MSnika3

Kiki -- Welcome , I'm pretty new here myself. There's loads of info and support! Please stick around! And congrats on your success! Denise -- The caramel nut chews are in the snack/treat category. I haven't tried any of the Atkins protein bars, yet. I'll have to try the nougat for sure, thanks! I, too, have a problem with constipation. As a matter of fact, I've not been quite right since being banded May 9th. But it definitely worse since I began low carb. I tried some Miralax today, so I'm playing the waiting game for now. I mixed shook it to death in a bottle of Diet Green Tea and it dissolved into nothing! (Which is great because I have a huge texture-phobia and the slightest hint of grain on my tongue would have had me heaving!) Sure hope this stuff works. That could drop off a pound or two! Renewed -- the nutritional content I gave you earlier for the Caramel nut chews are a bit different from the box i just picked up at walmart. And the price was MUCH cheaper.The one I ate earlier was sold as a single at CVS and almost twice the cost per bar. Maybe the pack I just bought is the new revised version? The calories are a bit lower, everything else a bit higher, net carbs are the same. Go figure.

I've eaten a couple protein bars in the past and this is nothing like that. I think it just a low carb candy bar (tastes about like the weight watchers turtles). Let me dig up the wrapper....... ...Okay, I think it is just a candy bar. 140 cals, 7g fat, 4g protein, 14g carbs (5g fiber, the rest sugar alcohols), *2g net carbs according to package. It is really good! I'd lick the wrapper if I hadn't just dug it out of the trash! :thumbs_down:

Mama-- the Caramel Nut Chews are DA BOMB!! Thank God they cost so darn much! I'll only treat myself to those occasionally and definitely won't be keeping them in the house! But they will definitely come in handy. Thanks for the hookup! :thumbs_down:

Mama- thanks for the info on the caramel nut chews. The name alone sounds scrumptious! I am on my way to the store now. I think I'm going to try an Atkins shake also. I just ran out of slim fast. Oh how I envy those of you with good restriction. :smile2: Just kidding! Mine is coming! Congrats on the two pounds. I need to stay away from the scale. I swear I weight about 5 times a day, just to see how weight fluctuates. It's a sick habit. :redface:

Thanks Renewed! And you are so right! I've always hated the feeling of looking back weeks or months after quitting a diet, thinking...I was doing so well, if only I had stuck it out. I know that some good restriction would be helpful, but in the meantime... It's just going to take pure willpower and prayer! I have to keep in mind how good it feels to stay on plan and reap the benefits. Thanks everyone for the encouragement and advice! You all are the greatest!!! :redface:

Oh, and I gained two pounds. But I ain't claiming it!

Renewed and Bonnie -- thanks for the advice. I will be heading to the store today to buy some Atkins bars. What flavors do you prefer? Also, tomorrow when we head back to the park (and in the future), I will put a cooler in my car with deviled eggs, cream cheese rollups, etc. and sneak them back into the park in my bag. I am also going to by a can of almonds and keep a few handy in a snack bag. I know that with this way of eating, lots of planning is required. I blame only myself for not planning better. The day before, we went to the water park also. That day, I didn't cheat. I bought a cheeseburger and took off the bun. I didn't do that yesterday. Because I had a couple extra mouths to feed I had planned to leave the park and make a McDonald's run. But I gave in to the whines and fed the kids there and didn't want to spend $5.00 on a hamburger patty or $10.00 on a salad. I should have. But, lesson learned. Today is a new day. Lesson learned. I almost gave up even after posting yesterday, but I refuse to fall back into my old habits of using a cheat as an excuse to say...screw it! I know that I'm going to have to work at this with or without restriction. Today will be a good day!:redface:

Razor-- unfortunately, I don't have any restriction, so my cheat was really limited by my guilt. Which I guess is still good. Wish the guilt had kicked in after the first fry. Lynlyn -- thanks! The support here is the main reason I posted after my cheat. I knew that if I wallowed around in my guilt for too long, I would have just thrown my hands up and had a carbfest for the next few weeks. Thanks so much for the encouragement!

Not a good day! I just spent the last 8 hrs at the water park with my kids and company. I stayed on plan until about to hours ago. I had about 10 chili cheese fries, a corn dog nugget, and some of my son's lemonade and half of his brownie. I hadn't planned on being at the park that long and thought I'd be okay. But as my kids were eating and of course letting their food go to waste, I started snacking. I wish now that I'd forked out the 10 bucks for one of their sorry salads. At least I would have had my own food in front of me. I'm afraid to look at the carb count of what I ate. I feel like such a loser! And I had been so proud of myself, lately.:smile:

My vote is for "the same difficulty as other weight loss attempts". I say that because I currently have no restriction, so I'm dealing with the same issues I did when I had no band. Willpower, hunger, overeating, etc. I'm currently eating a low carb diet to help with the hunger and overeating. I've been able to sustain willpower thus far...Thank God for my husband whose also Low carbing, my BFF who had WLS with me, and this site for everyone's support and encouragement. When I have some restriction, then I'm sure I will change my mind. I won't feel so much like I'm "dieting". I know that low carb works for weight loss, but it is definitely not the way of eating that I want for the long run. It's not even the fatty foods that I miss (even though it would be nice to have a bite if I wanted to without gaining 2 lbs.) What I really miss is my yogurt, sugar-free pudding, raisin bran crunch, apples, bananas, grapes....the healthier things that I would eat if I had restriction. I will get there, hopefully on August 4 (2nd fill)!

Couck to 5K: Week 2 Day 1!

Bonnie, I do drink Slim Fast low carb shakes regularly. The first time I tried them, I found them much sweeter than I expected. Now, I have them just about every morning for breakfast on the go. I bought EAS (I think that was the brand, silver drink box?). I tried one and didn't care for it at all. It tasted like chocolate water. It was definitely quitethin compared to the Slim Fast. Maybe I didn't shake it or something. If we are talking about the same shakes, are they supposed to be thicker? If so, I'll try EAS, again or maybe Atkins. I'm down to my last Slim Fast, anyway. I guess I'll go for a taste test.

Bonnie and Renewed --- I thought I was the only one. My ticker is also one directional! :biggrin2: Monday: B: Slimfast Low Carb S: String Cheese and 2 deviled eggs L: 1 cup of 7 layer salad (lettuce, tomato, broccoli, onion, bacon, cheese, mayo/splenda dressing) and chicken breast. S: SF Jello D: Cheeseburger Patty, Broccoli I haven't gotten on the scale in two days. I'm too scared...I'm feeling a little bloated (maybe from constipation?). I need to get things moving.

Congratulations, everyone, on your progress! This week I planned to repeat week 1, but I looked at the times and said, "What the hell, what's another 30 seconds of jogging!" I would just like to echo renewed hope and say.... I agree with lynlyn, also. It feels like such an accomplishment to complete one of these workouts without dying or passing out. When I heard the final chimes, I felt like Rocky. (I tried to run up those art museum steps once...) Anyway, I think I'll definitely be repeating this week. I looked ahead and at this point I can't even fathom jogging for 3 minutes straight. But we'll see. Last week I didn't even think I'd be able to jog for 90 seconds. But I did..SIX times! Keep up the good work everyone!

Thanks, and good luck with your approval, april.

Down 3 more pounds this morning! Yay! NAME ____________weight now____ goal___ lbs lost *************** ****************:tt2:***** aJoneen............230.........220.......3....... Babs0101...........185.........170.......0....... blesdbyonmzur......159.........148.......4....... BTTRFLI1432........221.........210.......0....... Bunkey1965.........210.........205.......2....... Chocolate_Snaps....260.........240.......0....... Darr5380...........170.........150.......0....... erikadawn.................199..............175............0.......... FloridaGirl........235.........215.......0....... HeatherO...........169.........155.......3....... JennyPoo...........169.........159.......0....... KarenG.............166.........158.......0....... KathyStrick........305.........290.......0....... Leslie2Lose........224.........209.......0....... Lunabeane..........221.........200.......0....... Luu2008............219.........189.......7....... Luv2Laugh..........232.........212.......0....... luvinke............206.........190.......0....... mamato3............199.........184.......0....... mcgreen............189.........175.......0....... mdgarcia31665......225.........220.......0....... mominlv13..........317.........300.......0....... MSnika3............228.........204.......4....... NANAbanded.........225.........199.......0....... Ollie..............242.........210.......0....... Redtulips..........194.........180.......0....... Renewedhope........176.........155.......3....... ronni_NC...........243.........220.......0....... slgandera..........185.........173.......0....... StartingOver.......220.........205.......5....... want_so_bad........170.........155.......0....... Sadie..............220.........199.......0.......

I feel you on the Southern food eating. Luckily, I'm the cook of the family. My mom is the baker. Since I don't have any fill restriction yet, I've started following a low carb plan to control my hunger. So...we had grilled meat (bbq sauce on the side), my family's favorite seven layer salad (with sugar substitute), baked beans, corn on the cob, deviled eggs. I nixed the mac and cheese, potato salad, and yeast rolls (I couldn't cook those for others and not shove them down my throat!) We never really have desserts unless it's thanksgiving or Christmas, so my mom didn't do any baking. I only ate the meat, salad, and deviled eggs. Very satisfying. I will admit that in the store I walked past the fresh strawberry shortcakes in the bakery several times. Actually, at one point I think I may have circled the table. :-) I didn't buy one, though! Damn I wish I had good restriction. I could have had a little bit of cake! I'm definitely in Bandster's Hell!

