salsa1877

Alright...the scientist and co-food cop (and believe me...I am back on my game so I don't feel like a hypocrit!) is going to chime in here. Everybody is different. Period. Daily plate is giving you the amount of calories that it thinks you can have based on an "average" of the people that they may or may not have tested. It works for Steph because she happens to fit in to the "specifications" that they use on their website. Now personally...I don't use any of those things because they are not scientific enough for me. I did not use net calories...I went by total calories. Up until I started running (which was about 6 months after I started losing) I NEVER went above 1000 calories. Here is what I did to lose my weight. I lost 110 pounds in 9.5 months and while I have gained some back, I NEVER had a week where I didn't lose. This is what worked for ME. It may not work for you. 1. I only ate at specified times: 6:30, 10:30, 2:30, and 5:30. I would not allow myself to eat at anyother time. 2. I got rid of all crap food in the house. And yes I was living with someone so there could have been problems with them wanting stuff that I got rid of. But guess what...cookies, candy, ice cream and chips are not healthy for anyone. So if my DH wanted it, he knew he had to buy it and hide it. If he wasn't willing to do that, then he didn't get to have it. I am not sure why we would want to get healthy and not have those around us be healthier. 3. Kept track of everything that I was going to eat and I didn't allow myself to eat anything other than that. You have to pretend like you are a defiant 5 year old. 4. Realized that food was no longer a daily pleasure, but rather fuel. Yes...we will use food as a pleasure every once in a while, but NOT daily. I learned to listen to my body and never once did it really WANT pie or cake. My head did, but my body felt much better when I fed it with good quality food. So the whole point of this is that you need to find what you need to do for you right now. No computer program is going to give you a perfect answer. Eat when you are truly hungry...not when you think you are hungry. This is NOT easy. There is a lot of hard work that must go into it. It isn't a game. When you start playing the exchange calories for exercise game you will lose everytime. Ask me...I have been doing it for the last several months. Choose your foods wisely and believe me for the size of your pouch you can eat A LOT of food for 1000 calories. Most of the time I couldn't even make it to that. Good luck!

I have taught on a 4 day school week and I HATED it. I saw the exact opposite. You know what it was like coming back after a 3 day weekend. The kids forgot everything. Now do that EVERY week. Of course the kids love it! Most teachers that don't care about the education of their students love it too because they only have to work 4 days a week. I don't mind 4 10 hour days...in fact I would prefer it...if I was any other profession. I have taught for 8 straight hours without anything but a 30 minute break before and it about killed me. Like you I am not a teacher that just throws on a video and calls it good. My job is a full body workout ALL DAY LONG. I would like to know when I am going to get a chance to eat during that time. It really isn't the 4 day work week that I am freaking out about, but more the 4 day work week WITHOUT a prep period. But I don't really have any other choice. I just went and talked to my principal and he BEGGED me not to even consider going anywhere else. He has put me on the "safe" list at the district office for people whose jobs should not get cut because we believe in the "movement and vision in the district." Because it will ultimately be up to the school board on who to cut when it comes to laying off people who have identical seniority, those people on the "safe" list will get to keep their jobs. This principal though is not going to be here, but rather be at the charter school so he is hell bent on keeping me here. I asked him how I would teach here 4 days a week (at 10 hour days) and still do the charter school. He said that I would have to schedule all of my meetings with the students at the charter schools on Friday. He is actually advocating for the 4 day week because many parents have said that if this school district goes to a 4 day week that they might as well put their kids in the charter school where they have access to the best teachers. A lot of schools in Oregon have gone to 4 day weeks but they are all small schools. We are the amongst the largest schools in the state and THE largest in the eastern half of Oregon. We all know that I don't like to be in limbo about things so I just feel like everything is spiraling out of control. This is one of the reaosns that I am not sleeping at night, eating right, or giving a DAMN about anything is because I don't know what is going to happen. I undestand that I can't and shouldn't worry about it then, but I do and that is just who I am. Well I have to get to Mr. RHS dress rehearsal and then go home. On a good note however , I am still fully on plan. And bucking the new rule to only put 1 space after periods!!!! BTW it would take me longer to ONLY put 1 space cause I would always put two, then have to press backspace to get rid of it!

I am good on the water ticket front. I am on liquids all day and the nutritionist that runs the support group here says that all liquids count...not just plain water, but anything liquids including milk, protein drinks, coffee, juice, jello, and SF popsicles. It is a damn good thing that I have committed to doing the 5 day pouch test because I honestly think that I would be stuffing my face with doughnuts today! We got a budget proposal today and it looks horrible. Sounds like I will be keeping my job most likely...BUT I may quit! They are talking about us going to to a 4 day work week where we will teach 5 straight periods without a break. We would work 4 10 hour workdays. The hours would be 7-5 With a 35 minute lunch. School would run from 7:30 - 3:30 and then our "prep period" would be from 3:30 to 5:00. I WILL NOT WORK ON THAT SCHEDULE. There is no way that I can work 2 jobs doing that. Where the hell is my running time? I am fighting back tears constantly. If they go with proposal B...then I pretty much lose my job! There is a no win situation here. If it wasn't for my lap-band/plastic surgery bill I would be fine. But that is 1100$ in bills a month. Believe me...we can't cut anything out unless I just stop paying my bills...which might be an option right now. I know this is completely off topic (except that I am bragging that I am staying ON PLAN even though there are cupcakes less than a foot from my door and I can smell them) but you are my best friends and I needed to vent and cry on someone shoulder.

Mommy - All of your advice is great. I will respond later...I am too freaking tired to do anything right now!

Go to mushies. Even if the diatician says that you don't need to I think that most of us did. Cottage cheese and refried beans were my best friends during the time. The part of your stomach where the food sits is not used to having food in there. We never fill our stomachs to that point so when we try to keep food there for a long period of time it can cause irritiation. Even after a fill my doc wants us to do 2 days of liquids followed by 2 days of mushies and then to solid food. You DON'T want to throw up at any cost so taking it easy is in your best interest. Even when you go to mushies, start slowly. Again...I did refried beans. I would water it down and try a few bites. If I was okay at that consistancy I would put it away and heat it up later. The water would evaporate and it would thicken up a bit. I would try that consistancy and repeat until I found where I was comfortable. Don't push the solids...believe me, you will thank yourself later!

I certainly know when it comes to sweets that I don't even like them. I can eat them and my tummy doesn't hurt. I don't get stuck and I don't throw up. So therefore I just eat and eat and eat until my tongue is raw and my face is on fire. It isn't a good feeling. But at least I "feel" like I am in control. No one can make me stop eating. No one can take that away from m. I am in complete control of what my hands and mouth are doing. That is why I am eating. So that is why I went to the 5 day pouch test. I am still in control of what is going in my mouth but I don't have many choices. It is about going back to the basics. When I can eat "anything in moderation" it doesn't work for me. I need to have very specific rules. For me that meant going to back to the beginning. I WILL do this. I don't have a choice. I don't know if it is at work that I have the most problems or in the morning that I have the most problems. I wake up starving every morning and if I don't eat within 20 minutes I will start dry heaving. I just can't seem to get satisified in the morning. It is that way on the weekend too but I can make a better food choices because I have better food at home. I can have an egg omelette at home...not so much at work. I am not making excuses. I have made POOR food choices over the last several months. But my nightmares last night were my aha moment. I think that it was the wake up call that I needed. I have also told 2 people to day that I appreciate that they care about my health but I do not feel healthy because of food choices that I have been making. They keep insisting that if I go back to the way that I was eating and exercising that I was going to be anorexic and that I was too skinny the way it was. I keep hearing this over and over and over again and it gave me a false sense of comfort. We know our bodies better than anyone and we have to do what makes them feel healthy. No one else can make those decisions for us. So far I have done very well on the liquids. I have not been as hungry as I have feared and I feel so much better already. I think the mental shift that I have made is the same one that I made the day of surgery. I do have a fill scheduled and I need it. I have 15-20 pounds that I would like to lose. There are some that don't think that I need to but they don't have to live with my body...I do. Well I have to get going. I need to get back to the students.

