Poodles

Anyone know any recipes that are REALLY GOOD and band friendly?

OMG... I REALLY love tofu. I finally found/bought/ate the tomato basil tofu. I put a little parmesan cheese on it and it was HEAVEN!!!! No worries about getting stuck. I just enjoyed my meal. I may have to go vegetarian until my band loosens up... but hey with the flavors out there... who cares!!!! Thanks all for the heads up! Ralheit... you gotta try it.

Well Ms. April, let me tell you what I have learned in three months. Don't eat high calorie things... even if that is all you seem to get down. Don't get too fill happy. Getting to full too fast is painful. Be prepared to crush all of your meds. I realized this today, when I went to CVS to buy some cold medicine. It was really weird asking the pharmasist if I could crush my OTC meds. Be prepared to face weird looks, no matter who you tell or don't tell. The ones that know watch to see how fast you lose... the ones that don't know wonder why you are eating differently and different things. Be prepared to NOT lose weight until you get everything else figured out. I am 3 months out and just now starting to lose because I have figured out how to make low carb mushies to go thru my band. I am too tight, so I drink coffee in the morning then drink a Protein shake, have something similar/safe for lunch at work, and then drink coffee before dinner and eat a small meal. Once I stopped eating ice cream, pudding, mashed potatoes, stuffing, chips... you know the crap that goes thru the band... then I started losing. My "skinney clothes" fit now, and I am looking forward to hitting my first goal of 50 lbs. When I hit that, I will be the thinnest I have been in 12 years. The band is very helpful... but it is life changing. You must make the right food choices, the band is only there to help. Good luck!

Wow! I wish we had this service in TX. Would sure help us "working folks" too!

Don't want to start any trouble... but I am seeing some user names that seem unacceptable.

I have been to OA. Was forced to go while in rehab for an eating disorder. OA is for any one with food issues. Overeaters, bulimics, anorexics, compulsive eaters... anything. I went while I was in treatment, and then stopped. I still have the books and they are a 12 step program. I just could not handle the whining and complaining. I know we all have issues, but the woman celebrating her 10 year anniversary was wider than me, and just a miserable woman... so I figure it must not work. Have thought about going but I kind of like the conditions here better. You can't really judge a pirate stalking poodle. :love:

When I worked at a hospital laboratory, they staffed more people around the full moon. More fights, more wrecks, more babies, more everything around that time. Weird, hugh? As a teacher now, I notice it effects my boys more than girls. The full moon gives some of them PMS type emotions. When I figure it out, then I kind of "let some things go" around that time. Just like I want the men to do for me around my time. :couch2: I truly believe that the moon has some effect. It may just be an excuse. It may be something pretty to look at... and they crash... but something is going on.

Yes I have too much restriction... but too damn stubborn to get an unfill. I have days that all is well and I can eat well lubed meat... like tonight I had chicken salad... but other days I do well to get cottage cheese down. Really weird hugh?? My fill doc put in 1 cc and then immediately took out .4 cc's when I threw up water in his office, but he swears I should be fine now. I am just waiting to lose weight and then I should be fine. Hate to pay that much for an unfill when I can modify and live with my band this way. I just have to take it slow, and live with the fact that some days I can eat a pork chop and some days I need watered down protein drink. Stupid band. On the good days I feel ok and love the band, on the bad days I want to rip it out myself. My hubby says if I don't "get the hang of it" soon we may need to rip it out... so I am trying really hard to figure things out. Thanks for all of the ideas. Promise to keep you posted!!!

My golf ball is in upper chest. Painful Horrible feeling. It makes me not try those foods again... and the list is getting longer. Be careful. Listen to the first sign of "hey dummy you need to stop" and stop. You can not go back, but you can always add a little more later. Know that doesn't help your "head hunger" but it will prevent pain. Good luck!

Well, I am doing well on my tofu mushie diet. Still too restricted for most hard stuff, but when that happens instead of reaching for ice cream I go for mock mashed potatoes with a little tofu. The scale has been kind to me lately... although I have not lost as much as some others... at least I am back in the game. Now if I can just get off my bum and exercise. I am just so tired of chasing teenagers at the end of the day. Glad everyone is doing so well. Oh BTW... everyone did notice at the holiday dinner. I ate two bites of pork ribs that went down fine... then ate one bite of roast and was stuck. There were only carbs/broccoli on the table, so when I stopped I got a ton of looks. My hubby finished my meat, and only one person made a comment, but I just blew it off. I just hope mother-in-law was not offended. I still have not told them.

Great ideas!!! I am sure going to try these... Keep 'em coming!!!

Rediscovered Tofu after a month or so eating whatever would go down. This really helps when I am more restricted in the AM, so thought I would share some receipes: 1. Tofu stir fried with soy sauce. Tastes like eggs. 2. Bake or Boil Squash, onion, garlic, mushrooms, and firm tofu. (I baked this with a pork roast to get some good flavors.) Blend squash, onion, garlic, mushrooms, and firm tofu with a can of GARBONZO Beans (or chickpeas). Add butter, salt and pepper to taste. Absolutely YUMMY!!! And great for mushie stage. 3. You can also bake some Cauliflower and leeks at the same time and blend it up with some butter/s&p to make fake mashed potatoes. (I added a little tofu to this mix too.) I followed the macrobiotic diet for a while and actually like some of the dishes. I have not used Tofu for ages, but it does help when you are too tight. Good luck to all!!

So sorry to rant and not come back for a while. I was really thinking about jumping off the nearest bridge after my Tuesday incident. Have been reading around the forum and think Broccoli, cooked or not, is the devil... so no more for me. I have been crying and freting and quiting for so long now, I did not know what else to do. But then my hubby picked me back up... like he always does. I still have issues with hard proteins in the AM, but I have found something that helps... TOFU. I have resorted back to my macrobiotic/atkins ways and I can feel the difference. Have been drinking a shake for breakfast, eating a light lunch and a hard protein dinner (pork, and actually got down chicken salad). I had forgotten how easy Tofu makes things, and how good it can be. Now I am not swearing off meat, just using what works for me for now. I will be on day 4 off of carbs totally tomorrow. That will be my worst day... and I am going to the in-laws. They do not know I am banded, so it will be fun. DH says that if the things they have to offer don't work for me... just claim tummy ache, and if they notice I have lost weight I will claim low carb eating. I need to change my ticker, as I am now down 23 lbs. (Yeah!) Hoping that it falls off faster now that I have sworn off ice cream (even low carb kind) and have found tofu again. I am going to put some receipes on the mushies thread. The things I have "rediscovered" might help some others too. Wish me luck tomorrow, and good luck to everyone else! Pinkylee- thank you for the support. It really meant alot to me...

:madgrin: Jack in a thong.... love it!!!! :love:

I know how everyone loves the people that complain that they are not losing weight but then confess that they are eating the wrong foods. And I may just join those ranks... but it is with an honest issue attached. Since my last fill, I have had trouble eating solid foods and found myself eating crap... because that is all that will go down. Needless to say, I have not been losing weight. I CAN eat mashed potatoes, ground meat (sometimes), Soups, pudding, shakes, ice cream, boiled veggies, and some chips. I CAN NOT eat chicken, steak, bread, tortillas, pork rinds, Cereal, salad, eggs, potatoes, and here recently Beans. (And I have found this out the hard way.) Is this normal? HOW in the world do I live this way??? Really frustrated at this point. Don't know what to do. When I have had a hard day, not getting anything down, I tend to go towards ice cream (low carb), or something else that will go down. I just wish someone would tell me what to do... because I am hungry.

Jack: I failed at the Protein thing. Have had a rough week. Did fine on Monday with no carbs, Tuesday could not eat anything until I tried mashed potatoes, and then today I went off the deep end because I was wide open. I really don't think I am overfilled, my band is just fickle. Here is how my week went... tell me what you think... Monday: B: Protein shake L: 5 Meatballs (.5 oz each) and 1/4 cup broccoli and cheese D: 1/2 cup chili (My receipe: 3 lbs ground meat, 2 cans Beans, 1 pack williams chili seasoning, and cheese to top) S: Druggie pudding (SF Jello Pudding with crushed up meds) Tuesday: B: Protein Shake L: 1/4 Meatball and 1 bite broccoli... then PB D: 2 bites tapalia filet and 2 bites avacado... then threw up...actual hurl S: 1/2 cup mashed potatoes and druggie pudding... I was hungry. Wednesday: B: 1 chocolate cake donut L: 1/2 Subway Sandwich (meat and veggies only), 4 cheetoes, and 3 Cookies D: 1/2 cup leftover chili with cheese, 6 yogurt covered pretzels. And I still need to eat my druggie pudding... I REALLY don't think I am overfilled, because some days I can eat regular "bandster meals". I just don't understand...

Well, I am still extremely frustrated. One day I can't eat anything, the next day I can eat. I don't understand it. For example: Yesterday, I drank a protein drink in the AM, tried to eat a meatball and broccoli (the same thing I had for lunch on Monday). I ate 1/4 meatball and bam was stuck. Could not eat anything... and I was hungry. Then for dinner tried tapalia fish and avacado. Got two bites in and was running to the sink. After all of that, I tried mashed potatoes and got 1/2 cup down with no problems. Then this morning, grabbed a donut (to fit in with the other teachers) and picked at it... got it all down. For lunch they brought food in. I ate 1/2 a sandwich, 4 cheetos, and 3 cookies. For dinner, I ate 1/2 cup of chili. THIS IS CRAP. Junk goes down, CRAZY, STUPID BAND. I don't think I am overfilled... just screwed in general. I know that I should not eat the junk, but what the heck do you do when you are hungry and nothing else goes down.

Little Butts Tomorrow

liquid Protein??? Yes. I can do that. Will need to do it until Wednesday to get all the cravings out of my system. I will mix up my shakes and take them with me tomorrow. Maybe that will help my tummy settle down. Then I will try again. If hard protein does not work after that... I will go for an unfill. I don't want to do that, but may have to for my sanity. It is really amazing how the crap goes down so easy. Wish that was the thing that caused the pain.

Dance Jackie Baby...Dance!!! ***looks around for one dollar bills*** I just love Jack!!!!

Know some Drs have their way, and most with reasons, but wonder if you can request an aggressive fill? Don't want to spend months being cautious if I can get more in one "shot". For example: I have .6 cc in a 4 cc band, while most of my other Junebies are at around 2cc's... I was told .6 cc was good for a first fill, but don't want to go up .5 cc's at each fill and drag it out forever to "catch up" with my other bandsters... (and yes I know everyone is different, but hopefully you get my point.) Can you request an aggressive fill? Or are you stuck with what your Dr will "normally" do?

Listen up ladies... I have a new one... Well everyone knows I am really tight in the morning and can eat in the afternoon. That has been a huge problem since my second fill. Well Mother Nature came to visit and BAM, I am wide open in the morning... AND CAN'T EAT PAST 5 PM!!!! What in the world is up with that???? My tummy was growling so loud I had to try something in the am, and chicken went right down... and so did crackers... then after work, I came home to sit down and eat some yummy beans and yikes! There was a golfball. This has happened the past two days. So weird. Anyone else have this issue? Or am I the only weirdo of the bunch???

My hubby and I married at 21. We found out rather quickly that we had fertility problems and went thru the state to adopt. Unfortunately, I have back problems, so they deemed me medically unable to care for an infant. And when we tried to adopt an older child they said we were too young. I was also going to adopt my sisters baby... but she changed her mind at 8 months pregnant (she is a user). So we started saving money to adopt thru the Marshall Islands. As our bank account filled, and my fertility medicine increased, our emotions were being torn from one way to another. On our last dose of medicine, before they cut us off totally... We got pregnant. (And then I got scared... no one is ever ready.) At 5 months pregnant, I started having problems. Ended up on my left side for 9 weeks, and an emergency c-section at 35 weeks. Thank God my baby was fine. He is 7 now, and we would love another one, but have not been able to get pregnant again. So, when I read this I thought... Oh that lucky lady... to have one basically handed to her. What a blessing! That baby is young enough that it would attach to you, and you would get attached too. Children are priceless. The first time you hear the word "Mom" it is worth everything. When I hold my baby and feel him totally relax, knowing Mommy has him, I feel so important. He is my world... and I still kinda like his dad too... If your relationship is strong you can make it thru to the other side... meaning the other side of diapers/etc. This one has some advantages... almost out of diapers, probably off formula, eating table food, past the 1 year mark for daycare prices, and it is a private adoption so it won't cost you as much. Heck... PM me if you need someone else to adopt... I will send you my resume. You are truly a lucky lucky lady...

I was so worried today about eating in public. I am really tight and was scared of eating in front of people... but all went well. You know people don't really care about what you are eating... as long as they get theirs.

All I keep thinking is "that poor baby." Such a short life and a horrible death. I believe in an eye for an eye... and hope whoever did this has suffered horribly mentally over the past decade, and will suffer horribly for the rest of his (hopefully) short life. Death penalty ain't for nothing... I am from TX... and we have an express lane....