Lucky # Sevens- July 07 Bandsters

[ssankofa73 2]

Cazulay

Congrats on losing 42 lbs!! That is a lot of weight gone in a short period of time. You are really working your tail off.

Weight loss is tough with and without the band. My friend is starting the process to get the band and she was questioning me about it today. The band is truly just a tool. There is so much in terms of meal planning, exercise, support groups and getting used to the signs that your body is giving you that there is no way that this can be seen as a quick fix. Being successful on this program is a challenge that all of us are facing from meal to meal and day to day. Its comforting to see us doing well.

Indio

Thanks for the compliment....ur weight loss has been awesome too.

[IndioGirl55 32]

It sounds like I am bragging but I am just so freaking happy with the whole thing.

You all have a great weekend!

CeCe

CONGRATULATIONS ON 42 POUNDS !!!!! :clap2: :clap2::clap2:

I would be yelling it from the roof tops :clap2::clap2:

You go girl - you are just doing so GREAT:whoo::whoo:

[IndioGirl55 32]

Jeannie

45 lbs - CONGRATULATION TO YOU TOO !!!!!!:clap2::clap2:

[jackie506 1]

Marcy, Sounds like you are doing great! I doubt if you are grazing, but I know what you mean! Come evening and I HAVE to have something! I have been on an ice cream kick lately and that is definitely not helping the cause! Not nearly as much as I would have had prebanding, but definitely more than I need!

I also had 2 slices of cheese pizza today and I KNOW I could have had more!!! Stopped myself, but would have loved to have it!

Now, chicken has got stuck several times for me!!! I also notice if I eat something like that though, I am full much faster and do seem quite a bit more satisfied! I guess there is some truth to the Protein thing and like the doc said to stay away from the mushies and shakes, because they go down way too smooth and really don't satisfy us or work the band the right way! Guess it makes sense! Darn, sometimes you really want them to be wrong!!!! LOL

dmtjet- your on an ice cream kick? Have you tried those weight watchers ones? I just love them. They are just little cups but they are satisfying. They come in 3 or 4 flavors.

Also had my second fill on Thursday and was told to make sure that I am eating more solid foods instead of just mushie food. I have been somewhat afraid to eat to many different things so if I find something that goes down well I eat that for about 2-3 sometimes 4 days in a row. LOL I have not and will not even attempt bread. Scares the begeebas out of me. LOL Haven't tried any meat except for turkey breast, chicken breast, very small diced ham in a Soup. The chicken and turkey breast come from a can so they are nice and tender and diced. I actually really like it. I chew chew chew chew and chew some more!!!

Thanks for noticing Jeanie! It goes kind of slow for a few days and then you see some movement. Some weeks it's only a half pound, others it's three and a half, but it seems to all average out at 2 per week, which I guess is probably the best thing for us all.

Brandy-YOU ARE DOING MAGNIFICENT!!!! Keep up the great work! We all seem to be doing really well.

Had one fill a month ago and got 2 cc's, on top of 1.5 or whatever was in the band originally. Didn't feel it at first, but after awhile started to. Have 2nd fill on Thursday. Think I'll just get a little fill. At first thought I'd pass, but I guess I do need a little more, as I'm starting to get hungrier in the afternoons now.

Brandy- I read some place else that sometimes it takes a few days even maybe a week to get the effect of a fill. I noticed mine immediately. The first one was good for about 3 days and then after that I had to call because the only reason I wasn't eating half the house was because I was holding myself back with will power (and yes I know the band would not have left me go on half the house but maybe a door knob or 2 with a chunk of carpet.LOL)

How much is everyone able to eat per meal? I'm able to eat 1 to 1 1/2 cups of food. I never get anything stuck, PB or slime (not that I'm lookinfg forward to it). I was told by my fill Dr. that if I eat for more than 20 minutes during a meal, I've eaten too much. That's a mistake that I'm trying to correct now. I saw the the 20 minute mealtime in someone's recent post, too. I just want to know if my new eating habits are normal or if I'm eating way too much....especially since I just got this fill yesterday.

Walking record

I walked with some of my sorority sisters around a high school track today for 45 minutes. We're planning on doing it again tomorrow morning.

ssankof73- I got my second fill a week after my first. I felt restriction for a few days after the first fill (4.6cc on Sept 5) but then I was able to eat about anything and I just kept wanting to eat. Hunger not head hunger. I went back 8 days later and they put in another 2.4cc. That was this Thursday and I do have some good restriction right now. My doc says if I am able to eat more than 1/4-1/2 cup at a time to call and schedule a fill. Then I asked how many calories she wants me to eat a day and she tells me 1200. YEAH RIGHT!!! LOL Maybe in the future but there is no way in hell I would be able to get in 1200 calories a day. I am doing really good just getting in 500-600. For lunch today and had 1/4 cup of cheese soup (I wil be adding this recipe for all. It is magnificent!!) and then supper I was able to eat a weight watchers smart one. It had 210 calories and 18 grams of protein. I feel great though. She told me Thursday that I HAVE TOO get my calories up some though because my body is stalled on losing again and she thinks it is because of all the exercising and the low calories. She believes my body is reserving because it thinks I am trying to starve it. Who the hell would have ever thought!!!!!!!!!! I am getting told eat more exercise a little less. LOL That to me is hilarious!!!

Hope everyone else that I haven't talked to in a long while is doing wonderful. I miss you all and can't what to hear all your nsv and scale victories!! I will be around all day tomorrow I think (if my daughter decides she doesn't want to go shopping). I cleaned the whole house top to bottom on the inside, went outside and pressure washed the outside of the house and windows, mowed my lawn (3.5 acres on a rider though so no major work out), cleaned the inside of my car, and done my laundry all up today so that tomorrow I will have NOTHING to do but set and relax. Then my daughter says mom I want to go shopping tomorrow because I have tomorrow off. I said ' Court I want to relax tomorrow because I have tomorrow off.' I told her I would go in the afternoon if she really watned to or maybe we could go next weekend and just spend the day together watching movies in our comfy clothes all day. LOL Hoping she goes for the latter. LOL

Sorry such a long post. I just get on here after being gone for a while and I just don't know when to shut it off. Then I look up at the screen and I have half of a novel wrote. :faint:

[IndioGirl55 32]

How much is everyone able to eat per meal? I'm able to eat 1 to 1 1/2 cups of food. I never get anything stuck, PB or slime (not that I'm lookinfg forward to it). I was told by my fill Dr. that if I eat for more than 20 minutes during a meal, I've eaten too much. That's a mistake that I'm trying to correct now. I saw the the 20 minute mealtime in someone's recent post, too. I just want to know if my new eating habits are normal or if I'm eating way too much....especially since I just got this fill yesterday.

Walking record

I walked with some of my sorority sisters around a high school track today for 45 minutes. We're planning on doing it again tomorrow morning.

Ssankofa

I don't think your fill is working - I couldn't eat much when I 1st got filled. But now 10 days later I am eating as much as your are now...

I would call your doc or fill place on Monday... I'm going to call myself a I think I can eat too much too.

Excercise Record

2 miles 36 minutes on incline of 3 intervals - 2 dots at level 2 dots at 3 incline - (treadmill) and then did about 10 minutes on the weights - arms & legs...

[IndioGirl55 32]

I cleaned the whole house top to bottom on the inside, went outside and pressure washed the outside of the house and windows, mowed my lawn (3.5 acres on a rider though so no major work out), cleaned the inside of my car, and done my laundry all up today so that tomorrow I will have NOTHING to do but set and relax. Then my daughter says mom I want to go shopping tomorrow because I have tomorrow off. I said ' Court I want to relax tomorrow because I have tomorrow off.' I told her I would go in the afternoon if she really watned to or maybe we could go next weekend and just spend the day together watching movies in our comfy clothes all day. LOL Hoping she goes for the latter. LOL

Jackie 46 lbs :clap2: all that in / out house work :clap2: - you deserve a rest:eek:

We seem to have some really "BIG LOSSERS" here - I think we should start our own tv show

[jackie506 1]

Jackie 46 lbs :clap2: all that in / out house work :clap2: - you deserve a rest:eek:

We seem to have some really "BIG LOSSERS" here - I think we should start our own tv show

indio- funny that you talked about a tv show for us. Just last night I told me husband that I think we should try to come up with a show somewhat like biggest loser for bandster. The difference would be though no one would be voted out!!!

Just trying to get things done before it gets really brisk outside. It was 54 degrees here today but it was bearable outside. I like to be outside working when it is like that. Through some sweats on with a sweat shirt and away we go. LOl

Thanks for the compliment!!

[IndioGirl55 32]

indio- funny that you talked about a tv show for us. Just last night I told me husband that I think we should try to come up with a show somewhat like biggest loser for bandster. The difference would be though no one would be voted out!!!

Just trying to get things done before it gets really brisk outside. It was 54 degrees here today but it was bearable outside. I like to be outside working when it is like that. Through some sweats on with a sweat shirt and away we go. LOl

Thanks for the compliment!!

Ya i agree with the no voting off - premise would be who was able to help the most to get the slower losers or the unmotivated motitvated through kindness and support and a tad pit of tough love - but i can't stand the yelling that' would never motivate me... I have it tivo'd and havent' watched it yet... and the amount of exercise they have - omg i would be dead on day one.. throwing up omg - that can't be good and a sign that your body is over worked - I don't like that part of the show.

[Brandy 0]

Jackie, Perhaps you should move on to solids. I was doing the same thing eating only 500 to 600 calories and exercising vigorously, and Dr said I should be between 800 and 1200 calories, I believe and said once I got my first fill it would be 1200 to 1400, I think. I'm now averaging in the 800-900+ range. Had some days that weren't typical, as I was in Vegas or ate out, which usually means more calories.

But anyway, I've been on solids since first fill, a month a go. And I can eat anything. bread goes down just fine! I buy the Nature's Own light honey wheat bread, only 40 calories a slice and a good source of Fiber. I toast it with a little bit of whipped butter, and it is delicious and makes your meat seem more like a meal. I eat chicken, turkey, ham, canadian bacon, hamburger, steak, porkchops, etc., without problem. Small problem with first porkchop, but I was eating too fast and didn't chew enough. Also had biscuits and rolls at restaurants and they were fine too. It's all about moderation. Decide what you are going to eat and then stop. I know there is restriction, but I still think it's all about portion control! I'm better at home and when i pack my lunch than I am in restaurants, but that's mainly because of the type of food. At home, I measure out the meat, etc., and eat only what I've put on my plate. I may feel the restriction at the end of the meal, but I was going to stop when I finished my plate anyway.

DH thinks I could have just done this on my own without spending the $14K, but I don't think so. I have good self control, but need to be working a plan to stay motivated. Like they say, it's a tool, not magic. I am working the plan. Without the plan, and the knowledge that this is going to work and I'm going to reach my goal eventually, there are times that I probaby wouldn't have been able to stay on a diet on my own. At first it was the pre-op diet, I stuck to it cause I didn't want my liver to be too big for the surgery, so there wasn't a chance of my cheating. Then you had the surgery and there was the fear of stretching something, so you stayed on the liquids, etc. Then there was the fill and you feel pain if you eat too fast or don't chew. So, that's why this has been successful, more so than doing it on your own would have been. Well worth every penny, although i still wish my insurance co would have stepped up to the plate!

[Brandy 0]

And another thing! Remember that I didn't tell anyone at work that I had the surgery, which I still think was the right decision. I've been getting a lot of compliments at work and of course, everyone wants to know how you are doing it and I imagine if they knew I had surgery, they would just dismiss the amount of effort that's actually been involved and think that it was easy. And we all know that this hasn't been easy. I do think it's a sure thing and that you'd have to go a long way to mess it up, but it certainly hasn't been easy. It's that sureness that keeps me motivated, when the weight loss stalls a bit! But, I know that I have worked hard for every pound of my weight loss and continue to make good eating decisions going forward because of it!

