jhawkchick75

OK, this girl is back on track!!! Yesterday I cooked up a couple of meals and portioned them out in tupperware and also divided out some veggies and what not. If you looked at my fridge you would think I was an obsessive complulsive wierdo, but it is so nice to have all that food all ready to go and I don't have an excuse not to eat well!!! B: Cheerios (dry) L: Fat free refried beans w/ enchilada sauce and cheese S: This little desert thing that you are supposed to put in coffee - no idea what they are called but it was good! S: Soup at hand chicken noodle - this unfill is killing me i'm starving! D: Chili (about 1/2 cup) S: Chips and dip Calories so far: 1200

That was awesome!!! Been on the bull a couple times at work and it is hell o hard - you stayed on for a long time good job!!!!

Glad to see you back!!! I'm sorry you are having to go through that, but hopefully it will all come out well. Don't be a stranger - come in and let us know how it is going!!

Ugh so sorry I hope you are feeling better!!!! I have had that happen before and it is miserable!!!!! B: None S: One fun sized snickers bar L: Chips and cheese and two pieces of ham D: 1 chicken strip, a few french fries S: Wine Calories so far: 1,000 I have been eating sooo crappy lately! My schedule should be back on track starting this week so no more excuses! I am running in a 5k next weekend so I need to get out and run too.

Thanks so much!!!! It's so great to see all of us that got on here about the same time - so great to see how far we have all come!!! And if you come up this way ever i'll take you to Ponaks who has the best margaritas in town!!!!!! We got things to celebrate!!!!!! Thanks everyone!!! I thought this was a great visual and is hopefully helpful for you all!!!!

My gas was all stuck in me (shoulder) really until I got on solids. Now, I can let 'em rip! I was never able to burp before and now can. Lucky for me, the ones that are coming out "the other end" don't smell but I have a lot of them. Sorry, TMI but hey !

Not to bum you out, but I didn't have much restriction until my third fill. Wait until you get back on solids and you will see a little restriction.

My dad and I are running a 5k this year on Thanksgiving so i'm really excited about that. Our only family traditions are to drink and argue about sports!! I'd say find something that you all really like and run with that. I know some folks do a family photo around the holidays when they have everyone together. Unfortunately in my family a lot of our traditions revolve around food, but I did OK with it last year so hopefully this year i'll be OK. I'm gonna offer to make something so I know i'm covered.

B: Lucky Charms cereal (dry) S: 1 wedge of laughing cow cheese and about 5 crackers L: Small packet of tuna S: Frozen yogurt with M&M's - sooo bad but a student bought it for me and I just had to eat it - would hurt his feelings if I didn't! D: McDonalds cheeseburger (no bun) and about 10 french fries Calories so far: 650

Thanks so much! I am at 145 right now and my goal is to get to 135. My BMI says that still puts me at the bottom of the overweight category, but I really don't care i'm not a big believer in BMI and I think 135 would be a very comfortable spot for me. According to their chart yesterday I apparently somehow shrunk 1/2 inch though which makes me sad. Maybe my feet were just that fat and it bumped me up a bit!

I know many of us either feel like the weight is not coming off fast enough or get frustrated at those last few lbs that just won't come off so I wanted to put this visual up. I was at our health fair at work yesterday and they had these examples of what 1lb of fat looks like as well as 5lbs. I was so amazed I had the lady take a pic of me with the 5lb and i've attached it on here. If you are saying....oh i've only lost 5lbs, 10lbs, etc...just look at this and what a HUGE accomplishement that is! We all just need to take it a day at a time and appreciate our successes because they are a big deal. Just 10% of your body weight significantly reduces your risk for a lot of things.

Thanks so much! I am glad I kept a pair of my pants from before the surgery. I know i've lost weight, but the "fat girl" is still there and when people comment i don't see it quite as much. But being able to put those pants on helped some. I'll have to post another pic when I get a chance. Today we had a health fair at work and they had an example of what 5lbs of fat looks like. I told the girl how much i'd lost and she asked if she could take my pic with the 5lbs of fat. It was a nice visual to show me how much i've lost. I'll post it soon.

How fantastic is that...congrats!!!!!! So glad you were able to have a fantastic time, but still lose weight! I want to go on a cruise sooo bad. Hopefully someday!

Under "diet and food" there are some of us that journal our food every day. It is a big help to me and anyone is welcome to join us!

B: cinnamon and brown sugar oatmeal L: Nachos and chips and salsa D: Cinnamon toast crunch cereal S: Vodka and cranberry Calories so far: 950

I had a bad week and did not eat well at all. I am up 1.5 this week so I am working on getting back on track! I must get back to running i'm in a race next weekend and am gonna fall on my face if I don't get a couple runs in before. I did get an unfill but i'm not allowing that to be an excuse. I can still do portion control and eat better stuff and I have not been doing that. So back on track for me!!

Oh it was hard as hell but I just threw it away. It was a fairly big cookie, but I was still proud of myself - it was good! Yeah, the little turd has been acting up. I know it is because I haven't been here much b/c of my brother. I found him up the street but i'm always stressed that he is going to get hit by a car or something. He is a little dog and easy to not see. All three dogs are just really confused and don't know what is going on. Trying to love them up as much as I can when i'm here.

I soooo wish I would have gotten a massage! My mom did and she was in heaven! Definitely take advantage of that!

Welcome to bandster hell! It is during this time you have to use portion control, track your calories and make benefiber or fiber choice your best friend. Make sure you are getting a lot of protein too that helps w/ the hunger. Is also a good time to figure out if you are really hungry or if it is head hunger. That was my big issue. I agree also that this is a great time to get to the bottom of the emotional issues surrounding your eating. We all have 'em and the band is really just a tool and won't work on it's own. I was watching a show about the band and the doctor put it really well - the band does 30% of the job and the other 70% is all you and I so agree with that. We have to do everything we can on our end to assist the band. Good luck!

Found this in an old thread I posted about the same topic - here is what I took...good luck!!! ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ I am a chronic over packer as well so I understand!!! Definitely don't worry about your hair dryer. Take some tennie shoes and comfy clothes and of course your bathroom stuff. I bought bottled water there and took special K2O packs with me. I bought broth and jello from the hotel and they had it all ready to go and knew if you were an OCC patient what you needed. It's been a bit so I might forget stuff, but here is what I brought: - 2 to 3 days worth of comfy clothes (nothing tight very loose stuff) - I took flip flops, but if you are down there in the winter you might need regular tennies - bathroom stuff - liquid tylenol (what they gave me at the OCC did nothing for me, but might work for you) - heating pad - special K20 packets - camera - birth certificate, ID, etc... - all necessary OCC paperwork Right across the street is a convenience store where you can get bottled water, gatoraide, etc... Another hint I learned, call the front desk and ask for extra pillows! I felt most comfortable when I could basically sleep sitting up and the pillows helped. Taking the heating pad and putting one pillow on top of it helped me too. If you have a laptop or can get one, take it with you too. Lucerna has free WiFi and that saved me. There are only a few English speaking channels on the TV, so that helped me keep busy between walks around the floor.

B: Leftover pasta - not a good start to the day, but the dog ran away and I was in a bad mood! L: Lunchmeat, swiss cheese and 1/2 of a chocolate chip cookie S: Sour cream & onion chips D: Taco Bell cheese roll up Been journaling, but I really need to start writing down my calories. Gotta keep myself honest!

Thanks so much!!

B: None L: Slice and a half of cheese pizza S: Chips and dip D: A crabcake and a few french fries S: White wine - a couple too many!

B: None L: Macaroni and cheese and tomato soup D: Mini raviolis S: One fun sized snickers bar (damn leftover halloween candy!) S: Chips and dip

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!!!!! I hope you all have had a fantastic day! I had to work most of the day, but have managed to eat very little candy which is good! This seems to be the start of the "gaining season" - Halloween through New Years. So i'm making a real effort to stick to the plan. Last year this time I was still on my 21 days of liquids but then started solids just before Thanksgiving so it was tough, but I did great, so NO reason I can't do it again this year. B: None, dad did went to the hospital early w/ my bro so I could sleep in a bit S: Chips and cheese L: 1/2 hamburger patty and about 10 french fries (burger king) D: Alfredo pasta (about 1 cup) S: Halloween candy - only did one reeces pb cup (small one) and one butterscotch candy, so not too bad! S: Vodka and cranberry (2)