Wheetsin

Yep - I'm losing from the waist up quicker than hips down. Previous diets gave an all around even and proportionate weightloss, but I'm now about 2 sizes smaller on top than bottom.

My advice - a bit different from what you've heard so far - is that if you have any doubts, real and lasting doubts, you'd do well to postpone and spend some more time thinking about whether this is right for you. If you do anything impetuously, you're more likely to have regrets, and having regrets is going to be conducive to a healthy mental "banded state". I second guessed myself for 5 years. And only when I got to the point of being able to firmly and 100% counteract my second guessing with affirmation did I consider myself ready for the band. So yeah - that doesn't really address the reasons you gave, but the overall state of doubt. Take your time and really think this through. It needs to be seen as a completely change in lifestyle. It's not something you can ever turn off, it becomes part of who you are and the changes it will force you to make may not be easy ones. Now as for: I never had a single gas pain. I've PBed more than my fair share, but it's part of what you accept to endure by having the surgery. A PB, all in all, isn't that bad, but I'll be honest with you - it hurts. Not the actual purging, but the time leading up to it. I didn't realize that before I had my first one, I thought you just kind of burped and there it was, but that isn't the case for most people, and definitely not for me. I'm not trying to scare you away from the band, but I will tell it like it is, and this whole it hurts premise is something I always share at support group. Not to scare people, but because they need to go in understanding what to expect. I get calls and messages from people absolutely freaking out because they're in such pain and don't understand what's happening... they don't know that there's generally a period of pain preceding the PB. But on the brighter side, as soon as what's stuck comes up, it's pretty much instant relief. :confused: Ports flipping, erosions, etc. are all very unlikely complications. The best way to ease this apprehension would be to spend time studying the medical literature with complication rates, and not just a "support board" (where people with problems tend to go). As for not eating certain normal foods EVER - don't tell my band that! I can eat everything on your list. I've CHOSEN to not eat red meat, but I can. I eat salads all the time. There are some foods that hurt me to eat (bananas and applesauce, mainly) but I CAN eat them if I want to.

Makes me want to move. :confused: Hey Green - sthis is OT and I can't provide much info because I just heard it from someone else, but a co-worker asked me if I'd heard about, "the big deal with Canada and its Asian population, something about the number of kids they're wanting to kick them out of the healthcare system, or not let them stay there if they have more than a certain number of kids." Yeah - obscure, huh? But that's really all I know. I've looked for articles but haven't found a thing. Does that even sound remotely familiar, or is this another Normal Rockwell "he said, she said" situation?

Depends 99% on how busy your surgeon is. When I had mine, he was booked out about a month. From what I hear, now it's about 3 months.

Some psychologists relate it back to breastfeeding/mother, and an evountionary maternal and sexual connection (e.g. men are drawn to breasts because of their experiences with their mothers and because of the representation they have of women). Kind of like - guys want to take the dirty girls home for the night, but it's the ones like "mom" they want to take to meet the parents.

Oh oh oh! Just thought of two more that I can't stand. Ok, one -- when you ask something about some quantity, and the reply is "more or less". Well - DUH! "more or less" pretty much includes every possible number, so if I ask if there are 5, and you answer "more or less" you really aren't telling me a single thing. And two, "incent" (as in the verb of incentive) is NOT a word. I hear people really far up the corporate totem pole use that ALL the time -- "How can we incent people to do this?" and I always want to say, "I don't know, that's not a word." The verb is INCITE, not INCENT.

Indeed. I think it's George Carlin (could easily be wrong) who has a skit about this. These probably aren't his examples, but you'll get the idea:Tomb = "toom" Bomb = "boom"? No, "bawmb" Comb = "cawmb"? No, "cohmb" Tough = "tuff" Cough = "cuff"? No, "cawf" Rough = "rawf"? No, "ruff"

Up until just a few years ago, I did not want kids. I adamantly did not want them. To the point that once, when I was 7 weeks late for my period (while on birth control, and also using spermicide, and also avoiding sex during ovulation as much as possible) my thoughts drifted to abortion. And up until a few years ago, I tried my best to convince DH to get snipped. And I had known my whole life, up until then, that I did not want kids. When I was a child and we would play house, I never wanted to be the mom, I wanted to be the dad because that meant I could have a job and run the household, and I never wanted to have "babies" because - well, even back then at the ripe old age of what, 5? 6? I didn't want to be a mother. What I always hated was when people would ask how long DH and I had been married (10 years in November), then ask how many kids we had, and when we said none they would assume one of us was infertileand APOLOGIZE to us for our misfortune. Or I'd hear, "But don't you want to give your husband children?" Or, "You'll change your mind once you grow up a litle more." And this probably sounds weird, maybe it makes me sound like a bad potential parent, but even though we now want A CHILD (not children), I would be OK with it if something happened and I wasn't able to have them. I wouldn't be devastated or bummed. 4 years ago I was pleading with DH to get snipped, and had he done it I would still have no regrets.

