JulieNYC

I'm hesitant to suggest this because fixing food issues with food is probably controversial, but here's what has worked for me and since you're in the City, I thought it MIGHT help you too. When I get in binge mode, I've learned I can't stop it. I'm going to eat something off plan no matter how hard I try -- even if I make it 24 hours, the binge will ultimately still come. So, now, I give into it when I can still control it with a couple of hundred calories instead of a couple of thousand. What I do when binge head hits is pick a tast-d-lite that is 30 blocks away, walk there, order a medium (120 cals) and walk back. I feel 100% like I had a binge-worthy treat (it's a lot of quantity for 120 cals and for those not in NYC, tasti is a low-cal ice cream place), but I walked 3 miles to and from, so I burn more than I ate in the "binge." I tried for so long, even with the band, to not give into the binge. It didn't work for me so I had to find a different solution. If you can fix it without food, I so, so, so support that, but if you can't, minimize the damage.

losingjusme..........273......................273. .............238................35 faithmd................303......................30 3.............283.................20 mpalen.................229......................22 9.............200................29 want2beme...........225......................225.. ............195...............30 mcgreen...............236..................... 236.............210................26 wombat712...........179..................... 179.............155................24 Suzzzie. ...............346......................346....... .......315..............31 Chris_NJ...............284.......................2 84.............250...............34 Cherrybomb...........311......................311. ............291..............20 legster..................261.....................2 61..............235..............26 Desertbunnee.........232......................207. ............180..............27 areellady...............232......................2 32...............212.............20 sweethot143..........197......................197. ............175..............22 gweniper...............253......................25 3...............223.............30 Jeni 85..................237......................237.. .............207.............30 dacer123...............243......................24 3...............223.............20 momlambert..........207.......................207. ..............185.............22 Rainer..................295....................... 295..............255.............40 glindab.................277....................... 277..............250..............27 Soniacan..............198.5....................198 .5.............175.............23.5 ladydi..................233....................... 233...............208..............25 argon...................162............... 162..............142..............20 jazzystouch...........246...............246....... ........220...........26 BabygotBack..........164...............164. ...............145.........19 Denise...................170.............. 170............155.............15 marcar35...............277...............277...... .......257..............20 Ariel ....................207................207. ..........182..............25 lisa_in_toronto.......180................180...... .......160............20 josiebies...............188................188.... ..........165............23 DonnaD...............185...................185.. ..........170..........15 hf2havefun...........240..................240.. ..........210..........30 Amelia40...............270.................270 ............240..........30 METALBAND...........187................187........ ......167..........20 luvinke..................225...............225.... ..........195..........30 wen.....................288................288.... ..........255...........33 JulieNYC...............155.................154..............136...........18

I was a serious, full-fledged binge eater pre band, so I truly estimate I eat 15% of the quantity I ate pre-band. I could eat 10 pieces of pizza pre-band. Now I might eat one (more likely 1/2 of the slice, then finish the toppings off that slice and throw away the crust). When I run the numbers, they suggest I eat about 25% of my pre-band calories (i.e. it took me 4,000 cals to maintain 350+ and now I eat about 1000 cals/day). But I don't think I even eat 25% of the bulk. More like 15%.

Halitosis is a common side effect of being in keytosis -- at least that's what I've always read. I think it's an off-product of your body burning fat. As for solutions, I really don't know other than the norms (tongue scraper in addition to brushing, for example).

Quote: Originally Posted by want2beme I was just banded a week ago. I am on stage 2 foods, non-clear liquids. I'm tolerating oatmeal, yogurt, creamy soups, fruit smoothies, you name it. I am only eating about 1/2 to 1 cup of these 4 times per day. I did add a SF popsicle to my diet today. I feel like I should have restriction, but I don't. Is it because these things are more liquid? I'm totally confused! I feel full after eating, but hungry again 2-3 hours later. Today I was able to have a can of Cream of Broccoli Soup, 3/4 yogurt, 1/2 cup Cream of chicken Soup, Popsicle, Water and coffee. This seems like a lot. How much should I be eating? Want2beme, Please take what I'm going to say with the tone of kindness and support that I would be able to inject in person, but can't really get across in a forum post! I want only the best for you and don't want this to seem like a negative post. This is the section of the forum for bandsters living at goal. You might want to ask your question on the food forum or on the main forum to get a wider range of responses. It's not that we don't want you to be included here -- everyone is welcome and we encourage new bandsters to read about issues people have when they get closer to goal. That said, we need to keep the topics here solely to those for bandsters who are dealing with the issues that come up when we're at or approaching goal weight (for example, Angelator's question about fill levels for a bandster 15 months out). This is the only outlet those of us at this stage have for these topics. You'll find later in your journey that you just can't keep up with all the questions new bandsters have when you get to a later stage in your own journey, which is why we asked for a separate forum for these late stage issues. We try to all participate in the main forums as well and I know most of us would welcome a PM from you if you want to talk to an advanced bandster -- we just want to keep this specific forum on topic. I hope that makes sense! All the best,

