TracieR

Love the idea of using the laughing cow cheese in place of the mayo. I'm going to try that! Thanks for sharing!

Grapes are fine for me. I slice them up and chew, chew, chew. Sometimes I'll also add green onions and sliced almonds. YUMMY! I think I know what I'll be making for lunch today.

I make a simple curry chicken salad. I use boneless breasts that I roast and then shred. I add light mayo, curry powder to taste- a little goes a long way, but then again I like a lot of curry - then slice grapes and salt and pepper. Sounds weird but I think it is delicious!

Some of the choices I pick are: Wendy's - small chili is great. Pizza place - side order of meatballs. quiznos - i get the flat bread sandwich and usually don't eat the flatbread, just the insides. diner - greek salad. WOW! I need to start bringing lunch to work, I eat out way too much! LOL!

YAY! That is such a great feeling! We went to Sesame Place at the end of July and I had the same experience! I truly enjoyed myself. I was able to go on all the rides with my son which was an amazing feeling! Congrats to you!

I'm glad that everything is ok with you! I have learned in the past 5 months that I really have to listen to my own body. Everyone on here has such different experiences it is hard to compare. I'm glad you listened to your instincts. Good Luck!

You should try some mushies. I didn't puree anything, couldn't do it. I ate soft scrambled eggs, tuna fish or canned chicken with lowfat mayo, turkey chili, fat-free refried beans with some fat free sour cream and lowfat cheese. Go very slowly and chew, chew, chew. The only time I get stuck now is when I eat too fast. Also, check out the mushie stage recipes thread on here. I got tons of ideas from there. Good Luck!

Today my trainer is finally back! He texted me this morning and told me to be prepared for a kick-ass cardio night. At first I was scared but then I realized I so need it and I can do anythign for 2 housr! I have been so lazy without him. My original plan back in April was: to get a trainer, use him through the summer, get in the habit of it, join a gym and keep up the workouts on my own by the Fall. Him being away taught me I am so not ready for that! I need him to keep me going and motivated. Not only do I get a better workout with him, I also workout more without him. I mean if I see him twice during the week I am more likely to work out more the other days. So now I am going to try out a new plan. I am going to set my alarm for 6:30 and get up and walk/jog 3 miles every morning before work. I am hoping that this gets me exercising everyday. I also hope that it tires me out and gets me to go to bed earlier so that I don't stay up and eat!!! There is a method to my madness! I am writing it here so I am somewhat accountable. I will start tomorrow! On another note: I've been doing really well with food. I have really watched my protein intake and made sure I am taking my vitamins. I wasn't doing too well with those lately! I still am plagued with the night eating but I'm getting better and trying to make better choices. I also need to make sure there are plenty of healthy snack choices available. I am having trouble getting my water in. I am so not a water drinker. This weekend we ran out of crystal light (decaf iced tea), I wasn't in the mood for water so I drank a half gallon of orange juice over the course of the weekend. So ridiculous. I've always been a big soda/sweets drinker so that has always been my downfall. I could easily drink a 12 pack of soda a day in my before lb days. Any of you have any tips for getting your water in? I will post tomorrow how my workout tonight and tomorrow morning goes! Wish me luck!

I weigh myself everyday but only record my weight every week! I wake up, use the bathroom, weigh in. On Thursday's I record it on a note in my phone.

Totally normal to be bloated. They pump your stomach full of gas to do the procedure. Keep drinking and make sure you are walking to get that gas moving! Good luck to you!

Good Luck to you as you start your new life! You will do great!

There is so much you can do. Do you have stairs? I go up and down my stairs a million times - ok it just feels like a million but I'm up to 70 times (up & down is equal to one) but it really kicks your butt. I have a 2 year old and I pop him in the stroller and we do 3-4 miles a couple of times a week around the neighborhood. He loves it!! On our tv we have free on-demand work outs - not sure if your cable provider has the same but they are great and they change every month or so. If not get some videos or check out youtube - great place to watch exercise videos! I also love my Wii - EA Active. It is a great workout! Good Luck to you. Hope this helps!!

I think it more to let yourself get used to how tight you are and not to get stuck. My doctor says soft food for the following 24 hours only. I don't think you "ruined" it. Hope this helps! Good Luck!

I'm the same way with the exercising. Every excuse in the book. I had to get a trainer otherwise I just don't do it. He's been on vacation for 2 weeks and I have worked out a total of 3 times. UGH! You're doing fabulous! Good Luck getting back to the exercise!

I have the Wii Active game. Honestly, I have had it for over a year now and just broke it out last night. A great workout. My legs are killing me today (a million squats!). I'm going to try the 30 Day challenge they have on it.

My doctor gave me a prescription for prescription painkillers pills. I had to buy a pill cutter and I split and used them for a few days after. I'm sure they will give you something...if they don't just ask!! Good Luck!

Congratulations! So exciting....wishing you a happy and healthy 9 months!!

Love it! I completely agree! I tell everyone - it helps keep me accountable. Have a great week!

That exact thing happened to me! One day I was feeling restriction and then a couple of days later I could eat forever. I posted the question on here and asked my doctor. Both answers were that as you lose weight you lose fat around your band site it loosens the band up. Good Luck to you!

WOW ...that is so amazing! You must be so excited! Congratulations! Hope you have a happy & healthy 9 months! (i hope to be able to make the same announcement sometime soon *fingers crossed*)

My shoulder pain lasted about 5 weeks. I tried everything walking, heat, tylenol. The heat seemed to combat the pain the best (other than the vicodin which I didn't want to take too much of). The constant pain diminished after about 5 weeks. Now when my shoulder starts to hurt I know that I ate too much or drank to soon after eating. My doctor says its referred pain from the phrenic nerve that is near your diaphragm. So when I eat too much now my band hits the phrenic nerve! I hope it goes away quick for you!!! Good Luck!

This morning my husband had the day off and had to go to DMV. He took my son (who is 2) with him and left pretty early this morning to get there right when they opened. I was able to get up and get ready for work ALL BY MYSELF! It was wonderful. To any of you out there who have more than one child and have to be out of the house in the morning I give you so much credit! It is a lot of work to get just him ready - WHEW! I started this lapband journey to lose weight because I want to have another child and be healthy. I was 372 pounds on the morning of my surgery. I was disgusted with myself. I was 35 years old and almost 400 pounds. I wasn't getting my period. My knees and back hurt. I was out of control. Since having the surgery I have been selfish in a good way. My husband and I decided that in order for me to be successful I needed to have time at least 3 nights a week to go and work out. That meant he had to stay home with our son in the evenings and we had to change up our budget. It is a big change in our family. Our before lap-band routine was that my husband got home from work at about 7pm we would have dinner that we usually ordered out for (my son had already eaten) and either my husband would go work out and I would clean up, get my son to bed, lay around watch tv or play on the internet- or my husband was home and we would do those things together. Either way I was lazy and I would continuously snack and drink soda while getting things done around the house. Our routine has changed so much. I now get home from work and cook a healthy dinner for us, play with my son, bathe him and get him to bed. Then 3 nights a week I go over to my friends where our trainer meets us and we work out for a good 2 hours. While most nights I try and think of excuses why not to go - I'm tired, my knee hurts, etc. I go and afterward I feel great! I just push passed those negative thoughts and sweat it all out! (Last night I rode my bike 7 miles!!!) I have been doing this for over 3 months now. My new goal is to do some kind of exercising on the nights I don't work out with the trainer. I'm going to start by just going for a walk after dinner with my family. Maybe opening up those Wii games I have had for years and are still in the boxes! I'm even thinking of borrowing the Insanity DVD's from my neighbor and trying them! (I've also gotten my period regularly for 3 months in a row!) It is so exciting to do things that I just assumed in the past that I couldn't do. I'm willing to try anything. This morning with my free time before leaving for work I took my coffee into the office and looked up where I can rent kayaks. I've always wanted to try that! You know, lately people have been telling me you look great, I don't even care about it really. Honestly, it is a great side effect of the weight loss but I am more so celebrating my new found freedom! My freedom from stress and worry over whether I will fit in the chair, booth, or amusement park ride and my fears that I am not keeping up with the other Mom's at the park. I have the confidence to try new things now. I hadn't ridden a bike in 15 years and now I've ridden 10 miles. We took my son to Sesame Place and I was able to go on the rides with him, I still had to squish a little , but I had the confidence to try where as before I would have made my husband do it. I still have a long way to go - want to lose another 100 pounds but I am on my way. I am slowly but surely getting there and I am so excited. It makes saying no to my favorite cannolis ok. I am definitely far from a perfect bandster but I am living my life far more than I ever was before and I'm loving it! Sorry this post is all over the place just wanted to share my thoughts and they are all over the place too! Hope you all have a wonderful day!

Great Job! I agree wholeheartedly about doing things that you can realistically do forever. Keep up the good work!

I haven't been a perfect bandster. I'm a night eater. I wait until my husband and son are asleep and I eat bad things. I am such an addict. I tell myself go to bed! At least now it is not the quantity but the quality of what I eat. Chocolate milk, ice cream, peanut butter crackers, any crap I can find. It really is an addiction. I've been doing better and like I said I can't eat too much but I can't stop myself. What can you do but work on it. I am working through it. I try to keep myself busy, clean my house, go online, maybe go for a walk. I definitely have been doing better but it is my nemesis. The good thing I can say is that since getting my band I start over everyday being a good bandster. That has always been my downfall in the past, falling off the wagon and giving up. This tool has helped me not give up. I can't believe it has been 5 months. The first month I wasn't sure I did the right thing. Everyone kept telling me I would feel better once the weight started coming off. Now I'm down about 80lbs and I'm happy with that. Honestly while I know it is good I wish it was more. I'm addicted to losing! I'm trying to switch my night eating habit to a working out habit. I have had a trainer for about 3 months and that has been my saving grace. He pushes me and gets me to do things that I NEVER thought possible! Well for the last two weeks he has been on vacation and I have been on my own. The lazy has creeped back in. He gave me a routine to follow while he is gone and I have only done 2 nights of it. So I guess I learned that I definitely still need the trainer. We'll keep budgeting it until I feel like I can keep it up myself. I did work out last night. Every excuse I can think of ran through my head all day not to go. I went and I am so glad I did. It was hard work but I have no guilt and I didn't eat last night! My goals for this week is to do my routine 3 times (at least). I can do it, I will do it!