Yeah, it is inside of you. You're basically being pistoned (think of what a piston does in a cylinder). As his "part" goes in, it's pushing air inside of you. What you're hearing is that air coming back out. It's under a little pressure, so it will come out whenever it can - either when he withdraws partially, or completely, or even if you change positions to something that opens you up a bit more. Really it's no big deal, it can be a source of a good laugh.

I don't feel it internally. I sometimes feel something like the band from the outside, but logic tells me that it's much more likely to be scar tissue that has built up between my skin and the band. I can feel my port. It feels like a button. But it isn't visible.

Oh and as for the embarassment, don't worry about it. They try to make it happen in porn. And that's not because it turns on the ladies. The other ladies are right. My husband laughs at it. I think he sees it as a manly doing. Like, "Yeah, I made you do that!" Just tell him, "When you almost rip me in half like that, lots of air can get in. Oh, baby, plunge faster!" No embarassment for you, and you've definitely made his "tickle my ego please" day.

Ok, are you talking about "pooty farts"? And yeah, BTW this does have an official name - queef. Nice, huh? ...where he's acting like a plunger and stuffing you with air, then when he pulls back the air is coming out. If so, that's really normal - actually. Different positions will do it more. Positions where you're more "exposed" - like doggy, or if he's pushing your legs back over your head, or positions where he comes out farth - than positions where this doesn't happen, like you on top or in a chair or something.

Ok, BTW, while we're talking about emails - just so y'all know, anything you get that says you have to send the message t oX number of people or X will/won't happen - rubbish. I get SOO many emails because "Forward this to 15 people and you'll get a free dinner!" or "Forward this to your best friends or you will have bad luck for 7 years!"... I mean - come on, we're all adults, aren't you a little old to believe in the power of chain letters? Anything like that is spam. Don't ever fall for it.

No person of sound mind likes to think about their death, and by some regards a concept of the universe that does not include the "I" is impossible to have, since we are the proverbial centers of our own universes. But there's nothing to fear. You can worry about what will happen to your kids, or how you will die, or what will become of your body, or countless other things, but what it really boils down to is "it doesn't matter", because you'll be gone and all of your regard for everything will cease to exist. My mother and I were talking about my living will, and I indicated I either wanted t be cremated or - if I die of some unusual medical condition or something - to have my body donated for study. She asked me, "Doesn't the thought of your body burning bother you?" And I answered, "What - like I'm going to care? I'm dead."

Weighed tonight and I've gained 7 lbs since Tuesday. So welcome to the club! I'm sure they'll be gone in a few days, but that doesn't mean my scale doesn't deserve its curses.

Never give someone else that much power over you.

You're killing me. We're about 10 lbs from eachother and you're like 3 or 4 sizes smaller than me. Sorry, can't talk to you anymore. :heh: I'm with you on the clothes. I have 2 pairs of jeans (thankfully we have casual Monday AND Friday). I have 3 pair of dress slacks that fit, and about 4 dress tops. So needless to say, my co-workers are seeing a lot of the same outfits these days. But - they also know why - so it doesn't bother me. At $80 for a pair of pants and $40 at least for a top, I just can't justify buying a lot more. And I guess I'm just not good at finding sales. Can you get away with khakis on the job? Or colored denim? I can't... well.. maybe, but don't want to try it. But lots of places will let you wear capris, khakis, etc. on the job that could also be worn casually. I survived the summer by buying some cute skirts and then wearing them with layered tops at work or knit tops at home... slip ons at work, and flip flops away from work. I try to shop for versatility as much as possible. My weightloss has really sucked lately. I still haven't pinpointed why. I may go 2 months with nothing, then lose oh - a whopping 3 or 4 lbs overnight. I'm going to try adding an add'l 30 mins per session of cardio and see if that makes any difference.

