ncgg-5

Bless your heart, I know that was scary. Go back to liquids and call your Dr to see what he recommends. If it hurts, don't do it. Keep us posted on how you feel and how the fill goes. None of us have any idea of how long these plateaus will last and I'm sure it will be different for each person. The one thing I do know is we are not alone, a whole lot of other banders have had the same problem for the first few months. You're doing great! 30 lbs is wonderful and there is more to come soon. Hang in there. We can do it! Blessings, GG

I found these tips on other threads for helping get food down if you get "stuck". I will get these things to try if I have another episode. It was not fun. I don't think an occasional episode would damage anything but we certainly don't want that to happen many times. If you have a really bad episode like kauai bound did it might be a good idea to go back to liquids or at least mushies for the next day or even 2. I do know one bander said she ended up in the emergency room and they said her esophagus was dilated. That means solid food would or could make it hurt so it makes sense to not hurt and not eat. I would call my Dr and see what he says if it happens. Just my opinion. -Papaya Enzyme tablets!!!! I could not live without them. They sell at health food stores, Walmart, and sometimes K-mart. I keep them at home, in my purse and at work. Chew a few of them, they help get the stuck food to move down. -Add meat tenderizer to a small amount (shot glass size) of warm Water and drink. Blessings, GG

Glad you are OK. It's scary isn't it? I finally coughed and it all came up and stopped. I will not eat fast again! Blessings, GG

Aw, thanks. Let us know how it goes Monday. Hopefully it will do the trick. Blessings, GG

We all need to be careful with Halloween candy out to get us. Buy at the last minute and get something you don't really like. Then there is not a temptation not to snack on it and blow all the hard work we have done so far. Caryn, hang in there. It sounds like your stress level with school is very high so don't beat yourself up when you have a little blip in the program. We all have used food as friend and stress relievers and now when we don't have it we have to find something else to help us cope. Try sugar free gum and take a walk. Even if you have to walk in your house it will work. I was reading on another thread about a fellow bander that got so into the calorie counting she ended up being bulimic. She replaced one addiction for another. We don't want to end up like that. We still have to keep in mind we are only a few months from being banded and have to be patient until that band kicks in and does it's work. Everyone remember you are not alone in this battle. All the friends on this thread are just a click away and we can understand your feelings and help you get out of the bad place you are in. It's a beautiful day here in the NC mountains, high of 59 and sunny. Have a wonderful Sunday. Blessings, GG

We all seem to be in the same boat. Let us know how it goes. Hang in there. We can do this! Blessings, GG

Yeaaaaaah for your NSV! I bet by Monday you will enter Onederland! We had surgery the same day and now you are close on my heels. I was 199.4 when we left town Thurs. morning. I've been walking and eating well and drinking so I hope the numbers have moved come Tues morning when we return. My friend and I went shopping again today and I bought a LARGE, do you hear me not XL, jacket for church. It was exciting. Keep us posted on how the fill goes. Blessings, GG

I just read this on another thread and thought some of you might have missed it there. After it there is the response that makes it a little clearer. Blessings, GG This was sent to me a while ago and seems like a good explanation for weight loss stalls. Our bodies use glycogen for short term energy storage. Glycogen is not very soluble, but it is stored in our muscles for quick energy -- one pound of glycogen requires 4 lbs of Water to keep it soluble, and the average glycogen storage capacity is about 2 lbs. So, when you are not getting in enough food, your body turns first to stored glycogen, which is easy to break down for energy. And when you use up 2 lbs of glycogen, you also lose 8 lbs of water that was used to store it -- voila -- the "easy" 10 lbs that most people lose in the first week of a diet. As you stay in caloric deficit, however, your body starts to realize that this is not a short term problem. You start mobilizing fat from your adipose tissue and burning fat for energy. But your body also realizes that fat can't be used for short bursts of energy -- like, to outrun a sabertooth tiger. So, it starts converting some of the fat into glycogen, and rebuilding the glycogen stores. And as it puts back the 2 lbs of glycogen into the muscle, 8 lbs of water has to be stored with it to keep it soluble. So, even though you might still be LOSING energy content to your body, your weight will not go down or you might even GAIN for a while as you retain water to dissolve the glycogen that is being reformed and stored. So, I guess this is what causes the stair-step appearance of weight loss. You will go down for a while and then it will steady out for a few weeks and then start loosing again once you start burning up those newly formed glycogen stores that came from your body fat. Makes sense. I will just keep doing what I'm doing and it should start to even out.

