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5/18/06 B: Protein shake - 138 calories, 27g protein L: WW Smart Ones Roast Beef - 200 calories, 26g protein S: South Beach Protein Bar - 140 calories, 10g protein (STILL HUNGRY! I WANT MY RESTRICTION BACK! :help:) S: SF yogurt - 100 calories, 8g protein D: Turkey, mashed potatoes, corn & a biscuit (mmmmm) - probably 600 calories, around 27g protein Totals: 1,178 calories, 100g protein

Hey, my doc said yesterday that it was okay for me to be getting 900 calories a day. So... I'm going to continue on that path and forget the free day. Maybe I'll allow myself to have a free meal.

Whoa Rosann! Now I know what you need - a little unfill! If you have to blend things up before you eat them it's no wonder you're not eating as well as you want or you're not satisfied so you blow it later. I know it seems counter-productive, but maybe an unfill would help you to make better food choices because you could actually keep the healthy food down.

5/17/06 I got a .5cc unfill this morning for my cruise. EEK! I can DEFINITELY feel the loss of restriction, so i'm going to have to practice some serious self-control. I got the unfill because I'm afraid of retaining Water and becoming so restricted I can't swallow my own spit. I'll try to be good! B: None L: Wendy's Chili & chicken Nuggets (emergency meal) - 440 calories, 27g Protein S: South Beach Cereal crisp bar - 140 calories, 10g protein D: WW Swedish Meatballs - 280 calories, 20g protein S: South Beach oatmeal cookie - 100 calories, 1g protein Totals: 960 calories, 58g protein

Hey Roseann! Welcome to the thread. I hope to see you posting your meals here as I find that it really, really helps me to stay on track. Here's my thing about eating right: Plan, Plan, Plan! If I PLAN my meals for the next day (and include calories) I will likely stick to it. I always have backup meals on hand. I cook up a big batch of healthy food, suck 'n seal it in portion-controlled sizes, and then write the calorie and protein content on the outside of the bag so I know what I'm eating. When I'm ready to eat it, I'll pull it out of the freezer and boil it right in the bags for about 15 minutes. Voila! Food just as good as the day you made it! You must be doing something right because you've lost 54 pounds, great job! So if you're looking at losing those last 30, girl, first I'd be getting my butt to the gym more often! If Curves gets you going then great! For me, Curves wasn't enough - I couldn't get a tough enough workout out of that place. But I bet your weight loss will take off again if you really crack down on the workouts.

5/16/06 B: Protein shake - 138 Calories, 27g protein L: WW Salisbury Steak & Mac & cheese - 260 calories, 23g protein S: South Beach krisp bar - 100 calories, 1g protein D: Lean Cuisine chicken alfredo - 260 calories, 20g protein S: Keebler Right Bites - 100 calories, 1g protein Totals: 858 calories, 72g protein

Ditto Ms. Vicki, but I don't eat breads or steak anymore for simplicity sake. Fish is also a bit of a problem - go figure!

Sat, 5/13/06 B: Protein Shake: 138 calories, 27g protein L: Chicken w/ spaghetti sauce - 300 calories, 35g protein D: Potluck of some BBQ spare ribs, roast beef, chicken, carrots & potatoes, brownie - probably like a million calories

Shoot, Lisa, we're going to Disneyland for 2 days before our cruise. I'll be at Disneyland this coming Saturday and Sunday. How FUN that you have a yearly pass! That would be great. I'm moving to So Cal next Spring for grad school and I was thinking of getting a yearly pass to Disneyland. I'm afraid I'd get sick of it, though. Disneyworld is SO much bigger!

Fri, 5/12/06 B: Protein Shake: 138 calories, 27g protein L: Grilled Chicken Lean Cuisine - 160 calories, 14g protein S: South Beach protein bar - 140 calories, 10g protein D: Chicken w/ spaghetti sauce - 300 calories, 35g protein S: Small pc. wedding cake - 200 calories? Totals: 938 calories, 86g protein

Hey Lisa, when are you off to Disneyland? I'll be there next Saturday and Sunday.

You know, it's funny you mention that because I was thinking about that this morning: Why didn't I do this before the band? Then it occurred to me that I DID do it before the band, but because I saw minimal results, and it was SO HARD to follow a diet when you're eating as much as you do, that I just gave up. The band's just sort of like your diet helper friend. But really, I don't exercise ALL that much - if you look at the numbers it ranges from 20-60 minutes/day.

Mon, 5/8 - 20 minutes HIIT on Arc Trainer at Gym Tue, 5/9 - 20 minutes HIIT, 10 minutes steady state on Arc Trainer; 25 minutes Turbo Jam Cardio Party Wed, 5/10 - 40 minutes Lower-Body WT, 20 minutes Abs Thu, 5/11 - 13 minutes HIIT on Treadmill, 12 minutes HIIT on Arc Trainer, 8 minutes steady-state on Arc Trainer Fri, 5/12 - 20 min Turbo Jam Sat, 5/13 - 4 hours walking at adventure park, 45 minutes Turbo Jam Cardio Party

I was afraid of the same thing because I could eat like 2 cups after being banded! No stretching, just in need of a fill.

Teresa, you've been doing so well lately! I'm so proud of you. Our little cheerleader's joined the team! 5/11/06 B: 1/2 yogurt: 120 calories, 5g protein L: Sweet pork salad w/ lime ranch dressing - guessing 700 calories, 25g protein??? D: Salisbury steak & asparagus - 200 calories, 20g protein S: Dark chocolate caramel & walnut bar - 270 calories, 6g protein Totals: 1,290 calories; 56g protein

That totally makes sense. That's what I wanted, too, in addition to preparing my skin for this summer. I tan in a Wolf bed and use that CT Seven tanning lotion. It's the best of both worlds. Everyone compliments me on how "glowing" I look. It's the tan, I tell you! Someone even asked me if I was in love! Now I just go to the tanning salon once a week to maintain and if I want a little extra tan I use a little cocktail of a good fake tanner and one minute extra in the tanning bed.

Jessie, what's your goal? Do you want to prepare your skin for the sun or get brown? If you just want to get brown you want a UVB bed (though all beds have both UVA and UVB), or a cosmetic bed and ALWAYS use a tanning lotion. I use this stuff called CT Seven by California Tan and there is a HUGE difference the next day if I use that versus a cheap tanning lotion. It was about $70, but it was worth it! I like to lay down, buck naked, because of the whole relaxation thing. I get in the bed and fall right asleep.

I do a cocktail of tanning beds and tanning lotions when I'm preparing for a vacation. I've heard that burning is worse for your skin than preparing it for the sun by tanning, so I usually just tan before a vacation. On a side note, tanning is my therapy. I go when I'm super stressed. I also tell my clients (brides) to go if they get stressed. Though I know there's no such thing as a healthy tan, I feel like the de-stressing component of it is WORTH IT every once in awhile. I also cover up my stomach when I go tanning so my skin will stretch back.

5/9/06 B: Protein Shake - 138 calories, 27g protein L: Cobb salad w/ caesar dressing - 360 calories, 16g protein S: 3 mini krackle candy bars - 134 calories, 2g protein D: Grilled hamburger patty, potato salad, baked beans - 390 calories, 21g protein S: Dairy Queen Praline Sundae EEK!!!! - 730 calories, 16g protein Totals: 1,752 calories, 82g protein 5/10/06 B: Protein shake - 138 calories, 27g protein L: Baked cod & broccoli w/ cheese - 230 calories, 20g protein S: 1 oz raw almonds - 160 calories, 6g protein D: Chicken from Subway sandwich; WW Salisbury steak - 420 calories (?), 32g protem (?) Totals: 948 calories, 85g protein

I agree, leatha. After a good lower-body workout my calves are rock hard! If I don't do lower-body for another week or so I can see those muscles starting to dwindle. I have exercised every single day since two weeks after being banded. I alternate upper- and lower-body weight training every other day and on the other days I do high intensity interval cardio training. My question is why would my body lose on more calories???

Okay, I'm really weirded out now. In the last 4-5 days I've been eating terribly (well, terribly for me), and getting like 1,400 calories/day as opposed to the 800-1,000 I usually get. Here's the weird thing: I've lost like 3 pounds in the last 4 days. WHY does the weight come off when I up my calories? Does it have anything to do with upping my calories? Shouldn't my body HAVE to drop the weight on fewer calories? I mean, physics tells me that my body has no choice but to drop the weight. I don't understand this business.

Teresa! 4 Pounds! That's fantastic!

Xann, your BMR is just your basal metabolic rate, basically just surviving. You burn 30% - 60% more just doing basic daily activities. In the case above I just added 30% because I've been sort of sick and lazy today. Now, RMR is different from BMR. RMR calculation is slightly higher than BMR. But however you calculate it, I think the calculation is flawed. I certainly don't lose 1/2 pound every day, even though all the math says I should. But then again I haven't had my REAL BMR calculated for a few months, but even a few months ago I was only burning 70% of what other people burn at my age, weight, height, sex... So I took a number off the Internet and multiplied it by .7 ANYHOW... I love the arc trainer, too! I always do my high intensity interval training (HIIT) on the arc trainer because it's so easy on my joints, but I can still work out hard.

I can't figure out for the life of me why the other bandsters around me who've been banded as long or shorter than me have lost more than I have without exercising, and many without really watching what they eat. I've eaten very carefully and excercised hard every single day since I've been banded. It's my new quest to research and find out why and what makes a metabolism fast (besides more muscle). But I'm determined to get all this weight off - I just feel like I might be spinning my wheels the wrong way.

B: Protein shake - 138 calories, 27g protein L: Mustard chicken & green beans - 220 calories, 17g protein D: Salsa chicken - ~300 calories(?), 30g protein S: Angel food cake w/ strawberries - ~ 300 calories(?) Totals: 958 calories, 74g protein Xann, I liked your calorie calculation defecit idea, so here's my attempt: Exercise: 20 min HIIT on arc trainer = abt 300 calories BMR: 1900 + 300 + 600 (daily activity) - 958 = 1,842 calorie defecit