ajoneen

Alas size small will never be in my future, my bone structure would never allow it. + Im 5'8". Fenton- Mmm curries. Do you have them with rice? How are you at eating one cup at a meal. I've really never been able to do that. A cup of anything just never holds me. Regarding the soft foods. I really don't think the form of the food matters as much as how long it keeps you full. For me Protein shakes don't stay with me long enough. Im hungry a couple hours later. As in tummy rumbles. A Protein Bar however can keep me good for 3+ hours. Yesterday I had 6oz of steak & a cup of grapes and found myself looking for a snack 2 hrs later. Today I had 6oz of steak & a cup of pasta(garlic & EVOO) and Im good to go. Mornings I try to have yogurt with fruit or Fiber One that's soft and sticks with me. I've been reading up on the 5day Pouch Test and it looks promising. Probably start next week to kick start. Hi again Chica. Your added stress has definitely taken it's toll on your progress. I know NYCMoo has had alot of band difficulties too. These last 12 months have been a bear for me too, but I gotta say "thank the band Gods" I haven't had problems with the band. Knock wood.

Today is my first day logging on SparkPeople. I like the web based site much better then the phone app.

Well I did say tough love. Thanks, that's the kind of accountability I need. I signed up with SparkPeople to track my meals and I started with breakfast this morning. I actually find it easier to keep to a schedule during the week. Weekends my timing gets shot to hell and I'm more likely to miss meals. I did the c25k when I was training for the Triathlon. Very effective program. I might restart it in a few weeks. Depends on what exercise program I decide to follow and that is a whole new kettle of fish. I'm worrying about my nutrition this month and getting that straightened out. I hear you on the eating out. That is probably the biggest culprit in my weight regain. Sooo easy to make unhealthy choices when everything looks and smells so good. I find if there is a website with nutritional values that helps with my choices as the calories counts are much higher then I would have guessed. Back when I was being good I also ordered off the appetizer menu. Today we are having folks over for Fathers Day. Steaks and the fixings on the menu. Im headed to the kitchen now to make macaroni and fruit salads. Are you in a part of Texas that is really hot now? Do you run outside or treadmill? When it starts getting hot and humid here I find it hard to get out to exercise. Have a safe trip. A

I've ordered 2 books to help get the eating back on track and 1 to help with exercise: 5 Day Pouch Test Owner's Manual, by Kaye Bailey Day 6: Beyond the 5 Day Pouch Test, By Kaye Bailey A Walking guide & Daily log. So this week I have become more aware of what I am eating and how much. I haven't started the journal yet, but soon. I noticed that I've been skipping breakfast and snacking for no good reason. Next week will be getting breakfast on a daily basis, and cutting out mindless snacking. I did better losing when I started the home fires of my metabolism when I first got up. I hope I also work up the courage to call my Dr. about a fill.

Yep you're going to have those down days. But you have to look at the bigger picture. You are building skills and habits that will hopefully stay with you your whole life. Try not to get fixated on the scale. Just weight yourself once a week or only when you go to the Dr. Instead look at how your closes are fitting. Or how you can do 10 more minutes of cardio this week compared to last. Take it from someone who didn't make their last few goals. If your not making you're goals it might be time to reevaluate them. Perhaps not a weight goal, but a time in the gym goal Or a daily protein goal. Also don't underestimate the power of rewarding yourself for meeting goals. You need that pat on the back. Keep up the great work!!

Sure! I can't afford to be picky. Besides if I was going to pick I couldn't get any better. You are a very positive person. I've ordered 2 books to help get the eating back on track and 1 to help with exercise: 5 Day Pouch Test Owner's Manual, by Kaye Bailey Day 6: Beyond the 5 Day Pouch Test, By Kaye Bailey A Walking guide & Daily log. So this week I have become more aware of what I am eating and how much. I haven't started the journal yet, but soon. I noticed that I've been skipping Breakfast and snacking for no good reason. Next week will be getting breakfast on a daily basis, and cutting out mindless snacking. I did better losing when I started the home fires of my metabolism when I first got up. I hope I also work up the courage to call my Dr. about a fill. So how did you do last week and what are you up to next week?

Oh Boy, Special K I've been hanging on to my job with my fingernails. It is a tough market out there. Best of luck on your search. You've proven to be tenacious and focused in this weight loss battle Im sure this will not set you back to much, if at all. You're not a quitter!!

I haven't had a fill in over a year. I wanted one the last time I had an appointment (6/09) but my Dr was out (I've only been filled by my Dr) and I saw the PA. She said after a few questions NO FILL. Go home and work on the diet. It is now a year later, I've regained A LOT and am now afraid and embarrassed to go see my Dr. I think I will cry went I see my Dr. I was doing well before the PA shut me down. He was proud of me. She made me feel like there wasn't anything the band could do for me now. It was all up to me. Now Im, well I don't want to say a failure, but gosh what else would I be?? So do I knuckle down and try to again lose by myself or suck it up and go to the DR?? Has anyone else had to suck it up? How did that go?

Way to go!!

never underestimate the power of your support system. If you have one. With exception of LBT Im pretty much on my own.

I haven't had a fill in over a year. I wanted one the last time I had an appointment (6/09) but my Dr was out (I've only been filled by my Dr) and I saw the PA. She said after a few questions NO FILL. Go home and work on the diet. It is now a year later, I've regained A LOT and am now afraid and embarrassed to go see my Dr. I think I will cry went I see my Dr. I was doing well before the PA shut me down. He was proud of me. She made me feel like there wasn't anything the band could do for me now. It was all up to me. Now Im, well I don't want to say a failure, but gosh what else would I be?? So do I knuckle down and try to again lose by myself or suck it up and go to the DR?? Has anyone else had to suck it up? How did that go?

I haven't had a fill in over a year. I wanted one the last time I had an appointment (6/09) but my Dr was out (I've only been filled by my Dr) and I saw the PA. She said after a few questions NO FILL. Go home and work on the diet. It is now a year later, I've regained A LOT and am now afraid and embarrassed to go see my Dr. I think I will cry went I see my Dr. I was doing well before the PA shut me down. He was proud of me. She made me feel like there wasn't anything the band could do for me now. It was all up to me. Now Im, well I don't want to say a failure, but gosh what else would I be?? So do I knuckle down and try to again lose by myself or suck it up and go to the DR?? Has anyone else had to suck it up? How did that go?

Hmmm. This forum is quiet.

other options: PB2, PeanutButter powder. Bell Plantation - PB2 Powdered Peanut Butter and More! Does not pack the Protein like Whey but it is an option. NOW Sports Pea Protein contains an impressive 28 grams of easily-digested protein. NOW Foods - Pea Protein - 2 lbs. Are you Vegan or do you have allergies?

Fenton when was your last fill? are you planning on going soon?

Scrappy looks like you made it through with flying colors. Good to hear!:devil_smile:

HI folks It's hard to put this in writing but it has to happen if I am going to do anything about it. I was 254 when I was banded March of 08. I hit my lowest of 206 late last summer. I am as of a few minutes ago 251. My downhill slide started Nov 08. The scale got stuck or bounced up and down. I continued to work with my trainer but my food choices were not good. At my one year (3/09)with the Dr he said he was very impressed (Ha?) and to keep up the good work. Well sadly that did not happen. I had highs- going on a once in a lifetime trip to Alaska June 09 (and lows)only to have my Mom pass away the night before I left. Early summer I went to the Drs office for a fill and was told by the PA "No, go home and work on the diet, the band is working fine". Mid summer my gym closed unexpectedly because of bankruptcy and my prepaid training sessions went with it. Fall 09 saw great stress when my office downsized- BIG time. (my job is still on life support). It doesn't help to have a husband(in great shape) who "loves me no matter what size" and doesn't give me the tough love I've asked for in regards to food choices(junk food in the house, eating out most meals) and exercise habits. I've had to buy new larger size clothes after tossing all the old ones thinking I would never need them again. I received a letter from my Drs office last week addressed "To Whom It May Concern" that they haven't seen me (ya sure you don't even know my name) in a while and should make a appointment. Now that's cold. I really want to call and make that appointment but am very afraid. This band is a blessing and a curse. I've never felt like such a failure before. But without it I probably never would have done 2 triathlons. I came back here hoping to find some of the support that was so, well, supportive 2 years ago. I have to remember why I got banded in the first place.

Thanks for the kind words!!!

Scrappy how did the revision of your tummy tuck go??

I've ordered a couple of books based on the 5 day pouch test and am waiting on them to start the part of my "recovery". I've also made a new ticker with my back slide and am not going to update my old one for the reasons Fenton gave. (great idea!) Im getting out and playing golf a few times a week. So there is a bit of exercise there- I don't ride & use a push cart. Don't know if I will get back to the Triathlons, it was an all or nothing kind of thing and I burned out.

