stateofzen

I'm doing a non-traditional ham and scalloped potatoes meal and I plan to eat it in moderation. I normally low-carb, so this will be a "treat" for me Then tomorrow it's back to the usual.

What a great post LeighaMason-- I completely agree.

Mine said 260 when I was 290. Now I'm 30 lbs under it-- whee! I have no intention of changing it for a while though. Ugh, the DMV lines around here mean I'll just live with it.

If you are lucky to live in a town or city with a university in it or nearby, you can probably find very very low cost therapy through the psychology graduate training program. It's a win-win for everyone-- you can get low cost treatment (when I was going through training, I think my highest paying client paid $20 a session and that was unusual), and the graduate student gets to see clients when they are so eager to do so (they are supervised very very well, of course). I don't know if it's an option for you, but it's worth a shot. As for positions, I'd be more likely to suggest you on top, rather than him behind. There's nothing bony to jab with woman on top and you also have the added benefit of more stimulation to the girly bits and much increased intimacy. Please forgive me if this is too forward-- I have sex therapy training so I'm used to just putting it right on out there for people.

My skin always gets super lizard-like dry in the winter anyway, and now it's disgusting. I've been using super-hardcore Eucerin dry skin therapy on my body. It is gross on my hands but it works like a charm on the lizard legs.

As long as you keep thinking things like "I have no willpower" and "I just want people to agree this is too hard", then you're setting yourself up for failure. The mental game we play with ourselves over food is probably even more important than what we actually put in our mouths. This is hard, but it isn't too hard. And actually, I do have willpower-- at least for as long as it takes to lose weight. I got the band to help me maintain the loss in the end. Right now, I have no restriction and believe me, I can sympathize with feeling like you still have to do most of the work on your own. But the thing that is different now is that I know I won't *always* have no help-- that if I keep going in for adjustments, eventually the band is going to kick in and give me the help I need. That hope for the future is enough to keep me going.

My husband and I still try to cook together-- I just don't eat everything we cook Last night, I made chicken parmigiana with spaghetti. I had a chicken breast with some marinara on top, and he got the full she-bang. When I make him chicken quesadilla, I just eat the chicken with salsa/etc. and leave the tortilla and most of the cheese out of the equation. You might be able to find food you can cook together still-- you just don't have to eat everything you cook. What I can't stand is when my husband wants to go out and I ask him where he wants to go, he says "I don't know, where can you find something you can have?" On the one hand that's sweet, but I can't tell you how many times I've told him EVERYWHERE we like to eat has something I can have. I mean heck, even Pasta places always have a fish dish. He has been so supportive that I don't want him to feel like he always has to restrict his own desires for me-- I'm a big girl (less big now- hahaha) and I can always figure out something that works for me.

Lunch: Baked meatballs with tomatoes (I bake about 12 meatballs and have several servings out of it-- perfect microwave dish) Caprese salad (tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, basil, tiny tiny bit of olive oil and vinegar) Salad greens with low carb dressing Chicken salad with a few walnuts and grapes Sometimes i'll make a packet of oatmeal or cream of wheat if I'm desperate; I also keep yogurt in my work fridge

My doc includes baked fish in the soft foods-- I stocked up on tilapia and went to town. Cottage cheese, eggs, refried Beans, and my doc included super-steamed/mushy veggies in the soft food mix.

My doc is in the no carbonation camp, ever, for band-related issues. I had to give up my Diet DP habit and my love of microbrewed beers. I would suggest weaning off of the caffeine gradually pre-op to save yourself the withdrawal headache.

It's a question to see if you suffer from insomnia, nothing else. Even if you do, insomnia is not a reason to not get WLS. Relax and just explain if they ask you about it.

sleep apnea is a pretty big deal. Cpaps are annoying, but untreated sleep apnea is associated with all kinds of really really bad health conditions (think heart attack). Probably weight loss will get rid of it, but maybe not (it's not always about weight). It's up to you and your doctor, of course. But I'd really consider the risks before forgoing the cpap.

Keep on truckin' the no DC path! You've kicked the habit and the risks are not worth it. I would almost guarantee that it would not taste as good as you think it would anyway. Giving up Diet DP was my nemesis and really the one thing I thought would be hardest, but the longer I go without it, the less it appeals to me.

I've been shopping way too much. I don't really buy anything that fits me perfectly right now though-- it has to fit on my body but be too small. That way, I know I can wear it for a while as I lose. Everything I get is carefully scrutinized-- do I really need this? The answer is always no, but somehow I'm adding to my wardrobe anyway :thumbup: OP: I have some 18/20 clothes I'd be happy to send you-- all are in good shape , but I don't have time to take pictures and post them, etc. so you'd have to take it and hope you like some of it. (I have dogs, so though they are clean I can't promise they don't have dog hair). PM me with your address if you are interested. If you have the money to help with shipping, that would be great but don't sweat it too much if you can't.

