bitteroldhag

My cousin who is Mexican makes refried beans by just mashing up a panful of beans. I don't see how they can be so full of fat if they are made like this. Maybe you should make your own. You just cook up a big pot of pinto beans with some bacon or ham, and them mash them up. That constitutes real Mexican refried beans. I don't know why they call them refried when they aren't fried at all.

I don't eat hot dogs due to the bread. Soft bread can be very painful. I do eat my own pizza. I make a very thin crust and put stuff on the top and eat it slowly. It's good and I like it. But I can only eat about half of a small pizza. Still it fills me up and makes me happy. I don't eat string cheese because I'm too old for that stuff, but I can eat a salad if I go very, very slowly. If I have salad, I have a small bowl of it and it's pretty good. I also eat a lot of southern food like pork chops, smothered steak, barbecued ribs and stuff like that. This is protein and I always include it. In addition, I eat southern baked beans with ribs and they go down pretty well. They're easy to make and good though pretty sugary. Smothered steak is very tender and easy to get down especially with gravy, but it is heavy on grease. All Southern food is heavy on grease. But my favorite thing lately is V8 juice.

I have the same problem. I lost 40 pounds and stopped. I am worried about having a fill though because I already PB a lot. Of course, that is my fault. But you have lost 40 pounds. Could you have done that without the band? Have you regained the weight? I think you are a success story.

I disagree with GayleTX. I think you should be able to eat reasonable quantities of whatever you can keep down. I eat just about everything. Of course, I have only lost 40 pounds, but I got the band so I wouldn't have to eat diet food and could still lose weight. You may not lose as much weight if you eat blintzes (Lord, they're good), but one has to work with one's psychology as well as one's body. So I think a blintz on occasion is fine. It's probably not good to eat them everyday, but maybe once a week or so. At least, that's my opinion. I may not know what I'm talking about, but the key thing is not to sabotage your weight loss. When you are seriously thin, you can eat blintzes and nachos. I don't think I could get either one of them down though.

I have been PBing a lot lately. It's because I eat too fast and don't chew enough. I chew each piece of meat about 30 times. It should be mush by the time it leaves your mouth. I notice that if I'm hungry, I PB, so I think it's a good idea to eat small meals several times a day to avoid PBs. Also as Tired Old Man or Jack ( I can't remember) says, cut meat in chiclet size; then chew until the meat is pretty much mush. That has worked much better for me. I often mix meat with some soft vegetable so it will go down. That works pretty well. I also notice I PB when I'm stressed. I went up to my brother's in Colorado and PBed for 3 days before it finally stopped. We were working pretty hard and it was a strange place so I guess I was stressed. But later I was able to go to my favorite steak house and eat like a horse. Okay, I had to bring half of my filet home, but I ate it later and had no problems. I have found that walking, jumping and stretching backward helps PBs. Soft bread is murder, but toasted bread like Melba toast works if you chew it a whole lot. Sometimes, I can eat a piece of bread! In Colorado, I ate half a sandwich and it went down very well;then I got hungry again and ate another half a sandwich and PBed. You just never know. I recommend pineapple juice which Carlene calls human drano. It helps if you sip it because it is very acidic and breaks food down. Hope this helps.

Who IS this girl? I'm 60. I don't look like this girl. I don't look like a girl for that matter. I look like a hag which is what I am. What's the matter with someone from this site being the photo girl? Enquiring minds want to know.

I just got back from Colorado and nothing set off the security people except my nebulizer. They always have to check it for gunpowder. Actually it's sort of cool. They sort of swab it down and run the swab through a machine. You just have to carry 3 oz. of stuff in your carry-on baggage. I carried 3.5 ounces of hand lotion and had no problem. You can pack anything in your bag if you check it. I always check my gigantic suitcase. I have to plan for all emergencies so I take just about everything I own. When I got to Colorado, I found some little peppermints in my bag, courtesy of the Tulsa security people. That was a lot better than my previous trips when everything in my suitcase was destroyed. But this time I put everything in zip lock bags and they seemed to like that. I went all the way to England and never had a problem with my baggage. When I went to Mexico for the band, my bag, which had my nebulizer in it, took an extra day to get home. So now I carry my nebulizer on the plane and let them play with it. They seem to like that and I don't have any problems.

Are you sure your band hasn't slipped? I was looking at the slipped band thread and your symptoms seem similar. Maybe you should have an xray to check.

My fill nurse says that about 90% of folks stretch their pouches. I don't think that's your problem, but it's pretty common. I suspect mine is stretched. She didn't say what to do about stretched pouches, but she does say it's a common problem. My problem is I can't tell when I'm really full. It's been a year since I got my band, and I can eat pretty much if I go slowly. I think I need that food to operate my body even though my weight loss has come to a screeching halt. I may try a new plan soon -- lots of veggies and fruits since they are in season. But I do eat meat to get my protein. Alas, I don't know what to do.

I agree with Tired Old Man. Cut your food in chiclet size, especially meat. Then chew about 30 times and it has a better chance of going down. I always drink when I eat because the food gets stuck otherwise, but most folks say not to drink anything. Buy I chew food to mush before I swallow or I PB. When I PB I notice larger pieces of food that I haven't chewed adequately. One thing I've learned is not to get really hungry. If I do, I eat too fast and PB. This band thing requires getting used to.

I'm having the same problem. I lost 40 pounds quickly and just stopped. I'm eating the same things I was during the loss, but nothing is happening. I do have PBs about once or twice a week so I think my band is tight enough. I can't eat anything until about 3 p.m. and then I probably eat too much after that because I'm hungry by that time. That could be the problem. I want to lose 20 more pounds, but clearly I'm doing something wrong. I don't do aerobic exercise since I have a bad heart and a bad back. But I do isometric exercises for my back and I'm hardening up my stomach which is a mess. I just don't get it. I don't eat much, but I don't lose anything. I must be doing something wrong. Any suggestions?

I see no one else has weighed in (hardeharhar) on this issue, but I support the Spanish. I don't see why fashion models have to be super thin. They look like aliens. In fact, one model once said that they were aliens. I don't see a problem with showing real women wearing clothes. One thing I hate is thin models wearing plus size clothes. Who do they think they are kidding? Hollywood starlets are way too thin and that sends a bad message to normal women. I am 5'6" and weighed 115 during my teenage years. I moved up to 125 during my 20s but was still considered thin. A person who is 4 inches taller than I was and weighs about the same is too thin. That's what I think of this issue. Let's see some real women in fashion ads and in the movies and on TV.

I use eBay a lot. There are some really nice clothes there and I have gotten some good stuff for really cheap. Also Goody's is good. They have some plus sizes in Alfred Dunner that are nice casual clothes. I discovered that an extra large in Alfred Dunner clothes are actually larger than a 1X! Ebay has some good office and work clothes if you can get through all the prostitute clothes. I just look at Leslie Fay on ebay and have gotten some good work stuff.

I wonder how old you are? In the period before legalized abortions, plenty of women had abortions and many died of complications. One did not necessarily just have the baby and put it up for adoption. Lots of people did that, but back-alley abortions have been around for at least a hundred years. My own abortion was illegal and performed in a Holiday Inn. Good, aseptic conditions, no?

While many Mormon practices may seem strange to non-Mormons, I suspect that many of the practices of old churches seem as strange. Many protestants don't understand how a Catholic can go to confession and get a clean slate. Many other don't quite understand why protestant religions stress the angry God of the Old Testament. As a Unitarian, I have a problem with the idea that the crackers and grape juice/wine of the communion is actually the body and blood of Christ. Isn't that cannibalism? All religions have little quirks and I don't think we should judge religions without plenty of information. Besides, I have had a lot of Mormon friends, and I just loved them. They never made a big thing of me being a Unitarian though the Southern Baptists did. They won't associate with our pastor in the inter-church organization in town. The Mormons, Catholics, Methodists and Episcopalians had no problem with our minister. Personally, I have a lot more problems with Southern Baptists than with Mormons.

One thing I should mention. If people are having abortions as birth control, they have to have their brains in their butts. An abortion is not pleasant. It's painful and one has problems afterward. I don't think anyone in her right mind would have an abortion as birth control since pills are so readily available. I think this must be a myth, though some stupid people might do this. It's far too expensive to use as birth control. But then some pharmacists will not fill birth control prescriptions due to religious scruples. That really peeves me. I think those pharmacists should be fired that day. They are there to fill prescriptions, not force their own ideas on the customers. But we must remember Margaret Sanger's crusade for birth control. She found so many poor women were having baby after baby, despite the health concerns, because the men insisted on having sex. Many, many women died because of this. We should remember that pregnancy is dangerous and not something to be undertaken lightly. Luckily, we have a much better medical system, but women still die in childbirth. Just a thought.

