Bright

congrats on your new home Kelly - hope it's a very happy nest!

hmmmmm Would 2 x crumpets with butter count as a refined carb with a high fat??? Crumpets are really low in cals/fat and having two for lunch with half fat ordinary butter seemed intelligent, and kept me below my 1200 cal/35g fat limit.....this is REALLY annoying! I KNOW this - like Michelle said earlier - "you know what you have to do" - and she's right, I guess I do.....I swore I wouldn't ever count anything again, but I needed re-motivation and a spring-fresh new diet so I thought I would do the counting cals/fat one - then obviously I got sucked into the low fat/high sugar market.... Thanks Donali - wise and gorgeous guru to bandedkind! Luuuuuuuuurrvvvvvvvving you And everyone else who posted here, and pm'd me re this - thank you most sincerely - you are all fantastic, coming up trumps with, not just support and encouragement, but with real science - just like I asked - Thanks so much, really really much - I was at my wits end here, and now I know what I have to do again....Bump all of this again in 3 months when I can't remember anything cos I'm hyperventilating after seeing more "lies" from the scales!!!!!!!!!! Love and hugs to EVERYONE from an emotional and tired Bright (at 23.45 night time!)

Oh Penni - Your poor Mom! Hope she gets better soon - and hope you're holding up ok too - we're all thinking of you xx

What an asshole Megan - I hope you're ok - thinking of you xxxx

Yay Flower - hope you get a date really soon! Keep us posted!

ohmigod that's brilliant!!! LOVE it - definitely an anthem for any future bashes!!!

Thanks so much Christina xx Babs - I am very interested in hyperinsulinemia - never heard of it - must go look it up - because I seem to be very sugar sensitive AND a hypochondriac, it definitely sounds like something I have! Re the food choices - Ireland and the UK are WAY ahead of The Netherlands on food choices - and france too for that matter! It's hard to even get diet coke in Denmark - I almost went mad there one time, back when I was addicted to the stuff! But, in Ireland, we have TONNES of diet products - we have all the low carb pastas, sauces, breads, chocolate bars, shakes, smoothies etc - we have the atkins range of bake products and all the other crap they sell - not to mention the new slimfast lo-carb range....but do you guys ever read the ingredients in those things? Hydrogenated fat, trans fatty acids, chemicals etc so I mostly avoid them.....do you remember Marks & Spencers, the British dept. store? They have a fantastic range of diet/low fat/low glycaemic range of food which is a real help as do Tesco (do you remember them?) (anyone can click on www.tesco.ie to see how I usually do my grocery shopping - I do it online and they deliver it later - helps with impulse purchases!!! Y'all can see what products we have here! You can "marvel" at how expensive everything is here too - Ireland is now the most expensive country to live in, in the EU, after Finland - average house price in Dublin is $476,000 - and that's for a starter home!!!!) Anyway - I diverse, as usual - I agree with you Babs, anyone who thinks they won't have to diet with the band is fooling themselves - the band is like the gas they give you during childbirth - just takes the edge off the pain!!!!! (in my humble opinion!) Thanks for your suggestions - much appreciated, especially from Queen of the Bandsters!

Babs, thats exactly how it goes for me too....I know it's drama queen-ish to say it's heartbreaking, but it IS to me! I feel like i have struggled, and battled to lose the weight I have lost. Except for about 14lbs which came off after my 2nd fill, which in reality was the only fill I have had, the first one, the doc was just checking my band, as he wasn't the original band surgeon....Aaaarrrggghhhh - it's so frustrating...I read michelle's testamony this morning re a year being banded, and she talks about not having to count calories/weigh food/count points etc - but that's what I have to do every day or not lose....maybe I should have more of a fill....I dunno.....sigh thanks for replying to me babs xx

humphf....s'pose..... ( :cool: ) It's just I do everything right for three or four weeks....then have a day and a half of semi-junk, and whoa - the fat god dumps over TEN pounds on me - come on - what the hell!!!! Mind you....Alex...when I read your post, a little tinkly bell went off in my head....since banding I have really tried to cut out salt - we're terrible in our family for salt - my three sisters need a salt shaker EACH at the table! Recently, I have been lashing the OTHER evil white stuff over everything... I KNEW THERE WOULD BE A SCIENTIFIC EXPLANATION!!! I love science.... sigh.....phew! Thanks Alex - you know EVERYTHING!

Wow - Bandland is getting pretty crowded! More the merrier! Good luck everyone!!

Happy Birthday Zoe! Hope you have a fun one xxxxxxxxxxx

Happy Birthday to your band!!! Hope you had a great first year, and a wonderful year ahead :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana

Hi Michelle - just wanted to congratulate you on your one-year-banded Day!!! You have done brilliantly, and are such an inspiration to me, and loads of others! You look fantastic too - hope you have a great day, looking back over the amazing year you have had ((((((((((hugs)))))))))))) :Bunny :Bunny :Bunny :Bunny :Bunny :Bunny :Bunny :Bunny

........is there any such thing???? I feel like I'm going crazy here, struggling with this weight loss journey...and I wondered if there's any smart people out there who have figured out just what the hell happens during plateaus/weight loss/gain etc.... I was pretty discouraged recently (3 Feb) to come back from the UK after having another (2nd) fill - now at 6cc in my 9cc capacity band - I was very restricted for a week or two and then, well, not so much. So I spent a week feeling sorry for myself and then decided I needed to get my weight loss moving again...I have been dieting, since then, basically - not more than 1200-1400 cals a day, or 35g fat, making sure I eat more than 40g protein, and drinking the damn water!!! This also went well for a few weeks - steady weight loss of 1-2lbs a week - then last weekend I kinda had a blow out - I ate a bag of chips on saturday night (this is a bag of Irish/english chips!!! ie French fries but really big and thick and em, yummy!) Then I went Kray-zay and had a baileys (alcoholic drink, creamy, like that Godiva stuff) - this is a pretty pathetic blow out by my pre-band standards - then I had apple pie on Sunday and shock, horror, BREAD! - and BAM! I weigh in on Monday morning at 240lbs - I had been 232 on the thursday before - I mean, what the hell??? Weighed today, 243...I'm back on my diet, what gives? Is this going to be a gigantic horrible struggle EVERYDAY for the rest of my life???? I am so pissed off and upset and, well discouraged to be more polite....How can weight come off so slowly and go on so fast? Maybe I should just go to my fill doc and get another 2cc in and just not be able to eat? Any advice or scientic data I could use?????!!!!!!!!:cry :cry :cry

Wow - I'm THRILLED for you - that's amazing news - really brought tears to my eyes - well done xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ((((((((((((hugs)))))))))))))xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

yay so glad you're back! We missed you - take it easy for a while and rest - thinking of you xxxx

thanks for all the good wishes - IT WAS REALLY HARD!!! There were tonnes of people there all looking way smarter than me!!! Anyway I did it and I'll hear in a few weeks whether I'm shortlisted for interview or not....sigh..... I feel like I've gotten my life back tho - you know, like that free feeling you get when you finish a big task?! Like on the first day of summer vacation when you're a kid??? Anyway...back to watching for the postman!

thanks so much for letting us know! Give her our love and best wishes for a speedy recovery - we miss her loads!!! Hurry back Leaky-No-More!!!! ((((((((((((((((((((hugs))))))))))))))))))))

bleeeuch me too....ate tonnes of damn chocolate today in a frenzy of stress! Completely messed up my angelicness over easter - but hey, what doesn't kill us makes us.....um.....fat???? Now, where's the turn off for "Back on Track"...??!!!! Don't worry about it Alex - you are doing great and look fabulous xxxxxx

wow Penni - you really do look like their sister - you look fabarooney!!! have a great time xxxx

I have a big psychology exam in the morning and I'm TERRIFIED! it's now 12.50 at night and eventually I'm off to bed! Have spent the last few days studying madly! I am applying to a university to do a degree this year - it's free to go to college in Ireland, but places are very difficult to get! There are over 250 mature students (!) applying for only 5 places in this college and I REALLY WANT A PLACE!!! I really want to become a psychologist and find the subject fascinating if hard work..... anyway I'm rambling on - just wanted to have you guys willing good luck to me in the morning (we're 5 hours ahead of New York time!!!) thanks here I go..... :squareeye :squareeye :squareeye :squareeye :squareeye :squareeye

I'm Fanatical Destroyer..........sounds 'bout right.....!

Judy, Kara & Lisa - you all look gorgeous - wonderful progress! Well done

damn I knew they would be! Just as well there's the whole atlantic ocean between me and a store that stocks them!

I almost never drink since being banded - I find it completely lowers my inhibitions and I end up eating tons of crap! And talking tons of crap! Hubby bought me a bottle of baileys for Easter and I was red-cheeked and giggly after one glass! Not used to drinking anymore! Also alcohol is such a waste of calories in my view! I'm so happy having lost over half my excess weight, I am delighted to be anywhere, alcohol or no!!!