Fanny Adams

Well I got back in the pool and went on a lunch date yesterday. It went ok, nice restaurant, nice conversation but absolutely no spark and no desire to see him again. Oh well...it beat sitting home alone yet again.

I found the good old banana smoothie was great for breakfast. 1 cup of skim (0%) milk, half a banana and 1 tablespoon of honey, whip it up in the blender and it makes 2 glasses full, so enough for breakfast and for lunch! Sooooo filling and yum! 205 calories, 1g fat, 34g carb, 9g protein.

My doctor would count chunky chicken soup run through the blender as a full liquid, so that would have been quite acceptable at 8 days out. The uncomfortable feeling is probably because you ate a little too much of it and you are not yet used to the new "full" feeling. You'll be surprised at how little it can take to fill you up in the first weeks post-op. Take advantage of it while you can, as it will take more and more over the next few weeks, as you heal inside and are waiting for your fill. Just take it slowly and carefully and listen to your body between each bite. When you stop feeling hungry (not when you think you are full), stop eating. If you keep eating till you think you are full, you'll experience that uncomfortable feeling often.

I've been trying to move this next 1.5lb for weeks now, so I could have clicked the 40+ option but it doesn't seem to want to move. It's been 6 weeks since my last fill and I think it is time for another one, as my portion sizes are gradually increasing again I just want to be able to FINALLY say that I have LESS than 100lb to lose!

Welcome to the Merry Losers group, Babs. There are some wonderful people in here and all over the forums - I'm sure you'll get the support you're looking for. I know this place helps me enormously, so I'm confident it will do the same for you.

They emailed you with that crap in writing??? Kick 'em to the curb, mate, they're not worth it!!

I think all of us can relate to the doubts you are having. We have all struggled with diets and failure and all of us knew deep inside that our eating was out of control and our willpower not strong enough to keep us committed to the diet and exercise routine for the long haul. WLS is not the first option anyone reaches for when trying to lose weight, it is usually the last and only reached after years of trying and failing with other methods. For me, the biggest difference has been the change in headspace. In the past, I had started a diet with great enthusiasm and tried hard, but I was never able to sustain that commitment. Restricting my food intake was HARD when I was HUNGRY all the time and the thought of having to sustain that willpower for the 18 months needed to lose 140lb was daunting. Every time I hit a plateau in a diet, all those thoughts of failure would loom up and overwhelm me and I would quit, thinking "damn it, I'm just going to be happy being fat and EAT!!" Now, the hunger daemon is tamed. It took a while but now I am not hungry all the time. Because I am not "using up" all of my willpower just to try to restrict my portions, I have much more willpower "left over" to devote to making good choices and keeping up the exercise. I don't find the idea of an 18mth journey to be horrifying because I know I won't be fighting hunger every step of the way. I have confidence in my ability to do this, because I know that a little slip up here and there doesn't mean I will quit and go back to my old bad habits. I don't freak out at a plateau any more, I just remind myself that this time I'm in it for the long haul and I WILL get to goal. Good luck with whatever decision you make.

I posted this in the recipe section but thought you guys might be interested. It's not exactly from scratch but has a bit more oomph than the recipe on the jar (which is basically just "brown meat, add sauce"). Ingredients 900g (2lb) lamb chops - all fat trimmed (approx 6 largish chops) *1 x 540g jar Pataks Rogan Josh simmer sauce 1 large brown onion 1 medium potato 2 small carrots 2 medium tomatoes 1 tsp crushed garlic (from a jar is ok ) 1 tsp crushed coriander (from a jar is ok :tt1:) Method Brown the chops in a non-stick pan or wok. Add garlic & coriander Dice onions, potatoes, carrots and tomatoes and add to pan. (If you dice and add each vege in the order given, the timing works well). Add jar of Rogan Josh sauce + half a jar of Water (use RJ jar and shake to get all the extra sauce). Cover and simmer for 1 - 1.5 hours. Serve with Jasmine rice and green Beans. Makes enough for 6 child/bandster sized portions or 2 adults/2 kids. Nutrional Value per serve (assuming 6 serves, ie 1 chop + 1/2 cup veges/sauce, not including rice or beans) 321 calories, 13g fat, 13g carb, 34g Protein * I counted the calories, etc, using the Patak brand sauce but noticed that other brands had quite different calorie/fat numbers, so the numbers above are only correct when using that brand.

Ingredients 900g (2lb) lamb chops - all fat trimmed (approx 6 largish chops) *1 x 540g jar Pataks Rogan Josh simmer sauce 1 large brown onion 1 medium potato 2 small carrots 2 medium tomatoes 1 tsp crushed garlic (from a jar is ok ) 1 tsp crushed coriander (from a jar is ok :tt1:) Method Brown the chops in a non-stick pan or wok. Add garlic & coriander Dice onions, potatoes, carrots and tomatoes and add to pan. (If you dice and add each vege in the order given, the timing works well). Add jar of Rogan Josh sauce + half a jar of Water (use RJ jar and shake to get all the extra sauce). Cover and simmer for 1 - 1.5 hours. Serve with Jasmine rice and green Beans. Makes enough for 6 child/bandster sized portions or 2 adults/2 kids. Nutrional Value per serve (assuming 6 serves, ie 1 chop + 1/2 cup veges/sauce) 321 calories, 13g fat, 13g carb, 34g Protein * I counted the calories, etc, using the Patak brand sauce but noticed that other brands had quite different calorie/fat numbers, so the numbers above are only correct when using that brand.

