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Here are some questions: How much follow-up care do I get from you (nutritionist)? What foods should I avoid? Which are the best healthy Protein options? How many calories does one need daily? how many grams of Fiber do we need daily? What type of blood work I need? Does drinking fruit juice count as a serving of fruit? How much alcoholic consumed is the limit? What do you think are the keys to long-term success for the lap-band?

You know those time-crunched mornings when you're starving and an Egg McMuffin seems like the only fast-enough solution? But you know it's a 300-calorie, 12-grams-of-fat freeway to diet disaster? Turn into the McDonald's anyway (or a handy facsimile). There actually are fast-food ways to start the day that won't wreck your waistline. These choices will tame your appetite (with extra protein), curb afternoon cravings (with a hit of fiber), and even help you concentrate (that protein-Fiber combo supplies the brain with a steady stream of energy). Use this cheat sheet when you need a wakeup fast. McDonald's There are a couple of options with enough fiber and Protein to fill you up and keep you going: Fruit n' Yogurt Parfait with Granola 160 calories, 2g fat (1g saturated), 5mg cholesterol, 85mg sodium, 1g fiber, 4g protein Snack Size Fruit and Walnut salad 210 calories, 8g fat (1.5g saturated), 5mg cholesterol, 60mg sodium, 2g fiber, 4g protein Starbucks You'll find two good high-flavor choices here: Spinach, Roasted Tomato, Feta, and Egg Wrap -- it's a little high in fat but compensates with lots of fiber and protein. 240 calories, 10g fat (3.5g saturated), 140mg cholesterol, 730mg sodium, 7g fiber, 13g protein A Skinny Latte and a package of SB's dried fruit and nut mix. The latte's made with nonfat milk and a shot of sugar-free syrup. (Try the caramel or hazelnut: yum!) Latte (12-oz. "tall"): 90 calories, 0g fat (0g saturated), 5mg cholesterol, 125mg sodium, 0g fiber, 0g protein Fruit/nut packet: 150 calories, 9g fat (1g saturated), 0mg cholesterol, 100mg sodium, 2g fiber, 4g protein Jamba juice Two groups of smoothies will be your wake-up call as long as you add a soy protein booster. For just 30 more calories you'll get an extra 7g of tummy-taming, brain-fueling protein. Any 16-oz. "Jamba Light" smoothie 150-160 calories, 0-0.5g fat (0g saturated), 5mg cholesterol, 210-220mg sodium, 2-3g fiber, 6g protein Any 16-oz. "All Fruit" smoothie 200-220 calories, 0-0.5g fat (0g saturated), 0mg cholesterol, 5-20mg sodium, 4g fiber, 1-2g protein Dunkin' Donuts Make this your last resort but if it's the only choice, go for: Egg and cheese English Muffin Sandwich 280 calories, 9g fat (4.5g saturated), 140mg cholesterol, 1010mg sodium (yikes -- that's why it's your last resort), 1g fiber, 15g protein If the smell of doughnuts gets to your head, order 4 Powdered Cake doughnut holes (Munchkins in DD-speak). 260 calories, 15g fat, 7g saturated fat, 10mg cholesterol, 210mg sodium, 2g fiber, 3g protein Burger King Keep driving until the competition appears. BK is behind on banning risky trans fats, and we recommend avoiding it until the place smartens up. Is Breakfast really worth the bother? You bet. Not only does eating it help keep you slimmer and smarter, but skipping it can make your RealAge as much as 3 years older. So it's definitely worth knowing your best AM road-food options. Info From food.yahoo.com/blog/

I just created a new Social Group: All Day Inspiration and Motivation so everyone is welcome to join. Sometimes we need to read positive messages when we are feel a little discouraged.

The Ten Commandments of Healthy Weight Loss Most of us try to follow the Ten Commandments in living our daily lives. Here are my Ten Commandments for Healthy Weight Loss: If you find it helpful, you might want to post it on your refrigerator door, in your office cubicle, or any other place where you will see it every day. I. Thou shalt not eat unless thou art hungry. Eating when bored, lonely, angry, or upset will increase thy weight tenfold. II. Thou shalt not sit on thy sofa watching TV for hours on end. Instead, thou shalt get up and move thy body to burn calories and exercise thy heart. III. Thou shalt not indulge in super size portions just because the restaurant offers them. Thou shalt request a child sized portion, or request a carry-out box to take some home for thy next day’s lunch. IV. Thou shalt avoid foods made with white flour. White flour and Water are the ingredients which make paste, and have a similar effect on thy body. V. Thou shalt not drink sugary soda pop in excess. One regular sized soda pop a day will cause thee to gain 10 pounds in a year, so thou can imagine what several sodas a day will do! VI. Thou shalt not stay up late instead of getting the sleep thy body needs. Thy body will burn calories more efficiently with adequate sleep, which usually means 7-8 hours for adults and 9 or more for young children and teens. VII. Thou shalt not avoid eating thy vegetables just because thee imagines that they taste bad. Thou shalt exercise thy taste buds by eating a wide variety of colorful veggies, especially dark green leafy ones. VIII. Thou shalt not fry thy food or eat foods fried by others. Fried foods add fat to thy body and clog thy arteries. VIII. Thou shalt not allow the rude comments or stares from others to discourage thee from meeting thy goals for good health. Thou art a Child of God, and deserve a healthy body. IX. Thou shalt not skip breakfast! When thy body has fasted for several hours, it deserves to be given a healthy, nutritious Breakfast. Eating a Protein food such as eggs, cottage cheese, or natural peanut butter; a serving of fruit or natural fruit juice, and a dairy product will give thy body the start it needs to function well during the morning. X. Thou shalt not be discouraged and give up if thee “falls off the wagon” and eats the wrong foods for a day. Thou shalt realize that every day is a new day, and continue to follow the Ten Commandments of Healthy Weight Loss! Info from grandmashealthykidsclub.com

Hi Felicia, I'm so glad you are participating on the walk. Hopefully more people will think about it and will join.

I will be helping the ASBS Foundation and Obesity Action Coalition fight one of the nation's leading causes of death and disability at the Walk from Obesity and would like to invite you to participate. You can click on the "Walk from Obesity" logo on my signature or copy and paste walkfromobesity.com to your browser and help me in my efforts to support The Walk from Obesity. Get Involved: Register to Walk, Sponsor a Walker, Spread the Word or Make a Donation Thanks in advance for your support of the Walk from Obesity - together we can make a difference! Team: Lap Band for Greater Connecticut Team Captain: Lisandra Lassen

Hi Izzabella, <o:p> </o:p> Please don't amuse! I actually looked in to this before I made the post.<o:p></o:p> The only really way to lose weight is with a lifestyle change - eating healthy and exercising even if you have weight loss surgery. <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> I don't want a quick fix. <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> The Sprinkle Diet does nothing to help you understand why you are overweight and why you overeat. It’s not a cure for depression, low self-esteem, a lack of nutritional understanding, emotional eating, a sedentary lifestyle, or unhealthy habits. It’s a possible short term fix without any long term health benefits. <o:p> </o:p> I only rely on medical journals. Sensa is not listed in any approved medical journals. <o:p> </o:p> Medical doctors are business people too - they are trying to make a quick buck out of the billion dollar weight loss industry. <o:p> </o:p> If you’re into a lifestyle of whole, clean foods then you sure wouldn’t want to use The Sprinkle Diet because it definitely isn’t natural! What currently approved for use in food products and isn’t healthy? Crystalline fructose, high fructose corn syrup, Splenda, natural flavors, MSG, and plain old table sugar. None of them are healthy for you, they don’t help you lose weight, and they mess with the chemical balance in your body. <o:p> </o:p> Yeah, I might sound tough, but when it comes right down to it you deserve to do everything you can to provide a healthy, top-notch energy-filled life for yourself. Start treating yourself like you would treat someone that you love with all your heart and soul and give up the hunt once and for all for the magic pill, the quick fix - those quick fixes add up to a lifetime of continual searching and it’s just not worth it.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Here’s to your health - not only in body, but also in mind and spirit.

UPCOMING DJ & DANCE PARTY DATES - AmpleBeauties.com June 28 Downtown Hartford, CT - LIFE Ultra Lounge July 5 - Warwick, RI Sheraton Hotel Ballroom July 26 - Danbury, CT Holiday Inn Hotel Ballroom August 30 & 31 Rocky Hill, CT Marriott Hotel

I like Nature's Best® Isopure Zero Carb specially pineapple Orange banana and Alpine Punch. It's 40 grams of 100% pure ion exchange whey protein isolate. 160 calories, 55mg Calcium and 45mg Potassium Sweetened with aspartame-free Sucralose, the only lower calorie sweetener made from sugar. Preservative free. Lactose free. Fat free. Please be aware Whey Protein Bullets are: 176 calories, 42 grams protein, 2g carbs, Og sugar plus a vitamin & mineral profile. Splenda sweetened. Splenda sweetened = Aspartame which has been know to produce headaches, body aches, bloating, and gas. CNN had a report about how artificial sweeteners may actually cause the body to not metabolize foods correctly. Also I was told your body can only process about 20 grams of protein at a time so split your intake. Dr. Oz also recommends splitting your multi-vitamin between the morning and afternoon.

This party are for people who don't feel comfortable going to a regular club as of yet because their size. I have been to these parties before and they are fun. Everyone is welcome - skinny or big! Plus you will burn calories will all the dancing! :embaressed_smile: CLUB AMPLE BBW PARTY - website: amplebeauties.com SATURDAY JUNE 28, 2008 EXCLUSIVE USE OF LIFE ULTRA LOUNGE 81 ASYLUM STREET DOWNTOWN HARTFORD 9pm-2pm COVER CHARGE $15 - 21+ ONLY - WE I.D. SEE DRESS CODE BELOW DRINK SPECIALS TIL 11pm

Yes, I had around 6 drinks a day plus snacks if needed. Optifast are ready to drink protein box drinks. All my information is on my signature. I was banded on May 13th. I lose 50lbs before the surgery and lost about 25lbs afterwards so far.

I would go to the Frequently Asked Questions (NEW!) forum first and read all the FAQs.

I had to use Optifast drinks - 3 strawberry and 3 chocolate plus per day. I'm actually feeling kind of full. I used alot of crushed ice to feel like I'm eating something. Uusally on a liquid diet, you can have sugar free - drinks, Jello and popsicles for Snacks. I had chicken broth for dinner every other day. Ask you doctor if you have have these too.

You should post in Lap Band Buddies / Mentors (NEW!) section.

I had pain for a week. My doctor told me sometimes the band needs time to adjust itself within your body and also I need to stop excercising for a while. But I think you should call your doctor ASAP.

Monthly Support Group for LAP-BAND and Gastric Bypass The meetings are from 6-8pm once a month Anyone may come to the support group meetings. The support group is provided by Connecticut Surgeons LLC. For more info, please call (860) 714-7447 Website - Connecticut Surgeons :: Patient Support :: Support Group Upcoming Schedule --------------- June 24, 2008 - TODAY For the month of June only, the support group will be held in the Gengras Auditorium on the 1st floor of the 1000 Asylum Ave building. --------------- Location and Directions Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center - www.stfranciscare.orgHartford, Connecticut 06105 Doctors Offices - 1000 Asylum Avenue / Medical Office Building Proceed to the hospital. Park in the garage and enter the hospital on the 1st or 2nd level. Proceed to the 2nd floor and access 1000 Asylum through the connector to 1000 Asylum at Location 1A.

I notice my “One A Day Women's Multivitamin” expires this month. Should I toss them or can I keep on taking them for a few months?

Hi Paige, I usually go to Trader Joe's every 2 to 3 weeks. But my #1 product to buy there is seasoned fish. The fish is usually in a vacuum seal packed and they have various types depending on what season we are in. Please be aware each Trader Joe store is a little different because it sells products associated to your local region area. They also give out samples so you can try things before you buy them. Below are some other items we usually get: various Fruit drinks and also unsweetened drinks Ginger Beer Electrolyte Enhanced Water chicken Burritos Tempura vegetables Refried Beans Frozen pepper bells and vegetables various organic produce Vegan food I also live next to “Stew Leonard’s” & “Whole Foods” and I love there organic products too.

Get moving Get up and get going. If you feel lousy, it will make you feel much better, and if you already feel good, it will make you feel great. You know all those things you've been meaning to get done for the past six months? Pick one right now and make it happen today. Life is much more rewarding when you actively participate in it. This very moment there are good times in your life just waiting to be created. Do you feel the need to be more positive about life and about the world in which you live? Then get moving and get yourself positively engaged in it all. The moment you take positive action, your outlook begins to change. When you're making a difference, the world is suddenly a much better place. Get hot, get cold, get tired, get informed, get out of your comfort zone and get involved in this magnificent life. Drink in the delightful richness of a life fully lived. -- Ralph Marston

