wantshealth

Tam - I am so sorry. Next time call me or one of us on the site - we are here for you to listen and let you vent and offer you support. The sweets never help for long. I've said it before, you are terrific Mom and I know you are trying to do the best for your daughter. She is a lucky girl.

CoCo - too funny!!! And I'm to blame for suggesting it!

Tamra - way to go girl with the crunches! Hey, what's up with the frozen yogurt? Stop with the carbs - eat protein - start clucking like me!!!:cursing: CoCo - you need to rest big time. You are so right about TGIF - what a week and I only worked 3 days but with a new boss who has 'all the answers about what needs to be "improved", I am stressed to the gills!! You can't believe how some of my staff were mistreated while I was gone - it frustrates me no end because now I have good people I need to do damage control with. Aarrrggghhh! Lee - so glad things are going better, although I don't envy your truck feeling! However Candra's & my - glass in the eye feeling probably isn't much better! John - what's up? Heather - Happy Birthday:party:what great support from your co-workers. And what a special gift from your Mom. Jes - have fun with your daughter. My food for today (protein portions are a little bigger than they should be): B- 1 hard boiled egg, 1/4 c. LF cottage cheese, 1/8 c unsweetened applesauce, 1/4 piece of whole wheat toast S - tea L - 4 oz tuna w/ 1tbsp ff mayo, 1/4 of peeled apple, 1/4 piece of whole wheat toast (TJ's no sugar Daily Bread) D - 1/3 c of cheeseburger (In & Out); 1/4 c LF cottage cheese; 2 tbsp sauteed spinach, 1/4 piece of whole wheat toast

Tam - I'm sure I'll start clucking one of these days! We eat such little amounts, it takes forever to use anything up! My family has been having the chilli I made, but we're not suppose to have beans so I cooked 2 pieces of chicken and it has lasted all week! I was starting to crave your and Candra's burgers - so maybe I'll make them next for myself.

Hi Everyone Candra - I caught your migraine. The headache I came home with yesterday turned into a migraine and I had to take maxalt twice last night. I could feel it starting to come back before I left work again tonight. I obvioulsy jinxed myself by telling you mine had gotten much better! I think my body is telling me it doesn't like my job or my job isn't good for me. First day back a migraine (that now may be coming back on day 2) and day 2 I started an itchy rash on my legs - I get these when I get real stressed. Think I felt the band tonight - I was tight after eating dinner - think I had too much. (Thought 2 tbsp was 1/4 c but it is only 1/8 c so I have been measuring my veggies wrong - math challenged :eek:- I have to keep looking it up online - can't remember the conversions for anything! Actually I have CRS disease - can't remember s---!) Oh, today is 30 days since I've had my band and I was down again this morning - so 17 lbs in 30 days. I've never lost that much weight in a month - even when I did the liquid diet. My food for the day: B - 2 scrambled eggs w/ 2 tbsp spinach and 4 tbsp shredded cheese L - 1/3 c. grilled chicken w/ BBQ sauce and 4 tbsp steamed broccoli and 1/4 peeled apple (not sure I was suppose to eat that - binder doesn't list apples as a fruit allowed - but it went down fine) D - 1/3 c. grilled chicken w/ BBQ sauce and 4 tbsp steamed broccoli and 1/4 slice of sourdough toast Tamra - how are you doing? Looks like you found something good for breakfast. Lee - how is the fatigue with working? Don't know how you are doing it! Please contact the Dr. about your runs - I emailed my doc when it happened to me and she responded promptly. John - glad you are hanging in there. What are you keeping yourself occuppied with? CoCo - its almost the weekend - bet you are glad - hope you aren't too tired from a full week back at work. Pam - was the project management class computer related? I manage all our technology project managers. Was the class taught by an outside company? Is tonight a Gym night? Heather - how sore are you? You are such an inspiration. I wimped out this morning on my workout because of my migraine. Donna - great to hear from you. I agree we are a great group! Jes, Riley, Beatriz, Ash, Ali, Tina, Chris, Reggie, Maria and I'm sure I've forgotten someone- hope you are all hangin in there and doin OK.

