Attn Kristi!

[Linnipoo]

Dear Kristi,

So I was reading your Six-month bandiversary post and it's true that you are really REALLY inspiring! I know you must get asked this all the time, so forgive me if it's here and I just didn't see it, but...

Can we have your battle plan? Pretty please? What do you do for food, supplements, workouts, the whole kit-n-caboodle! I would LOVE to follow in your footsteps!

I made it a post instead of a message because I think it's information that all us newbies would dearly like to have.

Thanks so much and sorry to bug you!

Linnipoo

[Kristi]

Hi Lindsay,

Well, I can most definitely share what I have been doing the last 7-8 months to lose and it is no bother.

I eat 3 meals a day, always start with my protein and then eat some veggies. Every now and then I get a little carbs/starches in, but it is a rarity. (Although I have had mash potatoes and gravy from KFC for lunch every now and then, but that is usually the 2nd day after a fill.)

If I feel I haven't gotten enough protein in, then I have what is called a protein shot. It has 49 grams of protein.

I drink lots and lots of cold and ice cold water. I still drink and love my morning coffee.

I cut out all rice, pastas, sodas and bread the month before my surgery so I can get used to living without it and I still don't consume any of it. I have tried whole wheat tortillas, thinking they might be OK, but it was a no go, got stuck and very painful.

After I was cleared to workout, at about the 4-6 week time period, I have been at the gym. I usually go 4-6 days a week. At the end of July my husband and I decided that I needed a trainer to get me into gear. So that is exactly what I have done. I am thrilled with my trainer because he really has kept me pushing myself.

I now have a new goal because I am going to Hawaii in March, so I want to get my abs and core in shape so I can wear a bikini top with some board shorts on the beach and feel good about it and be rocking it.

My gym routine: I use a multiple of nautilus machines, crunches, floor mat exercises and I even use the stairs for calf raises. After these, I always hit the elliptical for about 15 minutes, in a walk/jog/sprint routine and then I will either do 20-25 minutes on the bike or treadmill. And recently in the last month I sit in the sauna for about 10-15 minutes to relax my muscles after my workouts. I can be at the gym for 2 to 2 1/2 hours easily.

I take chewable centrum vitamins and I take chewable calcium. And when I remember I have a liquid Vitamin D I take as well.

Well, I can't think of anything else at this moment.

Hugs,

Kristi

[Goofy219]

Hi Lindsay,

Well, I can most definitely share what I have been doing the last 7-8 months to lose and it is no bother.

I eat 3 meals a day, always start with my protein and then eat some veggies. Every now and then I get a little carbs/starches in, but it is a rarity. (Although I have had mash potatoes and gravy from KFC for lunch every now and then, but that is usually the 2nd day after a fill.)

If I feel I haven't gotten enough protein in, then I have what is called a protein shot. It has 49 grams of protein.

I drink lots and lots of cold and ice cold water. I still drink and love my morning coffee.

I cut out all rice, pastas, sodas and bread the month before my surgery so I can get used to living without it and I still don't consume any of it. I have tried whole wheat tortillas, thinking they might be OK, but it was a no go, got stuck and very painful.

After I was cleared to workout, at about the 4-6 week time period, I have been at the gym. I usually go 4-6 days a week. At the end of July my husband and I decided that I needed a trainer to get me into gear. So that is exactly what I have done. I am thrilled with my trainer because he really has kept me pushing myself.

I now have a new goal because I am going to Hawaii in March, so I want to get my abs and core in shape so I can wear a bikini top with some board shorts on the beach and feel good about it and be rocking it.

My gym routine: I use a multiple of nautilus machines, crunches, floor mat exercises and I even use the stairs for calf raises. After these, I always hit the elliptical for about 15 minutes, in a walk/jog/sprint routine and then I will either do 20-25 minutes on the bike or treadmill. And recently in the last month I sit in the sauna for about 10-15 minutes to relax my muscles after my workouts. I can be at the gym for 2 to 2 1/2 hours easily.

I take chewable centrum vitamins and I take chewable calcium. And when I remember I have a liquid Vitamin D I take as well.

Well, I can't think of anything else at this moment.

Hugs,

Kristi

Hey Kristi,

Can you tell us what kinds of protein you do eat?

[ladyhart77]

Hey Kristi.. Thanks so much for sharing with us! That is very helpful and again thanks for being such a great role model and inspiration!!! You are definitely rocking that band!!!!

[Kristi]

Hi Hope,

The proteins I eat are grilled/baked/broiled/bbq'd, just not fried or deep fried: chicken, mahi mahi, tuna, salmon, steak (love steak), bacon and I love pork ribs.

I pretty much eat most types of protein.

For breakfast I eat eggs, however, I found Greek yogurt, thanks to Angie. Thank you Angie if your reading this:) It has high protein and I usually add a bit of honey. I need to learn some new ways to add something to it to change the flavors. Although Henry's has some with blueberry's and strawberry's in it. Sorry, off track a bit.

So anyways, I did a search on the internet for the best proteins. It helped alot.

Although I still have to say I love steak the most, especially with bleu cheese dressing. Probably weird, but it tastes good to me.

Thank you Heather. I appreciate the support from everyone.

Hugs,

Kristi

[janellody]

Another source of protein a lot of people don't think about is veggies. Being a former vegan, I still think about the amount of protein I am getting in all the foods I eat, not just meat. I did a quick google search and found this website with a decent chart of some higher protein non-meat foods, it also has a chart of how much is recommended per day based on your age and sex.

http://www.vegsoc.org/info/protein.html

Don't know if anyone else out there avoids meat like me, but even if you don't, this might give you guys some insight on extra protein you are getting that you may not even know about.

[AngieB]

I love greek yogurt and eat it often for breakfast. I've bought the plain and the w/ fruit already in the cup. When I do the plain, I add my own fruits to it. I like your honey idea. I will have to try it.

I have a back up of frozen friuts so if I run out of fresh I can pull from my freezer. That helps with the yogurt adds. They have a mixed berry that is very yummy. We go through a ton of strawberries and bananas at our house. Other fruits too but those are hard to keep up with. Oh, and with bananas you can freeze them when they are ripe so they don't get to soft. I am not a soft banana fan.....

What other things do you add to your yogurt Kristi?

Hi Hope,

The proteins I eat are grilled/baked/broiled/bbq'd, just not fried or deep fried: chicken, mahi mahi, tuna, salmon, steak (love steak), bacon and I love pork ribs.

I pretty much eat most types of protein.

For breakfast I eat eggs, however, I found Greek yogurt, thanks to Angie. Thank you Angie if your reading this:) It has high protein and I usually add a bit of honey. I need to learn some new ways to add something to it to change the flavors. Although Henry's has some with blueberry's and strawberry's in it. Sorry, off track a bit.

So anyways, I did a search on the internet for the best proteins. It helped alot.

Although I still have to say I love steak the most, especially with bleu cheese dressing. Probably weird, but it tastes good to me.

Thank you Heather. I appreciate the support from everyone.

Hugs,

Kristi

[uniqueladie]

Wow! all of you ladies are such an inspiration to me. I learn new things everytime I come on here. I am so excited and a bit nervous the closer the day comes for me. I know it is a total life transformation and I want to try and get all of the info I can so I can do it just right this time. I know that some things are by trial and error since not everyone is the same but the information that you ladies are sharing is very helpful for me. Thanks and keep up the good work, all of you. The big day is fast approaching 6 days and counting!!!! YEA!!!!

[MargieK]

Another source of protein a lot of people don't think about is veggies.

Hi Janelle,

I'm not much of a meat-eater, but I have found that I have to be very diligent about getting in my 45 - 60 grams of protein a day. I can only eat two meals a day, and I pretty much stick with a cup to a cup and a half of food. I try to do close to 15 grams of protein per half cup, and you can see on the list from the website that 1/2 cup of beans only provides 8 grams. I've started eating a protein bar as a snack, or peanut butter and an apple.

I don't mean to share this as a discouraging note for vegetarians, it's because this is something I didn't really think about until I got restriction. My previous eating habits were based on volume and lots of water content. I loved beans and veggies, but now beans don't seem very nutritious to me, and I had a very uncomfortable experience one night after eating a cup of broccoli with my half-cup of chicken. It's a weird mindset trying to get a lot of calories/protein in small amounts of food, but I think this is part of the process of being restricted and following the bandster rules. I like Kristy's idea of doing protein shots, I might just start doing them in the morning. Right now I'm just getting about 4 grams of protein from the creamer I add to my tea. I have been trying hard to not have liquid meals, but my fill doctor said I might not be getting enough calories and that was why I wasn't losing weight. What a bizarre thing for me to hear. : ) I have been losing inches though, and I think it's because I am focusing on high protein foods.

But thanks for the link, it had some good information.

Margie

[janellody]

I guess for me, I am never going to be someone who wants to eat meat everyday or with every meal, so I focus on other ways of getting it. Banded or not, I am not a hardcore meat or dairy eater, so I will just have to do the best I can.

[MargieK]

I guess for me, I am never going to be someone who wants to eat meat everyday or with every meal, so I focus on other ways of getting it. Banded or not, I am not a hardcore meat or dairy eater, so I will just have to do the best I can.

If you find any great non-meat high protein food, please share them in the forum - I would love to have more options. I don't know if you eat whey protein, but if you do I'd recommend unjury.com. They have an unflavored protein powder if you wan't something that isn't sweetened. It does have a taste though, which is why I haven't added it to a lot of my meals. I might have to experiment with it some more to find something it goes with.

Margie

[MyNewLife]

Kristi!

That is WONDERFUL information for all and Lindsay thanks for the post! I have GOT to get my butt back in gear with the exercise, just cant seem to get myself motivated, but I am going to do this!!!! I think it is great that you have a goal and the rate you are going, you will have those ABS and you will be in a Binkini (that is sad, see I have never worn one, had to make sure I spelled it right!!) in Hawaii

I have put this one in my Save folder!

Carrie

[Kristi]

Good Morning,

Angie, so far I am only putting honey or Agave nectar (sweetener) in my greek yogurt. I love you idea of putting in fresh fruit. I just saw the ones with fruit already in them at Henry's but I have to finish my plain before I get those. However, I can go get fresh fruit and that would be better.

Janelle I agree with Margie, Great Link. I had found some early on that showed proteins for veggies, but I forget the amounts that they have in them. I love veggies too. I saved that page.

Uniquelady, I too am learning new things all the time from this great group.

Carrie, you are so sweet. I am still way nervous about wearing a bikini or bikini top with board shorts. The last time I wore a bikini was before kids at about 21/22. Long time ago. LOL...

I am very very excited about going to Hawaii and my daughter is the one that said I have to wear the bikini and board shorts. She said my pretty swim dresses make me look old. And that since my swim dresses don't fit me anymore, I cannot buy another one for the trip. She is very opinionated, but I love that about her.

Anyways, I hope everyone is having great morning,

Hugs,

Kristi

I posted this an hour ago, but I have some news on in the background and they are talking about superfoods. One is Greek Yogurt. It said it is better than regular yogurt because it it triple strained which concentrates the yogurt and makes you get 3x the calcium and the protein is twice as high. Just wanted to add this in.

[Linnipoo]

Wow! Thanks everyone for the responses, especially Kristi! I'm gonna check out that Greek yogurt Right now I'm averaging 0.875 lbs loss a day!

Oh! And maybe to add to yogurt, Publix has these little pouches of blended fruits, called Buddy Fruits. I think it's for kids, but they're all natural, no sugar added, no preservatives, etc. A full serving of fruit and 60 cals per 3.2 oz thingie. So far I've seen them in apple cinnamon, apple banana, and mixed fruit. I'm keeping them in my bag for when I'm on campus and need a nosh. They were on special at my Publix for a dollar each.

Thanks everyone!