Scotty

i haven't got one yet. I thought I might though...this site has some nice ones. http://www.hahoriginals.com/catalog/default.php/cPath/66

I saw your photo on the site before and I'm glad you are posting. I'm a Scot too although I live in London these days and had my band put in 9 weeks ago by Mr Rogers at the Princess Grace. I know EXACTLY what you mean about the creeping guilt. I've been using Weightlossresources.co.uk to reassure myself. I went to New York for a long weekend a couple of weeks back. I haven't had a fill yet so was worried I might go a bit mad. I was convinced I would have undone the good work by the time I got back. At times I knew I had eaten too much. I was luck enough to fly out First Class and trying to say no to the freebie food and wine on the plane was more than I could manage. A couple of times I felt uncomfortable. I really didn't feel like I was holding back - cocktails etc! But low and behold, when I summoned the courage to get on the scale when I returned, I'd lost another pound! When I input the food I'd eaten into my diary, I was still within my daily calorie allowance. It seems there's a difference between feeling like you're pigging out and actually doing it. It goes to prove how much of the change is in your head when you get this device! You must be so looking forward to your holiday. It's going to be wonderful and I like your month off strategy! Best wishes! Scotty

I had my weekend in New York City. I was quite nervous about eating as it would be the first time I'd be out with friends, eating Breakfast, lunch and dinner. It started badly when i overate on the plane and felt too full. Did the same thing in the evening. Began to get worried that I was doing damage and felt quite out of control. The next few days were OK and having just added up my calories for the weekend, I didn't overindulge as much as perhaps I thought I had. However, I seem to have lost all restriction suddenly and am worried that my band might have slipped. Tomorrow is my weekly weigh in day and I am petrified that I will have undone all my good work. I've been very good the last two days but who knows... I felt I was losing restriction before I went away which is probably because I have now lost around 18lbs. (until I get on the scale tomorrow morning!). It's been 8 weeks since my op. Should I be thinking about getting a fill? Any advice, welcome!

If things aren't tasting right, or nothing seems to be appetising, it may be that you're deficient in various minerals, notably zinc. Try crushing a Multivitamin into your smoothy or something. I much prefer savouries to sweets and milky things too. I had a ball with Soups in the liquid stage. I wasn't so keen on the mushy stage but it soon passed. There are aspects to the emotional path we are on which remind me of the stages of grief. I think most of us go through the denial, depression, anger and acceptance but not necessarily in that order! But there is another stage I have found, which is relief mixed with contentment that I have managed to take control of the only part of my life that felt really out of control. It's still a rollercoaster though!

The small regular meals thing is a bit of a fad I think. I have a friend who's a nutritionist who says that eating like that has little effect on your metabolism. Your body uses up energy at a near enough constant rate. We know that because our core temperature stays the same except when we do vigorous exercise or are ill. There's so much nonsense talked about nutrition. So little is really understood about it. And the professionals seem to change their minds with the seasons. Remember when eggs were bad for you? Read this. I found it on Weightlossresources.com - * "Going to work on a couple of eggs might be the way forward if you want to shift those pounds. According to new research from the Rochester Centre for Obesity in America, eating eggs for breakfast could help to limit your calorie intake throughout the rest of the day, by more than 400 calories. * In the study, 30 overweight or obese women ate either an egg-based breakfast (2 eggs) or a bagel-based breakfast, containing the same amount of calories and almost identical levels of Protein. The researchers recorded the women’s eating habits and found that just before lunch, the women who had eaten eggs for breakfast felt less hungry and ate a smaller lunch as a result. Better still, over the next 36 hours the group eating the egg-containing breakfast consumed, on average, 417 calories less than the bagel-eating group. Weight Loss Resources says… This study suggests that eating eggs for breakfast makes you feel fuller for longer so that you eat less at your next few meals. This is great news if you’re trying to lose weight as it means you may find it easier to cut calories without feeling hungry. In fact, based on these results you could expect to lose up to 2lb a month, simply by eating eggs for breakfast! * Eggs are packed with a variety of nutrients including protein, zinc, Iron and Vitamins A, D, E and B12, but contain just 85 calories each. Old advice to limit eggs to just a few each week has also been abandoned. According to the food Standards Agency, there’s now no limit to the number of eggs you can eat in a week as part of a healthy balanced diet. If you fancy starting the day with eggs we suggest you avoid frying them and combine them with wholemeal toast and a glass of Vitamin C-rich unsweetened orange juice, which will help the body make the best use of the iron in the eggs." Bottom line is, eat a varied diet, when you want to, find the foods that satisfy you for longest and exercise more. Oh...and stop obsessing about food if you can. (Pot, kettle, black...!)

Brenda! You've lost 138lbs!!!! That's amazing! I know another 80lbs probably seems like a huge mountain to climb but just focus on today and tomorrow if you absolutely have to! I've got 93lbs to lose so I'm not far behind you! I try to remember what I was doing this time last year and realise how quickly (and scarily) time passes, and that by this time next year, I should be at my goal, Godwilling. You're right to focus on your goals, but don't beat yourself up if you miss out on one or two a day. I've become addicted to online food diaries. i really think they help me stay on track. I was using Fitday.com but found it a bit too American! I now use Weightlossresources.com which has a UK food database. I love playing about with the goals and stuff. Anyway, I think you're amazing. A real inspiration to me and everyone else I'm sure. Stay cool!

Dry meat for me too....I made some pork meatballs with ginger, garlic and chili a couple of weeks back. I mixed in a couple of tablespoon of breadcrumbs and bound them with an egg to keep them soft, browned them in a dry pan then baked in the oven. When they were hot they went down fine, but the next day I took them to work cold and boy did they hurt. I made up a non-fat yogurt dip with lemon juice and paprika and that made it much easier. Same with chicken - if I have some kind of dressing or sauce it's fine. I'm going to become an expert at lo-cal sauces!

I'm seven weeks since surgery and saw hardly an ounce move for the last three weeks. Then, as if by magic, 3 lbs in week! Which puts me at just over 2lbs a week average. Long may it continue! Although a pleasure trip to NYC might sabotage it...better save some calories before I go!

I think I'm right in saying that not all doctors ask for patients to liquid diet. My doc certainly didn't say anything about it and I was eating up to the evening before surgery. Nothing after middnight is all he said. That said, what YOUR doctor says is what important here. But don't beat yourself up for having a sandwich. And really don't worry about how you're going to feel after the operation. It's a bit of a rollercoaster but you feel very differently after you have the op. The stakes are higher and it's easier to control your eating, that's for sure. I've only just started to get hungry, and that's 8 weeks since surgery. I'm hoping to get a fill soon. I'm not losing as quickly as I would like despite a 1200 calorie a day diet. But good luck! It's an exciting time and you'll be fine.

That's so great to see and read all your results! I am grinning from ear to ear. Thrilled you all did the test. It's quite interesting isn't it. Try the Brainsex one now...! How male or female is your brain... Anyway, thanks again for your support. I need it at the moment. Another slow week on the weightloss front. In fact I was up a pound today despite a 5 mile walk at the weekend and no more than 1200 calories a day for weeks now. I'm also cycling to and from work each day - about three miles each way. Don't know why I hold onto all this fat!! And I'm heading to NYC for a few days good time next week, some of which will inevitably involve one of the major food groups - the Martini. I have never quite believed that clear liquor can contain so many calories. I am not going to weigh myself until Friday now. See if I can trick the scales into not remembering how much I weigh.

By the way, I'm a Big Thinker according to the test. I'd be really intersted to know what you guys are!!! Summary of Big-Thinkers * Outspoken, ingenious and bored by routine * Think of themselves as talkative, curious and self-sufficient * May neglect the routine work required to make their plans successful

You guys...! What are you all like? This is better than the award...well, almost. Who am I kidding - you can't lovingly fondle a message board can you - unlike my big hunk of stainless steel trophy. I'm not at all famous by the way but the show did quite well with the viewers. It was called, "What Am I like? The Personality test" It was on BBC1 last year and was an interactive documentary about personality types. We tracked a huge group of people, tested them using the Myers Briggs tests in secret, then set them various tasks which we filmed. A team of psychologists (who didn't know the results of the MBT) then predicted how they would act. It was scary how accurate they were. One group (the extroverts I think( had to cook a meal together. The psychologists said it would be a disaster. More than likely one of them would do somehting like set off the smoke alarm. Two minutes later, that's EXACTLY what happened. We all have four facets to our personality. The core two stay the same throughout our lives, but things like introvert/extrovert can change over time. It's very interesting. Throughout the programme, the viewers, using their TV remote control could answer a series of 20 questions and at the end we delivered back your personality type on screen. My speciality is interactive TV. We use digital technology to make it all work. Anyway, if you want to do the test have a look at the BBC website. It's good fun. http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/mind/surveys/whatamilike/index.shtml There are other tests on the site which I also recommend for a boring afternoon in the office. The data (confidential of course) is used by educational institutes all over the world, so do take a few minutes to have a go. Thanks again for the thread!

It's so weird...there's no rhyme or reason to what seems to give you the 'toxic golf ball' sensation. I didn't feel like breakfast this morning - had a bit of yoghurt drink but that was it. By midday I was hungry so opened the salad I had made at home which was roasted chicken breast, baked squash, ricotta with a little chili and red onion - yum. Well....the first bite felt tight but the second was agony. I made the classic mistake of taking some water. That definitely makes it worse. I hid in the loo for 10 mins and the feeling passed but boy, it was painful. yet other times I can eat whatever I want.