riley4183

OH the first meet - I hate them! I get SO nervous, I have to do deep breathing exercises and stuff - it whacks me out! For the first few minutes. I know within a minute or two if I am going to leave or not. Ice cream is actually a great choice, you can get up and leave any time - you do not even have to finish your cup; if that is awful, imagine how bad sitting through a meal would be! Coffee is very popular too, but it means coffee breath (at least for me) and who needs that? Good luck! Leave if it's a "no" - you don't have to be polite :-)

Heather 2010 is gonna rock even harder!!! :smile:

No worries, you will be back on food Thursday!! You'd better eat it too if you plan to drink anything, LOL

I experienced this also, thankfully it was short-lived! I knew that it was terribly wrong to think that way but my mind went there anyways! I had a couple of good friends who I had previously asked to "check me" if I started being a snotty skinny beotch, and they took me to task over this one. Fortunately it passed in a few weeks, and now I find myself much more sympathetic than I was before weight loss. Weird stuff! And you are right, totally unexpected.

LMAO!! I love it!!! ah hahahaha ROFL

I lost pretty steadily but now that I am almost at goal and it has slowed W A Y down - to less than 1 lb. a week now. It does not go up though! I was told that it will take as long to lose the last 5 lbs. as it did to lose the first 50, and I think that may be true so I'm not going to sweat it! My health has returned, I am not on any medications anymore, I can (and do) run and work out almost every day, and "goal" is just a number on a scale - I have accomplished more than I ever imagined possible! Besides, if they would cut off my extra skin for me, I would already be at the goal on their freakin' chart, LOL!!

Right on you guys, keep 'em coming! The good, the bad, and the OMGs - I love these :-)

Right on Indio Girl! I am also shooting for 100% of excess weight in 1 year - I have already lost over 90% so I think I'll make it! 8 lbs. to lose still in the next 2 months and I will be there with you! Congratulations

Happy boxing day everyone!! It's start-over day! I think we all know what I mean:glare: forget whatever you did "wong" and start over!! I know I am Spent an extra 1/2 hour at the gym today, which burned me an etxra 150 calories in cardio and and extra 2 sets of 100 crunches. Ouch! Going for hike with a friend now; Chris wants to go to a movie tonight does anyone have suggestions? My youngest, Austin, (aka "the Moose") has the flu and is miserable but I cant seem to do anything to help him feel better. Clues with this one? Even at 18 and 21, these guys are a little weird at having a man around. I never, ever had a date over here before and now Chris is here almost every day and I am starting to see some reaction to that from my boys . . . . I guess thats normal since I had a little reaction to my dad getting a girlfriend when he was 60 & I was 45! I'm sure it will work out. Just blackberries to eat so far today; going to have an egg before I head out. Healthy choices everyone!

Merry Christmas John!!!

Lee what a beautiful greeting! I'm going to borrow that :-) Carb bloat for me too, 4 lbs up but not a surprise - been noshing on crackers, chili, and cinnamon rolls! But it's habit now to peel off a little piece of the top and toss the rest in the trash - I dont even think about it any more! My habits are finally catching up with my tiny tummy sized, LOL :-) I am still going to eat Christmas dinner today (I realized just this morning that I had not even bought bread, potatoes, or dessert to make - and do you know what?? I'm OK with that!) then take a little run just to keep my cardio up - I only got to the gym 2x this week and it's closed today - then start in again tomorrow AM when the new #1 (whom I might as well refer to as the new BF now - he actually wants a relationship!!) goes to work. :-) I got the best Christmas present of all this year! I got a new life. Now I have my health back, the support of my family and friends, a whole bunch of NEW friends who love me and boundless energy. This used to be a totally depressing time of year for me, and now I'm in the clouds! A very, VERY truly Merry Christmas to you all!

Pami - my work email, oh no! Offices are closed on furlough until January 4th! OH NO MR BILL :w00t: man that wasn't very smart of me! Well 53, huh . . . . I have met two 51 year olds who were young-looking and cute, a 51 year old who looked so old that I thought he had sent his father in his place (the former #1), a 58 year old who looked and acted 48, and my cute little 44 year old (the new #1) who looks like a baby and I didn't even see any grey on him until I got him out in the sun today, LOL! They all wear their ages differently, men more so than women I think because hey, we get makeup and hair dye!! And you get his number rather than vice-versa; that way you can put it in your phone and not answer it if you decide later he's a goon. I have been reluctant to meet some of them but I do always talk over the phone to them first - I also do a background check! You can do one at any county court for free on a public computer - just need their last name, and I be sure I get it and the spelling too. The first meeting is hard, but you have to do it to know. Guys who have been doing the online dating thing for a couple of months dont want to waste time on email if its not going to work out. But he liked your pic!! C'mon Pami, meet him! Have a friend there too for the first meet if that makes you more comfortable - I've done that almost every time because I HATE the first meeting!!. Unfortunately you really do have to meet them to know. I was not excited about my first date with Chris because I didn't think he was that cute, and he was too short for me, and too young. and he pushed me and pushed me for the first date - I turned him down twice - to the point that I let him know I was pretty annoyed with him and he backed off. But he came and met me in town when I was out with a bunch of girlfriends - he's a good sport - and he was SO adorable and I was SO comfortable with him that I leaned across the table and planted one on him about 3 hours into our first date!! NOT typical behavior for me! Now I am excited to see him every day And he teases me for kissing him first If he has a cell phone and you have exchanged numbers, have him take pictures of himself whatever he is doing EDIT! Not "WHATEVER" he is doing!! That would send the wrong impression - and you might get the WRONG kind of pictures, LOL! and send them to your phone. That way you know what he's really up to and what he really looks like in normal life - not in has favorite decade-old photo. I think that makes the first meeting easier too - you know what they really look like. I am PMing you my home email! Or it is on my facebook :-)

Maria, you get a fill at your 6 weeks appt. from Dr. Baggs. Nothing but clear liquids 6 hours before and same for 48 hours after - so no, you won't be able to eat, but you can order a broth-based soup and do just fine. Jello for dessert, LOL! I use those Special K protein waters after a fill - especially with having to go 48 hours now, that's more than I had to do following surgery! By the second day I am on soy slender (decaf) lattes because they also have protein and fiber like the protein waters. Between the two of those I can survive! And you will sure see the scale go down after being on clear liquids for 3 days

WOW! What an accomplishment! I do hope you'll stay around & motivate us! How is maintenance vs. losing? I've already begun to experience the struggle with no one complimenting me anymore, and no weight losses to motivate me to lose more . .

Hi Ruthie! Why did the band work this time and not all of the other times . . . well, as you've pointed out, it is just part of the solution - the journey is much more. For me, one reason the band worked is that in my program, it came with a bunch of classes and support group requirements. When those requirements ended, I continued support groups (I'm in 4 of them) and classes (overcoming emotional eating, etc) on my own. Another reason that it worked for me is exercise. I work out and run with some of the same folks who started with me and continue this journey with me. It doesn't end in a size or a weight - it really is a journey forever. But it's a GREAT one! Most important of course is the physical part. I was a volume eater. Volume, volume, volume. One brownie was never as good as 3. One ounce of sunflower seeds was not as tasty as the whole jar. If I had learned portion control (1/4 to 1/2 a cup if it's dense food) and how to eat slowly and chew each bite 50 times as a youngster, I would not have needed the band, because those are healthy habits - and the band keeps me making them! That said, I hear people complain all the time that their band is not working because they can eat cake or bread. Well come on, who's in charge here? You have capacity for an egg's worth of food, and it's up t you tonput the right kind of food in there. The band can't choose dense Protein over bread - thats up to you. DO IT! I love my band :-) Riley

Yowza, 5 guests! Woo-hoo, hello guests! Hey everybody did you know we are on almost 10,000 posts on our humble little thread???

Candra I want to do some of that stuff!! Where did you get this calendar??

That was healthy, Tamra! You're just a volume eater - and that's what the band is for! I could eat everything you just names - just not that much of it. Except the chocolate; the band has no effect on chocolate because you can suck it into a liquid,k LOL! Pami I emailed you my profile - 131 views in 3 weeks . . . all kinds of weird guys saving my profile (but also some good ones) - I made it unsearchable for a week and I still have that many views. It's crazy - there are a few repeats with pof, but as many. Boys on YP are a little more serious i think. DOn't email any from Santa Rosa, LOL!! Tina where are you??