OH Juli

Yenken Send me an email- juligirl01@sbcglobal.net I wrote you this giant PM and it didn't go through.... I don't want to take over the board talking about gay girls making babies and the LDR stuff. I'm so happy you're on here too!!!!

OMG...have you seen Kinsey the movie???? Super hot Liam Nelson kissing the boys.. And I love the ladies.

Oh my goodness, I found my other message board. Hey Yenken, how you doing? And girl, we've got lots in common. Just tell my your LDR is interracial and I'll scream! I'm the white part of lesbian LDR, she's in MI I'm in OH. We met when she was working here shortly before she was transferred back to MI three years ago. I'm also the girlier one! Talk to me about doner insemination too. My five year old was conceived that way. And I'm not the bio mom. My very butch ex is. We split when Zoe was 1, but we co-parent very well together. To illustrate: Z wants to go to Disney and neither of us want to miss it. So we've decided all of us will go. Momma, Mommy, kid and our respective girl friends. That's some crazy lesbian "can't we all get along" stuff. Makes me proud. Eddie- You rock for starting this tread! I'll take a flower arrangement too, if you're passing them out. I'll scrapbook for you in return! OH Juli

Denise It's called adjustable so you can take the fluid out as well. Don't let it get you down if you need to remove some. Above all else you need to get some nutrition in you. How's that going? OH Juli

Create a photobucket.com account. You'll download your pictures there. Compress them for web pages (there's an option for that.) Then you'll get an http address for the pics. Copy it. Then come back here start up a response windo and hit the insert image icon. (The mountains) paste it in there. Presto. OH (it took all day because my computer at work wouldn't let me) Juli

The top picture is me before back in September 06. The bottom one, with the dorky expression was taken May 7th. OH Juli

OMG, ThickChick You are cracking me up! Full as a blood thirsty tick! I can only imagine that in Texas drawl. Oh, and the boob thing too! You've got me rolling. I'm glad today is going better for you. I hope today is going well for everyone! I love the exercise part of my day. It's insane! I'm starting the hunt for someone at work to exercise with me come July. I want to move to free weights and I'll need a spotter. It's hard because there are very few users of the fitness center and even fewer during the summer. (I work at a school.) Loving you guys.

Tia I'm SO sorry! You did well to sit and think it through. I know a light turkey sub would have been a fantastic choice on another diet, but this is different. The rules have changed. I too PBed with lunch meat and a tortilla. Sandwiches and other things we bite, bananas, fruit etc are hard because we tend to bite big. Then add to it, the squishy bread factor or the apple peels that don't break down enough and BAM. So think it through, get a piece of paper out and plan your meals with no bread, breading, starches etc. There's plenty of food out there you can eat and enjoy. You'll be blessed with a huge loss for all your efforts. I promise.

I'm still rather new. I was banded 3-8-07, when I went in for my first fill I was told I was doing it right and didn't need a fill. I was really distraught. Reading the above posts, particularly Lisa99's I feel more like a super star. We banded folk do love the fill and all the talk that comes with it. Don't get a fill unless you are not losing weight. Save the restriction for when you need it. At least that's what my doc told me. And Dude, congratulations on the loss. OH Juli

LoriPA- Your berp story is pretty funny. At least you were alone! Kyethra-What are you in school for? I'm also in school full-time, working on a BS/MBA program. I work full-time too. Busy busy. I'm glad you're able to rest up a bit right now. Are you going to take summer classes? Momlambert-A loss is a loss, and you'd not ruin the average. We're a team here and everyone's progress is important. Sophie-Babe, you dug a little deeper and got a pay off. That's how it works. You go! "Supah Stah!" Rosi-The foaming thing is freaky, no? As for exercise teeny tiny steps in the right direction will get you there too. Adding time to the garden is absolutely a positive step. (If I could I'd exercise for you if you did my yard work for me. I loathe with every fiber of my being working in the yard. If there was such a thing as an ANTI Gardener, that would be me.) Peace everyone, OH Juli

TCTX In an attempt to figure out the picture thing I headed back to my very dusty blog. I was able to get a pic posted there, and I will add more...Still not able to figure it out here. Looks like you need to have the pics hosted on the web, not on your PC. I've signed up for Picasa...I'll get it figured out. Unless someone more savvy than me can help out, then by all means, please do. Thick Chick- Has got a new hair do and she's smokin'. The blog by the way is http://lapbandaid.blogspot.com/ There you'll find my picture from September 2006. And some back story to this journey. And I hadn't touched it since fall, so there is some misinformation on it too. But I feel the itch to pick it up again....I've joked blogging is so 2001. (When I first started. Looks like I'll be eating my words. At least they are calorie free!) OH Juli

Sandy- I didn't have the exact same thing happen, but I went in for a fill and was told I didn't need one because I was losing weight so well with out it. I felt like I was being punished for being good. It's very disappointing to see everyone on here talking about their fills, ect and not really be able to relate. But this is an individual journey and we do what we can, right? I don't know what the port surgery might be like. But I've seen other posts where the people said it wasn't too bad. And it looks like you are going gang busters with your weight loss, don't lose momentum. We can check in with each other and see how things are going fill less (Phyllis) over the next few weeks. OH Juli

Momlambert-You are amazing! What an astounding time you are having right now. Good for you for keeping food in its place. Yanken-Salsa Rhythems class? Oh that sounds like fine. I'm sure your hips don't lie.... Denise-What cha' going to do about the foaming? Are you dealing or going for an unfill? Sophie248-I'm fill less for at least the next four weeks myself. I'm trying to keep my head down and follow the bandster rules. Is your scale moving? Catch you all later! I :love: love this board too. OH Juli

Fantastic NSV! Fantastic Scale victory as well. You're rocking!

You said you will probably always have to track your food. I was told by my nutritionist I would have to as well. That didn't sit well with me. But when I looked at it from the point of view, "If I want to be successful and tracking is what I need to do then tracking it is." I've seen it over and over again in different studies. That is the one thing they say that makes a difference. good luck OH Juli

Okay, so I'm going to kick your butt. You asked for it. Write down all the food you ate yesterday in Sparkpeople so you can go oi! You'll have a measure of what a really bad day can be. And yeah you could stretch out your pouch if you eat too much food. So be careful! Certainly you'll be hungrier if you exercise. Eat more. Eat about an hour before you work out and eat when you are finished working out. But keep it bandster appropriate. Protein drinks aren't the answer. Eat solid protein and some veggies. Punishing yourself with protein drinks is just going to make you rebel even further. The goal is to lose weight not to torture yourself. Stop making excuses and keep yourself accountable to yourself about what you are sticking in your mouth and why. OH -sending positive vibes and encouragment- Juli

Denise, Tammy and TCTX- You all are great. Tammy- Thanks for the outrage on my behalf. Trust me I've been outraged too...but it is what it is and who knows, it might be for the best. I'm really going to monitor just how hungry I am and the amount of food I am eating so to really know what's working here, me or the damn band. There is restriction simply due to the band. I've PBed....we'll see. I know there are a few people who have lost over 100 with out a fill. I don't see that being me, but alas, we can't tell the future can we? Enough about that. Denise-I love your little picture. We could be sisters. I know my little pic isn't that flattering but our hair and glasses, when I wear them, are similar. As are our stats. And you are rocking with the weight loss.

TCTx You are so sweet. He did say that he'd give me a fill if I insisted. But he said why use the tool if I didn't need to? Save it for when I do need it. He was really very compassionate about how the news affected me. But frankly, his point is valid. He told me to go to my message board and call him all kinds of names. Which was funny. Also, apparently he was talking about me with a new patient that saw him shortly after my visit. She's a woman I met on the Ohio board and we knew we were both seeing him today. Anyway, he was telling her about expectations with the band, but he'd just seen a woman who is blowing his statistics away. She asked if her name was "Juli" and he said yes! Isn't that cute?! Or is that a HEPPA violation? :cry Thanks for being outraged on my account. I'm mellowing into the decision.

I went and saw my surgeon at 9am this morning and because I am a, "Rock Star" (his words, not mine) and losing weight and exercising so well I don't need a fill. @&*%$#! Or so I thought when I was crying like a baby in his office. He really took the time to explain to me that I am a rare bandster, like 1 in 10 who gets the eating and exercise thing with out the negative reinforcement of tight restriction. I said, it feels like I am being punished for being good. I do believe I pouted and kicked his chair too. He said he would give me 1cc if I really wanted it, but it might make be nausiated which then might keep me from eating, which then would make me too weak to want to exercise and we don't want that now do we? I'm keeping it clean because this is a public forum, but I can and do swear often. And I want to now. Good thing I had scheduled with my therapist for a noon. Between leaving his office and go to her office I went for a bike ride to not be left alone with a house full of food. So yeah! :straight Anyway, I blurt out the info to her and she says, "you're a scheduled kind of person and things need to happen when you expect them or you get out of sorts. But Wow, 'Rock Star', isn't it cool that tool is there to use when you really need it?" @&*%$#! I'm still grumbling. But true enough, I'm scheduled again in 4 weeks. If I don't lose 10 pounds between here and there I'll get a fill. Why is it that I should feel proud and in stead I feel cheated? Thanks for listening the the extended whine. OH :loco: Juli

What makes you think you can't? How about walk/run a 5K? I've actually looked at the running clubs in Columbus and looked at schedules. I want to run so bad. My poor little knees say wait, PLEASE just get some weight off first! Really, I think I'd be super hard pressed to get to it by fall, but this time next year I'll be doing it. "Cross my heart, and hope to die, stick a needle in my eye," promise. And how well I know about being a Diva, when (not if) I do it, I'll turn the picture of me crossing the finish line into a life-sized, cut-out and stick it next to my office door. "yeah, that's me running my first 5K, don't my legs look strong?" I already strut my 264 pound self around like I'm something. I'd be impossible!

TammyJ and Afrykanvyolet You running/jogging women rock! I'm adding bits of running to my time on the tredmill too. Not 5 whole minutes...WOW..but maybe by fall we can be running 5Ks! OH Juli

My5grlz- I'm glad it resonated with you. Thanks for letting me know. Looks like you're exercising your tail off! Way to Go! OH Juli

It's my opinion they want you to diet for 6 months or wait for 6 months to see if you are serious about the surgery or not. Many people want quick fixes and want their insurance to pay for it. It's a weed out factor. Lose or gain, they don't care. I didn't lose a pound during my 6 months. After that, and a few more months I decided I didn't have any excuses for not taking my health serously and I started slow. I started tracking my food on fitday.com and worked on what I could. I'll say it again, it is worth all the hoops, just to really get a hold of this eating monkey that was/and still is a bit hanging around my neck. Kendra- You've got a great attitude. Nice to meet you as well. OH Juli

Hi Ohio people. I was banded nearly two months ago at OSU in Columbus by Dr. Makami. I get my first fill on Monday and I've very psyched. I did have to do 6 mos of doctor supervised dieting...I had many hoops to jump through...it took 14 months from initial consult to surgery. I changed doctors at one point too. BUT IT IS SO WORTH IT! You can see on the side I'm 39, single mom to one 5 year old, work full-time and go to school full-time. Life is crazy but fantastic. OH Juli

Hi.Be worried, it's natural. However, I'm only two months out and I don't get a fill until Monday, I'm doing very well. I don't have pictures of my scars, but there are 5 all together. Four tiny ones, like 1cm each or less, that are like a diamond pattern. One sits under my bra right in the middle its match is just above my belly button. The other two are across from each other half way down. The port scare IS the biggest, that would be the 5th, it's about an inch long, on the left next to one of the small ones. A picture is worth one thousand words. You'll find other people's pictures. Don't worry about your scars. A smaller tummy with a few scars is better than a big tummy without any. OH Juli