bogiesmom

You both are doing great Loosing 5 - 6 pounds is tough and you both deserve a pat on the back for that. I anly lost 3 pounds pre-op.

Okay, I am a self confessed soup junkie! This is why 21 days of liquids was oh so easy for me. I can have soup for breakfast, lunch and dinner and never get bored. Whn I got this article emailed to me from Weight Watchers I could resist passing in on (I am definately checking out this book when i go to my local bookstore): Love Soup Article By: Irene Sax Veteran food writer Irene Sax tells us about a new cookbook and shares healthy and delicious recipes, including one that's been lightened up with tips from the book's author. This month's book is Love Soup by Anna Thomas (Norton, 2009). Tell the truth: Is anything better than soup? Filling and healthful, soup can be a big-bowl main course or the starter that curbs your appetite and helps you manage the rest of the meal. It's usually thrifty and always easy to make. You don't need a sous-chef or a designer kitchen to turn out a bowl that warms the heart and the stomach. When Anna Thomas wrote The Vegetarian Epicure in 1972, her whimsically illustrated book showed the world that meatless meals didn't have to be boring. Now she's done the same in Love Soup (Norton, 2009), a collection of recipes that are both vegetarian and endlessly inventive. If you, like me, have a soup repertoire of two or three — chicken, minestrone, gazpacho — you’'ll be delighted and inspired by Thomas's collection of 160 recipes. I’ve never thought of soup as seasonal but Thomas does, and she is convincing. In the fall, she wants us to try Roasted Root Vegetable Soup; in what she calls “deep winter,” there’s a Cauliflower Bisque topped with buttered breadcrumbs and a Caramelized Cabbage bowl from Hungary. Spring is the season for a Potage of Baby Spring Greens, followed by summer’s Zucchini-Basil and Sweet-Corn soups. And all year long she makes different seasonal Green Soups based on what’s in the market, from broccoli to kale to sorrel, each one a bowl of shining good health. Nothing in the book is hard to make — hey, it's soup, isn't it? — and practically nothing will get your POINTS® value-alert sensors going. In fact, the whole thing is very plan -friendly. So much so that I had trouble finding an opulent recipe to list under “Easily Improved.” I settled on a classic pappa al pomodoro, merely suggesting that you use whole-grain bread instead of white. And if any dish totally deserves our "No Apologies" label, it's Thomas's Green Soup, a thick, flavorful purée of spinach, chard and kale that's about as health-enhancing as you can get.

POINTS® Tracker entries Tuesday, December 15, 2009 Morning 1 serving(s) Slim Fast Oatmeal Raisin Bar 5 1 Tbsp sugar 1 2 Tbsp Coffee-Mate French Vanilla Liquid Creamer 1.5 1 tsp coffee, instant or regular, powder 0 Subtotal 7.5 Midday 1 cup(s) Split Pea with Ham Soup 2 Subtotal 2 Evening 1 cup(s) Creamy tomato 1 1 stick(s) String cheese reduced fat mozzarella cheese made with 2% milk 2 Slim Jim Beef Stick 3 1 serving(s) Koyo Garlic Pepper Reduced Fat Ramen 3 Subtotal 9 Anytime 1 serving(s) Mishima Miso Soup Mix 1 Subtotal 1 Food POINTS values total used 19.5 Food POINTS values remaining 3.5 Activity 30 min elliptical trainer, moderate intensity 2 Activity POINTS values earned 2

Dear Darling Beautiful Janice, At this point you will notice that if you watch (and journal) what you eat you will not gain weight but rather your weight loss will probably slow down on solids. I went from loosing over a pound per week to under a pound a week.

I have not heard of anything like this happening with the band but I will tell you that a dear friend/co-worker of mine died a year after having Gastric Bypass due to complications. I do not know where she had the surgery but I know it was somewhere in Southern California. She passed in her sleep one night without much warning. I have to say though that she was not totally adopting the new lifestyle as she should have. I am not saying that this had anything to do with her passing. She did loose over 100 pounds in that year and it could have been just a shock to her heart. I think your chances of dying on the table during band surgery are very small compared to passing away from complications later on. I just realized I sound very morbid but in the end depending on your medical history & how you make lifestyle changes beginning today I think that makes a huge difference in terms of turning the odds into your favor in the Operating Room. You are already getting the best doctors in the world at the OCC, the rest is up to you

My first BM was not until 2 weeks after surgery and only after a call into Dr. Miranda did she tell me to drink prune juice. Honestly, 4 ounces of prune juice got things moving again and I did not have to drink it but on a few occasions so I do not think it is really a concern. Your body is adjusting, just give it time. The one thing that you did not mention that I am wondering if you are doing: How much water are you drinking? 64 ounces a day? Have you tried mixing fiber powder in your water? It is tasteless and odor less or you can get the flavored kind. I think this helped me in the end.

I lost a half of a pound this week. Slowing down since being back on solids but hey I will take it. Went fron 174.9 to 174.4. Saturday was my 1 month bandiversary so I guess I can't complain about being down 11 pounds in 1 month.

POINTS® Tracker entries Monday, December 14, 2009 Morning 10 nut(s) almonds 1.5 2 Tbsp Coffee-Mate French Vanilla Liquid Creamer 1.5 1 tsp coffee, instant or regular, powder 0 1 Tbsp sugar 1 Subtotal 4 Midday 1 cup(s) Split Pea with Ham Soup 2 1 serving(s) Lean Cuisine Orange Chicken 6 Subtotal 8 Evening 1 serving(s) Restaurant style minestrone soup 2 1 serving(s) Garlic Bread 3 1 serving(s) Bertoli Chicken Margarhita Pasta 5 Subtotal 10 Anytime 1 item(s) Fiber one toaster pastry, brown sugar cinnamon 3 Subtotal 3 Food POINTS values total used 25 Food POINTS values remaining 0 Activity 24 min walking, leisure 1 30 min elliptical trainer, moderate intensity 2 Activity POINTS values earned 3

POINTS® Tracker entries Sunday, December 13, 2009 Morning 1 tsp coffee, instant or regular, powder 0 1 Tbsp sugar 1 2 Tbsp Coffee-Mate French Vanilla Liquid Creamer 1.5 1 serving(s) 3 Hostess Donettes 4 Subtotal 6.5 Midday Small Wendy's Chili 4 Wendy's Baked Potato Plain 5 Subtotal 9 Evening Imagine Creamy Tomato Soup 1 Subtotal 1 Anytime Pirate's Booty 2 Slim Fast Ultima Peanut Butter Crunch Bar 2 Subtotal 4 Food POINTS values total used 20.5 Food POINTS values remaining 2.5

I live in Southern California so take this with a grain of salt as my understanding is it really depends on where you live in terms of pricing. If you live in an area where the cost of living is lower I think they charge you a lot less. For the fill center usa nearest to me (about 1.5 hours away from Los Angeles - go figure) they charge about 300.00 AND THAT IS WITHOUT FLUORO). There is no center in California that currently has fluoro as an option.

I know exactly what you mean...last night my dinner was a Mango Martini

POINTS® Tracker entries Saturday, December 12, 2009 Morning 1 serving(s) Bigelow Vanilla Chai Tea 0 1/4 cup(s) Fat free milk 0.5 1 Tbsp sugar 1 Subtotal 1.5 Midday 1 serving(s) Breakfast Hash Browns 6 3/4 item(s) Breakfast Sausage Biscuit 8 Subtotal 14 Evening 1 serving(s) Restaurant style minestrone soup 2 1 serving(s) Active Life Gelatin Cup 0 2 Tbsp Lite Whipped Topping 0 1 cup(s) Creamy tomato 1 Subtotal 3 Anytime 2/3 grande Beverages Skinny Caramel Latte 1.5 Subtotal 1.5 Food POINTS values total used 20 Food POINTS values remaining 3 Activity 45 min elliptical trainer, moderate intensity 3 Activity POINTS values earned 3

Starbucks Caramel Brulee Frappuccino Light Blended Coffee PER SERVING (Tall, 12 oz.): 150 calories, 0.5g fat, 190mg sodium, 31g carbs, 2g fiber, 21g sugars, 4g protein -- POINTS? value 3* AHHHH! This beverage is SO, SO good. As for the fact that it's blended and frozen? We solve the "how to stay warm while slurping frozen drinks in the winter" conundrum by staying firmly planted in one of SB's comfy chairs until every drop of the stuff is gone. This is good advice. Take it.

The amazing Debbie looks prime! Way to go you hot tamale! And the crowd goes wild as she steps out onto the stage with "I'm Every Woman" playing over the sound system!

POINTS® Tracker entries Friday, December 11, 2009 Morning 1 1/2 envelope(s) Rich Chocolate Cocoa 2.5 Subtotal 2.5 Midday 2 1/2 cup(s) greek salad with dressing 7.5 1 cup(s) Light Soups Zesty Santa Fe Style Chicken 1 1 large pocketless pita 3 1/4 cup(s) homemade hummus 3 Subtotal 14.5 Evening 1 item(s) martini 3 1 serving(s) Mishima Miso Soup Mix 1 Subtotal 4 Anytime 1 serving(s) Mishima Miso Soup Mix 1 Subtotal 1 Food POINTS values total used 22 Food POINTS values remaining 1