How important are the rules really?

[Marine mom 3]

Keep drinking, avoid salt, and it should go away in a day or two, at least that is my experience. Hope your appt. goes well.

[btrieger 21]

I suggest you journal everything for a least a couple of months to ensure yourself that you are estimating correctly.

Also, about restaurants. Not all of us have families or others living in our homes to share our meals with. I love cooking but it is really inconvenient when living alone. Who in their right mind is going to waste 45 minutes to an hour cooking a 1/2 cup of food? And if I cook a full meal; should I eat the same thing all week or throw the majority of the food out?

Restaurant avoidance is not a reality to some of us. Instead there are different guidelines:

• Don't eat at any restaurant that has a drive-thru
  
• Have the waiter take your glass away when he delivers the meal
  
• Ask for a to-go box as soon as the meal arrives
  
• Place at least half or your meal in the box before you start to eat
  
• I also avoid Soups in restaurants because they tend to be a bowl of salt
  

Nowadays, I am getting 3 or 4 meals out of a single restaurant entree.

[sloanjd 0]

I suggest you journal everything for a least a couple of months to ensure yourself that you are estimating correctly.

Also, about restaurants. Not all of us have families or others living in our homes to share our meals with. I love cooking but it is really inconvenient when living alone. Who in their right mind is going to waste 45 minutes to an hour cooking a 1/2 cup of food? And if I cook a full meal; should I eat the same thing all week or throw the majority of the food out?

Restaurant avoidance is not a reality to some of us. Instead there are different guidelines:

• Don't eat at any restaurant that has a drive-thru
  
• Have the waiter take your glass away when he delivers the meal
  
• Ask for a to-go box as soon as the meal arrives
  
• Place at least half or your meal in the box before you start to eat
  
• I also avoid Soups in restaurants because they tend to be a bowl of salt
  

Nowadays, I am getting 3 or 4 meals out of a single restaurant entree.

I loathe journaling (once you get a fill, do you really need to journal b/c you can't eat much, right?). Trieger, you're right, complete restaurant avoidance is unrealistic- I like your guidelines- going to impliment them if I do eat out.

[beedo 0]

You still need to journal after the fills, you can still eat quite a bit and you still need to know everything that you put in your body. If you stop losing you can always look and see what might be causing the stall and avoid it, if you dont journal its a memory game trying to figure out what you think you may have eaten. Fatsecret.com is a good site and they have apps for the iphone and droid

[btrieger 21]

Journaling is no fun but it helps in figuring out what may be causing weight gain or a plateau. To be honest, I only did it for 7 months. I stopped only after I was confident in my ability to measure the size and quantity of food by eye.

Give it a shot and if it proves to be too tedious then try something else.

I used the Bodybugg site but a popular free site is Calorie Counter, Diet Tracking, Food Journal, Nutrition Facts at The Daily Plate

[ElfiePoo 109]

Ok, so I admit to being hard-headed & needing to learn things the hard way. This being said, I have to admit to not following the surgeons instructions: I drink caffeinated diet soda & have had the occasional alcoholic beverage. Also, I have not followed the liquid, puree, soft then regular foods after fills regime. Because I have not had any adverse affects, I can't help but wonder why all the restrictions.... (I can see how it could be an issue for some)... I guess what I am wondering is, outside of the empty calories in alcohol, can any of this behavior hinder how effective the band is? If there is anyone who can offer some concrete info I would sure appreciate it!!

Every doctor has different instructions. My doctor did not have any special regimen after fills. If I could eat...then eat. If I couldn't, then go back to Protein Drinks until I could. He had no restrictions against alcohol, caffeine or carbonated beverages, although said that they might cause me discomfort and I should avoid them if they do.

So I guess I wouldn't worry about it unless you find that they lead to continuing bad habits regarding your eating.

[ElfiePoo 109]

I love cooking but it is really inconvenient when living alone. Who in their right mind is going to waste 45 minutes to an hour cooking a 1/2 cup of food? And if I cook a full meal; should I eat the same thing all week or throw the majority of the food out?

Bob,

Get yourself a 'Food Saver'. I always cook enough food so I can freeze leftovers for those nights when I don't want to cook. Since the Food Saver pulls a vacuum on the food, you don't deal with freezer burn or ice crystals (both of which contaminate the taste of the food).