I didn't quite make it-- thought I had, but it was just the liquid diet around my fill that made me drop so low and as soon as I started eating again it dipped back up. Still, down 13. I'll take it!

That's great! I had a double-take last weekend in the grocery store from a guy. First time that's happened in a long time :wink2:

At least half of my weight was lost before surgery, when I went on a strict low-carb diet for over a month before my surgery date. Most of the rest came off in the two weeks after surgery. I've had a couple of weeks of no loss in there, followed by a sudden drop and then another week of plateau. For some reason my body seems to like to hold on, drop a bunch at once, then hold on again. It's hard to compare these things, you know? It probably has to do some with age, with starting weight, with activity level, and with calories. I started at a high weight, so losing might be easier for me right now than someone who started closer to a 40 BMI. I'd say most days I am under 1000 calories, and a good number of them right at 800. Even if we're doing the same things, all bodies are different and lose at different rates. I can understand why you feel frustrated, but try to think long term. If you keep working the band, you *will* lose weight. It might come off slowly, but it will come off.

Open and hateful prejudice against fat people is one of the last "safe" bastions of "isms". People who would never feel comfortable airing their dirty prejudices about minority groups still feel really comfortable spouting off about how disgusting and lazy fat people are, all under the guise of health and the cost of insurance and how "they have to pay for it". I'm reminded of this everywhere on the internet, and the comments to this article were no exception. I remember when Lesley, the blogger at Fatshionista Fatshionista was featured in the Boston Globe, discussing her fat-positive take on life. The comments were filled with people who were plainly just ANGRY that this fat woman DARED to be happy with herself. They insisted that she must deep down hate herself for being fat the way they hated her for being fat, that she was delusional, that she was a drain on the healthcare system (a perfectly healthy fat woman, so far). It was horrifying. This culture (Western) is obsessed with thinness in an unhealthy way. This culture tries to use the issue of health as a thinly veiled excuse to hate on fat people-- I mean really, how many of us really believe that the hateful people are really concerned about our health and aren't just offended that we aren't conventionally attractive? I mean caring about a fat person's health would require some empathy, something that is clearly not happening with the hateful context in which health is mentioned. The rebel in me reads stuff like this and wants to stay fat, just to give the fat-haters the middle finger. But you know what, I'm not doing this for them, I'm doing it for me.

Your body cannot help but eventually lose if you consume less calories than you use. This is an adjustment period (and you'll probably adjust several times during this journey). Ride it out, keep doing what we're supposed to, and you'll HAVE to lose eventually. I mean, even in starvation mode-- starving people lose weight :laugh:

Mine are still red too (9/16). I'm not putting anything on them-- I had gallbladder surgery about 10 years ago and I can't see my scars from that unless I search so I'm assuming these will eventually heal the same. Hope I'm right!

Bunny, if I didn't get numbed before my fill I would have squeeked too! My goodness. Last night I had my first dinner out with people other than my husband (a work dinner). We went to a Thai place and to avoid noodles and rice I ordered hot and sour shrimp soup and a chicken satay appetizer. It was great, and I've got left-overs of both for lunch today. I did have a moment at the end, when I was the only one who got a to-go box (and I clearly had eaten much less than everyone else) where I felt like people noticed but my colleague are too polite to say anything, thank goodness. That said, only one person has mentioned my weight loss and I've lost about 60lbs (including pre-op)! I think mostly I'm glad because it's a little awkward to have people commenting on your weight and the main reason I haven't told most people is because I don't want them monitoring my weight loss. On the other hand, I'm really super curious if they are noticing or if in their eyes, fat is fat so they haven't noticed. Exercise is still my nemesis/personal challenge. I appreciate the September exercise thread in the fitness section-- that's some good encouragement for those of you who haven't headed over there yet.

I've been eating a lot of fish with a side of steamed veggie. I've also made tomato/feta topped baked eggplant a few times, and have also had meatballs (3-4 small meatballs will fill you up- amazing). chicken salad and tomato with fresh mozzarella in vinegar have also been favorites. Shredded chicken sauted with onions and peppers (like fajita) and topped with some sour cream and salsa was yum. I do low carb, so I typically don't do starches though every once in a while I will have a baked potato when I go out to eat with my husband and feel iffy about what's on the menu.

I had a work dinner tonight-- first time going out with other people. We went to a Thai place, so I had to avoid noodles and rice. I had hot and sour shrimp soup and chicken satay. And I'll be having both again for lunch tomorrow! It was weird being the only one who had leftovers/to-go containers.

Every day, first thing in the morning naked. I track it every day on a wipe-board calendar that I have tacked on the inside of the bathroom closet. I put a number on my weight loss on Mondays. For me, when I don't weigh everyday I am not accountable and I find myself eating more. II seem to either weigh everyday or never, and when I'm trying to lose weight everyday is better than never :laugh:

That's amazing-- great work Jamie!