Betsyjane

Party at La Villa! BikerGrammy, I hope you're OK! Looking forward to the story. I'm looking for some lazy meals...Open to suggestions. Seems like lately, I grab a grilled chicken salad from a fast food place, and nurse it over several meals. I don't do dressing or croutons...so I'm getting Protein and greens, but no colorful veges or anything else when I do it. Looking for more lazy stuff!

I'm looking forward to Monday! La Villa Atasoccita or Olive Garden Humble? I vote LA Villa, but I'll be there either way. Appropos of nothing, my 90 year old mother, who was in rehab for a broken hip, had a stroke. It is an amazing thing to watch a brain mend! The first day, she was unable to speak or move any of her limbs. The second day she could move to get comfortable, but not in response to requests...like "squeeze my hand", and she said a couple of words, but you could tell she was totally confused. The third day, she talked and moved at will, but was totally hallucinating and delusional. By the end of day 5, she was 99% herself mentally, and back at rehab working on walking on her broken hip. And she comes home on the 12th of this month. That's just downright amazing.

They carry Sweet Leaf in my Krogers in with the supplements.

Are you drinking within 90 minutes after you eat? Any possibility you are washing the food through the band? Both sugar and atrificial sweeteners can raise blood sugar and then cause it to crash and give you horrible food cravings. Can you think though Water with lemon juice or some such thing without any sweetener to it and observe your hunger for a few days? Think about this...if you can't eat any meat, maybe a slight unfill is necessary so you can get the right foods in that help you stay full. Have you looked at lifestyle issues? I don't care if I just ate a cow, I am triggered by boredom. The minute I sit down to watch TV, I want nonstop food. I've had to white knuckle it at times. Mostly though when I get a craving at TV, I pick up a bottle of water, or a start stretching and mildly exercising while I watch. Sometimes I just have to stand up and watch for awhile until the habit passes. Same with sitting at my computer, although that one has pretty well faded away now. For me, the band was a lot like quitting smoking ages ago...what to do when I'm used to moving my hand to my mouth all the time..... Don't throw in the towel. There are lots of things to think about and try to develop a good relationhip with your band. Let's keep brainstorming.

Stevia hasn't been approved by the FDA as a sweetener, so it would be hard for companies to know how to advertise it in a protein drink, I guess. It's just a dried leaf. I really like the taste...no bitter aftertaste of artificial sweeteners. I've also heard that it doesn't raise your blood sugar like other artificial sweeteners, but I haven't seen any studies. They have little packets you can carry in your purse too. Last summer I bought a stevia plant, to grow my own. But it wasn's a very strong plant or I did something wrong. I'd like to try it again. Got it from one of those nursery catalogs.

I've decided I like Kohl's. They have so darned much stuff that I get to try on all sorts of sillouettes to see what looks good on this body. And I can buy a sack of stuff without spending much....since I hope to shrink out of this size too..... I usderstand they have a half price sale Wed and Thurs. I never even knew they existed until recently, but I'm pleased....except for that new Vera Wang stuff (which is why I went). It's pretty darned blah!

Okey dokey...Let's get serious here. How about Wednesday at 6 at La Villa? If not how about next Monday at 5:30 at La Villa.

Are we meeting tonight? I have a dog leaving around 5:30, so I can get there after that.....and I'm hankering for La Villa but am open. Otherwise, I'd vote for next Monday.

Come join us even if you aren't on solids! We talk more than we eat..... Welcome.

It's tough between hormone changes...your body wanting to only expend energy to grow a baby...not having your regular meds.... From what I know about Prozac, sometimes the dose has to be built up until it's at the best dose. Well, whatever your Dr. says, this is me giving you a huge hug, mama-to-be.

There are times when I can't see my weight loss, so I have to take pictures to tell myself what my body looks like. How weird is that! Anybody else need a scale or a picture to show what's there...or not there?

I'm going to have to miss tonight. Mom's in the hospital so I had pushed dog comings and goings to later, after my visit to her. I'll miss everybody. Sniff.

The side shot is a great idea. It really shows your success. But.....is that a before or after shot of your toenail polish? 6PM is fine with me. I don't care where. I'm uninspired......

I am diabetic and get the runs and other effects from too much artificial sweetener. Check with the Dr for ideas.....I sometimes buy Any Whey from GNC...It's protein with NO flavor/sweeteners. I sprinkle it on food and get my protein that way. That way breakfast can even be a hearty blended soup or something else instead of shakes. But truly, check with the Dr.

Hey Jodie...How's pregnant life treating you? Hope all is well.

I've been told to average 30%. I wouldn't have DARED eat ice cream in my first 8 months banded, but now I know that if I do, I need to cut back on fat/calories...amd put in extra time in the gym. I don't feel deprived, but I do know there are consequences. It's just that with the band, I can actually carry all this stuff out and actually succeed. A first for me! If you love salad dressing THAT much...it might be interessting to think about what you will eat in a day as a bandster and see how you might need to tweek it to get that salad dressing and rebalance a few other things.

It's an interesting issue. I've talked with bandsters who do their loss by the band's portion control only. I've talked with folks who believe banding whould also include a diet...I've met vegetarian bandsters.....Especially after about 8 months of banding, there's a lot of variety in bandsters. I've personally developed a very strict healthy diet when I'm at home, and whenever I eat out, I allow myself whatever, and rely on portion control alone. I'm happy with that. Here's what I believe: 1. At the beginning follow whatever your doctor says. You will have lots of adjusting to do in your new life, and it is best to follow the program, at the very least until you get your bearings, good restriction, etc. 2. Weight loss is usually faster during the first year of banding, so it's a good idea to optimize your weight loss, building in an exercise lifestyle and as strict a regime as you can. 3. If you're comfy with Atkins, that's great! Eat your protein and your vege and then other things if you have room. It's the way to get enough protein. But remember that being banded doesn't mean a steak won't clog your arteries. So to the extent that you are in this for health, think about building in lower fat protein sources. Frankly, your band may help you....some of your foods that you used to love may not be interesting after banding. I used to love shrimp, but I'm one of those people who can't get it through the band well...some can and some can't....and shrimp just became a food that wasn't worth the effort. And oddly, I don't miss shrimp. Think about it this way....If you eat according to plan, and you want to lose between .5 and 2 pounds a week, you may find that you count calories and as weight loss stops, you may drop your calorie intake by 100-200 calories to accomplish it...or you may count fat intake and keep it under a certain level. I found whenever I hit a plateau, I counted protein, calories, and fat intake for 3 days and it gave me a wakeup call about what I had allowed to sneak back into my mouth. We obese have been good at deceiving ourselves about what we eat! I guess the bottom line is that it's a long haul journey and not a sprint, and you'll evolve through many stages based on everything from persanal preference to weight loss goals...so at first as a newbie, follow your doc. Enjoy the learning curve!

Yeah. I had that too. I was always shocked to see how big I was in pictures.... I guess we're kin to anorexics who can't see their thinness.....

The other weird thing is that sometimes I can look in the mirror and not see the weight loss. I'm game for anytime. Monday 5:30PM?

The odd thing is that there are times when I can look i the mirror and not see the loss. Weird. Does that happen to you?

The funny thing is a lot of times, I can look in the mirror and not see the loss......

For some reason I lost my butt first....

Thanks. One advantage of weight loss is that my eyes show again!

On my way home....

Pre-band me