Positive people unite! This thread is being created for the sole use of positive people to give positive reinforcement to others in the group that we care about. We know that we may disagree on some issues but we will offer constructive criticism, objective suggestions, we will always give kind support even when delivering the occasional (but necessary) kick in the pants.

I live in Costa Mesa, south Orange County. Very cool we're so close!!!

You are just up the road from me!! Woohoo!!

Humming Bird: We've only had Butters for 4 years. :smile2: But his behavior was getting so bad that I could not walk him any longer. So, we made the investment into private lessons and it has paid off! I could not imagine life without a pet, but that is me. Glad it is working out for you!

Betsy, happy everything is OK, good for Truman for getting you out!

Butters got to go to the mall today. It's a higher end shopping center where rich little doggies hang out. He did very well! We walked along and he ignored them all, even the ones who wanted to challenge him. Way to go, Butters! I got my walk in on flat lands. A good thing for me today, since I discovered this is indeed a cold, not an allergy. Blah!

It is starting to get stormy out there! Glad we got out early!

Denise, I'm sorry you're still feeling cruddy. But it makes me doubly impressed that you've lost another pound. We'll have to have a cyber-celebration 4 pounds from now! Give Butters a kiss--I love a faithful canine personal trainer, you know. :smile:

You might wind up pleasantly surprised at your MIL's recovery once at home. Being in a hospital is tremendously stressful, and while window washing and throwing parties might be more than most of us think ...well, sane...it might be just what the proverbial doctor ordered for her. When independence is held so dear, its loss can actually cause health deterioration. Maintaining it may boost her quite a bit.

Bob, I'm so glad you're recovering so well. Your attitude must have a ton to do with it. I thought mine was good, but you put me to shame!

You spared me having to say something snarky about men and maturity :smile2: My son is seriously afflicted with Peanut Brain Syndrome. (When I used the acronym yesterday, my daughter asked if it meant Pain in the Butt Syndrome; that fits, too.)

Everyone always says that girls are so much harder to raise, but I'm reserving judgment for several more years. So far, she's waaaay in the lead.

Gloria--Happy belated anniversary. It's wonderful that your husband's adored you through thick and thin. I am intrigued with the changes that weight loss brings to relationships--very interested to see what it does with mine.

Speaking of which, Mark is feeling "fine." Which means, actually, cruddy--but status quo cruddy. Huge improvement! He sees the transplant guys on Monday; I am very nervous about this. More that they will say, "Nope, sorry--it's not time yet" or "Nope, sorry--too late!" than that they will say, "Yes, it's time."

Jen--your coworker story cracked me up. Because God really wants people to promise to stop eating for Lent, only to continue to do so, by stealing others' food!

My big excitement is that at just about two months out, I can now add vegetables to my repertoire. Seriously, I haven't been as excited about anything else in a long, long time! Who would have thought that lettuce could cause my heart to flutter?! :smile2:

Bob, I'm so glad you're recovering so well. Your attitude must have a ton to do with it. I thought mine was good, but you put me to shame!

Trust me, it started as a front. I am posting and using others to convince myself to have a positive attitude. It does seem to be working though. I am chugging right along and not looking back.

I am starting to get light headed for a few seconds every time I stand but am fine and not weak or drowsy afterward. I hope my surgeon and nutritionist know what they are doing prescribing these diets. My blood pressure and/or sugar has to be lower than it should be.

My follow-up appointment is March 16th and I start mushies 4 days from now, hopefully I can fix whatever is going on.

I just got home from going bowling (3 games). I am NOT a very good bowler, but at least it gets me out of the house and moving. Maybe it's something I'll start doing more often.

Broke a nail.....damn it. Oh well, it will grow back.

It sounds like a good idea if you enjoyed it. I have absolutely no hobbies and need to find something to do other than watch tv and surf the net.

I had to quit bowling because it was getting expensive buying new clothes. I kept splitting the crotches in my pants.

I went bowling one time in January. I had not bowled in maybe 10 years or so. It was fun, but the next day I felt it. I pulled a butt muscle. I hope I'm not feeling it like that tomorrow.

Tonight I had to keep pulling my pants up. No ripping out the crotch now.

I love how this thread has become a little community. Very cool. What's strange is that I realized that even though a lot of you have pictures up I have images of all of you and for some reason everyone is of a normal BMI. I wonder if it's because everyone is talking about the healthy lifestyle we are all working so hard to live - so it's the imagery that comes to mind. Don't know what to do with that thought? Any ideas?

Anyway went our last night for a great anniversary dinner with my husband. Me, who talks about how I use my tool, decided that the way I would use my tool is to have a plan to have whatever I wanted for one meal, and get back to basics today. So having given myself permission, I really didn't veer very far off course, but yes, I did drink with my meal, and it had bubbles, and the sparkling wine was great...

I hope everyone has a great day. Here in the northeast we are going to have sunshine and 60 degress; I know my friends in SoCal are going to have rain - since I lived there for 5 years and desperately miss SoCal sunshine, I had to share....

Hi all, I want to hang with the positive people!

Feeling good, working out and it is paying off, I'll get to my goal, one day at a time!

Welcome 2GoodDogs. It looks like you have done very well with the weightloss!

Gloria, Your dinner sounds like it went very nice. It is so nice that you see us all in a positive light in your mind's eye! Can you please picture me to look like Shania!

Edited March 7, 201016 yr by Humming Bird

Welcome, 2GoodDogs--I'm a dog lover, too :smile2:

Bob, I think we can pretty much direct our attitudes. It really does help things go more smoothly, as long as we're not squashing important emotions that need to be felt. (I say this only because I am the queen of repression--which explains every.single.extra.pound on my body.)

I have been experiencing orthostatic hypotension, too--time to have the BP checked, I think.

Hummingbird, bowling sounds fun!

Gloria, I'm glad you had a lovely dinner.

We've been having gorgeous weather, too. Truman and I have been walking at least once--usually twice--a day to soak up the sun. I love this area (Chicago-ish), but miss the Texas sun. I may have to go down to visit my daughter once she returns to school. (A little Houston humidity will make me grateful, again, for my wimpier sunrays.)

My personal trainer is giving me the stinkeye and pacing--I'd better lace up my shoes and find his leash. Have a great day, everyone!

Welcome 2Good. What kind of dogs? I have 2 english mastiffs and love them more than I would real children.

Betsy, are you taking medication for hypertension? I am and if I do have hypotension now, the medication could be doing more damage than good. I'll have to figure out which box I packed the bp cuff in.

Those of us in North Texas are missing the Texas sun today too. It's wet and only supposed to be about 60.

Gloria, sounds like fun. It has been about a month for me on shakes and now liquids. I can't remember what it is like to eat out. I don't really miss it yet.

The chair, slab and grass in this picture are all gone. Replaced by a swimming pool last summer.

Good Morning all!

Wow, you all have been pretty busy on here since I was last on...I have some major catching up to do!

Well, Friday turned out to be a weird day! Late in the afternoon, we were informed that they were letting another 3 people go, and one of them happened to be my mentor when I started there, then my supervisor, then helped me get hired back on after I left for a while. I leared a lot from her, she was a bit anal, some found her hard to deal with, but she really knew her stuff! I'll miss her...I'll have to take her to lunch next week!

Then, I was "outed" at work, lol! I wonder if this is what people of different sexual preference feel like, not like you're really ashamed, but you just don't go around telling everyone. I had already told the people in my workgroup, and assumed that they blabbed, but no one else had every come up to me and talked about it. Well, I got caught in the bathroom and one of the girls from another group came up and said, "So, what you doing to get so skinny?" I said "Am I getting skinny?" She said, "Girl, yes, I just looking and looking, and was like, either you was getting smaller or my eyes were getting bigger!" So I told her I had lapband, and re-inforced that it's not like you get it and just melt away, I still have to count calories and exercise as with any diet. And she said "Really, I though with that you got it and didn't have to do anything, like it was just easy to do!". So, I told her no, it's hard and it's an adjustment. So, I'm officially "out of the closet" so to speak, because I KNOW she is a gossiper! I actually feel better now, maybe because somebody is actually noticing a difference!

Talk about someone noticed, my husband was feeling my rear end, lol, and said, "it's getting smaller!" I died, then said, "well is it too small now?" He winked and said, oh no, it's still nice & round. :-)

Well, Saturday was an good day. We went to a movie, dinner, and to a high school jazz festival...it was totally awesome! We went last year and I noticed that the seat was actaully comfortable this time around, didn't feel like I had imprints on my hips from the seat!

I only got to log 1lb loss this week, but (TMI alert) I haven't had a BM since like Monday! Hopefully my plumbing will get to working, lol!

Well, let me get to reading all the updates and see if my brain is working today!

Have a great day...Indiana is sunshiny and expected to get in the low 50s, so it should be nice out. Going to take my boy to see Alice In Wonderland!

Hi everybody, Yesterday was beautiful here in East Texas, sunny and 65 degrees! I have big news, I have decided that I am going to start riding my motorcycle again. It has been in storage for a year and a half because I felt I looked so fat when I was on it (my official excuse was I don't have time). I had a larger bike that I sold and then I bought this one about 2 years ago, one day I rode by a glass building and saw how fat I looked on it and I really haven't rode it since. It has less than a 1000 miles on it, but as soon as I go and get the plates renewed on Monday (rain) and take it Tuesday (sunshine) to get it inspected I am going to break it out and start riding again. Its going to be sunny and 75 this week! Thank you! It actually snowed here this year, twice! It has only snowed here (and stuck) 2 other times in the 18 years I have lived here.

I have decided we can all just go vacation at everyone else's house! Chicago, Philly, the Mountains, San Diego, Costa Mesa, and the good news in since I just live in plain old East Texas nobody will want to come here, I can just freeload off everyone else. :smile2:

Bob, I think your 100% right, if I think positively, positive things happen. Of course, sometimes negative things happen too but not as much. Do you think this is what other cultures really mean by Karma? OMG your dogs are so cute. I bet they can get anything they want with those eyes!

2good--I read your profile, your really are doing well. 6 more pounds for your 100! Plus your BMI into the 30's! Congratulations! I am happy for you.

Betsy--Stinkeye, yep your from the south.

Gloria--Happy Anniversary!

HB--I now, because of Bob, I have this mental picture of you trying to bowl with one hand on the ball and one holding up your pants, I'm glad you had fun.

Cocco, Jen, Liz and Illumination--Hi y'all!

Anyone heard from Elfie?

FYi, my doc stopped my blood pressure meds while I was in the hospital and told me just to watch it really closely. I was averaging around 110/60 in the hospital, med free for 48 hours...which is amazing. About the time I went on mushies I had to go back on 1/2 a dose of what I was on but recently swarted to get that swimmy feeling a couple time so need to start watching it closer, maybe, just maybe it's time to get off of 'em!

Yesterday was absolutely gorgeous, today is supposed to be close so the boy and I will be spending the afternoon out back doing yardwork, then off to dinner with my older brother who is leaving tomorrow for Wisconsin for 2 months before heading off to Afghanistan...again.... My son will likely cry, he adores his uncle James, which in turn will make me cry, bleh.

For those of you who have it, enjoy the sun! For those of you who don't we'll enjoy it for ya!