NCLisa

For lunch today, I had the Choboni strawberry greek yogurt with a teaspoon of All One vitamins and 12 grams of protein powder. It still tasted like strawberry yogurt too. Got 1/2 my vitamins and 26 grams of protein.

Mat classes are done 100% with your body, no springs. They sometimes add the magic circle or bands. Videos of Mat classes. [/url] http://tinyurl.com/yh67slx The tower classes are done on the mat, but you also incorporate the springs that are on this tower stand. There are arm and leg springs, and a push through bar. Videos of some of the tower exercises http://tinyurl.com/ylnemjc The reformer has springs built in to it, it's a wooden box type thing that is a couple feet off the ground. Almost all the reformer excercises use springs. Here's a link to some reformer video's: http://tinyurl.com/ykmmekd

I wanted something that would help me build muscle slowly, and change my body. I couldn't do any type of aerobic exercise due to my size and asthma and how horrible shape I was in. I signed up and paid for 8 non refundable private training sessions so I wouldn't back out. I started twice a week in July. I wasn't thrilled with the first couple times, it was hard. But in 2 weeks I saw a change in my body, and I felt the changes while working out. By the 3rd week, I was looking forward to it. I've not taken just a mat class, I go for the reformer and tower classes. Now I'm taking 3 classes a week, and one private. I can't do some of the things they do in the classes, because I'm still larger than everyone else, but there are easier variations that I can do. I'm at the point where I feel guilty if I don't go 4x a week. (I love that). And it's HARD, but when the hour is up, you know that you've really done one heck of a workout! It is also building very nice muscle, not bulky muscle. I've lost 35 pounds, and gone from a size 22 to 16 (got into a pair of 14's today). I don't have any loose skin on my body (just the sagging breasts). My Dr. said this is the way to lose and avoid a lot of plastic surgery.

I won't eat the plain. I like the Blueberry, and blueberries are one of the best foods you can eat. I add a few more organic frozen blueberries and my powdered vitamins and a little bit of protein powder to get a total of about 25 grams of protein. I've changed so many other things in my life, a little sugar in my yogurt is not going to hurt me in any way. Especially since I rarely seem to eat over 1000 calories a day.

I can't believe no one else is doing pilates. I love it. I'm now going 4 days a week. My weight loss is slow, but I've gone from a size 22 to a 16 since the middle of May. I'm very happy with that and the huge change in my body. I just wish I'd tried Pilates years ago. One of the things I love about it, is there can't be more than 5 or 6 people in a reformer or tower class! So there aren't crowds.

I haven't plateaued yet. But I'm losing slower than most because I am doing Pilates 3 to 4 times a week now. I'm going down sizes, but my weight is only dropping about 1 pound per week. It's fine with me, because I won't have alot of loose skin this way.

I occasionally have port pain, feels like a stitch in my side. I do pilates 3 days a week, and that is a huge abs workout. Sometimes the day after a tougher workout is when I get the pain. It normally goes away in a couple days, and my Dr's assistant, says that the port pain happens when you use your abs alot.

I take Pilates 3 days a week. Two one hour Tower classes, and one 1 hour class with a private trainer. While I haven't lost tons of weight, I've gone from a size 22 to 16 since the beginning of July.

Try some of the online shops like Woman Within. Things can be pretty cheap when on sale & with the coupon codes. I just buy 2 pair of black slacks, and 5 tops, and rotate them until they are too big. I've bought the next size down. I have to look decent for my job to, but at the rate I'm losing weight, they'll have to get over me wearing black slacks every day for awhile.

But ofcourse, the salad isn't going down as easy today.

I really do miss salads. I've had such a hard time eating at all, that I'm almost scared to even try. I can't wait until I can eat a greek salad again with a little extra feta cheese to increase the Protein. I ate 1/3 of a cup whole grain Cereal today and had no problems, which surprised me. So maybe next weekend, I'll make a very small greek salad!

I had my salad! No problems whatsoever. It was a little less than 1 cup. I shredded iceberg and a little romaine into coleslaw type pieces. Cut the olives, cucumbers, tomato & onion into tiny pieces. Lots of crumbled feta cheese, and lots of olive oil/balsamic vinegar dressing. It was AWESOME! Next time I might add some tofu crumble to give it a little more protein!

I have to drink before I eat. I can't even think about putting food in, if I've not had at least 1/2 bottle of water or isopure clear protein drink. I take 2 very small bites and if things are painful, I wait up to 15 minutes to start eating again. Chew, Chew, Chew. I don't even try breads, but I can get a few bites of flour tortillas down. I can eat rice if it has sauce, so I usually only have rice with Thai red curry tofu, and it has to have lots of sauce. I can eat wheat thins, if I chew them well and have cheese on them. I've been sticking to mostly homemade chili, roast beef hash, tuna & egg salad, things like that. Even some of those I have problems with some days. Last week I was able to eat come grilled veggies, I was thrilled. Some people can never eat breads again. Some people can't eat a huge variety of things for 1 to 2 years, and I seem to be one of those. I'm going to try salad today, but if that doesn't go well, I'll try again in a month or 2. Go slow, don't try to eat everything you could before right away. Don't drink anything for 30 minutes to an hour after you eat, it's extremely painful if you do.

I am NOT getting another fill. I go in this Thurs. Was supposed to have another fill 3 weeks ago, but cancelled appt. I just want them to make sure everything is ok this week. Not letting them fill me. It's only been a week since I've been able to eat more than mushies after my fill the last week of July. It takes me at least 3 weeks for the swelling to go down after a fill, so I'm in no hurry, and I've lost 15 pounds since the last week of July, so I think things are ok for now. (I've gone from a size 22 to 16 in that time also, I love Pilates!) I don't eat in public at all. I figure it may be a year before I get there, especially since I have to wait 15 minutes after the first 2 bites, before I can really eat. I got the salad ingredients this morning. I'm going to try a salad late this afternoon. I'll let you know how I do.

I'm not real worried about nutrition right now since I'm taking lots of Vitamins. I just want to be able to eat more things than Soup, chili, roast beef hash, tuna, etc. I'm going to go with mostly iceburg with some romaine. Lots of feta cheese, some tomato, cucumber, onion and Kalmata olives with olive oil/balsamic vinegar dressing. If I can handle this, I'll be so happy. I'd love to be able to have a small salad a day. I haven't been able to eat many veggies at all until last week.

Liquids don't stay in your pouch for more than a few seconds, no way they sit there 10 minutes. I can feel the liquids going right through. I have to drink before I eat, or I can't eat. If I don't drink at least 8 ounces of water or an Isopure drink, my food won't go down at all. It's like I have to turn my stomach on not to eat.

I take All One original formula vitamin & mineral powder. I mix it with juice or a smoothie or Kefir. It has more nutrients than any pill vitamins I've tried and can't swallow. I get it at Whole Foods or online.

I have a restriction problem in the mornings also. At first, I just skipped breakfast and had a Isopure protein drink. But my metabolism wasn't kicking in without food. Now I wake up and take my HBP & asthma meds with a 16oz bottle of water that I drink slowly over 15 minutes. I take my shower and then for breakfast have some Lifeway Lowfat Kefir (pourable yogurt). It turns my stomach and metabolism on. I keep drinking water in the morning, and can eat lunch. (If I pick the right food, I can eat lunch without difficulty).

Up until February, my BP was so low that if I was sick, the Dr. would make me sit at the office for a bit to see if it would go up before they wanted me to drive. It's always been very low, in Feb, it went to stroke level. Dr. says it is 100% stress. My 17 year old daughter got into trouble in mid Dec, and is now in jail without bond pending trial which may not be for a year or 2. So, I'm under severe stress. I also went into kidney failure at the same time, and a few other things. I got this surgery to try to stay alive long enough to pay her legal fees and hope she gets out of this mess. I don't wish this kind of stress on anyone, but it really does take it's toll on your health.

My scale hasn't gone down in 4 weeks, but I've gone from a size 18 pants to a size 16 in those 4 weeks. )I was a size 22 in May. I just put my sizes 2x, 1x, 22, 20 & 18 clothes in a pile for the salvation army and ordered shirts in size large, and pants in 16 & 14 from Woman Within yesterday. Even my bra size has gone from 40C to 36B) I'm doing pilates 2 to 3 days a week, and my body is changing. Remember, muscle weighs more than fat, so if the fat is changing to muscle, the scale won't go down as much or at all. I am just happy that the scale isn't going up. I'm also told that if you can tell your body is losing inches, not pounds, so the weight loss is a little slower, you won't have as much loose skin in the long run. The skin will shrink as your body changes. The hardest part for me, is I'm not a Breakfast person. I noticed that I have bigger changes in losing inches if I eat breakfast in the morning. So I kind of cheat, my breakfast is a few ounces of Lifeway lowfat Kefir, I can drink it, so it's not so much like breakfast to me. It does get my metabolism started.

Again, we are all different. I've had almost every negative side effect you can have. I went into surgery at 8am and left the hospital at 2pm that Friday. Pain wasn't too bad, but I was very uncomfortable. On Monday I still was too weak to drive myself to my appts. My mother had to chauffer me around. By Weds, I could drive myself, but still felt like crap. I was pale and weak for about 3 weeks after the surgery. I'm swollen for 3 weeks after each fill, and I have first bite syndrome. There are days where I don't even want to try eating, and even drinking Water is painful. I've not felt 100% since the surgery. Would I do the lapband again, I don't know. You may want to schedule the surgery before a week long break or a holiday or vacation.

I was hoping that since I lost 30 lbs I'd be off the blood pressure meds, but my blood pressure hasn't gotten any lower. I'm under too much stress.

My dogs eat better than I do!

My large dogs favorite stuffing for his Kong is non-fat vanilla yogurt, with pieces of apples and carrots. Then close the ends with Peanut Butter, and freeze it for 48 hours. He loves that frozen treat, and it keeps him busy for a couple hours. Yogurt is great for his stomach.

Fruits and veggies are good for dogs, just not in large quantities. One of my dogs favorite treats are apple slices. So much better for them than junk food. Many raw diets include fruits, veggies and raw meats. I prefer dog food, with fruits and veggies on the side. I've never had an overweight pet, and my dogs all live to between 14 and 18 years of age.