LeighaMason

Astra's-- Your right that is the most extreme diet I have ever seen to lose the last 8! I hate that you feel so bad, my good friend had a heart transplant 10 years ago and when he isn't doing well it really drains him. I don't know enough about your situation to give any advice but I wish you the wisdom to make the right choices.

Or you could just give yourself permission to lose at the rate you are and be satisfied with that. Like Bob said 82 pounds a year, there is nothing wrong with that. This band journey can be anything you want it to be, if you want to not exercise and lose some thats cool or you can work out 2 hours a day, every day, like some people do and lose it all as soon as possible. Exercising helps but it doesn't make you any better or worse than anyone else. Find your own way and be happy with it. :smile2:

My Dr said he was waiting for the band to "settle" in place and let the stitches that he put in my stomach heal before he started filling my band. He thinks it helps keep the band from slipping in the future. I do understand the frustration to get started, its like "Here is your brand new car! Come back in 6 weeks and we will give you some gas so you can ride in it."

I found a really cool web site. They rank foods by how nutrient dense they are per calorie and then put them on a list in order of "healthiness" (is that a word?) I see a lot of posts that ask what to eat, what is healthy, etc. I found the information really helpful plus there are recipes! Here is how it describes itself: The George Mateljan Foundation, a not-for-profit foundation with no commercial interests, is a new force for change to help make a healthier you and a healthier world. I have found some interesting things on there, the first being quinoa. I cooked it last night and it is wonderful! Like a cross between rice and oatmeal. The next thing I am going to try is flaxseed, there are studies that show flaxseed helps with inflammation and I have feet problems so we will see if that helps. Here is the site. The World's Healthiest Foods

I am down 1 pound.

Today marks the half way point of my cross training. I have improved my ability to do push ups, sit ups, and squats. I could barely do 10 when I started and now I am doing 100. But my running has not improved, I am a little disappointed by that. I am considering hiring a running coach for a few pointers. Here is what I was suppose to do: Run/Walk with a purpose for 40 minutes, with 5 push ups every 5 minutes. Rode my bike to the park. .97 mi Ran 5 min, 6 times 30 min 2.24 mi 30 push ups. Rode home I guess I didn't pay attention and see the 40 min time that I was suppose to do. :mad: Or I "conveniently" missed it and only worked for 30 min. OK now its update time. I took measurements when I started and on Sunday. Weight from:138 to:134 Neck from:13 to:13 Shoulders from:37 3/4 to:37 1/2 Chest from:37 to:36 3/4 Biceps from:11 3/4 to:11 1/2 Forearms from:9 1/2 to:9 1/2 Hips from:37 to:36 1/2 Belly from:36 1/4 to:35 1/2 Waist from:29 to:28 1/2 Thighs from:21 1/2 to:21 1/4 Calves from:14 3/4 to:14 3/4 So the big "loser" is a tie of 1/2 inch off the belly, hips and waist. I will take measurements again at the end.

My husband was listening to a radio show that was talking about flaxseed having anti-inflammatory properties and I found this really cool web site, http://whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=81 that talks about the benefits of different foods. I have high arches which is why I have foot problems because they become sore from inflammation to the tendon so I am going to try eating flaxseed on a daily basis and see if this helps. I'm not sure what type of foot problems you have but I thought I would pass this on.

When I started the Couch to 5K program, I was suppose to work out on certain days, afterward I found that I made excuses not to work out so now I am back on a cross training program and I am scheduled to work out on Friday, Sunday and Tuesday. I get up early to do it and I cant put it off because it messes up my schedule. In my mind its Tuesday so I have to work out because it is written on a schedule. Very OCD but effective for me. :cursing:

I eat Chobani Greek yogurt just about everyday, when I am deciding if a snack is good, I look to see that it has at least 1g of Protein for every 10 calories, so the Greek yogurt has 14g of protein for 140 calories. I also eat lots of tuna for lunch. Sometimes I cook an egg over easy and have it on half a whole wheat bagel thin. Yesterday, I cooked quinoa for the first time, it was like a nutty cross between rice and oatmeal. I could see adding a few raisins to it and having it for breakfast. Or even cutting up a bit of apple and adding Cinnamon. It is really healthy for you. I try and eat most things that are 1 ingredient. I eat most of my meats grilled with just some spices on them and I cut up veggies and sauté them in a pan with a little olive oil. I found a neat web site last night, they rank foods by how many nutrients you get for the calorie exchange and list the ones that are the best for you. (Its run by a non profit and has no commercial ties) WHFoods: The World's Healthiest Foods 95% of what is at the grocery store is bad for you. Other than the produce, dairy and meat sections you could fit what I buy on a 10 foot section of shelves. Here is a typical shopping list. Tuna, sardines, beef, pork, chicken, turkey, fish, milk, eggs, cheese, bacon (which isn't good for you but I love it so much!), Greek yogurt, EAS carbadvantage Protein drinks, zucchini, squash, corn on the cob, onions, bell peppers, potatoes, bananas, carrots, lettuce, fresh spinach, cottage cheese, sour cream, salsa, coffee!, rice, quinoa, bagel thins, 100% whole wheat bread and Pasta. I hope this helps.

