morelgirl

Sorry that I haven't checked in for a while. This work deadline has darned near killed me, and still might, so I'll likely be scarce for another week or two. Tomorrow evening I leave for a work conference and will be gone until next week. It will be the first time I've travelled after recommitting to my band, so I'm a bit nervous. I'm trying to hold on to the mindset that whatever happens will be okay. I won't be able to cook the way I normally do for myself, so all I can do is make the best choices available to me and try to listen to what the band is telling me. If I gain, then I gain. It has happened before and likely will again, but having the band means that if I make the right choices, I can take it off again and then continue moving forward. That's all I can do.
Other than that, things are okay. Loss has slowed way down, but I have managed to break through to the other side. I have officially lost all the weight I regained and also shed 0.2lbs on top of it. It's not coming off as fast as I want, but as long as it comes off, I'm trying to stay positive.
Everyone keep up the good work and keep moving forward. I know you can.

If you’re once a fatty, are you always a fatty?


THINK THIN, BE THIN
I think I’m well qualified to speak on this subject, since once upon a time my schoolmates chanted, “Fatty, Fatty, two by four, can’t fit through the kitchen door!” when I walked into the gymnasium for a physical education class with a teacher who, after weighing and measuring each kid, announced to her captive audience that Jean was the shortest and heaviest girl in the class. After which I was the last kid (once again) to be chosen for a volleyball team.
I believe that in order to become a thin person, we must learn to think like one. It’s a tall order, I know. You might as well ask my dogs to learn to think like cats (I’m pretty sure my cats can think like dogs, but it doesn’t seem to work the other way around, to the everlasting detriment of the dogs).
At the same time, I believe that we must never forget our inner fat person. If we do forget, the fat folks may burst out of us and take over again. I know mine did last year, for six months and 30 pounds of regain. She was aided and abetted by the loss of my beloved Lap-Band®, but once she was out of her cage, she took charge so fast it made my dizzy blonde head spin. That’s not a pretty sight when that head is busy gobbling all the food in the western hemisphere and the body attached to it is rejoicing, “Starvation has ended at last! It’s party time!” (which is what my gastroenterologist said my metabolism was doing, although not in those exact words).
I lost the weight I had regained, plus another 10 pounds. I know (or I hope) I don’t look like a fatty any more, but a fatty still lurks inside me somewhere. My fat demon is hidden from view, but she’s still my demon. Exactly what every girl needs, along with a good bra and a good hairdresser. Seriously, though, my fat potential lives on, mainly because obesity is an incurable, chronic disease that no surgery today can cure. As long as my inner fatty threatens to take over, it’s hard for me to think and act like a thin person. But I refuse to give up the Quest for Thin Jean, and I strive every day to emulate her. I believe that practicing thin behavior will eventually teach me thin thinking, and I believe that practicing thin thinking will keep my body thin.
FAKE IT UNTIL YOU MAKE IT
We have now arrived at the bad-tasting course in this home-cooked meal of advice. In order to practice thin thinking, we need to do things that we’ve done over and over again in the past without long lasting results, like making good food choices, practicing Portion Control, and exercising. I know that this concept frustrates many of us and infuriates some of us. Some people scorn the practicing part of the WLS journey. They say, “It’s just another diet.” A friend of mine declared a week before her band surgery, “I refuse to diet.” Perhaps it’s a matter of semantics or personal preference, but I persist in believing in the importance of practice because thin thinking and thin acting don’t come naturally to me. I wasn’t born with piano-playing skills. I had to take lessons and practice every day just to be able to play “Chopsticks”. Even famous concert pianists must practice every day. The same is true of being thin.
This reminds me of the “fake it until you make it” slogan repeated in 12-step groups. The 12-step tradition recognizes that sobriety or abstinence doesn’t come naturally to people with addictive tendencies. It doesn’t expect its members to leap from the first to the 12th step in one week, one month, or even one year. All it asks is that we practice desirable behaviors every day, day after day, while the struggle to do that gradually lessens and we gain some control over the undesirable behaviors. Eventually we discover that we don’t have to “white knuckle” it anymore because the desirable behaviors have become habits.
Assuming that you had WLS because you don’t want to be a fatty any more, I’d like to suggest that you begin by not eating like a fatty any more. You don’t have to do it perfectly, because you’re just practicing, right? As far as I’m concerned, you can leave the perfection stuff to God. All you need to do is do your best, day by day, to work with your strengths and work around your weaknesses. Even if practice doesn’t always make perfect, it’s got to help you with the fake it part until you get to the make it part. Yes, it’s a lot of work, but you can do it!

You're never a failure until you stop trying! The fact that you've joined us here and chosen to see your surgeon and get back on track makes you a success. We all know how you feel, because we've all been there, and we will support you as you look to get started again.

I LOVE Myfitnesspal. Deeply. I have to count calories. If I don't, it's too easy to lie to myself about how much I'm eating. I also love that it counts Protein and let's me keep track of my Water intake. But lately, my favorite part has been the My Recipe function. I love to cook, and lately I've really been getting into adapting my favorite recipes to be band friendly. It's so awesome to be able to add a recipe and let the program tell me exactly how many calories and grams of protein are in a serving of my favorite homemade foods. It's super awesome!

I hope everyone is doing well mid-week. Personally, I've gone over my calorie goal for the past couple of days. Nothing disastrous, but I still want to nip it in the bud before it gets out of control, so I'm aiming to have a low calorie day. I want to try to stay below 1100 to start to balance things out. Basically, my goal is to have MyFitnessPal calculate at the end of the week that I averaged out at around 1200 calories per day.
I had another decent weigh in this week and I'm basically back where I was before I started to regain. I was bouncing back and forth between 203-204 back then, and I'm back to 204. In one way, that's awesome, of course, but in another, it's messing with my mind a little because it makes those voices in my head taunt me with the idea that I might not be able to go any lower. I need to make myself ignore them. The reason I started regaining before was because I gave up when I wasn't able to get my band adjusted properly. Now that it is adjusted, I just need to keep doing what I'm doing, and I know I can continue to lose. But, wow, I'm getting impatient to get back into the 190s. Anything that doesn't start with a 2 will be a big victory for me and my next mini goal. Can't wait to tick that off the list. I'd love to be losing 5 lbs a week so that I could see it next weigh in, but I'm still averaging between 1-1.5 lbs per week, so I need to remind myself that's normal and healthy and stop whining over not melting. Easier said than done, of course,
Allergies are killing me again, making me think this must be a really bad season around here, because I haven't gone through anything like this since I moved here from the east coast. It's crazy. Also still slogging away with work, hoping the light at the end of the tunnel in a couple of weeks doesn't turn out to be the train!
Hope all are well. Stay strong and keep moving. If you can do that, you ARE a success!

Sounds like you're doing well, Lela. I also tend to do a serving of Protein (3-4oz) with a veggie side. When I'm just cooking for me, I like to cook in my toaster oven on the convection setting. A typical meal for me might be 3-4 oz of chicken breast lightly brushed with Dijon mustard and then sprinkled with seasoned breadcrumbs (just a tablespoon or two). I put that on a foil lined toaster tray, add a few spears of asparagus, spray it all with olive oil (I use a Misto sprayer) and then convection bake it for 15-20min at 400. The chicken stays fairly moist, the mustard holds on the breadcrumbs and adds flavor, and the asparagus roasts to a lovely, nutty flavor. A squeeze of lemon juice and dinner is served.
I get a lot more creative when I'm cooking to share with the housemates, but that's my old standby for solo dining. Tonight, I actually made myself a stuffed pepper with half a small red bell pepper, 3oz of super lean ground beef, a couple of tablespoons of leftover rice, chopped fresh spinach and chopped onion. I added a tablespoon of Tomato paste, a teaspoon of Worcestershire, and some pasteurized egg whites and then baked it (toaster oven again!) for 45 minutes. Served with some broccoli rabe that I just cut up and nuked with a tablespoon of Water for a minute and a half. Yummy. Not super high in protein, but not shabby, either.
I've also made a couple of recipes from Jean McMillan's bandster cookbook that were very good, but the ones I tried I either shared with friends or ate as leftovers for days because they made way too much for just me. A lot of it is just creative thinking or figuring out ways to modify old recipes to add protein and cut fat and carbs. It takes some effort, but I like to cook, so I think it can be fun!

Want to know what no one else will tell you about life with the band?


