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I love Wendy's Chili.. that is one of the first things I ate when I was cleared to eat regular foods.. two things I eat from fast food restraunts.. Wendy's chili and Chicfilet Chicken Tortilla soup..both good protein, low cal .

I did curves years ago.. it is okay.. not sure how much of a workout you get it depends on your intensity... I hate the gym too and curves would be a good alternative... I get bored easily so after awhile I stopped going.. any exercise is good I am sure.. Walking , swimming or dancing are all good ways to get moving.. I recently started Zumba and it is not boring ..lol

My Surgeon is thin and hot... his staff are mostly normal weight.. one really tall and thin the nurse is a little chunky.. but none are obese..

very factual article...

Great job.. keep on working towards your goal.. I know I have had a bit of a stall due to holiday eating but I am determined to be at my goal in the next few months... I go to my Surgeon on Monday, doubt I need a fill but he can let me know.. Good Health and Happiness to everyone for 2014...

Carol, I live near Lake City.. had my surgery (Lapband) on Jan 15, 2013.. Dr. Sarantos in Gainesville is my surgeon.. There is a support group in Lake City, held at the Lake City Community Hospital the 2nd Monday of each Mo. @ 7 PM.. I hope you are still interested in meeting other people in our area... Let me know .. 386 984 5558. Mary Lou

I tried to go on Florida Bandsters awhile back but didn't have any response.. is there a secret? I don't live in Orlando but I am in North Florida...

nothing to be terrified about.. I was a little scared at the first fill but it's really no big deal.. my Surgeon numbs my port area, injects some saline , gives me some water to drink and if it goes down easily he is done... He is however very conservative, I have had 2 fills since my surgery Last January.. both were small .. I think I only have 1.5 cc's in my band..

Not sure if the same rules apply to Sleeve Patients Linda.. I know At week 3 I could have puree foods such as mashed potatoes, refried Beans, applesauce .. I was very careful with meat of any kind to make sure it was very tender and pureed.. We have a different set up than the sleeve patients because we have a small opening our food has to be very small . Experiencing swelling at this stage is still possible.. I know I couldn't eat my 1 cup of food for the first 6 weeks or so... But as usual follow the Dr's guidelines and check in with your Nutritionist..

What a great job... You are a inspiration...

I am almost 1 year post op.. I eat pretty much what I want.. smaller amounts and try to stay away from Pasta, potatoes and bread.. typical daily menu: Breakfast, 2 turkey sausage links, 1/2 cup eggbeaters (southwestern) sometimes a little cheddar cheese..1 piece of sara lee 45 calories all grain toast...lunch is usually chili, chicken salad or soup with wheat thins, sometimes applesauce or fruit if I have room.. dinner varies from meatballs, chicken thighs, salmon, or fish.. veggies .. I sometimes have a snack like a fat free pudding or sugar free yogurt bar (frozen).. I try to stay around 1100 to 1200 calories per day.. I track what I eat on my fitness pal.. for now it works.. I am never what i call hungry.. I drink 6 bottles of Water a day most of the time.. sometimes more.. I have had issues with chicken breast if I don't use a sauce or gravy.. it's just too dry.. I can eat steak if it's very tender and moist.. sometimes I splurge and if we eat out I get something different.. tonight we ate at Olive Garden I had 1/2 portion of eggplant parmesan.. I have the rest for lunch tomorrow.. did not eat the spaghetti.. had a little portion of salad.. no breadsticks.. I am very satisifed...it's way easier than being on some crazy diet. .. hope you find your way to healthy eating..

I am very happy that I am now off of my diabetic meds, high blood pressure and cholesterol too.. I am happy that I can wear normal clothes and shop with my girls without pooping out.. Happy that I can ride my horses and enjoy going out to dinner without panic setting in... I had the best Thanksgiving and Christmas I have had in many years.. did not worry or stress about how much weight I would gain and pretty much ate what I wanted .. Hope everyone is ready for another great year.

absolutely beautiful... I am sure you know that your story is very common in our group... I bet I have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on every weight loss program out there.. Jenny Craig, WW, Nutrisystem, HCG, even went to a Dr. who gave me B12 shots and speed... It's no wonder my metabolism was screwed up.. I finally had had enough and like you decided to stop that diet merry go around.. I am so very thankful I did and very thankful to have found lapbandtalk to give me some motivation and advice when needed. Keep up the good work and all I can say is you have taken 20 years off of your life..

I weigh myself everyday in the morning after I've been up a little while.. it keeps me focused on the day ahead and what I need to do... I'm not overly obsessed with it just think it keeps me on track.. I knew I had gained 2 lbs over the holidays because I weighed myself every day.. I cut back to my 1 cup at each meal and a lite snack .. no more sugar Cookies, chocolate covered peanutbutter balls, etc. soon it came off and I lost a bonus 1 lb. so here I am back to where I was before the holidays.. feel better and motivated to continue my journey.. But, not everyone can do the same.. If it really upsets you to weigh every day and you are obsessed with it, stop doing it... weigh once a week or once a month... my scale and my dr's scale are never the same so I expect to weigh more there... no big deal...

ewww the Boost are bad,, I recommend Muscle Milk or GNC's Lean Shakes.. either of them are just as nutritional if not more so than boost.. high protein, low sugar and low calorie...

Wonderful for you... 9 years is a long time and I love that you are healthy... That was and is my main goal.. at 67 I doubt I will be modeling swimsuits..lol but I can walk, ride my horse and wear normal clothes.. no more plus sizes for me... keep up the good work..

my first Holiday since being banded went okay.. other than evil Christmas Cookies finding their way into my mouth I ate fairly well. I had some days I was tired of all of the food. I gained 2 lbs then promptly lost them.. that in itself is a miracle for me.. I enjoyed this year so much more than previous years when I was miserable.. I even enjoyed shopping.. I also enjoyed being able to wear nice clothes to the different social events.. I always tried to hide my bigness with even bigger clothes and mostly black.. this year I wore skinny jeans with boots and red sweaters and dresses to church with high heels.. it was awesome... Hope everyone has a wonderful healthy and happy New Year...

I have a little cooler bag I bought at Academy...it has a styrofoam liner and canvas like on the outside...anyway it's lightweight and easy to carry.. If I know I can't stop and eat or will be somewhere where I can't get Wendy's chili or Chic Filet chicken tortilla Soup..(these are my fast food choices), I pack a few Protein bars (Quest), hard boiled egg, some tuna in the pouch, sometimes I pack yogurt (greek) a few veggies, carrotts, celery etc. or some wheat thins and cheese wedges.. in a real pinch pack a Protein shake.. muscle milk is good, GNC has Lean shakes that are good too.....I hope I helped you.

Another thing you can do with Quest Bars is pop them in the micro just a few seconds..it will soften them.. oh I am now loving the chocolate Chunk... they are better than candy or something unhealthy... I also found some Protein bars are funky tasting because they have sugar alcohol which really wrecks my system , but Quest does not have it... GNC has them on sale most of the time you get 4 for the price of 3... I have a gold card too which gives me discounts...They have a new white chocolate raspberry I haven't tried yet but I am sure I will get it soon...

I gotta ask my surgeon about this.. when I have had a fill he gives me cold water to drink ... I have not noticed any difference when I drink warm or hot drinks as opposed to cold ... I will put that one on my list of questions and report his response.. it's always good to know anything that could help ...

Almost 1 year.. on the 15th.. So happy I decided to have band surgery... Best decision I have ever made. down 55 lbs and hope to get to my goal in the next few months.. I feel wonderful, have tons of energy and my health has improved dramatically. I am having a great time with the new me.. signed up for Zumba classes starting Sunday... I have had no complications and have had 2 fills...

I get Quest bars from GNC. they are good Protein and low calories and less than 5 grms sugar... The best one is chocolate chip cookie dough.. but they have a variety of flavors.. I only use them for a quick snack if I am out and about.

Southern Cooking can be lightened up.. it takes some work though.. I go to emilybites.com and she has some pretty good recipes that she has reworked... however, when I make chicken and dumplings for husband and kids, I eat the chicken with some veggies and a small dumpling.. fried chicken I try not to do often.. if I do I eat a thigh without the skin.. Part of the beauty of the band is it tells me if I am eating too much.. so I can eat some of my Southern foods but not near as much as I used to.. I had some blackeyed peas, collard greens and a tiny piece of cornbread yesterday... it was very good and I was happy.

yes I think it's common.. I even started gambling years ago while on a Rx diet pill.. it made me crazy.. I still like to play poker but am in total control.. smoking is another past habit.. quit cold turkey and hate the smell of it... My husband still smokes even after having esophageal cancer (duh) but I can't control his health only my own... You can quit again you just have to be really strong..

oh yes .. we went to a Irish Pub in Pensacola last week.. they served a pumpernickel bread covered in butter and honey I think.. I really thought about eating some but I knew I would get stuck.. I had ordered salmon -and a salad.. I have been stuck on bread before.. it hurts.. so glad you were able to clear it B52..I seem to have more issues with scrambled eggs (real) than anything. don't know why.. I can eat eggbeaters okay.. people ask me what I can eat.. I tell them anything that my band likes...