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The Mistake of Over-fills

I wanted to post something about all the folks out there getting fills thinking thats what will cause them to drop weight.

It's been almost a year for me and I have only lost 45 lbs ( I really only had about 65 to lose). I had fills and fills until I just couldnt keep anything down. I thought I could drop the weight that way and then just have an un-fill after the weight was gone. Boy, was I wrong!

After many struggles this year I have learned a few valuable facts that I would like to share with you:

 

Dont get your band filled past half way. This is true for most people anyway.

 

We need to EAT in order to lose fat and gain muscle. I went to a nutritionist last week who does training for body builders. I was eating far too few calories. I was working out very hard at about 10 hours a week and getting no where!

 

Exercise is important but its only 20% - the other 80% is the diet! You must eat lots of lean proteins, no sugar substitutes, no sugar and only natural carbs that are in fruits and veggies.

 

You must get about 1500-1800 cals in for women if you are doing exercise 4x a week. Now, those calories must be the good kind.

 

Losing 1 lb a week is awesome! Losing much more than 2 a week is a sure sign that you are losing muscle. Thats not a good thing.

 

Your body will respond if you follow some of these things. I love to eat and I love to workout. So I was killing myself working out so I could eat a small sugary treat every day. I couldnt understand why the fat wasnt coming off. Now, I understand. It's ALL about the diet.

 

DO NOT GET OVER-FILLED THINKING YOU WONT BE ABLE TO EAT AND THE POUNDS WILL DROP. you may lose weight on the scale but you will be losing your muscle first and not your fat. HUGE mistake.

 

Im finally losing the last 20 lbs of fat that I have. With this knowledge, I will be lean and buff in 6-7 months.

8 Comments

Recommended Comments

finallyncontrol

LAP-BAND Patients

You are so right about the fills!! It took 4 fills and 1 unfill--had to learn somehow-- for me to settle right in at 5cc in my 10cc band to lose 130 lbs in 10 months. It is hitting the sweet spot and identifying it. Portion control. I am swimmer so not a "gym/heavy weight work out type" so I can't say 1500 to 1800 calories but what I will say everyone is different! Mine was 800-1000 and still is. It is what I am comfortable with..on occasion I go over but I eat 5 times a day..this is what works for me. I cook all of my foods...even read an article today that said that those who eat at home are the ones that live to 100 yrs old!!! I wish you the very best on the final leg of your journey!!

deedee72

LAP-BAND Patients

Thanks for the advice Kelly! I will definitely keep that in mind. Congrats on the weight loss so far!

CeeCee522

LAP-BAND Patients

Thank you much needed advice for my journey.

Kymbethin

LAP-BAND Patients

Great advice...I'm more than at the half-way mark for my fills, and I must say that with each fill that I've gotten, my appetite is great, eating my correct portions, no hunger and great satiety levels. After those initial two weeks I find myself getting hungrier and eating more. I find that I lose the most weight during those initial two weeks post-fill and I stagnate until my next appointment.

I'm very FORTUNATE that I've never been stuck, never slimmed, and have NEVER thrown up...so what I know for a fact is the band reacts differently for everyone. Mine is so fickle that it changes almost daily sometimes. For instance sometimes I don't have an appetite at all in the mornings, other times I wake up hungrier than a horse. So my advice, fills work differently for everyone, just get to know your body and your band and learn when you're most successful during each phase of your journey.

I'm a personal trainer so you are absolutely right about the 80% diet and 20% working out rule. This has been my problem over the years because I LOVE to workout in a gym, and I like to be active...but the scale won't budge much if my diet is outta wack, protein and complex carbs are definitely keys to success in anyone trying to overcome the battle of the bulge.

I wish you much continued success :D

jennifer1

LAP-BAND Patients

i'm glad i saw this post. i have had 3 fills and was thinking about going in for a small one. my scale just will not go past the 20 pound mark(banded may20th) and it's soooooooooooooooo frustrating. on the other hand i have gone from size 20 to size 16 so that's the only thing that keeps me off the ledge! LOL

kelly111

LAP-BAND Patients

It is truly all about the diet. I have been studying this for months now. Wondering why I was working out so hard and having 1000 cals a day and nothing was happening. I had it all wrong. I dont need to train so hard; infact that was to my detriment. I just needed to perfect my diet and eat clean!!!! That means good protein, complex carb and a fat in every meal - 5-6 meals a day. You must consume at least 1500 cals or you will end up losing your muscle. Yes, pounds drop - but you would be loing muscle weight. Thats no good because muscle is what keeps your metabolism going. And when you do eat a slice of pizza or have a piece of cake - it will be stored as fat. This can be very complicated - I know! Bottom line:

EAT CLEAN, exercise at a low intensity 3x a week and lift heavy weights 2x a week. FAT will melt away. Who cares about the darn pounds on the scale! Losing FAT is where its AT

imaluckydog

LAP-BAND Patients

Bravo, this is excellent advice for all. Best wishes on your journey. Thank you. imaluckydog

Seanamw

LAP-BAND Patients

You are so right!!! I am where you are in my journey & I wish someone had posted this a year ago! Great post, thank you!

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