peaches9

Oh forgot, you have to Chew Hard Protein 20-30 times in your mouth, until it is the consistancy of Paste... If you eat your protein First, then your 1/2 cup of veggie, fruit, cheese, yogurt whatever you want to make up the balance of your ONE CUP meal...then you will not get stuck.....If you cannot eat a cup in this fashion, then you may need a tiny until.

(this is a letter to my GF who had bypass 5 yrs ago- we have both had a regain) I hope you find it helpful "I had an appt. with Dr. Y (my Lapband Surgeon) to discuss switching me over to Gastric Sleeve, or Gastric Bypass.... as I have not had much success in the past 5 years losing weight with my Lapband. He told me that in Ontario, you cannot get SLEEVE, you can get BYPASS but you have to go thru a provincial clearing house and HUMBER HOSPITAL (Toronto) is the only place that does them... you need to get on a waiting list and wait for a call... My family doctor already made the referral 2 weeks ago and I've heard nothing so far... it could be months before I get an appt. That is why I asked if Dr. Y could do it for Cash... nope, he can't. I had also been researching having Surgery in Mexico, and Dr. P in Michigan... I had put in a telephone call to Dr. P and he is on holiday but said he WOULD call me back on my cell to discuss OPTIONS. So I pack all my protien shakes for the day, and pile into the car to head for Toronto. Usually this drive takes 2 - 2 1/2 hours... I follow my GPS and its no problem. Well today, there was so much construction I was starting to panic that I'd be late for my Appt. with Dr. ..... then my Cell Phone rings.... Hi Its' DOCTOR......??? you know cell phones.. sometimes info gets dropped or there's road noise (yes I pulled over to answer my phone). Doctor and I have a VERY lengthy discussion on Lapband vs. Sleeve Vs. Bypass... he is not convinced that another surgery would do me any good as "you already know how to cheat the band, and ALL weight loss SURGERY can be CHEATED".... (oh, sinking feeling!) 20 minutes later I decided to give all of the Doctors recommendations my BEST effort... (as I had already decided to recommitt to healthy lifestyle SAT a.m.) but, his suggestions were VERY different than what I was doing or was going to do... Back to Basics... 1) First eat 1 cup of food, every 3 THREE hours, (don't wait for lunch to roll around, or wait all day until DINNER to eat a proper meal... then graze all night in front of the TV) Set my watch, or cell phone with a 3 hour CHIME to EAT... just do it. 2) Eat only SOLID protien 1/2 cup, chew well then eat 1/2 cup of whatever else I chose... Vegetables, Fruit, Carbs 3) Hard protien does not mean OATMEAL with Protien powder, or High FIBRE Cereal with yogurt... these are SLIDERS and Not SOLID PROTIEN! 4) Eat Meat, Eggs, NUTs, Fish, Chicken, Game for BREAKFAST, LUNCH, SNACK, DINNER AND SNACK 9 A.M 12 P.M. 3 P.M. 6 P.M. and last but not least 9 p.m. and if I am awake until midnight eat again... 5) No more counting calories, protien grams... yada, yada, yada.... He insists that I make my plate (luncheon plate, or bread and butter size) with HALF "His "way )ie protien., and HALF Veggies, Fruit, carbs what ever I choose... oh yeah, and if I want cheese or yogurt... is gotta be "MY" half of the Plate(second eaten) 6) Blood sugar maintenance is CRITICAL, thats why I will eat so often, never get to the point of being HUNGRY cause then I have waited TOO long to eat... Once you are hungry you've gone past your stomach clock by 1 hour.... so back up the schedule ... so that you are always eating BEFORE you are ravenous... this way your blood sugar levels never waiver... with NO big DIPS in Blood sugar... I won't get hypoglycemic and want to Eat off everything in site... and also MY Binge foods. 7) I should NOT deprive myself of ANY particular food.... so Have a pce of chocolate, no more than 1/2 cup and EAT IT ONLY AFTER I"VE EATEN my HALF PLATE of PROTIEN..... 8) These special occasion "cARBS" MUST not be kept in the house routinely, walk to the store for a SINGLE serving of Icecream drumstick, or GOOD quality Dark Choc. O.k. now here is the REALLY funny part... I finally wind my way thru all the downtown construction and get to my lapband Clinic, 1/2 hour late for my appointment.... Dr. Y comes out of his office and ushers me into his den... We sit down, and discuss MY wants and needs ie. another surgery.... vs. LIVING A LAP BANDERS real LIFESTYLE..... What do I eat, how much do I eat, is my restriction o.k. , can I eat A CUP of FOOD.... The goes into this schpeel of rules... explaining everything, then giving me analogys likening Eating Food/Appetite with BREATHING.. we breath in and out all day and never THINK about it... What if I made you hold your breath for 4 minutes until I was blue, eyes bulging... and then said o.k. breathe.... Well YOu'd GASP and take is as much air as possible... you'd be anxious right??? So consider eating a tiny amount at breakfast, a 200 cal amount at lunch.... waiting all afternoon to have dinner at 7 p.m.......what happens? I want to EAT everything ALL evening long... because I haven't followed the Bandster rules. My Blood sugar then is extremely LOW on awakening and I only feed it 200 cals. then I make by body with 4-5 hours for its next meal (blood sugar has tanked by now) then I eat my Favorite MEAL at 7 pm. and probably too many calories.... then... the growly HEAD Monster awakens! because my sugar levels have crashed again... this is why I CRAVE all the CARBS... why the CARBS? because my body knows I am LOW SUGAR and the quickest way to REMEDYD that situation in my blood stream is to eat REFINED CARBS... BECAUSE I thinks it is starving.... when you stretch too long between eating your body thinks its gone into starvation mode and when you put that NEXT food in..... the BODY will store those calories as FAT.... its a Primal survival mechenism that is Hard wired into our Brains, Hormone systems etc.... No more calorie counting, just take a picture of each of my plates a day and EMAIL them to him..... then in one month I will go back and review menus and make any needed adjustments. Can you guess what has happened by now.....? DR. P did NOT call me on my cell..... Dr. Y looked at his day sheet for appts. saw that I lived in -------- and was going to save me the trouble of coming all the way into TORONTO for our meeting....!!!!! Once I figured this out, I just remained and LISTENED to everything he said.......AGAIN!!!! He never did clue in that I was the SAME patient from. ________that he had already called on the cell earlier.... Oh my gosh, what a crazy story. But you know what, I got to HEAR WHAT "i" NEEDED TO HEAR TWO TIMES OVER..... I think it will stick.....what do you think? Peaches

