steelerfan1

sometimes eating to few calories can stall weight loss also . After awhile your body will get use to them low calories and you will either have to cut again (which IMO is unsafe ) or up your calories . I was eating between 800 to 1000 and I truly believe I have done some damage to my metabolism from the articles I have been reading online . My metabolism has came to a crawl because of my calories. I refuse to cut my calories anymore , its not healthy for one and not healthy for the exercise I do . According to fitness pal for me to lose 1.5 pounds a week with 1-3 days of exercise I should eat around 1700 calories a day . I have been getting in around 1600 a day and I have lost 3.5 pounds since Monday. I do believe those articles are true. When I was doing Richard Simmons and eating 2000 calories a day exercise 1-4 times a week I was losing anywhere from 1-3 pounds per week , I cut my calories and I stop losing weight about 7 months out from surgery . I thought okay less calories more weight come off and for awhile I do think that is true , then I think it stops . There are some people I know okay they stop losing weight they go and get a fill and cut their food portions down even more , I just dont see how that is healthy . We got the band to lose weight of course but not to do it the unhealthy way and plus it dont teach you anything in the long run. IMO. Since upping my calories once again I have started to lose again .

This is what I ate yesterday Breakfast 2 eggs with 2 tablespoons of cheese and two slices of bacon Mid Morning Snack banana lunch Perdue Perfect chicken Breast Single cooked in Italian dressing (light) 1/2 cup of Steamed veggies Snack shredded lettuce with 1/4 cup of cheese / 1/2 cup of cooked chicken breast cut up / 2 tablespoons of light Ranch dressing dinner 85% hamburger patty with 1/2 slice of baby swiss cheese with mustard handful of french fries (baked) 1/4 cup of steamed veggies Snack Apple A hour of Zumba with weights last night for exercise Total Calories 1398 Total Carbs 102 Total Fat 60 Total Protein 101

I fixed a pineapple upside down cake this weekend for the family and I'm not a cake eater but this is one cake I will eat lol. I had a slice of it and about a hour later that sugar hit me and let me tell you my whole body reacted to it . I got dizzy , light headed , headache and everything . That stayed with me for a good couple hours. I thought my blood pressure was to high at first so I checked it and it was 110 over 65 so it wasn't high. I'm not use to that kind of sugar anymore and my body let me know. Be careful that your body dont react to it . That is the first time that has happened to me since my band surgery , it was not fun. I still have that cake sitting here on the table and have no dang desire to eat it .

My doc told me it takes alot to stretch the pouch back out . He said I would have to basically go back to the way I was eating before I got the band . I dont have no fills in me but there is no way I could eat like I did before,I would get sick before I could eat that much. One of the people in my support group didnt follow the rules for a good two yrs or so and I mean she would eat anything and everything and not very small portions either and she never stretched hers out . Doc said it takes alot of food over time to even stretch it .

I havent lost but a pound in two months but I have lost almost 8 inches

I know some people might not agree with this and at first I was the same way but I do believe if you eat to low of calories for so long it will damage your metabolism in the long run. I did Richard Simmons for a long time was very successful at . I was eating 2000 calories a day and losing 1-3 pounds per week. Every 50 pounds I would lose he would drop me 50 calories and I would start losing again . That with exercise 3-4 days a week . Now I am eating 1000 to 1300 calories a day and cant lose a single pound. I was eating more and losing more , now I am eating less and not losing . I have talked to several people and for my weight and my exercise I do they say I am not eating enough so I am upping my calories each week by a 100 to when I start losing again and go from there. Your food should never get stuck if it does that means you are to tight and need some taken out. That might be a good reason right there why you are not losing .

I was experiencing the same thing about five months ago , and I just about passed out at my bowling league. I was light headed, dizzy . I found I was keeping my calories way to low and my carbs way to low . As soon as I added more carbs into my life and added more calories I have not had a single problem with getting light headed .

