guysis

863 calories for the day! Yipee.............you guys are keeping me going..........going to have to drink about 5 cups of tea until I go to sleep........this is the worst time of the day for me..........cause I get bored! TV is so bad and I'm too tired to read... You guys are so great to have around............keeps me so honest! Julie - I love cheese - I dare not have it in the house! Boo - you'll get the hang of it in a few days - and will know approx how many calories you have had - so to better gage how many you have left.......I find that when I am really paying attention to my intake - I tend to have the same things over and over and know the counts by heart. Boring but easier. I am really restricted since my fill a couple of weeks ago (still deciding if too much) - that and the fact that I've conciously stoped having liquid calories since I've had to count calories - they (the liquids - mainly soy latte's/Yoplait yogurts) were adding way too many calories I've discovered.............we shall see. Jenny - You'll feel better and better - even tho this was a breeze for you - your body had a shock to it's system and you did push it by coming over to our support meeting on Sunday...and make sure you have enough calories/protein in your body so that it can function..................I'll bet you'll be raring to go to the gym by next week...............if this weather ever clears up, start by taking some short walks! Julie has promised to come visit me in the fall - so my 2 band kids can meet..........Boo are you going to join us? Anyone else in for a visit to the NW in the fall? Betty's hotel is open!!!!!! Tracey - we'll be here to support you after surgery - keep calm, cool and collected - look how great Jenny has done - she was at my house for a band support meeting the 2nd day after her surgery!

Yeah Eficka..........happy bandaversary to you! Great to have you join us in the food challenge - it is so helpful to have others join in! Boo - how are you doing? Julie - you'll soon be in the 70's...........woopee! I'm hopeful when I weigh on Friday I'll be in the 60's..........this challenge is keeping me so on my toes! Walked to breakfast this morning and had about 1/4 cup of hot 7 grain cereal, mixed with about 1/4 c soy milk - I even brought my own Molly-Mc-Butter and mixed in Splenda.......it was pretty good - almost like water tho for me to get it down! Just tried some eggplant from last night and "no luck" - think I have to do a hot drink first before eating. Did that last night at dinner and it worked...............I love being tight tho - feels like months ago when I was doing so well - as long as I don't have to resort to liquid calories it'll be fine.

Boo - I do the same as Molly thru Fitday.com.................if I make something like turkey chili - I just search for something compatible like canned chicken/turkey chili with beans...............it's a guesstimate, but probably close. It's great - keeps a running total for you! Well, according to Fitday - 809 calories today - pretty close guess - I hope - for my cup of chili at lunch and my 1/2 c eggplant parmesean for dinner (didn't do the salad like I promised Julie) - the rest of my day was easy to calculate. It's not always easy! 800 calories is not much food - guess I know why I haven't been loosing! Last week I was doing 1000 - 1100 and it did not work - too many for me at this stage - guess I'm at the "got smaller - need less". I'm going to try for 25 with my exercise this month............have to hit it every day for the rest of this month!

OK - Julie - I'm in for 800 calories also.............you're getting me going.......we'll loose that last 30 together.............had 535 so far today.............I'm going out with our kids tonight also.......good idea.....just salad for dinner............then I'll come home and have some strawberries for a snack!...................here we go! This is so great having a bud for the food also! Any other joiners of calorie counters - at least for this week? Molly - we got our Cavalier King Charles Spaniel - adorble Phobe in Gig Harbor almost 6 years ago............what a lovely place! I don't think the breeder lives there anymore tho. I've always been able to eat in the morning (at least a little) - so this is a bit different for me...........I need to get some calories in me in order to do my Marathon mornings.....I had a soy, sugar free lattee this morning and it had to get me thu 2 1/2 hours of exercise. Tried to have a 140 calorie protein bar inbetween the classes and could not get down more than a couple of bites. I did ok tho......once I tried to do a lot of exercise without calories and felt a bit faint during the last part of the 2 1/2 hours!!!!!

Yeah Boo - me too (restriction)............I'm a bit too tight and have been putting in too many liquid calories - back to basics today......I may be a bit tooooo tight......can't eat in the mornings...........first time this has happened to me..............I'll work with it tho for a while and see what happens....................Julie, when you said you'd start on Monday with the calorie count - I stopped - talk about head stuff - thinking I'll start again with Julie on Monday - how lame is that? Yes, me too, don't gain because of this wonderful band and all my exercise, but I think doing all this exercise gives me excuses to add in extra soft and liquid calories.....gotta stop that and the only way for me at this point is to count.................so here goes again............Julie, I need you're support and everyone else................I really am not happy with where I am at......I do need to loose at least another 20 - 30 llbs...............hate that I have to resort to counting (makes me feel that I am on a diet again......I haven't felt that way until now - loved just being able to depend on my band to eat small quantities of healthy food). On my way to the gym for my marathon Monday! Alread added my day of exercise..................look at my total for this month..................yeah, I'm a great exerciser!

I'm boring - NIA again this morning! Had my local support group meeting at my house this afternoon. Last week I met Jenny (remember my new band daughter) and she had her surgery on Friday - she came to the support group meeting and is doing great. I'm so proud of her - just know she's going to be successful. I'm sure she'll join us here for our exercise challenge - Jenny are you listening? Julie, are we on for tomorrow? A week of tracking calories - I'm going for between 800 - 1000. I also had Alan hide my scale - am going back to weighing once a week on Friday's - that seems to work the best for me.

Good for you Molly! Hope you get into the 60's soon. What city in Washington are you located? We're almost neighbors! We live in Lake Oswego, OR (just about 20 minutes south of downtown Portland). Do you ever get down this way? If so, I sure would love to meet you.

My usual today - NIA. Alan is feeling great! I guess the added Beta Blocker did the trick with his atrial fib................hopefully he'll do the 3 months of that and the coumiden and he'll get to go off that stuff! Nasty day today in the pretty NW.......we were going to walk to the movies, but it's too wet & cold out there - think I'll take my hot shower and get into early jammies and veg out watching the TV!

Julie - I have had the same concerns.............I have never, since being banded have had any reflux problems (altho I did before - never bad). The past few months I have had more food than in the beginning months and was worried that maybe I was doing just that - stretching my pouch. My fills are done with Floro and a barium swallow (are yours?). In doing the fill, the tech is able to examine the band and surroundings...........so a dialation would be found. Happy to say that all looked well with my band and the pouch. I occassionally go to that forum and it frightens me - so I try not to do it too often (maybe it's good for us to be frightened - keeps us cautious). Since my fills will be few and far between from now on - your suggestion sounds like a good idea - altho getting myself to go on liquids for more than a couple of days (unless I knew for sure it was actually helpful) would be hard at this stage. Alan and I did our walk to and fro breakfast today - I could not eat - am still very tight until the afternoon.............but, then ok. So, I'll see what happens in the next couple of weeks.

Hey there Julie - Did I hear BIG DATE? Know what you mean when you say - it's hard to get a real count on those calories when eating out. I eat out often - with friends and with Alan............I just try my best to make wise choices and try my best to estimate the calories (not always exact, but close). Boo - I don't want to count calories - I hate doing that, but I'm at the point that I think it's the only way I'm going to loose the next batch of lbs...........I haven't been counting the whole time until now, but I know I have to go lower than what I've been doing.....and I think at this stage for me, it's the only way I'll be able to keep myself in check. If not, I'll have to be happy where I'm at - I don't think that's the case - yet! Sheila - I also want to urge you to get back to your liquids/mushies for the duration that your doc has instructed - very important to let yourself heal. We all know how hard it is until those fills kick in - just try to "act as if it's working" until it does.............and if you can't, don't beat yourself up..............but, do follow those instructions for the first few weeks! Today, I kicked back - not a bit of exercise! Just had fun with some girl friends shopping - I bought some new clothes for our trip to New Jersey, NYC and Washington (Alan could not complain, because it was so he could show off his "hottie" to all his old frat bro's and dormates that we'll be with at his 50th reuinion). My fill is tight - might be too tight............going to give it another week or so................have trouble with solids and have to resort mostly to soft foods..................we shall see.

Julie - sounds good to me - that is exactly what I started on Tues - tracking my food on FitDay to keep it under 1000 calories! I'm in - want to start tomorrow everyone/anyone? Alan is feeling better today - so his problems seem to have gone away - at least for the moment...............he's on his new meds and hopefully it will do the trick. He went out driving on his own today for the first time and I went off with the girlfriends............so our lives are getting back to "normal".

Got to the gym today again for my NIA class...............yeah, I'm on a roll! Then I was off playing Mah Jongg.............the day is almost over......need to find something for dinner!

Just got home from going to the Dr. with Alan and this time all is not well! Nothing horrible, but he is in atrial fib...........I guess normal for some after heart surgery.................darn............they upped his Beta Blocker and started him on Cumiden and say he'll have to be on it for at least 3 months...............he's been feeling sort of woozy the past couple of days.......his blood pressure is really low and his heart rate high and the doctor heard his arithmia and sent him down to confirm the atrial fib with an EKG....................knew things were going "just to great". But we did get in our walk this morning and my daughter just called and asked if I wanted to join her at the gym for a Group Power and Group Grove class this eve..............so, I'm out the door - need it for the stress!

Boo - yes, yes I know.........very close, just a smigen away and yes I know that my BMI is not the whole story................I'm really beating myself up because I "know" I've fallen off the "great wagon" - have only been on the "ok wagon", the one that lets me maintain, but not loose. I want that back again - I do want to loose those last smigens and I'm going to do it...............I've been pumping up to it for weeks - it's time......almost feel as tho I've just been banded (almost) and want to keep this feeling...................try the Fit Day tracking...........I'm trying to get back to around 800 - 1000 calories a day (about what I did when I was doing the best) and it has shown me I was quite a bit above that........makes me feel better about being able to maintain the lower weight when I get there! Effica - yes I understand - I did not ever eat to unconsiousness - maybe a "bit" out of control every once in a while this past few months (I'm tight enough to not have that be a possiblity - and I guess in my head enough to not let that happen)...............we're out there over a year now and it is something we have to really be aware of - this band does not do all the work - it is hard work for us, it will continue that way..........the band does not do all the work for us...........the band does not do all the work for us.....................we need to remember and not turn off our brains (like I used to).....................this is not a diet, this is our life. Don't mean to preach - but, that is what I have been doing to myself "preaching", trying to remind my head where my life is at now...........I'm a successful April 2006 Bandit and I'm going to continue to do that! You can too - look how great you have done...............look at all our successes................we can continue to loose/maintain and keep this healthier body! With that said - I'm going to go wake up Alan, get dressed and be off to our walk to and fro breakfast!

Well, I did my Marathon today - for you newbies to our exercise group - not a real Marathon - mine - consisting of and hour of NIA, 1/2 hour of Core and then another hour of Strength Conditioning - I'm recomitted to doing that on Monday's/Fridays..........along with of course my 4/5 days of NIA and walking on the other days with Alan to and fro Breakfast. AND..............I started tracking my calories on Fit Day - I want to really get this last 30 lbs off. I really hate to do that because I really don't want to feel like I'm on a diet (I didn't have to do that for the first 65 lbs - but it's not working any more................so I must be eating more than I think - calorie wise).................I guess at this weight the calorie count does have to come down in order to loose more. Please - someone up there - with all of this I will be down this year to my 140lbs!!!! Julie - you'll be walking by the time I visit NYC - so we'll take a big one!

Julie - happy to see you "here"! Are you home? How are you doing? Is the swelling going down? How long do you have to wear the "girdle like" garments? When do you start the new job? When can you start moving again? Fill us in! Went to NIA this morning - did I tell you all that I love that class! Have my marathon planned for Monday morning...........hurting just thinking about it. I've been on liquids with just some mushies mixed in the past few days. I'm going to try some solid food tomorrow. Hope this fill does the trick.....

******Tracy and Teachlady and all you new bandits and bandits to be** Take the word of 2 "oldies but goodies" Teachlady and I - she is so right in her words of wisdom. You have to come into this new phase of your healthy life with hope and excitement. I haven't read "The Secret" yet, but I believe it's about thinking positive and all will come - don't know if I agree totally but it sure is true for a lot of things in this life...........don't waste this wonderful tool we are all given (ok, or paid for - dam, darn, poop, etc.....) - go forward with hope.................you are no different than Julie, Dawn, Kat, Boo (to name just a few of the April 06 bandits) and I................wish we could come to your "meetings" to give you those positive vibes......................we'll do it here..................... GO, GO, GO APRIL 07 BANDITS! You will be successful like we are and you will continue to be successful and you will maintain like some of us are already doing....................use this wonderful tool and this wonderful support group. Keep together and utilize the exercise support group and any and all advice from successful bandits. It's not always easy, but it is attainable...............we are not that different than you..................join us in this healthy future!

Wooooo, hooooooo Boo! So proud of our Boo! You go girl - 2nd place - how much fun was that???? Me, too, me too - next year 30lbs less! Got my fill Thurs and so far so good...........just liquids and mushies so far, so can't exactly tell if I have enough, or too much/etc! Going slowly this time, last time I rushed it and had problems. Was up a couple of lbs from my 170 low (174.5) to be exact and this morning was 173............hoping to be able to break that 170 mark next week -..........been trying to do that for a couple of months now and hope this fill does the trick for me - if not, I'm not waiting and will get back for more fill! Had a great NIA class this morning..............and Alan and I are walking about 2 miles to a movie this afternoon! I'm feeing great and raring to go! For our newly banded - heal fast - and enjoy this group of great bandit pals as much as I do!

Happy to have you here on the band side Sheila. Drink those fluids and let the swelling heal................. Got a fill yesterday aftenoon - had liquids until I got home this afternoon and tried to eat a little yogurt with some mushy Cereal in it - just got a couple of teaspoons down and then realized I need to still be on full liquids a while longer! I have not had a fill in 6 months - so we shall see how it goes??? I'm hoping I get that good full feeling that I used to have after just a small amount.............can hardly remember what that felt like - it's been too long. Dawn - you and Julie have the most awsome weight losses - you are both such inspirations. I know how hard you both have worked with the food and exercise - such a wonderful life changing year for you both.......and all of us too! Exercise buds - If you have not already done so - go over to Julie's tummy tuck thread and see her tiny tummy!

