OH Juli

I'll be there. I might have the 6 year old with me which may shorten my visit, but I'll certainly show up.

Hunter Good to hear you are well. Holler if you need us!

Janine You have my sympanthies, you are understandably devistated. Not that you want to count your blessings, but sweetie you have your health and your stomach is going to recover, which is so much more important than what size you are. And there's nothing saying that you can't continue to lose from here forward. You have us to come to. Good luck. I'm so sorry. J

Golly BG, It's not like you don't have enough to keep you busy. How many jobs are you working? How young are your children? I couldn't be in school if I actually had to work hard 40 hours a week and didn't share my kid with my ex. But hypothetically, if you did go back to school what would you do? W- BG is the vegetarian, ZZ too I think. I'll join you for that Arby's sans bun.

W I didn't read it as you were loaded. I know you didn't say this but what I read was, "Women worry about spending money on themselves and I'm a man and I don't." But I come at stuff with a little bias. No worries.

BG I love that you are not a credit card user. That's a challenge in today's time. W, Different people have different income levels. Sometimes it's not about panicking because of spending money on ones self, but about paying the bills verse buying a luxury item. There was a point in my life, about 5 years ago I was working 3 jobs and still trying to decide which bill not to pay. I'm happy my life is much better now. Whew.

I've just re-read your post, so let me answer your questions: What to do about acid at night? Don't eat late, don't eat acidic foods, avoid caffiene. Drink herb tea and Water after dinner to flush the pouch. See if that helps. As for gas: Can you do a day or two of liquids and see how you feel? Go back to the beginning and be mindful of what you add. You may be reacting to something you eat. Dairy intolerance might be the problem, even if you weren't before banding you might be now. HTH.

TammyJ You know we are here for all the Marchies, please don't apologize for not stopping in more often. :biggrin: If you've not gotten a fill recently and you're that uncomfortable it's time to see your doc and your band under flouro. Well unless you've drastically changed your diet, but that still seems amiss. There's probably an issue. I'd get it checked out ASAP. You might just be irritated or it could be serious, but please don't let acid reflux go unchecked. It's a sign something isn't right. Hugs!!! J

Well, if that's the issue, get the hell over it. How much money does DH spend on hisself? (hehehe, bad grammar) And it's all about taking the next step to getting to your goals. And it's not like you're investing money with out knowing you are passionate about biking. You proved last year this is a true interest, not a passing phase. And go as cheap as you can, and shop for bargains, or put notices out there that you are looking for a used bike. But you need to know what works for you before you buy sales or used, so go smell the rubber in the bike stores and touch the bikes. Learn the different level of parts etc. You are worth spending on a yourself. And how the hell are you going to be able to deal with a sugar daddy buying you stuff if you can't wrap your mind around buying yourself what you want?

Well then bitch it's time to whore yourself out and make the money! Oh, if it were only that easy. Isn't that horrible, my intial reaction? Anyway, that's not a choice, you need a bike. It will get you to your goal. It's not a toy (well not entirely) but it's a strategic investment to help you attain what you have been working toward for the last year and how ever many months it took you to get surgery. I know we are still talking $600-$700 just to get started with an entry level bike, but that's all you need. I'll give you support and encouragement or I'll shut the hell up now. Tell me what you need me to do. :biggrin:

Morning Marchies! My restriction is tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight. But it's good. I'm able to get all my nutrition without having to blend my food. I can't eat early in the morning and I won't eat after 6pm which is annoying but beneficial. I used to pack in a third of my daily calories with after dinner snacking. Mind you I was still mostly not eating too many calories, but I'd go from having a great day to having a marginal day because of what I ate between 7 PM and 10 PM. At least now I eat dinner and stop putting food in my mouth. That's been such a struggle, I feel like I'm hungry, but I know that I am not. I'm just breaking a long ingrained habit. And what's good is that when I don't eat after 6 I don't have sleep issues, like no acid reflux. I was worried that I'd have to get an unfill. My fills are tricky and unfun so I really don't like playing with the levels. Enough about me... Jeni, girl, keep your eye on the prize. You are doing fantastically well. Even if you don't make that goal, look how far you have come, baby! Gwen, I love when the clothing shifts, I believe our bodies change shape a bit even if we aren't losing weight. My scale hasn't moved much but I'm ready for the next size down pants. Also, I love your name, White Pants. Is that a goal of yours? Or do you sport white pants all the time? To me that's a goal. I'd love to wear light pants or even khakis, but don't, yet. XO Juli

There's a giant probability that your bike will need to be ordered and assembled for you, so it's not going to be a situation where you walk in and walk out with your bike. Get your ass to the shop this weekend and look at bikes so you have a really good idea which one you want to buy. Also, all the deals are happening right now. And, it will shake your funk. Not that I'm tell you what to do.

ZZ, You won't get fitted exactly to a bike until you purchase it. But what you do do is go to the LBS and say I'm in the market, what do you have that would fit me? They show you, you ask what size it is and then you go from there. Giant has XS, S, M, L, XL. Like a T-shirt. And yes, they do coorispond to real frame measurements. What is also somewhat new in the road biking world are Woman Specific Designed bikes. We tend to be longer in the leg and shorter in the torso then men. Find a 5'10" tall man and you probably have a longer inseam then he does. They do have the crotch bar, and you need that for strength of the bike, but the have narrower handlebars and other slight differences. Guide to Women Specific Bikes This tells it all. Good luck with shopping.

BG What's the status of your new bike? Are you shopping around or holding out until you have your check in your hand? Garlic salt is yummy. Garlic anything is yummy.

Jeni All I've got to say is hang in there. Sorry I'm not much help. J

You are not a freak. I had this same concern and some kind soul put it to me like this: If you need a knee replacement so you could walk would say no because it is man-made? If you needed a new heart valve so live would you turn that down? Having this thing inside of you is what you need to have to be healthy, and it's made of a better quality material than Tupperware. You’re freaking because of nerves. Organic and all natural is fantastic. I was a vegetarian for years and certainly understand your point of view. But the flip side is we live in the 21st century and there is something to be said about better living through technology. (Bless tech's ability to get this message to you.) No one can question your commitment to environmental or sustainability concerns, or kick their asses if they do, because you have a lapband. No one is allowed to question your integrity aside from yourself, and it seems like you've weighed all the pros and cons and have determined lapbanding is the best option for you to gain control of your life. If anyone calls you a hypocrite let me know, I’ll kick their ass. You got people.

ZZ I love a nice lecture, you know giving one, but I'm guessing I can't add one iota that you haven't heard in the 7 years of relating to this man. You must get something out of it or you'd not be doing what you do. Rock on chica, bitch all you want about the fella. It's cyber space and we can handle it. (Now if I worked next to you and it was constant drama I'd be singing a different tune.) ~~~~~~~~~~~ We talked TOSRV for hours last night. That's the 2 centuries back to back in May. I'm stoked and excited and going to send my registration this weekend. Do I buy the Jersey or just get a t-shirt? My size is going to change from where I am so $50 for a jersey is high...This is a 3000 people ride...How freaking cool is that?! I can't wait to start riding and training! Woo Hoo.

Sarah, Absolutely anyone can show up! Please come on down 71 and meet the gang. There are quite a few of us in central Ohio and the more the merrier! You'll find us in the food Court by the Great Indoors. Wow, you're just banded! Like not even a week ago! How are you feeling? Are you moving around well? How's your hunger? It's so nice to meet you! Juli

Ethics huh? I just did a freakin' paper on it...how to make decisions etc. Kill me now. Off to the gym. Yeah, W, (Sorry can't call you Daddy) it's amazing how many hours of the day we give up to the TV, Games and computers. Happy evening ya'll.

I'm a Franklin Covey planner addict. I just need to tell you people I put "S*L*E*E*P" in it on my to do list. Come on 9pm! Actually I'm going to work out at 3, which is 1.25 hours from now. I should feel like a million $$ afterward. Then it's dinner at Whole Foods and cycling convo with the ol' biking mentor. We are setting up the details and training schedule for the double century in May. Oh, some shopping too. I need to buy some new jeans but want to hold out a bit longer....we'll see the siren song of Old Navy and Kohls is calling me...and they are right near WF.

I love it! Thanks for sharing. What a good kid. Tape that to the refrigerator door!

Well then. I want to make some duche comment but that would be a new low. As for smelling like ass, didn't you say you liked it a few pages back? I know you're being supportive, I appreciate it. I drank herb mint tea and my tummy felt better.

I'm tired and cranky. My house is a mess and I've got too much to do. I can't eat for the first 3 hours of my day nor the last 3 or 4. I'm toying with the idea of not drinking caffiene and that makes me even more grouchy. I love losing weight but I want to crawl into a big bowl of something warm and fattening and then take a long ass nap. Can I get skinny afterward? Pleeeeeeeease?????? This is going to be a busy week and I'm lacking motivation. This is not the week to give up coffee. And giving I'm thinking about giving it up because I know deep in my heart my band is too tight (I go on the 3rd for my anniversary check up and will probably ask for a slight unfill) and I feel it constantly. I think the caffiene is only adding to the irritation...oh and someone sent me a note about ulcers it can cause. I'm envisioning my stomach just deterorating beneath my band. -A little too dramatic? Someone share some joy and happiness.

yeah and for the record I went to Vegas and not one other person met me there aside from a fantastic woman who actually lives there. She was great, and I was happy to be traveling with a friend. I was a little let down by all the hype and no follow through, to be honest.

http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f56/central-ohio-get-together-march-8-2008-a-51861/index3.html If you can make it to Columbus' Polaris Shopping Place please do. We all met here on LBT.