May 2006 Band Crew ~ July Chat

[freebekie 0]

Kim2bhealthy, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

THANK YOU!! for your encouragement, I am not trying to be hard on myself I know I did not gain the weight in one day... but sometimes you want to see results as I am not eating as I used to.

Freebekie.

[kim2bhealthy 3]

I can totally relate to the fluctuating weight thing, I swear last week my weight fluctuated a good five pounds! I really try not to weigh but on Saturday, but sometimes I'll hop on the scales mid-week and freak out at the number! But usually by Saturday I'lll see a loss.

Linda - I can definitely relate to the eating on the weekends thing. Its really a lot harder to track food/calorie intake when in social situations... Last night we went out for my birthday and I had most of a watermelon margarita, a few chili-cheese fries with ranch dressing and some FRIED chicken tenders, and a tiny piece of strawberry patch birthday cake (don't ask.. cream, cake, berries, lots of sugar, very bad!). Those were all poor choices, but today is a new day and I'm making good choices. I have increased my Water intake to 85-100 ounces a day and that seems to make a difference with weight loss. Are you drinking lots of Water? It's a struggle for me because I've never cared for water, but I can tell when I don't get enough in.

Freebekie - Please don't be hard on yourself.. The band may limit food intake AMOUNTS. But it is still a struggle to choose the RIGHT foods, and we just have to do the best we can. I reached 317lbs because I love breads, pastas, potatos and anything filled with sugar. I haven't completley eliminated those things and I don't plan on doing so because the minute I feel like I'm being deprived of something, that one thing is all I can focus on and then I go over the edge. Having a 1/4 of a roll or a couple of bites of cake is far from where I used to be, so that is still a victory! I know what you mean about being impatient to lose the weight, and yes it can be frustrating to be only eating 1100-1200 calories and not lose for a few days or a week, but the weight will come off! Just try to get in the Protein, the water and the exercise and IT HAS TO COME OFF!

Best of luck everyone! Keep Working it!

[jcbydesign 0]

I have not lost any weight the past three plus weeks. Well, that's not exactly true since I have gained and lost five pounds several times and ended up this week with a 1.5lb gain.

I am eating 500-750 cal average per week (checked back on FitDay). Breakfast is an egg, hard cooked or Protein drink. lunch is 1/4-1/2 cup Protein (fish, chicken, shrimp cottage cheese) andthe same for dinner with 1/4-1/2 cup veggies. No carbs added. If I get real hungry I drink a Protein shake between meals (90 cal, no fat and no carb - Nectar) or eat a couple cubes of Light Laughing Cow cheese (5 cubes equal 35 cal). I drink well over 64oz per day and walk or do 30 aerobics at home.

What am I doing wrong? I am 58 and 3 yrs post menopause. I have not gone off my diet since I had the surgery 5/23. I lost 17.5 lbs the first five weeks (not including the 8 pounds I gained over night of surgery) but suddenly it's stopped and fluctuated like crazy.

Several someones said I need more calories per day BUT Bypass patients eat very little, less than 500 cal usually plus they have the malabsorption and their bodies don't shut down. They lose a lot of weight rapidly. Why? What's the difference between us eating very low calorie protein/veggie diet and their diet/calories?

Need some hand holding..:think

Thanks again,

Janey

[3loves 0]

Well, I made my goal of 10 lbs lost by my birthday! Today is the big day ( I turned 35!) and I'm down 11 pounds since setting that goal at the end of June!

A HUGE CONGRATULATIONS and BELATED HAPPY BIRTHDAY is in order here Kim!! You are doing awesome!! How did I miss your bday? Check your e-mail for a nice Jr surprise. :biggrin1: Wished I could physically e-mail him to you. :confused: Was it fun eating all those bad things on your bday? I will probably be the same way. Wait, I did have a piece of cake on my son's bday. Like you said, tomorrow is a new day.

Janey ~ It is true you need more calories. I don't know if this is true or not, I believe a lot of the bypass patients may not be exercising as much as you are in your routine. That would explain the need to more calories. I'm interested to hear what others have to say. It can be frustrating for sure!! Hang in there!! :clap2:

[LindaV 0]

Janey,

I can understand how frustrated you are. It is really difficult to work so hard and not see results. I would second what 3Loves said and suggest that maybe you need more calories. Have you seen nutritionist? A visit to one might be in order or, maybe you should talk to your band doc or even your primary care doc.

I don't know if Fitday has this option, but, on sparkpeople.com, you can enter a date that you want to be at your goal weight and, based on the answers to some questions about your eating and exercise habbits, it can calculate how many calories you should be eating per day (as well as how many you need to be burning each week) to reach that goal.

I gave myself until November 1 of '07 to lose the hundred or so pounds I have left to lose and it calculated my minimum calorie intake at about 1800. Now, I am usually between 1200-1500 per day (although I did manage to put away over 3000 at a party last Friday-OMG).

When I am consistently fall below 1000 - 1100 calories per day, I do the up/down thing like you are doing and seem to maintain over the long run. It's exciting when you are doing the losing, but oh-so-discouraging when you are gaining!

Anyway, good luck working this whole thing out! I know you will. We are all still so new to this process. Oh, I just thought of something else. Dr. C our resident banded doctor might be able to offer some advice if you post a question to her on the Lap Band Complications Forum. She even had her nutritionist respond to one of the posters. I'm not sure, but I think her nutritionist might be banded as well.

[marz88 0]

FLUCTUATION!!! UGH!!! I know exactly what everyone is talking about, and it is so frustrating! I was losing even without restriction (I've had 2 fills for a total of 5cc in a 12cc band). Then last week I lost nothing. I am attributing it to the fact that my band is still not helping me. I have nothing but my own self-control and exercise helping me lose the weight. My doctor is far enough away so I can't just make an appointment for a fill anytime I need to. So I still have 2 weeks to go before my next fill. I am trying harder this week knowing I'll be out of town on vacation next week and every pound I can lose will make my vacation more comfortable. I am sure once we all hit that SWEET SPOT with our bands we'll be losing regularly again. But it takes time to reach that point and patience will be the key. Hang in there everyone!

[kim2bhealthy 3]

Janey - I think you need more calories as well.. I don't really know how the malabsorption thing works with RNY patients, but I know that 500-750 calories is not enough. Up your calories and see if the scales start moving. Good Luck!

3loves - Thanks so much! Man, I gotta tell ya, that crap that I ate on my birthday was good! I just can't do that every day or even once a week for that matter. I actually feel better when I make good choices, both physically and mentally... Guess all those nutritionists know what they are talking about after all!

Linda - Hey!! We seem to be losing at about the same pace. I always like to check my stats with yours as a gauge to how I'm doing since we always seem to be the same weight! I'll have to check out sparkpeople.com... I use fitday, but it can be a bit of a pain! Keep up the good work!

Marz88 - Yep, that fluctuation thing can be very discouraging, but don't let it get ya down! I'm sure you will lose again this week! Have fun on your vacation, and don't take a scale with you... I say this because I'm going to the beach next month and thought about taking my scales with me... Nah.. I'm gonna take a vacation from them too! Congrats on the self control and exercise. You can do it!

[Cinderella 0]

Hi All,

It's been a while. I've checked in once in a while but this is actually the first time I could find a minute. Not to mention, I HAD A HUGE NSV AND A SV!!!! For the first time in 8 years, I tried something just for the hell of it....are you ready?....imagine....collar golf shirt (hanging a bit)...black pants (about an inch give in the waist)...hmm, do I dare? Tuck in the shirt in the pants and actually wear a belt!....eyes are still not looking at the mirror (afraid to see the usual belly popping out and hanging from underneath the belt)...slowly look up...AAAGGGHHH! The belly is still there, BUT, not as much and this actually looks OK to wear! I screamed! Ron thought I saw a bug on the floor or something! When he came to the room, I posed! "Wow, you look great" (I love him!).

Next...

OK. Fluctuated between 216 and 214 for 3 1/2 weeks. Uck! Just for grins today...I mean what the heck?...stepped on the scales...210!

About darn time! YaHoo!

Hope all is well with you! I think about this forum everyday and I've been inviting some friends who are considering surgery to check it out. I'm so thankful to all of you!

[kim2bhealthy 3]

WOOOHOOO! Way to go Brenda! I'm soo happy for you! Glad you stopped in to update us! Please keep us posted on your progress and keep it going girl!

[justduckie 0]

Hey everyone! I'm back from my trip and thankfully I didn't gain anything. Didn't lose anything, but hey! Sitting in a pickup for 4 out of 5 days isn't the greatest for good food choices and exercise.

For those of you that are frustrated, hang in there. Stick with the program and DRINK YOUR Water. You'll be surprised when you break your plateau. Unlike those people with the bypass, we still have our stomachs and intestines and they still work as nature intended. Our bodies still go thru starvation mode where the bypass patients don't - the drs. don't know why they don't, but they don't. This is one of the things that my surgeon pounded into my head before surgery so I would be prepared for the plateaus and I would be ready for losing at a very slow rate. It takes your body some time to get used to losing all this weight and sometimes it just wants to hang on to some. But you will lose it! You will! And don't just go by the scales. Measure yourself to see how many inches you have lost. That is the true indicator of your weight loss. And if you are exercising a lot, muscle weighs more than fat, so if you are just holding steady on the scale, you might be losing more than you think.

On that note, one of my long range goals is to walk a half marathon with my daughter in November in Atlanta. I have walked one before....about 5 years ago and at the time I was about at the weight I am now. So I know I can do it.

So as of today, I'm officially starting my training. I'm doing 5 weeks of a "beginner's training", then transitioning into the actual half marathon training. So today I'm suppose to walk 30 minutes. Believe it or not, the beginner's training is actually harder than the marathon training!~ But it's all good. I'll keep you all updated on my progress.

I'm trying to not step on the scale every day. But it's hard. I've decided to be happy as long as the scale doesn't go up. I've been stuck for about a week and a half, but I start nights tomorrow and for some reason that's when I lose the most. Maybe my body is so tired and confused that it just goes, hey, what's a pound or two? LOL!!!!

Anyway, I need to get my self up and moving. Have a great day!

[LindaV 0]

Hi All,

Here is my Challenge update:

Start 276 / C 266 / G 255 (-10 so far, -2 this week)

I am closing in on -50. Hopefully, I will not gain this weekend. I have been gaining 2-3 pounds every weekend for the last month or so.

Brenda - Congratulations on the NSV and SV! I think the last time I owned a belt was maybe highschool.

Kim - To answer your question about the Water from a few posts ago, I have moved up from 6 to 8 cups of Water a day. I'm not a slow sipper throughout the day. I tend to get down 4 cups in the morning during aerobics, then another 4 cups in the afternoon between my snack and dinner, and, lately, I sometimes get in another 1-2 cups at night before bed. I havn't really noticed a difference in the weight loss with regard to how much water I drink. I will say that water is about the only thing I drink these days! I see we have the same goal on Funny's Christmas thread. I would really love to see 220 by then. I think that is a pretty realistic goal for us!

Janey - How's it going?

Hippo's Hope - How are you doing since your last fill? You havn't posted in a while and I've been wondering.

Well, I'm off to water aerobics. Have a great day everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!

[DrewsLou 3]

Here I am checking in for the Challenge. I weighed in this morning at 244. I only lost 1 freakin' pound this week! I am going in for my third fill next Tuesday... let's hope it's "the one!" My clothes are all starting to fit a lot differently. I am down to a size 20 in pants and a size 1x in tops. I was in a tight 22 pants and a 3x top a mere 3 months ago so I'm definatley seeing progress. Buying a pair of jeans at Old Navy has got to be one of my best NSV's so far. My wedding ring is looser, I can take it off at night now. My shoes are looser. I fit into chairs better. I am up to a 20 minute mile with a 5% incline on the treadmill. I have been circuit training as well the past 3 weeks. I am getting to the gym at least twice a week, usually 3 times. I am drinking Water like a fiend, usually 100oz a day or so.

I guess when I look at all of this the 1 pound loss isn't so bad, I am getting much healthier overall. Sparkpeople.com has been a lifesaver in helping me track my progress.

Peace!

[3loves 0]

Good News.....I lost:lost3lbs:this week!!! :clap2: It feels so much better to go this direction. I didn't change my ticker last week for my 1 lb gain, I couldn't bear it so I'll only be adding 2 this week.

I worked out at the Y on Thurs, Fri, Sat of last week and Tues of this week. I'm also going to workout tonight. I love it and even bought an iPod. The only thing is, it doesn't fit into my Dell USB port. I guess I need an adapter. Oh well, one more time without music and I'll have that adapter.

Great job Brenda!!

justduckie ~ Hey, you dropped 3 last week and were on vacation this week. I think your doing great!!! I could never do a marathon and don't care for the thought anyway.....I do admire you for taking the challenge.....you can do it!!!

LindaV ~ Steady as a rock. You go girl!!!

Drews ~ You lost 4 sticks of butter. Nothing to sneeze at. It will start to melt off if you stick to it the exercise. BTW, watch that ring. I took mine off and put them on a necklace. Funny lost her's b/c they fell off.

[DrewsLou 3]

3loves... congrats on the iPod! I got one for my bday last month and love it! I don't know how I ever survived without it!

[3loves 0]

Hey Drews ~ What kind do you have? I got the shuffle b/c after Microsoft intro's their new one, the prices are going to come way down. Glad to hear you like yours so well. I will let you know how much I love mine after I get the chance to use it. The lady at Wal-Mart said she had just sold 4 of them during her shift and I got the last one b4 the one on display.

I don't need an adapter afterall. My DH showed me where I can easily hook it up in the back of my computer. I wonder if other Dell owners run into this same problem....a topic for a different thread perhaps.

Where are you DeAnn / mychevygirl ??? Miss you!!! :rofl: