Starting over, 5 years after surgery

[lelaseattle 7]

It's a rainy nasty day here in Seattle and I'm marking 2 years since my closest friend passed from colon cancer at age 46. I'm feeling sad today, and when I went to Sbux this morning to get my chai misto, I almost caved and got a full regular chair tea latte - but I didn't do it. I so want to fill myself with food today to fill my sadness up, I just need to keep reminding myself that it's not the answer today! I've realized that I haven't been drinking enough Water this week really at all, and that's probably why I'm sitting at a plateau so far this week. It's encouraging to have that big drop at the beginning when you're detoxing all of the sodium and crap out of your system, and now I need to stay the course and keep my focus. Thanks for your post Amy, I need to remember that I'm successful! I laugh at the irony of working in a video game studio with a ton of skinny young nerdy boys that can eat anything and never gain weight! Everyday there are home-baked Cookies or Danish, or donuts on Friday. I keep telling myself that I ate a lot of donuts and danishes and cookies to get where I'm at - I certainly haven't been deprived of that! The other thing I'm trying to do is not "advertise" that I'm back on my band program. I've told maybe 2-3 people, but I'm not saying anything on Facebook or announcing it to everyone I eat with. I think there's some reverse psychology there and I'm going to try it.

One meal at a time - that's my motto this week! My mantra is "you're worthy"!

Big hugs everyone - sending you all positive healthy vibes today!

Lela

[TheCurvyMermaid 51]

I have never tried them before. I will go to the store tomorrow and get some to try them out. No issues with band I assume since it seems like you have had it before?

The nutritionist I got the tip from recommends chia seeds for all her weight loss surgery patients, and has a lapband herself. I try to drink mine every day. You can sprinkle them on your food if you like, but remember they expand the minute they hit liquid, so you only want to sprinkle them lightly if you're having them dry. I prefer to put them in my beverages so that they're already plumped up. The seeds are really tiny, and when they plump up, the seed itself stays the same size, but they get sort of a jelly coating. If you've ever had boba tea, they kind of remind me of tapioca pearls, but they're much softer. If you're really tight in the mornings, you might want to wait until mid day or so. Just play it by ear, but they're really helpful.

[katspaw 20]

I will go tomorrow and buy some to see if they help. Right now I am dieting from hunger on day two of liquid diet after my first fill in 4 years. This is so much harder than I remember it being!! I did sneak and scramble an egg this AM and only eat 2 tablespoons because I woke in such hunger and sluggish feeling. That helped ten but back to starving. Soft foods tomorrow so I hope that takes away that feeling. I sure thought I would be stronger this early in the process.

[TheCurvyMermaid 51]

, The other thing I'm trying to do is not "advertise" that I'm back on my band program. I've told maybe 2-3 people, but I'm not saying anything on Facebook or announcing it to everyone I eat with. I think there's some reverse psychology there and I'm going to try it.

I'm really sorry to hear about your friend, Lela. Days like that are super hard, and it makes it extra hard to stay on track. Good for you for not giving in on the chai, every little bit helps. I know for me, a little cheat here a little there, and before I know it I've totally fallen off the wagon. Sometimes it's easier if I don't have any cheats at all. I imagine it has to be a little bit like a recovering alcoholic not being able to have drinks in moderation...

I'm keeping my band on the DL too. The first time around, I was really public with it, then I crashed and burned. My friends may or may not judge me, but this way I don't feel like people are watching me and waiting for me to slip up. Aside from my housemates and a few close friends, I'm keeping it to myself.

I'm having a hard time getting in enough Water too, but I'm working on it. I just started tracking my food again yesterday. I got lazy about it and I think that's part of why my weight loss has slowed in the last ten days. I'm trying to stay at around 1200 calories, which I can do just fine as long as I'm tracking, otherwise it's easy to think I'm in a good place for the day, and I'm at 1500.

[katspaw 20]

Lela sorry to hear about your rough day. Anniversaries of death are so hard. I hope you had the strength to fight thru the wanting of comfort food. Thank you for being human and showing others about your struggles. You will be in thought n prayers of an easier day tomorrow.

[morelgirl 177]

Nothing new to report today, so just checking in. Kept fairly well to my goal yesterday day and got more Water in, too, which was good. Hope everyone else is doing well.

Suzie and Hilary, haven't heard from you in a couple of days, so hope you're doing well!

Stay strong everyone, and keep moving forward.

[kellyjoiii 19]

I have spent the last half an hour reading this thread. Very glad I found it. I love my band. I hate my band. Would I do it over again? Absolutely. I haven't had a fill in almost two years and my bandiverssary is on the 29th of this month. Three years. I originally lost 86 but gained about 30 back. I am back on the down but eating low carb/lots of Protein and lc veggies. It is working. I will post more after work, but I love hearing all the support that is here. Have a great day y'all!

[Suziecat 379]

Welcome Kelly, this is a great group.

Sorry about being MIA. Family and crap got in the way, All is good though. I've been out doing my walking and trying to get my strength up. Just wish I could get my head in this completely. I do good at meal times but it's the hour inbetween.

I really have to get my head going. I start the day out good and somewhere after lunch, it takes a dive. I don't know if I just don't care or if I just enjoy sabatoging myself. But I really need to get it figured out and soon. My next appointment is the 25th.

Tomorrow there is a funeral at our church. I signed up to set up the reception hall and get sandwiches made. I also said I would bring a casserole and you guys will never guess what I decided to make. Yup, Funeral Potatoes, LOL. My husband didn't really know the man that passed away but we saw him every sunday in church. He sat a few rows in front of us and over a little bit. We were wondering why we hadn't seen him in a little while.

But because of that I will be missing the monthly support group meeting. Sucks.

We are supposed to have a few days of no rain, that will really help with the walking. But the only thing is that it is bitter outside. Where the hell is spring?

I'll check in soon. Suzanne.

[Skyvic 226]

My last fill was in January. I have been banded since December 2010, and am so close to goal. I think that support is so crucial at this point. I went the slow route of fills and now know it was the right thing for me. So know that I'm at a plateau I have to make the decision to go for another fill which could have negative effects I have experienced before. I think I will also make an appointment to move forward. This week ill do the 5-day pouch to get back on track too!

[Skyvic 226]

Has anybody tried the 5 day pouch test?? It sounds like a great idea but the food choices are a little strange and I'm not sure if it will really help...

Yes, it re-sets your body. I did this in March and lost a little more...it shrinks the stomach up again. Liquid stage so hard but this is what I'm going to do right before my next appointment. I know crazy, but I just want to get to my 154 goal.

[TheCurvyMermaid 51]

I went the slow route of fills and now know it was the right thing for me. So know that I'm at a plateau I have to make the decision to go for another fill which could have negative effects I have experienced before.

Are you excercising at all? It's possible that you might be plateaud because the amount of calories you're eating are equal to what your body needs to maintain your current weight. If you up your activity you may not need a fill. It's something worth looking in to, especially if you're worried that a fill might put you at an uncomfortable level.

[TheCurvyMermaid 51]

I know this is a little bit off topic, but I just wanted to put this out there...

I'm walking with a fantastic team of some of my favorite people, Maleficents Minions , on May 4th to support the Aids Services Foundation of Orange County. It's a great organization that helps men, women, children, and families in Orange County living with HIV, by providing food, transportation, housing, emergency financial assistance, kids and family programs, mental health counseling, support groups and HIV education and prevention services.

This is my second year walking in the OC AIDS Walk 5K at Disneyland, it's great excercise, and a great cause. Will you please consider sponsoring me? Every little bit helps!

http://www.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=1050518&supId=358071517&extSiteType=1

[Suziecat 379]

Good Monday Morning.

A very busy weekend for me and all I have to say is if I never see a Funeral casserole again, it will be to soon. There actually was a funeral at church saturday and I made the casserole to take. There was a little left over for a small dish, so I kept that here for us. Saturday night I baked it up to go with our grilled burgers. Then at our last class last night, there was some leftover casseroles that were for us that was supposed to have been served last month but we had a snow storm. So I go there early and put them all in the oven to get ready for our meeting. And sure enough, one of them was a funeral casserole. There was enough food for us to take home so I made a plate to bring home to hubby. We have enough casserole for the next 3 days. LOL.

So this morning it is back to being a model bandster. I have 12 days till my next fill visit. The only thing that will be a hinderence to me is they are calling for a lot of rain this week. Kind of off and on rain showers. So I will have to watch my timing and get my walking in when I can. I bought some more fruit for my Protein drinks and I found that if I put in about 3 ice cubes, that seems to help. The major thing is for me to get moving and to keep moving.

One thing that is bugging me and I'm not sure why they are doing it. If you are on Facebokk you may have encountered this. Why the heck are so many people posting recipes? I have seen so many that I would really like to make and then I think to myself, you don't need that. But it looks so good. Please if you are going to post them, then pick something healthy to post. LOL.

Have a great week everyone.

Suzanne.

[Suziecat 379]

Just got back from my walk. I get amazed at each time I go and how I push it just a little more each time. It may be just a block, but it's a milestone for me. And we made it home before the rain.

Now off to take my shower and then a few errands. Sometime today I need to figure out when I will fix my Protein drink. May be what's for dinner. Let my husband eat the funeral potatoes, lol.

[HilaryInRC 116]

Hi Ladies,

It has been a while since I've posted here. So, two weeks ago I started thyroid medicine. I haven't really noticed any change in anything other than being extra tired lately. Two weeks ago, I also started a low-carb diet that my dr. recommended. Well, the first week was pretty much a cross between failing to get my carbs low and detoxing off all of the sugar/starch. I was having really bad sugar cravings. Then, the second week I pretty much slept for a majority of the week.

But, the good news is that I'm feeling good now. The craving are gone and I actually don't have that much interest in food. That is good. I remember feeling like this the last time I did a similar type of diet. I've gotten my sleep schedule back on track after destroying it last week. And, I've been wearing the cpap every night for 6 weeks now. I went in to see my doctor (gyn) today and I've lost about 3 pounds in the past two weeks. Not bad considering I wasn't fully onboard with the diet for that whole time. He started me on 1/2 a phentermine tablet for the next two weeks, then I am to move up to a whole tablet. He would like for me to lose more than 10 lbs in the next month. Hmmm. He also says not to worry about exercise for now, that we will incorporate that in next month. So, I guess I will just continue with my walking/occassional aerobics video when I feel like it. We'll see what happens.

This weekend that we just finished was a fun one for me. I went camping my the Boy Scout Troop that I volunteer with. We went to a Boy Scout even where they got to do many different activities like archery and climbing and hatchet throwing. I was jealous that I couldn't do it! When will somebody start Adult Scouts?!? LOL! However, I did walk up a few hills about a zillion times. The campsite was down in a valley, but the bathrooms and food hall were up on the mountain. So, for me, having to pee as much as I do, I found myself hauling butt up the mountain a lot! Then, all of the activities were on the mountain on the other side of the valley, so I had to walk up that a few times a day as well. I didn't wear my fitbit because I didn't want to lose it, but wow, I think I got a decent workout. :-)

-Hilary