Southern Missy

Alright, count me in. I'm already doing Couch-to-5K every other day so, in addition to that, I will commit to 30 minutes of walking 3 days a week for a total of 360 minutes for the month of June.

Thanks Lin! That was the answer I was looking for. I just was unclear as to why it would matter if you drank immediately before you ate.

I'm pretty sure it is normal. It is happening to me, too, as well as some others on the board. Give yourself a little time and make sure you are taking in enough food. I found when I tracked my food that for a while there I was only taking in about 300-400 calories a day so I bumped it up to about 700-800. That's all I can get in right now. My biggest problem is the water! I just can't seem to get enough in. We're gonna make it, though!!

366 -- You GO GIRL!!! As hard as that was, you have got to be proud of yourself and even if you aren't, I AM!! :eek: You made me hungry describing all that and I didn't even have to endure being around it. I totally think you ROCK for hanging in there. :sad:

DI: How's the fever situation? SBG: Welcome back and a big CONGRATS on not gaining on vacation. That is a major accomplishment in itself if your vacations are anything like mine! Shawna: STILL jealous over your Wii but like SBG, no such luck on getting one anytime soon! :sad: Keep working it, though. It's probably great for working things you don't even know you're working! :biggrin2:

Hi everyone! I just finished up my 2-week liquids last Wednesday. Believe me, I KNOW HOW YOU FEEL. However, one of the things that helped me was to approach each day without thinking of the next. When I thought of it as, wow, how am I going to make it 2 weeks or 1 week or even 3 more days, it was so overwhelming but when I got up each day just thinking of only that day, it was a little more tolerable. I will have to say that after the 1st 3 days, I was able to move to full liquids so I didn't experience any of the weakness that some of you have. Just to be certain you understood the directions correctly, though, maybe you should contact your doctor's office and be sure that it's just clear liquids or whether you can progress to full liquids during this 2-week timeframe. It couldn't hurt! One other thing, by not cheating, you instill a sense of pride in yourself that doesn't go away. It has been very important to me -- especially when I spent so many years not being able to say no to that cookie or that extra plate of food... makes me sure I will be successful this time!

It's great to hear from you Di! So glad you made it over! Things get better every day. I would say I pretty much feel back to normal now, at about 2-1/2 weeks postop. I started the couch to 5K on Friday and DH joined me tonight ( never in a million years would I ever think he would do it). It's actually pretty fun. I've never jogged before but with it being in small increments it makes it manageable. He got me an IPOD for our anniversary on 5/2 which has a stopwatch so I am able to use that and listen to my tunes while I'm exercising and it has been awesome. Shawna -- I am so jealous of your WiiFit. I have been seeing those commercials and just commented to DH tonight about how much fun that looked like...it would especially be great for rainy days. Let us know how you like it.

LJM -- Not to sound ignorant (even though I am :cool2:) but what is a nike challenge? Is this something that only those who are more fit can do? I just started the couch to 5K today and LOVED it! I'd be interested in finding out what you are talking about. Thanks!

I know some of you are thinking, yeah right but I was telling my husband how some of the banders on here have talked about having this in place of mashed potatoes. He decided to try it the other night with our roast instead of the mashed potatoes (No, I didn't eat any, still on liquids! :sleep:). Surprisingly enough, they all LOVED it! The 14-yo and 12-yo were almost licking their plates and they are pretty die-hard potato fans. So, although it sounds crazy, try it, you might like it! Also, he didn't do anything as elaborate as Alex's recipe, he just cooked it to pieces, added 1 tbsp butter, and mashed the fool out of it. So, I'm guessing Alex's version would be over-the-top! :eek:

Congrats to all you new bandits! CATERPILLARFLY -- My advice is don't give up. Seek a 2nd opinion. Just because one doctor doesn't believe it is possible doesn't mean another will feel the same way. It may just be more than he is willing to deal with -- some get in the mindset that these should be easy and if they hit a challenge then they say it can't be done. I just wouldn't take -1- no for an answer. I'm praying for you girl! :wink2:

Love, First let me say, try not to plan to stay in bed a lot. You will feel better quicker if you are up and walking as much as possible. Also, 2 days after my surgery, I felt well enough to go get my hair done so chances are that even if you have to remove nails from 1 or 2 of your fingers, you most likely would feel up to getting them fixed soon after. Good luck! :biggrin2:

Yay Wendy! :smile: Doing great, girl! I am totally jazzed this morning myself. I have hit the 1st 20.5 pounds gone!! We are going to be so AMAZING! :thumbdown:

I have been an MT for the past 14 years and have been in the same job for the past 4 years. However, changes in accounts have left me reeling and I feel a need to prepare myself in case they can't move me to a different account. I just wondered if anyone out there is also an at-home transcriptionist who LOVES their job. If so, I'd love to hear from you either here or PM me. THANKS!!