AN EMAIL TO MY GF WENDY, HAD BYPASS 5 yrs AGO WHEN I HAD LB.... So true Wendy....you are so smart, and you articulated everything So well. You are right, it is in our heads!!! And unfortunately they didn't operate on our heads...so We have to do that part....do we need therapy? Don't know??? I don't think either of us are crazy.....but Dr ______ maintains that we get crazy obsessed about our food because we have overvalued it all our (dieting ) lives....it's a currency that we would spend in Ww, Jenny Craig, OA. Whatever system we were working. Calories counting.... Sounds a lot like A FINANCIAL BUDGET dosn't it.... When you are on a strict BUDGET all you think about is not having enough 'money' to buy what you want....so you want everything you can't have....Result? We feel deprived and sorry for ourselves.....we feel like victims....we are sad....and we WANT instantly to feel better....what perks us up instantly??? Raises our neurochemicals in our feel-good brains??? Well spending money, buying something ( usually something we really don't need), or eating a high carb(sugar)..... Ah, now I feel better....for a while....then the remorse sets in (spent too much, and ate too much h) and again we feel bad,sad,guilty...(these are all negative reactions, don't help us at all get to our goal ) - balancing our check books, or balancing our metabolisms(blood sugars) Does anything here sound familiar to you? Can you identify with the analogy? Therefore, to combat all of this....eat well !! (balanced) amounts Frequently ( 2-3 hours). Never,never let yourself be hungry, as this just sets you up for failure... There, phew....we aren't Nuts....we just have a flawed, diet mentality.....CHANGE IT Candice

WOW, Karla.... you are such a steam roller when it comes to getting things done... whoo-hoo for your energy... it is weird though that Elysse didn't pick up on some of that energy... maybe motherhood will make her grow up a bit. Good luck with your laminating floors.. Janet; I totally get the need to greive the loss of the food for Melissa... It is like saying goodbyb to your best friend... ( I know it is not a friend but we treat FOOD that way when we are addicts) But she has immense support in YOU and so for that she is to be very gratefull. I agree with Karla, I need a BAND for my HEAD... where can I buy one of those??? Any more word from Stephanie? I messaged her on FB but no word(?) Phyl, are you still out there babe! How are you feeling? are you getting any better weather??? 25 - 27 degrees Celcius for the next 14 days..... that's HOT.... plus it will be more if there is humidity...

Its KARLA with a "K", you are too funny!!! Mel will not kill you! Its covered by FLEX? wow that is good coverage, might as well use it while you can. $900 for 2 pair of Rx glasses sounds about right for Canada prices too. That's why I bite the bullit last year and got LASIK surgery on my eyes... I love it... It was $3800 but I'll never spend that again on glasses so its a bargain... I just went last week for my annual check up and my vision is 20/15.... that's better than 20/20 ... So I am a happy camper. Linda, sent us photos of you in your NEW glasses...

oh yeah, Linda we are NOT allowed to complain about the hot weather , especially after our LAST winter!!~! Glad Stephanie is doing well after surgery... Poor dear.... I posted to her on FB so hopefully she gets those good wishes. Karla, there has been Health Advisory for Hot weather in ALberta, so I imagine that is the same weather system that has you HOT too... do you have A/C? this is the first summer that we've had our A/C on for years... maybe put it on once last summer... This year, its been on for a whole week already!!! Peter is weakening!!! LOL Down in the basement, where my computer is - is quite comfortable. I should be sewing down here, but I'm reading like a fiend lately... I love my E-reader and havn't put it down. Still reading novels by John Jakes. They are historical (accurate) novels where he follows family's.... kinda like ROOTS but written before ROOTS.... also kind of like the THORNBIRDS.... Anyways, if you are ever interested in American History from England to now... read this guy... he is awesome - fasinating.... I always wondered what I'd do "after Oprah" well, now I know.... reading books!!! oh yeah, and singing.... LOL ALthough I have to admit, this month there have been too many gigs. Its starting to feel like a JOB... But in AUg 3 gigs, Sept 2 gigs, Oct 4 gigs, NOv 2 gigs, so far Dec only 1.... so it is going to quiet down... PLUS Mark is between jobs and he is applying for a COOKING job. If he gets that.... it will put the kybosh on evening and weekend gigs...may have to get a new player if that happens. YUK

Awh, Linda: that was such a nice thing to say to me.... Thank YOU!.... we played at a new(to us) Nursing Home last night... they were so sweet. There was this man in the front row, quadrapalegic - well you shoulda seen the smile on his face when we played... |I am telling you that is all the PAY we need... Sometimes I think I would rather be playing in Bars/Restaurants and then you see a "fan" like this... and it all makes it worthwhile. Oh new laminate flooring and a new washing machine!!! WOW - you will love the new floor... carpet just does not make practical sense when you have pets... Wood is cleaner, so easy to care for.... now if I could just get Peter to agree with me!!! I'd replace all the carpeting in the downstairs family room.. That Miss Molly!!! You tell her that Aunty Candice is NOT happy with her!!!!! well did the gym this a.m. - not to enthusiastically, but I got my butt there! Took my new Ereader.... oh that was nice.... just did the bike today... heart wasn't in it except for getting my Heart Rate up.... which I accomplished... Someday soon, I am expecting to get a lightening bolt in the head, and become a REAL gym Rat like JANET!!!!! LOL Havew a great SUNNY Day girls! \Love C

Oh, o.k. its been a busy week here. My DSister just left this a.m..... a blessing and a curse... she is troubled some how... don't know exzctly what, but I found her very TESTY... and Irratable... I just got off the phone with my B-I-L about it.... he says oh yeaH, she's like that all the time..... especially if she drinks too much.... well there is nothing I can really do about it... GIve it to GOD... and hope that she seeks some kind of counsel.... My Sis and BIL have a lot on their plates this summer, his SON from 1st marrage has slipped off the Wagon for cocaine, methedone program... been stealing from family... etc... it just goes on and on... Man I am so happy to have a relatiavely BOREING life!!!! So we have a new poster? and Karri has said goodbye? well I wish her nothing but the best.... We 7's will still continue... we are all not perfect by any means ( I speak only for myself, I have lots of WARTS) but I hopefully never hurt anyone's feelings. Janet, you are on your trip north to visit family... have fun and a safe home return!!! Phyl: what are you up to girl? any new road trips with your puppy girl??? How is Earl these days?? Linda; isn'\t it nice that we are getting some SUMMER weather finally!!! Whoo0-hoo... and size 14's that is AWESOME GIRL!! Karla: Classes soon, man you are asmart one... I am so proud of you and your accomplishments... staying on the Weightloss track, you've done so well!!! and you keep working hard like the energizer bunny!!! I am loving being retired!! Glad when I dont' have to be anywhere at a given time. OH and I forgot, great news!!! Peter bought me my very own E-Reader... a Sony.... love, love, love it. Now I can put down that 3 lb historical novel and read it on there.... yeahQ!!! I can even change the fonts tto something I like, don't need my 'readers' to use it... marvelous! WW points this week, still trackiing.. and I am doing o.k. - had a bit of wine 2 nights, so used some of my FLEX pts... but I definetly have NOT GAINED ... so that is all good. I probably need a little FILL, I am loose enough to eat fruit and some veg a lot better that I waas.... but I'd like to be looosing more and quicker... I need the encouiragbement of seeing the scale go down regularily... even considered Dr. Bernstein, I know its expensive... but I don't want another surg to switch to sleeve or bypass.... Bypass just scares the crap out of me... plus I'd have to convince Peter and he'd probably freek.

Afternoon ladies; LInda, wow - you've had a whirlwind there... poor little Cora... most of the time she is an angel... she has earned a meltdown... I'll bet you didn't mind too much... Hugs to Melsky, Ya I know how stubborn men can be. Also, Linda I wanted to ask you My DD has asked me to CAT sit her 2 AT MY home... it will be over the time you and Mel are here...is anyone allergic? Cause if you are then I can BACK out of the CATSITTING, gracefully!! ha,ha,ha.. Janet 8 Aug, wow that is coming up soon!! How exciting - I agree SPEND THE MONEY, no sense at all leaving it for the kids... they need to make their OWN way ( IMHO) you will look so great... but ah, you are already perfect???? Huh, what are they gonn do ????? Karla; Well DDboyfriend, his back surgery... well thats what Universal Healthcare is all about..... everybody gets taken care of not just those who can afford it. And yup, it does come out of the taxes pot...

Ahw, Janet you are such a good AUNTY.... Melissa is lucky to have you for support, shame on her MOTHER!! whaz up wif dat??? Thanks for the anniversary remembrance... yup 4 yrs wow, its flown by... feels nice to be back in the "saddle": of proper eating /exercising agin.... I am glad you like the "DITTY" I was worried it might sound korny or Greedy.... as you know these BARS you play in don't pay very well... so this might help... especially MARK that guy is out of another job (2nd since we've known him Jan 11) Oh my, I don't know how he does it... first job was on the line making BBQ's... he was good at it, but just missed one too many days, calling in Sick whatever... so they let him go. Then he got a job as abricklayer, good pay, but kinda seasonal in Canada!!! anyways he only lasted there one month, then the owner said he was too slow and BAM... gone again! I feel bad for him, mid 50's and still kinda drifting around.... where he is currently living, his Son's basement appt. is doing o.k. for him... but now his son wants him to move out.... emmm, don't know what behind that??? BUT, as long as he shows up for rehearsals, gigs and plays well, its none of my business.... but I think he thinks of Peter and me as friends and really hasn't anyone to unload on....EXCEPT he does have a new GF.... sheis very nice, got a GOOD job, her own business actually - she owns property.... real solid... I hope she rubs off on him. oh well, enough of my gossingpy,,,, gotta run Love uyou gals, C

O.k. Girls, I have to ask your opinion on something. When we were down in New Orleans, listening to music... at some places they put out a TIP jar for the band... and then when going for a break they sing some kind of ditty..... this is what I came up with for our group.... is it o.k.? any suggestions welcome@! "If you like our music clap your hands If you LOVE our music TIP the Band Its time for a break, we’ll be back in a few Don’t forget to tip your servers too Ba-de-da, De-da-de dum , ba-da-de-dawdy dum=dum Don’t forget to TIP the Band!!! so thats it....short and sweet

Phyl, I am so sorry you don't feel well. Nasty crud/cold/flu thing, they seem to take forever to get over. My Mom's residence has had a BUG outbreak there and they've been shut down to visitors (extra nursing staff etc) for 2 weeks... they are going crazy! Imagine 70 Sr's with pooppy pants and throwing up... but not able to get to the Bathroom in time for either.... Kinda makes my day seem GREAT!!!! Hopefully, I get to go see her this week... we are supposed to play there on Wed evening. Just came home fromt the gym, Mcdonalds(had their yogurt/fruit parfait 180 cals) and now got a load of laundry in the machine... its WAY hot here again today, so clothes will dry on the line FAST... love the way they smell!!! ANd on to reading my book out on the deck... that's my plan for today. Tomorrow, my sister comes and we do an overnight at Casino!!

Yes, HE IS!!! but you couldn't handle all of us there... it would be a mob! You could come and sleep over in the hotel WITH us and we could just walk to all the partying???? ( Just thinking outloud here)

Linda; I could come and pick you up in WIsconcin and then we could share the driving of the CAMPER all the way down to New Orleans!!! Or we could just cash in air miles and fly!!! In downtown N.O. there is a Harrah's casino with rooms .... probably can get a room special and charter flight cheap.... something to consider... Denise just sent me an EMAIL CLIP of some music they were dancing to last night.... oh I miss it!!!!