Oberhasli

I'll GLADLY swap the sea of white for the ocean! Maybe we can start a new reality show called "Band Swap". <G> I'll come there and you can come here to the frozen tundra. The workouts are going, although I'm not so sure I'd call it well. And having a pre-senior moment, I totally forgot that Survivor is on Thursdays so missed it tonight. Guess I'll have to watch it on online as I'm a Survivor addict. May have to adjust my days. Tom

Last time I got a vicarious thrill, I almost got arrested. :omg: I have a lovely ocean of white. And hills of white. And flat land of white. Except where the dogs peed, and then it's yellow! Tom

I'm here. The last few days have been eventful weather-wise. During the day Tuesday, we got close to 15" of snow. The county a couple miles away had blizzard warnings. Yesterday we had the highest level of snow emergency they call which means only essential vehicles are permitted on the road. Tuesday late afternoon, my water froze (second time in a week). At 2:30 AM, I was crawling under the house and putting a space heater by the water intake. It worked as around 3:15 AM, the water broke loose. Yesterday afternoon, I finally got someone here to plow the driveway which is 300'+. My ex-wife ran out of hay and couldn't get out so I had to take her a few bales. I did find that carrying a bale of hay 100'+ through 15" of snow is a GREAT workout. The bad news is the last two days I've kind of sat around and ate my "bon-bons". (Fortunately, I didn't have any in the house but I tended to graze my way through the days since I couldn't do anything else.) Went out with a friend last night for dinner. There wasn't much open so choices were limited. We went to a upscale dinner/sports bar kind of place. NOTHING on the menu sounded good but I finally ordered the club sandwich which was served on a bun figuring I could easily eat just the meat and had a side of vegetable medley. I made sure I specified the sandwich to have no onion and verified the vegetables had none as I am allergic and made sure the waitress knew the reason. Sandwich arrived with red onion hanging out of the sandwich. Sent it back. My friend had ordered a chicken sandwich and got a hamburger which was WAY overcooked. Sent it back too. Got my sandwich, too a small bite of the vegetables and notice small pieces of onion throughout so I told her to just take it away. (I got two bites of the sandwich before it got lodged and I had to excuse myself to dislodge it. I figured it would have actual roast beef and turkey, not cheap lunch meat.) They made a big deal out of the fact that they took my sandwich off the check but did offer complimentary desserts. I just told the waitress I don't eat dessert but she kept offering. My friend had triamasu but after several bites found a hair in the whipped cream. An end to an an already not great day! Back to work today.:cry And tonight is workout night.:cry :cry :cry :cry :cry :cry (Yeah, I still don't like it but do make myself do it.) Tom

Did anyone else notice? November Bandsters are now in Onederland! Conniesueb's post was the first post on page 100!!! Tom

Just remember by offer of "working out". :kiss2: Getting out of a toxic relationship can be difficult but it can also be the best thing for you. My ex and I separated after almost 21 years of marriage but we're both much happier single. We were friends for 7 years before we married and are back to being friends again. That was NOT the case the last few years of the marriage. BTW, another NSV for me. I decided my slacks were getting just too lose. (I always bought belts that had holes all the way around as I would fluctuate before banding.) Not only did I need a smaller size, I needed a pair *2* sizes smaller. They're a bit tight but since I have at last 25 pounds more to lose, I'd prefer a bit snug now. I'm now in my upper goal size so maybe I will get down to a 36 waist. (My goal was at least a 38. At my highest, I was in a 48. Last Christmas, I was in a 46 waist.) I may have to shoot for a bit lower weight as I don't think I'm going to be where I want to ultimately be in 25 pounds (that would put me at 225 - I'm 6'3"). We'll see. Now, to get motivated and hit the gym before I go to work today. It's only open a few hours on Saturday and will be closed when I get off so I have to go before if I want to get it in and I've only been once this week due to my work schedule and the hours its open. Tom

