Leaderboard

Are you eating 1/2 cup to 1 cup of food total per meal and stopping when it's gone even if you're still hungry? Are you making good food choices and getting in all of your protein? Do you count calories? Have you had fills? Do you have restriction? All these things will greatly effect weight loss. I suspect there is nothing wrong with your band but rather you may have to make some changes to your eating habits.

Considering I had to work Sunday I had a pretty decent weekend. Weather was great. My Wife and I stumbled on to a great deal at Sam's Club Saturday. IPhone 4 8GB model onsale for $48 bucks each and they were waiving the activation fee for this weekend only. We were due for an upgrade so how could we say no to two IPhones for just under $100. Who cares if they don't have Suri!! It's over-rated anyway. Going from an Android to an IPhone is a world of difference. I am not a Mac guy by any means as this is my first Apple purchase but so far I am impressed. So much more stable then our Androids. I did have a two stuck incidents with the band this weekend. Saturday morning we went to breakfast and I got scrambled eggs with a little bit of home fries and wheat toast. It was near the end of breakfast I ate a half of slice of toast a little fast and it got stuck. I started hiccuping and finally I guess I made a face of some sort and my wife told me to go outside and she would pay the bill. It finally passed but wow I have done this to many times in the past week. Since my last fill on 7/2 I have had 3 stuck episodes. Two of them involving bread. So bread is now out of the picture until I learn to eat slower and chew. I know its not the bands fault. I did it each time by eating too fast and not chewing enough. I really need to buckle down and pay serious attention to my habits or I am going to do some damage to myself or band or both. I don't want to cause a slip. Good news is, I think I am definitely in the zone now. I can eat a little and go a long time before I get hungry and I don't have any head hunger or cravings. I am really enjoying this. I am down another 2lbs this morning for a total of 90lb since October with 54lbs of it gone since Surgery day April 16. I have gone from 6xl t-shirts to 4xl. Here on out until it becomes habit I am going to eat only at the dining room table away from the tv and laptop so I can focus solely on the food and the chewing. Jean mentioned in her book Bandwagon to put the fork down between bites and I need to make sure I do that. Actually, Jean mentions all of that. Don't eat in front of the tv or computer, chew, chew, and chew and put the fork down between bites. If any of you have not read Jean's book Bandwagon yet it is really a must read. Jean has so much valuable information and tips. It's a must have for Bandsters!! Link to Jean's blog and from here you can order the book http://jean-onthebandwagon.blogspot.com/

http://mygastricsleevelife.blogspot.com/2012/07/week-8-weight-pictures-and-measurements.html

Plateaus are a normal part of the weight loss journey. You may find that mixing up your diet and/or exercise routine will get your scales moving again. In the meantime, take a moment to notice whether your clothes are feeling looser, or maybe your knees ache less than before, or perhaps you are climbing that flight of stairs without getting puffed. These are NSVs (non-scale victories) and they are just as important as seeing the numbers move on the scales.

OK, it has been 20 days since my surgery (REALLY???!!!!) My physical problems have been minor issues that develop when I DON'T follow the rules (i.e. although you may with effort make any food mushy, it's best not to push the envelope too far). My primary problems are all in my head. I'm not hungry even though I average maybe 650 calories a day. I don't have a taste for anything now that the liquid stage is over and I'm on soft foods. I'm grateful for not being physically hungry and not having cravings; however, I have a huge problem with trying to find something else besides food to comfort me. The last week has been hectic. I am on the east coast (DC suburbs) and the violent storm that came through our area made for a couple of challenging days. I'm not complaining about the storm because I was extremely fortunate to get my power (air conditioning) back on so soon. But I also had to offer aid to family who weren't so lucky. Then when the fallout from the storm seemed to be taken care of my nephew who lives with me was in a car accident and taken to the county hospital emergency room. Then one day later my brother had to have emergency surgery. I'm not going to go on about any of these incidents simply because we all have problems and we all have to learn how to cope successfully with our problems. Unfortunately, my coping mechanism has always been food so not being able to stuff my face has made me more anxious. I did worry about not being able to use food as a coping mechanism before the surgery and I can honestly say I was right to worry; however, I was worring about the wrong thing. I worried that I would make myself sick (literally hurt myself) by stuffing my face in a crisis. I'm not saying that I have been following my nutrition guidelines faithfully or that I am not tempted to start chomping on doritos, chocolate, or whatever. When I think of stuffing my face, I automatically think that stuffing myself is going to make me hurt. I hate pain. Fortunately, at this point, I may be safe from damaging myself after being sleeved. Unfortunately, my problem is more subtle and a lot harder to explain. I think not being able to stuff my face is contributing to my depression. I just feel so sad when I think about my family's problems, the world's problems, my cat's problems... I 'm not saying that being sleeved is making me sadder. I'm admitting that even after over a year of therapy about why I eat I haven't developed an adequate substitute for eating to bury my emotions. While I have been writing this blog entry a thought crept into my mind. I should change the title. I don't miss food. The great thing about being sleeved and being blessed with an easy recovery is that I haven't been deprived of anything after the surgery. My surgeon's nutrition guidelines are very generous compared to other practices. What I miss is using food as an antidote to sadness.

Hi Smoggy, keep drinking and eating your protein, one day at a time, don't push it. Your cat is in Good hands. Take care of you so that you can help me get through this next week.

I love this … we're in the same boat! I, too, had to gain a little in order to qualify … but gaining a little is easy, whereas losing a lot is painfully difficult. I had my meeting w/ the doc on 6/14 and he gave me the ok … I needed to have a BMI of 35 or more … after weigh-in I successfully claimed a BMI of 36! Whew! I just started my 3 month journey towards surgery … lots to do between now and then! Best of luck to you!

Patience.... you are so right. I was not always a fat girl.... up until my early twenties... i was a size 0..... 100lb is the most i ever weighted not being pregnant..... I use to not see the "fat" girl..... now i can't see the "thin" girl.... what the hell is up with that..... Thanks you guys for being there

Congrats!!!!