deckedout

Breakfast: Weight control oatmeal or pure Protein bar Lunch: Campbell's soup at hand and a cottage double Dinner: meat marinated (chicken, steak, or fish, we really like tilapila), veggies, and either Pasta roni or mashed potatoes. Snack: Yogurt, cottage double, pure Protein Bar, or pudding cup. sugar free. NOT eating school lunches (I'm a teacher) has probably saved me 1000 calories a day, not to mention the cash. I bring in a pile of Soups and cottage cheese every Monday, and pick and chose what flavor I want each day. I also have a couple of frozen dinners in case I am really hungry.

and it says that I weigh 137.1. Woo hoo! I think, yes all my hard work is paying off. I have lost 20 lbs in 12 hours of sleep! It is about time I broke that plateau.:clap2: Double checking is VERY important. So, I step off and back on again, only to discover that I have now lost another 137.1 lbs in the last 30 seconds. Checking myself to make sure I have not become the size of an ant, I have my hubby weigh himself, only to discover my big o' 6'5" man now only weighs 31 lbs!:heh: Now, our lapbands have been great for weightloss, but not THAT great. Anyway, changed the batteries and now the scale works. Apparently, it hadn't been weighing correctly for a while, how long? I don't know, but with new batteries, in the evening, fully clothed, I was at 151! That is more believable and STILL amazing. I can't wait to get on in the morning and see the REAL weight!:faint:

100% but I live in Washington and drive in Oregon all the time :eek:

I was self-pay. Our insurance will only do bypass, and then only if you have a BMI over 50 or over 40 with two co-morbids that are NOT controlled by meds.

November Lily, About drinking with soup, my DH says yes and I say no. I make sure to keep water away from me at all times when I am eating. It makes it easier all the time, for me at least, when I get used to it. I eat soup everyday for lunch. I assume that any chunks in the soup will work as my solid and keep me full, I do eat my cottage cheese AFTER the soup just to make sure that it sticks with me. For me, it is easier to consistantly follow a rule than to look for situations where the rule might not apply. I NEVER EVER eat and drink at the same time anymore. Of course it helps that if I try to eat and drink at the same time, I PB. However, my hubby used to eat and drink together all the time, and it didn't bother him at all. WHen he finally started obeying the rule, for some reason, it caused his body to forbid him to break that rule anymore. So now, if HE eats and drinks at the same time, he will PB.

Audree, I am here, just been really busy so it is hard to post. I've been lucky to keep up on my reading. Miss Bandster: I usually eat the same things for lunch everyday. A soup at hand and a cottage double. I keep thinking I will change and eat something else, but I have only about 20 minutes for lunch by the time I get the kids out of the room and get to the teacher's lounge. That isn't enough time for me to eat anything solid and NOT get stuck, so I play it safe. This week is my first week of self-imposed NO LIQUID CALORIES. Of course it was snowing this morning on the way to work, and boy did a mocha seem like it would hit the cold spot. BUt, I stopped myself. I really want to see if I have been sabitaging (SP) myself or if I am really on a plateau. I haven't lost anything for 3 weeks now. I go up and down between 156 and 159 But, I press on. Best wishes, Bikergirl, for tomorrow's surgery. No nightmares tonight!

Denise: I didn't realize you were in Oregon. Where abouts? I'm in Vancouver, WA not BC. Weather today is awful. Cold 40, and raining buckets! I am sick of rain. but, I'm with you, I LOVE the green. Last Saturday it was sunny and warm so hubby and I went walking on the river. It was great. But, now it is back to the rain.

After dieting every chance I got, NOT worrying about weight loss during the healing phase seemed stupid, but I did it. Everything that I gained during that period was lost within a week of my first fill. Stick to the rules, but if you are actually HUNGRY eat something. Then STOP when your aren't hungry. This is the time to start learning the rules and making them second nature. The hardest part for both me and my hubby was NOT drinking while we eat. Practice that part. the weight will come offf, but you have to learn the rules to make your band the most effective tool that it can be.

