B-52

I'm at the gym at least 5 days a week, and have been doing so for quite a few years....see every type of body type. I can tell you from my perspective, and others who are true Gym Rats, we have nothing but the highest admiration for people who make the commitment to be there....and quietly inside are rooting them on.

There is no way of knowing what one person is or is not doing, or what their metabolism or physiology might be, so it is impossible to tell anyone what they may or may not be doing correctly or incorrectly.... That's my disclaimer..... Myself, it all comes down to how much I eat, and how much I burn off....to loose weight, I need to burn off more calories than I take in on a daily basis....it's that simple. People try to over think it, come up with all sorts of psycho-babble.....I read the strangest things on this forum......but for me it is all very simple. For years, my Dr.'s kept telling me to loose weight....I would come up with all sorts of excuses, etc....the Dr.'s would all call my bluff and tell me I'm fat because I eat too much....stop eating so much and I'll loose weight and not be fat..... Of course, I could not stop....that was my problem, so WLS was needed to do what I could not do on my own. After 4-1/2 years. I am still amazed at how little I can get by with in terms of food.....it's still hard for me to believe let alone convince other people that's all I need, and I'm fine...never been better.

The band is adjustable, and needs to be adjusted.....having this surgery means you have it installed, nothing else...it can take weeks - months to get it working properly. The Dr. does it slowly, in stages, because YOU need to adjust also along with the band getting tighter.... I am at 7cc's...have been for over 4 years....My Dr. once commented, "imagine if you were given that amount of restriction during surgery?" Years and years of eating all the wrong foods the wrong way had to slowly change.....was the most difficult part of the process.....yes, it was Hell....a real struggle. Very frustrating and HARD. Definitely not the easy way out! At times I thought all the negatives...It does not work, I'm going to fail, I made a big mistake.... But eventually I did break out to the other side and ever since then it has been the most easiest thing I could have ever done...and still is today. Effortless!! It did become the easy way after all.... This thing does work! But we have to get there first, and unfortunately, from what I read here everyday, not everyone does. Or at least choose and accept it at the stage they wish to.

Whatever your recipe, just add a scoop of whey protein such as Muscle Milk or any other of the hundred's on the market....add an ice cube in the summer also.

Congrats....I'm 63 years old and know the feeling/experience.... Funny thing was, all my Dr.'s were skeptical about me having WLS but one, (why not just diet?).....NOW they are all lining up saying I'm THIER success story.... My Cardiologist calls me Liam Neeson...he is also 63 and does his own stunts when making movies...I'll take that compliment.

I tell (told) them that I don't eat as near as much as I used to, no longer eat meat, anything made from flour like breads, pasta cake, etc., I concentrate on protein first, stay away from anything processed. I invested in a quality blender/juicer that I use for my breakfast everyday...no exceptions, and drink water all day long. Also go to the gym at 5am and workout (run) on an empty stomach to burn stored fat.... It's a new lifestyle...not a diet per say...so no calorie counting and all that stuff....No Mas!

Why not? Personally I can't stand them....but coffee would work for me.

Congratulations.....I really did not start to loose until about 4 months after surgery, and after my 3rd fill...it was then that my band actually started to to work properly....until then it was all dieting on my part, which I can't do, so I actually gained weight during that period.......which was why I needed surgery in the first place....but once I got into that green zone, about 4 months after surgery, it all became very easy...all of the weight came off steadily and effortlessly......surpassing all goals I had personally set and continued until my body determined it was where it was supposed to be...been there ever since with no work on my part....nor any maintenance as one does with diets. Again, congratulations on your quick loss....and as long as the band is there doing it's thing, there is no fear of gaining any of it back.

In the beginning I used to track everything with a app on my smart phone...even scanned bar graphs of food packaging... To be honest, it drove me nuts...and I was not making any significant progress..... For me, personally, the most liberating milestone in this process was when I stopped charting everything, quit counting calories and measuring portions, etc.... I simply ate when I was hungry (very seldom) and stopped when my band said stop..(very small portions) Thow in daily exercise on top of that to burn off more than I ate per day. That was over 4 years ago and still living that same basic, easy ans simple lifestyle that has led to 100% success and completion of this WLS process. But that's me...what works for one person is not always right for the next person...plus these WLS are different in how they affect individuals.

Whenever I read posts such as yours, I have to ask the question...."What about the Band?" Since 2005, is it doing anything? Is it working? To answer your question, because I have the band, my daily menu is that I am able to eat very little....and since I eat so little, I make the best decisions (nutritious whole foods) that I can...no particular regime except always looking for Protein. Also, because of the band, there are certain foods I will not eat anymore such as meat, breads, Pasta, rice, etc, to name but a few. But again, it is because of the band I am forced into this lifestyle.

I think you answered your own question....you're not seeing your Dr. and not getting your band properly adjusted.... You're trying to do it on your own...if we (Me) could have done it on outr own, then I (we) would not have needed surgery... The band does work, once it is adjusted.

Depends upon where you are with this process.... I just came back from the gym...got on their super-duper digital computerized scale with the display mounted on the wall.... Weight is right where it was 6-12 months ago (perhaps-probably longer) It has not moved, but I am ecstatic with that...and I feel everything is right with the world (well, sort of)

One thing people never mention....after eating so little over a period of time, our stomachs shrink...no more beer belly for me.... Having said that, if I were to eat some sort of slider food, like ice cream, I will get that stuffed feeling VERY FAST! Like Beer...back in the day, well sometimes it was a contest to see how many beers one consumed....NOW, 1/2 beer and there is no room....have to nurse one beer.... I read here all the time from Banded people talking about "Feeling Full"...I have never felt full with the band. As said concerning the Thanksgiving analogy, my brain acts as though I just finished that big dinner, even though I have no actual physical feeling...even if I have not eaten at all.... It's all mental somehow....the band is sending signals to my brain, telling me I'm not hungry, I don't need to eat.

Agreed...5 days is nothing, or 30 days, compared to something you will have for the rest of your life....

For me it was my Dr.'s suggestion...I never dreamed it was something for me, last thing on my mind... But the way it happened, my health was suffering and getting worse...I was seeing my PCP every 3 months, along with my endocrinology and one or 2 others. They kept telling me I had to loose weight and start exercising...that was the ticket. I kept telling them I tried and failed at every diet I have ever tried...I just cannot diet, I cannot loose weight. I have no self control or discipline when it comes to eating. It was my PCP who, as a LAST RESORT, suggested WLS and referred me. Best thing that could have happened.....this procedure has been my "magic bullet" doing what I was incapable of doing....forever changing the way I eat, and taking away my hunger/cravings. That was over 4 years ago, been the best thing ever since.

Yes, for me also I rarely experience true hunger anymore....as a matter of fact I have no desire to eat most of the time, and my taste for food is very different. So as far as head hunger, it is for me a desire to have something...a craving...don't know where it comes from. It could simply be from passing by a do-nut shop/bakery, or I may start thinking about a recipe my mother used to make when I was small and I have not had in years.... I will go out of my way to obtain - cook what it is I'm craving, but after one or 2 bites, thanks to the band, I realize I really did not want it, or it was something I cannot eat...either way I wind up throwing it away... After a year of this, I started to dismiss the cravings as soon as they came because I knew no matter how much II thought of them, I would be wasting my time and $$.... And now, 4 years later, I dismiss the cravings as fast as they come. However, there is something other than head hunger or real hunger....from eating so little, sometimes your body is trying to tell you it is in need of some element you're denying it....could be sugar, a carb, or perhaps some lack of vitamin-mineral...or simply water-hydration. It is very hard to know and listen to one's body....but it can happen especially when we are not eating so much. I had a craving the other day...or was it my body telling me it needed something....so I ate a pint of ice cream and the desire was satisfied...what was in the ice cream my body needed-wanted? Sugar? dairy Product? Type of fat? I have no idea but that could have been fought off as a head hunger - craving. But in this case it wasn't. I also find myself grazing, snacking all day at times....especially weekends...but it's ok with me because I look at what I are over a 24hr period, not per sitting. I'm not dieting anymore. If I snack all day sitting in front of the TV, then there will be no dinner.... I just make sure it is not junk....I have become very health conscious...you are what you eat!

They started teaching me the "Rules" with hand outs and other reading materials, BEFORE I had my surgery....Finally I asked them what this was all about, and told them it made no sense IMO....... I was told that they start to stress learning this rules ASAP, because there will come a day you wished you did because you will need to follow them for sure.... They were right....it took me 2 fills, but after that second one, boy did I need to adhere to the "Rules" and how...! I could not eat without them! I remember going back and looking for the original handouts and reading them again just to make sure I ws not missing anything..... But after a few years, it all becomes second nature...the rules become new habits, working in harmony with a properly adjusted band.

I frequently (or used to) have to give presentations to my peers within our profession, and took a few courses on public speaking and presentation....body image and how one presents themselves in front of an audience was a very large segment. People do judge books by their cover, just as products you buy off the shelf, packaging is very important. I did not know it actually effected us by raising testosterone levels, etc. I will say, it has become very easy, almost pleasurable to stand in front of people now being a normal weight, wearing normal size clothing, and proud of your body....Power Poses come naturally.... Reading the article, I actually thought of times (yesterday actually) where I purposely had to assume low-power postures, sort of out of respect.....not to be too overwhelming.....but once me and this community got to know (and trust) each other, things loosened up.

If someone showed me just how little food I would eating per day, everyday, and foods I will never eat again, and still be healthy and full of energy, I would have dismissed this entire WLS project altogether because the red flags would have gone up telling me this was just another gimmick......but yet, here I am. And if I add up what I ate today in total, it really is astounding....

4 weeks of the post op diet, then my first fill of 4cc's....I then began to loose weight. Relax...your band is doing absolutely nothing at this point...all you did was have it installed...it has not been "activated" so to speak with a few fills (adjustments) It is as though you did not have the surgery, and you are at the same place as before...struggling to loose weight by your own will.....and lets face it...we had this surgery because we could not do it on our own.... Of course you will fail....we all did...that is one of the criteria for being a WLS candidate....failed at every diet we tried. Your post, everything is I did this. I cannot do this..etc., etc...I, I, I.......what about the band? ask if the band is doing anything, and if not, why??? Ask your Dr. why the band is not making a difference....I did, and got an education about all this. And the answer is it has not been adjusted yet.

If you feel you will...keep it smooth. No rot-gut like straight whiskey or bourbon....but something more creamy and gentle Least that's my opinion (only)

Not being there, have to take your word is was not meant as a compliment.... Early on, I was in that type of spotlight....once, right in the middle of a Clinic, surrounded by patients, techs, etc...some medical salesman just shouted out "Man..what happened to you!..?" Then went on to inform everyone...mostly strangers, what a transformation I went through... All I could say was "All Right, Thank You for noticing, ....now let me get back to work or get out of the room" BTW, I don't buy or recommend his product anymore...

How do you know you screwed up???? How much weight did you loose? The way I understood it, I had to loose X amount of weight, within the 2 weeks before surgery, to rid the fat and shrink the liver so as not to make the procedure more dangerous..... My Dr. did not care how I lost the weight, as long as I did......just so happened going on the shake program was the fastest way to do it in 2 weeks..... My surgery was early on a Monday Morning....I had to go in that Friday for my Final weigh in.....I lost the required weight, then went out Friday night and had my "Last Meal".....splurged like there was no tomorrow.... Then saturday was back in the shakes, Sunday was more or less a fast, and Monday was surgery....

There was a program similar to Nutrisystem, but it was a chain of centers where you would go for weekly group visits, pay your $$, and take home a weeks worth of food with directions how and when to eat.... At the group meeting a few of us would laugh because we all ate the weeks worth of food in less than 24 hours..... Hypnotism was an experience, they also sold you cassette tapes to hypnotize yourself anytime you feel the urge to eat... A lot of fun when listening to the tapes driving 65 miles/hour down the freeway...... Acupuncture....not sure what it did, if anything.....except cost me a lot of $$ Over the last 35 years of dieting, nothing worked because it all came down to self discipline and will power....2 things I don't have when it comes to food.... Thank heaven for WLS...a procedure that physically altered my digestive system forcing me to change...

Is your band doing anything? I can do nothing on my own, that was why I had to have WLS..... I always have to ask..."What about the band?"