Hi Everyone. CoCo and Lee - the first day of work kicked my butt! I don't know how you guys started back so soon. I was ready for a nap at 3 but didn't leave until 5:40. Came home with a headache - took liquid tylenol and ate and feel much better. I will be going nite nite early tonight! Here is my food for Day 1 of Stage 4 - Ohhh it is so good to chew again!!!: B - 1.5 scrambled eggs w/ 2 tbsp shredded cheese L - 1/3 c baked chicken (no skin - with BBQ sauce) and 2 tbsp steamed brocolli D - 2.5 oz baked chicken (no skin - with BBQ sauce) and 2 tbsp steamed asparagus and 1/4 piece of sourdough toast Love you all - saying good nite early.

CoCo - I heated my egg salad - somehow warm stuff seems better to me. Tamra - just eat whatever protein you like for breakfast - chicken, hamburger, whatever so long as you like it and it tastes good to you. Not sure if you like cottage cheese or yogurt, but they have protein. So today is my first day back at work - I have about a billion emails to get rid of - a month is alot of email! And today is day 1 of Stage 4 - here is what I have had so far B: 1.5 scrambled eggs w/ 2 tbsp shredded cheese L: 1/3 c of baked chicken (no skin, with BBQ sauce on it), 2 tbsp of steamed brocolli It was great to chew something!! John and Lee - you are rocking it in the weight category! Lee - hope things tighen up for you soon!

I have been banded 1 month today! I have lost: - 4 inches in my bra size! - 2 clothing sizes - my being out of breath when I walk any distance or bent over - My round face (my check bones have resurfaced!) - my dread at looking in the mirror - my straight sides - I now have a waist! - the chip on my shoulder (or at least some of it) - some of my low self esteem - my migraines have just about disappeared I have gained: - wonderful supportive friends on the Kaiser-Richmond thread and other new friends at other support groups - lots of compliments and support from my husband and family - more gratitude for what I have in my life and my health - a greater understanding and compassion of the physical and emotional struggles of people who are obese - a lot of knowledge about bariatrics - smiles at rediscovering clothes I haven't been in in years

Hey everyone - I had a good last day at home. Worked out this morning in garage since it was raining and I need to get use to it since I'm going back to work. 5 mins lift weights - just starting again 10 min exercise bike - got heart rate up to 134, 2.38 miles 55 min treadmill - 2.5 miles total calories 399 My food: B - 1/2 c LF cottage cheese L - 1/3 c egg salad made with FF mayo and 1/3 c cottage cheese D - 1/2 c pureed moroccan chicken stew with 3 tablespoon of green beans Since it was my last day at home, I used a gift certificate that I had to go get a massage - it was heaven. I also got a mani/pedi so I look good going back! Also down almost another 2 lbs.

CoCo - You asked for the Sonoma Co. Weight Loss Group chili recipe from their cook book. I doubled it so we had a big pot to last multiple meals so this is what I did: 1 lb ground turkey 1 lb lean ground beef (95%) - I did this instead of doubling the ground turkey 1 large onion or 1 bag of frozen chopped onion (I also added 1 bag of frozen chopped peppers - red, yellow, green) 4 large cans stewed tomatoes (I used chopped) 1 c. Rotel tomatoes and peppers (I couldn't find that brand so I just used Safeways chopped tomatoes and peppers - I put in 2 15 oz cans) 5-6 cloves garlic 2 cans pinto beans 2 cans kidney beans 2 cans black beans 2 cans chili beans 4 tsp garlic powder 4 tsp cumin 2 tsp salt 4 tsp chili powder 2 tsp cayenne pepper (optional - but I used it - it gives a nice kick) 2 tsp black pepper You brown the meat with the onions. Then you throw everything in the pot! You cook in crock pot all day or since I doubled it, it didn't fit in my crock pot so I simmered it on med/low for about 5 -6 hours. It was super quick and easy to do. It makes 28 cups and this is nutritional value for 1 cup: 188 calories 3 g fat 26 carbs 14.75 protein 7.5 fiber I served it with shredded cheese and fat free sour cream and slices avocados. You have to puree it since we can't have whole beans in case they get stuck. I did 1/2 a cup and added 1 tbsp of cheese and 1 tsp of ff sour cream. It is really filling on Stage 3 because it purees thick.