I'm with luluc on this one. I avoid drinking 2-3 glasses of water with a meal, as was my previous habit, but I don't stick strictly to the no drinks 30 min before/1hr after rule either. I like the restriction level I have, which is fairly subtle and allows me to eat whatever I want but stops overeating. If I finding myself feeling hungry soon after meals, I will be a little more strict on it, but mostly I'll sip a half glass or so throughout a meal, just to keep my mouth wet. When I go out for dinner, I'll nurse a half glass of wine throughout the meal and it doesn't seem to make me overeat, as I only order an appetiser meal anyway.

I usually order an appetiser rather than a full meal and it takes me at least as long, if not longer than everyone else eating their main course, so it doesn't seem odd or out of place. I went to a Chinese restaurant with family on the weekend, and we ordered a banquet (appetisers, soup, six main dishes + rice for 7 people), served on the rotating thingy in the middle of the table. I was thrilled because I was able to eat a tiny taste of everything there, didn't feel I had missed out on anything and was absolutely full at the end of it - very satisfying!

I don't know, but I'm sure there must be a US equivalent. Have a look at the items near the tea/coffee section in your supermarket and read all the labels to find the fat free/low cal option. I'm positive there would be something similar on your shelves.

It sounds to me like your friends are worried that you will actually achieve success and leave them behind, trapped into their obese bodies and repeating patterns of dieting and failure. I think that there is no denying that the raw foods diet is a far healthier way to eat, in comparison to a diet of highly processed foods. However, I think the concept behind the raw foods diet, that man has not evolved to eat a diet that included cooked foods, is incorrect. The history of fire in human evolution goes back about 1 to 1.5 million years and even the most conservative estimites agree that cooking food was a widespread human behaviour at least 125,000 years ago. This is more than enough time for our bodies to adapt to cooked food in our diets. Here's some interesting reading on the subject: When was fire first controlled by human beings? and Timeline of dietary shifts in the human line of evolution. If the raw foods diet is working for you and is making you feel healthier and satisfied with your food choices, the more power to you - go for it! Personally, I think it is simply enough to cut out the overprocessed foods (such as refined flours and canned/prepared meals) and include plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables in with our cooked (from fresh!) meals.

I'm surprised at how quickly my fitness has increased. I am pretty erratic in my exercising, sometimes going every day, sometiimes not doing anything for a whole week, but even so, this is the most exercise I've done in 20 years! Every week, I have to carry at least 20kg (>40lb) of luggage from the airport bus to my room in camp at work (I work on a remote mine site) and it is only about 300 metres but in the past, that has always been a HUGE struggle, requiring me to stop for a breather at least twice and then lie on my bed afterwards, gasping for air and bathed in sweat, for 10-15mins. Last week, I found myself at my room, without having stopped once and barely breathing heavily and not sweating at all! That was awesome!!

I'm still very erratic with my exercising but at least I am sticking at it for much longer than ever before. I work away on a mine site 8 days out of the fortnight, and am usually very good when I'm in camp, but slack off on my 6 days home. I've been through phases of swimming 1km every night in the camp pool (too cold at night now), walking on the treadmill in the camp gym (boring as batshit but the best results so far) and just recently got introduced to that torture machine otherwise known as a Pilates machine. I can't walk for more than 20-25 mins, as I have an old injury in my foot that just canes when I go for longer, so I'm going to try to supplement 20 mins on the treadmill with 20-30 mins of pilates.

When you are carrying boxes down the corridors at work and suddenly have to push OUT your stomach so your work pants don't slip any further down, and you find yourself grateful for the bump of your pannus that is the only thing holding them up!

I think it is a guy thing too - my father is grossed out by the thought of pierced ears and chucked a fit when my mother and I had it done when I was a teenager (many MANY moons ago). To this day, he refuses to do anything like help Mum put in or take out an earring with a difficult catch. I'm pretty sure he'd be grossed out by the port, yet has no problem with gutting fish. Men are just babies that way .

My lunch, almost every day, consists of raw carrots, celery, sweet pepper, cucumber, tomatoes and lettuce with some lean meat, usually chicken. I have no problems getting this down, provided I chew thoroughly. My doc never said anything about not taking certain painkillers. After the op, the hospital gave me soluble Panadol (a brand name for paracetamol) for mild pain and Endone (a brand name for oxycodone) for severe pain. I'm not sure what your brand names for paracetamol would be I think it is the same as Tylenol.