Denise, I hope your mom is doing better. So I am doing the 5 day pouch test. Something has to change. I think one of the reasons that I am not sleeping is that I am freaked out over food. I do great when I am at home but get me at work and it is done for. I can do fine for a day or two but then the stress of everything hits me like a ton of bricks and since I am the hated one at school right now I don't have anyone to turn to. So tomorrow morning I am getting up and going to Wally world to get me some Atkins protein drinks. 2 days of liquids. That should be fun for my students! Fortunately tomorrow is state testing so most of my students will be in the computer lab and it will be an easy day. The next day they have a quiz for my class so I won't have to worry too much then either! I am hoping that now that I am taking DRASTIC measures to get the food back on track that perhaps the sleeping will come. DH doesn't normally support "crazy" diets, but I was able to show him that this is an actual accepted practice for weight loss patients so now he thinks it is okay. I need LOTS of support right now. Life seems to be spiraling out of control and I am DETERMINED to not let it happen. My clothes still fit but you can tell that I am "filling" them out more. I am also going to bite the bullet and get a personal trainer. Going to make the call tomorrow. I really don't want to show up at the doctors office for my fill on May 4th and be at 170. That would be too traumatic. Okay enough baring my soul. Going to try and go back to bed.

Being at school is by far the hardest time for me. When I am at home I can talk myself out of the mind games but when I am at work and I get hungry I just want to eat. I give in quickly and without thought, but away from school I can control all of the demons. As for school if my current administration was going to be there it wouldn't be a problem at all. However, our principal is most likely leaving (I don't have complete confirmation but it is close) and our asst. principal is leaving for certain. He is the one that I am going to be working for at the charter school. However that will not pay all the bills. I have come to the conclusion though that I should be 3rd or 4th on the list of people to be cut because of my endorsements but I should be okay. I hope!

Yep I am on facebook! That and trying not break down in tears over my job. I have so much that I need to do and possibly taking a 14.8% paycut is going to cause some problems with that. Though I would take that over the other option which is to lose my job. The district is saying that if we just cut days it will be 28 days (14.8% paycut) and if we just cut people it will be 72 staff. Now we assume that there is going to be some combination of the 2. We are all urging the district to take a pay cut rather than cut positions. They are putting together early retirement packages so hopefully that will help. Right now it is just sit and wait. There is a possibility that we won't know until after school starts next year if our jobs are safe. Well I need to get to bed. Hopefully the wine kicks in soon. Nope I don't normally drink but it was DH's orders tonight. He said I was too wound up!

I made it back from cold, windy Vegas...will talk more later

Okay...I am not ALWAYS busy with school just 99% of the time and the rest seems to be spent of facebook...but that is all Steph's fault. Actually I have been so busy trying to get ready for our trip. Sunday is my 1 year anniversary (we had to look up our marriage license to be sure of the date!!!) but it is Sunday. So we are going to Vegas to see the last Mariner's spring training game. We will not be back until Sunday so I won't talk to you until then. Love to all. Karri

What did I tell you all... those teenagers have NOTHIN' on my momma!!!!!

