girlie2shooz

Soups are a sure thing, tamales, refired beans, filet mignon, baked potatos, well done vegetables. artichoke dip with good whole grain crackers. Usually i find better choices on the appetizer menus that entrees.

@Fenton - My day starts with taking my one half cup tupperware containers and filling one with Colby Jack cheese, two with multigrain crackers, one with a green cooked vegetable and a regular yogurt with me to work. This is what I eat all day long, a little at a time. When I get home I have typically made a huge pot of Soup that is Protein based (Beef Vegetable, Potato Cheese, chicken Noodle etc) on Sunday, and I usually have two cups of soup for dinner and a handful of Fritos for a snack. If I want to change anything up during the day I have some refried Beans. I look at food more now as a necessity and not a reward. Does that make sense? If I fall short on my protein I have a shake. I look more at protein than calories, carbs, sugars etc.

The best words i ever got from another bandster was you keep getting fills until you reach your goal weight. I will say I am very restricted but I ALWAYS shop for proteins first, then vegetables. And I have taken the approach i can eat whatever i want, and taken the "Tabboo" out of eating. Just my coping skills, and honestly I do eat whatever I want but I practice protein first, religiously. Just my .02 cents

Hey all, Im a March 2008 bandster. Certainly have had my fair share of learning, but i have gone from 224 to 149 and have maintained around 149-154 for the past 1.5 years. it is a learning experince for sure, but i chose to keep my perfect restriction and not remove any once i hit my goal weight. i know what to eat and how to eat to maintain. I know myself well enough if i have any restriction removed it wont be pretty, tee hee. All my blood work is good, my hair is healthy and I wouldnt change a thing. Just my short story.

call me mean, call me a bitch, that is okay. what it boils down to is don't waste time on what didn't happen, focus on what can happen. you have a great tool that when at proper restriction can really assist you in losing your weight and being healthy. rip off the rearview mirror, you can't change the past but you can change the now. and yes, there are so many here to offer advice and experience, use the resource to your advantage. you will succeed!

Let me chime in here....got over it and get on with it. we all went thru it, we all are on our way to perfect restriction or we are there. we all get/got discouraged in bandster hell, so what? it is just another phase of the process that will change with time. time heals all, you will be fine. it is what it is. life is too short for the shoulda, woulda, coulda. G2S

yes wannabe, isn't that great??? I notice you are on the same timeline as well, good for you. My doctor cares about my health, and takes pride in his work. he does not encourage large fills because it takes time to adjust eating habits with each step of restriction. i did not go into this thinking i would take off 60+ pounds that took 20+ years to gain. i have taken it off the smart way, slow and steady. we all make our choices, i am glad i made mine good choices. G2S

hey does anyone experience any oddities that signal they are full? I used to hiccup but now i sneeze when i am full? Tell me someone else has some goofiness going on with being full......

oh it isn't that bad. i only experienced some pain in my shoulder from the inflation gas. you feel a little groggy after the surgery and then you will probably sleep on your back for a week or so and then poof ,you are pretty much back to normal. it is a good pain, knowing it is short term and your weightloss will be long term. besides, your doc should give you some great pain meds, use them.

hey whoa girls don't give up yet. you need restriction, and then you need to learn how to eat with restriction. there is a huge difference. if you are throwing up after a fill, ask yourself if you are eating tiny, and i mean pencil eraser size, bites of food and chewing to liquid. are you swallowing large amounts of water and it is coming back up? well then take sips. have food in small quantities with you all day. i realized that i was at work 8 hours a day, take enough good food with me to keep me from looking for the bad when i got hungry. i had surgery 3/5/08, and finally have perfect restriction as of 3/3/09. i get full eating soup, now that is a big switcheroonie. so try it, meet the band half way and you will see your success. G2S

have you ever swallowed a french fry the wrong way and it just aches clear into your back, well that is what "stuck" feels like to me. i typically make it move/loosen by patting my chest fairly hard. it happens, you learn real quick to recognize the sign so it doesn't happen to often again.

hey everyone, was banded 3/5/08 and have perfect restriction from my last fill which took place 3/3/09. 7cc in a 10 cc band. i thought i had restriction but the weight just wasn't moving as it should be. now i know that .25 to .50 of a cup of food really does fill me up. i thought i had restriction but the weight wasn't coming off, but i wasn't gaining. if you aren't losing at least 1.5 lbs a week, get a fill and make sure your food choices are smart choices. some of us need more restricted caloric intake than others. it works and it is great, don't get discouraged, just think you aren't gaining!!!

