Calling all A11s!!

[kristenaz 0]

Thanks for all the info about "getting stuck". Kristen I was wondering if your episode was a bread food? I have read and heard that breads and Pasta are the usual problem foods.

As for the snacking ideas in the evening, maybe you could save some of your protien alottment for the day and have it at night. I love the whey protien shakes I use and they provide a full feeling longer than some solids! I use the chocolate which is yummy and only 140 calories. How about 1/2 a serving of greek yogurt- you could pretend it's ice cream. High in protien and low in cals- a girls best friend.

I've noticed that a lot of the posts mention that they are able to eat anything they want and as much as they want. Try to stay focused on the sensation of the food entering your stomach, remember to chew the food til its nearly liquid, and make good protien choices. The band is not majic, it won't work unless you feed your body good protien sources and fewer calories. We must always be following the "rules" because when we finally get to the " green zone" we must eat slowly, chew, chew, chew, or our " stuck " episodes will increase. We don't want to continue bad habits til we get to the zone. Sorry to sound preachy but we might as well stay focused since we made the choice to get the band.

We are all in this together, as GG says. We'll have good times and bad, platueas and losses. Thanks again to everyone for sharing. When you all go in for your next fill, notice what they use to clean your abdomen. I'm still pondering this issue about my nurse using hand sanitizer to swab my tummy. Can't wait til my next visit in November to ask. Blessings, Healthywoman

Hi Healthywoman!

The food that got stuck was not bread, it was chicken. My doctor did warn me that if chicken is too dry that this could be a result. I guess I had to learn the hard way! As far as Protein Shakes in the evening, I have been doing them but I am getting bored. What brand is everyone using? I did go out tonight and buy some greek yogurt. This time I bought flavored greek yogurt. First time I came home with plain, it was disgusting!! It tasted like sour cream. I said to myself that I would never buy greek yogurt again. I guess the key is not to buy plain flavored. My other favorite nighttime snack is popscicles. They are so low in calorie and I love them. Especially since our weather out here in AZ has been HOT! Hopefully our weather is cooling off this week.

Tonight I took the dogs out for a long walk. However my dogs would rather stop every 5 feet and smell bushes rather than getting in good exercise. Better than nothing!

I think that is very strange that your nurse used hand sanitizer on your belly. I dont think my doctor even wipes my belly at all. He just goes straight for the injection!

Thanks everyone for the good advice and positive thoughts.

[kristenaz 0]

Hi Kristenaz,I have a sweet tooth after dinner late at night. What I have tried for late Snacks is frozen popsickles or Yoplait yougurt, whip chocolate is my favorite and does the trick! Hope that helps.

Hi Chicholicious! I also do the popsicles and Yoplait Whip. Have you tried putting the Whip in the freezer? It is so freaking good!

[kristenaz 0]

I have a question. I was banded. August 16th. I had my first fill October 1st. I notice a lillte more of a restriction, but not much. So far I have lost about 26 pounds.

After my first fill my Dr. Said to make an appointment and come back in 3 weeks. I didn't think to ask what this appt. was for and was given no special instructions like I had with my first fill, that was done under the scope.

So I am just wondering if this is just a check up I am going to or do you think I could possibly be getting another fill ? I sure hope I get a fill. I live an hour away. I would hate to drive there for him to look at me for 5 minutes just to leave again.

I could call of course. Just curious what everyone here thinks.

Thank you !!

Hi S2B.....haven't seen you on here in awhile! You and I were both banded on the same day! Looks like you are doing better than me! Your weightloss is better than mine. It sounds like your appointment will be for a fill if you need it. Your doctor doesnt use the scope for every fill? Im sure based on the weight loss since your last appt, and based on your current hunger, your doctor and you will decide if a fill is needed. On my last appt., my weight loss was good and my doctor asked me if I felt like I needed more fill. Of course I said YES! I still feel like my hunger is not where I want it to be. Good luck to you. Let us know what happens!

[Jess527 0]

Thanks GG, that was super motivational! I need to get that book.

GUESS WHAT, like you said, I hit ONEDERLAND!! Woohoo, it was this morning, and my scale says 199.5. I feel like a new me

(Yesterday the doctor's scale said 200.5 so disappointing, but my husband reminded me I was fully clothed)

I got my second fill yesterday, and I am up to 7cc's in a 10cc band. For some reason, last nght I was so hungry (I had only eaten 160 calories all day because I didn't want to eat before my fill) I decided to have chicken. I totally forgot, until this morning when I woke up, that I am supposed to do liquids for 24 hours then mushies for 24 hours after fill. (I wish they would have reminded me) No wonder I could only eat 2 small bites of chicken and I felt like I was one sip of Water away from being stuck. Needless to say, I am on liquids today.

