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Oh Heather, I forgot: I'm not a good example as I don't track things except when I need to get back on track. When I do track, I usually keep it 1000-1200 cals. I hardly get in any fruit now and that's something I need to work on (I love fruit). A typical day: B - 1/2 serv. reg. oatmeal w/1.5 T soy protein powder & 1T Benefiber added, topped with several squirts of SF maple syrup (I have this every morning) - About 3 cups of coffee before B L (about .75-1C total) - Almost always leftovers and I start w/about 3-4 oz. of protein (it's usually chicken or beef) - 1/2C of veggies or 1/4 C veggies and 1/4 C of another side (sometimes a starch like potatoes or rice) D (about 1- 1.25 C total, I'm allowed 1.5 C, but I almost never eat that much) - I eat whatever my family is having for dinner (DH is the chef) so pretty similar to what I had for lunch. -I do try to eat the protein first, I only take a small spoonful of the 'bad carbs' (he's 'Mr. Potato Head'), and I usually end my dinner with one SF Russell Stover's chocolate (I don't eat a lot of SF/diet foods at all, but I'm a chocoholic and I love these, so it gives me something to look forward to and I don't feel deprived of my beloved chocolate). -I do drink alcohol in moderation- usually only on the weekends (both wine and beer-which I pour so it gets a lot of bubbles out, and yes my doc allows this)...yes, it's probably slowed my WL some to drink calories, but it's a lifestyle for me, not another diet. -I have 'traded' some items out, but still feel like I eat 'normally', just a lot less...ie. we have tacos one night most weeks- always have; I used to eat 5 + spanish rice, now I have traded the hard shells for a soft low carb tortilla (I think they're wheat) and I spread Greek Yogurt (I've traded this for reg. yogurt and sour cream and love it) on it and add 1/2C meat and some of the reg. toppings. I usually have a hard time finishing a whole 1. I never feel deprived or hungry...hope something in there helps. Great WL this week...way to go!! Fingers crossed that fill works for you. -BG

Green I know I'm always popping in (and off) with advice and that must be pretty boring. But I have to concur with Gail regarding the pillows. If you prop yourself to a practically sitting position, it can work, but usually you wind up sliding down on one side or other and not truly having the head above the feet that you need. You need to be at a true slant, although it doesn't have to be so deep a slant that during your sleep you wind up falling off the foot of your bed. With acid reflux, the very best solution - and one that can change your life, big time - is to do what Gail suggested and raise the head of your bed. It is really the only long term answer, except of course for some drugs. I had to do the drugs and they didn't do as much for me as raising the head of our bed. Anyone who tells you that you can do it with pillows doesn't know what they're talking about. This from a woman who spent many a night sleeping sitting up in a recliner until the reflux calmed down. I don't blame you if you brush off the suggestion because I talk so much, but you can definitely trust me on this one. It's very important that you do it and get some relief. Btw, I'm sure I don't have to tell you that smoking really contributes to acid reflux. I see that your doc has told you about alcohol. What about chocolate? Yup that can too. The good news is that once you get it healed up nicely and learn what makes it worse, it isn't too difficult to take care of at all. Did your doc give you Prevacid or Prilosec? Very happy about your NSV with the restaurant prissy pot owner! Do the natives of Toronto treat fat people with as much disdain as the natives do in Montreal?

Widows Unite - Both my husbands are dead. I just found out last year, that my first boyfriend of (9years - he had commitment problems) was also dead. So every man I have ever loved is dead. What does that mean? Someone jokingly called me a Black Widow, I didn't think it was funny. In fact the thought has stayed with me, which isn't healthy. How have you moved on Carlene and Denise? I would love to have guy friends, but being a teacher for all these years I really didn't have that male contact. Yes, I raised my two 19 year old sons alone. It wasn't easy, but better than bringing men in and out of their lives. My first husband (divorced, but adoptive dad of my boys, alcoholic) died one year after my second husband, Ira (great love) died. The boys were 13. Hugs,

Hi Everyone - Indigo - thanks for the support. I think I am depressed, I just want to shake myself out of it. I have a number of systems to work through it along with medication, but know that what will make me feel really good is to stay with a good eating program for just today, then tomorrow, etc. It is like alcoholism, but you still have to eat. I liked the idea of no overt white sugar in the diet. I think that would help me reduce the "eat now or die urges." Well, I commit to a no sugar day, and I'll report tomorrow. Have a great Monday! Good bye mashed potatoes and gravy. Hugs, Michelle

I consider myself one of the lucky ones! My parents left my siblings (eight of us) such a legacy and rich heritage. While raising us kids, they had no earthly riches except for music and a couple of old steam engines! They left their music and steam engines to 5 boys who play old time swing music (Dad) and rock and roll! All five of my brothers have boilerman licenses and know how to fire up those steam engines. Every other August we thresh, party, dance and rock and roll at our "Family and Friends reunion back in good ole Minnesota. Our children and our grandchildren and lifelong friends all try to make it from near and far including Nevada, Washington, Colorado and Massachusetts. Our life was rough too, my father was an alcoholic and died from IT and cigarettes. He quit both about 3 years before he died. I never doubted after I was a grown adult that my parents loved each and everyone of us kids more than they were ever able to put into words. I have to admit tho, I didn't feel like it sometimes when I was younger. That's when they were trying to do the best they could with what they knew. That's what I had to do too. I suppose I might have been a little better at parenting then they were but I sure made my mistakes along the way! I try to live by this little saying I ran across many years ago: Live so that when your children think of fairness and integrity, they think of YOU!

LOL, yeah me too (laxative). I still adore some of the SF chocolates with Sugar Alcohols...they're still lower in calories than real chocolate even when counting all the carbs, but if I eat more than one or two in a day......instant colon cleanse.

Hi all, just checking in! 23 days out, 6lbs off. Third day of eating soft food, mostly fish so far, at about 1/4 cup per meal. Still having at least one protein shake a day too. Slightly harder to get the fluids in now because I'm so full after eating the proper food that I can't drink anything for an hour or more, so I've started pre-loading with fluids before meals. Have started getting on the cross trainer in the last 3 days - starting at 5 minutes and increasing by a minute a day. Still have some pain in my left side that with certain movements can be really sharp, and still wakens me at night sometimes. I have two holiday meals out next week, one with friends one with family, it'll be interesting to see how those go! No alcohol so far but I might try something this weekend because I really don't want my first glass of wine to result in disaster at a dinner in a restaurant. And that's my report! How are all of you getting along? Any plans for the weekend? I'm going to a nice festive concert tomorrow - really looking forward to that. Every day is feeling more normal.

I've had a cold/cough this week and it's really slowing me down. I went to a movie marathon Saturday and I didn't want to ruin the movies for everyone, so I bought a bag of Ricola Sugar Free cough drops. Over the course of about 6 movies, I ate about twenty of them. Thing is, those are sugar free, but they have a bunch of sugar alcohol in them it turns out. I realized this the hard way, way too late. Sugar alcohol, as you may know, is pretty much a laxative. I will spare you the details but it was a rough 24 hours there.

I'm not sure I know what you're trying to convey here. Whenever someone has trouble finding a mate, people accuse him or her of being too picky or having too high of a standard. And I'm sure some people are too picky, but sometimes it's just that you haven't met the right person. Sometimes it seems like a miracle when it actually does happen for two people. I have a preference for certain things in terms of appearance--maybe that's shallow, but I can't imagine having a good relationship without some level of physical attraction. I also have certain parameters--the guy shouldn't be married or involved with another woman! He shouldn't be an alcoholic, a drug user or dealer, unemployed (unless retired or otherwise financially secure). Perhaps the hardest of all, he has to be someone I can talk to comfortably. Is that too picky? I don't think so, somehow.

Hey ya all.. Just got back.. Well it neither went real bad, but nor did it go good. We get another Hearing in May. The good part is the pro active stance I took sending his Lawyer a letter in regards to child support came in handy. When the Judge asked his side about child support they Lawyer said that was not figured out. I said NO that is not correct and it is figured out and I did send you the figures. So the Judge stopped what he was doing and looked at the Lawyer and said "Your Client better start paying something cause he is getting behind" Oh you should have seen the look on the Lawyer's face. PRICELESS:devious My STBX did not watch his words and admitted he drank when he has the kids. Not anymore per ruling from the Judge -- NO Alcohol He gets to see them everyother weekend Sat and Sun but NO overnights.. He also gets to come by and pick up his tools and a truck box he has in the back yard. To tell you all the truth I really belive it is his Lawyer that is pushing him but I hope that when he starts coming by for the kids he will maybe say something and I will tell him lets talk and agree. Because the Lawyer I am going to get is going to eat and spit you out and I do not hate him not think he is a bad person I just want my kids to be safe and happy... Humm I will come back later.. on a good note I won a 1000.00 dollar shopping spree on line.. Now I can send something to those I owe a gift too...

Rugman, thank you for taking the time to post for me. I admit, I know better, I know mostly what works and what doesn't; it's pretty basic overall. But, as I said before, just when I think I have a grasp... bam! 80-120g carbs in one day. I can't seem to break it. I thought did OK over the holiday weekend, especially on a mini vacation... but really, it just OK. What did me in was not so much the food, but the Sangria by the pool. Ugh, as often as I tell people, "If you know it's bad, don't do it," I was doing the same damn thing. THUR, 73 carbs: Hopped off the plane and went out to Chili's with my friends in Phoenix. Had the Guiltless Grill Salmon (about a quarter of the actual fish portion) plus half of the steamed broccoli with a touch of parmesan and half the black Beans. FRI, 152 carbs: Seared tuna and squid for lunch, no sauces. Veal and prosciutto wraps with spinach and mozzerella and a touch of marsala sauce. Roasted veggies. KILLER - Sangria and mixed fruit dipped in Cool Whip, being fed by whomever was holding the bowl. LOL Fun, but a low-carb assassin. SAT, 83 carbs: Dannon 0%plus yogurt. dinner out to Olive Garden and half an order of the Apricot chicken. Even the name is carb-heavy. TDP shows 0 carbs, but I know that's not right; there has to be something from the apricot sauce, even if I ate very little of it. Oh, and more Sangria as we talked into the night. SUN, 72 carbs: Much better, or so I thought. Dannon 0%plus yogurt for B and L. Dinner was baked chicken with a canned Pasta sauce and spinach salad and lowfat, low sugar dressing. Maybe you don't want or need to see all that, but I use that and go back to compare, thinking I am usually so good, and then see that I am averaging 85 carbs a day for the past 30 days. Ugh! Frustrating. So, I have printed an Induction Phase list from Atkins.com and intend to use that when I go shopping tonight. I know that the yogurt is a lot and that I will have to find something else. I am also a big fan of fresh fruit. What do people do instead? The alcohol is a problem for carbs, yes, but not to cut out; that's easy because I don't regularly have it. I am really concerned about Calcium, D, and K; I don't metabolize most supplements very well and I do not like milk. Hence, my yogurt fascination. I would appreciate ideas there. Another somewhat difficult part for me is that I am also a low saturated fat person; I don't eat much cheese, bacon, beef, etc. and instead focus on fish, chicken, and some leaner game when the mood strikes. Maybe this should have been a PM. Sorry for the length. I want to do this, and I appreciate your input. Thanks, again, all of you.

oh.. one other thing. with my job, I end up doing a lot of entertaining of investment banker types, which generally leads to having 4 course meals and several bottles of wine (which is part of the reason I got to 250 in the first place). anyone had to deal with dinner meeting type situations after being banded? I'm not telling people I'm doing this. The guys in my profression sort of have the reputation of going over board at these dinners too. Crazy appetizers, big steaks, the whole 9 yards. Any advice on how to "stay below the radar" at on these occasions? I talked to one of my good friends, who has also struggled with this. He probably only needed to lose about 15 pounds though. He actually ditched the alcohol and started eating organic foods. When someone at dinner asks him why he's eating like a little girl, he just says because i want to live passed 40. Generally, the guy harrassing him doesn't have much to say after that. I guess there's a certain element of comrodary (sp?) when you're eating like a glutton.

