B-52

I'm 2 years in since surgery, and have been at my goal for a year now....... I often winder how I could possibly gain the weight back....I did not do this on my own The very thing that caused me to loose the weight, is still there with the same adjustment...... The way I figure it, something would have to happen to the band, say a medical emergency or something where I would have to get a unfill allowing me to overeat again. Otherwise I cannot understanding it happening to me.... I know there are many people who post here stating how they gained much/most of their weight back....and I do not doubt them....but I also wonder what percentage was their effort and what percentage was the band doing the work.... In my case, it's 90% band....

Got me thinking.....I don't experience hunger, let alone hunger pains....small portions, water and protein keep me satisfied........and of course the band.

Listen to your Dr....... I cannot live without coffee and began drinking it 24 hours after surgery.....but I don't condone it...again, follow your Dr.'s instructions.

There was a thread not too long ago, where the consensus was that liquids will pass right through the band into the stomach......just saying....does it or dosn't it? If liquids do pass right through to the stomach, how can it stretch the pouch?

I NEVER eat anything after 6-7pm......just my little rule......

Panera is one of my favorite places to eat......can't eat bread anymore, but they have great healthy Soups and I like their tuna fish.... (I don't count calories or portions, just healthy choices and Panera is very healthy)

I don't eat Red meat, and that was due to the band so I accepted and went with it since the benefits are obvious...I don't care for dairy products either...but I still eat chicken and fish.... So I'm not sure what that nakes me, other than healthier..... I'm sure, the more I learn and the more I adapt, I will become more vegetarian eventually.....

3500 calories = 1 lb of fat 3500 / 7 = 500 calories per day That's 500 calories per day MORE than you consume, to loose one lb per week. So, if you consume 1000 calories, you must burn 1500 calories....OR consume less calories per day. Ideally consume less, and burn more...increasing the gap between the two.... And that is for real fat burning weight loss, not the quick early stages of weight loss which everybody experiences If you want to loose more than one pound per week, you have to up the above numbers.... Also, in my case, I have always found Protein to give me more energy than calories.... Also, since I am no llonger concerned about loosing weight, I find that exercising everyday covers a multitude of sins....with no weight gain...

Off the top of my head....if you did adjust your calories, you would not workout to loose weight...get healthy and fit, but not fat burning... You need to burn more calories than you consume to loose weight, and exercising is a good effiecient way of doing that....actually the best...why eat more to counter the effects you may be looking for? I work out first thing in the morning...on an empty stomach...I do take a shot of Protein, plus my Water and Vitamins, for my energy and metabolism.....but no calories. My theory is I'm there to burn fat, so I want my body to turn to the stored fat I been holding onto when I'm exercising rather than what I have in my stomach..... After my workout I have a high protein recovery shake....satisfying my hunger and nutritional needs, giving me energy for the rest of the day, and low calories....then I go to work, on my feet 8-10 hours a day in clinics seeing patients.....never a problem with energy...as a matter of fact, the more weight I lost the more energy I discovered.... Again, this is not scientific, just the regeime I have found successful for myself....lower calories and more exercising....

After 24 hours of clear liquids, cream soups were my best friend.....

Welcome to the club!

Everybody would look at me and say "You?" All my dr's....endocrinologist, cardiologist, pulmonologist, dermatologist...even my podiatrist tried to talk me put of it!.....all except my PCP who referred me for the surgery in the first place. they all mentioned I should try dieting first....I was not that big.... I was not going to get into the discussion that I have tried diets for 30 years and I stink at it....no self control when it comes to my love for food.... BUT NOW...every one of them cannot say enough good things about how fantastic I look and how miraculous my complete turn around has been with all my health issues..... It's almost as though they want to take some credit since I am one of their patients.....my last stress test I performed way above average for my age....my Cardiologist said I was his best success story patient...What? Where were they 3 years ago when I started all this?

I eat chicken all the time, but it has to be tender....most chain resturants serve their chicken over cooked and hard...I don't order it out anymore. Red meat gave me more problems than chicken, and because of the health benefits, I gave it up altogether...... But chicken and fish are mainstays......free range chicken is much better....

Defintley a warning to stop eating (singultus),.....one more swallow and I will be in trouble.......

That's alway been my approach as well....and it has worked for me.... I let the band take care of portion sizes, and I concentrate on good food choices.. If I'm going to eat so little, make the best of it..don't waste it....

I have not lost any weight for over a year, my body settling out where it should be, and wants to be, weight wise.....YET within that year I have dropped 2 more clothing sizes!!! My last visit to my surgeon, after I got on the scale, he was looking at my chart ans was "puzzled" He asked a few routine questions, and when we got onto my exercising routine, he then brightened up and said "That Explains Everything" People say all the time how they loose weight with little or no exercise, but believe me....you have no idea what a additional change it will make!

For me, food does sit in my pouch much longer than 1 minute...can be as long as 15 minutes...I can gauge this by sipping Water after eating and can tell how much food is still there, and when the "Coast is Clear" I discussed this with my Dr., and he instructed me NOT to drink anything for 30 minutes after eating to ensure all food has passed. I guess that is why he also instructed me not to eat hours before going to bed...lying flat with food in my pouch....worse yet, being unconscious and lying flat! I have experienced both, the hard way.....it would not have been a issue for me if food had passed in one minute..... But the band is adjustable....some tighter than others, more or less restriction, so I can understand other people's first hand experiences..... Grazing on the other hand, is when I eat one small thing, one bite one swallow...10-15 minutes apart...I can, and have, done this for 8 straight hours.........this is also known as "Eating Around the Band" or just "Cheating" (more info Newbies need to know) Always staying one step ahead of the band..... Nothing to do with classic meals and portions...The band may tell me how much to eat at any one sitting, but it does not tell me how often, how many sittings....... However, being in the Green also has another characteristic...and that is "Hunger" control, or in my case, a "lack of interest" in eating at all....I didn't say "Full" as some people experience, just a "No Reason To Eat" feeling......it was explained to me that this is the band telling my brain I am full, BUT I don't feel full....but if my brain thinks I'm full, then I have no interest in eating....complicated, but it's the only way I can explain it from my own feelings and experience....I also can feel this way 24/7, as opposed to a few hours between meals.... Something no one here talks about, and that is due to eating way less than I used to, over time, my regular stomach also shrinks.....so, if I was to eat around the band - graze all day...I will feel terrible by introducing more food in my stomach than it is used to, and I will get a "Good Old Fashioned Tummy Ache" Super-bowl Sunday is coming up....we are having a big get together....TONS of food and drink....no meals, main courses, just a lot of Snacks of all kinds, all day, and plenty to drink........ I am already planning my strategy for the day....suffice to say I will enjoy myself along with all my skinny friends....not eating any more than they do....just "Normal"

I respect your OPINION, but in my experience, the band DOES stop me from eating (too much) food...I'm living proof! It is physically impossible for me to over eat......unless I like pain and suffering.... As a characteristic of the Green Zone is "Good Portion Control"

Just goes to show you....for many people, myself included....diets just do not work! I struggled with diets for 30 years.... I failed at everyone...hopeless..... I am now thrilled beyond belief that this surgery finally took care of what dieting could not..... ALL BAND ALL THE TIME!

I can't live without my coffee.......2-3 cups per day, at least....2 in the morning, and usually one more later in the day..... 24 hrs after surgery I began drinking coffee again... I'm not sure what caffene has to do with the band....I do know, in many health circles drinking coffee is always a topic of discussion, so it does not surprise me it comes up here also....

For me....early on I quit measuring and counting calories....I let the band dictate what my portions sizes are, and I only ate if I was hungry...which was/ is very seldom.... I don't know if I was eating 1, 2 or 3 cups, or perhaps less than 1 cup...sometimes the band tells me not to eat at all.......I don't force it!! if I counted, I'm sure it would have drove me nuts...I don't sweat the small stuff...I look at the big picture which is I eat LESS, WAY LESS than I used to within any given 24 hour period..... It's my new life style....to eat and live as any other (non obese) person does....I have many friends who are not over weight, and I never see them measuring their food portions or counting calories....What I do see is they choose the best, healthiest foods, and the never over eat, or eat all day long.... Because of the band, I can do that also...could not control myself before, but the band is in control so I can now behave normally again.... My goal was to learn how to "Listen to My Band"....it's going to be my life for here on in, so I better learn it! The OP speaks about getting stuck...I cannot remeber the last time I got stuck, I have learned to adhere to the band before that happens....I get a warning when to stop, or else! Of course, for people starting out and have much weight to loose, you have to learn the rules until they become second nature....I can glance at a menu or food choices and know immediatley if they are godd or bad calorie, godd or bad nutritioin, high or low Protein.....or whether or not they are "Band Friendly" And I won't get into Organic foods, something I am learning every day.......

I have wine all the time, plus cocktails and beer.....it's all in the calories.....if you are still dieting / losing then you have to be aware... Lucky to say I'm past that and try to live a "new normal life"....

I invested in a good blender....every morning for Breakfast I add i scoop of 100% whey...Plus a Protein additive, and then add different fresh fruit combo's such as a banana, pineapple, assorted berries, sometimes Peanut Butter, chocolate, and once or twice coffee..... Can also use yougurt, skim milk, or just plain water.... I also add a non-thickening Fiber supplement for colon health..... The health club I belong to charges $5.75 for one of these....I copy their recipes.... Many here should pay attention to calories.....my smoothies rarely exceed 300, but that is my breakfast.... I tried the pre-mixed Protein Drinks and can't stand them...

My first fill was exactly 4 weeks after surgery, 4cc's......4 weeks also happened to be the day I moved from the post-op mushie diet to regular food.... So guess what.... When I showed up 4 weeks after my first fill...I had gained weight!!!!

You have to understand that 99.9% of the people on this forum have ALREADY had the lap band surgery, and come here for support, and positive reinforcement...... Negativity is not accepted very easy.... That's not to say I do not want to know the negatives....but I also want to know how I can avoid them..... NOT to be told I made the biggest mistake in my life and I should have this thing taken out before it's too late.... I for one, have never had one single problem or adverse side effect.... I have heard about A-fib, but usually surgery is indicated when other cardiac issues are present.... I do not doubt your story, but after 3 years this is the first time anyone has ever come on that strong without having some pre existent medical issues complicated by this surgery......one of the reasons for the intense pre-screening and needed releases...including Physc...