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I'm just not understanding the food part of all this.



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Excuse my newbie ignorance, but why is that a controversial subject?

Because we are always advised by our docs/nutritionists differently. Additionally, there is a huge gap between how many cals one person takes in on average vs the next bandster. Many factors contribute to this (exercise level, age/metabolism etc). So people will bawk at how little or how much other people consume because it conflicts with either what they were told or what they do :)

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How do you do this? Is it based on what your body says is enough or by how much/often you exercise? Or what? I do myfitnesspal and am pretty consistent at 1000-1100cal/day. That's me getting in my Protein first then eating what more I want. I'm not actually dieting as in forgoing food when I'm still hungry...that's me feeling satisfied after meals.

Hello :) logging is a great way to get intimate with what is actually going in your body and understanding how your body reacts to it. Your log can be as simplex or complicated as you want. Think of it as a science experiment if you will. If you simply want to see how many calories you should take in for optimal weight loss...record your foods (their calories) and any calories you burned from exercise (deduct from calories taken in). Than record your weight daily (same time- I recommend naked in the a.m. before eating/drinking). Follow the trend. If you are eating 1500 calories and you are gaining. scale back 100 cals. Any improvements? If you are losing stay at that range. If you are not, scale back on your cals until you start losing consistently. 0.2 lb/day is the standard. The opposite can be done as well. Let's say you workout everyday and you are only taking in 800 cals. Perhaps you are taking in too little. Add 100 cals until you see wl. Do NOT make huge changes or inconsistent changes. For example, don't go from 1500 to 1000. That alone can put you into a plateau and that's not a fair representation of what your body would do with a calorie reduction. Also, your log is only as reliable as you are consistent. So if you workout every day, keep it up. If your target is 1000 cals than eat as close to that as possible. +- 100 calories can really effect the outcome. Mind you, you will need to readjust everytime something changes (working out more/less for example). I hope this helps :)

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Had some wine tonight , white wine so im hoping that is a clear Fluid ...and yes it tasted great , and no issues with sticking ....not sure if I should but didn't see it anywhere in my not to do.... I wanted it so I had some , not going to beat myself up over it , it is what it is :) peace my fellow banders

Karen, I would advise against consuming alcohol for a couple reasons (at this stage). 1) right now your stomach is on the high acidic side. Making you prone to things like acid reflux and ulcers. Alcohol and caffeine alike increase acidity in the stomach and can predispose you to these complications. 2) I know you may feel like you don't have to watch calories, but these mindless liquid calories are not what your body needs right now. Protein is essential for recovery. Alcohol is a blood thinner and thus slows healing. It offers no nutritional value. and 3) Right now is the prime time to follow the rules, being diligent with healthful choices etc. You are establishing new habits and a foundation for the remainder of your banded life. Yes, alcohol can be consumed when you are banded. I would just advise against it until you are well established on solids for now.

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Some time before I was banded I discovered My Plate Calorie Tracker by Livestrong. When filling out your profile, you decide how active you are and how many pounds you want to lose on a weekly basis. With your height and weight, it automatically tells you how many calories you need each day. I track everything I eat and drink, and I can keep track of my Protein intake for the day. If I'm low on protein, I add a Protein Shake or a glass of skim milk, depending on my needs. I really believe that keeping recording my food intake has kept my weight going down.

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I have church in the morning Anna but call me tomorrow if you need to talk.

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Some time before I was banded I discovered My Plate Calorie Tracker by Livestrong. When filling out your profile' date=' you decide how active you are and how many pounds you want to lose on a weekly basis. With your height and weight, it automatically tells you how many calories you need each day. I track everything I eat and drink, and I can keep track of my Protein intake for the day. If I'm low on Protein, I add a Protein shake or a glass of skim milk, depending on my needs. I really believe that keeping recording my food intake has kept my weight going down.[/quote']

That's what I use. I had to adjust the calories though because it set me at 3045.

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Hello :) logging is a great way to get intimate with what is actually going in your body and understanding how your body reacts to it. Your log can be as simplex or complicated as you want. Think of it as a science experiment if you will. If you simply want to see how many calories you should take in for optimal weight loss...record your foods (their calories) and any calories you burned from exercise (deduct from calories taken in). Than record your weight daily (same time- I recommend naked in the a.m. before eating/drinking). Follow the trend. If you are eating 1500 calories and you are gaining. scale back 100 cals. Any improvements? If you are losing stay at that range. If you are not' date=' scale back on your cals until you start losing consistently. 0.2 lb/day is the standard. The opposite can be done as well. Let's say you workout everyday and you are only taking in 800 cals. Perhaps you are taking in too little. Add 100 cals until you see wl. Do NOT make huge changes or inconsistent changes. For example, don't go from 1500 to 1000. That alone can put you into a plateau and that's not a fair representation of what your body would do with a calorie reduction. Also, your log is only as reliable as you are consistent. So if you workout every day, keep it up. If your target is 1000 cals than eat as close to that as possible. +- 100 calories can really effect the outcome. Mind you, you will need to readjust everytime something changes (working out more/less for example). I hope this helps :)[/quote']

Great explanation.

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How do you do this? .......... I'm not actually dieting as in forgoing food when I'm still hungry...that's me feeling satisfied after meals.

THATS how you CAN do this. You answered it perfectly!

Once you fine your sweet spot......."not dieting", "feeling satisfied after meals"...sounds like you might be there to me. Congrats!

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Had some wine tonight ' date=' white wine so im hoping that is a clear Fluid ...and yes it tasted great , and no issues with sticking ....not sure if I should but didn't see it anywhere in my not to do.... I wanted it so I had some , not going to beat myself up over it , it is what it is <img src='http://www.bariatricpal.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' /> peace my fellow banders[/quote']

Me too and it was great. It's been a while. I'm a cheap date now lol

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Some time before I was banded I discovered My Plate Calorie Tracker by Livestrong. When filling out your profile' date=' you decide how active you are and how many pounds you want to lose on a weekly basis. With your height and weight, it automatically tells you how many calories you need each day. I track everything I eat and drink, and I can keep track of my Protein intake for the day. If I'm low on Protein, I add a Protein shake or a glass of skim milk, depending on my needs. I really believe that keeping recording my food intake has kept my weight going down.[/quote']

Thanks for the advice, I downloaded the app and it is great. I'm already using it. It's going to be a big help!

BellaNana, Sent from my HTCONE using LapBandTalk

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      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
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      1. LeighaTR

        I hope your surgery on Wednesday goes well. You will be able to do all sorts of new things as you find your new normal after surgery. I don't know this from experience yet, but I am seeing a lot of positive things from people who have had it done. Best of luck!

    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

    • CaseyP1011

      Officially here for a long time, not just a good time💪
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