PRBrooksie, I don't think anyone meant to offend you but all of us experience different things in life. Using the collective experiences and finding the answer or combination of answers that work for you is the key. Everyone of us is an individual that shares the common bond of being overweight AND trying to do something about it. Food *IS* a drug. And in some ways far worse than drugs or alcohol as those you can opt to avoid. Ask any professional and they'll tell you an alcoholic should not touch a drop. Unfortunately, a "foodalholic" doesn't have that option making it a much harder addiction to kick. You have to have food. The key is eating in moderation. (A drunk doesn't get to drink in moderation!) Mental health, and I'm not talking about being "nuts", is key. YOU have to have confidence in your ability and stop beating yourself up. No one else is going to be as big of an advocate for your success than you are yourself. You may need some help in changing your outlook. Once your start with that, the rest may become much easier. Tom

You're absolutely right, Kelley. While I was happy to see the scale go down by a big amount, it was NOT the way to lose weight. I've had weeks where I'm up a bit. That's life. As long as overall my weight is going down, even by a little bit, I'm making progress. I didn't put it on overnight and don't expect that it will come off overnight. While one doesn't need to be "the biggest loser" we can all be winners by being losers! Remember 1 pound a week is GREAT. November 1 was 14 weeks from yesterday. That means anyone here that's lost at least 14 pounds is doing great and if you were banded towards the end of November 10 pounds is right on track. Tom

One of the things I had to do before they would band me is go through a psychological evaluation to make sure there wasn't a psychological component to overeating. One of the concerns is that if you eat as a coping mechanism, when you remove the ability to do that, you can no longer cope. My family doctor said the 3 patients of his to have the gastric bypass are all in therapy and heavily medicated now. You've GOT to handle the reason for the overeating. The band isn't going to stop the desire, just make it much more difficult to do. Granted I live alone so it's much easier, but remove the temptations from the environment. If you don't have nachos in the house, you're not going to be able to eat them. If the Hagen Daaz isn't in the freezer, you can't have a bowl. I've found that fixing only the amount of food for one meal is better than trying to fix several meals at a time. Once I've eaten the appropriate amount of food, it becomes an effort to have more as I'd have to cook more. In addition to continually drinking water, I also suck on sugar-free hard candy and chew LOTS of gum. It gives me something in my mouth to chew on without lots of calories. I was fortunate that I didn't eat as an emotional response. I rarely snacked but ate LARGE meals. The band helps in that I can't eat large meals. But you've got to handle the emotion before you can stop the reaction to it. And please, don't forget to acknowledge your accomplishments, even if they're small. Go back to the basics. Right down EVERYTHING you put in your mouth. Just knowing you have to list it can help to at least make you think before doing it. I worked with a dietician at my local hospital for my weight management program pre-surgery and it didn't cost a thing. Once a week I took my food log in, she reviewed it and weighed me. I worked through the LEARN program but probably what helped the most was knowing she would be reviewing my food log. Tom

Due to frozen pipes, I didn't make it to work on Monday. I went to the fitness center last night and did my 2 sets of 12 on 5 different lower body weight machines. I did 15 minutes on the recumbant bike. (Was suppose to do 30 minutes but one must walk before they run. And if I did 30 minutes, I'm sure I wouldn't be walking! :faint: ) I also weighed myself. (There's a scale in the locker room.) Not believing it, when I left I stopped at the nurse's station and weighed again as that is the scale I had been using. Having too much fill and not eating for almost 4 days makes a HUGE impact on the amount of weight loss. I was down 12 pounds from the previous Monday at the doctor's office. In the past, the nurse's scale has been within a pound or two of the doctor's fancy digital scale. Today is my 3 month annivesary from getting the band and I'm down 40 pounds! The "readjusted" second fill is doing it's job. I heat a bit over a cup of food and am full. I REALLY need to be more careful on the eating slow as I find myself often having stuck food and needing to bring it up to relieve the pain. Fortunately, I've always been able to puke on command (hey, we all need talents of some sort <G>) but it still is inconvenient when in public. I don't have a specific weight goal per se, but 225 was my and my doctor's range. I've got 25 pounds to go!!! Not sure I'll be in the size slack I want with just another 25 pounds so may have a bit more but I'm making progress. Tom

The protein bars are a good source of protein but really watch the calories on them. You may try incorporating more dairy products through fat-free milk, fat-free yogurt and fat-free cottage cheese. I can usually tolerate lean ground-beef (either grilled or crumbled and browned with grease drained), especially if in a soup. 1-2 ounces of meat in a 1/2 cup of fat-free milk, a bit of low-fat cheese and some vegetables makes a decent soup. You might try adding some more, and varied, vegetables. I see no fruit. Those can be incorporated by mixing in a protein shake, which can also give you more dairy if made with the fat-free milk. Fruit as is can be good too. Fruit in sugar-free jello works. Sugar-free pudding made with fat-free milk is decent. Peanut butter is a great source of protein, just watch the serving size and it is not low calorie. HTH, Tom

Here's what I might have on a typical day: 4-6 oz. Spicy V8 juice 1 pouched egg with a tablespoon of shredded low fat cheese 1/4 bagel with 1/4 teaspoon of low-fat margarine 1/2 cup of no-fat cottage cheese 1/2 cup of fruit (strawberries, mixed berries, banana, etc.) (Above is spread out from 6:00 AM - 9:00 AM) 1 cup mixed salad greens 1/4 cup chopped vegetables (carrot, broccoli, cauliflower, cucumber) 1 small Roma tomato 2 oz of low fat meat (shrimp, tuna, crab meat, chicken) 1 tablespoon low-fat dressing (Above is eaten around 11:15) 7 oz sippable yogurt smoothie (~2:00) 1 South Beach meal replacement bar (~4:00) 2 ounces of low fat meat (see above) 1/2 cup mixed vegetables (frozen) 1/2 cup no-fat skim milk 1 tablespoon shredded low fat cheese (above is eaten as a soup ~ 8:00) 1/2 cup no-fat skim milk 1/2 cup protein powder 1/2 cup fruit (see above) (above eated as a milk shake ~10:00) :hungry:

The band isn't going to make you lose weight. Eating less (and exercising more!) will. If your friend is able to consume a comparable amount of calories she's going to lose a comparable amount of weight. Most of us, though, have tried to do that many, many times before and found that we could not sustain long-term reduction of food. If we could, we wouldn't be on this forum! We're all individuals here as are our "unbanded" friends. Don't compare too much to others. Each of us have successes and set backs. (Welcome to life! :faint: ) What works for one person may not for the next. All we can do is share what is and is not working and hopefully it helps someone else. It may be that you have to modify what works for someone else. And again, don't forget to reward yourself (a non-food reward) for what you have done. I think everybody here weighs less than they did before they got the band. That's a good thing. Keep up the work. Some may lose 5-6 pounds a week, some may lose .5-1. But losing is a good thing! Tom

Vikki, the 1250 would be a rough guide just based on your weight. A more accurate measure would be using your weight, height and age. (If your provide them, I'll calculate it if math isn't your thing.) Other, more healthy sources of carbs are whole-grain pastas or brown rice. I'll often include them in Soups to give some umph. In moderation, of course. The food diary is great way of keeping yourself on track. When I did the pre-surgery "diet" to qualify, I was afraid if I put a "less than ideal" food choice down, I'd have to face the wrath of the dietician. It was enough to make me think twice before opening that bag of salt and vinegar chips. Tom

We need to all listen to our own doctors but most fitness related people suggest for "normal" people to eat more frequently (every 3-4 hours) to keep the body fueled. With a restricted stomach size, that would become even more important as what you have left isn't large enough to consume adequate calories to properly fuel the body. You're body is going to better utilize 250 calories 5 times a day than it is 418 calores three times a day. And you won't stretch your new smaller stomach as much! Tom

Peanut Butter is a good source of protein but should be used limitedly because of the higher fat and calorie content. One of my favorite shakes is 1/2 cup fat free milk, 1/2 scoop of Protein Powder, 1/2 banana, 1/2-1 tablespoon peanut butter (depends on how I feel and how much other fat/calories I've had) and a handful of ice cubes. I sometimes substitue the peanut butter and ice for frozen strawberries (or other fruit) and add a bit of Splenda for sweetness. You can add protein powder and non-fat dried milk to pudding mix and up the protein of your pudding too. Melted peanut butter drizzled on top of sugar-free white chocolate "enhanced" pudding is yummy. Tom

Vikki, I'm not a dietician nor do I play one on TV so take this for what's it worth. I'd suggest you eat a more balanced diet with a focus on protein. Carbs are not horrible things. You're body needs those too. From a weight standpoint, a calorie is a calorie is a calorie. You can eat 1000 calories a day of fat or 1000 calories of protein but the end result is 1000 calories. (Kind of like the old joke of which is heavier, a ton of feathers or a ton of car parts? A ton is a ton!) Using the basic formula for calories needed, you're looking at around 2250 (10 calories per pound - you may want to try the other formula and get a more accurate figure) per day to maintain. If you're eating 1250 calories, you should be losing around 2 pounds per week. (Remember, as your weight drops, so does your calorie requirement.) Are you measuring your food and charting the actual calories and grams of protein? For me, recording everything I eat serves two purposes. One, it gives me a written record of exactly what I'm eating. An extra ounce here or there starts to add up. The other thing it does it makes me stop and think before I put something in my mouth. Do I really want to put that "treat" down? For me, I know when i actually go back to measuring, I often find that my "estimates" were a bit high meaning I was taking in more calories than I thought. The other thing you don't mention is exercise. Do MODERATE exercise too. That will not only raise the number of calories you burn from the actual exercise but tends to raise your metabolism too so you burn calories in general. Remember muscle does weigh more than fat so as you burn your fat and build more muscle (physilogically, it's impossible to turn the fat into muscle), the same mass will weigh more. HTH, Tom

I haven't noticed a big difference in my band throughout the day. Maybe I will with some more restriction. My usual breakfast is 1/2 cup of spicy V8 juice to start the day. A bit later on, I have a pouched egg with shredded low-fat cheese (bought a toaster on clearance for $8 that had an egg poacher thinking it was silly but now use it daily), 1/4 of a bagel with a very small dab of low-fat margarine, a 1/2 cup of fruit (strawberries, rasberries, bananna, etc.) and a 1/4 cup of no-fat cottage cheese. All is soft and I've had no problems in the past. Lunch is always a challenge as I leave for work by 11:15 and only get a fifteen minute break so try to eat something small before I leave. Often times, it's a salad with meat (chicken, shrimp, crab, turkey, etc.) or a soup with meat and vegetables. I do a yogurt smoothie and a protein bar at work since they're easy to eat at my desk. For dinner, I'll usually do 2 ounces of grilled meat (the leftover makes the soup) and either a vegetable or potato. Tom

I ate a cup of soup (pureed chicken, cauliflower, milk and low-fat cheese with whole-grain Pasta added but not pureed) with 6 wheat saltine crackers and it caused no major problems AND I felt full. Yippee! :clap2: The doctor did say that on my next visit (end of March), he'd put in, at most, 1/4 cc as clearly having 3 cc is too much for me. Tom

Well, I'm back from a quick visit to the doctor. As I suspected, I was overfilled. On Monday, when he did the adjustment, I was mostly laying down and he withdrew 1.5 cc out of the band. (First adjustment was 2 cc.) It appears that when he added, he didn't compensate for what was left in the band as today he withdrew just over 3 cc and I was suppose to be at 2.5 cc. I was in a more sitting position today which makes sense that it would drain better since the port is below the band. He put in 2.5 cc and I could tell the difference almost immediately. I took a drink of Water and it went through comfortably instead of making the horrible gurgling sound it was. I took a yogurt smoothie with me for the trip home. It took 15-20 minutes to get the 7 ounces down but I felt full but no pain and it seem to be going through nicely. YEAH! I've got pureed Soup on now but I added some whole-grain Pasta to give it just a bit of texture. Not quite ready for the filet mignon dinner but making progress. I should be ready to help on those exercise programs in a day or two. :heh: Tom

