It's been a stressful two months with my husband out of work. We saw financial ruin at every turn and panicked daily at 3 AM. I'm a stress eater, and for awhile there I tested my band and hovered at gaining weight despite a band with close to 9 cc's in it. I gained and lost, adding more unnecessary stress to my life. Even when I thought I was watching my carbs, I refused to keep a food log. I truly believed I was limiting my stress by allowing myself some freedom. (Self-delusion time! Call me Cleopatra, Queen of Denial!)

This weekend, I decided “enough is enough” and went back to my doctor's advice about keeping a food log. Immediately, I got results. The two pounds I'd gained dropped off me, and I was shocked to discover I once again –quite deservedly, I might add!-- had to go through with withdrawal from my carb addiction.

I'm now back on track and less than one pound away from where I was when all my troubles and stress began. I now know the value of my food log and I will not stray away from it again. Someday, perhaps in the not-so-distant future, I'll be able to maintain a decent weight without logging every morsel I put in my mouth, or perhaps occasionally forgiving myself for a slice of birthday cake on my birthday. But today is not that day, and I love my smaller body size and healthier lifestyle too much to consider a quick stroke of a pen a hardship.

Congratulations!!

Thanks for the help.

I have found a place to log my food on line it seems easy as I sit at a computer everyday. It also helps me to keep my paws out of the cookie jar. I do not eat at the computer. I also want to have a weight loss day today and writing it down really helps me too. I just do NOT like doing it. At the end of the day I can see all my meals and calories so I have a record. I loose when I am honest with myself and the log.

So for today I am shutting the hole in my face. I am eight weeks until my band date. It just seems so far away. Do you have any Broth or Stock recipes? I'm planning ahead.

Thanks, imaluckydog

Hi, Imaluckydog! Yes, I do have all the recipes you need. Here are the links:

http://i516.photobucket.com/albums/u323/voiceomt2002/Recipes/CreamofVegetableSoup1.jpg

http://i516.photobucket.com/albums/u323/voiceomt2002/Recipes/CreamofVegetableSoup2.jpg

http://i516.photobucket.com/albums/u323/voiceomt2002/Recipes/BasicChickenBroth.jpg

One is my basic chicken broth, the other two are how to make delicious cream of vegetable soups of all kinds to get you through. I highly recommend using a crock pot to make the chicken broth and freezing about ten ounce serving sizes. Most recent bandsters can only manage about four ounces, but invariably the family wants their bit too. I make the cream of mushroom soup on a regular basis to replace the high-sodium and carb condensed versions in cans, so I have a large amount on hand for recipes. I manage to freeze only half because of my family dipping in! (Hiding the ladles don't work, they used a coffee cup! ARRGH!)

While you're there, feel free to browse through all my other recipe albums. Many of those recipes are for the bandster. Also, look around my earlier entries of my blog for more mushies. I posted quite a few. I'm always on the lookout for more!

Congratulations on getting back down and I'm amazed you only gained two pounds through all that (I gained your two pounds this weekend...wine + cooking great holiday foods + no restriction = pounds = unhappy me).