know for a fact that she has done a lot of lapbands. In the spring I was referred to her by my family doctor, as she was doing a clinical trial at st Joes. She was involved in a study where she would do 50 gastric bypasses, 50 lapbands, and then 50 people would just receive nutritional counselling. Results of success would be measured monthly for 6 months. The purpose was to study the effects of weightloss on diabetes. Anyway I applied for the study, because it would have meant that I could have got the band for FREE!! However I did not meet all the criteria for the study, and you couldnt choose which treatment you received. I think when people here "study" they dont realize that involved performing surgery. Presumably she had done other bariatric surgeries prior to heading up this study, and getting funding for the study.

Hello, thanks for your post. I have no suggestions, but would love some as well........... Several years ago I experienced good success with the FAA foodplan, although I found it to be a lot of work, as it involved cooking and pretty much never eating out, it also felt like I was spending half my life chopping vegetables. In April, Before getting banded I cut out all wheat and gluten and flour and sugar. I felt a whole lot better. I would love to get back to the FAA way of eating, although it will be very hard for me to let go of caffeine. Since being banded, I have been consuming more crap than I have in a long time, in terms of chemicals such as aspartame, and protien powders, etc etc. My body is really craving the whole, unprocessed foods.

Ready for a new life I did not see the TV show mentioned in this post,but I have read other threads with a smilar sentiment regarding the loss of or changes to relationships. Having lost weight before, I knew that relationships would change, some for the better, but some friends would no longer be in my life as much. It does not really have to do with the weight loss itself. It's about the lifestyle change. Since deciding to lose the weight and get the band, I am more active, and I am eating healthy nutritious food. When I ask my "out for ribs and then a trip to the bakery" friends if they want to go on a hike, or if I start talking about the leg press at the gym instead of the new store that sells imported chocolates, they are not interested!! (quell surprise) My relationship with food is an addiction. A recovering cocaine addict would not hang out with her coke snorting pals, I do not hang out with my sugar stuffing pals. I have become a lot closer to two of my "skinny" cousins. Before I had no interest in there salad dressing recipes or the new ab exercise they read about. Now I am looking at them through new eyes---They have the slim healthy body that I want, now I listen and try to learn, instead of secretly resenting the wearers of the size 4. Whenever I have had a major life change, such as moving to a new city or getting a new job, I have let go of some relationships, and gained new ones. Good Luck to Everyone as we embark on this exciting journey to improved health together !!

I will not eat meat unless I can identify the animal that it came from.........this means I eat pretty much all meat, but will NEVER eat bolgna, hotdogs, or pepperoni, Blech BLech Blech. Also, I do not mix sweet and savoury. Will never eat cranberry sauce with turkey, or pineapple on pizza, or applesauce on pork........you get the idea.

You could have weekly 50/50 draws. You wouldnt need to purchase stuff, most people prefer the cash anyways. My "cause" of choice is the Lions Foundation of Canada. They train service dogs for the disabled. They raise funds by selling merchandise with there logo, they have a walkathon, and several times a year they have an open house, they give tours, sell refreshments, and have a silent auction with items donated from the community. At Christmas they do "pet pics with santa". Good luck with your fund raising !!

I just attended a beach wedding in St Lucia, they just served champagne and wedding cake. No reception. It was lovely, very tasteful. Personally, if you can't afford a nice dinner for your guests, then dont have a dinner. I have been to some weddings that were on a friday night and they just had cocktails and appetizers. I once went to a wedding that was first thing in the morning, the meal was brunch. It was cheaper to rent the venue and brunch food is cheaper than dinner. I generally give cash (actually a cheque) at weddings, the formula I use is to estimate the price per plate, then add $100-$200 depending on how close I am to the couple. Lately I have been bringing a blank cheque and filling it out at the reception. Cheapo dinners and cash bars will effect how much I give. I think it kinda works out in the end........if the couple are not willing to gimme a glass of wine, I am not willing to give them a couple of hundred buckaroos Congratulations on your upcoming nuptials

I think most of the reasons stated can cause hairloss, so when you combine them (most bandsters) you end up with a lot of people experiencing hairloss. When I had a hysterectomy in 2006 the doc told me that I could experience hairloss due to anaesthetic but that it would be temporary. I didnt really notice this after the hyster but whatever. I was banded in Aug 2007, and just started to notice hair loss, especially if I part my hair, i can see a huge part. I am sure it is the combo platter, anaesthetic, weight loss, etc etc. Funny, the hairloss is only on my head, my armpit hair and leg hair, and eyebrows did not receive the memo !!

I considered getting the band in Jan of 2006, but with the 16K price tag (self pay) I decided to give it a try on my own. I actually lost about 20 pounds. Then in April 2007 I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, mild sleep apnea, and high cholesteral. I was banded in Aug 2007, I am off the meds for diabetes and cholesteral. My GP says my "numbers are excellent". I was suffering from diseases of the morbidly obese. Thanks to the band, I am 35 pounds later, and med free. My only regret is not getting the band sooner, and avoiding diabetes all together. Even though my numbers are good, I will always be diabetic. The band could have prevented it.

Me too, I weighed 192 from October until this week, I hit 189 at the clinic when I went for my fill. I have had 5 fills since my surg in August. I am now at 7 cc. Earlier this week I ramped up my exercise to 90 minutes daily. I think that's what accounted for the loss. I am going to the gym and doing weights for 45 minutes at 6:00 am then after work I am walking outdoors for 3km. I really hope this is going to work!! Good Luck ladies

I was a member of OA for a few years in the 90's. As far as step 4, making amends - it is not necessarily someone that you have hurt because you are fat. The idea is that you make amends to people that you have hurt, as a way of facing your own truth. Admitting that you have these flaws, forgiving yourself, learning how to live a positive life, so that you dont bury your feelings of guilt by stuffing your face. Rather a simplified version, but that is my understanding.

i was only away from home for few hours I had the lapband and hernia repair at the same time. My surgery was at 1:30, and I left the clinic at 4:00. You would be home when they get back from school if you book a late morning surgery. You will not be feeling great, but you could order them a pizza for dinner, and let them watch a favourite movie or two for the rest of the evening. They can take the left over pizza for their lunch at school the next day. Good Luck !