Really glad you posted. I had dug out your cell phone number and was going to call at lunch if you hadn't. Isn't it amazing how liberating losing all the weight is. You zip lined and I ran 20 miles yesterday. I am chaffed so bad under my arms that I could almost cry everytime I move them...but at the same time I get this little grin everytime it feel like a hot poker is searing my arms because I know WHY it hurts. SO I have not been on LBT much as I am officially addicted to facebook. The withdrawls today haven't been too bad though because I am so far behind at work that I have been frantically working. you all would be SOOOOOOO proud of me. I did NOTHING for school all week except for 1 day. The rest of the week I took for me. And it was a glorious week. The scale finally rewarded me and better than that...the candy in the back room hasn't tempted me once. I am back on the band wagon baby!!!! By the time school is out I will have only eaten 760 calories and it was ALL healthy. No crap whatsoever. It feels good to not be fighting the food demons continuously. Right now I am finishing my strawberries...mmmmmmmmmmmm. Well I had best start planning what I am going to do tomorrow so that I dont' have to be at work at 4AM again. Just wanted to make sure that my mommy was safe and sound.

Here are my stats: Starting weight: 250 pounds Starting size: 24W Current weight: 150 pounds Current size: 4 Banded: August 9, 2007 by Dr. William Neal (AMAZING!) in Olympia,WA Prior story: I was a compulsive eater. I horded food, I ate food from the garbage (I know...eeeeewwwww:blink:) and I would eat for any reason; sadness, happiness, boredom, anger, sleepiness...you nam it..I could figure a reason why to eat! Age: 28 Residence: Hell...Uh...I mean Central Oregon (I miss Eugene!:thumbup:) Profession: Chemistry Teacher What I want to be when I grow up: Still thinking that one over...maybe a pharmacist...but sigh...more school! Upcoming events: 1/2 marathon in Sunriver, June 29 Extended tummy tuck, July 3 I would love to help people out. I love to cook, revise recipes, and follow rules! Don't I just sound like a blast to hang out with! LBT is my addiction and my escape from crazy high schoolers! Hoping to hear from someone!

No, I don't think that it is normal to have to go in for a revision. My lap band doc used to suggest waiting at least 2 years before having it done but in some cases (such as mine) he realized that the mental anguish that we went through could be detrimental to the weight loss. I was at (actually a little below) goal when I had my TT. I had 2 distinct rolls. One was below my belly button and the other was above my belly button (you can go to salsa1877.blogspot.com to see my pictures). There was so much skin that she just couldn't get it all. So I knew that I was going to have a breast reduction later on so we decided to do the best we could and then go in for a reverse tummy tuck later on. It isn't a revision but a separate surgery because of how I carried my weight.. Most people carry the fat in their stomach down low so they can get it with a traditional TT, but I actually carried most of my weight in the roll above my belly button which made it more difficult. Good luck in your journey and realize that we are all very different. You may not need it. There are a lot of people that don't need the surgery and some that do. My Lap band doc, my plastic surgeon, and 2 personal trainers told me that no matter what I did, the skin was NEVER going to go back and the only way to fix it was through surgery. For me all the excess skin interfered with my marathon training so I needed to get it off. Good luck and I hope to be more active on this thread so keep the questions/comments coming.

Usually it stands for Dear/Darling Husband...sometimes it can me DUMB husband! Make sure you do before photos. One thing that they don't talk about is the wacked up body image that you are going to have. at 100 pounds smaller I still feel like people look at me and see fat. I still have to take and compare my before and after pictures to see that there is actually a differences (and I am 18 months out!) The thing about the "before" picture is that you are doing something about it so hopefully the whole process won't be so horrible. My fat pictures don't even really bother me any more because I feel so proud of what I have accomplished. Even during my crappy days (like yesterday and this morning when I stepped on my scale) I still can realize just how far I have come. If you can get someone to help you, taking measurements is another thing to do. I didn't do this and really wish that I had. Please feel free to ask as many questions around here as you would like, but I am warning you My Mommy (Janet), My sister (Steph) and I don't really mince words. If you do something stupid...we will tell you, but it is all out of love. I warned Steph when I first invited her here and as you can see, we are all like pea's in a pod. One big happy (sometimes messed up) family. Well I think we are off for another hike...though it is going to have to be an easy one as I am running 20 miles tomorrow. Supposed to be crappy weather so it looks like I am running 20 miles on the treadmill. Let me tell you...If I can do that then I can run a marathon since long distance running is 95% mental and there is nothing more mentally taxing than 4 hours in solitude on a treadmill. The plan is to run 5 miles on each of the treadmills so that I don't feel too stuck in one place:rolleyes2:.

