AngelaT

Yes small meals starting right now!!! You could be stretching your pouch and could have a slipped band if not careful. big meals are a no-no. several little meals are ok I eat 5 a day. about 200 cals each. please be caeful!

OMG Tom you are too much!!:faint: Does your son roll his eyes with your jokes? You are funny!

I hit my next goal...i have lost 40 lbs!!!! For some reason yesterday I was really resttricted...it is so confusing...a few days ago i could eat anything...then stuck :girl_hug: then loose, then again stuck :girl_hug: then loose...OK so I decided to have a fill in April after mmy son's wedding instead of end of march...maybe it is best since i keep getting these restrictions out of the blue! I will make sure it is under fluoro to make sure band placement is ok.

Wow Tom..you have lost 50 lbs since the band?? lots more pre-op? WOW!!!!!!!!:clap2: :clap2: :clap2: awesome!! Men lose weight so much faster than us women...that has always been the case...sigh.... but I am soooooo happy for you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

MArni, Too bad I will be in Paris when you go to Napa, otherwise we could have met! I suggest you wait for a fill or you can ruin your trip if it is too much! You need to be able to enjoy. Remeber I have told you you need to vary your calories so you can lose weight or your body thinks it is starving and retains fat. Thsi is a good time to increase them a bit and anjoy! Just today after having what I thought overindulged recently i got on the scale and I am down to 187!! And that is with my T.O.M.! :clap2:

i agree it is a lifestyle change. I am glad I already had the good food down...i am trying to work on the portion control and eevnthough i am not filled...I have done mostly well with portion sizes. I will always continue to eat 4-5 times a day to keep my metabolism up and to not allow for those drops in sugar levels that make you soooo hungry... so far it has worked.. betsyjane..I averaged out my weight also since I have been slow lately and it is still about 2lbs a week so I guess I am good...feel a bit better about having stalled for a while...

I do portion control and calorie watch on www.sparkpeople.com I will be really good 5 days a week and splurge some the other 2 days. I also eat between meals. I will need a fill when I return from my trip...I am eating more like i used to now!!! Help! I try to be good, but I am food searching and do not feel that satisfied feeling much anymore.

Cheese in moderation is OK! There is also low fat cheese and fat free cheeses...cottage, fresh mozarella, etc. Goat cheese is also lower in fat. We can on occassion indulge, but with the band waht would have been a full portion now bexomes three portions! especially with restaurant portions...huge!

I am so glad fill day is here for you!! Now you need to remember the rules..chew, chew, chew and notice how every bit of food goes down so tat if it feels like it is stuck you do not eat it again...or chew it VERY well. Talk soon!

Glad you are back! I try when I am at home, but at work it is different becasue my pager can go off any minute or I'll have to ruch down to the ER and so mindful eating is not very practical. :hungry:

Where is Betsy jane?:nervous

maybe later you will feel different... It is hard for a while...I know...i have had more than my share of heartbreak...but Love is worth it. With each relationship one learns many lessons, and we grow and evolve. I am still not giving up on finding that specail someone who I will be with for the rest of my life. I ahve had a couple of close calls... maybe the next one... what can i say...i a, a romantic...

Hi Tom, I do know the concepts you are talking about anf I use them...I do drink the water first, I try to eat a little spicy and with LOTS of flavor, and in the past I have tried the sex thing...it is a great diet! But the problem is to find that someone you love to make sure they can help you succeed :faint: Th V8 I do not do...little bang for the amount of sodium it has and the true amount of nutrition low. Get a juicer and make your own veggie juice and add hot sauce and it is so much better! So Tom are you going out yet trying to meet nice ladies? I think you are ready!!! Go steal a heart !:bandit

MArni, Have you looked at how I eat? No fill and yet I lose. If I slow down too much then I start to eat more healthy calories...I go from 1000 to 1200 or 1400 and keep my body guessing. You will not lose much weight if your body goes into starvation mode...you will gain instead or simply not lose! You need to have more calories, especially in the mornings!

Hi MArni! I wasn't the one to ask Tom to pose in a thing! hmmmm... who was that? he he... I want a pic with full clothing!! :biggrin1:

Yes, it is OK to snack..healthy snacks and preferably protein. eat two snacks one in the morning and one in the afternoon and make sure you are eating plenty of protein so you are not so hungry. eating more than 3 times a day keeps your metabolism up. I do and have lost weight without a fill at all. No JUNK food. Also add a few extra veggies at lunch and dinner to help fill you.

No! NO!...not nothing at all :faint: I meant regular clothes!!!

Eat slowly enough so that it takes about 30 minutes to finish a small meal. I bought baby spoons and forks and use them most of the time... it helps to slow me down and to take little bites.

You are so right Betsy Jane...that is a technique I learned from Buddhist monks at a retreat. It is called mindful eating and can be done with almost evrything...washing dishes, walking, knitting...anything. Being more aware of ourselves and our surroundings is a type of meditation which helps us appreciate evrything we do and anything around us. It helps anxiety and a too busy mind.

HE he Tom..it is so good to have you back...you have disappeared for days at a time lately...well I guess I have done that also. Your perspective on things is really great. I am looking forward to A fill when I return from Paris... I want to be much closer to goal at my son's wedding in April 21. Karen I know you will do great after your fill.... :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: All of you are great!! keep doing the good work...even if it is slow, it is working... Tom-post pictures please...we want to see you...and your progress....but please no thong!

MArni, You are NOT sup[posed to feel full...just satisfied. Also you might NOt be eating enough...up your calories for a few days and then go back down a bit and eat lots of protein...your body is probaly thinking it is starving if you do not eat between 800 and 1200 cals a day sometimes 800 others 1200 or 1000 but vary. Also do eat evry 3 hours or so at least 4 meals a day...good food No junk. I have had NO fills and I eat that way and have lost around 38lbs doing this.

Dr. C it looks great!! If you were in Calif. i would ask you for a job! Do you know Dr Cirangle or Jossart here in SFO? Congratulations on your site!

Good luck...I think you made the right decision...you DESERVE to be treated with love and respect. BIG step to not take emotional abuse any longer. You are a wonderful human being... go get that surgery. You will also find that not being in a Toxic relationship will change the way you feel about food...

i am so glad you watched it!!

Please watch The Secret...it will change your life. By using the principles in the Secret which I did and still do since many years ago...before the movie or book came out, I changed my life. I reversed my multiple sclerosis which had me not being able to walk or have a normal life. I fell into the VICTIM mode and it made things much worse. I can tell you that when you change your mind and the way you feel and think about things your health, your outlook and everything in your life will change!!! The Law of Attraction is real...if you think of illness you attract illness, if you think as a victim you will be a victim, if you think you are not loved or wanted, that will be true. But if you think you are healthy, happy and loved...then will be those. You will also be able to work, and enjoy life in a way you will not believe right now. At 29 you have a life time ahead of you to make it the best it can be. I never asked for a hand out...as I knew anyway it would not happen... I managed to make it with the help of positive thinking and working on my emotional issues and changing my life in Mind, body and Spirit. I am now healthy, work full time, have several degrees, have traveled the world and enjoy and VALUE my life. My work is to help others achieve what I have...and I know you can do it! Sometimes it hurts when people tell you truths...but just as an alcoholic...when you are told oh poor you and you are right and oh my you sad person you, then me o my...you are getting attention of the worst kind...that of a victim. Victims remain such until they get out of that mode and into one of power. Good luck! No matter where you go, you will find that people will call you on it until you learn and change. Such is life.