Betsyjane

As long as sshe's willing, and can own the changes instead of crediting them to you.... Hey, I like your exercise ticker. I'm going to go start one.....

Stevia is also in most grocery chains now in the health food section. The deal is that it isn't an FDA deal so it can't be approved as a sweetener, so sometimes it is in with sugars and sometimes with supplements. You can also buy stevia plants at many of the national seed houses and grow your own. As far as I'm concenred, it's the only artificial sweetener I've used that doesn't raise my blood sugar and give me gas!

Be careful with artificial sweeteners. They raise blood sugar just like regular sugar does. You save the calories, but with the blood sugar bounces, the sugar cravings are profound. Better to shoot for getting the palate away from the taste of sweets of any kind.

Pouch dilation is when your little upper stomach gets too full repeatedly and the pouch stretches. Then you feel like you can eat way too much...because you have a bigger stomach to fill. It most often happens if you have too much restriction and try to live long term with an overfill so even correct amounts of food don't go through quickly enough and stretch the pouch while you wait. Vikki-I'd sure want to go over all of this with your Dr.....

On the other hand, I panicked for the last time coming out of surgery. Haven't looked back since. I hated going through bandster hell until I got restriction, but my doubts were gone....

I guess it's pretty individual, but ideally, you'd only want to be restricted enough to eat small meals, not just mushies that might not keep you feeling full long enough. And not so restricted that you PB or feel pain when eating small meals.... The other issue would be being so restricted that food can't get through quickly enough and causes pouch dilation. Of course I recently met someone at goal weight who only drinks his meals....he says food is too big a hassle. His doctor gets after him, but he's not going to change, and is happy. Eats lots of blended soups. I just read something about artificial sweeteners giving people gas and other severe GI syptoms.....I'm going to cut ine out and see if it makes a difference.....

Grieving saying goodbye to an old friend.

When I'm not doing something utterly stupid, here's my food plan.... Breakfast (I am usually VERY restricted): EAS Carb Control Protein shake, ice, chewable Vitamin, chewable Calcium, frozen fuit, fresh fruit, extra whey protein (Any Whey), in a blender. I sometimes drink at once, sometimes sip most of the morning. Then Water until lunch. I don't do Crystal Light, but sometimes I put a splash of fruit juice in my water. Snack: Usually none. If I NEEED one, I have a 100 calorie carb control Protein Bar, or around 8 nuts. Nuts fill me up fast. Lunch: meat and vege. Could be canned tuna and chopped fresh veges....Could be ground beef and grilled veges....anything. Wait an hour and then water until dinner. Snack: Green salad with a tiny bit of really yummy dressing. Dinner: Same as lunch. If I'm out for lunch or dinner, I give myself the treat of ordering absolutely anything and just doing portion control. At home, I'm stricter about only healthy foods. After dinner: water. sugar free popsicle. I count up my protein and if I'm short, I have part or all of another Protein Shake. The EAS Carb Control ones are only 110 calories.....

Marni-Do you get the barium swallow when you get a fill? You might want to check and see if you have a dilated pouch. Mine was, and I would go from too tight not to PB...to hungry enough to eat a horse. It can happen if you ar edealing with a too tight band so that food, or even liquid, takes too long to go through and your pouch dilates to accommodate the food waiting to go through. For me, the answer was to go on liquids for 3 days and let the pouch reduce in size, and then to drink more slowly in the morning when I'm really tight....so tha tI lost some weight and loosened the band by losing some stomach fat. For others, the answer is a slight unfill...or a complete unfill and let the pouch rest a few eeks. All I can tell you is that the symptoms for me were feeling too tight and also feeling like I wasn't full and was hungry. Now I'm back on track, and my only hunger pains are head hunger from missing having food when I'm bored! You might also want to think about carb intake. For me, when I eat carbs, I don't lose weight. Just a thought. Now that I'm cruising again, I have my morning shake for breakfast, meat and veges for lunch, and meat and veges for dinner. Snacks are nuts or a 100 calorie low carb Protein bar or a green salad. I don't do "wet and dry" foods like soups because they go through too fast and don't allow me to feel full.

Lana-Did you go/are you going to Tai Chi?

Yeah, and I get the vicarious pleasure of knowing someone who got one of the first I-phones.

Woo hoo! You can't keep a good woman down!

Welcome to Bandster Hell. Until you get one or more fills so you have restriction, you are actually living as if you have no band! Don't kick yourself. Most of us have been there. It's totally normal. Take this time to study study study the bandster lifestyle and practice it when you can. You lived with weight a long time. Bandster Hell lasts only a short time.

I've been buying long and short sleeve Super T-shirts from Lands End. They are nicely made, and you can dress up the long sleeve ones. So far, I've gone through 4 sizes of them, and still going down. At $12 each, I just keep replenishing the wardrobe until I hit goal weight and am reqdy to do some serious shopping.

Oh, and I got the little skirt to go over it. I think it helps a bunch!

Try landsend.com They do suits for different figure problems. I don't remember which one I bought, but it had shirring to one side and a built in bra...in a dark cobalt blue. Good luck! We are a definite figure challenge!

Congrats! Need any help moving? We missed you.

Dear "baby": Welcome to the club. You are now in what's know as BANDSTER HELL. You want to act like a bandster, but without restriction, you are about the same as you were before surgery! We've been there! It's just awful. Here are my suggestions: 1. Don't beat yourself up. IF you could have done it without restriction, you wouldn't have needed the band. 2. Everytime you stay on your diet, you are being a superhuman. Everytime you cheat, you are being human. 3. This is the time to pretend to be a bandster and practice using small plates, saying thin things, doing bandster behaviors. Kind of a fake it til you make it thing for practice. Read a lot on this site and take time to educate yourself. 4. Remember that bandster hell is sooo much sharter than all the years you were in weight gain hell. You have started the journey and you are close to getting to really be a bandster. 5. See if they will do your fill 3 weeks after surgery instead..... 6. Congratulate yourself every day for sticking with the post op diet. Did you even know you were capable of such an extraordinary feat? 7. It's a good time to start to figure out the role that food played in your life. For me, food kept me drugged enough to watch TV at night. I don't do that anymore, and I don't think about food at night as a consequence. I used food when I was bored, so I've gotten some new hobbies...like exercise. 8. Mostly, just know that it's short term and that if you have to sleep through it to get through it, do whatever you need to.....

:hungry:I thought we might be able to share some ideas. Right now, this is what I'm most comfortable with in a day.... Breakfast (I am usually VERY restricted): EAS Carb Control Protein shake, ice, chewable Vitamin, chewable Calcium, frozen fuit, fresh fruit, extra whey protein (Any Whey), in a blender. I sometimes drink at once, sometimes sip most of the morning. Then Water until lunch. I don't do Crystal Light, but sometimes I put a splash of fruit juice in my water. Snack: Usually none. If I NEEED one, I have a 100 calorie carb control Protein Bar, or around 8 nuts. Nuts fill me up fast. Lunch: meat and vege. Could be canned tuna and chopped fresh veges....Could be ground beef and grilled veges....anything. Then water until dinner. Snack: Green salad with a tiny bit of really yummy dressing. Dinner: Same as lunch. If I'm out for lunch or dinner, I give myself the treat of ordering absolutely anything and just doing portion control. At home, I'm stricter about only healthy foods. After dinner: water. sugar free popsicle. I count up my protein and if I'm short, I have part or all of another Protein Shake. The EAS Carb Control ones are only 110 calories.....

Anybody want to join me? I want to go find out about the Lifestyle Lift? I'm tired of my jowls and neck...... If not, I'll report back....

You knoe, those half hour Tony Horton tapes really are helpful. This morning, the dogs decided to get up at 5, and I can't get back to sleep after they get up...so I usually vege out and watch TV for half an hour while I try to wake up. This morning it was Star Trek....and the woman who gave Spock an illness that gave him uncontrolled emotions. I know. My life is exciting. Anyway, I put Tony Horton in the portable DVD with the sound off, continued to watch Star Trek, and did a half hour stretching workout. Great way to start the day, and I didn't miss watching the Enterprise go backwards in time.

Now seems to be the time to start. A new Tai Chi class just stared last week. Since it starts from scratch, we can all build up our skills together. See everyone tonight. I may look scary. I'll be coming directly from the gym.

I'm with you, Jo Anne. I'm 8 months out, and for every day that I stay the same or lose weight now, it's a day that I would have gained weight before. I stopped telling people about it,though, unless I had the time and inclination to educate them. I think mostly people are just uneducated about morbid obesity and the lap band. There's so much on TV about "diet and exercise" or you're just lazy. We know better.

Yeah, I don't know anyone who has had hair loss that hasn't grown back....

Lana, how was Tai Chi? Jade Palace it is!