Kris150

I've sent the article to my sister too. She's overweight, but not obese - yo-yo-ing between being curvaceously hot and a bit too plump all her life. We are about the same size now, however, she weight considerably less then I do (but we can wear the same clothes). She's not having any of it! I mean the points and issues brought up in the article. It was like I wanted to talk to a hard-core religious nutter: no-no-no-no-no! She kept telling me that this [i.e. where all these recently surfacing science points] cannot be right, because where would that lead? That we can just sit down, stop watching what we eat and trust our bodies? That cannot be right - she was telling me. What about all the fitness gurus (she loves Jillian Michaels, so she kept mentioning her), weightloss institutions (I did bot Weight Watchers and Slimming World, pre-band, she didn't participate in any of these) and all-over-knowledgeable and supposedly genuine people? - They cannot be all wrong (well, she used the phase "b..sh*t", but I'm a lady, so won't repeat that)! Also, she clearly felt cheated - in a way that if a new approach to weight management surfaces NOW, that all what we did so far was a huge waste of effort, time, emotions and money. She just couldn't take all this. Not a bit. This really surprised me. We like to chat about all things, and me being the reader and information processer I am, I normally bring new things into our life which we discuss, disseminate and - sometimes - adapt into our lives. Like running - I started it after my surgery, get passionate about it, "infected" her - and now we both do it. Or ideas, books, research - I lay it out, she works it out. But not now. I felt like I hit a brick wall by trying to talk to her about this. No matter what research or idea or issue I brought to support these findings, she just wasn't willing to even consider my point. The reason I tell you all about this, is because I suspect if these findings are starting to get more airtime and get more frequently into the public domain - all the proponents of it will face an absolute uphill battle. If my easy going and open minded sister cannot face it, I don't believe many people could. Well, she told me she's going on holiday in July and pushing her weight loss and exercise in the traditional way until then, because that's what she believes in. What she also believes is that if we really control our eating and exercise a lot then anyone can get to their goal weight. She's not thinking in the long term. Her point was that all of us being cursed with weight struggles just have to tough up and face the fact that we will have to fight this battle every single day until the day we give up (or give in...). I only told her that I'm cutting down on sugar - I haven't told her that I'm planning to engage in the new science of weight loss. Only time will tell which one of us got the right idea.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/01/magazine/tara-parker-pope-fat-trap.html The Fat Trap By TARA PARKER-POPE Published: December 28, 2011 In the battle to lose weight, and keep it off, our bodies are fighting against us. I came across this article recently. A long read, but worth the time. It's not fresh, so I might be late to the party (it having been disseminated on the forum years ago...) but it's certainly fresh for me. What do you think? Kris

There is a lot of research surfacing and getting into the public domain recently about the possibilities that: 1) A calorie is not a calorie 2) Eating less might have its particular downside explaining why so many people struggling so much with maintenance. The reason I asked you all for your opinion as, for some reason recently I keep running into this completely different way of thinking about our health and weight, and I wondered if it's just me or we might have reached a tipping point on the topic. The result might be that we all need to reevaluate much of what we currently know and believe about weight and weight loss. As for me, the jury is still out... but I will keep reading and disseminating the new set of information - I have a suspicion that they might be on to something. If you'd like to know more and don't mind reading then I can recommend Fat Chance by Dr Robert Lustig to start with - I couldn't put it down! If you are more a podcast person, then search for The Sugar Podcast or The Calorie Myth (a bit slow going, and I'm reading the book instead) by Jonathan Bailor. I'm reluctant to take anything as weight loss gospel - God knows I did my share of trying, even with my band!) but I certainly giving up sugar (a week gone by now).

