banded 5 years and starting over

[ali4416 5]

The greatest advice I ever got was "the band is just a tool"'and ain't that the truth. my band is at a perfect fill right now, so why cant I feel motivated to work out or even eat right?

I'm almost pre-op weight and lightbulb hit when I was the on the plane the other day and I couldn't buckle the belt. same thing happened before I got the band.

anyone have any "back to basic" advice? this morning going to grab the greek yogurt, Vitamin drink etc and hopefully do liquids for maybe a couple days? thoughts?

[Bandista 7,466]

Hi there, congratulations on regrouping. A quick thought -- for me yogurt is a slider unless I chunk it up with a a little gluten-free Cereal, seeds, etc. In order to feel satiety I need to chew the food. The links below in my signature are things that have helped me --- maybe reviewing them will give you a boost or some new tips. And here's to spring after a heck of a long winter! Best wishes.

[JustWatchMe 7,117]

I'm only out a year but my advice is to get to your doc and NUT and tell them you want a plan for getting back on track. Stay in contact with them for monthly checkups as your weight goes down. Good luck and good for you!!! Never ever ever give up on yourself.

Edited March 13, 2015 by JustWatchMe

[iamshazza 41]

Good for you! I recently decided to reboot as well. I think I'm in the green zone now. Most of the time I know when to quit and I can eat without trouble. Now and then something gets stuck - usually meat. SO...I have to be careful early in the day with eating meat.

I've taken to having yogurt with low fat granola (that I make at home with oats, various nuts and a few craisins) and a banana (if it's small a whole one, if it's big usually just half) cut up in it for Breakfast. Since we do need as much Protein as we can get I've found a couple of really good yogurts with a lot of Protein. The first is Stoneyfield Farms Petite Creme...which is actually a sweet cheese, but it's like yogurt (not as tangy) and it's low fat (a whole one is 3 points for Weight Watchers) and it has 10g of protein. The other one is Noosa. The 8oz one has 13g of protein. It is considered 1 serving. When I'm bulking it up with granola and / or banana I eat half. the lid just goes back on it. They have smaller containers too.

I might even have another yogurt and granola at lunch or sometimes I'll have steamed veg and/or an apple with fresh ground Peanut Butter. I like to bring tuna packed in Water with spicy mustard and a few gherkins diced up in it. I eat Soup and stew a lot when it's colder outside. I've purchased a lot of 1 cup and smaller sized containers to bring my lunch in and I have a small sized bowl that I keep at work for when I'm having Soup or anything that needs heated up (so I don't give myself too big a portion).

I use smaller bowls and plates at home as well. The thing I have to be careful of is evening snacking!! I've gotten better by cutting back and buying healthier Snacks (whole grain tortilla chips, salsa, pita chips, veg, fruit...), but I'm still snacking when I'm not really hungry. It's out of habit and it's been hard to break. But I'll keep working at it!

dinner usually consists of some lean meat - chicken or lean ground beef made into meatballs or meatloaf or just a little hamburger slider - and a veg or potato.

It's hard for me to find an excuse to be lazy because we have a fitness center right in the building where I work and I can go in there during my lunch hour and get in a good 45 min on the bike or elliptical or treadmill (when my knee will let me do anything besides the bike). I also have a dog that needs to be walked in the evenings. Again, I have a bad knee so some days I can't walk him as long, but I still have to get out there and do at least a short walk around.

I try to go to the fitness center at a certain time of the day when I know there will be something good to watch on the TV to keep me distracted from what I'm doing because it is boring. I've been getting brave and looking for other activities as well and found a fitness class on Meet Up that I'm going to try in my area - Cardio Drumming. Now that sounds fun. Although I prefer to do activities with my dog, I can't always.

Since I have gotten my last fill that put me where I am (8.5cc) now in late January I've lost about 8.5 lbs. I need to keep adjusting and experimenting and I also need to ramp up my activity.

I hope my ramblings will help. Best of luck!!

Edited March 17, 2015 by iamshazza