newdicarlo

yesterday I had: B: protein shake with peanut butter and ice, 300 cals L: spaghetti squash with homemade meat sauce, 300 cals S: tilapia fillet, 80 cals, few tortilla chips, 70 cals D: slice ultra-thin crust homemade pizza, 150 cals, got stuck S: two christmas cookies, 400 cals :eek: Total 1220 cals for the day Today so far: B: protein shake with peanut butter and ice, 300 cals L: spaghetti squash with homemade meat sauce, 300 cals S: slice of ham wrapped around string cheese, 140 cals For dinner I made an awesome chicken dish with chicken breasts, fontina cheese and shrooms (not low cal or low fat...). Nutrition facts say 500 cals per breast, I'll probably manage a half-serving... with some fresh asparagus and salad...guessing about 500 cals for the meal. Approximate total 1240 cals for the day.

Yesterday I had: B: 6 oz lite yogurt with 1/2 cup Kashi Go Lean cereal and a little protein powder (225 cals) S: 80 cal grilled tilapia fillet, string cheese (170 cals) L: homemade eggplant parmesan (estimated 350 cals?) D: two bites mac and cheese, 1/2 steak sandwich, few bites of salad, a couple french fries (estimated 600 cals?) 1345 calories for the day I know I'm eating too much, I'm going for a fill next week...

Aww, thanks :thumbup::wub:

To clarify, I always have my fills in the morning, first thing, and I try not to eat or drink anything before hand because I want my weight to reflect on the scale :thumbup:. I have a 10 cc band.

My favorite is GNC's Amplified Wheybolic Extreme 60 in Chocolate. The vanilla is too sweet and is more like french vanilla with an overpowering taste. I mix it with 1% milk and sometimes add extras like a spoonful of peanut butter and some ice or 1/2 a banana and some ice.

I think what some people have is a small esophagus, I know I do, and genetically so does my mother, grandmother and sisters. My grandmother died from choking. My first fill was 4 cc and I had to get 2 taken out. Since then I've had fills of 1 cc and then .4 each time thereafter, but my last was .2. I think I have 4.4 cc now and I might need .2 more to get to my sweet spot. It's just that every body is different, and even at 275 my esophagus couldn't handle 4 cc's, as I've lost weight, I can handle more restriction.

I really like to do a serving of yogurt mixed with a 1/2 cup of Kashi Go Lean cereal (has protein), and maybe a few berries or 1/2 a banana mixed in. If I don't do that, I've also tried one small pancake with peanut butter and strawberries, or what I usually do is a chocolate protein shake mixed with 1% milk, a spoonful of peanut butter and sometimes 1/2 a banana...that's about the extent of what I do for breakfast though. I don't care much for eggs and they don't seem to go down very well for me...

My newest find is Gorton's Grilled Tilapia fillets, in the freezer section. They are really good and only take three and a half minutes in the microwave. One box has two fillets and one portion is 4 oz., perfect for bandsters! They have garlic butter flavor and their signature flavor with a little more spice, they are both really good with some veggies for a quick lunch. I've tried their regular grilled fish, but the tilapia has a better flavor... One fillet:80 calories, 2.5 g fat, 14 g Protein, less than 1 g carb

My family knows about my surgery, but some of the nieces and nephews are too young to know any better--the most surprising comment I got was on Sunday from my nephew who is 12 and mildly autistic. He said "Aunt Ellen, you've lost a lot of weight, you can really tell." And I just said "yes, I have, thank you for noticing!" That almost made me cry just because at that age and mentality I never expected him to say anything, much less something so mature. It's nice to finally get some really good comments instead of nothing at all or something behind the back from strangers...

I've lost three pounds--course, I've been at this weight for a couple week now, but it's three pounds gone since the scale yesterday... I upped my water again to get it going and it seems to have worked.

Take an inventory of what you are eating--I felt the same way and finally figured out--I'm not getting stuck, I'm actually FULL! And it's after about 8-10 bites of food. I find that if I can take a deep breath and not be in pain, and I have that feeling in my chest/throat, I'm full. If there is pain in the chest with the feeling in my throat, I'm stuck.

I found that I have averaged 10 pounds a month since my surgery. I just went for a fill yesterday and I had lost 12 pounds in 6 weeks. The nurse was really complimentary and saying "wow, that is great". I said that it was only 2 pounds a week and I thought that was right? She said that by this time people are usually losing 1 pound a week, even with exercise. I guess I'm lucky for the moment, but the day will come when I'm not losing so fast--I'm not looking forward to it!

Tracy, we started at almost the same weight (I was 282 at the start of my journey), and 5'6" and my goal is 145 or a size 10, now back in college at 160 I could get into some size 10's, so I'm hoping that is the case again, BUT, not the point. The point is, I'm now in a 16 at almost 200 lbs, and I don't shop at LB anymore--I go to Old Navy, JC Penney, Target, Dress Barn, there are so many retailers whose sizes go up to 18 now, you just need to start looking at places other than LB--they are out there! And that alone makes me feel skinnier. Just not having to shop in "woman's world" is a feat unto itself. Be more patient, take a look in stores you haven't been in in a while, you may be surprised!

When I hit a plateau about 5 months out, I was speaking to a nurse at my surgeon's office and she suggested cutting out all crystal lite and artificial sweeteners and replace with water--I've never had a plateau like that since, and I drink at least 64 oz a day. Every once in a while I'll crave something other than water and I'll have a crystal lite or iced tea, but that's 1-2 glasses a week. Other than that, I drink my protein shakes with 1% milk and water only.

I actually had a good experience at the OG in Montgomery, AL over the summer, I informed the server of my issue and he happily let me order whatever I wanted off the lunch menu. it was perfect and my hubby ate what I didn't finish. Now, this was before I was at my sweet spot, but the point is that they did try to accommodate my needs, and I've had good experiences since then, although now I have found it's easier to order a full meal along with a box so I can get at least half off my plate right away...and have lunch the next day!

Are you drinking your water? make sure you are getting at least 64 oz a day. You are probably at a plateau and your body takes time to adjust. You'll notice pounds falling off overnight once your body catches up and thinks, Oh yeah, look at all these thousands of calories I've burned! Time to show it in the weight! Usually in a month I lose on average 10 pounds, but those 10 pounds come off in about 2 weeks, the other two weeks I'll be on a plateau, it's just the way my body functions. You'll start to see a pattern too, but it does take time and I know it's frustrating. Just hang in there, you are doing so awesome! Be proud of your accomplishment so far and in the meantime, think of all the non-scale victories you have accomplished too.

After eating a snack size Snickers, a Mini-twix, a bite-size Snickers fudge and a mini-100 Grand bar yesterday, I managed to sneak the trick or treat bags away from my 5 and 3 year old and dumped more than half into a bag for my husband to take to work. That helps. I only have a medium-size bowl left and I informed the kids that I put their bags together to make it "easier" to find the candy they wanted. I bought mini-pretzel bags to hand out on Halloween, so no trouble there, and day by day that bowl will get smaller because it will go to work with hubby or end up in the trash--I also put it on top of the fridge so that they "forget" about it...and I'll know it's there, but since I had a binge, I think I'll be OK. I don't even like what I ate--WTF?? I didn't get close to the Reese's PBC because I wouldn't be able to stop at one, so I ate things I only like a little just to satisfy the craving and be able to stop...although it was pretty gross because I wasn't hungry, but I am PMS'ing!

Oh Baby! Oh Baby! Hello Onederland! Woo-hoo! Man, this feels good...I skipped over 200 and went right into Onederland! Woot woot!! AND...back to reality. I won't be making my goal, but I'm giving it a good fighting chance. I don't think 9 pounds will be possible in the next 4 weeks, but I'd be happy with 4 or 5? The last 16 were hard, but my body caught up with my exercise and eating habits, because I've lost 6 pounds in the last 10 days or so--and I'm due for my monthly visitor next week which will spike me right back up...:sad:

I was anemic starting in high school, I still can tell if I haven't taken my iron during the day as I will get exhausted easily. This was never an issue for my surgeon, he just made sure I stayed on track with my iron and vitamin intake.

I flew to Miami and went on a cruise in the Bahamas for 4 days--8 weeks after my surgery. I did not make a 4 hour drive to Kansas City 2 weeks after my surgery, but I did go an hour away to my in-laws. I could have done the cruise at 6 weeks, but wouldn't have done it any sooner. I did get "stuck" for the first time on the cruise...which was two weeks after my first fill and after a 2-hour flight...

My weight finally caught up with what my body is doing every day! I lost a pound a day the last three days...

I'm sure you were on the liquid diet before the surgery too--I remember my Dr's nurse saying "what goes in liquid will come out liquid...", so once you get on more solid food, this will happen. Now the problem is the opposite with eating so much protein every day!

I would love to have any of the 16's that are for the winter. I too have passed on all my size 24, 22, 20, and now I'm in between an 18 and 16, (some 16 pants fit, others not yet) so I'll be needing 16's very soon...PM me!

Are you drinking enough water? Make sure you are getting at least 64 oz a day. i can have a 5 pound weigh fluctuation (loss) overnight with just upping my water for a few days. Also, it's best to keep your heart rate up for 30 minutes or more at a time to really burn cals. Your body may not be ready yet, but just upping your walking/biking minutes 1 by 1 would help too.

:thumbup:They are good. I've had the whole grain white and the whole grain wheat. But they get stuck, so no more for me.:thumbup: