BJean

Cleo's it's interesting to look at a chart where you can see, in black and white, what trickle down economics means to Americans. But we've lived it and it is a middle class and lower wage earners reality. And even though some middle and lower income people fancy themselves "conservative" and hate the ideology of the progressive party, they have had to live with the results of Republican economic policies. They won't admit it, but they were surely better off during the Democratic administrations than the Republican ones. So it just proves that the Republicans are quite adept at selling what they want Americans to believe. And we're not that good at putting 2 and 2 together to figure out what they've done to us until it's too late. Eight years gave us enough time to figure it out and that's why President Obama was elected with a strong majority. People got it and they were hurting and fed up.

When Fox was trying to soft peddle it, it sounded like real news. They have become so extreme that there's no mistaking what they're up to. And it is very grating on your nerves because you don't have the opportunity to call them on the glaring lies and exaggerations. It would be great if when they took a breath we could ask questions or make comments. Unfortunately only we can hear it when we question them and there's no opportunity for them to have to qualify their outrageousness. Rupert Murdoch makes absolutely sure of that. Heck yeah it's frustrating. Sometimes I watch just to see if they've been able to come up with anything more outrageous than the last time. They never let me down.

I've decided to stop weighing every day. It's been several days now and I miss jumping on and seeing a little loss every day. But I think my weight loss has slowed because I am eating a little more than I was. I hope I'm not stretching my stomach! That would be revolting! But I definitely can consume more than I was. Perhaps it's just that the swelling from the surgery is gone?

Speaking of stale popcorn, there's one theater nearby that if you go to one of the first movies of the day, their popcorn tastes absolutely GREEN! Moldy, nasty, yuk! I'd love some popcorn but right now I don't trust myself. So all I have to do is think of that terrible green popcorn and I'm okay without it. I do eat nuts though and have for probably 3 weeks. They don't seem to cause any problems and I too needed the ruffage. :-)

Yeah, I re-read my post and it sounded like gobbldegook. What I was trying to say is that the way the laws are right now, the government cannot to force a woman to have a baby or to abort a baby. The government just doesn't have that power over women. And it never should.

Uncovering things like the RNC's plans for dirty campaigning reminds me of the Nixon era. And the Republicans only cooled it for a while after that. But they have known how to use "dirty tricks" (a very nice thing to call what they do) for ages and it seems to work best when the lies are the most exaggerated. Americans seem to have knee jerk reactions to anything shocking. We tend to just get angry and not think things through. We don't seriously wait to find out if what we've heard is true. We just assume the worst. But we've been burned and we've been burned really bad from time to time. And that makes me hope that the majority of voters will not be so quick to think the worst of candidates, until the proof is evident and obvious. And leroy until we revamp the political system we're going to have a political system that isn't perfect. But I don't think that it has necessarily let us down at this point in time. I think that it seriously let us down when everyone reacted to 9/11 and allowed our president to take us into a senseless war. So far with this administration, there are people who are seriously working hard to make improvements for most Americans. No one single issue should make us judge this administration or congress as having failed us or as having fixed everything we want and need fixed. But I think they are trying, against all odds, to improve things for all Americans. That's all we can reasonably expect from a system like ours.

This issue is a personally religious one for some people, which is of course, perfectly fine and expected. For those who believe that abortion is wrong in the U.S., their constitutional rights are protected legally so that they can live by those beliefs. Because for every woman in America, religion aside, the law provides a constitutional right for them to be able to choose. Abortion is legal and should be legal under the laws of our land. Beyond that, one needs to follow ones own conscience and beliefs and refrain from trying to impose those very personal beliefs on those who do not share them by taking away every woman's constitutional right to choose, by the law.

It's downright hilarious to watch patty complain about "Bush bashing" when all she does is Obama bash. And before that, she was busy bashing Clinton. Remember??? She swore that Clinton's failed policies are why 9/11 happened. Which was patently false. The Republican dominated congress stopped Clinton from being as aggressive as he wanted to be with terrorists in certain middle eastern countries. So whether the bashing is deserved or not, it's going to happen from the opposition camp. That's the way it is in American politics. In fact, that's the way it is in politics everywhere. We're just dirtier about it than in some countries. I'd like to see patty's list of Bush accomplishments too - particularly when it comes his economic accomplishments - which is what she constantly wrings her hands and whines about regarding this administration.

Well I think that "ignorant" is probably more accurate than "stupid" for those who buy into the lies and misrepresentations that the Republicans put out to win elections. And in the past, there have been a large number of Americans who are seriously ignorant of the truth. There are still people who believe that John Kerry somehow lied to get his war medal and that he didn't in fact help save some of his fellow military comrades. And the fact is that T. Boone Pickins, an extremely wealthy oilman, and his ilk were behind the lies and misrepresentations that were published and repeated in the mass media that brought John Kerry's campaign for the presidency to a halt. And these terrible, terrible self-serving wealthy men claim to be patriotic. What a joke. No seroius patriot would besmirch the name of a man who risked his life for this country by serving in the military. In fact, no decent human being would do that. This is simply one of the lies that ignorant Americans bought during a campaign. There are many, many others we could enumerate. And the biggest lies - the most damaging and onerous lies are concocted by some of the most wealthy and powerful Republican businessmen. They are carried out by the "tools" that they employ who are as greedy as the rich men they work for. And if you disagree with the Democrats and you consider yourself a conservative, it doesn't mean you are de facto ignorant or stupid. You are though if you believe the lies and jump on the perpetrators bandwagon and argue that the lies are the truth. And I certainly do not say any of this because I feel in any way superior to those ignorant folks. It say it because it is what has happened and continues to happen within the Republican political machinery. You sure don't have to be a genius to figure it out. You are committed to ignorance if you believe and repeat the lies just because you don't agree with the Democrats' politics.

I know, I know. Sometimes I give people more credit than they deserve. I just hate thinking that people are so gullible and easily influenced by the some of the bad guys. But we have to realize that there is huge, HUGE money behind the Republican lies. Historically we've thought that if it is reported as news and if it is in print in an important newspaper, then it is probably true. It's amazing how much power the wealthiest have over the working class.

Well let's just hope that Americans don't have a short memory at election time. I trust that the Democrats are going to do a better job of campaigning than they have in the past. It's always a crap shoot though since Americans historically have listened to the lies and bought into them in the past. And when they did, they forgot that they wound up hating themselves for it later.

I think the problem is that after the first week, we begin to feel so good we think we are able to do most of the things we are used to doing. I really pushed the envelope getting in the pool. My steri-strips weren't completely off when I decided to go ahead and swim a little. I usually am very religious about sticking to whatever my doc tells me to do. Could be why it took longer to heal that one spot than it should have. Some of the things you probably shouldn't do for a while are sweeping and vacuuming. It is very easy to overdo it when you begin to feel good. After the first week, I felt really great, except for the tenderness and pain right around the biggest wound. Pampering yourself more than usual is smart because you don't want to pull anything or cause adhesions or scarring that might give you problems later. It's only for a few weeks and then you'll be good to go!

When I went in for my second post-operative appointment, I told the doc that everything was great except for the one incision on the left - the largest one. And that it was still tender and hurts sometimes. He said, "well it should be tender, you had a hole there the size of a quarter and that's where I took your stomach out. It's just going to take longer for that spot to mend." I don't know if that's the answer for you, but yours sounds much more painful than mine. I agree with the others that you should call your doctor just to be sure.

P.S. We have a movie theatre that serves real food and we have gone there a couple of times since my surgery. I've chosen a high protein food when it was mealtime. I couldn't eat much, but it kept me from trying popcorn. When you go into a theater and take in that freshly popped popcorn aroma, it's not easy walking past the snack counter!

I used to love to go to the movies and enjoyed a huge bag of popcorn every time. But I am scared to try it with the sleeve. I don't know if I will try it once I'm several months out from surgery but I have heard stories about people eating too much popcorn and having big problems -- and they didn't have their stomach stapled. So I just decided that as much as I used to love popcorn, why risk it? Maybe I will thinnk differently later on. I'll bet there's someone else on here who can give you more input on eating popcorn with the sleeve.

I haven't actually hit a stall yet but the weight loss is very slow and steady. I tend to weigh every day and measure my losses in ounces. I know that seems silly, but it keeps me happy knowing that with a few exceptions, I have lost a number of ounces everyday. When you've been fat and fought it as long as I have, just seeing the scale go down steadily, instead of up, is pure satisfaction.

You know if this fiasco in Arizona causes a more serious look at the immigration problems between Mexico and the U.S., I welcome it. Republicans stirred this up and Republicans are the ones who have historically looked the other way when it was in their interest to allow people to come here illegally from Mexcio. Our laws haven't been seriously enforced and in fact, we have encouraged illegal immigration of Mexicans by structuring our laws to favor them - like allowing the children of illegal immigrants to be natural born citizens if they are delivered here, allowing them to have medical care and other benefits whether they have medical insurance or not, employers looking the other way when it comes to the lack of green cards and other things that make it attractive for them to come here illegally. What we need to to is figure out how to handle the whole thing legally and how to structure our laws so that we can live with them and also so that we can enforce them. I think any sane person knows that having a gestapo like climate on the streets of Arizona is crazy and unworkable. But if this tactic helps us begin to straighten it all out by making what we do very public in our courts of law, then it will have made sense in a very nutty and unconventional way. Man, the of political dirty laundry is coming to the surface now that Democrats are at the helm is welcome by me - it's been a very long time coming and we're way overdue for fixing some of this stuff.

Cleo's nice to come back and see that you're still going strong! loserbob, I also know that we need a strong national defense. The problem with Republicans is that they think that our national defense actually needs instead to be a strong, kick ass, aggressive pro-war military. They like to fund the big bullets and then use them so they can order some bigger ones. It's an interesting bastardization of what most Americans like to think of as our "national defense." I believe that I have a conservative streak too. Or maybe what you and I have is a rational more middle of the road ideology than thinking that is either extreme to the right or left. But what I advocate the most is peace and fairness for all Americans. That's what the Republicans can't stand and work against. So although Democrats haven't cornered the market on peace and fairness, they at least seriously try to make things more fair. When they go too far, and give away too much, I don't think that most Americans are in support of that. Just like you and me.

Yeah well, the bottom line is definitely weight loss. Period. I am happy that you've had such tremendous success with the band. I was unable to make it happen for me. I was hungry constantly - and not just a little hungry - I was totally ravenous all the time. I don't know if the band had actually slipped a bit or was on my doo-dad that causes hunger or what. But now with the sleeve, in less than less than 2 complete months I have lost more than I did in years with the band. So yeah, weight loss is weight loss and NO weight loss is still FAT. I hope I look as good as you do some day. In fact, I have every confidence that I will reach my goal and be the person I used to be prior to obesityland. Oh yeah, I am exercising more now too because I can. With the band I just felt so bad exercising was a constant struggle. My knees never got better and now although they can still cause pain when I overdo it, but if I'm careful they are not getting in the way of toning up. Yay! I know you didn't ask how I"m doing and probably couldn't care less, but I'm so overjoyed with the revision surgery I just want to tell the world.

Hey I recognize you from LBT. I looked at your photos - man you look fabulous!! Good job. Have you been sleeved?

oregondaisey, good tip for making my own slushies where I can control the caloric intake. I have no trouble eating Protein - chicken, turkey, ham or steak. But I just can't eat much of any of them. We had dinner last night at an upscale restaurant and I didn't want to make a big issue of not being able to eat much. I got the tournadoes of beef which were 3 small pieces instead of one 7 oz. filet. I brought 2 of them home along with most of the baked potato. I had tastes of the amazing sour dough bread, the really great salad (a chopped salad with tiny diced apples and walnuts) and the appetizer, a boursin cheese on toast points. That made me very satisfied with the entire evening of gourmet food. Just tiny little tastes of almost everything and about 2 oz. of filet with bernaise sauce and I was full and happy. Later I even tasted some cheesecake and an amazing chocolate mousse. I admit that I was full, but I didn't make myself uncomfortable. It is thrilling (no exaggeration) to be able to eat such tiny amounts and be fully satisfied! I remember when I was young and slim, I didn't eat much more than that and I was happy. Of course I was very active and that made a big metabolizing difference. So today I spent an hour doing exercises in the pool. I feel great! I saw a friend that I hadn't seen in 6 months and she was shocked at how much weight I've lost. She says I look 10 years younger. Compliments like that are pretty danged exciting. I wonder what she's going to say when she sees me after I've lost another 20 lbs!

