Sunshyne068

I have a "back up" dress just in case we cant get it zipped on the cruise .... and if not that's perfectly ok. Since its so shiny with all the sequins I can save it for new yrs. I cant complain abuot my loss though. Im down a total of 19lbs since my 1st appt with my surgeron. My body fat is down 6% sicne April, and I'm blending my own Protein, ice and fruit shakes each morning, Im logging my calories and protein, and Im staying so active. I did Zumba Monday, and I'm doing some form of group fitness tonight, and I have Zumba again Saturday morning. I scoped out the fitness center on the carnival.com website and I'm ready to workout in the mornings on the boat while everyone else is sleeping. I'm sure Im down more inches, maybe I'll try to post measurements tonight.

I put the sequin dress back on .... I can zip it further than before. I'm hoping that by Thursday or Friday i will actually have it on. Im down another 4 lbs this week (YAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYY ). Im keeping with my supplments and working out. Im doing Zumba tonight and Saurday, and I meet with my personal trainer again this week .... wish me luck.

I second the Premier Protein brand ... tastes like chocolate milk to me. And I like "Oh Yeah" Protein Shakes in banana, strawberry, Cookies and cream.

Brisk walked a little over 2 miles last night ... 1.5 weeks until the cruise!!!!

I did a 3 mile wakl/jog this past saturday, and the saturday before that. I've going to the gym regularly and sticking to 1.5 cup portions or smaller. I'm gonna commit to eating/consuming 1 liquid meal per day ... most likely Breakfast. My body fat percentage is DOWN!. Back in April my body fat % was 46% ... on Friday it was 39%!!!!!!!!!!!!!! EVen though the scale is being stubborn I'm toning and I'm so excited about it.

CurlyQ do you have any tips for us less experienced bandsters? I've only been banded for 5 months and I feel like Im "JUST" getting the hang of listening to my body, knowing the signals of when to eat and when to stop eating, and measuring my portions .... and I know that I have quite a LONG way to go still. Any help or insight is like GOLD to me

I exercised every single day this weekend, including the holiday. Also, I have been looking over my cookbook "Eat MORE of what you love" and the receipes inside are phenominal. They are low cal, low fat, and some are low carb or high Protein ... I'm a bit high on my calories so far today ... but I plan to have on of my 150 calorie home made whole wheat pizzas for dinner, plus a protein shot, so that will have me right on target.

My doc thinks I am actually in the green zone, he doesnt believe I need a fill, he says I just need to change what Im eating and how much, and I honestly agree with him to a certain extent. I only have 4.05 cc in an 11cc realize band, but I haven't been closely monitoring the volume of food I eat (1-1.5 cups per meal, with 3-4 hrs between each meal). I just eat until I feel full and stop, and that is over 1.5 cups a lot of the time ... or I will eat past my full trigger. So over these next few weeks Im trying to rev up the exercise and closely watch my portions and how often I eat. I'm sticking to my calorie goals more closely also.

I got both supplements from GNC. They also sell Lipo6 at Rite Aid. CLA is supposed to support healthy metabolism function and maintain lean muscle mass. I actually try to take one every day, but sometimes I forget unless its a workout day. The Lipo 6 is actually a thermogenic and i think it has caffeine in it. The thermogenic makes my body temperature higher and it makes me sweat more, so I take it on days that I'm gonna workout because it makes me sweat more than normal and hopefully burn more calories. The caffeine also gives me energy and I take half the daily dose, so I workout longer/harder when I take the Lipo 6 supplement.

Also, I wanted to add that Im taking supplements for my workout days. I take 2000 mlg of CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) and 1 Lipo 6 Black for her thermogenic fat-burner pill. I also take NutraMetrixx Calcium power in the morning, and fiber chewables (and a bottle of water) when I feel hungry and I'm out of Snacks.

Oh i feel exhilarated!!!!! I ate around 1000 calories and i didnt feel starved yesterday, and today I'm "projected" (if I stick by my plan) to eat less than 1000 calories today! I also paid for my on-shore excursions of ATV riding and power snorkeling for the cruise! Oh I'm so pumped and I'm glad I have you guys here to share it with. Im doing TRX at the gym tonight, and yesterday I did spinning class and an abs workout. I'll try on the dress again next week. Check out my food diary on myfitnesspal.com my user name is sunnyhoney11

I did Atkins several yrs ago and lost 80 lbs .... then my fiance died and I gained 40 back - SIGH - I 2nd the adding leafy greens to your low carb diet ... this helps prevent constipation. Or add a ton of Fiber supplements each day ... and you should be golden. Keep us updated, I'm trying to do low carb for the next few months because I am going on a cruise and I want to break my plateau.

"right size smoothies" ... how has it been workinf for you so far?

I took my measurements this morning! 47 - 41 - 49. My hips went down an inch!

If you guys need to up your protein, have you tried Protein shots? I like the brand that Walmart carries, and I got one online called Sunkist Protein ... each has 24g of protein and like under 150 calories in 3 oz of liquid. Thanks for posting the diet and sample menus. I need all the help I can get in that area. I eat like 1300 cals a day minimum and I need to bring that WAY down

So (for the ladies) my cycle came today and that's screwing up the scale right now ... but I worked out tonight and I ate high protein low carb all day. I'm excited to see what the scale says when the cycle is over! To be continued!

I did well at the crab feast last night .... I focused on the lean Protein from the steamed crabs and I had a garden salad and some white meat chicken salad. No dessert - victory will be mine!!! Soft Proteins today, tuna, scrambled eggs, etc. and Fiber chewables. Anyway, here is the pic of the dress that I want to fit into ... I'm gonna try it on today just for kicks. I can get it on but I can only zip it halfway!!!

Luckily we signed up for the "sit-down" meals and not the buffet - or so I THINK - ... and I'll have to make a rule for myself not to eat after 9pm each night (hoping that's an attainable goal). I plan to exercise on the ship and do some walking ... do they have Zumba on cruise ships now? That would be awesome if they did ... So day 3 went ALL out of whack .... yesterday was actually pretty good in comparison. I stayed up until 4am bc I partied with my friends, went to a nightclub and danced and got sweaty (yay to burning calories) ... but when I woke up late for work at 9am, I didn't plan out a good breakfast. I walked into work at 10:30 to TWO boxes full of dunkin donuts (UGGGGGG) I broke down and ate half a donut this morning. AT least I drank a Protein shake with my donut in hopes of regulating the sugar spikes <IDK how accurate that is> lunch wasnt bad, as I had some baked chicken wings and some broccoli and diet iced tea ... I need to focus! I'll keep you guys posted on my progress this evening as I am going to a CRAB FEAST ... luckily that's all protein and no carbs, but they have additional items like hot dogs and rolls, potato salad, alcohil beverages and Desserts ... I'm just gonna focus on the lean protein from the steamed crabs.

Thanks for all the support guys! I couldnt do it without you! So ... it looks like day 2 is also gonna be 2 liquid meals and 1 solid meal ... SIGH!!! I had a burger on a bed of lettuce (no bun) for lunch ... but I did eat some potato wedges (ugggggg) ... I'm going to the gym tonight and I'm well under my calorie limit so far .... so hopefully this at least yeilds some results. I'll try to post measurements tonight (just gotta find my tape measure).

Hey all! I didnt lose a lot of weight fast. During the 1 week liquid pre-op diet I only lost 3 lbs, and I've only lost about 10 lbs after surgery. I do eat Protein first, but I have been eating bad carbs and veggies at about the same rate. I am on myfitnesspal, my screen name is sunnyhoney11. My food diary is public, please add me guys!! So let me tell you how day 1 went - SIGH - well .... I woke up almost ravenously hungry, so I ate some veggie straws (kinda like potato chips but they are shaped like sticks and made with ground potato, tomato, and spinach) ... so there goes the day of all liquids on the 1st day!!! SO basically I had a solid lunch, and liquid Breakfast and liquid dinner. I took in under 1100 calories so maybe I didn't do too bad. I shall try again tomorrow for the all liquids. I'll post a picture of the dress I want to fit in for the cruise as well (added motivation). Thanks all for following me on this journey!!!

Aug 14 Weight - 249 lbs activity - core workout (10 mins) cardio (stationary bike, 40 mins)

Hey everyone! I got banded on March 9. I've lost about 12-15 lbs so far (the scale keeps going up and down these 3 lbs). I'm going on my 1st cruise next month and I desperately need something to break this plateau and get the scale moving down again. I workout at least 3 days a week and I meet with my personal trainer often. I can see my body changing, and I'm losing inches, but the scale is really not moving at the pace that I desire ... All that being said - I'm on a mission to lose 10 lbs in the next 6 weeks, and/or HOPEFULLY fit into a cute all sequin dress for the captain's dinner on my cruise. So I'm gonna start the 5 day pouch plan tomorrow morning, starting with the 2 day liquid diet of low carb Protein shakes .... for the weeks that follow I plan to carefully watch (I dont want to use the word "limit") my bad carbs - potatoes, rice, bread, Pasta, sugar, etc - and try and stick to the 1 cup per meal rule (which I really havent even been monitoring over the past month or so). So .... I share this with you because I need something to actually hold me accountable. So I'm gonna post my progress (or lack thereof) on this thread for the duration of my 6 week journey. I just ask that you guys put me in my place when I post that I'm not sticking to the plan, and provide motivation, etc when I'm staying on track. Also, if I'm successful, maybe some of us out here can use this thread as a blueprint to break a plateau. I'll post stats (weight, measurements, exercise) in the thread, and I want some feedback from the seasoned bandsters out there since I'm only 5 month into my journey. Thanks for looking!

I take a long deep breath or sigh while I'm eating - that's my full sign.

getting off of the blood pressure meds that I was put on when I was 26 yrs old (Im 28 now).