MamaMichelle

Glad you guys enjoyed it!

Glad you got it working, here's the link to add/edit your avatar: http://www.lapbandforum.com/index.php?act=UserCP&CODE=24

Diva girl, usually editing your ticker is as easy as clicking on the image and a new window should open with the ticker factory website, you just log in with your 4 digit pin and edit your weight info there... then it automatically changes the info/picture on any site that shows your ticker. Somehow when you went to add the text into your signature box from the ticker website you deleted a tag... Here's how to fix it: visit your personal ticker page using this link: http://www.TickerFactory.com/weight-loss/wOL5jls/ Log in with your pin and click Edit/Update Weight Data Change the info you need to change Click Next Make sure you copy ALL the info in the FIRST box called bbcode (the last thing in the link should be [/url] without that part you won't be able to click on it)

bumping this up for Allcndgirl... Maybe we can move it into the Technical Help section?

You can use this link to edit your signature: http://www.lapbandforum.com/index.php?act=UserCP&CODE=22 All you have to do is type whatever text you want into the box just be sure that it doesn't interfere with your ticker text, so make sure you type AFTER the [/img] tag if you want the text below the ticker or if you want the text above your ticker put it BEFORE the tag... Here is the text that I use feel free to use some/all of it to add your information: My Stats: Height 5'4 / Age 26 / Starting Size 22 - Current Size 14 Starting/Highest Weight 01/01/08: 247 lbs Date of Surgery Weight .02/28/08: 226 lbs (-21lbs lost in 8 weeks on pre-op) Post Op/Current Weight 05/01/08: 200 lbs (-26lbs lost as of 2 months post-op) Here is the link on how to post the glitter stars... http://www.lapbandforum.com/index.php?showtopic=5571

Is Your Personality Making You Fat? By: Irene Rubaum-Keller Is there a fat personality type? Do overweight people share certain characteristics that contribute to their weight issues? Studies have looked for similarities in people who battle their weight and have found a few. In general, the healthier the personality, the more successful the person is at losing weight and keeping it off. The two unhealthy tendencies I see most often in the people I treat are: they tend to put other people's needs ahead of their own, and they don't take credit for their successes. Those two tendencies, in concert, are very common in people who battle their weight. If that is you, or someone you love, you will see how those tendencies can contribute to overeating. The tendency to put other people's needs ahead of your own is not a bad thing. It is only when it goes too far, that it becomes a problem. When the Mom feeds the screaming baby before she feeds herself, it's no problem. When I am so afraid that you won't like me if I say no to you, that I am willing to do things I really, really don't want to do just so you'll like me; then it becomes a problem. I will do things for you but resent doing them. If I have trained myself to use food to deal with my feelings, I might just eat that resentment rather than risk having a confrontation and possibly losing a "friend". It's as if my self esteem is so low that I think people only value me for what I can do for them and not for who I am. People who consistently put other people's needs first tend to attract people who will use them. "Oh Janet will do it, she never says no." One client of mine, who is now finding her sense of self, knew she was getting better when she asked a friend if there was anything she could do to help and the friend said, "Could you clean the bathroom?" She said, "No, I'm not doing that." In that moment she knew she had turned a corner. She is no longer friends with the woman who asked her to clean the bathroom. Not because she refused to clean her bathroom, but in that moment she also realized that this person was just using her. If in addition to putting others first, you don't take credit for your successes, then you are not likely to believe that you can control very much. If you do try to accomplish something like weight loss, and have some success, you will think the Diet God is with you, or you're just lucky this time. You might even try to minimize your success with thoughts such as, "It's not the losing it but the keeping it off that matters. I'll probably just gain it back anyway." This way of thinking really makes you feel like you have no control. As if you don't matter and have no effect. If you feel like you have no control, then you really can't lose weight and keep it off because that requires self discipline and a certain amount of control. Losing weight also requires that you put yourself on your list of priorities. That you make time to buy fresh produce, cook healthy food, exercise, keep track of what you're eating, educate yourself about calories, weigh yourself and focus on you. You may even need to tell someone you love, "I'm sorry but I can't do that for you now because I'm going to the gym." The shift between taking care of everyone else and taking care of yourself can be huge for someone with very low self esteem. So in order to lose weight and keep it off, you have to work on your self esteem, and not just your weight. You have to like yourself enough to do the work it takes to lose weight and keep it off. In my previous blogs I have outlined the nuts and bolts of weight loss. If you don't yet know how to lose weight, those blogs will give you the tools. Armed with those tools the only thing standing between you, and being the weight you want to be, is you. That's it for now. Good luck and let me know how you're doing. About the Author: Irene Rubaum-Keller is a licensed psychotherapist who has been in private practice in the Los Angeles area for over twenty years. She specializes in treating people with eating disorders as well as motherless daughters (women who experienced early mother loss). In addition to her private practice Irene has been on staff at UCLA’s Risk Factor Obesity clinic for the past fifteen years where she works with some of the most esteemed leaders in the field of obesity research and treatment. She has published numerous articles, both in professional journals and for the popular media. Her television appearances as an expert guest include: World News Tonight, Penn and Teller’s Showtime Original Series, 9 on the Town, UPN, KTLA and NBC news.

