Paula Bee

Amazing day for you! Hope you took that lobster home for leftovers! Sounds delicious.

Wow.. good observation..thank you for the insight.

I live in Northeast Florida, and there are toooooooooooo many bugs for a garden to survive. Plus it is so hot that much of what you listed cannot even grow here. Every year, we buy a couple of tomato plants in pots, and each of the two or three tomatoes end up being 5 or 10 dollar tomatoes, after all the potting soil, miracle grow, pest spray, etc. We got two little tomatoes off the Big Boy plants, and about 10 cherry tomatoes off that bush. Both bushes are dying.. we don't know why. Besides, my idea of gardening is clipping basil or dill off an indoor planter. We have some oregano growing outside... big plant... but every time my pomeranian, Rex, goes outside, he marks that plant... then does it again on his way back in. If I need oregano, I clip it from the highest leaves... his little teeter is not that long. Wonder if that is why the oregano is growing so well?

Phazyme is your friend when you are having horrible gas pains. It makes other gas meds (gas-x) look like candy. Get it at any grocery or drugstore.

Ultimately, the desired weight loss is 2 pounds a week. The reason for the initial fast loss was the liquid diet. If you do any reading about the lapband, it takes up to two years for a very heavy person to lose their weight. Statistically, that equals about 2 pounds a week. Regardless of how much or how little you have to lose, it will average out to appx 2 pounds a week. The band helps you achieve this goal by limiting the quantity you eat, but I personally think that its greatest benefit to me will be helping me keep the weight off. I don't know if this encourages or discourages you. You will have times you lose fast and times you don't, but if you stick with the plan, it will all average out in the end.

I have a friend who is in AA, Richard H., who gave me some valuable advice. I want to share this advice with those of us who have made some bad food choices. Please excuse the slight profanity in the quote, as I am trying to keep it close to what he actually said. All of us have had bad choices in our life... alcoholism, gluttony, overspending, infidelity. We also have had experiences that damaged us inside and hurt or destroyed our self-esteem...insults, teasing, parents and friends criticism, job discrimination, etc...Deep wounds and bad experiences and choices. This is all the "shit" in our lives. We all have to cross a bridge EVERY SINGLE DAY from where we are to where we want to be. Under that bridge flows all the "shit" from our life experiences. When we cross that bridge, there are times when we will lose our focus and fall off the bridge into the river of "shit." We have two choices; to stay in the shit and waller around in our past that is flowing over and around us, sometimes going under, OR we can climb out of that river, wash ourselves off, and cross the bridge to the next step in our healing. That impacted me so deeply, as my overeating and binging are the result of past experiences, even if it just something as simple as making bad food choices one day. Sometimes I have fallen off the bridge, (sometimes multiple times for the same thing,) into the shit of my life, and I have wallered around in that river, but most of the time I have climbed out, washed myself off, and crossed the bridge. We all have that choice to make. Make the good choice, and if you fall off, climb out and try again.

Cedar, where are you?

I am 54, and weight loss is slower than it was when I was younger. Between my first day of solids and my first fill, I didn't lose a single pound. I was soooooo upset. I talked to Dr. Miranda when I went back for my second fill, asking her what I was doing wrong. She and I went through my daily typical diet, and she said I don't have to eat a "salad plate" breakfast, just a "leetal half of a banana, or a "leetal" bit of dried cereal, which was a relief, because I hate having to eat breakfast. She also asked me if I was noticing any non-scale related body changes and if I had measured myself before I started. No, I hadn't, and she told to do it immediately. She asked if I had noticed my clothes getting bigger, and the answer was yes. I have some now that I feel like a slob wearing. Finally, the most important thing I noticed was a landmark for me. I DIDN'T HAVE TO USE THE SEATBELT EXTENDER ON THE AIRPLANE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN YEARS! Not only that, but I had a couple of inches of seatbelt left over when I fastened it. Soooo... check these other things... weight loss isn't always shown on the scale.

Cathy, I LOVE your new picture! It is wonderful!

Is she wrong? LOL!

I am so excited for you.... enjoy your "mini-spa" vacation and let us know how it went.

Wow.. you are an inspiration to me. How wonderful that you are continuing with your weight loss goals. Thanks for filling us in.

LMAO!

I know I am often the party pooper, but sometimes I have good news, too! Like the Wendy's chili. I was a weight watcher's leader for a long while after I lost the second 100 pounds, so I am very informed. I also read everything related to weight loss/gain. (My doc says that I know more about weight loss than her, which is unfortunate, because most doctors only have one semester/rotation.. whatever.. in nutrition.) I certainly am NOT the end all and be all... I just don't want anyone to make an uninformed decision that could affect their weight loss.

NO STRAIGHT JUICE unless you are constipated. Works great as a laxative, as you have figured out. Glad you are on the banded side now... welcome!

YAY... I know you cannot wait. Enjoy your trip, too. Keep us updated.

OMG LUKE! What an amazing and happily ever after story. You both look fantastic. What an example you are for the people you meet and treat!

While I never (formerly) would have encouraged ignoring a teacher, specially since I formerly was one, I think Julie is right and just take it easy to start with and don't do anything with your abs. The teacher isn't going to fly out of the pool and beat you about the head and shoulders with a wet noodle just because she sees you taking it a bit easy.

Congratulations on your pre-surgery weight loss and I know you cannot wait (weight?) til Thursday. I go to the new YMCA on Fleming Island in Orange Park. I am afraid I wouldn't go if it was any farther off. I have trouble with the things you do because of my knees.. and my fibro. We will have to get together sometime. Send me a message if you ever want to talk, and I will send you my phone number. BTW, if you are my friend Dianne, who lives on the intercoastal, I will faint. Also, I can hardly stand the thought of giving up Barbara Jean's she crab soup forever.

Julie.. thank you for reminding me.. I sort of did what you said already.. have hung toward the back with the "upper middle aged" people, noodles under our arms and just swishing and kicking our feet.. I stayed moving the whole time, and the only thing that bothered me afterwards was a kind of stiff area in my neck, along one side.. don't know how in the world I did that! I did have to buy a new suit, and they were 16 bucks, so I bought 2. Catalina's, even, at Wallyworld. I had one, but it had been SIX years since I had put it on, and the elastic was a little..mm... non functional. You are right about one more thing... suiting up and showing up is the hardest part for me. This time, I will break through that urge to just stay home all the time. I can do this...

Thanks for posting the pictures. It is so nice to know who we are talking to. (Or, to whom we are speaking. ... any English teachers out there?)

Congratulations! Gotta love those milestones!

Hot Dog! You go girl! (ACK! another food reference)

Okay.. I know I am the calorie police around here, but wings are very high calorie/g of protein. You can eat them as a treat once in a while, but you cannot really eat enough of the meat to even count it as a protein. More than half the calories for each wing is fat.. not good.. Nutrition Facts Serving Size 1 unit (yield from 1 lb ready-to-cook chicken) (29.0 g) 1 wing, bone removed (49.0 g) One wing unit (drummie or flat) Amount Per Serving Calories 94 Calories from Fat 57 % Daily Value* Total Fat 6.3g10% Saturated Fat 1.7g8% Polyunsaturated Fat 1.5g Monounsaturated Fat 2.6g Cholesterol 23mg8% Sodium 93mg4% Total Carbohydrates 3.2g1% Dietary Fiber 0.1g0% Protein 5.8g (for drummie) Vitamin A 1% • Vitamin C 0% Calcium 1% • Iron 2% This is without any kind of sauce on it. Here are the values for Tyson's in the freezer dept of the store: Nutrition Facts Serving Size 3 pieces (96.0 g) Amount Per Serving Calories 220 Calories from Fat 135 % Daily Value* Total Fat 15.0g23% Saturated Fat 3.5g18% Polyunsaturated Fat 3.5g Monounsaturated Fat 6.0g Cholesterol 110mg37% Sodium 560mg23% Total Carbohydrates 1.0g0% Protein 20.0g * Based on a 2000 calorie diet

I have a magic bullet and I love it.. it is easy to use and clean up.. makes enough for 1.