[dmtjet 0]

Jeannie

45 lbs - CONGRATULATION TO YOU TOO !!!!!!:clap2::clap2:

Hey, thanks! I had been going on my pre-op weight and thought, gee, that isn't quite right, 'cause I lost more than that ... so, why not!!!!! Makes me feel a lot better! Thanks for noticing, lol!

[dmtjet 0]

Jackie,

Haven't tried the Weight Watcher's Ice Cream, but I will certainly give it a try! I was buying the Carb Smart, but then went to the sugar free Brands. Not sure which is the better choice of the two, but since I am/was diabetic (off all meds) wasn't sure which route to go! Thanks for the heads up on that brand!

[dmtjet 0]

IndioGirl, Congrats to you! Awesome how you exercise! I need motivation, but I am soooo impressed by those that get it in! Now, my hubby and I have been going to fairs and festivals and doing a great deal of walking, but other than that, not much on my part!!!

[dmtjet 0]

Jackie, Perhaps you should move on to solids. I was doing the same thing eating only 500 to 600 calories and exercising vigorously, and Dr said I should be between 800 and 1200 calories, I believe and said once I got my first fill it would be 1200 to 1400, I think. I'm now averaging in the 800-900+ range. Had some days that weren't typical, as I was in Vegas or ate out, which usually means more calories.

But anyway, I've been on solids since first fill, a month a go. And I can eat anything. bread goes down just fine! I buy the Nature's Own light honey wheat bread, only 40 calories a slice and a good source of fiber. I toast it with a little bit of whipped butter, and it is delicious and makes your meat seem more like a meal. I eat chicken, turkey, ham, canadian bacon, hamburger, steak, porkchops, etc., without problem. Small problem with first porkchop, but I was eating too fast and didn't chew enough. Also had biscuits and rolls at restaurants and they were fine too. It's all about moderation. Decide what you are going to eat and then stop. I know there is restriction, but I still think it's all about portion control! I'm better at home and when i pack my lunch than I am in restaurants, but that's mainly because of the type of food. At home, I measure out the meat, etc., and eat only what I've put on my plate. I may feel the restriction at the end of the meal, but I was going to stop when I finished my plate anyway.

DH thinks I could have just done this on my own without spending the $14K, but I don't think so. I have good self control, but need to be working a plan to stay motivated. Like they say, it's a tool, not magic. I am working the plan. Without the plan, and the knowledge that this is going to work and I'm going to reach my goal eventually, there are times that I probaby wouldn't have been able to stay on a diet on my own. At first it was the pre-op diet, I stuck to it cause I didn't want my liver to be too big for the surgery, so there wasn't a chance of my cheating. Then you had the surgery and there was the fear of stretching something, so you stayed on the liquids, etc. Then there was the fill and you feel pain if you eat too fast or don't chew. So, that's why this has been successful, more so than doing it on your own would have been. Well worth every penny, although i still wish my insurance co would have stepped up to the plate!

Brandy, I know what you are saying! I feel you did do the right thing and we all did! We didn't achieve success on our own, because we have an illness! We are addicted to food and without help, we weren't physically or mentally able to do this! Don't you ever question your choice! It is done and yes, you did the right thing! Men lose much easier than us and I do think they have a hard time seeing that! Plus, being in the kitchen ALL the time, doesn't help one bit! LOL:faint:

[ribearty 544]

DMTJET, Jackie is right. Weight Watchers ice cream and treats are good and full of fiber. The fudgesicle is one point and has 5 grams of fiber in it.

I too was afraid of solids etc. Friday was the first day I could eat red meat, salad, bread. Last night my DH and I went out to eat. I ate bread, filet mignon, vegetables and salad without any problem. I was glad. I am guessing as the fills get tighter this may not be the case. Have to wait and see. I know I am ready for my next one. I was told by people who had the band that the first one does not last very long. I know when I had it I had restriction for about 4 days then I felt as I had before. After I get my fill, I am on liquids for three days, mushies for a day and on day 5-10 I can eat anything except red meat, bread, rice, salad, and fibrous vegetables.

Congrats to Jackie, Jeannie, CeCe and everyone else on your great weight losses. I am plugging along. Exercising but not movement on scale. It will come. I just finished 10 days of medicine that I think were contributing to this nonmovement.