cashley

Ok - What I should have said was "Did you listen to bull-shit like that when you were fat?"

I mean telling someone who is overweight that "Just because you can eat a lot does that mean you should"... is bull - did you listen to that crap pre-banding?

Overweight people have a problem and the band is supposed to help us not "eat a lot"... that was the original posters point... is "why can I still eat a lot".... she didn't say "Should I still eat a lot?"

Obviously, we shouldn't eat a lot with or without the band! The band is a tool to help us not eat a lot.... Yes it still takes the head to make decisions about not eating Ice Cream! (or milk-shakes or candy)

So I agree it is a combination of the head and the band.... I just don't think BS "sayings" are helpful!

oooo, the ladies are hugging. This just went from interesting to HOT. JUST KIDDING. Am I the first person to go off topic with lesbian refrences????

I'm sure I felt her pinch my "smaller then before" booty during that hug!! And I think she may have squeezed my breast! (I was holding off til evening for the lesbian references... but guys dig it)

Hey Cash.... I agree with you!

Well we are losing the poll.... but thanks for agreeing with me! I also empathize with the other side but really I've never seen banning work. It just seems like message boards in general are plaqued with this stuff!

I don't like the banning or the censorship and would rather post at a site that is more free with the rules... but it's not my choice (I get that). I continue to post here (occassionaly) but still it's urks me when members are getting banned weather I liked them or not!

Well hell!! If you live in KY and have a possee too then I'm in!! (Can I be in?) I promise to not stalk you, I'll watch your back at all cost of being banned, and I'll fight tooth and nail if you ever get banned!

Well I just thought the "Ignore and they'll go away policy" could be sucessful and I've never seen it tried here since there are always "TROLL" names.

I guess I'm the only one who thinks that "Banning is ineffective" and I can accept that but I had to ask!

In Kentucky men are revered for having all their teeth and the ability to scream GIT R DONE at any moment.

Hey now... I wanted to be in your posse but now you are making fun of my state!! Just to let you know I revere my man for more then just having all his teeth! And I actually wear shoes here in Kentucky!

wanna hug?

I do I do!! I come to these places (message boards) for good advice, funny advice, interesting opinions and "GOOD HUGS"

Oh I totally understand that. It just isn't going to achieve anything. If you want to achieve something you'll need to address the person who can do something.

We, the users, do not have rights.

Again... I'm not trying to change anything so addressing them would be unnecessary. I don't care about our rights... I care about peoples opinions... That's why I asked!

Personally I know that there is no way to keep someone from a board...no matter what. But I think that the attempt is good. It send s message. If you make it hard, there will be neough people that won't try to keep gaining access. they'll get the picture and move on with their lives. there are some that just won't, and that is the true necessary evil of the internet. But i applaud the attempt, and hope that it send enough messages, and at least weeds out the people who give up on trying. Eventually...it gets tiring. I can't imagine anyone having the time or energy to continually create new accounts from spoofed ip's just to keep coming back to make asses of themselves. So yes...I applaud the attempt at control. At least it shows the board mods an owner are trying to keep this a safe place for those trying to get support.

That exactly is more of the type of opinoin I was looking for!! I applaud you for the great opinion. I myself am of the opposite opinion that if you just ignore them, they will get bored and go away.

But still what you just said is what I was curious to learn... and that was what everyone besides myself thought about it.

I think it is ineffective to ban people as they just come back with a new screen name it seems. Other boards I'm on once you get banned your ISP or whatever it is called is banned. They know if you try to come back with a new user name and it is not allowed. I am suprised that people are allowed to come back here after their account has been suspended.

Exactly what I'm saying.... except the bad news is that even if you ban an IP address the person can (and most likely will) come back since that doesn't really work either!

I believe Alex has stated in the past that if you have an issue with the moderators to speak directly to him.

I believe it takes more than one moderator ro approve a ban, and possibly it requires approval from Alex himself.

I'd recommend just PM'ing Alex if you think action taken was inappropriate.

I don't want to ask Alex or any of the moderators.... I wanted a poll question for the Users.... That's the difference!

And as for eating a lot.....'just because you can, doesn't mean you should.' 'just because you can, doesn't mean you have to.' The band is a tool, not a magic wand. The secret to successful binding lies in your head, not your tummy.

Did you listen to allegories like that when you were fat?

The secret to success pre-banding was in your head too.... yet people still get fat? Most likely because we don't listen to our heads and that's why we get the band.

The secret to the band is proper restriction.

I've already tried working on my head and that failed... now I'm trying the band!

I don't mind being disrespectful when questions need to be asked!

Banning won't stop the issue but it look like from the poll so far people think it works! hahahaha!

P.S. What, co-workers can't be here at the same time but married ugly people can?

Blocking people with IP addresses can always be overcome!

And since both married people and / co-workers will use a single board it hurts those people to try.

Just use IP spoofing software... then you can be whoever your little heart desires!

It's your opinon that it's not my business....

If they don't want me to question the policies here... they can ban me also! It's their right as board owner, bandwidth payer and/or moderator!! But someone else could question that too!

honestly I don't think it is any of our business exactly how the board is run. We can report things, and let the mods know how we feel, but this is not going to change any rules. The rules are set, and the banning decisions are made by someone much higher than us. Alex. He could wake up tomorrow and decide its not worth the money any longer to host this place and shut it down. that is his right. fights may break out, and names may be called, but on a support group site when things get really ugly I think it is appropriate for the board owner to take actions that he sees fit to make that ugliness go away. If that means removing specific members, then that is his choice. no one knows how long they are going to be on this boar. It is a priviledge, and i don't think it is appreciated when those privileged enough to still be here turn around and second guess the actions and motivations and opinions of those that are extending said priviledge.

just my 2 cents. seems i have been leaving pennies all over this board lately. LOL back to weight loss *skips away*

It is my business how it's run. I might not be able to change it but unless they want to ban me for questioning it then I can still ask the question???

I think it's ineffective to ban due to the ability to start a new user name. The next way to stop a banned memeber would be to block IP address and that's not super effective either.

And I certainly realize it's a privilage to post on a public board that someone else runs and pays for.... but that doesn't prevent me for questioning how it's run. If you think the "agruing" is so disruptive then why do you participate? I personally join in here "sometimes" because I enjoy it. When it's not longer enjoyable then I may or may not continue. If others are childish I can decide each and everytime If I myself want to also be childish!

Since I know how to ignore post I don't find "enjoyable" and because banning members seems ineffictive at preventing the fighting then I choice to question the moderators decision. I'm just curious to see what others feel about the banning issue....

I think we should come up with at good list of the pro's & con's of the band... everyone could contribute and it could help others with their personal decision.

Would I get the band again? I'm not sure - it's worked some (stalled some) - it's been hard - it's been fickle - and it's kind of weird to adjust too.

My list would start out like this....

* The band doesn't prevent hunger but helps you stop eating solid food sooner and thus should prevent overeating. The "STOP Sign" could be fullness to some, pain to others or somewhere in between.

* If you are addicted to candy, chocolate, milk shakes and / or ice cream the band will not help with that addiction. You may still lose weight if you can avoid those foods but you will not feel them or get that "Stop Sign" from the band.

* The band helps you eat smaller portions if you continue to make good band food choices (which is still basically being on a diet). If you think you can eat anything you want with just smaller portions you are mistaken.

* Even with the band and eating less then 1000 calories a day and exercising a minimum of 30 to 60 minutes per day you may not lose or you may lose very slowly. (I don't know why). You also may lose in spurts and then stall for several weeks to several months. It's sad I know!

Anyone else have bullet points that you wish you would have known before banding?

Is it really neceassary to ban users for this fighting? I'm not in it but don't have a problem either a. Reading it.... or b. Ignoring it...

