Lanakila

"Cheating" is a diet word. It makes us feel guilty when we make poor food choices. It keeps us overly focused on our failures. It sabotages our beliefs in our ability to make life changes. As banders, we no longer diet. We have chosen to commit to lifestyle changes. We've all done this before, but this time is different. We've all said that before, but this time is different. This time we have mechanical willpower to back us up. We have the band as a tool that will keep us honest. We hope to make better choices, but sometimes we won't. We will make poor choices, but since we no longer diet we will never "cheat" again. This journey is as much a mental journey as a physical one.

Fee...glad to see you again! I hope that the walking about helps get that gas moving in the right direction for you soon

Hey Claudine...great to see you back! You are a BRAVE, BRAVE woman for going into wal-mart on tax-free weekend Hubby and I went out there tonight, but it was 10:00 and the school supply crazies had finally gone home! Keep us posted, and let me know if I can do anything for you.

Hi Sam...welcome! Our very first bandster for the month is lellow, who is in Perth. I know that AU is HUGE, but it's fun to know that you aussies actually get done long before most of us go to bed the night before surgery

My Sx date is the 28th I'm so far off that I haven't really gotten jazzed up enough to put a ticker on. I'm not even doing pre-op yet, so I'm just living vicariously through all of you band buddies!

It is super to hear that Moe and Gilta are doing well. It's very comforting to hear from those who have gone before us

Wow Tracy...you had a great experience! Thanks for sharing

I hear that the deal with Caffeine is that it is an irritant to the lining of the stomach. The same reason for keeping off of the caffeine and limiting the alcohol is really the same. Since you have so little food in your stomach at any one time, the caffeine eats you up and the alcohol goes straight into your blood (cheap date!)

Thanks so much for the inspiration...and congratulations!!!!!

In the August 2008 Bandsters boards we have a thread that is a roster of the entire group. We cannot figure out how to attract the attention of a Mod to make the thread sticky. How do I find a Moderator?????????? http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f183/august-2008-bandsters-can-mod-make-sticky-71387/#post944203

Welcome back lellow and congratulations on your voyage! I'm a little leery about the gas issue...so you'll have to keep us posted on what helps and how long it takes for it to quit bothering you altogether. It's reassuring to know that you are happy that you got the band!

Fruit Punch all the way! I'm not a fan of orange-flavored stuff, and the market only has those two. I'll have to head out to a GNC or somewhere that has the blue ones and give it a try before I buy any online. If you get to a blue one first...please tell!

How about Binturong? Although it's not nearly as fun to say as Coatimundi. Co-timundi. Coatimundeeeeeeeeeeee! Really...I'm going to go to bed now, before someone gets frightened. :wink2:

Lions and Tigers and Bears? OH MY! Ok, it's obviously past my bedtime...:wink2:

Isn't that "y'all"??? :cursing:

I agree...the bullets rock! Just remember that while you are pre-op, there's no point in drinking all of it in one sitting. Your body can only absorb about 25g of Protein at a time, so split it into two different sittings. Now once you are post-op, you won't be able to get it all down in one sitting...so this won't be a problem :cursing:

Congratulations on your voyage into bandland! Please keep us posted as your day progresses. We're all soooooo excited to hear how things are going for all of you O' Pioneers! Lanakila

The isotope that is generally used has a very short half-life which means it basically fades really quickly. I think that your cardiologist is being way too conservative. I could see if you were breastfeeding, but no huggin' is over the top. JMO.

Holy Mackerel...30 Days!!!!???? And then the post-op for several more weeks? I would be UNBEARABLE to everyone around me by that point. :cursing:

Who's on your Date? Who's in your State? Please do not reply to this post. If you have updates, send a Private Message. Click the Pic Below!

An excellent article here on LBT! Perfect for those of us still needing to do pre-op, and all of us still needing to change the way we think about our relationship with food. Check it out! http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f197/tackling-emotional-eating-shifting-out-autopilot-70966/

Try the Atkins or SlimFast Low Carb shakes. You can cut them with milk so they won't be as sweet. Campbell's has a tomato soup-at-hand that is low sodium. I get mine at Wal-Mart.

OMG, so I have to tell you a funny story! After creating the roster for this board I noticed that Claudine was in the same town, Raleigh, NC. Turns out, she lives less than 2 miles away. We haven't met yet...but sure will soon. Anyhow, I have ordered just gobs of Protein samples. I had some duplicates and some that I am not willing to try at all (I have a thing about orange-flavored stuff.) I bagged up a few of these and put it on the porch for Claudine to swing by to pick up sometime. Some of these were sealed in little heat seal baggie-type things. Here's the fun part! So, this morning I actually opened my front door. We go in and out a side door usually. Strewn ALL over the porch is protein powder! There was chocolate, banana, vanilla. Probably about 4 different kinds from the mix of colors that were there. Seems the squirrels decided to give the stuff a try :biggrin: I don't think they liked it because they only bit the corners off of the packages instead of tearing them to shreds to get every last morsel. Oh well...I guess they figured that since they didn't have any Crystal Light the stuff just wasn't worth it. :biggrin: Let's see if they can get the pull tape off of the Low Carb Slim Fast!!!

Here it is: Stay off that darned scale! I've seen a zillion posts in which people are like "I gained two pounds yesterday and managed to lose one today." You are fooling yourself, and sabotaging yourself too. You do NOT lose and gain pounds each day. There are so many variables in your weight each day that it is downright silly for you to believe that the number on the scale is a direct reflection of the day before. Quit kidding yourself! Believing that the day of "good" eating results in a pound lost, or that having that "bad" meal results in a pound gained the very next time you get on the scale is lying to yourself...or is ignorant in the very least. That's ignorant as in misguided...not ignorant as in stupid...sorry if that's confusing. Lay off the scale for a few days at a time, even if you cannot go a whole week between. Obsessing over a number each morning is promoting the same unhealthy practices that got you to this point. This journey is about reprogramming your mind, and your approach to living overall. It's also about learning to not hang your mood each day on what some device says. OK, I'm done now. Maybe I need some caffeine....

A super congrats to Lellow who is is Australia and will actually be banded before all of us in the States have even gotten home from work on the 31st! Lead the way Rubber Duckie! On lellow's heels we have edel and keisha 85, followed by Moe128 and Claudine1975. Next up we have southerngirl24, Andrea20405, and Cathrine Ray. We don't know where fee and Tracyde730 are, but our wishes will be with them all day too. We look forward to seeing you again on the other side. Come back soon :biggrin: