SunnyRachel

Be prepared that it might mildly show up in the future too. Sometimes when I drink Water too fast it returns for a little bit. Happy healing!!! Congrats on your surgery!

You made me cry with your story! The last time I flew, I had to ask for a seat belt extender. Your post has reminded me to stop and enjoy the little NSVs that come along. They are truly a joy...and they are great victories!!! You are very inspiring, and I wish you so much more success! Thanks!

Congratulations!!!! You came to a good place for support. I wish you all the best!!

**sigh** This is such a good debate...but no matter what anybody says, you will be fat tomorrow. You will be fat next week. Don't wait anymore and expect to just wake up thin. Give it another chance now while you are trying to figure it out for yourself. There's no harm in that...don't wait until you've decided which way to go to start making changes. A good head start is never a bad thing. You will have to make changes anyway...so keep looking for your answers, but start right now to make better choices. Now, personally for me, I had the same problem... lack of discipline and fear of failure...also unrealistic portion consumption. I love sweets too. So here's what the band has done for me so far: 1. I'm not hungry. 2. If I get bored or want to avoid doing something and start to feel the refrigerator calling me, I actually can tell it NO for a change. 3. I still go out to eat with my family. I occasionally get fast food. But now my dollar goes further! That plate of ribs and baked potato from my favorite steakhouse now lasts me for two more meals. 4. I don't feel deprived. 5. I can't eat too much, so I don't feel like a loser an hour lately, nor do I beat myself up if I can't get back on the wagon tomorrow...because now there is no wagon that I'm worried about falling off of. 6. I easily choose better foods without thinking. I was really surprised by this one...but yes, it just happens now... I naturally grab the better choices. 7. I have control to put the fork down. That extra bite is not worth the pain it could bring. 8. My idea of the ideal weight has changed. If I stopped losing weight right now and just stayed here at 245, I would be happy with that. When I was 300, I thought I'd only be happy at 150...but let me tell you...when you go from not walking and feeling like crap to being able to exercise and fit on a roller coaster again, and you look good in your clothing...who cares about a number? I feel 100% better already! Even better....I'm not going to be 300 pounds ever again. That was my problem...I would lose it, and get cocky about it, and be fatter than before within no time. I hope you will quickly find the decision within yourself. Only you know what is best for you...but don't sell yourself short... you can do anything if you just decide to do it. So I wish you the best in figuring this all out...but please, please...don't just sit there...do something already so that next year at this time you are not like I used to be...sitting there wondering how a year passed but you lost no weight. Good luck!!! You can do it!!!

For me it is not very frequent, and I notice that it's when I'm really hungry or have eaten too fast.

You're doing great! Congratulations!!

Thanks for your post! It's great to hear your point of view on the rate of loss, and it sure helps to put things into perspective. Congratulations to you!!! You're very inspiring!

I think Cathy made a good point. You are now at that spot where the stomach is healing and not as swollen as before, so true hunger is coming on again. Ask your doctor, but the practice I go to had advised me it was okay to eat again when I was hungry...still take it slow, still eat the soft foods, still do your best to wait after having liquids. Right now is not about calories...so if you are really hungry, don't punish yourself...sometimes it will feel worse if you eat when you have been really, really hungry for a while. I always ended up kind of nauseated when I did finally eat again.

Oh, and I also like using Nestle Quick or flavored coffee creamer in my protein shakes.

Have you tried mixing your Protein powder into a packet of instant pudding? I used to mix unflavored with pistachio, you can't really tell it is there. I like the ice too. Have you tried adding a banana into the blender? The Fluid suggestion on the Protein Powder is just a suggestion. You can use as little or as much as you like to get the taste you want. Here is another option. Designer whey has flavored packs that are fruity. You can mix with Water as they suggest, or you can add more water and mix in Crystal Light too. I know in the beginning though you are not able to get much down though. The K20 line from Special K is pretty tasty protein too! You can also mix unflavored protein powder in a Soup that is not chunky... like cream of chicken or cream of potato if you strain out the potato chunks. I wish you lots of quick healing...and before you know it, you'll be on to the mushy food and solids again! Take care! Congrats on your surgery!

I know the feeling...I've been having a lot of sick moments lately. Have you tried the mini oranges in the kids pack aisle? They may have a lot less membrane to them and might be easier to deal with. Feel better soon!

Welcome, Kate!!! I look forward to getting to know you better!!

That's fantastic!!!! Congratulations!!!!!!

Hi, Barbie Girl! What I love about this forum is the great amount of sharing that goes on. What I don't like though is the natural internal reaction we have to compare ourselves to everyone. Forty-two pounds is awesome!!!!! But I can see why seeing no actual scale movement since January is frustrating. I was banded on November 4th too. I am still not fully adjusted to my band yet! I feel like I'm still learning and getting acquainted with it. I have had two fills so far. I'm at my personal capacity, I think. Since the second fill, which was so very little, less than 1cc, I have had lots of stuck moments. I keep going back to my doctor's advice though, and that's not to turn to slider foods to avoid the pain of solid foods. I thought I was taking small bites, but I realize I need to take micro bites now. I'm still learning. You and I are still new at this, and we'll get it figured out. I think others have already given you good advice... look at the positive signs of the change in your life. You say you haven't had fried foods -- well, there's one big great accomplishment!!! Right? Someone else mentioned getting good foods prepared in advance that is healthier than the quick bites. There's a great idea! I've started going into supermarkets and buying their hot chicken and stuff like that instead of as many trips through the drive-through windows. If it's not old-lady-coupon day, you can get in and out of there pretty quickly! I have also made up larger batches of chicken or tuna salad so that I can just plop them into a plastic container with maybe six Ritz crackers and shove it in a lunch box. I'm still working on vegetables...but little steps at a time, right? What's hard for me is getting the right amount of calories. I think I don't get enough, but I'm working on it. I feel really good. I try not to look at other people's lost weight as a challenge to me...but as encouragement that I can do this too. I get happy about my pants falling down, and I'm excited when an old shirt or sweater comes back into use that I couldn't wear before.. Can you make a list for yourself? Can you write down all the good things that you have gained so far and all the good changes you have made? You are not supposed to feel like you are on a diet. I believe you are supposed to feel like you are back in control. If you are fighting yourself, then I think you can simply step outside of it for a moment and really look at the big picture. The answers will come to you clearly, and a little experimentation, you know, hands-on learning with a different approach, will surely get you and your band to be good friends for life. I wish you all the best!!!

It's better not to stress your pouch out the rest of the day. I was advised to stick with soft foods after a bad vomit. Since my most recent fill, I have had lots of stuck moments, with just two actual vomiting episodes. In all the cases, I knew it was my fault -- I thought I took small bites, but didn't. I thought I had this all down, but being even tighter now I see that I really still have a lot of training to do to eat smaller bites at a much slower pace. I know it's the worst in the morning, so that's when I'll do my Protein shake as my Breakfast. Sometimes though, it's just a surprise when you are careful and get that feeling anyway. Blech! I hope you feel better! It really is the most horrible feeling, but with a little adjustment to your routine, I'm sure you will get control over it. Take care!

You are on fire!!! Congratulations!!!!! What an inspiration you are!

I am a court reporter. I take a deposition, then bring it home to edit. I would say the majority of the time I am working at home. I find that on days when I'm out of the house, It's obviously much easier to have a structured three-meal day. At home, the challenge for me is keeping to a routine. (Not just for eating, but for the whole day.) Perhaps if you add more structure to your meals for the day, you can get past this grazing behavior. Would packing yourself a lunch in the morning give you motivation to stay on track? I try to pick a set time for when I'm going to eat lunch. I set an alarm for it. Instead of not really being sure of when I'm going to eat or what I'm going to eat, I know that at 1:00 I'm going to eat my packed lunch. I'm looking forward to eating outside once the weather really warms up here again. What kind of foods are you grazing on? Are you having things that could fill you up if you ate just a little more, or are you snacking on slider foods like pretzels or other crunchy items? If you think you need a snack after lunch before dinner, maybe you can also pack a snack ahead of time. How about a little chicken salad with a few crackers? It can be handy and fill you up just enough --and being planned could keep you from reaching for whatever is quick. I know when I have a deadline to meet, I don't like to lose a lot of time away from the computer... in those moments, I find myself upstairs in the kitchen looking around for just anything quick, rather than take the time to fix something healthy. When I have it prepared ahead of time, I can just grab and go without searching for what sounds good to me. I hope I've helped you a little bit. Working at home is a big challenge. I struggle with many distractions. Sometimes I do better when I take my work to the library. I don't know if your work is that mobile, but for me, it gets me away from my Internet distractions and the kitchen. Take care! I now you can figure out a way to get the weight moving again.

Hello!! Everybody is doing great!! Please update me to 246.5 today! YAY! Thanks so much!

Oh, that was my experience with Designer Whey's strawberry too. It has a very odd, strong strawberry taste, but not a sweet strawberry taste... I still use it though with a banana and a spoon or two of strawberry Quick.

So how is it going today??