BJean

They're drilling gas wells all over the place in Texas. In fact there's one within a mile of my neighborhood. The emissions are questionable as to air quality and yet we allow them to do it. And in fact, there are people who wish the oil company would come in and drill in their backyard so that they can get some "free" money. Until this kind of mindset changes there will be continued raping of our environment and the soiling of what used to be a beautiful planet. There are alternatives. We could live very differently - cleaner, healthier and happier. But we want material things so badly we are killing ourselves for it. What a country.

Wow it's good to find others in my age bracket even though you all haven't been real active on this thread. I had a rough first week or so and I'm 5 weeks out from my revision from band to sleeve. But even during the first couple of tough weeks I have been delighted that I did this. The band was just not for me. I could never get it to work and as far as I'm concerned anyone considering getting the Lap Band needs to know that it's a crap shoot whether it will work well enough for you to get to goal. My daughter just got a video back from her daughter's school skit night. During the whole thing you can hear me clearing my throat or coughing. That was from the band. I don't do that now. I'm so glad to be rid of that thing! But better yet, I am so happy that my stomach is smaller and I am not hungry all the time (I was with the band) and I can only eat a small amount of food or drink at one sitting. If only I could have had this at age 48 or 50!! But I'm thrilled that I have it now and I only hope that my success will be as good as so many of the stories I read on this website. I started out being scared to death that I would have a similar story with this as I did with the band. I lost 35 lbs. quickly with the band and then the weight loss stopped and I struggled from then on trying to just keep that 35 lbs. off. And I threw up all the time. The longer I have the sleeve the more confident I am that this is the absolutely right choice for me and the more confident I am that I will get to my goal of 130! As for health issues, I am able to take a walk now and enjoy it. I haven't been able to walk for years because of my bad knees. I have joined Curves and I'm enjoying that already - 5 weeks out from surgery. And I've been planting flowers like a mad woman and that was not an option before or after the band. And I've gone from taking 300 mg. of Wellbutrin XL to 75mg. of regular Wellbutrin (an antidepressant.) And I'm HAPPY! YaY! Best of luck to all of you in your journey to health and beauty.

On the east coast we have the southern iinspired iced tea drinker. On the west coast we have the Asian inspired ginger spiked Water drinker. On the southern coast we have the Sonic ice eater. Anybody from the north (Michigan or Lake Erie coast?)have a recipe for easily downable water? Is this a great website or what?

So you'd have been better off without it?

P.S. Dulcolax suppositories.

I definitely had problems. I'm okay now, but it's been rough. When it had been 2 or 3 days since I'd had a BM, it was uncomfortable when I ate or drank anything. My doctor recommended Dulcolax. It is gentle and it works. But the goal is for you to drink more water. I had trouble drinking water because it caused shooting pains in my stomach. But now that I can drink more water I don't have the constipation problem. The doc said water is absorbed quicker than juice or something like that and it goes to work where you need it much faster. In fact, if you drink enough water you can have the opposite problem.

Well it has been 5 weeks for me and I have lost 20 lbs. I'm a woman, and admittedly I have less to lose. I'm taking in anywhere from 500 to 900 calories per day. And I have stuck to the plan religiously, including incorporating exercise. Which is surprising because I have very bad knees. Since losing the 20 lbs. I am not having nearly the pain I had though so it allows me to do lots more walking and working out. But still... my 20 to your 40... WAH!

oregondaisy, I've noticed that the new term for first marriages is "starter marriage." Three marriages almost always denotes a serious problem. You can tell yourself that he's grown and learned and changed but it's very rare that he actually has. (A psychologist told me that.)

ourobourous, that is probably the most honest assessment I've ever read (or heard) from a man about how men feel about women's appearance. You are quite a catch, mister! Being able to have a discussion about things like this are what most good women are all about. When a guy is patronizing and claims that looks don't matter, we know in our hearts that they're lying and then we can't trust it when they tell us how cute we are. And a relationship like that actually hurts, although it probably shouldn't. Lots of guys will say anything just to shut us up and sometimes it's because they are shallow Hal. I appreciate you man and I'm sure your woman does too.

If a man sees it as a problem, they are very shallow and you should run the other way! Most guys would think you're cool for having taken the bull by the horns and getting the surgery. Guys don't seem to think of it as a weakness, but as you being strong enough and that you care enough about yourself to do something positive. As for appearances, everyone likes to be with someone who is attractive, even if we tell ourselves that looks seriously don't matter (and they really don't in the big picture.) But most people like to be around someone who they find attractive. And sexual partners want a partner who is not self-conscious, one who is self-confident and physically unashamed of their appearance when they're naked. It's just lots more fun to be with someone who isn't self-conscioius and apologizing for how they look. And then there's the aspect of wanting a partner (especially a life partner) who is healthy. Someone who cares enough about themself to get surgery if it is needed, and one who does at least some physical exercise on a regular basis is more attractive than a couch potato because their life expectancy is higher and the possibility of having fewer health issues is greater. So by all accounts, potential partners - both lifetime and just movie or dinner dates - should be happier with one of us today as opposed to one of us a couple of years ago when we were considered obese and probably unhappy with our looks and our life. I mean reverse the roles. Pretend like you're meeting someone who has had surgery and think about whether it would bother you or whether you'd respect someone who took the step of getting the sleeve.

I'll take mine with a super-thin crust, lots of garlic, fresh tomato slices and tons of big leaves of basil. Can't be that bad for me, right? Wow Swifty, you've lost over 40 lbs.! That's amazing. I haven't updated my ticker lately but I will tomorrow or Tuesday. I am not even close though to what you've accomplished. You are a guy though and you did start out bigger than I did, so that's my excuse! Hope everything is well with you. Right now I couldn't be much happier with my sleeve procedure. I would love to be able to drop 10 lbs. a week, but I am concerned about my health so I'm trying to go slowly and keep the Protein in healthy quantities.

It's a losing battle. They can't see the forest for the trees. Remember good old Newt Gingrich, the born again hot shot in Congress? He left his wife who had cancer and married someone younger. They really are such inspirations, aren't they?

Fundamentalist christianity, extremist gun-totin' homosexual bashing, no different than witchcraft really.

Oh yeah! I have had a lot of trouble drinking enough Water. And I crave it. But only sip a few sips and I'm done. I can feel it going all the way down too. My dietician said that we absorb water almost immediately if it doesn't have anything in it. So I add some cran-grape juice to it and that seems to help some. Boy what I wouldn't give to just pound a huge bottle of water though! Oh yeah, cold helps me too. But still can't drink hot liquids.

I laughed almost as hard at the people who scolded you as I did at your phunny post. When I first started reading your post I almost couldn't believe my eyes. I couldn't imagine how in the world you were able to eat enough pizza that there was none left for the kiddo. You're funny. Pizza is one thing that I've wondered about. I had surgery on the 28th of April so I'm a month out. I'm trying very hard to do all the right stuff. I want success so very much!! And so far, I'm doing fine. Losing little amounts every day. But I do worry that I'm going to eat too many calories so I write everything down all day long. I think that helps. I meet with the dietician in a couple of weeks. I'll probably ask her about pizza and alcohol. Not ready to party yet, but one day maybe..... Good luck with your new tummy Mr. Bigga and keep the funny stuff coming. We need to keep our sense of humor and stay happy on this journey!

I've kind of lost track of this thread (and others) since I haven't been on in a week or so. I can't remember, did you comment on the thing about coffee, tea and wine causing some people to be unable to absorb Iron? If you already commented on that, forgive me. Been so busy! I go for a follow up visit to the doc on Tues. I don't think he'll do any blood work or anything. It's funny, if I don't take the Calcium, my tummy gets really sore and unhappy when I eat. If I do take the Calcium, I feel pretty normal. Have you noticed anything like that?

Honey you're wrong from the get go. God didn't give us the Bible. People did. And for you to be so blinded by faith that you cannot see the truth, it keeps you in a very unhealthy and unspiritual state of being. That is why you believe that you are right when it is obvious that your beliefs are contrary to the betterment of mankind. Kind people do not want to live in an "anything goes" world that you hatefully accuse them of. They want to be healthy and happy and help others when ever the opportunity arises. If that means that they need to petition the government to make a legal union between all loving couples - not just hereterosexual ones - in order to make things right, then that's what they are driven to do. If God made the world, Adam & Eve, all the animals and living creatures that inhabit the earth then he darned well made homosexuals and you are not to question his wisdom. He knows why he made people the way he did and you need to search much deeper to find meaning in all things instead of condeming so many things that you obviously do not understand. God did not write the Bible, men did. It is a guidebook, not God's literal word. It was written with the same prejudices that you have embraced and that is wrong.

