MamaMichelle

Another tip I heard someone mention is setting a kitchen timer for 1 hr after they eat, when the bell goes off it's safe to drink!

I know many of us are planning on taking vacations this summer so I thought this was a good article to think about before leaving town: How not to take a vacation from your diet Exercise, eating in can help you enjoy your getaway without gaining weight By Jan Sheehan updated 6:32 a.m. MT, Wed., July. 2, 2008 Vacation can be a great motivator for weight loss — there's nothing quite like the prospect of spending a week in a swimsuit to get your behind to the gym. But once you reach your destination, temptation rears its ugly head in the form of fruity drinks, rich dinners and days of relaxing by the pool. To find out how to stay healthy and still have fun, we turned to six travel and nutrition gurus who face the same challenges as the rest of us. The difference? They have genius tips for sidestepping diet pitfalls. Use their proven plans to come home feeling even better about your body than when you left. “I grab quickie meals at grocery stores instead of fast food joints.” Samantha Brown, of the Travel Channel's “Passport to Great Weekends” Her no-gain game plan: Go off the beaten path. Driving while hungry makes fast food restaurants seem like heaven on the highway. But better options are usually only a few minutes away. “I bypass chain restaurants right off the exits and look for a supermarket, where I can get a healthy meal such as turkey breast on whole wheat from the deli, an apple and lowfat yogurt,” Brown says. Pressed for time? “Food marts at gas stations are getting better — many of them now have prepackaged fruit and veggies.” Pair them with peanut butter for a filling mix of protein, carbs and fat. Be choosy about your treats. “I travel 25 days at a time to a dozen or more different places and have to be in a bathing suit on-camera,” Brown says. “If I tried every local specialty, I'd never want to go on-air. I pick one thing to splurge on daily, like a buttery croissant at a Paris café, a Belgian chocolate crème brûlée, a po'boy sandwich in New Orleans or a creamy lobster bisque on the coast of Maine.” She eats green salads, soups and small portions for the rest of her meals. Brown's favorite trick for trimming her intake: Eat the lowest-calorie foods on your plate first so you spoon up fewer high-fat bites. “I pick my meal based on what I see others eating.” Carolyn O'Neil, R.D., author of “The Dish on Eating Healthy and Being Fabulous” (Atria Books) Her road-tested tips: Spy on servings. “I'm shocked by the amount of food you're given in restaurants. The portions can be three or four times larger than what I'd eat at home,” O'Neill says. A little restaurant reconnaissance can prevent you from ordering a burger the size of your head. “I look around the room before selecting my meal to check out how large the helpings are, then I know whether to order an appetizer or split the entrée with a friend,” O'Neil says. She also asks the chef to double her veggie side dishes. And as a general rule, avoid all entrées for which finishing earns you a T-shirt, a free meal or a commemorative photo. Change your vacation brain. Consider your hiatus from work an opportunity to be more active, O'Neil says. “I actually find that I have more time for exercise when I'm traveling because there's no housework, laundry or long meetings to attend. I have time to do something active every day on vacation, even if it's only dancing in the disco.” Include one calorie-burning (and fun) activity in your itinerary each day, such as snorkeling, kayaking or even hula classes, and aim for a manageable 30 minutes. “I hire a trainer on vacation.” Teresa Rodriguez Williamson, author of “Fly Solo: The 50 Best Places on Earth for a Girl to Travel Alone” (Penguin Books) Her stay-physical strategies: Recruit a coach. “A trainer gives me the push I need to work out when I'm away,” Rodriguez Williamson says. “I was recently in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, and I hired one as a gift to myself. It was a super deal — he charged only $25 per hour and was amazing!” Ask if the hotel has a trainer on staff before booking a room — it may throw in a free session to secure your reservation. Can't swing a real trainer? Get a virtual one by downloading MP3s of the simple (and effective) SELF Challenge strength routines at Self.com/fitness. Pack your breakfast. “I turn into a glutton for goodies I can't find at home. I tell myself I may never be in this place again, so I get the second frozen drink,” Rodriguez Williamson says. “Eating a hearty breakfast with protein every day, such as an egg-and-cheese burrito, gives me the willpower to avoid temptation later and keeps my energy up.” One way to ensure you don't skip your crucial morning meal: Bring it with you. Packets of instant oatmeal take up no more room in your suitcase than a skimpy bikini and require only hot water for a quick, nutritious breakfast. Pair one with a glass of skim milk for a hit of filling protein. “I start my day with exercise.” Pauline Frommer, creator of the Pauline Frommer Travel guidebooks Her tricks for shaping up on location: Be active early. “There are days when I hit two buffets for lunch and then two restaurants for dinner. I need to work out to offset all my eating,” Frommer says. “I get out of bed and do an activity that's related to where I am, such as taking a walk on a beach, riding a bike around town or hiking in the hills. If I don't go first thing, I often get too busy.” Find a local activity you love and do it early in the day. Or pack running shoes, shorts and a sports bra to turn any vacation spot into a beautiful scenic workout trail. Research restaurants. “I'll plan what eateries I'm going to try ahead of time — either at my destination or along the way,” Frommer says. She swears by RoadFood.com, which lists local restaurants nationwide according to cuisine (including vegetarian and health food) and provides reviews and links to their Web sites (many have menus). Plot your course before you leave home so you'll always have healthy options to choose from. Even better: Pick your meal in advance to avoid impulse ordering. “I try to eat in more than out.” Rovenia Brock, Ph.D., author of “Dr. Ro's Ten Secrets to Livin' Healthy” (Bantam) Her plan for dining in anywhere: Find a room with a fridge. Or, even better, a kitchen! “It costs more, but I save money by buying groceries instead of dropping a bundle in restaurants,” Brock says. (Chains with suite in their name are likely to offer rooms with kitchens.) Make a grocery store your first stop after check-in and pick up the makings of healthy meals and snacks, such as almonds, fruit, lowfat yogurt, carrots, hummus, skim milk and high-fiber cereal. “It's easier to watch what I eat when I'm in charge of the menu,” Brock says. “I try to stick to my regular mealtimes, no matter where I am.” Connie Diekman, R.D., director of university nutrition at Washington University in St. Louis Her keep-lean routine: Check your watch. “I focus on whether it has been at least four hours since I last ate, in which case it is time for another meal,” Diekman says. “In a different time zone, you can lose track of your eating because you'll be hungry at odd times.” Set your watch to local time and move your meals to match, so you eat regularly during your trip. Dial up room service. Sometimes this seemingly indulgent choice is your best bet. “In hotels, I use room service a lot — the menus are limited and much more expensive, so there is less temptation to overorder,” Diekman says. “On road trips, I've even learned how to eat healthy at fast food places.” Hit the drive-through only as a last resort and use her slimming fast food tricks: Downsize to a junior meal to slash portion size and calories; leave off special sauces; choose a baked potato with chili as a hearty small lunch or as a side (instead of fries) to an entrée salad. If you can eat well at a drive-through, you can do so anywhere! ---------------------------------------- Article from MSNBC.com

You should be able to click on your tickr picture everytime you want to update it, it will open the tickerfactory.com page in a new window... Just enter in your pin and make the edits you need to, then click Next and it will automactically change it in your signature no need to fix anything on this site. Grace you are missing an

you must be altering the picture link somehow, maybe deleting the . before .com when you go to change the number?

If you WANT to use the quote feature then directly under the post you would like to quote click Reply button that looks like this and it will place the quoted text inside of brackets like this [] from there you can add or delete any of the words that you want to be in the quote just be sure to leave the [] words in place... The button is used for quoting multiple people at a time, when you click on the button it changes to this: so say you post and 6 people reply and you want to directly thank 4 of them, you would click the button under each person's post that you want to quote then hit the button and all 4 of those posts will be quoted seperately for you in the new post you will be writing.. Does that make sense?

So that means I can't change my screenname to "Chad"?? Darn it!

Those titles do relate to the number of posts you have made, Here are the classifications: Lori Becky Only Over 250 Posts Over 100 Posts All Other Members If you'd like to see the top 20 posters on the board or want to search by a members name you can use this link: http://www.lapbandforum.com/index.php?act=...&filter=ALL

Here's a direct link to Bobbi's Gallery: http://www.lapbandforum.com/index.php?auto...um&album=90 Ok I have to ask why do you look happier in the pic 4 days afer surgery then in the 3month post op pic where you're 50lbs lighter? Lol you think you might be more excited about losing all that weight!! Just kidding of course, you look great!! Congrats..

