Good news: I can still eat Sushi... that's right folks! We went to eat sushi last night for the first time since I got banded and I had 5 pieces of yummy, delicious Sunshine roll!!! Granted, I use to be able to eat like 20 pieces, or 3-4 rolls by myself, but just to be able to taste the wonderfulness of that particular roll made my heart sing! I savored each bite and chewed my little heart out.. and not one uncomfortable stuck moment! Thank you Band Gods!! :biggrin:

Bad news: I can't get off this damned plateau I'm on... I know I shouldn't mind, but I've only lost one pound in like 3 weeks. I've played with the same few pounds.. up and down.. up and down.. and I know this is pretty common and I shouldn't be getting upset, but I hate when I get like this because that bad bug gets into my head telling me "you're going to fail at this.. you will be the banded person that never loses more than 40 pounds and people will laugh at you". I hate that feeling. But, I know I'm not alone with this. Usually what will happen is I'll get on the scale one day and just drop 3-4 pounds.. And I'm waiting for that day.... still waiting.. :teeth_smile:

Crystal, I just went through the same thing. I lost like 1 lb in 2 weeks, 2 lbs in 3 weeks, played with those couple of lbs up and down, then FINALLY dropped under that a week ago. Now I've lost 4-5 lbs in a week. What worked for me was what others have said worked. I upped my calories one day then dropped it right back down. I didn't really do it purposely, but my son had his birthday party and I had some cake and pizza, then the next day I went right back to my plan. I was scared to try that because I didn't know if I would be able to cut back down. I told my husband I'm considering the "eat what you want one day a week" method.

I've been struggling with the same thing. I only lost 3 pounds in the last 5 weeks. And it is driving me CRAZY.

So...I'm going to kick myself into gear. I've decided to track all my calories, write everything down and do 2 a day workouts twice a week instead of my usual one a days.

If that doesn't get me off this F-ing plateau, maybe another fill in 3 weeks will help.

That being said, I couldn't be more thrilled with the 40 pounds I've lost (including 10 before surgery).

Yeah, I'm also very thrilled with what I've lost too.. becuase at the rate I was going, I was gaining 5 pounds a month and who knows how much I'd weigh right now had I not gotten this done. There are so many positives, like I haven't gained anything.. I only play with 1-2 pounds at a time and that's a good thing.. I had the sushi last night hoping that would be the "bad" food for me to eat and that I would lose, but nope.. still stayed the same. I guess I could try the ol' mexican food, which usually got me losing again.. I haven't had mexican food in several weeks, so that could be the problem. Usually a few nachos or a fajita will get my system back into gear.. Maybe that's what I need... I normally just have some tuna in the morning.. a chili for lunch.. and then some pho soup for dinner.. sometimes with some hummus or some grilled chicken... maybe I'm not eating enough calories... I refuse to be a calorie counter though.. I don't want to live like that. :teeth_smile:

I agree with you about long term calorie counting. I hate it. I'm refuse to be that "number crazed" person who counts everything and anything. I have been trying to just eat until I am full, and not count calories since getting banded. But, I thought for a week or so, just to break through this plateau, I would make sure my calories are right. Definitely no long term calorie counting for this chick either.

Oh, and I've been a slacker on water the last 2 weeks, and so I'm going to get that up and going too.

I love sushi...but Hate rice. I like sashimi mostly. Or I will pick the insides out of the rolls. I love the dragon rolls with eel. mmmm. I think the fish and avacodo go well togethor too.

I count my calories to keep myself accountable. I don't see it as a big deal. I just pull up my program once or twice a day and input what I've eaten/will eat and make sure I get what I need protein wise. If I eat even a bite of something I log it. Before this, I had no idea what a portion really looked like or how many calories I ate so logging has been very helpful to me. Will I do it forever? No, I doubt it. But right now while I'm actively losing I will.

I count my calories to keep myself accountable. I don't see it as a big deal. I just pull up my program once or twice a day and input what I've eaten/will eat and make sure I get what I need Protein wise. If I eat even a bite of something I log it. Before this, I had no idea what a portion really looked like or how many calories I ate so logging has been very helpful to me. Will I do it forever? No, I doubt it. But right now while I'm actively losing I will.

Well, right now it's impossible for me to eat a bunch of bad stuff. Back when I had the poptarts and cookie I needed a fill badly, but now I probably couldn't even get that down. There isn't much to log for me..half a can of tuna... a small chili.. and soup ... thats about it. lol. I know I'm not eating over a thousand calories a day.. but, for me, what keeps me accountable is getting on the scale every morning and weighing in. I only do it once a day and its actually exciting.. it helps me to test the food, for instance, eating hummus and multigrain crackers makes me gain weight. it also gives me BIG TIME gas, so I have to stay away from the hummus. Though I love it. Eating my pho soup seems to help me lose or maintain weight. Since my last fill, I don't think I'm eating enough and that could be my problem right now.

"you're going to fail at this.. you will be the banded person that never loses more than 40 pounds and people will laugh at you".

I've been stuck at 40lbs for over a month.

I might go cry now.

So, you see... YOU aren't that person, it's ME! :thumbup:

Well, right now it's impossible for me to eat a bunch of bad stuff. Back when I had the poptarts and cookie I needed a fill badly, but now I probably couldn't even get that down. There isn't much to log for me..half a can of tuna... a small chili.. and soup ... thats about it. lol. I know I'm not eating over a thousand calories a day.. but, for me, what keeps me accountable is getting on the scale every morning and weighing in. I only do it once a day and its actually exciting.. it helps me to test the food, for instance, eating hummus and multigrain crackers makes me gain weight. it also gives me BIG TIME gas, so I have to stay away from the hummus. Though I love it. Eating my pho soup seems to help me lose or maintain weight. Since my last fill, I don't think I'm eating enough and that could be my problem right now.

Crystal, It really sounds like you aren't getting enough calories to maintain your body. I know it is really hard to find that balance. I don't lose weight unless I am taking in between 1000 and 1200 calories. That is really hard when you have good restriction. Also, are you getting enough "good" fat in your diet. My doc recommends a couple of teaspoons of canola or olive oil a day or some Peanut Butter. (the peanut butter really helps boost the calories and would be a nice spread on your multi-grain crackers.) Your body needs that to function properly, plus it keeps your skin nice too.

Well, right now it's impossible for me to eat a bunch of bad stuff. Back when I had the poptarts and cookie I needed a fill badly, but now I probably couldn't even get that down. There isn't much to log for me..half a can of tuna... a small chili.. and Soup ... thats about it. lol. I know I'm not eating over a thousand calories a day.. but, for me, what keeps me accountable is getting on the scale every morning and weighing in. I only do it once a day and its actually exciting.. it helps me to test the food, for instance, eating hummus and multigrain crackers makes me gain weight. it also gives me BIG TIME gas, so I have to stay away from the hummus. Though I love it. Eating my pho soup seems to help me lose or maintain weight. Since my last fill, I don't think I'm eating enough and that could be my problem right now.

crystal my dear! :frown:

You clearly are not eating enough at all!!

Half a can of tuna? My nutritionist said I should try for 3 oz of meat per meal. How many oz of meat is in half a can of tuna? Your lucky to be getting in 400 calories it seems. Your body is very likely in starvation mode.

Good luck, and try eating a little more. I'm only saying this because I truly believe that. Maybe you need to set up a little appt with your nutritionist and be honest on what you are eating all day.

I have to agree with Irene and StLouisGal. If that is all you are getting in, that isn't nearly enough. How are you getting in all of your protein? Maybe if you just can't get in more food you could add some protein shakes for more calories and protein. I won't lose if I go under about 700-800 calories.

Sounds like we need to meet up at Red Lobster again and increase your calories! The kids and I took DH there yesterday for Father's Day. I've been having so many problems with getting stuck and sore that I stayed with grilled grilled tilapia and asparagus, but I truly wanted the lobster! I was just so afraid that something that chewy would not go down. Nevermind anyway. I LOVE grilled tilapia!

Well, before I got my last fill I had no problems getting my calories in. LOL. But the Protein I'm not having a problem getting in. If I eat a full can of tuna that's 20 grams.. sometimes I can't eat the whole thing, but sometimes I can. Then for lunch the chili has 17grams of protein and I crumble some crackers in there. And then the chicken pho soup has a lot of chicken in there too and I can get that all down. So, I know I'm getting in a good amount of protein. This morning for Breakfast I was able to eat a cup of chicken salad with grapes. It took me a good 30 minutes, but I got it all down with no problems. This weekend I went to a beach party out at Galveston and what I did was I ate small things throughout the day all weekend... Every two hours I grabbed a little something, whether it was half a banana, half a can of tuna, a scoop of Beans.. I just ate throughout the day and it totally worked. I broke my plateau! the several hours of swimming in the ocean didn't hurt either... My fill has loosened up a tinge so I feel I'm now at that good spot. I'm scheduled for another fill at the end of this month, but I don't think I'll go. Thanks for all of ya'lls advice and I definitely think you are right about the not eating enough calories because upping it this weekend totally helped..

Kristi - wanna do lunch tomorrow?

Kristi - wanna do lunch tomorrow?

Oh, I would love to, but I'm leaving for vacation tomorrow. Five days at the lake, Baby. I've been looking forward to this for three solid months. Can I catch you one day next week? That would be super!

Congrats on breaking your plateau!! Hopefully now you'll just keep going down down down.

I was looking at this website that tells you how many calories you should eat a day to lose weight and it recommended a "zig zag" pattern. Basically five days you stay on your regular plan, one day you add a few calories (the numbers it gave me said to add about 200) and one day add even more (about 500 more for me). That is supposed to result in optimal weight loss. I'm trying it to see if it works out. My base will be about 1000, then one day go up to about 1200, then one day about 1500. I'm not sure if I can manage 1500, but I could let that be my "treat" day.