SpideyMom

Amen, sister! This is exactly what we all should be focused on! :thumbup: Less of me, have you thought about whether you might need to increase your caloric intake for a while? Sometimes your body holds onto weight if you aren't taking in enough. You can track your cals. on a free program like Calorie Counter, Diet Tracking, Food Journal, Nutrition Facts at The Daily Plate or fitday. If you're under 1000 cal, you probably need to increase.... especially with that much exercise! Don't worry, it will come off, though. :cursing:

Lisa, I just found some "ready to serve" brown rice by Minute Rice. It comes in two 1-cup microwaveable bowls. It is already cooked, and all you have to do is heat the cup for 1 min. in the micro. I added a good dollop of low-fat butter spread, and I chewed very well and slowly, and it went down just fine. It was such a treat to have rice again! Just thought I would pass that along. Maybe the way it is prepared (or maybe it was the butter, which I don't normally use) that helps it go down better. I believe it was like $2.49 for the 2 cups. I figured it was cheap enough to try, even if I ended up throwing it out. :thumbup: Good luck.

Congratulations on another great week, everyone! :frown: My refill kicked in, and I am down 4 this week, for a total of 80. David, please don't beat yourself up in any way! You have done phenomenally well! 84 lbs!!! That is fantabulous!!! :thumbup: How and why did any of us let ourselves get to the size we were? At this point, all that matters is that we took the right steps to get to where we are now. :smile: And look, you took them at a much earlier age than me. That is awesome! I wish I had done this 10 years ago. I wouldn't have gone through many of the things I went through... maybe I wouldn't have even gotten cancer. But ya know, I don't like to look back and think that way. We're all here together right now, supporting and learning from each other, and making wonderful lifestyle changes. And we're glad you're a part of our Mayo Bandito team, because you are an inspiration! :smile2:

Don't worry, you'll get back on track! I had an unfill after a bad stuck episode, and I only lost one pound in 4 weeks. That was disappointing. But now that I've gotten re-filled, I'm back on track again. The same will happen for you! :drool::scared2:

Whoaaa, naynay, 35 inches??? That is amazing! And the 43 lbs is awesome! Happy anniversary! :drool:

Happy anniversary, Sapphire! Awesome job!! :drool:

Oh, you poor thing! I've been thinking about you all week, wondering how you have been. Keep your chin up, sweetie. :smile:The swelling should go down soon, and you can get a fill again. It's not fun to have setbacks, I know. My goodness, a sprinkler? Do you think the person who gave you the fills was poking the tubing? Yikes. Hang in there, and keep thinking of the 40+ lbs. you've already lost. You're on your way! And once this swelling goes down and you get your fill, you will be speeding right along! :scared2::drool:

If you get unjury, it is a whey protein isolate rather than concentrate, therefore, it has more protein and less lactose (milk sugar), and thus isn't sweet. 1 scoop of unflavored Unjury has 0 sugar, 20 g. protein, 80 cal. I just love the stuff! :drool:

I hope you can eat them, Jill! They are so good when you break them open and that brown sugar -- oh, and cinnamon -- concoction oozes out. YUM. :thumbup:

I felt the same way at first. My dh said he was going to start eating healthy with me, but then he started bringing in the Oreos and donuts and ice cream. I could have strangled him! But I realized that nagging him wasn't going to make it any better -- in fact, it would make it worse (we've gone through this before with his smoking). Also, I realized that because I am making a lifestyle change, I am going to be tempted for the rest of my life. Therefore, I just had to learn to live with it around. I don't like it, but I don't eat it. After a while, the amount of junk he was bringing home decreased. He simply went through a panic phase at the beginning where I was losing weight rapidly and he had his own issues to work through. I let him work through them without bugging, and it seems to be fine nearly six months out. HTH. Good luck to you. Just stick to your guns and let her work things out in her own mind in her own time. :thumbup: This is a big change for both of you.

Ya know, Gaye, it always gets me that people can't tell that we've lost weight. Hello?? I hear the, gee, have you lost a little weight? Your face looks thinner. A little? Try almost 80 lbs. I've also heard the new haircut, new glasses, and get this -- a face lift!! LOL My latest NSV is that I am able to wear a pair of Levis 505 red tab jeans again! I haven't worn those since I was in high school! OMG! :thumbup:

JillyPoo, have you tried baked apples? My friend cores them but leaves them whole, then stuffs the hollow part with nuts, raisins, a little brown sugar (could use Splenda brown sugar) and bakes them on a cookie sheet until they are fork-soft. They are delicious! A wonderful fall treat. I eat a lot more applesauce nowadays than I used to. There are so many good flavored, no-sugar applesauces out there now. My favorite is blueberry.:thumbup:

Broccoli and chicken (unless it is totally super moist and cut very tiny). And I just came to that conclusion last night, after I ate both of those and I ended up violently ill. Oh, and scrambled eggs.

Congratulations! How exciting! And congrats to everyone else for an awesome week!!! :thumbup:

I was just thinking about our 6 month anniversaries today! How time flies! WOW!

Tammy, not only do you look great, but I love your new haircut too!!

Wow, Sarah, you look great! :sad: And in a size 10 already -- way to go, girl!

Congratulations, everybody! You're all doing so well! I stayed the same this week, despite my fill on Tuesday. Hopefully something will happen next week for me, b/c this makes only 1 lb lost in the last 4 weeks. :eek: Gaye, I love your new profile picture -- I almost didn't recognize you until I saw "tulsarealtorgb." Looking great! :sad: John, glad your port revision went well. CONGRATULATIONS ON MAKING YOUR GOAL!!!!! You know what this calls for.... :party: THE DANCING VITAMINS!! HOORAY FOR JOHN!!!!!! :biggrin:

What awesome things are happening to all of us -- hooray!!! :thumbdown: Lisa, ditto on the towels -- I love it! :thumbup:

Hello, Banditos, I have a question for you. Are your rings getting too loose? My wedding bands are spinning on my fingers. I still want to wear them, but I don't really want to put ugly masking tape on the back like girls used to do in high school if they wore a guy's class ring. Anyhow, where can I get something to tighten my rings until I am ready to have the resized? Aren't there little clear plastic things you can buy? In one way, I love to see them spinning, but in another way, it's annoying, ya know? Oh, the "problems" we have with with weight loss. *sigh*

Oh, heavens, no! There are all sorts of people on this board, and we're all losing at our own paces. Look around some more, and you'll see. 45 lbs. is fantastic! Keep up the great work! :thumbup: Nice to have you join us!

I also love the unjury unflavored. I add it to almost anything. Try adding it to your yogurt and cottage cheese, and you'll definitely meet your Protein requirements for the day. One scoop is 20 g. protein. It's great in Soup, also. I use it every day to make my own Protein shake with my own ingredients -- fresh fruit, carrots, greens, DaVinci sugar-free flavorings, PB2, etc. Good luck! :thumbup:

esv2000, you might want to consider adding unflavored Protein powder to some of your foods. I imagine it would mix well into some Indian dishes. Also, although I don't know the names, I love Indian food, so try to stick with the ones that have chickpeas, lentils, tofu, and that yummy farmer's (?) cheese (with the spinach). I use unjury unflavored Protein Powder and mix it into almost anything. I'm unable to taste it at all. Just make sure the food isn't too hot when you mix it in, or the powder will clump up. Otherwise, it's a great way to add 20 g. of protein to each meal. Also, if you are able to eat 2+ cups of food every 2-3 hours, you need a fill now, not a month from now. You should call your doc and let him/her know that you are eating that much and still getting hungry. That means you are still in the "yellow zone," where you are eating too much and hungry too often. I know, because I have had a lot of problems with being in the yellow zone! Be your own best advocate and speak up and tell your doctor what you need and what you want. You are on the right track. You know now that the LapBand is not a magic bullet. It just helps you with the hunger. You have to do the rest. It's the hardest thing I've ever done to lose weight! But, I'm really glad I did it. Hang in there! :thumbup::thumbup:

Those are great! I will have to check out my shadow -- lol. I hadn't paid attention. And I love the one about the chair not tipping. That's awesome. I noticed the other day that I can cross my legs all the way now! Cannot remember the last time I was able to do that. :scared2:

Update -- went back yesterday to have a refill, 3 1/2 weeks after having my unfill. I only wanted .25 cc's, but after the surgeon heard my story about eating 2 grilled cheese sandwiches and a big bowl of grapes, he was shocked! And, I only lost 1 lb. in 24 days, which has not been my pattern. So, he felt I should go up .4 cc's. I'm now at 7.15 in a 10 cc band. So far so good, but I'm only on liquids and soft foods. That whole experience with getting stuck and being too tight, then going for the unfill, then waiting to go for the refill was a setback that I didn't expect. And all due to some scrambled eggs, of all things! So, word to the wise: Be careful! Take small bites, go slowly, and chew, chew, chew. (I need to remind myself every time.) :scared2: