salsa1877

Did another workout with the video, but it was quite lackluster. I don't have any energy right now. These sub 800 calorie days are not helpin' the workouts. Tomorrow, I am going to start drinking calories to get it up. I have made the good habit of not drinking any calories anymore so it is a total mind shift to go back to that. I always feel like I am cheating! But right now I have to do something to get some calories in.

So I am thinking that I probably didn't make it to 800 calories today. I was at 440 before dinner. I did just get in a protein bar so that brings me to 520 and I had a bit of orange juice at 60. So unless there was 220 calories in 5 bites of refried beans and 1 small piece of chicken from the mexican restaurant we ate at tonight, I don't think I made it. However I did get to 50 grams of protein. Alright tomorrow, I am going to eat beans, beans, beans. That should get me some calories AND protein. I got in my exercise again today, but it was lackluster. I just don't have the energy. Maybe tomorrow will be better.

Funny! I couldn't eat the potatoes. Cold stuffing and chicken went down alright, but no potatoes. I tried a bite last night and the same thing. They get stuck and I feel like I am going to PB. Here is what I have eaten today so far. 2/3 egg cheese omlette (made from 1 whole egg, 1 egg white, 1/4 cup fat free cheese) ~100 calories/ 9 Protein 1 salmon patty ~ 190 calories/ 19 protein 1/2 cup cold stuffing (I can't eat it warm!) ~ 150 calories/ 5 protein. Stuffing was probably not the best choice, but I tried eating some of the chicken, and it wasn't going down. Besides, the stuffing is all gone now. Now I just need to eat 360 calories (to hit 800) and 30 grams of protein for dinner. Looks like it is a Protein Shake for me tonight!

I have lost 5 pounds since Friday Dec 21st. I love the fast weight loss, but I don't want to do anything to risk my health. I just got in some fish, so I am up to 31 grams of protein and 300 calories. I can't go below 800 calories or I will just stall when it comes to weightloss. So I am going to have to add liquid calories until I loosen up a bit.

I would assume that if you are PBing that often that you do not need another fill. Either that or you need to chew more or stop eating certain foods. I have not PB'd yet, but right now I have to chew like there is no tomorrow. It is terrible being too tight. My most recent fill (after having been unfilled completely) is almost too tight. I can hardly eat anything. So far today I have had 2/3 of an omelette made from 1&1/2 eggs and 1/4 cup of cheese. Now I am trying to eat some fish, and it is WAY sloooooowwwww going. Anyways, I am hoping to not ever PB, but it may happen soon.

Marcy - My doc suggests that we should be able to eat 1 cup of food normally. 1/4 cup of food is very little. I know, that is what I am eating right now, and I don't like it. I enjoyed eating 1 cup of food, and I lost most of my weight eating just that: 1 cup of food 3 times per day with 1 afternoon snack. Today I fixed 1 whole egg with 1 egg white and 1/4 cup of cheese. I was able to eat 2/3 of it. GRRRRR. 94 calories. I try to get to 1000 and right now that is not happening. So as for your question, in my opinion you seem at a good spot. But that is just me. I don't like being this tight. If there is anything you could do inside for exercise, that might jumpstart the weightloss. If food is already getting stuck, I worry that any more of a fill will cause everything to get stuck, and that is terrible. Again, this is what I am experiencing right now. It seems a little better today, but I still can't eat very much. I am afraid that I will plateau on the weightloss because too few calories is not good for you either. Well I rambled on forever, maybe someone else can give her more concise advice!

So I made stuffing and chicken soup tonight with some chicken broth. Tomorrow I will eat that for lunch and add some of the Unjury unflavored protein powder that I have. Thanks for the suggestion Phyll I didn't even think of that tonight. Now is when I wish I could drink milk. I don't want anything sweet and water just isn't cutting it for me. I made a smoothie the other day with soy milk, but again that was sweet. Oh well, I will figure something out. Tomorrow I am going to keep accurate accout of everything that I am eating to make sure I am getting the protein that I need.

I got mine at albertson's (I don't know if they have them in CA). They were store brand. I can't do the chewable vitamins! They taste like $&*#$. This was the only way I would do vitamins. I am actually taking 2 a day right now.

Believe me. I am having the same concerns that you are. I have really only been on solid foods for the last 2 days and have been more worried about getting in foods than counting calories. Tomorrow I am going to really count all the nutrients that I am getting. I would suspect that I am getting about 600-800 calories a day. I know, not enough. I am going to have to eat more than 3 meals a day in order to get anything in. Funny though, I can eat the chicken but not potatoes. I don't even attempt to eat anything before noon right now. I tried to eat some eggs yesterday and it literally took me an hour to eat 1 egg with some feta cheese. I have to eat a few bites wait a little bit and then eat some more. As for vitamins I found one that is as small as my birth control pill so I have been faithfully taking that. Calcium usually isn't a problem because I eat cheese (can't drink milk since surgery) but since I can't get that down, I am eating tums! My concern is getting in all the water. Since I have to eat so often to get the calories in, I have found it difficult to get in the liquids. On a good note, my doc sent me home with a sterilized package needle in case my fill gets too tight (or I get lodged like the last time). That way I can take it to the hospital and they can do an emergency unfill. Right now the mountain passes have been hit by several storms and driving is not great. I just keep assuming that it will ease up shortly. It is weird, they actually put in less than I had during my first fill, so we didn't think that it would be too tight! SO when people ask how filled you are, you REALLY can't make a comparison. Cause if you are unfilled and then refilled, it can be a totally different number!! When I left the doc they had me schedule another fill on Jan 21st because they were being conservative and didn't want me to be loose for too long. Yeah I don't think I will be needing that fill. You are right though, the pounds will probably be leaping off, but I would rather have it slow and be healthy. I can't afford to lose hair. My hair was falling out BEFORE surgery and the rapid weight loss (while good for the waistline and mental health) is not good for the hairline. My BF is bringing home some chicken broth so that I can blend up last nights dinner and make soup! Thanks for the concern. I promise not to do anything to put me at risk. I did this for health reasons so I am CERTAINLY not going to do anything to hurt my health.

1/4 cup of food...That is now my limit. I just had some lunch and I barely got down that much food. So this is what true restriction feels like huh? I never had very much restriction after the first fill, I just was never hungry which is what kept me from eating. Now, however, I can't eat if I wanted to! YIPEE! I may have to add some sort of protein drink if I can't get enough food. I love this feeling. I do think that I want to go to some sort of nutritionist though, since the visit with mine was a whirlwind. I don't know if I ever posted this here, but I decided to have the surgery in mid-July, had my consultation/nutritionist visit August 8 at 1:00 pm and then surgery the NEXT DAY at 6:30 am. So as you can see, there were a lot of emotions (and eating) that day so I don't really remember what my nutritionist said. My insurance won't cover it so, I need to find someone that is not too expensive. Well back to planning lessons.

Well I got my Christmas Day workout in. The Biggest Loser DVD is a good one! My fill is also working very well. I ate about 1 tablespoon each of sweet potatoes, regular potaotes, and stuffing, and MAYBE 1 oz of chicken and I was STUFFED. I was actually uncomfortably stuffed. My fill is really tight, but I am not going to complain at all because I have dropped 5 pounds since having it done! I hope you all had a Merry Christmas. Just think, only one more holiday festivity to dodge!

Good Morning, Well I did end up feeling stuffed after my Christmas dinner last night, but it is not because I ate badly. I had 1 tablespoon each of sweet potatoes, regular potatoes and stuffing, along with MAYBE an ounce of chicken. The potatoes did not want to go down and it took me almost an hour too eat all of that. However, I had not eaten much during the day and knew I needed some nutrients. My fill is REALLY tight. Not tight enough to warrant going back and getting an unfill...yet. However, I have heard of the fill "kicking in" and getting tighter after a week or so. If that happens I would have to go back in. Right now I am just reaping the rewards of never being hungry. In fact, I have already lost my 5 pounds for the Christmas Challenge. :whoo: Of course I will have to maintain that until Jan 2, but at this point, I don't see that being a problem. I was so thankful having this band during Christmas. This truly is the first year I have not gained. When I was on Atkins, I always went off for Christmas and that meant a 10-15 pound gain almost overnight. Mostly Water, but still. This year I have lost at least 5 since christmas break started at school. I have always been the one to cook Christmas dinner since I was 10 (my grandma helped in the early years), but for the first time, there was a lot of food to serve. My grandma always said that you had to taste the food before you could serve it and I apparently took that as I must eat a full meal before you could serve it.:faint:. However, last night when I was cooking, I didn't taste one thing. I knew if I did, I wouldn't be able to sit down and eat cause I would be WAY to full. So I told my BF that if he was concerned about anything that he should taste it before I served it. I think he did taste the sweet potatoes, but not because he was concerned, but rather just wanted to eat them! Well I am off to plan lessons so that I can have some extra time when school actually starts again.

That is okay that you don't remember. It is not something most people would tuck away and use up precious brain space for! I was eating a boca burger and didn't chew well enough and it got lodged. I didn't want to PB so I kept swallowing and in the process caused serious irritation to my esophogus. In order to eliminate any further irritation, they unfilled me. Believe me... I will chew, chew, chew from now on, cause that was a tough road for those 42 days. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas.

Wow, you guys are all doing great. I did get my exercise in while I was visiting family and getting my fill. My brother has a mini gym set up at home so I was able to work out there. I too hit 60 pounds gone by Christmas! My doctor was very impressed that I lost any weight while being unfilled. The nurse said that most of the time when they unfill patients they will either stay the same, but most gain a few pounds. She also said that she had seen more than a few people who were unfilled for as long as I was (42 days) gain ALL of their weight back. So they were AMAZED that I lost a total of 9.5 pounds while being unfilled. I told them it took a lot of will power and a lot of working out, BUT that my will power had plain run out. Now I am pretty tight. We are able to go back on solid, regular food after 2 days, (which would have been yesterday), but I don't think I could have. I had some mashed potatoes last night and I didn't PB, but if I hadn't gone REALLY slow, I think I would have. Well I will be back on later if I get my workout in today. I have an entire house to clean though so I might not. I am still a little low on energy seeing that I got in MAYBE 500 calories yesterday!

Good morning everyone! Kathy - I am so sorry to hear about your dad. I certainly will keep you in my thoughts and prayers. So I finally got my fill back! Yeah!!!! It is really tight right now. We are supposed to stay on liquids for 2 days and then back to solids, but I am too afraid to go to solids right now. I had some mashed potatoes last night and I didn't PB, but I have to go REALLY slow or I probably would. But on a good note, I have lost 60.5 pounds since August. It amazes me that I could do that. When I got to the doctor, I had lost a total of 9.5 pounds since being unfilled. They were genuinely shocked that I had lost anything let alone that much. The nurse said that usually when they unfill people that they gain a few pounds back. She has seen more than a few cases where people were unfilled for as long as I was and have gained ALL of their weight back:eek:. So I was pretty proud of myself that I actually stayed the course and didn't gain. It was tough and my will power was SHOT by the end, but I did it! I did get in exercise everyday while we were gone. My brother has a mini gym at his house so I used that. Janet- Congrats on consuming just a few cookies. The day before I got my fill I had 4 cookies. 2 in the morning and 2 that night. I was mad at myself at first, but then realized that dang, I had baked over 100 dozen and that I had a TOTAL of 6 during that week, and that is a miracle. I couldn't figure out why I had so many cookies when I was done put the trays together, because I had done the same amount of batches as I had in the past. Then I realized that I had not eaten the dough or very many cookies myself. That was when it hit me that I used to eat A LOT of stuff while I was baking. Well I need to clean house. We left it a mess and it is going to drive me nuts. Also, have to try and find something to eat. I am back to never being hungry again. DANG I LOVE THIS BAND!

Good luck Dave, I really do admire your determination. I just had a talk with myself that I was going to have that same determination back at 11:30 Am tomorrow. I know that sometimes we question if this band is always working, but have it not work for over a month and you realize how much it actually does for you. I don't ever want to go through being unfilled again. It does bad things to your brain. Funny how something in your tummy causes your brain to react!

Still Dave...88 pounds is no small victory! Your dedication is amazing. I need my fill. I have not been doing very well over the last few days. I honestly think that most of it is all in my head. I know that once I get my fill, I won't be hungry and I won't want to eat. Less than 24 hours before I get that wonderful feeling of "nothingness" in my tummy. That is what it always felt like to me before. I didn't have any feeling when I was supposed to eat and I didn't have any feeling when I was finished. At first it was frustrating, now I can't wait! Well I am going to be headed over the mountains for my doctor's appt tomorrow. You should see the mountain pass...well actually you can't because it is covered in snow. this is the first time I have lived somewhere that I had to deal with mountain passes, and I don't like to drive in snow. Fortunately my BF grew up over here and it doesn't bother him a bit. I think I may take some of my post op liquid pain meds to knock me out so that I don't have a panic attack as we drive through 4 feet of snow with a cliff to our left! Okay, I know that I am blowing this out of proportion, but you are talking to a Seattle-ish area girl who doesn't know anything but rain. :rain: I loved snow when i was little because it meant NO SCHOOL! Now it means hazardous driving and still school. They haven't cancelled or delayed school here for snow in over 10 years and not for lack of it either. Well now that you have my weather forecast I will bid you a good weekend. I will not be back from the doctor until Sunday as we are having Christmas with my family this weekend also.

Nichole, I know how terrible it is to have such a long drive to the doctors. Normally mine is 5+ hours away depending on traffic, but it is also over a mountain pass so that is going to significantly extend the trip this weekend considering that there is 4-6 feet of snow in the pass right now. I just looked at the weather cams, and all you see is white! Fortunately my brother lives about a 1/2 hour from the doctor so we are going to stay with him and do Christmas this weekend as well. When i had my surgery done it was in the summer when the passes were all nice and dry I didn't exactly think about what the winter was going to be like!!! So how often do people see their doctor. I have seen mine once since surgery and that was just because of my teeth not chewing properly! I honestly believe that I would never have seen him again if I hadn't had a lapse in chewing procedures. I am not worried that I don't see him, just curious what everyone else does. When we get a fill, we just see the nurse practioner that works there. Well the kids are taking their test today so it is an easy day. If I don't get back on before I leave, I will chat with everyone on Monday as that is when we will be getting back. My brother still lives in the stone age and doesn't have internet, cable or HEAT! Actually he should have heat now as he just finished installing the system. Last Christmas when we went to visit, he told us to bring our own heating source as he didn't have any to provide. So we bought some portable heaters. He is a funny one!

It is not necessarily a leak. When I was unfilled early in Nov. I had lost some too. The nurse said that is normal. Sometimes your body will pull it out of the band and absorb it. Janet- Congrats on the modeling job. Well I just finished my work out so I have to go take a shower and head back to work. I am chaperoning at the choir concert.

Got my workout in last night. My thighs are sore from that DVD, but it is a good sore.

You are so right Janet, eating right 98% is what thin people do. Before, I only ate right 2% of the time so I have totally tipped the tables. Right now I could probably have eaten that entire plate. I have to stop myself from eating now. I told my BF that I was not going to count calories for the rest of the week because my will power is on its last leg and I need to stretch it out for the next three days. Right now I have been eating healthy and still very small portions. But if I don't start eating a bit more so that I am not hungry all the time, I am going to break down totally and binge. It is all about listening to what your body needs, not what it wants. Right now, it needs more GOOD food because the band isn't doing its job.

Actually my dad wanted to get my clothes for Christmas but I told him right now it is pointless. I am still not close to my goal weight so I am just going to try and alter some of my clothing so that it fits. I am losing size so quickly that something that is too tight today may fit nicely next week and be falling off the week after. (YES A VERY GOOD PROBLEM TO HAVE!) I refuse to wear clothes that make me look like the marshmallow man! I am not workin' this hard to still look like I am 50 pounds heavier because my clothes fluff out. Hey now we can say that it is just the shirt that makes us look fat and mean it! I could button the pants that I am wearing today "uncomfortably" on Friday of last week. Today they fit just fine. HOLY COW that is only 4 days. I love this little band even if is not filled right now. Keep thinking Friday and it will come soon enough. I NEED A FILL!

Early in November, my teeth went on strike and didn't chew the Boca burger that i was eating. I didn't PB (and i think it would have been better if I had) but instead it got lodged and irritated my esophogus to the point of almost being swollen shut. Within a matter of 4 days I couldn't even get liquids down, they would just hover in my throat. So my doc unfilled me to remove any potential for further irritation. So I have been unfilled since November 8. At first it was fine, but the last 2 weeks have been HELL. I am constantly hungry, but through dedication and will power I have managed to lose 10 pounds since being unfilled. I can't imagine what is going to happen when the band is actually doing its job again!

I had restriction from the beginning too, but after the unfill, I am not feeling it anymore. It'll be back on Friday though!:clap2:

I should be close to 60 pounds lost by Christmas. I have 2 to go. I was down to 191.5, but then I had carbs last night and am going to continue to have carbs. I had been on Atkins to kind of kickstart the weightloss and halt the hunger, but I gave in and had 1 cookie last night. I don't feel bad about it at all either. I had a very bad yesterday. All I wanted to do (and pretty much did) is cry. I dont' know if I posted it here, but I am going to leave teaching at the end of this school year. I just don't like it, and I had to tell my administrators yesterday. Yes it is early to tell them, but we were planning a major curriculum for next year and I didn't want them to expect me to be here to teach it. They are really wonderful people to work for and completely understand. Still it is emotional to think that I am going to just give it up, BUT I HATE IT! I was also missing food terribly yesterday AND put in a 16 hour day at work, so when I went home, I had a cookie. Not 10 or 20 but 1, and instead of feeling ANY guilt, I am acutually proud of myself. Sure I will want another one tonight, but I probably won't have one. So hopefuly, I can lose 2 pounds by Christmas. Plus I FINALLY get my fill back on Friday, so that usually jumpstarts things!