Hello Bandsters -

Four rules of healthy eating:

1. Avoid white flour and white sugar products.

2. Avoid any processed food.

3. Avoid any food advertised on TV

4. Avoid Fast Food chains.

Respectfully submitted,

Dr Kelly M. Fitzpatrick

I think it's funny all the contradictory replies to the original post, which happens to be good information from a doctor. AVOID not ELIMINATE.

Every one of us bandsters has broken all 4 of those rules and that's why we all are (or were) fat. Just because we've lost weight doesn't make any of us experts in weight loss. I bet with a few minutes of research, we'd all find that the facts back up what she has posted.

I think it's funny all the contradictory replies to the original post, which happens to be good information from a doctor. AVOID not ELIMINATE.

Every one of us bandsters has broken all 4 of those rules and that's why we all are (or were) fat. Just because we've lost weight doesn't make any of us experts in weight loss. I bet with a few minutes of research, we'd all find that the facts back up what she has posted.

I was fat because I ate too much and didn't move enough; simple. Has nothing to do with eating McDonalds or eating white bread.

I think it's funny all the contradictory replies to the original post, which happens to be good information from a doctor. AVOID not ELIMINATE.

Every one of us bandsters has broken all 4 of those rules and that's why we all are (or were) fat. Just because we've lost weight doesn't make any of us experts in weight loss. I bet with a few minutes of research, we'd all find that the facts back up what she has posted.

Agreed!

Can you help me with getting a weight loss TICKER? I am completely void of talent in getting this done...LOL.

LOL, yeah that stupid ticker thing is tricky. It;s www.tickerfactory.com. When you've selected your favorite ticker, you have to save it one of two ways, you should pick the one for blogs, etc. Sorry I forget the exact name of it. Then in lapband.talk, in your profile you copy that whole string of code into your signature. Hope that helps---

Agreed!

Can you help me with getting a weight loss TICKER? I am completely void of talent in getting this done...LOL.

Testing to see if the ticker shows up.

I don't understand why it is not working!!

Okay, I see the code there, I would double check it and see if you missed a character at the end, it's like it didn't close the coding.....

OR it is saved as the wrong type...maybe try to change it to the other one...?

you got it!

WOO-HOO, it worked. I picked the first code available instead: the bbCode. Thank you

You quoted me, so I'm guessing that this was in reply to what I said. What I can't figure out is if you're disagreeing with something particular in my post and, if so, what that may be.

As for myself, I'm not rigid with my own eating regime. I hardly have a regime. I pretty much just try to stay under 1100-1200 calories, avoid junk food with the exception to a few treats, and I eat more Protein and less refined carbs. If I want rice or bread, I'll have a few bites. If I want chocolate, I'll have something small and work it into the day's calories. Every week or so, I have a cheat day in which I loosen up on the "diet" even further. This works for me and I hardly feel deprived. I can probably eat in this same way for life without feeling as if I'm on a life-long diet (although when I'm on maintenance, I'll probably be eating somewhat more). Some people have to go cold turkey and that may work for them. Some people cut out major carbs completely and they lose weight fast. What I've been saying is that these rules are generally what most people do anyhow when they lose weight, give or take a rule.

I'm not rigid with my diet, and yet I don't feel the need to proclaim my free will whenever a layman or doctor dares to post dietary advice, unless the advice was targeted at me specifically and it was unsolicited. Just ignore whichever rules or all rules that they suggest if they don't work for you. We understand that you're an adult and that no one can tell you what to do. As far as the poster who countered that this suggestion was wrong because healthy food was sometimes advertised on tv, again, we can make use of our highly evolved brains and understand that the rule wasn't intended to restrict those foods. Surely, we can understand nuance. As most foods advertised on tv are highly processed and unhealthy, either packaged junk or fast-food, this is a good guideline. I follow it generally and I suspect that most dieters do to an even greater degree. If someone were to advise that people intending to lose weight should avoid fast-food, I wouldn't have to say: "This rule's crap! I know there's a fast-food restaurant that has a low-calorie salad!" I understand the basic underlying idea, which is a good one, and I can adapt it to include this low-cal salad.