Guilty as charged! I have become hooked on Sonic's slushies - half real cranberry juice and half grape juice. It's been so hot here and I can drink half of a small at one sitting. Then I finish the other half later in the day. I have NEVER been a juice drinker of any kind. I don't even know what the calorie count is of one of them. And I shouldn't be drinking them if I don't know. Could be that I'm taking in 4 or 4 hundred calories in a dad gummed drink! And I have been eating baked potatoes fairly routinely. All because I can eat more of that than some chicken. I actually tried eating a "bunless" cheeseburger over the weekend. Seemed like a reasonable idea at the time. It was like a small salad with crumbled hamburger on top. I could only eat part of it and it made me feel yukee. No more hamburger for this girl. I did eat a couple of bites of filet last night. It was good but so filling! What do you eat to keep your Protein up? I know it will help my overall wellness, but I'm having a hard time getting enough. Carbs go down so much easier. But I know you're absolutely correct about losing better and faster if I cut out the carbs. Any hints are appreciated!

I've seen her but I don't watch the show. I have heard that some of the biggest losers regained the weight they lost once they were off the show. Anybody know if that's true? I went to a fat boot camp in Vermont for a month and sure I lost weight when I spent the entire day doing hard exercise and eating the strict diet they provided. And when I went home I exercised more than I had before the boot camp, and I tried to fix only very nutritious foods. But once the obsession with dieting and exercise got shoved aside for living a busy work and home life with kids and their activities, I started regaining the weight and slowing down on the time I spent exercising. I think if you can focus all your time and energy on dieting and exercise, you're one lucky person. Frankly there are a people who require a lot of time and as a mom, they came first. So that's what happened to me. However, now that I'm sleeved, I can see that there has to be a balance between other people's demands on my time and energy and my own commitment to take care of myself. And I'm doing much better. It doesn't hurt anything that my kids are self-sufficient now too.

ODaisey, that's what I was hoping to hear. I still have huge fear that I won't be able to lose to my goal. I too have done the Adkins off and on for years. And you know that story. You're able to lose weight and then when you reintroduce carbs at some point you gain the weight back, and usually more. So with that track record, and the fact that I only lost 44 lbs. with the band, and then began to regain some of that, it just doesn't seem possible that this will really be the thing that I can make work for me. But so far, I am very happy with the way things are going. So hearing your story gives me major hope that I will have a similar one. Thanks!

My doctor's dietician also suggested the baby spoon. It does help to have a visual of what the size bite you're supposed to be eating. I'm like one of the others above, I couldn't have eaten an entire container of yogurt at one sitting during the first month after surgery. But I think that having had the sleeve and going through years of dealing with that kind of pain and vomiting if I did eat too big a bite, really helped to train me for the sleeve. Without that reference I'm sure I would have tested the limits like you did with the sleeve. Don't beat yourself up too much. Just remember that you are only supposed to eat very small quantities throughout the day. And girl be very, very careful with those supplements! You really shouldn't be trying to take so much along with food and liquid all at the same time. See if your pharmacist has a suggestion for a crushable or chewable alternative. Mine got me a crushable anti-depressant that my doctor didn't even know existed. My doctor's one big complication patient was a guy who was used to taking a lot of Vitamin supplements before the sleeve surgery. He took them as usual and wound up aspirating them and nearly dying. Had to be rushed to the hospital and have surgery to save his life. I'm only telling you this to impress upon you how important it is that you only take in very small quantities of food, drink and pills at one time. Hang in there. I'm glad we have this website for answers when we have problems like this, especially for those who have doctors that are not in their hometown.