The following extract brought it home to me totally - I can so relate to all the efforts it takes. I wish many fellow bariatric patients would read it - especially those at the beginning of the journey or trying to decide about surgery. Because let's face it: apart from a few lucky ones who can stay at their target weight without much of an effort, this is what we are all facing after loosing so much weight: Extract: "...Janice Bridge, a registry member who has successfully maintained a 135-pound weight loss for about five years, is a perfect example. “It’s one of the hardest things there is,” she says. “It’s something that has to be focused on every minute. I’m not always thinking about food, but I am always aware of food.” Bridge, who is 66 and lives in Davis, Calif., was overweight as a child and remembers going on her first diet of 1,400 calories a day at 14. At the time, her slow pace of weight loss prompted her doctor to accuse her of cheating. Friends told her she must not be paying attention to what she was eating. “No one would believe me that I was doing everything I was told,” she says. “You can imagine how tremendously depressing it was and what a feeling of rebellion and anger was building up.” After peaking at 330 pounds in 2004, she tried again to lose weight. She managed to drop 30 pounds, but then her weight loss stalled. In 2006, at age 60, she joined a medically supervised weight-loss program with her husband, Adam, who weighed 310 pounds. After nine months on an 800-calorie diet, she slimmed down to 165 pounds. Adam lost about 110 pounds and now weighs about 200. During the first years after her weight loss, Bridge tried to test the limits of how much she could eat. She used exercise to justify eating more. The death of her mother in 2009 consumed her attention; she lost focus and slowly regained 30 pounds. She has decided to try to maintain this higher weight of 195, which is still 135 pounds fewer than her heaviest weight. “It doesn’t take a lot of variance from my current maintenance for me to pop on another two or three pounds,” she says. “It’s been a real struggle to stay at this weight, but it’s worth it, it’s good for me, it makes me feel better. But my body would put on weight almost instantaneously if I ever let up.” So she never lets up. Since October 2006 she has weighed herself every morning and recorded the result in a weight diary. She even carries a scale with her when she travels. In the past six years, she made only one exception to this routine: a two-week, no-weigh vacation in Hawaii. She also weighs everything in the kitchen. She knows that lettuce is about 5 calories a cup, while flour is about 400. If she goes out to dinner, she conducts a Web search first to look at the menu and calculate calories to help her decide what to order. She avoids anything with sugar or white flour, which she calls her “gateway drugs” for cravings and overeating. She has also found that drinking copious amounts of Water seems to help; she carries a 20-ounce water bottle and fills it five times a day. She writes down everything she eats. At night, she transfers all the information to an electronic record. Adam also keeps track but prefers to keep his record with pencil and paper. “That transfer process is really important; it’s my accountability,” she says. “It comes up with the total number of calories I’ve eaten today and the amount of Protein. I do a little bit of self-analysis every night.” Bridge and her husband each sought the help of therapists, and in her sessions, Janice learned that she had a tendency to eat when she was bored or stressed. “We are very much aware of how our culture taught us to use food for all kinds of reasons that aren’t related to its nutritive value,” Bridge says. Bridge supports her careful diet with an equally rigorous regimen of physical activity. She exercises from 100 to 120 minutes a day, six or seven days a week, often by riding her bicycle to the gym, where she takes a water-aerobics class. She also works out on an elliptical trainer at home and uses a recumbent bike to “walk” the dog, who loves to run alongside the low, three-wheeled machine. She enjoys gardening as a hobby but allows herself to count it as exercise on only those occasions when she needs to “garden vigorously.” Adam is also a committed exerciser, riding his bike at least two hours a day, five days a week. Janice Bridge has used years of her exercise and diet data to calculate her own personal fuel efficiency. She knows that her body burns about three calories a minute during gardening, about four calories a minute on the recumbent bike and during water aerobics and about five a minute when she zips around town on her regular bike. “Practically anyone will tell you someone biking is going to burn 11 calories a minute,” she says. “That’s not my body. I know it because of the statistics I’ve kept.” Based on metabolism data she collected from the weight-loss clinic and her own calculations, she has discovered that to keep her current weight of 195 pounds, she can eat 2,000 calories a day as long as she burns 500 calories in exercise. She avoids junk food, bread and Pasta and many dairy products and tries to make sure nearly a third of her calories come from protein. The Bridges will occasionally share a dessert, or eat an individual portion of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, so they know exactly how many calories they are ingesting. Because she knows errors can creep in, either because a rainy day cuts exercise short or a mismeasured snack portion adds hidden calories, she allows herself only 1,800 daily calories of food. (The average estimate for a similarly active woman of her age and size is about 2,300 calories.) Just talking to Bridge about the effort required to maintain her weight is exhausting. I find her story inspiring, but it also makes me wonder whether I have what it takes to be thin. I have tried on several occasions (and as recently as a couple weeks ago) to keep a daily diary of my eating and exercise habits, but it’s easy to let it slide. I can’t quite imagine how I would ever make time to weigh and measure food when some days it’s all I can do to get dinner on the table between finishing my work and carting my daughter to dance class or volleyball practice. And while I enjoy exercising for 30- or 40-minute stretches, I also learned from six months of marathon training that devoting one to two hours a day to exercise takes an impossible toll on my family life..." Extract ends.

I'm in the exact same shoes.... cannot shift the pounds, matter what I try. I giving a go to carb cycling a go ... I'm 10 days in, there was no loss after a week... I took up running after my surgery and now adding some strength training, mainly to improve my running. This is so frustrating! So if you could keep the ideas/tips going that would be great. Sent from my KFTT using LapBandTalk

I LOVE baking and I kept my subscription to Good food magazine after my surgery too. I'm also member of the chocolate Tasting Club in the UK - admittedly I don't eat any other chocolates, only sample and score the very high quality selection they send out to me quarterly. And I enjoy all the above. The difference: I don't eat the whole box in one go, I hunt for band-friendly recipes in the magazine and I restrict my baking to special occasions. Last year, a year after being banded and reaching my lowest weight of 170 lbs, we went to a short holiday in Rome which included a LOT of gelato and fritto misto... I came home a pound or two nuclear, but I accepted that and worked it off in a week. I even bought a Gaggia gelato churning machine which I use every now and then. I truly believe that you can stay or become a foodie after band surgery - as long as you can leave behind or deal effectively with your food issues (in your head) which made you lose control before. It was a learning curve for me (to begin with, I refused dealing with any non-band-friendly food) but then I learned to do these things with healthy moderation. Sent from my KFTT using LapBandTalk

Thank you for the encouraging words! As I said, I'll stick with it for at least 3 more weeks - I don't want to write it off just because my body isn't responding as well as all yours do, and because I have no idea where would I go next... It's taking a toll on me, this last 25 lbs... Especially the 15 lbs I gained since my lowest last June. But I'm not willing to say "this is it, that's the weight I stuck for the rest of my life"! I believe that we must be able to determine how much we need to weight - within reasonable limits; and that trying to get under 170lbs (around 160 is my final goal) is NOT unreasonable for a healthy, 5'9" woman in her late 30s... I'm stuck at 185 lbs for ever, regardless of what I'm eating: this included a very "unrestricted" Christmas, a two week foodie holiday in Mauritius, existing on 600 calories a day for two weeks (desperate times...), eating with all the band rules observed religiously for weeks, and now a week of carb cycling... I'm firmly stuck on 185... I've even changed the batteries in my scale because I couldn't believe that NOTHING makes an impact. So I'm thinking: what's next? This MUST work or I'm out of ideas. (BTW: my fill level is perfect for me: it makes me aware of my portion sizes, and although I sometimes get hungry quicker, any more fill would trigger my reflux problem (this is how the whole thing started last June: partial unfill due to awful night refluxes).) Onwards onto cheat day! Sent from my KFTT using LapBandTalk

Good morning all I'd like to preempt that I'm not into whingeing in general, so forgive me for this... I searched for an eating system/dietary solution/food plan to support my band in breaking through a nearly year long plateau and lose the last 20-25 lbs separating me from my goal weight (15 of this 25 I gained back between June-October 2012). So I found carb cycling. It makes so much sense to me, and I was so eager and happy to start this Monday. I did weigh-in the Saturday before. I followed the plan all week, I felt great, I stuck to "approved" foods, I watched my carbs and fats like a hawk - heck, I even enjoyed it! I could actually see some "melting" around my soft bits, and my dresses feel a tad looser. So I was looking forward weighing in this morning. And I just did it..... ...and to my utter despair, I put on 0.6 lbs.... I'm beyond disappointed. I set out last weekend, telling myself I give it 4 weeks whatever happens... and now, that the dreaded "whatever" did happen I still intend to carry on for 3 more weeks (at least). But when I see how many of you are loosing so nicely with this system I cannot help but feel despondent... Sorry about the Saturday morning downer - I hope you are all doing well. Kris Sent from my KFTT using LapBandTalk

Hello Carb Cyclers! Quick question for you: on high carb days you do suppose to eat carbs even if your dinner is after 6pm, right? (Trying to plan my daily meals in the office and left the book home...) Also, here is suggestion for high carb days: Danone's new Danio yoghurts: high Protein, low fat, really tasty. The pot I'm eating right now as my mid-morning meal is a blueberry variety: 160g/159kcal/11.9 protein/18.9 carb/3.8 fat Sent from my KFTT using LapBandTalk

Have you read the wonderful - and potentially life changing - WLS book from Clifford Thomas: Skinny Jeans...at last! ? If you haven't and you've ever struggled with losing, maintaining or even the dreaded re-gain then this is THE BOOK for you! (I'm not getting any endorsement, apart from feeling amazing again since I've read it...) So, if you've read it then I'm curious to know: what's your Eating Rules Score? I'd like to start a little research on my own here, correlating the ERS with losing success. Let me know your current score and how are you succeeding. For example, my score currently is 73 (out of 100) - and I gained 15lbs in the last 12 months and couldn't get rid of UNTIL NOW. Today is a New Day - I'm committed to push my score as close to 100 as possible, and I believe this will be my magic bullet to get to goal... I'll report my score weekly and looking forward to the changes!

My eating rules score for the week (Mon-Thur so far) is a goodly 90! Major improvement from last week's 73. However, I haven't weighed in this week as I'm gearing up to start carb cycling next week so weigh-in is scheduled for tomorrow. Anyone else got their scores is? Sent from my KFTT using LapBandTalk

I'm working on a massive one-man (well, woman) project in the office. It requires a huge amount of mental work - creating spreadsheets, sorting and correcting tens of thousands of data, comparing, evaluating, what not.... In a nutshell: it's a cracker. (hahh, did you get that? ) Anyway, there is leftover cake from my boss's birthday yesterday which I could normally withstand (I'm not really interested if I didn't bake it, and anyway it's a day old cream cake). However, today, sitting in front of my screen trying to cut my way through the enormous task the cake is calling my name.... So I thought "that's strange, let's see what's going on in my head which creates this unusual food pull". So I did take a moment (or five minutes...) and this is what I've found: I found the scale of the task so daunting, that my subconscious just refuses to deal with it and it throws up anything it can to distract me from doing it or thinking about it. It literally flashes a picture of the cake and the feel in my mouth constantly in front of me so I drop my focus from the task. It (meaning my subconscious) just doesn't want to work on this project. Now, the curve ball is that I did try to give it an alternative option to de-focus: a walk, a chat with a co-worker, answering email, and it sort of works. But as soon as I open my database to work on my project it starts with the cake images again.... I reached a point at which I can look at myself and my behavior from the outside and let me tell you: it is a weird experience. I find myself admonishing myself for the behavior and thoughts of my subconscious and trying to wrestle my focus back on the task on hand. This is such a strange feeling - I'm dealing with my eating demons since I was 12, but only now I feel I start to understand what's going on. There's going to be a long way to recovery (or just staying sane and away from the cake), but I will see this moment as an important point in my journey. All that said, I still have a question to ask: How do you deal with the inner demons? Any "magic bullets" out there? I'd like to know - one might work for me too. Now.... back to the database...

Hi Alex You might want to quantify "post WLS surgery" a bit more closely: - are we talking about anything as soon as you're out of surgery? - or are we talking about years down the line? There is a huge amount of literature out there for the first group, but virtually NONE for the second. I like the idea of the poster above regarding expectations, but not in the light of "a month or two out of surgery"... More like in the long term: two years, five, ten .... Sent from my KFTT using LapBandTalk

I wish I would read this 6 months ago! It would have saved me a lot of heartache... But I read it now, so ONWARDS AND DOWNWARDS!!! Than you! Sent from my KFTT using LapBandTalk

Hi Alex I think you should have a chapter on "head" issues (psychology) and how to fight/win the inner and constant battle of staying with the rules in the long term. There are a lot of books dealing with the journey up to and just after WLS surgery, but virtually none for "long termers". There should also be a section on how to get back on track if you fall off - that's a popular and frequent topic amongst "oldies". Good luck and keep us updated - I'm certainly interested in a helpful book for long term WLS patients. Sent from my KFTT using LapBandTalk

Hi all! I started C25K two as soon as I got clearance from my doc in August 2011. I was stuck at certain stages, I thought I'll die on the treadmill a few times - but I finished it by November. 2011. Then I became ambitious and started the next step: bridge to 10K.... By December 2011 I ran myself into the ground running 8-8.5k three times a week as the program advanced. I had to stop - which became a 6 month hiatus. I started again last June but it was a mighty struggle.... In December 2012 my left knee rebelled and became inflamed so much I couldn't even walk unless my knees were strapped up. At that point my hubby got me vouchers for a full biomechanical and physio analysis at the Running School (how toughtful, hey? Grrrr...). I finally went in February this year - and looking at their findings I wonder how could I "ran" even the shortest distances or times???? It looked absolutely awful - but more importantly my "running" style was the cause of my knee inflammation and other various pains I've been experiencing and could have gotten worse if I carried on "running" like that. Running for me is the epitome of love-hate relationships: before my surgery you wouldn't catch me dead on a treadmill or in the local park! I would have never ran to catch the last bus!!! I had awful flashbacks from junior high PE classes... So it is a personal goal for me: I must learn to LOVE running. Now, there is a potential NSV to achieve!! I signed up for the Running School's program. I'm having my fifth session in two hours. And let me tell you this: the BEST £260 I've ever spent! It's bloody though!!! but I'm definitely progressing from Nelly the Elephant towards Tinkerbelle - and it doesn't just LOOK better: it is becoming soooo much easier and kinder on my (still big-ish) body! I feel so much lighter on my feet while running, I quit bouncing, there is hardly any impact on my joints - it feels fabulous! And do you want to know the best and scariest thing? I ACTUALLY run: running starts at 6mph (9.6kmph). Anything under this speed is not running.... I did my c25k and b210k at the average speed of 4-4.5 mph. So when my trainer at the Running School told me that we are going to start at 6 and progress the speed from there I nearly fainted.... After 4 sessions I'm up at 6.3-6.5 average. I still cannot comprehend it fully! My advice is this: doing a running program is great as it gives structure you can follow. But if you thinking of taking up running more frequently or aiming for more mileage please have a pro look at your running style before you injure yourself unknowingly. You will not regret the investment! Now I'm off to school - Running School, that is Sent from my KFTT using LapBandTalk

Hi Pinky 30lbs since February sounds excessive... I had the exact same problem a year ago, had an unfill in July and gained 15lbs until Christmas and there I maintained until my recent fill in April. I understand the difficulties, after all I'm a card carrying member of OA myself and fallen off the wagon pretty badly after the unfill. But at the end of the day, getting an unfill does not give us carte Blanche to start eating like our old selves again! It is tough to stick to the good eating habits when running a deflated band, much-much tougher than with a properly filled one, but we must stick to it none the less - otherwise we can find ourselves back at square one.... Please, please, please DO NOT ABANDON THE GOOD EATING HABITS just because you had an unfill!!!! Tough it out! Keep in mind that you will have your band back shortly - that's the light at the end of that particular tunnel, and you can pick it up where you left it off. Sent from my KFTT using LapBandTalk

I LOOOOOVE the "want power" expression! I think that's the most important thing for success. Without that nothing will happen as we won't commit to all the necessary changes in eating habit that are must-haves for losing and maintaining on the long term. Sent from my KFTT using LapBandTalk

Please do! I'd like to know if my obsession and enthusiasm is well gained or peculiar to me... Sent from my KFTT using LapBandTalk

Good morning all you strong, committed people! I'm a tad chirpy this morning.... and there is good reason for that, which I'll share right now: Just after replying to Kelly's post on Tuesday I've stumbled upon* a tiny but amazing book about WLS. (*: stumbled upon = was suggested by a band blogger) I read it on the spot (thank you Amazon Kindle!) and I believe it changed my perspective completely and put my head right about why things went sour, what I need to do to succeed and gave me tools to do it. I'm sue by now you are on you seats' edge to get the title of this "magic bullet" - so here it is: Skinny jeans... at last! by Clifton Thomas MD. Finally a book more concerned about giving you a helping hand to succeed with your WLS than telling you what to pack for the hospital or what the mushy diet consist of or what or what a fill means.... A useful book for "old bandsters"! Now go and read it!!!! I mean NOW!! (Then come back and let me know what you think)

I'm not a big fan of cliches, but there is one applicable here: the band - or any other WLS method - is only a tool and only works as well as the user uses it. 'nough said.

Here is an odd and harmless one which helped me when I was struggling with a particularly nasty night reflux problem and had to wait weeks to see my doc: Drink warm camomile tea an hour before bedtime. Apparently, it reduces inflammation and very settling for the stomach. It worked wonders for me. Again: the solution is to see your doctor and have an unfill (possibly), this tip above is just for managing the symptoms until you get there.