haha I love this topic. I am telling NO ONE! :-) Only my husband knows and I'm glad to keep it that way. I am only 4 days post op but already have my story down. I'm just telling people that I'm back on a strict eating plan for a while, one that will allow me to get rid of my sugar/salt cravings and cleanse my body a bit. This does well for the liquid portion of my lapband diet. after I'm able to eat solids, my story will be that I've given up all alcohol for a while, as those are just liquid calories. I'm also telling them that I'm working with a weight loss coach and have been inspired by Oprah's weight regain show to get back on the wagon. I lost a lot of weight on a fast 2 years ago and gained some weight back, so people will understand while I'm being so hard core. People know that I'm really into cycling so I have that going for me. In fact I plan on doing Waves to Wine 150 mile bike tour this year. When they ask why I'm not eating or drinking a lot I'll just say that I'm on fire with my diet and dont want to end up diabetic like my mom. All these things are true so I have no problem keeping the band from them. As far as I'm concerned anything is better than telling them I have the band.

Good Morning, I'm home today, I always take the day after Easter off b/c I'm pooped! and my house is a wreck lol. Sherry, the way you described your family, I thought I was reading my very own story. I am the youngest of 7 but the oldest when it comes to responsibility. I think I am the only adult out of all of them.... they have no responsibility, jealousy is sickening, lazy, etc..... (except my eldest sister, she was the only one who was "normal"... I say was because she died in 1998...long sad story..) anyway. My dad died when he was 54, of cancer (mom is still alive) I have 3 brothers, 2 are alcoholics who are sooooooo jealous its sickening (one brother died when he was 34 of heart failure...we think it was steroid b/c he was a body builder ), the 2 sisters who are still alive, I hate to admit it but are very lazy and I'm the one who takes care of my mom's financial stuff, etc. I love my family like nobody's business and we are there for eachother its just the petty shit that goes on and the talking behind the back that makes me sick. I try to stay away from it all. So.... I understand where your coming from. Okay now that you know all about my disfunctional family LOLOL !!! you can understand why I'm like I am eeeeeeeeerrrrr :guess and why I'm fat....being the youngest of 7 was not fun lol. So how is everyone today? I ate so much yesterday its not funny. I feel numb and tingly from all the salt I ate but it was surely tasty. Get this.... I tried to eat some pineapple and the first bite I took it kinda slid down and poof...got stuck. I thought it was gonna come back up but it didn't...it just hurt for about 20 minutes as I paced the floor. See thats what I get for "trying" to eat healthy haaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.

