OH Juli, How are you doing on the no sugar thing? I've been talking to babygrl about it and I think I'm going to stop tomorrow (Its only 10 and I've already had my fair share today!). I'm completely addicted and am starting to trade real meals for candy----NOT GOOD!

babygirl and I are pretty tight on the bycyling (how horribly wrong is that?) thread. She's the one who got me to rethink it.

My foods aren't all the processed so going completely unprocessed isn't a huge jump...but crackers and breads, which I shouldn't be eating are full of hi fruc corn syrup!

But this is day three, and it's okay. My cravings aren't so horrible and low and behold I've found myself eating fruit again. I was telling myself there were too many carbs in bananas but I'd eat bread! I also would spend money on wheat thins but not on berries becasue raspberries are so dear, but I love them! I've decided to spend more on the bits of food I eat. You know what I mean?

Anyway, a long reply to answer, "pretty good."

Janine...The fluro is no big deal. My Dr. required me to do the swallow test before I would be released from the hospital after surgery. It was like a thick strawberry-chalk milkshake, but warm! Kinda cool to see it go down.
Well, my restriction has set in from my fill on 12-17
I think I have acid reflux, but without the acid part....I can "burp" and taste food I've eaten 2-3 hours ago.
I can't eat anything 3+ hours before bed, even my nice cup of tea comes up if I lie down too soon after drinking.
Is that what I have? Acid reflux?
jmcambra & I must have the same addiction. SUGAR and candy
I have blew it for today but tomorrow I'm going on the no sugar band wagon. If it only takes 5 days to get over this addiction, I'm gonna try it.
NO MORE CANDY & CHOCOLATE

Oh man, sugar! Totally my weakness. I usually do pretty well avoiding it these days...the less sugar and HFCS you eat, the less you crave it...but I can go several days doing really well and then totally fall off the wagon. It's never as bad as before I was banded, but it is a constant battle, since it is everywhere. Sugar is very much like a drug addiction, except heroin addicts don't have to see commercials for their drug on TV and magazines and billboards, have it handed to them on a paper plate at work, have their family push it on them when they go home to visit, etc etc....!!

Like some other posters here, I've been feeling badly about my weight loss over the couple of months. It felt like an unending plateau, but when I looked back on my stats (I record my weight regularly in FitDay and look at the graphs to see weight loss trends) it wasn't as bad as I thought. I lost 4 lbs in November and only 1 lb in December, but at least the numbers kept going down. In the past I've gained at least 5 lbs during the holidays, so I have to look at losing ANY weight in December as a minor miracle. I had another fill yesterday and my doc was very happy with my weight loss, even though I'd been feeling so badly about it. And today I've dropped another pound. So, I'm trying to feel better about it all.

Since we all had surgery the same month, I doubt I'm the only one here who feels tired of this process sometimes. For the past year, ever since I first went to the initial surgery seminar in Dec 2006, I have lived and breathed weight loss. Even with all the other major things that have gone on in my life during that time, like applying for and getting into a very tough graduate program, quitting my job and moving far away to start school, the overriding obsession has been weight loss. At this stage of the game I get sort of exhausted by it, especially when I feel like I'm in this long plateau. It has helped to look back at my weights and statistics and be more realistic about how far I've come, and just continue on my path because I feel better living this way (eating better and exercising regularly), not just to lose weight. Anyone relate to this?

Gwen,
I feel the same way as you do about being tired of this process. But then I think this is not a process, this is my life. There are times when I get tired of my life too! :) Those are the times where a wait a week to pay my bills or I sleep a few extra hours instead of doing laundry...and when I take a breather from being hyper vigilant about food and exercise for a week or two.

The beauty part is, that I know after a small rest I'll get back to it. I'll pay my bills, I do my laundry and I'll take my health serious again. With the band I'm not going to fall away from caring for myself as long (years at times) as I used to AND while I'm on sabbatical I don't gain 10 or 60 pounds as I did in the past.

I expect there will come a time when weight loss/health isn't boiling high on my front burner, but I think it will always simmer on stove for the rest of my life, maybe on the back of the stove. I'll stir the pot occasionally but it will never be done. And to extend this metaphor even further...I've cooked the same recipe before but took it off the stove, put it in Tupperware, tossed in the back of the fridge and forgot about it until much later; later when I rediscovered the mold growing matter I couldn't even recognize what it once was.

I really see the band/having surgery as the key difference in between now and then.

XO, y'all.

Thanks for the support and advice and input, Dems and Julie. Julie I love your comparisons.
Ok, I have to say I love Sparkpeople. It is very interesting, I have already figured out my downfall of snacking little snacks here and there especially Hershey kisses. Wow baby, those little things add up the calories fast.
That darn old chocolate anyway.

I totally agree, Juli! This is life, sometimes it's more intense than others, but to keep obesity in "remission" (as I've heard it called) we will have to stay on top of it. Some days I just wanna quit, but I've taken a day off here & there and when I'm ready to start again the next day, no crisis has occurred; I haven't suddenly regained 45 lbs! The band totally makes the difference. What feels like a "binge" now is NOTHING like how I ate ordinarily before...not to mention what the old "binges" were! It's a little reminder when I'm feeling a little out of control. There is just no way to eat like I used to anymore, thank god. :clap2:

I should probably take a day off a little more often than I do...I've been going after this goal with everything I've got for a year, and sometimes you just have to cool your jets for a day. I'm the worst that way about exercise...I do take 1 or 2 days a week to rest, but I'm terrified to do it, to be honest. It's so crazy, but I'm afraid if I take a day off I'll never go back, even though I actually enjoy exercising (for the first time in my life, maybe).

I did have a nice NSV today, though. Despite the fact that I've only lost 2 lbs since the beginning of December, I found that my jeans were getting a little baggy, so I tried on a smaller size....a 10, and it fit! It's a little snug, but of course I got them anyway. :biggrin1: I started out in 16/18s. I haven't worn a 10 since Bill Clinton was elected. :p

:p Sugar, haha here is the weird thing. I never craved candy or sweets until after the band. The Doctor said that my body is craving other things like Bread which turns into sugar, and chocolate goes down easy, so my body says hey, lets eat. It is a huge problem.

I don't drink soda but as far as sugars go major weakness...

I binged on sugar so bad over the holidays.... That it is so hard to completely cut out now...:faint:But i know i can do it!!!


But as far as new years resolutions go... they are still similar to the year;)

before except this time its to Hit Goal!!!! Also to drink more water and limit sweets to one small thing once a week or less...:whoo:

I am glad I am not alone with my weakness although I hate to hear that so many of us are struggling. The good news is that when my band is restricted properly I can't drink diet soda at all and I don't crave the sugar, the bad news is that my band is not restricted right now and I can't get in until the 24th. So, until then I have to grit my teeth and fight hard to keep from blowing all my progress. At this point I would be happy to just NOT gain weight by the 24th. Wish me luck.

I am still trying to figure out what "good restriction" feels like. At this point I am eating mainly soups. I have not eaten any bread since surgery - stuck!
I have not had a piece of meat since July! I still gag if I eat too fast! But -
I have been the same weight for 5 months! Help!

Kuebel, Sounds to me like you have "mushy food syndrome." It's a symptom of being over filled. We should be able to eat solid protein and veggies by taking small bites and chewing well. If we can't, we have to rely on mushies for nourishment, and these foods aren't what makes the band work.

I feel like total crap when I eat sugar - makes it a little easier to stay away from it. My problem - cheese, chips, & crackers. Ugh! I found a new product called Kay's Naturals. They have protein snacks that are pretty yummy. They have 110-120 cals, about 10g protein, and 3-4 g fat. I LOVE the jalapeno mustard pretzels, apple cinamon cereal, chili cheese chips, & cheddar crisps. They are also low sodium and have some fiber. There's other flavors too. I'm hooked!

Weight loss has been the focus of my life since age 13, and I also am tired of it dominating my life. Love your metaphore, Juli! I think I would have so much more physical and mental energy to persue other interests if it weren't for this constant battle with weight......maybe that's what has been the problem all along??? (Too much focus on weight, which stopped me from doing other things) I'm learning though. I think that life's struggle is in finding the balance in every aspect of life. My wish is that we all come closer to finding that balance. This is my life long resolution.

Just going to jump in here and say that today is one of those days that I just want to say f*** it and leave and never come back. First, my dh (and I don’t mean “dear”) will not get off his computer and help out around here today. I should be used to that, he thinks that if he puts one load of laundry in the washer, he did the laundry. Never mind the drying, folding and putting away, which I do. My 18 yo ds (again, not “dear”) woke up at 1:30 in a crappy mood. I can’t wait until April when his ass is away at college. The only one not on my shit list is my dd, she spent the night at a girlfriends house and isn’t here right now. But when she gets home, look out. She knows that she isn’t to go anywhere unless her room is cleaned. Well, it isn’t. I’ve been up since 7:00, I watched T.V. for about 1 hour, then started doing the crap around here that gets put off all week because no one is willing to do it, this does include me. After work, I come home and start supper right away, then I try and get the kitchen cleaned up. It would be a great help if everyone would put their dishes in the dishwasher, but no, once again my dh and ds are too damn lazy to do it. After all these years of putting up with it, there are just days that it drives me nuts and I become a royal b***h. Then I really feel like crap because I get mad at everyone and just want to be alone. At least I don’t find myself stuffing my face. And since I am trying to save money and declutter my home, I don’t plan on going on a spending spree. That is what I used to do. Granted, I always came home with stuff for everyone but myself, but that was how I used to deal with stress, I went shopping. Also, when I get this mad, I don’t want to eat. I just ate a pickle because after 4 cups of coffee (something I only do on weekends), my stomach needed something.

So now I am sitting here typing to my Marchie buddies instead of finishing up this room. I am almost done putting together my office/craft/exercise room. It is coming out great, I just have some small stuff that needs to find a home or go in the trash bag or garage sale box. I thought of putting in a T.V. down here and just spending every spare moment down here when I done and just forget the rest of the house. Hell, I might even move in a bed and only come out when I need to use the bathroom or get something to eat.

Let me say that I love my family and I know that I will be heart broken when my son does move out. But today I just want to put my foot up everyone’s ass and get them to help out around here. I am grateful that I don’t get like this often and it doesn’t last long, but I sure hate feeling this way about my family.

Sorry this is so long and it should have went in Rants and Raves, but I feel like all the Marchies are my friends and you would understand. Thanks for “listening” and thanks for being there for me whenever I have needed it.

Sophie - thanks for your insight. Your right! I do only eat mushy foods. However, for some reason, chips will also go down. My goal for the new year is to consume more fruits and vegetables. Creamy soups are probably not my best choice. I have become a regular at Applebees for the soup lunch! I need protein!

Actually, I'm still not sure why men think that shoving clothes into a washer and adding soap is doing a load of laundry. I always have to throw the clothes into the dryer and fold and put away. WTF?