smilin_apple

I won't leave...I promise. I feel planted in this group with all my heart. I only really closely follow 3 groups and this one has been a great support for me. I still haven't recieved my call for surgery yet...so I am going to assume it will be beginning of December but I am going to call them tomorrow to see what the surgeons office says. I will keep ya'll updated!

I am so proud of you!!! By the way it looks great! Love that Lady Bug....

Congrats JC!!! Did you have a good time?

I am sorry you do select the whole bbCode including the url and brackets and you won't need to save the we address on your Favorties page since you will be able to click on the ticker on any of your web pages and it will take you directly to the Update page... So on #17 - Select all of the "bbCode" So FORGET #21 and #22 Sorry if this was any confusion.... Let me know and I can repost.

Here I will try my best... 1 - Bring up a secong Internet Explorer Window on your computer 2 - On the second window log into TickerFactory.com 3 - Choose the ticker you want like... Weight Loss 4 - Choose one from the lists of Ticker Bands..there are 16 pages to choose from. 5 - Click "NEXT" After you pick your ticker band NOT before. 6 - Choose your Ticker Slider...there are 10 pages to choose from 7 - Click "NEXT" After you pick your ticker slider NOT before 8 - Choose a Password/PIN whatever you would like and can remember easily since you will need to use it to update your ticker when your weight changes 9 - Select to track your weight in either Pounds or Kilograms 10 - Enter what you like your final target weight to be 11 - Enter your Starting Weight (Highest Weight) 12 - Enter your Current Weight 13 - Enter the date you weighed in at that Weight (MM/DD/YYYY) 14 - Choose height units such as English or Metric 15 - Enter Height in Feet and Inches 16 - Click NEXT 17 - Select with your mouse all the words in RED in the box below the bbCode... DO NOT select the brackets with the "url" in it either before or after...only the ones with the

It is the first code BBCode... There is a beginning and ending tag... I think it is html...sorry can't remember that you don't copy just copy all in between. Let me update mine and I will see...brb

I AGREE... everytime I walk into a smaller size clothing store or even look through the racks of the smaller clothes I feel like everyone is looking at me wondering the same. I don't remember a time when I shopped smaller sizes because I would have been too little to remember. I started wearing size 14/16 in JrHigh/ High School. Even then i shopped at Fashion Bug (It's a Junior on one side/ plus size on the other half of the store; here in Cali). I remember I stopped shopping at all of their stores when one time I was looking in the Juniors side with my best friend and one lady that worked there had the AUDACITY to come up to me and say "You won't find anything on this side you need to go look on the other side of the shop" Congrats to you Ashley! - And WELCOME to this thread. There are some WONDERFUL people on here. Especially if you ever need your spirits lifted up.

Denise - Don't give up yet!!! You are a special person. Not every man is going to be the right one for you like oilburner said. You need to look at it as having a good time meeting some great people and not like you are looking for the one! I know I could use my own advice sometimes, so I know how you are feeling I think almost ALL of us have felt the way you do now at some point in all this dating stuff but just hang in there. You are worth it and some man will come along one day and remind you just how worth it you are!!! Take a deep breath and just try, and try again! April

STRESSED OUT!!!! My roomate and I had a falling out and I am moving now, great, just before my surgery. Now I will be living alone with my daughter. Currently I live with my daughter and two other adults as well as my parents are right across the street. I won't be moving too far away only about a mile so that is good. But financially it sucks! So that will be one more stress to add the pot. I just pray I will be strong enough to stay away from the stress foods during this time. I trying to consume myself into some activities at church to prepare myself to deal with all this stress, and it seems to be helping a little bit. I think I will be ok?!? At least I hope so, I want to succeed at this so badly, and yet I am so afraid of failure with this band. I feel like this is my last chance at living a healthy adult life and possibly having more children one day. Ok I know, I am rambling on and on. I hope you are doing much better than I am. April

Thanks again everyone.... I haven't done too bad but I am not paying too much attention to what I have been eating for the last week or two. I have pretty much been eating what I want when I want. I have a Starbucks almost everyday, but I do make sure it is one of the lower calorie ones... Mine is a Venti Sugar Free Vanilla, 4 shot, Iced, 3 splenda, Latte with half Non-fat Milk and half Soy milk. It tastes awesome and it less than 170 calories considering the same Latte with all Soy Milk is 170 and I am using half Non-Fat Milk. The only REALLY REALLY bad thing I have been eating is a cookie from them over the last week I have had about 4 of them all on different days. I know that will HAVE TO STOP! But I have been so stressed out. I know that's not an excuse but it is hard!! I promised myself to stop having the cookies and anyu pastries when I am there only my Low Cal Coffe drink from now on. Besides all that I have been planning an unplanned move for a couple of weeks from now and that coupled with working 7 days a week for the last 3 weeks, oh and let's not forget my babygirl started Jr.High last week and that has been stressful in itself. I am just a MESS!!! Ok I was going to just send a THANK YOU note for all the support I am getting on this thread and I just couldn't stop. I guess I needed to vent. Sorry for all the rambling on and on. April

Thanks everyone, I am feeling same ol', same ol'. The pains are the same, it is weird. The doctor went ahead and order a whole bunch of blood tests because when he did the other test it came up negative for infection. Well I will see next week.

Thanks Sassafras!!! That helped, I am doing ok on the food side i guess not losing but not gaining either. I went to the Doctor's today because I am having someweird stomach pains and when they weighed me it was exactly what I weighed 2 weeks ago when I saw my surgeon. I won't leave to the Dec. 2007 thread just yet, I am going to hang in there. Besides I have grown to love the support I am getting here and I am a huge fan of comfortability, which I do feel here. I will hang around even if my surgery ends up being in December if everyone doesn't mind. Have a great night all! And thanks again!!! April

Thanks MMT, I really needed to hear your story it did make me feel better. It reminded me a little bit about my journey about not being ready when you think you are. I hope I don't offend you or anyone else when I say this but ... I am a Christian and I truely do believe that God lets everything happen for a specific reason. And now that I think of it there has to be a great reason why I am having to wait. Thanks for bringing me back to reality!!! This is why I love this site so much, because of people like you! :car: Take care, April

Hi Everyone, I am sad today...I called the surgeons office this morning and the nurse said that the surgeons have only been scheduling 12 surgeries a month. There are 3 surgeons at Kaiser and they only do surgeries 3 days a weeks (one day for each surgeon each week). And only 3 surgeries each of those days. Then she informaed me that I am 19th in line on the list, which means it looks like I will not be getting mine until December now unless 6 other people cannot go in November(which I highly doubt!!!)...I am trying with all of my strength to not go overboard and eat out of emotional need. I just thought it was going to finally happen soon but now I have to wait an additional month more than I expected. :car:

I am sad.....I called the surgeons office this morning and the nurse said that the surgeons have only been scheduling 12 surgeries a month. There are 3 surgeons and they only do surgeries 3 days a weeks (one day for each surgeon a week). And only 3 surgeries each of those days. Then she informaed me that I am 19th in line on the list, which looks like I will not be getting in until December now unles 6 other people cannot go in November...I am trying with all of my strength to not go overboard and eat out of emotional need. I just thought it was going to finally happen soon but now I have to wait an additional month more than I expected. :car:

:cry I am sad.....I called the surgeons office this morning and the nurse said that the surgeons have only been scheduling 12 surgeries a month. There are 3 surgeons and they only do surgeries 3 days a weeks (one day for each surgeon a week). And only 3 surgeries each of those days. Then she informaed me that I am 19th in line on the list, which looks like I will not be getting in until December now unles 6 other people cannot go in November...I am trying with all of my strength to not go overboard and eat out of emotional need. I just thought it was going to finally happen soon but now I have to wait an additional month more than I expected. :think

I agree all...on the Banding vs. Bypass. I don't want them rearranging my insides at all. When I first made the decision to have weight loss surgery and found out that my insurance covers it I was so excited but at the time all I knew about was the Bypass surgery and all they offered at my hospital was Bypass. But call it luck, ate or God's work (I like to believe it was the latter of the 3) when I went in for my orientation group appointment; for the second time, you see I was referred for Bypass in March 2004 and I only went to the orientation and backed out of the program. So this time at the orientation in November 2006, there was another patient that was asking if he was in the right place for LapBand too?!? Boy was I confused... so at the end of the class I brought up the question about the LapBand and what was it. The Dr. who was heading the class said that it is a newer procedure that Kaiser would be starting in January 2007 and wow did that peak my interest. So I decided to do some research on it on my own and when I went to see my surgeon in March 2007 I told him that is what I want. I just had my follow up with him this month and he did double check with me and asked me if I would like the Bypass instead and I stood firm on my decision and I am very happy so far...now granted I haven't had the surgery yet but I have every faith in myself that I will succeed with my new Band, especially with all the wonderful support I have found on this site over the last 2 months. You ALL are a real pick me up when I start to doubt myself in the slightest bit. I finally feel like I will make it and not fail this time!

