I have to lose 50-70 more, but for today I will celebrate the century mark of 100 pounds!!

3 cheers for the lap band!  Hip Hip Hurrah, Hip Hip Hurrah, Hip Hip Hurrah!!

Thanks for always being there for me.  This support has been nearly as much a help as my band.  I am doing the happy dance today... please join me

Kim

A friend asked me what I eat and a few people here have asked the same question, so I spent some time analyzing my new way of eating and will post it here in case it will benefit anyone who is looking to see the various 'diets' bandsters follow.

Keep in mind when I say I eat 30 or fewer carbs a day this does not include carbs in non starchy veggies.  I am allowed to eat unlimited carbs from say green beans but I eat the green beans after eating my protein.

I will attempt to list what I eat and give you an overview of how I eat.  As far as exercise I still do about 15 minutes of walking during my breaks.  I get to walk around a little more at work than before so that helps too I guess.   I just started trying to do some strength stuff this week (with 5 minutes on the treadmil at 3.5 to warm up, and this is the 1st week that I haven't really lost much... This week I lost 2 gained 2 lost 1 and it is frustrating).  I wonder if exercising makes me hold water to try to heal the muscle or something?  My legs are really sore in the big muscle area above my knees up to my torso!

There are things that I don't eat at all...  Chips/candy/cookies/pie/cake/pastries/ice cream.  I just don't eat it at all.  Not even a bite.  It is just as much poison to me and what I am trying to do as eating bug spray!  I will not even taste one of these until I am at goal, and even then, only on the most special of occasions if ever.  I just don't need it for survival and there are pleanty of acceptable substitutes.  I know of alcoholics that can never have a sip of alcohol again, and I think that these types of foods are not necessary and it would be beneficial to me to just keep them out of my life.

This is as 'bad' as I let myself get...I  don't eat bread, tortillas, potatos, stuffing, oatmeal, popcorn, rice etc for the most part.  These foods add fluff and filler and no nutrition really (with the exception of oatmeal).  I do sometimes have the smallest tastes of these things though and use them as an accent to the protein and veggies I am eating.  I may have 4-5 croutons on occasion (mashed up and sprinkled on a salad so the flavor is throughout the salad).  I sometimes eat a small amount of fried foods that have a bit of flour coating (like a few pieces of calamari at Carrabas or a piece of fried chicken).  If I have bread it is usually 1 slice or less of the low carb bread toasted with fried eggs to make a fast and easy dinner.  If I am out to dinner and I really want fries, I might eat 3 max, but I just eat a few of my daughters or husbands I don't get my own.  Sometimes I get onion rings as an appetizer and I may eat 3-4-5 but I peel off all the breading except for a tiny piece and wrap the onion around the small piece and dip it in ranch and nibble it.  On occasion I have 1/3 cup of plain oatmeal with cinnamon and splenda but very rarely. Maybe 1-2 times a month I may have about 5 cups of popcorn while watching a movie, but I try to keep it only at the movie theatres and make it a special treat.  The thing is, if I am going to have one of these things at all, it is the only carbs I eat that day and I am sure it is stil under 30 and if not it is at least under 50.

Desserts...  I like something sweet once in a while and if I have it I count it into my carbs.  The only sweet things I eat are... coffee with splenda and cream, sugar free pudding, Carb Smart ice cream (trigger so only rarely), and 1/2 slice on rare occasions of the low carb cheesecake at the cheese cake factory with 1/2-2/3 of the crust removed.  On very rare occasions I have had a little sugar free chocolate covered popcorn (or sf chocolate) from Peterbrook as a last resort to fight a craving for chocolate.

Snacks...  The only snacks I eat on a daily basis (if I am really hungry between meals or in place of a meal would be cheese or peanuts.  If it is peanuts it is 9 carbs or less and I count it into my daily carb allowance.

So here is a typical day for me 2-3 'meals' and sometimes a snack...

Breakfast - coffee with cream and splenda and if I want breakfast (which usually a few days of the week I don't eat breakfast just coffee) it may be 1 hard boiled egg, or a piece of bacon and a fried egg, or 2 ounces approx of leftover meat from the night before.

Lunch - is usually salad with ranch and cheese and ham or turkey.  I make it at work and It is about the size of a hamburger box.  I make it in a styrofoam container.  I usually can eat most of it and sometimes I eat the meat (which is 2-4 ounces) off the top and  a bite of lettuce and thats all.  Sometimes I might have a piece of chicken for lunch or steak but about 4 ounces and on a big day maybe 6 ounces.  Sometimes I want fast food so it may be a cheeseburger with no bun or a chick fil a without the bun (for that I count the carbs since it is breaded).

Dinner - is usually the same as lunch, but I can eat a little (2 ounces) more meat.  I like to have crab legs and butter a few times a month.  I also like shrimp dipped in butter.

Snacks - During the day I will usually have a pack of peanuts if I don't have any carbs with my meals, and 4-5 (maybe more) days a week I have something sweet after dinner like coffee with cream and splenda or sugar free pudding.  I just make sure to keep it under 30 carbs. 

Fats...  I don't limit fat, but I don't sit there and eat a stick of butter either.  I eat butter on crablegs, shrimp, steak and pork.  I eat chicken skin and some of the fat on my steak.  I have a couple of pieces of bacon sometimes.  I eat ranch dressing on my salads and sometimes as a dip for chicken.  I even put a pat of butter in some oatmeal the other day to make it creamier (I wanted something sweet for breakfast that day, so I had that with a hb egg.)

I think avoiding all of the first group of junk foods completely is what helps the most.  If I don't eat those and stay under 30 carbs I don't see how it would be possible to gain weight and it should help me to continue losing weight.

***SIDE NOTE***

I am now down 99 pounds!  I keep seeing fluctualtins with water.  I hope to wake up tomorrow and see that I have lost 100 pounds so I can start to focus on the final 70 pounds that I still need to lose!! 

I went to see my surgeon today and I'm thrilled to report that I have lost a grand total of 97 pounds.  I lost 27 pre-op and the other 70 since my surgery April 10th.  I am losing an average of 10 pounds a month and that is good enough for me.  I have the hang of it.  My restriction is adequate and so for now I decided I didn't need a fill.  I want to lose 71 more pounds to get to my personal goal of 150.

I would reccomend the band to anyone who is ready to lose weight and is mentally prepared to make some rather signifigant changes in their life where eating is concerned. 

My surgeon is so awesome, he really knows what he is doing.  He covers the nutritional aspect as well as the mental aspect of what needs to be done to get the weight off and keep it off.  The mental part is so signifigant, and he is convinced that the carb addiction (using unhealthy foods for pleasure and to medicate) is the cause for the obesity epidemic.  He is right.  I have noticed a big change in my relationship with food.  I eat it for meals/nourishment, not recreation. Yes I will go out to dinner with my family or friends, and when I do, I eat if it is meal time and I avoid the carbs and have found many wonderful substitutes.  Today my husband and I met for a nice lunch, and I chose Japanese food, because I knew I would do good with salad, veggies and meat.  I skipped the rice and it was just delicious and we had such a nice time.  We happen to know the cook and hadn't seen him in a long time and he was like, "Wow Kim you look a lot different!". 

If you are thinking about the band, and are ready to make some changes, this Lap Band may be the answer for you.  It is the answer for me.  Just be sure to pick out a really good surgeon that includes a program for follow up.  Support is very important, so if you can find a support group that is awesome.  Know that the band helps with portion size and the hunger that once had such control over me... It took lots of food to satisfy the hunger for me... well now if I start to feel hungry I KNOW that I can satisfy that annoying hunger pretty quickly. That has been life changing for me.  I will NOT eat cake/cookies/pie/sweets/etc. There are plenty of alternatives that I will choose on occasion that are just as satisfying.  In small amounts and only sometimes I will 'indulge' in sugar free chocolate, movie theatre popcorn, or low carb cheesecake or low carb ice cream (and I am talking only once or twice amonth).  I often have sugar free pudding but in moderation and I count it in to my daily 30 carbs (I don't have to count carbs in my green veggies/mushrooms).  I occasionally have 1 slice of toasted low carb bread but I count it.  That is it.  My normal diet includes Eggs, cheese, meat, butter, veggies, coffee, half and half creamer, so basically things that are natural and don't contain sugar.  I hate it when I smell cookies or something at work, but I just ignore it and pop a piece of sugar free gum or really sweet coffee sweetened with Splenda.  Sometimes I pop out a citrus/lemon scented wipe and wipe my desk and leave the wipe out because it covers up the smells of my coworkers foods.

I am happy, and I feel so much more in control.  I am a stronger person when it comes to food.  I look at it differently.  I would love to have it, but I won't do that to myself. I will stick to my substitutes.  If it has carbs (but not sugar) like an occasional french fry, I may eat 3 of them at the end of my meal to finish it off, but the good news is that I am able to eat 3 and stop.  Hopefully as the journey goes on I can stop eating the occasional french fry or two as well. 

I wish all of you the best with your journeys!!  You have to take it one day at a time and just stick to your plan and don't give in. It isn't worth it for the 5 minutes of satisfaction that you get while eating a candy bar!

I have some great news to share with you guys!!

I weighed this morning and I am down about 84-85 pounds!!  I had to lose a total of 168.5 pounds to get to my goal weight, and I have lost 84-85 now, so I have 83 more to lose.  I have lost 50% of my excess weight.  83 is a lot to have to lose, but I did it once, so I can do it again right?  I think it will get harder, because the weight comes off a little faster the heavier you are, so I know my body will need more exercise and less calories to continue to lose.  I am going to join the gym at work when we move to the office on 10/11/08.  They have a nice Gym, and I just got  a small promotion and will start work an hour later, so my plan is to still go in after taking my daughter to work, so I will be there early and I can work out before work! At least I have a plan to step it up.  So far I go on 15 minute walks on breaks and that is about it.

I started (following) my low carb pre-op diet about a year ago and got my band and continued on my low carb diet through the present (surgeons plan).  I lost 27 pre-op, and 58 since my surgery on 4/10.

I am 16 pounds a way from my 1st goal of a 100 pound loss, and I hope to get there by Thanksgiving.  I hope to be at goal by mid 2009... if not AT goal, I want to be as close to it as I can. 

As a reward I just bought myself a Coach bag!  I have always wanted one, and couldn't justify the $ but my hubby said I deserve it and said I could go get another!!  I think I will, and I will put it up in my closet until I get  under 200, which is 34 pounds from now.

So I have 16 pounds to hit my next goal of a 100 pound loss, then I start on my next goal which is to lose another 34 pounds to get under 200, and then from there I will start on my final goal which is to get to my ultimate goal of 150.  Wish me luck, it is a long road ahead, but I hope that by breaking it down into smaller goals with more opportunities to recognize successes I will be able to do it.  I would love to be at my goal by the time I go on my cruise at the end of May, so I can celebrate that goal along with my 15 year wedding anniversary!!

Hello!! I am now down 77 pounds and 50 of them are since my surgery 5 months ago.  My goal was to average a 10 pound a month average weight loss, so I am right on track!

My surgeon was happy with my progress and made me smile a lot.  He really is awesome. 

I decided not to get a fill today.  I will see how everything goes and if I feel I need a fill at some point I will just call and they will work me in.  My next appointment is in 6 weeks, he wants me to lose 16-18 pounds by that appointment.  I  think that is going to be hard, but I will do my best and see what happens.

I just got back home from seeing Phil Stacey (from American Idol).  He really did a great job.  He is from Jacksonville, and he did a free concert downtown at the Landing.  He really is a pretty good performer.  Also very Faithful and Patriotic.  He told some really cool stories and I am really glad I went!

I'll be back around Halloween!  Nite!