lindata

that must have felt so good! I can always tell if I've lost or gained weight according to my mom. She's usually around the same weight. When I look at her and think she looks thin, then I've gained. If I look at her and think she's, hmm how do I put this, not as thin, then I know I've lost weight.

Tell me if this is totally inappropriate - but I saw a few mentions of good books on one of our threads and I just loooooove books (this is how much :thumbup:) and book clubs (especially among good friends!), so would anyone here be interested in a book club, discussing books, what new things you've read, what's your fav's, what's good, what's bad?

Cindy - I'm too late to congratulate you on your 50 pounds down! You're 51 now! It feels good, eh? Foofy - do you think you lost because you were eating mainly low-carb? I just noticed from what you posted it seemed to be mainly meat dishes. Hollyberries - tell me more about your Atkins plan. Have you lost much since you started? Atkins always worked well for me in the past. I have a theory about all of us who have such a hard time losing weight, that we are all allergic to sugar, and that's why it's so hard unless we follow a low-carb diet.

Sades - I'm not sure if it's the drink or just liquids in general. The past few weeks (when I had my weightloss) I had to be very careful what I was eating and more or less went on liquids every few days. I think I was a bit sick and things were inflamed, so food was not going down as well as before. Anyway, the liquids and mushy food was what really did it - and keeping the portions down too. I was also doing major landscaping work in my garden - like hauling gravel, large rocks, that kind of thing, so the exercise definitely helped. Once you get better restriction, Sades, the weight will start coming off. I KNOW how you feel right now - I didn't have any until just recently. It's very frustrating getting the band and having months where nothing is happening, and if anything is happening it's all willpower. But your time will come and then watch out! :thumbup: Hollyberries - I find Atkins has really helped me in the past too, especially with cravings. I know what you're talking about when you can make desert for your family and not eat it. What usually happens to me is one spoonful of something with sugar and that's it, I'm done for. As long as I can keep sugar out of my body I have no cravings, my face clears right up (I get lots of zits), and I lose weight. My mind still says I want it though and I end up eating it sooner or later. :thumbup:

My NSV that I've been noticing lately is that all the people I met last year when I moved, and I thought were so skinny and tiny, aren't really all that skinny and tiny after all. I feel like I'm finally fitting in a bit and that's all I ever wanted.

Exactly! Thanks everyone!

I checked on TWO bmi calculators and today is the day ..... I am JUST OVERWEIGHT!!!! WHOOOHOOOO!!!! :tt1::tt1::tt1::Dancing_biggrin::redface::Dancing_biggrin::sad::Dancing_biggrin::biggrin::Dancing_biggrin::Dancing_biggrin::Dancing_biggrin:

Are you cold now too? I used to always be so hot - even in Canada in the winter. I used to sleep neked! :thumbs_up: Now I live in Arkansas and sometimes I get chilly in the summer! Can you believe it? :w00t:

No, I don't think I am. There was just such a long period of time where I could eat large quantities, and now I've finally reached a point where the band is actually working so I have to reign my quantities in, and I also have to admit that I really can't eat certain foods without them getting stuck. So I end up aggravating my stomach with barfing up the wrong choices, then spend a few days in liquid recovery. I've just got to get my head around it again. I'm learning but I'm very stubborn! :tt1:

I've spent the past three weeks alternatingly barfing up good food, going on a liquid diet to quiet the stomach, then barfing up good food again. I've barfed up watermelon twice, so I guess I'm going to have to start blending it. But then I can eat a whole load of cheetos! arghh

Name..........Start........Current.........Goal........ To Go CindyG.........204...........204...........184...........20 TxArcher.......299...........299...........280...........19 Hollyberries...253...........253...........238...........15 Momto1plus1....203...........203...........185...........18 Lindata........176.5.........176.5.........160...........16.5 I am sooooo happy. I made my goal (176.5) only one day late on the last challenge. That makes a total of 50 pounds down!!!! Yeehaw!!! :ohmy:

Bandpal - a few pounds for all the stress is no biggie! I know it's hard to go from no exercise and being stressed to getting on track again. The first day is the hardest - but then you get into your exercise/diet routine and life is suddenly not that hard again. Take care of yourself!

Name..........Start........Current.........Goal........ To Go CindyG.........210...........205...........198...........7 TxArcher.......308...........299...........285...........14 Foofy..........235...........233...........225.......... 8 Skinny_Jill....173...........168...........163...........5 Hollyberries...257...........254...........247...........7 Stephanie......173...........173...........159...........14 gabeekeeper....246...........234...........236...........0 Sades..........197...........194...........185...........9 shortgal.......175...........175...........165...........10 Momto1plus1....210...........203...........198...........5.0 Shalee04.......187...........182...........177...........5 osangriared....248...........248...........228...........20 lindata........181.5.........177.5.........176.5.........1 kuchiegrl1.....262.5.........253.5.........252...........1.5 kandiceb.......175...........175...........165...........10 Hajohnson1.....234...........228.4.........219...........9.4 Hopping to it..295...........295...........280...........15 Eulete P.......219...........219...........209...........10 wnr2lose.......211.8.........205.7.........200...........5.7 WHOOHOO only one more pound to go for me to hit goal!

Hey Nessa. I'm just learning too. I used to be able to eat like usual up till a month or so ago when I finally got a proper fill amount. I've had a few stuck episodes too and I have to be very careful when I'm hungry or else the first bite gets stuck (because I'm too hungry to chew properly!) I was feeling kinda blue too about my weightloss, thinking it should have been more dramatic - BUT there's no way I would have lost this amount on my own. Today was the first day I went to our local Water park and, believe me, I felt a huge difference between last year and this year at "only" 45 pounds down. I was looking at my legs while in a tire tube and I couldn't believe how small they looked compared to last year. So 40 odd pounds is HUGE difference!

My friend let me in on something fantastic that I've been using to help lose weight. It's a shake that you can have for either one or two days. All you drink is the shake - and if you're still hungry you can have carrots - and of course all the Water you can drink. I have an extremely hard time losing weight, but every time I do this, the weight comes off. And I also feel full. So I thought I'd let you in on my secret weapon. 1 cup orange juice 1 cup cranberry juice 1 cup soy milk (I just use regular milk) 1 cup yogurt (I use French vanilla) 2 tablespoons wheat germ 1 teaspoon flax seed oil. Blend it up and portion it throughout the day. It doesn't look like much but, trust me, you will feel pretty full - you're not going to starve - I think it's the wheat germ that does it. This is if you want to do it for two days. I always just do it for one, so I half all the ingredients. Just keep sipping it throughout the day, remixing it as you go because the ingredients tend to separate. Now, I know you got the band because you didn't want to go on another diet, but this seriously works. It works for my friend, me, and my mom - all of whom are very resistant to weight loss. I'm planning on doing this once a week.

Name..........Start........Current.........Goal........ To Go CindyG.........210...........205...........198...........7 TxArcher.......308...........302...........285...........17 Foofy..........235...........235...........225...........10 Skinny_Jill....173...........168...........163............5 Hollyberries...257...........255...........247............8 Stephanie......173...........173...........159...........14 gabeekeeper....246...........246...........236...........10 Sades..........197...........195.5.........185...........10.5 shortgal.......175...........175...........165...........10 Momto1plus1....210...........208...........198...........10 Shalee04.......187...........185...........177...........10 osangriared....248...........248...........228...........20 lindata........181.5.........180...........176.5.........3.5 kuchiegrl1.....262.5.........253.5.........252...........1.5 kandiceb.......175...........175...........165...........10 Hajohnson1.....234...........229.2.........219...........10.2 Hopping to it..295...........295...........280...........15 Eulete P.......219...........215...........209...........6 wnr2lose.......211.8.........208.8.........200...........8.8 I'm not sure how I lost those few pounds, but I thought I'd better post it quick before I gain it all back again!

WHOOHOO Cindy! You are fantastico!

Kendra, I'm SOOOOO happy for you!!!

Oh, that's so funny. I keep forgetting you're in Australia! Doh!

Sades - I'm going in on Tues for a fill. I guess that's the same Tuesday as you! We'll have to report back to each other. I was down to 181.5 and needed it, then went on holiday and gained to 185, now I don't really need it, but if I dilly dally any more I'll never get it done. I haven't had one for months now and I really need to get my mind back in the game. I'm going to do a cleanse/fast shake kinda thingy Sunday and Monday which always makes me lose at least a few pounds, so I hope I get down again. I always feel like I'm disappointing my doctor when I don't lose weight. :thumbdown:

Oh, I had that sweating thing happen to me the week after surgery. I thought I was having a heart attack. When people on this board say that, I know exactly how they feel. It lasted 1/2 an hour. That's interesting how you get stuck but don't slime. I slime every time I have even a miniscule inkling of a stuck feeling. But I can't throw up. I've always had a hard time throwing up (believe me, I'm sure I would have been bulimic by now if I could have made myself throw up!), and I've tried leaning over the sink to throw up whatever is stuck when it really hurts, but it just never works. Yes, all the bad stuff goes down so easy for me too (as I'm sure for everyone!). It makes it very easy to have a bag of chips. :thumbdown:

Sades, did you get your fill yet? How's it going? Sweet spot yet?

I feel a bit lost too. You know the people who ask all the dumb newbie questions? That's me. I still don't quite get how this works - it's not yet working the way it's supposed to for me. Sometimes I get stuck, and at other times I can eat quantities of food that I don't understand how it fits in the 'pouch'. I feel like when I go to see my doctor he gives me a fill, let's me sit with a glass of Water, he checks 20 minutes later to see if it goes down, and that's it. I know I shouldn't, but I feel kind of silly asking him the dumb newbie questions - so I embarrass myself here instead! :party: I have literally learned all I know from my s-i-l who had the surgery, and from this board. As for maps, I think a lot of surgeons give their patients great maps, they understand where they've been and have a clear idea where they're going. Looking back, I realize I wasn't given a great map and had to figure it out mostly on my own. So we'll muddle through this and get it eventually, eh? :smile:

Yes, this is how I feel too. I've only told dh and a very few close relatives and two friends. Okay, that sounds like a lot of people, but it really isn't! Nobody where I live now (I moved a year ago) knows that I've done it. One person here has noticed my weight loss but I haven't said anything about the band and I never will. There's been times when I don't have time to log on, and I get out of touch, start feeling a bit lonely and down. I'm not at that sweet spot and if I don't work at it really hard, no weight comes off. But then I come on here and it's great motivation to talk to everyone and "remember why I am doing this again." :party: