December Bandsters

[Banannie 0]

Kay - very well written! We're not going to sort this emotional eating stuff out overnight. It's going to take time (and likely a handful of fills) for most of us to be in a position to feel comfortable with food. It's so cool you're already "feeling" rather than finding that crutch - keep posting, it's great to hear!

[okiefamily 0]

I am glad for you Kay. Thanks for spreading a little sunshine on the board. I am considering a therapist to help me deal with these issue, only there are none in my town...I would have to drive an hour or so, but if it could help it would be worth it.

[siyah 0]

Okiefamily- I'm glad to see others steer you away from the crash dieting. You'll surely yo-yo from that method. (Haven't we all?)

I noticed from your blog that your daily calories and food choices might need to be adjusted to loose more again. Whenever we plateau we need to shake things up again. For me, I am trying to eat more in the morning rather than at night. (VERY hard for me!) I have been told from day one on this journey that I have to get 60-90 grams of Protein in as a priority. Beyond that, i can (someday) add veggies/fruits and lastly the carbs. The more whole foods you can use, the more energy it will take for your body to burn. SO if you must eat carbs, get only the whole grain variety. Dense protein, of course, takes a lot of energy to burn. The other thing- avoid processed foods and cut out the salted nuts. Both have so much sodium that you are bound to retain Water. And plan ahead. This week I started laying out Breakfast and lunch the night before. For dinner, I look at the calories remaining for the day and make choices based on what i feel like eating within this guidline. Lastly, excersise, but change up your routine daily to again fool your body. You'l burn more breaking out of the muscle memory routine.

Hope this does not sound too preachy 'cause you probably know it all already, but we all need reminders. Best of luck, but don't let yourself be dictated by the scale. Feel healthy and feel good about the path you are on. And a big YES to the couseling! I go and love it. I found my last 2 on craigslist.org Great local gals. Maybe there's someone who works out of their home in your area. (cheaper that way!)

[siyah 0]

Can someone tell me how to post a new topic in the general forum?

[roband 0]

Hello everyone!

OMG If I cannot get out tommorow I am going to faint! I've cleaned my closet, kitchen, office...

I cannot lie - I've cheated big time (I'll avoid the list to avoid tempting you too!):speechles

Hopefully, I'll get back on track tomorrow:nervous

[Gerbera 0]

G'day All

WoW lots to catch up on. Some great reading and some great support and input. It's such a pleasure to be part of this thread - Thankyou all :eek:

NN32: As the saying goes "The Party's Over" I know I'm late posting - sorry. I wondered if it might help to get excited about why you did this lap band in the first place? DON'T Lose sight of the goal Wanting to eat is an old habbit. (Not sure if it's the same for you?) BUT I was eating my emotions, all of them, happy, sad, anger etc etc, it didnt matter I ate for them all. Now I have to find other ways to deal with them. Could it be you might have some emotions surfacing that you want to eat or shove down? Just a thought

Okiefamily: Phewwwwwwwwwwww glad I came in at the end of all the crash diet thinking. Pleased you have reframed. CONGRATS!

Jameza40: I was banded on the 19th December. I moved to mushies 2 days ago, thats about a week earlier than I was supposed to However I'm only eating one mushy meal a day, and then still staying with the thicker liquids. The mushies are far more satisying. Sorry I cant help you with info about solids, but I'm sure if you chew any solid long enough it soon becomes mush ha ha.

Kaydotrn: WoW Kay, CONGRATULATIONS! I TAKE MY HAT OFF TO YOU. It's a brave thing your doing. To allow yourself to feel instead of eating is where we all need to get to. I've had a couple of days in tears, grumpy etc. Life does not seem anywhere as fun, but I know once I continue this road, it will bring success and life will be fun again and it wont be about food.

Roband: Wanna make a trip to Australia? My place needs cleaning ha ha

Now I have to share with you my First REAL food story last night. A few of you know I have been waiting to get off liquids and onto mushies. Well!

Last night I had my neice over and made her favourite meal "Porcupine Meatballs" I just happen to like them also. Anyway, I served myself up a small meatball about 1 1/2 times the size of a golf ball and about 2 Table Spoons of Mashed Potatoe. I sat down eagerly to eat "My First" mushy meal, I got through half the meat ball and half the potatoe and I was full dammmmmmm it hahaa. So for the first time in my life I can say FOOD is over rated. I hope this feeling stays with me. Food has always been my life, but after last night, I really thought FOOD is something we need to sustain us in life and thats all. I've lost interest in food (at least for today)

CHEERS to all, continue on your Happy Healthy Eating

[ibrahem 0]

hi everyone ...

i am so happy that's my 4 weeks of liquid are going to end tomorrow .. Finlay i can chaw something :hungry: .

i am also worried about my first fill which is supposed to be next Mindy .. but because my final exams my doctor said to me i can have it tomorrow .

so my first fill will be 26 days after the banding .. even before i started mushed food .

also i am happy because one of my friend who is banded 5 years ago and he did not follow the order of the doctor and he did not lose weight .. even he gained more wight .. h will come with me for the fill :clap2: .. so i am happy for him & for me .

i will tell you the detail of the fill tomorrow .

wish me luck :clap2: :clap2:

[Kaydotrn 1]

Good morning.

Ibrahem-good luck on the fill and the transition to mushies. For me, that break from liquids has been pure Heaven! I hope you enjoy.

Thanks for the kind words everyone. Man, I hope I didn't come off preachy. I think that was an out of body posting. haha. I do feel really positive right now though. I sure hope it lasts because there is always that little fear of failure after attempting to lose weight so many times in my life.

Gerbera-giggling about the firt real meal. It is so strange isn't it? I will say though, I really still enjoy my food. I look forward t eating something yummy. I just don't eat much of it and I eat really slowly-which is way different from how I used to eat. I don't think I even tasted half of my food before.

Okie-I too have considered counseling. God knows I could use it! I am pretty insightful into why I have done the things I do. I feel that I have worked out most of my issues with the eating and what started the problems as a kid and all..but now for me it is about changing the habits that have been with me for most of my life. It is hard work. I hope you do find someone. I imagine most people could benefit with working out their "stuff" with an unbiased person to guide us. Good luck with that.

Jameza-girl, if there were a secret, I would be selling it (at a discount for my LBT friends of course:) ). I think for me, something just clicked. The food cravings have not gone away. I battled the urge to eat a bunch of oreos last night. I just am learning I have a choice AND the power to make it. I know giving up most of the white flour, sugar and refined stuff, the cravings aren't so bad. Knowing that after I eat I need to wait before drinking my Water. I have a lot of Water to get in, so it doesn't leave me anytime for snacking. That helps...I also know I need to make a choice between eating what I want or wearing what I want and I REALLY want to wear some cute clothes. May sound silly but it is a big motivator for me. AND I am loving the power I feel. I feel stronger than I have in a long time-not just physically but menatlly too. I know we can all do it. We have a tool that can help us and ultimately we have a choice to use it to its full potential. I am trying everyday to make the right choice. BEst wishes. If you are feeling physically hungry though, I imagine a fill would really help your tool work better for you. I honestly don't feel hungry unless it has been a while since i have eaten. Head hungry is a completely different story-hehe. I do get that even when not hungry physically. I just try to ignore it.

Have a great day everyone.

[Kaydotrn 1]

Can someone tell me how to post a new topic in the general forum?

Siyah-I think there is a button at the top that says "new thread". Just click it and begin...

[Kaydotrn 1]

Hello everyone!

OMG If I cannot get out tommorow I am going to faint! I've cleaned my closet, kitchen, office...

I cannot lie - I've cheated big time (I'll avoid the list to avoid tempting you too!):speechles

Hopefully, I'll get back on track tomorrow:nervous

(((Roband))) being trapped in the house makes for things tough for anyone! At least you burned some calories cleaning. Good for you. Now get out of the house! haha

[NN32 0]

So there is alot going on in here.

Kaydorn: I can't thank you enough for the support. I do have to keep in mind the reason I didi this, but it is so hard with all of the distractions which actually help me to sometimes not eat. Keeping things in perspective is hard, and I know I will feel better with some excercise, so for the next 3 days my husband is off I am going to be all about me, AT least I will try and fit me in anyway. The cute clothes things is awesome. Would love to wear something cute. Should find a hot outfit and put it on my fridge. By the time I could wear it it will probabally be out of style, het but heres to trying. Oh and by the way the Pot thing works pretty well for calming down. I've been known to step outside for a few minutes, so I am an advocate. Also works awesome for pain. It helped me to get through a gallbladder attack befor I had it removed.

Gerbera: I was on soft solid foods by the 3rd week. Could eat chicken chewed well, and stuff like that. bread was a hard thing and I waited a while for it, but had no craving because I was high protien and got used to it. I guess according to Atkins I was in Ketosis. Got to get back on the proteim wagon. Solids are not bad if you vcan tolerate them, and eat them slowly to be sure you do not get the gas pain in your chest. I get it if I eat too fast, but keep up the good work, and dont feel guilty abut solids. As long as you are not overdoing it you have to start to live like a human. Good Luck.

ChubbyGirl: Thanks for the support. Good words of wisdom form the wise.

Everyone keep up the good work!

[LuckyGirl 1]

Hey girls - I was so excited about tuesday because finally i was going back to work full-time and would get active and hopefully the scale would start to move - but no, got iced in too and am still home today with the fam.

Went to a support group on monday night and learned a few things. One is that the weight will not drop off if we are not getting the Protein or the Water. They suggested - New whey 42 - it's a test tube of Protein that has 42g. If you do one a day you meet 2/3 of your protein requirement. I ordered some so that I can do 1/2 a vial a day plus one Protein shake and that will be 51 gms a protein with just those two things plus with my meals.

Also at our support group they had a trainer who showed up to make us do some excercises. He had those huge rubber balls that I have always avoided because i thought i was too big to balance on one of those things. Apparently not so... he made us lay on the ball on our stomach and do push ups and then lift our legs. Also made us lay on the ball on our backs and do sit ups. I am sooo sore from just 20 minutes of that but I am going out to buy a ball. i have never been able to do pushups before but on that ball it was much easier.

I go monday for my second fill. I have a 9.75 band and thought that meant that i can have 9.75 ccs in it but learned that it only holds 4 ccs. I was so upset at my first fill cause i only received 1cc but now I realize that with only a 4cc band that's actually a lot. I'm hoping they put at least 1 more cc but I bet they don't. The girl that i met at the group has the same band and is 4 months out of surgery and has 2.25ccs and finally feels perfect restriction.

I also have found that it seems most people have lost about 10lbs. per month on average. So someone who had surgery 4 months has lost 40lbs. With a big chunk coming off that first few weeks then stabilizing out over the next few months. That makes me feel good because I am 1 month out and lost 16lbs so if I can drop 5 over the next month and then each month hopefully i'll be on track. The group was saying that was normal because right now our body is in fight mode trying to hold on to the fat since we are not eating as much as we used to.

It's so nice to have this thread because i know i am normal based on what all of you are doing/feeling. I too want to snack often but i think that is still psychological in some ways. Although the girl at the support group said she was wanting to graze a lot too until she got the perfect restriction and now she does not have that feeling at all - can't wait for that!

[hisnhers 0]

I have my first fill appt. tomorrow... I almost can't wait! I am kinda scared though, I will be honest. I can eat way more than the 1/4 cup. I have not really lost any weight since the 28th of December. I have lost 3lbs. and then I gain it back then 2 then gain it back... it gets taxing on the spirit to get excited and then boom depressed about it. I will say I have been very faithful at the gym:) I know it won't come off overnight, but I did expect to lose something. I'll let you know how the fill went.

[okiefamily 0]

So there is alot going on in here.

Oh and by the way the Pot thing works pretty well for calming down. I've been known to step outside for a few minutes, so I am an advocate.

NN- Can I join you outside?

[Gerbera 0]

Good Morning all :scared:

I promised myself I would go walking this morning, but didnt get there. But I went grocery shopping instead at 7am, does that count?

Hey guys I finally had my tuna Mornay (hotdish) last night Ohhhhhhh Man was that yummy! I managed 3/4 cup and I was full. What is this that we are only supposed to eat 1/4 cup?? I havnt heard anything about that?

ibrahem: Good Luck with the fill. I'm looking forward to hearing about how it went I am really enjoying the mushies.

kaydotrn: Oh I still really look forward to eating YUMMY food, I get excited and anticipate each mouthful. It's mixed feelings for me, excited to eat it, but then dissapointed about how much I can eat, followed with excitement that I can't pig out even if I wanted to hahaa. I like you didn't taste my food before, I'm not sure I even chewed it before. Now I savour the flavour. I still need to eat slower. (old habbits die hard) I'm so proud of myself, I've been so true and faithful to this eating regime I'm just listening to my body (for the first time) and eating what I think it wants within the guidelines. I'm not focusing on Protein or carbs and I'm still losing slow and sure.

NN32: I've not tried bread, I'm a little too scared to try bread after reading and hearing some aweful and painful stories about the trouble it causes. However I am going to try a tortilla tomorrow YUM I'm making Taco's in tortilla bread (mini size) hubby will have to eat 3 or 4 haha. I certainly feel more human now & love that hubby & I can eat the same foods at the same time. Poor guy has to eat my mush hahaa. He's not complaining, so far he has loved the Tuna and I know he will love the Tortilla/Taco's.

LuckyGirl: Good info about the Protein, I'll look into it some more from this side of the globe and get a feel for what we aussies are doing and selling. Thankyou.

hisnhers: Good Luck with the fill (I'm about 2 weeks away). If you have been faithful to the gym, it's likely your building muscle? muscle always heavier. Hope all goes well with the fill. I'm kinda excited and nervous when mine comes around also. let us know how it goes

Ok off to work for me, Thankfully we have a cooler change today, we have had temps in the 100F for the past few days. I feel for you all iced in at home, I can't even imagine anything like that, I don't even get snow here where I am. If anything ya can't get out the house for the heat hahaa.

CHEERS to all Happy Healthy Eating, have a GREAT Day/Night