Corridor72

I have a card given to me by my surgeon but have never used it. I usually just take the leftovers home and have them for lunch and/or dinner the following day.

I ate way more than I planned. Dinner was at noon so there was plenty of time to graze throughout the day and into the evening. There's also lots of leftovers. However, I am back on track today. The family can eat the leftovers and, aside from the turkey and green beans, I will not touch them. Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels :-)

@@Leepers , Yes, my profile information is correct. That's one of the things I use to justify that I'm not being unhealthy in wanting to lose more. That puts my BMI at 22.9, which is in the healthy range but I could still lose more and be within a healthy range. Also, when you look at all of the different charts, I could lose more according to those too. I'm not overweight on any of the charts, which I think is maybe what he's looking at. I don't know. For me, it isn't as simple as just not being overweight anymore. I really didn't think anything of my friends' comments, initially, because, of the ones who mentioned, only one of them isn't overweight. I think that, as a society, we have gotten so used to people being overweight that our view of what is healthy is skewed. And they're used to the fat me so I just assumed that their perception of what I should look like was skewed by what they were used to seeing. And then the surgeon said something to me about it and that's when I really started to think about it and became concerned(and confused). I think some of it is that I have huge boobs. Always have. Even after losing 141 lbs, I still wear a 34DDD. So it's kind of that Dolly Parton effect. My boobs are so big they make everything else look smaller(to everyone else) in comparison!lol..Or at least, I'm guessing that's it because to me, it all looks fat. Regardless, you're right...it is a slippery slope and one that I will probably spend the rest of my life trying not to slide off either side into anorexia or obesity(again). The surgeon has talked to me about learning how to move into maintenance and has suggested that I start to add some things back into my diet now. He suggested taking baby steps instead of going all out. He told me to start with little things like having a few crackers with my tuna or a piece of fruit with my meal instead of just having all protein and veggies. I've been doing the crackers on occasion but I find it difficult to add other things back in just yet. Part of that is because I still want to lose a few more pounds though. I think it will be easier once I KNOW I'm at MY goal. And, after talking with my surgeon, I think I've decided that my goal is no more than 5 lbs away. If I lose that 5 lbs and I'm still feeling like I look like the Good Year Blimp, then perhaps I need to still just shift into maintenance and hope my brain catches up to my body soon after. Otherwise, I will talk to him about a referral for some counseling.

I can usually tell when something is stuck before the slime starts so it does give me time to get to the bathroom, if needed. The PBing and sliming associated with something stuck in your band are not like violent projectile vomiting episodes that you might have with gastrointestinal illnesses. I never worry about taking extra clothes or choosing different foods due to the company I keep. Then again, I don't mind that people know I have the band either. If you're really worried, then sure, keep it light until you and your band have had more time to get to know each other. Soup would be a good choice in those situation. Just be careful not to get into the habit of eating soup all the time because it is a slider food and won't keep you feeling full the way more solid foods will.

I have weighed myself every single day since I started this journey. I have found that it helps keep me on track. I don't get upset when I see a little bit of fluctuation because I know that I didn't gain a pound or even 5 pounds in 1 single day so, it has to be simply that, fluctuation due to water retention. I'm okay with that. In fact, after months of doing this, I've figured out the cycle and I know when to expect it and I know when it's going to drop off too. Having said that, I'm at a point in my journey where I'm beginning the transition from weight loss to weight maintenance so my surgeon has suggested to me that I weigh daily so that I always know where I'm at and he has said that I should do that for the rest of my life so that I don't unknowingly creep up more than the normal fluctuation and end up regaining 20 lbs without realizing it and then getting frustrated and falling back into old ways. He says this way, I will see it happen sooner and that will be my signal to re-evaluate and figure out what the cause is whether it be that I'm eating too much and need another fill, being too lax in what I eat and need to get back to the basics, or slacking in exercise and need to hit the gym. Whatever the case may be, the scale will tell on ya every time and there's no denying it.

Best of luck to you! You can do this!

I find that I have to set goals. For instance, I'm told that I need to drink 64 oz of water per day at a minimum. So, I make myself drink a bottle when I get up in the morning before I eat anything. My band is pretty tight in the morning so that can sometimes take a little while because I drink my water cold and my band just doesn't like cold in the mornings. I drink at least 1 more bottle by lunch time. If I haven't had by lunch time, I make sure I drink it before I eat my lunch. Another bottle mid-afternoon and another in the evening. I find that by doing this, I can usually squeeze in about 4-5 16.9 oz bottles of water per day. I'm kind of a slave to it because, like you, I rarely get thirsty and could go most of the day without drinking much but I know that my body needs the water so I watch the clock and just try to make it happen. I will tell you this-the closer I got to my goal, the more I noticed the impact that my water intake had on my weight loss.

My favorite is fish(tilapia or salmon) with some veggies(broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, or green beans). For breakfast I usually just have yogurt with granola or occasionally some high protein oatmeal.

The best thing about my band is that I get to choose good quality foods that taste good to me and my band does the rest by keeping me from eating too much of those awesome foods! Because of that, I will never be fat again and I have reclaimed my health! I can enjoy life like I did when I was kid! And shopping in regular stores for my size 6 jeans and small-medium tops is pretty nice too

LOL...Sorry, I didn't take any pictures!

Because it still takes time for it to pass through the band. The texture makes it so that the stomach still has to work to get it through the band. Whereas, with a true slider, it literally almost just slides through the band without much work on the part of the stomach. Also, the other thing is that when it takes you longer to chew something, you get the satisfaction of eating for a longer period of time without actually having to consume more food. And, as the above posters have mentioned already, it gives your stomach time to send the message to your brain that you've had enough before you've eaten too much.

It will be rough for probably about 3 or 4 days but you CAN do it. You raise a very good question in this post Why are any of us so afraid of being hungry? I don't know but I can tell you that one of the most important things I have learned along the way was from a post I read here that talked about the fact that it is okay to be hungry sometimes. I won't die if I get hungry and don't eat right away. In fact, nothing bad will happen if I'm hungry for a little while. Fortunately, I read that prior to having to do my liquid diet almost a year ago so every time I got hungry during those first few days, I reminded myself "It's okay to be hungry. This is part of the process that is going to make me healthy and healthy is more important." After the first couple of days, the hunger and cravings began to subside and by the end of day 4, I was having to remind myself that I NEEDED to drink another one of those MRP shakes. That thought process also came in handy during the months after I was banded until I reached the green zone.

I use straws. My surgeon never told me NOT to use a straw. I don't have any problems with them though.

I experienced this when I got the fill that put me in the green zone. I decided to wait it out a bit and what I figured out was that my band was not too tight. The problem was ME. I was trying to drink too much too fast. It was at that point that I learned NOT to gulp and realized that it was time to put everything I had learned about taking small bites and chewing everything to mush into practice. Once I figured that out, it's been smooth sailing. As long as I don't gulp liquids or eat too fast, I can tolerate most anything. I can even eat raw veggies like broccoli, cauliflower, bell peppers, carrots, etc. and I hear a lot of people that say they can't eat those things unless they're cooked to mush. I chew them until they're mush!lol

You can do it! I think we've all felt exactly what you are feeling. I remember being afraid that I couldn't do the liquid diet and then, once I was well into that and realized I was going to be able to survive that, my thoughts turned to the post-op period and worrying if I would be the only person on the planet who couldn't lose weight even with weight loss surgery. My surgery was ALMOST 10 months ago. I met my goal in late August and I'm down a total of 135 lbs. If I can do it, anyone can! And you WILL! Good luck to you!