I don't think I would play with anything like this. A two hour drive, to me, is worth the ablity to sleep comfortably and to know that everything in okay inside of me. If I was waking up choking, I would be on the phone with my fill doc immediately. I think she would be upset if I wasn't.

Thanks Brewa2000, I love hearing about how other couples are doing as well. plus, How many of the guys are on hear as opposed to the girls? How many have both on? My hubby expects me to keep him up on everything that everyone is doing. Any hubbys keeping their wives up on everything?

One thing that my hubby and I have discovered, we are both banded, is that we tend to eat everything we cook for dinner. If we don't purposefully make less food for dinner, we will force ourselves to eat more than we need to. Is it possible that you are, or your hubby is, cooking the same amount for dinner as you did befoe being banded, and he has that "waste not" mentality? We had to cut down on everything, because even with the band, we would force ourselves to eat what had been cooked. So, we cut an average dinner in half, figuring a serving size for 3, we still have a 15 yr old at home, and only cooking enough to feed one serving. If the boy is still hungry, he knows how to use the microwave. This strategy has helped us both, plus our food bill, quite a bit. Instead of eating or throwing away food. It sits in the cupboard until the next meal. It is possible that your hubby want to keep from wasting food,, and instead is waisting it.

Susan, Yes, I am a teacher. I had a training class today. All about bringin Pre-AP to my 6th graders! Have to make AYP! Really, I love teaching and working toward higher and higher standards for my kiddos. My students do more than what I was doing in 8th grade. I love teaching! Denise: I'm not really sure how you know if you are dialated. Dr. C has said not to really worry about it in the first 6 months, because it takes that long to develop. I think it has to do with eating way past being full, like drinking water to eat more. I'm not really sure though. I don't think drinking a little extra puts you at risk. It is more of an every day type thing. That is one of the reasons it is so important to do our best to follow the rules, even though we don't really understand why we have to follow all of them. My DH didn't think it was to terribly important to follow the drinking while eating rule. He was losing weight quite well, then it stopped. Well, he tried the rule, before getting a new fill (I think he is at about 9 in a 10cc band) anyway, he had dropped anoher 5 lbs in a week by following that rule only. He still isn't even exercising on a regular basis and has lost 83 lbs since July! Of course, he is NOT a lower BMI bandster, starting out around 48 BMI. Just to say, it is important to follow the rules in order to keep your band as safe as possible.

I think Lekesha(?) has a great chance. I also really like the bald guy; although I think he should keep a hat on, without it he looks like a Holocaust victim. I was really disappointed with the 2nd ones voted off of each sex. I, too, thought the S boy should have been voted off, DH says all the 14 yr old girls are voting for him. I can't remember which other girl I thought should be off; whom ever it was butchered the song she sang so badly I was sick. The girl that was voted off could sing really well. I thought.

My DH and I were both banded on the same day, July 11, 2006. Currently, he is down 83 lbs and I am down 40. He wanted to lose 168 (402- 230) I wanted to lose 70 (196-126 or so). We are doing great, I think!:clap2:

Veronica: congratulations. That is fantastic. You sound like you have your head on straight about the weight loss. Take those pictures, but make sure not to lose them (we lost ours), they will be shocking to you. Denise: pouch dialation is when your pouch stretches out. It usually happens when you eat too much. This is one of the reasons why we don't eat right after a fill and during the first few weeks after surgery. Karyn: my fill doc requires one day of liquid, one day of mushies, and then back to solids as long as they are tolerated. Today was really busy at work, and I haven't been doing well with my eating the past 2 days but it is my tom, so I'm hoping that is the reason. Hope everyone is going to have a fun weekend. I have to work tomorrow, so someone should have extra fun just for me!

