cbreeden28

I agree with Missy. My weight fluctuates 3-4 pounds everyday. It's usually due to Water retention. That is why I am trying to get away from weighing everyday. It isn't a good measure of weight loss. Once a week is plenty. However, it usually does correct itself. You can help by drinking lots of water and keep up with the exercising. That will help you body let go of the excess water. Also, 20 pounds in 1 month is AMAZING!! You should be proud of that!! Your body is basically a machine and sometimes, it has to recalibrate itself. So, after loosing that much weight, your body is rebooting and moving stuff around. That can cause a temporary weight gain. I seriously doubt you gained 3 pounds of fat. It's probably just your body readjusting. Mine has done it numerous times throughout my weight loss. I will gain 5 pounds one week and the next, it's all gone plus 2 pounds. It's completely normal and nothing to fret over. Just keep doing what you are doing and it will correct itself. Again, big congrats on getting back on track and with the 20 pounds. It makes my little 5 pound/month weight loss seem petty. LOL Best of luck to you!!

I love soup. I eat it for lunch quite often. My trick is that I drain the broth as I eat it and after all the veggies and meat are gone, I throw the broth out. You get a little bit on your spoon as you eat, but not much. It also keeps me full for 3-4 hours. I usually eat the Progresso light or reduced sodium soups. They are usually between 200-230 calories for the whole can and about 15g of Protein. I don't think I could do the grilled cheese though. I have tried it several times and it just doesn't go down for me, but everyone is different. Trial and error is the only way to find out what works for you. But, I would limit it to half a sandwich. Grilled cheese sandwiches are high in calories and fat. It's all about portions. I don't limit any food in my diet (except those items I don't tolerate well), I just watch my portions and make sure I don't eat 3-4 servings of something. I think that is the key to weight loss. That was what I got the band for.

I do the same thing. If I want something sweet, I eat it. Just in much smaller portions than before. For example, I keep chocolate covered peanuts and Milano cookies at home. When I want something sweet, I get 2 peanuts or 1 cookie. It satisfies the craving and I haven't destroyed my day. It is unrealisitc to think you will never eat sweets ever again. My aunt is getting married in October and I fully intend on having some wedding cake.

I think about this all the time. For the most part, I'm very good with what I eat. But, sometimes, I just to want to eat without thinking and worrying about every bite that goes into my mouth. I'm always scared I'm going to get stuck and going out to eat now has starting causing anxiety attacks because I know I will get stuck everytime and end up making excuses to go to the bathroom praying that there isn't a line. I have also started hiding my stuck episodes from my husband because he gets so angry about my decision to get banded due to my constant habit of getting stuck. I'm having a horrible time wrapping my head around the small bite thing. I just can't seem to force myself to take small bites. I'm just so freakin hungry, I want food and I want the hunger pains to go away. But then, I get stuck and that causes a whole new type of pain. I never dreamed it would be this way and there are days I wish I could just get the damn thing taken out and eat normal again. I have been trying to eat my lunch at work for over an hour now and every bite is causing discomfort and I have to wait like 10 minutes for it to pass. It's just so frustrating. I wanted something to help me feel full quicker and eat less, not something that causes issues and pain when eating anything!!

We have on-site health screenings at work each year. They test our cholesterol, glucose, and triglyerides levels every year. 2 years ago (non-fasting): Weight--317 TC--170 HDL--57 LDL--76 Ratio--3.0 Triglyc--183 Glucose--134 1 year ago (non-fasting): 1 week before surgery... Weight--289 TC--145 HDL--26 LDL--94 Ratio--5.5 Triglyc--123 Glucose--120 3 days ago (non-fasting): Weight--220 TC--132 HDL--30 LDL--70 Ratio--4.4 Triglyc--161 Glucose--?? Why is my HDL level staying so low with a healthy diet of good fats and exercising?? My total cholesterol has gone down, but the HDL went down LDL is staying around the same. Everyone says to lose weight in order to improve HDL levels. Well, I have lost 106 pounds since starting my journey, but I don't see much improvement in my blood work numbers. I wonder if I should have it retested by my doctor's office.

I just recently joined the 100 pounds lost group and it feels amazing. I have also stumbled through some plateau's. Weeks would go by where I wouldn't lose anything and then I would gain a pound or two. Then the next week, I would lose like 4 pounds. For example, last week, I weighed 222. Over the weekend, I had high sodium days and when I went in for my checkup on Tuesday, I was 225. That was only 1 pound less than I was a month ago. My PA gave me a slight fill and today (4 days later mind you), I'm 220. Weight fluctuates so much. I try and only weigh once a week for this reason, but it can still be deceptive. This fill seems to be working really well. I'm getting satisfied on about 3/4 cup of food and don't feel the need to snack between meals. I started this journey in April 2011 weighing 326 wearing a 26 pants. Today, I weight 220 and wearing a 18. I can't wait to get to goal. I hope to get in a size 8/10. I have NEVER been that small.

I would make an appt to see your doctor. That does not sound good. You shouldn't have pain when drinking liquids. Just a slight unfill might help you.

