JanetC

Ewwwww to both stories!! And laughing about the drunk, heh. Glad you can laugh about it! They certainly take some getting used to! :scared:

Wow, Crystal! I just caught up on all this... sounds like you've been through it! I'm glad you're home & that the men are being, well, normal men... and that you've got a good doctor... and that you're not waiting, you're GRABBING LIFE BY THE HORNS!!! Go get 'em girl! :scared: You're my hero!

Happy bandiversary! :scared: You are an inspiration! Thanks for hanging around here & letting us all learn from you!

Heh, no worries Pat. I bought a 3 liter of Diet Coke & cracked it, then put it in the fridge. It's mostly flat... and still tastes good. It does make me burp a ton, though. :scared: We have maybe a cup every other day... it doesn't seem to have the hold on me that it once did, thank goodness! Now it's just a treat... or for use when I get food stuck. **sigh** After my big post this morning with the good eating rules, I proceeded to get stuck with STRING CHEESE!!!!! I PB'd yet again. The good news, it was well chewed, lol. But too much too fast. **pout!** I just ate salad while watching the clock & was fine. Read, learn, live by the rules!

Weeeeeeeeeee!!!!! Signed & committed! JanetC We don't have a scale, so the weigh-ins will be bi-monthly when we hit the doctor's office. :scared: LBT BOOTCAMP starting 277 pds 546.25 inches 4-10 4-17 4-24 5-1 5-8 5-15 5-22 5-29 6-5 6-12 6-19 6-26 6-30

Welcome back Sheryl! And congrats on both sets of weightloss! :scared: What a great story!! I'm glad you're on the other side of the ick!

Hi Britt! It is hard to decide what to do when the scale keeps going up & diets don't seem to work. The lap-band is a good choice if you are an over-eater, not necessarily if you're a sweets eater: If you go off your diet by eating 3 sandwiches, lap-band might be for you. If you go off your diet by having a milkshake or 2, it might not be for you. (The lap-band won't restrict liquid or sweet calories well.) As to qualifying, if you self-pay, you most likely won't have to qualify. If you're wanting insurance to cover it, most require a BMI of 35 with a co-morbidity or 2... or a BMI of 40+. Right now your BMI is 34.5 per my calculator, using 5'7". Using 5'8" it's 33.4. Do you have co-morbidities? High BP? High cholesterol? sleep apnea? Documented back or joint pain? Arthritis? (Just naming stuff off the top of my head.) If you have co-morbidities, you could conceivably get your BMI up a touch by either gaining a little weight, or by hunching when they take your height. There was a girl who needed to have a higher BMI... she hunched for her height & took off 2 inches. She also ate Chinese the night before -- to add Water weight. I think she drank a ton of water as she was going in -- more extra weight. I believe she also carried weights in her pocket, but I'm not sure about that. I don't advocate insurance fraud, but gaining weight just so you qualify does seem a touch backwards. Good luck with your decision! Feel free to ask questions, we're a pretty friendly bunch!

:Banane57::Banane39: :Banane33::waytogo::Banane43::Banane59: YAY Stacey!!! Wow, 32 pounds! Woohooo!!

I'm not feeling like it's so easy! It's FORCED compliance! I've tried the "hard" way... diet & exercise. We still have to do that, we just don't have the option of cheating!!! So when I'm tired of eating small, the band doesn't let me go off and binge. Easy it is not... a tough drill sergeant it is! To tell you the truth, a person who says this isn't really open minded, so nothing you say is going to change their mind. So maybe just say something like, "It's a tough journey no matter what & I believe in using any tools I can get my hands on."

Yeah, I drank a ton with it... wanted to get it to the lower stomach. It scares me! I think I'm going to try taking it around 2:30... since the pain normally spikes around 3. The evening pain I deal with better, so I'll skip the NSAID then. What does aloe vera juice do for you? I've seen it mentioned several times lately... got my ears to twitching. :waytogo:

Oh, I forgot to comment on the mourning food thing. I am ANGRY!!!!! Angry, angry, angry, angry, angry!! I WANT TO EAT!!!! For some reason I've REALLY wanted to cheat this week. So I've made bad choices, but dammit!!!! I can't overeat!!! A ciabatta sandwich does NOT equal cheating in my book!! (Luckily I'm not a milkshake cheater... I'm a pizza & a half by myself cheater.) **sigh** I paid good money to not be able to cheat... you'd think I'd be happy! -- And really I am... sometimes, lol. Did I mention angry?

I was SHOCKED!!!! I really, really, really thought the left group was the bottom 3. I mean, the middle group had never been in the bottom, had they? It was a total flip-flop! I wonder sometimes... ya know they had that error last year.... I voted for Mandisa, but didn't spend hours voting for her... I tend to spend more time voting for the ones I think are going that I don't want to go. I'm so bummed! I did notice that Kellie was between Ace & Chris... and that she kept scooting to her right, which was Ace this time... so it MAY just be a scooting-right thing. But then after they formed groups & came back safe, she sat next to Chris again (everyone else switched it up). He was on her left, and she sat REALLY close... when they showed the bench her arm was in front of his (they were more or less overlapping). But it was far less obvious then last week, so it may have just been coincidence.

Found it!! I haven't done the hot tea part yet... I'm not really tight, lol. But if I follow the rest of it, I do well. I've taken to actually watching a second hand... and this is what I found: My normal bites are 0 seconds apart. My 2nd bite is in as SOON as I swallow. My "slow" bites are 3-5 seconds apart. LOL!! Sad, but true. 30-60 seconds is FOREVER!!!! Dealing with "first bite blues", or living with a tight fill: 1. Drink HOT tea before your first bite. 2. Take a VERY small first bite. 3. Chew till the end of the earth. 4. Swallow. 5. Wait 1 minute. 6. Drink more HOT tea to wash it down. 7. Repeat steps 2-6 for the next few bites. 8. Put your fork down for 30 seconds to 1 minute between ALL subsequent bites.

StrawartS had a great list of things to help "first bite blues" or "first bite syndrome", which it sounds like some of us are dealing with. As for the PB'ing, I've now PB'd (actually thrown up food) twice. I've slimed once (no food, but threw up saliva for 1.5 hours). I've had the elephant-on-the-chest pain with almost every meal. It's my theory that I'm shoving my bites in too quickly. They're small & chewed well, but they're constant. When I follow StrawartS rules (I've successfully followed them twice, lol), it doesn't hurt & I can eat a LOT. I'll go search for her rules. Nanster... it sounds like you may be getting too FEW calories. Are you food journalling? If not, I'd start, and make sure you don't have any hidden calories (common culprits: small bites throughout the day, dips or sauces, drinks with calories, chewable vitamins). If you're really below 1000, I'm guessing your nutritionist would prefer you a touch higher. We're in this for a LONG journey... staying below 1000 for long periods is bad for you (or so my nutritionist tells me, lol). Oh, and make sure you're getting your vitamin daily, as well as supplementing your calcium (we use the generic Viativ chew, it's YUMMY!!!). I still really recommend fitday.com -- the PC version (I didn't use the web version long enough, so I don't really know what it does). The goal weight tracking helps me a TON! They tell me how many calories I need to be eating... and expending. It gives me comfort to have someone speaking to me daily. (Lol, I put a lot of weight into that silly program!) As for the Tylenol, yeah, it's AWFUL! The nighttime one (Vanilla) is better. Tammy: sending a link to the moderator is a great idea... they know the rules, and they can ban 'em if they think it's necessary. Pat: Wish I was with you on the sweets! I still want my sweet thing to end the meal... though often my calcium chew works, lol. Never thought I'd see that day! Xann: You sound SOOO much like us about the exercise! Every time we finish it, we thank each other for pushing us to do it. We both feel better... but WANT to? Oh no!!!

Reporting for duty, sir! Results of 05-APR-2006 (I need a gold star smiley! :Banane25:): Vitamins -- check! :Banane57: Water -- um, no check (32 oz, **sigh**) Protein -- check! :Banane33: Exercise -- check! (DDR: 10 min, "Stepping": 2 min) :Banane59: food journal -- check! (I use fitday.com. Pics of journal available at http://yylc.us/Janet... with ALL the gory details. :Banane43:) :Banane39: Good choices -- semi-check. :waytogo: Daily affirmations 3 times -- no check. TODAY I will make a difference! TODAY I will create the me of tomorrow! TODAY I will conquer & get all things checked! I am in control of my diet and exercise. I make good food choices daily. I move my body daily. I am patient with myself & my weight loss. I do the things on my plan so I CAN TRIUMPH!! Hooooo-rah!!!

I haven't been able to find Adult Motril or Advil in liquid form, so I ended up with children's & "super" doses, lol. Gross! I've only done 1 dose so far... but it worked. Last week's practice was awful... this week, I never even rubbed my shoulder. My pain-free-ness only lasted 3 hours, but I'll take it! Now to pick & choose the best times.

I was wondering about the seating chart. I hadn't noticed it at all until I re-wound & re-watched it. But I'll be scouting it tonight!! We have to record it again, lol, so I get to watch it as often as I need to! Heh. I'm interested to see who she sits by & if she sits as close to them! Maybe it's just how she is & wasn't particular to Chris? (I'm not sure which would be better! LOL)

Aww Jessie!! We're definitely thinking of you & your family. Hang in there! (( Hugs!! ))

Thanks Jack! I haven't been to a chiropractor since we moved, I'll put out feelers. Sue, I was told to quit using all NSAIDs upon banding. I was given 2 reasons: 1. The possibility of the NSAID sitting in the upper pouch & causing tissue issues. (Not sure this is valid with liquid NSAIDs.) 2. The overall effect of NSAIDs on the body, especially the liver. I used to take a ton of Ibuprofen (long-term knee issues), but I've given it up on the "better safe then sorry" theory. Neither reason was good enough for me, but until I REALLY need 'em, I'll obey just to be nice, lol. :huggie:

That's awesome news!!! Thanks for keeping us updated, Alex! Doin' the happy dance!!! (Glow in the dark poo? I might just have to check! LOL)

Thanks for updating us, Kel! Hang in there Jess, pump those pain meds & be nice to yourself!! Can't wait to see pics of the new bod!

I couldn't believe Ryan kept making drunk jokes. I guess that's the way they're dealing with it? Cracking jokes?

Oh Carrie!! I'm so sorry! We'll definitely keep O & Mo in our thoughts! And really, folks will be super understanding at first... she may need your hugs even more this weekend!

**Yawn** Oh, was Idol on? J/K, but I really don't like country. I'll be SOOOO glad when they choose something else next week! Hope it's not Broadway! Oh, and Kenny wasn't impressive to me... my fav is still Barry. I think he did the most for the kids.

Woot! I'll add you to the "RSVP" list! Can't wait to meet you!