JENNIFER7375

I too am prone to morning tightness. Staying hydrated does help but for me dosent solve the problem entirely. I start out every morning (or afternoon in my case since I work nights) with a hot cup of coffee or tea. If I feel super hungry but still tight I have a cup of chicken boullin instead. The salt helps curb the craving for food until I've loosened up enough to really eat. After a few hours I'm fine and can eat anything in a small portion.

I think I'm with restless on this. I don't think an occasional or even daily soda will hurt as long as it's well tolerated. And also completely healed. I used to drink 3-4 diet mt dews a night at work. Now I think I'm down to maybe 1 a week. The desire for them is just no longer there. But I do work 3rd so there's still the need for an occasional caffeine fix. I would also recomend letting it sit for a few minutes to let some of the carbonation fizz out. And drink very slowly. And I wouldn't recomend it right after working out either. I tried it once. I was so thirsty I started to chug it the way I used to. Not a good idea. But besides that 1 time i've never had a problem with soda or with beer. I'm not a big beer drinker. I'm more of a rum and diet coke. But I've had beer a few times this summer. I highly recomend bud light lime. Tastes really good as far as beer goes and went down smooth every time.

Miss J I love #4 I plan on wearing one of those short skimpy nurse costumes this year.. I can't wait for my bf to see me in it

Ali. the only different thing i can suggest food wise is youplait makes some great new yogurt flavors. the cinnamon roll and apple turnover are great. are you allowed pudding? and it probably gonna be at least 8 weeks before subway, and even then you might wanna be careful bread is not always our friend, but try there wraps. there very good and anything that goes on a sub can go on them. and HH you are right about all of the things we are happily deprieved of. and on a personal not. weve had some interesting debates in the past, which i throughly enjoyed by the way. but. i was appalled at some of the things said to you this week. no guy not even you deserves kicked in the balls. lol

Thanks restless it was actually your thread about being happy that got me thinking about my mom so much today. My died at the same age that you were banded. And I'm so happy for you that you've taken control of your. I just wish things could have been different for my mom. And that's amazing about your insurance. I have to say my insurance approval was very easy. I was able to use any weight related visit in the last 2 years towards my 6 months of required PCP visits. And I was approved right away. I felt like I had my own special gaurdian angel overseeing the process. And I'm not amazing. I just did what needed to be done. I have 4 older siblings and none of them were willing or responsible enough to take them in. I was 5 months pregnant with my youngest son with my yougest son when she died. I think if it weren't for being pregnant and needing to be strong for the girls I probably would have fallen completely apart. So having them to take care of kind of keep me sane.

Im not in my 20s either. But have some pretty good rewards in mind. I buy myself something every 15 or 20lbs. When I got to 200 I bought myself 2 pairs of great "skinny cut jeans ".i I'm also a big fan of perfume as a reward and purses. A girl can never smell too good or have enough coach or dooney&burke in her closet. And unlike the jeans that are already too big purses are forever. Lol I also plan on going back to Jamaica. I went last year a few months before my banding. I loved it but felt like a big fat ass on the beach. I'm a size 10 now. I'm planning on being in a10 by the time I go. And I can't wait to hit the beach in my much smaller néw swimsuits.

when we eat pizza. i try to opt for a thin crust. it seems to go down fairly easily. and even 1 slice of thin crust fills me up. when i go to chinese i usually get a bowl of wonton soup. then i get will get a small plate of whatever looks good and will kind of pick at that. i like chicken on a stick. i also love the crab rangoon, but now i can only eat a few of them instead of a whole plate full

Sabertooth. congratulations on making the decision on what was best for you. good luck on your surgery and keep us all posted with your progress. and good luck with your pre-op diet. it sucks but its totally necessary. hang in there

We've all been had our weight loss surgery the obvious health reasons. and a lot of us probably kicked the idea around for a lot of years. but at what moment or event did you decide. last august was the 9th anniversary of my mom's death. god i cant believe tuesday will be 10 years since shes been gone. my mother spent her life battling weight loss and depression . she was 52 when she died and she was only 5 ft tall and well over 350lbs. my mother was an amazing person, smart , beautiful, kind. . she hated being heavy, the staring of strangers, not being able to walk more than a few feet at a time. she had rheumatoid arthritis and was in constant pain. but in the end the struggle was too much for her. she committed suicide, august 4th 1999. well i was devestated at the time, my sisters were only 8 and 15. ive raised them the last 10yrs. well back to the point , when i looked at her picture. all i could see was my face looking back. no i wasnt as heavy as she was, but i was well on my way. i was 33 with extremely high blood pressure. the reality of my weight problem ending my life just kind of smacked me in the face. my sister that was 8 when my mom died has never gotten over her traumatic death. the idea of leaving my children and sisters over being obese scared me to death. i made an apt with a barriatric surgeon the next day. so far i've never regretted. and i often have to think how different the life of my family would have been if my mother would have had more options to her. sorry to ramble on, i guess my moms been on my mind a lot lately. but i guess i was just thinking about my break through moment and wonder what kind of things finally motivated others into action.

Thanks restless. and its funny there are times when i loook in the mirror that im so shocked at the change in appearance that i wanna jump for joy! im sure ill hit my goal. but truthfully if i stayed where i am. and i know you will make it to where you wanna be your attitude wont allow you to fail!

Abbey agree that sometimes we do kind of over compensate for being heavy by kind of amping up our personality. and for me thats always been good. and as i,ve gotten thinner as my self confidence has increased so has that side of me.we are all beautiful intelligent women. but sometimes being heavy can make you feel like the beautiful person you are inside dosent match the one that the outside world sees. i sometimes feel that losing weight has helped me to combine both of those sides of me into one person. and good luck on your weight loss. you are beautiful and are definitely gonna be a quadrupple threat!!

Im so glad to here someone say they're happy and doing well. i also find that when i slip up im able to get right back on track. the bands done wonders breaking me of my binging habits. i no longer use eating bad monday as an excuse to eat the same way on tuesday. its truly a life change not a diet. you are really doing well, and thanks for sharing your positive atitude with everyone. oh and congratulations on your recent graduation from nursing school!

Sex boogers. LMAO that's a good one I'll have to remember that for future use. And Andrew it took a lot to convince me.

Aww. Come on Abby spitters are quitters. Lol

Lol. Very funny. A man after my own smartass heart. When someone asks me if I'm hot, my usual comeback is of course just look me!

Damn HH you beat me to it!!! The second I saw this post I had a happy ending comment ready. But as for massages I've had a few since my surgery with no problems.

Catherine you look great in your blog pics. i really like the longer hair on you. And i too have noticed how much easier it is to make it through an evening i hells since dropping weight. keep doing what youre doing cuz its really working!!

Im a nurse. i work in home health, i take care of trach/vent peds patients in there homes. i love my job!

off religion and back to prostitution. i see nothing wrong with legalized prostitution. isnt it referred to as the worlds oldest profession? the bottom line is people use sex to get what they want and are gonna cont to. whether its trading sex for money to pay the rent or having sex with your husband cuz you're trying to get him to take you on vacation. its still trading sex for something you want or need. anyone who says they've never had sex with an ulterior motive involved is either lieing or has no sex life. besides why should prostitution be th only "profession" not paying taxes

i love my IUD. i have mirena. ive had no side effects from it at all. I've had it for close to 5 yrs. when the 1 i have is due to come out in sept i plan on getting another put in

I've had several in your face moment. i think i've posted this before but my daughters stepmom is extremely phony. nice to my face , but dogged me out calling me a fat cow and many other things behind my back. well shes never once complimented me on my weight loss. shes also been steadily getting larger as ive lost. shes now bigger than i am.one day my daughter finally asked her dosent my mom look great. well at that point she had no choice but to agree. she told me i lo0ked great, at 1 pont she complimented something i was wearing. i then told her if she liked the wat i dressed that she was more than welcome to all the clothes id outgrown! i could tell by the look on her face she wanted to slap me. offering someone that hates me my fat clothes was definitely an im your face moment:tt2:

Hey can I get in the fast losers club? I'm 5 months post op.I'm down from an 18 to a size 10 and I've lost 63 0f the 75 I set out to lose. Although I'm pretty sure I'm gonna lower my goal. I've had great success so far. I can't wait to get to goal.

I was extremely hot post op. i was so hot and in so much pain. Between the 2 i nearly had a panic attack.

As others have stated the bands about portion control for me as well. For example went out for pizza with my kids the other day. There was a time where id have ate 4 slices of pieces. With the band im lucky if i can finish 1.and that 1 slice leaves me satisfied for a long time. I also make sure food dosent rule my life anymore. no i dont eat junk everyday. but nothing is forbidden in a reasonable quantity. I spent most of my adult life obsessing and feeling guilty about every bite in my mouth. that all being said. the hardest part of the band or any WLS is can you committ to changing your relationship with food? I know head hunger is something that most of us struggle with everyday. Learning to deal with that is the hardest. its that little voice in your head telling you to eat chips and ice cream when you know you dont want or need it? the one that says it cuz you're mad, bored or angry. Were only human and no one can ignore that voice every time. but before you have the band or any other surgery you've gotta deal with the emotional issues that cause you to overeat. whether is just doing some deep soul searching. attending over eaters annonymous or seeking some form of professional counseling. so far the band has been an amazing tool for me. and yes requres some work, but its been WAY easier than any of the many diets i failed at in the past.but you also need to make some effort, better food choices and going in for fills. With good restriction and attitude you just dont eat as much.

well ladies, im 5 months most post op and much to the delight of my boyfriend, the band causes no problems with oral sex. have fun girls and just remember its unladylike to spit.LMAO!!