hah131

i did ricotta cheese with some spices, spinach, and Tomato sauce. it was actually pretty decent. i'm a vegetarian, so i can't help much with any meat ideas.

i'm 7.5 months out of surgery, and i generally average 30g of carbs per day. i read a lot of people's blogs/comments/etc saying that they can eat carbs with their meals; i can't do it and still lose. generally my carbs come from my Protein shakes, veggie Proteins - ie veggie burgers, tofu, cottage cheese, and salads/veggies. most days i'm pretty satiated. there are times when i will crave carbs for days and days and days. yesterday, after craving a Peanut Butter and jelly sandwich for over a week, i made myself a few crackers with Peanut Butter and jelly. it helped a lot. my hope is that when i reach my goal (another 30 pounds), i'll be able to integrate more healthy carbs into my diet and still be able to maintain.

i honestly don't have a lot of variation in my diet. i try to have as much as possible, but it's become very predictable. i don't eat meat except for fish, so generally my meals are either tuna, salmon, tofu, or a veggie burger with no bun and a salad. Breakfast every single day is one hard boiled egg and 1/4 cup of low fat cottage cheese. i also have one or two Protein Shakes a day. i've just gotten used to eating the same thing pretty consistently.

CheckYes, I actually emailed my nutritionist about two weeks ago b/c I was stalled at 191 for several weeks. I told him I was eating between 500-600 calories a day, and I also work out pretty hard everyday - whether it be running, zumba plus a long walk, strength training, etc. He told me to up my calories to 1000-1200 a day. I tried, but I just couldn't get there, especially because I try to keep my carbs under 40g for the day. So I tried upping it to about 850 instead. It's working. I lost 6.4 pounds last week. I am going to keep trying to stay in that range. There are some days when the thought of the Protein Shake makes me sick, but a day barely goes by that I don't have at least one, sometimes two. That's really the only way I can get in the amount of calories and Protein I need. Since we don't have a lot of protein room to move because we don't eat meat, I just keep drinking them. I'm getting really, really sick of tuna The one thing I find really helps my shakes is using .75 of a serving of PB2 in addition to the whey mix. It really helps the taste. If I'm having a higher carb day - meaning having a veggie burger (no bun) instead of fish, I won't add it, but if my carbs are really low, I will. It changes the taste dramatically.

the nutritionist at my surgeon's office said he wanted me to have at least one Protein Shake a day for the first year after surgery. typically i have one or two...i'm a vegetarian (although i've started to eat fish), so they really help me get in the Protein i need per day. they also help me up my calories a little. without them, i get about 500 a day; with them (2 of them) i get 800 instead. if you eat meat, though, you might not have near as much trouble hitting your protein goals.

I have to give you props MollyRN; you were doing so well, and i kept thinking, i have to catch up! you really pushed me!!! i'm totally down for a july 4th challenge!

lakegirl88, i was letting my food get out of control. most days i was doing between 550-650 cals a day, and then i'd let myself have days where i ate any and everything i wanted. i don't have much restriction at all, so most of the low cal days were on sheer willpower. i emailed my nutritionist, and he told me to up my cals on the low cal days to 1000-1200. while i haven't done that b/c i can't get in that many without upping my carbs more than i want, i have upped my calories to about 830-900 a day. i keep my carbs below 40g per day too. that has really seemed to work. i'm an exercise fiend too, so that's definitely helped. i do zumba two days a week and make sure i also take the dogs for a 50 min walk those days. i also run several days a week and do whatever else i can come up with. i exercise every single day. i wish i could lose just changing my food habits, but i can't. that's what i've been doing. let's hope i can keep it up!

finally got my butt in gear this week and dropped 6.4 pounds. bout time!

just putting in my two cents...i ate, on average, about 650 calories for a few months after surgery and have lost 80 pounds in 7 months. i'm starting to up my calories a little, just to play around with them but find it hard to reach above 850 while keeping my carbs in the low range that i'd like them to be. some people refuse to go until 1000, but if what you're doing isn't working for you, a lower amount might.

i'm a stomach sleeper, something i wish i could break myself of, but i just haven't been able to. it was probably somewhere between 2-3 weeks after surgery when i was able to sleep on my stomach again without it being sore. the pain meds helped me sleep on my back in the meantime, but as soon as i could do it comfortably, i started sleeping on my stomach again.

thanks trish and rachael. of course rumors abound; it looks like he did not leave of his own free will. someone even said the whole team (nutritionists, exercise physiologists, etc) were locked out of the office, as the hospital changed the locks. who knows what is true. i'm definitely willing to give the new guy a try. i don't have much of an option at this point. i can't say i was 100% in love with my dr, but i did feel safe and secure with him. i researched whether or not i wanted to have surgery for a long time and chose my dr based on a number of factors; i even chose him over a much closer dr's office. i've put in a lot of effort since surgery, and i just want to feel comfortable with the person providing my care.

so i received a letter today in the mail from my practice that basically said as of may 2 (dated may 4) my dr will no longer be seeing any patients, and a new dr will be starting may 24th. i went to the fb page and only there found out that it looks like he was let go by the hospital. apparently at the end of support group on thursday, they dropped the bomb. people are livid. has anyone had this type of situation before? i'm 7 months out of surgery; haven't seen my dr since march 3rd when he didn't give me a fill (i've had three so far but never really hit my sweet spot) because he felt i was losing as i should be and don't have another appt scheduled until june 16th. i'm so apprehensive to start with a new dr this far into the game!

hah131 checking in at 191 even this morning, down .6 pounds for the week. one pound up from my goal, which i'm not overly pleased about, but overall i'm happy to have lost after my easter feasting and eating three pieces of pizza, a brownie, and Peanut Butter fudge at a work party yesterday

today is a horrible example of how to be good, but i had two and a half large slices with no trouble. i don't have much restriction, so if you're looking for whether or not it's possible to eat pizza after banding, it definitely is.

i use fitday.com. it's great; calculates my calories, Protein, fat, etc for me; it also tracks my weight, weight goal, exercise, etc, AND it's free!!!

hah131 checking in... 191.6, down 1.6 pounds. have a great easter!

hah131 checking in a day early since i'm leaving today for the weekend with no internet...weighed in this morning at 193.2, down 2 pounds since last week. now i just have to keep it off over the weekend away!!!

the real repercussions of drinking with eating is that you push your food through your pouch area more quickly, which means you won't stay full as long. for the most part, i don't drink with meals, but i have done it when i've been out to eat without anything bad happening. it doesn't present a problem when i'm doing my normal thing at work/home/etc, but i haven't gotten the hang of not drinking when i'm out for dinner with friends.

hah131 checking in...195.2 this morning, down 2.6 pounds from last week

i eat between 550 and 900 most days...there are days here and there when i splurge, but when i'm on point, that's the range where i am. i've lost 73 pounds in 6 months, so it's worked for me. i think everyone's body works differently, so if you're losing weight with 600-900 calories, and you're feeling satiated, stick with it!

Name, real or screen~ hah131

Age~ 32

Weight on April1st~197.8

Goal Weight for April 29th~ 190

Exercise Goal for April~ run 5 miles without stopping

Dietary Goal for April~ limit the carbs, stop having 'free' days

Personal Goal for April~get out of the W clothes!

Date Banded~ September 28, 2010

Total Weight Loss Since Banding~ 71.2 pounds

you may have to toy around with your calories a little bit to see what works for you. i've read varying beliefs about starvation mode. some people believe it doesn't actually exist; others claim it does. i don't know what to believe. i'm just six months out from surgery, so i'm definitely still learning myself. my body is finicky...i have to stick with fewer calories in order to lose. i work out at least an hour or more everyday, either running, hiking, zumba, etc, so i end up with a pretty big calorie deficit most days. if you can stick around 1200 cals a day and lose, i'd definitely do it!

i average between 600-700 calories a day unless i splurge. i asked my nutritionist last time i was there (a few months ago) if i am eating too few calories, and all he said was, don't go over 1200. as long as i'm not starving, i stick around that range, and i don't normally feel fatigued. you're still so new from surgery; it might just be your body still healing/recovering.

it took me a few weeks; the one thing i always tell people who are feeling fatigued is that, the one thing i really lacked after surgery was a little sugar. i incorporated one service (between 1/4 and 1/2 cup) of unsweetened applesauce for the natural sugars, and that helped TREMENDOUSLY with my energy.

thanks joan! i hit onederland mid week last week and went back up, so i'm semi-tentative about claiming it yet...but when i feel more secure that i'll stay under the dreaded 2, i'll be shouting it from the rooftops!

thanks for the kudos!

i weigh myself everyday. it's not necessarily the optimal situation, but i've been doing it for 6 months; so it's just become habit. i think the optimal would be to weigh in weekly. since i started noting my weekly number, that has helped me a lot more than looking at the daily number.

missycat, i can't have it in the house. if i do, i can't stop myself. i know it sounds pathetic, but i truly believe i have an illness. if it's in the house, i eat it, and i'll eat it, most of the time, until it's gone. once i get through a couple days without carbs (meaning 30 grams or below for the day), my cravings aren't near as bad.

one of the things i've started to do is make myself work out (even if it's just taking a little walk) when i want to binge. it doesn't always work...but most of the time it does. i work out pretty hard everyday, but i force myself to do something extra if i have a really bad urge for carbs.

there is no easy fix. i assume i'll battle with this for the rest of my life. it's much easier to give in and have it then to resist. i'm praying that, at some point, resisting just becomes a way of life.