Betsyjane

It was great to see everyone! Sorry I had to leave...my pain meds wore off a little early. Just a thought....We spend a portion of our time together talking about food. Duh. Gee, I wonder why..... What would you think about making a group commitment to talk about exercise for awhile? Sounds like we all have a desire to do more. So maybe we could put as much dinner energy into talking about moving as we do about fooding. I'd like it if someday we could even meet to exercise instead of to eat...even for just a stroll around the mall chatting. I'd love some support and ideas about exercising. I was also thinking we could bring the lap band rules to the meeting, read them and discuss one once in awhile. Even with something like drinking enough water, I'd love to get your ideas about how you fit it in, how you haul it around, etc.

6 PM Hasta La Pasta in Atascocita, same shopping center as Kroger reserved as Betsy

Sorry....Walmart

Drive east on 1960 into Atascocita. You'll pass Walamrt on your right and in a couple of blocks you'll see Walgreens on your right and Kroger on your left. Hasta La Pasta is in the front part of the Kroger shopping center.

I'll email the people who have expressed interest on this site who haven't come to see us.

How about if I leave the name Betsy with the front folks at the restaurant.

Don't you think that's probably why they say on average you'll lose half of your excess weight? I figure the first half is just going to happen one way or another. The second half requires premanent behavior changes...at a time when the band isn't so new and it's easy to be less vigilant and fall into old habits. I figure if I'm going to go any farther with weight loss, I'm with you...I need to get very very serious. (As I sit here in front of the computer eating a spoon full of peanut butter.) Anybody want to go have a salad or something at Hasta La Pasta? PS: I found the phone no. Lana gave me. Now I'm hesitant to intrude since it's been so long.....

Hi Everybody. Hard to imagine I was banded so long ago! I still love my band. I am stuck at my current weight, but I know the band is there waiting for me to get my act together again so I can lose some more. And the fact that I've fallen into some of my old habits and am not gaining is a good thing. Congrats on the elliptical! Those machines work for me when I force myself to get on them, and when I have my music with me. It's only 5 minutes to the gym, but somehow it often seems like toooo long a drive to go!

Hi everybody. I'd eventually like to lose another 30 pounds, but I am stuck and in some bad habits. Still grateful for the band. I know it's there waiting for me to be good again so it can help me. Gosh, time passes. Hard to believe I was banded that long ago!

I'm glad to hear that it's still important to meet. I do wonder why our group doesn't grow. We've had people contact us, but very few have ever attended. I can probably meet any time. I'm certainly not at goal weight, but I'm struggling....I want to buy some Spring clothes...nothing expensive but just to get me through. But I just don't know who I am. Or what age I am. I actually went into Forever 21 at the mall, and LIKED the things I put on. But I kept asking myself if only a teenager should wear them. I've always been a fairly classic dresser, but now I understand that classics age a person. I've also ysyally had my ranch clothes and then dressier outfits, and I hear that over dressing ages too. At this rate, I may end up in a babydoll and leggings! Jeez.

It's funny. After I passed my one year anniversary of being banded, I found that I was just living the life and not analyzing it too much anymore, for better or worse. My need for information, support, and everyhting else decreased a lot. Seems like to maintain a support group, you almost have to have the next "generation" of bandsters that have been banded less than a year, in order to keep it going. Does anybody else get to feeling that way?

Every doctor is different. We're on solid foods within a week. Hasn't hurt me......

Stopping smoking was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life! I was an emotional and physical wreck at first! YOu get past it, but it doesn't seem like it will happen while youa r ein the middle of it. I kept straws everywhere and I sucked on them like a cigarette. Sometimes I even inhales and then blew out like I had actual smoke. I also chewed on straws. Just know that even if you gain some weight, you'll get back under control later and the band will help you. Carrot sticks....celery.....bags of lettuce to eat mindlessly. Every time you want a cigarette, get up and jump around or dance or exercise until the yearning settles down. Nicorettes. Stretch alot. Get a massage...anything to think healthy and think detox. Scrub your skin in the shower and think about releasing more toxins and getting healthier. Yoga breathing every time you want a cigarette. LOTS of yoga breathing. You'll get there.

I haven't had other surgeries, but I cna tell you what the scars look like. It's done laproscopically, and I have 4 small marks. 3 of them are 1/2' long by 1/8" wide. There is one on each side of my belly about 5 inches below my bra line. The other one is in the center about 4" above my waist. The last one is where my port is....It is a horizontal line an inch long, and thin. Kind of looks like a cat scratch. Where they put them varies, but mine is in the center about 2" below my bra line. I can only imagine what you are going through thinking about having yet another surgery. My only thought on it is that unlike your other surgeries, this one is about weight loss, and my scars are nothing compared to how good I look and feel....... I'd gladly wear a bathing suit with a few scars than wear a bathing suit at my old weight. Good luck with your decision making. I can tell you that having the band is hard work, but I've never been successful at weight loss before,a nd now it's different...With ahrd work, I actually succeed! Pretty amazing....

It's a lot like Andy Warhol making money off of a commercial soup can canvas. L Ron Hubbard was a science fiction writer who made a religion about space aliens and made money. It is a testament to Warhol's and Hubbard's marketing skills that they could sell something so out there. Cruise is equally ambitious and makes a superb living marketing his looks and a bit of talent. It's the American way........

How is your fill otherwise? aRe you able to eat enough and not too much? That would certainly be a step in the right direction... I used to get leg cramps when my potassium was off. Haven't heard about ones on the front though. Leave it to you to be eeeuuunnnneeeek! I'd like you to come out sometime even if you don't run......

Call Medicare and find out where the providers are. (Sorry to be so cut and dry...sounds like you're really frustrated with good reason).

4 laps around my lake pasture is 1 mile. I did 1.5 miles today (walking at a decent clip). Pacing me the whole way were one of my Golden Retrievers, and one of my deer. Once when I slowed down, John Deer came up behind me and pushed me along. Anybody want to join me and come walk the pasture?

I keep a food log for a few days when I'm off track, and it really gets me honest. Then sometimes I just use my fingers and a rubber band. I pretty much know when something is 100 calories, so for every 100, I move the rubber band to the next finger. When it's on the last finger, I'm done for the day. It works when I work it.....

Put it behind you and go find a Medicare lap band surgeon! Don't let those guys get you off track!

So today was my first day "in training" for the 5K. ...Meaning that I walked and "ran" for a mile around our lake. I think my walk is faster than my run, which is not even a jog, but a shuffle. Also, I think running puts too much stress on my joints and back, so I will be a glorious power walker at the 5K. At a walk, a mile really didn't seem like anything, so I guess I wasn't pushing it. My new pedometer seems to be grossly inaccurate, so I'm not going to trust it. I guess I need to drive 5 miles and then try to walk it and see what that's like. 5K is 3.1 miles, right? BArbara, and anyone else...let's walk this weekend!

Oy! I have trouble keeping a food log for more than a few days...... Other than my own shortcoming, it sounds really great!

Well, I signed up for BridgeFest, Barbara. I may be in the hospital and if so, won't get there, but I figure it's still worth it to work toward it. Are you signing up? If so, want to walk the Kingwood trails this weekend and see what 5 miles feels like? Anybody else?

I was reading assorted blogs about it, and one person said not to spend the money because it is a glorified pedometer and that there are lots of errors in the programming. Sounds like nobody here feels that way. Is it worth the $?

Tell me too! If I understand, it automatically calculates your calories expended. Then you log in your food eaten and it tells you howmuch more exercise you have to do to reach your goals. What are the counseling sessions? Are they on line or in person? Are they worth it or just an ad? What's the best price for a bodybug?