So glad you liked the muffins. I bet they would freeze too. Next time I'm going to use that low sugar cake mix. Bravo for resisting the candy. It calls my name too along with other things in the kitchen. Donuts really yell at me! We can do this! Blessings, GG

So good to hear from you Caryn. We are all happy you are OK and just busy. I have time since I am retired so I hope it was OK for me to try and keep things going. I feel the same way, a little restriction and it usually passes fairly quickly if something gets stuck until yesterday with my first PB. That was not fun but over fast. healthywoman it was like throwing up but no nasty taste and not too much because I didn't eat that much. I found that when I coughed it finally came right up. When you hurt that much you'll do most anything to get it to stop. Sorry to be so graphic but if it has not happened to you yet maybe this will help if it does. Yes, I think you had a NSV with your pants! Congratulations. Blessings, GG

Welcome kauai bound. Yes, a lot of us are at a plateau and it's not fun. 30 lbs in six weeks is awesome and you should be proud. It is hard to be stuck when things were going great but our bodies need time to adjust. When we loose weight after a while our body says "oh no, she's starving me" and slows down our metabolism. We just have to jump start it again. Don't get discouraged and stay on the program. Change up your meals and drink that Water and keep exercising. Have you had any fills yet? We are all trying to get to that infamous "green zone" and it is proving to be harder for some than for others. Keep us posted on your progress. Blessings, GG

Well I had my first PB today. We are in the mountains of NC for 4 days and had an appointment and we were late getting back to the condo for lunch. We were and only had 15 minutes to eat lunch. I ate some leftover chicken breast and a small bit of rice and some cooked carrots. Chicken has been hard sometimes so I chewed and chewed and chewed. It just would not go down! I've been a little uncomfortable a few times before but nothing like this. So, we had to leave for our appointment and ended up stopped on the side of the road and up it all came. I was better right away but I really don't want to do that again. I wil not ever rush eating for anything ever again. It was a little scary. The moral of my story is slow down when you eat! On a lighter note I had a NSV, (non scale victory) yesterday. My friend and I stopped at the Tanger Outlet on the way up the mountain. We went into Chico's. I had been in there before and could not wear anything they had. They have 3 sizes. 1,2,&3. I pulled out some 3's and they actually fit. I evidently had a tendency to buy loose clothing so my friend made me try them on for her. She pointed out they were too large, so I got 2's! I think I will go back there when they are having another sale and get all my clothes there just to see a size 2 anything in my closet. It was great. Thanks for your kind words healthywoman & ms.lady about my posts. Got me a little teary to think I might be helping any of you. I talk about the forum all the time and my hubby knows about all of you. Welcome back Jess & budapatti. I wondered about Caryn too. Maybe she will come back. It's so good to have some new voices out there. We need to support each other. I hope all of you have a wonderful weekend. Stay on program and it will pay off. Go for a walk and drink your Water. ( I sound like a Mother don't I) We can so this! Blessings, GG

A lot of us are experiencing plateaus now. It's very discouraging to be staying on the program and doing all we are supposed to do and still not have any weight loss. It's just like every other diet we've all been on. I know I was expecting this to be different too. I've only lost 17 lbs and that's including pre and post op. I am older than most on here so it will take me longer to loose than most of you. But, I am not going to let this be like all the other diets I've been on and I am not going to be discouraged. Now we have our bands and we just have to be patient. Remember, we did not get this way overnight and we will not loose it overnight. Plateau's are normal in every diet but I think this one is going to take some time for our bodies to adjust. We loose fat that has accumulated around our actual stomach and that makes the band loose. That's one of the reasons we have to get fills. We also have to remember we are still only a few months from our surgery. I was told it can take anywhere from 3-6 months for our bodies to fully adjust to the surgery and to find our own "green zone". Initially some of you have lost a lot of weight and that's terrific! Now just lay low and let your bodies figure out what's going on and don't freak out and eat a lot of things you are not supposed to eat. Drink your water and step up your exercise and that plateau will go away. Think of how much weight you have lost and keep up the good work. Remember this is a temporary situation. The band will work, it's just resting now I guess! If you are eating the same thing everyday try changing that out. In Weight Watchers, they tell you to do that when you hit a plateau. Most importantly remember this is not going to be like every other diet we've ever been on. We have our bands now and that will make the difference this time. I could never have lived on 900-1000 calories a day before my band. I would have gnawed my fingers off. We will all succeed this time if we do what we are supposed to do. I am saying this to myself too. In the greater scheme of things this is but a little blip on our weight loss journey. This time next year we will be far more healthy and happy and laughing at the newbies. We can do this! Blessings, GG

I know this is not the recipe thread but I thought somebody out there in our Aug group might like to have this turkey chili recipe speciality of my hubby's. It's a little on the hot side so taste it as you go along. He browns all the ingredients from the first part of the recipe and puts that in the crockpot and throws in all the other stuff and lets it simmer all day. We have even frozen it. Everyone that has it asks for the recipe. Really good with corn bread. I broke the whole thing down in myfitnesspal.com and it's not too bad calorie wise. You could substitute Spelenda for the sugar and use low fat peanut butter too. Let me know if you try and like it. I didn't realize it was turkey the first time I had it. Touchdown Turkey Chili 2.5 lbs. ground turkey - 93/7fat content 4 T. olive oil 1 large onion 3/4 cup red wine 2 14 oz cans diced tomatoes 2 cloves garlic, minced or 1T prepared minced garlic 3-15 oz. cans black beans 1/4 can chipolte pepper in adobe sauce 1 tsp. cumin 2 heaping T. peanut butter 2 tsp. salt freshly ground pepper to taste 3T. sugar 3 tsp. Chile powder 1 pkg chili mix 2 3/4 c cup ketchup 1 large can tomato sauce (22 oz) 2 T cocoa powder 2 T oregano Serves 21, 1 cup serving Brown meat, garlic and onions in hot oil. Add wine and deglaze, scraping up any bits from the bottom of pan. Then add tomatoes and stir. Add all other ingredients except salt and pepper. Cook over low heat 30 mins. covered. Uncover and add salt, pepper and cilantro and cook 15 minutes….or put in large crock pot and cook on low for 1 day, better the longer it cooks. Serve with: Grated cheese, sour cream etc. 1 cup serving = 186 calories, 26 carbs, 6 fat, 10 protein, 12 sugar & 4 fiber

Those old habits are hard to break but we can all do it. Food is our stress reliever and that's whee we turn when we are stressed. I sure understand and so does everyone else. I would tell them firmly you would like some lidocaine. It takes all the stress out of the fill (for me) and if they are going to be poking around looking for the port you certainly should have it if you choose to. We all have to remember these Dr's and their staff are working for us. We are paying them, I know a lot of you are younger and do not have a lot of hospital experience but I do. You can be firm and polite in what you want but also tell them and insist they do it your way or give you a very, very good reason not to. I did 6 months of chemo for breast cancer in 1989 with them sticking me every 3 weeks. With chemo your veins collapse and roll and it's hard to find a vein. I would get stuck sometimes as many as 6 times. It was a nightmare and the thing I dreaded the most. Now they put in ports like we have and it's nothing. After doing chemo and 4 other operations I was in the hospital a few years later for a DNC. I told the anesthesiologist my dread of needles and why. He said he would give me lidocaine and not to worry. I asked him why no one had ever offered it to me before. He said he didn't know, it was available all those years. Now I insist on it for any IV'S and for my fill my Dr does it routinely. I'll get off my soapbox now. It just irks me that some Dr's act like little gods and treat women badly sometimes. I bet they would not do that to another man. No offense guys out there. That's another reason I use women Dr's when I can. I love my Dr now and find him very compassionate and have no complaints other than he gives teeny tiny fills! LOL Blessings, GG

Wow. It sounds like you have had a really hard time so far. I can't understand why they can't do anything until the Dr returns but I guess you have no other choice but wait for xrays. Try and stay on some sort of healthy eating program and avoid the sugar. I certainly understand it, I love it too, but It is just not good for us. Sugar is not good for anyone! Drink your water, exercise and fill up on lots of veggies and protein. When they find your port and you finally get some fills it will help with your hunger. These first few months are hard for everyone and you have really had a hard time but try to hang in there. We are all in new terrritory and our bodies have to get used to the lapband and adjust to it. It is a tool and we should not go back to our old ways that got us in this position. By this time next year we will all be doing well and our bands will be doing their job. We have to give the lapband time and I know it's hard to wait. Try and stay the course until yours can be adjusted to work. It's not working yet. You can do it! Blessings, GG

Yeaaaaah! You survived. So glad it went so well and now that's another first for you that's over. First time things can be scary. You are not sad/sick/bad. You are a beautiful person that has a shared interest in this forum and we all benefit from sharing ideas, struggles and problems. I am happy to hear there are people out there reading. Sometimes I think I am the only one still on this thread. I sure am the one that says the most I guess! Inches are great. When people look at us they don't see a number on our forehead giving our weight. They see inches that are gone. If everyone out there has not taken their measurements do it now. Then when you are discouraged and think the weight is just not coming off measure yourself. Chances are the inches are coming off. Yes, you are right, we did not all get here because we woke up one morning and we were overweight. It took years to get here and we cannot expect to loose it overnight. In fact it's better if we loose it more slowly. That being said, I still would be very happy if the weight loss fairy would let me loose just 2 little lbs a week. That's not too much to ask is it? Hang in there everybody! We can do this! Blessings, GG

Saturday I entered Onederland! 199 lbs. Yeaaaaaah for the 1 hundreds! Blessings, GG

No reason to stress. I had my 3rd fill today and didn't even feel the lidocaine or the fill. It's different for everybody but after all you've gone through it will be a piece of cake. Oh, I need to change my metaphors. LOL. How are you doing besides stressing about your fill tomorrow? Blessings, GG