Gentle Spirit

Well I agree and disagree with the other posters...
The key to losing fat - (I say fat because even muscle loss = weight loss and who wants to lose muscle?) is understanding and applying the energy balance PLUS understanding how your body uses food as fuel and how those fuels differ (carbs, fats, Proteins, alcohol).
Your body has a strong will to survive. It will not voluntarily give up its' fat stores. You have to coax and burn them off. You do this by creating a calorie deficit created by BOTH exercise and reduced food intake. Creating this deficit by intake alone will not take an obese person down to a healthy body fat percentage - at best, it will create a skinny fat person.
Calories In Vs. Calories Out is a bit too simplistic. 1000 calories of cotton candy and 1000 calories of skinless chicken breast are profoundly different. The difference in insulin response alone (not to mention other body chemistry) is huge! All calories are not equal.
Ponder this... "Joe" eats 1000 calories a day, day after day. He needs to lose 100 pounds. This low calorie diet gives him a deficit of 2000 calories a day. By this calculation he should be able to completely lose his excess body weight in 175-200 days....(Bet he doesn't)... But what if he continues this trend for several years? Does he completely disappear? Of course not. Because it's not just about calories in/calories out - it's about managing your metabolism via your energy balance.
I eat 1000 calories some days - I eat over 3000 other days. I still have challenging food demons, but I manage them. If I'm going to eat cheat foods, I do so on planned high calorie days. By cycling calories this way - combined with a challenging exercise schedule consisting of both strength and cardiovascular training - I keep my metabolism white hot. My body fat percentage continues to fall, while the scale stays relatively stable (small lean muscle tissue gains). This lifestyle allows fat loss on calorie deficit days and muscle gains on calorie surplus days.
There are several scenarios of posts on LBT that leave me grumbling... One of them is very low calorie diets. People who eat very low calories (600-1000) love the weight loss they initially see. But how much of that weight is lost muscle? Your body is a machine. If it's being starved is it going to give up metabolically active lean muscle tissue which is high maintenance to keep - or fat stores which costs next to nothing to maintain? Some of both, but the ratio is going to tip toward the lean muscle tissue. As muscle tissues decline, your body adjusts it's metabolism in a fight to avoid starvation, the weight loss slows and then comes the unavoidable - yet easily predicted plateau. They havn't lost weight in months, but hey, plateau's are normal right? No... they aren't normal - they mean your body has adjusted your metabolism accordingly to try to stave off starvation. It won't give up without a fight. But their doctor prescribed the 800 calorie low carb diet, so that must not be it... :tt2:
Here's another one... I've read a lot of posts where people are eating 1000 calories and gaining weight and they try to suggest it's muscle gains... Not a chance... It is physiologically impossible to maintain that large of a calorie deficit and gain muscle tissue, which actually requires a calorie surplus. One person is starving themselves eating 800 low carb calories a day, while at the same time I sit here on a high calorie day snacking on Peanut M&M's dipped in Peanut Butter.
"So Brad, if your so damned smart and think this is so easy, then why did you get so fat you needed WLS?" Because I didn't understand the energy balance and how my body used fuel and how those fuel types differ - BUT now I do... And I want everyone else to know too... It may be simple - but it isn't easy... The band is a great tool to help you achieve your goals.
Your body is a wonderful efficient machine when properly understood. Fuel it appropriately and it will reward you!
Good Luck!
Brad

We got to keep each other motivated. i had a heart attack while visiting my grand baby in the hospital. i had a bad heart and never knew so that's what motivated me. i use to take 8 pills a day but im blessesd no more pills and 220 pounds lost.

Dear ChrisC, You are definitely an inspiration. I am 2 years out and am happy to be at goal. I thought that I was the only one that has a weight fluctuation. I am still trying to maintain, which I find harder than weight loss! Thank you for your story, you, Alex, and Jachut are probably the longest successful lapbanders on this site. Thanks again. Karen

Greetings fellow Bandsters,
I got a six year congratulations notice from the organizers of this site. It reminded me that I wanted to check back in with the community and talk about how wonderful this journey has been for me.
I was banded in November of 2005. It took me two years to shed the 100 lbs (seemed like forever), with all of the ups and downs. I seemed like it took forever to hit the sweet spot with fills. I made a deal with myself that I didn't need to be a "perfect" bandster, just a very good one. If this is you--hang in there. This thing does work.
I ate all of my food, never touched any "beaker food" or scientifically engineered food. I decided not to drink anything with calories in it for the first year of being banded. I made it a priority to either be filled enough to be losing weight, or going in to fill, each month until I was where I wanted to be. I think many bandsters never get tight enough to really learn how to use this method well.
I reached goal, and made my appointment with my plastic surgeon. He did fantastic work getting rid of my extra belly skin.
Since then, I am living the dream I used to have when I was heavy. I wake up slender. My clothes are beautiful and they fit. I never need to pull anything down to make sure anything is covered up. I am no longer self-conscious about how I look--I know I look good. I went from a size 18-20 to a size 4. I never believed I was a small person until after my plastic surgery--I have large bones and nice muscle (many formerly fat people do!) and not much else. When I look at my body in the mirror, I really like what I see.
Now that I know people who never knew me heavy, I am careful to represent my former fat community with respect for us all and the struggles we have endured. Yes, I have learned that many thin people sit around congratulating themselves for their wonderful self-discipline and judging others--and I tell them how really lucky they are to have been born thin.
Many doctors dont "get" the band. I am an executive in Health Care, so I meet many. They often explain to me that banding doesn't work, people "gain it back", yada yada. Then I tell them that I am a bandster, 100 pounds more than five years ago, never gained it back and they are shocked. They are probably surrounded by successful bandsters who, after learning to use the tool, don't talk about it all of the time--"did you know I used to be heavy" just doesn't come up in every conversation.
For me, I gained a huge amount of time not "navigating" being fat. I don't worry about how I look. I don't worry about what people think when I am eating. People automatically assume that I am as intelligent as I am. I fit in any airline seat comfortably, even the middle. I pull on wetsuits to go diving never worrying about if it will fit. If I ever try on anything that doesn't fit--the salespeople, and I assume that the product is not cut for me, not that there is anything wrong with my proportions. I am not out of breath walking up a mountainside, and I am as strong as I was when I was fat (most of us fatties are REALLY strong from carrying ourselves around.) I feel like I have averted the blood pressure and diabetes problems that run in my family. I get a lot of attention from men who say I am attractive. Since I lived my whole life up to six years ago not relying on my personal beauty for my inner peace, I think that is just a bonus. It is fun not to feel I want to avoid having my picture taken.
I have learned that if my band is too loose, I gain weight. I allow a ten pound max swing upwards before I go in to get my band filled. Then, gradually I get back to goal by cutting out a few extras like crackers and cheese, caloric beverages and the like. I have never missed fast food--it doesn't stand up to being chewed 20 times. Now, it's high quality or I don't bother eating or drinking it. There is nothing I don't eat, I just can't each much of it. I have cycled back down to goal three times so--I think I know how to do this the rest of my life. People used to say that it wasn't about dieting, it was about lifestyle changes, but for me before the band, it was about self-denial and dieting. After the band took the edge off my hunger and helped me understand Portion Control, it IS about lifestyle changes.
My only regret is that banding didn't exist when I was in my twenties--still getting past obesity at 45 was better than even later--although even that is possible.
All my best to all of the newer or wanna be bandsters out there--there is joy at this end of the road.
Chris

Walk, walk, walk. Did your Dr. give you a spirometer? If so, use it several times per hour. If not, try deep breathing. I was banded 2/17 and was super-uncomfortable until yesterday. It will get better.