Hope everyone had a lovely Easter and hope you got to spend time with family and friends. We had a wonderful Easter here. DH's Brother and his wife came to visit and have been here since Tuesday. So we had them plus my friend and her hubby and daughter came over and my son came home early from his dad's. He wanted to spend Easter with me and his Step-dad. I thought that was quite the compliment . THEY had Turkey, ham and the fixings. I had quite the PB episode on the first try of scrambled eggs this morning and that was it. I was done with eating for the day. Doc said mushies and my body is SCREAMING it lol. It was TERRIBLE! This was the first time I, ummmm let loose, I've only had sliming before with that golfball. NOT this time. YUCKY! Anyway....mashed potatoes with LOTS of gravy, squash and sweet potatoes were my Easter meal and it went down nice and smooth. WHEW! Donna and Pat - I'd love to have an East Coast party I'm on my cruise from July 16-23 so that's out for me. Some weekends are tricky because of my son going alternate weeks with his dad but, I should be able to work that out. Once people throw out specific dates I'll know better I'd really love to meet my friends here at LBT So sweet of you to offer a meeting place Pat! Cindy - Wahoo congrats on the smaller band size. What a difference aye? That's great and keep up the great work. Oh I tried some of those Zone bars you talk about and I like them. Thanks for the tip! Patty - I hope you had a great day at your friends house. I bet the boys collected lots of eggs Betty - Sounds like you have some great recipes. Maybe we should all get together and create a NJ LBT Chat (Can't say chicks cause the gentlemen I hope will help too) recipe book Wouldn't it be great to put together a band friendly menu? Oooooooo yea. If people would like to do that I'm willing to volunteer to put it all together in word. Then I can email everyone that pages. Sounds like fun! Ira - Congrats to you and your wife on her deciding on the Band. I know it's so much easier with my DH dieting or changing his eating habits to go along with my banding. Your wife had a head start already having you as her mentor. That's awesome and I wish you both the best! Eileen - I get up early when I don't have to yet, work days the alarm has to wake me up. Hmmm wonder why hahaha. (Psssst I was with you, I was wondering what was wrong with Donna's dog hahaha) Shackdog - welcome and happy April to you too. Hope to hear more from ya. Forgive me Bubbame I don't know your first name, but I hope your STBX gets more reasonable. Its just not worth fighting over because kids are smarter than ya think. Doesn't matter the age they pick up on it. Been there done that and thankfully my ex and I get along great when it comes to agreeing on my son's well being. I wish you the best and pray for a good outcome with it all for you and your children. Anne - Hope you're doing well and having a good Easter egg hunt. Hope all your work paid off and you were able to enjoy your company. Everyone...I have to thank you for your kind words regarding the situtation with my sister. My mom who's out visiting my Aunt and Uncle actually came by today with them on their motorcycles. She's so dang cute in her leathers hahaha. My 64 year old mumsy is out riding in her black leather jacket with the fringe that her and my aunt put black and silver beads on every 5th one, her leather chaps, gloves, boots and vest....they are having the time of their lives. I couldn't help but smile when I saw her and know that her living here with us made this all possible for her. She no longer has to worry about yard work, house problems etc. Well, I wear my heart on my sleeve and a tear formed when I saw her UGH. (Wish I could learn to hide stuff. Never could with her.) Well she told me when she comes home Monday she wants to hear ALL that my sister said and she means ALL of it. I told her it's not pretty and I can't even bring myself to say it. She insists and made me promise. CRIPE now what? How do I tell her her other daughter was flipping out and calling her every name in the book most of which don't even come into my mind never mind cross my lips? One word in particular makes my stomach want to hurl. I'm so stuck in the middle of stuff it's sickening. It's been this way my entire life. I've always been the one holding this family together from before my alcoholic father left until now. Why, as my shrink I had years ago said, am I the adult in the family when at the time I should of been a kid. Well.....I've decided I need to yet again take a step back from my siblings. My life is so much better off without them. Sad to say because I do love them but, I just can't deal with it anymore. The crap, the drama, the jealousy, petiness and meaness. It's ALL just not me. In the meantime...what the heck to do about what my mom is asking me to do ugh. Thank you everyone for your kind words, prayers, positive energy....I thank God for all of you. He brought me here for a reason and it wasn't just the band.

I haven't had dreams but I did have an extremely horrible day a few weeks ago and I drank some alcohol but surprisingly, I didn't get/feel sick! Not that it means it's good for me, I know it isn't but.. it was just a really bad day! lol

No dreams that I remember! Or nightmares as of yet... I have had a beer, margarita & martini in the last few weeks...my doctor says it is fine to imbibe in moderation. I will tell you though that my hubby is excited that I am a "cheap" date all of a sudden...boy, it hits you hard! The beer tasted so damn good! I took baby sips to eliminate some of the fizziness! I haven't tried wine which is supposedly the easiest for lap-banders to tolerate. Melissa--are you not allowed any alcohol?

GGRRRRR... PM isnt working... Ok... this is a long story.. but I'll try to sum it up the best I can. Exactly 2 years ago I lost about 30 or so lbs (do not know the exact amount as I was allergic to scales..however it was when I bought those seven jeans I am now back into)... anyhow I was in a very nasty situation with my ex bestfriend/ex roommate/ ex friends... I was working out about 4-5 times a week, eating right and stayed away from alcohol and the weight came off quite fast. Around this same time I started talking to my now fiance... very nice guy, sending me flowers and such - I was very happy and had every reason to be. I had a job I loved, lost weight and felt wonderful and had a great man in my life. Needless to say the 3 girls who I hung out with on a regular basis felt the need to poke fun at everything behind my back. The first straw with the one girl "J" was when she came on to my dad.. which is a HUGE no-no in my book... Me and my dad are very close and what she did was completely unacceptable (and made my dad feel very uncomfortable, which is hard to do.. he's a very laid back and joking kind of guy).. well, I confronted her about this and told her until she got herself together (this girl had/has MAJOR mental and substance abuse issues) I wanted nothing to do with her. Well, the other girls "M" and "A" rallied around "J" and decided to gang up against me.. all this time "M" and I shared a house ..which my daughter lived in also. It started with little comments here and there, mostly behind my back - which I found out about and turned into basically harrassing me via myspace. My last straw was when "M" began to treat my daughter badly. Right away I gave our landlord notice that I was moving out. The harrassing continued for months afterwords. The thing is that all 3 of these girls have/had their own weight issues.. even if at the time they were of normal size. "M" would pop every diet pill and jump on every trend that came out.. liquid diets, prescription pills, over the counter pills... and wouldnt lose anything. "A" had an eating disorder so bad that she had a social worker assigned to her...and was still popping pills and making herself throw up... and "J" was the worst of them all... she went from a size 8 to size 18 in no time b/c of medication... but dropped to a size 0 once she became a coke addict. Her husband left her and both her children's fathers filed for sole custody... not to mention all the diet pill popping she did/still does. Funny, b/c they all had nerve to poke fun at my weight... After looking back on everything I came to realize it was all jealosy that fueled the conflict. They were all fine with being my friend as long as I was the heavy one - the one who was always depressed or fat. The fact that I was slimming down and in a healthy relationship and was HAPPY for the first time in years just killed them. I'm SO much better off without them. So, basically what I'm telling you is this= all the people who make harsh comments about you losing weight ... or dont want to be your friend all of a sudden now that you are slimming down are jealous. Sad for them... its their loss.. you seem like a GREAT person!!

I'm allowed alcohol...just nothing with carbonation.... no more beer or gin and tonics for me. At 3 weeks out I had my first mixed/frozen drink and I sipped very slowly... My Dr does not want to promote alcohol use...only because it tends to be very high in calories.... but a drink or two every so often isn't bad in his eyes.

I have two that I don't think have been mentioned yet. When others try to pressure me into drinking alcohol. I am 9 months post op and could have a drink if I wanted to but honestly I don't really enjoy the taste of wine or beer and I am cheap. Which brings me to the next pet peeve of how much food I throw away because I can't eat it fast enough. This could range between veggies and fruit I didn't eat quick enough to left overs because left overs are usually at least 2/3 more meals. Just a few pet peeves Love the thread. ~LA

It is easier to point the finger of blame than worry about what our OWN cell phones, air conditioning, gasoline, alcohol, cigarette, food, paper product, etc., comsumption is costing the earth... That makes me wonder...what kind of "burden" do cell phones put on the earth's resources...all that infrastructure...plastic...probably taking advantage of some underdeveloped country's labor supply, too....???

I think I dumped! I ate a protein bar that had sugar alcohol in it. I've had other things with a little sugar alcohol before and it makes me nauseous. And I've had this particular protein bar before, but today it took me over the edge. As soon as I ate it, I felt so sick (nauseous) and then I started to just feel icky. I had to put my head down on my desk at work a few times. After about an hour, I decided to go home early and boy am I glad I did. As soon as I started to get up and get ready to leave, I realized I was going to have a bad potty experience. Mad it home thankfully, and ran to the bathroom for an explosion! Sorry TMI. I feel fine now, but wow, that was crazy! So was that truly dumping? I think it was, but not having it happen before, I don't truly know!

Welcome home Kat...we missed you! Sunshine-I found out the hard way that if the right combo of alcohol is consumed, puking can occur easily even with a band :laugh: Just ask my fellow violets :thumbup: Not really my proudest moment! lol

Matt, wait you had your surgery a year ago so technically you're really not cheating anymore if you drink alcohol right? Had my surgery only a month ago, and 11 freakin' months is way too long to wait without Vodka :-) On my first week post op, I was eating steak. I was chewing them really really good, then I'd spit it out. I only lasted a week doing the liquid diet after the surgery. I started eating soft fish and mashed potatoes on my 2nd week. Bad, Bad, Bad Gastric Bypass Patient!

I love this convo! I never had pre-op diet. I also now eat Anything I want , so long it’s counted in my calories. 75% of the time being “ clean” foods. Still haven’t drank alcohol simply because I don’t usually enjoy it- but I smoke pot often... I smile clean dabs from a vape. 1 small Hit and I’m toasted. It does cause major munchies in which I try to control. I don’t drink diet soda because I’m terrified of “ stretching “ my pouch ... afraid to eat and drink more new foods that won’t make me sick- because I’ll crave them all the time. I love water but also drink tea and coffee. Cream and stevia. Yay.