Frustrated

It didn't have either of those effects on me. :cursing: Are you a fussy eater Fairy? For many people texture and temperature can be very important. Just try a little and see if you like it. Or maybe get someone else with similar tastes to see what they think of it.

Anybody else want to sit on the naughty chair with me by fessing up? :cursing::huh2:

Okay. It sounds like a good idea to me. :cursing: I've never been able to be honest about my eating anywhere else but here. I can't do this by myself. I didn't get where I am by myself. You all brought me here with you. So it stands to reason that this is where I need to be to finish the job off. If I have to be accountable to someone else, it'll probably help more. *fingers crossed* Did we have to start today though? Already I've been caught with my hand in the cookie jar. :crying: This morning I had a cup of coffee with creamer and a protein shake for brekkie. I just got back from lunch with hubby. We did sushi and I had 6 pieces - 3 with rice, 3 without. There's a Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory across the street from the sushi place that triggered something in my head. I didn't need to go there because I already knew I had some leftover chocolate from my stepson's visit in the back of the fridge. I just took it out and ate it before sitting down to read this thread. :huh2::crying: A block about 2 inches in size of mint chocolate oreo swirl. If I'd known it was confession day I probably wouldn't have eaten it. Which tells me that this is probably exactly what I need. Now I'll have to be good for the rest of the day. :crying: And tomorrow. And the next day.....:crying:

Hey Steph, I'm going through the same kind of thing as you. I've been losing and gaining the same 5lbs since April. :huh2: My eyes are still on the target. I want to get my weight down to 150. I know now that it's more of a mental need than a physical one. I'm happy-ish with my body size. My body shape is another thing - hanging bits, sagging bits, deflated bits, :cursing: Some of those areas I'm going to get fixed with surgery. Now.... excuse me while I think out loud here.... I've never felt better in my life. I love exercising. I'm grouchy when I don't. I enjoy food. I probably enjoy too many of the bad ones still, but I don't go overboard like I used to. My health is good. My heart is good. I never even dreamed I'd be able to wear size 8 pants. My goal from the beginning there was 14. I said I'd start on Jillian Michaels 30 day program on Monday. I haven't. There are a couple of things I need before I do - batteries for my heart rate monitor, to take some pics, to do a fitness test. I have no valid excuses for not getting these things done and starting. I just haven't. Part of me is worried.... I did almost every diet and exercise program out there before my lapband and failed. Every single time. I'm afraid of failure. I don't feel like a failure now because of all the weight I've lost already, but what if I fail on this program? You can't fail if you don't try. Right? :confused2: I have no idea why I find it so hard to log my food each day. I've tried that loads of times. I've tried doing it online, I've tried doing it in a journal, I've bought a book to help me. All these different tools I've had to help me and I just can't keep at it. I stop doing it after a few days. It's not because I'm not seeing results, it's not because I AM seeing results. I'm just lazy! :huh2: I want so much to succeed at this that I'm too afraid to try in case I fail. Everyone tells me I look great. I feel great. I am great. Whatever will I do if I fail? :crying: :crying: :crying: :crying:

HEY!!!!! Don't go giving away our secret to success. What she meant to say was; it may appear to the world we're crazy, when in actual fact we're only slightly insane.