I'd be thrilled if I was still losing 2 pounds a week. I was struggling to do one pound. I'm sure I'm not feeling great because of the lack of nutrition. I'm trying to make sure what I do get is very high protein. That's why I make my protein shake using milk, protein powder and Peanut Butter. Each shake (made with 4 oz of fat-free milk) has over 20 grams of protein. The peanut butter, of course, raises the calories but right now, that's not an entirely bad think. Tom

It was on self-control not "band" control. I was continually hungry and found myself slowing eating more and more. I could have a small salad, 2 ounces of grilled meat and 1/2 cup of vegetables and not be satisifed. I refused to eat more but felt hungry after. I'm not at all unhappy with a 2 pound per week weight loss but was doing 3+ at my last appoint 6 weeks ago. The last 6 weeks have been a pound or less so while the average is still better than expected, the amount is decreasing rapidly. He was going to go between 2.5 and 3 on the fill but at 2.5 said he was getting too much resistance to do anything else and I could feel it get MUCH tighter right as he said he's at 2.5. I can't believe .5 cc would make that much difference but it might. The problem is that I'm now weak from not eating. I've never handled not eating well and even have less "cushion" than before. Guess the offer of the "exercise" program will have to wait until my strength is back. :sick Tom

I'm beginning to wonder if I might not be overfilled. I supposedly only have 2.5 cc in a 4 cc band but wonder if he didn't miscalculate. He put 4 cc in a syringe, removed 1.5 cc (leaving .5 cc) and then added. I'm not sure he compensated for what was already in the band and/or did the bath correct because he got quite a bit of resistance at what he said was 2.5 cc. I've had several minor stuck issues since then. Even when I drink liquid, there's lots of gurgling as it works it's way through. I know I need to go slow but it takes 45+ minutes to drink a protein shake made with 1/2 cup of skim milk, 1/2 scoop of protein powder, 1/2 bananna, 1 tablespoon of peanut butter and a 1/2 cup of frozen strawberries. I certainly feel full VERY quickly just wonder if I may not have too much fill. Even a poached egg didn't go down and I had to bring it back up. I'm probably not consuming 1/2 of what I did before this fill and have zero energy. I get light-headed every time I stand up. I realize I was eating more before the fill than was ideal although I've maintained a 2 pound per week average weight loss so OK there. Tom

My goats are expected to pay for themselves. I tell them how much money they earn through breeding sales and shows determines whether they eat grass or alfalfa! I've heard of Alexander Farms. They're relatively new on the block. We've been doing the goat thing for a long, long time. Before that we showed dogs and while in high school, I played with horses. What would life be without our critters? My older Aussie had an intestinal thing last week through a couple of days ago. Now the Aussie puppy seems to have gotten it. I wonder how many calories are burned scrubbing carpets? <sigh> Tom

What the heck, bring your husband too! (Hmmm. I don't remember seeing that on the calorie burning chart but certainly that would have to increase the number of calories burned.) Where I travel greatly depends on what shows ask me to judge. County fairs don't usually fly in judges due to expenses. I've judged a few shows in California and have judged in Idaho but none were fairs. State fairs typically have bigger budgets and bring in judges from out of the area but often times county fairs try to hire more local judges due to expenses. I haven't accepted as many assignments this year since I'm living alone and have the animals to worry about. When I'm gone, they'll still need care and finding responsible people to care for them is a challenge. My ex will come up and help (and I'll help with hers) but that would get very old if I were gone every weekend. Tom

Actually, my ex and I have Nigerian Dwarves. (The NDs are hers. The Oberhasli are mine.) We have one of the more successful ND herds in the country and have raised them since almost the beginning. Not sure how into the breed you are, but the herd name is Buttin'Heads. I've thought about the gigolo thing but there's the whole disease issue. Really would prefer a sugar mommy (hell, I'd take a sugar daddy at this point if he's really rich and really old <G>). Tom