You look great sweetie, congrats on the progress! I am so jealous of you skinny arm and leg people... (yes that includes you) under all my fat I have an "athletic" frame so I'll always have big thighs and arms, (sigh)

Kim I am confused, you are losing!! On July 4th you said you were at 190 and your ticker says 186, so you are losing silly!! Mona- are you drinking enough water?? Part of getting the fat out of your system is flushing out the buildup left over after the fat from one's fat cells has been converted into expendable energy... Water is very important!

I never thought about booking a fill later in the day instead of doing it in the morning... That is a great tip!

Congrats sweetie, 6lbs in a little over a week is AWESOME!! It is sometimes are hard concept to think you need to eat MORE to LOSE weight but your body needs fuel... Think of your body like a furnace if it is going to burn off the fat we have been carrying around then you need to throw some wood on the fire, meaning consuming enough calories to keep the fire going!!

I have heard of a few people doing weight watchers along with the band, that's one of the few programs I have not tried before but I hear the groups get super excited if you lose even .5lbs so I imagine it must be very motivating! I think any program that helps you focus on conscious eating and making smart food choices will benefit your journey with the band... So many of us we drive-through junkies (I used to get thirsty when I was out and about so I'd pull in for a large Dr. Pepper somewhere and usually say well I am already here might as well get a large french fry as well) that little trip cost me about 1,000 calories and would be gone in 10 min and I'd probably still have a large meal a few hours later. Now 1,000 calories is my daily total and as Lisa said I do pre-plan and pre-package out my meals (though it was really her idea to do so first, she was my inspiration on that plan) so if you don't like to cook then maybe a nutrisystem type program might work for you... From my experience if you follow most of the bandster rules most of the time the band will take you where you want to go and you won't need the other programs... Of course if you enjoy the meetings or the diet plans of the others then the band will help you keep off whatever weight you lose using those methods!!

Congrats on the 4lbs, you are well on your way and thanks for the tip!!

I have said it before Hedi=Hottie!! Great job sweetie, looking good babe...

Copying from an old post: While our group was back at the OCC for our fill the topic of eating while drinking came up... I always knew it was bad but I thought it was because the liquids would wash the food through the band making it harder to become full. Dr. Romero kind of put the fear of god into us saying it was one of the worst things you could do for your band and not just because of the reason we thought. He said that when you eat the food rests in the stoma above the band, and when you add liquid to that it builds up a lot of pressure in the stoma because the liquid isn't able to filter past the food so this causes a bulge kind of like in this picture. Dr. R says continuing to do this will stretch your pouch, inch by inch day by day... and a stretched pouch means you can eat more which means the band can't do its job! Sadly there's not much that can be done for a stretched pouch, usually the only way to fix it is through surgery... His explanation really scared us straight!! At home I will not even put a glass of water (or anything else) on the table... For me the only time I am tempted to drink while I eat is when I go out to eat, so what I do is just order water (I tried telling servers that I didn't want anything and that just got me weird looks and questions if I was sure and then they would bring me water anyways) so once they bring the water I squeeze the lemon into it (I don't like lemons in anything) so that kind of crushes my desire to drink it... I heard of another bandster who puts salt in her water so she isn't tempted to drink it. I will also move the water across the table in front of my husband also so it's not so close to my reach, if you have to lean across the table to grab your water you just might think twice about drinking it!!

BUMPING THIS UP... Now that we are all losing weight and dropping sizes maybe we need to revisit this idea!

My port shifts at times too, there is especially a difference from where it is when I am standing and where it is when I am laying down... It is stitched to your muscle wall but the fat and skin above it makes it feel like the port itself is moving.

Writing down every morsel doubles weight loss Dieters who kept daily food diaries were more successful, new study says By Steve Mitchell MSNBC contributor updated 6:23 a.m. MT, Tues., July. 8, 2008 In the struggle to lose weight, picking up a pen might be just as useful as putting down the fork. That’s according to a new study that found that people who kept daily food diaries lost twice as much weight or more as those who didn’t keep a tally of their meals. Nearly 1,700 Kaiser Permanente study participants agreed to exercise and adopt a healthy diet, but those who took the extra step of keeping track of what they consumed got something of a booster charge in their weight loss. “There’s a myth in this country now that weight loss is almost impossible and very few can lose weight,” said Victor Stevens, a researcher at Kaiser’s Center for Health Research in Portland, Ore., and co-author of the study, which appears in the August issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. “But we showed that with a simple, straightforward approach, nearly 70 percent of participants were able to lose enough weight to make significant improvements in their health.” Overall, two-thirds of the study subjects lost nine pounds or more during the six-month study. But those who kept a food diary every day of the week dropped up to 20 pounds, more than twice as much as those who didn't record their every bite. That held true for Julie Satterwhite, 46, a yo-yo dieter in Portland, Ore., who previously struggled to lose weight. She credits the food diary with helping her shed 30 pounds during the study and in turn being able to reduce the dosage of her high-cholesterol medication by half. After the study ended, she continued to lose weight over an additional eight months by using the food diary on her own. All told, she lost 55 pounds, dropping from 205 pounds to her target goal of 150. The weight loss also was good for her joints. Satterwhite has an arthritic knee, so the reduced weight on it felt like a huge improvement, she said. Dieters don't want to write it down It had a very big impact, Satterwhite said of the diary. If I was walking through the kitchen and wanted to grab a cookie or a brownie, I would think twice because I knew I had to write it down.” That was a common experience among those who kept diaries, noted Stevens. Study participants said, I thought about eating a second helping of chocolate cake but I didn’t because I didn’t want to see it in my food diary, he said. The food diaries helped people see where extra calories were coming from, and also to recognize the hidden calories in familiar foods. For example, a bagel, Satterwhite said. They’re much higher in calories than you think they are.” Karen Donato, the coordinator for overweight and obesity applications at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) in Bethesda, Md., thinks one of the big effects of the diary is that it can help people realize when they’re just eating out of boredom or stress. A lot of times people do mindless eating, under stress, at their desks, bored, just eat things without thinking about it, she said. This strategy can help people avoid that.” Free food diary, menu planner The NHLBI website offers free a food diary and a menu planner that automatically calculates calories in common food items. Participants were asked to keep food diaries by writing down anything they ate or drank that had calories. For those unaccustomed to calorie-counting, Stevens recommended using a calorie guide available online or in bookstores for at least the first month to help figure how much they’re consuming. Most people only eat about 30 to 40 different things, so with a little practice, they usually quickly learn how many calories are in the food they’re eating, so they don’t have to keep looking it up every time, Stevens added. The Kaiser study included 1,685 overweight or obese adults with an average age of 55, who were taking medication for high blood pressure or high cholesterol. They attended weekly group sessions that encouraged cutting back on calories and moderate exercise of 30 minutes per day. The participants also were encouraged to consume a low-fat, healthy diet rich in fruits and vegetables and to keep a daily food diary of what they ate. Of the 70 percent that lost nine pounds or more, their weight was still dropping when the study ended, so it’s likely they would have continued losing even more had the program continued, the researchers said. Satterwhite said it was easier to maintain the weight loss using the food diary than her past efforts using Slim-Fast, the Atkins high-protein regime or other fad diets. The difference was that it was a slower stable lifestyle change than doing some crash diet that you see on TV or read about in a magazine, she said. Some struggle with food diaries But keeping track of food can pose a challenge for some, said Lora Burke, a professor of nursing and epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania. She noted that she recently completed an unpublished study involving food diaries where some participants said it was too burdensome to record what they ate. These same participants also were the least successful in losing weight. Based on these findings, Burke is now conducting a trial to test different approaches for keeping food diaries, such as Internet programs, personal digital recording devices and simple paper and pencil, to see which ones people find the easiest to use. Given the variation in how individuals adopt this strategy, we may need to promote an array of approaches for diverse groups to be successful, she said. Steve Mitchell is a science and medicine writer in Washington, D.C. His articles have appeared in a variety of newspapers, magazines and Web sites, including UPI, Reuters Health, The Scientist and WebMD.

You do look all tan and glowing Anita.. Can't wait for the new pics!

Hey BEBE!! Greeat to see you back on the boards, we've missed you!! There were a few members with bad attitudes who kind of forgot what the purpose of this board is!! That's all passed now, the bad Guys have been banned and we are all back to normal!! How have you been sweetie?

Are you still losing weight? I think that if you are able to keep losing 1-2lbs a week with little restriction then you don't need another fill (the more fills you get the greater the risks of complications) so if you are able to still lose weight I would wait a little while for a fill!!

Hey Lisa I posted about a clothing exchange as well and didn't get much response, I would love anything you have in a size 10!! My 12s jeans are starting to get a little baggy so I imagine by Aug I will be into a 10! I will PM you for your address to pay you for the shipping... and to give you my address

You look GREAT sweetie, congrats on the progress!!

Fixing the pic for MC-