OH Juli

Hey there Sweetie, Juli from lbgt here. You poor thing. I wish I could make you feel better. It literally blows right now, your stage of post op surgery. Everyone above has said some great things to you. Listen to them. I'm glad you're making an appointment for your mental health too. Much of this, I believe is more about what's going on in our heads than what goes into our mouths. I'm fill less and losing. I eat lower calorie foods, but I've not come across anything I can't eat. If I go too quickly lunch meat sends me, but otherwise there's little I avoid due to making me PB or slime. I like your idea to heal then pause before getting a fill. Sounds like a good idea. In the mean time start visualizing all the new clothes you'll be buying.... Kisses, J

I'm going to chime in too. Think of losing weight as repelling calories. Sure you can reduce the calories that go into you mouth with surgery. But you can get rid of many too by burning them off. There is added benefit, like being muscularly stronger, increased matabolism, looking firmer, the endorphin rush, the sweaty cleansed pours making your skin prettier, and making your skeleton stronger. Reversing the damage of beign obese on your body ASAP is a benefit too! Also, the few people on the bell curve who actually hit their goal weight are exercisers, and I would wager that had been from even before surgery. And for one last kind of negative comment, sounds like you're looking for excuses not to exercise. You're having surgery to change your life. So change it, start exercising. Also, you'll be in the company of some of the most positive people on this board. Juli

The only thing I can add is that is a good idea to eat something after you work out. Something small like an apple. Your matabolism is reved and it's a good time to fuel your body. Not much help about the cravings. But if you go with whole grains and not fried and not too much and are getting your Protein, where is the problem? :confused: Juli

I forgot about the momma dinner thing. She canceled and was so happy!! The GF was pretty funny about it too. She knows I'm not all that comfortable with the whole thing. Happily the SIL and niecie poo were cool. Thanks for asking.

sunshine This is great and it reinforces exactly what I'm doing (with different lingo). But yes, I've been told by my therapist that I need a different image of myself in my head, the one there was long out of date. I've thought of myself as a quitter when things get tough. But with a little insight I see I am persistent. That's this month's new self image bit for me. There's so much more....but really good stuff in the piece you printed. I really appreciate you posting this. Juli

Hi Family. Tell me if I'm redundant. It happens all the time. Did I tell you that I hooked up with a group of Lesbian cyclists? I'm going on my first ride this week with them! I'm up to 25 miles now. I do think I'll be able to hit 50 by August, when me and the GF go to PTown. About the GF, we were at Pride this weekend in Chicago and had a FANTASTIC time. We danced :dance: in the street on Saturday and watched the 3 hour long parade on Sunday with her newly out lesbian 22 year old niece! (Niece's momma and other gay auntie and uncle were there too!) We ate some fantastic food. Tapas, which I've always loved but find that being banded they really do the trick. Not too much food, but lots of flavor! Sangria too. hehehe Needless to say, there was drinking involved. But it was FUN! I'm so happy to have this thread. I love my marchie's thread too, but it's here where I can talk about GF, vacations together, food, my kid and exercise. It's very much where I feel the love and feel I belong. :love: But wait, there's more! As for the people who do so much for us you have my thanks. From the military folks who serve our country at the expense of their personal expression, to the people who marched in some of the first marches paving the way for me and the babies coming up and out now, you did/do so much to make my life easier and better. Thank You. God love ya! Juli

Lady- Yes it is a club. There are many where I live, but I hooked up with a women's club that hooks up with the other regional club for week night rides. The Women on Wheels (WOW) get together every weekend and ride. I've not gone with them, but one of the WOW leaders met me at the bike shop and helped me ask all the right questions about my new bike. She's been really great. Cherry- I was allowed to do anything that didn't involve my abs at two weeks out. I had to wait 6 weeks for strength exercise. I would say depending on how you ride, you might want to wait 6 weeks for the off-road, jumping puddles kind of riding. But if you just did some time on the seat, on the road you should be able to start at 2 weeks. Just my opinion. Juli

Mcgreen Good for you! Getting to the gym like that! I love the elyptical machine too. I could marry it, I love it so much. It's my opinion that when you are doing strength training you need to give your muscles time off between working them. So if you did all over weights, you wouldn't do that everyday. But if you break the body up into upper/lower for example and only did one routine on day one and the other on day two, you'd be fine. As for cardio, if you've got the time everyday then hit it! I have to say I am a 5 to 6 times a week exerciser. I almost always take at least one day off. I've gone upwards of 10 days without a break and then really felt like I "needed" one. Good Lucky, Juli

Hey Biking Buddies. I'm going for my first group ride this Thursday. It's a short one, only 10 miles, but I'm excited to go and get enculturated to the whole thing. I did get out today, on my own, and did 25 miles. I can't go every day because I have a 5 year old at home with me half the time (shared custody). I can be gone for hours when she's with the ex, and I ride with her on a tandum tag along, but only 4-5 miles. JC- you are looking good. Great photos.

I drink. Not a ton, never have. I just avoid the bubbly stuff. I drank heavily for me this past weekend, I was in Chicago. (I waved TammyJ, did you see me?) I had two drinks each day, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I think the scale will yell at me in the morning, but it all went down easily and I was a quick drunk.

