Northernsun

Good Luck with everything andyes you will looses a bit after surgery but as was said, healing up is the most important thing. The next couple weeks will fly for you! Keep us informed!

Hi and Welcome! Where are you having your surgery? I had mine at Fairview University with Dr Lederer

I received a book chain letter- you send a paperback to the person on the list and sent the letter to 6 people enclosing 6 address labels so they send to 6 - you get the drift. I picked one of my books to send and copied the letter and realized that i have no friends that read anymore! I am an inhaler of books and while I don;t have the time I used to I still manage to read a bit everyday- even if it is in the car waiting for my DH or in the bathroom - whereever. There are books all over my house and I turned my dd's old room into a library and sewing room ( also she now can't move back home!!- oh I guess we could find room somewhere if we had to). So anyway, if ther e are 6 people out there who would like to receive as many as 36 paperbacks in the mail- depending on how many people just throw the letter away- please PM me with your address. I am curious to see just how many and what variety of books I get! Thanks! Gayle

I am on a 5 wk plateau - it is hard for me to know exactly what i weigh as i hold water so badly. Monday morning i weighed 8.5 lbs more then tues morning and then Wed was half way between the 2 - this for me seems to be normal but it drives me nuts. I excersise and try to not over eat but i am truely stuck. On the other hand my pants are looser and people say i am getting smaller. I should take that as a positive but i am addicted to watching the scale and when it stays in my range, it is frustrating. I was told that watermelon and cukes are a good food to eat to help with the water. Love watermelon and eat lots in the summer anyway. I do not want another fill- i am pretty tight right now. I guess i will just have to stubborn this out. It just feels like I am not doing something right when that stupid scale doesn't move!

It is "nice" to know I am not alone in this- sounds pretty universal. While my biceps are getting bigger the tricep area is awful. I just hate the way it looks but I think surgery is out so I will have to wear longer sleeves- or just get used to it. i also have the new problem in the thighs- also lovely bit goes with the territory. No short shorts in my future!

Not sure about the stylish part but definately affordable- Roamans and Woman Within ( old lane bryant catalogue). Also Fashion bug online has some cute stuff and is affordable. As with most womans clothes, sizes vary.

I have been on synthroid for many years now. It is just a habit to take the pill in the morning. I got the double wammie- was diagnosed with thyroid problems and sleep apnea at the same time and up till then I had no medical problems ( except being over weight!) Between the 2 it is a miracle to me i am alive! Was in pretty bad shape. I could feel something was just not right with me but just pushed it off. This is when I also gained a really lot of weight and I now know it was all tied together. I have had to have the amount adjusted since i have lost weight and have it checked regularly - especially if i start feeling dizzy or the" half a step off "feeling.

When I hit the 100 lb mark i rented a cpap from the med goods store with my dr's ok that measured the presure used during the night and after 2 weeks with this machine I was able to lower it from 16.5 to 8 which really does feel much better. i was tearing the mask off in my sleep and I no longer do that. I was hoping to be able to run over the cpap with my truck and be done with it forever but i guess i will test again after i loose more weight.Before I started with the cpap i was in really bad shape so I am a little leary about just quitting it. I never had a formal sleep study- all the testing was done at home. I was told I will need a sleep study especially when i get older because medicare won't pay with out but i have A little way to go before i need to deal with that! Not sure I could sleep normally without my DH and the dog!

I can only say for me this is pretty normal- I seem to have a range instead of a set weight, depending on the time of month and if I was eatting really salty foods ( like too many nuts)

That is definately something to be proud of! congrats!

Thanks Wheetsin for the ideas! I wear rings on every finger- except the one I lost somewhere in the grocery store when it fell off and I never did find it. Silver diesn't size well so when they get too big I will have to give them to my dd who is waiting not too patiently! I bought these round plastic things that fit on the ring and tighten them up at Walmart and they are working for now till I reach goal and can have my wedding ring and mother's day ring sized.

I am going through sizes so i don't like to spend a lot for clothes right now so it is Walmart and fashion bug and occasionally kohls when the have a sale. I used to shop Romans and lanebryant catalogue almost all the time because I had to. I don't use the catalogues anymore. Catherines I agree has not got clothes i like and their prices are too high for short term wear.

Listen Listen Listen!!! There are so many things she is learning and experiencing and it is great to have someone to listen to you talk about those new discoveries. In my case also my DH tells me all the time how much I have changed and how he can't believe the difference. One thing- I hate -the look and the "you shouldn't be eatting that" comment when I have something i probably shouldn'T- I know i should not be doing it but every once in awhile you gotta!

I am still fighting the "can't cook for less then a small army" syndrom even tho my DH is also eatting less so I seem to have left overs that freeze and are perfect for lunches. I keep a supply of lean cuisines or healthy choice in the freezer at work for when I have no left overs. Did do the take out at the chinese buffet on time- ate that for 3 lunches! Mostly I don't like to eat out and rely on the left over routine.