Susan, Thank for asking about the knee, it is slowly coming along. I did yoga, but couldn't do all the moves. I swam the last 2 mornings, yesterday for 30 minutes and today for 40 or so, it starts hurting after a while and I keep the brace on all day pretty much, and ice it after working out and after lunch. Luckily, I can put the ice pack inside the brace and still walk around the classroom! I'm a little frustrated with the whole leg thing right now, plus I'm really tight because of TOM coming, due Friday, so I've been pretty grumpy and probably babying it more than it needs. Still Sexy: Welcome to the lower BMI group. I don't know what to tell you about your weightloss stuggle, except be careful about liquid calories. I'm working on giving those up right now. I have, for the most part, given up my mochas that had like 320 calories and replaced it with more Water and oatmeal at Breakfast at 120 calories. The next thing I think I'm gonna have to give up is my after dinner drink I only have one a couple nights a week, but it is like 300 calories (maybe more it is hard to figure) I like my Bahama Mamas after a hard days work, but I think that they could be contributing to my stall. Hard to tell anything right now cause I'm so bloated. Maybe I'll wait til next week, then give them up for a couple of weeks and see what happens. Anyway, back to you, Still Sexy, Have you tracked your calories and exercise? I use Sparkpeople.com to track mine. If I'm very honest, which many times I'm not, it helps me to see what I'm doing wrong. Maybe that will help you. Hubby is home so I'm off. I'm sure I'll check back in. I hope Audree is having fun in Mexico. I'm sure we'll hear from her tomorrow.

Missed you a lot Audree. Thought maybe you'd fallin' off the earth! Went to yoga, but couldn't do a lot of the moves cause of my stupid knee. I'm icing it right now. Went and got my brace. Hubby wants me to go for a walk later. Don't know if I'll be able to go very far, but I'll probably go. wish me luck swimming tomorrow. I might end up spending a lot of time in the spa.

According to the pictures I've seen, I was pretty average growing up. According to my mom, I was always fat. I remember weighing just over 100 lbs in 6th grade and being teased by the other kids when they found out, I had also already developed and began my TOM at 10 1/2. Now, I am a 6th grade teacher, and all of that is pretty average, but both of my sisters were tiny little things. So, my mom thought I was way overweight and let my know all the time that she thought so, still does. But, I didnt REALLY become overweight until after I got divorced and was miserable in my very early 20's right after my daughter was born. I spent a short time over weight when I was 15, but was able to diet (used the old dexatrim that actually did something, although it was full of caffine and made me really hyper). I became really overweight when I just decided that I shouldn't have to worry about it anymore. So, about the time I turned 30. Although, I have always believed I needed to lose weight (I blame my mother.)

Lessofme, Sounds to me like you are pretty typical. I had a lot of pressure in my chest at the beginning. I had to self-pay as well, as my insurance was only interested in bypass and then only if you had a BMI over 50 and tried their 6 month diet plan. Welcome to the low BMI bandsters. We talk a lot. I have lost 40 lbs in 8 months, for which I am very proud. But, I did no REAL exercise for the first 3 months after surgery. Welcome again.

