lharper

hi there... i know what u going thru.. im sorry for everything tht has happened with u!!! keep strong... well i kind of relaxed on my band after almost 3 years being banded.. wht i needed to realize was that the band is just a tool that will help us to where we want to be, a health place.... so after gainin almost 15 lbs i deceded to join weight watchers,, it helped me a lot.. it made me focus on me, and seeing results made me feel awesome.. my lowest was when i got married in 2010 (I Was banded in 2008), i weighted 158.. n slowly crawled to 175lbs. i felt like a failure.. but now being in weight watchers since march, iam now weighting 145!. so do it. if its not weight watchers, i am sure u will find something that will make u focus on u, n see that u deserve this.. good lucky!!! dont ever forget the long way u came, dont give up "

I like the ideas she just gave above. When I knew I was doing this journey I started to change my life so it wouldn't be quite as hard once it was here haha so I don't honestly know what I'll do when I'm back to solids (1 week postop). However I eat a paleo diet (anything you can hunt or gather) so I'd do omlettes in this baggies you can boil, eggs, onions, veggies, etc. and then you throw them in the micro and poof omlette. You can reuse them over and over even though ziploc or whatever says 1 use . I'd boil at least a dozen eggs every week so there was always a go to protein. I'd make almond meal pancakes or sizzle up some sausage and put them in the plastic reusable things so mornings which are always rushed we could just micro stuff and eat in 30 seconds flat. Also got a magic bullet and would do baggies of spinach smoothies which had fruits, spinach, protein powder, etc. all mixed and then just add some greek yogurt or 1/2 c juice in blender at time of making - super easy so yummy. Most of the stuff would last about a week in a baggie since I used fresh so never tried to do more than 1 week. As for lunches sometimes sandwiches but I don't eat grains so for me it was usually turkey roll ups, cucumber slices, chicken salad, etc. or pull all the meat off rotis. chicken and divvy it up, etc. and then I'd make a trail mix once a week and have it all bagged up in 4 oz packages, etc. so that there is always *something* I can take. I'm the queen of running out of time and not knowing what to eat so either fast food or starving neither of which is good for me.

Even if football puts you to sleep (right alongside me), your WLS journey has a far better chance of success if you understand that WLS is a team sport.


The other day I saw a tee shirt with a great teamwork slogan:
TEAMWORK:
EVERYBODY
ACHIEVES
MORE
I believe that slogan applies to WLS as well as sports. Weight loss success depends on the efforts of everybody on the bariatric team: you, your band, surgeon, nutritionist, psychologist, exercise physiologist or trainer.
I also believe that I am the most important member of my bariatric team. In fact, I’m the captain. As captain, I checked out and selected each team member with care, knowing that they possess knowledge, experience, and skills that I don’t. As captain, I’m responsible for the team’s success or failure, and I get paid big bucks for that, in the form of pounds lost. I surround my team with strong, perky, loving cheerleaders recruited from my circle of friends, family and coworkers. I show up for every practice and every game. When we win a game, I cheer, and when we lose a game, I study what happened on the field and tell the team exactly what we’ll do better to win the next time.
If you think that working as team captain is a tall order for you – well, honey, you got nothin’ on me! I hated team sports in school, never waved a pom-pom, never won any game except Scrabble, and I’m constitutionally a do-it-all-yourself gal. If I can captain a winning WLS team, so can you.
The first step is to take personal responsibility for your success (or failure). If you can’t or won’t do that, you’ll have to find yourself another coach, because I can’t help people who can’t or won’t help themselves. I don’t know you, but I don’t believe for one minute that you can’t help yourself. The facts prove this. You decided to have or at least consider WLS. You did some research, joined LapBandTalk, and now you’re reading this article. If you didn’t care about yourself and your health, my guess is that you’d be sitting in a chair, watching TV, with one hand in a bottomless bag of junk food and the other hand clutching a can of soda. If you’ve done that in the past, it’s OK. I did too, but it’s in the past now. It’s over, because the big game has begun.
And you know what? Weight loss surgery is more, much more, than a team sport. It’s worth every millisecond of effort you give it because it is a very big deal. This is your life, your health, your future that we’re talking about. Are you going to leave all that in someone else’s hands, or are you going to own it and work it until you get it right? You are? That’s great! Now everybody shout, loud and proud: “GO TEAM! GO ME!” and get your butt out on that playing field! Because the next slogan we’re going to learn is this:
WINNERS TRAIN, LOSERS COMPLAIN

When things go wrong during your weight loss journey, who are you going to blame?