Mrs Husker-kohlrabi is one of my family favorites. It grows like a weed- just make sure you thin the plants out. Don't let them get too big- they get woody. How big depends on the season's weather - I have had ones that were tennis ball size that were great and the next year when we had a lot of moisture and sun they grew too fast and tennis ball size split and were woody. We eat them raw right from the garden- peal and eat. I will say it is a little harder now- chew them really well! Great in salads- chew chew chew! They also freeze really well and can be cooked and mashed or just cooked and served with a little butter. I usually grow a lot of them- a big fav!

here is Minnesota we are just starting and i am so excited watching all my plants starting to come up. Been raking and cleaning up and trying to plan out my vegi gardens. Trouble is i have a freezer full of stuff from last year- i really am eatting a lot less and before banding i was lo carb so dinners were a big plate of vegies and meat. I do need to scale down a bit- really don't need 5 broccolli plants for 2 people! I usually put in 4 tomato plants but will probably increase to 5 or more because last yr I made some really great sauce that i used for a lot of stuff but this year will can in pints instead of quarts - live and learn I guess. So, to go with the tomatoes I will need a few kinds of peppers and onions. Probably also beans, kohlrabi, some broccolli, cukes and sugar baby watermelons- i love watermelon! I also have blueberry plants that i put in last year- hope they take off this yr- and strawberrys and rhubarb. I think one of my small vegie plots will be flowers this year. I am waiting for the perrenial bed along my fence to wake up- shady and still really cold - to see what i need to replace and i am not sure about 3 of my rose bushes. Time will tell! Can you tell this is my time of year??!!!

Haven't seen onderland for over 20 yrs- wonder if it has changed??!! Will i need a travel guide once I get there? Ha! only 34 lbs!

I am well aquainted with the type! While i do occasionally shop the evil W ( jeans are cheap!) I only wear silver and my wedding band is tourquoise, and i really like the fact that we are all different with such different ideas. I may not agree with everyone but I will listen. Never know what you will learn! Soon we will both be shopping in the regular departments. I find i have become much more picky about what i wear because I CAN! I don't have to only buy what is in the catalogues, I can buy WHAT I LIKE!!!

No more plus size catalogues!!! I throw them right out! Synicalchick,Sorry, not to be insulting, but I find that Targets plus size area seems to be an afterthought and the clothes both expensive and sometimes not very flattering! Seeing as my whole closet just went to charity and i have hardly anything hanging in my half left for summer I need to buy cheap because it won't fit by the end of the summer. Fashion bug was ok for price and style. Also Targets 24 is a very small 24 so don't let that get you down!

I use the bands and really like the workout. Do it every morning and i see a little difference in my arms but not enough. I found my tricep muscles were really weak and while they are getting better I don't think sleeveless shirts are in my future! I hate that but don't see the arm surgery in my future!

Welcome and congrats on your surgery! The soreness will fade away to a dull memory as time passes and you can watch yourself loosing pounds! This is a great place for support and education. Learned more here then from my dr on day to day problems. Where did you ghave your surgery done? Mine was in Mpls at Fairview University Hospital. Again Welcome aboard and good luck!

I have the recumbant bike also and really like it. The other bikes are way toi hard on me and this one actually feels good on my back. I bought mine on amazon for about 150 and got free shipping. Overstock had some at good prices also. On nights we can't walk the dog I ride the bike- gives me excersize - doesn't do a thing for the dog!

Denise, I have also heard hormones make a difference but I am not on any so can't say for a fact. the one thing i have learned -especially from reading all the posts here is we are all different and are going to loose at a different rate. There are times I feel like I am failing because i have lost slower then others both on this board and people I know personally. My DH and DD are both so supportive and tell me all the time how much I have lost. I was told to aim for 2 lbs a week- I just started the menapause process- my weight can fluctuate by 5 lbs on a daily basis so I tend to think in ranges instead of pounds. I have had a lot of fills- about every 3 months or so and i have now started to excersise but i still plateau for awhile then my range goes down some and then I plateau again. But even tho I plateau- i am still loosing inches. Anyway as i ramble, i think the main point is that while this site is wonderful for information and great support, we are all different in our weight loss. I wish this band was a "magic bullet" but I think it is as close as we will get! It is a tool and we have to learn to use it. While i eat much less and watch the things I do eat, i still have trouble being a bit of a "grazer"- tho i tend to graze on rice cakes! Have patience! Good luck! Gayle

DynamoMini, If you have been excersizing all along I would hope you would tighten up easier but I just started my morning resistance workouts about 3 months ago and before that it was just walking as excersize. Before the band I was reaching a point with my knees that I could hardly walk the dog at all - getting off the couch was hard and walking steps took forever. I was really hoping that with the weight loss I just would look like I did when I was in my 20's!!! You know the saying, wish in one hand.......! The difference in how I feel and what I can do is what matters to me the most right now. If I have the loose skin I will deal with it or live with it - what ever- as long as it doesn't totally gross out my DH! ( who is very supportive) We will retouch on this subject after I drop the next 70lbs! Loosing 100 lbs starts with taking the fiirst step- congratulations for taking that first step! Good luck-I still think this has been a heck of a fun ride! Gayle

I turned 54 in Jan and lost my 100 lbs ( with more to go) and i am starting to realize that sleeveless shirts are not now or more likely ever in my future! Also the same for shorter shorts ( anything above the knee!!) I can live with that- I will have to! Not sure about surgery to fix all that- just too much money and i really don't want more recovery time. Not sure what i will do but as i have about another 80 or so pounds to go before I make a decision. The part i really don't like now is the "bowl of Jello" shape my body is in now! Know what i mean!!!