Great Idea - I will do it right now !!

Hi

I am Janet and I am a recovering food addict :wink2:

I was banded 7/17/07 - My starting weight was 250 - I'm 5'4

Today (just over 10 months out) I am 154 - size 8 pants (was 18/20) Medium tops (was 22/24)

I got banded as I wanted to extend the years that I have left on this planet and to do that I knew that I needed to lose weight.

The band has been the tool I needed. For the first time in my life I have been able to achieve this goal (actually getting to my goal weight)

If you want a buddy - support - help - suggestions - Please feel free to call upon me - I will gladly share my journey with you - the journey is still on going and by helping you I will be helping me (staying motivated and accountable) and then one day you can pay it forward and help someone else.

Great....it is fun when a person reconnects after such a long time. I was contacted by one of my first college boyfriends. We remained good friends after not going together and lost tough after he got married. Anyway, was nice to hear from him and know what he is up to. Also, reconnected with some highschool and college classmates after many years.

Janet....hope the tummy has calmed down. I have yet to have had any stomach issues since banding. It's my fear. I do carry anti-nausea meds but have not had to take any. Anyway, hope you are back to normal..

Great...are costco a membership required store? I used to have a Sam's Club membership but the closest one is over 2 hours away and only made it to the store once a year....not worth the membership $$$$. And, now that I am not feeding anyone besides DS and DH (occassionally I do a group...depends on the job going on), I really don't need a lot of extras. We buy 1/2 beef and fill the freezer so we are pretty much set. I do miss the different items that Sam's offered. Like paper products, clothes, lawn chairs, work jeans for DH, etc. Maybe I will check out a Costco when down south.

Apples, yes Costcos are a membership type warehouse just like Sam's is. Even though it's just the 2 of us now I still like to buy some things in bulk and have shelves in my basement for what doesn't fit in my pantry.

Not sure how you would transport 2 bikes inside a car and have room for anything else. Heck when we drove with my SUV for Thanksgiving with just the dogs we were loaded to the gills. LOL What route south are you taking??

Apples, yes Costcos are a membership type warehouse just like Sam's is. Even though it's just the 2 of us now I still like to buy some things in bulk and have shelves in my basement for what doesn't fit in my pantry.

Not sure how you would transport 2 bikes inside a car and have room for anything else. Heck when we drove with my SUV for Thanksgiving with just the dogs we were loaded to the gills. LOL What route south are you taking??

Really not sure about the route. I imagine through SD, Neb and down. I am NOT a car rider. Have only been on one other long car trip and that was last year driving to FL. We have always flown. I do 90% of the driving and let DH sleep and gawk. Safer that way. He tends to want to nap while driving. Ummmmmmmmm....confession....last year I way over packed. Going to try to go free and easy this year. Limit it to 20 pr of shoes and 20 outfits. LOL

Afternoon everyone.....and she loses another pound:lost1lbs: , I think if I was not walking soooo much..I would be eating too much, but I guess if it ain't broke don't fix it! Oh I know as my weight goes down, I will slowly have to shave my calories, but I'm always calculating with those on line calculators to make sure I'm under there cal count. Right now I am eating between 1200-and 1400....and am very comfy with that.

I couldn't mail my cards yesterday because the post office was closed for lunch (very small town about 1500) so I will go today after 1:30.

We are supposed to get 3 storms so the next few days may be wet ones, but rain or not I will walk.....found some old windbreakers I can wear over my sweatshirts, and a little water is not going to scare me off..even Sophie will go out in it. Funny she gets a litlle trail of water dripping off her belly...cause she is so low to the ground Ha-Ha!

That's all for today.....

~Kelly~

Congrats Kelly on another pound gone for good!!

Apples, my guess is the route would be down via NE and then through CO as well as that's how we always drove to SD. When you are on I-76 in northeast Denver at about 120th Ave you will be about a mile from my old house. I'd have come flagged you down! My DH is a gawker too. He's always looking for critters in the fields and looking to see what crops are growing, etc.

Afternoon everyone.....and she loses another pound:lost1lbs: , I think if I was not walking soooo much..I would be eating too much, but I guess if it ain't broke don't fix it! Oh I know as my weight goes down, I will slowly have to shave my calories, but I'm always calculating with those on line calculators to make sure I'm under there cal count. Right now I am eating between 1200-and 1400....and am very comfy with that.

I couldn't mail my cards yesterday because the post office was closed for lunch (very small town about 1500) so I will go today after 1:30.

We are supposed to get 3 storms so the next few days may be wet ones, but rain or not I will walk.....found some old windbreakers I can wear over my sweatshirts, and a little Water is not going to scare me off..even Sophie will go out in it. Funny she gets a litlle trail of water dripping off her belly...cause she is so low to the ground Ha-Ha!

That's all for today.....

~Kelly~

Congrats on another lb lost, Kelly. Isn't it fun? And, that walking is working for you. "They" say (never have figured out who "they" are) that you just need to get off the butt and MOVE. I had my routine of running out three sets of stairs, walking the treadmill when weather didn't allow, or walking outdoors with my dog. I always feel better when I have been active. So cute about Sophie's wet belly. I imagine all of us getting together some day, bringing our pets and clucking about how smart they are. Dreaming, I know, but most of us are such pet lovers. Our kids....part of the family.

Eva...have fun with your cousin. Miss your posts the last few days but life just gets in the way sometimes.

I ended up going nowhere today. Too cold and windy and other things "popped up" here. I have a doc appt tomorrow and can just make it all in one trip. Maybe this afternoon is a good time to sit and do my cards? Shouldn't put it off any longer. BTW...Arlene....got your card today. Pretty lady/handsome husband card. Nice photo of you guys. Thank you.

Just junking up the thread in green ink. Feels good.

Afternoon everyone.....and she loses another pound:lost1lbs: , I think if I was not walking soooo much..I would be eating too much, but I guess if it ain't broke don't fix it! Oh I know as my weight goes down, I will slowly have to shave my calories, but I'm always calculating with those on line calculators to make sure I'm under there cal count. Right now I am eating between 1200-and 1400....and am very comfy with that.

I couldn't mail my cards yesterday because the post office was closed for lunch (very small town about 1500) so I will go today after 1:30.

We are supposed to get 3 storms so the next few days may be wet ones, but rain or not I will walk.....found some old windbreakers I can wear over my sweatshirts, and a little water is not going to scare me off..even Sophie will go out in it. Funny she gets a litlle trail of water dripping off her belly...cause she is so low to the ground Ha-Ha!

That's all for today.....

~Kelly~

Congrats on another lb lost, Kelly. Isn't it fun? And, that walking is working for you. "They" say (never have figured out who "they" are) that you just need to get off the butt and MOVE. I had my routine of running our three sets of stairs, walking the treadmill when weather didn't allow, or walking outdoors with my dog. I always feel better when I have been active. So cute about Sophie's wet belly. I imagine all of us getting together some day, bringing our pets and clucking about how smart they are. Dreaming, I know, but most of us are such pet lovers. Our kids....part of the family.

Eva...have fun with your cousin. Miss your posts the last few days but life just gets in the way sometimes.

I ended up going nowhere today. Too cold and windy and other things "popped up" here. I have a doc appt tomorrow and can just make it all in one trip. Maybe this afternoon is a good time to sit and do my cards? Shouldn't put it off any longer. BTW...Arlene....got your card today. Pretty lady/handsome husband card. Nice photo of you guys. Thank you.

Just junking up the thread in green ink. Feels good.

Well, I am back from my mother's. Got her eyelashes removed. Her eye dr wants her to go back to the neurologist-opthomalogist (sp) . There is no physical reason her vision should have become worse. It could be her heart medicine too. Hopefully that will get changed. The medicine she takes for her heart can cause blindness. I am too tired to take the kids to Santa. We are going to do it tomorrow.

Apples, you don't have to be blood kin to be a grandma. Your "mom" was closer to you than your mother. Those kids love you. Own it......Grandma!!!! My DS's new girlfriend has two kids. I bought them the same thing I bought my g-kids. Hey, if they are not here next year they know I loved them.

Lori, it is Desert Rose......the pinkish pattern you saw. That was the other pattern that was popular. I heard that costco has more upscale merchandise than Sam's. We have a couple of them, but they are not close by.....meaning they are over 20 miles away. I want to check one out.

Kelly, congrats on the lb!

Snacks......hmmmm.....low carb yogurt..... Mozzarella sticks...... Boiled eggs.....sf pudding......protein shake. Oh yes, 100 calorie popcorn.

Lori

I'm a super casual when entertaining ( I agree w/buffet style dinners - where everyone serves themselves - Don't know if you have shopped yet for your dinner - but I would do something like chicken cacatorrie (sp) - a lot of pple will be having prime rib for Christmas (well they do here in Cali) - Make a green salad- have a couple bottles of dressing - Chicken in one bowl - Rice in the other (I do rice not spaghattie) and a basket of bread - and the a dessert.

I would ck to see if these couples drink - wine - coffee or tea - then I would have some on hand - I would have a couple bottles of red & or white wines on had - some sodas and hordurves (cheese & crackers) - Plan on about 45 minutes visiting - then head them to the table.. Clean the dishes a way - offer coffee and dessert -

Just relax - but again - I don't have dinner parties - I have made dinner for Boyfriends (the way to a man's heart is thru his stomach) and couples like Phyl & Earl - pple who I am good friends with.. I have had baby showers where I served dinner - but it was buffett and everyone helped themselves..

Laura 27 Degrees - yep gf that's cold - we had one Christmas like that back in the late 80's - we are suppose to get cooler weather later in the week - but not no 27 degree ;0)... Hugs on the rash - hope you get it figured out - that's the thing with dermotaigolist - they always have 2 month wait.. Well that's when you just show up at the office and make them see you..

Melissa - We have both Sam's & costco - I've been in Sam's once- not much diff than Costco I would say that Costco vs Sam's is Like Walmart vs Target ;0) - So are you a demostrator - give out food ;0) - Yep wear layers ;0)

Meredith - What did you lapband doc say??

Kelly - shave the caloires & up the intenstiy of the exercise too as the weight comes off.. I started walking at like 3.0 then each couple of weeks increased my speed and incline and time on the treadmill..

Apples - I gotta do my cards too - before it gets to late - I over packed too - thought I would need 2 outfits per day - well really only needed one - well 2 days I did need to but the other 5 I didn't - so had 5 too many outfits

Bike rack lol - that's too funny - yes - tell them they have invented such a beast ;0) Yep own it Grandma - our Charlene can be such a forcefull person sometimes ;0)

Charlene - Hope your Mom's vision gets better..

Well gotta get back to work -

No 100 calorie anything! Not for me anyway. Sets me off. They're still carbs and can still trigger binging. One is never enough. The same with fruit. When you are limiting carbs, just the taste of a grape can get you off and running. Fruit is not free. It is full of sugar. Apples make me hungry. My stomach starts growling and I'm starving after I eat one. Even nuts can trigger my cravings. Right now I'm filled with cravings. Mostly chocolate which seems to be everywhere. But we really ave to understand that even yogurt has sugar that can trigger cravings. I was most successful when I eliminated as many carbs as I possibly could. When I get to the point where I am right now, it means I have to go back to the basics. Protein, protein, protein. With no carb-laden sauces. I wish I liked veggies more, but I don't.

Can't eat hard-boiled eggs, however, make me pb. meat and Protein drinks are the best way to get back on track. Eventually, add some other things, but to start you need to go hard core. If you've gone off the rails with your food you have to go back to basics. No sugar or starches--not even whole grains. Add whole grains and a little fruit later on. I really believe you have to cleanse your body of carbs to eliminate the cravings.

Its what I need to do. I'm under huge stress at work right now. Found out I have until Jan 3 to spend $40,000 in things for my classroom and the school through Title I and II. This is an unusual situation. Some federal money that came in. However, I'm very restricted in what I can buy. It has to meet certain qualifications. I also have enormous amounts of paperwork to fill out. I'm actually going in to work over my Christmas vacation to meet with the principal and hammer this out and get it all done. Aargh. I'm already looking through catalogs and sending e-mails and working around an obstructive facilatator whose head I went over through my principal. It means an unbelievable amount of work, and, eventually, a complete re-arrangement of my room, and me having to learn a whole lot of technology and I am the original technophobe.