Candra - I am so sorry about the migraine. You have all my sympathy. I sure do know what you are going through - I've had them since I was a teenager. Mine were like that at the height of my going through menopause, but I think you are too young to be doing that. They do have a headache specialist at Kaiser - there is one in San Rafael. I went to her and she put me on another preventive medication. She is also big on diet - eliminating processed food, aged food like cheese and vinegar. She makes you read the book Heal Your Headache by David Buchholtz. The preventive medicine didn't really help me but I know it has helped some people (it gave me bad side effect)s but it is worth trying to get a referral, some of the diet stuff did also seemed to help - like no chocolate and no wine. I have to say since I went on the 1200 cal diet I have had almost no migraines and the couple I did get I was able to stop with 1 dose of the Maxalt. I ended up being out of work for a month with them when they were at their worst - during that month I had 3 days without a headache. So try to get to Kaiser and ask you PCP for a referral to the specialist.

Oh, I forget - I had my Robin appt today and I move to Stage IV on Wed. Can't wait to be able to chew something! Also, in the spirit of TMI - I've lost 4 inches off my bra size (actually skipped a size) - but my hubby is happy since my cup size is the same!

Hi Everyone - wow you guys sure write alot - I had 3 pages to read since I posted Sat! We went to a wine festival on Sat since 2 of my sisters are out visiting. I was the desiginated driver! Sunday was a really hard day for me. Tamra I was blue also and I was really eating way too much at each meal plus I ate a whole banana and 3 slices of cheese (yeah what is it about cheese?) in between meals. Not sure what it was all about but today I am fine and eating OK. I made turkey chilli on Sunday (it is the recipe from the Sonoma Weight Loss Surgery cookbook) and have pureed it and added cheese and a tsp of ff sour cream. Soooo goooood! Went to Armstrong Woods for a walk in the Redwoods today with all my sisters - it was fun and we walked for over an hour. I have to go back to work on Wed :tongue_smilie:! I like being home! Riley - I invited everyone that wants to trek to Petaluma to walk the Wetlands on 3/20 and then come to my house for lunch afterwards. So far we have Jes, Candra, CoCo, Tamra, and Heather. Not sure if I left anyone off. Happy Bandiversary! You are my hero. It is so great to hear all the things you have gained in this year. I think you look fantastic - size 10 is perfect (my goal), so don't stress about the weight #, and you are in such great physical shape. John - so glad you are doing well. You made me laugh out loud with your penis story. I'm glad to see you givin back to all us gals! We deserve it! Tamra - I love your new picture! And you are doing so much better with your protein - I am proud of you! Isn't 15lbs amazing for 1 month! This so rocks! Lee - sorry you have been having sore throat/fever, but glad you are following up on it. I am so impressed with you getting on the treadmill. Have you and your son gone outside for a walk? I am so going to miss my 1 hour wetlands walk each day when I go back to work - am planning to work for 1/2 hour at lunch though. Maria - aren't 16s fun. I am fitting back into mine and I have so many things I forgot I had. Today I am wearing my favorite Liz Clairborne sweater jacket - I was so excited to fit into it and it is a size large - not an extra large! so cool. I wish you all the best with your interview on Wed. Heather - you are so inspirational with your fitness challenge. You are amazing. I am proud of you - keep up the great work! Mo - congrats on the mediums - so very cool! Candra, Donna and Reggie - where are you? Jes - how are you doing? Pam - I think it has been great that you have been doing the gym - I bet if you keep at it you will see the weight start to move again. Hi to anyone else I forget and to some new folks I don't know.

Lee - So glad to hear how you are doing. Your attitude is terrific. Just make sure you rest - one thing I find is as I am more active the energy drain creeps up on you when you least expect it. My PCP said to be prepared for that since we are taking in so few calories (and I am guessing also because of our 'mature' age!). I am glad your pain is getting a little better. Getting all the fluids in in the beginning is a trick - I am still trying to get to my full 64 oz. of water - I just about make it but have to count my tea and jello. I guess I didn't realize how much I use to guzzle water before surgery. I am happy your son is coming next week - I sure do miss my older one! The weight loss now is so much fun - you are going to love it - I am down almost 15 lbs in 3+ weeks. Take care.

Tamra - you go girl! I looked at your before pics and I am amazed. You have done so well and you look completely different. You a beautiful and I love the pic of you and your daughter and the caption that she is your reason for doing this. My boys are my reason too - I want to be a good, fun old lady who can play with her grandchildren whenever they arrive.

Lee - so good to hear from you. Every day will be a little better I am sure and you will rest so much better now that you are home. Is your son home yet? John - let us know how you are. Tamra - try some of your favorite chicken from that place you like. Make your BBQ pork roast. CoCo - my PCP told me it was pretty common to feel tired given the low calorie diet we are on. She said you just have to pace yourself and recognize you won't have the same energy all the time. I am doing well - still walking about 1 hour a day. I am getting a little more hungry now that I have been on Stage 3 for a week. Here is my food B - 1/2 c ff yogurt w/ 1/4 c unsweetened applesauce (I know I had too much) L - 1/2 c tuna salad made with FF mayo D - 1/2 c of moroccan chicken with a little spinach pureed(the Moroccan chicken recipe I tried is really good - you make it in the crock pot - it has carrots, cauliflower, tomatoes, raisins, lentils and lots of spices like cumin, ginger, cinnamon, tumeric and it makes a good sauce - you serve it with couscous.) - cheat while cleanning the kitchen - a small piece of havariti dill cheese (I chewed it really well).

John - you are too much! Sounds like you are in a good frame of mind for tomorrow. Wishing you all positive thoughts and prayers. Lee - you have done so great. I know you said your son would be home later, so I hope you have someone to stay with you for tomorrow. We are all routing for you. You have my most positive thoughts and prayers. Tamra - way to go - glad you went for a walk. I didn't today - was just tired and down. Tomorrow will be better. CoCo - how are you doing? Riley - so glad you are back and OK. V-Day sounds like it was a blast - so happy for you. OK with the updates some of you sent here is our group's new number: We have lost 917.8 lbs as a group! We are awesome - we can hit Half a Ton in no time!

Hey everyone - I thought it would be fun to see how much weight we have all lost as a group. So I went through the last few pages and picked up the amounts lost from your tickers. I came up with 816.3 lbs. How cool it that? We Rock! So let me know if any of these numbers are off or if I forgot someone. Ali - 12 Analynn - 11 Ash - ? Candra - 51.7 Donna - 55 Heather - 42.3 Jes - 33.6 John - ? Laurel - 15 Lee - 21 Maria - 48 Monique - 21.3 Nicole - 85.3 Nicolie - 48 Pam - 66 Pat - 51 Reggie - 59 Riley - 110+ (can't find her last post) Tamra - 46.1 Tina - 50

Lee and John - you are through the worst of it until after tomorrow. John, I don't care what you say about cherry - MoM is vile stuff! Thinking positive thoughts for you guys. I can't come to the Richmond meeting tomorrow as it is the last class for the Emotional Eating class. I hope to see Riley there and find out whats up with her. You vets probably already knew this, but I made tuna salad yesterday and was reading the can. My 1/2 cup had 28g of protein and no fat. Pretty good food! I had salmon mixed with a little brocolli and thinned lite alfredo sauce - yum yum. My whole day ended up being 54g of protein which is almost a normal amount. So I am doing OK in the hunger category. Best news of all - I am down 14 lbs in 3 weeks since surgery! My 50% goal is really in sight - 7 more lbs - hope to be there by 3/3 when I see Dr. Park. Tamra - keep at it - keep trying to up your protein. I am also pretty much at 1/2 c for most meals - I only did the 1/4 and 1/3 for a few days. Donna - I am so with you on spring in NorCal! Sunny days are so great. I did 78 mins of exercise yesterday - 55 walking, 10 weights and 13 exercise bike! Jes - Valentine's Day the movie was cute - a little predictable, but fine. Lots of people in - lots of cute people, especially the guys! Ash - my hats off to you. You are amazing and in my thoughts.

Hi Everyone Nicole - you are doing so great. I am happy for you. Glad you are feeling full. Hunger started to hit me on the Monday after surgery, which is when I switched to higher protein soups. Watch your energy - sometimes you hit the wall real fast I've found. Oh, BTW - Robin yelled at me for eating the Black Bean soup because she said the hulls can get stuck. I told her I pureed it really well and it was perfectly smooth. John - I get the Progresso Black Bean soup flavored with Bacon - yum! Lee - cool on finding the smaller clothes. I am still going through my 16s - that was the size I was in the longest so I have alot of them. It is fun because I forgot some of the stuff I had. My favorites, however, are my 12s - I was only in them for less than a year but I got some really cute things - can't wait until I get back there. I am kinda hoping to be in the 14s by by birthday in April! I am thinking positive thoughts for you - it is probably good you are busy with work - I was too before I went out and it keeps your mind occupied. I didn't get too worked up until later in the day before my surgery. Tamra - go girl - you are doing great - just keep your focus like you've done before. I am proud of you. We are going to rock this thing! My husband and I are going to see the movie Valentine's Day today. And I have to tell you what my son did with his girl friend yesterday - it was so sweet. He planned a picnic at one of the remote parks in Petaluma - has lots of hills and nice views. He brought sparkling cider, wine glasses, french bread and cheese and some of his valentine chocolates that I gave him. He had planned to borrow my laptop so they could watch Titanic on it so he would have a no cost V-day, but didn't know the password on (it is my laptop from work). So then they decided to go to In and Out Burger for dinner and he took her to see the movie Valentine's Day. Pretty good for a 16 year! OK I am off to work out and do my walk - it is a beautiful sunny day.

Tamra - WOW you hit the jack pot! Keep him! My hubby is also getting us tickets to a concert that I wanted to go to in March and he wrote me a really sweet card telling me how proud he was of me.

Tamra - no don't try the steak - it will be too thick. Go back to getting the meats that you like. Since we can eat so little make sure it is something you really like. I'm surprised you didn't like the chicken with gravy. I love it - I used the real thick Heinz jar gravy - it tastes like Thanksgiving! Did your BF get you a valentine? I got a John Mayer CD - it is really great - the one he won the grammy for.

Hi Everyone - Happy Heart Day! I made heuvos for everyone for brunch - torrillas, bacon flavored black beans, avocado, scrambled eggs with onions and peppers, salsa, lite sour cream, cheese. They looked good - I had egg salad! Also made heart shaped brownies and blondies for my son and husband. So Tamra - what is this thing with cooking???? One of my sisters is visiting from New Mexico and we met my other sister that lives here up North outside of Guernville at the redwood forest - Armstrong Wood State Park. We walked for almost an hour - it was beautiful - moss growing on everything and the creek was really running fast. CoCo - yes isn't being able to get in your own bed great? My port is doing a little better now that I am close to 3 weeks. I don't need to sleep with a pillow to lean on - I can even sleep on my side - and Candra you will approve - can have s_x being on the bottom comfortably! I know TMI! Mo and Jes - yum on your V-Day dinners! I wish.... Pammie - awesome work girl! it must feel good. Tamra - hang in. I know it is hard. Go back to making pork roasts with BBQ if you like that and puree that up with a little veggie so you get some fiber. I added 2 tbsp of brocolli to my chicken last night and to the salmon I had tonight (mixed with lite alfredo sauce - very yummy!) Lee and John - how are you doin'? Heather - keep walking a little and stretching to help the soreness. You go girl! So proud of you. Riley - miss you! Reggie - where are you also? everything ok? Tina, Donna, Maria, Ashley- hope you are well and had a good day.

Heather - I am so sorry you had a rough start to the challenge, it did sound disorganized and the trainer sounded rude! But I am SOOOOO PROUD of you for sticking with it and doing the whole 5K. WOO HOO, girl! You are going to rock this thing - and get banded this year! Tamra - I agree you have made a lot of changes and most of all you keep at it. Go girl. 1 hour on the treadmill - WOW! Candra - sorry you are feeling down. Here's my V-Day suggestion: I got my husband a kit the is called "Want to Play Doctor?" LMAO Nicolie - OK spill the beans for us virgins - what do you do when something gets stuck? My chest has been tight the last two nights after dinner and then drinking a hour later. Oh hey - I was down more today - 207 so I am at 49lbs down - way cool!

Candra - woo hoo on the popcorn! Rambo sounds like he is working! The mirror is tricky - glad you are starting to see things differently. At the Emotional Eating class this week the whole session was on body image - there is so much that goes into it. Anyway, you are a beautiful woman, so glad you are starting to see it. Today has been hard energy wise. I have just been really tired and a little down. I did push myself to go to the garage and did 12mins on the exercise bike and 53 mins on the treadmill while I watched Oprah. Tamra - did you try Craigslist for a sofa? BTW - I wouldn't have believed it could happen to me, but I'm cooking like you too! (My husband doesn't work so he does the cooking). So far I've made meatloaf and twice baked potatoes, sundried tomatoes & parmesian stuffed chicken breasts with penne gratin (like homemade macaroni and cheese), pablano and green pepper tacos with homemade spanish rice. Sunday I am doing a marocian chicken crock pot recipe and couscous!