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.

Laura...good goin' on the 2lbs and for getting back with your trainer again. Structure is always good to getting us back with the program and sticking with it.

1-Day...darn those coffee drinks and their hidden calories. Try to go online and find nutritional values if your coffee shop lists them. It's surprising how loaded up they can be. I used to make my own with skim, SF flavors and coffee.

Heading out at 6am in the morning to help a friend who is doing food for her son's wedding which is this weekend. Helping cut potatoes for potato salad for 450. Will give us a chance to visit. She is having WLS (bypass) in a few months. She looked into LB but her doc thought she was a better candidate for bypass. She's overwhelmed with it all and worries cuz she feels she has no self-restraint. Hopefully she'll have her head wrapped around what she is in for by the time her surgery rolls around. It's half the battle or more to know what's coming and what changes need to be made with lifestyle.

DS showed up for work today and still has not passed his stone(s). Insisted he head back to doc to see what is going on. Hoping he does not have a double ureter like his momma. Mine will get stuck in the "V" sometimes and they have to go up and get them. Always nice to pass them on your own though.

Will catch up with you all on Monday. Hope everyone has a great weekend. I have a few books calling my name and a lounge chair waiting back up at the lake.

Got this from Calorie Count - Eat Well - thought some might like it...

Drive by post - will catch up later :0)

Staying in control of what we eat can be challenging in our world, where tempting foods seem to loom at every turn. "In the past, we’d teach people how to handle predictable food situations, like what to do in a restaurant and how to navigate the supermarket," says Cynthia Bulik, Ph.D., director of the Eating Disorders Program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and co-author of Runaway Eating: The 8-Point Plan to Conquer Adult Food and Weight Obsessions (Rodale, 2005). "But what do you do when you bump into a candy display by the checkout counter at the shoe store? We need a bigger set of skills." Here, Bulik and others offer advice for beating the tendency to binge and improving your relationship with food.

Keep a food diary.

Recording everything—the ice cream binge as well as the carrots and celery—"makes everything you eat part of the plan," says Elena Ramirez, Ph.D., co-founder of the Vermont Center for Cognitive Behavior Therapy in South Burlington, Vermont. "It’s no longer a sneaky bad thing." Keeping track of your calories can help you lose weight, too, as it helps tip you off to behaviors that lead to weight gain. A daily food diary, in fact, is an integral part of The EatingWell Diet (Countryman, 2007).

Plan for the occasional piece of cheesecake.

Studies suggest that feeling deprived—even if you are consuming plenty of calories—can actually trigger overeating. Making any food off-limits "just increases its allure," confirms Ramirez. If pizza is your downfall, it might be too tempting to keep in your house—but you can learn to enjoy it in a "safe" environment, she notes. "Make a trip to a pizza place, order a slice and enjoy it out in the open. The more you practice this, the more it becomes ingrained behavior." She adds, "You can’t avoid a trigger food your whole life, but you can learn how to eat the foods you binge on in moderation."

Give up grazing.

While eating regularly helps prevent feeling deprived and hungry, "[grazing] can easily supply a binge’s worth of calories, a little at a time," says Ramirez. Plan four "eating episodes" each day spaced at regular intervals to avoid going long stretches without eating (which can also trigger binging). Eat Breakfast, lunch and dinner, plus a 250-calorie midafternoon snack. At each, include a little Protein for additional staying power.

Eat with intention.

Have all your meals in a designated place without distractions (i.e., not in front of the TV). That way your eating episode has a beginning and an end. Eat slowly, stopping to put your fork down between bites, feeling yourself becoming fuller. Making an effort to be mindful no matter what you’re eating can help break the tendency to binge, experts say.

Expect the unexpected.

Tempting foods are more likely to trigger overeating when we come across them unexpectedly. Since surprise food confrontations are a given these days, it’s helpful to "be armed with a script when you’re confronted by tasty food," says Bulik. "If you’re handed a sample of Cookies at the supermarket, the line might be, ‘No, thanks. I’ve just eaten.’"

Find healthy outlets for emotions.

Turning to food to "numb out" emotions like anxiety works temporarily, but after the food is gone the stressful stimulus still remains—along with a hefty dose of guilt. Find ways to experience negative emotions with a response other than eating. Try deep breathing or meditation, calling a friend or going for a brisk walk. "The more you practice these alternative behaviors, the more automatic they become," notes Ramirez. Eventually, reaching for a bag of chips can stop being the default reaction to stress.

Hide tempting foods.

When office workers were given candies in clear dishes to place on their desktops, they helped themselves to candy 71 percent more often than a similar group that was given the same candy in opaque dishes so that the candy wasn’t visible, according to research by Brian Wansink, Ph.D., director of the Cornell University Food and Brand Lab in Ithaca, New York, and an EatingWell advisory board member. "We’re all on the ‘see-food’ diet," he says, "so don’t let yourself see what you don’t want to eat." If you’re going to keep Snacks at home, stash them inside a cupboard; keep the apples out on the counter.