Wow, I am on a roll...that is two days in a row now. Well let's see today started off pretty good, except for the unbearable amount of pain I have been in for the last 2 days with my back all is good. I finally told James what has been going on with our roomate Dre. You see it's starts off like this...James and I used to date and shortly after I fell in love with him he broke it off, saying that we were not good for eachother romantically. I was extremely heartbroken and still am a little. Then we moved into a long time friend of mine's house that he owns in November last year. About 2 months after we moved in there my new roommate starts putting the moves on me. I have told him numerous times that there is a line there and he is crossing it, that we are just friends and it is going to stay that way. I really mean that, and it helps that I am not attracted to him nor am I interested in messing around with him sexually, I never have been! I told James a few months back that Dre started messing with me, flirting, touching and so on. Well tonight I broke down and told him ALL that Dre has tried including trying to touch my breasts, kissing on my neck and other inappropriate things for good friends to do, especially since I am not interested in him and he is making me UNCOMFORTABLE with all his advances. I keep repeating to him over and over that "you need to stop", "we are just firends" but it's like he doesn't HEAR me or maybe he thinks I am playing, I don't know why he would think that, I made myself clear. Yeah I am sexually frusterated woman who has not had sexual relations in over a year, and when he kisses my neck it gives me goosebumps, gets me a little worked up, and stops me dead in my tracks but then I snap out of the moment an repeat..."stop, we are just friends and you are crossing the line", I think he thinks it's a game or something but I don't. And I am geting completely upset and I don't even want to be friends with him anymore, I HATE being there!!!!!! So James stepped up and said he will talk to him for me, just waiting on his phone call now, I am at work....Oh man I hope Dre isn't awake when I get home, how akward that will be to see him after James talks to him. Well I am going to go for now...will type more later.

Wow, I am on a roll...that is two days in a row now. Well let's see today started off pretty good, except for the unbearable amount of pain I have been in for the last 2 days with my back all is good. I finally told James what has been going on with our roomate Dre. You see it's starts off like this...James and I used to date and shortly after I fell in love with him he broke it off, saying that we were not good for eachother romantically. I was extremely heartbroken and still am a little. Then we moved into a long time friend of mine's house that he owns in November last year. About 2 months after we moved in there my new roommate starts putting the moves on me. I have told him numerous times that there is a line there and he is crossing it, that we are just friends and it is going to stay that way. I really mean that, and it helps that I am not attracted to him nor am I interested in messing around with him sexually, I never have been! I told James a few months back that Dre started messing with me, flirting, touching and so on. Well tonight I broke down and told him ALL that Dre has tried including trying to touch my breasts, kissing on my neck and other inappropriate things for good friends to do, especially since I am not interested in him and he is making me UNCOMFORTABLE with all his advances. I keep repeating to him over and over that "you need to stop", "we are just firends" but it's like he doesn't HEAR me or maybe he thinks I am playing, I don't know why he would think that, I made myself clear. Yeah I am sexually frusterated woman who has not had sexual relations in over a year, and when he kisses my neck it gives me goosebumps, gets me a little worked up, and stops me dead in my tracks but then I snap out of the moment an repeat..."stop, we are just friends and you are crossing the line", I think he thinks it's a game or something but I don't. And I am geting completely upset and I don't even want to be friends with him anymore, I HATE being there!!!!!! So James stepped up and said he will talk to him for me, just waiting on his phone call now, I am at work....Oh man I hope Dre isn't awake when I get home, how akward that will be to see him after James talks to him. Well I am going to go for now...will type more later.

CONGRATS Sassafras - I know it is so much farther than you anticipated but at least you still have a date now. I still don't have a date, but I am praying everyday that they give me one soon.

Ok I know I titled this entry Day One, now I can almost guarantee that I will not post here everyday. Unfortunately I am terrible at doing something day after day that doesn't effect me physically (ie. showering, brushing my hair, eating) let's definitely not forget the eating that's why I am where I am today! But I have decided that whatever it takes and however long it takes and I am going to do this for ME and my babygirl too (well she's not exactly a baby anymore, she's almost 13) but she will always be my BABYGIRL. So I have started keeping track of my food intake again since I should be having my surgery in about a month and half and I need to try and lose about 15-20 lbs by then. I have been not doing so well in the eating department since I saw the surgeon on Sept. 4th, I think I got too excited to hear that he finally put my paperwork through for the surgery in Nov. that I slacked on my eating properly. BAD GIRL!!! I am going to be as good as I can for the next 6 weeks until surgery. Now for my personal life it has been absolutely CRAZY the last week or so. I start logging online again after 3 years of not going on my IM account and low and behold all the oldies come out the woodwork. First there is Larry who I met about 3 1/2 years ago and we dated for a few weeks but by week 3 he was telling me that he loved me and wanted to be in an exclusive relationship and boy was I NOT ready for that. I know I want someone to be there for me to hold, cuddle, kiss me, and kiss me somemore but I just wasn't ready to settle down at that time. Now he says he is more mature and wise, to me that is the first sign that he's NOT!!! Then there is Patrick, he was just a baby when I met him. I was 25 and he was 19-20, that blew me away and I just thought...WAY TOO YOUNG FOR ME! So I broke that off after just about 2 weeks. He IM'd me the other day when I was online and I responded just to say hi and see how he was doing. We decided to meet up, so I met him for about an hour just to say hi and talk a little bit...boy is he a sweet talker or what. I knew there was something about him last time. We decided to meet again the next night and this time we spent about 2 hours talking...well he did most of the talking. But this time he was very romantic, holding hands, kissing my neck and holding me. It was sweet and I needed those hugs but the SPARK was NOT there! I don't know what to do??? I called my best friend today and she talked me through all my confusion and I have decided that I am going to just DATE...that means NO committed relationships! I am going to hold back and just have a good time getting to know men. I am tired of the thought that I need to fins someone to be in a relationship with and settle down. I definitely want to eventually have that and have a family but right now I have the right to see what I want, not what the men want. Well I am getting tired of typing at work so I am going to leave it there for now - Goodnight!

Ok I know I titled this entry Day One, now I can almost guarantee that I will not post here everyday. Unfortunately I am terrible at doing something day after day that doesn't effect me physically (ie. showering, brushing my hair, eating) let's definitely not forget the eating that's why I am where I am today! But I have decided that whatever it takes and however long it takes and I am going to do this for ME and my babygirl too (well she's not exactly a baby anymore, she's almost 13) but she will always be my BABYGIRL. So I have started keeping track of my food intake again since I should be having my surgery in about a month and half and I need to try and lose about 15-20 lbs by then. I have been not doing so well in the eating department since I saw the surgeon on Sept. 4th, I think I got too excited to hear that he finally put my paperwork through for the surgery in Nov. that I slacked on my eating properly. BAD GIRL!!! I am going to be as good as I can for the next 6 weeks until surgery. Now for my personal life it has been absolutely CRAZY the last week or so. I start logging online again after 3 years of not going on my IM account and low and behold all the oldies come out the woodwork. First there is Larry who I met about 3 1/2 years ago and we dated for a few weeks but by week 3 he was telling me that he loved me and wanted to be in an exclusive relationship and boy was I NOT ready for that. I know I want someone to be there for me to hold, cuddle, kiss me, and kiss me somemore but I just wasn't ready to settle down at that time. Now he says he is more mature and wise, to me that is the first sign that he's NOT!!! Then there is Patrick, he was just a baby when I met him. I was 25 and he was 19-20, that blew me away and I just thought...WAY TOO YOUNG FOR ME! So I broke that off after just about 2 weeks. He IM'd me the other day when I was online and I responded just to say hi and see how he was doing. We decided to meet up, so I met him for about an hour just to say hi and talk a little bit...boy is he a sweet talker or what. I knew there was something about him last time. We decided to meet again the next night and this time we spent about 2 hours talking...well he did most of the talking. But this time he was very romantic, holding hands, kissing my neck and holding me. It was sweet and I needed those hugs but the SPARK was NOT there! I don't know what to do??? I called my best friend today and she talked me through all my confusion and I have decided that I am going to just DATE...that means NO committed relationships! I am going to hold back and just have a good time getting to know men. I am tired of the thought that I need to fins someone to be in a relationship with and settle down. I definitely want to eventually have that and have a family but right now I have the right to see what I want, not what the men want. Well I am getting tired of typing at work so I am going to leave it there for now - Goodnight!

Denise - You WILL meet someone when you least expect it, but just don't go into hiding cause then he won't be able to find you... :confused:

Hey I agree Denise with that too. I have been in the same situation. Not to mention my confidence and self esteem are lower than some peoples because of all that, but what I do notice is that when I start to pick it up, even just a little bit there is a hugh response to that. I am so sorry that you are feeling so bad with your band and all. I wouldn't jump into the unfill too fast how long has it been since you have been feeling this way?

You all are funny. I bellieve that it is hard for both sexes to do this whole dating thing. I think that women have it harder these days than they used to, especially since so many more men expect that a woman approache the man first. But I do have to agree with Oliburner and Leona about the whole confidence thing. As a matter of fact just to prove it I met someone the other day that I normally would not be the first man to come to mind when I think of dating someone. But he has shown a great deal of confidence, even though he had the Gastric Bypass surgery recently and still has a lot to lose. And I have found that very intriguing. I am finding myself wanting to see him more and more. So take note when us women say that confidence DOES matter!!! And JC keep trying, you just haven't asked the right woman yet.