Ok puddin, you mentioned earlier that you have no cellulite on your thighs, etc. -- and it certainly doesn't look it from the bathing suit pic -- but did you before? Were you a "smooth" big girl or a "lumpy" big girl? As in - overweight but "firm", or overweight and "jiggly"? I'm not asking that right, but I hope you get my drift. Because - wow, I always assumed one would need lipo or something to get thighs & buttocks away from the "sock full of quarters" look, and even then it probably wouldn't be gone, just less of it... but if you were "lumpy" before, you certainly can't tell now!

I don't budget or really track expenses, so as much as I hate to say it - I don't know. The logical conclusion would be "yes", but let's see... When we eat out, I order the same meals as I did before. This cost is the same, but I'm now getting 3 or 4 meals out of it instead of just one. Before surgery, DH was a big steak eater. I could take it or leave it, but since he liked it so much I frequently made it. That's about what, $25 for 2 steaks? (DH prefers Angus porterhouse or thick-cut t-bones, which I think are more expensive than the strips I always preferred). Now I don't eat any red meat, and 95% of what I cook is chicken. Two chicken breasts costs what, $3? (Ok, this is how bad I am... I don't even pay attention to what things cost at the store, so I can ony make a rough guess about these prices). I used to eat Breakfast out most days, and lunch, and dinner. Now I rarely eat breakfast period, rarely eat lunch out, and am about 70/30 dinners at home/out. There has to be some kind of savings there. So really all I've done is ramble. I should probably let someone who's more responsible with their money and spending answer this question. :nervous

I caught endless affectionate grief from a friend lastnight, because our dog's real name is "Mr. Hobbs", but - as he put it - "every time you turn around you're calling him something different." My names for him include: Hobby, Bobbins, Bobbly, Hobby Lobby, Swiss Family Hobinson, Hobinson Crusoe, Hobbynero (think habanero), and many many others... not to mention a variety of "Something McSomething" names that I make up as I go including Muttly McFattbutt, Jigglypuff McButt, Muttly McCrackhead, Bobbly McDealybopper, Jigglydoodle McPuffyhead, etc. I can't list them because they're constantly changing. ... and really, whatever strikes my fancy at the given moment. So is this really that unusual? My friend's point was, "Why name your dog when you don't call him by his name?" But I do, and he only really answers to one of those names, but when I'm playing around with him I'll call him whatever. Do you call your pet by its name, or do you have a surplus of other names you use for it?

Yup. veggie does not equal salad. Here are some ideas that I make frequently: Bruschetta - saute a large minced garlic clove, a half tsp of thyme, 3 or 4 sliced shallots and a small can of sliced button mushrooms until the shallots are sweated and the mushrooms are done popping. Sprinkling them with Kosher salt when you add them will help pull out the moisture. (I watch too much Alton Brown). When the sautee is done, add a large can of chopped tomatoes, drained. Cook until the tomatoes start to dry down a little, then top the pan off with chicken broth and reduce, repeat until you've added & reduced the whole carton. Slice a baguette in very thin slices. Top with a sized piece of provolone. When the tomato mixture is done cooking (e.g. all broth is reduced out and tomatoes are "gooey"), place on top of the "croutons", and top with another piece of provolone. Bake until the cheese is brown & bubbly. Veggie kabobs - one of the greatest ways to eat them. I use mushrooms, onions, hubby adds a few others. Just mist with evoo and grill. Wrapped asparagus - wash a bundle or two of asaparagus and dry. Coat a cutting board with evoo and roll the asparagus in it (like with your hand on top of them, moving back and forth... like how you roll playdoh into a "worm"... whatever, you'll figure it out! ) Sprinkle with garlic powder. Gather into bundles of 5 or 6 stalkes and wrap either a piece of bacon around them, or a piece of proscuitto. Fasten with toothpick, and grill until done. These are just a few, tons more out there. Don't let veggies be limited to "salad"!