Actually, I do this from home now, just wondering if I should jump ship in the case it is sinking... KWIM? BUT I am not getting out of the MT field just changing companies. I generally work about 30 hours a week and what I can make is dependent on exactly how much I type. A reasonable estimate would be at least $500-$600 a week. Of course, working the night shift, I make considerably more but the night shift is not for everyone. Good luck to you who are training now. It is truly a great field to be in ... mostly because I can be home with my 4 children! :thumbup:

Shawna and SBG: I took 1 week postop pics last night and compared them to the night before surgery. I can actually tell a small difference. How about you guys? Have you done any comparison shots yet?

Alright, my Bama Sisters: So, here's something I have been feeling the past few days and I hope this makes sense; I am wearing my bra 24-7, and even then it feels like my breasts are too heavy on my stomach. I am constantly trying to hold them up because I feel I can breathe a little easier. My stomach itself actually feels like an accordion that I can't get stretched out. Has anyone else had this feeling?

I went to 3 different seminars. In 2 of them, it was briefly touched upon as a possible need but in the 3rd, they actually had a PS who came in and did a Power Point. It was very enlightening. I thought it was also very motivational.

I haven't posted how the surgery went... really still getting into the swing of things. Surgery was actually pretty uneventful. It only took about 30 minutes -- he said I did so well on the preop diet that my liver was SMALL. He said he wished his other patients were like me! :thumbup: That was a nice surprise! I spent my 1st night after the surgery walking all night. Gas was threatening to take me on and I wasn't going to let it. The nurses all kept asking me if I was ever going to get any sleep but having had 4 C-sections in the past, I knew I wanted to keep ahead of the gas. So, thankfully, there hasn't been much trouble with that. Now, the port pain is another story... feels like being stabbed over and over when you don't move the right way and heaven forbid if anyone even looks like they are going to bump me -- I send them sailing! :thumbup: So, they all learned pretty quickly not to hurt the momma.

It seems to me that the port is always on the left side... I know mine is and when I was looking at the pictures of the band, it seems that it would pull it too tight if it had to be stretched to the right side. Of course, the latter part is just my opinion! Ford Gal and SVG, Man, you girls must be a doing a lot better than me! I am just so tired. I am 5 days out and have a sit down job but to think of doing a full day right now is just overwhelming. I sat at the desk for a couple of hours today but thankfully I work from home so I have the luxury of working as I need to.

That sounds good to me, Andy. Cullman is pretty close to Bham, right?

Hi Carol, You just decide which one you'd like to be a part of (both the same, the names are just different based on preference; May Flowers or Shrinko de Mayos). Nothing to join -- just join in! :biggrin2: Welcome!

...this whole process of jumping through the hoops?!? I go to bed thinking about it, I wake up thinking about it. During the day, I am trying to think of all the things I might need so that they will approve me. I am so consumed by it that sometimes I don't even call friends like I used to! I go for my initial surgeon consultation on Monday so I am hoping I will get some insight as to "when" I might foresee this happening. However, I don't know that life is ever going to be the same again! :thumbup:

I'm home, I survived, and I'm very, very sore. Hocked up on drugs right now so I'll have to right more later. It's hard to type when you're looking at 2 or 3 of the screen!

Alright, I'm getting ready to leave for the hospital. I'm finally getting a little nervous! :frown: I can't wait, though!

One other thing... I noticed a thought process you currently have and probably don't recognize -- You called ice cream and, I am assuming, the like as "the good stuff" yet it really doesn't have any nutritional value and is not healthy for you. It should definitely be a thought-changing process as well! Good luck to you and congratulations on the 1st 50 pounds!