momcof3

CoCo - I got your protein - call me tomorrow after your appt in Richmond so we can meet somewhere. Anyone ever heard of the Solution for Weight Management program? The psychologist gave me a flier for it - it is not a Kaiser covered program but she thinks it will help me. The website for it is www.ebt.org. It is a 12 wk program that costs $300 - which comes out to $25 a session - I am going to call for the free orientation - 916-614-4960 to see if it might be something beneficial for me. My psychologist said I should consider it an investment in me and that it is only $10 more a session that the Kaiser co-pay. Today is my Friday - so Happy Friday to us furloughed state workers.

The pictures are lovely - and you look great Nicole. Did you make the cake Reggie? Fancy fancy - even had a head table. I will send you a friend request John. I have yucky stuff to do this morning at work and I am procrastinating like crazy. I have 1/2 c ground beef for lunch - had a protein drink for breakfast. I forgot to bring my frozen meal for lunch so my gr beef that was supposed to be breakfast became lunch - luckily I had the protein drink in the fridge at work. Ugh - need to kick start my brain today.

Ali - yep that's how you know it is a food to avoid - either it comes back up after being painful or it doesn't come back up but it is so painful you wish it would. Glad you added a picture as your avatar - always easier to put a face to the post. Great pic of you ladies at Reggie's. Wish I could have made it.

That is true John, different things cause blockage for different people, but it not always food with little nutritional value. I can't eat raw vegetables, cold chicken or beef, cooked broccoli, salad along with any food that has texture like bread and any fresh fruit except bananas. Glad to hear you shouldn't have the same problems. Glad to hear you had a good time and made it back safely CoCo.

I forgot to ask Heather - what is a MBT? Yes you are definitely fitter - I am so proud of you for doing so well with your exercise and food plan - you will succeed at this for sure. :thumbup:

Yep, John that was a pb episode. I don't know much about the sleeve - are there certain kinds of food you won't be able to eat? I can't even eat a tiny bit of cornbread - tried a tiny bite once at a restaurant and off to the bathroom I went. I went to Winco this morning already to get donuts as a treat for my kids - boy they smell good. I thought about having a bite of the custard one for a minute, but decided against it. I bought some crunchy taco shells for tacos tonight - I can eat one taco with ground beef and cheese if I eat it slowly. I also bought some of the Michelina lean gourmet frozen meals - they are only 98 cents each at Winco - I got the salisbury steak/mashed potato one - it is only 210 calories and is just the right quantity. I will take them for lunch this week - I also got the shrimp scampi one. I know there is alot of sodium in them (before someone tells me that), but they are good for a change in menu once in a while and keep me full from lunch until dinner. Hope everyone is having a productive day - laundry and I will be friends for most of the day, but I am going to make it to the gym and outside for a walk.

Heather and I had a nice 2.5 mile walk this morning - it is really nice outside today. I notice a lot of the post banders are measuring their food by weight instead of measurement - do any of see if your 3 oz of chicken will fit in a 1/2 cup container? From what I was told and what the binder says, we are supposed to measure our food, not weigh it - the pouch is only so big and once you have restriction you can't go by weight as fish doesn't weigh much but you can't fit 1 cup of fish in your pouch without eventually stretching it. -never mind it will probably come back up for lack of space. I have never weighed my food post op - even when I didn't have restriction so that I would be used to measuring my food. I did well with my food this week and lost 4 lbs - just one more two more to get to where I was before my out of control week of sliders when my relatives were here. South Sac Kaiser doesn't have the Mindful Eating class anymore - I saw my psych doctor at the Elk Grove Kaiser yesterday (she specializes in food issues) and she told me that. I told her I weighed the same now that I did last March and she said at least I dont' weigh more and that I should use that as a positive. She really gets the food connection to emotions. She gave me a lot to think about - her name is Dr. Paula Smith if anyone here is interested.

Oh no - it's raining here in Sacramento - and Nicole's wedding is in a park - but I am sure they must have had a back up plan. Happy Wedding Day Nicole and Robbie! Hey they are getting married on my birthday - I will be able to remember their anniversary for sure.

Ok Nicole - I will pick them up tomorrow and hook up with you after you get back from your honeymoon. Let me know when you are back. John - how long do you have to be on purees? I honestly can't even remember what I ate at the stage - but I think it was refried beans thinned down a little - and cottage cheese that I chewed to death before swallowing. I think I was only on purees for about 5 days though as they forgot about me and I was on liquids too long. What diet are you talking about that you lost 7 lbs on? I had my baked beans for br, tuna for lunch, a McDonalds ice cream cone for a snack - and 3/4 cup chili for dinner. I luckily only have one more little container of tuna as I have had it for lunch every day this week and I am ready for something else - hey maybe canned chicken breast from Costco. I'm off tomorrow - furlough Friday - but lucky me I get to get up at 6 am anyway to get my boys to school. I drive them to school in my bathrobe and slippers - much to their embarrassment. oh well they could walk the 3 miles :blushing:

Where do you want to meet Heather? Hopefully we will not have rain. Nicole - sure I can take you to costco or pick them up for you and we can meet somewhere. Which part of town do you live in? Work? Are you ready for Friday? Gotta head to bed - 5:30 am comes quickly and I am 1/2 hour past my bedtime. Night all.

What time and where Heather? I am dropping my oldest son off at the Elk Grove Food Bank on Saturday at 9 am and can walk after that.

There is only one psychologist in Richmond now - Dr. Schnur. I saw her for my appt. She will look at your Kaiser record online to see if there were any issues - she was able to go back over 10 yrs and said a doctor had put on there that I had an eating disorder- egads - I told her no way - she pulled out her medical book and looked up the definition of an eating disorder - and we determined I don't have an eating disorder - I just used to eat too much . That was a relief because you don't qualify if you have an eating disorder. Guess we never know what the doctors put in our file after we leave from an appointment. You will do fine - remember Obama is the president and George W. Bush was the last president.

Maria - what do you mean by grains? If it is anything similar to rice it will stick. Also food will come up if your pouch is full and then the food backs up into your esophagus and comes back up - nowhere to go but up. I can tell that pain from a stuck pain - and for me it can come on a bit after I am done eating or it can be immediate and I have to run. I ordered a one egg cheese omelet last night at dinner and couldn't finish it - I think it was more than one egg - I took about two bites too many and quickly figured out how to open the section that connected the tables so I could get out fast if I needed to. Luckily everything settled down and I was okay. Always important to know where the bathroom is at a restaurant you have never been to. I had my 1/2 cup baked beans for breakfast, an applesauce cup 2 1/2 hrs later and my 1/2 cup tuna for lunch. I am hungry right now but am working on my 3rd bottle of water - I am planning on having a protein drink when I get home to tide me over to dinner - should have brought it with me to drink on the way home.

Hi all - I did well today - br 1/2 c Bush's baked beans, lunch 1/2 tuna w/ mayo,pickles,celery, sn 2 fig newtons, dinner 1 egg omelet w/cheese, sn 4 ritz crackers and one 16 calorie frozen bar thing. The only exercise today was walking a little at work and then walking through 4 stores with my daughter after dinner. I still need one more water to make my 64 oz. Hopefully I can continue tomorrow. I am seriously thinking about either taking the Healthy Ways class or the Mindful Eating class at Kaiser again - both are once a week for six weeks - I need some kind of structure - neither one is a food program or involves weighing in, but previously they motivated me. Not sure if I can take phentemerine this time though? Congrats John - I can only imagine how great that makes you feel - you deserve some new hot clothes. Nicole - are you getting nervous? I sure would be. the joke in my house is that my 15 yr old son will probably get married before I do. :thumbup:

Pat - how did you even get the 2 cupcakes , part of brownie and a lemon bar down? I can't even get more than one bite of cake like products down. What would Robin say? Ok who was the other person at the table who could possibly get married? Must have been Heather. I'm reading the posts eating my tuna - something we are not really supposed to do - eat and do something else while eating - cuz we don't pay attention to our size of bites and that can cause issues.

I also found this one at the Kaiser on Morse Ave. Weight management support Have you recently attended a weight management program, but have trouble staying motivated to make healthy choices? This ongoing monthly support program focuses on getting control of non-hunger eating cues, while balancing good nutrition and taste with mindful eating approaches. Participants are encouraged to set goals and focus on successes. This class is open to members only. Fee(s) no fee Department Health Education Contact information (916) 614-4971

This is the class I took Heather Mindful approaches to eating class Do you really think about why and what you eat? In this class, you'll learn how the mind-body connection can affect your eating. You'll discover the characteristics of the chronic mindless dieter, the mindless overeater, and the chaotic eater. And you'll hear about tools for motivation and change to help you think before you eat. This class is open to members only. Fee(s) Office visit copayment Department Psychiatry Number of sessions 8 sessions Contact information (916) 525-6100

I can relate to that article Candra. I am in the same boat as you - I do perfect at work and then fall apart at home. If there was a drug that could stop the carb craving I would take it. I can't quit the sugar. I left work at 12:30 to pick up my daughter who is now off track until April 5 - which means no lunches for me with her teacher on furlough Fridays - which I think will be healthier for me. I am not sure I can be just friends with him at school. He too is like a drug I can't quit. I sent him an e-mail last night at a weak moment and said some things I shouldn't have - oh well what is done is done. My birthday is next Friday and I asked him yesterday if he would play his guitar for me and he said he would, but then stupid me had to go and ask for more last night. I told him to ignore my last e-mail when I saw him in passing today. egads I feel like I am falling apart sometimes. The sun is shining and I should go to the gym, but I am so drowsy that I think taking a nap and then going to the gym later today will make me feel better.

Heather - I once went to a Mindful Eating class at South Sac Kaiser in the Psych Dept - I think I need to take it again. It was a 6 wk once a week class that focused on behavior, not calories etc. If I find it on the Kaiser website I will let you guys know. I hear you Reggie - I found out through this journey that my issue wasn't really the weight, the weight was a cover up for me for my real issues. I think I also need to start seeing my therapist at Kaiser for a while again too. I too have often wondered why I eat something even though for a second my mind tells me no - if someone could figure out how to completely stop those type of behaviors, that person would be rich. Guess I'd better do some work as we have a never ending supply of it.

I think maybe we need to revisit splitting into two groups - pre and post op - and people can post under one or both depending on the the subject or advice. I too have made some good friends through this site and don't want to lose contact. It is very different the further out from surgery you get. Even if you lose all your weight it does not mean everything will be perfect with your band or life. I was banded 1 1/2 yrs ago and some people probably think I should have lost all my weight by now instead of staying the same weight for the last year. I agree I am not on the "rah rah" train anymore and it is not as exciting once the weight loss slows down - and it will for 99% of us. I just don't want to see us fighting on line - no need to - if you don't agree with someone else and you know you don't, don't read their posts. But if we can't be honest and post how we feel, the site loses it's purpose. If we were just trying to find out what to do - we all have a binder that has that information - I came to this site to have a more personal connection with people who can understand how it feels to have food restrictions and who have to work through whatever surgery they have had. Most people in the rest of my life don't really understand how hard it is and what having a gastric band really means. Just my opinion.

Sorry to hear about your job Tina - but I agree the uncertainty and moving you around is worse than just not making a decision. Dr. Im doesn't do little fills (unless he has changed his protocol) - I started at 0 cc, got 4 cc at my first fill, 2 cc at my next fill, then 1.5 cc at the next fill, then an unfill of 2 cc, then a fill of 1 cc - so I am at 7 cc. - I don't think my unfill was looking on negatively against me - I didn't ask him to give me 1.5 to take me to 7.5 he decided to do that himself - I am not sure really what being at your sweet spot is supposed to feel like - can't be the same for everyone - I do know if I don't chew well or I eat too much or the wrong type of food I will pb. I usually am hungry between meals but not to the point of not being able to deal with it - a little hungry feeling never actually hurt anyone. My problem is more the emotional eating and gravitating toward sliders to avoid possible pbing. Nothing Dr. Im or Robin can do about that. Does anyone watch "Ruby"? Don't you think her nutritionist reminds you of Robin - except she has blond hair - to me she looks like her and has some of the same phrases and mannerisms. I don't have a problem with Robin though - or Dr. Im. I think Kaiser Bariatrics needs to revist the plan as far as aftercare and support - they need to expand that part of the program. I am not scheduled to go back and see them at all - guess if I want to go see them I will have to contact them - maybe they think no news is good news? I just ate my beef portabello Lean Cuisine - 210 cal -15 g protein, 24 g carb (the potatoes) - very yummy. I had a protein drink 30 g protein for breakfast.

Heather -You look beautiful in your picture and happy. Riley - I hear you loud and clear - I am also doing some of the same things - but I do get my water in and I have not had any soda - only had one watered down wine cooler at a Christmas party. But I do find myself gravitating towards sliders to avoid things getting stuck - maybe I am too tight - but I will not get another unfill. I have been going to the gym - but lately it has only been twice a week. But you know although a few of us are struggling with our bands I don't view it as failing. It is a lifelong learning process. Those of you that are new to this will understand as you get further along - it was easy for me to stay on plan pre-op and the first 6 months post op - but then life gets in the way - not an excuse just reality. That is great Tina that you don't have to pay for unfills. I haven't posted much lately but I have been reading all of the posts. I didn't make it Saturday as my relatives were in town from Illinois and my cousin and I took the kids to Micke Grove to their little zoo. I missed you all and I have a bag of clothes I got from someone to bring.

I think the cookies and chips go past because they basically turn to mush when we chew them. Granted you couldn't eat a whole pack of cookies - they would back up. I finished my three day Project Management class - we chipped in for breakfast pizza today - I had one small piece and part of it came back up. I then had another small piece right before lunch and it was okay. So stupid me tried to then eat a small piece of danish and of course it came back up. I really miss bread - I haven't had a real sandwich now in over a year and a half - I can't really even tolerate toasted bread - I can eat a really crunchy piece of garlic bread, but I know I shouldn't so I don't do it very often. I am planning on being there on Saturday at this point - I am not sure what my aunt and cousin are up to yet though. I will definitely try to be at the meeting, but may not make it to lunch. I took tomorrow off to clean house and relax. It will be the last Friday I can eat lunch at school and help out. The work I missed this week will still be waiting for me at work on Monday. Hope everyone is having a nice evening.

There are alot of "sliders" - ice cream, soup, chips, cookies, candy, pudding, - pretty much anything that goes down right away - and for some odd reason cookies and junk food go down quickly. It may differ from person to person, but it is typically not the type of food we should be eating.

Boy it took me 1/2 hour to catch up. Yes, you are not supposed to do anything other than walking until you are 6 wks post op.- definitely no weights. I have never weighed my food - I was told to measure my food and to only have 1/4 -1/3 cup per meal. I typically have 1/2 cup per meal as even at 7 cc 1/3 cup doesn't fill me up most of the time. Our pouch will only hold a certain amount of food by volume not weight. I was in a Project Management training class all day today and will be for the next two days too. It is pretty interesting and the instructor is great. I am taking my lunch with me tomorrow as they have a refrigerator and microwave. I had Costco frozen yogurt for lunch today. I went to the gym in this awful weather - was there from 7-8 pm - did 1/2 hour on the elliptical and did half an hour of weights and my stomach crunches. I had to talk myself into going as I was drowsy, but I felt better afterwards. Great to see you on again Christine - can't wait to see little Dex arrive. Candra - did you go in to Kaiser? Hope you are feeling better soon. Maria - were you able to get Tina's appointment? John and Lee - glad to see you are both hanging in there. Heather - you amaze me with the time you spend at the gym. Riley - glad to see you back on here - I missed you. Tina - thinking good thoughts for you. Tamra - hang in there - I know it is really hard to make the right choices - I have been where you are before - don't beat yourself up about it, but please be strong - you can do it. Hi to everyone else I missed. I'll check in again tomorrow night.