Most foods freeze just fine and taste just as good when they're thawed and reheated.

Melody

[ElfiePoo 109]

If there are any folks that have been successful without being saints I would love to hear from you. I have found that this has been far more challenging & frustrating than I ever anticipated.

Thanks.

Well, I'm certainly no saint and I've managed to take off...and keep off...63 pounds. Sure, I could've lost it faster if I had 'dieted' and 'exercised', but I'm content. It's coming off, albeit slowly, and I'm happy and that's all I care about.

If someone else feels the need to follow a diet (e.g. WW, NutriSystem, etc.) or 'exercise', then more power to them. We all need to figure out what works for us.

.

[btrieger 21]

Reheated frozen foods are nothing near what they were when fresh and I end up having to use the oven anyways because the microwave dries everything out and makes me get stuck.

There is no happy medium. It worked great when I had a roommate because he'd eat anything. I'd just cook; take my portion and give him the rest.

Restaurants are working for me. I'm still losing. My wallet is taking a hit but nearly as hard as before.

[ElfiePoo 109]

I'm one of those sheep because I got tired of being a cow. :tt1:

ROFL...leave it to you, Bob.

[ElfiePoo 109]

Restaurants are working for me. I'm still losing. My wallet is taking a hit but nearly as hard as before.

I think reheated frozen foods are still better than most restaurant meals. Although, I admit, I could eat at Carabba's for every meal if I could afford it (and my scale wouldn't scream "Mercy!".

One thing I've learned is that when we eat out, never bring home leftovers. I don't have the will power to resist having a second meal 3 hours later...and not because I'm hungry but because the food was so good that I can't get it out of my mind. ;-p

[Jachut 487]

I'm maybe weird, but I enjoy a meal in a restaurant, I dont want it congealed in a plastic container to be heated up several times the following couple of days. Yuck. I think being "attached" to your food in this way and unable to waste it by leaving it on your plate is a throwback to obese attitudes to eating.

The cost of a restaurant meal to me is to pay for seeing my friends, having a good night out, I dont need to get "value" out of it by bringing food home. Truly, I do not care a bit if I eat 2 mouthfulls of what I ordered. Also, most restaurant eating is "special" occasion eating and not as healthy as a plain meat and 3 veg home cooked meal. I dont need to be eating say fettucine carbonara more than once in a blue moon, and generally I find that when we eat out, its sooooo often Asian - Thai, Malaysian or Indian which is smaller servings anyway. Most bistro, chain restaurant or pub food is not worth the effort of bringing home anyway.

Its against food regs here anyway.

I also dont journal, wont journal and never journalled. I knew when I hit a stall in weight loss that I had to put less treats in my mouth and move more.

Edited July 2, 2010 by Jachut

[LeighaMason 19]

Bob-- If you have the food saver, the bags can be boiled so if you put the food in and freeze it you can reheat it by putting it in a pot of boiling Water. This is quicker than the oven and no moisture escapes like the microwave.

Plus you can save big money by shopping at Sam's or costco and buying meat in bulk and dividing it up to freeze in small portions.

[sloanjd 0]

You still need to journal after the fills, you can still eat quite a bit and you still need to know everything that you put in your body. If you stop losing you can always look and see what might be causing the stall and avoid it, if you dont journal its a memory game trying to figure out what you think you may have eaten. Fatsecret.com is a good site and they have apps for the iphone and droid

Beedo- you're so right! I had my first fill on Friday and am disappointed regarding how much I can still comfortably eat. Is this normal this soon after a fill? I want to be full after maybe four bites of food but can easily eat at least ten bites... I'm starting to realize even the band isn't a magic fix, it's still going to take a lot of hard work...

Missy MS- you were right- I cut my salt and drank more Water and those four pounds I gained just slipped back off- thanks.

[bambam31 168]

Beedo- you're so right! I had my first fill on Friday and am disappointed regarding how much I can still comfortably eat. Is this normal this soon after a fill? I want to be full after maybe four bites of food but can easily eat at least ten bites... I'm starting to realize even the band isn't a magic fix, it's still going to take a lot of hard work...

Missy MS- you were right- I cut my salt and drank more Water and those four pounds I gained just slipped back off- thanks.

You want to be full after FOUR BITES OF FOOD? Really?

Brad