isaviolinist

I don't know if there is a right time. I couldn't workout right after eating. I'd probably throw up. Some people say it's good to exercise in the morning because you have the most energy. I try not to exercise on an empty stomach as i can't work to my potential. I usually take a long walk around 1 pm and go to my cross training at 430. If I'm not cross training that day I do an hour on the elliptical around 1 or 2 pm and then walk directly after. I try not to leave my workout until the evening as I find I'm too exhausted in the evening to workout to my potential.

I saw signs of a plateau coming on last weekend (scale hadn't moved for 3 days) so for 2 days I did super low carb (like less than 10 or so a day...before that I wasn't really watching carbs at all and I still dont) and REALLY high protein and then I added walking to my exercise routine. After the 2 days of no carb was over I slowly added back some carbs and took 1 day off from my cross training and elliptical exercise and just did my walk. I also went running one of the days which I never do. Basically I was just trying to confuse the crap out of my body. And it worked! My plateau started around 222.4 last weekend and as of this morning (Friday) I'm at 218.8. Just try to change something about what you're doing. If you're feeling like 1000 calories is where you should be at, how about doing 2 days of 900 calories and then 2 days of 1100 calories. I don't know what type of exercise you're doing but if you're only doing cardio, add in some weight training. Or instead of doing the treadmill, use the elliptical.

I drink the ready made muscle milk shakes which is 230 calories and 25g of Protein. I don't drink it as a snack, but as a meal replacement since its really hard for me to eat solid food in the morning/early afternoon. My guide for calorie/protein ratios is 1g of protein for every 10 calories (so the ready to go MM has a little bit more protein than that). Ive never had powder MM but it seems like there are 70 extra calories for the same amount of protein, which is not so great. However, honestly, if there is room in your daily calorie goal for the extra 70 calories, then go for it. Calories are calories. I only have 850-900 calories a day so I try to make the most of them (both with protein and also with just generally feeling satisfied and not hungry). I just ordered the premier Protein Shakes (the ones you can get from costco...Im a sam's club member so i just got them from the premier website) because I heard that they taste like chocolate milk and the calorie/protein ratio is even better than MM. Its actually amazing - almost 2g of protein per 10 calories. But I do think that MM (the premade shakes) is a good and tasty product and it keeps me satisfied until my next meal.

Hey Becky! Welcome to LBT :eek: I am like you - a food addict, compulsive overeater, and binger. I've been that way since I was very young. When I was in middle school, after my parents would go to sleep, I would horde food in our play room (my parents transformed our basement into a play room/entertainment area for us...so there was a couch and a tv...perfect for secluded binging) and sit down there all night watching tv and sneaking food. If I thought I heard someone coming I'd stuff the food under pillows or in the couch cushions. I remember when I went to college feeling a sense of freedom because I could eat as much as I wanted without having to hide from my parents. I also get very particular food obsessions. There was 4-5 months where I was pretty much only eating cold peanut noodles. Then I went through a phase where I would have to eat 3-4 mushroom mozzarella panini from Panera everyday. At one point I felt like I had to go to Friday's everyday and get fried fish with a mashed potato appetizer. This particular obsessive compulsive food-associated behaviors are not unusual for people with eating disorders (both bulimia and compulsive overeating disorders). Anyhow, the band has helped me in many many ways but I also have had/need to work on myself and my head issues. I certainly can't binge the way that I had before, and I don't really want to, but sometimes I will dive into food too fast (the old way) and then it gets stuck. I have struggled with knowing when to stop, since my previous eating habits were to just eat until I couldn't function. I have been getting much better with being content with not eating until I have to throw up. I repeat to myself on a daily basis (sometimes hourly) that there will be food for me to eat on a daily basis everyday for the rest of my life and its not necessary for me to eat EVERYTHING that comes to my mind (or within my eyesite) in one day/sitting and surprisingly this has helped me with my compulsion to eat. Food logs and calorie counting has been invaluable. When I am not food logging (or participating in this site and blogging for that matter) I find myself straying. I have also become structured about my meals. I plan my meals a week (or at least 4-5 days) in advance. That way, when I go to the supermarket, I know what Im there to get and I don't browse the aisle's picking up anything that looks good. I shop at whole foods and there are always samples. The fact that I log everything that goes in my mouth, prevents me from staying in the market and eating 800 calories worth of samples. I will say that about 5-6 months in I completely fell off the wagon and went back to my old eating habits, except instead of sandwiches and other foods that would get stuck, I would order 5 extra large, extra thick milkshakes everyday. Or I'd eat 2 containers of Haagen Daaz ice cream (at over 1000 calories each). So I replaced my binge food with slider food. For some reason mac and cheese was a slider food for me and I'd eat it everyday. I gained 50 of the 80 pounds I had lost back doing that. I've now lose 40 of the 50 pounds I regained. Although I wish I didn't back track like that, its been an invaluable learning experience for me. I have become even more aware of my compulsive eating habits than I ever have which makes me more effective at what I'm trying to do with this band. So I don't completely regret the setback. The band is a great tool, but for compulsive eaters (which many of us are/were) it take a tremendous amount of mental/emotional work too. So if you're prepared to put in the emotional work, the band can be a great tool for you! But if you're not ready, you may not get the results you are hoping for. Feel free to send me a message if you want to talk!

Anyone can join anytime!!! Challenges are great for motivating ourselves as well as helping to motivate each other! Also good luck with the couch to 5k! I went for a run the other night (I haven't done any running since high school) and I actually made it the entire 2.1 miles! Running is pretty fun actually. Let us know how your first session goes tomorrow!

My surgeon does a combination of how hungry you are and your weightloss. At first, I wanted to go in for a fill every few weeks, even though I was losing a minimum of 10 pounds a month. My doctor said that it was important to not become "addicted" to getting fills, especially if the weight was coming off. At the time I didn't really understand what he could mean, but now I do and its a good point. Having said that, we did a barium swallow under flouro and he did see that my band was a little loose, so he gave me a small fill. But I think its really important to balance the two. You don't want to rely on fills for weight loss if you're steadily (and even rapidly) losing weight but you also don't want to feel like you are starving all day everyday (because who can really keep that up for an extended period of time?).

Hi folks - I wanted to ask a question that has been on my mind for awhile. Is there a difference in the way your body changes (physically) when you lose weight with exercise vs losing weight without exercise? I have been exercising pretty vigorously for the past 2 months or so and have lost almost 40 pounds with exercise and food logs. In my mind, I feel like I see changes in my body (like in the shape of things) that I didnt see when I wasnt working out (which is basically how I lost weight the first time around, no working out, just calorie counting...I lost 80 pounds initially preop + post op, but then gained 50 back and have lost 40 of the 50 I had gained back with exercise), but I would love to know if its just in my mind. Anyone have any opinions or experiences?

Mel - yes I have heard this about pear shapes, that it is healthier than apple shapes as it's not such a strain on your heart. So I am grateful for that for sure. I'm also hoping for an hour glass shape. Hopefully when I'm at goal I'll be able to get a tt which will reduce the "tire" effect. But that's a ways away from now. Betsy - yes I understand completely what you're saying. I definitely feel more in touch with myself physically and sometimes I feel like I'm getting to know my body all over again. I'm constantly in awe of how the body works and exercising really helps me to be aware of just how incredible the human body really is. And for the most part, the emotional benefits of exercising are just as rewarding as the physical ones!

Hey Erin - I think we got banded around the same time. I also fell off the wagon for awhile, but have forced myself to start exercising twice a day, 6 days a week, and I have been making sure I am aware and responsible about every single bite that goes into my mouth. Its hard sometimes! But I'm doing it. If I can, then you can too! I find coming back to this site and blogging is very helpful for keeping me on track. Be happy for your weightloss so far and keep going!! Also, there are links to the New Year's and Turkey Day Challenges in my signature. Join them! Its so motivating!!

I guess 'feasible' is individual to everyone. Some days I forget to eat until dinner time, but I am really unable to eat all my calories in one meal. So now and again I eat slightly under my calories (which are between 800-900). But I don't do that often, primarily because I get a little tired and I'm unable to workout to my maximum potential because I don't have anything in me. When I was in grad school (and then working from 9am-9pm) I just carried little Snacks with me. Slim fast bars, Protein bars, sometimes I would just stop at a store (like WaWa) and get a hardboiled egg or some tuna salad. You can always pack a lunch for yourself in the morning in a hot/cold lunchbox and bring something from home.

Thanks so much for all of the responses! This is something I've been wondering about for awhile, so I appreciate hearing everyone's experiences. And I guess I will give myself a little credit from now on, since my body is really changing in a good way, instead of telling myself its just in my head :frown:

Kellyodoran, were you just asking a hypothetical question or do you actually eat 1000 calories and just 1 meal a day?

Hey honk :frown: I know that it may seem like its not cultural and its just rude, but it really is cultural. Koreans, in some ways, are actually much more blunt and to-the-point than Americans (I don't know if you're from the U.S., but I am, so I'm just going to compare to Americans). At first, I was taken aback because I had just met her and I REALLY wanted her to like me since (even though my fiance and I weren't engaged yet when I met her) I knew I was going to marry her son. But now I realize that she wasn't trying to be offensive. And she does make it a point to tell me that she is concerned for my health and not just saying it to be mean or put pressure on me. Since she really does love me like a daughter, I know she just wants me to be happy and healthy. She's a rheumatologist so she often talks to me about the effect of obesity on my joints, which I need to hear. And I know that my joints are better when I'm thinner. As far as hearing her tell me these things all the time...well, she lives in Korea and we live in the states, so I don't hear it everyday I would never tell my mother-in-law to shut up as I really do love her and she's so good to me, but I do understand your feelings...its hard to understand another culture unless you're immersed in it.

All of you are talking about a different concept which is how our bodies use calories (which is obviously different for everyone based on a multitude of different physiological issues unique to to us as individuals). What I am talking about, and what I believe the OP asked about is the consumption of energy (which is what a calorie is). If you consume 1000 units of energy (calories) your body cannot turn it into 1500 units of energy just because its annoyed that you ate 1000 calories all at once. This is a scientific concept...its not unique to or different for people who have had WLS. Energy in is energy in.

Calories are calories period. Doesn't matter if you eat them all in 1 meal or stagger. However, if you eat 5 small meals (or 3 meals with 2 small snacks) you won't be as hungry or tired amd you'll have an easier time sticking to your calorie goal.

Yea that is one of the things that I have been noticing - I can feel some muscles where maybe there werent any before. I'm wondering if the distribution of things is changing. Someone once told me that you lose fat from the top down. Is that actually true? It seems like it can't be. I wonder if exercising helps you burn fat more evenly. And yea, I don't think I'll ever have abs. And I'm pear shaped so I'm scared I'm going to have a tire around my abs for the rest of my life.

I saw the show last night - so proud of Mona! She is on LBT and posted the other day to tell us she was going to be on Whats Eating You. I hope she comes back to let us know her progress. In her ticker, it says that she has lost over 100 pounds, so it seems like shes doing great! I'm glad that she was so brave to share her story with the world. Its hard for people to understand that many overweight individuals also have an eating disorder that is just as serious as those who are emaciated with bulimia or anorexia.

Yea, I never would want to pain my future in laws in a bad light, because they really are wonderful and they do love me (and they really spoil me!), but the first thing out of my fiance's mom's mouth everytime we speak to her, is "did you lose weight?" I agree with you about Korea making you realize that you're fat. I knew I was fat but it was much easier to just forget about in the US (except when I was with my family...my mother might as well be Korean...shes obsessed with me losing weight too). In Korea, it was impossible to ignore. Anyhow, I hope you are recovering nicely!

Yay! Love challenges! I'm in! My goal for New Year's is 199 so I'm making my Christmas goal 202. We can do this! For anyone that loves challenges as much as I do, don't forget to sign up for the Turkey Day Challenge and also the New Year Challenge! The links are in my signature!

I was so hungry by day 3. Not necessarily for solid food - I was just looking forward to a protein shake or slimfast. I think its very normal! Just stick to your diet, even if its hard! Come back to LBT and chat when it gets hard - there are tons of people here who know what you're going through!

I don't wish I had rny. Sometimes I wonder about the sleeve and I may consider revising to sleeve once I'm at goal. But I won't revise until I have succeeded with my band. And its not so much because I dislike my band, but it just makes me nervous to have a foreign object in me for the rest of my life.

I eat between 800-950 a day. Occasionally ill go up to 975ish but I try to stay around 900.

I just autotuned the show! I can't wait to watch it tonite. You're so brave for telling your story so publicly - I hope that doing the show will REALLY be beneficial to you! Looking forward to "getting to know you" this evening on the show

I would say be careful on your post op diet. Its not to torture you, its so you can heal. With regards to eating doritos, I personally feel that you can eat anything if its in moderation. If you're having a craving for doritos, then eat 5 doritos. But I would say you should just save it for after the post op diet - stick to the plan your surgeon laid out for you. I'm sure its totally fine, but you wouldn't want to risk even a slight chance of complications for some doritos.