CLinND

Hi Novembers, It's been a while since I checked in, and I'm getting motivated again after catching up on the posts. I am also at a plateau, but mostly of my own doing. I haven't exercised or really watched what I ate since June. Summer is hard! It's time to get back to my exercise schedule and watching what I eat. Cindy

Hi Novembers, I was wondering how the Memorial Day/June First people were doing with their weight loss. Unfortunately, I am not going to make my goal, but I am only about 5 pounds away and I am happy with that. Good luck to everyone else. Cindy

Hi Novembers, Well, I am back on track after the week-end. Not that I did that badly, but I did relax a little and had pizza on Friday night with the grand kids. I used to eat four or five slices, easily, and this time I splurged, had two pieces and felt really full for the rest of the evening. I am really fighting the mind set that if I don't feel stuffed, I must be hungry and need to eat. I have a hard time diferentiating between hungry, not hungry and full. I think the Memorial Day/June challenge is helping me though. I need those short term goals to keep me on track and making the better meal choices. Even though I am eating less, I still have a hard time steering away from the high fat items. Anyone have any good suggestions for a mayonnaise substitute? I absolutely can't stand the fat free stuff and threw it out. I am going to try the reduced fat this week.

Hi Jewels, I had the band place on Nov. 12th and I am down 37 pounds since I started the pre-op liquid diet. I am down 27 pounds since the surgery itself. I feel great and have decreased both the blood pressure meds and the diabetes meds. I try to exercise about 5 times a week and have a stationary bike and a rowing machine at home. I am soooo looking forward to spring and being able to get outside! ND winters are not fun!

Hi Novembers, Can I join the Challenge? I would love to hit 175 by Memorial Weekend. That's a goal of 22 pounds for me. My big hurdle is getting away from the "one bite of this, and one bite of that". I can't have anything sitting out on my counters or I nibble. If I can get everthing out of sight, I can do it, and have a clean kitchen besides. :w00t:) Cindy

Thanks for the info on the pouch test and also the tips on the South Beach plan. My husband is working out of town this week, so this is the perfect time to try it out. I am sure that some of the other "Grammas" out there are also suffering from the slower metabolism, like I am. It sure makes weight loss a lot slower and a lot more work! Thanks again, Cindy

Hi Novembers, Can someone tell me what the pouch test is? I haven't heard of it before. I can sympathize with the people who are stuck at a plateau. I took my grand kids on a vacation two weeks ago and came back two pounds heavier. I don't have any restriction and I found myself eating and drinking things that weren't the best choices for me. I also had been drinking water with my meals. Not the best thing to be doing. Since I got back, I have dropped those two pounds and am back on track but his puts me at about a month with very little weight loss. Had a little talk with myself and then moved on. No sense crying over what I can't go back and change. Congrats to all of you who are doing so well! Does anyone have any hints on what to have when you have the urge for something sweet. It doesn't happen to me often, but when it does, fruit or yogurt just don't satisfy the urge. Cindy

Thanks for the link to protein recipes. The vanilla protein powder mixes into the coffee fairly well, but the chocolate is another story. I ended up with small grainy clumps that never really mixed in. Yuch! Recently, I have been mixing a scoop of either vanilla or chocolate powder into sugar free coffee creamer and stirring it well and then mixing the whole thing into the coffee. That has been working really well for me. My Doctor never said anything to me about avoiding coffee. I will have to double check with him next time I have an appointment.

Hi Novembers, Does anyone know of any problems with putting protein powder in coffee? I have been mixing a scoop into my sugar free coffee creamer and then stirring into my coffee. I usually take my pills with unsweetened juice in the morning and then have an ounce or two of deli meat. When I get to work I have my coffee and protein creamer, but I have been wondering if the protein powder loses anything when it is put in a hot liquid. I was making protein shakes/smoothies, but they were time consuming and my husband kept adding so much to the blender that the calories started to creep way up. The protein coffee really sticks with me most of the morning and the coffee seems to cut the sickeningly sweet flavor.

Hi Novembers, I sure can relate to all the posts on the Christmas goodies. My big downfall is Chex Mix and nuts. I think we all deserve a pat on the back for downsizing from a dozen cookies to two, or a reduction in whatever was our biggest temptation. I'm thrilled to just maintain what I have lost prior to the holidays. We will all be back on track by next week. :tongue2:

Hi Novembers, I have had my ups and downs also. I haven't had a fill yet and I have no restriction. The odd thing is, the day I upped my calorie intake to 1100 calories and ate pizza at the Holiday Party at work was the day I dropped two pounds. I think sometimes I might have my body thinking it is going into starvation mode. I make sure I keep up with my protein, vitamins and exercise and even if scale doesn't change, my pants are still getting looser. Thank goodness for consignment stores!

Thanks for the update WannaB, I don't have a fill until Jan and I am starting to get a little nervous. It's great to hear from people who are doing so well. Thanks again, Cindy

I haven't scheduled my first fill yet, so I am really glad to hear some stories about how it goes. I'm not having any problems with anything I eat, so I am really watching my intake. I make sure to chart as much as I can (food and exercise) and it really seems to help me. I've been doing this since last spring, so it gotten to be a habit. I have the Realize band, so I am using that web site right now, but I have used others in the past and they work pretty well also.

Hi Novembers, I was banded on Nov. 12th and at my two week post-op I had lost six pounds. I'm going to stop back on Friday and weigh myself again. (My scale weighs about four pounds heavier than the clinic scale. ) I am happy for the people with the greater weight loss, but I also console myself with the fact that my clothes are still getting looser and even if the scale is moving slowly, my exercise is sure helping the size, if not the weight loss. Fast or slow, we are all going to get to the finish line.

Hi to All, It has been one week since my two week post-op appt. with the Dr. I was down six pounds since surgery on 11-12, and I think I am down about three more pounds this week. It's a really great feeling. I was on pre-mix liquid drinks for two weeks post op and I never felt any restriction and I have no problems with any foods at the current time. I am really watching my portion size and luckily, after the liquid diet, my appetite seems to have shrunk along with my pant size. The Dr. said I could start adding soft foods and then move onto more solid choices as I felt comfortable with them. He has me scheduled for Jan. 12th for my first fill, and I want to be down at least 5 more pounds by that date. Congratulations to all of you with your great numbers on weight loss. Even though some times the scale doesn't move very quickly, I remind myself that the reason I chose the band was that I felt it would be an easier adjustment to my physical and mental health to have a slightly slower steady weight loss.

It has been two weeks since my surgery and I am feeling great. I had liquids for two weeks before and two weeks after. Mostly Optifast products. What helped me through was canned chicken broth that I bought at Sams Club. It was a nice change from chocolate, strawberry and vanilla (I got real tired of the strawberry and vanilla towards the end). It was also nice to have something warm after all those chilled drinks. I also got raw veggies if I wanted and that helped too, having something crunchy. I told my Dr. that I thought I could make it through, but I wondered what would happen if I broke down and ate something. His reply was "nothing". I made it through except for one evening when I didn't feel well and ended up eating two scrambled eggs with cheese. Most of the time, getting on the scale and seeing the weight go down was incentive to stick with it. Good luck, you will do great!

Hello Everyone. I'm Cindy from North Dakota and I had my surgery on Nov. 12th. The worst part for me was spending the night in the hospital on a horribly uncomfortable bed. The first couple of days I felt like they left five pounds of sponges in my abdomen, but as the swelling went down, I started to feel pretty normal again. Luckily, I had very little gas pain. I had an upper GI the morning after and that sure seemed to clear my system out. LOL I'm 56, married for 35 years, and have been heavy all my life, but it has never really been a problem for me. But, after having one total knee replacement, high blood pressure, and recently being diagnosed as a type 2 diabetic, I had to face the fact that I was never going to be able to deal with the weight on my own. It's amazing how long a person can go on thinking "After the New Year" and "After I come back from vacation", and "Next monday, for sure!". It is finally time to face reality. I was on Optifast for two weeks pre-op and again for two weeks post-op. Next Tuesday I move to seven days of pureed meals (Trepuree) and then on to soft foods. I truly envy the people who were able to go low-carb. Oh well, at least the weight is coming off. I have an appt. with the Dr. on the 28th, but I don't go in for my first fill until the middle of January. How soon are the rest of the November's getting their first fill?

Hi all, I had my surgery on the morning of Nov. 12th and it went really well. My Dr. gave me a prescription for a scopolamine patch that I put on the night before, so no queasiness in recovery. I was up and walking that afternoon, and I was thrilled when they told me I could have cream of wheat with splenda and milk on it. What a treat. I am feeling great and had very little pain. I am taking Tylenol, but I would be taking that anyway for arthritis pain. After the anathesia wore off, I had some back pain, but the nurses said it might be from the table in the surgery. Evidently they inflated something under my back to arch my stomach up to make it easier to operate. I was on Optfast for two weeks pre-op and am on it again for two weeks post-op. Then one week of pureed meals, one week of very soft foods and then for the next month or two semi-soft foods. I am very happy that I decided to go with the band versus RNY, and I'm looking forward to more info from this web site.

This is my first time posting and I was happy to see this thread. I am scheduled for surgery on the 12th and will be on liquids for the next two weeks and then on Thanksgiving I move to pureed meals for a week. Only my husband and son know about the surgery, but I have been informing most of my family that I am on a liquid diet until Thanksgiving and I plan to announce that solid food is just too much for me after all the liquids. Hopefully that will cover most of the questions. Hard to believe that I am looking forward to a pureed turkey dinner. )