Same here with the carbonation theme. It's the only thing I have "given up for good". I have to admit, I've tried it a couple of times but the bloated gassy feeling on just one glass (even after letting it go flat) is just not worth it. I can tolerate every thing else, if I chew well enough

Cheers! Here, here!

LOL! Yes, those drive me batty too!

1. People who have only been banded for 4 months and are calling themselves a failure because they've "only" lost 50lb! HELLO, people!! We did not have the gastric bypass, what did you expect?? This surgery is not designed to have you drop 30lb a month - that's one of the main reasons, people choose it - because it is a far safer procedure and gives a safer and slower loss rate. 4 calendar months is only 17 weeks and a loss of 50lb is almost 3lb per week, which is WELL ABOVE the average and is a fantastic weight loss. If you've lost 50lb in 26 weeks (6 months), you are losing at 2lb per week and that is a GREAT loss rate. If you have lost 25lb in 6 months, you are STILL in the average of 1-2lb per week, which is a perfectly healthy and sustainable rate! Yes, some people lose faster but even if you've only lost 20lb in 6 months, I'd bet a week's wages that that's better than the six months you had BEFORE banding. Stop thinking negatively and calling yourselves failures! Those numbers are a great success and should be celebrated. 2. People who say "oh I have no restriction but I'm PB'ing and sliming every time I try to eat solid food". HELLO!! You DO have restriction! What do you think is causing you to PB/slime?? If you are feeling hungry between meals, it is probably because you are drinking your food instead of eating it! Try eating solid foods very very slowly and well chewed - you'll feel much fuller for much longer. If the first meal of the day is troublesome, try having a hot drink (tea, coffee, ff chocolate, whatever you like) 30 minutes before the meal to prepare your stomach. If you're not hungry in the mornings and are starving at night - don't eat in the mornings!! Save your daily calorie allowance for when you ARE hungry and EAT it in solid food, not soft easy foods (unless of course, you are still in the post-op healing phase). If you can't eat solid food (slowly and well-chewed), you don't need another fill - you are too tight! 3. People who obsess about getting "enough protein" and drinking Protein shakes HELLO AGAIN!! Let me repeat, we did NOT have the gastric bypass. Our bodies are still perfectly capable of absorbing all the nutrients that we eat and there is no need to increase protein intake to compensate. You should be able to get in all the protein you need by EATING, not by drinking supplements. Eat lean hard Proteins if you can, choose tuna or crab meat if you have trouble with hard protein and you will get all you need. Eat good fresh vegetables and you won't need Vitamin supplements. You will also feel much more full doing this and won't be complaining about being hungry all the time! Whew!! That feels good to get that off my chest! I know my loss rate isn't the fastest out there. It is currently running at 1.7lb per week and that is the rate I'm aiming for. I could make it go faster if I exercised more, but I do an average of 30 mins x 4 days a week (sometimes more, sometimes less) and I am losing at the speed I had planned upon and I'm thrilled with the results so far. My fitness level is noticeably improving, I'm not hungry except at meal times, I'm satisfied after my meals, I only have problems with getting stuck or PB'ing when I stop paying attention when eating and don't chew well enough or eat too quickly (still working on that), and I AM NOT A FAILURE!

Connie, you were banded 2 days after I was and you have lost 14lb more than I have, yet I consider that I am doing well with my loss. I think you should be proud of what you have achieved so far, and Celebrate the fact that you ARE losing faster than average. Your weight loss works out at over 10lb per month, or 2.5lb per week, which is well ahead of the curve (mine is 1.8lb per week). That's a fantastic rate and is very healthy and sustainable. I think your diet looks fine, you don't need to make changes - just have patience and the numbers will add up. This is a marathon, not a sprint

There's no reason why you should have to stick to those awful shakes during your full liquids post-op phase. There are all sorts of yummy soup recipes in here, click here for the recipe forums, and dozens of ways to jazz up the flavour of the shakes. If you're into cooking, you can have a ball creating different soups every day, each with a new taste sensation. Even if you're not into cooking, there are dozens of yummy fat free soups on the shelves nowadays. You just need to be careful to blend any chunky style soups, until you've moved onto mushies.Also, try to avoid homemade soups that use a lot of cream (a little is fine, especially if you use a low fat cream) and canned soups with high sodium contents. I went for a sweetish shake for breakfast (e.g. banana smoothie with Protein powder) and savoury soups for lunch and dinner, and made sure I had a lot of variety. It was still hard and no denying you are looking forward to mushies and craving solid foods by the end of it, but it was a darned sight easier than living on shakes, shakes, shakes...

The idea of high protein/low carb is very popular with many posters and seems to be much more prevalent in the US but it is not emphasised here in Aus. I get advised to eat a much more balanced diet - meat, veges, fruit and dairy - just cut back/down on the processed carbs (white breads, rice) and fatty/sugary foods. I usually eat a dozen pitted prunes as my mid-morning snack, to help with constipation.