Andrea20405

Thanks for all the cooking suggestions. I know its better for me but on a typical day I leave the house at 7 am and I return around 9pm. I tried cooking and packing a ice chest with food but after a while it became too cumbersome and I stopped. I am really trying to come up with ideas I can do while on the go, yet are still good choices for my band.

Thanks guys! These are exactly the kinds of things I was looking for! Keep em coming!

I don't cook and I don't have a lot of time to do prepping of food ahead of time. I mostly grab stuff on the go and I need help with this from you guys! Its going to be my downfall if I can't find a way to get this new food plan into my current schedule. I've tried to get my schedule to fit around my food restrictions and failed miserably. Snacks on the go? Meals that are premade and only require heating? Fast food ideas? Convenience store food ideas? dinner out at a restaurant ideas?

New trick I learned today... Scotch tape over the mouth of my glass. I have a glass of something always at my desk. Water, tea, whatever. I am in the habit of drinking all day long. (Arizona=desert=hot!) What usually happens is that I eat, then go back to my desk and without thinking, I start drinking as I work. About 20 minutes later I look down and realize what I've been doing! Now, when I leave for lunch, I tape off the top of my cup. It prevents me from just picking it up and drinking without thinking.

Yay me! To make up for my poor choice in dinner I went to the gym and rode the bike for 10 miles.

I guess we just come from heartier stock! :rolleyes2: If the end of the world ever came, we'll live the longest! If I am not giving up, you shouldn't either! A few more fills and we'll beon our way, we're just taking the long route. So... that being said... I bombed on my dinner selection. Carne Asada Torta and tacos de pastor... any ideas on the caloric content in that? And horchata? :thumbdown:

Well with all this encouragement I am being good. I signed up on livestrong.com For breakfast I had a Lean Cuisine For lunch, Healthy Choice Steamer (One sip of unsweetened tea when I got back to my desk out of habit, and then almost spit it out because I had just eaten) I am HUNGRY! I go to the gym 5 days a week. 3 days of weights to tone up, and 2 days of cardio only. I also do cardio on the weight training days, just less of it. My Dr. is great about getting me in for fills. I have never had an issue about getting an appt. The problem I have with the fills is that the makers of my band recommend a slow fill process and so thats what my Dr. does. I have to wait at least 2 weeks between fills. They will only do 1 cc max per fill. Frustrating. My first year of fills are free, you'd think they would save themselves some money and just top me off to start with :wink2: Next fill is 10/21/08 Tuesday. I hope I can stay as disciplined until then! Thanks Guys! You Rock! :laugh:

Thanks guys! What a great thing to wake up to this morning. I really appreciate all your support! I am going to check out the livestrong.com site. I had been on fitday.com but never with any consistancy. Maybe this will be different. Perhaps you are right and I should go back to liquids for a few weeks. That was really hard for me, but I may not have much of a choice. How do you all fight the head hungries? I was never much of a snacker before surgery, but now I find myself wanting something sweet between lunch and dinner. And I overeat at Breakfast too. Breakfast is my biggest meal, and I eat it fast, like if I dont shovel it in fast, I'll starve. And I am still eating what I use to eat pre-band for breakfast, bad quality foods and too much of them, and way too fast. OK, thats the new question... head hungries cures? food ideas? size of meals? Maybe my 3rd fill will get me to that sweet spot finally and I wont be interested in food anymore.

I am not ready to give up. I think the band works. I think it may someday work for me. I am just getting discouraged. Its taking longer than I thought it would. I am disappointed in myself for not making the best decision 100% of the time, and for not remembering stupid things like eating/drinking together. I guess I just need some cheerleading. I need to know I am not alone in my struggles and that they will pass. I will be thin... someday.

I haven't been online in a while. In fact, there is a little message at the top of my screen saying I haven't posted in several weeks, asking me if I am getting shy. I guess I just haven't wanted to see everyone else's success stories. I was banded 8-15. I have a 14cc AP band. I still dont have restriction, even after 2 fills. My 3rd fill is next Tuesday. Sometimes I will have a PB if I dont chew enough, but other than that, nothing. No food amount restrictions, no food type restrictions. I try hard to make good food choices. Not always successful at that. I sometimes forget not to eat and drink at the same time. Old habits are harder to break than I thought. I go to the gym every week day. I hired a personal trainer once a week. I am trying. And yet my scale hasn't moved in over a month. I get so upset. It hurts when people ask how much weight I've lost. I feel like a failure. I feel like I did all this for nothing. I feel like I am the only one who isn't succeeding. WTF else can I do? I want to lose this weight! PS. most of my weight loss was pre-op diet on the ticker.

You need to have surgery, no matter what. You cant have a slipped band. Since he is going to be in there anyway, he might as well repair it.

I take Caltrate 600mg + Vit-D Chewables for my calcium. There are 3 flavors in the bottle, cherry, orange and fruit punch. They are pretty decent and I chew one after lunch and 1 after dinner. I also have Centrum Chewables Multivitamin/Miltimineral in orange flavor. Also not bad. I only take one of these at lunch time. I got both at Wal-Mart. ETA: Those Viactive Caramel calcium chews are full of calories and carbs and you have to eat several of them for your recommended daily allowance. Not worth it IMO.