ElfiePoo

I used to drink Atkins low carb but then discovered the EAS chocolate powder at Sam's Club. One scoop in a cup of unsweetened almond milk is 4 carbs, 160 calories and 25gm Protein. Less calories and quite a bit more protein than Atkins so I switched over. I have to admit that I tossed a whole case of Muscle Milk (ready made) because I thought it was so awful and so did everyone I tried to give it to. .

Unfortunately, many people don't put their brain in gear before they open their mouth. Reminds me of a quote by Mark Twain, "Better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt." I remember reading awhile back that Marilyn Monroe was a size 12...and some modern day producer said if she had been an actress today, she never would've gotten a job because she was too fat. That's a pretty sad statement on our societal standards. .

Look at my ticker <trying to act nonchalant>.

I think you're probably right since they say that body builders or even just people pushing weights to build their body mass. Glad to hear it's working for you cuz that means the last 4 days haven't just been a fluke. .

Not surprising. Despite studies showing that fat is not the problem...carbs are the problem...some people just can't get rid of their blinders...and the nutrition/diet industry has huge blinders. Studies show that people on low carb/high fat diets lose more weight and improve their lipid profile twice as much as the low carb/low fat diets. Studies show that carbs cause people to get fat...not fat. Keep in mind that low carb is under 60gm...not 160gm as some programs like to believe. For some of us, even 60gm is too much. I generally eat 30-45 and never over 45. If I do, I stop losing...even at 1200 calories. If you're monitoring what you eat in something like fitday.com and know without a shadow of a doubt that your carbs are under 60gm, your calories under 1200 and your fats around 60%...then I'd take a look at your carbs again because you might still be eating too many...or maybe even the wrong kind. If you're happy eating a higher carb diet, and losing and have no issues with metabolic disorders (e.g. diabetes), then there's less motivation to do a low carb diet...but if you *need* to do a low carb diet, then torturing yourself with a low fat diet as well seems pointless given that studies show the higher fat, low carb diet is not the problem they thought it would be. Good books to read on the subject: The Diabetes Solution by Dr. Richard Bernstein Why We Get Fat by Gary Taubes The Great Cholesterol Con by Dr. Malcolm Kendrick Good luck with whichever WOE you choose to do. Bottom line - the best way is the one we can stick to for life. .

It's not even 7 a.m. so I haven't eaten breakfast yet, but yesterday's menu: B: 2 scrambled eggs in .2 oz butter, .5 oz cooked bacon L: Chef's salad with a chopped hard boiled egg, 1 oz rotisserie chicken, 1 oz cheddar cheese and 2 Tbs blue cheese dressing D: 3 oz roast beef, 1 cup asparagus, drizzled with olive oil and roasted in the oven. 3 cups of decaf coffee throughout the day with .5 oz cream in each cup.

You might try upping your fat intake. I know it goes against all the traditional rules of losing weight, but a 5 year study done by Harvard showed that people lost more (and improved their lipid profiles more) on a low carb, high fat (60%) diet compared to a low carb, low fat diet. Fat helps with the energy and satiety. Plus, adding just a little more fat will up your calories as well. I find when I inadvertently let my fats drop to around 30% I just don't have the mental energy to do anything. Also, since you're posting this in the 'low carb bandsters' thread, I'm assuming you're doing low carb (below 60gm a day) in which case the refried Beans would not qualify. Beans are pretty high in carbs. You want to stick to green vegies - broccoli, green beans, salads, asparagus, etc.

<ping>...that was a pin dropping. .

Ditto...sounds like you need an unfill. .

The snow is gone...yeah!!! I'm hoping it will get to at least 45 today so I can go out and clean my herb garden and hoe at least one of the other raised beds. I've made a vow that I'll either work in the garden for an hour or do Richard Simmons. Please God let it be nice enough to work outside! I washed two of the walls in the living room yesterday in prep for painting, but then my 18 year old walked through and asked, "So, mom, what are you going to do with Beelz (demon kitty) until the paint dries." Uh...crud. I have visions of painting the trim around the picture window, only to have the 12 lb bruiser hop up on the sill and then wander with painted feet across the carpet. Not that the carpet doesn't need replacing, but I hadn't planned on doing it just yet! .

Denise, I know what you mean about funeral services. I've never understood the grieving family standing in a receiving line for hours while people come through and stare at the dead body. My husband's family has a much more pragmatic outlook. When my husband's first wife died, my mother-in-law said he showed up at her house with a box of ashes and said, "Here's your daughter-in-law." and then sprinkled her ashes on the vegetable garden. When my father-in-law died in November 2009, the funeral home came out and picked up his body and brought the box of ashes back the next morning. A year plus later and they're sitting on my mil's dresser...with her husband's knit stocking camp on top of the box (keeping his head warm). She said it's going to stay there until she dies and then she wants to have her ashes mixed with his and then sprinkled in a meadow somewhere. Then 3 days after he died, they had a wake at the house but it was lovely with people sharing memories, quiet laughter and smiles. I want an old fashioned Irish wake with people retelling stories of all the stupid things I've done in my life. Let 'em remember me as I was, not a painted up corpse in a box. Oh...and maybe you'll start a new fashion statement with your yellow fur dress. .

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I have a butterfly above my ankle so I doubt it will change much. Although it is a barometer for shaving my legs when it turns into a moth.

I have to admit that I'm puzzled by the mindset of some of the families who don't want to 'sacrifice' but then the majority of people see obesity as a character defect. We're lazy and have no willpower (their view) and all we need to do is practice a little self-control. If we were alcoholics, they'd understand and accept that having alcohol in the house is counterproductive to the person's healing. Yet they don't make that same connection to our addiction to certain foods...and it is to 'certain' foods, not all. If you notice what people 'cheat' on, it becomes clear that we aren't addicted to all food...just those wonderfully carby foods...and, like the bottle of alcohol, need to be put out of our reach. I guess I feel blessed by my husband because the first thing he asked was, "How can I help?" and when I said I needed to remove all temptation from the house, he helped me clean out the pantry. Oh sure, he still eats the things I can't have, but he does it at work or his mom's.

It sounds like part of the problem is that on the weekends you have more time on your hand to think about food. Find a new hobby...something that keeps your hands busy. I find that I need to keep my hands busy even when I'm watching tv or they (my hands) want to go into the kitchen and find food to shove into my face. Also, does an alcoholic feel they must keep the bottle in their house to prove they've overcome their addiction and that they have willpower? Nope. They recognize that it's a temptation best avoided. If at all possible, clean out the temptations in your own house. That way, in order to give in, you actually have to go to the store and that requires more effort and time to talk yourself out of it...and time for the willpower to kick in. Be patient with yourself. It takes time to change the relationship you have with food...but you can do it. .

Just remember that all of the rules we learned with the band will still apply with the bypass. With bypass you'll get a honeymoon period where the weight will just fall off, but (as many have found out) if you don't retrain your eating habits and follow the rules, the bypass will not be any more successful than the band...although for different reasons since you won't have to deal with the vagaries of the band. Good luck with your bypass surgery.

What's right is whatever works for you. When I was first banded in Nov. 2009, I had to eat about every 3 hours just to keep my blood sugar stable. Then by fall of 2010 I was able to happily cut back to 3 meals, eating every 4-5 hours. Most of the time I'm still able to do that but occasionally, like today, I just seem to be 'hungrier' and I just go with it. For example, around 2 this afternoon, even though I had eaten lunch at noon, I was hungry so I just took 2 hardboiled eggs and turned them into deviled eggs. The fat and Protein eliminated my hunger and I'll have no problem waiting until 6 p.m. to eat dinner. I don't stress about the extra calories because I think it's better than trying to white knuckle through it and then falling into the refrigerator and eating anything I can get my hands on when it gets to be too much.

It's the middle of April and it's freaking snowing! At 7 a.m. I could still see the grass through the snow. Now, 2-1/2 hours later, it looks like a winter wonderland! My lilac bushes have already started to bud so we're going to have yet another year with minimal lilac blossoms, if that. Not a happy camper. So, getting rid of my band did not get rid of all my problems...and may even have created another one. The pain in my arm has been slowly coming back and I have some interesting pains across the area where the laparoscopic incisions were (and they were rooting around to install and uninstall the band) that makes me (and the surgeon) think it's more adhesions developing. He said he removed a bunch when he took the band out but if that created more, it seems idiotic to go in and remove these since wouldn't that just create more.? Then again, he thinks it's the adhesions that may be causing a problem with the diaphragm. On the plus side, it appears that the band permanently reshaped the entry into my stomach so that it's still like having the band in without a fill. Which means taking small bites and eating slowly and if I forget...yep, sliming. The sliming isn't a plus, but the 'reminder' to continue to take small bites and eat slowly is nice. Can you tell...I'm in a fine 'mood' this morning. I think I'll burn up some of this irritation and wash down the living room walls in preparation for painting them...but won't pick the paint out until I'm in a better mood or I'll end up with either blood red walls or pitch black. .

Ahhh...ok. To me excess weight is anything over the ideal weight. .

If you find that you still need to take meds despite losing weight and cutting out the bread, pasta and rice, you might check out Dr. Bernstein's "The Diabetes Solution". In order to get off all of my meds, I had to cut out grains, starches and fruit and keep my carb count low. I'm hoping that this will also reverse my insulin resistance. .

A 5 year Harvard study on low carb/low fat vs low carb/high fat showed that more weight is lost on the high fat and lipid profiles improved at double the rate of the low fat. If you want the science behind it, here are my 3 favorite resources. "Why We Get Fat" by Gary Taubes "The Diabetes Solution" by Dr. Richard Bernstein "The Great Cholesterol Con" by Dr. Malcolm Kendrick .

First, it's not all about calories. Some people can lose weight just by decreasing their calories. For others, the type of calories make a difference. I don't know you or your particular situation and am just putting this out there as food for thought. If you are tracking your calories in something like fitday.com or livestrong.com and you are absolutely sure of what your daily intake is, then you're ahead of the game because you have a foundation for tweaking your diet until it works. Studies show that women lose weight better when they stay between 1000-1200 calories. Decreasing carbs to between 30-60 will speed up the weight loss and getting those carbs from green vegies only will speed it up more. Studies show a low carb, high fat diet will generate more weight loss and better lipid profiles than a low carb, low fat. Eat diet products may stall your weight loss...and you may even gain because they contain things like maltodextrin which creates an insulin response in the body. I'm sure a lot of people are tired of me talking about the insulin response but diabetes is becoming an epidemic in this country. I read an article recently that said they believe that 75% of overweight Americans are insulin resistant...which means the potential for diabetes is there. Hypoglycemia and insulin resistance are both precursors to diabetes and many people slide quietly from one to the other and on into diabetes without ever realizing it. They don't call it the silent killer for nothing. So, it's just something to keep in mind when you start asking why you aren't losing weight...or are gaining. Exercise, while good for you for any number of reasons, plays only a small part in *weight loss* (if any) if you're like the average person and work out for an hour a day. Obviously, the people who work out boot camp style for 2-4 hours per day 6-7 days a week will lose weight...but most people do not go this extreme so it really comes down to what you put in your mouth.

My surgeon had no problem with diet products or carbonated products but did warn that carbonation might be painful for some people. Personally, I've given up artificial sweeteners along with the sugar because I find the 'taste' is enough to get me craving. Sometimes it's not just because of the taste. Many of these sugar free products also contain maltodextrin which acts like a simple carbohydrate. Dr. Bernstein warns that this is a problem for people with metabolic disorders because they create an insulin response in the body. My guilty pleasure, however, is the Faygo pink grapefruit carbonated Water. No sweeteners, artificial or otherwise. .

I'm confused by those who say they want to lose more than 100% of their excess weight. What does that mean? To me, losing 100% of your excess weight means you are at your ideal weight...so losing more means you're now underweight. As much of a problem as being overweight.

I'm on a low carb (<30gm), moderate Protein (30%) and high fat (60%). Moderate protein vs high because excess protein can cause a glucogenic response similar to carbohydrates. For someone with a compromised metabolic system, that can be a problem. I eat just about any type of protein and green vegies. No starches, fruits or grains. .