Well, I certainly did. I joined a sparkpeople group to run a 5K on April 1st. Now, mind you, I have been swimming every morning for 4 months and doing yoga and of course walking. Well, in order to do the 5 K or 3.1 miles, I need to jog or run more, so today I began training for it. I just KNEW I should run on the track at the gym, because it has the shock system, but I wanted to go earlier and they didn't open til 10 today, plus I wanted to take my dog cause I thought it would be fun.:think Well, I did okay on the first half of the trip, walking about 4 minutes, jogging 1 minute. I was on my 5 rep on the way back, and sure enough, felt "something" in my knee give. Now, I have have had problems with this knee in the past. Especially when I was at my heaviest and was walking around Las Vegas a couple of years ago, it would really hurt.:rolleyes But, I thought most of my pain was due to being so fat. And, maybe some of it was. However, it really hurt. Last summer, when I went on hikes with my hiking club, it would sometimes hurt on the way down the hill, and a couple of times after skiing (downhill) it has felt stiff. Anyway, I went to the doctor cause I'm sick of feeling like an old lady who can't do anything. (I was actually pointing out the my DH all the people jogging on the bike paths who did NOT appear to be suffering knee pain for their efforts). :phanvan Long story a little bit shorter, I think the 5 K is out. I have to do physical therapy to stregthen my knee. I told the doctor that I have lost 40 lbs and I don't want to have to stop being physically active at this point. He wasn't going to refer my for PT, but I told him that I want to be able to go on hikes this summer without pain, so he did. I can still swim in the AM, at least I hope so, I'll find out on Tuesday. But currently, I am on meds for the pain ( probably stuff I shouldn't be taking but I did talk them into NOT giving me the Mortin @ 800 mg) I am VERY leary of letting my HMO know I have the band. But, I have to heal my knee too. so, I'm making sure I eat RIGHT after I take the meds. :nervous I'll call PT on Tuesday. I really want to be able to go on some good hikes this summer with our club. I think that is more important than the 5K; although, perhaps I could just plan on walking it?:cry I have also be researching the Portland Marathon, hoping that I could do 26.2 miles next October. It is also a qualifier for the Boston Marathon, but :speechles I don't know, maybe it is just a pipe dream. What was I thinking? I am not in that great of shape yet. Well, I guess we will see what happens. :faint: Boo, hoo

I have a co-worker who told me she was worried that I was "too focused". Last Friday, on my way to work I stopped to get a carmel mocha ( I have given up the mochas because THEY were an addiction for me, plus weren't helping with the weightloss) When I showed it to her she said she was glad because I seemed to be becoming obsessed with being perfect. I currently swim every morning, Monday through Friday, for 50 minutes. I also go to yoga on Mondays after work and am adding Thursdays and Fridays as soon as the classes start. Some my consider that obsessive, but it really makes me FEEL better, and yes, I do feel awful if I skip, but I do occasionally skip, like 3 days this week because we went skiing. But, I enjoy the energy I get from swimming in the mornings before work and the stretching feeling from the yoga is very relaxing. I also weigh myself at any given opportunity, but I don't think I'm obsessed about it. It is a knowledge is power thing. I'm really trying to figure out how my body works and looses weight. So far, I haven't really been able to figure out a pattern, I do expect my weight to increase over the entire day, up to 5 lbs. I understand and expect that when I get on the scale at night, I will not be the same weight that I was in the morning. It doesn't affect my mood, but it does make me think about what I'm doing. I am one of those who threw out the scale for 4 years, then when I got one, discovered I was almost 200 lbs. I'd rather get on it too much, then ignore it and have that happen again. I am NOT good at journaling. I tend to spot check, to make sure what I'm eating hasn't increased. So, I might be one of those crazy obsessive people, but I don't FEEL crazy, but maybe a little obsessive.

Audree, My doctor does not recommend having a fill while on your period. However, once I went in right before mine was suppose to start and she filled me extra tight and said to do liquids for a few extra days. It is much better if you go in right after your period ends, so you will be the least swollen, remembering that you may tighten up again as you get close to that time of the month again.

Sometimes I get hungry more quicklly than I would hope that I would. One thing that I do is drink a bottle of water in between meals. So, if I start thinking I'm feeling hungry after 2 hours or even one, but that doesn't usually happen for me, I will drink water. Usually, that will keep me full until the time for a next meal. It is hard to get the water in if I don't start feeling hungry, because than I will forget to drink anything.

Susan, don't worry, I did not lose the way Audree is either, but I am not unhappy with the way that I am losing. WHile I would have loved to be at goal right now, I totally believe that I am learning new things about myself. Plus, hey, the compliements add up, if it takes you longer to lose, more people notice, right Have a great evening.

Terry, Skip tomorrow's weigh in. Give yourself time. Remember we are on a journey, not a trip. I didn't do so good today either. My DD and I went shopping, of course that means going to lunch. I was so tight I PB'ed everything and brought home the huge meal that was left, so I ate that for dinner. it was really, really good. But not the best calorie wise, oh well, tomorrow is anothe day, right? Have a great night.