There may be one or two rules that don't apply to a particular individual; there may be a difference in the degree an individual abides by these rules, but in general the process of losing weight requires a similar kind of behaviour. There are different diets, but the basic underlying idea is usually the same. Unless taken as absolutes, there's nothing controversial or extreme about these rules. As I said, they serve as good guides. The doctor didn't even say "never do this;" they said "avoid." They're along the lines of what most nutritionists would prescribe and what many people do to lose weight or to eat healthily. There may be multiple specific methods of losing weight, but it's not entirely a subjective matter. And some methods are objectively bad ways to go about achieving a healthy diet.

I never quoted anyone. We all do what works best for ourselves. Thanks.

I never quoted anyone. We all do what works best for ourselves. Thanks.

Please see your original post. Thanks.

Please see your original post. Thanks.

Glad you know what works best for you.

Glad you know what works best for you.

Your absolutely right. Some people just like to argue.

Your absolutely right. Some people just like to argue.

Yes, there are also those who don't understand the difference between "you're" and "your." There are all kinds of people, I suppose.

You're correct. I am an argumentative person when I encounter a position contrary to logic or reason. I appreciate debate and I believe that mature adults should be able to argue any issue dispassionately and academically, without resorting to personal attacks or proclaiming offense unnecessarily. If I debate a poster here, I expect that they understand that it is not personal and that I have no anger toward them. And, it's an opportunity for them to show me the ways in which my argument is wrong. I am also a direct person and it's not my style to insult others in a passive-aggressive manner. As you can see above, I just tried your method of speaking and I find that it doesn't suit me much. If I disagree with a person's words or actions, I tell them directly and I explain my reasoning. Mominoc quoted me and I responded asking if she was objecting to something particular in my post. Then, I honestly discussed my opinions on the sentiments she expressed. She chose to respond in a passive-aggressive and falsely bewildered tone, but what is that to me?

1. What's so wrong with white flour and white sugar? lol. The only different between a whole grain/wheat flour is the Fiber content in most cases. If anything the macronutrient profile differs very slightly.

2. Mm processed food.

3. But I like Chick fil A.

4. See #3.

In the end, I think these "rules" are helpful to people who aren't the most aware of what they're eating. We all got the band for portion purposes (or so I think most people did) and in my case/lifestyle/diet, I can eat white flour, sugar, processed food, and fast food..in moderation. I think that rule goes for anyone; fat, obese, skinny, underweight, or the average sized person. Moderation moderation moderation.

There's no one size fits all diet, thank god. I wish I'd have known that when I was first banded. While cutting out carbs helped me lose most of my weight, I now know that carbs didn't make me fat; I made me fat, my lifestyle made me fat. If I knew I could lose weight and eat ice cream, Cookies, fast food, etc. etc then I think my journey would have been even easier. Oh well.

Good "rules" but I don't think they need to be long term rules at all.

I agree. My diet hardly conforms to these rules in every meal of the day. I too eat white flour, sugar (etc.) in very small portions. When I am in maintenance, I'll simply eat them in moderation. Yesterday, I ate four nachos with processed cheese and I just watched that it fit into my caloric budget (actually, I've been eating way under my budget lately). My biggest problem, pre-band, was portion-control of mainly healthy, whole-grain foods. The dinner was always healthy, but I would go back for a second plate. The thought of that kind of disgusts me now. My basic point is that these rules (or a variation on them) are what most of us successful dieters follow for 80-90 percent of what we consume. They're really not that controversial.

For some, however, the rules must be followed 100 percent of the time. My sister doesn't allow herself a single bite of a junk food or starch and, although I don't diet the same way, I understand her reasoning. For her, one bite leads to another. She finds herself binging throughout the weekend with the justification that she ruined her diet and she'll have to start again on Monday, so she might as well keep eating poorly until then. I think many people who need to go "cold turkey" experience something similar and they'd have to adhere to these kinds of rules more strictly.