How many people here really feels it's necessary? or effective? I mean the fight goes on regardless and users can always either make up new names or if you do an IP ban they can spoof that. (It's not hard)

I've been a member of many message boards and a moderator of some. The best run are the ones that just let the crap happen and give up on the "stupid unnecessary, ineffective rules"

What I didn't realize before surgery and wish to god I would have read somewhere was how easy it is to cheat....

I'm not saying I have no will power but I honestly do not like many healthy foods and didn't realize that junk food would go down ok while healthly food would cause pain.

I was under the impression that the band would restrict all food and that I would eat less. I was hoping to not care so much about "candy" or "ice cream" or "milk shakes"... well it turns out when I'm hurting and hungry those are the things that actually go down. That just sucks!!!

I had a few weeks of pure heaven with the band where I didn't care at all about food.... I didn't want anything because I was in constant pain from the PB's. I actually liked that feeling...

then I learned how well ice cream went down and since I wasn't eating hardly anything I figured a scoop wouldn't hurt.... now it's like I'm fighting the addiction again. The addiction of junk food that the band didn't help with.

Sooooo my advice is if you are a person who likes junk food this might not be the right surgery for you.

PS... Yes I'm a rule breaker, I ate mushies before I was supposed too becuase I was friggin hungry and isn't that why we all got the band because we were friggin hungry and couldn't control what we put in our mouths?

I'm just tired of being hungry or in pain! I wish I could just find some simple foods that are solids and not candy... that keep me full without pain.

I always drink from a straw and do not have any gas problems. It actually seems like I get less air then drinking from a bottle, glass etc.

I don't drink soda because of the gas pain but my Protein shake is in a metal can and I hate the way it feels without using a straw or pouring it into a glass.

I have a funny suggestion... they have the suger free choc. from Russell Stovers and Pure Delite and several other brands that contain "sugar aclohols" as a sugar replacement. They have less calories plus the added benefit of tons of gas and diarea. You'll be too embarassed (and/or sick) to eat very many of them.

They actually taste really good but you just have to know your limit on not getting sick from them. Helps me not eat too much!!! I keep the sugar free turtles and just eat one.... if I eat three it's an evening in the bathroom.

You know everyone has been saying that we don't realize how thin we are when we were there and that is soo true.

But I did have one "weight related blessing" and that was I got back down to goal in 2002 and stayed there for about 9 months.... it was heaven and I appreciated every second of it. When I started gaining I fought so hard to stay down but my life style (traveling for my job) and time constraints took me from exercising and the weight just fell back on. I gained over 90 pounds in a year.

But I remember... what it was like.

I understand your frustration even though I'm losing I can emphasize with your dilemma. I always hated when people in the past told me to be patience and just give it time. I used to not mind to exercise or diet but hated the months and months of no results.

Since I've been banded and have a really tight fill (which I know isn't the healthiest thing to do) I'm finally losing and so happy about that. I've only been getting about 600 - 800 calories and have averaged about 1.5 pounds per week. They don't really come off 1.5 per week a lot of weeks it's zero or 1 - 2 pound gain and then 4 or 5 comes off in a week.

I don't have any advice to make it feel better for you but I wanted you to know I certainly feel for your dilemma and hope you find a way to over come it. Since you are smaller I think it takes a long time for the restriction to get just right.

It seems each doctor is different.... one doctor I almost went to required a sleep study but it was included in the fees (I was self pay). It wasn't in the ICU at all.

I ended up going to a different doctor that had all the cost in one package. I didn't have to do the psych eval or the sleep study but did have the barium swallow, chest x-ray, ekg, nutrician consult and blood work. It was all done in one day and they made it really easy.

How does Fiber One Cereal taste by itself? Eating it as a snack. How many calories does it have?

Fiber One is really low in calories - like 40 per 1/2 cup serving. It's ok tasting dry, a tad bit like sticks and twigs... (just teasing - not that bad) but I like it best with 1/2 cup of skim milk and some splenda to sweeten it. Over all it's less then 100 calories with the milk and has about 16 grams of fiber per serving.