Hey all.

So there's a bunch of us in this group, all split up into our different banding days. I was thinking that it might be a good idea to have one master thread as we move through the month, in which all of us could post as we go, from the pioneers going on March 1st to the finalists on March 31st.

I'd love to talk about our anticipation and any worries as we approach our banding date, for people to talk about exactly what happened from the moment they walked into the hospital door until the second they walked out, about how recovery is going, about weight loss and plateaus, about non-scale victories and challenges.

I was thinking that if we all contribute to one thread, it'll form a more substantial channel for information and support. At the moment, I was thinking that we might be too spread out into individual date, and that a central thread would be a really good backbone for the group, in addition to the date-specific threads.

What do you think?

Fenton

Wow, Fenton, good for you with your 6am gym visit!!

Harley, thanks for the info!! It helps me to know what other people are eating.. It still gets confusing for me. I don't know whether to watch carbs, calories, fat, or all of the above.. I have faith that one of these days I'll get it! I have a much needed nutritionist appt on the 24th of March. Congrats again on your success:)

Anyone else feel like sharing what a typical meal might look like for them with good restriction??

Hope you all have a great day! We're looking at another 18-22" of snow tonight into tomorrow.. Oh my. The count down is soooooo on for Daytona.. 9 DAYS!!

I'm most envious of your daytona adventure!

It's on our "to do " list, for sure!

Ach, I'm kind of cheating - I'm in Colorado at the moment, two hours out of whack with my body clock, so I woke at 4:30AM and gave up on trying to get back to sleep.

Fenton - how about a nice walk in the crisp morning mountain air....brrrrrrrrr

I've developed a new behavior which kind of worries me. .., if I have a stuck feeling, I just go to the bathroom and have a PB.

The thing is, I'm wondering if I'm now using it as a weight loss technique. Instead of chewing better, I'm happily(?) getting rid of half of what I just had...

I think if you can see a pattern it is a problem.

PS getting to the gym on your own (without trainer) is great!!

the count down is soooooo on for Daytona.. 9 DAYS!!

Yay for going some place warm!!!

Yah, I definitely can't wait for warmer weather in FL! Hopefully their cold spell is long gone by next week. I need to be more active, and the weather here makes it impossible to be out and about. I will be doing lots of walking, swimming, and riding (and maybe a little eating and drinking;)..) It will feel good to be outside in the sun for sure!

So.. we had 2 more cord of wood delivered today. I am so over it! But I did get a good workout by stacking a whole cord by myself:) My arms are spaghetti, and my back feels like I've been run over, but it's kind of a good feeling lol

Tomorrow I will do the other cord. Hopefully this all pays off on Friday, I am still aiming to be back to my lowest post op weight by the 27th. 9lbs and a week and a half to go.. I think I'm pushing it!! I will be content if I lose another 5 at least, I have been doing really well, so 5 should be more than doable.

I will stop rambling now. I need to get started on homework!

Have a great night all:)

~Kerri

Anyone else feel like sharing what a typical meal might look like for them with good restriction??quote]

I feel that I really reached good restriction with my last fill. I am at 10.5 in a 14 cc band. I never thought I would have to get that much, but whatever works!

This is the lunch that I packed for tomorrow, and is very typical of my portion size. I will eat most of the chicken and salad, but not all. The larger containers (1 cup) are way under half full, the smaller containers (1/2 cup) only hold a few croutons (I crush them up to add a bit of crunch), one is empty. The smallest dip container 1/8th cup) holds my dressing (basil romano, yummy!). I no longer dress my salads, I dip my fork before taking a bite. It really controls my dressing portions, yet I get the perfect amount in every bite. I normally have a Protein and a veggie or salad. Lunch is normally my largest meal of the day. I am super tight in the a.m. and have little appetite at night, so I have Soup or a very small nosh.

Excuse my feet, I tried to edit that out but it isn't working, lol.

http://

Lisa! I want you to make me lunch every day!

Lisa! I want you to make me lunch every day!

Me too! Me too! Looks de-lish:)

Lol, thanks you two! It was not a particularly inspired food day, salad and chicken is pretty boring (although tasty!). Some days are wayyy more creative.

Hi all.

Im a bit depressed today thinking I will not make my goal of being in onerland by my bandiversary. Hell I wanted to be there for the new year.

I only have myself to blame. I make the poor food choices and I am the one not doing the cardio on a regular basis.

Im thinking of hiring a goal coach. But then I just think why do I have to pay folks to keep me in line? I can't keep doing that. My wallet is pretty empty as of late. Fenton knows what a good trainer costs. Not cheap. Im nervous with the economy. I should be saving not spending. But then again this is an investment in me.

Is this just another excuse for me? I need to find the thing deep within me that is sabotaging my good work. I need to rekindle the embers of the hope that I will be a healthy weight. That I can do this. Can't I?

You absolutely can, and you know it.

Hmm. I wonder if we could develop some sort of exercise check-in log. Each day we could post what we did, if anything, in the way we post Friday weigh-ins. Well, slightly differently.

Let's think how we could do that. I guess the best thing would be to post at the end of the day - I was in the gym at 5:45AM today (!), and before Breakfast had burned 500 calories. But I'm walking around a lot (this convention center is absurdly huge), so I'll probably end up with some solid mileage - particularly if I go back to the gym (which I probably won't).

Anyone have any ideas? I'm thinking that, just as some of us log our food (and all of us should!), we could log our exercise.

Some stuff from support group....some of it is pretty good!

Mindful eating: is about being conscious of why you are eating. Are you hungry? Are you tired? Are you bored? There is no menu or recipes to follow. It's about learning HOW and WHY you eat, and less about WHAT you eat. When you are so closely in touch with what is going on inside, you know the exact moment you are satisfied rather than stuffed or starving. To understand the why, what, when and how we eat, we have to be compassionate and nonjudgmental. This allows us to take a closer look at our behavior.

7 habits of mindful eaters:

1. Aware

2. Accepting

3. Nonjudgmental

4. Compassionate

5. In-the-Moment

6. Able to Let-it-Go

7. Observant

Four foundations for eating mindfully:

MINDFULNESS of the MIND On a scale of 1-10, how aware am I at this moment? Am I tasting every bite or am I mindlessly chomping away? Observe the taste, texture, smell, and sound of food. This helps you to pay attention to what you are doing. Identify whether you are mindlessly snacking or in touch with every single bite.

MINDFULNESS of the BODY. Listen to your body. Do I pay attention when it says stop? Or, do I ignore my body's feedback. Identify how your body tells you it's hungry and full. Pay attention to hunger pains, a rumbling stomach, your energy level, movement, body posture and muscle tension. If you don't respond, your body could stop giving you important information about how it is doing. Learn to know the difference between emotional hunger (stress eating) and physical hunger.

MINDFULNESS of FEELINGS is noticing feelings that start and stop eating. Anxiety, guilt, stress, comfort, boredom and pleasure are just a few. It's important to get in touch with your emotions. If you don't get a handle on your feelings, Sometimes, coping with your feelings is more important that changing the type of foods you eat.

MINDFULNESS of THOUGHTS. Be mindful of your thoughts. Observe “should” and “should not” thoughts, critical thoughts (I'm so fat!), food rules, "good" and "bad" food categories. Notice how positive and negative thoughts sway your behavior. A thought is just a thought, you don't have to respond to it.

Mindful eating exercise:

Among many things, mindful eating includes feeling the saltiness of each potato chip on your fingers as you pick it up, and noting the taste of the salt when you put the chip on your tongue. It’s being aware of and listening to the loud crunch of each bite, and the noise the chewing makes in your head. As you eat the chips, you take note of the rough texture against your tongue, and the pressure of your teeth grinding together.

When you are watchful, you notice how your stomach expands and feels fuller. You experience each bite from start to finish by slowing down every aspect of the eating process to be fully aware of each movement, swallow, aroma and feeling derived from eating.

AFFIRMATIONS:

Mind

• I accept that my eating and weight concerns are creating emotional distress, discomfort, and suffering in my life.
  
• I choose to accept my body and weight as they are at this moment.
  Committing to accept myself is a choice only I can make.
  

Body

• I accept that my genetic inheritance strongly influences my body shape and weight.
  
• I accept how important it is for me to eat mindfully in order to live a healthy life.
  

Thoughts

• To accept my body and weight does not mean that I am judging them to be perfect
  
• Acceptance only comes from within myself. I don’t seek it from the outside.
  

Feelings

• I accept that my worth is not reflected by my weight and shape, but, rather, my worth is determined by who I am as a whole person.
  
• Acceptance includes rejecting the cultural and social messages I receive about weight.
  

Merry vs. Mindful

Eat, Drink and Be Merry myth suggests you eat what feels good in-the-moment and use food to de-stress, soothe emotions Celebrate. Eating is routine and given little attention.

• Multitasking while eating (watch TV, drive, talk & eat)
  
• “Grazing” on food
  
• Routinely skipping breakfast or meals
  
• Ignoring hunger and body cues (stomach rumbling, low energy)
  
• Continue to eat although full (stuffing rather than satiating)
  
• Member of the “Clean Plate Club”
  
• Disregarding nutrition needs
  
• Avoiding physical symptoms of over or under eating
  
• “Live to Eat” rather than “Eat to Live”
  
• Use “Comfort Foods”
  
• Believe you have little or no control
  
• Shoulds and Shouldn'ts dominate eating
  

Eat, Drink & Be Mindful is being diligently attentive to your body, mind, thoughts and feelings as you eat. A conscious awareness and attention to food choices, body and nutritional needs. Nonjudgmental, accepting and compassionate toward yourself and others

• Nonjudgmental of self and food choices
  
• Fully in-the-moment while eating
  
• Focused attention. Able to bring attention back when it wanders
  
• Alert and observant of thoughts.
  
• Able to “let go” of critical thoughts and emotions without reacting
  
• Diligently watchful of pre and post eating feelings
  
• Food just is what it is rather than categorized as good and bad
  
• Mindful eating is an ongoing journey
  
• Compassionate toward self and others
  

Acceptance of self and body as you are

hi folks... anyone attending the lapband conference in nyc at the end of march? http://cts.vresp.com/c/?MadisonAvenuePlastic/9cd9e4f44a/94e98ef0a7/c71d7c1444

i admit, i've always been more of a reader than a writer on this thread. still, it would be great to put some faces to some names and have coffee with a few of my fellow march bandsters. i can't believe it's been nearly a year. oy.

glad to see everyone doing so well. i'm stalled just outside "onderland", but i do have a fill skedded next week. it's annoying how one will last me 4-6 weeks, then it's like poof... no restriction at all. does that happen to anyone else?

I was just checking in and reading your post Harley(very good points!) when Margaritaville came on. Now there's a sign if I ever got hit by one. Number one Buffet fan (yes?) passing on great info and Jimmy singing "It's my own damn fault".

Yep so true.