Bergdorfblonde

The vegetarian sausages have a sick amount of protein and fiber! I am trying to eat 3 400 calorie meals per day for a total of 1200 cals. I know that seems like a lot compared to some people on here who eat 600-800 cals but if I go below that I get so hungry I am about to eat my own arm off! So I eat the whole package for either breakfast or lunch. I think it had like 400 calories and 45 grams of protein and 10 grams of fiber, for the whole thing. They taste amazing! It's like thinking you are eating something greasy and bad and in reality you are eating veggies with all of the protein and fiber you need for the day! Plus I find that fiber really helps weight loss because it basically goes right out of you. I have also been eating this weight loss oatmeal and its great because it has a ton more fiber than regular too.

You know those morningstar veggie sausages? They taste and smell so real that my dogs go crazy for them when I am heating them up. I checked out the box and they have a huge amount of protein and fiber and are low calorie. It's health food that actually tastes like junk food and I love it!

Westcoastfatguy, what you said totally hit the nail on the head. You are so right!!:thumbup:

I am not going to try to get you to change your mind. However, I think your feelings are similar to what most bandsters feel after surgery. After my surgery, I felt incredibly aweful for a month. I couldn't sleep on my side and every time I rolled over it felt like my guts were being ripped out. I had horrible pains in my shoulder. Plus, it seemed like the surgery made me gain weight even though I wasn't eating much. I spent $15,000 total out of pocket. I felt like I wasted my money and butchered my body for no reason, as I wasn't even losing weight. Then I healed and my stomach and shoulder felt totally normal. I didnt lose weight initially because I fought the band. I ate too many calories and didn't listen to my body's cues I was full. IE I would order a huge restaurant meal, be full after eating a quarter of it, wait and then eat some more. Then I realized what the band is there for. It's to help you manage your eating if you want to manage your eating. I've lost 27 pounds in 6 mos. It's not a huge weight loss, but it is slow and steady. I went from size 26 jeans to almost a size 18. I am seriously excited for when I reach size 16, cuz that will put me into the "normal" sizes again. I just wanted to tell you that we all go thru what you are feeling. If you want to remove your band, go for it. If you take it easy and wait for your body to heal, you can seriously change your life with the band. I think it was the best $15,000 I have ever spent. I'm going to my reunion in the summer as a normal sized woman, not a plus sized woman. I won't be skinny, but I will look good. Follow your heart, but know that feeling crappy after surgery is normal.:w00t:

I went from a size 26 in Seven Jeans to a size 18. I even got a pair of size 16 jeans to get on me and close, although they were way way way too tight on me. I cant wait till I am a size 16 for real. I think on top I am already out of the plus size section but it will take me another 15 pounds to get to size 16 jeans. I love trying on clothes because you can really see your progress.

Now that I am losing weight, I have become more emotional than before. Before, I used to think of myself as a very level-headed person. I rarely cried. Never yelled. Never stuck up for myself and let people walk all over me. Now, I realize that I used to use food to stuff down my feelings. I had my car towed the other day and the tow truck driver said it would cost $250. I took $250 out of the ATM. When he got near my house, he said he was going to charge me $350 and if I didn't pay up he was going to take my car to the pound. I started crying my eyes out. Not like it was such a huge deal. But I was feeling sad and taken advantage of so I let out my emotions with a good cry. He went back to his original $250 price and I felt so good because I let the sadness out.:huggie: When people take advantage of my kindness, I used to just stuff my feelings down with pizza or Pasta or chocolate. Now, when I have people take advantage of me, I call them out on it. Not in a rude way, but just in a factual, non chalant kind of way. I stick up for myself now instead of being overly polite to mean people.:w00t: I feel like I am confronting my feelings more than I was when I was overeating. I used food as a drug to supress my emotions. I ate when I was happy. Ate when I was sad or angry. Now if I eat too much I feel sick so it is not giving me the comfort it used to. So I actually have to deal with my emotions rather then stuff them. I laugh out loud when I am happy, cry when I am sad, and stick up for myself when I need to. It actually feels great to feel things more instead of numbing myself with food instead.

I have also been loving ceviche lately. They have it at asian restaurants and mexican ones. Its great because there are no carbs and it is packed with protein and tastes very satisfying.

The same thing I said to the girls goes for you Max. Love yourself and the girls will follow. Plus girls love boys in bands!!!

My highest weight was 242 and I am still very overweight at 214 and I have to tell you, the way you carry yourself and your amount of self esteem is all you need to get men. I get more men than my size 2 friend because she is very insecure. Love yourself. Love your body whatever size it may be. Take bubble baths and make your skin soft by putting on lotion. Do your makeup, get a flattering haircut/hair color. Get manicures and pedicures. Love yourself, pamper yourself and the men will follow. I am not saying all men like overweight girls. The ones who like skinny minnies are not for us. But you would be surprised how many guys are attracted to big girls because they love soft curves and naturally big breasts. Personally I think there is something wrong with guys who are attracted to women who have bodies like prepubescent boys with zero hips and curves. You have to have good self esteem no matter how much you weigh and guys are attracted to that. Don't tolerate guys who treat you badly. You are to be treated well. Just because you are chubby does not mean you need to settle for a douchebag boyfriend who is verbally abusive! Lose the loser and get a new guy. Love yourself and you will get plenty of guys. Its a hard thing to grasp at 17 or 18 but believe me it's true. I promise!

Be proud of yourself Karen! That is a huge accomplishment. :thumbup: I am so jealous because I would love to be in the "overweight" category! I remember myself at that weight and (although I thought I was fat) I didn't look so bad.

I can see how you lost so much weight Leena, if I had a tenth of your willpower I would be a stick! :thumbup: I struggle to stick to 1200 calories a day. On days I do, I lose weight. On days I don't sometimes I gain weight, but it is only temporary as my weight keeps trending down. Maybe I should try not to eat so many calories? My college reunion is in June and I would like to look good for it.

Ceradad, you don't have to go by the chart. Obviously saying you have to be a certain BMI is the same as saying you have to be a certain weight and I certainly would not want anyone to tell me I need to be a size 2! But I looked at your weight and BMI and if instead of 240, you changed your goal to 239, that one little pound will take you to merely overweight rather than obese. Obviously one pound means nothing. Its like for me, if I weigh 175 I am still considered obese according to the chart but if I weigh 174 I am considered overweight. Its not like one pound matters. It is cool to see yourself taking control of your weight in this way cuz it makes you think you are making progress. For instance, you took yourself from Morbidly Obese, to Severely Obese and you are about to just become merely Obese in like 2 seconds! That is a big accomplishment and you should be totally proud of yourself. I am not telling you your BMI needs to be any specific number, I am just saying if you look at it this way, you can see how you are transforming your body and your health.<table class="boxBackground" style="border-collapse: collapse;" border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td>30.0 - 34.9 BMI</td><td>Obese</td></tr><tr><td>35.0 - 39.9 BMI </td><td>Severely Obese</td></tr><tr><td>40.0 - 49.9 BMI</td><td>Morbidly Obese</td></tr></tbody></table>

I love all of the vegetarian breakfast sausages. They don't have lots of calories, keep you full and are full of protein. Plus you are eating soy instead of meat. They smell and taste so much like the real thing that my dogs go crazy for them!

Send out resumes and try to get a new job in the new city before you move. I would say GO FOR IT! You are young and single and dont have a husband or kids to tie you down to a place you don't like. Worse comes to worse, if you hate Vegas or Georgia, you can always move back home. I just think you should try to get a job in advance just so you dont have to worry about money when you get there (and so you can buy some fabulous new clothes for your new skinnier self!) Follow your bliss.:laugh:

And Leena you are more than half done! That is so amazing. It makes me think if you can lose 114, I can reach my goal. I love this chart because you can see yourself moving to each stage. For some reason, now that I know I put myself from the Morbidly Obese category to the Severely Obese category, I see myself making progress. Then I just need to get to the Obese and Overweight categories and I will feel like I am making greater progress. I still feel like Normal Weight might be a pipe dream but we shall see. It doesn't seem so formidible if you break it down into small steps!

dont get the unfill. you can still eat on the cruise, but not in unlimited portions. just eat till you are full and chew well. are you realy going on the cruise to gorge yourself (as many ppl do!) or are you going to have a good time and see new sights with loved ones and friends? just go, order things like steak and lobster, chew well and don't go for an all you can eat buffet on the Water.

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Where do you live? Call around the hospitals in your area and ask if there are any lap band studies you can participate in and ask what the price is. I had my surgery at Lawrence Hospital in Bronxville, NY. Its a program through Columbia U. It was for people with a bmi over 35 but less than 40. I think if you can get into a study where they give you a discount, it is much better than flying to a foreign country for surgery. I got lap band surgery for $12,500 in New York, which is a great deal.

I was kind of in the same boat as you. I got my lapband and thought weight loss would be easy. It wasn't. Plus it was embarrasing going out with family friends who my mom told I had lap band surgery, and they kept asking me how much weight I'd lost, and I couldn't say I lost weight at all. I realized it is very easy to overeat with the band. I really wasn't watching what I ate and just kept eating like a fat person. Now, I try to keep to 1200 calories a day. 400 for Breakfast lunch and dinner. I don't always follow it. Sometimes I eat a lot more calories than my goal. But the days I do stick to it, I lose a lot of weight. I don't deprive myself of anything. If I want McDonalds, I order a small happy meal (4 chicken mcnuggets and a small fry) It's 400 calories. If I want chocolate, I eat 400 cals of chocolate. I am eating exactly what I want at the moment I want it, I am just more mindful of calories so I can stay on track. The difference between now and before the lap band, was before, I could eat an entire supersize meal and still eat more. Now I am satisfied by a small happy meal. Use the lapband as a tool. You still need to watch the calories. If you do, the lapband helps you be satisfied on less food. Its also hard to binge, which is great for us binge eaters. However, if you graze all day, you can eat millions of calories on the lap band. Just stick to an eating plan where you are limiting your calories and the weight will come off.

