AAAH, Summer time my absolute favorite time of year!!! So with Memorial Day weekend being the official kick-off to summer my weekend was packed full of BBQ's, pool time and hanging with friends and family.

I love everything about summer, the sun, water, bbq's and just the overall laid back feeling you get during this time of year. However, this will be the FIRST summer I've been healthy in like 11 years so I've been planning away and our schedule is looking pretty busy:-) I've learned some lessons this weekend in regards to needing modifications for my new life.

During all the festivities of this past weekend and when looking at my upcoming calendar I realized some modifications have to be made for me to stay on track and be accountable. It comes down to the fact that I simply wasn't properly prepeared. When we have get togethers we go all out and by that I mean endless spreads of BBQ, buckets of potato and pasta salads, baked beans, chips & dips, and desserts galore. I found myself surrounded by wonderful food and friends which is great but I quickly realized that if I'm not careful and not properly prepared this could be a very difficult time for me. The lesson learned is that it's much easier to get distracted about what's on your plate when you're comfortable and when everyone is setting around the table talking you're not paying as much attention to how quickly you're eating or as concious of what you're putting on your plate.

I knew all of this going into it I was the one planning the menu for goodness sake, and I thought oh no problem, I've been around all this before and did just fine, but I learned I can't wing it like that. I have to be better prepared. I planned it so that I saved a majority of my calories for the dinner. I had a yogurt for breakfast and a protein bar for lunch and then we had a late lunch/dinner. I had some BBQ meat, my recommeneded amount, a TLB of each of pasta salad and beans, which I think is all fine, BUT the thing that I think got me the most is that I found myself later that evening picking on things as I would walk by, not making a plate, but you know 4-5 chips here or there, a couple M&M's here and there and then later that eveing was dessert, so I made 4 different kinds of mini cheesecakes and think I handled it "responsibly" by taking 1/4 of each one on my plate to make a whole (these were the mini muffin sized cakes). Again, I think this is fine everything in moderation, HOWEVER, I can see that I need to be better prepared, I can't do this every weekend for the whole summer, that's NOT moderation.

Today, I feel terrible, stressing out in fact even though I didn't eat nearly the fraction of what I would have without the band I know I could have made better choices. This isn't typical fo rme and I don't like the way it makes me feel. I've come too far!!! I don't want to have to worry about every little thing I put in my mouth but lets be honest we have to be accountable for every little thing we put in our mouths because if we don't before we know it, it sprials out of control. I'm not one who likes to be restricted by the band, meaning I don't want to be so tight that I'm getting sick to stop eating. I have very little fluid in because I want the band to give me that full signal but not the full restriction so I have to take full control of the situation now and start making a pre-game plan which means,

Making some menu modifications now and then (at least for myself) by grilling leaner meats like chicken, turkey and shrimp vs. pulled pork and pork ribs, pork pork and more pork:-) Modifying my side dishes like coleslaw without the "typical" dressing more like an asian coleslaw that is a much lighter dressing, instead of potato salad maybe a veggie tray, or a tomato, cucumber salad, instead of crazy desserts how about some fresh strawberries or peaches with a dab of cool whip etc.

Again I know it's about everything in moderation and I don't think I did terrible and I feel it's ok to treat yourself ONCE IN A WHILE but if I see this in my every weekend summer schedule then these changes have to be in place.

Whewww ok now that that's out there, how did you kick-off the summer?

mine didnt include a bbq, but i did go to the beach with family. while everyone was eating subs and chips and drinking beer, i was drinking my water and eating some lunch meat with laughing cow and some watermelon. so happy i grabbed a cooler with only things i could eat, i felt so much better, esp without the hangover!

what you've said here is one of my biggest fears. i cant imagine what goal weight feels like, but i already think about how maintenance is going to feel like. will i ever be able to enjoy a family bbq without worrying about every little thing i put in my mouth making me gain all 130 lbs back? you seem like you did as good as you can! enjoying the food without overeating!

