Any other September 2013 bandsters?

[5.0junkie 770]

Do women ever reach a point where they are comfortable in their own skin?

[NewMeDebbie 196]

lol...no I don't think so. Not even the women who have their photos on magazine covers are cool with everything about themselves. There is always something that could use improvement...

[5.0junkie 770]

Debbie, what organization sets such measures of perfection that you are comparing yourself to? Is there a table or scale out there that has been created? Just wonder if there's some set form of measure we should all aspire to meet......

Don't you dare say society either!!!!! lol

[NewMeDebbie 196]

don't be silly! we all know what is expected of women. You hear about it all the time. The unrealistic expectations. me personally - I'm just wanting to be healthy enough to go hiking and take photos without it wearing me out for 2 days afterwards...

Hence, the reason I want to stay focused on following the rules. I did good today. When I got the urge for that chocolate bar at 2:30, I went for a walk (1 mile) and then got a Kaski GoLean Protein bar (9 gm protein). It not only took care of the craving but I'm not thinking about food now! Hopefully, this will help with that afternoon urge...

[PuraVida37 715]

I am not sure I am eating enough. For Breakfast I had an 11 oz Muscle Milk that I sipped all morning. Then at lunch I had half a greek yogurt. After school snack was another Protein shake, and at around 5pm I had an egg in chicken broth. Now I'm sucking on a pouch of apple sauce, but I'm starving even though I'm sure my banded pouch is probably full now at 7pm. Oh, and I had a bottle of Water thru the day. Is this enough? I am feeling very confused about how much/when to eat. By the end of the night I will probably do one more Protein Shake to get to my 60-80 goal. I'm not allowed stage 3 (canned fruit/veg, cottage cheese, etc.) til the end of this weekend.

NSV today--I went out in search of new clothes, pants and undies specifically. At my heaviest I was in a 26, but today I picked out 22s. The sales lady said, "Oh no honey, you need something smaller" and handed me an 18-20. OMG IT FIT!! Holy cow!!! I can't wait til I reach my goal of buying clothes in a "real" store. Which store should I try first when it happens? I'm hoping that I can Celebrate my 40th birthday in January by buying something from a "real" store instead of Lane Bryant or Avenue.

[NewMeDebbie 196]

I am not sure I am eating enough. For Breakfast I had an 11 oz Muscle Milk that I sipped all morning. Then at lunch I had half a greek yogurt. After school snack was another Protein shake, and at around 5pm I had an egg in chicken broth. Now I'm sucking on a pouch of apple sauce, but I'm starving even though I'm sure my banded pouch is probably full now at 7pm. Oh, and I had a bottle of Water thru the day. Is this enough? I am feeling very confused about how much/when to eat. By the end of the night I will probably do one more Protein Shake to get to my 60-80 goal. I'm not allowed stage 3 (canned fruit/veg, cottage cheese, etc.) til the end of this weekend.

NSV today--I went out in search of new clothes, pants and undies specifically. At my heaviest I was in a 26, but today I picked out 22s. The sales lady said, "Oh no honey, you need something smaller" and handed me an 18-20. OMG IT FIT!! Holy cow!!! I can't wait til I reach my goal of buying clothes in a "real" store. Which store should I try first when it happens? I'm hoping that I can Celebrate my 40th birthday in January by buying something from a "real" store instead of Lane Bryant or Avenue.

try Kohls - they have really cute clothes! and you get Kohls cash for later purchases saving money!

Also, you are supposed to be getting 64 oz of Water daily. It doesn't sound like you are getting enough water or food. I would check with your doctor \ dietician to be sure.

[chasingadream 1,311]

I know that I may get grief for this but the band is a tool to help us...eating food that is not good for us is eating from emotion as well as bad habit. The band does not send an electrical zap to our hands when we reach for something that is not healthy for us. Even when restricted, it is up to us to eat healthy and follow the rules that the dietician gives us. No matter what surgery you opted to get, you will get cravings and want to eat from emotion or habit and with all three weight loss options you can gain weight and make unhealthy food choices. We as strong woman and men (and let's face it, we all have strong will and amazingly strong inner strength) and have to overcome the emotions and bad habits and learn to eat better for ourselves. Prepare yourself for emotional hunger (keep a Protein bar, sugar free pudding, sf Jello, sf pops in your reach) recognize the emotion and don't give in. It is not easy but every day give yourself a pep talk and say that you are worth it...you deserve to be healthy...you can do it!! This marathon has just begun and I am determined to go the distance and cross that finish line.

Love this!

I am 22 days out and have followed my docs orders without rushing anything...and yes it was hard....one total month on liquids--who knew I could do that with not one slip. Now happily I am enjoying my mushies and have one more week of it before solids. I'm not rushing any of it and am staying true to the band and more importantly true to myself!

I am no better than anyone else here....but for me I'm trying to think about the major surgery I had and why I had it and what I want my end result to be and that is keeping it all in perspective for me!

Do I want that yodel in the kitchen cabinet....yup...it could probably be considered a mushy too.....but I don't want it so much because that would do nothing but sabotage myself.....that would only be hurting myself.....those days are over!

[GoingforGoal 1,734]

5.0 Gotta say I think I'm finally there

[PuraVida37 715]

I survived my first meal in a diner! The waitress did a double take when I asked for 3 scrambled eggs (1 whole/2 whites) and that's all. No drink. She thought I was crazy. Then when it came, I cut it in half, then cut up that section into the tiniest pieces I could. I went slow, and it all went down great! I am going to admit that it was REALLY hard to watch hubby eating an omlette with french toast and my daughter eating toast. At the end of the meal she gave me a tiny (like 1/2 cm square) piece of bacon. I chewed it at least 15 times so I wouldn't get stuck. OMG it was the best taste ever!! ha ha

[Amy Carter 67]

I know what you mean. I had a tiny bite of my son's mexican pizza shell at taco bell last night and though I could barely taste it and I chewed it like 10 times it was still the best tasting food I've had in weeks. I really miss having some crunch in my food. I am counting down the days I have left until I can have wheat crackers and it is only 8 more. I am going to enjoy a few crackers with a bit of turkey and cheese on them when I get there.

[PuraVida37 715]

How are you supposed to count Soup? It's not really a solid, so....? My doc's instructions were no more than 1/4 c at a time of any food. But having that little soup is just not enough. I just (slowly) downed 3/4c of broth with an egg and a tablespoon of ham. I got out the baby food grinder and ground up the ham. It was SO yummy!!!

Today we went pumpkin picking and I made roasted seeds with garlic. OMG I wanted some so badly! I chewed a few and then spit them out and sprayed my mouth with the faucet gun. OK, that's a little embarrassing but they were great!

[5.0junkie 770]

Just me but I consider Soup to be a slider food. I think it's like drinking and eating. I know a lot of people do it but I would say try and have as much solid and as little broth as possible. Measure out the right amount of solid and add a little broth to it is my thought.

[PuraVida37 715]

Just me but I consider Soup to be a slider food. I think it's like drinking and eating. I know a lot of people do it but I would say try and have as much solid and as little broth as possible. Measure out the right amount of solid and add a little broth to it is my thought.

Sounds like a plan!

How pureed is pureed? I'm graduating to stage 3 tomorrow morning. I'm a little scared. I can't wait to eat meat though!

So...I went shopping today and got size 20 jeans!! Holy moly!! I can't even remember the last time I wore a 20. At my biggest I wore size 26s. Amazing!!! woot woot!!

[5.0junkie 770]

pureed I considered to be like thin mashed potatoes or the consistency of refried Beans. Just me though.

Congrats on the new size. You should have a lot of those new size moments in your very near future. Keep it up!

[PuraVida37 715]

Well, I used the baby food grinder for tonight's dinner. I couldn't wait til tomorrow. I had some green Beans and about a 1/4th or less of a turkey burger patty. I grinded it up with the baby food grinder and it came out really mashed up, but dry. So I put in a little ketchup. OMG it was SO good. Today I was out and about with my daughter and I missed eating a good lunch (I did sip a lot of Water and Isopure though) and now even though I ate I'm still really hungry.

How big are your meals now? I've been trying to stick with 1/4 cup, but it's not nearly enough.