L12

If you say so, Elfiepoo. *sigh*

P.S. If it quits working, I'll admit that too. Like all the PO'd people that's are sick of being duped and taken for fools, I want a REAL life where I'm not criticized for my size; but I would also like to be able to eat normal portions if possible. How can anyone flame me for sharing my enthusiasm that its working so far??? Sounfs like a combination of jealousy and resentment...both of which are YOUR problem, not mine. I was only trying to help others that might be waffling, as I was. One could just as easily criticized you all for being Laptop Band reps. Sheesh.

Maybe you missed it in my first post. I said that modeling was my method of choice now that I'm beginning a healthier lifestyle. I also mentioned that I use different techniques as the situation demands. Sorry I couldn't come up with a satisfactory answer for you but that's all I've got.

I am perfect because I run 10 miles every morning, do not exceed 3 calories a day, and drink 6 gallons of Water daily. Oh yeah, and the lapband is just a ........................tool. baa haaa haaa haaa haa!!!.
If you believe this you are delirious from hunger.

I don't deprive either. Funny you should ask about Sonic though, the other day I flew through the drive thru, I did not know what to get so I ordered a large tator tot and a small diet coke. I finished about half the order of the tots, and a few sips of the diet. I was completely satisfied. I don't recommend fast food obviously, but sometimes we're just in a hurry!!

i agree just because we have this surgery doesnt mean that sometimes we are not going to want those fast foods, my nutritionist says its fine from time to time just know when and how much, because i feel we are all human and sometimes you will want that burger or whatever it maybe that you use to like before

i'm one of the believers that you shouldn't deprive yourself of any foods, in moderation of course, IF your band lets you.
unfortunately, my band doesn't allow me to eat bread, ground meat or french fries (pizza included). if i try to eat them i throw up.
with that being said, i don't see anything wrong with occasionally eating at Sonic. i usually eat chicken fingers if i have to eat fast food. i usually order a kids meal when i eat out.

I agree with IndioGirl55--remove the word "cheat" from your vocabulary! It sounds like you didn't get out of control, and made a conscious decision to enjoy a few treats for a special occasion. In my opinion, that's a good way to handle the rest of your life--using awareness and control, but not banning all treats forever.

Get a life!

Still gotta follow the rules...obviously if you are eating what you want you won't lose weight.

Suggestion - weigh only once a week - same day same time
I've never counted my carb - I just eat my pt first - then veggies and eat limited starchesand sugar and exercise - The only thing I counted during my weight loss phase was calories & pt grms.
Carbs make you retain Water along with the salt - Also - take the word cheat out of your vocabulatry - replace it with Treat -
You gotta remember this is a total lifetime lifestyle change in our eating not a diet.. I eat healthy 98% of the time allow for treats 2% - and have been able to lose 114 lbs and maintain that loss with this approach..

Try Starbucks next time. I wouldn't waste a treat I earned at a convenience store! You've earned that treat - get the best you can!

OMG! You have noticed that too? The "let me out-do the doctors with my vast knowledge" attitude?! I once asked a question about feeling stuck and how bathroom use eased the feeling. Another person responded that one had nothing to do with another because it wasn't as though you have a PVC pipe running from your mouth to your rear. I thanked him for the anatomy lesson, explaining I thought I was made of copper on the inside.
I know the comment itself isn't mean in and of itself, but his entire post was a bit uppity. I asked my husband his opinion what he thought and he agreed.
We all have stories that are the same and different all at the same time and sharing with each other is very helpful. But no one has better answers than our doctors, and we are friends here to share, support and give opinions .
Oh well. What are you going to do. I hope you don't leave Baishma (I hope I remembered your screen name correctly!).
Good luck everyone!
Kelley

There are absolutely a few bad apples in the bunch right now. I have thick skin, so they normally don't bother me. I feel they are the ones with the biggest issues, they just aren't letting on. Know whaty I mean. I think they are "leveling" which means trying to knock others down to their level of unhappiness. I try my best to treat everyone the way I want to be treated. Which also happens to be the biggest lesson I am always trying to teach my children. Maybe the "bad apples" were never taught that? On a public message board, its probably best to take everything with a grain of salt. For all we know we could be talking to a 70 pound 11 year old boy. Hehehe

<br /><br /><br /> I agree with Heather, there are times that I respond with a reality check. Normally this is in regards to people expressing behaviors that are likely to cause them physical harm. Some examples: I ate a Big Mac two days after surgery (not making that up), It's been 3 days since surgery and I'm starving so I ate nachos and chicken wings now I'm sick!. Not long ago there were several discussions about drinking alcohol after banding. Personaly I find that to be counter productive to dieting. I have never been a drinker so my responses were regarding calorie content. Some posters however made it into a morality discussion.

I feel that there are people who are consistently rude or say the same thing over and over again in increasingly harsh ways. I also get really disheartened by people who tell a poster that they are not doing what they say they are doing which basically calls the OP a liar. I have recently found the "IGNORE USER" feature on this site. Once I get the few people who rub me the wrong way on ignore then I think this site will become a much better place for me. Just because you are on a message board doesn't mean you have to read what everyone says. For those that have been offended, I say put those people on ignore and don't leave this board. Most of the posts on the board and fabulously informative and helpful. Don't let a few bad apples spoil the bunch...

I have reading posts here for only 1 week.
I am a active member on a few other sites with different interests.
What the OP is stating is no different than what is the case on other message board sites.
I can cut and paste her message on a site for classic automobiles and it would fit right in.
It's unfortunate, but that is the way message boards are. It's not going to change.

I am a new lapbander and I have read numerous posts where people are sharing their personal feelings and concerns about the lap-band procedure and I've seen the most heartless responses. How can people who share in the same weight struggle be so judgmental and cruel? I myself have received some rude responses for my posts. Don't get me wrong, I know that people will be people, you have the good the bad and the down right ugly who build themselves up by putting others down. But, honestly, I thought this site would be a little more sensitive to those with weight issues. Weight issues stem from eating disorders in many cases, and these disorders aren't going to go away over night. Sometimes people make mistakes and turn to sites like this for a little encouragement. I'm sorry, but I have had my successes and I have also failed at times. And because I know I am prone to fail, I can show a little understanding to someone in their time of need. If you have responded harshly to someone who may have been crying out for help or encouragement...shame on you. If not, thank you for your kind words. You never know how your words can hurt or help someone.

I am very late in the response to your question and perhaps unwelcome as a male in this issue. I'll just say it there is NO excuse for physical or mental abuse in a marriage. Please consider leaving as soon as possible. The "I'll never let you go" comment scares the hell out of me cause too many contoling spouses (male and female) have in the past made the choice to kill thier spouses and the children to "save them from the pain".
I grew up in a home that had violence both ways more often than I care to remember. It made quite an impression on me and I vowed to never be like that even if I get hurt I don't lash out. I am happily married now for 47 years and we never hit each other and if we fight, we fight fair without lobbing unrelated personal attacks and sticking to the issue(s) that are bothering us. Some we resolved, some we lived with and MOST turned out to not be that important as time passed. I don't think we have fought more than 5-6 times since we have been married because we talk to each other and we are both sensitive the each others feelings. We make it clear that we respect each others opinions and always consult each other on big issues, epsecially in how our money is spent. If we had resorted to personal invictives then I think we wouldn't have stayed together this long. But hey thats just us. It's sad but it seems that some folks confuse love with power and domination over another.
At any rate, having had two daughters who both, unbeknownst to me, had abusive boyfriends and they put up with it "cause I Loved Him" and gave me the the Ol' "You wouldn't have understood" lines. This happened in thier 20's and they are amazed how wise I became by the time they reached thier 30's. Mind you they didn't let me know about it then cause had I known I WOULD have confronted these Bozo's. It made me feel really nice when they both said that they were looking for relationships like my wife and I share. But it also saddened me that they put up with this after living and observing an example of a good partnership. My wife and I aren't saints but we work at our marraige and I love her as much now as I did when love was new and shiney. It can still shine if it gets buffed with love and respect.
Final thought is You Deserve Respect and have the right to be treated in a kind, loving manner...especially from your husband. Of course you must also respect yourself enough to say NO to this abuse. He's the one you made vows with and no excuses for cultural differences should be tollerated.
I am sorry if my butting in was out of line or is unwelcome but, Jesus help us, the "I'll never LET you go" thing really screamed danger to me. Take care and continue to ask your counselor for help but don't stay for money or the kids missing thier dad. They would miss thier Mom a lot more.

I don't have anything to add; you guys have the patience of a saint though. The support on this forum is amazing. FF, I wish you could see that people are only trying to help.

Lol, stalking is NOT in my job description!

I was looking for *Beerguts* original thread... but could not find it. I was banded 10 days ago and did have 2 glasses of red wine last night. I know, I know, wine is not on the post op diet list... but only 3 carbs and 100 cal/glass.. so do not think the end of the world. Anyway, wine tasted different, I guess my pallette wil change? Any other wine drinkers notice that?
Happy Happy New Year! I am sooo excited for 2011!

That depends on what you mean by "regular." One glass of wine every Sunday with dinner isn't a problem. Needing to drink every single day probably is!
Doctors have different rules about alcohol--some say never again, some say in moderation. My doctor is OK with it, as long as I am careful about the obvious effects of alcohol consumption, as well as the empty calories it contains. I usually have between one and three drinks a week--some weeks more, some less, some none at all. I don't find that it affects me any differently, but since banding I've been careful to not get drunk (want to prevent the stomach effects of a hangover), only slightly buzzed once in a great while. :blushing: The only problem I've ever had with any drinks since surgery are frozen drinks; once in a while it seems a frozen drink will make my band clamp shut! I also stay away from shots; they make me queasy, though I don't think that's really a band thing, plus they can contribute quickly to the previously mentioned hangover stomach issues.

You should probably switch doctors NOW to avoid any issues with authorization, coverage, or hefty bills.
There was a mixup at the hospital regarding my insurance coverage, but at one point they had me paying almost $2400 dollars to meet the catastrophic cap ($3000) for Tricare Standard (the catastrophic cap amount depends on if you're considered active duty or "other"). Since I actually have Tricare Reserve Select, my catastrophic cap is $1000 dollars, so I really only owed a little over $600; the hospital finally issued me a refund three months later. Though Tricare covers 100% of the cost, supposedly that only happens after you have paid the deductibles and copays up to the catastrophic cap. I had paid about $400 in deductibles and copays the year of my surgery, so they covered the other $600 up to my catastrophic cap.
However, I have seen a lot of Tricare peeps on here say that they had no out-of-pocket expenses with Standard. I don't know if they already met their caps, or if they had surgery at a military hospital (which I think lowers/eliminates some/all fees?), but according to official Tricare policy, you owe the copay and deductible up to your catastrophic cap.
With that $2400 mixup I had for my surgery, I did a lot of research into Tricare policy--hopefully it helps!