Make overeating a hassle.

The more stops you introduce in getting a food—such as needing to open a package or having to thaw something frozen—the more opportunities you have to ask, "Am I really hungry?" explains Wansink. Repackage cookies in single-portion bags (or pay more for individually portioned snacks); wrap leftover slices of lasagna individually in foil and freeze. No choice but to serve yourself from a large (shared) portion? Dish your portion onto a small plate. Studies by Wansink and others have shown that when served food in bigger containers, people eat more.

Your thoughts....

Do you have a tip for winning the "food fight"?

More from EatingWell.com:

• Quick Pasta recipes
  
• Quick Low Calorie Recipes
  
• Mexican Food for $3 per Serving
  

Great tips, Janet. Thanks

pda?

Does anyone use a food diary/calorie counter program with their smartphone? I have to use a palm with work so its with me all the time, id love to find a log to go with it so i can easily write things down. The sparkle online log is great, but i am not readily at a computer most of the day and forget stuff when i finally get a chance to log it.

Hey Gang Quick ck in

Laura - Nelson getting an incident report - how cute - at this age that is kind of silly imho - how did school go today

Congrats on the 2 lbs !!!

Melissa - Glad you are feeling better.. food cop in my says the pepperment coffee s/b just a once of the month if not every 2 - 3 month treat ... That's alot of calories - I rather have food than a drink..

Meredith -OMW child you are one busy girl - don't know how you do it..

Apples - that much food for that many pple - omw - that a lot of tatoes - hugs on DS & your kidney stones ..

Julie - Hope mimi is feeling better today...

Ok gang that's all I can remember...

Charlene - have you gone back to the nutrisitionist..

Great - Shopping I guess

Nawlines - I don't have a smart phone - google is - I just kept a 3x3 note book and jotted down my food in it...

well back to work

cbl:wub:

No, Janet, I am not shopping! I was doing something much more worthwhile. I volunteer at the hospital on WEd. right after I get off work and am gone most of the day. But would like to have been shopping, I still have that $98 sweater on my mind. :blushing: One of the gals I visited today was a lap band patient 3 yrs ago. She was admitted via the ER this past Sunday with a band erosion and it ate part of her stomach? She had holes in her stomach? They did surgery on her on MOnday and she's in ICU. That scared the crap out of me. The nurse practioner I volunteer for said she ignored symptoms for a long time though and that's why it got so bad????

Apples, hope you get some relief from the stones in your family soon!

Laura, glad you got that small fill then sounds like you are doing great. Good job going back to the trainer.

Hey Great, do you know what kind of symptoms were ignored by this patient??????????

No I don't know specifically what the symptoms were, didn't get a chance to ask. All the NP said is that the gal was eating yogurt for months???

No I don't know specifically what the symptoms were, didn't get a chance to ask. All the NP said is that the gal was eating yogurt for months???

I was just curious. Proves that it pays to keep a check on any symptoms.

Hey Gang Quick ck in

Laura - Nelson getting an incident report - how cute - at this age that is kind of silly imho - how did school go today

Congrats on the 2 lbs !!!

Melissa - Glad you are feeling better.. food cop in my says the pepperment coffee s/b just a once of the month if not every 2 - 3 month treat ... That's alot of calories - I rather have food than a drink..

Meredith -OMW child you are one busy girl - don't know how you do it..

Apples - that much food for that many pple - omw - that a lot of tatoes - hugs on DS & your kidney stones ..

Julie - Hope mimi is feeling better today...

Ok gang that's all I can remember...

Charlene - have you gone back to the nutrisitionist..

Great - Shopping I guess

Nawlines - I don't have a smart phone - google is - I just kept a 3x3 note book and jotted down my food in it...

well back to work

cbl:wub:

Janet,

I noticed your photo's from a cruise. I am leaving on a 2 week cruise 6wks after being banded. I won't have my fill till I get back. I would wondering if you have some hints on how you handled it. Cruises seem to have food & alcohol everywhere you turn.

I would appreciate input from anyone who did a cruise after being banded .

Janet,

I noticed your photo's from a cruise. I am leaving on a 2 week cruise 6wks after being banded. I won't have my fill till I get back. I would wondering if you have some hints on how you handled it. Cruises seem to have food & alcohol everywhere you turn.

I would appreciate input from anyone who did a cruise after being banded .

I did a Mediterranean cruise in May and it was no problem. and we ate at the buffet a lot. I concentrated on Protein first, did have a few treats, but found it very easy to stay on track on a ship. Also all the walking I was able to keep up with exercise as well. I don't drink so that wasn't an issue, however. I came home a pound or so lighter than I left. Have fun!

Janet, agree with you. Silly to have incident reports at this age. Everything is documented these days! He did not get in trouble today. : )

Apples, have fun at the lake! Oh my... that is too many people to have for a wedding! IMHO if you are going to invite that many people- you had better be able to pay to have it catered! Where does one store 450 servings of potato salad?! Wow. You are a very nice friend to help out. Let's plan on touching base next week when you get back.

Nawlinz, have you been on a cruise before? What line are you using? I was so seasick on ours that I barely ate. The patch behind the ears and other nausea pills had me loopy. That being said, I would stick to the meals that have sit down service if possible. Much less likely to overeat than a buffet. Be careful even with the healthy choices (fish and chicken) as everything was loaded with oil and butter. Always tons of salads and fresh fruit. Plan on exercising if you can! A friend of mine recently went and everywhere she goes she tells the waiter to tell the chef that she has severe gallbladder disease and cannot have fat. She would ask for hers made special. Worth a try.

Great, omw... erosion, eh? I would guess that one would have to have REALLY severe symptoms for that to go unnoticed! Perhaps she could not eat any solids with the near obstruction and that's why she ate yogurt?!

For dinner we had grilled tilapia, cauliflower, stuffed vegetarian grapeleaves (thanks IYSOY- since your greek stuff I have had it on the brain!). I only had one b/c they are 75 cal each!!! As it is I was stuffed with VERY little food. And I ate one bite too many and am feeling like Thanksgiving dinner right now....ugghhhhhh. Why do we do that??? when we are full but our heads tell us one more bite and then we feel like $hit after!!!

ttyl...Laura

Laura...my friend is a chef at a restaurant and can store the food in their coolers. She's trying to save her son and new DIL some $$$ and she is a single mom so that is why she is doing food. I did all the food for our wedding with 475 guests 30 years ago. We come from a community where everybody knows everybody and most are related to each other and everybody that knows everybody are invited to weddings. Large families...large groups of friends.

Will talk to you next week, Laura. In the mean time, let's get a number on exactly who is coming so we can get going on the FL trip. OK, girls....let's get the count!

Hey Gang Quick ck in

Laura - Nelson getting an incident report - how cute - at this age that is kind of silly imho - how did school go today

Congrats on the 2 lbs !!!

Melissa - Glad you are feeling better.. food cop in my says the pepperment coffee s/b just a once of the month if not every 2 - 3 month treat ... That's alot of calories - I rather have food than a drink..

Meredith -OMW child you are one busy girl - don't know how you do it..

Apples - that much food for that many pple - omw - that a lot of tatoes - hugs on DS & your kidney stones ..

Julie - Hope mimi is feeling better today...

Ok gang that's all I can remember...

Charlene - have you gone back to the nutrisitionist..

Great - Shopping I guess

Nawlines - I don't have a smart phone - google is - I just kept a 3x3 note book and jotted down my food in it...

well back to work

cbl:wub:

Janet, I don't go back to the nutritionist till the 24th. I did get a report on my bloodwork. I have low D and low B1. So, I bought some supplements.

I spent afternoon PBing........really throwing up. I did not eat Breakfast then when I took a couple of bites of chicken for lunch I got stuck. Then you know the rest. This afternoon I decided to try some yogurt.......no go......pb. So, I started drinking hot tea and this evening I did eat some cream of wheat.

I have had this creepy sensation in my neck for a couple of weeks. It comes and goes. It feels like a collar around my neck. Do you think it is the band causing it? I guess I will find out on the 24th. The last time I had that sensation was when I had a lymphocele in my abdomen. I hope there is nothing weird growing. Maybe I need to get some tests done just for peace of mind. Okay, enough of that talk.

Later!

OK, count me in.............. I'm being brave............

Laura, I come from a community like Apples, too.... It's the midwest........... we live in small towns and have large families.... There were 500 at my wedding 15 years ago... However, I didn't do a supper... Had the service at 7:00, then a reception with cheese, crackers, bars, cake and punch and ect.... then a dance and served sloppy joes and chips at 11:00...... Short and sweet..... happily married and not still paying off the debt.....

Mimi is sleeping again and doesn't want to get up.... she has her days and nights mixed up.... Still very fussy and crabby... She doesn't speak full sentences yet, but you definitely get the idea of what she means when she says, "go away"!!!!! and owie owie.... this is DD's last night for this week.... She has an interview tomorrow with another company right here at home.... more money, no nights... The hours are still odd, but not nights.. 4:30 am to 2:00 pm..... Just have to go to bed early.. Much easier on both of us.. I've got my fingers crossed and my prayers said.....

I'm curious about these erosion symptoms, too... Doesn't sound fun and I'm sure you were a bit creeped out, Great......

Just had a nice warm bath and am ready to sleep, but it's only 8:00 and don't know what the night holds with Mimi.... Talk to you all tomorrow... Julie