Well I guess I am going to schedule a trip to Dallas to loosen my band, my last fill was in April but the Stomach Nazi has proceeded to get tighter and tighter to the point I am having to eat extremely slow. I need to eat 1200 calories the day before I work out and it took almost 2 hours to do that Thursday night and last night I just gave up and quit eating. But I am thinking just a .1 or .2 will do. Its official I have to stay at this size. My aunt send me 27 pairs of jeans that fit me. (1 was too small, 2 were not attractive on me and 13 pair were too big so I gave them to my sister) She is sending tops next week. She loves to shop and buys really great brands so they are all nice and practically brand new. I have never owned this many clothes in my life. I could go a month without washing clothes. :cursing:

If your band slips you can not keep anything down including liquid so you would be throwing up everything. You are in bandster hell, you have a band but no restriction, like a car with no gas. If you are 3 weeks out you should be close to regular food, just keep reminding yourself you can do anything for a week! Only a few days left! Then you will start getting fills soon and it will all get better, I promise. Go to the forums and read the posts from other successful bander's and take information from them and ignore the rest! You can do it!

Try the EAS carbadvantage shakes, 110 calories, 17 protein, 2 net carbs. Or the Carnation instant breakfast, sugar free mixed with low fat milk. (You should clear these with you Dr first)

I wish there was a big announcement on the front page of this web site that said: "Bander's should expect to lose 1-2 pounds a week" If you are 4 1/2 weeks out and have lost 12 pounds that is 2.66 pounds a week which means you are doing much better than average. Keep up the good work!

If you don't get the fill the worst case scenario is it takes you an extra 3 weeks to get to goal. If you get the fill and become too tight after you leave you could be on liquids during your vacation. I would wait until I got back.

I was worried that this would be a $10K failed diet, but barring medical problems, you will get out of it what you put in. So if you eat right and exercise you will do well.

Its in Tyler, TX on 10/10/10. Tyler area grows the majority of the rose bushes that are sold in America's garden centers so we are called the Rose Capital of the World. Here is the link :Home - Tyler Rose Marathon

The good news is that this is a diet with an end! I have also found that what I want to eat is different than it was when I started. I hope you find the same thing.

Your right Zen, there are all these horrible complications, such as: My knees knock together at night because my thighs are no longer fat enough to hold them apart! My butt bone hurts if I sit in an unpadded chair! I am forced to buy everything that I take into the dressing room because they are so cute on me! I have all this extra energy that I have to find something to do with so I actually find myself cleaning house! My husband absolutely will not leave me alone, if I am within arm range he grabs me and tries to take my clothes off! Beware all of all these and the many others that I didn't want to scare you with.

Throwing up can be caused by eating too fast, taking too large of bites, not chewing enough or just plain being too tight. So if you are sure that you are not doing any of the first three wrong, your probably too tight. My band has gotten tighter over the last few weeks and I am going to have some Fluid removed next week. I know I am too tight because I can only eat a very small amount of food at a time and then I have to wait for it to go through and eat again later. I need to eat enough to exercise properly and it is taking me a hour to an hour and a half at night to eat enough.

I have gone from a size 16 to a size 4 in 10 months. People ask me what I am doing to lose weight every day. I think it would be very unfair to let them think I could be on a 800-1000 calorie diet long term without the help from the band. That would give them the impression that something was wrong with them if I could do it and they couldn't. I always say "I had lap band surgery last year" if they are interested they will ask questions, if not, they will change the subject. But I would not feel comfortable withholding information that I have, if someone else could use it to improve their own life, if they want to. That being said I am very careful not to try and "convert" others. It is very easy for me to be like a reformed smoker! I also find that thin or average people are much less threatened by my surgery and ask the most questions and larger people (in general) have the most off base comments. I was getting my hair done this week and the lady who does it for me was asking me questions about what I eat (she has always been thin) I told her what I was going to eat that day which was a non workout day so it was about 800 calories. The lady who works in the booth next to her was listening and said "Well! I eat less than that everyday so the lap band wont help me!" Picked up her purse and stormed out taking her large McDonald's Frappé Mocha with her.

Today was really great! Here is what I was suppose to do: 25, 15, 10, 5 reps of push ups and sit ups, with a 2 minute run/walk with a purpose between each round. It usually says to do as many as possible for 30 min but it didn't say that this time but it only took 15 min to do so I did it twice. So I rode my bike to the park .97 mi. Did a total of 110 Push ups 110 sit ups Ran 16 min. for 1.38 miles And rode home That is an average of 11:38 min per mile so I am improving there. I signed up for a half marathon on 10/10/10 so I have to get serious about my running. This program will be over 9/14 so then I will just practice running until after the half and then sign up for the intermediate cross training. Sunday will be hump day for this program and I am going to take my measurements and record them on my blog. See y'all then!

Giving up = staying obese. Having the courage to keep looking for a solution no matter where the solution lies, can never be called giving up.

Stop by walmart and buy a small recorder like you see reporters using, when he walks in take it out of your purse, turn it on and say in the sweetest voice " I hope you don't mind if I record our conversation, I want to make sure I remember each and every thing you tell me" (Practice saying this outloud so you will be ready to say it to him.) He will be on his best behavior, guaranteed.

Muralax-- Flavorless, odorless, tasteless, mix with whatever you happen to be drinking and you will be 100% better by this time tomorrow. Go ahead and get the big bottle, I use it on a regular basis now (no pun intended:biggrin:)

I got my cut and colored yesterday, mine is fine and thin and getting thinner so I had to go shorter to keep away from the wet dog look.