Julie you look sooooooooooo good! Can you believe it? I'm so excited for you. You are tiny and look so skinny! Size 8 - oh, my, oh, my! Can't wait until June to see you in person in NYC.

Julie - I talked so much about you to Jenny this morning - she has read your posts and is so inspired by your wonderful year! Thanks for the invite to stay - if I was alone I'd take you up on it and I'm sure at some point I'll do just that..........since I've got this tag along guy with me I think we'll stay in a hotel in midtown somewhere - my daughter visited last year and said she stayed near Times Square and it was easy to walk all over the place..........do you have any other suggestions as to where the best vantage point is? I really do want to meet with you tho, maybe you can join Alan and I for dinner one night and yes if possible doing at NIA class at your gym would be great! If the instructors are as good as the ones we have - I'm sure I'll get you to be a NIA convert! I'm off tomorrow morning to get a fill - after, of course, Alan and I do our walk to and fro from breakfast. So will check in when we get home on Friday.

It's so exciting to see all of you newly banded home and feeling "great"!!!!!! Right???????? Positive thoughts!!!!! This morning I met NWJenny - one of your thread members - who will have her band surgery on the 22nd..................we both live in the Portland, OR area and discovered we attend the same gym. I have adopted her as my "band daughter" - we had a wonderful sweaty hug and chat for over an hour between our classes at our gym. I'm getting her to try out my favorite class (NIA) on Sat morning................again I'm extending an invitation to you all to join our "April Bandits Exercise Challenge" - search for it...........it's a great way to utilize this terrific bunch of people who are going thru all the same experiences and are becoming healthy and thin(er)!!!!!

Just got back home from my gym - did my NIA class, then had a great hour and a half talking to my new band-daughter NWJenny (Julie, you are still #1 child) who PM'd me last week to tell me that she was a Portland girl who also belonged to the same gym (Club Sport) and that she was scheduled for surgery on the 22nd! It was so nice to meet one of my LapBandTalk friends "in person"! Then I did a Group Power class...........I'm on a roll. Going for a fill tomorrow, so hope to get back "to speed" on the weight loss again. I too, sort of felt "duh" on my BandAnniversary day...............maybe because I really did not meet my original goal, or even my interim goal - it was sort of a let down for me! There I go again focusing on the non-deed vs. the deed! Please someone tell me how great I am for losing 64 pounds in a year and not gaining during horid stress - never mind I just did it, so you don't have to! Back to the positives and onward.

Sheila, Happy upcoming banding to you! Happy to hear you've found a "comfortable" place in life! This new road will help so much in "your recovery" (I've done 12 steps many times in my life! - and it's given me lots!) - as we grow older (and you're still such a kid - lucky you - a wonderful healthy, long life ahead) the many experiences we encounter, be it life happenings (happy or sad) or spiritual help us to grow! I'm happy to hear you have found your Higher Power.........................I really do feel that people who do (not matter what denomination or belief in something out there to guide us and help us along) are the most content. Heading out for a much needed haircut this morning and then Alan has a doc appt. for his 3 week check-up. He'll be able to drive after another week and we can get back to our normal routines. Busy planning our trip to Hoboken for Alan's 50th college reuinion, then on to the city of NY...............Julie we'll be in the city the 3,4,5th of June.......hope to be able to meet? How are you - did that swelling go down?.............then we're going to drive to Washington, DC for a few more days.........................we did cancel our France trip - I thought Alan would be fine to go, but he was a little worried about being out of the country so soon after surgery - oh well, we'll do it another time! Planning a walk after my haircut - we shall see!

Yesterday Alan and I went for a great walk in a beautiful new park we found alongside the Willamette River..............so pretty............sun part of the time and then it got cool and started to rain..............so we got interrupted a bit - I'm still going to count it tho - very close to 45 minutes! and then today::::::: yipee, did my marathon day...........want to try and get back to this 2 times a week............1 hour of NIA, 1/2 hour of Core and then rested for an hour - had a small soy sugar free lattee and gabbed with the girls and then did another hour of Strenghth Conditioning!!!!!! Way to go Grammy Betty! Boo, my scale is not moving yet either..........still having trouble going back to following all the rules...........I have become so comfortable with being able to maintain this weight (within 2 lbs +/-) that I'm having a hard time getting back to "real basics". I sometimes am able to eat too much, and sometimes I get "stuck" so easily...........it's a bit of a puzzle for me! I'm heading up to see my doc this Thurs afternoon - think I need a fill, haven't had one since October...........but then I get stuck and then think, I couldn't possibly need one???? I want them to see under floro that all is well (no stretched pouch, etc)......and get their advice.