SpideyMom

That is fantastic news!!! :smile:

Okay, just updated it. It's a tiny bit different than the old one... a bit jazzier, I guess, but change is good, right? We're all living proof! :confused: If you don't like it, I'll try to recreate the old one. Happy weekend! :cursing:

I just noticed that our "Mayo Banditos" siggie is gone from all our posts. All we have left are our sombreros. :confused: Does something you create on that glittertext website expire after a while? :cursing: I'll try to create a new one and paste it into my signature. Then if you want to copy and paste it into yours, feel free.

LOL -- I am rolling on the floor with this one!! :confused: Someone at work just asked me if I had recently had a facelift!!! Too funny! She said I looked so much younger and my face and skin looked so nice. I've lost my big double chin is what it is! :cursing:

Thank you very much, ucdep! That's very kind of you. :confused: It feels good to be a survivor! And congrats to you on your weight loss! :cursing:

Glad you got an appointment, Singing! You are on your way to feeling better with more restriction soon! :scared2:

Super job, everyone! :scared2: Got my second fill last Friday, and now that I have some restriction again, I am down 4 lbs this week. Yay! :wink2:

Hi, everyone! Linda, you are really doing amazing! I think you might want to think about packing some Protein bars for your trip also. At our support group last night, the surgeon's assistant was saying that the surgeon suggests eating a Protein Bar instead of drinking a Protein shake because it will stay in your stomach longer, keeping you full longer. I never thought of that before, so I thought I'd pass it along. Plus, they are easy to pack and carry. Singing, I really think you need to call your doc and tell him/her that you need a fill! I finally did that last week (I was two weeks away from a fill) and I'm so glad I did. In fact, the surgeon's assistant told me I did the exact right thing. If you are hungry all the time, call. Listen to your body. It is telling you that you need restriction. (And btw, on a side note, I've been meaning to tell you that I love your screen name. That song has been my ringtone for two years. :wink2:) Oh, and regarding Water.... I love Fuze, but I drank so much of it at first that I got tired of the flavors very quickly, so I started trying other flavored waters. Here are some other good ones that come in yummy flavors: SoBe lifewater 0 cal; Eating Right Zero Calorie (Safeway store brand); Vitamin Water XXX 10 Calorie; Metromint 0 cal; and Welch's Diet 10 cal. Metromint is really a trip. It's minty water, which tastes extra cold! The one I tried was chocolate mint, which sounds sorta funky, but the chocolate was so subtle, it was really quite good. I found it at Whole Foods. Of course, I drink regular water, too, but since giving up my Diet Coke addiction, I've been having fun trying these flavored waters. :scared2:

What a great thread! I'm glad to hear that everyone is doing so well! I'm feeling pretty good about my weight loss and seem to be smiling a lot more. People are starting to take notice now, mostly because my clothes are baggy. Time to go shopping again! I've been going to this great thrift store that often has a lot of new things with tags still on. Saves me a bundle of money, considering I don't plan on being that size forever! Like some of the other posters, I also have very thin hair and my hair is falling out. I've had it fall out with other major weight loss before, and eventually it stops. But it is disconcerting to see how much is in my hands when I shampoo. Oh, and I have really bad breath -- another yucky side effect. I've taken stock in Listerine Strips. LOL I believe it comes from me eating so much Protein. I've given up most carbs (unless they are Beans or lentils). But, those issues are small prices to pay for the happiness I have been feeling lately!! Oh, and like others, I am also noticing my bath towels are bigger! LOL

I was told that drinking water during and after would help push the food through so you would less likely feel full after a small amount and you'd be more likely to get hungry sooner after your meal.

Fantastic job, everyone! :)

bkmom, it sounds like you are just in need of a fill. If you are eating a cup of food and still hungry, then you need more restriction. I was feeling the same thing right before my first two fills. And don't worry, you haven't stretched anything. I asked my doc about that b/c I was worried about the exact same thing! He said stretching your stomach would take time, with constant overeating. So, even gulping your Water (which I do also) isn't going to stretch your tummy because like a previous poster said, it goes straight through. That's why you can gulp it! Don't worry too much. Enjoy your vacation, come back and get a fill. You'll feel much better.

Wow, everyone's doing so great!!! De-Lean, your post had me cracking up! I'm with you! LOL Karianne, you look fab! Love the new haircut. My NSV is that I am back in clothes from three years ago when I had lost 50 lbs with WW!! Also, today I put on something from a year ago (which I only got back into last month) and I've had two people tell me today that I really need to get new clothes because my jeans are so baggy. LOL Guess I'll add these to the ever-growing pile of jeans that are too big.

I agree with the previous poster, I always try to end my meal with something wet, like fruit or yogurt. It makes a huge difference!

OMG, you've done all this without having a fill? Wowza!! Just wait, girl, that scale will be flying! :tongue_smilie:

Whoa, AlaskaGirl, you are doing so awesome -- more than 30 lbs in what, 7 weeks??? Amazing! :tongue_smilie:

Hey, way to go John and bkmom!! :tongue_smilie: I wore a shirt last night that I hadn't worn in almost 3 years!!!

I lost 1.5 lbs this week, thanks to getting back on the exercise bandwagon! :tongue_smilie:

Well, I'm back from my quickly-scheduled 2nd fill! At first the surgeon put in 1 cc, but the Water was going down like a slow drain, I told him. It wasn't coming back up, but I could definitely feel that it was much, much tighter than it had been! After discussing it a while with me and his assistant, we all agreed that it was best to take a little bit out because he really felt that I would probably have trouble over the weekend. So, he took out about half. :Yawn: So I now have about 6.5 cc in my 10 cc band. He told me I could come back in 2-3 weeks if that wasn't enough, but otherwise, come back in 6 weeks. He also said he only wants to put in 0.5 ccs each time now. He's very conservative. Super nice guy, though! :tongue_smilie: So tonight will be Soup or a Protein drink, and tomorrow will be yogurt and mushies. Here's to more restriction!!! :frown:

Good for you, John. You did the right thing-- you listened to your body! :frown: Glad you got some relief! After a terrible lunch hour of not being able to get full and finally resorting to the *gasp* vending machine !!! (thankfully it had mixed nuts), I emailed my nurse and told her how hungry I was and how I could eat up to two cups of food and still be hungry two hours later. Within a half hour, I was squeezed into this afternoon's schedule for my second fill. :tongue_smilie: Like you, John, I thought I could ride it out until my scheduled appointment in two weeks, but then I thought, this is ridiculous! I need to pay attention to my body's signals. So, I leave in about a 1/2 hour to go to the hospital. *whew* I'll check back later.

blklab, congrats on the 57 lbs! And thanks for the 411 on the hiccups! xavier, that is wild about the picture! My surgeon had said he would give me a pic, but then he forgot. I was going to ask him for one this next time. I'm *really* curious now!! Funny thing, I was just thinking about visceral fat this morning (though I didn't know the name for it at the time). Your post has been very timely and informative! Thanks! :thumbup:

Thanks, Juniper! I appreciate the advice! I do know that I need to be better about my water! :smile2:

pvtash, if you go up to you login name in the right-hand corner of this page, right below it is a button that says "Quick Links." Click on that once, and a drop-down menu will appear. Near the bottom is "Edit Signature." Click on that, and it will take you to where you need to paste the code that you copied from the ticker factory. You need to be sure you have carefully copied all characters in that long string of code or it won't show up correctly. There is a preview button underneath the edit signature box so you can make sure you got it right. Good luck! :smile2:

LOL That's great, Minx!:smile2:

How appropriate!