Anyway - good idea Robin, we can set up our own thread and quit monopolizing my super size thread. But I can't post in here anymore 'cause I'm in MO.

Scheduled for another fill next Friday! I'm at 2 in a 4, so I'm going to see about 1/4 cc or so. I have restriction, just not enough... but don't want an overfill either.

as I understood this, several "regulars" will be out of town and not at the Thursday SM meeting. I don't think there is a dinner after either. So willskip Sm and go to Bandsters instead.

MICROBESITY. Important article in today's New York Times Magazine. Lots to think about and some new ideas.

Do you know if the article is online by chance?

Cynthia, I happen to agree with you about the sg. However, I was not there last time and made to feel un-welcome.

I have a previous committment and can't make it this month, but plan to go in Sept.. Pat, keep us posted on how the KC Bandsters group is. I have always wondered about that one.

Hey, Angela...are you planning on being in KS anytime soon? I have a few more clothes from my closet you may want to look through. I can even meet you somewhere.

I can not believe it. School starts on Wed!!!! :faint: It will be nice to get back to a routine, but everything gets so hectic around my house.

Anything exciting going on with the rest of you chicas?????

Holli - no plans to be in KS in the immediate future, but I'll let you know if that changes. I never know when DH will want to make a trip to Microcenter!

Summer school got out 2 weeks ago and fall starts in 1 week. Initially when I signed up for summer classes, I did so with the intention of taking the fall off... and took the summer class to make up for the lost time. Then I decided I didn't want to waste an entire semester so I signed up. And now I'm debating back & forth.

I'm definitely seeing a trend between TOM and restriction. I've hardly felt and restriction during the last 3 weeks or so -- since all the trouble I had in Chicago. Started cramping a bit Saturday (happens to me before I start)... and sure enough, got a minor stick Saturday morning, and had to PB Saturday night. Odd coincidence now that it's 3 mos in a row I've seen the same trend.

I am SOOO ready for a break. We just booked our tickets for a week in San Francisco/Lake Tahoe, but that isn't until November. All the other trips I have booked between now & then are for work so they don't count.

Good news. Seems (knock on wood) like my month long "stall" has ended. I'd been fluctuating 290 - 294, and weighing 292.8 most of the time. Yesterday morning & this morning I've come in at 289. Will check again next week & see where I'm at before I believe the stall is over though. 7 more lbs until 100 lbs gone... I need to have DH take some more pics tonight.

Angela, You are doing so great!

The trend with TOM is true for almost everyone I talk to. I definitely get tighter too.

So I go to Quizno's with DH, get chili, eat around the chunks, feel ok. Stop eating about 4 spoons in b/c I'm starting to feel full. About 8 minutes later the pain kicks in, and I'm literally writhing in the car on the way back to the office. He drops me off, I go straight to the bathroom and PB. Stomach is still hurting quite a bit, enough to give me goosebumps, so I don't think I'm done just yet. DH has been my #1 support through all of this, but on the drive back to my office he said he was starting to doubt whether the benefits are worth the pain I go through. I reminded him there are lots of people out there worse off than me... but that didn't matter much to him. I really don't mind the PBing, it's the pain beforehand - I've said that all along. I never rated anything around my surgery recovery higher than a "2" on the pain meter, but I'd have to give my "pre-PB" pain a 5 or 6, sometimes into a 7.

So I've noticed something and it's gross but I want to see if you guys are experiecing the same thing. Usually when I PB I see what comes up -- either by virtue of being over the toilet/sink, or because I want to see what I was stuck on. Rarely can I see anything other than discolored saliva/slime and "foam". Like today - nothing solid at all, but foam. This "foam" seems to be what I PB up about 85% of the time. So it would kind of stand to reason that it's also what's making me PB... because there's no food that hasn't passed or it would come up to. So do any of you guys PB "foam" only, and not pieces of food?

PB round 2 is over with and I feel back to normal. Still no food, just discolored slime & more foam. I feel like one of those foaming soap dispensers. I really don't get this PB thing though, gonna post about it.

Angela, You must get really tight during your TOM. When I was too tight, I could only eat a couple of small bites of solid protein at a time and was pretty much reduced to mushies.

I am just like you. I have only brought food back up once and when I did it was such a tiny insignificant amount--I knew it was not the "offending item". I always just slime and froth and pace and writhe in pain sometimes for hours!! :cry I just always figured that I was not one of the lucky ones that can burp and its all over.

So TOM should start tomorrow. When I had all the problems in Chicago it was a few days away from TOM too. That makes sense, since I start retaining water (usually about 8# worth ) about 5 - 6 days in advance.

I'm seriously considering maybe a week before TOM going on all liquids, and going back to foods when I can tell I've released the retained fluid, doing liquids only. (My TOM only lasts 3 days on average, so I'm not talking a full week...) Mushies seem like they're too much to handle. Maybe just protein drinks, even - they do fill me up quite a bit.

And last week I was thinking, "I'm wide open, maybe time for another tiny fill..."

And that's exactly what I've done for 3 months now. 100% open for three weeks, then a week of hell.

The other months weren't so bad because I was actively losing and it's always a little more worth it when you're seeing the reward.

Thx guys, as always - so very helpful to have you guys here!

The New York Times magazine article is on the NYT website. If you go soon, it"s free. Although you may have to register(free). After some time you have to pay.

I cheated and got on the scale today instead of waiting out my week like I should have. :kiss

I should know better to do that since I always weigh more at TOM, and it takes about a week after TOM before everything gets back to normal. But it would seem that my 4 weeks of going back and forth between 291 - 294 is officially over, because I was pleasantly surprised to see 285.6. :dance:

So now it's 3.6 more lbs until 100 gone... can't wait... still secretely hoping to get there by 6 months, which gives me about 2 more weeks...

Congrats!!! You can do it just 3 more pounds.

I've cheated too. but wish it was only by getting on a scale. Instead of the Chocolate Ice Cream, Cheese Dip & Chips & Frozen Orage Juice I ate with a spoon like some kind of sorbet.

Thankfully after a weekend of no self control I'm still fluxuating around 90-93 mark but I really need to get my but in gear and start making that scale move. You would think it would be easy right now as I'm so tight after this last fill that I can't eat much solids and even though I haven't PB'd what I do get down has been coming up in the middle of the night as acid reflux.

- Diane

Diane, Yikes babe! If you can not and are not eating solid foods because of how tight your band is.... you may be too tight. I was too tight for a while and my weight totally stalled. Please be careful and call Billie if you are not sure.

Hey, Angela... I know you can totally do 3 more pounds!