No excuses Every day offers you plenty of reasons to make excuses. But excuses bring you nothing of real value. Sure, a plausible excuse may enable you to save face, to appear more diligent and disciplined than you know you are. But do you merely want to appear successful, or would you prefer to actually be successful? Excuses hold you back because they enable you to avoid responsibility and the achievement it brings. You deserve more than just a life filled with useless excuses. Instead of making excuses, choose to make some honest, authentic progress. Even a tiny effort is infinitely more productive than a big, impressive excuse. Don't settle for a growing list of reasons for failure. You can just as easily give yourself real, compelling reasons to succeed. Free yourself from the shackles of useless excuses. And see this day as the grand opportunity that it is. -- Ralph Marston The lap-band is a tool that can help us start eating healthier and start working out more, it's not an final solution.

I lost so much weight that my wedding band doesn't fit anymore. Just because I stop wearing it doesn't mean I don't love my husband or that I'm less committed. I will be getting a new one at the end of the year. Do you know you can get pallor, cyanosis, or dermatitis if you don't remove your ring once in a while? You need to understand that if your circulation become compromised it's possible to risk of losing you finger. I personally think you shouldn't wait because you finger can be swollen for a number of other things. Please try this, just to remove the ring for a few hours per month: LUBRICATE. Another option is to try a soapy solution or window cleaner. If the finger is lubricated this way, immediate attempts are made to remove the ring. If it does not come off in a few tries, stop for the time since swelling of the finger will make removal more difficult until some time has passed. COOL AND LUBRICATE. Ice Water Soak of the finger is recommended by some folks, on the theory that the finger "shrinks" a little. If so, only cool the finger for a minute or so, lubricate with soapy water or window cleaner and then try. Success using ice water is iffy and no success is assured! : ) Good Luck!

I got a measuring tape also the scale is driving me crazy. One day I'm down 2lbs then the next day up 3lbs then back down 3lb within two days.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> I think the measuring tape is the way to go because if you gain muscle your weight goes up.

That's why I gave it a thumb down. I'm sure if you sprinkle dirt on your food, you would eat less too. LOL! :smile2: <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>

New Fad Diet or a New Way of Eating? Doctor: 'Sprinkle Diet' Helps With Weight-Loss CHICAGO (CBS) ― The "sprinkle diet" could be the newest weight-loss success story. Under the plan, you can eat whatever you want, but you also sprinkle your food with special flavor enhancers. CBS station WBBM-TV in Chicago reports the local doctor who invented it says it really works. The sprinkles, called Sensa, were developed by Dr. Alan Hirsch of the Smell and Taste Treatment Center. "What the sprinkles are is they're a unique blend of different sweet flavors and salty flavors," Hirsch said. The sprinkles are non-caloric and contain artificial and natural ingredients approved for use in food products. You shake them on whatever you eat - the salty sprinkles on savory foods and the sweet sprinkles on sweeter foods. "What we're doing is intensifying the smell and the taste of the food," Hirsch said. Hirsch said that helps suppress hunger and tricks the brain into feeling full. "It makes your brain perceive that you've eaten more than you have and thus you eat less and lose weight," he said. Dolly Kiosea has found the secret of the sprinkles. She says she's lost 28 pounds and is still eating the foods she loves, but her portion sizes have definitely slimmed down. "I used to go out for sushi and I used to eat four or five rolls," she said. "Now I'm mostly just having one roll." Hirsch just completed a peer reviewed clinical study of nearly 1,500 people who used the sprinkles on everything they ate without changing their diet or exercise routine. "We found an average weight loss over six months of 30 ½ pounds," He said. Elisa Zied, of the American Dietetic Association, is intrigued. But even if the sprinkles help you eat less, she wonders what happens if you stop sprinkling. "If you're not doing what you did to lose weight, probably you won't be able to keep the weight off," Zied said. Hirsch hasn't studied the long-term effects yet, but Kiosea hopes to lose at least another 20 pounds using the sprinkles. "I feel so good knowing that I finally found something that's really working for me," she said. Hirsch is presenting his study Tuesday at the Endocrine Society's Annual Meeting in San Francisco. He plans to market Sensa, which would cost about $60 a month. Hirsch's research has not been published, so it's hard for other experts to comment. Nutritionists WBBM spoke with say it's possible that enhancing taste and smell could help some people diet, but there are no short cuts for long term weight loss. The only proven method to lose weight, they say, is to eat less, and exercise more. (© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)