Dontondan

Stormy, I can sympathize with you totally. I have 1-3 foster kids in my home at one time and they are all "special needs" kiddos and can be a challenge at the best of times. Just remember the better health that will come with your weight loss and you will have more energy to deal with the tough times. I take in the kids that no one else wants to deal with and it is not pretty.....most of them come from horrible home situations or parents that have "given up" or just don't give a damn. I applaud you for your actions and removing your son from the situation and to hell with those that don't have a clue what it is like to have a kid that has this type of problems and just stop and stare... The confidence that you will gain alone will make a huge difference in your personal life and handling this type of situation. You also need time for yourself, so take the time you need and do what you need to do, we all need a break sometimes. Hugs to you, Donna

I have found that I can 't eat at all when I am stressed. Sometimes I have to wait until everyone in the house is in bed to eat.....hard to explain. I can't eat at the table as the kids get me so stressed out that I have to PB. This is just the way things are for me and my Band, something I have to live with as there is no way to totally eliminate stress in my life, but there are things I can do to "avoid" it. It is like a door shuts when the stress level goes up and nothing can go through! Thank Goodness that school will be starting again in a few weeks and I will have time during the day to de-stress! You are not alone in this, a lot of us have this problem.

M-Measure yourself to keep track of your progress when the scale doesn't move.

That sounds really delicious!!!!

I want one, too! (whining), oops sorry about the whining.....

And another great post from Mama Michelle!!! You are definitely our "forum cheerleader"!

I found when I get the ice cream craving that I found something called "Slim-a-Bear" Ice cream bars...they are sugar free---not calorie free though, but they are rich tasting and delicious and one of my "guilty pleasures". My kids try to get them from me and I "guard" them for myself!

Vix, I got teary eyed when I read that your hubby has come around finally.....glad to see he is on the "bandwagon" and will be there to support you finally. Donna

You gals go ahead and whine all you want! I will still be here to listen and encourage whoever needs it whenever it is needed! Donna

I hope that you will decide to stay....there are so many supportive people here and not very many of the "trolls".

This Prayer is for you, Mama Michelle! Dear Lord, Please help Michelle find that that is so dear to her heart. Help mend her spirit and give her hope and insight to find her lost treasure.

I finally got to read this posting and was sad to see the "Negative Nelly's" are back again! I do believe that you are doing all that you say you are doing, some people unfortunately have a more difficult time to lose than others.....I happen to be one that when I get stuck, I am stuck for a long time at the same weight. Just keep on doing the "right" things and something has got to give eventually. Age, body type, metabolism, all play a role and we are not all the same so we cannot all lose weight at the same rate as everyone else. Just hang in there and keep plugging away at what you are doing. If nothing else the exercise will help with the metabolism and in time will help you lose some of the weight. It may not show on the scale, but can show on your body mass.

I am glad that I was too busy to check the forum for the past few days and missed out on the drama. Just hang in there, Stormy, there are plenty of wonderful caring people to give you support on this forum. No matter where you go you will have some Negativity about anything, just choose to ignore that sort of stuff and get what you need from the good guys that are one here. Every few months there gets to be some drama on here....keeps us all on our toes, I guess. Don't take things personnally and if someone bothers you just go to "my controls" and you can "manage ignored users" this is a very valuable tool. The majority of us that are on here are here for the same reason that you are and we want to support each other in the good times as well as the bad times. I am here for you and when I need it, you can be there for me. Donna

Paula, You are doing awesome, girl!!! Keep it up and I promise you it will get easier and easier. I miss my water aerobics and can't wait for the kiddos to get back into school so that I can go back. It made my legs so strong and now they are actually shapely and getting skinny!!! I have never in my life had skinny legs!!! You might need to add some Vitamin B12 to your diet. I was getting really tired and the Vit. B12 helped quite a bit when my Dr. checked me it was borderline low. He also checked a bunch of other things that could have been causing the fatigue, but everything else was normal....also stress can wear you down a little bit......I know that we ALL have stress in our lives! Just some ideas. Hang in there and keep being a great Band-ambassador!

I am so glad that I missed the drama by not being on line much this past week. We all have weak moments and it is a fact of life that will never change. I am glad that you got to your sweet spot. I think I am at mine also, but have not been losing as much as I would like (lack of exercise) as I have been so busy with other things and am off of my usual routine due to kids, etc. Can't wait for the kiddos to get back into school next month so I can return to the pool for my daily workouts. I have a kiddo right now that can't be safe in the pool area, so I have been staying away from the pool. Today I went out and got a Health rider and a Pilates machine so I can do some activity at home! My point is....if there is a problem, keep trying to fix it!

Stacey, Glad to see you are back on track...I have been off line for a few days and missed so much! We all have bad days and the extra stress is a killer, but hang in there, we care about you and want you to suceed in this. Thankfully the liquid phase isn't that long, and will be over before you know it. I stayed away from restaurants for that reason...it was too difficult for me to say no. My band was before the Christmas party season so it was really hard, but I only went to parties where they had something that I could have or I took my own (soup at hand) which was convenient and I like the taste. If it was too tempting a place I skipped the party or just went, made an appearance and left....my friends all understood the situation and if they didn't, they weren't a friend that cared enough about me to matter! Donna

You poor thing, I can't believe you went through all of that. I would have been passed out after the first "miss". My next fill would definitely be with a flouro to make sure that the idiot didn't damage your port or the tubing. He sounds very inexperienced and probably shouldn't be doing any fills. I would definitely have been "traumatized" after all of that. With all that poking and stabbing going on he may have done more damage than good. If you still don't have restriction he may have punctured the tubing and it should be checked.

Band Groupie in 08!!!!! Sounds like a plan!

Welcome back! Did you have a great time?

I had thought that I had the picture on my first post, but as usual I did it wrong....so here it is, me and Arabella. http://a691.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/image...65e4cc1587a.jpg

Well, Congratuations and welcome to Band-land!

Oh, Vix, My heart goes out to you honey! Stay strong and stick to your guns. Sounds as though he is very scared, angry and confused. If there is any way that we can be of help, just hollar and you can email me at Dontondan@msn.com to get my phone number if your hubby has questions and I would be happy to answer them and my husband would even talk to him if it would help. I am about 8 months out from surgery now and it has been successful in many ways. I didn't let my husband accompany me to Mexico (he wanted to), but I felt he would make me too nervous and hover over me and I wanted to be clear headed and concentrate on what I was going through without worrying about how he was worrying. Donna

Reading the reply's just made me all misty....sniff! Yes, she is my baby and well worth the money to care for her. I don't think the money was ever an issue.....I couldn't lose another one of my "golden girls"!

Sasha, I still "think" about food a lot, but I do experience "full" sensation and am able to leave food on my plate for the first time in my life. I has taken 3 fills so far to get to this point. I am also an emotional eater and still struggle with that. I guess I don't plan my life around what my next meal is anymore....this is all good and helps. I used to be able to constantly eat from morning until I went to bed and now I eat a small plate (dessert size) and that is enough until the next meal. I never experienced "normal" meals and I guess this is what normal looks like now. Last night I had a cheeseburger....regular patty size with a slice of cheese and a blob of Mayo, no bun and was "full" after eating 3/4 of it. Pretty amazing stuff! Prior to the band my "normal" was 2 large cheeseburgers with the works on a huge deli bun plus fries and maybe some cole slaw and a large diet coke. So if you think you have a positive attitude that you can do the trial and error work, the band might just be the thing for you. I know it wouldn't work on my husband as he cannot commit to no soda's and stopping when he is full. It is all on your attitude and if you are willing to make the changes necessary in your life. Otherwise you will just cheat yourself. If you have any other questions, you will always get an honest answer from me and others here on this forum...no sugar coating it! Donna

I saw one of those in the store and was interested to try one, but a friend brought me some fresh greens from her garden and my fill is too tight for the tender forms of lettuce and it doesn't chew well enough for me to eat! I can do Romaine and head lettuce just fine. Let me know how you like it though as I would love to do fresh herbs in one at some point.