Autobiography In Five Short Chapters by Portia Nelson I. I walk down the street, There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I fall in. I am lost...I am helpless. It isn't my fault. It takes forever to find a way out. II. I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I pretend I don't see it. I fall in again. I can't believe I am in the same place. But, it isn't my fault. It still takes a long time to get out. III. I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I see it is there. I still fall in. It's a habit. My eyes open. I know where I am. IV. I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I walk around it. V. I walk down another street.

Lol that's quite a scale, it sounds like a slot machine you never know if it is going to be kind to you or not.... If you're getting crazy readings I would check to make sure it's resting on a hard and level surface (not your carpet) If it's still giving you different numbers I would change the batteries!!

Reneej- Check your card again does it say 10CC or 10CM?? The 10CM band holds 4cc's of fluid- The 10CC band is known as the VG band

ABSOLUTELY!! In fact Dr. Ortiz sells Benefiber on his website as part of the post-op Optifast Shake package.. I have been taking it once or twice a day and I have been really regular!

My bread resistance only started about 8-10 days after my fill.. Too bad I didn't eat a cheeseburger then since I guess I will never be able to eat one again (unless I eat just the burger with no bun, but it's just not the same you know) oh well it's a great thing if I think about it... Just one more food I have to end my love affair with! I had pizza the other day (it was all that was served at the place we had my son's birthday party) and I didn't even want to attempt the crust so I just ate the cheese and pepperoni off the top.. Didn't have any issues!! Don't get discouraged Mac, I have been stalking you on myspace ( lol) and I can see you are totally losing inches so don't stress about the scale I hit a plateau where I didn't lose anything for almost 3 weeks, once I started back with a little bit of exercise I started losing again!

A very interesting idea, I am on the computer 18-20 hours a day (website designer) so I do have a tendency to wander onto other sites when I'm bored or don't want to work!

The only person who knows is my husband, this past weekend my mom was in town and she saw me for the first time since Christmas when I was 47lbs heavier... I really wanted to tell her but for some reason I couldn't not sure if I didn't want her to know I spent $8000 to lose some weight or if she would think I took the easy way out. She is overweight too so she could benefit but I just couldn't do it... Maybe someday!

I couldn't find my port either until I got my 1st fill and Dr. Romero showed me where it is: about one inch below and 1/4 an inch to the left of my port SCAR. If you press on that spot you feel a little resistance, unlike if you poked any other place on my flabby belly. There is really no reason to NEED to feel it some people think it's cool but you have nothing to worry about!

Everyone is updated through May 5th! I will be updating every other day (usually late in the evening on the odd days i.e. the 3rd,5th,7th etc) If you do a morning workout and an afternoon workout I will count that as 2 as long as they are both at least 30 min!! Lynzz I moved you to Platnium - Keep up the good work! I wanted to give a smiley face for each workout but you're only allowed 20 smiley faces in a post so I had to change everyone to a face x your number of workouts... So if you see x 4 that means that you have done 4 workouts Keep Sweating!

Here are my workouts for the past week May 3rd Treadmill Walking at speed 3.0 for 1 hr May 4th Yoga Booty Ballet - Total Body Sculpting Video 35 min May 5th Turbo Jam - Punch, Kick and Jam Video 40 min

This video is from a Bandster Conference held by the members of another site that I sometimes visit. It is a 3 min video with before and after pictures of 20 of their members and it is pretty inspirational!! Here's the link to the video: As we have mentioned a few times before the 2/28 group is already planning a Las Vegas get together at the end of Feb 2009 (our 1 year bandiversary) hopefully we will have other members of our site join us and we can make our own progress video!!!

I didn'ts have a chance to go there but I did consider it so I did some research on it! This is the site I used: http://www.rosaritobeach.net/ I know that it is about 30 min from TJ, you can take a cab there but I don't recall the cost. Here's the brochure version: Less than 19 miles from Tijuana is located the beautiful town of Rosarito, known for their beaches, where people practice all kind of aquatic sports and horseback riding. Rosarito has a party atmosphere, and counts with comfortable hotels and exclusive seafood restaurants. Here you can eat the famous fish tacos or go to night clubs and dance all night. During the summer they have concerts and massive events on their beaches. Mona-Camille made a detour there during her trip and said it was a crazy scene but that was spring break week so I bet that is why! She can better describe the water and beach conditions but I do know that Dr. O says to avoid pools and hot tubs for 3 weeks after surgery and since the ocean must be a lot dirtier than a chlorine filled pool I would say you should at least wait that long before taking a dip! Maybe you can plan to visit the beach before your surgery!!

Hey Jacklyn, First off don't stress I think that having ANY fill is better than having NO fill. Who did your fill at the OCC? I was there on 4/18 and 5 of us got a fill with Dr. Romero and I did notice a pattern: 3 of us got 1.7cc and 2 of us got 1.6cc so that does seem a little low in comparison to our group but I think everyone is different in how much they need and what a certain fill level means to their band!! I too thought that I didn't have any restriction and then about 6 days after my fill it really kicked in and now I can't have any bread or bread-like items... I can still eat 2-3 cups of salad or 1 cup of meat at a sitting so I will be going back for another fill at the end of the month. So as I said before I think that having some fill is better than NO fill because it has kept me from eating cheeseburgers, biscuits and dinner rolls over the last 3 weeks since my fill so that 1.6ccs is working for me somewhat.. Fills aren't an exact science, what matters is you have taken the first few steps down the right path!!

nicolek- Go For it!! BeBe- OUCH!! I had my belly button pierced in high school and college, I had to take it out when I was pregnant and I have a horrible scar since my stomach was expanding when my scar/hole was trying to close up. I was thinking of getting it pierced again to cover the icky scar... Hopefully there isn't too much scar tissue to prevent me from doing it!! You can kind of see the scar in this picture (I still have a lot of belly button hangover):

Sounds like you guys have a GREAT group, you'll soon find these bandster buddies will be a HUGE part of your success and support system!! GOOD LUCK!

When I was there for my 1st fill (4/18) there was a woman there having her band removed, I don't recall the exact reasoning behind it but I believe she had horrible reflux and even with zero fill she was still having issues.. I believe I remember Hanna (WAgal) saying she spoke with her more than I did so maybe she can fill in the details! Again the band isn't a magic wand that is going to whisk your food issues away, it does take support and hard work to make the band work for you I think some people aren't ready to make the commitment.. Hope it wasn't too much of a deterrent for you Maytee, you've made great progress and your 1st fill will only make things better- So keep up the good work!

I just have to post this great new pic of Kimmie... Looking so good babe!

Way to go girl, that fill is working for you already!! Congrats for making it to ONEderland, how great is it to know you will never be over 200lbs again (well maybe when you FINALLY are able to get pregnant, I think we can let that one slide, lol) WE YOU!!

I found this at http://www.merz.com/health/dermatology/scars/treatment/ The proper way to treat scars Scarred skin needs attention and must not be neglected. It is particularly important to protect it from external irritation and drying out. Recent scars should not be exposed to extreme temperatures for around six months to a year. Exposure to intense sunlight and UV rays, sun beds, saunas and the cold can have a negative effect on scar development – especially in the case of sensitive and newly formed tissue. It can also affect tissue regeneration. Adverse changes in the color and appearance of the skin may also occur. When outdoors protect your scar by using a high-factor sunscreen product Avoid wearing tight clothes or garments which can rub over scarred skin. Scar tissue is more sensitive than healthy skin. It may react to irritation of this kind with redness and hardening. Particularly protect scars located near bones (e.g. on the elbow, shin or ankle). Be careful not to injure the scar tissue again (e.g. with hard edges on your shoes). Fresh scars can easily open when playing sports (e.g. if hit by a ball). This makes the chances of healing less favorable. Skin which is already damaged cannot regenerate as well as healthy skin. Relatively smooth scars on the face, neck or neckline area can be covered temporarily using special make-up techniques (camouflage). Ask your doctor about this. Or get professional advice from a good beauty parlor.