Calling all April Bandsters!!!!

[Turler 6]

I agree Numbrgirl! I don't want to be miserable either and being too tight is awful. Don't be afraid to get some out if you think you're too tight!

[Brandy~ 2]

wow busy busy forum YAY I like it.

Gwenn- I might have miss spoke.. I don't stick to 1/2 a cup. I just cannot physically eat more than that. So I think someone that doesn't have as much restriction shouldn't have to try to adhere to that cause everyone is different. Just an FYI about the Protein drink you mentioned.. You drank it correctly by not consuming it all at one time. The body can only process a certain amount of Protein in one sitting.. the rest is washed out through the system. The amount you can process is up for debate still. My mom is in the nutrition field and says between 20-30 at most.

Everyone is doing great. we all have our ups and downs but were sticking together and sticking to it.

Now we need to call Leslie back out... I hope all is well with her I worry.

Oh I bought a new scale at costco a nice one by healthometer... it's worked wonderful for a few weeks and I got it all programmed... well now I weigh and it said I lost 48lbs over night LOFL I LOVE IT! So I have my husband get on and check it and it says he weighs about 25lbs less. It's broke and going back. I liked seeing such a small # on the scale tho haha.

[Turler 6]

Funny you mention Leslie; I was just thinking of her today...I worry too. I spoke to her a few weeks back and then right after that her entire profile was deleted. It shows her as a guest now or something weird. I hope she is okay and one of us hears from her soon.

~C

[Brandy~ 2]

Carol- I have her home address but not her email. I could send her a letter. Do you have her email?

[seahawks 0]

Cub Girl,

How did you lose all your wieght in the year? I am 5 foot and was 200 lbs. I was banded on 4/2/08 and have only lost 40 lbs. I have been going back and forth between 162 and 164 the last 3 months and can't mve the scales. I think I'm at my sweet spot due to I can't even eat a cup of food at a time. Before this crazy winter I walked everyday, but stopped due to the weather. However, I have started at a gym and I am going between 4 and 5 days a week but the scale is not moving. Normally, I eat about 60 grams Protein everyday. I need to count calories I think.

My last fill I was at 7cc in a 10cc band.

Hi DRH. Congrats on losing 40 pounds. That's awesome! There's not many of us shorty's out there, it's good to hear from you. Sorry in advance for a long post. A few ladies on this thread have really helped me out, so I'm happy to share what has worked for me.

I was filled too tight for quite a few months, so I've had a complete unfill for a few weeks. I haven't gained any weight and am still focused on my caloric intake. Finding your sweet spot should make a big difference. That's what really helped kick start my loss in July. Hopefully that scale will start moving for you soon. Are you getting enough fluids each day? If I had a slow loss or no loss week, I could usually look back and see I didn't drink enough. It's hard for me to drink enough when I'm at a good restriction, so I have to make an effort to get enough in.

The number 1 thing I changed starting August 1, was to count calories. I focused on keeping my calories right around 1k per day. One of the gals in this group, Bea, gave me a great formula. I'll copy it below so you can see if it will work for you. My current BMR + exercise is 1870 to maintain. Cutting out 500 - 750 calories per day still has me losing 1 pound per week average so far in 2009. Sometimes I wouldn't lose, because I wasn't getting enough calories. It took a month or so to really get it dialed in, but the results started showing up and made it easy to stay on track.

After my surgery, I knew I couldn't change everything at one time so I focused on different areas until they became a habit. For example, I focused on walking and riding my bike from April - July. Once I had that under control and felt like it was part of my daily routine, I added in counting calories. It was a lot of work for about 3 weeks. After that, it was simple to look back at the previous weeks to find the caloric information in everything. From August - December, I focused on counting calories. My exercise was minimal. Walking August - October, break in November and Pilates in December.

Like you, I haven't been walking because of the weather. In December, I started doing Pilates at home to help tone my legs. I do the 20 minute DVD 3 - 4 times per week. So, from December - March I focused on counting calories and doing Pilates.

Starting this week, I'm heading back to the gym. I miss lifting weights and am looking forward to getting back in there. To mix it up a bit, I'm going to do Water aerobics twice a week and lift weights twice a week.

Having a complete unfill was a bit scary, because I'm not sure if I've made the mental changes necessary to do this on my own even for a few weeks. It's only been 5 days, but I feel great. I'm looking forward to more restriction, but managed to lose 1 pound last week to get to my goal!!!

Good luck with your journey. Please keep me posted. I'd like to know how you get past this plateau. I have a few pair of Levi's that are in really good shape. One of them I only wore twice. They're both size 12. If you'd like them, I'll mail them off to you. I've taken all my clothes to Goodwill, but hate to give them such expense jeans that are in great shape. They're too short for most folks:smile:

Your BMR figures the calories you burn at your weight, height, and age just by being alive.

Women: BMR = 655 + (4.35 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age in years)

Men: BMR = 66 + (6.23 x weight in pounds) + (12.7 x height in inches) – (6.8 x age in years)

Then if you wanted you could use the following formula to determine how many calories you should take in to maintain your current weight. Then subtract 500 calories per pound of weight you would like to loose per week. So for example if you want to loose 2 pounds per week, you would subtract 1000 calories.

Harris Benedict Formula: To determine your total daily calorie needs, multiply your BMR by the appropriate activity factor, as follows:

1. If you are sedentary (little or no exercise) = BMR x 1.2
   
2. If you are lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week) = BMR x 1.375
   
3. If you are moderatetely active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week) = BMR x 1.55
   
4. If you are very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week) = BMR x 1.725
   
5. If you are extra active (very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training) = BMR x 1.9
   

[seahawks 0]

Happy Monday ladies!! I hope everybody had a great weekend. I was a bit anxious for the weekend since my unfill, but I stepped on the scale and lost a pound from last Monday. I'm officially at my pre-surgery goal I set. It was my all-time, where I would really like to be goal. I figured I would be closer to 150, but the surgeon said I should make a few goals and see what happens. Now I'm going to focused on maintaining this weight until my fill on next week.

Thanks so much to everybody for helping me, encouraging me when I needed it, and giving me a stern chat when I needed it! I appreciate it so much.

It's nice to see so much traffic here. I'll have to start stopping by on the weekends so I can stay up to date.

Brandy & Carol - I'm also thinking about Colorado Chick. Has anybody heard from her? I know her daughter had surgery at the end of the year. I just want to make sure everything is working out okay. I hope Leslie is taking care of herself. She's such a funny lady, I wish great things for her!

[Brandy~ 2]

No unfortunately I haven't heard from her and she hasn't updated her blog since January

Hopefully she will come around.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST!!

CONFREAKING-GRADULATIONS! That must have made your day, your life, your everything to see that. It's totally amazing I am sure.

I am gonna try not to streak nakey through my neighborood when I hit goal.

[gdf18 2]

Dear DRH,

It is harder to lose the closer one is to "goal." So, maybe there's something there. And a 8 oz of meat is a lot more calories than 8 of fish.So there are so many variables. Best talk to your doctor about it. When I went to the surgeon last week, he warned me that at this point I many only lose 3-4 a month and I have a lot more fat on me than you do. You need to ask about it. You don't want to start getting frustrated. And you have lost a substantial amount of weight. Don't lose sight of what you've accomplished.

[gdf18 2]

Where did you buy that wonderful scale? Yes, I'm a few messages behind. I'm in bliss right now....can't eat much and can go hours without thinking of food. Hope this lasts. I was 240 at the doctor's last week and 238.5 at home. Now I'm 233. Nothing like a few days of liquid. My only issue is that when I'm on empty, I start to get the shoulder pain. Even if I get a tablespoon of food in...it goes away.

And thanks for the update on Protein....I didn't know that. So today I drank too much at a time....I'll watch it now.

My husband's been away for a week- coming home tonight. It's been so easy to eat without worrying about what to make him - I'm happy with fish almost every night. When I was first banded I made separate food and I think I'm going back to that for a bit longer. But boy....do I miss him.

[gdf18 2]

CUBS GIRL: that is FABULOUS FABULOUS FABULOUS!! I hope you'll stick around even though you're at goal. I'm setting mini-goals instead, as I don't really know what this old body will be capable of doing.

Thank you for talking about what worked for you. I've never counted calories before being banded, but now I almost enjoy it. I use myfooddiary.com. Even though it's not free, I like it and am comfortable so I'm staying there. I've got some of my recipes in and also lots of foods I use that I've entered into the system. What's good about calorie counting is that one eventually gets an idea of what a portion is- what will be added or subtracted. And its a good lesson on choices. I think many of us never made a choice. Never said "mashed potato with dinner, or a dessert later". We ate both. I feel a strong sense of satisfaction when I accomplish the goals for the day.

WATER- so important. If you don't drink a lot of fluids, no weight loss.

CAROL- glad you're feeling better and better and I've been wondering about Leslie too. I dropped out for a few months and came back so maybe she will too! I hope she's doing well.

BRANDY- I feel the same way, but my problem is that if I streaked around town, my boobs would be trailing so bad that they'd get home a while after I did!

As you can see everyone, being in LA means I get caught up after most of you have retired for the evening! I'll be home tomorrow, so I'll check in earlier.

Night now!

[Brandy~ 2]

Mine too Gwenn... I am gonna need a good surgeon when I hit goal.

[drh0729 1]

Cub Girl,

Thank you so much for all your help. I have started to count calories last week and I feel I can only eat between 800 to 900 calories at the most. I feel like this is not enough. From the time I ha my surgery I walked about 2 miles a day and tried to start jogging up until last November, so I can see why things could have stopped. And you are right about drink Water I don't enough. Days i go to the gym I drink enough because I drink abut 32oz there. I actually love going to the gym. I have doing at least 3- 1 hour classes a week and working out with weights twice a week. I started walking this morning again and that's another 1.5 miles a day. I am healthier and that is the main reason I had the surgery. i'm off of all my meds and all my counts are down so that is something to be happy about. However, I would like that scale to move.

I will keep on and the fomula you gave me.

I don't know what state you live in, but if you are serious about the jeans, I would love them. I'm sure I'm like everyone else I have been buying only a few items so I'm not wasting money.

Here is my email address and I will give you my address.

drh0729@hotmail.com

Thanks

Darla

[gdf18 2]

I know we all but in here, Darla, so I'm going to do part to continue in that tradition- LOL.

I don't think you're eating enough calories. With the exercise added, your body may be in "survival mode" and is conserving fat. Now, that doesn't mean that you should eat alot of ice cream, but maybe adding some Liquid Protein for some calories if you can't eat more. And I would talk to your doctor or nutritionist about it. A healthy is about 1200. I'm at about 900-950 just off the fill and I know it will go up a little. I like 900-1100 for me. That plus the Water and I lose. Don't know your system but any doctor or nutritionist will tell you you're body needs more calories for healthy functioning if nothing else.

Let us know what you find out.

[Numbrgirl 0]

I think I may be experiencing some "survivor mode" as well. With all my exercise - I have been stuck at the 90 lb mark for a week and when the momentum slows down it is a real bummer!!! Being that I still have a large amount to go - I just want to see the numbers start moving again!!! I have tried to add more Protein but most days I just don't have an appetite so it is a challenge. Not that I am complaining!!

I am finally past the point of being overly tight. Right now I would describe the restriction as absolutely perfect. Too bad it cannot remain that way forever. But no more fills for a while!!!

[Brandy~ 2]

WOW It's nice to see lots of people posting :thumbup:

I need about 1588 calories to fuel myself for a day. I usually eat about 800 calories and have about 300 calories of liquid calories a day. so I am around 1100. I don't always count them because I have began losing the last few months on a regular basis. Since my scale broke though I feel heavier... But I think it's bloating since TOM is this weekend

I went back to exercising the last 2 days... I haven't done that in months... It's hard to go and do it when the weight was falling off without doing it.. But that just means I will be a big saggy mush without muscle if I don't do something and get off my badonka!

I have 21lbs till goal and I was really hoping to have that by this fall. I gotta get movin if I am gonna stick to that :w00t: