Hello All and a welcom to the newest member - losing my volume (LMV)
Diva & Tammar - it would be great to meet at Starbucks - I have no problem with that - if y'all pick a date & time - I'll be there!
LMV - yes - xmas seems like crap to be on the optifast - but know that this is a gift that you are giving yourself and it will be soooooo worth it. Keep your eyes on the prize, which will be the scale going backwards. Bread-I loved bread, any of the bread products - pasta, buns, potatoes, rice, etc ...(but strangely enough-not fries that much) were comfort foods for me. Although if some one told me that a few months later I would not really care about the breads, I would have laughed at them. Bread was my life - every meal must have some sort of bread, it was the unspoken family rule. Now not so much - I rarely if ever have it. A small 1/2 bun ripped into very small pieces if I am out at a restaurant, but it is like my addiction to bread has been broken - I don't crave it. I am known amongst friends and families for my lasagna but I find that I cannot eat it easily. It is easier to avoid it rather than have it get stuck and ruin my evening. The spell with bread for me has been broken.
With regards to the hunger thing - that is the question we all want the easy answer to. I know I feel full alot sooner than I did before I had the band. But there are times where I am full that I will grab a small snack because I am bored and you really have to question yourself - are you really hungry or just want something to gnaw on? Perogies - no problem as long as you small bites and chew well - and don't think that you are gonna pack them away as you once did even if you chew well - there will be limits. And if you pass the limits - PB & sliming will occur - it's a rough lesson but we all do it. The same with forgotting to chew, occasionally I will not think and swallow something that I would not have worried about before, and then "uh-ho" - eveyone has done this before too! As Tammar says - chew slowly and enjoy every bite - take it a bit further and savour the taste!
This is 4 Me - my port is not visible to someone looking at my tummy, but can be felt by gently pressing the area where it is. There are no visible lumps or anything like that.
Hope this helps!
Diva - are you in on the 8th for a fill? If so, what time - I think I am at 8:40
Cheers
IWBAL