It came off fairly quickly in the beginning. Then in slowed down to a trickle. Since around April of this year I've lost and gained the same 5lbs. Normally this would concern me. But I've lost inches all over. I was a size 14 jeans in April. I now comfortably fit into a size 8. My routine changed a lot over the summer with my son (aged 10) home every day and family vacation time, so I took a couple of lazy-ish months. He goes back to school tommorrow (yippeeeeee! :w00t:), so I can get back into a more strict routine. I have the luxury of being a stay-at-home mother. Many people say the last 10-20lbs is the hardest to lose. If I was more focused and strict with the band rules, it would probably make a difference. I've been drinking with meals and not getting in enough Protein and making less good choices. The only one responsible for the lack of loss is me. At my last fill in February, my surgeon told me I should go back for another fill if I stopped losing weight or gained weight. Perhaps I should. If I wasn't dropping inches I'd definitely go. But the last fill was also really tough to deal with because there was too much restriction. I could barely eat anything and I was waking up at night choking on my own spit. I don't want to go through that again. I was miserable. In the end I got a slight unfill to ease things. For a while I was quite concerned that I'd get down to my goal weight and not be able to maintain. It was tough losing weight, and when I'd hit a plateau and really work at getting through it, that was even tougher. So the thought of working hard on maintainance for no reward on the scale was a daunting thought. If anything this "time off" during the summer showed me that I can be relaxed with my eating and not be afraid that all those pounds I lost are going to find me again and bring more of their friends along for the ride. But enough about me .... my suggestion if you've hit a plateau is variation. Don't get stuck in the same exercise routine. Our bodies adjust. Add your strength training. Have separate days for cardio. If you still want to do your 5Ks change the days you do them all the time. Switch one of them for the same amount of time dedicated to laps in the pool. I almost drowned myself the first time I did that. But after a few sessions I drank less and less Water. There are so many different things I do now that I don't get bored. Treadmill was my first, and favourite, routine. And it was tough for me to break out of my daily half hour routine because it also did wonders for me psychologically. Doh.... I've gotten back to talking about me again Find a body part you want to concentrate on. Under arms, inner thighs, abs, whatever, and work religiously on that one area for 4-6 weeks and see what difference that makes. Take measurements, maybe pics and keep a record of reps, sets and weight. Then the next 4-6 weeks pick another body part and so on. You'll never be at a loss for an area to work on. Well..... it's late in the evening and my brain has gone into shut down mode. I thought I had more suggestions but they've toddled off to bed. Hope I've at least given you something to think about. :tt2:

I was very active for most of my life. It wasn't until the last 5 years prior to my surgery that I became less active. The reason was because I too started having knee problems. Becoming less active increased my weight. I knew I was on the fast track to type-2 diabetes, heart disease and more. I tried every diet out there, but nothing worked. But throughout it all, I remained fit. I was fit fat person. :biggrin: I've always carried extra weight around with me. But it got to a point where the obesity was winning the battle against my health and something drastic had to be done. I couldn't walk up and down stairs unless I turned to the side and gripped hold of the rail. My feet would swell through the day and I'd have to lay down to ease the pain. I could still work out on the elliptical because it was low impact on my knee. This kept my fitness level up, but I was still unhealthy because of my weight and the other health issues it was bringing with it. A year post surgery I don't have problems with swelling in my feet (with the occasional exception due to my menstrual cycle). I can walk up and down stairs without the death grip on the rail, but I still have to take it easy. I can't do lunges or squats and I have to limit my stair climbing, but I'm a lot more active. And it's helping get my weight down and my health up. :biggrin2:

*sigh* I so know what you mean. Intelligent people do stupid things. I consider myself to be of at least average intelligence, and yet some of the things I think and do are SOOOOOOOOO stupid. I know this and STILL do them. Like the last 2 bites of something. My band tells me "enough", my taste buds and brain ignore that advice and try to finish off something I have no room for! :smile2: I know I shouldn't, I know I'll probably pay for it if I do, and yet that doesn't stop me.

I use Swansons. They come in 3oz cans which is just the perfect size for a meal for me. Keeping a few in the pantry means I have a meal in seconds at any time. You could also use leftover chicken. Or if you're buying for the family, you can get one of those pre-cooked chickens they sell in supermarkets and take some from there. I have a load of boneless, skinless chicken thighs for myself in the freezer as well. I pack them in individual snack bags. The other members of my family prefer breasts, but since banding I find I can't handle it. So when taking chicken out of the freezer for the evening meal, I'll take out breasts for them and a thigh for myself. :smile2:

Steph- sorry to hear about your cat. Our pets become members of our family, so I understand your grief. As for your son's clothes, you could possibly contact the local women's refuge or family services and see if they want them. Sometimes they even come out to pick up whatever you have to donate.

Hm..... yanno it sounds like to me that you could allow yourself some snacks when your cravings hit and not go overboard. So long as you have them included in your daily calorie count. I understand the fear you have with over-eating and stumbling back into the fat pit of doom. But you're no longer that weak fat girl. You have a tonne of will power as you've proven to yourself and the rest of the world over and over again. I was reading a thread elsewhere on the forum about cravings. One woman says when they hit her, she feeds them immediately and (for her) they go away. So if she's craving cookies, she has one. And one is enough. I don't know if I'd have the willpower to do that. It's why I can't be trusted with cookies in my home. But I've found when I'm craving cookies, it's usually the chocolate in them that I want, so I'll have a chocolate protein shake. It doesn't always make the craving go away, but as I said, I can't be trusted with cookies in my home and it does help a little. I've done what Janet's suggested and bought a candy bar, eaten a couple of bites and thrown the rest away. That worked. But I'm not always in a place where I can pick up a candy bar and throw it away. And I'm afraid if I was tossing out things in my own garbage bin... well, I'm not even going to finish that sentence it's too embarrassing. :eek: If you feel you can trust yourself, have some snacks handy that you're okay with eating. If you're getting up in the middle of the night to kill a sweet demon with apples or grapes, it's a whole lot better than trying to drown it with ice cream or pie. :cool2: Budget your calories for some snacks.

Nonono! I caught the humor behind it. I was just using your example as an example as well. :cool2: I took myself back to the days where I was introducing food to my son (who is now 10) and remembered how delicious his meals were. Combinations like carrot and parsnip, potato and chard, sweet potato and spinach came to mind. For the sweet side of things there was pureed peaches, bananas, apples and so on. And just like with babies progressing onto chunkier foods when they have all their teeth, you introduce things like chicken, turkey, tuna, etc. Anything I wouldn't consider mushing up and feeding to my youngster, I wouldn't mush up for myself. That's the point I was trying to make. :eek:

I chew gum. This also helps when I have to wait half an hour after eating before I can drink anything. Sometimes my cravings aren't for anything in particular, I just miss having something in my mouth and chewing. It's particularly bad after a fill when I have 2 days of liquids before advancing back to a normal diet. If I'm going to have cravings, more often than not they will occur for me between the hours of 3 and 7. This has always been a problem time for me. :thumbup: I wish I owned stock in Orbitz. :sneaky: Find out what triggers your cravings. Sounds to me like it's boredom for you at the moment. I can relate to that, being a stay-at-home-mom. Get yourself busy. Clean out a drawer (the junk drawer always needs attention), compose an e-mail, go for a walk, read a book, do a crossword, rearrange your wardrobe, polish some shoes, do some ironing.... there's always a chore that needs attention. :thumbup:

I started losing my hair 10 months post-op. I was told it was normal and that it would eventually grow back. Eventually? That wasn't really that comforting to me. It could have been loss of certain Vitamins, it could have been delayed reaction to anesthesia, it could have been anything. Frankly I didn't really care what was causing it, I just wanted a way to stop it. I doubled my Vitamin intake and started taking Biotin and Fish Oil capsules as well. I didn't see any improvements after 3 or 4 weeks. Then my hair stylist put me on to a product called Nioxin. There are different systems that you can purchase. She recommended System 2 for fine hair or people who suffer from hair loss. I won't kid you, it's expensive. But it worked for me almost immediately. Typically I would towel dry my hair in the bath and shake the towel off and find about 2 dozen or so hairs after doing that. Then there'd be further loss throughout the day, on my pillow at night, etc. But 2 days after starting this treatment my towel-drying loss was halved. It's been about 6 weeks since I started this treatment and my hair is almost back to where it was before I started losing it rapidly. I even had to have more cut off than usual on my most recent visit last week. :cool2: There are starter kits that you can purchase online. Nioxin Starter Kit System 2 for Noticeably Thinnning Hair - (Cleanser 5.1 oz, Scalp Therapy 5.1 oz, & Scalp Treatment 2 - 3.4 oz) The kit includes a cleanser (shampoo), scalp therapy (conditioner) and a leave-in scalp treatment (foam pump) used after you've towel-dried your hair. I managed to find a store nearby that was selling this line and bought some from there. I was lucky that it was on sale at the time and got 50% off a large bottle of the Scalp Therapy. I also bought the Scalp Treatment. I didn't bother with the shampoo as I figured any regular, mild shampoo would do. As I said, it's expensive. In the beginning I found the conditioner made my scalp kind of tingle. This is "normal" but should calm down after using it for a while. I wouldn't continue if you had a bad reaction though. It has a peppermint smell to it which is nice. The foam pump kind of left my hair feeling a little dry and limp and not too nice really. My hairstylist recommended I use my regular shine product after applying the Nioxin stuff and it worked out well. Now that my hair is almost back to normal again I'm going to consider using this stuff every other day now. That way it will last twice as long. :thumbup: No, I'm not a paid advocate for Nioxin. But I was getting really, really worried about my hair loss there for a while. I'd lost probably 30% of my hair on top. :thumbup: I should point out that I continued to take the Biotin and Fish Oil and perhaps that also helped. I'm not as diligent with them though, but the conditioner and pump I use religiously. It could be a combination of the vitamins and the hair treatment. Whatever it is, it's working for me. :sneaky:

