Wheetsin

Oh, here's another one. I've heard them called different things, but we always called them "cootie kissers." This thing you could make with paper, it folded into four sections. Each section you'd put a number, then inside a color or something, then at the very end you could flip up ap iece of paper and have a "fortune" written on it. We could play with those for hours. I can't believe I found a picture of one:

Don't forget banana clips. It was murder trying to fit my mop of hair into those, but it had to be done. And then they'd randomly come undone, AFTEr you'd teased the crap out of your hair to get that "mane" look coming out of the clip. And then the bana clip's evil cousin, the name of which I don't remember, but kind of like two big clips that you had to interlock to hold your hair.

I was translplanted from CA to MO during high school. I think I left right as hypercolor was hitting, and it didn't make it to the midwest until it was done and gone in CA. So it was an early 90s thing for us here. I had one hypercolor tshirt. That was it. Actually never had Hammer pants, but I did the fluoroscent. I also did the "french roll", as we called it. Tight on the ankles. I would use safety pins to hold them tight and make sure they didn't come undone on me. Then it was multiple layers of scrunch socks, yes, and then converse. I didn't have huge hair. My hair is curly so I could never really do "the wave" thing, but I had the bangs. I did the mirrored sunglasses that had little pictures in them, like silver mirror with purple/blue pictures. I did the gobs of jelly bracelets, where you'd link them all together going up your arm. And then the cousin of jelly bracelets - the ones that were hollow tubing filled with glitter, colored liquid, etc. I do remember slap bracelets, but I don't remember them being banned. On the west coast, and being less than an hour from the beach, we had regional trends like Flojos, I had them in every color... you had to have a 91X shirt, Mr. Zogg's, Jimmy'Z, etc. and the "it" look was torn jeans, hard Rock cafe shirt, blazer, and the stupid hat type that all the brat pack wore. When we moved here, it seemed branded shirts like Banana Republic were the equivalent. Also popular here that I'd never heard of or seen were the "Eastland" loafers, and people would corkscrew the laces. I can still remember trying to win Pitfall.

If fast weightloss is your goal, the band is probably not your best choice. Though there are exceptions - I lost faster than any of my friends with other types of WLS. And we're all equally creeping now. Fills really aren't so big of a deal. I've had 6 total, including 1 unfill and 1 to top the fill back off. So if I hadn't pushed it I'd be at 3 and I'm over two years out. I don't think that's horrible. It's a much better schedule than any other maintenance-type activity in my entire life. No real regrets. There are things I would have done differently, but I would still be banded. And I love that I can eat whatever I want. Not an option with most other choices.

Turnips are good. I would second the jicama, used to make a decent, tho sweeter, hashbrown. I always describeit as half potato, half apple. Excellent chilled, and you can make a pretty mean "fried apples" with it. For mashed, or casseroles, try cauliflower.

Probably one of the AP bands. They come in two sizes, APS (advanced platform standard) and APL (advanced platform large). IIRC the standrd is 10cc and the large is 14cc. I would guess if your surgeon called it a standard he was referring to APS, but I can only guess. Seriously, just call your surgeon and ask. If he tells you "standard" tell him you want to know the volume in ccs.

I think it was The Gh0st who was doing the massage. Not sure if she'll check in here, but try searching that username if you want to find her posts about it.

Oh geez. You know what Caboodles makes me think of? Two things. Swatches, just because of the bi, tri, quad, quint coloring. But more importantly, and a little more obscure, Le Clic. Do you remember LeCLick, the two-tone cameras?

Fav - probably my waist. I have one now, and it really helps you look that much slimmer. Plus with a defined waist, and now a flatter stomach, my boobs look a lot bigger. Least fav - probably my neck area, collarbones, etc. They've gotten really boney, and it's really starting to become uncomfortable and inconventient to scratch. The other day someone patted me on the back, up high, and was like "Ugh, your back is all boney now." (It's not, but it's not just me that's noticing)

The role of weightlifting specific to its ability to shrink up loose skin -- misunderstood. It isn't some ability to actually reduce the volume of skin on your body. What it does is build muscle mass under the skin, making the "empty space" less, possibly causing the skin to appear tighter than it really is. In basic terms, it's the exact same result as gaining weight again. You lose weight, get saggy skin, gain it back, and your skin is a lot tighter than it was when you didn't have the extra weight, because it's "filling" the loose skin up. Building muscles will do the same thing.

Speed of weightloss isn't as much of a factor as people tend to think. Your really heavy hitters here are going to include: Genetics, as the natural composition of your skin. Some skin is "stretchier" than others, e.g. the woman who has twins and doesn't get a single strechmark versus the 12 y/o whose hips gets covered with them through puberty. Fairer skin is often seen as less likely to stretch out than darker, and scarring of any type on darker skin is seen as more significant. Overall health. e.g. smokers tend to have more issues with skin than non-smokers. Duration and extent to which the skin was stretched out. If you're fat for a week and 12 y/o, your skin's probably going to be ok. If you're fat for a significant period of time, and not very young, you're going to have loose skin. Just like anything else, temporary stretches can usually be absorbed without deformation or injury, but long-term stretches will change the long-term shape. Your predisposition to stretch marks (genetics, but from a different perspective). If you have stretch marks, you're going to have loose skin. I don't even know that there could be an exception to this. Strech marks come from breakdown, and once the skin is broken down, there's nothing to bring it back. Think of an old sock with old elastic. Once the elastic breaks or loses its ability to stretch, the sock will never be tight again. Same with your skin.

Have to agree with Georgia on this one. There are many celebrities, and every day people, who would undoubtedly benefit from losing weight. However, that's not what the question asked. I would never be so presumptuous as to say anyone "needed" the lap-band. Maybe they don't need something mechanical/surgical to overcome their issues. And the lap-band is not a good choice for everyone. The farthest I could go would be to say maybe they'd benefit from it, maybe not.

The only thing you can do is wait for the issues to resolve/be resolved. Anytime you're having significant performance issues and know it's not your connection, are getting something like a 404, etc. just trust it's not you personally, it's something on someone else's end, and be patient. :thumbs_down:

No, water dropped, not eggs.

Ok, there was the slime with "I don't know" -- I think. And eggs dropped, but I don't remember the key word...

Often the actual band isn't selected until you're cut open. Well, I don't know that this is the current practice. It was when I was banded, but I've heard of a lot more sugeons taking a "one size fits all" and using only one band since then - which I personally don't like to hear. We're all sized differently inside as well as out. My surgeon anticipated I would get a 10cc band, based on my size/weight pre-op. I had much less internal fat than he expected, and he ended up going with a 4cc band because it was a better fit. I actually wanted the 10cc, but I wouldn't trade my progress with the 4cc to get it. Don't be bummed, just trust that you got the best fit for you, and enjoy. :tt2:

I have an Inamed/Allergan, the brand name is "Lap-Band" (they own that name, which is why it's generically called AGB). It was the band my surgeon of choice used.

With my guidelines, tuna was only a mushy when made really, really wet, e.g. more mayo than tuna. Tuna from a can would not have been allowed on my mushy stage. Blenderized tenderloin could be a mushy, if you added Water. That would make it Soup, right?

Alexandra, let me try to ask this clearly. It's more clear in my head than it will translate in text, I fear. Since your rebanding, have you ever had the same sense of satiety that you had with your first band, when you've eaten a "bandster" type meal? In other words, with surgery #2, have you struggled for some sense of restriction the entire time, or was it there at first and taper off, etc?

The longest I know is under 10 yrs. It hasn't been done that long in the US, so you'd probably have to look internationally for someone who has had it longer than 5 or so years. 2001 were the FDA trials, so that's going to be your limit stateside, unless you can find someone who left the country to have it done before it was approved here.

THis has come up among some banded girls I know IRL... let me ask, were you significantly overweight your entire life, or at least most of it? Or did you not gain until later in life? There were 3 of us in this particular conversation. One lady had been significantly overweight/obese her entire life. She didn't have a single memory of being thin, a single picture, etc. The other two had become obese later in life, maybe having bouts of chubiness as kids, growing out of them, and starting to pork out maybe around high school or college. I'm in the latter group, and for me and the other lady, we had a sense of "getting my body back" -- of "this is how I'm supposed to be, I've just been not myself lately" and of "I can't wait to be back into this size and pull it from my closet." But for the third lady, the one who only knew obesity, she was having some much harder self-concept issues. She couldn't relate to a thin body, had no past references to relate to, or hope for. For her, losing weight was much more like us as we gained - we lost our bodies, had no idea what we'd look like in the end, and longed for the way we were. In her case, she too was losing her body, but the fat body. She had no idea what she would look like thin because since being a toddler she had never been thin. And she did kind of long for her fat self in a way, because it's what she knew, and not nearly as scary as this unknown thing around the corner.

If you feel it under the port incision, but your port is placed somewhere else, it's not the port. You don't feel a lump in your arm and assume it's your eyeball, even if it's round. :glare: The port will feel kind of like a button under the skin. You may have to push semi hard to feel it, and it may be very tender when palpitated. If you're just feeling a "mass" directly under the incision - my money is on scar tissue. That's what incisions do, scar.

You're probably feeling scar tissue. The port feels kind of like a little button under the skin. Very small, very distinct shape/feel. "You know it when you feel it" kind of thing. There's nothing mass-ey about it.

For DH's eyes only, if he wanted me to, yes. In public, no. My thighs look like socks full of quarters. Add to that the baggy weightloss skin making skin folds on my inner thighs. As if that weren't enough, I'm knock-kneed. Anyone turned on yet? I also do try to be age-appropriate. I know, not always a popular notion, but it works for me. And oh yeah, the height thing. I'm just shy of 6'. A "miniskirt" would fit me like a belt.

I'd love to help you out but frankly, I'm very confused. Is the premise that this is a potential business for you, and you're wanting input from potential customers? (just got that from your follow-up, but don't get that from your original) Or is it you asking us what we do? Or you wanting our input on what you should do? Assuming it's the business thing: I take mine monthly, in the nude. So for me, hiring someone to do this is out of the question. I think the best progress pics are in the nude because clothing - even restrictive clothing - hides so much of the real transformation. Weekly is probably not going to show a difference, and quarterly might lead you to miss some of the nuances of what's happening. I'd want the date, but I'd know that, so I wouldn't want it on the picture. Id' also know the loss, which is something I'd be more comfortable tracking myself than having a "photographer" track for me. Privacy is big with me. Same with measurements, I use one of the free online services to do it for me. If I didn't have a way to get prints myself, I would probably want one print for my own records. I wouldn't necessarily want it posted to the web, and if I did, I could just scan the print. I do make composites of my loss, so that might be something I'd be interested in, but I'm not sure it's something I'd be willing to pay for (so many people offer to do it free). I always use the same location so I can see my changes related to the environment. E.g. in front of a door, and look how much less of that door I cover up. So unless you're really willing to travel far and wide for not much money, again - not sure it would be a practical service for me. Not terribly interested in a formal session, no offense, of your own accord you're not a professional photographer and if I'm going to pay/want a formal photography session, I'm going to have a professional do it. Most of us hide from the cameras for most of our lives, so when I reach the point that I'm proud to do it, it's going to be a full-blown studio event. The pricing is where this gets sticky. I would say not a lot, because it's something most of us can do for free, and probably many of us prefer to do it privately/on our own anyway. Theoretically if I were interested, then the price I would pay would depends on things like: (please don't feel the need to answer these, they're just criteria I would consider to determine the value of the service) What exactly is your experience? What technical media would you use? Do I have to travel to you, or do you come to me? What is included by default, vs. what has to be purchased additionally? Do you offer data recovery/backup if I elect to have you host my web pictures? Do you ownt he rights to the negatives or do I? Can you use my image without permission? How many years' experience do you have? How can you ensure my privacy if you're doing things like tracking my weight/dates/measurements? What if I'm not satisfied with the pictures? (i.e. refund issues)