Musiclover

I don't have trouble with anything on that list. I can't eat very much bread and I have trouble with dry protein like a plain piece of chicken or prawns with no sauce. If they are in a pasta dish with sauce then I am fine as long as I have very small bites.

So the truth comes out, I haven't been exercising since being banded. Pre-band I used to run a couple of times a week but after the surgery I just fell off the exercise wagon. I always tell myself that chasing after my 2 little boys is enough but I know that to lose this last 10 pounds I need to get moving. So in the January sales we bought a treadmill and I have started running again. I like to run right before lunch as this inspires me to eat a healthy lunch and not waste the effort but I am noticing that I can hardly eat a bite, my band has closed right up. I pb'd salad the other day and I took very small bites and chewed the heck out of it. Very unusual. I'm wondering if anyone else experiences this, should I have a protein shake for my meal after a workout?

I can feel my port and hate it! For some reason it creeps me out haha.

Since surgury the senations of "feeling full" and "hunger" are different for me - has anyone else experienced this?

The smaller plate is a great idea - i always feel like i have to finish my plate...

Love your pic 'erinmohr', very cool. I am almost 8 months banded and I still struggle with hunger/full as a lot of this is mental for me. When I go to parties I always reach for the smaller plate and once I eat what is on it I never go back for more. I try to reassure myself that there is always another day of good food and this isn't the 'last' of anything.

I have only had one fill (in the early summer) and I have lost 40 pounds so far (another 10-15 to go) and I haven't booked my next fill yet. I eat 1/3-1/2 of what I ate before and I still have problems with pb'ing unless I am careful, especially around the TOM. I am not a big exerciser and I think rather than another fill I will just have to start going to the gym to lose the rest of my weight.

Congratulations 'mynewlife', you are doing so well.

Yesterday,

B-Yogurt

L-Organic mac and cheese - about 1/2 cup

Snack- a couple of pieces of dark chocolate

D-Ceasar salad and 1 small pc of thin crust pizza, I can't eat regular pizza anymore but if the crust is paper thin then I am fine.

Today,

B-Yogurt

L-1/2 a grilled cheese and a cup of tomato soup.

D-haven't decided yet. I have bought some lovely baby squash at Costco the other day so maybe I'll saute those and make some chicken to go with it.

Yesterday,

B-Activia

Snack-rice crackers and laughing cow light

L-Baked beans (small can) on a piece of whole wheat toast, only ate half of small can of beans. Bread not going down well today.

Snack-3 or 4 chips, didn't go down well so I only ate a couple. It is TOM so I am craving salt but my band always tightens up then so it saves me.

D-5 hot wings.

Went to the theater to see Australia, got there late so no time for snack line, saved again. Movie was great, food would have just been a distraction.

So I needed a new dress length jacket as my last one was wayyy too big (yes I did get an inordinate amount of enjoyment typing that) and since 'thy cups runneth over' and losing 40 pounds has not changed this much, I usually lean towards a large but there was only medium and since it was on clearance I gave it a try and...low and behold it fit! I wanted to do the 'I just made the touchdown of my career in the superbowl' dance but it seemed inappropriate in the Superstore aisle so I just put it in my cart with a smile. This week I have felt the need to share this experience with my 'skinny' friends...I am wondering....am I falling into the 'size matters' set? Anybody else dealing with this new found need to share one's victories? How are your friends handling it?

That's nice Lisa, I am 17+ years in and still trying to get dh to pick up his clothes off the floor. Got any tips? Just kidding, I have no complaints actually, he is my biggest supporter.

I love those SB protein shakes, I am hoping we get a Starbucks in our little town soon. I get one whenever I get into the closest big town (only 10 minutes away but I have small children so I tend to stay close to home) so here's hoping...I have read you travel a bit, what do you recommend for eating on the run?

Hello Music Lover,

I live in Langley and will need to find a fill Dr. for some time in January when I will need the first fill. My surgery date is the day after Christmas( YUK) anyway, if you could give me the contact details of the Dr. in Surrey that would be perfect location for me. How much did he charge you? Let me know if you can any details you have.

Thanks

Rhonda

Will look up his card and get the info to you asap, likely tomorrow sometime.

I had a yogurt for breakfast then two poached eggs with a few hash browns for lunch (I rarely eat eggs so I feel no guilt over having two) and for dinner I had a small caesar salad and 2-3 ounces of steak (cut up into very, very tiny pieces). It was a good day, I ate everything very slowly and chewed well and didn't have any pb problems. I eat a little richer on the weekends than during the week but it was all very yummy.

I usually stock up on the Special K protein packets when I go to the States or if a friend is going I get them to bring some back. I really like the pink lemonade. I will try the one from Shoppers, does it taste good?

I'm only 5'3" and Dr. Miranda suggested I should be around 160 or even 170! That's a drop of 100 lbs, but still, I was thinking I need to be around 130.

Whenever I've dieted as an adult, I've always plateaued at around 170. Was she being conservative with me?

I know it's early on but just wondering if anyone else was surprised by what they were told their weight should be.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

I am 5'4" and Dr. Miranda gave me a suggested weight of 162 but I thought that was the weight we could be just by having the band. I have already passed that number and definitely still need to lose more but I realize that I can't just rely on the band at this point and need to exercise more.

If it ws my choice, I would do protein shakes for breakfast and lunch, and then have your Thanksgiving dinner with your family. Have a big green salad and one of those spray Wishbone salad dressings Dr. Miranda suggests.

OR - think and be like a bandster now...pretend you were banded already. Eat 3oz (1/3 cup) of fresh turkey, 1/4 cup of veggies (greens beans), 1/4 cup of grain/carb (stuffing and/or yams) and a few bites of a dessert, and no more than 1200 calories for the whole day. Try it and see how you do! This is what I am doing with my family.

Remember to cut up your food in tiny pieces and chew several times (practice makes perfect!). Serve on a smaller plate - a salad or sandwich plate is perfect, would make you feel you have a whole plate full instead of a regular dinner plate and all the extra room for more temptations.

Keep us posted and let us know what you've done...

I think that is really good advice JazzyJude. Kristy, you have obviously done very well with your pre-op diet so far and as long as you don't feel that having a meal will make you 'fall off the wagon' as it were, I think you should have a small meal and eat with your family. I agree that the small plate makes a big difference. Most people have appetizer plates out at a party and those are the ones I gravitate towards and keep everything on one level, no piling food on top of other food.

I really like this thread. I love to see what people are eating

tonight I had about 1/2 cup of chili .. then about 1/2 hour - 1hour later I had about 7-10 french onion wheat thins and dipped a couple of them in some spinach dip someone had a work.

tonight at home I was in 'snacky snack" mode so I ate about 20 almonds. I also ate 4 little chocolate "bells" at work tonight.

Today / tonight was definitely a "I wanna eat & I can!" night.

Sounds good to me mlgpdx. Last time my weight was stuck I ate a handful of almonds every day for a week and lost 2 pounds the next week. Maybe a coincidence but I think I wasn't getting enough protein and my body was hanging on to what it had.

Since I worked again today I put a big pot of soup in the crock pot this morning. Nordic potato, I try not to eat a lot of soup as it can slip through our band and cause us to overeat but as long as I feel comfortable with portion control and sticking to my portion and not doing seconds, I reckon it is ok. This time of year I crave a good winter soup.

Glad to hear you like the post. I love to hear what people are eating too.

Okay so just got off work and now time to make dinner. I'm going to do my lighter version of nachos. Ground turkey cooked with taco seasoning, multi grain tortilla chips and 2 percent cheese melted till it is all ooey gooey. It is getting cold here now and we all feel like comfort food so hopefully this will do the trick. I don't find I can eat very many tortilla chips with my band but I feel very satisfied after having half or so of an appetizer plate worth.

Hi

I ha roast beef with all the works.

Well thats what I cooked for the family.

I actually ate some roast beef broccoli and 1/2 a yorkie.

I usually have the same as my family BUT LESS.

Me too Nicole. When I started the lap band process I was adamant that I was doing it because I didn't want to be on a diet for the rest of my life and so I almost always eat the same food as I make for the family. Like you I just eat less, I try to eat 1/2 or 1/3 of what I ate before. Haven't decided what to make for dinner tonight yet. I work today so it will probably be something quick and easy.

Since being banded I really like chicken wing drumlets and I'm having them tonight. I make a teriyaki sauce, soak them for about 2 hours and bake until done (they make me feel like a normal eater since I can hold the drumlet in my hands and eat the whole thing) add in small veggie stir fry to nibble on and I’m good to go.

Rice is solely dependant on the mood of my band. I always make it but sometimes I can eat it – sometimes I can’t.

You are doing awesome with your weight loss - congrats - the popcorn diet is working!!

Thanks Lisa, the last couple of months have been pretty slow but still losing, I haven't had another fill because I still have pb troubles and I just don't like that very much.

