Hey all.

So there's a bunch of us in this group, all split up into our different banding days. I was thinking that it might be a good idea to have one master thread as we move through the month, in which all of us could post as we go, from the pioneers going on March 1st to the finalists on March 31st.

I'd love to talk about our anticipation and any worries as we approach our banding date, for people to talk about exactly what happened from the moment they walked into the hospital door until the second they walked out, about how recovery is going, about weight loss and plateaus, about non-scale victories and challenges.

I was thinking that if we all contribute to one thread, it'll form a more substantial channel for information and support. At the moment, I was thinking that we might be too spread out into individual date, and that a central thread would be a really good backbone for the group, in addition to the date-specific threads.

What do you think?

Fenton

I just have to brag about what I did today....

I was at a neighbor's house with the kids. There were a total of 3 families there. All the adults besides myself are slim sporty folks. Well, my friend C drags out the huge PVC pipe about a 3 foot diameter and about 6 feet long. She uses it to log roll across her lawn....yes, you read correctly she gets up on the thing....and as she walks....it rolls. I wanted to try it so badly....

I really wanted to get myself some alone time with that big old pipe....I slowly approach it while the other adults are tossing around a ball. I push my body against it...trying to see if it will smash under my weight if I actually find a way to get on top. I find it seems pretty strong. I walk away.

About an hour later I decide to go for it. I approach the pipe. I try to climb on...it rolls away, try again...same result, by now everyone has noticed me courting the big pipe. My friend C attempts to hold it for me. She's half my size...it really is laughable. I attempt to climb on, it rolls away....I'm getting desperate and having the best time.

I have my 7 yr old and my 4 yr old come by to also hold onto this monster pipe and I climb right up. I feel like I am on top of the world! I take two steps and fall backwards off the dang thing and even roll around on the grass laughing for a while. Now everyone is really enjoing this....no one is laughing AT me or judging me.

I climb up one more time and I roll that pipe a couple of steps before it gets away from me....I did it! I did it! I rolled that awesome pipe! I did something I would never have even considered doing in front of people 37 pounds ago.

I am so proud of myself!

Christine

Well done Christine! It's tackling challenges like these that give us the confidence to move on to things we never dreamed we could do before!

Keep on rollin! :smile2:

Christine, the trapeze thing is a BRILLIANT reward! My ex-girlfriend did that (down at that place on the Chelsea Piers) and LOVED it!

A-Dub - why the frogurt? Don't you have enough flavourings in there? I'd scrap the frogurt and the chocolate syrup, and use vanilla Protein powder. I think chocolate plus banana plus Peanut Butter is too much. Flavour-wise more than calories, obvs.

The vanilla really lets the banana and peanut butter come through, while the chocolate just competes...

Christine and Lisa, CONGRATULATIONS!!!! You give me hope!

For my Protein shake every morning I take the easy way out. I use the EAS AdvantEDGE Carb Control. It only has 110 calories and 17 grams of Protein. It's not overly expensive and it comes in little packs of 4. I tried using the protein powder with the slimfast and there are just too many calories for me.

Lisa, way to go with the wieght loss, if I owned the trophy I would award it to you....for the elequent acceptance speech you gave.

Christine, you are the woman for getting on the pvc pipe. I would have stood and watched!!!

Fenton, you are happily obsessed with your blender!!! Please send some rain toward KY, it is dry and hot here!!

Christine and Lisa, CONGRATULATIONS!!!! You give me hope!

For my Protein shake every morning I take the easy way out. I use the EAS AdvantEDGE Carb Control. It only has 110 calories and 17 grams of protein. It's not overly expensive and it comes in little packs of 4. I tried using the protein powder with the slimfast and there are just too many calories for me.

I also drink the EAS Carb Control drinks but I have them for lunch. They are a little thin but pack easily and stay cold in my cooler.

A-Dub - why the frogurt? Don't you have enough flavourings in there? I'd scrap the frogurt and the chocolate syrup, and use Vanilla Protein Powder. I think chocolate plus banana plus Peanut Butter is too much. Flavour-wise more than calories, obvs.

The vanilla really lets the banana and peanut butter come through, while the chocolate just competes...

The frogurt was more for a thicker consistency, but I see your point. Don't really need a flavour explosion in the mouth! I haven't even done it yet, i've been too busy...... drumroll please.....

posting progress pictures in the March '08 progress pics thread.