I also received my labs back, and they said my B1 is low. Anyone else have this problem? I went to try and get thiamine (b1) from Walmart yesterday, but couldn't find it. I guess I have to hit GNC. My PA said this could cause memory loss that is irreversible if it gets too low. Also, I had too much uric acid in my system...which can cause gout. This is from having a high Protein diet and not drinking enough Water. So, EVERYONE drinks those 64 ounces!

Well, good luck all!

[quote name=ncgg-5' timestamp='1319558810' post='1677954'

Hope everybody had a great weekend. We got back home yesterday from the mountains and I am down another pound. Yeaaaah for me. My pre & post surgery total is 17.8 in 10 weeks, which is ok, of course I'd like more. But, the good thing is I am loosing inches and my skinny jeans are now too big.

There have been a lot of good comments lately on "stuck" episodes. Keep up the sharing. You never know when something you say will help another Bander. Thanks Jess for that informative article on slippage. Hopefully none of us will experience it first hand.

Kristenaz, I've been eating a vanilla Oikos Greek low fat yogurt at night with about a teaspoon of Agave Syrup in it for a bedtime snack. It's 160 calories but worth it to me. Sweet and yet it has Protein. The other good thing about having dairy at night is it helps you sleep. I take a water soluable Calcium right before I go to bed every night and in 15 minutes I can hardly hold my eyes open. That's why people have a warm glass of milk to help them sleep, (Yuk, on the warm milk)

chicholious, you are a hoot arguing with the nurse. You go girl! My Dr will only do 1/4 cc. for me at a time. That's like a drop, but I trust him and will do what he says.

Before I got banded I did a lot of research and ordered a book from Amazon called, Bandwagon by Jean McMillan. it is an excellent resource guide and I highly recommend it for all of you. She is a fellow bander that lost 89 lbs. One of her chapters is about being positive and the power of positive thinking. I needed to reread this. No more complaining from me anytme soon. Maybe some of you see yourself there too.

From her book.

After years of failure, there may be a small illogical part of you that does not believe you have enough desire, skill or knowledge to succeed at weight loss. We tend to self sabotage with thinking like this.

Jealousy, comparing yourself to others that have lost more weight. Instead: we should congratulate ourselves for he 25 lbs we have lost.

Consumed with fear or worry, "I had reflux last night - what if my band slipped". Instead: take positive actions and call your Dr.

Negativity, focusing on what's wrong instead of what's right. "I can't succeed because my restriction isn't right". Instead: focus on how much better restriction is now that I've had a few fills.

Procrastination, "I'll start making better food choices on Monday". Instead: do it today.

Giving up easily. "It's just too hard to keep up the weight loss effort". Instead: do it one day at a time.

Mental deafness, "why does my Dr keep harping on more exercise?" Instead: consider that he is trying to help you, even if you don't like the advise.

Feeling worthless, "I don't deserve to succeed at weight loss". Instead: be your own cheerleader, if you don't do it who will?

Denial, "We're getting pizza because my kids need it" . Instead, Who really "needs" the pizza?

I believe that my attitude drives most of my success in life. Positive attitude yields positive results.

We can do this!

Blessings,

GG

[chicholicious 0]

Thanks Kristenaz for the tip, I will try to put it in the freezer tonight. Keep those good tips coming! Congradulations Jess527 on reaching Onederland!!! Is such a great feeling!! I'm also with you 196Lbs.Hopefully we will never see 200 Lbs. ever again.

[ncgg-5 2]

Thanks GG, that was super motivational! I need to get that book.

GUESS WHAT, like you said, I hit ONEDERLAND!! Woohoo, it was this morning, and my scale says 199.5. I feel like a new me

(Yesterday the doctor's scale said 200.5 so disappointing, but my husband reminded me I was fully clothed)

I got my second fill yesterday, and I am up to 7cc's in a 10cc band. For some reason, last nght I was so hungry (I had only eaten 160 calories all day because I didn't want to eat before my fill) I decided to have chicken. I totally forgot, until this morning when I woke up, that I am supposed to do liquids for 24 hours then mushies for 24 hours after fill. (I wish they would have reminded me) No wonder I could only eat 2 small bites of chicken and I felt like I was one sip of Water away from being stuck. Needless to say, I am on liquids today.

I also received my labs back, and they said my B1 is low. Anyone else have this problem? I went to try and get thiamine (b1) from Walmart yesterday, but couldn't find it. I guess I have to hit GNC. My PA said this could cause memory loss that is irreversible if it gets too low. Also, I had too much uric acid in my system...which can cause gout. This is from having a high Protein diet and not drinking enough Water. So, EVERYONE drinks those 64 ounces!

Well, good luck all!

Congratulations Jess! Onederland at last. Good for you.

Blessings,

GG

[ncgg-5 2]

Thanks Kristenaz for the tip, I will try to put it in the freezer tonight. Keep those good tips coming! Congradulations Jess527 on reaching Onederland!!! Is such a great feeling!! I'm also with you 196Lbs.Hopefully we will never see 200 Lbs. ever again.

Yeaaaaaaah! Chicholicious too! Onederland is so good. You are right, we will never see 200 again.

Blessings,

GG

[healthywoman 2]

Congrats to Jess and Chich on reaching onederland!!!!! It's a great feeling and such a motivator.

I reached another goal this week by getting down to 185 ! My next goal is 180. I'm really having trouble drinking the Water. I am only finishing about 22 oz per day. I carry a bottle with me but don't drink it. I'm not feeling thirsty so maybe that's the problem. I'll keep trying though everyday.

How's it going with the snacking issues? Kristen did you try the strawberry greek yogurt-I buy Oikos- it's the least like sour cream.

Have a great day! Healthywoman

[Rob Roy 0]

Hello Caryn and other A11s:

I like the encouraging stories and the examples you set.

I was Banded on August 30, 2011 and so far no serious problems - touch wood - and still steadily losing weight. I am confident that I will reach my target of 250 lbs - highest weight was 375, abiut 360 at operation, & now about 325 lobs.

Married for a longtime and grown up kids

Best wishes, John

[ncgg-5 2]

Hello Caryn and other A11s:

I like the encouraging stories and the examples you set.

I was Banded on August 30, 2011 and so far no serious problems - touch wood - and still steadily losing weight. I am confident that I will reach my target of 250 lbs - highest weight was 375, abiut 360 at operation, & now about 325 lobs.

Married for a longtime and grown up kids

Best wishes, John

Welcome John!

Good to have another male voice on this thread. Looks like from your stats you are doing an incredible job at weight loss. Keep up the good work. I've been married a long time and have grown kids too. This is our time to finally get the weight issue under control for the rest of our lives. Stay the course and keep in touch.

Blessings,

GG

[ms.lady 3]

Not a good day.................First offical recorded gain since being banded!!! :( :( :( :(

[Stroganoff 2]

Just curious when and how often everyone is weighing themselves and do you wear clothes when you do? I personally prefer no clothes but kinda feel like I am cheating.

[Jess527 0]

Definitenyl no clothes! Thanks all for the congratulations, it is appreciated...and congrats to Chich for reaching it is as well.

I am having trouble eating more than a few bites of solids these days, I feel like I am seconds away from being stuck when I do. I wonder if I am too full, or eating too fast (I am chewing like crazy)? We will see, I will give it a few more days and see how I feel. I would just like to get more chicken down, so I can hit my minimum calories for the day at least.

Just curious when and how often everyone is weighing themselves and do you wear clothes when you do? I personally prefer no clothes but kinda feel like I am cheating.

[ncgg-5 2]

Ms lady, don't be discouraged, we have all had that happen at one time. Stay on your program and don't go back to old habits. I eat when I'm upset and don't do anything like that. This is just a blimp on our weight loss journey so try and forget it. By tomorrow it might be gone anyway.

stroganoff,

I always weigh in the morning, in my underwear, before I eat and after I have gone to the bathroom. Makes a difference. I don't see how that's cheating. Different clothes weigh different amounts and that can make a difference. At Weight Watcher's meetings ladies wear the same outfit every week and take rubber flip flops so they will be lighter. It also depends on what you have had to eat and drink that day and what tine of day you are weighing. Weighing in the mornings the way I do will gives you true weight I think. I tend to weigh everyday. My Doc says if I can handle the ups and downs and not get discouraged that's fine but some ladies cannot and will freak if they gain. He says they should only weigh no more than once a week and once a month would be best. Can't do that myself. I have found my weight tends to go down a little and then back up a little for a few days then back down and stays there, almost every time. Then I stay that weight a few days and it starts all over again.

I have finally started loosing again. Down another pound in the last 2 days. 197.6 now. 18.2 lbs Yeah! I had not lost since the 17th so this is good.

Blessings,

GG

[ncgg-5 2]

Definitenyl no clothes! Thanks all for the congratulations, it is appreciated...and congrats to Chich for reaching it is as well.

I am having trouble eating more than a few bites of solids these days, I feel like I am seconds away from being stuck when I do. I wonder if I am too full, or eating too fast (I am chewing like crazy)? We will see, I will give it a few more days and see how I feel. I would just like to get more chicken down, so I can hit my minimum calories for the day at least.

Jess,

It might be too tight or I think a lot of people have trouble with chicken no matter how much you chew. That's what I PB'd on and I chewed and chewed. Try something different like tuna or chicken salad with low fat Mayonnaise or chicken with some kind of BBQ Sauce. It might be the chicken and not your band. Keep us posted.

Blessings,

GG