Think baby food. Anything you would puree for a baby to eat, you can do for yourself. You wouldn't be pureeing pizza and cheeseburgers to feed them properly would you? :thumbup:

He starts back on Monday. I'm excited! :thumbup: It sounds horrible to be glad to have him back at school where he belongs :sneaky: but I really have come to enjoy my alone time and regular routine. I've missed it over the summer vacation months. I've decided to give Jillian Michaels - Making the Cut book a decent try. It's a 30 day plan to lose the last stubborn 10-20lbs. It looks kind of tough and I don't know if I'll be able to do all of the exercises that require lunging and stuff because of my knee problems, but I'm going to give it a go. It's only 30 days. :thumbup::huh2: Right now I'm reading through the book to familiarize myself with the exercises and recipes. There are a couple of tests I need to do and I have to get some "good bye" (to the last 20lbs) photos taken and get some measurements done. So I should be ready to start it all on Monday when my son goes back to school and my time is my own again. We've had a good summer, but we're both ready to get back to our own things again. He needs a break from me just as much as I do from him. :cool2:

Have you tried gum? I remember it used to help curb my appetite when I was struggling with sweet tooth and hunger in general. Then I forgot all about it when the cravings went away. When they came back again I was at a loss as to how to curb it. You were the one that reminded me about the gum.

I've been adding different things to this salad to give it a little variety. Sometimes all, sometimes a couple of the following, depending on my mood: -green onion -pineapple (I prefer crushed, juice drained so as not to make the salad too soggy) -cranberries (I've discovered orange flavored which is nice) -almonds (dry roasted in a pan) -walnuts (as above) -celery (very finely sliced) When I'm making this salad for myself I'll just add a tablespoon or so of a couple of the above. If my family wants to share I just add more until there's enough for all of us. :thumbup: The added ingredients ensure there's a surprise in every mouthful. I have to be careful though; it can quickly become very addictive. :drool::cool2:

WOW! :tt2: That's insane. Personally I feel stretched at times with my one child. If someone told me I had a room of 45 children I was responsible for, I'd be running fast in the opposite direction. :cool2: As a parent I can understand being adamant as to whom teaches my child (not that that's an option for me). And it says a lot about your reputation as a teacher. Be proud of that! But I wouldn't want my child in such a full class. It's unfair to the teacher and the children. Obviously there's something wrong with the teacher everyone's avoiding, but that's not your concern. I hope your principal manages to sort something out for you all. Otherwise we're going to have to get you your own personal forum soap box to shout your frustrations to us all. :w00t: Not that we mind.... it would just suck for you if this was how you had to spend this school year. :thumbup:

:thumbup: Congrats Mimi. I know it seems crazy that in order to lose weight you first have to gain weight to appease the insurance gods. :wink2: Believe me I know. I had that discussion on the phone with an insurance agent. I battled with them for about 6 months, which wasn't really that long compared to some other people, but I/they finally came through and 13 months ago I had my lifeband installed. If I had to go through this all again from the beginning, I'd do it in a heartbeat. It's been the best thing that's ever happened to me. A little (sometimes a lot) tougher than I expected, but well worth the blood, sweat and tears that's gotten me to where I am today. Happier and healthier than I've ever been. :biggrin2:

To be honest I don't remember how long it took me to spring back. What I do remember is that the first 6 weeks after surgery you should concentrate on one thing and one thing only; healing. You eat what you're instructed to eat through the various stages, liquids - mushies - solids. You exercise within your surgeon's guidelines and no more. Trying to do too much too soon will jeopardize your band. You don't want that. This really is not the time to test to see if it's working. Wait. I know it's tough to be patient. You want to begin this weight loss yesterday. But the very best thing you can do for yourself is to take the time to heal first before getting into the hard work.

Couldn't agree more. And remember, this race is a marathon, not a sprint, so set a steady pace.

I also like the idea of Vegas in January. It would probably be more doable for me than Canada in July. :tongue_smilie:

Good morning ladies. :biggrin2: I've been away this past week. We took an impromptu trip down to Galveston and Houston and had a blast there. Mostly. :rofl: Aunt Flo made the trip with us and for almost half the time there I felt (and probably acted) like a total biatch! :sad: This month's cycle was really tough going, not just for me, but for anyone who had to share my company. I knew I was PMSing. I couldn't stop myself from feeling bitchy no matter how hard I try. And heaven forbid anyone point out to me what I already knew! :mad2::confused2::rofl::rofl: The more I kept trying to relax, the more uptight I was. But.... there were moments when I did and I really enjoyed them. We spent a day on waterslides and it was a blast. I forgot my swimsuit and had to go buy one, and I didn't look awful in it. :rofl: I felt so relaxed and comfortable. It was empowering not feeling like a beached whale like every other summer since childhood. :rofl: We visited the Johnson Space Center in Houston. I didn't like it. We are all Sci-Fi/Space freaks and it was what prompted us to go south in the first place. It was meant to be the highlight of our trip. It was the lowlight. :sad: Unfortunately we chose a day when it seemed like every day care center in Houston was visiting. There were millions of kids everywhere. Screaming, yelling, pushing and getting in my way. Aunt Flo was not impressed!!! :rofl: It also seemed like the entire place was directed at everyone under 12 years of age. There were indoor bungee trampolines, climbing frames, trapeze, rope climbing, rock climbing.... what any of this had to do with "Space" is beyond me. :rofl: My son enjoyed it. It wasn't until most of the crowd had thinned out that we realised the REAL attractions were hidden out back. :crying: There was a tram tour around the vicinities, but we'd discovered it too late to get in line for the last one. There were displays in another area out the back of the timeline of space exploration. I would have like to have spent all my time in there reading up on everything, but my patience had already gone way beyond my limitations and Aunt Flo was at the control wheel by then. I did get to touch a piece of the moon brought back by the astronauts though. That made my day. :biggrin2: I also spent money in the gift shop. I bought a coffee mug, a t-shirt and a sweat-shirt. At least I can say "I've been there, done that." I just didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. :rofl: Since my stepson has been here, computer time is limited. There's fierce competition for it. I've discovered the best time for me is early in the morning. Everyone is still sleeping. I haven't got a chance of getting any time on it between 10am and well after midnight. :rofl: It's been great having him here. The only fault I have is that he appears to be a glass half empty kind of kid. For example, last night I suggested he buy some mugs to take home as gifts for his mom and sister and he insisted that they'd get broken in transit. I said we could wrap them in bubble-wrap and cardboard and put them in the middle of his case, but he declined. He didn't want to buy "too much" because he wouldn't be able to fit it all in his case. I said we'd give him another case if need be. He didn't want to have to pull more than one along behind him. :rofl: But he's a wonderful kid. He's very well mannered and gets on extremely well with my son. They've only had one little disagreement since he's been here and that was quickly forgotten. I'm really going to miss him when he goes back. We've asked him to come back possibly over the Christmas period but he's undecided as yet. He says he only has 2 weeks off school. Personally I don't see a problem with that, but again I think it's a case of glass half empty. I hope we can convince him to come again. :biggrin2: Anyway, that's it from me. It's good to be back and to be rid of Aunt Flo finally!

I've been quiet the past few days. Aunt Flo has turned me into MegaBitch and I didn't want to force her onto any of you. But Denise made me LOL for the first time in probably the past 48 hours so I just had to come. :bananapowerslide: Just to be clear, I'm not laughing at your case of terminal bottle of vinegar dropped on the foot. Your sense of humor was exactly what I needed. Next time could you drop it a couple of days earlier so I don't have to suffer so much? I came to the right place to get me out of this funk I've been in. You guys are always what's best for me. While I'm here..... I'm glad you all made it home safely from M of A. Janet - wonderful news on your test results. Karri - you're looking fantastic. There was other stuff I wanted to say..... obviously it's safely filed in my forgettory.