As somewhat of an explanation, this is a big F**king deal for me. I swore that I would never let my fat photos see the light of the internet. But there's no going back now.

Be gentle, fellow shamrocks..... :smile2: I know you will.

Considering i'm not even half way to goal, the fact that I'm taking pictures at all is a big deal. And i'm doing it in black lycra (pause for shudder). I'll look at it every time I couldn't be bothered going for a walk, then i'll be motivated to go.

So get to the progress pics thread. It's open season for commentary!

I just assumed you were wearing the black lycra so you'd look more like your hero Lara Croft, as portrayed by noted humanitarian Angelina Jolie!

Seriously, freeze the banana and you don't need the frogurt.

What you DO need is a powerful blender, such as the Oster Professional!

AND you do need some rain in Kentucky.

I just assumed you were wearing the black lycra so you'd look more like your hero Lara Croft, as portrayed by noted humanitarian Angelina Jolie!

Ha ha it is quite the Lara croft pose, now that I think about it. How typically MALE, that your first thought when you see a picture like that is Angelina Jolie in lycra. Ugh, she's such a tool.

Made a great Protein shake! Skim milk base, with strawbanana flavoured whey protein powder, a banana, some Fiber powder, some frozen berries and a teeny tiny bit of frogurt. YUM!

Wow, the trapeze!

I did that when I was about 13. I went with the family to Club Med in New Caledonia, and they had a "circus school" for teenagers where you could do the trapeze. I absolutely loved it!

Of course, I haven't been able to do it again due to being too much of a hosebeast. However, I might try to find somewhere I can give it a go, and make it one of my goals!

Every time I watch that episode of Sex and the City, i think "I need to find somewhere I can do the trapeze again... sigh...".

Now you've motivated me! Woo!

Congratulations to all in the SV and NSV.

The pipe rolling sounds like a riot and some great fun. WTG giving it a try and being successful

Shakes. I add frozen fruit to my protien drinks. makes them a bit thicker and adds some flavor. Strawberries to chocolate, mango to vanilla..mmmmmmmmmmmm

shakes. I add frozen fruit to my protien drinks. makes them a bit thicker and adds some flavor. Strawberries to chocolate, mango to vanilla..mmmmmmmmmmmm

Yep, i definitely add the frozen berries, yum. I've also tried Fenton's suggestion of freezing the banana, I'll do that with my Breakfast shake in the morning and see how it goes, in lieu of adding frogurt!

Ok.... time to log off here and go write some more of my paper........... GO!

GO!

....... go?

Does your doctor tell you to eat 12-3/4 cup of food for each meal. That is what my doctor wants me to eat and I really have a hard time eating that little. Most meals I probably eat about 1 1/2 cups. I'm going in for my 3rd fill tomorrow so maybe then I'll eat less.

I am still losing, some weeks none then last week I was down 5 pounds. I have lost 49 pounds since the pre op diet. for a total of 89 pounds from my highest weight.

Yay, Scrappy! That's FANTASTIC!

Just keep on going, hang on in there - you're doing it right...

Woohoo scrappy, great work!

I'm going to read up on all my paperwork from the Doc again, as I honestly can't remember how much he ideally wanted us to be eating at each meal. I have a feeling it was 1-1.5 cups, but so many people have been saying that their doc wants them eating no more than 1 cup, so i think i'd better check!

I booked in for a fill tomorrow but it was with a new fill doc at my surgeon's practice, and I was like "hmmm... ok". THEN I was talking to my friend Bel (she posts here - you might know her - 22, banded 6 years, the tagline under her username is *Slap That Fat*) and she was telling me about her HORROR week last week. She has been at goal for around 5 years, but she has decided she wants to lose some more.

She said she stupidly went to the new fill doc at our practice, instead of the normal fill doc who she's had her whole fill history with, and the new fill doc WAY overfilled her. She couldn't even keep down Water or her own saliva, and had to go to hospital in the middle of the night and they had to call in the normal fill doctor to unfill her completely! Now she's sore, swollen and miserable.

So, needless to say, I cancelled my fill appointment tomorrow with this new doc RIGHT AWAY! I'm just going to wait 2 weeks and go to my normal doc. This new fill doc sounds like a LapBandit - and not in a good way!

Anyway, I'm going to check out my doc's literature about how much I should be eating at each meal, then decide whether or not to get a fill.