Twinkles

I'm a 1/2 cupper, been banded for 11 months. I still, faithfully, measure my meals with my little half cups and I'm full at a half cup. I do supplement with a 4oz Protein drink mid morning and a 4oz Protein Drink mid afternoon. Total calories are around 800 per day. Almost a year out, I've had no issue with nutrition. I go get my blood tested every 8 weeks, again, no issues. Bottom line, you have to do what works for you. Honestly, I could not even imagine eating 1000-1200 calories a day. I run 3-4 miles a day, 6 days a week. I take my Vitamins faithfully. Again, no issues. Not saying it will work for everyone, just like trying to eat 1000 calories won't work for everyone. None of our bodies are the same and none of us will respond the same way to the band and the diets we chose. Good luck!

I started off taking the Bariatric Advantage ones and they really do not taste very good. At a support group meeting a few months ago, they had a speaker from a company called Celebrate. They sell bariatric Vitamins. We all got samples and they taste SO MUCH BETTER. I tossed all my BA vitamins out and ordered the Celebrate ones. You can go to their website and get samples. Give them a try. I take the Calcium Plus 500, the Multi-AGB and the B-12. http://www.celebratevitamins.com/component/chronocontact/?chronoformname=sample

My goal weight is a moving figure. For me it depends on how I feel when I get there. I "imagine" it will be around 150, but honestly, right now I weight 169 and I have people all the time, jaws dropping, when I say I want to lose another 20 pounds because I honestly have no idea where in the world this weight will come from and apparently neither does my body because I haven't lost a pound in about 6 weeks. So, my opinion... Set small "goal" weights. Don't focus on the big final number, focus instead on how you look and feel and let it come to you when you get there.

I didn't do the "light" before surgery and after surgery I drank (and still do) a protein drink formulated for bariatric patients. Nestle's Optisource Bariatric Drink. I love it because honestly, I could barely stomach any other kind. It I wasn't to drink that one, I probably would more than likely drink a regular one.

LOL - Thanks... Happy to answer any questions I can. Yes, I work full time, at a desk, no physical job. I do Protein Shakes randomly, not as much as I used to. I've had 3 fills and I'm right around 5 cc's, I believe. Do I diet? No, I HATE the D word with a passion. Have I made changes? Absolutely, but they are lifestyle changes that have made my band all that much more successful. I've cut out breads, pastas, etc. Sometimes, if I'm really craving something, yeah, I will have it because I'm not DIETING. Dieting is the big ass mean elephant in the room for me. If I'm dieting, I'm doing without and if I'm doing without, well then, that is what I want most. So, do I ever cheat? I'm not "dieting" so there is nothing to cheat on. If I want a bite of ice cream, I take a bite of ice cream, BUT and this is a big big BUT, I do have the will power to LIMIT it. I don't need it, it's a want, I can live without the want, but I'm the type of person that if I don't let myself have something when I want it, I'm going to ruin myself when I finally do snap and eat it all. So, yeah, I have the will power to limit it. My guilty pleasure at the moment. LEMONHEADS!!! BUT, I count out 10 a day and after I eat those 10, that's it, no more. If I get a craving, then I move on to something else to get my mind off of it. If I absolutely cannot, then I have a little something. Freezer pops are good for this, lol. It's a balancing act but something literally flipped when I had surgery. I don't know where or how I got all this will power regarding food from but I do. I've taken to heart that this is a TOOL one that I am lucky lucky to have and I am not going to screw this up. I can't, this is my chance. Plus, I'm terrified of complications, so I probably baby my band a lot more than some. Lastly.... I exercise my ass off. When I hit 250, not even a month after surgery, I started running, and started with a mile. I now run 3-4 miles a day, 6 times a week. I try to run at least one 5k a month. I will tell you, I would not have been this successful without all the exercise. Good luck to everyone on your journeys. It is entirely worth it, everything that you change about your life is for the better! Typical day... Get up around 6am, read in bed for about an hour. During the school year, I'm getting the kids up and ready out the door by about 8:30am. I start work anytime between 8am and 9am. Depending on how busy I am during the day, if I have the time, I get in my run at lunch, if not then I work through lunch and usually eat at my desk. I'm off around 5pm. Getting dinner ready. If I didn't get my run in earlier, then as a family, we go out and run together in the evening. Food wise... Pretty much the same for most of the day, every day. Breakfast - I will either have EggBeaters or make 1 egg, scrambled. Lunch is usually 1/2 cup of 99% FF Chili or canned chicken with Laughing Cow cheese. Dinner is whatever I cook or my husband cooks. We live in a warm client, so we do a lot of grilling. If I feel hungry during the day, I'll eat a Chobani yogurt or something similar. Lots and lots of water/Crystal Light.

