Paula Bee

Hooray! :lb21: Welcome to bandland.

Mine is a standard therapist that works with me on my negative self image and lack of self-worth. Positive steps have been this surgery, and we are working on the issues that caused the weight gain in the first place and positive "self-speak" to replace the negative "recording" that goes round and round in my head." For me, obesity is the symptom of a bigger problem, and I am making positive strides in that area. Obesity has such a negative impact on our self-worth, and recovering myself is the most valuable thing of all.

Clearing the cache helped and it finally uploaded my new pic. Thanks to everyone for your great suggestions. I LOVE THIS GROUP! >

I LOVE reading about other peoples' successes. It is very uplifting to me.

I did the same thing.. had my husband take control of the scales. As you can see in my picture, he is skinny as a rail, so he NEVER weighs. Sometimes he hides the scales in the house, and sometimes he takes them to work. He brings them home (or unhides them) on Fridays for me to weigh. Works great for me, because I am one of those addictive personalities that would weigh multiple times a day if the scales were accessible.

I was just a lurker in the forums when I scheduled my lapband surgery, but I knew I would have family that would make my life MISERABLE by trying to talk me out of going to Tijuana. To stop that before it started, I paid my deposit, bought my plane tickets, and had websites ready to email each member of my family. When I told them, and they started their tirade, I just told them that it was too late, that the whole thing was already paid for, and they could bitch and moan all they wanted to, but it wouldn't change anything. Amazingly, it worked, and none of them had anything to say about it after that. After I returned from an amazing trip, each of them grilled me for details, and were amazed that I had such a wonderful experience at such a new, beautiful, clean clinic with amazing doctors and staff. Anyway, that is the way I handled family.

Yay for such a pleasant experience, and Hooray for being one of the intelligent men who take this step to save their lives. Best wishes and hope to hear of your progress often. =D>

Alas, sadly, I do not have enough boobs for them to be glued down. Scary part is that they will shrink with the rest of me... (Please, God, NOOOOO!) For those of you who want to pick at the glue from the incisions, try pouring elmers on your palm, spread it around, and let it dry. When you peel it off, it is soooooooooo much fun, and hurts less than the incision clue. I am a glue and wax peeler (palms only) since forever. I also had to pick up all my students' glue to keep them from doing the same! Childish fun!

I am having trouble updating my avatar. I am trying to place the demented picture with the same on I have in my personal pictures. You can see what happened when I tried to change it. Help!

I am flying to TJ on May 6th to get my first fill. Is anyone else going at that time?

You will beat it.. the human will is a powerful thing, once we can tap into it. He gave you the tools, now you are doing the work. The only failure is from not having tried at all, and I KNOW, I KNOW you can do this. I will be waiting anxiously to hear how you are progressing :lb18:

Pictures ARE worth more than a thousand words, and yours say a LOT. Congratulations.. you are looking fabulous! :lb21:

I think it is a good idea, but my clothes that I have shrunk out of are sizes 4x, 26, and 24 talls. Generally, there isn't anyone that has lost some weight that large that can use my things. Sometimes I can sell a few things at a clothes closet type store, but generally, I just have to donate them. If anyone wants those sizes, let me know

Don't feel that way, or I will have to put you in time-out! lol.. There are no bad questions, ever, and posting in the group isn't an issue either. One thing I know from my long experience as a teacher is that if one person has a question, there are more out there who have the same question but feel stupid or afraid to ask. When you ask, it helps someone else, too. However, if you ARE bleeding from your ass, just contact the doctor first... we don't have the answer, and the visual graphic is just tooooooooooo much. (eyes burning.. ohhhhhh!)

It is so good hearing about your progress. I, too, have seen a therapist to deal with the head hunger, and it does make a difference. I will have to follow your inspiration and check weight loss by my clothes sizes rather than the scale. Congratulations! :lb13:

You made me excited, too... jumped up and did a happy dance...

How exciting for you and for us all! You fully illustrate the joy and success we all want to experience during our weight loss journies. Congratulations again and again...

Actually, yes! LOL =D>

There is one about 4 hours from me, so it is actually cheaper for me to fly to TJ than to drive, spend the night, and pay for the fill and flouroscope. I will be going to TJ for my fills.

No kidding! Maybe I should let my hair color grow out! Will I look like you?

TMI... TMI.... TMI... (Warning) I added activia to the equation, too. Last night I couldn't sleep because I was in so much pain... had to use the heating pad. Not sure what worked, but today I gave birth to a "guinea pig"... toilet had trouble flushing. Please, Please don't wait as long as I did to correct the situation. It leaves all those toxins in your body. Thanks to everyone who responded, and apologies to those I grossed out

I forgot that when I paid, it was 275... they had bumped the price down. Also, they DID let me pay by credit card, but I will wait to see if it came out on my credit card bill. It costs me 250 to fly from Florida to Tijuana, and 275 for the visit, which is cheaper than us driving to the closest fill center, spending the night, and the procedure.

I said that... going May 6th, and have already paid by credit card. I think it is a fabulous deal.

How are you feeling today? Have you been shopping yet?

I have already figured out that white bread is a big, painful pb. I have also found that I had no problems with triscuts and corn tortillas. I will learn what else is good/bad for me to swallow/eat as I go.