bromo

Yes, you need to adjust your food intake. Are you not getting any protein for lunch? It is important that you have mostly protein at every meal. Some times folks suggest doing the 5 day pouch test to get back on track. It is free and easliy googled. Good luck to you.

Janice, I have little milestones I keep in my mind. Fifty pounds lost by Christmas, which I think is going to happen, and getting into the other side of the closet with a size smaller pants by then. Congrats on making your milestone. And just wanted to say, this is my favorite thread here where we have gotten to know each other and are in similar places in our journey. We are a great group as Sept 2011 bandsters.

Sally, my doctor recommends 800 calories per day as ideal and never over 1000. Also keep carbs under 50 as ideal and not over 60. I rarely go over the 800 calories and 50 carbs. If I do I don't worry about it as I don't do it every day.

I do protein shakes for breakfast. My nutritionist told me today that she preferred that over no breakfast. I just cant eat in the mornings and that gets a big chunk of my protein in. Right now I am using a Starbucks Light Mocha Frappaccino with a scoop of Unjury unflavored protein mixed in. It totals 180 Calories, 12 carbs and 26 grams of protein.

I am steadlily losing around 2 pounds a week.

Love all these bama bandsters!! That included you, Dibley! We are blessed with some wonderful surgeons down here in our little state. Barbara, congrats on your weight loss. We did not gain it over night and sometimes it just takes a while to lose it, but you are doing great. I am 57 myself and find it goes a bit slower than when I was younger. Heck, everything slows down when you get older!

From what my doctor told me, the plication can be unsewn. Not that I would ever want that, but he did say it was possible. I had a checkup today and the doc and I both decided on no fill. With the plication I am not hungry and am losing weight, so I am just going to let this do its job as long as I can. He said as long as I stay within recommended portion sizes there should not be a problem with stretching the stomach and it should continue to work as it has been. I am totally happy with the choice I made to have this along with the lapband and would do it again in a heartbeat. I have not suffered through "bandster hell" as others have waiting to find the green zone. I have no real hunger and so it is easy to stay in the guidelines of how to eat. I love my plication and band!

Same here. I take several pills every day and have yet to have trouble with any of them. I have one giant one that I break in half, but don't even know if I really need to do it. One of my capsules is very large and there hasn't been a bit of trouble with it, either.

Just home from my last checkup and my surgeon and I agreed for me not to get a fill today since the plication seems to be doing its job. Got a pat on the back from him and the new nutritionist for a job well done!!! Made my day. Although his scales weighed me 2 pounds heavier, I did have on clothes there, so it was to be expected. So I am not going back for a couple of months unless I decide I need a fill. And he definitely told me if I decided to have one he would be happy to do it. So all is good.

This is Pam weighing in. 234.8! Down 2.2 pounds!

I use my little George Foreman grill a lot. And my toaster oven. Normally I just make a meat on the grill or baked and a vegetable for dinner, so there is not much prep nor cleanup. I was the queen of drive throughs before my surgery. Living alone I just didn't want to expend the energy to make dinner for just myself. Now that I have been doing it for a few weeks, it doesn't seem near as much trouble. I do keep some convenience foods on hand for nights when I really just don't have time or inclination to cook. I just check the nutrition info to make sure it works with my carb and calorie daily counts. And there is a learning to curve to know how much fresh food to buy so it doesn't go to waste. One or two tomatoes, an onion, one leek, one sweet potato, squash, etc.

I live alone, so I only buy what I can eat and cleaned out the pantry and freezer prior to banding. However, I have grandchildren that stay with me regularly so I keep snacks and things for them. What I try to do is not buy trigger foods for me and also try to have healthier snacks for them. Although the chips in the little individual bags I buy for them call to me from time to time but I just try to ignore it. I am not giving up all the foods I love, I am just trying to find a balance between eating healthy and making this a true lifestyle change. I have had a slice of pizza and was fine with it. But that was the deal, ONE slice instead of the whole pie. And the rest of that day's eating was careful to allow for the calories and carbs. That is what I am calling the lifestyle change part of it.

I am a Birmingham bandster. Dr Scott Pennington at Trinity.

Congratulations Dibley Dawn! You are doing fantastic and we are happy to share your joy with you. Continued success to you.

Rozie, you look fantastic and did a great job on your weight loss!!

good for you Jin. I am keeping a grandson tonight and ordering a small Pizza. I have checked the nutrional info and figured it into my day. I don't consider it cheating as much as I consider it realistically living life. I figure one slice of pizza in 2 months is not a big deal in the grand scheme of things considering that most days I eat pretty darn healthily.

Congrats on doing well even while in Vegas. And yes, I agree, things are much farther than they appear. It is a great place to walk though.

Reading so often about starvation mode, especially at MFP, is always a bit hard for me to swallow. I watched my husband lose over a 100 pounds in 11 months from pancreatic cancer. He could keep absolutely nothing down and his body was starving and he lost weight, fat and muscle. No food in, weight lost. So even though I am doing low carb of less than 60g a day, it is the caloric value of the food that is causing my weight loss. The low carb just helps me to make better choices with my food, allowing some grains and fruits, but keeps my cravings at bay from the stabilization of my insulin levels or something. Even if that is incorrect, it works for me and helps me to stay on track thinking that way.

Jin and Janice, I am so sorry that the both of you are having problems with your incisions. At my last visit the one that is near where the bra sits was a bit red and my doctor had me use betadine on it and it cleared right up. I hope that neither of you have any further problems and heal on up. Sending good vibes your ways. And Jin, congrats on the 10 lbs and getting rid of those big clothes!

Did you have a preop diet to follow? Have you followed it?

The first place people noticed my weight loss was my face. I am equal opportunity fatty with fat everywhere. lol When my weight is at normal I still figure though that the tummy will be rounder than I want it to be.

It will eventually go away and you will not live with it forever, although while you are enduring it, that doesn't mean a lot. The heating pad, the pain meds, gas X and walking were what helped the most for me and after about a week or so the most of it was gone. It did linger for me for a bit, but only bothering me minimally. Just remember, it WILL pass and you will get better.

I also use my scale as a tool to see what is working and what is not. If they scale isn't moving then something needs to change and it helps me to know just when to do that. I do weigh daily, but usually just record my weight weekly.

Not to highjack this thread but wanted to say that nikki, you look great! The pictures are amazing.

Centrum chewables. I buy them at Walmart.