You are not crazy. I'm the same way. I'm coming up on my 1 year anniversary (10/10) and I had my last fill in July (skipped August). I have between 3 and 4cc's in my band. My stomach is very senstive and I can't handle large fills. Anyways, one day, I can eat whatever I want, as much as I want (though I don't), and others, everything gets stuck. I have even gotten stuck on a protein shake one day. Tell me how that's possible?? But, what I have found is that the more liquid you drink between meals, the more flexible your band is. On day's I don't drink enough water, I'm very tight and get stuck a lot. Other days where I drink all day long, I'm comfortable and loose. That's how I prefer to be. I go tomorrow for my Sept checkup. Not sure if I will get a fill or not. I'm still loosing, but it has slowed. Good luck.

I have found the same to be true. I was eating 1000-1200 a day per my nutritionist, but I was constantly starving. I upped it to around 1400 and I started losing more steadily and wasn't so hungry. Each person is different and you have to experiment with calories to see what you can consume and still lose. I figure there is no reason to make myself miserable just to lose weight. I also fluxate my daily calories everyday to keep my body guessing. Some days, I will do only 1100 calories and the next, I will do 1500. I think this keeps the metabolism hopping because it doesn't know what's coming next. I also allow myself cheat days about once a month. This involves some food that is on my "naughty" list. Such as ice cream, Cookies, chocolate, chips, french fries, etc. Just having one of these foods once a month has not sabotaged my weight loss, but it does keep cravings at bay and helps me to avoid binging due to stict restrictions against them on a daily basis.

I'm from the Harrisonburg area. I was banded in Oct 2011. I have a very sensitive band and stomach and was not able to tolerate my PA's initial fill of 3cc's. She ended up taking 1cc out before I left the office because Water got stuck. At this point, she only gives me fills in small increments (.2-.5cc's). Some days, I have a hard time sticking to the plan, but overall, I have remained on the bandwagon and feel like I have succeeded in this journey. I'm currently in the green zone and 1 cup of food keeps me full for 3-4 hours. I focus on Protein meals/snacks. My biggest points are avoiding caloric bevarages, sweets, potatoes, and fried foods. My staple foods are chicken, lean beef and pork, cheese, cottage cheese, greek yogurt, Protein Bars, eggs, nuts, and milk. I wish everyone the best of luck and remember that it's a marathon, not a sprint. Like others, I've dealt with small gains here and there, but as long as my overall number is a downward trend, I don't let it worry me.

I just got my 9th fill and I'm in the green zone now. However, you will sometimes go in and out of the green zone. I have. My stomach is also very sensitive fills and I have gotten multiple small fills rather than inital large ones. Everyone is unique and different with number of fills to green zone.

1) Take part in more water sports at the lake (we have a motorboat), like skiing or kneeboarding. I can't right now because I'm too heavy. 2) Buy regular size jeans in the regular ladies section 3) Cross my legs 4) Be healthy and a good role model to my 2 year old 5) Enjoy the way I look and have fun on vacation without worrying about my weight all the time. 6) Having a real "baby bump" with my next pregnancy. WIth my son, you couldn't even tell I was preggers. I just looked more fat.

I agree with you Bama that fat does equal energy. However, our bodies aren't going to automatically burn that fat to use as energy when it isn't getting enough from food. It will target our muscles because it's easier to burn than the fat. Plus, it will slow your metabolism down to a crawl. If our bodies would burn the fat when we don't eat enough to maintain our bodily functions, than starvation diets would work. If we wouldn't eat anything, our bodies would just burn the fat for energy, but it doesn't. That is why I'm a huge advocate for maintaining at least a 1200 cal/day diet. That should be enough to keep your muscles maintained and your metabolism up so that it can burn the fat for the extra energy you may need.

I don't buy into the "having energy and being happy on less than 1000 cals a day" theory. Myself, when I eat less than 1000 calories, I'm grumpy, hungry, miserable, and irritable. I refuse to live life that way. For me, I'm comfortable with 1200 a day, I'm still loosing, and I'm not strict on what foods I eat, I just watch portion size. I do workout, but nothing vigorous. Usually, just a 30 minute walk is what I do. However, if you do plan on being very active and doing a lot of endurance exercise, I would say you probably should add a few low cal, high Protein Snacks to your diet in order to have energy and maintain muscle. If you are eating under 1000 calories (I couldn't imagine eating only 500 a day!!) and exercising heavily, your body will begin burning muscle for fuel. You don't want that. So, make sure you eat enough protein and cals for your exercise needs. I still go by MFP numbers and I'm loosing about 6-7 pounds a month. The band is just a tool to help me with portion size. That's all I needed it to do. I refuse to live my life constantly analyzing my food and worrying about what I'm eating. For me, that's no different than pre-band when I thought about food all the time and ate everything in site. My theory is, eat what you want, just watch portions (which the band helps with) and you will lose. But, make sure you are taking in enough calories to nurish and maintain your muscle. I would say absolutely no less than 1000 cals a day.