JaxBandster

Wow, no red meat for six months? I wonder why that is? It sounds like you are doing all the right things. Just keep pounding that Protein, if you have to snack, make sure it is high in protein and have a lot of willpower. I know it's hard, but yes, it will get better.

Tell you what I have discovered though! Take an Atkins Carb Control vanilla shake, put a couple of packets of splenda in it, and about 1/2 a tsp of clear vanilla extract and I'll be damned if it doesn't taste almost exactly like a vanilla shake!!!!! YUM!!!!!!!!!!

LOL, or maybe some more Protein or veggies! :cool2: I can tell right now I'm gonna have to be cracking the whip with all you ladies!! How am I gonna depend on you guys during my weak moments when you are all out there eating ice cream!!!!! :huh2: I'll be asking you to pass me the bowl!

I believe it's just FitDay - Free Weight Loss and Diet Journal It REALLY helps to track EVERYTHING! You can see what works and what doesn't. What impact increasing/decreasing your calories, carbs or Protein has. You can also track your weight and your exercise/calories burned on it. The online version is free or you can purchase the software that you can download onto your computer. The free version is generally good enough though. Make sure to itemize your custom foods as well. Certain brands of things that you may eat all the time that aren't in the general food log. I have my Protein shakes, salad dressings, cheese, anything and everything, even my Vitamins.

You're not a bad horrible person, but I also don't think you are helping yourself out at all. Between mashed potatoes and ice cream, you are taking in a LOT of carbs and that will sabotage your weight loss. You and I are carb addicts. The more carbs we ingest, the more we want, the more we eat, until we are out of control. It is our drug of choice. It makes us feel good. Part of getting the band is physically, the majority of it is mental. We have to change our way of thinking about food. What is more important, ice cream or not getting diabetes or high blood pressure? This is really a major lifestyle change. I'm not saying that a treat every now and then is going to hurt you, but to be cheating this early in the game is not good. I remember before surgery when I was on my pre-op diet, my husband got me some ice cream on a day when I had been particularly good on my calorie and carb intake. I could "afford" it intake wise, so I had a 1/4 of a cup. I make it last as long as I could! LOL I love ice cream dearly, but it's not something I'm going to be able to have for a while unless it's a special occasion and in very small amounts. It's definite NOT something I keep in the fridge! :huh2: Are you logging your food intake on FitDay or another equivalent site? I think if you start doing that (if you aren't already) it will be an eye opening experience for you. My doctor has me on no more than 30 gms of carbs a day excluding green leafy vegetables. After a two week plateau (normal for right after banding), I have dropped 10 lbs in nine days. The band will work for you, but you have to work with it. The band will only help with portion control, you have to feed it the right things.

It doesn't sound like any heartburn I've ever had. Have you tried some chewable Tums or something to see if that alleviates the symptoms?

Lesly, I have trouble getting my calories up there as well. We just have to find that delicate balance of getting calories without too munch quantity or carbs! It's a balancing act for sure!

Are you trying to eat as much protein as you can? That will help to stave off the hunger. When do you get your first fill?

Shellie, just give it time, it will come off. One thing I changed up was to make sure I was getting enough calories. I was only doing about 700-800 a day and I bumped that up a couple of hundred. When I did it seemed to shake things up a bit.

That's funny. I was looking at the honey roasted peanuts in the cupboard today! Decided against them though!

OMG I love the pin up idea! I actually have some links for those. My husband loves pin-ups. Harley has pin-ups on all their shirts now and he collects them. The pin-up idea is perfect! Thanks for reminding me!

Babedoe4---------------March 6th Becca------------------March 6th Shinyhappymommy------March 6th Enchantedruby----------March 7th Ponomimi---------------March 10th Jaxbanster--------------March 11th Angie4b1g--------------March 11th CynthiaMcc-------------March 12th Marathinner-------------March 12th Sadie-------------------March 13th Happy One--------------March 13th NewCreation413--------March 13th purplecandle..............March 13th......so ready for it!!! Sharon160--------------March 17th mhazelrigg--------------March 17th terri guilford-------------March 17th LoupNocturne-----------March 17th Applesmith--------------March 18th Viridesence-------------March 18th gweniviere--------------March 19th....and looking fwd to it! Danielle......................March 19th AndyisBanded----------March20th Michelle9003-----------March20th Absofsteel--------------March21st Nurseoffaith------------March 24th Coolcrystal-------------March 25th Beachbum0519---------March 25th Nicolek-----------------March 26th Mel119 (Melinda)------March 26th Rhapsody♥ ------------March 26th Princess21--------------March 27th Taismommy-------------March 28th Marathinner................April 2nd (FILL #2!!) Jennyxo----------------April 3rd StLouisGal--------------April 3rd JaxBandster.................April 4th (Fill #2) LilMissBand-Aid---------April 10th Misspeesh95621--------April 11th tskelli-------------------April 16th

Angie, my doctor said that my pain would return from time to time especially if I over ate. I have notice that. Unfortunately you haven't moved to real food yet so that can't be the cause of it. I would recommend liquid tylenol or liquid ibuprofen (I take four ozs of children's motrin) and a heating pad. Hugs

Oh wow, you haven't been able to eat "real" food yet? Ouch! No wonder you're hungry! Well at least it's right around the corner. My dr told me to definitely do Clear liquids for the rest of today. He said I could add Protein shakes tomorrow and then soft foods on Thursday before going back to my regular diet on Friday. That's good because we are going out of town on Friday. I'm taking my kids down to their Dad's for his annual St. Patrick's Day party and I plan on having me some corned beef and cabbage!!! (No Irish soda bread though). It will be interesting to see how my band handles food again. I am definitely still feeling a little hungry but not bad. It's okay as long as I keep drinking. Congratulations on your fill!

That's really so funny that we're on the same schedule and have to lose the same amount of weight. That's what so nice about having a group where everyone was banded during a specific time period. It really helps to be able to compare things like weight loss, first fills, and other symptoms. Good luck with your fill!

I also weight myself in the morning, every morning. It just gives me a good idea of which way I'm going, how much and if I need to make any changes. If I see the same number for a week or two, I'm going to change something up.

ROFL! I was going to ask you how your's went!!!! I go back on April 4th which is just over three weeks but that was the closest one they have. This one will be in the morning which should be interesting as I'm a bit tighter in the morning. I am actually a tad hungry tonight and he may have been able to go a little tighter but I'd really rather him go slower than faster. I'm not the type that needs a whole lot of restriction to succeed. I'm happy being able to eat moderate amounts and depend a little more on good old fashioned will power. As long as I don't get too hungry!!! So how did it go for you??????

Got my first fill today! Just 2cc's in my large AP Band (my dr says it will hold 14cc's). I think he had me up to 3cc's but backed off a bit because the Water just wasn't going down very well. I was gurgling quite a bit! LOL It didn't hurt in the least! In fact, at one point he said, "okay this is going to hurt a lot!" I was like, "WHAT????" He laughed and said, "just kidding!" UGH! LOL He wants me back in three weeks! He was extremely pleased with my progress, he reiterated how big my hiatal hernia was! He seemed really impressed with it. LOL No wonder it took so long to heal! He said I may still feel pain in my left shoulder if I eat too much from the hernia repair. I had to laugh at him today. I confessed about eating too many carbs on Sunday during brunch and I told him that I didn't beat myself up too badly and just got back on track. He looked at me at said, "No, that's my job!" I love that though, I need someone who's going to keep me on track and he seems to be just the person to do it!

That is such a unique place for the port. Does it show much there? I would imagine it makes it easier to access!

Getting ready to leave for my appt in a little over an hour! Sitting here eating tuna for my "last meal" for a couple of days! LOL

LOL cookie dough is definitely one of my favorite treats and there are THREE packages of it in my fridge right now that I got for my daughter so she could make Cookies for her class on Friday. Talk about willpower! You seem to still have a lot of restriction! That's a good thing! I think I have lost most of mine since my monthly visitor. I think I needed it to break my plateau though. Keep up the great work and don't worry about those little detours. Just keep on swimming!

LOL all I have to say is read my journal! Link is below. Once I started on mushies everything just stopped for two weeks! Drove me crazy! I was barely eating anything. Suddenly, since a week ago Monday, I have dropped eight pounds! Just like that. So hang in there. I think your body just goes through an adjustment period after being on liquids for so long, and just having surgery and stuff. I can't tell you all the posts I have read of people getting stuck on the scale between two and four weeks out from surgery. It's VERY common and it WILL end!

Race you!!! LOL

Nothing wrong with egg yolks or half and half as far as my doctor is concerned. I am encouraged to have real cream in my coffee as it has almost no carbs as opposed to milk. (not the flavored varieties of course). Don't be too hard on yourself. Just pick yourself up the next day and move on. As my nutritionist told me, there are going to be times when you are going to take detours on your journey, the important thing is to make sure you get back on the right path as soon as you can.

My ticker starts at my first pre-op appt when I started my journey. I worked my ass off to lose those 20 pre-op lbs and I'm counting them. The ticker doesn't show the seven lbs I lost before my first appt with my doctor. Lori, I also plateaued for two weeks! Right around weeks two to four post op. Drove me crazy. I was barely eating and the scale wasn't moving. It started exactly when I began to eat mushies! I started to change up the way I ate a little bit, actually trying to consume MORE calories. This past week I have lost seven pounds! So try changing up your menu, don't be so strict on yourself, also change up your exercise. Don't worry, one day you will step on the scale and it will just start falling off!