Calling all April Bandsters!!!!

[Bea1128 1]

Hi everyone...I haven't been on in a while either!

Brandy: I'm with ya girl! I'm so happy to be in Onederland too. I don't know that I will reach my 100 pounds by my bandiversary, but I'm gonna try real hard. I think it would be fun, but the way I see it, I'm so far ahead of where I was this time last year!!! WOO HOO!

I remember finding this site last January and feeling so excited waiting for approval. I was feeling so desperate and sick of being fat. I'm so much happier this year and I know it's been slow, but what an amazing road we are on! I'm starting to get my life back!

Keep up the great work!

~C

Amen Sister!! I'm so much happier this year, I can hardly stand myself! LOL! I'm not going to make 100 lbs lost by April either, but I don't even care anymore! I'm just happy with the journey.

Way to go Brandy! YOu are doing so great!

Hope everyone else is doing well. I've been lurking here and there. I haven't had a chance to catch up. I have one week of nursing school under my belt and am a little overwhelmed. It will get better when I get a good routine going. With all the reading, I hardly have time for anything else.

Hope you all have a great week!!

[Turler 6]

Bea: Hang in there honey! Nursing school is tough, but you can do it! It was one of the best things I've ever done for myself. I love being a nurse and the career opportunities are endless. It IS a LOT of reading, I'll give you that. I vowed to never pick up another book again after nursing school was over...well now I'm in my BSN program. Go figure! LOL

PM me if you ever just wanna chat nurse-y stuff!

~C

[Bea1128 1]

Bea: Hang in there honey! Nursing school is tough, but you can do it! It was one of the best things I've ever done for myself. I love being a nurse and the career opportunities are endless. It IS a LOT of reading, I'll give you that. I vowed to never pick up another book again after nursing school was over...well now I'm in my BSN program. Go figure! LOL

PM me if you ever just wanna chat nurse-y stuff!

~C

Thanks so much! I'm really excited about finally getting started. Right now I'm just trying to figure out how to stay awake so I can read! LOL! I'd love to chat sometime about nurse-y stuff. As soon as I get done with nursing school, I'll do the bridge to my BSN. I have a ton of hours and quite a few classes already done for that. Then, if I'm not dead from exhaustion, I'll get my MSN or NP. *sigh, looking longingly into the future*

Good luck with classes. Talk to you soon!

[momof5 0]

Hey guys. Well, it's been too long since me checking in that I have no idea what has been going on with everyone. But from doing a quick check, everyone seems to be doing so good! So many people have lost over 70lbs...way to go each of you!

Last I posted, I thought things were looking up but it has been really up and down. I am stagnant.Up a couple pounds, down a couple pounds. I really messed myself up over the holidays by eating sweets again and now can't seem to stop. I've gone back to my old ways of comfort eating. Plus, my anti-depressants aren't working so I go Tuesday to have those tweaked.

What I do hope you guys can help me with is getting me back on the right track. It seems I have forgotten everything! Please give me some ideas of foods that fill you up, things I can eat for meals, etc...I am still excercising but just can't get excited about eating the right things again. I'd love your input!

Thanks!

[Brandy~ 2]

Hi everyone! I am feeling alot better.. Thanks for all the congratulations!

I lost another pound so I should be at 78lbs lost when I update my ticker. I am only losing 3-5lbs a month at this point. I am seriously ok with that as long as I am a steady slow loser thats fine with me. I normally lose most of that weight all in 1-2 weeks and then stall for a couple weeks.

I am walking on cloud 9 since I am going to Hawaii next week. For once in my life I am looking forward to seeing how I fit in the airplane seat.

I am taking a swimsuit but I will wear shorts over the bottom for sure I am not that confident!

[momof5 0]

So excited for you! You have done GREAT!

[Brandy~ 2]

So excited for you! You have done GREAT!

I forgot to respond to your question about foods and meals.

I have really good restriction right now so I can only get 1/4-1/2 cup in at a time and it's normally meats, cheese, dairies. I do sit down and eat what I cook my family though. I always make 1 meat, 1 veggie, 1 fresh fruit for them so it's easy for me... I just pick at the meat and eat a veggie or 2.

I have been eating alot of lettuce wraps though lately they are kinda my new obsession. The most I can eat though is 1/2 a leaf of lettuce with 1 slice of turkey, 1 slice of cheese and I put a teaspoon of the tostitos spinach dip in it... Roll tight and it makes an awesome snack.< /p>

Theres a few bariatric cook books out there to give you ideas though too. Have you checked the recipe thread in the food section on here? I have used some of their ideas before and adapted them to suit my whole family.

Keep an eye on LULU if you like great ideas for yummy Protein Shakes. That girl knows how to make them. She has one recipe that is for a cheesecake shake.... YUMM!

Cheesecake Protein Shake

8oz skim milk

1 scoop chocolate Protein Powder

1 tbsp Peanut Butter

2 tbsp fat free cheesecake pudding mix

few ice cubes & blend

[momof5 0]

Thanks so much! Hearing that you can only 1/4-1/2cup of food makes me yern for that again and gives me hope! I am still able to eat too much! I'm going in for another fill Thursday and will get it tight! Then hit the shakes for a couple days. Gotta get back into it. I want to make my year goal!

[Brandy~ 2]

Thanks so much! Hearing that you can only 1/4-1/2cup of food makes me yern for that again and gives me hope! I am still able to eat too much! I'm going in for another fill Thursday and will get it tight! Then hit the shakes for a couple days. Gotta get back into it. I want to make my year goal!

You will hit your year goal you're doing great! you just had a hiccup and you're going in the right direction. I see your weakness is a sweet tooth? I think that you could do well mixing up different Protein Shakes if you're using the sugar free pudding mixes in them. They are super great treats and you get in some great Protein.< /p>

[momof5 0]

Thanks for the encouragment. The Dr is planning to fill me very tightly and start me back as if I'd just had surgery to get things started again. So, the shakes will actually be my staple for about 3-5 days! I'm going to look up some recipes but if you have any you can share, I'd appreciate it. I want to have everything prepared and on hand prior to my fill so there are no excuses! The kids are helping me "clean out" all the sweets and they know that I won't be bringing them into the house anymore for a while. Believe it or not, they were excited for me:)

Also, can anyone tell me what the 5 day pouch test is?

Edited January 26, 2009 by momof5

[tamboclan 3]

Days One & Two: liquid Protein

low-carb Protein Shakes, broth, clear or cream Soups, sugar free Gelatin and pudding.< /em>

Day Three: Soft Protein

canned fish (tuna or salmon) eggs, fresh soft fish (tilapia, sole, orange roughy

Day Four: Firm Protein

ground meat (turkey, beef, chicken, lamb), shellfish, scallops, lobster, fresh salmon or halibut.

Day Five: Solid Protein

white meat poultry, beef steak, pork, lamb, wild game

You can see recipes etc. if you go to the website. 5daypouchtest.com

[Guest Leslie2Lose]

Hello everyone! I thought I'd post and say hello. I'm really really stuggling and have been for a while. I just e-mailed my fill center to see when I can get in - if they have a cancellation. I can eat ANYTHING! and DO! I'm maintaining but I really haven't had a good loss since July - yep JULY!...I keep losing and gaining the same 5-10 pounds over and over again...it's freakin' frustrating.

I am an emotional eater and have been going through a lot at home. I have to stop - I've picked up old behaviors and patterns. I just wanted to say I'm still here and reading the threads...I'm just so angry at myself and feel like a complete failure. What do ya'll do when you hit a brick wall or fall off course?

[Turler 6]

Leslie

One of the best things you can do for yourself is to stay on here with us! It helps so much and provides a gentle motivation. I know that I can't stay away long. I'm always reading, lurking and post when I can. We are here for you no matter what! You can get back in it...hang in there!

[Guest Leslie2Lose]

Thanks Carol! Oh and I got in for my fill 11:00 today...so yippie!

[seahawks 0]

Dear Leslie,

Your posts helped me so much when I was lurking around before I started chatting. Your humor and honesty gave me much needed incentive.

I"m glad to hear you were able to get a fill. I was lurking around on a different thread and noticed you did the 5 day pouch test. Did that seem to help or make it worse?

When I hit a wall, it's so difficult to keep a positive attitude and do the right thing because I don't see my immediate reward. I know you'll get back on track and see the results you're looking for. Please don't feel like a failure - you made a choice to get healthier and happier, and you've just hit a temporary road block. Looking back through the thread, you have had success. Please try to keep that in the front of your mind while you go through this yucky situation.

The main thing that helped my mental attitude is I started back at the gym about two weeks ago - after a four month absence. It was so hard to get motivated to go again, but the results have been great. No additional weight loss, still 1 - 2 pounds per week, but I just FEEL better. More energy in the evenings, so I give off the sofa to do something instead of watch TV and eat later than I should.

Please let me know what I can do to help. Do you need somebody to track calories with? Share your food journal with? Account for your exercise time? If I know I have to tell my husband what I eat during the day, it's amazing how my eating habits improve quickly. He hates that I use him for that motivation but it works every single time!

Hang in there - you'll get back on track and start seeing changes very soon.