Thats All Folks

Is it near any of your incisions?

That's normal too. Just make sure you stay hydrated, sip Water constantly. Your appetite will come back soon.

Because you just had surgery 4 days ago. You still have a lot of healing to do. Rest, drink lots of Water, follow your post op diet, and give yourself time to heal.

That is amazing and a huge accomplishment! Congratulations!!

My calories are super low on the low carb days. Today I'll be lucky if I even hit 1000. The Protein is just so freak'n filling, I struggle to even get that much in. But I won't eat if I'm not hungry so I've just been leaving it be. I know to maintain my weight, I need to eat 2388 calories a day. I know to lose a pound is 3500 calories a week, or 500 calories a day. I want to lose 2 pounds a week so I need to cut 1000 calories a day. So, the most I would ever eat (again, this is just for me) would be 1388. I currently have the Lose It app set for 1300 calories a day. I do come very close to that amount of calories on a high carb day, too. On high carb days, I pretty much eat what I want so long as it's lower fat and not sugary stuff. For instance, yesterday I had homestyle macaroni and cheese for lunch. It was sooooo good lol!

He doesn't give set amount for carbs and Protein, however he does offer formulas and charts to figure out your daily calorie intake. I will say the amount of calories he recommends is higher than I typically eat, but being a bandster I figure I need less anyway. His rule for carbs on low carb days is, have your carbs with Breakfast then cut them. I need actual numbers, so I've been staying between 30-40g of carbs on low carb days and well over 140g on high carb days. One day I actually had 223g of carbs even! I find I eat less calories on low carb days but considerably more fat- which he says is fine so long as it's healthy fat (nuts, fish, non-saturated, etc)

Congratulations!!

I found this website, it has a ton of great low fat/low calories: http://www.emilybites.com/ Best wishes to you!!

It's called The Last 30 Pounds? I'll definitely have to read that, I have a feeling I'll need it down the road! Thank you!

I eat a cup or less of food per meal, no exceptions. I never exceed that. I'm sure I could physically eat more if I wanted to, but I know it's important I limit my portions so I do. I agree with Floridays, I'm not sure why you're drinking all those shakes? You said you've been too tight twice and had a slip. Perhaps this link can help you: http://drsimpson.net/fills/Lap-band-eating/lap-band-not-restriction/lap-band-and-restriction.html Best wishes to you.

Unfortunately, it's very doubtful, especially on your tummy. Some insurance will pay to have it removed after massive weight loss. You should check into it.

Oh that'll do it. I can easily gain 3-4 pounds during PMS week. The good news is, it's gone within a week after.

I'm using almond milk in my morning Protein shakes since reading the book only because it has less carbs so it's great for the low carb days. But, for everything else, I'm still using skim milk. I use the book more as a guideline rather than a bible, I don't/won't follow everything exactly.

Oh no! I'm so sorry Don't give up. Wait and see what their reason for denial is, it could easily be something minor and fixable, like missing paperwork. Let us know how it goes!

That's for the soft cover, you can get it hard cover here: http://www.amazon.com/Powell-Chriss-Choose-Lose-Hardcover/dp/B008EAWFG0/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1352500671&sr=8-3&keywords=7+day+carb+cycle+solution+by+chris+powell

It usually takes a couple days for antibiotics to take effect. If there's no improvement by Monday, insist on an actual appointment to have it checked out.

I don't mean this to sound harsh, but if he'd actually leave you over loose skin, then you're better off without him anyway. No one leaves someone they love because of a physical change- especially when it's the result of them trying to better themselves and their health. It sounds to me like he's either incredibly insecure of looking for an excuse. Either way, he will leave eventually regardless if you have the surgery not unless whatever issues are the underlying cause are dealt with. Best wishes to you. Try to remember- you have to take care of yourself first.

Yeah I didn't take the book verbatim For instance, I'm not about to cut milk nor do I follow his menus. However, I do very much like the basic premise of his theory, so I use that combined with what I know works best for me. I too did Atkins years ago...ended up losing 40 pounds but also with a raging kidney infection due to a build up of Protein. Of course, gained like 60 within 6 months of stopping the Atkins diet too.

When in doubt, I always side with caution. It can't hurt to mention it to your doctor and get their opinion. 10-12 days prior seems too soon for TOM issues. Perhaps it's the hormone increase during ovulation?

You have nerves of steel because resisting the french fries isn't easy at all! Congratulations!! You're doing so great!!

Ok yes, the book does give sample menus. Some of it looks rather good too. He also has a website with some menu ideas. As far as the low carb days, I'm still struggling to find food I like lol. I find myself eating a lot of salads with ham, cheese, and chic peas. I also like ham rolls (chives cut up into cream cheese then rolled into a piece of ham). chicken breast, pork chops, lunch meat. I've taken to eating a spoonful of Peanut Butter as a snack, too.

We get the band to appease our appetite. The band allows me to be satisfied on less for longer periods of time, which is exactly what it's supposed to do. But fills themselves don't cause you to lose weight- burning more calories than you consume does. The band makes it easier to do that because I'm not hungry all the time and satisfied on a cup or less of food.

As many of you know, I was stuck for more than a month. I was monitoring my calories, getting in all my Protein and exercising, yet the scale didn't budge. I know, plateaus are normal, but they still suck. Around the time the plateau hit I also started taking birth control pills. I even gained 2 pounds, which for me was the deal breaker. I had to find a way to break the plateau and start losing again. So I started researching. Low carb, high carb, no carb, etc. I see so many variations on here! What's right? What's wrong? I already knew it was a matter of choice without a clear right or wrong answer, but I also knew individual body needs also played a very big part in it. During my research I kept coming across something called carb cycling, so I decided to look more into it. Carb cycling is essentially trying to optimize your metabolism by alternating high and low carb days. Body builders often do this to build muscle and burn fat before a contest but it's also very helpful for weight loss. Then one day I turned on Doctor Oz...and wouldn't you know it... it was an episode on carb cycling. Chris Powell, of The Biggest Loser, was on his show talking about he has all the contestants on the show carb cycle and how he does it. For me, this was the point I decided to give carb cycling a try. Chris Powell's method is specifically for weight loss so I decided to go with his (there's many out there). He has an excellent book called “Choose to Lose: The 7-Day Carb Cycle Solution”. His theory: No carb diets don't work. It's not sustainable long term and eventually it significantly slows the metabolism. Worse, people who cut out carbs usually end up gaining all their weight back and then some when they do suddenly reintroduce carbs. Carbs are the energy block of the body and a long term lack of carbs will cause the thyroid to slow down significantly. 7 day diet/carb cycling: High carb day followed by low carb day, alternating daily. Start on a high carb day and always eat within 30 minutes of waking up in the morning. Always limit or omit carbs after 6pm. All this is within your own personal daily calorie allowance. High carb day/energy day: Preferably complex carbs. Protein, low fat. unlimited veggies. Low carb day/burn day: A little carb in the morning to boost metabolism Cut carbs the rest of the day. Protien, healthy fats, unlimited veggies 3 of each/low carb and high carb. 7th day is cheat day Cheat day: Boost calories to boost metabolism Boost to no more than 1000 extra calories a day Cheat at Breakfast and lunch, not dinner. 6-12pm “behave” Cheat at a table. Not in a car, or at a sofa, etc. No “hypno binging” No leftovers allowed. Mind you, this is the short version of all this. If this interests you, I'd strongly suggest buying his book for a better understanding. It's very enlightening. ...So this is what I've done for the last week. I am very happy to say, carb cycling broke my plateau, despite still being on the birth control pill too. I lost 5.4 pounds this week! I have decided I am going to continue to carb cycle. I am not a fan of the low carb days, but I am getting more used to them. Plus, I find my "carb cravings" have all but disappeared since starting this- something I didn't think possible. For me, it's working. I just thought I'd share the results of my little self experiment

The beauty of the band is, you can always start over. Weight gain after quitting smoking is VERY normal. I quit 18 months ago and gained about 40. But think of it like this- you're a non smoker! That is AMAZING and something to be proud of!! Plus, you can lose the weight again and when it's gone, you'll still be healthier because you quit smoking! Have you tried the 5 day pouch test? Not to shrink your pouch, but to "start over" mentally as well as physically. It takes you through the post op phases over 5 days and many find it's a great way to reset their minds and get back into the bandster mindset. http://5daypouchtest.com/plan/theplan.html I would also recommend seeing a Nutritionist to help get you back on track, too. Your surgeon as well. It's only 30 pounds, you can totally lose it again! Best wishes

How frustrating, I'm so sorry. What diet are you on? Did you follow it exactly, or was there some cheating? If you didn't cheat, and you gained on Weight Watchers without cheating: Have you ever had your thyroid checked? Hormone levels? Checked for Diabetes? All these things can greatly effect weight loss.