juliansmom2003

I actually was quite frustrated over the past 3-4 weeks. I was going from 185 to 182 back and forth. SOOOO maddening! I read about the 5-day pouch test and started it last week (click Surgical Weight Loss 5 Day Pouch Test if you'd like info on it). Yesterday was my last day and I feel so much better. Before it was like this scale isn't moving and I'm busting my a$$ following the rules, what gives? Now I'm not even hungry. For the first time this morning, I felt restriction on the way to work, not eating or drinking anything if that makes sense. That "chest fullness" everyone talks about. I don't know how this will effect my portion sizes yet now that I'm back on my normal routine, but I will post and let everyone know. I think this is what I needed to hold me until my next fill in two weeks! :cursing: Sample menu--hmm, here are some ideas for you: Breakfast- 1/2 cup Special K Blueberry w/ skim and 1 hard boiled egg OR I'll do a yogurt and low fat cheese stick. (If I'm home, I'll do some egg beaters with melted low fat cheese with some fruit) lunch- Canned chicken breast with lighy mayo, chopped onion & celery w/ tomato slice on arnold wheat thin and a very small salad w/ iceberg, tomato, green pepper w/ Kraft Free Catalina dressing Afternoon Snack (lots of times I don't need this during the day, since I have breakfast so late and I just run out of time LOL)-- Low fast cheese stick OR fat free yogurt OR hard boiled egg Dinner- Crock pot chicken, side of green Beans or steamfresh mixed veggies Evening snack (I will treat myself sometimes)- Skinny Cow mint ice cream sandwich or pumpkin cheesecake (180 cals, 19g of protein!) or other low fat, bad friendly dessert I hope this helps you! Hang in there. I know it can be very frustrating, but it's important to stay with it, ride out the rough Patches and our hard work will pay off. Keep me posted!!!

As Elfie mentioned, without proper restriction, your tool isn't working the way it should. How many fills have you had? I would call your surgeon and schedule a fill, since it sounds like you really do not have restriction and that is key to success with the band. I don't have restriction yet and I do eat about 8 ounce meals, but I am staying full for at least 4 hours now, but I find that if I'm taking in enough Protein and Water, I do a little better. I just did the 5 day pouch test, which not only helps to shrink your pouch, it gets you back in tune with eating properly. If you want to check it out, it's at Surgical Weight Loss 5 Day Pouch Test . Honestly, I do feel it helped me because I'm not super starved. It's almost 10 am and I am STILL not hungry for Breakfast (I've only had 1 fill too!) Try eating smaller meals, like 6 to 8 ounces and if you get hungry in between, have a protein-rich snack, like a hard boiled egg or low fat cheese stick. It is also important that you follow the rules with not drinking 15 mins before and 1 hour after your meals. It will push the food right through and you won't stay full. I hope this helps! Good luck to you!

Good luck! Let's hope third time's the charm for you :-)! Let us know how it goes!

Wow, MelsPage, you give me hope! I too have no restriction either. You have a couple more days--try to hang in there! I'm in the same boat right along with you. I went on 1/14 for my first fill and it didn't do anything (wish they would have told me that having my period already makes you swell!). I couldn't get an appointment for fill #2 until 2/25, so I'm praying I feel a little more restriction. I agree it's so frustrating to go through all this to have to wait some more to actually have our tool work the way we need it to! Hopefully you feel something after your next fill! Just remember to keep eating as much Protein as possible and keep up your Water. Elfie is right....this too shall pass :-)!

LOL right? It's crazy how some of us still manage to lose weight and be preoccupied with hunger every day! It was so weird all morning though--I didn't even think of food once--no hunger pains, nothing, then I looked at the clock and was all, "Crud! I should eat something" LOL Here's to hoping our dream of restriction some day comes true !!!

I am a strange bird, I'll tell ya LOL. So I'm on day 5 of the 5-day pouch test. Today is poultry day, so I brought some nice crockpot chicken to munch on all day (and have some waiting for me at home tonight). At 11 am, I realized I hadn't eaten anything yet(!!!) so I started eating my chicken even though I wasn't really hungry--just don't want to play with my metabolism. I ate it, nothing got stuck, but I just felt like stopping (I have no restriction, so I didn't feel full or have chest pains or anything)--had roughly about 4 ounces. Thing is NOW my stomach is starting to growl and I'm starting to get the hunger pains after I decide I'm finished eating! I notice this happens to me quite a bit. I'm thinking I might be waiting too long in between meals? Thoughts? Has this happened to anyone else?

Cream of Wheat, apples n cinnamon oatmeal, fat free yogurt, cheerios and Special K cereals (blueberry is awesome) with skim are some other options I've done. Yummy! Hope this helps!

Hi gals. Checking in for Monday the 8th at 181! Down from last week, but my goal is 173, so don't think I'm going to make it. We'll see on Sunday. I swear I have been in the 180's FOREVER!!!!!!

CONGRATS!!! The best Monday gift one could ask for! Keep up the great work, ElfiePoo!

I have tomorrow and next Sunday to weigh in for my Valentine's Day challenge, but I'm signing up for the Easter challenge now. I'd like to be 170 by Easter (with the plateauing that I've been dealing with, who knows if that is even going to happen--I've been going back anf forth between 185 and 182 for the last 3 weeks). Hope everyone is doing well!

Sending all the positive vibes in the world, girl! I too was left for someone else, as I was letting myself go and got too heavy. LOL, too bad he married her and she cheated on him with 3 different guys and they are getting a divorce now and I'm happily married to a wonderful guy who has never had an issue with my weight. He didn't even want me to have the surgery and knew me both at 150 lbs and 240! Good luck and I hope those jaws drop so loud I hear it all the way here in Jersey :-)!

Congrats, carbgrl!!! That's so wonderful! I have been about 35 away from goal for the past 3 weeks LOL I feel like it's never going to happen. I'm honestly going by the book and working out, drinking tons of water, making protein requirements, etc. I am hanging in there though. That blasted scale has to move sometime, right?!? Congrats again! Wonderful job! You'll be there before you know it!

I'm on day 3. Loved my cheesy eggs. Only had that for breakfast and about 5 hours later had a cheese stick and hard boiled egg. Don't know what time I'll want dinner now lol

I was typing my message on my blackberry (bberry) lol The 5 day pouch test is mentioned in another one of my posts below. It helps get you back to basics and has been said to shrink your pouch size just a little. I'm on day 3 so soft Protein today :-)

So, after reading the link a poster provided on the 5-day pouch test, I've decided that today is day 1 for me. The thing is, there weren't too many things listed for the menu. Has anyone done this already that they can look at my planned foods for the next 5 days to make sure I'm doing this right? I haven't eaten yet (WAY tight in the morning), so if there's something I shouldn't be eating I can definitely change up.... Thanks for your input! Days 1 and 2 (liquids, liquid protein) Breakfast: Yogurt Snack: Muscle Milk Light (15g of protein) Lunch: sugar free pudding with scoop of Protein powder (24 g protein) Snack: apple sauce Dinner: sugar free pudding with scoop of Protein Powder (24 g protein) SF popsicles, lots of Water, decaf tea Day 3 (soft protein) Breakfast: Egg beaters with melted cheese Snack: 2% cottage cheese w/pineapple Lunch: Canned chicken recipe w/ buffalo sauce/ff blue cheese Snack: String Cheese Dinner: Egg beaters w/ melted cheese Day 4 (ground meats) Breakfast: ground turkey with salsa Lunch: Meatloaf slice Dinner: salisbury steak (w/ ground turkey) (allergic to fish!) Day 5 (solid proteins) Breakfast: baked chicken Lunch: sirloin pepper steak (yummy healthy crockpot recipe) Dinner: Crockpot ranch chicken Does this look right? Anyone have any other suggestions? I want to be sure I'm doing this right, but there aren't too many ideas on the actual site (Surgical Weight Loss 5 Day Pouch Test) Thanks for your help!!!

Red meat is usually higher in fat. Some people have issues with bread, Pasta and rice, but those things expand oce they go down. I did egg beaters, low fat cheese sticks, canned chicken breast w/ lowfat mayo, baked chicken, green Beans, fat free yogurt, oatmeal, Cereal and hard boiled eggs. I do Breakfast, lunch, snack dinner. Breakfast and lunch are usually 3 to 4 hours apart. Hope this helps!

Okay apologies if this is a dupe post. On the bberry. Anyway, I am having the same issue and have decided to do the 5-day pouch test. Take a look at the posts on it from this week for the details. I am just on day 2, but down 2 lbs. Hoping it will continue..... Hang in there!

Oh yes, I can eat them all :-)! Congrats on being banded and good luck to you!

Hi Tiff! I'll email you the recipes tomorrow (left my laptop at work). Yes my fill is in 3 weeks and I didn't even think about it. I'll see what happens I guess cause I already started lol

You know, Elfie, you make a really good point. I can't remember what it's like to not think about food. Even when I wasn't hungry, it was already thinking to the next 2 or 3 meals. Support group and the classes have really helped, but I realize I still have an unhealthy addiction to food (after all, it's not like alcohol in that you don't need alcohol to survive where you NEED to eat in order to stay alive). It is slowly getting better, but I am so happy I did this for myself. I'm so proud of all of us :-)!

You're soooo welcome, Ready! I have a ton more--take a look at the attached ! Best of luck on your recovery!!! RECIPES.pdf

I have also been getting stuff on eBay. They have a ton of stuff new with tags on there. Perfect for me, as I'm in between sizes and don't have the $$ to spend on 5 different sized wardrobes LOL Also, consignment shops have really good deals too. Not sure if you have those in your area---always good to check it out.

I got this off the food/nutrition section of LBT: Buffalo Chicken salad Ingredients: 1 can shredded chicken breast buffalo wing sauce to your liking 2 tbsp low fat/fat free blue cheese dressing 2 tbsp light cream cheese Directions: Mix all ingredients together except the cream cheese. Put in the microwave with the cream cheese on top so it melts on it. You can serve with baked tortilla chips or have alone. Let me know how you like it! I'm going to try it for the first time on Saturday!!

OMG no. My surgeon does it under fluoro so he can see exactly where the port is. Glad you changed surgeons. Fills should NOT be a bad experience. I hope you feel better!!

Hi Neesh. Good for you getting back on track!!! I did actually post two recipes on the 5-day pouch thread, but here they are again: Crockpot Ranch Chicken 4 skinless boneless chicken breasts 8 tablespoons garlic and herb marinade 2 tablespoons dry ranch dressing mix 1/4 cup of Water Directions: Pour water in the bottom of the crockpot. Add frozen chicken. Combine marinade and ranch dressing mix then pour over top of chicken. Cook on low for 8 hours. Calories: 318, Fat: 7.34 grams Protein: 55.28 grams Slow Cooker Pepper Steak Ingredients: 2 lbs beef sirloin, cut into 2 inch strips garlic powder to taste 3 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 cube beef bouillon 1/4 cup hot water 1 tablespoon cornstarch 1/2 cup chopped onion 2 large green bell peppers, roughly chopped 1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed tomatoes with liquid 3 tablespoons soy sauce 1 teaspoon white sugar 1 teaspoon salt Directions: 1. Sprinkle strips of sirloin with garlic powder to taste. In a large skillet over medium heat, heat the vegetable oil and brown the seasoned beef strips. Transfer to a slow cooker. 2. Mix bouillon cube with hot water until dissolved, then mix in cornstarch until dissolved. Pour into the slow cooker with meat. Stir in onion, green peppers, stewed tomatoes, soy sauce, sugar, and salt. 3. Cover, and cook high for 3 to 4 hours, or on low for 6 to 8 hours. Calories: 302, Fat 15.8g Protein 28.2g I'm trying to stay on track as well. I know I can do this. Everyone said the home stretch is hard, but with the support and motivation I get from this board, it really helps! Lots of luck to you!!!