I was one of the lucky ones . I had no surgical pain at all. I took my pain meds one time and that was to please my husband lol . The only thing I felt was my upper stomach felt like I did a million and one sit ups but it wasn't painful . I had my surgery at 1PM and home that night at 7 pm . I think what saved me was I did so much walking. I walked till I got tired of walking. Walking takes the gas out and does help with healing. When I got back to my room at the hospital I was out of bed within 15 min . That was around 315. I walked for 20 min and sat down for 10 min and walked again I did that clear through 7 pm when they released me. I did go home and rest that night but the next day I walked like that again for the whole day . And trust me I have no high pain tolerance lol. I am probably the biggest baby in the world when it comes to pain

No its probably just Water retention . I weighed in five days ago and weighed in this morning and I'm up almost 13 pounds !!!! I start my period next week sometime plus we was out all weekend doing things and I ate alot of high sodium foods and that sure didn't help matters any either . I can gain anywhere from 5-10 pounds, a week before my period and it wont come back off till the day I stop , and like I said high salt foods did not help matter. My eyeballs about came out of my head this morning when I saw that lol. But I know there is no way I could I put on 13 pounds of fat in five days , I would have to do some heavy duty eating during that time and even though I have no fill in my band physically I cant eat like I did before cause I would be sicker then a dog . I should have stayed off the scales I knew I was retaining water my ankles told the story lol. Nothing to worry about that is why I dont like to weight in every day . I can weigh in one day and be down a pound and then two days later be up five pounds. The foods you eat, the weather, TOM , sodium all plays a huge factor in weight gain . I retain water so bad though I can eat one day of high sodium foods and I pay the price for it for days I wanted to get some water pills from the doc especially during TOM but he said the more weight I lose the water retention wont be so bad , hope he is right .

Nikki, Are you eating enough calories ? Believe it or not not eating enough will cause you not to lose weight also. I have been doing some research on calories and things from talking to another member on here and I believe I have screwed up my metabolism from keeping my calories way to low for my weight and height. You can eat to little and then it will basically shut down your system . You will either have to eat more calories to lose weight or drastically cut more and I will be very honest I refuse to cut my calories anymore . I cant cut them anymore . Just a suggestion . I have had to many people tell me I am not eating enough calories for my body and my exercise and that is why I have stalled on weight loss .

Carol, You can still eat all them foods but you have to watch how much you eat of it and how often you eat of it . I love pizza its my favorite food, but instead of eating it two or three times a week now I eat it once or twice a month . My doc has always told me its not about giving up your favorite foods its about learning how to eat t hem foods in proper portion control and how often to eat them foods Pizza, sweets , french fries helped us getting us over weight but it wasn't what made us overweight. What made us overweight was sitting down and eating half of a pizza and sub , what got us overweight was eating a Big Mac , large fries and something else. what got us overweight instead of eating one small slice of cake we sat down and ate a pound of it That is what got us overweight. I still enjoy McDonald's, I still enjoy pizza, and I still enjoy my candy during the TOM , BUT now instead of eating a half of a pizza and large sub I eat two slices of pizza and I am happy with that . If I have to give up my foods I Love to for the rest of my life I would fail at this also. I was like you , I can eat healthy for so long then boom I would snap and that would be the end of it . As far as exercise that is something you just have to do unless physically you cant and even then you can still exercise . The lap band is the slowest WLS out there and I bet about 98% of people with the band have to exercise or you just wont lose weight . You will lose weight first starting out with no exercise but after while your body is going to get use to it and you will just stall . Exercise is just something you have to do and it tones your body up .

I like to take Missions low carb tortillas and make burritos . They have 13 grams of Fiber in it I believe and it makes the net carbs only six and they are delish . I take one of them put eggs, sausage, or bacon in it and salsa . I also eat cereal . Not every day but maybe twice a week. I like Kellogg's Fiber One with antioxidants in it . Great fiber . And they got some great tasting brands out there . I like the one with the yogurt in it . Also , I know its not breakfast but some days I just take one of my low carb tortillas and take steak ums , mushrooms, pepper jack cheese, onions , green peppers and make a steak sandwich boy that is delish !!!

Same here Dawn I never had problems losing weight my problem is I couldn't keep it off that is where I ran into huge problems. I wasn't a bad eater to begin with , I mean I did eat pizza to much or pig out at McDonald's but as far as cooking at home , I never fried foods, I was never a big sweets eater, and never a big carb eater I just didn't know how to control portions at meal times . I have struggled the last couple of months and its my fault. Eating the wrong foods, not getting off my butt to exercise . But, the one thing I can say is even through these last two months of struggling I have not gained a single pound of weight . I have never done that before in my life just stayed the same weight. Without my band I would be back over 300 pounds by now. So I am very thankful just for that !!! I need to get back into that zone I was when I had my surgery and I would be good to go again . My one year anniversary with the band is coming up next month and my goal is to have 75 pounds off me . That is about 10 more pounds so signed up for my Zumba classes again and starting off fresh again this week and see what happens . I will be more then happy with 75 pounds off me ., my one yr anniversary of not smoking is next week , I have dropped a size in clothing and shoes lol. A girl cant ask for more then that in a years time

