Pinkylee

Carol I've never been sick all day. Does it come out of the blue or while you are eating?

Another evening getting stuck. Just lasted a few minutes. I'm giving up eating anything but mushies in the evening. DS was a butcher a few years back and hates the smell of fish--he'll have to get over it. My life seems to be on a treadmill. Anyone else out there with ADD? Tomorrow I'm going to put losing weight on the back burner and concentrate on getting the house back in order. Genn, Congrats on "keeping on keeping on". Are you taking your measurements? You could be losing inches.

Welcome new Texans! All the best on this new journey. When things get a little tough, I remember to be thankful for the opportunity to get healthy. I have a whole new set of goals thanks to the band. Please share your experiences with us. We all learn when you do.

Queso and chips definitely go down way too easy. My theory is that the chips can be chewed and pulverized. They also melt in water. Meatloaf can't. Is that a good enough excuse to make tortilla chips a mushie? I'm growing accustomed to hunger pains. I've also given up trying to eat 6 small meals. I try to eat something every 3 hours. That gives me enough time to drink my water (and tea) without caving in. Before this last episode I was feeling pretty smug about my new regimine. Cammomile tea sure helped me last night. I also found a Chai Tea bag by Lipton. This new life is definitely a work in progress. Be careful Barbara and keep smiling. You're losing and I'll bet you couldn't eat half of what you did on a normal day unbanded. No matter what the fill. Socalgal, hope you're doing better as the week progresses. Hang in there. We're pulling for you to continue to lose thru this ordeal. Regina, How is the new fill treating you?

Barbara I've had off and on episodes like the one you described since my last fill. So much of the time I can eat quite a bit. Dinner seems to be my most difficult time. Last night I had 2 bites and threw up for an hour. It was roast, it was late and I must have eaten it too fast. I think my problem is stomach muscles contracting during dinner prep and family conversation. A good stress, but a stress any way you look at it. DH encourages me to eat early. Sipping hot tea before the evening meal helps too. Having me leave the table to barf can't be too fun for DH and DS and also makes for a lousy evening. I can't seem to narrow the problem down, except that 99% of the time it's during the evening After last night's episode, I'll be blending my hard proteins and hopefully be back on track soon. My port seems to be stabilizing and I lost 2 pounds on Monday and have kept it off. Usually I gain after a PB evening. Whew!

Melissa This is really a tough waiting game. I see you are close to onederland too. Sometimes I feel like I'm swimming upstream, but then I remember it took me 2 years of Weight watchers point counting to lose 17 pounds. This week I've cut out my liquid protein shake for bfast in favor of a hi protein cereal. Seems I'm less hungry for an a.m. snack now. I've also added a very thin sliced well toasted sandwich for lunch. (bread is crunchy enough to be a cracker) If I eat it slow, it goes down great and stays with me longer than my usual salad. I've also cut back on protein bars in favor of whole foods (apple and motzarella cheese stick) for snacks. I hope to get back to losing two pounds per week. It's worth a try and I like having "real" food. I also think if I walked around the block a few times after dinner, I might see a quicker loss--but the spirit is willing and the flesh is weak. Can you think of other ways to jumpstart? The protein bars I was enjoying between meals were becoming a real fixation. I found myself "chowing down" on a protein bar way too often. No more than one per day for now.

Genn How did you manage to host a party? Are all your bo-bo's healing nicely. I hope the oreos are leaving you as fast as you ate them. I'm back on track after my nacho and chip fix. It spured me on to increase exercise intensity. I'm feeling much better.

Kym I've never been a fast loser. Liquid calories or empty calories don't get burned as efficiently as protein or high fiber foods. If I "binge", it would be maybe 3 cookies. (cookies aren't my problem) My nacho fix is about 10 chips. Seems like a lot when it takes 20 minutes to eat them, but it counts as a meal for me along with queso. Most "lapses" have never made a permanent gain for me. I stay under 1200 calories, exercise 45 minutes at least 5 times a week unless ill and drink lots of water and calorie free liquids. I doubt my once a week nachos (400 calories) are causing my weight loss to be l/2 - 1 pound a week. I think it's just me. Many of us struggle to lose even though we really stay with the program. You have no guarantees on how fast or slow you will lose. Staying under 1200 calories on healthy days and above 1000 on days when nothing wants to stay down is my best bet on food consumption, but in reading numerous posts, those most successful bandsters have an exercise program and remain faithful to it. My slower loss may be due to my age as much as anything. Remember--there are not too many sedentary bandsters that are fast losers.

Gummiebear, I had a gas episode early on after adding solids much like you described. Felt like my band might break in to from the pressure. I finally walked it off (or out). Kinda wondered if it might not be reaction from gall bladder which hadn't seen fat of any kind in several weeks. I haven't had another episode that bad since. How long have you had your band?

Socalgal3, the challenge is to help not overwhelm and we applaud your decision. Quite frankly I was ready to call it quits after last weeks worry over port shift and an upsidedown household. Hopefully, you've been able to get something down. Cindycam, Are you under control today? I am so much better today, but tried to skip an afternoon snack. A few olives or something would have helped. DH was home early due to street flooding. Our early dinner was spaghetti and meat sauce. I ate more than I wanted to. Was hoping to save some calories for later. I would really like to bust out the next five pounds to get to Onderland. At my rate, it might be two more months and yet I feel so close. Exercise was more intense today. I'm going to plan a little better and see what happens. Thanks for updates. They are in the post with updates flag. Glad to hear fills, while not easy, are manageable. Just think how much better we are at handling them vs. our first. Have a nice evening everyone Barbara, are you soaked in North Houston? Our street is ok, but entrance to subdivision is a lake.

Cindy: I had nachos for lunch and loaded potato chips for dinner and 2 (two) glasses of wine. I was out with kids and DH and lately when I'm eating out, most everything sticks but chips or nachos. I'm not much of a drinker and wasn't able to drive and had to sleep over at DD's. Nachos is my Sunday evening treat--and you guessed it, we had nachos for dinner tonight. No telling what this will do to my weight. This a.m. nothing, but who knows. I doubt calorie count was so high. I can't eat more than a few ounces, but the salt and fat can't be too helpful. The wine--I'm glad I had it. Last time I drank too much was probably 1998 or something. I feel much better today about all the chaos created by the install of our new flooring. I also am motivated to "eat healthy" the rest of the week. Cindy, it's too late to feel bad. Enjoy the binge for what it was--a lapse in good judgement, perhaps being unprepared, or just the need to kick back. The point is, can we get back on track tomorrow? Let us know how you did and I will do the same. Honest.

:update: Sunday (today) is the first day of our 3rd week of the challenge. Please post your stats on your signature line, pm me or post a message (always nice to read posts) for stats from last Sunday 10/8 - Saturday 10/14. Sorry I'm not much of an inspiration thus far--illness and a chaotic household have held me back. Hope to do better this week. THE POINT IS--JUMP IN ANY TIME, or simply let us know how you are doing without stats. We all learn from your posts. Regina 7 4 3 (14) - Total Points 24 Housecatgirl 7 2 7 (16) - Total Points - 29 Barbara465 7 4 3 (14) - Total Points - 32 Pinkylee 5 7 3 (15) - Total Points - 31 Gen Ant Us 6 4 0 (10) - Total Points - 24 Cathy 4 4 0 (8) - Total Points - 21

Socalgal You may have done yourself a favor by not tending to your scars so quickly. It's scar tissue that keeps the port in place. From comparing notes, Barbara465 and I think we may have too much scar tissue. All the best with your total unfill. Since so much of this is a mind game--I'm sure you can keep steady and probably continue to lose. Please keep us posted on your unfilled portion of the journey. We'll try to watch your back. Barbara, I've been using a little lotion (cocoa butter) on my scars--at this point I think scar tissue may no longer be my friend--I know I have lots around my port that may be the cause of it shifting instead of holding it in place.

Fills seem to have a mind of their own. Continue to be very careful. I'm taking Barbara's advice and getting .3 for my next fill. I don't care how quickly the liquids go through. I agree about the scar tissue thing. I used to be able to feel the flat part of my port. Now what I feel first is the round edge. I can still feel the flat part angling inward--but it feels "bumpy" which must be scar tissue. Wonder if it's something to do with being over 50? I'm hoping the buildup will stop soon. I don't like to think about losing the band. I do hope to have it unfilled completely after I've lost the weight and feel confident of my eating habits. The floor installers are still here and I'm weary of them. Kept promising an early afternoon--and I need to prepare for this afternoon's students. The dogs are even getting on my nerves. Thankfully, I love the new floor. NSV--The new blouse I bought 6 weeks ago that wouldn't button (I wear sleeveless t's under open shirts) can now be buttoned. I also don't worry about shrinking anything any more. I never dried any knit top or pants, but that's not an issue any longer.