It's hard to put this in writing but it has to happen if I am going to do anything about it. I was 254 when I was banded March of 08. I hit my lowest of 206 late last summer. I am as of a few minutes ago 251. I came back here hoping to find some of the support that was so, well, supportive 2 years ago. I have to remember why I got banded in the first place.

If you woke up with a pain in your shoulder, you'd probably think something was wrong with your shoulder, right? Maybe you slept on it the wrong way, maybe you're a weekend warrior who threw the football a few too many times. In most cases, your hunch is probably right. Pain in the shoulder usually indicates an injury or disease that affects a structure in your shoulder, such as, say, your subacromial bursa or a rotator cuff tendon. Makes sense, doesn't it? But you might be way off. Sometimes the brain gets confused, making you think that one part of the body hurts, when in fact another part of the body, far removed from the pain, is the real source of trouble. This curious (and clinically important) phenomenon is known as referred pain. For example, it's unlikely but possible that your shoulder pain is a sign of something insidious happening in your liver, gall bladder, stomach, spleen, lungs, or pericardial sac (the connective tissue bag containing the heart). Yup - conditions as diverse as liver abscesses, gallstones, gastric ulcers, splenic rupture, pneumonia, and pericarditis can all cause shoulder pain. What's up with that? Neuroscientists still don't know precisely which anatomical connections are responsible for referred pain, but the prevailing explanation seems to work pretty well. In a nutshell, referred pain happens when nerve fibers from regions of high sensory input (such as the skin) and nerve fibers from regions of normally low sensory input (such as the internal organs) happen to converge on the same levels of the spinal cord. The best known example is pain experienced during a heart attack. Nerves from damaged heart tissue convey pain signals to spinal cord levels T1-T4 on the left side, which happen to be the same levels that receive sensation from the left side of the chest and part of the left arm. The brain isn't used to receiving such strong signals from the heart, so it interprets them as pain in the chest and left arm. So what about that shoulder pain? All of organs listed above bump up against the diaphragm, the thin, dome-shaped muscle that moves up and down with every breath. The diaphragm is innervated by two phrenic nerves (left and right), which emerge from spinal cord levels C3, C4, and C5 (medical students remember these spinal cord levels using the mnemonic, "C3, 4, 5 keeps the diaphragm alive"). The phrenic nerves carry both motor and sensory impulses, so they make the diaphragm move and they convey sensation from the diaphragm to the central nervous system. Most of the time there isn't any sensation to convey from the diaphragm, at least at the conscious level. But if a nearby organ gets sick, it may irritate the diaphragm, and the sensory fibers of one of the phrenic nerves are flooded with pain signals that travel to the spinal cord (at C3-C5). It turns out that C3 and C4 don't just keep the diaphragm alive; neurons at these two spinal cord levels also receive sensation from the shoulders (via the supraclavicular nerves). So when pain neurons at C3 and C4 sound the alarm, the brain assumes (quite reasonably) that the shoulder is to blame. Usually that's a good assumption, but sometimes it's wrong. From: Anatomy Notes: Referred pain

That is a really sweet and positive comment. Thanks! I do like to be active and actually love the way I feel -after- I exercise. I wish I could bottle the feeling.

The same three pounds are on and off. I'm essentially the same weight I was this time last year. I know if I worked harder at it I would have more success. My food choices are for the most part good. Im sure there could be more tweaking but realistically I can't do any better. Exercise is the hard part. If I could do 3-5 days a week I know I would be a success. I responded well to coaching but I've hit my $$ limit. Personal trainers work but are expensive!! I can not afford to invest any more. I had reduced the sessions to once a week thinking that would stretch out the time I had and hold me accountable. Ha! Even with me paying for him to care I could tell he was losing interest. Today it really hit me because I went to my trainers only to find he is out of business. I had prepaid for my sessions and am now out that $$. I wish I had someone in my life that cared more about my health then I do. My job is sucky. I do the financial side of the business and can see that the company is sinking. We are downsizing like crazy and moving the office to a smaller location but I think I will need to be looking for another job soon. Which sucks because Im socially close to my boss & his family and that friendship will suffer. Ya more stress. I gotta say Im feeling like a failure. I used to look in the mirror and think I looked good. Big yes, but good. Now I just see hanging, flabby, rolls of skin. I am the stereotypical fat person. I complain about the situation but am not willing to actually do the hard work that is necessary. Not sure why I felt the need to come over here and darken your day. Guess I just needed to unburden. Feeling guilty.