bigtom1948

Into day 5 of Optifast and it's getting a little less hard to bare weight loss seems to be slowing down and my gut is basically empty except for some animal that growls a lot . 9 days to go and I have developed ketosis breath that even I can detect. Peppermint toothpaste helps tone it down but ketosis breath comes as a byproduct of fat burning and comes out in your breath and also in your urine. It happens when you don't have redily available carbs to convert to glucose the stored fat is metabolized from the liver and from muscle first and then from those adipose tissue deposits we'er all trying to shrink down to somewhere near normal size. Once we can eat normal food even though in modest amounts the breath should return to normal. I have noticed good night kisses are a bit quicker than usual. Good luck to all of us and I guess you all can expect those pangs of the first few days to wane as the body becomes used to less food coming in.

Gee, its the mens room but its refreshing to read the truthful fem points of view regarding attractiveness. I have been married for 47 years and I still think my wife is hot. Getting fatter and fatter as I have has really been a physical drag on intimacy but she stuck by me and is all encouragement for the lap-band process. A note to those long term heavies losing the Big Gut though consider a Tummy Tuck before you go out on the hunt for the girls cause I'm pretty sure that acres of loose skin could really freak out your new hotties

I am very late in the response to your question and perhaps unwelcome as a male in this issue. I'll just say it there is NO excuse for physical or mental abuse in a marriage. Please consider leaving as soon as possible. The "I'll never let you go" comment scares the hell out of me cause too many contoling spouses (male and female) have in the past made the choice to kill thier spouses and the children to "save them from the pain".
I grew up in a home that had violence both ways more often than I care to remember. It made quite an impression on me and I vowed to never be like that even if I get hurt I don't lash out. I am happily married now for 47 years and we never hit each other and if we fight, we fight fair without lobbing unrelated personal attacks and sticking to the issue(s) that are bothering us. Some we resolved, some we lived with and MOST turned out to not be that important as time passed. I don't think we have fought more than 5-6 times since we have been married because we talk to each other and we are both sensitive the each others feelings. We make it clear that we respect each others opinions and always consult each other on big issues, epsecially in how our money is spent. If we had resorted to personal invictives then I think we wouldn't have stayed together this long. But hey thats just us. It's sad but it seems that some folks confuse love with power and domination over another.
At any rate, having had two daughters who both, unbeknownst to me, had abusive boyfriends and they put up with it "cause I Loved Him" and gave me the the Ol' "You wouldn't have understood" lines. This happened in thier 20's and they are amazed how wise I became by the time they reached thier 30's. Mind you they didn't let me know about it then cause had I known I WOULD have confronted these Bozo's. It made me feel really nice when they both said that they were looking for relationships like my wife and I share. But it also saddened me that they put up with this after living and observing an example of a good partnership. My wife and I aren't saints but we work at our marraige and I love her as much now as I did when love was new and shiney. It can still shine if it gets buffed with love and respect.
Final thought is You Deserve Respect and have the right to be treated in a kind, loving manner...especially from your husband. Of course you must also respect yourself enough to say NO to this abuse. He's the one you made vows with and no excuses for cultural differences should be tollerated.
I am sorry if my butting in was out of line or is unwelcome but, Jesus help us, the "I'll never LET you go" thing really screamed danger to me. Take care and continue to ask your counselor for help but don't stay for money or the kids missing thier dad. They would miss thier Mom a lot more.

Saw in this thread that someone wanted a low cal low carb dressing for salad.
Creamy Dill Ranch Dressing
This recipe is from
EatingWell.com


Cottage cheese blended in a food processor to a creamy texture, while not traditional in Ranch dressing, delivers unbelievable richness with minimal calories and fat.

Serves: 10
Prep Time: 10 min
Total Time: 10 min

Ingredients:



1 small shallot, peeled


3/4 cup(s) nonfat cottage cheese


1/4 cup(s) reduced-fat Mayonnaise


2 tablespoon(s) buttermilk powder


2 tablespoon(s) white-wine vinegar


1/4 cup(s) nonfat milk


1 tablespoon(s) fresh dill, chopped


1/4 teaspoon(s) salt


1/4 teaspoon(s) freshly ground pepper



Procedure:

With the food processor running, add shallot through the feed tube and process until finely chopped. Add cottage cheese, mayonnaise, buttermilk powder and vinegar. Process until smooth, scraping down the sides as necessary, about 3 minutes. Pour in milk while the processor is running. Scrape down the sides, add dill, salt and pepper and process until combined.

Note: I don't have a food processor so I used my blender. I hand minced the shallot and put it in en masse with all the other ingredients except for milk. Don't remove lid while running to add anything! Turn it off, then add the milk and restart blending till smooth. It worked fine for me and the dressing came out rich and full bodied. The only problem is that the dressing, being freshly made wo/ preservatives, does not keep more than a day or two, but has a very nice lite flavor and is easy to make.

Nutritional Information
(per serving) 1/10th of mixture

Calories 19


Total Fat 1g


Saturated Fat 0


Cholesterol 1mg


Sodium 125mg


Total Carbohydrate 2g


Dietary Fiber--


Sugars--


Protein 2g


Calcium0

Try it over this Chickpea salad for a light band friendly lunch:
This recipe was also from EatingWell.com

Feta cheese and chickpeas lend a Mediterranean flair to this satisfying side salad. The Creamy Dill Ranch is great with it, but would also be good with a tangy vinaigrette.

Serves: 6
Total Time: 10 min
Prep Time: 10 min

Ingredients:



1 can(s) chickpeas, rinsed


3 cup(s) cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced


2 cup(s) grape tomatoes, halved (or cherry tomatoes)


1/4 cup(s) crumbled reduced-fat feta cheese


1/4 cup(s) red onion, diced (I substitute w/ sweet onion)


1/2 cup(s) Creamy Dill Ranch Dressing, see recipe above


Freshly ground pepper, to taste



Procedure:

Place chickpeas, cucumber, tomatoes, cheese, onion, dressing and pepper in a medium bowl. Mix until coated.

Nutritional Information
(per serving) 6 servings Including Dressing

Calories 90


Total Fat 2g


Saturated Fat 1g


Cholesterol 3mg


Sodium 238mg


Total Carbohydrate 14g


Dietary Fiber--


Sugars--


Protein 5g


Calcium 0

Yeah it does sound strange but once you get below about 1,000 calories the body shifts to starvation mode and weight loss can actually slow. Weird Huh?
You want to avoid very low calorie plans in weight loss because you can set your set point too low and then you'll gain more weight than you may expect when you establish a new normal intake point for yourself with your dietitions guidence.
To get an idea of the amount of calories you will need try this site:
http://www.freedieti..._calculator.htm
just remember to put the goal weight in the calculator to reflect how many calories you need to maintain the goal.
You can also put in your current weight just to see approximately how many calories you needed to maintain that size.
Good luck and a 2-3 pounds a week is less likely to result in regaining than 5 or more we all didn't gain overnight and even with the band we shouldn't expect to lose it too fast.

Both my daughter and her husband went through the same frustration and doubts that you describe and they didn't lose much and occaisionally slipped back the first couple of months after surgery. He started out at 425 pounds and she at 380 pounds. They were lucky that they had each other to push them along and continue the exercise even when it appeared hopeless. My son in law found his sweet spot after the third fill and my daughter on her forth. My son in law has lost 150 pounds as of last month and my daughter's weight has dropped 125 pounds as of last month. They look great and they say that they feel great. They certainly have more energy than a year ago. As of now there weight loss has dropped to 1-2 pounds a week they eat modest quantities of food but don't deny themselves a taste of the good things (except for my son in laws problem with keeping down bread and lettuce). They both say its the best thing they could have done for thier future lives together and I believed them so much that I had the band put into myself on the 10th in the sure hope and desire to do as the children have done.
I'm coming up to that mushies stage where everything will go down easily and the potential for taking in more calories than I expect will be high. Knowing that doesn't make it any easier and I am sure that the demons of dispair are near my doorstep.
As said earlier it's bandster hell till the sweet spot is found on the band and I look to my kids for inspiration. I'll make it and SO WILL YOU. You were doing everything right pick it up again, don't quit the race for your life so early. You are important, you are a winner, you are loved by your family and friends and everyone here wants you to succeed too.
Sorry but that is as bad a scolding as I can muster I am far too humbled by my own past failures and my hope for a thinner future to yell at anyone. I've offered you the inspiration of my childrens success and all of my encouragement...because if I doubt or stumble on this journey I too would want a kind hand to lift me up, plant my feet on the path and cheer me on to be the winner I always wanted to be in this the longest and hardest battle of my life.
So, with our chins up our feet on the path and with tears of hope glistening in our eyes we'll both move towards the prize and ya know what I'm sure I'll see ya there. Good luck, don't lose hope.
Best Regards
Tom

I havn't seen the meaness that some of you have written about in this thread. I don't see flames or overtly devisive comments. I hope that I never do. If you do see someone being that preditory then it should be reported useing the little yellow triangle at the bottom of the posting. Because offensive, derogatory or hurtful posts really don't belong here.
I do think that some folks are somewhat careless in the composition of thier responses. As said earlier in this thread its sometimes problomatic to convey intent in the text. This is especially true for the casual writer who may unintentionally offend the reader. I try very hard to write clearly and use the emoticons to support the intent. Even then, I sometimes make gaffs The emoticons, although not perfect, are useful.
It's really unfortunate that most of us have fallen away from writing personal notes or letters to other folks. Its a skill honed with practice to a keen edge in hope that the reciever of the missive is not unsure of the intent of the sender. But, even with that there are players that like to lace thier prose with double meanings. I don't think that happens here. I believe it's just the lack of writing style and the use of sloppy syntax that we have nowadays.
Most of the posts and responses are folks trying to be helpful and can be used or ignored at the will of the reader. I have seen some of the responses that appeared overly clinical while others seemed dismissive but all were trying in thier own way to be helpful
I know I want encouragement and understanding when I am lost, afraid or need help and therefore I try to encourage and praise in my response to posts. I do not have the right to criticise other folks requests for help as failings when I have so often failed myself. It's just not right to do that. So to all of us in the journey, rally round, be brave, love yourselves and others and thus we all can move forward.
God Bless
Tom

I am very late in the response to your question and perhaps unwelcome as a male in this issue. I'll just say it there is NO excuse for physical or mental abuse in a marriage. Please consider leaving as soon as possible. The "I'll never let you go" comment scares the hell out of me cause too many contoling spouses (male and female) have in the past made the choice to kill thier spouses and the children to "save them from the pain".
I grew up in a home that had violence both ways more often than I care to remember. It made quite an impression on me and I vowed to never be like that even if I get hurt I don't lash out. I am happily married now for 47 years and we never hit each other and if we fight, we fight fair without lobbing unrelated personal attacks and sticking to the issue(s) that are bothering us. Some we resolved, some we lived with and MOST turned out to not be that important as time passed. I don't think we have fought more than 5-6 times since we have been married because we talk to each other and we are both sensitive the each others feelings. We make it clear that we respect each others opinions and always consult each other on big issues, epsecially in how our money is spent. If we had resorted to personal invictives then I think we wouldn't have stayed together this long. But hey thats just us. It's sad but it seems that some folks confuse love with power and domination over another.
At any rate, having had two daughters who both, unbeknownst to me, had abusive boyfriends and they put up with it "cause I Loved Him" and gave me the the Ol' "You wouldn't have understood" lines. This happened in thier 20's and they are amazed how wise I became by the time they reached thier 30's. Mind you they didn't let me know about it then cause had I known I WOULD have confronted these Bozo's. It made me feel really nice when they both said that they were looking for relationships like my wife and I share. But it also saddened me that they put up with this after living and observing an example of a good partnership. My wife and I aren't saints but we work at our marraige and I love her as much now as I did when love was new and shiney. It can still shine if it gets buffed with love and respect.
Final thought is You Deserve Respect and have the right to be treated in a kind, loving manner...especially from your husband. Of course you must also respect yourself enough to say NO to this abuse. He's the one you made vows with and no excuses for cultural differences should be tollerated.
I am sorry if my butting in was out of line or is unwelcome but, Jesus help us, the "I'll never LET you go" thing really screamed danger to me. Take care and continue to ask your counselor for help but don't stay for money or the kids missing thier dad. They would miss thier Mom a lot more.