RedSox90

I eat an english muffin with peanut butter almost every morning. It keeps me full all day and is delicious!

Hi! I'm live about twenty minutes outside of Boston and I too was banded at the BI! I had Dr. Jones as my surgeon and so far my experience has been really positive. I was banded October 5 and have since lost about 80 pounds!!!!! =) How was your experience? Have you had a fill yet?

i am from boston, and they stock weight watchers bread in all the local supermarkets. stop and shop has the widest stock, but i don;t know if that chain extends down south. weight watchers is relatively inexpensive too for "diet" bread. that and the "Fiber One" brand of bread are the best. if you can't find it at the supermarket, maybe you could try online? it could be worth it.

the post about the Beans got me hungry! haha, i posted a link to this awesome rachel ray recipe. its so easy and its delicious. i eat it plain, and its an excellent source of Protein. you can spicen it up with any types of seasonings you like. i love it! Black Bean and Corn salad Recipe : Rachael Ray : food Network

congratualtions at being 6 pounds from goal!!!!!! that's incredible! you should be so proud of yourself! post pictures, stat!!!! i love seeing the before and after pics. =) we all have to think about what we are doing and what we have done, how far we've come! sometimes i get caught up in the day to day (oh no! i gained a pound! oh no, I haven't lost a pound in a few days...) but when it comes down to it, we are all fighting the good fight and winning! and i also love the "eat this, not that" guides! womenshealth.com sends me one every morning in different categories. if you guys are interested in those lists, i definitely recommend signing up for that mailing list. they can be really helpful, and also help you when ordering at restaurants. i love that this group exists! i feel like now i have people who know what i am going through at school! =)

i like weight watchers whole wheat bread. it's 90 calories for 2 slices, and you can't do much better than that.

I am in my second year of college, too! I am really lucky because although I eat at the dining common, the nutritional information (calories, Protein numbers, carbs) are posted above every food served, so I know exactly what it is I am putting in my mouth. I track what I eat kind of obsessively, but that helps me keep myself in line. Not to mention its helpful to look back and see what I was eating when I was losing a lot, compared to what I eat when I plateau. I weigh myself every day and log it into a website, so I can keep track of how much weight I am losing (or not losing, as the case has been recently). And I go to the gym every day. We're lucky because we're in college and probably have more time to spare than people who are working 9-5 jobs with babies to take care of at home. We can go to the gym for an hour or two and not feel the crunch of time. As far as tips for eating out goes, I always look the restaurants menu up online before I go. Too frequently in the past I've ordered a meal that I thought was healthy (oh? a strawberry-walnut salad? sounds healthy!) only to realize later it was like 1100 calories. Go to the restaurant prepared, knowing exactly what you are going to get. Also, remember you can ask for half-portions. I don;t think I would have the guts to do this, so I just ask for a box at the beginning of the meal to divide my plate into. If anyone asks questions, just say you need a lunch for tomorrow! It's a strange experience being in college with the band, and it made me so happy to see this post and realize there were other people out there! Don't you guys hate the girls who get ice cream every night at the dining commons and are still pin-thin! Agh! It's hard.

i drink water when i eat all the time. it's no big deal, and i don't think it makes a difference in "feeling full" in the long run.

I stopped eating meat after my lap band surgery because meat would always get stuck and make me feel sick. Every morning I have a Fiber one english muffin with Peanut Butter. I find the peanut butter really "sticks to your ribs" and keeps me full all morning. For lunch I might have so Kashi Cereal mixed with a non-fat yogurt (there's Protein in both the Kashi cereal and the yogurt). And for dinner I will make a salad with some vinegar/low-cal dressing with some cottage cheese on top. Other vegetarian things that keep me full: A toasted pita with hummus Bananas, apples, pears and other high-fiber fruits Granola bars oatmeal Popcorn (I've never had a stuck issue with popcorn, although I know a lot of bandsters have) Whole grain Pasta with marinara sauce Steamed veggies Brown Rice I would say if you are a big bread person, definitely convert to whole grains. If the first ingredient on the label reads "whole" - like "whole wheat flour" - then its a whole grain. It makes a world of difference in keeping you fuller for longer.

I don't think anorexia is an uncommon disease for lap band patients. Before I was banded, my surgeon was going over all the knitty gritties with me and one of the things he mentioned was anorexia. He said that anorexia is one of scenarios in which the team would have to remove the lap band. When a patient develops anorexia, the doctors try to convince them to remove the band. If you take away their tool to not eat, my surgeon explained, they may have to start eating again, if only out of shear hunger. Of course, there are complications with this solution, the foremost being convincing your sister to go in for surgery to remove her band. And especially where you said her band has never been filled, the band is probably not giving her much restriction anyway. So taking it out may not solve matters. But you should know that your sister in law isn't the first lap-band patient to acquire this disease. She and your family are not alone. I hope she gets better, and I think you are doing a great thing by trying to help her.

I'd love in on this! I'm around 188 now, and would love to lose 20 pounds by Easter. That would put me in at 168. =)

I had a goal of 193. For the first few weeks, I thought there was no way I was going to lose it. And then I dropped like ten pounds in a week! It's funny how the body does that, huh? Now I am down to 187 and feeling really good. I might be single, but it's still a good Valentine's Day! :smile: Congrats to everyone on this board! I know a lot of people made (and surpassed) their goals, but for those who didn't, don't worry about it! You lost something! The weight we lost during this challenge is weight we never have to see again! I can't wait for the Easter Challenge!