I lived with a boyfriend for 3 years. I was 174 when I met him and climbed all the way up to 230 by the time we were married. Then all of a sudden, he started calling me fat. He put up a calendar of the incredible hulk and said it was because I am as big as the incredible hulk. It is really bizarre because I know there are guys who like thin girls, guys who like chubby girls, but how can a guy go from being attracted to you to totally being mean and verbally abusive? I found that you need to be with a guy who loves you for you, whatever weight you are. I dont know him but I have a feeling your boyfriend is no supermodel himself. Lose the loser before you guys get married and you regret it. No guy should ever put you down repeatedly like this guy does and believe me, it will just get worse. You are beautiful and special whatever weight you are. Focus on the parts of you that are beautiful no matter what, your eyes, smile, hair, bustline, etc. Then get out of this relationship and don't commit to any other guy who puts you down. You are worth more than that!:eek:

Thanks for telling me about the hormone thing mari and gkeyt! I had no idea about that. I just thought I was more emotional now cuz I wasn't using food to solve my problems anymore. I didn't know my bod was releasing hormones as I lose weight. That explains a lot and I am going to go to the bookstore and read up on it to find out more about the hormonal thing.

........having people say I am "pretty" instead of I have such a "pretty face" ........fitting into one bus seat without squooshing the person next to me or having to sit half off the seat into the aisle ........going to my college reunion and making everyone jealous ........fitting into the same size I was from freshman year ........not having to cut the labels out of my clothes because I am ashamed of people seeing my size 24 size tag ........going clothes shopping anywhere I want and not just the plus size stores/sections ........wearing cute trendy clothing that I love but am afraid to wear because it is not slimming .......living a healthy life .......having people see me for ME rather than seeing an overweight person and not really caring about the rest of me ........being confident in dating; not worrying that I am too fat and the guy is not going to like me ........exersising outside with my dogs ........not trying to hide my behind with jackets, cardigans or oversize things

Order soup, iced tea, and skim cappucino for dessert. If they ask why you arent eating so much, tell them that you had a big lunch and feel full. I hate when people talk about medical procedures at social settings. It's nobody's business. Just eat liquids and you will be fine.

I agree. Although I have nothing against bandsters who have had surgery in other countries, it seems risky. Some foreign doctors could be good but many are shady, unlicensed, have dirty operating rooms, use recycled parts. Why take a risk with your health to save a couple of thousand bucks? I have seen too many of those Montel shows where people had plastic surgery in foreign countries and died or had complicaitons. There was this one lady who got breast implants in Mexico. They used old breast implants extracted from another woman! The woman flew back to America barely alive in intensive care. She has suffered through so many health problems because of this and is lucky to be alive! There are many American hospitals that let you participate in studies. My hospital gave me lap band surgery for $12,500 cash which is good considering they normally charge $25,000. I was part of a low BMI study so I got the half price discount at a great hospital. Don't take chances with surgery. I am quite a bargain shopper. I paid $1300 for two 42 inch flat screen tvs online at the Philips outlet. They are refurbished so they might last, they might not. But surgery is not an area where you should disregard quality and shop only for price. Your life is worth more than a $3000 price difference.

You didn't make a mistake! It is great that your husband loves you while you are overweight. A lot of men are not as nice as him. Most people I told I was going to have lap band surgery did not want me to do it. You hear horror stories of people dying from it and it doesn't seem worth the risk. However, it is truly a personal decision. Your husband, parents, friends, can't make this decision for you! It is hard right after the surgery because you are all cut up and haven't lost any weight and feel crappy and you regret having done this to yourself. You think, omigod, I spent so much money to be chopped up and what if I dont even lose any weight? I self paid and have spent about $15,000 total. It is the best money I've ever spent on anything! If you have been dieting your whole life and still can't lose weight, the band is the best thing ever. It's just a tool however, and you can sabatoge it if you want to. However, if you are dedicated to losing weight and changing your life it is truly a great thing. I don't need to give you reasons to lose weight. I can see you really want to. Your husband probably has conflicted feelings because 1) its expensive and nobody has thousands of dollars to throw down the toilet 2) god forbid you get skinny and hot and leave him for some hot stud. Just let him know that its your body and your decision and he needs to support you and that you love him and he has nothing to be worried about. You've done the surgery already. Him being grumpy is not productive for either of you. Tell him to get over it.:w00t: