SpecialK

I'm stuck on a plateau and I am a bodybugg user faithfully. I log in about 1200-1400 calories consumed and each day hit well past the 2400 calories burned that should be giving me a daily deficit of 1000 calories but I'm stuck. I am going to try changing up diet, going to higher intensity workouts. Just having to tough it out right now and it ain't fun.

For any who might be interested, I set up a Tuesday night get together at the Polaris mall for those who find a Saturday hard to fit into your schedule. I'll be there about 6pm in the corner of the foodcourt by Chik-fil-A and Great Indoors. Pre or post band welcome.

Hi there Mt. Carmel bandsters. The October bariatric support group topic was on body image distortion and how we struggle post weight loss, or in the middle of our weight loss journey for me, to really see what we have truly accomplished and be satisfied with ourselves. I mentioned in posts around December/January that I am keeping a scrapbook of my weight loss journey. I haven't been as good working on it lately. I did find an old journal from 2 years ago when I first started to check out Mt. Carmel's bariatric program, going through all my tests and pre-qualification things and finally remembering the joy when I found I was approved and had a surgery date. If you are someone who is just banded or will be soon, I highly recommend keeping a journal.

Hi March friends -- I'm past my crazy crazy work deadline, but not past my "sloppy eating" habits I picked up while rushing around eating. I'm doing better getting on track. I won't see my surgeon again until October 20 but I can tell I am much less restricted on eating with that .5cc unfil that I thought I would be. I ate some beef barley Soup for dinner and within 2 hours I am hungry again. Trying to drink a big glass of Water to hold off hunger but its hard. I am on a 2 month plateau right now and it has been hard. I am hoping with less stress and more commitment to avoid/reduce carbs where I can that I can do better. I think it is true that once you start eating carbs like spaghetti again you crave even more carbs. I guess I am going through carb withdrawal!

Hi Jencys -- glad to hear the unfill helped.

Give this link a try. I cannot make Saturday but will plan to be the Tuesday p.m. coordinator/person. If there are those who still want to meet Saturday, that's fine. Enjoy! :wink2: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f56/central-ohio-get-together-october-13-2009-tuesday-p-m-103538/#post1341372

I think it would be good for us to be sure we are sharing with others that have alot to lose with the lapband that we are hitting the 18 months point and some of us are having some adjustments of up .25 cc, down .5 cc, etc. For me it was after 6 months of being at the same restriction level where we felt good then started seeing the reflux. Same with another poster saying she was happy for 2 months at a level, getting good weight loss, then noticing it was too tight. It has to be where the fat and weight are coming off our bodies internally that affects where the band is positioned, etc. So, that is the truly Adjustable aspect of the adjustable gastric lapband procedure we signed up for. Trying to stay positive but its hard leveling off when I know I have 60 lbs more to lose. I'm trying to mix it up with different exercise. Stress on the job is better and I'm hoping I can at least lose these stubborn pounds keeping me in the 230's right now by January 1. Wow, lose 5 lbs in 2-3 months seems like a low hurdle to set but it has been a struggle now. I am doing good not eating junk. Yesterday I ate a corned beef, saurkraut, and swiss cheese sandwich on rye bread toasted and I took about 1 hour to eat that but it tasted good and that was all I could eat. I like trying different flavors for variety. Sometimes I can eat a whole bag of popcorn - like 5 cups. Last night I ate a Wendy's mandarin chicken salad with the almonds and noodles and the dressing package over the space of an hour and a half while I was at my Bible study. I was hungry an hour later and had a Protein shake. I will go online here shortly and add up the calories eaten yesterday but I know its more than I should have eaten. I guess I need to discipline myself to allow 30 minutes to eat, and what I havent' eaten in that time, I put away. If I let myself have longer to eat, I can do the whole salad or the whole sandwich. I can eat a whole apple as a snack and I can remember when I could only eat half of an apple. But is that really so bad to eat an apple as a healthy snack. Trying not to beat up on myself for an apple. I'd appreciate others sharing what amount and what type of foods you can eat in a sitting to help me compare portion control.

I did 1 Slim-fast protein shake for breakfast, 1 for lunch, sugar-free jello for snack, sugar free popsicles for snack and lean meat and vegetables for dinner. Add a piece of fruit as needed. I went low carb and lost about 10 lbs pre-op on my own efforts. Also, try getting some extra walking in where you can. Anything to burn calories. Good luck.

Susan - Nice to hear from you. Had you been going along for a long time at the same fill level like I did before you saw the reflux? My .5cc unfill did the trick and my reflux totally went away. Hope yours will too. I think that "slow and steady" thing is harder to get our heads around than we wish it was but we will get there. Kathy

A family member sent me this and I thought I'd share on the Fitness and Exercise thread here for a laugh. I haven't had the money to hire a personal trainer but I have gone from being a couch potato to a regular exerciser and that is my victory post LAP-BAND®! Enjoy!:smile: My Week At The Gym If you read this without laughing out loud, there is something wrong with you. This is dedicated to everyone who ever attempted to get into a regular workout routine. Dear Diary, For my birthday this year, my Husband (the dear) purchased a week of personal training at the local health club for me. Although I am still in great shape since being a high school football cheerleader 43 years ago, I decided it would be a good idea to go ahead and give it a try. I called the club and made my reservations with a personal trainer named Christo, who identified himself as a 26-year-old aerobics instructor and model for athletic clothing and swim wear. My husband seemed pleased with my enthusiasm to get started! The club encouraged me to keep a diary to chart my progress. ________________________________ MONDAY: Started my day at 6:00 a.m. Tough to get out of bed, but found it was well worth it when I arrived at the health club to find Christo waiting for me. He is something of a Greek god - with blond hair, dancing eyes and a dazzling white smile. Woo Hoo!! Christo gave me a tour and showed me the machines. I enjoyed watching the skillful way in which he conducted his aerobics class after my workout today. Very inspiring! Christo was encouraging as I did my sit-ups, although my gut was already aching from holding it in the whole time he was around. This is going to be a FANTASTIC week-!! ________________________________ TUESDAY: I drank a whole pot of coffee, but I finally made it out the door. Christo made me lie on my back and push a heavy Iron bar into the air then he put weights on it! My legs were a little wobbly on the treadmill, but I made the full mile. His rewarding smile made it all worthwhile. I feel GREAT-!! It's a whole new life for me. _______________________________ WEDNESDAY: The only way I can brush my teeth is by laying the toothbrush on the counter and moving my mouth back and forth over it. I believe I have a hernia in both pectorals. Driving was OK as long as I didn't try to steer or stop. I parked on top of a GEO in the club parking lot. Christo was impatient with me, insisting that my screams bothered other club members. His voice is a little too perky for that early in the morning and when he scolds, he gets this nasally whine that is VERY annoying. My chest hurt when I got on the treadmill, so Christo put me on the stair monster... Why the heck would anyone invent a machine to simulate an activity rendered obsolete by elevators? Christo told me it would help me get in shape and enjoy life. He said some other trash too. _______________________________ THURSDAY: Jerk was waiting for me with his vampire-like teeth exposed as his thin, cruel lips were pulled back in a full snarl. I couldn't help being a half an hour late - it took me that long to tie my shoes. He took me to work out with dumbbells.... When he was not looking, I ran and hid in the restroom. He sent some skinny witch to find me. Then, as punishment, he put me on the rowing machine -- which I sank. _________________________________ FRIDAY: I hate that Christo more than any human being has ever hated any other human being in the history of the world. Stupid, skinny, anemic, anorexic little aerobic instructor. If there was a part of my body I could move without unbearable pain, I would beat him with it. Christo wanted me to work on my triceps. I don't have any triceps! And if you don't want dents in the floor, don't hand me the darn barbells or anything that weighs more than a sandwich. The treadmill flung me off and I landed on a health and nutrition teacher. Why couldn't it have been someone softer, like the drama coach or the choir director? ________________________________ SATURDAY: Satan left a message on my answering machine in his grating, shrilly voice wondering why I did not show up today.... Just hearing his voice made me want to smash the machine with my planner; however, I lacked the strength to even use the TV remote and ended up catching eleven straight hours of the Weather Channel. ________________________________ SUNDAY: I'm having the Church van pick me up for services today so I can go and thank GOD that this week is over. I will also pray that next year my husband will choose a gift for me that is fun -- like a root canal or a hysterectomy. I still say if God had wanted me to bend over, he would have sprinkled the floor with diamonds!!!

I'm 1.5 yrs out and totally glad with what I did. -120 lbs to date and even though I know I still have a ways to go, I think I can get there with mindful eating, exercise, and a positive attitude. I used to face my first weigh in at Weight Watchers with such enthusiasm, and lose a little at a time and get discouraged, and give up. I even lost 100 lbs on WW twice and regained it because when I just stopped portion control, I could eat what I wanted. I am now very conscious of every calorie eaten has to be a calorie burned. On the issue of having something implanted now for a lifetime. I plan to continue regular follow ups with my surgeon and at the first sign of a problem, go see him. I let some acid reflux go for a month or so and thought it was just me with eating wrong combinations, etc. and a tiny unfill adjusted that band and the reflux went away in 24 hrs and hasn't been seen since. So, the Adjustable part of a gastric lapband, is invaluable.

The .5cc unfil was enough to beat back the acid reflux as if it had never happened. Pretty neat. I can sense I can eat a little more but I'm trying to still stay into the Mindful Eating mode.

Hello from Ohio. I had a colonoscopy today and the prep for it is always worse than the test itself but I had a good laugh when I got on the scale after a day of liquids and many bathroom runs to see I was down something like 4 lbs. I know its artificial number but I am maybe hoping in my mind that this will kick my butt into gear and be enough of a shock to my body it will let these stubborn 2 lbs go and I'll see the next set of new numbers. I did have a couple NSVs from this colonoscopy deal today - 1) they gave me a regular adult size blood pressure cuff - didn't have to run for the XL one; 2) they gave me the standard one size fits all hospital gown instead of looking around for what can we put on this big lady!

Hi Sillypuddy. Yep you are right where we all have been in the past. Don't worry about these early weeks on. Just try to stay mindful of your portions and no, they held pretty strong to the waiting 6 weeks to give us a first fill and even then, they go conservative with the first fill and keep incrementally going up from there. Glad to hear your initial recovery has gone so well.

Okay friends, I thought I'd confess and share that I learned this the hard way. Someone brought in a bag of those Brach's Starlite pastel mints to work and they were so tempting that before I realized it I had popped a bunch in my mouth on a couple days in a row. THEN I caught up on my food tracking of calories consumed and those mints blew me away. Not only was it empty sugar calories, but 20 TINY MINT, yes those ones that are 1/2" square, are 60CALORIES. So the next time you are tempted to take a free spoonful (or handful) of those mints from a dish at a restaurant, just remember, they aren't free in terms of calories. :tongue2:

I just had a .5cc unfill for the first time in 18 months of being banded due to acid reflux that was waking me at night and I had a burning sensation in my throat, etc. Within 24 hrs of that tiny unfill, I felt much better, in 48 hrs, no acid reflux at all.

Hi Hope. I am with you about we have a long term issue with overeating as an addiction behavior and we just need to continue being Mindful Eaters now and for the rest of our lives. I am on the last few days now of the crazy deadline they set for me and my project team back in January that was next to impossible to have a new computer system up and running by September 30 when they had not even selected the people to be on the team until March except for me and a couple preliminary people. I know I have been stress eating and I have been trying to add in extra exercise, get sleep, but it is still a hard thing for me when we are buying goodies and Snacks at work to keep people working long long hours including this weekend on Saturday and Sunday after working long hours all week again. I'm just hanging on and trying to make the best choices I can. No weight loss but not anything gained - just keep fluctuating up and down on those same 2-3 lbs which is so different than where I was a year ago with steady losing downward. That is a big mental hit for me because I know I am responsible for what I eat and nobody else. I hope we will continue to long term keep in touch as those who started the journey with incredible excitement together and keep monitoring and supporting until we all find our happy balance long term. Doesn't this situation with learning to live for the long term really make you realize the difference now in choosing RNY -- that is a major commitment with no going back -- I'd be in big trouble now with my current behavior with "dumping" and who knows what else so I am being so much more appreciative of their decision as I see how life goes along longer term post-op. I think both Lapband and RNY and Sleeve too, we all cannot really realize what 'live with this the rest of your life' really is like when they are dangling that carrot in front of our face to get those pounds off incredibly fast after we've faced a lifetime of obesity and complications, embarrassment. I was ready to do anything it took. Now, I get compliments on how nice I look, how incredible what I have done is, and it is turning my head inside out some, knowing I still have a good 60 lbs to go, I can't let this interim stage keep me from my end goal. Okay, sorry for such a long post here. Had to get it off my chest this a.m. I guess so I can go face another long work day. Kathy

Yes Mary Rose - those little tiny 1/2" by 1/2" by 1/2" size bits of yellow, pink, green, etc. buttery tasting mints -- 20 of those tiny things is 60 calories versus 3 of the 1" round peppermints for a hard candy is about 60 calories. I'd much rather have the one that I can suck on for awhile and have it last versus the others melt in your mouth and are quickly gone. The disks are called Brach's Starlight or Starbrite individually wrapped Peppermints The tiny squares are lots of brands but I found a Richardson's Pastel After dinner mints... is 20 pieces for 60 calories. That is a little better. Nutrition Facts Serving Size: 20 pieces Amount per Serving Calories 60 Calories from Fat 0% Daily Value * Total Fat 0g Saturated Fat 0g Cholesterol 0mg Sodium 0mg Total Carbohydrate 15g Dietary Fiber 0g Sugars 15g Protein 0g

Okay, I couldn't resist to see the nutrition info of a TABLESPOON of white sugar compared to the mints! So it looks like there are calories from the corn syrup combined with the sugar -- all around a good sugar high! Nothing nutritional at all but then I kind of should have guessed that but the hand was quicker than the brain. Nutrition Facts Serving Size: 1 TABLESPOON (12.55g) Amount per Serving Calories 47 Calories from Fat 0 % Daily Value * Total Fat 0g 0% Saturated Fat 0g 0% Sodium 0mg 0% Total Carbohydrate 12.55g 4% Dietary Fiber 0g 0% Sugars 12.55g Protein 0g 0%

I had heard that the bowl full of mints in restaurants even with a spoon to dip them out is not a good idea to take them due to the germs from people who reach into the bowl with their hands. So I knew not to take unwrapped mints at a restaurant but this temptation for me came because someone bought a bag at work and was sharing among coworkers I knew. I poured a handful out of the bag, ate those and then kept going back for more. Lord help me!

Here is the nutrition label info from Daily Plate: Nutrition Facts Serving Size: 3 pieces (15g) 1" round disks individually wrapped Amount per Serving Calories 60 Calories from Fat 0 % Daily Value * Total Fat 0g 0% Saturated Fat 0g 0% Trans Fat 0g Sodium 10mg 0% Total Carbohydrate 15g 5% Dietary Fiber 0g 0% Sugars 8g Protein 0g 0% INGREDIENTS: BRACH'S STAR BRITES PEPPERMINTS CORN SYRUP, SUGAR, PEPPERMINT OIL, ARTIFICIAL COLORS (TITANIUM DIOXIDE, BLUE 1, RED 3, YELLOW 6, RED 40).

Hi guys. I logged in my 'sneaking mints at work' this a.m. in my Bodybugg food tracker for calories consumed adn that was a wake up call. 3 tiny pieces of Brach's starlite peppermint mints - pastels, like they have in a dish at restaurants, 3 = 59 Calories -- I had popped at least 12 of those tiny devils in my mouth yesterday. Now that I have the accountability that I ate more in sugar than in the big salad with eggs I had for lunch, that is a wake up call that should keep me out of it today. One day at a time. On the social event eating, yes, it is so tempting to want to show people that I can still eat real food, still enjoy a treat and yet still lose weight. Aha... I can stablize or fluctuate up and down at the same 2 pounds with having a piece of pie for dessert or getting into the mints, but I can't go down consistently like I did when I was a newbie lapbander. I think all this is just that ongoing head game working the program stuff. I'm with Potatie on not beating ourselves up as long as we are being accountable to Ourselves and not anyone else as the food police. That's why I like to come here and post as I know you can relate and will encourage me to keep trying and the same from me back to all of you. So, my own message to myself is, step away from the sweets today. P.S. I did get 30 minutes in on the elliptical and 1 hr of Water aerobics yesterday so I did do things good for myself too!

Happy to report that the tiny unfill last week has made a tremendous difference in how I feel and my eating pattern. I also finally knocked off those 2-3 lbs that were fluctuating up and down between 233-236 or so and am hoping I can break into the 220's soon! Getting good workouts in and trying to make good choices although I found some of the mints yesterday and I had a few and then went back for more so evidently I still have a love for sweets. I need to stay away from all the Halloween candy sales!

New topic for those in the bariatric programs who have struggled with hair loss like I have even before WLS. It was something I have been so self conscious about and could never find a solution for. Well, I have a new product my hair dresser and I tried today that made me so happy I want to share with others. It is a product called Toppik and its hair fibers that are sprinkled into your dry hair after you have done your styling but before you apply your hairspray. The trial size bottle ordered off the internet was $6.50 plus shipping so its worth a try for a small investment. Now that I know I like it, I plan to order a bigger bottle. There are video links on the web site that show the product being applied and it was so fast from the time my hair stylist started that when she had the right side of the top of my hair done, she stopped and said this is amazing, what a difference that makes. We took a picture of it half way done and then when it was all done. I went into the bathroom to look very carefully up close at my hair and it didn't look fake or artificial at all. So, I don't get any financial compensation or anything from this and its up to you to see if you like it. :blushing: www.toppik.com

New topic for those in the bariatric programs who have struggled with hair loss like I have even before WLS. It was something I have been so self conscious about and could never find a solution for. Well, I have a new product my hair dresser and I tried today that made me so happy I want to share with others. It is a product called Toppik and its hair fibers that are sprinkled into your dry hair after you have done your styling but before you apply your hairspray. The trial size bottle ordered off the internet was $6.50 plus shipping so its worth a try for a small investment. Now that I know I like it, I plan to order a bigger bottle. There are video links on the web site that show the product being applied and it was so fast from the time my hair stylist started that when she had the right side of the top of my hair done, she stopped and said this is amazing, what a difference that makes. We took a picture of it half way done and then when it was all done. I went into the bathroom to look very carefully up close at my hair and it didn't look fake or artificial at all. So, I don't get any financial compensation or anything from this and its up to you to see if you like it. www.toppik.com