I will not lose weight if I do not hit my Protein values. There aren't many things in ly life that are "sure", but that's one of them. Work on hard Proteins. By "hard" I mean proteins you have to chew, with bulk, that will fill your pouch and not run through. Having food sitting in your pouch is what makes you feel full, so the longer the protein is there, the better. Example - fish over a Protein shake, or a Protein Bar over cottage cheese... heck, even large curd over small curd cottage cheese. String cheese over yogurt. Eat your proteins first. If you want a vegetable, don't automatically think "salad". Most lettuce is nothing more than crunchy Water. Nutritionally that does you no good. If you want a salad, make sure you focus on the darker leafy greens, such as the outer leaves from a head of romaine, or spinach. They at least have some nutrition. If you're eating iceberg, you may as well be dunking ice chips in dressing. Better than salads - some raw or steamed veggies. Beans are good for you and have protein. Yes, there are carbs in beans, but they're "good" carbs (as opposed to something like a candy bar or orange juice). I enjoy some cold sliced Jicama, and it keeps me full. Or look at veggies that will supplement your Fiber intake. I think you're well aware that your food choices aren't good ones. I honestly will not buy things like pop-tarts because if they're in the house, I can eat them. I do buy snack foods, but I make them band friendly. Here's one of my favorites: Buy a pack of Turkey pepperoni. Hormel makes it and it's usually kept with the regular pepperoni. Looks like the same little package only it has "Turkey" in a green box, or something like that. Very high in protein, very low in fat and calories. Put them single layer on a paper plate or about 6 paper towels, and microwave until they stop popping, about 1.5 mins, but watch to make sure they don't burn. As soon as you take them out, press them with a wad of paper towels to absorb the excess grease from the top, and push the bottoms into the paper plate or towels. This will also "dry" them and make them crunchy. I eat them plain, or with a little cream cheese (particularly tasty with the garden veggie kind), or even use them as scoops for my cottage cheese. If I'm going to the movies, or travelling, I will bring a bag of them with me for snacking. And they can make a pretty good meal substitute in a pinch. I always have a bag of them in the fridge at work, ready to go if I need them. Nuts make a good snack, particularly almonds (which, go figure, I don't like). The key is to buy raw ones whenver possible. A lot of extra oils and saturated fats are added during some of the processing, so always opt for plain old "shelled" when you can. 1.9cc fill in what size band? Why haven't you gotten another fill?

I drink with meals, unless I'm just not thirsty. For me, it has never changed the amount of food I eat, I will eat the same when I drink as when I do not. I only sip, and feel each sip out before going to the next. And I only drink a little bit, not glasses & glasses. The only time drinking has an adverse effect is when I'm stuck, or gummed up. Holy moley, don't ever get it in your mind that "I little sip might help"! * ETA - I don't want to give the wrong impression. I don't chug a glass of tea with my meal. And most meals I don't drink because I'm just not thirsty (I used to drink a TON with meals, and was surprised to see that thirst diminish). But if I'm eating and I get thirsty, I will have a sip of something.

Whoops! Sorry! I just cleaned it out so resend whatever didn't make it the first time. Hey Cate! It's great to hear from you, and you're looking fantastic! I've been lazy with my eating lately. It's hard for me to stay motivated when I'm not seeing any changes (seriously - since late summer I have this pattern of losing NOTHING for a few months, then dropping something ridiculous like 3 lbs). How is life down there? Everything going well with the job and the wine? The food obsessions may always be there. And they suck. I've caught myself eating a few times "just because". I don't want to sound like Sabapathy, but have you noticed particular times that your thoughts go to food, or is it constant?

That's our brains doing that, not the mirror. When I look in the mirror, I do not see a "big picture" difference, but I notice smaller differences. My collar bones are sticking out, my stomach is droopy, fat rolls are disappearing. But overall when I look in the mirror now at the whole enchilada, I don't see a distinguishable different from pre-op. However, simetimes when I see a picture of me now, I'm like - That must just be a really flattering picture because there's no way I actually look like that, I'm way too fat to look like that! (Not that I'm skinny by any means, but it's relativity...) I was not fat my entire life. For most of my life I was very athletic and fit. And when I dream, I'm "regular" me. And oddly enough, even at my highest weight, when I put an outfit on, the mental image I'd have was thin me in that outfit. So seeing the harsh reality of what I had become had a very potent sting known as "reality check". I know there's a difference, because people who have no idea I had the surgery, that I haven't seen since I had it, are speechless. Everyone is noticing, even our tax preparer that I only see once a year. And I know that if I was someone who knew me, and had seen me lose ~130 lbs, I'D see a big difference in me... but I don't now. The mental fat block is still there!