I bought Turbo Fire and personally HATED it. I ended up returning it. I'm not even uncoordinated and felt that eventually my legs and arms were flailing around at such a high rate of speed I was going to end up twisted like a pretzel. IMO, she didn't explain things that well, didn't spend a lot of time on a move, you have about 10 seconds to grasp something before she was onto something else. Like I said, I'm not uncoordinated by any means, I've done years and years of aerobic type of activities and currently Zumba, but yeah, just didn't like the whole Turbo Fire thing.

Like Rachel, I started losing immediately. I think the first month, I was down 32 pounds. I was losing fast for about the first 5-6 months, losing around 80-85 pounds. I've only lost another 20 pounds in the last 4-5 months or so. It's different for everybody. Try not to judge your success on others, it will get frustrating very very quickly. Think about where YOU WERE, where YOU are NOW and where YOU want to be in the FUTURE.

Mine is definitely not spiritual or emotional by any means. But I run 4 miles a day and these keep me moving and on my toes. Completely random music, but I listen to a TON of music. Pornstar - Swollen Members Shut Up and Drive - Rihanna F*ckin Perfect - Pink Reclaim the Throne - Swollen Members Red Dragon - Swollen Members Bang Bang - Swollen Members Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana Supermassive Black Hole - Muse California Love - 2Pac California Gurls - Katy Perry shake It - Metro Station Rock Your Body - Justin Timberlake Cherub Rock - Smashing Pumpkins Brain Stew - Green Day Down - 311 In Da Club - 50 Cent Head Like a Hole - Nine Inch Nails Lose Yourself - Eminem Sabatoge - Beastie Boys Bullet with Butterfly Wings - Smashing Pumpkins Higher Ground - Red Hot Chili Peppers Killing in the Name - Rage Against the Machine Bulls on Parade - Rage Against the Machine Low - Tech N9ne Sex Type Thing - Stone Temple Pilots Demons - Tech N9ne Bleed It Out - Linkin Park Blind - Korn Bodies - Drowning Pool OPP - Naughty By Nature Numb/Encore - Jay-Z, Linkin Park Points of Authority/99 Problems - Jay-Z, Linkin Park Hot in Herre - Nelly Ride Wit Me - Nelly Country Grammar - Nelly

I agree with the above poster. Track track track. I use livestrong.com ie dailyplate... And you have to be 100% honest with yourself. If you are measuring and tracking and being honest, chances are, you may be eating more than you "think" you are. Or... another thing that is common with us, you may possibly be not getting ENOUGH calories. It is a delicate balancing act. Also, it sounds like you may be at a plateau. Change things up a bit, in your eating and working out. Instead of Zumba, 5 days a week, do something else. Start jogging if you can, not hard and fast, but enough to get your heart rate up. I started running a mile when I hit 250lbs. You can even jog 5 minutes, walk 5 minutes and alternate that for an hour. Start replacing Zumba twice a week with something else. Try changing up your eating habits if you can. Are you getting enough water? Water helps a ton!!!

My goal moves depending on how I feel and look. When I originally got surgery done, I had no clue what I wanted my goal to be other than wanting my weight to have a 1 in front of it rather than a 2. I'm 10.5 months out and have lost 106 pounds. I started at 274 and I'm currently at 169. Other than my "pooch" which will be gone when I have my tummy tuck, I have no idea where anymore weight would come from, but now that I'm close, I'm thinking I want to be down around 140-150 (I'm 5'3"). My suggestion, don't set any hard and fast goals right now. Do mini goals. 10 pounds at a time or what have you, it's a lot more rewarding, IMO. Good luck!

I consider myself a success, a great success. One thing though, I've made some SERIOUS changes in my habits and I think that has helped a ton. I was banded on 7/29/10 and weighed 274 pounds. Today I weigh 191 pounds. 83 pounds lost in almost 25 weeks! I feel so much better, I can't even tell you how good I feel because I don't think words could accurately describe it. And I look WONDERFUL IMO. I've waited so long to be able to say that about myself. I really really have. I uploaded new pics on my profile recently and have my presurgery ones up there too, the difference is just crazy. I've cut out all breads, pastas, a lot of the "white" stuff. I now run around 3 miles a day (6 days a week) and the funny thing, I LOVE RUNNING! I've made this commitment to myself and I will not fail this time. I don't think I wouldn't have been this successful if I hadn't been committed to these changes. I've recently hit my first plateau, but I'm not all too discouraged by it, I've been expecting it and I'll work through it. I baby my band, it is my tool for success. YOU CAN DO THIS.