The band was just enough of a mental thing for me telling me I dont need to eat like a piggy no more . I dont need to sit down and eat a large sub and 4 slices of pizza. I can sit down and eat a slice or two of pizza and I am happy with that and that is what I wanted. I told the doc when I first met him I do not want to be where I only eat a three bites of food and I am done , or I can only eat 1/2 cup of food that just isn't me and to be honest and this is my opinion only I dont think it teaches you anything eating that way. My friend relied so much on her band with the restriction part of the band that she learned nothing from her band and when she lost it , she gained all her weight back because she didn't learn the lessons on how to eat and I dont want to be like that . If I lose my band tomorrow I want to know that I can go forward losing weight because I have learned the proper ways of losing weight if that makes sense. I wanted to get the band to teach me how to eat healthy, how to eat all my favorite foods in moderation , teach me portion control. teach me how often to eat my favorite foods . Like the above poster said to eat normal human being portions . If you watch most thin people they eat 4-6 oz of Protein , a carb and veggie for their meals that is what I wanted . The band alone is a reminder that I dont need to go back for second or thirds no more , that I can eat a nice dinner and be happy with that . My weight loss is probably slower doing it this way but that is okay , I'm learning how to eat, and I'm learning more about myself also . I am a much stronger person I never knew that till I had this surgery . Maybe one of these days I will go get a fill who knows it could be next month, it could be never but I'm happy with my 5 pounds per month. and still enjoy all my favorite foods that I enjoyed before I got the band . A guy in my support group lost over 200 pounds with this band and it was totally empty . He was a big inspiration to me when I saw him and heard him talk about how he did things.

I dont think its a easy way out either. I still have to fight the head hunger, I still have to drink my Water every day, and the lap band dont make me get up and go to the gym every day or work out . That is still something I have to do to lose the weight. Like I always tell the newbies that are thinking of getting the band. The lap band to me is exactly what we did before , we have to diet, we have to exercise, we have to drink our water, we have to watch what foods we eat , the band dont do them things for you , the ONLY thing the band does is help you stay fuller for a little bit longer, and help with your portion sizes that is it . Nothing more nothing less. It dont matter how well you get in the green zone you can and will eat around the band if you want to , it dont stop me from eating a bag of chips , it dont stop me from eating a gallon of ice cream that is things we have to change ourselves the band once again dont do that for you .

oops so sorry for the double posting dont know what happened lol

I hit a stall for a good month maybe a little more . I was eating 800 to 1000 calories a day exercising to Zumba four days a week and couldn't lose a pound . I got so upset and depressed I started to eat some things I never touched the first six months of my surgery and got extremely lazy in my exercise. I'm still struggling to get back on track. I was told my calories was way to low and my carbs for my body with my weight and the exercise I was doing. I think I screwed up my metabolism from keeping my calories way to low . Why dont you try adding more calories into your diet and good carbs, fruit, veggies and things like that. I went to the store to get back on track again and I am going to up my calories it cant hurt nothing. I lost more weight when I was eating 2000 calories a day then I was eating 800 to 1200 per day . I have been doing research on calories and such and it says that after awhile keeping your calories to low damages your metabolism and either you have to up your calories to start losing again or you have to drastically cut your calories to start losing .

I hit a stall for a good month maybe a little more . I was eating 800 to 1000 calories a day exercising to Zumba four days a week and couldn't lose a pound . I got so upset and depressed I started to eat some things I never touched the first six months of my surgery and got extremely lazy in my exercise. I'm still struggling to get back on track. I was told my calories was way to low and my carbs for my body with my weight and the exercise I was doing. I think I screwed up my metabolism from keeping my calories way to low . Why dont you try adding more calories into your diet and good carbs, fruit, veggies and things like that. I went to the store to get back on track again and I am going to up my calories it cant hurt nothing. I lost more weight when I was eating 2000 calories a day then I was eating 800 to 1200 per day . I have been doing research on calories and such and it says that after awhile keeping your calories to low damages your metabolism and either you have to up your calories to start losing again or you have to drastically cut your calories to start losing .

Boy , I can relate to this topic lol. My huband can put food away and my son can to. My son plays football and is into all the sports at school so he burns his off but hubby he is a different story . I will start to open my mouth up about how many carbs are in something before we order and he will say please dont say it , dont ruin my dinner for me lol When I walk around stores or go to dinner with hubby I really notice heavier people now for some reason., I never was like that before. It's not like I am a skinny chick by all means yet lol but I didn't really realize how many heavy people there was out in the world.

I got one for the Wii and to be honest I dont even use it. This is just me and I should have known better before I even got it . I am terrible doing exercises at home. I will find every excuse in the book not to exercise and 99% of the time I dont exercise . I just dont think its as much fun as being in a room with everybody else especially if you got a great instructor that makes it fun

:party: Congrats to you !!!! Welcome to the losers bench !! What I would really recommend is get up and start walking. Walk till you get tired of walking . I walked so much the first 72 hrs after I had my surgery I think that is what saved me from having any surgical pain. The only thing I felt was like my upper tummy did a million one situps. Not painful just more annoying then anything . Walking really will help with the gas and it helps you to heal alot faster to . The next day after surgery I went to the mall with my Water and I walked just a slow pace. Hubby was with me and I would walk about 15 minutes sit down drink some water rest for about 10 min or so then get up and walk again . PS if you have a heating pad that helps also. Also if you have fur babies make sure you keep a pillow around your tummy so they dont jump on you when you are sitting down . Mine likes to lay down on me when I'm in the lazy boy chair and I put a pillow over my tummy so when they do there doggie flop down it dont hurt me and keep a pillow over your tummy in bed also . It will help you if you have kids or pets, plus a pillow beside you that way it will keep you from rolling over onto your tummy

Jess, I have been talking to another gal that posts here and on another site and we have been talking about calories and metabolism also. I was doing very well on my weight loss I was eating 800 to 1000 calories a day doing my Zumba four days a week and I got stuck on my weight. Not just for a week or so but for about a good month . That led me to where I am right now . I got so upset with myself I went back to some of my old ways . She was telling me I was eating way to low on calories and even at 1200 calories for my weight which is 285 she said that is way to low and I am in the same though process of you that I screwed up my metabolism also for eating to low of calories for my weight and my exercise habits *sigh*. I was very successful at doing Richard Simmons. He had me on 2000 calories a day and just like we are now I would eat so many carbs, fruits, dairy's, fats and Proteins and mark them off almost like WW. I was dropping weight about 1-3 pounds per week well heck here I have cut my calories down 1000 to 1400 calories less then 70 carbs a day and cant lose a singe pound . Every 50 pounds I lost with Richard he would drop me down another 50 calories and then the weight would start to come right back off again . I have done alot of research the last couple of nights and some of the calories I see people eating with the lap band anywhere from 600 to 1000 just dont seem safe to me anymore plus doing exercise on top of that . I burn 800 calories alone just doing a hr of Zumba . This is just my opinion but I just dont think in the long run of our health eating that low of calories is good for us . I am going to start adding some more calories into my diet and see if that helps because eating only 1200 calories a day sure isn't getting me no where If anybody else has some ideas or done some research I would love to hear about it , because it just boggles my mind I was dropping more weight by eating 2000 calories a day then I am at 1200 to 1400 calories a day

Congrats on the fantastic weight loss Thisisme !! If you dont mind me asking how many calories was you eating a day and how many carbs per day was you eating ?

I can see why you are doing it because I do the same thing at times .Sometimes I am honest about it and sometimes I'm not. I just remember failing every time I tried to diet or lose weight you go run and tell people oh look what I have done you do well and then boom you are back to where you was before if not heavier and people just look at you . I have told very few people about my surgery , I dont need people to looking at me or judging me. I am hard enough on myself let alone other people being hard on me and expecting to much from me if that makes sense.

Thank you Thee-O as you are inspiring also . I know several people that has never had fills and have been very successful with their weight loss and it really made me think that just because I got the band dont mean I have to go and get fills . I have been told by several people that I am just wasting my surgery away because I wont get fills . Sometimes I hate saying I dont have fills or when I struggle everybody will say well you need to go get a fill . Getting a fill just wont fix some problems I think it will add to them imo. You just cant run and get a fill all the time we have to take responsibility also in our new lifestyle . A fill dont fix everything . Maybe down the line I will have to get a fill and I will if that time ever comes but right now I am very happy . Bromo, Congrats on your surgery Take it one day at a time. You will have bumps along the way. There will be times you just sit down and eat things you shouldn't be eating, there will be times you will eat all day long , and there will be times you will stall in your weight loss . Just dont give up . Like I said earlier I have really struggled the last two months and have not lost a single pound , but I am proud to say that I have not gained a single pound either :smile: If I didn't have my band I swear I would be back over 300 pounds again so just having the band and not gaining weight back is a total blessing because I always could lose weight , I never had problems with that , I just couldn't keep it off and now I can even with me struggling