Thirty years ago, we didn't have the morning after pill. If we had, I'd have taken it. We also didn't have birth control pills. I hate to tell you how many of my college friends got pregnant. One got pregnant without even actually having penetration. Those little sperm can swim! The men, of course, claimed that wearing a condom was like wearing a raincoat in the shower. They didn't suffer the consequences though.

I think you are a man. Why do you think you should have any comment on this question? When you get pregnant, we'll talk.

Laurend -- Boy, you have a lot to learn. College kids don't care. They're interested in two things: the opposite sex and booze and/or drugs. Is that three things? I know because that is what I was interested in when I was an undergraduate. I always try to remember what it was like to be a popular girl as an undergraduate. But if it makes you feel better, I assigned a research paper in which the students were supposed to discuss something particularly American in American literature. One girl discussed sex. I pointed out to her that sex probably was not particularly American, but I doubt if she gets it. It's not too hard to see what she's interested in.

I haven't read this whole thing which is a smear on Gore, but I'd like to buy a hybrid car. I can't afford it! It would cost about $20,000+ and I can't afford that. I'm for a BIG tax break for hybrid cars so ordinary people could afford them. Without that, I don't have much hope. The old Cadillac I bought on eBay works for Mother, but it's really expensive because I have to buy premium gas. Still, we don't drive it often, and I worry that the battery will go dead or the tires will go bad because we don't drive it much. But it works for mother who will be 87 in June. What are those of us who are caregivers supposed to do? Go broke?

Wheetsin, I love you. You state the real reason to be an English major -- you can communicate in writing! We have noticed that students who are studying business and other majors at our university are not required to be able to communicate in decent English. I think this affects their ability to be hired. I remember being in a bar in the 1980s and talking to an accountant who was bewailing the inability of the new hires to write. He pointed out that accountants don't just do the numbers, but they write the annual reports, and the crop of graduates at that time couldn't do that. I'm afraid that hasn't improved. People just don't understand the importance of clear written communication. Thank you, even if you aren't a teacher.

Kity -- Super duper! I'm all for ESL teachers. You are so important! I suspect you won't believe that but it's true. Good luck on your doctorate. It's hell getting a doctorate, but it's worth it in the long run. You are definitely a winner!.

Well, I had a spirited defense of smokers but it disappeared. Laurend, lighten up. Not everyone is perfect, least of all us fat people who smell. Didn't you know?

I have yet to see actual scientific proof by a neutral party that second hand smoke is bad for anyone. In fact, the original smoking experiment with dogs who smoked solidly showed no bad effects on the dogs. As a chain smoker, it's clear that this experiment was flawed since smoking does affect smokers with COPD and lung cancer. However, I have not seen a convincing study that shows that second hand smoke creates more problems in the general population which suffers from exhaust from cars as well as other irritants. I do not recommend smoking, but as a smoker, I'm getting pretty tired of the Gestapo tactics to keep us away from others. One of my former students lives in Taiwan and he said that a Swede there pointed out that people in the U.S. can't smoke in bars. Taiwan is more liberal that we are. I'm sort of tired of a few people deciding what all the people will do. If you don't like to be around smokers, go someplace else. Don't try to force your opinions on others. That's not true democracy. That Hitler's Germany. Clearly, I'm an unrepentant smoker.

I have had an abortion and never regretted it for one moment. I was too immature to have a baby and the father ran out on me. I never answered my letters or calls. He didn't care. So I was left with the fetus. I hadn't even graduated from college at the time. I had no other choice because I knew that I couldn't give a baby a decent life. I didn't have decent life for myself at that time. In my opinion, other people can just butt out about abortion. It's a choice the mother makes, and I don't think others should, or could, possibly make that choice for the mother. However, if people insist on stopping abortion, I recommend that pro-lifers pay for the mother to have the baby as a surrogate mother. The going rate for surrogate mothers is too little. I recommend at least $500,000. Then pro-lifers should adopt the baby, and raise it since it is their responsibility. No child should be sent to an orphanage. This should only apply to women who didn't mean to get pregnant. If they did want to get pregnant, they should raise the kid. Above all, no male should have any opinion on this. When man can have babies, they can have a say. Until that time, they should butt out because all they contribute is sperm. They don't go through months of bodily discombobulation, and they don't have to take care of the baby once it is born. I get a little irate about people trying to decide what one should with one's own body. It's your body! Screw them! Make pro-lifers pay and adopt.