For some reason I have a hard time with wing drumlets. They used to be my fave part of the wing but now I can only eat the wing part, funny how we are all different.

My popcorn diet worked well tonight as my 3 year old was the keeper of the popcorn and while he let his 5year old brother have as much as he wanted I had to snatch a few bites only to have him yell 'stop eating my popcorn Mom' as loud as he could during the movie. Try that one for portion control - ha.

Lets keep it going...how about tomorrow night?

So tonight I am taking the boys to go see Bolt so my dinner will probably be popcorn that I steal from them . What about everybody else?

When I get something stuck I usually wait for 5 minutes or so and try to relax and if that doesn't do the trick I get a cup of hot tea and take a few sips. This usually relaxes my band so I can finish my meal. I always take a minute to analyze whether or not I was eating too fast or if I am just full and shouldn't eat any more once the food passes.

Congratulations on all your hard work. It was worth it because you look absolutely amazing!

In Delta eh? How much is the fill there, and who is performing it? Do they do fluoroscopy?

Taz

The first visit is $400 then it is $80 after that. Dr. Woodhead doesn't use fluoroscopy, he put 2cc in for my first fill and I'm still pretty good with that, it was 2 months ago and I still find sometimes I can barely eat anything.

Last week I during my 1st meeting with my trainer she did the body fat pinch test, she took 3 readings each time on 6 parts of my body... Today she gave emailed me a printout with the results and it was very interesting!!

Total Weight (on 9/10): 172

Total Lean Mass: 134 lbs

(Lean Mass= Muscles, Bones, Organs and Water. An adult woman should have 90 to 110lbs of lean mass if inactive, more if she works out)

Total Fat Mass: 38 lbs

(Fat Mass= pounds of fat you are currently carrying)

Total Body Fat Percentage: 22%

(A reccomended body fat range for general fitness is 20%-30% for women, athletic fitness can be enhanced by by maintaining lower body fat levels about 17%-25%... Health can be compromised if a woman's body fat % drops under 14%.

Your Goal Weight: 147lbs

If you maintain the 134lbs of lean mass (or add more) you would only have 13lbs of fat making your body fat% only 8% which is virtually unattainable (unless you are Michael Phelps) and you would stop ovulating and risk other health problems.

If we instead look at a Optimal body fat percentage of 17%-19% then your goal weight should be in the range of 163lbs - 167lbs. At 167lbs and 19% body fat you would have 32lbs of fat and 135lbs of lean mass.

So basically she is saying I can't get under 163 without burning muscle or having my kidneys or bones removed?? I am seeing her on Thursday so I guess I will ask her to explain it more, she herself is my height and is 150lbs and a size 0 but I don't think I want to be as muscular as she is... Not sure what to think about all this, it's kind of a bummer but I guess because I got so heavy my bones and muscles had to grow to support all the weight and now I can't get back down to that low of a weight, but I guess if I can get into a size 4 or 6 and still be in the 160's I won't be complaining!?!

Any thoughts?

Hi Mama Michelle,

I am the same height as you (though 10 years older) and so my goal weight was about the same (145) because I wanted to be in the 'normal' bmi range. I am currently 162 and definitely NOT just skin and bones (size 10) so I have to wonder if the trainer's suggested goal weight is on the ball. I think it is healthy to be more focused on a size than a weight because as you mentioned, who will complain with a size 4 no matter what one's weight is. Let us know what else your trainer says as I am really curious about this. You look great by the way, all your hard work has paid off.

Just checking to see if there are people on this forum from Western Canada. If so, do you have a support network up here?

Taz

Hi Taz,

I live in the Okanagan and had my surgery at the OCC. I go to Ladner/Delta for fills (though I have only had one so far) but I am trying to find someone closer. I found this forum great when I first had my surgery (and it still is) but I have joined the BC-WLS support group on yahoo forums, it is mostly folks that have done gastric bypass in Victoria but there is a few lap band people on there and it is a very supportive group for those dealing with other issues besides post-op.

I am just happy that I can walk 2 miles without dying!! LOL

I agree Kim. Every year we go to a music festival in Seattle called Bumbershoot, it is over 74 acres of music, arts, comedy and all the associated stuff. Last year I was 32 pounds heavier and after 3 days my legs felt like they were going to fall off. This year I ran around trying to catch all the bands and then danced my butt off for the good ones and after 3 days I was tired but not crippled like last year. Woo hoo.

I was banded April 29th and I have lost 30 pounds in just under 3 and a half months...average loss of just over 9 pounds a month.