Talking about Ptown. We were going to take a boat from Boston across the cape but we are actually flying into NH, an hour north of Boston because there are CHEAP flights on Skybus So we've allowed for some time in the rental car too. Cheri we'd love to see the pictures. Eddie-Thanks for the note to Chris61, on the board. Well done. Mark- Pissed? cute! Of course I had to think, "why is he angry...oh wait, he's drunk!" Pamela-On the "strategic plan for Juli's life 2010-2014" is learn Spainish, learn to golf, write a book. I'm living the SP 2005-2009 right now and just don't have time for more interests until I get done with school. I'm working on BS now and will start my MBA in January 08. I love to learn! dezbus- You have fun with that tile. I'm going to Chicago to be with my honey! We are having dinner with her mom who I have only met once, more than a year ago. The GF and I got into a huge fight after that. I'm a little scared actually. But we've learned a lot about each other since then...wish me luck. If it goes poorly it will be a long ass weekend.

Fantastic! If you go before me you'll have to report back to the best places you find. I'll do the same if I go before you. We are leaving in 6 weeks. I've got two six week classes to get through then off to vacation!!!! I love being in school, the learning is great. The new opportunities it will open for me will be great as well, but god I love it when I'm between classes! Even this weekend I'm finishing one class tomorrow and the other two start on Monday, so no homework! Oh to be 39 and feeling that way is weird. Juli

Rosi, You are outta control! Have a great time!

YEAH The girls are back in town! So glad both of you Denise and TammyJ had a good time! You were missed!

I was wondering about the "OH" bit meant too. I had no idea when I tagged myself with OH Juli. However mine is due to the fact I live in Ohio. And in American Sign Language, I'm always, signing "OH" instead of "I get it." I work with Deaf folk. OH Juli

Provincetown Chamber of Commerce If you are thinking about Boston, Provincetown is a an hour south. It's where my partner and I are going on vacation this summer. The link above is the goings on calendar. Juli

Lauralynn Please eat something healthy. From what you had above all I see is some cottage cheese. I'm not saying stop the chips and candy, but where is the protein, the vegetable, the fruit? You are probably tired because your body doesn't have the right fuel to keep you standing up right. You might find that if you are eating well, the chips and candy are less tempting too. Juli

JC That is so cool! Who knew? And I've become a pickle fanatic since having surgery. Maybe my body was craving what it needed. Travelgirl- I was going to suggest Water. Also, don't eat a an hour before you bike. Let the body digest what's in your tummy so your muscle and stomach aren't competing for blood flow. I like JC's ideas too.

Eva, You are at the stage where you just need to do it. I know it sounds so nike. But the thing is you are! So try to notice the small things that feel better. Walking with laundry up and down stairs is my thing. Before it would be a trudge. One day I was going up the stairs and it just wasn't like it had been. Now I notice it all the time! We're sending good exercise Ju Ju right now!

I am in total agreement with you all. It's fantastic that you get so much in return for the time you invest in it. I mean, you burn calories, you look better, you're taking care of your body but even hours later YOU FEEL SO GOOD! Yee Haw!

Sunta- I'm so jealous! I've been a fan of hers for years. I've read nearly every thing she's put out! You'll be fine no doubt. Juli

There's much to be said about all the concepts above. Some people get the mind set when they get the surgery or before even, that this is it. Certainly there is restriction with an unfilled band. Trust me, mine's unfilled and I've PBed a few times. This is so much more than how we put food into our mouths. It's about our brain; our behaviors and our experiences play into this. I think it's a three pronged approach: 1. You have the physical change the band does to your stomach. 2. You have behavioral modification about how you eat, e.g., following the rules, learning how to fuel the body for best weight loss. 3. You have congniative modification about food's role in your life. Also reframing success, ones future, etc. Some people need the band to start the process of dealing with the mental stuff. Some people start with the mental and go, yeah, a tool would be helpful. Certainly there is plenty to talk about with this monumental change. Juli

Family, I really wasn't going to post this here, but Chris61, the straight man sent me an inappropriate email off line. He wasn't so much crass, as he was icky with a, "lesbians are hot" tone. This is for everyone's FYI. I did send him a note saying not interested and for him to go away. Okay, so maybe it was worded a little more snidely than that. But you get the idea. Thanks

Laralynn Oh girl, stop beating yourself up. Stop being mad at yourself. Don't worry about how you were "high and mighty". Think about what you can do RIGHT NOW to get back in the game. Get up walk in a circle, drink some water and say, "I've got control, I know the rules, and I will follow them." When the next piece of candy calls your name, say it in your head. What you can learn from this experience, eating candy bars and cooking for small kids is that you need to be vigilant. Be kind to yourself. We all have bad days/weeks. It's not what we do during the bad times that define us. It's what we do to pull ourselves up out of the bad times that does. HTH

Woot Woot PRIDE I'm flying into Chicago on Friday for PRIDE with my honey and her pals. She lives in MI, but is from Chicago. They've got the weekend planned! Stuff to do all day Saturday, breakfast on Sunday and then on to watch the parade. I'm so STOKED!!!! I had to go and buy new clothes for the weekend, you know, because a girl needs to look her best and everything I had was too big!