Elisabethsew

Waterlily, it's good to hear from you. Move the candy as far as way as you possibly can and keep a bottle of water on your desk. Bring some raw veggies or fruit in a ziplock bag and munch on that. It's nice to see new people. Welcome.

JULY, 2007 CHALLENGE Name...............................Starting…....Current…......Goal…..........To Go losingjusme..(Christine).........293.............. 294... ..........276.................17 tann.............(Tammy)...........224............ . 221............212....................09 Josette.................................322....... .......322..............307.................15 RidinMyHDDream.(Carol).. .....267..............267..............256........ .........11 FaithMD............................... 312..............310..............299............. ....11 Elisabethsew..(Elisabeth).. ....275....... .......273 .............265..................8 Libra..(Angela)...................... 218...........;...216..............208............ . ....8 glindab..................................286...... ........286..............275.................11 Inner_me.....(Chris).............. ..295...............295.............280........... .......15 Welcome back, Chris. I hope you had a nice vacation. Cherrybomb, ongratulations on being banded and you can join the July challenge. Just cut and paste and enter your values to the chart.

Good luck with the move! I'm sure you'll burn those calories with all the lifting, etc., involved in the move. Where are the missing members of our challenge? I hope everyone is OK and just on vacation.

It's great to know things are going well for you and that you're free from that horrible arthritis pain. I'm in need of bilateral knee replacements but an holding out until I lose as much weight as I can.

You've got NOTHING to cry about, Tann. You're a star!

JULY, 2007 CHALLENGE Name...............................Starting…....Current…......Goal…..........To Go losingjusme..(Christine).........293.............. 293... ..........276.................17 tann.............(Tammy)...........224............ . 224..............212.................12 Josette.................................322....... .......322..............307.................15 RidinMyHDDream.(Carol).. .....267..............267..............256........ .........11 FaithMD............................... 312..............310..............299............. ....11 Elisabethsew..(Elisabeth).. ....275....... .......273 .............265..................8 Libra..(Angela)...................... 218...........;...216..............208............. ....8 glindab..................................286...... ........286..............275.................11 juliegeraci..............................232...... ....... 226 Inner_me.....(Chris).............. ..295...............295 Waterlily1072...(Nicole).......... 272..... .......;.272 Lapbandit……...............….... .206……….....206 I'm slowly moving in the right direction and am trying to get in more fruits to progress to a healthier diet. The 100 calorie snacks are not satisfying and offer no real nutritional value. Stay cool in this heat!

JULY, 2007 CHALLENGE Name...............................Starting…....Current…......Goal…..........To Go losingjusme..(Christine).........293..............293... ..........276.................17 tann.............(Tammy)...........224............. 224..............212.................12 Josette.................................322..............322..............307.................15 RidinMyHDDream.(Carol).. .....267..............267..............256.................11 FaithMD............................... 312..............312..............299.................13 Elisabethsew..(Elisabeth).. .....275....... ......275 .............265.................10 juliegeraci..............................232............. 226 Inner_me.....(Chris).............. ..295..............295 Waterlily1072...(Nicole).......... 272..... ........272 Libra..(Angela)....................... 218..............218 Lapbandit……...............….... .206……….....206 Happy 4th to everyone and best of luck on the July challenge. Here's the updated chart. Happy losing!

OK, here's the July Challenge. I put in everyone's last reported current weight. Add in your goal weight and how many pounds to go. Remember, it's only a 31 day challenge. Good luck to us all! JULY, 2007 CHALLENGE Name.............................Starting….Current…...Goal….....To Go losingjusme..(Christine)......291...........291 tann.............(Tammy)........226.......... 226 juliegeraci..........................232.......... 232 Josette..............................322.......... 322 Inner_me.....(Chris).......... ..295...........295 Elisabethsew..(Elisabeth).. .274....... ...274 .............265.............9 Waterlily1072...(Nicole)...... 272..... .....272 Libra..(Angela)................... 218...........218 Lapbandit……...............… .206………..206 RidinMyHDDream.(Carol).. ..270...........270 FaithMD............................ 327...........327

You need to see your MD and have the fill decreased. Until you get an appointment, try not eating or drinking anything for at least 3 hours before you go to bed. Make lunch the biggest meal of the day and go lighter for dinner. You can damage your esophagus if you don't get this treated.

Congratulations on your weight loss and I'm sorry to hear that you've got a slip. Have you discussed replacing the band with your surgeon? Staying on a liquid diet for 30 days and "hoping" the slip does not progress would not be my idea of an ideal solution.

You need to call your MD ASAP and be checked out. Infection is what comes to mind with a temp that high (I'm an RN) and having the type of diarrhea you describe could quickly lead to dehydration. You need to have some blood work done to determine the cause of your symptoms.

I need two total knee replacements and prior to losing the weight, I was barely able to walk I had so much pain. My last cortisone injections were back in the first week of January and I'm only taking one Aleve in the AM and one in the PM for pain control. Currently, the pain is manageable but not gone. I will have to have the knee replacements but my plan is to keep losing as much as I can so that the recovery is a lot faster and easier. My surgeon told me that for each pound lost, there is a 3 pound reduction on weight bearing joints.

COngratulations to all the "losers" and it's great to read how well everyone is doing. I was out of town for a business seminar so I'm playing catch-up with the posts. I believe 7/4 is our final weigh-in but have we decided on when the new challenge will begin? Because my philosophy is "a new way of life forever" I would vote for no "time off" between challenges. What does everyone else think?

Faith, let us know how the surgery went when you're feeling up to posting. I hope everyone has a great weekend.

July 4th Challenge Week 8 Name.............................Starting….Current…...Goal….....To Go losingjusme..(Christine)......317...........291 .............295...........-4 tann.............(Tammy)........257.......... 231..............232......... ..0 juliegeraci..........................232.......... 232..............220...........12 Josette..............................340.......... 329..............315...........14 Inner_me.....(Chris).......... ..306...........295 .............280...........15 Elisabethsew..(Elisabeth).. .281....... ...270 .............260...........9 Waterlily1072...(Nicole)...... 278..... .....272 .............252...........20 Libra..(Angela)................... 230...........219........... ..205...........14 Lapbandit……...............… .208………..206……..…..185…….....21 RidinMyHDDream.(Carol).. ..281...........269 .............256...........13 FaithMD............................ 341.5........322..............310.. ........12 The scale is moving and I've got 9 pounds to go to make my goal. I hope to kiss the 70's bye-bye this week.

July 4th Challenge Week 8 Name.............................Starting….Current…...Goal….....To Go losingjusme..(Christine)......317...........305 .............295...........10 tann.............(Tammy)........257.......... 231..............232......... ..0 juliegeraci..........................232.......... 232..............220...........12 Josette..............................340.......... 329..............315...........14 Inner_me.....(Chris).......... ..306...........296 .............280...........16 Elisabethsew..(Elisabeth).. .281....... ...271 .............260...........10 Waterlily1072...(Nicole)...... 278..... .....272 .............252...........20 Libra..(Angela)................... 230...........219........... ..205...........14 Lapbandit……...............… .208………..206……..…..185…….....21 RidinMyHDDream.(Carol).. ..281...........269 .............256...........13 FaithMD........................ ... 341.5........324..............310.. ........14 Tann, congratulations on meeting your challenge and going beyond! You're an inspiration. I'm maintaining this week but will have an "official" weigh-in when I see the surgeon's PA next Monday. I've been very strict with my eating plan this past week so the scale should move in a few days. Good luck to everyone.

Hi Chris. I'm sorry to hear that you had such a terrible time of it with the Costochondritis. As an RN, I would encourage you to make a follow-up appointment with your regular MD or a cardiologist. Costochondritis is not common in the 30-40's age group so it would be best to get more testing to make sure you're OK. Since costochondritis can either be viral (reponds to anti-inflammatory meds such as motrin) or bacterial (you'd need an antibiotic), blood cultures would determine which type you had. I hope you have a better night.

You've got to have lobster in Maine, see the mansions in Newport, Rhode Island, and the beaches in the Hamptons and Montauk on Long Island, NY.

Good point, Libra. What I find is that I can't "go off" my eating plan at all. If I do, I have a very hard time getting back on the band wagon. I went out to dinner twice this weekend to celebrate 2 birthdays and "prepared" for eating a bigger dinner than normal by eating a late breakfast and only having some fruit for lunch. I skipped the bread (I'm addicted to hot bread) and appetizer and enjoyed the entree without feeling stuffed. Some people do great splurging a day and going right back to healthy eating the next day. I wish I were one of them. It all comes down to doing what works best for you and only you know what that is.

Sometimes people focus on the negative. The truth is not everyone loses weight with the lapband and the lapband booklet states people lose an average of 60% of what they need to. You Mom is likely looking at that information and weighing (no pun) it against the risks of surgery. Why not invite your Mom to visit this site and look at the before and after pictures so she can SEE the results people have with this surgery?

Thanks, Tann. I post my starting weight on the day I had the surgery rather than my highest before the surgery since that seems to be how most people calculate their loss. I loved it when I went below 400 and 300 and the next milestone will be when that bar on the scale moves off the 250 pound marker. I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend.

Katie, You'll get into the twos so don't worry. My highest weight was 440 pounds. I had surgery at 351 pounds and I made it into the twos. I'm determined to make it into the ones but I'm not looking that far ahead. I shoot for mini-goals of 10 pounds each. You'll get there.

CONGRATULATIONS, ANGELA!!! Change your ticker, announce it in the "who's lost 100 pounds" thread, and do something special to celebrate this GREAT milestone.

Congratulations on the losses, Tammy and Faith. Nicole, I hear you! When the weather gets warmer, I'm outside doing more but than means I have less time and interest in preparing food. On one hand you're moving more (that's good) but it's easier to just "see what's around" when you're hungry rather than having a prepared menu (bad). I guess it's all about balance. I now try to prepare whatever I'll be eating for the day in the AM so it cuts down on the "grazing."

July 4th Challenge Week 7 Name.............................Starting….Current…...Goal….....To Go losingjusme..(Christine)......317...........305 .............295...........10 tann.............(Tammy)........257.......... 236..............232......... ..04 juliegeraci..........................232.......... 232..............220...........12 Josette..............................340.......... 329..............315...........14 Inner_me.....(Chris).......... ..306...........296 .............280...........16 Elisabethsew..(Elisabeth).. .281....... ...271 .............260...........11 Waterlily1072...(Nicole)...... 278..... .....272 .............252...........20 Libra..(Angela)................... 230...........221........... ..205...........16 Lapbandit……...............… .208……….206……..…..185…….....21 RidinMyHDDream.(Carol).. ..281..........276 .............256............20 FaithMD........................ .. 341.5........327..............310.. .........17 I'm down 2 pounds this week and hope to kiss the 70's good-bye in another week. Angela, you're so close to leaving the 2's... congratulations. Good luck to everyone for a losing week.