Zannie

If you like iced latte/coffee drinks (Frappachinos etc), try this one! My kids (5 & 8) and husband ask for their own when I make mine, which is a pretty good endorsement. 1 scoop Protein powder, vanilla or chocolate flavor (I like nectar Sweets, personally) 1 tsp instant coffee granules 1 cup to 1-1/2 cups cold skim milk or Water (milk adds more protein, but water works, too) 1 tbsp flavored liquid or powdered coffee creamer, sugar free Ziz it all together in a blender, magic bullet, or with a shaker bottle. Drink it as is or served over ice. For a decadent treat, top with SF whipped cream ~ heaven! Delicious!! Really, there is nothing horrific or torturous about THIS protein shake. If you like coffee drinks, you will LOVE this! Getting in all the protein you need is hard enough, why make it taste awful, too?!? Drink up & enjoy!

Hey, Bonnie! Congrats on the arm lift! :frown: (Is that the appropriate reaction to plastic surgery? Well, you know what I mean. ) I'm so interested in your progress with having your arms done! My shirt size can't go down further because while the shape has, the circumference of my arms hasn't changed all that much since my banding. I'd have my arms done in a flash if I could afford it! Care to expand on your procedure? How much $; how much PAIN & for how long; what are your scars like currently; do you have before pics...? Everything you're willing to share, I'm eager to know! Tell all! Suzanne

Today is my 3-year anniversary. :wub: I started at 320 & am at 240 now, which is up (far more than I care to admit) from my low of 205. I’ve totally stopped exercising, a huge factor in my initial weight problem & not something solved by inserting the Band. I knew that going in, however! My eating itself is only so-so. When I eat real foods, I’m still using the band correctly & it works exactly as it should to control my hunger. I’m all about Protein 1st, then veggies (love salad), and then carbs. :lunch: Yea me! :wink2: But I’ve slipped back into the skipping meals habit & have also found that Protein shakes aren’t the only kind that goes down easily if I need to eat & am out unprepared! :sneaky: Argh. I knew that going in, too. Anyhow! I’m very thankful I’ve got my Band. I’ve had no problems with it and no follow-up surgeries related to the LAP-BAND®. Everything about me is saggy, wrinkly & hangs something awful; something else I expected going in, so I’m not complaining. I’d love to have my arms done (forget bats, I’ve got pterodactyl wings), remove the “abdominal appendage” (as I call the apron of excess), and put “the girls” back in their proper location, but there’s no money for plastics so that’s the end of that. My life is so much fuller now, thanks to the LAP-BAND®. I’m active with my kiddies & feel better at 35 than I did at 30, heck…maybe even 25. :frown: But I have to say that I do “feel” this weight I’ve gained back more than I “felt it” the 1st time I saw 240 on the upswing. :frown: And I don’t like it. :mad: I need to get back on track, particularly with the exercising – which always was & will likely always be my big stumbling block. Having had the success I did initially, I know I can do it again if I would just get on the frickin’ treadmill! I’m so glad to have achieved what I did with this tool & remain grateful for my Band! LBT was a vital part of my post-op experience & I regret letting Life's issues get between my support network & Me. Perhaps it’s time to not only get back on the treadmill, but back online with y’all, too, eh? :biggrin: It’s wonderful to hear from some familiar Bandsters & touch base with how y’all are doing at 3-years out. :frown: Can’t wait for more updates! And Happy Bandiversary! Suzanne

Sounds great! I miss spaghetti!! Heck -- I miss PASTA! Which leads to my question... What, in general, is your experience with Pasta? I'm only able to eat a few elbow noodles before getting the "just not worth it" feeling. I'm intrigued by this idea of pasta as a pie crust though! And this sounds like something the whole family could eat (or bring for pot-luck) without it screaming LAPBAND!

What a fun day today was! My 5-year-old has been scared stiff of water for as long as I can recall, with no "event" that triggered his reaction. Not good for a kid who spends a great deal of his time at Grammy & Papa's house -- with an in-ground pool! But, but, but! We've been house-sitting for my parents for several days now & TODAY he finally went into the water without having a total melt-down! (Well, there WAS one, but later on while everyone else was still in the water, he walked right down the steps & across the pool to get the boat that had floated out of his reach. And just never went back to his perch on the 2nd step!) It was friggin' amazing! :ohmy: AND -- here's the relevant part -- he was eventually comfortable enough that I could swim laps (right in the shallow end with him) while he played (he's tall enough to stand well above the water)! So I got in my workout & my son actually had a fantastic time in the pool!!! Apart from my having to parade around all "saggy baggy" in a swimsuit, this has the makings of a great summer!!!! :crying: Suzanne Feb'07 Bandsters: June '08 Challenge ~ Moderate Level 1 10 of 15 workouts (30 min, 3 days a week)

Hey y'all! I know this is quite a bump, but has anyone been to Busch Gardens since being banded? I'll be heading to B.G. Europe in Williamsburg, VA soon & have not ridden a roller coaster in 7 years! My last ride was on Apollo’s Chariot...the part of the seat the buckles you in was quite a struggle to secure, but finally clicked -- once. (in contrast, it clicked several times in securing my husband.) I spent the ride in a panic that I wasn’t truly buckled in! And that was the end of my coaster enthusiast days... But (113 # lighter) it is time to venture back to the "BIG KID" rides again! Griffin & Apollo’s Chariot await & yet I can’t shake the notion that I’m not gonna fit!!!! :smile::redface:

I've been at a standstill for so long... And the scale is finally moving again! I've suddenly lost 4 pounds! WAHOO! I'm down 113 pounds now -- hot diggity! :smile: I know the physical activity is what's making the difference, because I've been eating crap! :redface: I'm not at home this week, so my posts are bound to be sporadic at best. Keep up the good work, SJ! And I can't wait to get a look at the new you, Andrea! Suzanne Feb'07 Bandsters: June '08 Challenge ~ Moderate Level 1 9 of 15 workouts (30 min, 3 days a week)

SJ, I hope your son is doing well after his surgery... And that the same can be said for you! :smile2: What's this about a cruise?!? And can you pack me in among your suitcases? Oh, wait -- they're charging per bag nowadays, so I guess THAT is out! But at least the fear of needing a seat belt extender is a thing of the past! :sad: I know you can hit that 5# goal prior to your sailing...and what a terrific reward for doing so! :crying: I've been pretty unmotivated myself...but enough is enough already! I want these changes & it's up to me to make them! I think the problem is that I'm feeling so great, physically. Leaps & bounds better than I've felt in many a year. So the drive to start feeling better is gone...even though I've still got a long way to go before my health is not at risk due to my weight. And the notion that -one day- I might "squat & recover" without fear of my knees going out from under me in the process is almost too scary to consider! But, oh, what a day that'd be -- if I can just get myself there! And that damn treadmill is the ticket, so... Suzanne Feb'07 Bandsters: June '08 Challenge ~ Moderate Level 1 5 of 15 workouts (30 min, 3 days a week)

Skinnyjeans? Tracy even? Am I alone here? Serves me right if so!! I have NOT been consistent with sticking to a fitness regimen for the last several months. I know, however, that consistency is KEY for me. So -- even if I'm all by my lil' lonesome -- I still intend to post here for that sense of accountability! Suzanne Feb'07 Bandsters: June '08 Challenge ~ Moderate Level 1 4 of 15 workouts (30 min, 3 days a week)

I agree, Christal! If I know I'm going to be eating in a pinch or at "talking" meal, I try to stick to stuff that I know will go down well -- soup, yogurt, eggs, fish, or mayo-based chicken/tuna salad. I've just started back to college & took an all-day (8-5)Saturday course for the summer semester. That necessitates 3 meals in class! Breakfast: Protein shake; lunch: yogurt and a cheese stick; Snack: homemade trail mix of cashews, dried papaya, dry oat Cereal, and M-n-Ms (I have an issue with raisins getting stuck). I also sip on bottled Water all day long.

First off -- I'm not a doctor, so don't take what I say as medical advice, just as my own opinion! With that said... I can't say if you're too tight or not, but you should NOT be regularly sliming and PBing with your meals -- that is a sign of a problem. Eating too much, not chewing enough, eating the wrong types of foods, AND being too restricted can all cause those symptoms. More significant problems can also cause the same reactions. Now, of those, which do I suspect is the problem...? Maybe a combination of a couple! If you've been taking more than an hour to eat your meals & are only have trouble when you are limited to a 1/2 hour, I'd say you're not eating right... Being banded isn't supposed to change the length of the MEAL, just the amount of FOOD! If I were to sit down for dinner and allow 1 to 1-1/2 hours to eat, I'm sure I could eat the portions you've been having, too. And personally, I can only eat 3 or 4 bites of pizza (it's the crust that gets me) before I start to feel full. That sounds harsh to my own ears, but that's not how I mean it... I would hate for you to have problems with your band because your head & stomach are not in the same place yet! It takes a while to adjust to life with the Band -- and we all go through ups & downs as we make that adjustment! But you've been banded for quite some time & I'd have thought you'd be in a more "Banded" mindset about your meals by now, even if your restriction wasn't at the sweet spot yet. The guideline I received went something like this: 2-3oz of "whole foods" Protein as the biggest portion on your plate & eaten first, followed by a smaller portion of veggies eaten 2nd, and then an even smaller serving of starchy carbs eaten last. So maybe what you need is to take a realistic look at what you're doing at meals (I hate journaling, but that's a place to start) & compare that to the materials you received from your doc when you were banded. Consult the staff at your surgery center (mine has a nutritionist as well as the surgeons) for advice!! And in all seriousness, too much PBing can cause a slip of your band and meals that are too big can cause pouch dilation over time -- that is not just scare tactics! Good luck!

I'm off to a good start with June, so far! At least I've met my goal for THIS week. :incazzato: We'll have to see how the month progresses! How's it coming, skinnyjeans? Suzanne Feb'07 Bandsters: June '08 Challenge ~ Moderate Level 1 3 of 15 workouts (30 min, 3 days a week)

Okay, it’s past time to start June's Exercise Challenge. I’ll take the lead. This month will be a Choose-Your-Own-Challenge…just follow the link for details! Come be accountable for your own fitness progress and help motivate the rest of us, too!

It's fitness challenge time, again... Any objections to the old standby? Choose-Your-Own-Challenge: Pick a target level for how often & how long you plan to workout, come to motivate & be motivated, and post your progress here -- whether you're victorious or not-quite-so-successful!! Feb’07 Bandsters: June '08 Exercise Challenge Beginner ~ 20 minutes a day Moderate ~ 30 minutes a day Intermediate ~ 45 minutes a day Advanced ~ 60 minutes a day Vigorous ~ 60+ minutes a day Level 1 ~ 3 days a week Level 2 ~ 4 days a week Level 3 ~ 5 days a week Level 4 ~ 6 days a week Level 5 ~ 7 days a week

That's fantastic! :frown: :thumbup:

So I have a whopping 4 more workouts to add, that brings my total to 10 for the month of May. Pitiful, eh? I'm up for June, too, Becca! (That's my daughter's name -- she'll turn 3 this month.) I've got to get back to a regular workout regimen... My weight-loss is completely at a standstill & I KNOW that lack of exercise is the root problem!

A big old leaf of romaine or the fancy baby varieties would take forever to chew for me, too. Quite by accident I discovered that taco salads, made with shredded iceberg lettuce, were actually one of the easiest things to eat after my band. Taking my lead from that experience, I now throughly chop-chop-chop up all my dark-leaf salads, too, before taking even a single bite. Maybe that'll be a helpful hint to other salad-loving Bandsters!

For me, it's more that I can eat anything I want now. Before - on diets or off them - I would "just say NO" to may favorite foods, making the healthy choice. But then I'd spend days just craving it! And now, when I want something, I eat it. The only difference is that NOW, I can really, truly be satisfied with 3 or 4 bites of something. Bites, not FORKFULS, mind you. I could (used to, in fact) eat with toddler flatware. pizza, for example -- I eat a small salad & then drool over my 3 bites of ooey, gooey goodness & am totally satisfied the way 1/2 a pie never could've made me -- because now I don't feel greasy afterward! It's friggin' amazing! And that, my friend, is the TOOL at work. But it IS just a tool. I could still probably eat an entire cheesecake. And i love cheesecake -- my wedding cake was a 3-layer cheesecake. No amount of tightening would keep cheesecake OUT and still let other foods (chicken/fish) down. That's just a fact. And chocolate malts...yuuum-o! But I'm sure you get my point. It is far better to add a scoop of malt powder to a chocolate Protein shake than it is to drink down the real thing whenever the mood strikes! The LapBand provides the "portion control" part of "moderation & exercise" -- you still control the WHAT, WHEN & HOW OFTEN elements. And the JUST DO IT attitude regarding exercise needs to come from YOU, too. (That's been my big struggle with weight-loss all along & is no different now. Except now I don't weigh 320# & don't have THAT as a excuse NOT to work-out.) Anyhow -- salad. I do the same thing. I order a salad or fish when eating out. I chop the heck out of my salad when it arrives, but then I can eat quite a lot of it. Usually 1/2 a "meal" salad at most places. Sometimes I can finish the entire thing. I've never tried the one you mentioned, but it shouldn't be a problem if that's your thing! :crying: My fave is the grilled chk.tenderloin salad at Cracker Barrel -- they have the worlds best ranch! I limit the # of croûtons I'll eat by removing them from my plate & then chop away. Oh, my is that a good salad! I can only eat 1/2 of that one now. Salmon is a safe choice for me too - it usually isn't coated in tons of butter and it is moist, flaky & tender thus goes down well by nature without having to concentrate on chewing 40 times for every bite. (Hard to do when socializing at the table!) I can usually eat 2-3 oz of salmon & have a few bites of mashed potatoes, too.:drool: Good stuff! :biggrin2: It's good to ask questions, but don't fret -- you'll still be able to EAT & you'll have the help I know I needed when it comes to limiting the portion size of all those foods you love! Get ready! My LapBand is the best thing I've done for myself in a very very long time! :thumbup: You're next! Good luck!

Okay... 2 more, that makes it 6 this month for me. Oh, and my son graduated from preschool today. :rolleyes2: I'm fairly sure sobbing burns major calories because I sure feel exhausted when I'm finished!:target:

Congrats on the Band date, Jennifer! And on getting right to what you needed to do to improve your health. :confused_smile: Being Banded was the best thing I've done for ME is a very long time... I live in Williamsburg, am a stay-at-home mom of 2, & I'm 15 months out from my surgery -- down about 110 of my apx 200 excess pounds. Remember, the Lap Band is only a tool & not a magic pill. You have to work WITH it, not against it. The new way of eating is an adjustment, and any exercise at all is a real life style change for me, but I have NO regrets at all. My world is opening up again in ways I hadn't even realized were closed. In fact, I have just started back to college for those last few courses between me & my Bachelors. For the summer semester, my class meets at Meadowbrook High up in Richmond. Anyhow, I noticed your post & just wanted to welcome you to LapBandTalk. I wish you much success! Good luck with your Band!

2 more, bringing me up to 4 for May.

Okay. I was rear-ended in the grocery store parking lot at the end of April. It was a low-speed incident with minor damage to my car, but I still got whiplash because of how I was positioned (honking - watching over my shoulder in disbelief) when hit. And, really, what better excuse is there to stop exercising? And so I did. :w00t: I mean, come on! Here it is the middle of May & I'm still very stiff. My neck hurts. Period. But I'm going to have to get used to that, I believe, because it just isn't getting better. So I plan to get back to as much of my workout routine as possible anyhow. Realistically, I don't/shouldn't have to move my head all that much on the treadmill anyway. I doubt I'll be up to crunches on the Ab Lounge though! My weight loss, which had resumed in April - thanks to that exercise challenge, has stalled out again. And I refuse to waste this 2nd/last year of LapBand-assisted weigh LOSS by sitting on my butt whining! Because we only get about 2 years worth of HELP on the downward run before the Band serves as a control/maintenance tool & any additional loss is through old-fashioned methods again! I'm not gonna set a numerical goal for May, but I'll post each workout I actually get in. How does that sound? :thumbup: 2 so far...

Thanks for the tea suggestion! My mom is about to have LapBand & she's dreading the entire shake concept. I'm not a *iced* tea girl myself, but I think she might like the Nectar tea idea. My problem with the smoothies is there are so many cals in one that I'd rather be eating than drinking. I'm just after one Protein drink a day to ensure I get enough protein in. I do pretty well at hitting the low end of my protein goal with whole foods alone anyhow -- most days, but I like that "got it covered" sense of security that I get from having a shake, too. I love my latte version, but I've always been big on fruit juice & love the "idea" of enjoying a "juice-like" Protein Drink.

"I'm late, but I'm in," she says in a small voice.

Got in quite a workout today & one earlier in the week that I forgot to post... I've fallen behind this past week, but there's still enough month left to meet my overall goal. Hope y'all are having a good weekend! Zan Level 1 ~ Moderate 8 of 14 30-min workouts