I’m a control freak, so this is hard for me to say, but say it I must.
Life is full of unexpected events. Events that are good or bad, that you can or can’t explain, with effects that you may or may not be able to control. As much as I wish you (and myself) continued success on your weight loss journey, chances are that at some point, something’s going to go wrong. The fickle finger of fate is going to zap you with a surprise, a disappointment, a side effect, or a complication. It’s going to confuse, upset, frustrate, or infuriate you.
What are you going to do when that happens? Who are you going to blame? Your surgeon, your spouse, your sister, or the girl who won the spelling bee in 6th grade when you were the far better speller? And when the blame is firmly placed (preferably at a considerable distance from you), then what are you going to do? Wait for your fairy bandmother (that would be me, Jean) to wave her magic wand over you and make it all better again?
You might not want to wait for me and my magic wand, because we’re fully booked until March of 2044. That means that you may have to find your way out of the problem all by yourself, because even if you can get someone else to accept the blame for your stuck episode or band slip or weight regain, you are the one who’s going to have to either live with it or fix it.
Oh, sure, you can take your surgeon to court over his purportedly inept placement of your band or port, once you convince an attorney that the case is worth at least (say) $100,000 in medical expenses, lifetime nursing care, lost wages, pain, suffering, and hangnails. And some ten or eleven years later, after dozens of postponements and motions and hearings, as well as thousands of $$ in court costs (all at your expense), you may or may not be granted an award or settlement that you may or may not be able to collect before March of 2044.
And meanwhile, you’ll still be obese, confused, upset, frustrated and infuriated. You’ll be divorced because your husband’s pizza habit ruined your diet. You’ll be lonely because your sister lied about how easy WLS is. You’ll be doctorless because your surgeon flagged your name with the infamous Difficult Patient tag. And did I mention you’ll still be obese?
Wow, this story doesn’t have a very happy ending, does it? I think we’d better start over. So take a deep breath and click here to find out how taking personal responsibility for your weight loss will give your WLS story a happy ending.

You got some great advice. I couldn't agree more about planning meals!! That has helped me get back on track. Hubby and I stopped eating out and we plan our meals the day before... sometimes we plan out a few days in advance. I never want to find myself in the position where I don't know what I am going to eat so I grab something fast and unhealthy.
Cooking healthy doesn't have to take tons of time. Scallops literally take a few minutes to cook. Serve with a side of quinoa or asparagus. Baking fish is quick and healthy. Once you get a few favorite quick recipes in your recipe box... you should be golden!

Sounds like everyone is giving you such great ideas. I know for myself one thing I do is have a day that is meal preparation day (sunday for me) and I get a whole weeks worth of breakfasts and lunches in little containers; baggies of nuts or veggies, etc. and then when I'm uber busy the rest of the week I already have stuff ready to go no matter the emergency. I try to make it just another chore like laundry day or what not. Someday I'll get dinner as ready in advance too and my food life will really be easy.

Hey you can get back on track. I have been in some of those same spots. Are you taking a good vitamin and what are you doing to get more energy and to boost your metabolism. I can share with you what I have been doing and it has helped me so much and also kept me focused and on track. Email me at vblack433@ymail.com. Stay in the race. We all have our ups and downs.

Sounds like you know what needs to be done, and are already getting on track to do it. I think you would benefit the most from planning ahead for meals and snacks that way you can control how many calories you are intaking and portion size! Keep you the great work your off to a good start just keep your head inmthe game. I noticed that after i restarted my weight loss the second time i have to work at it twice as hard! Dont be discouraged tho slow and steady wins the race. Good luck to you.