steph_co

I have no idea. I've wondered about that. But I was told by my Dr's office to not drink for 30 mins before. I have no idea! I can certainly ask. :eek: They LOVE when I come in with questions that obviously most people don't ask - they seem to get a bit overwhelmed by my questions. LOL

I like low-rise. Not SUPER low-rise, but I just can't do "mom jeans." They look horrible on me and feel awful! I just make sure my shirt is long enough to cover everything. I don't like showing off my coin slot. :eek:

Renee, is your ticker accurate that you've been at 251 since before your Lapband surgery? I was thinking that if you had lost all that weight since being banded, there's no plateau. But looking at your history, I agree with you. This article was really interesting and maybe it might help: WeightWatchers.com - Weight-Loss Plateaus - Visitor Good luck! I hope something can get things jump-started again and your body moving downwards on the scale!

Slowing down. It hasn't bit me in the butt too hard, yet, but I'm sure with further fills it will. So I need to learn NOW before I get more fills and end up PB'ing!

I can't relate, but wanted to say something re: the gas. Not all surgeons use the BB as one of the openings for the laparoscopic tools. My closest one is 1 inch above my BB. If you look in the scars thread (in the "general" forum in stickies at the top), you can see that it appears that the majority are actually not involving the BB at all.

That's the coolest thing I've ever seen. Too bad everything is on the eastern half of Colorado - as usual. Closest one is 120 miles away. It's not worth the drive for me over the mountain passes. That could be a great idea for a gift for my mom, though - she lives close to several of them in Utah. Not a bad price for a massage at all!!! Thanks for the idea. I'll have to pay higher prices for massages for myself, though. :eek:

LMAO!! Now there is an image. You had me laughing so hard. I went with DH to take the kids swimming - no, I didn't actually feel brave enough to get into a suit (not just the fat...I haven't felt like shaving my legs lately...LOL). But anyway, walking past a mirror, I thought I'd just give a quick glance since I keep hearing from people that they'll catch their image in a mirror and not recognize themselves. My face looks a little thinner, but I notice that when I'm just normally looking at myself. What WAS odd was that my used-to-be skin-tight stretchy jeans (I bought them like that - that was the style) now look like skater pants on me. LOL Looks like it's time to get a new pair of "signature" jeans. I only have been buying one pair of jeans at a time once I got over size 14 because it was too depressing trying them all on. When I find a pair that fits, that's good enough for me and I look no further. Now I have to get a new pair. AND I need a new pair of work pants, too.

I wanted to chip in about the question about eating "normal" food. Yes - I eat normal food. I eat a lot less and generally make healthier choices. But to give you a "for instance," my DH's kids are staying with us and we had cinnamon rolls the other morning. I ate half of a cinnamon roll. "Bad" food? Yes, in my mind. But if I don't allow myself to indulge occasionally, I'll go crazy and eat more of something I shouldn't. We plan to make better food choices for the kids when they come back this next summer - we're making a house cleaning now and not buying that stuff again. But I will say, if I go to an event or a party or something, I most likely won't abstain from EVERYTHING. I'll just do my best to make better choices and eat LESS. Normal people eat like that. They don't obsess and fill their diet with the bad stuff, and they don't eat tons of it. It's an occasional taste now and again. Even with the "bad" stuff, I still keep under 900 calories per day and actually, closer to less than 700. I just plan ahead and choose wisely. The band makes it a lot easier.

I definitely had this fear. It hit me the night before surgery. It really surprised me because I thought all I wanted was to be thin and then I'd be happy. I realized at that point that it just wasn't true. What I was afraid with with getting skinny was that I wouldn't be able to blame the fat anymore if I ever get rejected again. I got skinny in HS and I thought for sure I'd be getting dates. No - I didn't. I still think I was pretty cute, but I had zero self-esteem whatsoever - I did my best to remain invisible. So it's no wonder I didn't get dates - nobody could see me! But at the time, I just figured I wasn't worth it, period. And thus began the years and years of torturing myself in a chubby body. When I get thin, I'll just have to come to terms with the fact that somebody is rejecting me for ME, or possibly for reasons that have nothing to do with me at all. That is going to be the hardest thing of all for me. My fat has been my protection. It is how I have kept myself from relating to people in this world. It's how I kept myself from taking risks. But I know I don't want to be there anymore. It's really strange to me to think that 70+ lbs heavier than I was in HS, I have more self-esteem than I did then! I know more about who I am - I believe in myself. And because of that, I know I can be thin and not need the protection of all that fat.

Sounds great, everybody! I'm not sure if I'd consider this a victory...I mean, I'm not complaining, trust me, I'm so not! But last night, trying to lie on my side, my legs together kind of hurt - that's right, the BONES are starting to be uncovered from fat and it's a little uncomfy. LOL I'm sure I'll adjust eventually. It was just an interesting change for me. I think I will call it a victory because at least it shows that I am losing.

YES...I just saw that today - I love it!

Ummm...I took whole Vicodin the moment I became conscious enough to do so when I woke up from surgery. It hurt that first time, but they had just finished messing with my stomach not an hour before that! As for after getting home....I took whole Vicodin - no issues whatsoever. No pain, no stuck feeling. Certainly - ask your doctor...but I don't see an issue with it like other people are making it out to be.

My doctor set my guidelines at 1 cup and increase as necessary. There were times I could easily down more than a cup.

I happened upon this thread searching for something else. It gave me a good chuckle (especially FF's husband with the fruit all day long and ending things in his pants...LMAO). Then I had to stop and think - it actually made me feel bad. I felt bad that so many companies feel it's okay to capitalize on other people's misfortune and exploit their desire to be thin by feeding them so many lies. And then I had to be grateful...that I found the Band before it was too late. That I found THE permanent way for ME to lose weight that doesn't involve sheer torture. Thanks for the thread, guys - it was great reading.

TODAY, I've done well. I had Lloyd's bbq shredded beef and some mixed cooked veggies. Right now I'm drinking a Slim Fast. The past couple of nights, while I have stayed under what I limit MYSELF in calories, I still ate more than I have before then. I didn't feel too good about that. It's a mental thing, I'm sure. I do plan on finding a counselor this January to help me with some things. The only "bad" thing I ate was a piece of gourmet chocolate that had toffee in the middle. It was 28 calories. I felt SO guilty. LOL The chocolate was only the size of a small marble. But I wanted to go back and steal the rest of the tin and eat them all!! haha I instead made myself go back to the office and drink a chocolate slim fast. So all-in-all, doing pretty well, actually. I think it helps that I don't really have anybody cooking tempting things around me. I think if it was there, I'd probably do like you guys and have a spoonful of each thing. Head hunger is a hard demon to beat, I am finding!

I missed the original posting of this, but wanted to say congrats, beekeeper! It looks like you're doing fantastic with your weight loss...wow! Hope you continue to heal and feel better day by day. JaxFab - I would wear heavy clothes to the doc's office and put some quarter rolls in my pockets. LOL I'm thinking Carhart insulated bibs. haha...You'd probably sweat the weight off on your way to the doc's office - how warm is it there right now? We're in the single digits, so insulated pants doesn't strike ME as odd, but your doc might think there's something wrong with you. LOL I hope you can "pass!"

Bandpal, you have such a gift of balladry - I love all your posts. This was especially fun. Thank you so much for sharing it with us!

I haven't drunk alcohol since being banded...I was a featherweight before it. But I read this response in a thread about addiction transfer to alcohol and it seems to indicate to me that our bodies DO respond differently to alcohol: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/626201-post5.html

The only pre-op diet I had was 3 days of clear liquids prior to surgery. I have no idea if that was in correlation to my BMI, because I started out just under 37.

That is definitely a fabulous idea! Thanks! I'll have DH pick some up today...that sounds like an excellent protein for when I wake up.

Our next door neighbors stole our garbage can. I knew it was them, but I didn't see it for weeks because I would assume they kept it in their garage. All of a sudden, one trash day they were dumb enough to put it out there. After trash had been collected, I went and claimed it myself. I don't give a crap if I couldn't "prove" it - it was mine! I had the lid for it still and I had a matching can that looks just like it (we bought 2) in my garage. AND...I remembered how the sticker looked that I had only been able to pull half of it off when we bought it. After we reclaimed them, I spray-painted our house address on it...all 4 sides in bright pink spray paint. LOL Works like a charm...it hasn't been touched since.

EXACTLY...I chose not to vote in this poll.

Had it before surgery...don't have it anymore. I had it really bad before the surgery, too. My NP wasn't sure if they fixed a hernia or not. I would guess yes since the problem has not returned. I love it.

If you have a question not related to somebody's thread, it would be polite to post it in your own thread. Probably in the forum regarding your question. Which in this case would be the technical forum down towards the bottom of the page. Upon entering, you will find the very thread that will help you before you even had a chance to ask the question that has been asked 50 million times before you: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f5/ticker-tutorial-pictures-41782/

Exercise. Count calories by tracking every little thing that goes into your mouth. There may be calories you weren't even paying attention to. Get a fill if you have not had one yet. "Eating less" doesn't necessarily mean anything. I could be eating less calories than I was before by sticking to 2000 per day. But there's no way I'd be losing weight like I am. In addition, I could eat a box of Twinkies per day and still be eating less QUANTITY-WISE than I was before the band. You need to make sure you are taking in QUALITY food. It's not about quantity (before good restriction, anyway). Make sure you get your protein first and then work your way to veggies and then if there is still room...whole grain stuff. Make sure you're getting in your full amount (64 oz) of water per day.