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

Kerri: Your post did make me tear up. How precious that card will be for you. How motivating. See, you are down a pound already. You will be back to where you were soon. (I also do not change my tickler every time I gain a few pounds!)

Tess - thank you!

Wow, this has to be the most prolific groups in the history of this site (Fenton, I was marveling at the sheer volume of posts when I came upon yours talking about our ginormous numbers, I was sooo right THERE with you!)! I have been gone a little under 2 weeks, and I had to read back 20+ pages! But you know what? Even though I read a thousand pages, I was just as engaged on every single post as I would have been watching So You Think You Can Dance?!!!!! (Ok, I know that so does not say alot, but I like it!!!! Don't stone me!).

Hope-250 RULES!!!! :cool: I totally can not wait to boast the same!

Texgirl, Onderland???? YOU ROCK! You are my new Idol!!!!

Kerri, your post about your Nana's card made me cry. Covet that last gift like the jewel that it is. You are blessed to have such positive and tangilble memory.

And Fenton, TOTALLY a Family Guy fan here. Giggity-giggity. Giggity-goo. Quagmire fan, can you tell????? Stewie being a close second! Can they BE any more sardonic???? I shall forever hear your typing in a cheesy English accent perpetually exclaiming "What the Deuce?????"

I DO type in an English accent!!!

I think I would like to officially change my goal weight to 180 pounds since I cannot get my body to get past that point. Maybe I will banish the evil scale - I will see if my 10 year old can hide is somewhere I cannot find it for a while...

My young one wants green eggs - so we are off to try some egg with spinach. We are puree-ing fools these days.

WCM- It sounds like you're at a plateau???? I found this thread and printed it out for my future reference... Don't know if it works, but it sounds like it would... Check it out and see what you think.

How to break a plateau:

Do this for 10 days to break a plateau

Drink 2 Quarts of Water per day

You must have 45 grams of Protein supplements and take all of your vitamins/mineral supplements each day.

You can consume up to 3oz of the following high protein foods 5 times a day:

Beef, Pork, chicken, Turkey, Lamb, Fish, eggs, Low-fat cheese, Cottage cheese, plain yogurt/artificially sweentened, Peanut Butter, Beans/Legumes.

You may also have:

sugar free popsicles

Tea or coffee

Sugar free Jello

Broths/bouillions

Crystal light drinks

If its not on the list, don't eat it. Keep a food diary and try to get up to 30 minutes of exercise a day.

__________________

Tess

Edited July 12, 200818 yr by Tess415

Thanks Tess - boy, protein is a problem for me. That is a good reminder! And yes, I am on a plateau. But I guess it isn't too bad. I have probably only lost about 4 pounds in the past 3 or 4 weeks, but at least it is creeping in the right direction. I think I have gotten too comfortable here and have to get more motivation again. I have enjoyed feeling a bit more "normal" for a while - that may have slowed me down!

This is kind of off the topic of anything - except the fact that I mentioned going puree crazy...

For anyone that has picky kids, we have been having fun with the cookbook "Deceptively Delicious". Now I have to admit that I usually don't follow along with too many popular trends and this book was quite popular for a while (it was written by Jerry Seinfeld's wife) and I also don't recommend lying to your children. The book has lots of recipes that "hide" veggies in regular food items.

Luckily my kids take after my husband with his metabolism, but I happen to have one child who eats maybe 7 different foods. I try to avoid forcing them to eat anything because I think that is partly what got me to where I am today. But she will at least try to eat brownies that have spinach and carrot puree in them. (And I do make them with both kids so them do see what goes in them.)

OK - so that was a very wordy way to say that there are some fun, healthy and actually good recipes in the book. My 6 year old is asking for the Mozzarella sticks with cauliflower puree right now. We haven't tried those yet...

Tess, Thanks for the post on how to break a plateau! I think that's what I'm dealing with right now.

WCM, I'm excited to hear that the sneaky recipes are working for your picky one. I have one of those too. The only vegetables he'll eat are raw red peppers and raw baby carrots (but only if absolutely forced to...), unless your pediatrician counts ketchup. Please let us know what other recipes besides brownies work out... Wait, did you actually say your picky one liked those or only agreed to try them?

WCM- It sounds like you're at a plateau???? I found this thread and printed it out for my future reference... Don't know if it works, but it sounds like it would... Check it out and see what you think.

Tess

Tess, thank you for this. I am SO on a plateau that I am no longer motivated. Starting tomorrow I am going to try this and see what happens!!!

Chica - my pickiest child really eats no more than 7 healthy foods. Now, luckily she eats these over and over again, so she does get a health diet. And I don't really do any "forcing", I just put healthy food out - I look at that as my job. I can't make them eat. And, yes, my picky one really does like the brownies with spinach and carrots in them! My little one who is not quite as picky at eggs with spinach in them this morning.

I think that even though I love veggies, it is getting me to add them in more things that I was before too.

(There is a ketchup recipe in there too - that actually has more real veggies in it, but we haven't tried that yet.)

We have tried a few, but not a lot with meat since I don't like meat very much. They have Breakfast, meal, snack, and dessert recipes.

We have eaten scrambled eggs (with cauliflower and/or spinach), pancakes with sweet potato, rice balls (spinach, sweet potato, squash), chocolate Peanut Butter dip (carrot puree), chocolate chip Cookies (chick peas), chocolate fruit dip (avocado, carrot puree).

Plus - it is just fun getting the kids in the kitchen and exposing them to food more! (And getting messy when things shoot out of the food processor...)

WCM I saw Jessica Seinfeld on OPRAH earlier this week talking about her new cookbook "Decietfully Delicious." They had a segment with a teacher talking about veggies and of course most of the kids snarl their noses to broccoli and spinach etc... These same kids wanted more of each food after they had tasted it and were told which veggie was in the food. Butternut squash in maccaroni and cheese. Broccoli in the chicken nugget batter.

Jessica Seinfeld also puts fresh veggies on her kids plates.

I think I might like to get the book and give it a try. You should have seen OPRAH stuffing her face with all the samples.:biggrin:

Busy-keep me posted on how it goes... I hope it works... it makes sense. :biggrin: I think the person who originally posted it said it came from their support group nutritionist.

Tess

Hi Shamrocks!

Well, now I've caught up on 10+ pages of posts! Phew!

It's been a bit of a random few weeks for me, I've been sick with the flu and working 6 days a week (couldn't get any time off) so basically every night I come home and just collapse. No energy for witty LBT repartee!

Anyway, so I'm better now AND I have a few days off, what bliss! My exercise has basically become void the past few weeks, and it's showing on the scale. Plateau City: Population Me. From yesterday, I'm making a concerted effort to turn it around. Yesterday I biked, today I'm walking AND biking. And probably Wii-Fitting as well.

In other news, my self-esteem is currently lower than it was when I was at my heaviest. I wouldn't have thought that this was possible. But it is, and it's mostly because of my hair. It's still falling out at a rate of knots and it looks shocking. My doc now thinks it's a combination of the weight loss and the fact that I have severe polycystic ovarian syndrome. A winning combination.

So anyway, I'm wearing a wig all the time when I leave the house, but I am having the "Samantha Jones Dilemma" - do I try to brush it off and let people believe it's my real hair / hair extensions? Or do I just adopt the "yes i'm wearing a wig, what's your problem?" mentality? The few people that i've had to tell have all been supportive, probably because they can see how upset I am when I talk about it. But what I'm most worried about is men. Yeah, you heard me.

Ok, basically my reasoning is this. On the off-chance that I happen to land a man in the next 6-12 months (expected duration of hair loss), and i'm still wearing a wig. I will have to let him know PRETTY EARLY ON that I have very little hair, and that I wear a wig. You know, when you kiss someone and they run their fingers through your hair? Well, let's just say they would instantly know something is up.

And, come on. 99% of normal, red-blooded males in their 20s would run as fast as they could if this girl they have just started seeing showed them that she wears a wig, and underneath it she ain't a pretty sight. And started crying or something to boot.

I talked about it with a good girlfriend, who suggested it would be a great "a$$hole detector" - if they're a good guy, they won't mind, if they're an a$$hole at least you'll know about it early. But I'm just not sure if i'm ready for the brutality.

At least it's winter here, so I can wear lots of hats over my wig. Makes it not so obvious. This afternoon, I'm getting my hair underneath cut short - like really short. So, when it starts growing back it will all grow evenly.

Well, now that you've all had an essay of my problems, aren't you glad I'm back? :biggrin:

Anniedub - I am sorry you are going through so much.

When I was closer to your age, I had a friend who had brain surgery. She had her head shaved. We all loved her really short hair look. I kind of remember that we were all a bit jealous that we thought she could pull this off and no one else could. She would sometimes wear cool scarves and hats, but mostly would just embrace the short hair. I think she might have bleached it too. We thought she was way sexier than us.

And I also remember that she sort of let go of some of her inhibitions as well. She was really worried about what people would think all the time. Not just about her hair, but so much. But she seemed to smile more and just be more free when she walked around with her short hair. It was like she was finally OK saying, "this is me".

You get much more of that when you turn 40 too...

Welcome back A-dub, Fenton has been lost without you!

I really respect the way that you are dealing with your hair issue. I have PCOS as well, and was dealing with the shedding thing even before the surgery. I am petrified that the loss will accelerate as the weight continues to come off. The fact that you had enough courage to go the wig route (and it looks fabulous by the way!) is huge. I think you look beautiful! And just like WCmom says, the short cut may be totally hot on you!

And as far as guys are concerned, you would really be surprised at how many of them accept us, faults, flaws and all, when we accept ourselves. You are amazing, and any guy worthy of you will agree!