Same here... I track everything and average about 600-700 calories per day, that is WITH 2 servings of a protein drink (total of 200 calories for both servings). My surgeon wants us around 800. So far all my levels have been fine, I went in about a week ago for a CBC. I'm getting about 80 grams of protein a day.

I'm between a gold brick and the worlds largest ball of tape. Although, if I'm being honest, I'd take that gold brick right back, lmao, if it was real.

This has been something I've struggled with for a while now. I wake up in the morning and by 9:30am, I have 1/4 cup of Egg Beaters with a slice of chopped ham. A lot of the time, by 2pm or so, I'm not hungry, at all. Like today for example. I ate at 9am, here it is almost 4:00pm and I haven't had anything else to eat. I'm not hungry at all. I've been drinking my water and I have had a 4oz Optisource Protein Drink (100 calories), so all in all, my intake has been about 165 calories today... Not good I know, but I'm not sure what else to do. Sometimes I'll eat at the 4 hour mark, regardless, but then I stress out about my pouch expanding because if I'm not hungry, then there would still be food in my pouch, right? My weight loss is good, I'm losing on average 3 pounds a week... So, if you are not hungry, do you force yourself to eat anyways?

CONGRATULATIONS!!! I recently got there as well (last week), so I know how exciting it is. I hope you get feeling better though, that doesn't sound like a 'fun' way to get to onederland, but it is a GREAT accomplishment nonetheless!

I swear by tracking calories. I also use Livestrong's Daily Plate. And I track every single thing that passes these lips. I think it contributes a lot to my success. I'm down 77 pounds since July 29th and I really feel that counting and being honest with everything I eat is a huge part of my success.

Congrats on taking the first step! It's an exciting and for many of us, an emotional journey. Wishing you the best!

I've lost what I think is quit a bit in not that much time (77 pounds and banded 7/29/10, 20 weeks out). I can tell you for me exercise is a MUST. No bones about it, I exercise like my ass is on fire and I have to to keep up this pace of weight loss. I run or get on the TreadClimber 6 days a week (3 days on, 1 day off). I've also cut out a lot of white in my diet, no breads, no Pasta, very low on the carbs and super high on the Protein. I do feel way better for it, that is for sure!

That is so AWESOME!!! Congrats! I recently hit onederland and I'm about 23 pounds from the 100 pound lost mark, another HUGE milestone I can't wait for. So glad to hear of your success!!!

Bariatric Advantage has good chewables too. I was taking the Flintstones and the nurse in my office said that ONE of the Bariatric Advantage multi's equals SIX Centrums. So, since I was taking Flinstones, I'm sure that number is a bit higher. So, I've switched, I take the Bariatric Advantage Multi's, Calcium and Chewable Iron, which I had feared would taste real bad, but it doesn't at all.

Just today, I've had that problem too. I used to click on 'View New Content' on the top right, now when I do, it is blank... Which, I'm sure there have been new posts since I logged in yesterday (and it was working).

Hi Jose! Congrats on your surgery date and good luck! It's the best decision I've ever made.

I was taking the Flintstones and didn't mind them, however, I recently bought the Bariatric Advantage "Band" kit. The multi's are actually pretty good and has a lot more Vitamins in them then the Flintstones. But all in all, I take multi vitamins, calcium, Vitamin C and Iron, all chewables.

I'm experiencing the same thing (banded 7/29/2010) I talked to my surgeon about it yesterday during my fill appt, he's sending me in for labs to check all my levels, I'm pretty sure everything there is okay and I'm getting about 80 grams of Protein a day. He told my I could start taking a Silica supplement. I haven't started it yet or even bought it. I take Bariatric Advantage Multivitamins and it has about 300 mg of Biotin in it. I've tried the Nioxin shampoo and I HATE it, it makes my hair feel dried out and like straw. So, I've given up on that. I will, however, be trying the Silica within the next few weeks.

Thanks everyone!!! I know you will all get there and be as excited as I was today. It's a wonderful feeling that I can't wait for you all to feel!!!