Well it seems there are several of us who are currently trying to get to twoterville. So if you are one of us trying for it please tell us your goals and we can support each other as we try to get our tricksy scales to be nice and cooperative.

NOTE: So many of the people who participate in this thread have made it in to twoterville that we have really morphed to include passing thru twoterville as well as into it. This has happened over time, we keep growing, lol, but in a good way :eek:

July 4th Challenge

Week 7

Name.............................Starting….Current…...Goal….....To Go

losingjusme..(Christine)......317...........305 .............295...........10

tann.............(Tammy)........257.......... 236..............232......... ..04

juliegeraci..........................232.......... 232..............220...........12

Josette..............................340.......... 329..............315...........14

Inner_me.....(Chris).......... ..306...........298 .............280...........18

Elisabethsew..(Elisabeth).. .281....... ...273 .............260...........13

Waterlily1072...(Nicole)..... 278..... .....272 .............252...........20

Libra..(Angela)................... 230...........222........... ..205...........17

Lapbandit……...............… 208……….206……..…..185…….....21

RidinMyHDDream.(Carol).. ..281..........276 .............256............20

FaithMD........................ .. 341.5........327..............310.. .........17

Congratulations, Tammy! You'll be zooming into wonderland before you know it. I lost 1/2 pound this week but only count full pounds so I'm leaving my stats as is. Tomorrow, I get my 8th (and hopefully final) dose of weekly intravenous iron. It appears I don't absorb iron and my levels were so low that I had to get it IV.

Cheers to all the losers this week.

Faith, I am positive your liver is nicely shrunken, in a healthy way of course

As for adjusting to the chewing, for me I didn't have to work on it at all, it just sort of happened. Maybe I'm strange but I am beginning to wonder if maybe my body hates PB'ing so I just don't but honestly I think I've had a total of 3 and like maybe as many as a dozen sliming sessions. I know what you mean about how things taste when chewed to mush, it will affect what foods you choose to eat post band believe me. The good news is that because we are eating so little we can afford for those things to be a little higher in calories which helps with the taste a lot.

That is really good to know, thank you!

Some of my favorites now that I know will be a challenge post-band are Sushi (NOT Sashimi, I love the vinegared sticky rice), but not raw, I like the vegetarian and the crab rolls, salads galore, nuts, chicken, steak, falafel. But I'm up to the challenge!

Faith, nuts tastes OK when chewed to mush, kinda like eating crunchy peanut butter.:DI stopped eating beef about 2 months ago but sometimes I ended up spitting it out, and sometimes chicken too. Smaller bites really helps too, which you are already doing.

So you didn't have to do the optifast:eek:, that's great:D

Rice I can do in small amounts, so you should be able to still do a piece of sushi even with decent restriction. I find that even the no no food like bread and rice you can still do in really tiny amounts, like one bite. Just don't make it your first bite, lol. Nuts sometimes are uncomfortable, chew them well and it'll be fine Salads are a challenge for some people, when I was too tight I couldn't do salads at all, but normally I can. The nice thing about starting out unfilled and slowly reaching good restriction is that it alows you to learn as you go. Kind of like a tricycle to a bike with trainers to a full fledge bike then a ten speed, lol. You will get to where you know exactly what your band and stomach can handle. Beef I have to chew for so long it just isn't worth it to me anymore, but I do like the low fat canned roast beef from costco, yum chicken needs to be really tender, all 3 of my PB's were on a piece of chicken! I don't know what falafel is so can't help ya there

Have a great day everyone!!!

July 4th Challenge

Week 7

Name.............................Starting….Current…...Goal….....To Go

losingjusme..(Christine)......317...........305 .............295...........10

tann.............(Tammy)........257.......... 236..............232......... ..04

juliegeraci..........................232.......... 232..............220...........12

Josette..............................340.......... 329..............315...........14

Inner_me.....(Chris).......... ..306...........296 .............280...........16

Elisabethsew..(Elisabeth).. .281....... ...273 .............260...........13

Waterlily1072...(Nicole)..... 278..... .....272 .............252...........20

Libra..(Angela)................... 230...........222........... ..205...........17

Lapbandit……...............… 208……….206……..…..185…….....21

RidinMyHDDream.(Carol).. ..281..........276 .............256............20

FaithMD........................ .. 341.5........327..............310.. .........17

Okay, I'm down 2lbs, which means that I've lost a total of 10 since this challenge has started. I'm trying to encourage myself that way. It seems like I'm not losing fast enough, and I want to complain about it...but then I remember that I AM losing. I also think I'm wide open. Okay, in reality, I'm not WIDE open, but I can and unfortunately do eat more then I should be able to. I'm no where near what I use to be able to eat in one sitting or even all day, but it is more then I think I should in one sitting. I also think I'm not eating enough solid foods. For instance, and I know that I have to stop this, I've started eating Cereal for Breakfast. The thought of Protein drinks completely turns me off...and makes me THINK I'm still hungry. However, with the milk, the cereal just slides on through and I'm hungry again in a short time period. However, while I've yet to slime or have a PB, I have noticed that I have first bite syndrome with breakfast. A little bit of liquid goes along way towards relieving that though. Then by lunch time, everything goes down without a problem. I can even guzzle Water. Bread, I am noticing - not that I eat alot of it, or even try - fills me up quickly. One or two bites, and whatever else I was eating along with it I can give up on. But salads go down like water. Unfortunately, they are also my downfall. Any suggestions are extremely welcomed (Yes, I do know I need a fill...just was trying to drag it out until after my trip at the end of June. But the way things have been going lately, I don't know if I'll make it...).

I'm glad everyone else, for the most part, is getting back on track. For those who are plateuing, I completely understand. I'm starting to notice that I'm like that right after my TOM...which is weird...

Tann: Thanks for the advice! I do appreciate all I can get. For my official pre-op diet I'm to do something that may even be worse than Optifast, it's a totally liquid diet for two weeks (both pre-op and post-op) from a company called BetterMD.net. It includes shakes, puddings and Soups...ugh.

Molly: Thanks!

Inner Me: congrats on the 10lbs!

Chris, first of congrats on the 10lb loss I have noticed that cereal with milk makes my first bite syndrome far worse and can even get me sliming a little bit. When I choose to have cereal I eat it dry. Try drinking sf hot cocoa first then munching on some dry sereal it fills you up fast and is pretty easy to eat. As for salads ye they do seem to go down like water try to limit your salads to only include free foods (raw veggies) and stick to ff low cal dressings. I like the kraft free italian, it is almost calorie free and totally fat free.

Thanks for the suggestions Molly!

Catching up....

Tammy! Congrats on the loss! You are definately headed for a first place finish. :first: Great work!!

Chris two pounds gone is two pounds gone!!! Keep it up! I was surprised when I did a weight loss calculator and I only had to lose two pounds a week to meet my goal by next July. Now if I can just get those two pounds to stay off ...lol I'm on the longest plateau but I too, will remind myself of my accomplishments to date. That's what matters. My everyday bfast food is oatmeal. Fills me up and holds me till lunch. I make it with milk and will even add dry milk to it to add to the Protein count.

Christine! You are a true inspiration so keep up the great work! Those threes will be gone soon, trust me!

Nicole..aka Molly ..I hear ya on the chicken. It can be my worst enemy. I'd rather have my jaw fall off from chewing beef than risk chicken sometimes. Turkey chili with Beans is a new staple because the protein is a high count and it's easier to eat.

Faith, keep up the great work. Half the battle is the mental game still so being aware of what you have going in will put you ahead!

Ladies, have a great weekend. I'm off to a rally in Austin where I will admit that a fair amount of my calories will be empty ones spent on adult beverages...lol I'm hoping the walking and riding will help...really, really hoping...lol :peace:

Anyone in this group go to Mx alone for surgery?If so any thing to aware of as I will probly be going it alone.Any one ?

July 4th Challenge

Week 7

Name.............................Starting….Current…...Goal….....To Go

losingjusme..(Christine)......317...........305 .............295...........10

tann.............(Tammy)........257.......... 236..............232......... ..04

juliegeraci..........................232.......... 232..............220...........12

Josette..............................340.......... 329..............315...........14

Inner_me.....(Chris).......... ..306...........296 .............280...........16

Elisabethsew..(Elisabeth).. .281....... ...273 .............260...........13

Waterlily1072...(Nicole)..... 278..... .....272 .............252...........20

Libra..(Angela)................... 230...........221........... ..205...........16

Lapbandit……...............… 208……….206……..…..185…….....21

RidinMyHDDream.(Carol).. ..281..........276 .............256............20

FaithMD........................ .. 341.5........327..............310.. .........17

This has been a really slow weight loss period for me too. Finally a pound. Hope it picks up for us all soon. Hang in there.

thanks ladies for the encouragement. i really appreciate it.

i am getting ready to go see "THE RAT and his lady friend" so i will be gone for a week. i am really hoping i will fit in the rides at Disney. everyone keeps telling me i will be fine, i guess i am just paranoid ..

good luck next week!

christine

July 4th Challenge

Week 7

Name.............................Starting….Current…...Goal….....To Go

losingjusme..(Christine)......317...........305 .............295...........10

tann.............(Tammy)........257.......... 236..............232......... ..04

juliegeraci..........................232.......... 232..............220...........12

Josette..............................340.......... 329..............315...........14

Inner_me.....(Chris).......... ..306...........296 .............280...........16

Elisabethsew..(Elisabeth).. .281....... ...271 .............260...........11

Waterlily1072...(Nicole)...... 278..... .....272 .............252...........20

Libra..(Angela)................... 230...........221........... ..205...........16

Lapbandit……...............… .208……….206……..…..185…….....21

RidinMyHDDream.(Carol).. ..281..........276 .............256............20

FaithMD........................ .. 341.5........327..............310.. .........17

I'm down 2 pounds this week and hope to kiss the 70's good-bye in another week. Angela, you're so close to leaving the 2's... congratulations. Good luck to everyone for a losing week.

Thanks Elisabeth...21 pounds away but getting closer.

I have my brother's wedding this week so I know I'm not concentrating on what I'm eating. I'll be ready to go, full force, next week! I want to be close to my goal by my anniversary.

I won't be around so good luck to everyone!