TerriDoodle

I must be destined NOT to join a (live) support group -- both that are good for me meet on Tues. nights....and I can't DO Tuesday nights . Oh well, I'll keep trolling!

It's from the "reports" section of www.fitday.com where I track my food & weight. Go check it out! I can even generate a chart like this, too:

Isn't this a thing of beauty?? (really, I'm just testing something out about posting)...but it's still pretty!!

My husband got sick a week before also. I didn't go within 10 feet of him for 3-4 days (and slept in another room) and washed my hands 20x a day. Do whatever you gotta do!!

WOW, Panda! Isn't that an amazing feeling??? But just think of it... 50#....that's like one of those HUGE bags of dog food, or a bag of cement!!! All that weight you were lugging around before -- no wonder you were winded! And it will just keep getting easier and easier. I've only lost about 10# since surgery and I can already feel the difference in the stress on my joints, too. I actually JOGGED a bit on the treadmill last night until I remembered - OOPS - I probably shouldn't be doing this!! Gotta check with my doc today to see what I'm allowed/not allowed to do in that regard. If I actually start running any decent distance - oh, like say a HALF a mile - we will definitely have to declare some kind of holiday or something. I have NEVER been able to run. N-E-V-E-R. That's one of my goals. I'm really happy for you, Panda!!! :cheer2: re: PEANUT BUTTER - I started a thread yesterday asking if folks could or could not eat it. Take a look here.

I'm definitely in a rut, but I just wanna get thru this next two weeks without breaking any bandster rules. I'm supposed to be eating mushie baby-food type things, with the exception of fish, eggs and well-cooked vegetables. I will just give you a list of things I've been eating: 1) Cottage cheese - every day - sometimes 2x a day. I puree 4 strawberries or canned pears, 1/2 c cot. cheese, 3 pkts of splenda...mix together. YUM 2) 1 c. Broccoli cheese soup from Quizno's or Jason's. I also enjoy the Campbell's "Select Gold" soups (or whatever they're called...come in a box container) but I make them a bit richer by adding some half & half and a bit of butter. 3) Vegetable tofu & egg drop soup mixed together from my fav. chinese restaurant. Generally I don't like tofu, but I don't mind it in soups and it adds protein. 4) Homemade smoothies - berries, 1/3 banana, yogurt, scoop of unflavored protein, raspberry ice Crystal Light for added flavor & ice. Whirred around in my magic bullet. 5) Baked tilapia, mashed potatoes and canned green beans (about once every 3 days) 6) 2 scrambled eggs made with half-n-half and butter fills me up like crazy. I love 'em for a quick dinner. 7) Today I brought a beautiful, ripe avocado to have as a snack. Just sprinkle w/ salt! Very good for you. 8) Cream of wheat (cooked, not instant) with butter, cinnamon and DaVinci SF praline syrup. Also add some unflavored protein to this. I track what I eat on on www.fitday.com and transfer the data to my journal here on LBT if you want to see what kind of calories I'm eating. Sounds to me like you aren't getting very many! I'm supposed to be shooting for 1000-1200 but I haven't made it yet. That's about it for me. I'd kill for an Asian Chicken Salad from Panera right now...but I'll have to wait!!

Weight today 203! Total: 980 Fat:34 307 32% Carbs:52 191 20% Fiber:4 0 0% Protein:73 293 31% Alcohol:22 155 16% Activity - 30 mins on treadmill 3.1mph @ 2.5 incline - 200 cals recumbant bike - 10 mins - 50 cals Net calories 730

Weight today 203! Total: 980 Fat:34 307 32% Carbs:52 191 20% Fiber:4 0 0% Protein:73 293 31% Alcohol:22 155 16% Activity - 30 mins on treadmill 3.1mph @ 2.5 incline - 200 cals recumbant bike - 10 mins - 50 cals Net calories 730

I love peanut butter and I've heard some cannot eat it. Can you?

Oh, that's so great to hear!!! Thanks so much, Meli! We'll be glad to hear from her tomorrow.

Thank you for reminding me why I didn't tell my family!! BTW, I think you should copy what Jack wrote word for word. Ain't he just the greatest?

I hear what you're asking...you're saying you're banded but with no restriction, so you don't have a "pouch" to speak of....and you want to know if it's ok to drink. Well, I wouldn't...just for the fact that you might as well get used to NOT drinking so now's a good time. I've found that chewing a piece of gum right after I eat cures my desire to drink anything and I'm OK for a measly 1/2 hour. It goes by quick.

Teach, is the classic orange kinda like Tang? I love Tang!!

That's hilarious, BJean!!! Can't believe it stuck with you all these years! That must have been some chat! CB Sex!! LOL

Don't forget SF popsicles!! They count, too!

The shoulder pain is hard to manage. I kept a heating pad on it, took my pain meds and moved whenever possible. Even when I was just standing in the kitchen or brushing my teeth, I was walking in place. I know that shoulder pain can be pretty intense at times. It won't last too much longer. Oh, are you taking extra strength Gas-X 4 times/day?? You must!

I saw that pizza thread -- and I just shrugged my shoulders and got out. It's not my place to scold him/her for her food choices. I give them credit for already knowing that pizza would not be a good choice...but whatever! My doc doesn't prescribe a post op diet per se. He says enjoy the foods you always did...just less of them. So under those guidelines, pizza would be acceptable. But aside from that, I would hope that everyone looking for advice on this board would consider the source of that advice!! Whenever I'm looking for it, the first thing I look for is some indication or signature of how long they've been banded. And I don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that the advice of a person who's onlly been banded a short time may not be the whole story...only their version given their limited experience. I feel pretty sure most of the users here do the same.

CMarie -- I came here to post almost the same thing!! I was banded 4/4, weight at surgery was 212 and I"ve lost 9 pounds since then (in 12 days). It's kinda freakin' me out! I know it will come to a screeching halt but just wanted to check in to see of others in this range had the same experience! I have joined a gym and am committed to regular exercise, so I hope this is what keeps the scale moving!....but surely not at a pound a day!! LOL...Wouldn't THAT be nice?!

Julee - I apologize!! I didn't read your post properly. You're afraid you won't be able to follow the 'bandster rules'!...not of the surgery itself. Forgive me. Let me just say that, for me, when the weight starts melting off that it helps tremendously when you realize things you have to give up. But, really, the 'sacrifices' are not all that hard...because the band helps with that!! Food (for me) has taken on a whole new significance....in the fact that it's NOT nearly as important to me as it used to be. You will soon find that your focus is on other things. I love all the extra time I have now...not preparing, eating, worrying about FOOD!! It truly is a new kind of freedom and I'm lovin' it.

LUNASA, DYNAMO AND ((JENN)) - I am thinking about you guys so much today!! Sending lots of good vibes and I KNOW you'll do well. Know that we are all with you in spirit. XOXOXO!!!!!!!! Jullee -- Poor baby!! I don't know how many ways I can say it....or how many times you can read it from others who have been banded....YOU'LL BE FINE!!! I know how you feel--we've all been there. But please try to have confidence in all those posts you've read from people who have gone before you! It's not that bad....REALLY! 2-3 days and the worst is over. Have you read anyone who said, "OMG this was horrible!!! 100x worse than I ever imagined! I almost DIED on the table!!" Nah. We're all alive and kickin'!! AND LOSING WEIGHT AND FEELIN' GREAT!!! I wish I could give you a big hug!! Don't forget to breathe!! Tracy - LOL... I can't wait to see how you do next week. You've been like a ROCK to all of us and your anticipation level must be through the roof right now. How do you think you'll hold up??

Back to normal today!!! Absolutely back to my old self again...BUT 11# lighter! Weight today 204 Total: 894 Fat:48 431 49% Carbs:64 224 25% Fiber:8 0 0% Protein:56 225 26% Activity - 45 mins on treadmill @ 3.0 and 10 mins on bike at target HR for 200 calories

Back to normal today!!! Absolutely back to my old self again...BUT 11# lighter! Weight today 204 Total: 894 Fat:48 431 49% Carbs:64 224 25% Fiber:8 0 0% Protein:56 225 26% Activity - 45 mins on treadmill @ 3.0 and 10 mins on bike at target HR for 200 calories

Ditto to everything Pamela (Kity) said!!! Ok, well, i was going to wait 'til I finished this WONDERFUL book i am reading to tell ya'll more about it, but I can't wait. The book is written by a life coach and talks about how to make lasting change. The topic of attitude is really important and I love this part of the book that covers that topic: "...The benefits of where you're headed need to be clear. Just as you need a powerful 'what', you need a meaningful 'why'. [define your goal and be clear on your motivation.] A strongly emotional why makes meaning out of the drudgery you may have to go through and gives you a reason to persist. In thinking about your 'why', muse on this: why you may have been pushed into action by hitting bottom, ultimately you need something positive that you want to go toward. That's the insight from organizational consultant Robert Fritz, who's made it his life work to study conscious change. Fritz discovered that while we can motivate ourselves in the short run to make changes by scaring ourselves--I've got to stop smoking or i'll die--in the long run, we must be headed toward something positive we want to create: I want to live long enough to see my daughter's children; I want to be free from addiction, etc. That's because when we motivate ourselves positively we are operating in the same way as the forces for creation in the natural world and thereby increase the possibility of success. Fritz is no New Age flake; his ideas are firmly rooted in the laws of physics. If you are interested in learning more, dip into his book, The Path of Least Resistance. Psychologists have discovered a similar thing. Trying consciously to remove a negative mental image or habit actually reinforces it. That's because if you give yourslf a command such as "Don't think of donuts," there's actually a part of the brain that is trying to obey by constantly scanning ("Are you thinkiing about donuts now? How about now?"), which of course results in you constantly thinking about the very thing you've vowed not to. But if you create a positive image of what you want to go toward, that's what the brain begins scanning for instead. Finding positive motivation also engages your emotional brain to work FOR the change, not against it. It is the nature of the emotional brain to seek pleasure. So the more emotionally pleasurable your positive motivation, the more it will help you achieve your goal...." This is from the book, [ame=http://www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/0767920082/ref=s9_asin_title_1-hf_favarsnfggenpx_2267_p/104-7375875-5443924?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-1&pf_rd_r=046HX1NNXNNT3DJBRDSE&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=278240701&pf_rd_i=507846]This Year I Will...How to finally change a habit, keep a Resolution, or make a Dream Come True by M.J. Ryan[/ame] . If anything from the passage above resonates with you, I suggest you read this book....it is SO hitting home for me. I am PUMPED!!!

Frankly I would report his a** immediately. I wouldn't necessarily seek any kind of 'disciplinary action' at this point, but it needs to be in the record. If you don't report him, at least keep your own detailed records. AND make it clear to him that conversation makes you very uncomfortable. The guy sounds like a jerk to me.

Of course I already know without asking that exercise is the "key"....but not necessarily for everyone! Just curious if exercise truly helped you get past a plateau, helped you lose steadily all the way along, or, if you didn't exercise, are you struggling with your weight loss? I would prefer "exercise" to mean "vigorous, heart-pumping, sweat-inducing exercise" at least 3x a week. Just a show of hands, so to speak.... yes, regular exercise has absolutely made the difference between losing at a steady pace and not losing Yes, it has helped, but it's still a struggle to get the weight off No, not really. I'm losing, but very slowly, and exercise doesn't seem to make a significant difference. No, it doesn't seem to matter what I do....I cannot get this number to budge! (and I AM following all the bandster rules...honest!)