Edited May 28, 201412 yr by betty_s

Thanks! Yeah, most days are fine but I do find myself constantly worrying. I know I shouldn't but I do. I'm hoping maybe it will ease with time??? Or atleast I hope so! I'm my own worst critic. My husband thinks I handled it great and so did my friends but I could just kick myself for eating that crap. It's days like today that I'm gald I'm not on a daily weighing regiment!

Oh and BTW great job to you on being prepared! I think this is one of the biggest keys to successful weight loss and management!!

Edited May 28, 201412 yr by enjoythetime

My Brother grilled and did the Asada, and chicken for me , and there was all the fixings to go with it , salsa guacamole, cheese, beans and tortillias , so I made me a bowl , with a little of this or that and NO tortillias but it was so good over the chicken and it was nice of the to think of me so I could eat and enjoy , and then lots of water , we we're satisified and then after about a hour we took a walk , sun was shining and we sweated , it was a good day , so that's how we started our summer.

So I have to say when I got banded I did it for my life, and I want to be able to live my life with it. So that means that I want to be able to enjoy events and not always be worrying about what I am eating and if there are foods there that I can eat etc.

Pre-band I had lots of stomach issues and I was always worried about what food would be where and if we went out someplace what they would be serving and how my tummy would react. I hated living like that. Before banding when I went to WW I would always thing about the servings and the size of what I was eating and think of measurements and all that jazz on top of it all.

Today...yes I would love to be at goal. Yes I would love to tell you I have lost 130 pounds in this last year of being banded but in reality I love being able to tell you even more that I have lost 60 pounds since deciding to have surgery, 50 pounds since being banded, and I have not gained even one pound back since then. I lose something every single month, and I keep losing. I don't worry about what I eat anymore I don't look at food like it is the devil holding me over a flaming hot cauldron of bubbling oil anymore. I don't measure in my head anymore. I eat when I am hungry and when I have had my fill, I have had my fill. If I want some sweet stuff I have some, and I don't regret it I enjoy it and I can no longer eat a whole anything. Not a whole box of ice cream, a whole cake a whole pie so am I worried..nope.

I love that it's summer, yes the foods can be tempting but what's even better is that it's warm out and it's lighter out for longer and I am out and doing more. I am burning more calories then I am putting in these days because I want to be up and out and doing so much more then I have in the last 4 summers since I have lost this weight.

I love my band, I love my life I love the banded life. I enjoy eating for the first time in my life, most food these days I am able to eat and it doesn't make me sick and I am so happy to say that. The band helps me keep it in proportion so I'm not all in my head about it, and when it's going down well I don't over do it like I used to.

Well anyway...that's enough about me My hubby BBQ'd this MMD I can't say I ate horribly I had a piece of steak and a spoon of potato salad. I did have 2 slices of blue berry pie with light cool-whip dressing..but ah what can I say it was that good!

So far so good with my eating! We had lots of BBQ & friends over all weekend at my parents lake house, it was so much fun.

I've always stayed away from eating BBQ/other non-green/salad stuff, so I did have a bit (maybe 4-5? bites at most, my stomach usually starts feeling iffy when it comes to non-healthy foods like that after a few small bites) but other than that I've stayed as on track as I possibly could be.

I am so so excited for summer to be here, more so after that ridiculous 5 months of winter we had up here. I did have to get new swim suits as mine from last year were literally falling off me and I just wasn't comfortable wearing/going in the water with it being that loose.

@@lisacaron I love your attitude and outlook on this subject! This is just what I needed to hear! Thank you! I need to reminded every now and then that food is no longer the enemy and that nothing in moderation is prohibitied with this new way of life. This is why I got my band and this is why I love my band, to no longer be a capative to food but to enjoy it and not be afraid of it but sometimes I forget and go back to the years of failed diet attempts and being told that certain foods are prohibited. I've been beating myself up since Sunday, about eating a very small amount of things that won't hurt me if enjoyed on occasion and I know that but man it's hard to break out of that cycle some times!!!

This is exactly what I needed to GET OVER IT AND ON WITH IT ALREADY!!!:-)

Thanks for the reminder and the support!!!

So I have to say when I got banded I did it for my life, and I want to be able to live my life with it. So that means that I want to be able to enjoy events and not always be worrying about what I am eating and if there are foods there that I can eat etc.

Pre-band I had lots of stomach issues and I was always worried about what food would be where and if we went out someplace what they would be serving and how my tummy would react. I hated living like that. Before banding when I went to WW I would always thing about the servings and the size of what I was eating and think of measurements and all that jazz on top of it all.

Today...yes I would love to be at goal. Yes I would love to tell you I have lost 130 pounds in this last year of being banded but in reality I love being able to tell you even more that I have lost 60 pounds since deciding to have surgery, 50 pounds since being banded, and I have not gained even one pound back since then. I lose something every single month, and I keep losing. I don't worry about what I eat anymore I don't look at food like it is the devil holding me over a flaming hot cauldron of bubbling oil anymore. I don't measure in my head anymore. I eat when I am hungry and when I have had my fill, I have had my fill. If I want some sweet stuff I have some, and I don't regret it I enjoy it and I can no longer eat a whole anything. Not a whole box of ice cream, a whole cake a whole pie so am I worried..nope.

I love that it's summer, yes the foods can be tempting but what's even better is that it's warm out and it's lighter out for longer and I am out and doing more. I am burning more calories then I am putting in these days because I want to be up and out and doing so much more then I have in the last 4 summers since I have lost this weight.

I love my band, I love my life I love the banded life. I enjoy eating for the first time in my life, most food these days I am able to eat and it doesn't make me sick and I am so happy to say that. The band helps me keep it in proportion so I'm not all in my head about it, and when it's going down well I don't over do it like I used to.

Well anyway...that's enough about me My hubby BBQ'd this MMD I can't say I ate horribly I had a piece of steak and a spoon of potato salad. I did have 2 slices of blue berry pie with light cool-whip dressing..but ah what can I say it was that good!

I know what you are feeling enjoythetime. When I go to Florida to visit the folks, it's mostly dining out and more extravagant breakfasts, etc. But I know this and I do what I can. I watch my portions, I try my best to make good choices, and I have things in the house that are better for me. 100 calorie ice cream...SF pudding/jello, lo-fat cheese wedges, etc. It helps to have those items available when the rest of the family is nibbling on chips and nuts and finishing off breakfast with coffee cake.

I know that when I get home from these jaunts, I'll go back to my regular eating and whatever I've gained will go away in a week or two. I was pleasantly surprised that when I got home on Sunday, I only gained a pound. Not bad at all especially as I know that I'll take it off by the time next Sunday rolls around.

I suspect like me, you have issues with feeling not in control. Hence the nibbling. I'm more comfortable when I can control what I eat so I understand when we feel like we don't have that control. Heck...this whole thing is about control and I get such a high when I walk away from food because it means I'm in control.

Anyway....sorry for the rant. Just know that you are so not alone in how you're feeling.

@@gowalking yes you nailed it. It's definitely a control thing for me! When I feel I'm not in control I'm just totally uncomfortable! I almost wish they made food scales small enough that I could stick them in my purse when I go out to eat. I'm just a by the book kind of person, which isn't a bad thing but some times I'm over the top BUT the control is what eases my fear, the fear of going back to a place I NEVER WANT TO BE AGAIN! Thanks for the words of encouragement!!

I know what you are feeling enjoythetime. When I go to Florida to visit the folks, it's mostly dining out and more extravagant breakfasts, etc. But I know this and I do what I can. I watch my portions, I try my best to make good choices, and I have things in the house that are better for me. 100 calorie ice cream...SF pudding/jello, lo-fat cheese wedges, etc. It helps to have those items available when the rest of the family is nibbling on chips and nuts and finishing off breakfast with coffee cake.

I know that when I get home from these jaunts, I'll go back to my regular eating and whatever I've gained will go away in a week or two. I was pleasantly surprised that when I got home on Sunday, I only gained a pound. Not bad at all especially as I know that I'll take it off by the time next Sunday rolls around.

I suspect like me, you have issues with feeling not in control. Hence the nibbling. I'm more comfortable when I can control what I eat so I understand when we feel like we don't have that control. Heck...this whole thing is about control and I get such a high when I walk away from food because it means I'm in control.

Anyway....sorry for the rant. Just know that you are so not alone in how you're feeling.