Need to Lose 100 LBS -Robins Thread !

hello ladies sorry I didn't drop by for a "hi" on Monday. got caught up in a busy evening and lost track of time. I want to fess up to feeling pretty miserable and lost right now. I can't for the life of me meet my calorie requirement because of the lapband I still have. I have pushed myself to eat more than I truly desire just because I know I've dropped my carbs pretty low and have been told that my body will run off my fats and proteins now. I've also been told that I need to get my calories higher in order to get my body out of starvation mode. I just can't do it, ladies. I'm so frustrated and my everyday is filled with sickness because of the "dumping cycle" that goes with gastric bypass sometimes. I've even seen a 3lb gain over this past week :mad: :frown: which makes no sense to me considering my calories at times are just pitiful! I don't know what to do. I've been walking on my treadmill regularly and increasing my times each night, until the doggone thing started messing up on me. it let's me get as far as 30mins sometimes then comes to a sudden sharp stop which jerks my already bad knees. hurts pretty bad for the rest of that evening and into the next morning before it feels better. then I get on it the next night only to have the same thing happen again. hubby told me to just walk 20 mins each night for the next week because he's ordered me a brand new treadmill and a hybrid recumbant bike/elliptical machine!!!!! OMG!!! I'm so excited about this! So I'm gonna protect my knees and walk less time just because I know I'm gonna be a HAPPY HAPPY GIRL in just a week or so!!! However, back to my original gripe...even with all my walking and strengthening exercises and very faithful low carb diet...WHY DID I GAIN 3LBS???? any help, suggestions, advice would be so appreciated.

@GrammyWhammy Wow, I have always loved the harp. How close is Wisconsin to where you are I want to be there for the Christmas "concert".

@bettjo I wish I could be there to hug you. I'm sorry if you are not a hugger but I am. I feel for you. I have this deal with the scale and the trainer. I look at where I am now with where I was 4 weeks ago. If I am up from 4 weeks ago I can have a melt down. The weight of a human body can vary by as much as 5 pounds in a single day. Keep that in mind when you step on the scale.

Wishful Wednesday - I love it. My wishful Wednesday, I meet with the trainer tomorrow to renew my contract. I am a little apprehensive. We do all the measurements, review my progress and update my goals. He has worked out a fitness plan for me for approx. 12 hours per week. Group classes, resistance training, swimming, and some treadmill. Will be working on the Couch to 5K principles for the next two months. I know I am still too heavy to get into running but I will take baby steps toward that triathlon goal next year.

So all that being said my wish today is to get through on calorie goal, get in my swimming.

My morning visualization today is to having all of you at the side of the pool cheering me on as I swim my mile.
Love to all
Lori

Lori, We are cheering you on even if you can't see us. Great advice on the scale.
Bettjo, Lori's advice on the scale is right on. That is why I weigh every day. I get used to the fluctuations and realize that I never weigh the same thing 2 days in a row. Perhaps you need to not only back off on the exercise, but be less focused on a particular calorie number until you have your surgery. Also can you find some higher calorie foods to boost your calories without adding too much bulk. Eating high calorie foods seems counter-intuitive when you are trying to lose weight, but since you are restricted on volume, it might help. We are cheering you on.
Love the beginning of a new day. We can do this. Onward and downward. Kaye

Bettyjo- Don't give up and get frustrated right now. Remember that your body is changing right now especially with the lap band issues. Your weight does change daily and hourly, so don't let 1 or 2 days get you down. You can do this.

Gotto go the worthless PD just ended.

@BettJo~I’m sorry you are frustrated. How exciting that your husband got you some new workout equipment! CONGRATS!! Keep your chin up. You will get the hang of this, just keep going!

@Oystereyes~I hope your knee and foot trouble goes away soon. Keeping things in order can be difficult when you have a lot going on. My schedule is ridiculously busy most days but when trying to manage my time I plan my meals and plan my workouts so that my health does not falter any more than it already has. I’m not sure what would work for you but maybe try lists of a calendar of things to accomplish in a day. Try different things until you feel that you are on point with keeping everything in order.


Wednesday Wishes: I wish my trainer did not make me get on the scale last night. JERK!! I tried to explain that I was waiting until the first because I was getting to focused on the numbers but he insisted so I did it and sure enough, I gain another 2 effing LBS. Now, I am taking into consideration that I was weighed on a scale that I had never used before and I had just finished walking a 5k on the treadmill and it was at 6 pm. So, I am trying to not get to caught up but it is very difficult.

I am having a little hunger issue today. This is going to take a minute to explain. So, last night I worked out for approximately 2 hours (walked a 5k and did water aerobics). When I got home I was a little hungry and had about 1 cup of grapes (minus what the dog stole!!). About an hour later, we ate dinner, which consisted of 6 oz pork loin, a salad, and steamed green beans. I also drank about 4-5 cups of water between getting home and going to bed. When I went to bed, I was comfortably full and when I woke up, I was okay; a little hungry but nothing out of the ordinary. So as normal I waited until I got to work to eat breakfast. This is where the hunger started. I have my normal cup of milk and cup of raisin bran, and within an hour, I felt like I was starving to the point that my stomach was growling. I drank water and was able to hold off for a little while but I eventually gave in and ate a few graham crackers and almonds (just a heads up, graham crackers and wasabi soy almonds do not mesh well!!!). Again, within an hour or so I was starving and again I chugged some water which kind of held me over until lunch. I had a healthy lunch of leftovers but not even 30 minutes later I felt hungry to the point that I almost bought a second lunch. I am sitting here right now, trying to resist the urge of more food. I have a snack planned but I’m not sure that will be enough.

I spoke to one of my co-workers, who owns a fitness/personal training company and his recommendation was to change my meals around. Instead of eating most of my calories at night, eat them in the morning OR include a protein shake of some sort in the middle of the day before my workout. His exact words “I eat like a king for breakfast, a prince for lunch, and a beggar for dinner!” Does anyone else do this? How is it working out for you? There are a few challenges that I see with this and my lifestyle First, I have a problem with eating breakfast, I don’t like to eat anything until I have been up for a little while and I’m generally not hungry. Second, I do not do the cooking in my house and I cannot expect two grown men to eat the way I do. Yes, I know ‘if they support me they would do it’ but they have a physically demanding job and need to eat a decent meal at the end of the day. We sit down at the table every night together and I feel that making my own dinner will take away from the cohesion that we have. Our dinners are healthy so I could eat whatever is made and maybe just cut it down to half of a portion, i.e. eat 3-4 ounces of pork instead of 6. On another note, what are your feelings about protein shakes? Do you drink them? Is there a specific kind you refer? Personally, I have not ever found one that I like and I read something a while back that said most people, especially women, should not drink protein shakes because it gives them way too much protein for a day. I know this is probably just in my head and I am putting too much emphasis on this. What is your opinion on this topic?

I know my problem of hunger is most likely that my metabolism has sped up after the workout last night and that I need to eat a bit more, maybe eat back some of my workout calories. Any input would be greatly accepted!

I hope everyone is having a great day
BRENDA

@Brenda~My meals usually consist of a moderate breakfast (mostly protein), a higher calorie lunch and a lower calorie dinner—I do try to get in a lot of my calories before I work out. It works out okay for me, though. I imagine today was too many carbs/sugar in breakfast and not enough protein to compensate for the huge calorie burn you had the day before. I can’t eat immediately when I get up either, so eat when I get to work—but it’s mostly protein. You might consider changing your morning snack to include more protein—string cheese, half a peanut butter sandwich, yogurt/cottage cheese (if you like that stuff), but just something more substantial. Also, raisin bran is extremely high in carbs/sugar—which can set off a chain of events for craving more carbs throughout the day and making you feel hungry—while it does contain fiber, which you think would be more filling, the carbs/sugar supersede the fiber content. I can’t imagine graham crackers lasting long at all. :frown: Personally, I can't eat cereal for breakfast--I'm always hungry an hour later. :frown: If I eat cereal, its usually as a snack.

