shellyj

hi cindy! i think 70 lbs is AWSOME and you are doing great! i'm sure your body is taking a rest. now on food portions my doc says it 1/2 cup per portion. no more. you can buy mini containers at wal-mart for 50 cents each and each meal should fit in there they only hold a 1/2 cup. this may be more do-able after a fill. or buy the snack size ziplock baggies, they are more of a bandster size! you could alway up your Water intake and restrict your carbs a little. if i lose 70 lbs though in 7-8 months i think i will be extactic!!!! GETTING BANDED ON MONDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D : michelle 325-319-175

hey guys thanks for all the support! i am doing pretty good i have lost 6 pounds since starting the liquid diet! i havent completely been starving myself though! i ate a chicken breast last night! yum! my stomache has shrunk though i am not as hungry. michelle 325-319-175

hey chris! congrats on the date! your lucky my dr wouldnt even see me until i had approval! sept 2 is just around the corner! i cant wait to be banded! please keep us posted on how your doing! does your dr put you on liquids before surgery? i am starving- i mean struggling through 2 weeks liquids only 4 days to go!!! michelle

as soon as i am banded that will be a priority is getting a scale. i would like to know if i am plateuing so i can watch what i eat more or exercise more. i think it will keep me in check! i will try to only weigh once a week. Leo- i just looked at your webpage! your photos look great and yes! what a difference! keep it up! michelle 325-322-150 getting banded 8-18-03!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes i have read the sugarbusters and will follow a cross between the adtkins and sugarbusters. There is a brand sold here in TN called Hodgson Mills they make Pasta and bread flour that is 100% stone ground whole wheat and if i want mac and cheese it will be made with that! same with spagetti or pasta salad or the bread rolls! the flour hasnt been refined and doesnt turn into sugar like - as much as regular bread or most any mainstream product. its no wonder americans are so overweight. Thats what is most cheap, convienent and tastes good. i never realized it till a few years ago. The foods that i eat are made from scratch and yummy!!!! of course my boyfriend is a chef! thats part of how i got so big- he just cooks so good and i do love food! do you know where to get a copy of the sugarbusters food list? i cant remember all of the veggies you are allowed to eat?!? michelle 325-322-150 GETTING BANDED 8-18-03!

WOW!!! thank you so much!!!!! i will check online to see if i can find some low carb food dealers! i was thinking thats alot of food for a bandster then i rembered you were PREFILL!!!!! you are doing great! just think when you get your fill it'll be even easier! i like how you squeeze in the tortilla! i am going to try to eat a few potatoes. i figure if i can only eat a half a cup total food per serving i could eat 1 egg and 1/8 cup potatoes (5 carbs) to sop up the grease. that will still leave me with the other 15 carbs to play with. the morning is when i have the hardest time with the adtkins. i can eat meat and cheeses and veggies the rest of the day. its having to eat eggs with bacon that i struggle with. i started doing protien shakes but the taste-:sick not good! i am doing it though! i am looking foreward to the band to see this work for me! Again Great Job! Michelle 325/322/200

thats Great!!!!!! 30 lbs in 6 weeks!!!!! i think it will be easier to do post op and your email makes me very exited! i am on a liquid diet for the next two weeks (pre-op diet) and i am trying to stick to the adtkins now. i am drinking 2 high protien no carb/sugar shakes and eat a 500 calorie meal a day (700 cal. a day im starved). i am going to try to stay on it through my mushy phase right into regular foods. what did you eat post op? i have been concerned about what i would eat then besides the Protein shakes. my Boyfriend is a chef and he said he will make me some homeade chicken Soup with adtkins veggies that we can blend and he can eat the chicken. other than that i am a little stumped. that should be enough though to get through the liquid stage. for mushies i'll eat the soup with the chicken, or chicken salad, or egg salad. GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!!KEEP LOSING!!!!!! michelle

i would do it more as a *treat* not a daily thing. i have heard the carbonation bubbles can cause the pouch to expand before they slide down! i am a fan of diet 7up and am glad i can still drink a few. i figure by the time i get all my Water down i wont be thirsty for anything! :sick lol i have also heard to let it sit open for a few to let som of the carb die down! michelle

I SPOKE WITH MY DIETICIAN ABOUT A WEEK AGO AND MADE THE COMMENT THAT I WAS 'READY TO GIVE UP SODA' AND SHE WAS LIKE AS LONG AS IT IS DIET IT WOULD BE OK. SHE SAID THE NO POP RESTRICTION IS THE FIRST 3-5 WEEKS. THIS IS MY DR'S RULES THOUGH EACH HAS THERE OWN. MICHELLE

oooh by the way ... where were ya'll banded at? i am on day two and i have a headache, and a monster in my stomache! the only thing i can have are Protein shakes, slimfast, carnation, etc. i am doing protien i may just try and do liquids 3 days before and do strict dieting for the next 7 days... has anyone made it 2 weeks? i am struggling. michelle

unfortunatly... there is no mistake... i have the printout right here... i am starving!!!! on the upside though i have found a girl that not only has my same surgeon but also gets banded the same day!!! so we'll be suffering together. she is starved as well. grrrrgrrrgrrrrgrrrr- oooops that was my belly michelle

i am pre band and started my liquid diet yesterday. even in this stage i am trying to do low carbs and no sugar. i have always had a problem with drinking sugar so i think 'none at all is where i need to be now'. in the past i have always done great with drinking Water but as soon as i had the first taste of a *real* coke or sweet tea with sugar and lemon i would quit with the water and only drink sludge. i HATE that i am eating so many chemicals in the *sweatner*. Turbinado is raw sugar cane -non refined- it tastes like reg sugar but it is brown. it is a better sugar. someday:p i think i can do sugar free products until i learn to control the sugar addict in me. i to will be doing a modified adtkins. since my portions will be so small i fell like i can slip in 1 carb as long as it is a *good* choice. how much weight have you lost? any tips?

ANOTHER GREAT THING TO DO IS BRUSH YOUR TEETH. NOW THAT WILL KILL A CRAVING, LEAVE YOUR BREATH FRESH, FIGHT CAVITIES, AND BRIGHTEN YOUR SMILE! MICHELLE

jerry i'm with you. i would love to take an extra week off but i have no vacation time! started new great job in february - my bosses wife had gastric bypass a year ago and is now at goal. but he has been very understanding- his attitude has been 'whatever it takes' it doesnt get much better than that! the good thing is that by xmas i will have earned more time and will be able to take off then when i am down ?50? pounds (my goal) michelle 325/322/175 getting banded on 8-18-03

OOH Alexandra... at least we'll both be going through it together! i am actually going to try to go back to work on wednesday or thursday. i sit at a desk all day. i'd rather be watching tv at home but i dont have enough vacation and since i didnt want to wait till mid-september for a thursday or friday i had to take monday!!!! alexis- it is darned fine day. my bro's is 8-17. the 18th will be my re-birthday! michelle

i spoke with the nutritionist today and she thought it was a great idea combined with the band. it is personnal preference and since i have so much to lose i will try it and let everyone know how it goes for me, or how long it lasts for me! michelle 322 getting banded on august 18!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

thanks to all that have replied. one of the main reasons i want to take an aggressive approach to this is that i weigh 325 so thats about 175 pound that i need to lose to be in my ideal weight catagory. i think i would be very content to get below 200. Anyhow i just know i have a long way to go and i cant wait to use my band!!!!! i know that part of losing the weight will be dealing with those deamons . i think reading about other peoples journey (s) has made me already start thinking about how i got here and why. when i was a child i used to imagine a body suit i could put on that would make me thin. in the second grade i was dubbed big mac by all the skinny kids. i have my had parents tell me they wouldnt by me school clothes if i had to shop in the plus size dept. and countless other horrable situations. but mostly i think i have used my weight as a way to keep people out, from getting close to me. it has worked well. i know this will be a tough road to go down but i am ready and i am not afraid. michelle PS i to have a torrid love affair with chocolate.mmm. i have started buying the adtkins chocolate bars. if you eat low carbs your body doesnt digest the fat and sugar alchohal

my thinking is that if i can eat 1 type of carb a day if i count them so you know what size portion i can have. the thing i miss the most is fruit and if i am eating tiny portions i think i could eat a some fruit as long as the portion allows me stay under 20 carbs a day. i also miss the fries pizza and bread but the fruit and juice are what i miss the most. one of my other thoughts was on the liquid diet why not do mostly protien shakes and sugar free Jello. it's not going to be fun either way so why not maximize losing. i started drinking the shakes for Breakfast (since i cant even look at an egg unless i have potaoes or toast to sop up the grease) and they are mildly filling to an unbanded food addict. dont care much for the cardboard aftertaste though! this is all pre op thinking- who knows how i'll feel later! thanks again michelle

alex- if it is recommended that you eat Protein first then veggies then carbs with a few good food choices you could be doing the adtkins. i am just trying to use the band as a tool to get the weight off before i try to eat the things that got me where i am today. thats why i am asking if anyone has had success doing the adtkins. it is not a fad diet. it teaches you about what you are eating, not just fat but also carbs and sugar wich your body will turn into fat. i want to optimize my weight loss. if you only can eat a 1/2 cup of food per serving you could still eat some rice, potatoes, Pasta ( 1/8 cup once a day) or whatever your carb of choice may be but if you are just careful about what else you eat in the day and stay below 20 carbs a day then your body is in a thing called ketosis which is where your body uses your stored energy- FAT and thus you lose weight. you dont have to just eat meat cheese and eggs. you can also have 3 cups of certian veggies a day. http://atkins.com/Archive/2001/12/15-464579.html if you copy and paste that into your address bar it will take the acceptable foods. the things i have learned about food from their site will affect my food choices for the rest of my life. maybe you should check it out. i am sick of diets but like i said with just a few food chioces combined with the band and i bet the results would be great. thanks again, michelle

i recieved approval in three weeks! not to bad. i did call alot and stay on them. the only requirements for the surgery was the weight... 100 lbs. i'll post how much i have to pay out of pocket once i have been banded;) michelle

hi all! i love these message boards it is where i have gotten a lot of info!!! i am 26 and preband i weigh 325. i have been trying to do adtkins and had lost about 25 but of course have gained some back. I CANT WAIT FOR SURGERY!!!!!