keep your chin up and start eating smaller meals more often. with all due respect, your eating habits as you have indicated, are poor at best. you can change things don't get discouraged and give up. if time is an issue make time on a weekend to prep for your meals. make sure the foods you are eating are good choices and always always eat yoru protein first. if you want some help with planning your meals i would be happy to offer help. g2s

hey girls, just a little perspective from the west coast.........we have all had the mentality for so long that we "can't have" any of the good stuff. well that is right, we can't live on it!! what we can do is realize that "normal eating" allows for something that is totally contraindictory to our band eating habits. we can change the way we look at eating and realize that, with restriction, we can have a "goodie" once in awhile becasue that is normal. as you get further along with restriction, fascination with food will begin to decrease and it won't be the focus of the day. it is what it is..... a learning experience and no one can tell another what it is like, we just have to live it. be good to yourself and rip off the rearview mirror! g2s

hey guys and gals, long time since i checked in but I have a 10 cc band and have had 6 fills and am at 5.5 cc. i felt noticeable restriction last fill and this fill seems to be the ticket. i did not lose or gain on the previous fills but i lost 5 pounds with my last fill. i was somewhat discouraged, but at least i wasn't gaining weight!!! I was banded 3/5/08 and my docs office will only do .5cc every 4-6 weeks so it has been shear willpower. but now i am here i can appreciate the time to really hone my chewing habits, my slow approch to eating, and eating more often so i don't become ravenous and overeat which prodeces pain and well you can guess the rest. so hang in there, it does happen, and it allows us time to change old bad habits. g2s

well you should have your pre op today, good for you guys. the first couple of days after surgery are uncomfortable with the gas and incisions. nothing that can't be overcome. typically it is hard to sit upright because of both, my port was tender and was for about a month, and the incisions were tender just because of the nature of the bizz. make sure you have some loose waist pants. walk walk walk, it really does make the surgery gas go away/reduce. you guys will do great, it is only a temporary discomfort, plus meds help when needed. g2s

i presume you are counting the days, it actually goes by pretty quick. have your put together your "gotta have list?" g2s

mstrina, you are so enthusiatic for others, that is great!!! i am glad to see you have your date, the countdown is on!! I would love to be a fly on the wall when you wake up in recovery, I am sure it will be extremely memorable. Keep us posted as you get closer and after as well. best wishes g2s

how about a windchime.......................? makes home more homey. g2s

well just make sure you keep your gray in the "center" of the house. they like to be right in the middle of things. Austonio is in the family room which is right next to the kitchen so he can keep an "eye on things." he rings the phone (all of them), barks like a dog, meows like a cat, slurps thru a straw, gurgles like the drain, sirens like a cop car, clucks like a chicken, crows like a rooster, paper shredder sound, ice maker producing ice cubes, the list goes on and on. he burps, he yawns, he passes gas, thanks to my brother. he did that really well when the cable guy came to hook up my cable, that was the only sound he made and made a lot of it!! g2s

I live in Reno and we have had our share of earthquakes in the recent past. The 4.7 2 weeks ago scared him so bad I had to sleep downstairs with him. My mom, who is 80 years old, lives with me and is granny to him. well she makes toast with jam and butter and i only make it with butter. so he asks for granny toast because it is his favorite. He says " i love granny toast" when he wants toasty really bad. Like right now! He is 9 years old, I got him when he was 5 months old. He really does use words correctly, and he can asks for certain things he wants like toast, apple, snackers, bedtime. I had a migraine one day and was lying on my sofa when he leaned over and said, "oh are you okay?" When the phone rings he says, hello. when the dog is scratching on the door, he tells him, "no, stop it!" He laughs at his own crazy antics, he sings italian opera, and whistles Finnecule, Finnecula. Oh he is a card. your house will never be the same after you get a gray. g2s

CTD, you mentioned dander can be an irritant for Grays. I have a mini macaw as well and am curious about the dander comment. any more info?? thanks g2s

i have an AG, his name is Austonio. He is the light of my life, quite the talker and uses his vocabulary correctly. he can be quite hard headed when he wants his way, but i would not trade him for the world. he loves anything Italian...food, music, wine, the Sopranos, Goodfellas, the list goes on and on. He HATES earthquakes, that is the only thing that I can honestly say he totally flips out about. otherwise he is pretty easy going with the occcasional feather chewing. right now he is answering all my yes or no questions about his weather expectations. He says "good morning" before I uncover him in the morning, he says "wanna go night night" when it is bed time, and will give kiss goodnight. he asks for snackers, granny toast, apple, and when given to him he says, "mmmmmmm." when I leave for work he says, "I love you, bye." He is an absolute deeelight. You are fortunate to have your new addition. g2s

well there is the docs list, like caffeine, carbonated drinks. but my list of foods i can't tolerate........lettuce, dry chicken, dry fish, dense bread, celery................this is my list so far. this list appears to change at times depending on my band. my band can be tempermental. i stick to ground beef and vegetables, ground sausage & vegetables, i am pretty creative with these ingredients so it works for me. plus i have focused on taking the focus off of food. that has helped immensely. g2s

I hear you and I will offer this as I have tried to change my thinking process..........Don't let FOOD define YOU. Try not to focus everything you do around food, and I don't mean eating. Take the focus OFF food. Food serves one purpose and one purpose only. It fuels our bodies. We all want to eat normal, but really define normal. When I look at what I define as normal it includes sweets, and that is where it stops. not how much can i have or can't have, i have it and it is done. that to me is normal. i don't obsess over every bit of food i put in my mouth, i take the focus off food. i eat what i want (good food choices)and my band helps with portion control when I need it. I take responsibility and move on. Life is too short to keep kicking my own ass over what i eat. It happens, we eat some sweets, our life goes on. Grasp what you want as normal and live it. You are okay and learning as we all are in this lifetime. g2s