age:22

location: bellingham wa

marital status: single

sex: female :biggrin:

weight: started at 265, i'm 249 right now

goals desired: i'ed like to be 150, and/or size 8

I think this is a great idea! I would love someone to be able to have some guidence from an expearenced bandster! Its very motivating to talk to someone who has been there, and done it!

I'm a 22 year old cosmetolgist, very motivated and just starting out on my journey!

Hey...I grew up in Washington. My dad actually lived in Bellingham for years. I would love to chat with you. You can ask any questions, or I can just be here to lend you a shoulder.

10 days out...how are the liquids going?

hey thanks!

i've moved onto normal foods now, i'm trying to get excersise in and whatnot. sometimes i get hungry at night tho...any tips? you have had AMAZING success!! what all did you do?

hey thanks!

i've moved onto normal foods now, i'm trying to get excersise in and whatnot. sometimes i get hungry at night tho...any tips? you have had AMAZING success!! what all did you do?

Eat veggies at night. I know that my band mom (No relation...she just adopted me from the board!) eats a sugar free pudding or 100 calorie pack of popcorn at night.

My suggestion is to decide whether or not you are TRULY hungry or whether it is head hunger. This is what I always did. Sit back in a chair and clothes your eyes. Make your mind go to your stomach...is it hungry? Really try to feel your stomach. If your stomach is not hungry, now we know that we are dealing with head hunger. Dealing with head hunger can be tricky. Sometimes you just have to feed it. If so use the suggestions above. Otherwise, try to do something to get your mind off of it. Have you tried eating dinner a little later? My nutritionist told me that eating before bed is not taboo.

Okay as for what I did. I am going to post something that I have sent to a lot of people. It is pretty generic but it is the philosophy and tricks that I used.

You do need a combination of exercise and food... though I focused on food first. I lost 50 pounds before I REALLY started exercising.

My secret...I followed every rule!

1. I NEVER, EVER drink while eating.

2. Proteins first, veggies next ...and then I was pretty much done! I put 1 cup of food on my plate and I ate that. I never learned to stop when I was full. So I still have to treat myself as a 5 year old child. I give myself what I can eat and that is all I do. Yes it takes a lot of self discipline, but the empowerment you get from telling yourself NO will change your life forever. It has made me a better wife, sister, daughter, teacher and friend. I would overwhelm myself in the past and spread myself to thin. Now I can confidently say no, and things are much better.

3. I never deprived myself of any food so as to eliminate any cravings. The only thing I eliminated was rice because I just can't eat it any more. It gets stuck. And milk and ice cream...gone as well...I became lactose intolerant. I would have spaghetti...mostly with just sauce and ground chicken (my secret ingredient in everything), but I would have 6 penne noodles, just so that I didn't feel like I was being left out.

4. I had chocolate everyday...in the form of a pure Protein bar(that is the name of the bar...but I would stay away from the fruit ones...I thought they were disgusting.) It is low carb, high protein and cut the cravings for sweets, because I had one everyday. I get them at wal-mart. Make sure to look for the 190 calorie ones...not the 300 calorie ones!

5. I ate at 4 distinct times everyday. For my schedule (I am a teacher) it was 6:30, 10:30 (my prep period), 2:30 and 6:30. The 2:30 was the Protein Bar.

6. Shhhhh...don't tell...I did NOT focus on Water. I am a scientist...you dont need 64 ounces of water everyday. Drinking makes me hungry, so I only drink a half hour before I eat. I have to drink more now because I am training for a half-marathon.

7. Exercise...Once I added it, I did walking, strength training, elipticalling and now running. In fact yesterday I just ran 10 straight miles. But that has taken me since January to do that. Take it slow...injuries will sideline you for a long time. Don't over do it because you will get angry at the amount of time you have to spend and stop. Start slowly and start to kind of like it. I still will never LOVE it, even though I train 6 days a week.

8. Set attainable goals. Little things that you can Celebrate.

9. Find what works for you. Not everything I did here will work for you. Find what does and you will have solved the mystery for yourself.

10. Make a menu for yourself for the week, and eat only what is on their. On Friday, if you have followed the menu exactly give yourself one food that you would not normally have, but that still fits in your calorie count. Make sure it is not something that will cause you to binge. I have 1 bag of popcorn.

Keep asking questions. I am here for you!

Hi Salsa, I thought that I was the only person who got hungry when drinking so much Water. I have been working very hard to get my water in. Then I find that when I do I eat more. How much water did you start drinking to begin with? I am now exercising 30 min a day, five days a week, low impact to begin.

Thank you for your list.

Katie K. (potatie)

Hi Salsa, I thought that I was the only person who got hungry when drinking so much Water. I have been working very hard to get my water in. Then I find that when I do I eat more. How much water did you start drinking to begin with? I am now exercising 30 min a day, five days a week, low impact to begin.

Thank you for your list.

Katie K. (potatie)

From the research that I have read, 32 oz is the minimum we should get everyday. We get a lot of water from our food. If you eat any fruits or vegetables...it is mostly water! I would make sure to drink 1 bottle of water during your workout to make sure that you stay hydrated. I think it is ABSOLUTLY ABSURD when people don't count coffee, tea, or juices as water. If they aren't water then my ENTIRE lesson on solutions in chemistry is a total waste of time teaching!!!

I never get to 64 oz of water EXCEPT on my long run days (10+ miles). If you are working out in hot weather or for very LONG periods of time you need to increase your water intake, but low impact for 30 minutes a day...you could get 1 bottle of water in before/during/after the workout. Now this is not medical advice. YOur doctor will most likely tell you to get in the water. If you find that you are getting headaches or can't seem to get through your workout then drink water. However, my doctor has never once asked me how much water I consume.

Hi Salsa, My doctor wants me to get in 44 oz of water a day. I do have a 64 oz jug at work. Before surgery I could get the whole jug down. Now I try to get 1/2 a jug down each day at work. Then I do add in my coffee in the morning and fruits and veggies. It may be a little harder for me now with my second fill. I feel extremely tight, but I can still keep food and water down. :thumbup: I just have to eat very slow and chew my food. I did make the mistake of having a soft bread stick at Olive Garden. I know that I will never make that mistake again. It hurt.

Hi Salsa, My doctor wants me to get in 44 oz of Water a day. I do have a 64 oz jug at work. Before surgery I could get the whole jug down. Now I try to get 1/2 a jug down each day at work. Then I do add in my coffee in the morning and fruits and veggies. It may be a little harder for me now with my second fill. I feel extremely tight, but I can still keep food and water down. :huggie: I just have to eat very slow and chew my food. I did make the mistake of having a soft bread stick at Olive Garden. I know that I will never make that mistake again. It hurt. :driving:

44 is reasonable. Even when I was too tight I never had a problem with liquids. Being too tight is miserable. I am glad that you can still get food and liquids down. The one bandster rule I never seemed to follow very well was chewing. However since I was always on the loose side it didn't seem to cause me too many problems. It does now that I am unfilled! Even without a fill the band does still provide some restriction andI have slimed and pb'd more since being unfilled then I did when I was filled. I figure it was because I was more careful then!:incazzato:

Watch out for soft bread. I can just finally eat it now. Rice however...still can't do it!

Let me know if there is anything else I can do for you.

Karri

Hi Salsa, It was like a light bulb went off in my head. I now know what the rules are and how to apply. I do NOT want to get sick anymore. Once was enough. It really is like what other people say when you get a proper fill and now you know what you have to do. I am really going to have to work at this in finding proper good foods and not the easy going down foods. I think I am going to back and look at my reading materials to get familar with the rules again.

Thank you and I hope you have a great day.

Katie K.