If they die it's because they did not obey the laws of the land? Well what if they don't die? Does that mean that the laws of the land are wrong? Your fumbling attempt at any logic is totally confounding. You say one thing and then contradict yourself in your next post or even sometimes in the very next sentence. You are one confused individual. You have one train of thought and that's about all you seem to be able to handle. Don't confuse you with any facts or real logic or you start claiming you didn't say it or you didn't mean it that way or that's not what you meant or everyone's picking on you. "I say that if you don't want a baby, get sterilized, or use birth control." brilliant quote by patty... Are you truly that supid? Because it wouldn't surprise me if you are but you're an adult woman and it doesn't seem possible that you're that stupid. You should know as most people do that no birth control is 100% effective - not even sterilzation. So that is certainly not an intelligent or reliable remedy for the problem of unplanned, unwanted pregnancies. You speak of the babies but there are no babies until there are actually babies. A fertilized egg is not a baby. It takes a lot of the right kind of biophysical nurturing for cells to grow into a baby. And God does not implant sperm in eggs. People do. So God doesn't have a hand in the intentions of man. You're quick to tell us all about free will. Rape, incest, coercion, drugs, alcohol and miriad other conditions can exist when a sperm fertilizes an egg. There is no cut and dried condition whereby women become pregnant. And there is no cut and dried situation that tells us that every woman or young girl should have a baby, no matter what. And that's what changing the legislation to make abortion illegal tries to do. It tries to treat everyone the same and force womena and girls to have babies that they cannot provide for and cannot physically or mentally deal with. There are a million reasons why that kind of legislation will not work. We had a period of time when society tried it your way and it did not work. Real people must deal with this issue the best way they know how and that does not include having someone like you tell them that they have no choice in the matter. And of course people are prolife, duh. What you don't seem to understand is that most people are also prochoice. They're interested in ALL life - not just the ones you have decided you want to protect.

Yes, Cleo's and it is mind-numbingly painful to watch. They are strengthening their beliefs by repeating the bad that they think is good so often they are frenzied in their efforts to fight against what God would see, according to Jesus, as good. It's painful to watch and very sad don't you think?

God's eyes? You're the person who can tells us what God sees? I don't think so. But this thing you said bears repeating: "But it makes total sense that the Bible teaches that in the end, people will be confused as to what is right and what is wrong. They will make what's good in God's eyes bad... and what's bad in God's eyes, good." Then you go on to say: "I see this happening all around us." And I say, you see what you want to see. Unfortunately what you don't see is that YOUR kind are the ones who think that what is bad is good. Your people have decided that passing judgement upon others is good. Your people have decided that some of the most corrupt of corporate billionaires are the ones you should support and listen to. Your people think that your very own government is bad. Your people think that homosexuals should join a fundamentalist church and deny who they really are - the person that GOD made. Your people think that the unfortuantes in our society should pull themselves up by their bootstraps and get to work because YOUR people don't want to provide one thing for them if it is paid with tax dollars. YOUR people are the very people that God had in his eyes when he said in the end people would have it backwards - the things that are good will be thought to be bad and the things that are bad will be thought to be good. You make a perfect point about the right wing extremists today - they have it backwards and they are too blind, blind, blind to see. Interestingly they are using God to do their dirty work. And they will atone for it in the end.

Wrong again. If a woman needs an abortion, she will get one and there will be a compassionate doctor or a butcher who will do the deed. There's always some sleezy creep who wants to gain from someone else's misfortune. The consequences you speak of for a woman who gets an abortion if the law was reversed, is jail. That's just so wrong on so many levels it is nearly unthinkable for someone with any real understanding of kindness, goodness and light.

Actually you're the one who is wrong. You constantly jump to ridiculous conclusions when you read polls. It is something that has always been a source of irritation for those who read your posts. You declare certain facts but unlike Cleo's when you post links or cut and paste stuff to prove your point, it is obvious that you've jumped to a conclusion instead of actually gleaning factual data. Besides, polls rarely provide the kind of hard and fast data that you and other Republicans claim. And you often base your arguments on worthless stuff that some right wing organization has concocted. You generate more support for your opposition's cause than you ever do for your own.

How much money have you given? To what programs?

I love what you've said. When I was arguing over at the abortion thread, there were lots of people who posted that they couldn't understand why we were even discussing it since it's already a law that women have the constitutional right to choose. That's why I responded in that way. It is really a big mistake, I think, for so many fundamental extremists to try to force their beliefs on the rest of the world. And you'd think that they would understand the futility of it by watching the fundamentalist Muslims try to do the same thing. My whole life I've been one who believes in the old adage, live and let live. Don't tread on me and I'll do you the same courtesy. The right wing extremists have gotten themselves all in a frenzy over this abortion rights issue and it has spread like wild fire into every other political issue. And they have become bitter and angry and antagonistic and as far as I'm concerned, they're dangerous. Timothy McVeigh dangerous. I've lived through too many asassinations and crazy bombings and stuff to think that they are insignificant and can be ignored. Sorry, I promised myself that I wouldn't preach and here I am, going off again. What I meant to say is that I respect your posts and you make some really great, valid points. You give me hope.