My port used to lay flat under my tummy skin. After I began increasing (slightly) my exercise duration and intensity I began to feel a small "tick" in my side or a slight burning near my port. Not continual--just a few times a day. Now my port is angled inward--slanting into my body. I called surgeon and the PA said it might be that one suture has slipped, but no need to worry as long as it can be probed for fill (which it can) Anyone else have a shift in their port location. I'm not one to put my entire faith in band info a PA gives. If there is some activity I need to avoid or should I go back to wearing my baggy jeans--sometimes my new jeans bind a bit--they aren't tight, but definitely bind if I sit too long.

Junebies How's your port? Mine seems to be tilting in toward my navel. Possibly pulled a suture, but PA at surgi center said since Spiegel did my port it probably wasn't going to go far. I have tons of scar tissue buildup and I think that an uneven growth of scar tissue may be the problem. I have had some slight burning off and on, nothing major. PA said I can wait till I need a fill to be checked out. Anyone else's port move? Seems like we sometimes share the same strange occurances. Cindycam and Barbara--I'd have to lose an average of 2 pounds a week to make Christmas challenge. At this point I'm hoping for 1 pound a week! Way to go Barbara on your evening walk. You are determined! I ask DH, but he goes if we take the dogs. Might as well walk with a 2 year old. I dusted off a different exercise walking DVD this am and enjoyed the change. House is worse than ever. My two pianos are not playable, so I'm traveling to students today. Before I had surgery I broke my first chair in the home of a student. Glad to say I don't worry about breaking chairs any more.:clap2: Have a good evening.

Regina: Thanks for posts. I've updated. The week starts on Sunday a.m. Please don't change your ticker until you see the Update post. Congrats on continuing to lose. Hope things are still going well for you.

Our PA is relatively new and does not work exclusively for my surgeon.

Genn-- Forgot about your fall last weekend. How are the wrist and ankle healing? Thanks for updates

Socalgal--my bad. It's 1200 calories or less. I changed your stat. We had been discussing that some must take in 1200 calories in order to keep losing, but I don't think we should set a limit on how low you can go. Some lose better at less than 1200. Those who have just had a fill shouldn't "have" to work at increasing food intake. Learning new limits has enough challenges.

One KFC original recipe chicken leg and l/2 small container of coleslaw for an evening meal. Sounds silly, but it seems to clean my pipes and move the scale.

:update: Week One for October Challenge: 1200 Cal/day (or less), 64 ounces H20, 30 minutes of exercise Barbara 465: 7 7 4 (18) HouseCatGirl: 7 0 6 (13) Socalgal3 7 4 5 (11) Pinkylee 6 7 3 (16) Cathygr8 6 5 2 (13)(lost 2 pounds!!) Gen Ant Us 7 7 0 (14) Not too shabby for a gal with sprained ankle and broken wrist Regina 7 3 0 (10) There are several others I'm waiting for posts. Week one saw each of us with struggles - fills, ills, etc. Next week should be better Please let me know if I need to update stats for week one.

Laura: It all qualifies. Posting helps you see where you can make improvements if possible. Sounds impossible this week for you Laura. Why don't you try for something reasonable--say 20 ounces (onehalf ltr bottle or less). If lack of exercise disqualified me--I'd be out. Can't believe I've been too ill with URI to exercise. Unfortunately, exercise is my only hope to keep depression at bay. I better get to it tonight. (Our house is totalled with wood floor in main house area being installed this week--looks like an explosion went off and there is little room to move to my DVD--should be interesting.

1200 or LESS is great. You get a 7 for calories. It's good reading everyone's posts and learning that things are looking up for so many of us. I'll post UPDATE for week one this evening.

I lost 7 pounds the first five days. I stayed the same for several weeks after adding mushies. Thank goodness for LBT.com. I would have thought myself a failure not knowing what others go through.