Hi everyone! I'm also from the South...the MS Gulf Coast. I've realized that many people are not informed about banding. They don't view it any differently than gastric bypass. When telling people that may not be educated on the subject...you definitely have to be ready to explain every little detail, with supporting evidence, etc. I've only told certain people. Of those, my family and close friends were and are very supportive. As far as outside people... I told the five teachers on my team, and three fellow dance moms that are nurses. Three of the five teachers were very excited and encouraging, one was kind of leary about it (older, horse riding, ranch owning, white man...he just didn't get it, but never really said anything, just always had that concerned look), the other one was totally against it (she's the hater...fat and wants everyone else to stay fat with her..I could go on and on about that one...she actually tried to talk me out of it several times..boy do I have some stories about that.) Of the three nurses that I mentioned it two...one was very excited and I could tell she was also very informed, and knew her facts (she wants to have it, also.) The other two weren't very informed, as I could tell by the "bypass equivalent" comments. Luckily, I only told the last two months ago that I was thinking about it. They don't know that I've had the surgery. So, I guess for me, it all boils down to the different attitudes and views people have about weight loss surgery. You may find a lot of encouragement from people you would originally have never thought to tell. You just have to kind of feel people out. Use the whole, beat around the bush tactic to strike up a conversation in a non-obvious way, before you lay it all out there! When I had already starting scheduling my consultations, etc. I pretended to just be researching one day at school during our daily team meeting. I started with..."Hey, has anyone heard of this Lap Band stuff?" while staring at the computer screen curiously. As I pretended to be learning more about it, I was educating them and feeling them out for opinions. This went on a few times a week for a couple weeks. Then low and behold..."Y'all I think I may go to a seminar for more information", when i actually had already had my lab work done. I pretty much brought it up the same way with the 3 dance moms... "What have you heard about Lap Band Surgery?" The one that was informed became my confidant. The other two were left out after that first conversation. The initial probing conversation usually lets you know who you should tell, and how you should tell them. I know that I've gone on and on...but I hope I answered your question.

Wow, Rugman, thanks again for the ideas and suggestions. Printing once again! Holly -- I believe the 4lbs overnight is just water weight, or rather glycogen (I think). The first few days of cutting carbs, that's what you lose. First day or so adding them, that's what you gain. I hope my memory served me correctly. If not, well, I tried! :thumbup: Anyone?

I am a middle school teacher. During summer vacation, I can stick to any excercise schedule that I set for myself. However, I will be returning to work August 1 :-( . I'm going to have to start thinking of a schedule for next month once the new school year starts. Going back to work is definitely going to put a kink in my exercise plan. Mornings will no longer be an option for me with 2 elementary aged girls to get ready and out the door (my husband is responsible for our 2 year old son every morning). I've never been able to consistently exercise in the evenings...there's always some interference (running my kids back and forth to extracurriculars after labor day, housework, night class, husband working some nights, etc, etc). I thought about right after school, but I live on the MS Gulf Coast and August is the hottest month of the year. The heat and humidity is almost intolerable, literally. If I did manage to do it without dying...I'd have to come up with a new schedule in September because my daughters start dance (which translates as the beginning of taxi service at least 3-4 evenings during the week). Anytime after dark or before dawn is out...I don't feel comfortable alone in my area unless the sun is out. Woe is me...too much to do, so little time! I would appreciate any suggetions.

Thanks, Rae, I will! Triser - test runs during july sound like a great idea! Thanks!

I am happy to say that I stayed on plan yesterday! Actually I wasn't tempted one single time! I'll let you in on a little secret....I am the cook of the family. The queen of mac and cheese, potato salad, and all the other holiday faves. So, if i don't cook it, no one eats it! Thank God we didn't have a big family reunion type of thing. I would have eaten like a pot bellied pig! Come to think of it, though...when I made a run to the grocery store, I saw a table full of layered strawberry short cakes in front of the bakery. I ate an entire cake a few months ago and it was divine. I did circle the table a few times, talking to myself or maybe I was talking to the cake. It was a pretty sad sight! Thank God there were no free samples, because it would have be ON!! So, I can only pat myself on the back for not cooking or buying the things we didn't need to eat, because I know that if they had been prepared by someone else, I would not have stayed on plan!:tt2:

Yippee!! Got through week 1. Oh how I dreaded going out for day 3 this morning!! I just didn't think I had it in me. Made myself go, and glad about it! :tt2: Next week I will be repeating week 1. I don't think I'm ready to advance! But that's okay, I'd rather take it slow than burnout and quit!