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LOL waterlily! That's exactly what I told myself!

What are boardies and swimmers? I likely wouldn't ever be comfortable waltzing around in a bikini, even if I could. Mandi

You know, I would love to look good in bikini. But I know it will never happen.. even if I were a size 2. I've got such hideous stretch marks, that unless theres a way to replace my skin from my bra-band line to my 'underwear' line, you'll never see me in public in a bikini. I'm worried enough that I'll never be able to wear a tank top, which is something *I* long for. I have stretch marks on my shoulders, and on the insides of my upper arms... I haven't worn a swimsuit since I was about 9 years old. How bad is that? Even at that age I was embarassed. I wasn't fat, but I was chubbier than everyone else, and we all knew it. I don't know what it's like to be a size ___ because if I ever was, say a size 10, I was probably 10 years old. I have nothing to reference to tell myself what size I want to be, cause I've never been. I don't think I've ever bought clothes that were anything other than a XL, XXL or XXL unti ran out of those options and had to go to plus size stores and buy 22,24 and 26's. So.. uh... what was the question again? Oh yeah, am I aiming for a bikini bod? No. I'll take whatever I can get, but I'll never wear a bikini.

Tybalt, I was the same too. Optifast for 2 weeks prior to surgery... it wasn't fun. I did get less hungry, to the point where I'd opt to not eat anything rather than have another Optifast , some days. Have you tried anything to make the Optifast taste better? Try adding a single serving package of Crystal light to the shake. Are you making it with ice and Water? That really helps. Some people add cold Chai tea or cold coffee to it too. The crystal light really helped me... it ended up being the only thing I'd drink it with. Good luck! Mandi

I have to tell someone what I did, so here it goes. I'm 2 weeks post-op, started 'pureed' today, and ... I ate a whole pack of those mini 'one-bite' cupcakes. That's 12. I ate 6 at first, and an hour later had the other six. I don't know why I didn't just stop and throw 'em out after I has the first batch, because I was feeling bad enough about it after that, but I didn't. I feel sooooo bad and sooooo stupid. So that's it. I'm just so ashamed of myself, and wanted someone to tell me *something* and to smarten up. Thanks. Mandi

I wish my grocery store was like that... the 'ring' around the store goes: produce, bakery, meat, dairy, pop, chips, then pharmacy! Thank you for the suggestions :Banane04: Mandi

Thank you Donna, shoresexy and Kim. I'll say 'no comment' on how they were. lol BUT thank you for the visual on the stitches pulling and bleeding... that really made me think... and it wasn't worth it. I just hope I didn't do any damage... I just imagined as I was eating them and chewing them up that they were virtually pureed... UGG... I hope I didn't screw anything up. I had a applesauce cup tonight, and i'll be sticking to the things I should be eating. It IS hard, and I obviously was never good with diets. But I will go out and get some fat-free Jello pudding cups, and this time stay far away from the baked good section. Thanks guys, I just felt better admitting it to someone, cause I have no one I feel comfortable telling my failures to, 'in real life'. Hopefully this won't be a common type of post for me! :Banane04: Mandi p.s. No, the 20 pounds isn't since banding! I wish. That includes my 2 week pre-op diet... only 5 pounds since.

Hi! I'm glad it went well for you! Yeah, everyone there was soooooo nice... I'm happy I chose them. Oh man, I can't wait for some broth, I'm gonna have some soon! Talk to you later, Mandi

Got mine today!!! Yay! Congrats and good luck to the rest of you getting yours at the end of this month still!

Congrats! You're gonna love him, and all of them there. I was just 'done' this morning!

Dry Powder, Was that you who said hi to me as I was going in? How did it go? I'm feelin' pretty good!

Dry powder, Mine's at The Plastic Surgery Clinic on Cliff Road. Yours is probably there too, but you should call and make sure! Good luck tomorrow!!! Yay!!

Buffie! Dr. Mitchell in Calgary! Mandi! lol *edit* - I got this from another post: The doctor in Calgary that does fills is Dr. Philip Mitchell 403-264-6720 He's at the Peter Laughheed Centre and charges $100. for a fill.

I couldn't sleep, so decided to play around with my before/current picture to see what I could do. I think it turned out pretty good. It's actually neat to have some kind of idea what I could look like once I lost all this weight!

lol, thanks guys. I'm really not aiming for *that* specifically, it was just to see what I'd possibly look like, since I've never been that skinny!

Ok... but wait and see what everyone else says. I'm not absolutely sure that it's fiber that you need... that's just what I would do. Good luck!

I'm also on all liquids right now, and I've been using Benefiber... it's like Metamucil, but non thickening, and tasteless... you can add it to pretty much anything, it's fabulous!

Who's left?! I'm getting mine on Wednesday! Mandi

lol... that's funny. Productive farts. Not funny to have though, I can imagine. Sorry... I just had to say 'good one' ! I'm sure it's not a forever thing though. Perhaps you could use some Fiber?

Oh, ok... gotcha. I had a 2 month wait as well.. Thank you, I'm pretty excited! Mandi

interesting... and that's why it took 2 months, because of the wait for the endoscopy?

Interesting... from what Marie said to me, I understood that I could have 'a cup of steamed veggies' in addition to my 3 Optifasts. To be honest... I haven't had more than 2 Optifasts and no veggies (a day) at all in a week. I just can't do it. They changed my surgery time. It was supposed to be at 11, and I was supposed to be there at 10. Now, I think it's at 10:40, and I have to be there at 9:40. So you must be just before me! Cool. No, I don't know who that would be. Are you a member of the 'canadianlapbanders' yahoo group? You should join, if you're not. There's lots of Cobourn patients and lots of people from Ontario. http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/canadianlapbanders/ Mandi

Supposedly it shirinks the liver, making it easier to move and get around. You're lucky!

Dry Powder, Marie told me nothing but tylenol (if I need it) before surgery, so that's what I'm doing. Finally someone with my same doctor and date! What time are you scheduled for? Mandi

I have 15 days of Optifast, and I'm 'allowed' one cup of steamed veggies a day. I'm on day 10, but I'm not doing very well.... I have lost about 10 lbs though, so ... I guess that's ok... better than nothing.