Betsyjane

Thanks for the update on the party. I hope Dr Spivak knows that it's not personal. For me, I just don't want to buy a fancy dress until I stop changing sizes!

I want to live in the times of Soylent Green. Remember that old book? People elected to go get killed and turned into food.

Hi. Just popped in and read the topic and the last few posts. IMO: 1. I'm white and I never say nigger, out of respect. 2. I think black people who say nigger are missing a great opportunity to command respect. 3. Any woman who puts up with being called a Ho or a Bitch has missed the same opportunity.

I'm sure sure sure there's a support group in the nirth Dallas area!

My only major challenge is ice cream.

I adore fast food for the fast salads! I'm older so my priorities may be different. I have enough helath problems that I really want to try to de-age a bit through my diet. I'm interested in eating unprocessed healthy food whenever I can. That part is not so much about losing weight as it is about using the "will power" of the band to be able to stick to healthy eating better than I ever have. It's sort of my last chance at my age and health status. For example, with the band, I am no longer testing as diabetic....but artificial sweetener raises blood sugar as much as sugar does, so I try to stay away except with my morning Protein shake. Just seems like the thing I need to do for me. And I want my cholesterol low so I don't do burgers...but that wasn't as much a choice as a loss of interest since I was banded..... Stuff like that......

We have this discussion periodically in our local support group. Some people do portion control only and refuse to diet. Some people do portion control and an eating plan... or a diet counting something...carbs, fat, Protein, calories, or anti preservatives, vegetarian.... Just keep your own goals clear, and write them down, and then decide how you are going to get there. We're all different. I have a strict diet of healthy foods at home that I adhere to 85% of the time. Then when I'm at a restaurant, I order whatever I want and just go with portion control. So restaurant eating ais a special event for me. Altough...the longer I have the band, the less interesting food is. I never thought I'd say that!

Why did Dr. S cancel the Christmas party?

1. Fantasize all you want. It's better than what the reality would be. 2. Enjoy yourself alone. 3. Feel sexy. 4. Rent a room, and have a mad passionate affair with your husband.

I read and really enjoyed the book by Dr. Oz on aging. Got some interesting food ideas from that... Aslo here are a few of my recipes: Blueberry, cooked cubed chicken, fresh spinach, walnut, garlic and ginger salad, slightly warmed in a pan. black bean salad with tomato, onion, cilantro, red pepper, a tiny bit of avocado, and a meat "sandwiches" meats and veges wrapped in a romaine lettuce leaf eggbeater vege omelette chicken salad stuffed tomato

Great "food for thought". Thanks! I love your 1 cup plastic container idea! If I don't eat off of my husbands plate or order a side something when we're out, I have lots of leftovers from my meal. Putting them in 1C containers will keep me from overeating from my leftover plate. I too eat on dessert plates, and I've collected a pretty variety from Tuesday Morning, but I keep leftovers in the to go styrofoam! Duh! I'm not afraid of a little fruit with cottage cheese...but I really got in trouble at first with artificial sweeteners! I had never been fond of them but started doing lots of them when first banded, and felt so "chemical", and they made my blood sugar go up! My fast food meals are a salad from any fast food place eaten over several meals or those steam in bag all vege microwave meals with a bit of tuna added. I try hard to be really good at home, but when I'm out, I allow myself the luxury of going with portion and carb control...and otherwise picking at whatever I like. Thanks so much for your ideas! Hey Phyllis, sounds a lot like a stetched pouch to me. Hope your doc can figure it out. And please believe me there is life (and band) after a pooched pouch!

OK. How about....anybody want to go to the horse track Saturday night? :-) Dave and I are going. Dave doesn't know it yet.

Hey Trans....Puleeze....I would love to have some of your favorite recipes! Hey Zen....You're losing...just slower than you would with bypass. And someday you may really count your blessings that your band is adjustable! Take it from one who stretched a pouch...needed a slight unfill when sick...hates to get the runs....has the option to unfill a bit before travel....

Does anybody want to go mall walking during the weekend. I know.....crazy during shopping season. But I'm thinking first thing when the mall opens? Either that or a walk around Kingwood on the trails?

I hate microwave meals....I usually end up getting a salad from a fast food place and making a couple of meals out of it. Getting tired of limp lettuce! Phyllis.....How long have you had your band? I'm assuming you know that it is not leaking, since they believe they've filled you to the max. Without more info, let me offer a guess....Have you had a fluoroscope to see if you have stretched your pouch? You can do that through no fault of your own, and it is usually easily correctable. Mine was..... I felt like I had practically no restriction and could eat anything so I went for more fill and found out I was living with too tight a band and so had dilated my pouch. A partial unfill and some days on liquids and I was back to feeling restricted.

I didn't lose my interest in food until recently....Now I don't know what to buy at the store! Nothing looks good, and I eat so little that any recipe I fix ends up with huge leftovers that get thrown out. My husband isn't usually home at mealtime, so even fixing traditional single portions is way too much, and it's hard to buy small enough portions of things to fix.... Any suggestions? I'm looking for meal ideas! Nothing sounds good these days, unless I'm at a restaurant. Then I enjoy everything, but in tiny amounts!

Hmm. Sometimes you have to read back a few messages to get the scoop on who's coming, when and where. Sorry you weren't there! We're gonna see if anybody has time Monday after next...don't know where yet....might be tough with the holidays.....

Hi Sue! My sweet tooth goes away with some effort, and then pops back up...but each time it's easier to conquer. Kind of like an alcoholic hoping for shorter times falling off the wagon. The key for me is getting rid of as many artificial sweeteners as possible, and not watching TV sitting....too many food ads. If I watch TV I do it standing, stretching or exercising, if I have any food urges at all! Odd that artificial sweeteners will raise your blood sugar just like sugar...so there's the craving again, but what's worse is that there are now research studies showing that WATCHING a candy ad on TV, or a dessert program on the Food Channel WILL ALSO raise your blood sugar. That ain't fair!

I am trying hard to get away from artificial sweeteners, so I think I'll be back to regular pills. Sick of chemicals/happy not to have high blood sugar anymore/wanting to retrain my sweet tooth.

Hey! It was great to see you guys! Where shall we meet in 2 weeks?

Did you know that consumerlab.com tests supplements and can tell you which ones really have what they say they have? They found that almost all supplements of CoQ10 had NO or little CoQ10 in them. It's worth is in order to get what you pay for.....

Centrum chewable and a chewable calcium. Although I'm getting sick of chewables and want to swtich to regular pills..... I haven't been pulverizing my regular pills to take them anymore.....I just take a lot of water with them to make sure they go on through.

Who's coming to dinner tomorrow? I am, if I can get out from under our holiday camper dogs!

Reminds me....My band surgeon said at the very beginning that almost every complication with the band is minor and fixable if I tell him about it early.......

Yikes, blueeyes! I'm sorry you had to go through that. So many times an unfill and a few days of liquids can resolve the pouch pooch, but your experience is sure a reminder to not try to live with too tight a band! The other thing that makes it hard to figure sometimes is that the stretched pouch can make you feel like the band is too loose instead of too tight. Sure is worth getting those fluoros done and dealing with things like reflux!