Coming on top of an emotionally rough couple of months, my eating wants to get totally out of control. This is the kind of situation that totally triggers my ADHD which is not at all good with details and paperwork. And I medicate my ADHD with food. I'm back up those couple of lbs I lost and I need to get them back off.

So that's my rant. I can't play with carbs when I'm like this. And I suspect that many of you can't either.

Am going to get back on the protein train. I strongly recommend that those of you who are struggling climb on board with me.

Cheri

I couldn't agree with you more Cheri. And I am going to hop on that protein train with you tomorrow. I've been thinking it's what I need to get back to and when I put on my black cords tonight and they were tight and then read your post it confirmed it. It's one of the reasons I can't even have the fat free 100 calorie popcorn, it triggers something in me for salty and crunchy foods. Chips, Fritos mainly, and popcorn are major red light foods for me. I always thought I didn't have a sugar problem since I don't care for sweets but all those foods have a high amount of carbs/sugars in them.

Oops gotta go ride for bunko is here

Cheri and Lori, I'm in for tomorrow........protein day! Cheri, you are right about the carb addiction. I go along doing so good then I start eating carbs.......before you know it I am off the bandwagon. I have no plans of eating out or going to Christmas gatherings this week. This is a good time to gear up for Christmas Day. I have to do this One Day at a Time. I still can stay on WW and do only protein. Lets share our eating tomorrow evening.

All aboard people! Join us on the protein train. We can do this.

Cheri

Cheri, I hope that includes protein drinks. I have to fast tomorrow morning for blood work. I am going to down a protein drink when I get out of the doctors office.

OK everyone...let's do this for Melissa. I think she might be struggling with what her menu should be. I think you have parts of it down, Melissa, but might need some ideas from us as to some ideas. And, like Great said, try to steer away from the carbs for now to see what it can do for you without them. I am just going to start with some snack and meal ideas. And, you know what, you don't HAVE TO eat what the family eats. If you have a differenet meal than them, it's making your own statement. Showing that you do care and that you are determined to make this work.

OK...low carb snack ideas.....

2 hardboiled eggs

Beef Jerky

1/2 Protein bar and put the other out of sight for another time

soy nuts (no more than 1/4 cup and they can be very satisfying)

Cup of cut up raw veggies in a baggie

Couple slices of turkey or deli meat with a LF cheese stick

Low carb meals...

Just really try to stick to 4oz of good hard protien (fish, chicken, turkey, tuna, salmon at least once a week) and a serving of veggies if you can fit it in.

Try to stay away from anything "white". My LB doc swears that his patients that have the most success totallly cut these out during the weight loss stage and tend to really watch them during maintenance. No white potatoes, rice, flour. Alot of breads say whole wheat but they are made with white flour. Try to eliminate all pastas, bread and cracker. None if a good rule if you are carb sensative. Just don't buckle and have them once in awhile right now. Not worth it and could make the scale go the other way.

OK....the rest of you guys jump in with some ideas. Might help everyone and will be a bit of a refresher course with the upcoming holidays and the banquets that will be set b/4 us.

Thanks Apples you are the best

Afternoon everyone.....and she loses another pound:lost1lbs: , ~Kelly~

Kelly - Congrats Keep it up

Well, I am back from my mother's. Got her eyelashes removed.

Charlene - Am I reading this right eyelashes removed?????

Melissa - We have both Sam's & costco - I've been in Sam's once- not much diff than Costco I would say that Costco vs Sam's is Like Walmart vs Target ;0) - So are you a demostrator - give out food ;0) - Yep wear layers ;0)

Janet - Actually I am not a demo person I make the ready to cook meals Sams club has in their deli dept. for people to buy and just stick in there oven for 30 mins or so and it is done

Am going to get back on the protein train. I strongly recommend that those of you who are struggling climb on board with me.

Cheri

Cheri - I with you on the protein train - Choo Choo