OH Juli

Sophie, If you don't think you need a fill, then don't get one. Or advocate for what you want. You know? And I don't have any fill, but PBing happens to me if I eat too quickly, like super fast, and don't chew well. PBing, at least for me is when I hack up what I ate. The awkward pain and saliva thing is sliming or just plain having food get stuck, until it passes through.

Ditto to what robgolin87 says.

Babygirl I have the same issue. I'm in school right now too. As I was talking to my counselor I was going on about what if I fail? I've always stopped when it got tough with weight loss and school. She helped me remember times that I wouldn't give up...like jumping through hoops for 14 months to get this surgery...like being in school now a solid 2 years now. And she said I need to get a new mental picture of myself as not a quitter, but as someone who is persistent. Which kind of clicked because I had been working on getting the a picture of my actual physical self that was more acurate. Before I was over 300 pounds thinking I was healthy. Anyway, it's working to squelch the voice of doubt. And we do become the future we visualize. So when doubt creeps in, push it out with visions of you being victorious. OR better yet, just keep thinking of your positive outcomes so doubt doesn't have room to pop up. Juli

Chickie To spend that money though and know that you'll be able to wear the jeans until they go out of style, not until they get worn out is a nice feeling I bet. And I'm sure they look super hot on your figure too!

D.Mini I know about the boundaries for which you speak. My mom (she's groovey) calls them enegery vampires. I find myself pretty intolerant of people who don't give back any more, but it took some time. I've gotten to the point where I am so busy and so focused on positive outcomes that I can cut those selfish energy sucking people out of my life with little remorse. That has been such a gift. And yeah you for finding a man who charishes you. All people deserve that kind of love. My sweetie does very well by me too.

Nikki, I PB today too for the first time in weeks! I was thinking this band isn't even there! Well low and behold, it reminded me that in fact it was. And this was the momma of all PB's, for me, to date. Holy smokes! Lunchmeat does it to me every single time, if I eat it too fast. You'd think I'd learn.

Believe it or not Columbus Ohio is very Lesbianie. When the Lesbian Connection does a grouping by zip code of their mailing address, my zip and the neighboring one are always in the top 5 nationally. If you don't know the Lesbian Connection or LC or Elsie, is it's a grass roots lesbian magizine that's been aroung 30 years and still going strong. It's humble but great. night ya'll. Stay cool.

Happy Thursday morning gang. I'm avoiding doing homework. Oi. I know somewhere I posted on here that I'm in school full-time and work full-time. Add to it a 5 year old kid and taking on the very real challenge of losing 180 pounds, I'm feeling a little stretched. Mind you my weight is at a stand still for the last week. And that's my pattern. I drop a pound a day for a 5 or 6 days in a row and then I hold steady for 7 or 8 days. When I'm dropping weight I'm on clound nine. When I've been holding, like now, I'm so frustrated! When will I learn?! So today, as far as food and exercise go, I'm trying to dig a little deeper, stay focused and eat under 1000. I'm going to workout a bit more than usual too, see if I can make the damn scale budge. Thanks for listening. I know this weight loss moves in cycles... Juli

Pamela- I'm not Cheri but I'm going to P-town in August. It's Provincetown MA, the tip of Cap Cod. It's one of the gay meccas in the US. The others that come to mind are: Key West Miami San Fransicso Provincetown Can other people add to the list? Juli

Awe Stephanie, that really touched my heart. You are Cinderella to be true. Good thing that man of yours sees it better than you do! But soon enough she'll be looking back at you from the mirror. Amazing job so far! Minus 30 in 3 months is great!

travelgirl It's taken some time to get to that point. I've been doing cardio since October and really hitting it hard since January. Trust me I was all jelly even after that when I got on the bike the first time this spring. They say you never forget how to ride a bike, which is true, but my body sure wished that I had! Juli

I am off to buy a new road bike today, hopefully. I biked 20 miles on Sunday and know I need a better bike if I'm going to get to 50 mile rides by August. (My Goal) And I'm no tiny thing as you can see by my stats below. Wish me luck. I've already been to two stores today, going to two or three more tonight. Also, I'm talking with a the organizer of a women's riding group I'm planning on joining! I would have never thought this possible a year ago. Woo Freakin' HOO.

Tia- I'm coming from a place of love, you hear me? Break out your blender and make chicken salad, ham salad or tuna salad. Make it wet and slick and take small bites. Try meatloaf that's not too dry. Crab sticks are great, get some real crab too, you're not going to eat that much, you should buy the good stuff! If you can eat dairy try some low fat yogurt, cottage cheese and other cheeses. You need to be getting at least 800 calories of good nutritious food. And really, really, you should be eating your protein, not drinking it because drinking it just goes through the band and you are doesn't keep you full. But girl, drink that protein instead of nothing. You're going to hurt your hair, skin and bones if you don't get your nutrition in! :hug: Juli

Tia You crack me up! Good to know the ChaCha is in plain view again! I can't tell if my hair is thinning or not. I always have a bunch in the drain and on the brush...but it's getting long, so is it more hairs or the same amount but longer? I figure if I really can't tell then there really isn't a problem. But I do fret sometimes. Aside from taking Biotin I can't do much else, I eat tons of Protein. Tia, what does your surgeon say you should be eating? Like how much? Do they have a nutrition plan for you? Do you take a multi Vitamin? Have a great day everyone!

Pam Who would think that doubling our time, from 3 nights a month to 6 would mean a lot? LOL. I know what you mean though. We are years away from being together every night. But it's like a honeymoon on the weekends we get together! Our kids left at the school on Friday last week. There's a calm around here now. The teacher's last day was yesterday. They say the three best things about being a teacher is June, July and August! HA. Stay away from the booze!

Eddie- That is horrible! But what can you do now? The bitch ruined your evening (I'm not talking about Sean either). And now you can either let it fester and pop more bad food in your mouth or you can say enough of that and you're in control now. I like the control method myself. You can control how long you and Sean are angry with each other. Pam said call him. I agree, make the first move. You can contol how you react to clients calling late. Go for a walk, drink a bottle of Water, write a nasty email and NEVER send it...there are ways to express your emotion that don't involve eating. You can, when you are both more calm, talk with Sean about client boundaries, what they are and what can be expected when they get crossed. (Because they always will). And, bitch ass bitches about your ruined evening. You've got a lifetime of some sweet man time, it was only one night...I know, you really wanted it and it got dissed for a client, but you do have him forever. Kisses,

Denise- I'm in Columbus, Ohio and she is in Kalamzoo. It's 284 miles from door to door. It's a 4-5 hour drive. I hate that she lives there. She was working in Columbus, knowing she would be transferred back to MI, so we weren't supposed to last, but you know love happens. Thanks for the praise. I'd love to do your trip in Sonoma. Can you send me a link? We are talking about going to CA next year...that would be fun. Drinking and Biking! ha ha! You'll have a blast! Laralynn- How's the belly dance/yoga class?! Rosi- Welcome back home! You'll get back on track in no time!

Hi gang. Just a statistics thing...the non exercisers are not going to click on your poll. Go figure. My gym is at work, Monday through Friday I spend my lunch hour there. Two days a week I go back in after work (shared custody of my kid, and I don't need to rush to pick her up.) So that's 3.5 hours of cardio a week and 3.5 hours of strength training. On my non kid weekends and some week nights I bike long distances. I'm shooting for a 50 mile ride by August. I just did my first 20 mile ride since I was teen on Sunday! On my kid weekends we spend hours at the pool, bike together where we stop and pick flowers every 100 feet, or walk around the zoo. I tend not to push too hard then...but I make sure we do SOMETHING! I have to run her like a puppy, she has too much energy! As for crazy restriction people on here, Chickie, I feel you. When people complain or brag that they could only eat 5 french fries I think WTF?! Wouldn't you want to get the best quaility food in you if you could only eat 3 ounces? I have yet to get a fill. Sometimes I get jealous of people who are losing without exercise, because they aren't eating much. But I know I am fueling my body and it is getting stronger and healthier. My rate of loss is good, so I try to focus on me not everyone else. Ya know?

Happy Tuesday Gang! This weekend I was with the GF again! I'm so happy we are spending a load of time together this summer. We have taken to bicycling. We did 13 miles on Saturday and 20 on Sunday!!!!!! That was a stretch goal, but we made it! (My ass dragged the rest of the day, but I don't care!) Our goal is to get up to 50 miles by August when we go to P-Town. Apparently there is a 25 mile stretch of Rails to Trails on Cap Cod we are planning on riding. Woo-Hoo! I'm so blessed to have a sweetie who's taken up the eating right and getting fit cause to support me. :love: I'm sure you can feel the love oozing out of me... Hope you all are doing great too!

soon to be- You're funny. I get what you are saying about negativity. I certainly don't want to be bothered with this particular fight. But there is a time and a place when you need to fight back. I'm guessing those filing the law suit feel such a need at this time. Yeah them!

I LOVE PFM! What a perfect way to describe that attitude people have about it! The, "wow, so the band really works, huh?" question has had me go, "No, I really work hard with the band!" I now will tag on, "it is not PFM!"

sweethot143 it's a civil rights issue. No one said the black people couldn't have water, they just needed to get it from a different fountain.

I was visiting my girl friend in Michigan this past weekend. She's been super supportive about my surgery and even has gone about eating better and losing weight herself in solidarity to my efforts! We've taken to biking when we get weekends together. Saturday was 13 miles. Sunday we set out to do 20 miles and we did it! Our goal is to be up to 50 miles by August when we go on vacation in Provincetown! There's a 25 mile rails to trails bike trail on Cap Cod we want to ride! We are talking about riding a century (100) mile ride next May! I've always wanted to do that! You know I'll keep you posted! Woo Hoo!

I'd say not to have a fill before your vacation, especially if you are in pain right after one. You wan to enjoy yourself while you are there. Have fun!!!

It's a combination of things, but being a single mom who wants to do better for my kid is the primary motivator in my life. I need to make more money becasue I can't squeeze another penny from my check, so I'm back in school and losing weight so I will get that better job. Also, it's easier to play with the kid at a lower weight. Go figure.