Okay, I have some questions and need some answers...

1) Do any of you use baby spoons or forks for smaller bites?

2) Do all of you NOT sip Water when eating?

3) How much alcohol can get you buzzed now that you are banded?

4) Who can still eat fast food?

5) Who can still eat bread?

6) Do any of you do Atkins?

7) Do any of you do Weight Watcher's program?

8) Does sex count as exercise?

9) Anyone have problems with chewing/swallowing/digesting nuts?

10) What about cheese?

11) Anyone already noticing their skin sagging?

12) Any good snack ideas out there besides veggies? I am burned out on them!!

13) Any good tips period?

14) How long should it take to lose 10 pounds if you are doing everything correctly?

1) Do any of you use baby spoons or forks for smaller bites? no

2) Do all of you NOT sip water when eating? no sipping here

3) How much alcohol can get you buzzed now that you are banded? Haven't really tried I had one shot of tequilla 2 days ago to celebrate going under 200 pounds and I did feel it a little

4) Who can still eat fast food? no

5) Who can still eat bread? haven't tried to eat bread, I don't want to know

6) Do any of you do Atkins? my own version of it - Low carb/Low fat/High protein diet

7) Do any of you do Weight Watcher's program? no

8) Does sex count as exercise? I hope so

9) Anyone have problems with chewing/swallowing/digesting nuts? no, but I only eat a handful once in a blue moon

10) What about cheese? I eat low fat cheese once in a while

11) Anyone already noticing their skin sagging? yes, lots of saggy skin issues

12) Any good snack ideas out there besides veggies? I am burned out on them!! I try not to snack

13) Any good tips period?

14) How long should it take to lose 10 pounds if you are doing everything correctly? impossible to tell, depends on many individual things like metabolism, excercise, etc.<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->

I'd like to know too! Audree

1) Do any of you use baby spoons or forks for smaller bites? Not me.

2) Do all of you NOT sip Water when eating? I don't drink while eating at all. I wait an hour after eating before drinking.

3) How much alcohol can get you buzzed now that you are banded? Since I only drink before eating, and it's on an empty stomach, I do get buzzed fairly quickly...2 glasses of wine, or 1 martini.

4) Who can still eat fast food? I usually opt for Taco Bell if I have to eat fast food. I eat taco salad, pintos and cheese, or the inside of a beef burrito.

5) Who can still eat bread? The only bread I've eated that didn't bother me was Pepperidge Farm Thin Sliced Wheat Bread. And based on recommendations here, I toasted it.

6) Do any of you do Atkins? Not me. I don't low-carb, but I stick with whole grains.

7) Do any of you do Weight Watcher's program? Not me. I hate counting points or calories, and weighing and measuring.

8) Does sex count as exercise? I think anything that gets you active is a bonus, but I've heard that the "calories burned" figure for sex is not as high as people have been told in the past. I guess it depends on your technique, how long you go, and how often! Above all, have fun! (Sorry, couldn't resist that.)

9) Anyone have problems with chewing/swallowing/digesting nuts? Nope. I keep raw nuts in the shell in a small basket out on the counter. If you have to crack the nuts, it slows you down. Nuts are very healthy, *but* you have to limit the quantity. I usually eat no more than 7-10 almonds, or 4-5 pecans or walnuts.

10) What about cheese? I stick with low-fat cheese, and avoid melted cheese unless it's mixed in with something else. I had trouble choking on melted mozzerella before being banded, and don't want to chance it now!

11) Anyone already noticing their skin sagging? Yep, but not too bad yet. But, I sort of think of sagging skin as battle scars in the battle of the bulge!

12) Any good snack ideas out there besides veggies? I am burned out on them!! I like non-fat, sugar free yogurt, nf sf pudding, a *few* raw nuts, turkey Jerky (but it's salty, and can cause you to retain water), and once in a while if I'm craving Peanut Butter, I'll have a tablespoon or so on a rice cake.

13) Any good tips period? Write down everything you eat. Even though I don't think anyone wants to weigh and measure forever, do it in the beginning, and periodically after that just to learn about portion sizes. I've found that journalling helps "keep you honest", plus serves as a good reference for later. If you plateau, you can go back over your journal and maybe try something different.

14) How long should it take to lose 10 pounds if you are doing everything correctly? For me, about 5-6 weeks. But, I expect that to slow down as I lose weight.

Tami

Okay, I have some questions and need some answers...

1) Do any of you use baby spoons or forks for smaller bites?

2) Do all of you NOT sip Water when eating?

3) How much alcohol can get you buzzed now that you are banded?

4) Who can still eat fast food?

5) Who can still eat bread?

6) Do any of you do Atkins?

7) Do any of you do Weight Watcher's program?

8) Does sex count as exercise?

9) Anyone have problems with chewing/swallowing/digesting nuts?

10) What about cheese?

11) Anyone already noticing their skin sagging?

12) Any good snack ideas out there besides veggies? I am burned out on them!!

13) Any good tips period?

14) How long should it take to lose 10 pounds if you are doing everything correctly?

1) Nope.

2) I only sip if my throat feels really dry or something is stuck. This was easier to do then I thought it would be.

3) One glass of wine will do it. Before banding, it would take 3-4.

4) I haven't tried fast food. It honestly doesn't appeal to me anymore, for which I am grateful.

5) I can eat whole-grain bread. I miss the nice soft rolls and all, but they clog up soooo fast it's not worth it.

6 & 7). Nope. I'm too burned out on following this or that plan. So far, I've done well just focusing on making good choices most of the time, and only eating until I feel "done".

8) I hope so! Let's just say that as I've lost, my interest has increased...

9)Nuts have been fine, I don't eat them often though.

10)Cheese is fine too, again not something I eat often because of the fat content.

11)My skin is good so far, but I've got a long way to go yet.

12)I have whole-grain crackers for a snack sometimes, or a little fruit. I was having beef jerkey, but it's really to salty and makes me retain a lot of water.

13)I'm trying to just follow the rules and not do a lot of testing, if that makes sense.

14)It depends on a lot.

Okay, I have some questions and need some answers...

1) Do any of you use baby spoons or forks for smaller bites? no reg size

2) Do all of you NOT sip Water when eating? I don't drink while eating

3) How much alcohol can get you buzzed now that you are banded? no tried

4) Who can still eat fast food? I was only banded 10 days ago so not yet

5) Who can still eat bread? not yet

6) Do any of you do Atkins? I will not do this diet due to being sick and tired of diets

7) Do any of you do Weight Watcher's program? look above

8) Does sex count as exercise? not 4 me

9) Anyone have problems with chewing/swallowing/digesting nuts? haven't tried them yet

10) What about cheese? look above

11) Anyone already noticing their skin sagging? not yet only lost 10 lbs

12) Any good snack ideas out there besides veggies? I am burned out on them!! yougurt smoothie

13) Any good tips period? be patient

14) How long should it take to lose 10 pounds if you are doing everything correctly?

on wk and a couple of days here

1) Do any of you use baby spoons or forks for smaller bites?

No, I use regular forks but I take small bites.

2) Do all of you NOT sip Water when eating?

I never drink while eating and wait for one hour after eating.

3) How much alcohol can get you buzzed now that you are banded?

One large glass of wine.

4) Who can still eat fast food?

Noooo way! Stuck every time! Although I can eat 1/2 of the inside of a bean burrito from Taco Bell, but probably only because that is so mushy.

5) Who can still eat bread?

No problem with any kind of bread, but often skip most of it because it fills me up too fast and prohibits me from eating enough Protein. Usually a couple of bites does the trick.

6) Do any of you do Atkins?

No way! I'm done with low-carb!

7) Do any of you do Weight Watcher's program?

No. I'm so happy I don't have to diet any more.

8) Does sex count as exercise?

Absolutely!

9) Anyone have problems with chewing/swallowing/digesting nuts?

I've been stuck on nuts more than once. They are very difficult for me. However, if I have my wine first it relaxes my system enough to have a few nuts very very slowly and in tiny tiny bites.

10) What about cheese?

Never had a problem with any kind of cheese.

11) Anyone already noticing their skin sagging?

Yes! I'm 72 pounds down and my boobs point straight to the floor. My lower abdomen is starting to look like I've had a baby.

12) Any good snack ideas out there besides veggies? I am burned out on them!!

I love regular Snacks like pretzels, fritos, cheese, chips. But I really don't snack very often as these foods are high calorie. I save them for about once a week.

13) Any good tips period?

I'd like to share my rules for avoiding a PB. Prior to these rules I was Pbing once a week or more. After following these rules I have gone over three weeks with no PB!

- liquids only in the morning. (I like to have a Protein shake that contains all of my daily vitamins)

- soft/easy food in tiny tiny bites for lunch (soup, Beans, chili, anything soft)

-One to two glasses of wine before dinner every night.

What a relief to be PB free for over three weeks! My goal is one month or even longer!

14) How long should it take to lose 10 pounds if you are doing everything correctly?

I've been losing about 6.5-7 pounds a month since surgery.

Sunta,

I notice from your post that you PB alot. Me too! I ry to be careful but it happens frequently. What are you doing to prevent it?

I notice from your post that you PB alot. Me too! I ry to be careful but it happens frequently. What are you doing to prevent it?

As I mention above, this is what I do to prevent PBing:

1. Sticking to only liquids in the morning, such as a protein/multivitamin shake.

2. Eating a soft/easy lunch like Beans, chili, Soup, or other soft foods.

3. Always drinking one to two glasses of wine before dinner.

Since following these rules I have not PB'd in over three weeks.