August

Yesterday….Got a small fill so it was all liquids and soft foods B – Protein shake L – Protein shake S – Couple of bites each tuna, egg, and potato salad (testing the fill to make sure I could get down something besides liquids…went well but it’s a bit tight!) D – ½ C. chili Today …. B – Protein shake L – ½ BLT, 2 french fries (BLT seemed to go down fine, but I discovered a few hours later that several bits of bacon were still in my pouch. They came back up when I tried to drink something…gross!) D – 1/3 C. whole wheat pasta with tomato sauce, 1 turkey meatball.

Today B – Protein iced latte (trying out an egg based protein powder because it had fewer chemicals and seemed less processed. It tastes great, but doesn’t get as thick as the whey protein powders, which is good and bad depending on the application. It also isn’t as creamy) L – 5oz cottage cheese, 100 cal snack size hummus w/ 7 whole grain pita chips D – 4oz seafood sausage from Trader Joes, 1/3 C. multi grain pilaf, ½ C. broccoli S – Snack pack of sf vanilla pudding mixed with 1tbs. PB2, scoop vanilla egg protein powder, 2tbs sf cool whip. (This is better w/ chocolate pudding and protein powder, but it wasn’t bad. Kind of like butterscotch) I have an appointment with the band clinic tomorrow. I think I’ll ask for a small fill. I’ve been struggling with portion control the last couple of weeks and it has been a real challenge to avoid snacks between meals. This is how I felt before my last fill and once they got it right it was perfect for several months. The last fill I had was .2cc. I did need the fill but that was too much. They had to take out .1cc a few days later. I hope they can give me just .1cc tomorrow. I’m afraid to get more. I almost threw up all over an executive's desk after the last fill. I had to excuse myself to run to the bathroom twice during a 1 hour meeting. I made up a story about eating something that must have been bad because nobody at my office knows about my band, aside from a few close friends there. I was so embarrassed and knew everybody thought I was nuts! I went to have the .1cc taken out the next day. It’s hard to believe that just a drop of additional fluid can make so much difference. The doctor told me that people often need tiny adjustments even after they reach their “sweet spot” because they lose some of the fatty lining around the stomach.

It has been a crazy week. I haven’t even turned on my computer at home until today. Need to do better because the logging helps me. I had my first plateau since being banded this month. I lost a lot very quickly last month and then gained back 3lbs that just hung there. I think I’m finally coming out of it. I lost the 3lbs when I weighed today. It also didn’t help that I retained even more water than usual during my TOM. Yesterday….. B – Protein iced latte L – 5oz cottage cheese and a couple of light Wasa crisp breads S – Handful of cocoa nib, coconut, and raisin mix I got at Whole Foods. I wouldn’t fool myself into thinking this was healthy but it was better than a Hershey bar. Also much lower calorie, fat, and sugar. TOM and had to have something chocolate. D – Cup or so of assorted stuff from Whole Foods salad bar. Today….. B – Leftover salad bar stuff, about 1 C. total L – 2 Wasa light crisp breads with laughing cow light cheese. 1 slice of bacon D – ½ grilled cheese sandwich, 2/3 C. split pea soup. S – Will probably have a protein smoothie. I didn’t get enough protein today.

Today….. B – 2 turkey breakfast sausage links, 1 pack instant grits, 1 tbs. shredded cheddar, 1tsp. Light butter L – ½ turkey and pepperjack sandwich on sandwich thin bun. D – Protein smoothie S – Sm bag baked cheetos and a couple of cashews. Didn’t I say I was trying to lay off the chips and haven’t I said it more than once???

Today…. B – Handful of hot & spicy pork rinds and ¼ C of shrimp salad (this did not work for me. I was PBing for an hour. I don’t think any stayed down. I am trying to cut back on the crackers and chips and remembered pork rinds as a good substitute from my low carb diet days. What I forgot was that pork rinds are much more filling than chips. I think they swell in the stomach. That’s ideal for ordinary dieters but painful for bandsters! I think I’ll cut back on the chips and crackers by cutting back on the chips and crackers…no substitutes.) S – Protein smoothie w/ PB2 L – 3oz cold sliced filet mignon with horseradish, and ¼ C. potato salad (this was not the most comfortable meal I’ve ever eaten but it stayed down) D – Will be…shrimp stir fry w/ a little brown rice if I have room

Today…. B – Protein smoothie w/ Hood Milk and PB2 L – Snack package of hummus with pretzel thins, Fiber One bar S – Handful of almonds D – 5 shrimp, 1 sm new potato, ½ ear corn

B – Protein smoothie w/ PB2 L – Insides of ½ a Salmon BLAT (bacon, lettuce, tomato, avocado) sandwich at J. Christopher’s, couple of bites of potato salad ….this sandwich was delicious but I wasn’t able to eat much even after I ditched the bread. I had the waitress box up my leftovers even though I knew I would throw them away because we weren’t going home for hours. I always feel like they’ll think I didn’t like the food if I leave huge amounts behind. I’d rather go though the pretense of taking it with me than risk upsetting them or even worse having to explain why I didn’t eat much. I regretted having to throw the salmon away because it was so good, but better to waste than die of food poisoning after it sat in a hot car all afternoon! S – Sample of grilled tofu and steamed dumpling at Asian market D – 3oz beef tenderloin, 1C. Caesar salad, ¼ C. baked sweet potato….I can’t usually eat this much steak, but it was very tender and went down easy. S- 10 smoked almonds, 4 sugar free wafer cookies, 1 C. Hood chocolate milk.

I’m gathering up my first load of clothes to attempt to sell on EBay. I feel bad about not donating them but I’ve spent so much on clothing lately that I can’t afford to not get at least a little something back. I had not decided to try reselling them on EBay when I bought the current off casts so I doubt I’ll get much for them. When I bought these my criteria was that it wouldn’t fall apart in the two months I’d be able to wear it and that it was super cheap. I think my best bet is to sell this group in lots by size. I wish I could bring myself to wear clothes that are too big but I haven’t been able to tolerate it. I used to like flowing garments when was heavier because I thought they disguised my weight. Plus I was so uncomfortable just from being that heavy that restricting clothes felt terrible. Now I hate the feeling of unstructured drapey fabric. My skin is so saggy that I feel better when I wear more structured clothing that props things back up. I wear a lot of “foundation garments” too. Girdles used to feel terrible and constricting but now they feel more comfortable than naked because I don’t feel the flappy sensation in my lower stomach and other areas. I can only imagine how bad the skin problem will be at goal weight. I think I’ll probably need a million dollars worth of plastic surgery! Everybody else is so frugal. I’ve gone a little nuts buying clothes. I work hard to find good clothes at rock bottom bargain prices but I’ve definitely bought more than I need. It has been exciting to have so many clothing options. I’m used to being too big to wear even the largest size at Lane Bryant. I didn’t buy clothes because I liked them. I bought because they were the only things I could find that fit me. I think I still have that mentality but the problem is so much more stuff fits me. I feel like I should buy it all! I need to work on being choosier because soon even more things in the stores will fit me. Time to slow down before I have to rent a truck take my purchases home to the poor house! :thumbup:

Kohls, Marshalls, TJ Maxx, and Ross have good prices on bras. I buy them a few inches too small and use bra extenders to make them longer until they fit properly. I got the bra extenders at Target, but I've seen them at other stores.

Today….. B - Protein smoothie w/ PB2 L – Protein smoothie with blackberries D – 1 ½ C. salad topped with chopped roasted vegetables and 2oz pepper jack cheese.

Today was not a good day…. B – 2/3 C. steel cut oatmeal L – Leftovers from dinner: ½ C gazpacho, ½ C. asst. salad bar stuff S – Sugar free pudding w/ sugar free cool whip and PB2 D1 – 3oz London broil, 2 slices of roast eggplant…..All of this came back up. I knew better than to eat tough beef and the eggplant wasn’t much better. D2 – Lg glass of Hood ff milk, Fiber One Fulfill bar, too many Baked Cheetos….still hungry and wanted something that would go down easy. S – Hood ff milk w/ chocolate protein powder…went to the kitchen looking for more junk because of course the Cheetos didn’t sustain me. Decided to nip it in the bud by having this. Finally got the protein, it stayed down, and all was well. Tomorrow will be better and I’m so very grateful that a bad day these days is still better than a most good days pre-banding.

Today.... B – ¾ C. Uncle Sam’s cereal w/ ½ C 1% milk L – ½ turkey sandwich D – ½ C gazpacho, ½ C assorted things from salad bar, 8 almonds.

Today…. B – Protein smoothie w/ PB2 L – 1/3 C. curry chicken salad, 1oz Sunchips D – 2/3 C. taco pie S – 2 sugar free wafer cookies, 5 almonds

Today….. B – Protein shake with Hood chocolate milk and PB2 L – ¾ Smart Ones Salisbury steak with asparagus S – Sm bag baked Lays D – 1 chicken thigh, ½ C. broccoli, ¼ C. Brown rice

I've browsed the smaller sizes and can see that when I get down another size or two the prices drop and selection goes up dramatically! I'm looking forward to getting more and paying less.

I tried a Burlington in the Atlanta area and didn't find anything. I used to love their store years ago. Maybe the location I went to here was not as good as others. There are several here. I'll give another location a try. Avenue used to be my favorite store because it was the only brick and mortar store that carried size 30. Lane Bryant cuts off at 28 and I was only able to buy tops and stretchy pants there at my highest weight. It sounds like your sweetheart is enjoying buying clothes for your new figure! I was buying at Ross a lot and still go there once every couple of weeks. Their clothes are so cheap that they are practically disposable. Another person suggested on this thread that I start selling my old clothes on EBay. I was giving to the Goodwill, but she was right that I should try to sell them. So I've been shopping at stores that sell designer clothes cheap, like Syms, Filene's Basement, and a store here in Atlanta called Fox's. I think it will be easier to resell clothes with a designer label. There are no deals when you are a size 30! Now that I'm a smaller size it's much easier to find deals on clothes. I'm paying a bit more than I was at Ross, but still not as much as I was paying for clothes before surgery. If I can sell the nicer stuff for 1/2 what I paid after wearing it will still be cheaper than buying at Ross. I might even make a profit on a few of the items because they were marked down so much. Today I bought two Calvin Klein suits for $60/each. Even used I think somebody would pay me $30/each for them. If I don't make back my 50% then lesson learned and back to Ross for summer clothes. Nothing really lost and I'll certainly be the envy of my office this winter in my designer wardrobe! I'll keep you guys posted on how my experiment goes.

Today…. B – ½ 6 pc order chicken nuggets L – rest of the chicken nuggets D – 3oz shrimp, ¼ C. mashed potatoes, ½ C creamed spinach

Today….. B – Protein smoothie B2 – 1/3 McMuffin L – Crab cake D – 1 grilled chicken thigh, 1/3 C mashed potatoes, ½ c corn, 1 small biscuit S – Might have another protein smoothie

I love the sweet and spicy tuna and the mango chipotle salmon. The smoked tuna makes a good dip.

Today….. B – Protein smoothie L – ¼ C. chicken salad S – Work function had a few tortilla chips and small piece of a quesadilla. D – 2 slices of deli turkey, 1/6 apple, and 1.5oz brie S – Might have a snack later because I had an early dinner, protein smoothie or Fiber One bar

Today.... B – ½ C. curry chicken salad, 8 wheat thins fiber crackers L – 10 smoked almonds - I wasn’t hungry when I had time to eat and was afraid to eat much at the last minute. I had several meetings this afternoon and didn’t want to make gurgling pouch noises. Does this happen to anybody else? S – 1 C Hood Milk D – 3oz grouper, ½ C. creamed spinach. S – 2 bite size sf coconut candies.

Dita, Try making tea with flavored tea bag and sweetening with splenda. Lipton makes a good mango and black tea in a bag. There are other brands that have mango. I've also used berry + black tea bags and even mixed 1 herb tea bag with a black tea bag. I think the flavored tea bags taste better than adding sf syrup to plain tea, although that will work too.

I have the same problem since banding. I really prefer veggies to meat, but by the time I eat the protein I need to eat there is no room for vegetables. I'm thinking of having a once a week veggie day when I can forget about protein. I'll probably gain 5lbs that day...

Today... B – Protein smoothie made with frozen peaches and ¼ banana L – 2/3 C. Curry chicken salad (leftover rotisserie chicken, ff Greek yogurt, curry powder, 1tbs. toasted slivered almonds, and a dab of mango chutney), 8 Wheat Thins Fiber Plus crackers. S – SF chocolate pudding cup topped with 2 tbs SF Cool Whip mixed with PB2. D – 1 C. Chicken stir fry with broccoli and bok choy, 2 tbs. brown rice.

Yesterday…. B – Protein smoothie with black raspberries and ½ a banana L – 1 C. taco salad D – ½ C Pasta with chicken and vegetables S – Sugar free Eskimo pie Today…. B – Protein smoothie with ½ a banana L – ½ a BLT on wheat and 2/3 small bag of baked Lays chips (PBd most of it. I haven’t done that in a while. I think the lettuce got me.) D – 3oz roast chicken, ½ C. cauliflower, ¼ C. Roast potatoes.