isaviolinist

I don't eat poultry or red meat (or pork), but sometimes fish, if its not flaky or moist, has a really hard time going down (like swordfish...or any other "meaty" fish). So I really only eat flaky fish (salmon, cod, turbot, mackerel, etc.). I can't even imagine trying to eat steak or chicken (except for maybe dark meat...I would imagine white meat would get stuck on the first bite). I guess just take the tiniest bites and really chew until its mush!

I had a smattering of random things for "lunch" - some cheese (about 1.25 ounces), a tablespoon of guacamole on a chip (supermarket samples...gotta love em), a banana. And for dinner we broiled a whole Spanish Mackerel. It was delicious - pepper, sea salt, and some lemon. I ate about 4 ounces and had some kimchi on the side. Yum!

Sorry for the late post! I had a crazay day Well earlier in this week I hit onederland (199.8). Today I'm back at 200.8. Oh well. I'm sure I'll see onederland again soon So I'm starting this challenge today at 200.8!

I'm in therapy for my binge eating disorder which always takes over at night unfortunately, just like everyone else. I try to tell myself that all the food I'm craving will still be there tomorrow - its not necessary to eat everything right now. And of course, my band is so loose at night (yet I cant eat anything before 3-4 in the afternoon). Head hunger and compulsive eating are really difficult issues and I've not found that the band takes away my head issues. Hoping therapy will help me.

I don't drink soda anymore - my doc told me it was off limits so I just stopped and don't really miss it. When we got engaged however, my fiance had sparkling ice wine (he forgot about the carbonation) and I took a few sips and was fine. But I don't make it a habit.

I'm not at my computer but I'm in (many of you know how much I LOVE these challenges ). I'm going to try for 16 pounds. Ill add myself to the spreadsheet when I get home!

Congrats on your success! How inspirational! I can't wait to be a size 6! I can't even imagine it. Thanks for posting

Basically, the recipe for losing weight is consume fewer calories than you're burning on a daily basis. I don't know how many calories your mom burns daily, but assuming she burns 2000 without exercise (which is just the average...everyone is different and there are many different factors which contribute to how many calories a person burns daily), if she eats 1000 calories daily, she'll have a deficit of 7000 calories per week (1000 calories per day). That's about 2 pounds per week. I lost 80 pounds initially without doing very much exercise. I slipped back into old habits and regained about 50. I then relost the 50 plus some via healthy eating and TONS of exercise and I feel like a different person than I did when I lost without exercising. Exercise is very helpful and while you can lose without it, I think its great to try and do some. You feel WAY better and it helps me stay motivated.

Hi Bayla - I'm not sure if this question was directed at me specifically, but I'll answer I eat between 850-1000 calories a day (when I don't cheat a little lol). But I think this is pretty individual for everyone (and always good to check with your surgeon and/or nutritionist to see what they recommend). I know many on here eat 1200 a day and some even more than that. Before exercise, I generally burn a little less than 2000 calories a day, and I try to burn at least 1000 calories a day via exercise. My scale weight varies week to week but over the long run, on average, I lose 3 scale pounds a week (but one week I might lose 1 pound and then the next week it might be 5 pounds...the scale is a tricky thing). But more importantly, my body fat % has decreased immensely. My first goal is 22% body fat, which would put me in the healthy range, and I'll find out tomorrow where I'm at, but I should be at 29ish% at this point. Counting calories (I use fitday.com...there isn't a BB app for it, but I just log in via my blackberry web browser and can log my food anywhere that I am) and exercising like a crazy lady has really worked for me. I had regained 50 pounds at one point and it was because I started eating slider foods because my band was a bit too tight. I wouldn't have it filled anymore - but perhaps a slight unfill? I never had my band unfilled - I just tried to chew better and make better choices (which is working for me now...I also probably have lost some fat around my stomach which has helped). But I do know that I got to a point where eating became so cumbersome and I was throwing everything up, so I started making friends with milkshakes again. We became real close, real fast. 50 pounds later, I decided to get back on track. Anyhow, I love calorie counting. At some point, perhaps I'll be able to be less stringent about it (when I get to maintenance maybe?) but for now, part of repairing my relationship with food is being very aware of whats going in my mouth. And as Jachut said, its so easy to have food amnesia when I don't log (by the way Jachut, I knew you were having a procedure and then I didn't see you around for awhile, so I'm glad you're back!! I was a little worried).

Sorry I didn't see those last two responses because LBT was not working for me - but thank you so much for the encouragement everyone!!!

I just registered for another website. I do hope LBT gets it together. If it does, I'll definitely be more active on here again. Alex also doesn't really seem to care or be around (aside from posting news stories...I'd much rather have answers and solutions to website problems than news stories). Anyhow, I'll see how the new site goes. Seems more user friendly than the current LBT.

To Alex or anyone who has any kind of control over the website - I have been clicking on the new content button for the past 2 days and it keeps coming up with "Sorry, there is no new content to display". There is no way for me to see new content other than going through each sub forum individually. I love posting and contributing to LBT but I don't want to go through every forum individually. Is there a solution? I really like LBT but I'm thinking of finding a more user-friendly WLS forum. If anyone is paying attention to these concerns, I'd appreciate a response so at least I know someone knows about it and is/is not working on it.

Laylas - the premier protein shakes are in cartons, not cans. Hope that helps!

Thanks so much everyone!!! Im thinking of rewarding myself with a massage maybe I totally feel you. When I gained 50 pounds back, I was hovering over the 200 mark (I think I got down to 205.8). I think I sabotaged myself because I just felt that I would never weigh below 200. I was so scared and almost did it again this time (I played with the same 3-4 pounds around 202-206 for like the entire month of December pretty much). Just stick with it, and I'm sure you'll see it any day now! Can't wait til it happens for you! Gator - thanks so much for your kind words!! I'm a strong believer in group support, which is why I keep coming back here and also blogging. I think we can do this with the help and support of each other (and we're supporting ourselves when we support each other). I'm so glad you came back here. When I got off track I stopped coming here and stopped blogging and food logging. Logging back in was really hard, but it was what I needed to do. I'm glad you're back. Resolve to start right now getting back on track. Its so hard and it sucks but you can do it! And everyone struggles. After I picked myself back up, I was 50 pounds up, and it really was devastating. But I started doing what was necessary to get the weight back off. And now I've started seeing a therapist for eating disorders. I do great with my exercise and eating during the day, but at night, the binger comes out and its hard to stop her. So for me, it seemed like an appropriate step that could help me make this a change for life. Treat yourself well and do whatever you feel is right for you and you will be successful!! If you ever want to talk, just shoot me a message on here!

I did terribly the first week of Christmas Break (we were in Hawaii and it was an eating extravaganza) but then the second week I got a TERRIBLE stomach flu and when I returned I had lost a pound from before we left. So considering I was assuming I had gained 15 pounds, I feel pretty good about that! And then today, I FINALLY hit ONEDERLAND!! Last year this time, I was on my way to regaining 50 pounds. This year I'm grateful to be on the right track and not stopping anytime soon!

I havent had a slip (although I'm always paranoid that I will, or I do and I just don't know it), but I just wanted to wish you luck with your new band! Just follow your post op instructions to the letter and hopefully all will be fine! All the best with this next phase!

This is happening again to me today. I press View New Content and I get a message that says "Sorry, no new content to display". Unfortuntely, I think the switch over to the new LBT has driven away a lot of the old timers. I'm not one to complain about website changes, but it is just too bad because there were a lot of people on here with great things to say who had had their bands for a long time (thus being in a different position to offer insight than those who have only had it a short while) and I don't see many of them around anymore. Oh well....I'm not sure if concerns are really being taken in to consideration but its probably a bit late now for a switch back or something like that. I think those who have left, have left for good. Alex, if you can please let me know how to access the new content, it would be much appreciated.

Thank you!! Im feeling on top of the world today!!

Well, I have been waiting for this day for ages, and finally today, I hit 199.8 on the scale!!! I am SO thrilled! I don't remember the last time I saw a 1 before my weight. With all the struggles I've had with the band (regaining 50 pounds after losing 80 initially and then having to re-lose the 50 and retrain all those bad habits I started again) and my eating (in therapy now for binge eating disorder), I couldn't be happier and more proud of the hard I work I'm putting in. It really hasnt been easy (I think we can all attest to the fact that WLS is NOT the easy way out), but I'm so glad that I'm following the rules (most of the time ) and feeling great! And I thank my lucky stars everyday for all the support and love around me. Can't believe I'm living in onederland! Its nice over here - I think I'll stick around!

Ah congrats!!! And congrats on your maintenance!! Enjoy those size 4 (or 6... thats a fabulous size too) jeans girl! Can't wait to buy a size 6! Inspirational!

Congrats on your success with your band and your upcoming PS!! That is so awesome! Is insurance covering it? I hope my little apron will continue to get littler but I'm pretty sure I'll also need a TT at the end. But not getting ahead of myself. I just reached onederland today so I'm just enjoying the moment!!

Hey hiddn - yea body fat percentage is really the most accurate measure of health. BMI is pretty worthless, other than for getting approval from insurance companies for WLS and scale weight doesn't tell you enough pieces of the puzzle. I like this picture to illustrate why BMI isn't a good indicator of health: http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/diet-fitness/weight-loss/bmi3.htm . Two people of the exact same weight and height will have the same BMI - lets say they both have a BMI that puts them in the Overweight category. If one does no physical activity and eats tons of processed junk food, and one is a body builder with no fat to be found on his body, are they both in the same physical health since their BMI is the same? I'm 5'2, and currently have about 140 pounds of lean mass on me (anything that isn't fat). Thats a much higher amount of lean mass than most women my age/height have (most women my age and height have between 110-115 pounds of lean mass). That number will go down as I continue to lose weight and exercise (the less you weigh, the less muscle your body needs to keep itself up and running). Ultimately, If I end up at around 130 pounds of lean mass and weigh 150 pounds, I will have around 15% body fat (that would put me above the healthy range, into the 'athletic' range...right now I'm just aiming for healthy/fit range which is about 22% body fat for women). At 150 pounds, despite that extremely small percentage of body fat, I will still be in the 'overweight' category of the BMI chart. Anyhow, I'm very passionate about body fat percentage vs scale weight (although I still compulsively weight myself... but at least I know more logically why the scale says what it does...even if it goes up and I'm doing all the right things, I freak out less because I have a better understanding how my body works now and I know that if I am consuming less than I am burning, I haven't much to worry about). And I think BMI should be discussed WAY less than it is. We (fiance and I) get our body fat % measured every week at our fitness center via skin fold caliper tests. There are many ways to do it (However, I'm not a fan of the DIY body fat % measures - I've tried to do it myself and compare it to my actual body fat % and it never comes out even close) - the least feasible way is the underwater test. I don't even know who would do that or how you would get access to someone who does that. If you're associated with a university or know someone who is associated with the health sciences dept at a university, they may be able to help you. There is BIA (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bioelectrical_impedance_analysis), which you could probably have done at a health practitioners office. Our scale (its a Tanita) is supposed to perform BIAs, but we lost the components that you need to have to make it work (actually my fiance got the scale before he met me, and lost the components before I ever saw the scale so I blame him ). I may buy another Tanita at some point, just because I'm curious to see if it is accurate. And lastly, you can have skin caliper measurements taken, which is what we do at our fitness center every month and a half. You have to have the same person do it (someone who is qualified and trained to do it) and they have to be very accurate with their measurement sites. Some fitness center with a comprehensive program (not just personal training, but look for nutrition, weight loss counseling, body composition assessments, etc.) will do this. And I'm sure many doctors offices will do it too. Probably your best bet is to call your surgeon and/or nutritionist and see if they can tell you their recommendation! At our body compositions, we also have measurements taken - which is another great indicator of loss. Even if the scale isn't moving (or moving as fast as youd like), you may be gaining muscle and losing fat and inches. I've lost over 30 inches all around since September. Sorry for that long post - Im just REALLY passionate about this and want everyone to know about it!

I've lost about 30% of my excess pounds on the scale (I try to focus on my body fat % more than scale weight though). I have about 18% more that I'd like to lose on the scale and about 10% more body fat that I need to lose.

Often times when you lose weight, you also lose fat in and around your stomach. Thus your restriction level needs to be readjusted as the fat "melts" away. The band isn't getting loser, you're just losing fat causing the the opening from pouch to the lower stomach to be wider. Also, a small amount of Fluid can "evaporate" over time. If its all the fluid, thats a problem, but its not unusual for a small amount to exit, especially after 2.5 years. And Im sure you've heard this, but even if the band somehow actually stopped working (totally possible, especially if there is a complication), you are of course in charge of your own food choices (Im not preaching, as I, as well as most others, struggle from time to time or for periods of time with food choices). Just friendly reminder

I don't love the low carb SF shakes but every now and again I drink an Slim Fast Optima Shake when I run out of protein shakes. As an above poster mentioned, I also recommend the Premier Protein shakes (ready to drrink) from Costco. Really delicious and you couldn't ask for much more as far as the nutrition facts (low cal, low carb/sugar, low fat, really high protein). Muscle Milk isn't as great on the calorie-protein ratio but I still like them (although I stopped drinking them when I found Premier).