Cheri

I hear you about the rice, Dee! I LOVE chinese food, but rice does not like me anymore! I will have to settle for Egg Drop Soup and entree without rice. I haven't even attempted steak yet, guess I'm a little scared (rice causes me to get sick, I can only imagine what steak will do!!!) Guile, I am glad to hear you're feeling better. That's what I love about this site - for the most part we are all in this together. We have stories to share, complications, victories, tissy fits, crappy days - we got it all, and we love each other anyway!!! Keep me posted!! ~cheri

Got my first fill last Friday. I was hoping for some miracle saline to melt away a hundred pounds or so, but no such luck! Let me know if they put it in yours!! I don't feel any difference, but I do get stuck now if I don't chew chew chew chew chew chew! I wish it had a valve to close after you have eaten your allotment for the day!!!!! Keep up the good work, sara - we're here cheering you on!! ~cheri

Good Luck girl! When we hear from you again, you will be in bandland (WOo WOO)~ Congrats (but shouldn't you be resting?!?!) ~cheri

Girl, I don't know what you're talking about! I think you are doing great! Your new avatar looks like a different person altogether (not that you weren't beautiful before), and you have kept your head high all of this time! You are one of the busiest bandsters around, and you are a huge success!! If you feel you need to have a big ole tantrum, girl, you go ahead!! Let me know and I will send you some extra energy to make it a good one!! I have them all the time, and they do make you feel better (as well as burn a few calories)!!! Please don't be so down, we are ALL rooting for you and your scale victory. The issue that is causing you grief will be discovered soon, and you can get off that turtle's back and hop a rabbit!!!! Love ya~ cheri

Guile, How are you feeling today? Been thinking about you! ~cheri

Hey, if any of you want to check in with weight lost thus far, I will happily add stats by our names on this roster!!! Let me know!!!

I think all of the above suggestions are great, and most of them certainly have more experience than me! I had an idea for you though, in additon to getting a smaller fork to eat with, make yourself a deal that you cn only have 1 forkful every 30 seconds!!! I don't mean that you should watch the clock the whole time, I just mean that you should do 1 fork full, chew chew chew chew chew, swallow, then another forkful! My eating before was heaping fork full chew chew another heaping fork full, chew chew, than swallow the whole big gulp!!! I find the same problem with my evening meal - real, hot food goes down way too fast!! I get stuck quite frequently (which, by the way, definitely slows down your eating for the rest of that meal!!) Another thing I have noticed - if you are eating with your hands, you probably shouldn't be eating it!! (fruit excluded, of course) You are doing great - don't give up! ~cheri

I hope you all know that I was just being an imp in my last post!! If you have read any of my other posts, you will see a pattern of goofiness!! My daughter and I have discussed why Dr. King was important to our history, and she feels like I do...it is a shame that he even had to work for equality (we personally believe that all of God's children are equal in His eyes, and should be in ours as well!!!) ~cheri

I had the surgery 6 weeks ago, and have lost 24 pounds, I think. (That averages 4 #/week, but I actually lost the biggest part of that in the first 3 weeks) I love my band, and have ABSOLUTELY no regrets!!! The last time I lost 24 pounds on my own, I eventually found it - along with a bunch of its' pound buddies!!! With the band, I am not worried about finding my lost pounds anymore!!! Hope this helps! ~cheri

You can wear your birthday suit around all day today!!! (Don't forget to snap a picture so you can use it to make your wall-hanging!!!) ~cheri

Congrats, and welcome to the band! ~cheri

1/2/06 Weight - 244 NSV - Tagging my 24's for a future yard sale!! 1/9/06 Weight - 244 (also last week and week before) I go for my 1st fill on Friday, so maybe my weight will actually change for the week after next!!! NSV - my daughter (8 years old) walks with me everyday. Yesterday, she was tired before I was!!!!! 1/16/06 Weight - 242 yee haw! NSV - dancing the night away at hubby's company party (wowee the sweat, but no heart attack)!!!!!

Week 3 Water - yep, as always Food - thought I did really well, kept everything tracked on sparkpeople.com Exercise - went back to the YMCA, walked 3 days, danced all night on Saturday, strength training 1x Weight - 242, down 2

Shouldn't you have said, Happy Have Your Kids At Home An Extra Day Wondering Why They Aren't At School And Staring At You With A Blank Expression When You Try To Explain To Them Why Martin Luther King, Jr. Was Important Day!! (Geez, that was hard to type) My poor little ones just don't really get it yet, they just know it's a day off!! Happy MLK, Jr. Day to you, too!!

Hey~ I know this is definitely not what you want to hear, but here goes (you want the truth, right?) I started the journey for bypass, got all of the info for getting insurance to cover it, blah blah blah. The six month supervised program is a big fat sham IMHO! Anyone can lose weight by dieting, ANYONE, but we few and proud cannot keep it off after losing it! The insurance companies know this, but they sure do save a bunch of money at the time. What about down the road? They really should wake up! Sorry, hit a sore spot! The person I talked to at my insurance company said that I would probably never be accepted for weight loss surgery - BCBS alabama does not cover lap band under any circumstance, and the six month supervised diet would put me under (albeit temporarily) the BMI requirement for bypass!! She understood my frustration, but was brutally honest. I am glad she talked to me, because I wasted no more time pursuing that path! So, here I am, happily banded (4 month process from start to band), with a huge sum of money financed for the rest of my life! But Hey, I'll have a longer life to pay it off!! Don't give up, but please please please be sure you know everything about your insurance carrier! Six months is a long time, and I would hate for you to get at the end of it and they tell you, "oh, well this is what the insurance plan states, sorry about your luck!" Just be very educated. My biggest piece of advice is to talk to the billing person at your surgeon's office - he or she will be a library of knowledge to you!!! ~cheri

Well, last night I went to my hubby's comapany holiday party and didn't spend the evening at my table "hiding". I met several of his employees (the first time I've let him introduce me to them) and danced the night away with the skinny wives' club (guess I am now an honorary member since I certainly don't fit the description)!! I worked up a great sweat, but I didn't care! My new plan is to do what I enjoy, not hide because of shame!!

Remember to watch the beer and wine coolers (CARBONATION is the DEVIL!) Otherwise, I say enjoy yourself (but don't do like me and get pregnant every time you get drunk!!!) ~cheri

I agree with banded - but I was going to state that most everyone banded is expected to do a form of adkins! Unrefined carbs and sugar are the 2 things my doc explicitly banned (many others have been given the same directions!!) Lower fat options are the menu of the day as well (I loved adkins because of the bacon Breakfast, lunch, and dinner!! - but not on the band!) I guess you wouldn't call it Adkins, per say, but in a nutshell, low carb/high lean Protein is the new menu for life with the band!! Good Luck! I am 6 weeks out and loving it! I do not miss anything (except the occasional crave for McD's fries!!) ~cheri

:welcome: Good luck with everything!! Take care of yourself, enjoy your trip, and be careful!! We'll see you on the other side of the band!!

I have also been diagnosed with sleep apnea. I currently use the cflex heater/humidifier cpap at a 7. I do believe that my weight is a (THE) key factor in my apnea because I can hardly use my machine now that I've lost some weight. The air blows so hard that it is actually hard to breathe with it on. I am going to get it ramped down, and I'll let you know how it goes! sleeping with cpap took a bit of getting used to - ask for a few days' worth of ambien - but it really does help with fatigue due to lack of quality sleep! Good luck!!

:rofl: Good luck on your journey!

Nice site!! Those are the prices I'm talkin' about!! I only get to LB about 2x a year because I live so far away from any good sized cities. They had a lot of their stuff marked down 50% with an additional 60% off of the 50! I got a $89 jacket for 20 bucks! The rest of the stuff I got was around $5 each! I usually can't afford LB, but love the quality!! I will definitely bookmark the closeout site and shop when my hubby chills out!! LOL

Unjury protein! Itdoesn't taste too bad, and I can use an egg whipper if I don't feel like a smoothie from the blender! My trick for actually somewhat enjoying the shake is adding sugar-free chocolate syrup "stuff". They have it at walmart, and it only has like 15 calories for a serving! It is well worth the calories for me! I have just recently added benefiber unflavored to my shake "concoction". I was not getting much fiber in my diet. The powder dissolves completely & is tasteless!! Invest in a personal blender, some sugar-free chocolate syrup, and enjoy!!! Good Luck! ~cheri

Okay, penni, breathe! Breathe while you can, and remember to keep breathing even when you don't have time for it! How many kids do you have? Sounds like you had rabbits intead of children - just kidding!! Your mom has lots of "strangers" prayers (which are better than friend prayers IMHO), so she is being looked out for! Enjoy the bead expo, and take some time while you are away for a mani-pedicure!! The closest thing to a chocolate bath! Hang in there! ~cheri

Girl, get you some fence locks:lock1: , a pit bull, and a tazer gun:laser: !! That will solve a heck of a lot! (Make sure to use the tazer on the idiotic parents in your neighborhood!!!) Just kidding, but wouldn't it be nice?!?! Oh, by the way, I would take a chainsaw to the fishing poles:Banane26: or sell them and use the funds for my own "fishing" trip!!! Any great resorts in the area:ip: ?