Thank you for sharing your journey with us. It's good to find people who are willing to talk about the good, the bad, and the ugly. We need to hear all of it....do you have any idea what caused your plateau in the first place? I can see that making me so discouraged that I'd stop trusting the process after awhile, and going back to my bad old habits. I'm a newbie...I am just starting the process and reading all I can so I can learn all that I can. I know it's difficult to not be able to eat the things you want, like sweets and breads, etc...and I wonder if we learn coping mechanisms to fall back on when things aren't going right and we're stressed and craving the bad stuff, and falling off the proverbial wagon. Do you think you were properly prepared for the drastic change in lifestyle when you had your surgery? What kind of counseling and nutrition assistance did you receive before your surgery? Is there counselling support post-op if you need it?
Hi David
Thanks so much for your detailed description of your first 8 months post op.
I am in to be banded this TH.
Your ticker is exactly like the one I picked!! Haha!
I hope to ask you many things as a resource after the banding..
Am grateful for your feedback and experiences.
Mike
Hi Donnie,
Realize that the recommended amount of weight loss per week is 1-2 lbs if I'm not mistaken, so you are losing weight within a healthy pace. At times it may seem as though the scale is not moving, however this may not mean you are not still losing fat, perhaps you are gaining muscles which weighs more than fat and perhaps even losing inches. May I suggest, that perhaps you invest in a bioelectrical impedance device (example here) to really keep track of your weight loss in terms of FAT. This device has really worked for me whenever the scale fails me. IF the case is that you want to lose weight faster then there are a lot of factors to consider: 1). Make sure you are keeping your fat, Protein carbs intake in check - perhaps you may want to eat more Protein to speed up your weight loss. 2). IF you are already eating the right way, then change your exercise routines a bit, exercise a bit longer than your last routine. 3). Don't weigh yourself during your menstrual cycle because Water retention may cause your weight loss to plateau for the duration of your period -- you will lose the Water weight eventually. 4). I don't know how many meals you are eating... but it is advisable to eat only three meals a day and drink plenty of fluids. I share with you that I am on a high protein diet only eating three meals a day and replacing one of those meals with a doctor-approved complete meal-shake or protein-shake. 5). Please eat enough to prevent your body from dropping your metabolic rate down which is its natural reaction to starvation. To not be hungry, I divide my portions wisely throughout the day and at the end of the day I learn that I am only eating 800 - 900 cal a day, and satiated.
One repeated practice I've kept during my weight loss endeavors is to plan trips/events ahead of time to which I need to look resilient for, or at least close to fabulous -- this is great motivation for me. There is a Greet and Meet held every year in Las Vegas by the Weight Loss Surgery Foundation of America (http://wlsfa.org/) on 5/13 - 5/15, however one could truly benefit from arriving days earlier and leaving days later to enjoy Vegas while there. IF interested, Antonia is the name of the founder and and this is her youtube channel. I will be meeting with Dr. Katzen, a plastic surgeon (who will be speaking on the seminar on 5/14) to discuss a low-profile-port surgery once I hit goal. My husband will be accompanying me there but we don't plan on spending too much time on the seminar "convention" since I've made future reservations to an Opera show, among other things I would like to do there. My aim in sharing this, is to share my weight loss tips and what works for me in hopes that it might work for you. Because planning events ahead of times always gives me something to look forward to and the extra oomph needed to stay focused on my weight loss goals. Last, but not the least 6). Please be patient, please don't stress yourself, you will do wonderfully.
Personally, I believe it is best to lose the weight at a slower healthier speed to not have to deal with excess skin later. I have noticed how "lapbandsters" vlog their weight-race on youtube and have seemingly lost more weight than myself within the same time frame, but you know what?!-- THIS is what motivates them. Everyone's individual genetic and medical conditions are not the same therefore comparing myself to any WLS patient or any other individual for that matter, is not an option for me. AND since body size, weight, age and activity levels are different-- the end results just won't be the same. All the best to you.
I agree with some of the other comments - you need to find restriction before the band will really be working for you. I have 5 cc's in an 11cc band and NO restriction yet - so i diet and I work out, and the scale has moved, but it is slow. I really watch calories (no more than 1200 per day -- after restriction I hope to be at 8-900), I eat 60 grams of Protein a day and at least 60 ounces of Water. I have NEVER been able to lose weight before, so i am happy that I am going down - and not up. Keep working hard, drink your water and get your protein and watch your calories (i used my fitnesspal.com on my smart phone to track my cal/protein etc.). Also I get extra motivation from youtube (I like bandedwendy and newtoy4kt) and knowing other people have done it, getting their tips and knowing that everyone struggles and has ups and downs. You can do it. Keep up the good work, it WILL pay off...