I have to say that I did have a last supper... hell I had a last week of suppers and when I woke up from surgery I was ready to start my new life. However, I was not on a preop diet. I think that it would be alright to have a small dessert for your birthday but I kind of wish that I hadn't gone quite so overboard. Right now the scale is pissing me off. I have worked out so much this week and my food hasn't been bad yet the scale goes up. I just want to cry. I have ZERO restriction but still am having problems with some foods. My band is as wide open as it can be so I am hungry constantly. It doesn't get any better when I go back to work. That is when food is at its worst. I am freaking out right now and don't exactly know what to do. DH told me I couldn't get a fill because I have had nothing but problems with them. He said that I need to wait until after school is out so that I can be careful when I am eating during the day. I know that he is getting sick of hearing about my weight problems, but I really don't know what I am doing wrong at this point. It has been hard to keep track of my calories because frankly I don't know how many calories are in 2 cups (yes that is what I need to eat to be full) of homemade stew. Well I guess I should take my whiney butt and go to bed or something. I am also pissed because my payment was supposed to post on my credit card today so that I could go buy DH a new computer...but alas it didn't.

I like boobie brigade too! I too am doing it for the band. Hey how about the BOOBY BANDITS! Then we cover both!

What is going on? I can try to help.

The beauty of the computer..facebook...LBT is that it is all here waiting for you when you get back. Now that I have typed it maybe my mind might be able to believe it to. What am I going to do when I go back to work??? I won't be able to rob other mafia's and make money!!!!

Welcome Karla! This is the greatest place on lap band talk. I can honestly say that my lap band was the best thing that I have ever done for myself and in the end, doing what is best for you will always be the best no matter what anyone says. I would love to talk more, but alas facebook has gotten the best of me (damn you Steph!!!!) and I must go to bed. Good luck and glad to see you here.

I had a tummy tuck in July. During that time I wore a compression binder to make sure that the skin adheared back correctly. When I was losing weight (before the TT) I wore a compression garment when I would exercise because of all the skin jiggling around. Also, I would wear Spanx just to smooth out all the bumps. However it will do NOTHING to keep your skin from sagging. The only thing that will prevent that is good genetics. There are many people who do not need a tummy tuck after losing a lot of weight. I on the other hand desperately did...and need one more. However I will tell you that if I had not been fortunate enough to afford the tummy tuck I would have taken the saggy, baggy skin over the filled out fat me any day. Keep the questions coming...I am here whenever you need me!

What I meant by sponsoring my outfit is that I would get a REALLY crazy outfit...kind of like my basketball outfit and then people could "buy" parts of the outfit and get their name written on it. So someone could sponsor one of my bright pink socks for a certain amount of money. It was just an idea. I am up for anything and really will do whatever I need to. As soon as Steph gets the clearance to do this and sets up a team I am going to start collecting money cause the 2300$ still kind of frightens me considering that we are at a 15% unemployment rate here AND we are all taking paycuts next year (upwards of 10%...and that is on top of the paycut that we have already taken THIS YEAR).

I had lipo and so did most of the people who had plastic surgery and a little bit of lipo. No damage to me!! I am still keeping my fingers crossed for you.

I did (and still do) weigh everyday...but there are going to be fluctuations in your weight. What I did was set up an excel spreadsheet and calculated my average weight for the week. Then I kept track of how much my AVERAGE weight changed. Water weight is terrible. Currently I will have 6-10 pound weight differences from day to day and that is based on what I eat (too much sugar, too much salt, not enough water, etc). I am a scientist though so I like looking at the statistics. But I still weigh everyday (most days more than once!) Good luck on your surgery. It was the greatest thing I have ever done in my life.