Not to debunk what your friend/co-worker is saying either but if you’re working out you need more protein—it is a fuel source and necessary for muscle recovery/repair. You just don’t want to eat too much at once (no more than ~30g per meal, your body can't absorb it so it turns to fat). If you are averaging 100-130g per day I think you’ll be fine—personally I aim for 130-150g. Now as for protein replacement, I do use protein shakes periodically. There are brands out there that don’t have a ton of protein in them. For example Designer Whey (soy free, tons of flavors) has around 15-18g in a scoop (I mix it with almond milk or water). I also use Vega One which is a vegetable based protein and offers around 15g of protein per scoop (again I mix with almond milk or water)—it’s pricey though. There are also protein bars, but you need to be careful since some are calorie laden—Think Thin has some new ones out that are protein + fiber, they are around 150 calories and have 10g protein and 5g fiber. They also make a protein bar that has 20g of protein but have around 250 calories—both come in tons of flavors. I eat one or the other every day before my workout. Luna bars are also a safe bet for a higher protein snack—calories are reasonable and they have around 10g of protein, these are higher in carbs though. You could also look for Kind bars or Zone Simply Perfect (main ingredient in the Zone bars is dates). I hope this helps.

Kelley

BRENDA!!! (not yelling at you, just want to make sure you read this :flowerforyou: )

Do not let your dog eat grapes!!! Grapes and raisins can kill a dog. Something in them causes acute renal failure. Their kidneys shut down very quickly and they can die. The scary part is, scientists can't figure out what it is in the grapes that causes it and what amount is lethal. Some dogs can eat a bunch of grapes and be fine, but there are other cases of dogs dying from just one or two grapes or raisins. So no grapes or raisins or products made with grapes for dogs. This includes almost any fruit based food b/c most processed jams, jellies, fruit snacks, etc. are made with grapes regardless of the flavor.

Wow this place is still going strong and fast, but I knew it would. Love the encouragement that is given here. I have been busy and maybe slacking or unmotivated to engage.
Summer has been wonderful, camping, family, parades, more camping, lots more family... just fun stuff.
My garden is giving me snap peas every day and tons of cherry tomatoes and zucchini like crazy.


Susan - Thanks for the acknowledgment,
hansea - Hi, we have been stalled but no real gain so that is good news
skinny - Hello!
Robin - You just increased my Will Power! thx

good evening, ladies I'm hoping everyone has enjoyed a perfectly beautiful day today. My day was unusual for me in that my husband, who usually works 5pm-4am, is working days until the end of the week. We haven't done this in years :laugh: I live my life with his work schedule, too...so we go to bed at 8am and rise at 2pm usually. This week we're getting up at 5am and bed at 11. Whew! I'm so sleep deprived and messed up :laugh: It's hard to suddenly adjust. Poor hubby is like a walking zombie :laugh: and he has to do inventory on his job this week :laugh: hope those numbers jive in the end :laugh: I know this is effecting my eating, too. can't make an appetite appear out of the blue. but I'm doing my thing here. still eating and trying to keep within my carbs goal. HOT HOT HOT outside in my Georgia, so I thank goodness I have no where I need to be in particular. Just staying cool inside until I'm ready to go out and fight with that devilish treadmill of mine after dinner :laugh:

@cblue 315 - HUGS back to you, friend!!! I certainly can appreciate a big warm hug and will give one at the drop of a hat, too. we have that in common wanted to let you know that I do try to weigh just once a week on Sun afternoons at the exact same time every week. I am not attached to these numbers on the scale so much that I have to look every day. But I do worry when I see them go up and I can't spot what I'm doing wrong to cause this to happen.
@kah68 - yes, indeed, I have been earnestly trying to increase my calories from my normal 400-600 range up to 1200. A few times I was able to get over 1000, but I suffered several bouts of sickness through those particular days, too. That's when you may see an Atkins protein drink later in my day as well as my normal morning one sometimes. This extra Atkins shake helps me replenish a little of the lost calories from when I was sick that day. But never all that I lost. Just so happens I have been dealing with a few different days being over my sodium limit. I was so irritated about that, but what's done is done. I find a food that meets my low low carb requirement and hopefully a bit of calories I can claim...then WHAM that sodium has to be HUGE!! makes me crazy trying to figure this out! So yes, my sodium has been high several times this week. I am indeed limited with water, even though I love it! If I plan to eat 3 meals, then drinking times become a problem for me. I must drink 1hr before a meal or 1hr after a meal. Never during. This causes "dumping". If I happen to have eaten something that is terribly hard for me to digest, it may take hours before I can even out. By then it's next meal time. So I do the best I can with water. Always meet my 8 cups a day, but never like some of the others I've seen on here who drink 25-30 cups a day!!! I'd never be able to eat :laugh: So with the low end of the water requirement and definite higher sodium days, you just may be right about some water retention happening here! thanks for giving me advice to look in that direction.
@grandmakaye44 - I think I'd go crazy if I looked at my scale every day!! I couldn't take staring at those awful numbers changing everyday if it's UP UP UP!!! Once a week is all I can handle now. I'd love to find higher calorie foods to eat, BUT carbs are my issue with that. I'm still limited to 20carbs a day. Any ideas for me on high calories/low low carb foods???
@Brenda_1129 and @Lauriek70 - thank you so much, ladies, for your support and encouragement :flowerforyou:

Wed Wish - I hope when I wakeup tomorrow I will have lost the 2lbs that I need to still lose before I am back to were I was when I got off track. I also wish I could find me a true christian man that will love me and my kids - this wish seem more impossible then the 2lbs LOL Im tired going to bed early hopefully.

@erienne--I missed the post about your uncle--so sorry to hear about your loss.

@laurie--I will be sending positive vibes for good news from our doc tomorrow! :flowerforyou: Sorry your PD was worthless--I'm looking forward to that on Friday. :grumble:

@bettjo--that's got to be rought trying to adjust your sleep schedule--you are nice to do so considering it's only for a few days. Just a few ideas for higher calorie/lower carb foods--avocado, almonds, peanut butter, and hummus (eat it on raw veggies rather than pita chips or crackers to keep the carbs down.

@ushkii--happy to hear you've been enjoying your summer with some camping trips. Do you go with a tent or a camper?

@marsha--yes, chocolate is also bad for dogs, but at least with that scientists know that darker chocolate is worse and most dogs can handle some chocolate relative to their body weight. With grapes/raisins they have no idea how much is too much--and some dogs have to response whatsoever. You are also right about onions or really anything in that family including garlic, leeks, chives, etc. Another that I recently learned about is avocado--some oil in the flesh and on the skin is toxic to them,

@robin--that is really interesting about the willpower.

@kelley--thanks for all of the info on protein bars. I never do the powder, but occasionally eat the bars. To add to your list a friend of mine recently introduced me to Quest bars which also have a high protein content with relatively low calories. Oh, and frosted mini-wheats are the devil!! :devil: I've had exactly one box of those in my house since I started MFP. I actually did okay and made the box last a week, but it took every ounce of willpower I possess. And as robin just taught us, that left me drained of willpower to deal with any other temptations. I'm not as bad with other cereals, but not great either. Just typing about this is giving me cravings. :laugh:

@kate--it took losing about 35 lbs before people really started to notice and comment on my weight loss, and even though I'm no longer obese, I still sometimes see the "fat girl" in the mirror. I think that takes a long time to get past. Rejoice in every NSV (non-scale victory) like the looser fanny pack and shorts. Those are the best way to measure you success anyways. :flowerforyou: I haven't lost any of my immediate family members yet, so I can't imagine what it's like for you, but I do suppose time will help heal that sadness.

@lori--I started c25k when I weighed about 240 lbs, and I've seen a lot of heavier people doing races. Yes, you need to be careful not to overdo it, but you don't have to wait until you reach a certain weight to begin running provided your doctor says your heart can handle it. I also highly recommend wearing a heart rate monitor while doing any form of cardio. It will help you see when to back off before you HR gets dangerously high.

Wed. Wish:
My wish is that it doesn't rain tomorrow for my race. Scattered storms in the forcast. :grumble:

Exercise Goals:
Mon--gym DONE + short walk w/ gunner DONE
Tues--walk gunner DONE
Wed--walk gunner
Thurs--walk gunner + 5k
Fri--walk gunner + gym
Sat--walk gunner
Sun--walk gunner

August Challenge:
Cumulative calorie surplus (shortage) = 37
100g of protein = 6/31 days

@skinnyjean and @grammywhammy~Thank you for the concern for my puppers but I did not feed him the grapes. He stole them and I initially freaked out too. According to my husband, who has had this dog for the last 15 years, this is a ritual with him. He likes grapes. He is fine though and this has not happened with me before. We have been together for 6 years and this is the first time I have seen him eat grapes. My German Shepard has a thing for chocolate. He has gotten through a sealed box that was supposed to be sent to Iraq and ate almost 5 pounds of chocolate. The box was on a high counter and no one was home. Again, I freaked out, took him to the vet and he was fine (this was 4 years ago). With him, we have to be very careful because he will snatch some chocolate if given the chance. Good thing we do not buy chocolate all that often! All 4 of my dogs have their things that they lose their mind over. These 2 just need to be watched more closely when it comes to grapes and chocolate.

@Laurie~I considered eating my dinner for breakfast but I already have issues with eating breakfast so having pork loin, or chicken, or fish at 5am seems like a really bad idea! I am just going to add more good breakfast food and cut my dinner portions again. I will look into the EAS brand protein. Thanks for the feedback.

Thanks for all the feedback on my hunger issue yesterday. I think the best thing for me to do right now is to add more to my breakfast time. I have to do a bit of meal planning and find some options. I will also look into some of the protein shakes or bars to have as an afternoon snack. More research will have to go into this because I am very leery about using protein. Everything in moderation though.

Thursday Truth: I was over my 1930 calories but under my total allotment after I logged my workout. I take this as a success because I was able to listen to my body and ate accordingly. Since I was starving yesterday, I figured it was okay to eat back some of my workout calories but not be out of control with it. I did try a protein powder thing that one of my co-workers gave me. It was an individual bottle of powder that you just add water to. I was okay but a little too much. When I read the bottle and then logged it, I realized it was the equivalent to 3 scoops of powder, which seems crazy to me. Now I know where my limits are, I guess.

Thursday Truth: I am having a hard time with my body image today.

back on the wagon after a rough few weeks... I haven't done the August challenge but will hopefully join in for Sept. I'm back at work on Monday and am hoping the structure will be good. Waiting on another specialist referral for my sinuses. On Monday, DH is starting a "hypo-allergenic elimination diet" for his autoimmune disease. ... god help me. The list of food he is allowed to eat is much shorter than what he's not allowed, and I'm not sure how we're going to make it work!

Good morning all.

Happy NATIONAL SENIOR CITIZENS DAY
Each year on August 21 there are various events and activities held, across the United States, in recognition of National Senior Citizens Day. This day was created as a day to support, honor and show appreciation to our seniors and to recognize their achievements and the contributions they make to our communities
On August 19, 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed Proclamation 5847 declaring August 21 as National Senior Citizens Day. In his Presidential Proclamation, he said:
“For all they have achieved throughout life and for all they continue to accomplish, we owe older citizens our thanks and a heartfelt salute. We can best demonstrate our gratitude and esteem by making sure that our communities are good places in which to mature and grow older — places in which older people can participate to the fullest and can find the encouragement, acceptance, assistance, and services they need to continue to lead lives of independence and dignity.”
To celebrate National Senior Citizens Day, spend time with the senior citizens that you know, which may be your parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, neighbors friends, and etc. Let them know that they are special, appreciated and loved. It may also be a good day to volunteer at a retirement home and share your smile with those who may not otherwise get a visitor today.
If you are a senior citizen, check for special discounts and promotions that may be offered at stores and restaurants in your area.

“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude. Don’t complain.” ~Maya Angelou

Tom