Thanks for all the kind words. I got in 4 miles this morning. It's a light running week because of the half marathon on Sunday -- woohoo! I'm looing forward to it. I feel like it's my first "real" race. Dawn, don't worry about your time. It's amazing that you ran at all while sick. I read somewhere that it doesn't hurt you to run with a cold and that you usually feel ok once you get started. I ran 16 with a cold a week ago Sunday and it was pretty miserable (and very slow). Good for you for hanging in there. I don't use facebook -- should I? Happy September all. I'm trying to be upbeat about the change of seasons, though I must admit, summer is my favorite month....

Ugh. That sucks. Dad did tell me it's just as big of a surgery as the TT. Maybe not quite as much as an extended TT, but close. I'm not looking forward to the pain, but I do know how fortunate I am to have a PS for a Dad, in terms of the $$$..... You'll get there if you need it, Diane. It might take some saving, but what I will tell you is as much as I can't wait for the thighs, the stomach was so much more important to my body. A part of me will miss being "super curvy girl" when I lose my thighs because there's lots of male attention at this shape. If you stay curvier through the thighs, you'll still love your body sans pannus.

There's a good poll about this somewhere -- if you use the search feature you might find it and skip a couple of steps waiting for people to answer. My sweet spot is somewhere in the 9.0 range. I was at 9.5 for most of my weight loss, but I don't need that much to maintain and I'm trying it at 9.0 for a while. I got to 9.5 in week 9 post-op. In week 7 I had my first fill (6.5), in week 8 I knew I wasn't restricted enough, so I went to 7.6, week 9 I STILL knew I wasn't restricted enough, so they filled me while drinking Water until I felt it backing up (10.0), then they backed just a little out to 9.5 where I stayed for almost a year. Keep going back as much as possible until you KNOW you're at your sweet spot.

Here's the suit....

Thought I'd give yall a photo update since there are so many of you about to have TT/BL. These were taken a couple of days ago, right at the 5 month mark. I'm pleased with the scars, particularly on th breasts -- they don't bother me at all. The TT scar will pretty much get opened up again for the thigh lift I'm having in November, so it'll get to heal all over again. Oddly, the heaviest marks are still from the compression garment (high stomach)! I'm promised they'll fade completely in time, but that it takes about 10 months. It's weird -- it's not a scar at all, just some discoloration from where the garment was too tight. Anyway, I guess I got less modest along the way, given the "real" shots. Guess you can also tell why I'm so excited to have my thigh lift and finally get this body in proportion!

I'm having a little bit of a problem saying "no" to myself with new clothes. I have this rule that if it's a single digit size and I want it, I can have it. I'm going to have to move to a new rule, or I'm going to be in the poor house. Even though I'm not to my final size (even if I don't lose more weight, my thigh lift in November will have me changing sizes), I keep spending and spending and spending. It's not TOO big of a problem, meaning, I'm not going into debt or anything. It's just a little irresponsible given that these aren't clothes I'll wear for all that long....It's just so nice to look nice and feel as good as possible about yourself, you know? It helps with the "passing for thin."

My doctor has me do an esophogram every year to check band placement, fill level, etc. I had one back in April and will every year, just as a precaution.

GO BETTY!! You can do it! I ordered the wrist thingy for the BB. I'll let you know how I like it. I must confess, I don't use my BB all that much, but I do still log my food on their system -- I like that part of it. I'll probably use the BB again this month too -- THIS IS OUR MONTH! I just got back from a major shopping spree. I intended to go to Home Depot and buy a new sink, but I stopped at Ann Taylor (where I bought a suit for court this week because nothing I had fits -- size 4P jacket and 6P skirt!!), Bebe, Arden B, the list goes on (as will the credit card bill). I seem to be picking out a lot of hot pink these days. Guess someone wants to be seen. Wink.

I'm headed out for my run in just a few minutes -- just 8 miles on the training agenda for the day because of the half marathon next weekend. I know Dawn -- I don't know how we are doing this but we are! Go Team April! I'm going to set my challenge very, very high this month, at 25. I don't want to maintain that for the long term, but this is my big marathon training month and I need motivation to get in the cross training I need in addition to the 4 days of running. Plus, I've got to get in advanced credit for November and December where I won't be working out at all, after the PS. Happy September everyone!

Tomorrow I'm going to stay on plan because today life threw both a business breakfast and a business lunch at me with no warning and I didn't have a low calorie day. I'm trying not to feel guilty because that's life and I made reasonable choices for the circumstances, but tomorrow I want to feel great about my diet and exercise, so on plan I shall be.

When I started running, I used the "couch to runner" program under the "training" tab of coolrunning.com. It worked great for me -- I'm running the Chicago half next weekend and the full NYC marathon on November 4th! You can definitely do it too -- I was a non-runner 8 months ago....

Boo, if your rear is fitting into smaller pants, the numbers on the scale should be coming any day now (knock wood). That's the way it happens for me, at least. Size first, then numbers. WOOHOO! Go Dawn on your extra lbs down this week too. We are all doing great! At least, I was until I agree to a lunch date with my office flirtation and had 3 courses at a fancy greek restaurant. I didn't make awful choices and the portions were small, but it was still 3 courses and a glass of wine. He's cute enough that it's worth the cals though....Wink.

Another pound off this morning and on the first day of my cycle too -- so odd. OK, ready for the scream? NINETEEN POUNDS TO GOAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I LOVE this idea for a thread. I'm staying on plan tomorrow because it's the good week of the month for me to lose and if I stay on plan it's going to pay off big in a couple of days. PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN.

Again, I get it. What I can tell you is my Dad asked me to try to not lose weight for about a month pre-op. He wanted as much consistency as possible just before surgery and wanted me to keep my Protein high so as to not lose muscle mass just before surgery, since some would be lost afterwards. That said, I don't think 6 lbs is going to change much in terms of your final outcome. I'd just eat like I was eating, if I were you -- good bandster eating -- but not make that "extra" effort. I bet you lose 20 with the surgery and with next to no effort, between what he cuts off and what you lose from recovery.

That has happened to me before. I think you were stuck, but without the pain, because nothing was actually wedged in your stoma. Our pouches are supposed to empty every 20 minutes or so, if we aren't overfilled. That said, there is a LOT of fluctuation. I know I've had something in there for more than a day on more than one occasion. If I were you, I'd do liquids and mushies for a couple of days to let things settle down, and if it doesn't happen again, I wouldn't worry about it. If it happens consistently, I'd get the slightest unfill, just because it's not healthy in the long run for your band to have your pouch not empty. I wouldn't worry though. I think you're fine (with the normal caveats of call your Dr. if you think there's a problem)!

Dawn, It had not occurred to me that Lululemon was the brand you'd recommended. I'd looked at their website when you suggested it and liked the colors, but didn't think I could wear a tank at that point. Then I tried one on at the gym last week and I was sold. Yesterday, I went to the actual store in Lincoln Center. It was good, but they didn't have the exact style I was looking for. Apparently they change their inventory all the time, which is a little frustrating since most of their styles are too low cut in the back and cut me at a weird place, given my extra back skin (gross). I got in 4 miles this morning at a 9:45 pace. That's just as fast as I can run any kind of distance at all. I need to read about speed training strategies -- after the marathon. The scale moved ever so slightly this morning, but I'll take it (knock wood). Particularly as it's PMS week, which usually means a small (and temporary) gain.

I know you know this, but I completely get it. This is going to be everything you're hoping for! The scar might be a little daunting at first, but even that gets better with just a little time. You're going to feel SO GREAT! When is your date? I'm so excited for you. Your probably know that too as I've said it about a million times!

Having been exactly there (I'm 5'2 and 34 as well, so we're really quite similar), these are perfectly attainable expectations. you're going to do GREAT! First, I predict that you will lose 10 lbs from the surgery in addition to whatever he actually cuts off. There's something about surgery that just speeds up the metabolism, combined with giving you a little motivation to diet through the recovery because you know the results are going to be so good. I'm confident this surgery is going to take you to goal. So exciting! Despite a year of effort, I went from being a "fat" person to being a "thin" person in the single day of my TT. It changes you body so completely. I'm not calling you fat -- you look fabulous in your photos -- I just know what this is going to do for you. (I did it when I was 35 lbs heavier than you.) It's going to be awesome!

Way to go on meeting your goal! Dancing bananas in celebration.... :girl_hug::Banane10::Banane42::Banane42::girl_hug::Banane52: