September Bandster Check-in

[*slim* 2]

Well, I had my 4th fill this week. I think I am now actually feeling restriction. I am still able to eat, but not that much. I had maybe half a cup of tuna salad and was stuffed. That was such an odd sensation.

I hope everyone else is doing well.

[terilynn112 1]

I've had my 5th. My dr gives tineeee tiny ones now. I'm lucky to get .5 each time. Anyway, I'm nearing good restriction, but am finally feeling some. So I'm starting to really feel things. That's good.

I'm glad you have restriction. It must be a wonderful feeling.

Teri

[*slim* 2]

I don't know about wonderful. I am glad to have the restriction, but since I haven't really had it before, I haven't had to really follow the bandster rules for eating slow and chewing really well. Now I HAVE to. I tried to eat a pear this morning with the skin on. I got to the second bite and started feeling that bubbling "it's not going down" feeling. I had to get up and walk around. I threw the rest of the pear away. Once you get that feeling, you just want it gone. You don't even care for eating. I am able to eat solid Protein (well, baked fish anyway). I haven't tried like chicken. I am trying to take it really slow. I won't be eating eating fruit with skin again any time soon. I think I will stick to apple sauce or something similar.

[usxu001 0]

Good for you..Yes, once you get the restriction you will start seeing a BIG difference. I went in a couple of weeks ago to get a fill and my dr. said that he didn't think I needed one, and to change my diet to eat "Dry Meals" which I had not been doing. Since I started doing that I have lost 6 pounds. I have to remind myself to eat and when I do I try for Protein first, then veggies, then if I am still wanting more, I go for the carbs.. I have another appt. on Monday Jan 26th so I will let you guys know how it goes after that. I have had three fills so far.

:tt2:

[*slim* 2]

When you say dry meals, what are you talking about? I am wondering if that is something that I may need to be doing. Are you talking about you have been eating Soups or something instead of solids? I know that since my fill, I did the Clear Liquids, then full, then mushies. I went back to regular food yesterday. I ate almost half of a huge pear yesterday until I started getting that soft stop signal. I had a Protein Drink and maybe a third of a can of spinach for dinner. I know that wasn't the best dinner, but I just wasn't hungry.

[usxu001 0]

Yes, that is what I mean.. My typical day would consist of Yogurt, cottage cheese, or oatmeal for Breakfast. For lunch was Soup, chili etc. (no crackers or bread) then for dinner I ate scrambled eggs with cheese etc. So what he said is that it is still ok to eat soft foods for breakfast since that is when I am the tightest, then after that no more soft foods. For lunch I now eat a can of chicken (at costco) with some light miracle whip and sweet pickles. A Smart One frozen meal with chicken and veggies, Protein Bars, sandwich meat with a cheese stick. For dinner I eat grilled chicken breast (4 oz.) with a veggie of some kind, salad or otherwise. It has made a huge difference. I am not hungry in-between meals either.

[*slim* 2]

That is great. I guess I need to take a look at what I might eat. Before this week, I could really eat pretty much anything so it wasn't a problem. Now, I am having to relearn my eating skills. I will admit to thinking about eating something like chili. I guess I will stick to maybe tuna salad or chicken salad. That would keep it from being too dry, but still have some solid Protein in it. I will admit to being scared of chicken breast right now. I know I need to eat try it. I won't know how I am going to respond to it until I try it. When you eat your grilled chicken breast, do you put anything on it help you get it down?

[*slim* 2]

Another question, how late in the morning is it before you start to loosen up? I am wondering about that since it was early morning when I tried to eat the pear today. I wasn't even thinking about possibly being too tight to try it.

[usxu001 0]

I usually eat my chicken with Heinz 57 sauce or something similar. I eat it right after I have cooked it being careful not to dry it out. You will be fine with chicken, just chew good, no need to psych yourself out it is a piece of cake( not literally..THat would be yummy LOL) I usually start to losen up around lunch time actually. My breakfast I eat is usually slow going then I can eat more for lunch. I have even eaten microwave chicken, which is supposed to be difficult because it dries it out..You just have to make sure you chew really good and small bites you will be fine! I have yet to throw up nor do I want to, so this seems to work for me. I have had only 2 soft stops and they are not fun! You learn as you go! I hope to be at 160 by the end of June.. How about you?

What state do you live in?

[*slim* 2]

I am in TN. I am going to stop at the store tonight and get some chicken. One of the chain stores has it on sale, so I will stock my freezer. Thanks for the tips. Oh, and I am just hoping to get below 200 at this point. It has been slow going.

[usxu001 0]

That sounds good! You also might want to try lean lunch meat wrapped in a slice of cheese..That is good too. I know what you mean by slow going, but at least its going. My brother lost about 90 pounds in a year so that type of weight loss is what I am shooting for. I recently started reading the Twilight Book from Stephenie Meyer and I don't read it unless I am on the bike at the gym..So that has helped me stay motivated to excersise.. Keep up the good work! Who would of thought that Twilight would help in losing weight.. LOL!!~!~!

[*slim* 2]

Well, I ate a real meal last night. I had a chicken breast tenderloin and spinach. I couldn't believe that I ate almost 6oz. of food! I think I may be one of those people that are tight in the morning. I struggled with breakfast, but did fine at dinner. I do like to eat the lunch meat with cheese. Sometimes I will do ham with lf cream cheese. That is really good too. I was doing that just because I liked it, not because I was having difficutly eating. Oh well, it is all on a learning curve. We will get it eventually.

[usxu001 0]

That is GREAT!! I am glad that you didn't have any problems getting it down. You would be surprised how much meat you can eat at one setting. Have you tried Laughing Cow cheese? It is just like cream cheese with 1/2 the calories. I just got back from the gym! I rode almost 9 miles on the bike in 45 minutes and was done before I knew it!

[*slim* 2]

That is awesome about your exercise! I want to buy a bike for home. My DH thinks it would be a clothes hanger. I would really hope not. I want something that I can do while watching tv or something like that. I have to have something to take my mind off of the fact that I am exercising. I know that is bad. I would really like to become one of those people that are addicted to it, but in order for that to happen, I have to do it more regularly than I am.

I have had Laughing Cow cheese. I had to stop buying it because I liked it too much. I would eat the entire wheel. Of course, that was pre-band, but I believe I probably could still eat quite a bit of that. I will have to buy some. I bought string cheese today and ate that with a slice of ham wrapped around it. That was a nice snack, and it held me for a a while. I am not used to that.

[usxu001 0]

I have a treadmill in my bedroom with a 19in. TV with DVD player hooked uped. It makes it nice to go watch a movie and walk at the same time. The bike is at the gym, which is not something I like to do all the time, but I am getting more used to it. I just went shopping for some pants this weekend and I bought 2 pairs of size 16!!!!!!!!! I started at a size 22...WE CAN DO THIS!!!!!!!!!!!

How did the string cheese go down?

Any Superbowl plans??