The NITTY GRITTY of WEIGHT LOSS SURGERY
Nobody can predict the course or outcome of your weight loss surgery, but I’m going to try anyway, starting with a simile that most of us can understand.
WLS is like a marriage, with your band as your lifetime partner. At times you’ll thank your lucky stars you found each other. At other times you’ll wish you’d never met, never mind married. You’ll never walk alone again, but you alone will be captain of your ship. You will lose weight and gain a new lifestyle, but some of your losses and gains will be bittersweet. You’ll wonder what on earth you got yourself into, as well as why on earth you didn’t do this a long time ago.
Most of all, you’ll scratch your head and say, “Why didn’t anyone tell me how much work this would take?”
I’m not telling you all this to scare you. A little fear is fine if it makes you a compliant patient, but I don’t want fear to rule you. I just want to remind you that like every other human endeavor, the WLS journey has ups and downs. I believe that my band surgery saved my life and I’ve never regretted my decision to do it, but I can’t claim that every moment of my journey has been sunny and carefree. If you don’t want to hear about the tough stuff, that’s fine. You have my permission to move on to another article (preferably one by me). But if you want to hear about some of the things I wish I’d known at the start of my journey, read on. Knowing these things in advance wouldn’t have changed my WLS decision, but it sure would have helped me stick it out more easily when my weight goal seemed a million miles away.
1. The band is not magic. There is nothing in it that – hey, presto! - will make you lose weight. Changing your eating behavior and lifestyle, plus dozens of other factors that vary from one person to the next, will make you lose weight.
2. Your band won’t do all of the work. If you don’t (metaphorically) grab hold of it and use it as a tool, it will be about as useful as a cordless drill without a battery.
3. For most people, the band doesn’t start working right away. As a new post-op, surgical swelling and/or a small “primer” fill may or may not kill your appetite (desire to eat) and physical hunger (physical need to eat), but most bandsters need several fills to get the weight loss going, and more fills after that to keep it going.
4. If you don’t eat carefully, will you will suffer temporary, extremely uncomfortable side effects that can, if ignored, turn into permanent, expensive, and unhappy complications.
5. Once you achieve an optimal fill and restriction level (which will last for 30 seconds, 30 minutes, 30 hours, but probably not for 30 years), your restriction is very likely going to vary, for reasons too numerous to explain here. In this area you must remember that the human body is alive and always changing, whereas the adjustable gastric band is inert and changes only with the addition or subtraction of Fluid. One day you can hardly eat, the next day you can eat anything and everything, and the day after that, you can eat just the right amount (remember Goldilocks and the Three Bears?).
6. Restriction may also vary according to the time of day (or time of month, if you’re of the female persuasion). Morning “tightness” is very common, and it may limit your morning food choices. That is not, however, a good excuse for skipping Breakfast and thereby depriving your body of the fuel it needs, and doing so can set you up for a monster binge when hunger suddenly hits you at 11:38 a.m. So you will have to be willing to stay flexible, try new foods, and practice patience (which is something I have to practice every day in every way anyway).
7. You will have to deal with restriction even when you wish you had none at all, when you’re at a party or on vacation or sitting down to Thanksgiving dinner at Mom’s overloaded dining table. At times you will want to go on eating because the food tastes so good, but you’ll have to stop because you physically can’t eat more, and because eating more would cause uncomfortable and undesirable side effects (to say nothing of weight loss plateaus or regain). That experience of food “deprivation” has been very frustrating for me. Not every day, not at every meal, but often enough to remind me again and again that my upper GI tract is no longer the free and easy party girl it once was. That reminder is often a good thing, but sometimes it makes me want to put my fingers in my ears and chant, “I can’t hear you, Stomach!”
8. This next piece of WLS Nitty Gritty is such a big, important one that I left it for last so that it will (I hope) stay burned into your brain a good, long time. NO WEIGHT LOSS SURGERY OF ANY DESCRIPTION WILL KILL THE EATING DEMONS IN YOUR HEAD. Vanquishing, subduing or managing those demons is something you’ll have to do yourself, possibly with the help of a counselor or support group, with daily practice for the rest of your life. But that’s OK, because you are worth all that effort.

Suzie, I'm sorry to hear about your job. That's lousy news. Hopefully, though, you can enjoy the extra time off and find a new one you like even better as soon as you're ready.
Lela, I'm glad to hear you're doing well. Keep up the good work.
Anna, you can always start again. We're living proof of that. I think a visit to your doctor is a good place to start. It sucks to have to go in and confess that you haven't been doing well, but I promise that the doctor has heard it before. By going in and having a consultation, you can make sure your band is still properly placed, verify how much fill you have, and either get some added or taken away. If you're getting stuck on scrambled eggs , you might actually have been a little bit too tight, which can actually cause weight gain. Once you're ready to start again, you just need to go back to the beginning and follow all the rules. ALL of them, ALL the time. Measure and weigh your portions, keep track of your calories, take tiny bits, and chew chew chew until your jaw is about to fall off! You can do it, you just have too want it enough to work for it.
I'm still going crazy with allergies, which is helping neither my work nor my eating. I'm not doing badly, but it's harder at the moment. I think that because I spent so long using food to soothe myself, I'm still having trouble not doing that when I'm not feeling well. But I'll get through this, just like everything else.
Hope everyone 's having a good day.

Suzie, I'm sorry to hear about your job. That's lousy news. Hopefully, though, you can enjoy the extra time off and find a new one you like even better as soon as you're ready.
Lela, I'm glad to hear you're doing well. Keep up the good work.
Anna, you can always start again. We're living proof of that. I think a visit to your doctor is a good place to start. It sucks to have to go in and confess that you haven't been doing well, but I promise that the doctor has heard it before. By going in and having a consultation, you can make sure your band is still properly placed, verify how much fill you have, and either get some added or taken away. If you're getting stuck on scrambled eggs , you might actually have been a little bit too tight, which can actually cause weight gain. Once you're ready to start again, you just need to go back to the beginning and follow all the rules. ALL of them, ALL the time. Measure and weigh your portions, keep track of your calories, take tiny bits, and chew chew chew until your jaw is about to fall off! You can do it, you just have too want it enough to work for it.
I'm still going crazy with allergies, which is helping neither my work nor my eating. I'm not doing badly, but it's harder at the moment. I think that because I spent so long using food to soothe myself, I'm still having trouble not doing that when I'm not feeling well. But I'll get through this, just like everything else.
Hope everyone 's having a good day.

Oh, you poor thing. yes, this time sucks. A LOT. But always remember that no matter how long it lasts (and it will seem like forever at times) it is only temporary, and when you finally get through it, the skills you have learned and the changes you have made will be so much more than worth it that it will fade from your memory like the color out of cheap cotton! Stay strong, stay focused, and you WILL beat this!

You're never a failure until you stop trying! The fact that you've joined us here and chosen to see your surgeon and get back on track makes you a success. We all know how you feel, because we've all been there, and we will support you as you look to get started again.

Who did an evil thing like bring in Easter candy? !? That deserves punishment!
Thankfully, my housemate will be helping her husband pack up his old apartment this weekend, so I won't be faced with major temptations from the holiday. Just the regular ones! Of course, I've been having a craving, so I'm doing an experiment tonight with homemade, thin crust pizza with chicken sausage and spinach. We'll see how that works out.
Have a great day, everyone.

If this is failure then I'm loving it!! You going to hear more about failures then successes because all of the successful people are off enjoying their life. There are legitimate failures caused by complications then there are people who need to have something to blame for their inability to follow directions and work with the Band properly. I am not going to sit here and sell you on the band as you need to make your own decision but I will say that I feel the band saved my life but it is merely a tool. It will not do the work for you and you need to have discipline and more importantly you need to be honest with yourself when it comes to working with it.
I personally do not put a lot of stock in reports and statistics and that is because no one person is the same.

I think I would have asked about their ongoing plan for fills and adjustments. How much, how often, etc. I also would have asked if they had a plan for fills if it turns out that the correct fill level is elusive or difficult to achieve? Are they willing to fill more often if after 4 or so fills there is no noticeable input from the band regarding satiety? I would have asked what happens if I still have no effect from fills when I am close to the recommended capacity of the band?
These are the issues I'm dealing with now, and I think I could have saved myself a lot of time, disappointment and worry if I'd asked them earlier in the process.
Good luck!

Your first fill rarely gets you into the green zone. Another unfortunate truth. Most people take 3-4 fills before they really get to that magic place where hunger isn't a persistent problem. The key is patience, which I know is easier said than done, but trust me. I know what I'm talking about. I took 7 fills before I got to the green zone, but my doctor admits I'm in the minority.
Until you get the the green zone, you'll have to use some dieter's tricks to battle the hunger. First, remember the band rules and keep your portions small and eat SLOWLY. Not only does it make you less likely to have problems with the band, but it gives your brain time to catch up with with signals telling it you've already eaten. Second, make sure you get as much Protein as possible. It will keep you satisfied the longest of all your foods. And third, try spacing your food throughout the day. If you eat smaller amounts more frequently, you can often make sure you get something in your belly before the hunger really starts to drive you insane.
Good luck! This period of time isn't pleasant, but it won't last forever.

Your first fill rarely gets you into the green zone. Another unfortunate truth. Most people take 3-4 fills before they really get to that magic place where hunger isn't a persistent problem. The key is patience, which I know is easier said than done, but trust me. I know what I'm talking about. I took 7 fills before I got to the green zone, but my doctor admits I'm in the minority.
Until you get the the green zone, you'll have to use some dieter's tricks to battle the hunger. First, remember the band rules and keep your portions small and eat SLOWLY. Not only does it make you less likely to have problems with the band, but it gives your brain time to catch up with with signals telling it you've already eaten. Second, make sure you get as much Protein as possible. It will keep you satisfied the longest of all your foods. And third, try spacing your food throughout the day. If you eat smaller amounts more frequently, you can often make sure you get something in your belly before the hunger really starts to drive you insane.
Good luck! This period of time isn't pleasant, but it won't last forever.

Your first fill rarely gets you into the green zone. Another unfortunate truth. Most people take 3-4 fills before they really get to that magic place where hunger isn't a persistent problem. The key is patience, which I know is easier said than done, but trust me. I know what I'm talking about. I took 7 fills before I got to the green zone, but my doctor admits I'm in the minority.
Until you get the the green zone, you'll have to use some dieter's tricks to battle the hunger. First, remember the band rules and keep your portions small and eat SLOWLY. Not only does it make you less likely to have problems with the band, but it gives your brain time to catch up with with signals telling it you've already eaten. Second, make sure you get as much Protein as possible. It will keep you satisfied the longest of all your foods. And third, try spacing your food throughout the day. If you eat smaller amounts more frequently, you can often make sure you get something in your belly before the hunger really starts to drive you insane.
Good luck! This period of time isn't pleasant, but it won't last forever.

Oh, you poor thing. yes, this time sucks. A LOT. But always remember that no matter how long it lasts (and it will seem like forever at times) it is only temporary, and when you finally get through it, the skills you have learned and the changes you have made will be so much more than worth it that it will fade from your memory like the color out of cheap cotton! Stay strong, stay focused, and you WILL beat this!

Oh, you poor thing. yes, this time sucks. A LOT. But always remember that no matter how long it lasts (and it will seem like forever at times) it is only temporary, and when you finally get through it, the skills you have learned and the changes you have made will be so much more than worth it that it will fade from your memory like the color out of cheap cotton! Stay strong, stay focused, and you WILL beat this!

Oh, you poor thing. yes, this time sucks. A LOT. But always remember that no matter how long it lasts (and it will seem like forever at times) it is only temporary, and when you finally get through it, the skills you have learned and the changes you have made will be so much more than worth it that it will fade from your memory like the color out of cheap cotton! Stay strong, stay focused, and you WILL beat this!

It's impossible to tell. The first day or so, you might have some swelling, which will feel like restriction, but once it goes down, you may or may not notice any difference from that one fill. My first fill was 4cc/ml and I felt no effect at all. But I know someone with the same size band as me who reached her green zone at that level. Everyone is different.
Hopefully you will be one of the lucky people who get a great effect from a single fill, but if you turn out not to be, please don't get discouraged. The band is adjustable precisely so that it can be customized to the level of fill that is right for you. That may be 4cc or it may be 10cc. There is no way to tell until the Fluid is in there. Just be patient and follow your plan.
Who knows? 4cc might even be too much for your first fill. They should have you drink something before you leave the office (if they don't to the fill under flouro) and if you have any problem with that they will take some back out.
For now, try not to worry and just let things happen. The band isn't magic, but once it starts working, you won't want to trade it for anything!

Sorry to hear you have discovered Bandster Hell. We have all been there, and yes, it is more work than most ever imagine. Hence my signature line. It is just a tool, you do the work. Never let anyone tell you that you took the "easy" way out! You have my permission to smack em up side the head, and you may want to! LOL

Good Luck! I've lost almost 30lbs ( and I couldn't lose a thing on my own!) The band is the best thing I ever did, but I realize now that I was slightly delusional about what "it" would do and what "I had to do."
Anyone who thinks this is a cop out or taking the easy way has NO CLUE!! We are health warriors!

I had my band placed on 2/19/13. For the first three weeks I was on liquid only. I struggled the first three days with food obsession, but then things were just great! Not hungry, loved my shakes.< /p>
Now I'm on a regular diet. I am exercising. And I am HUNGRY! Almost all of the time.
I don't get my first fill until 4/11 and I am aware that it may make no difference.
I'm happy that I did the surgery and I know that this hard work will pay off BUT I really had no idea just how difficult it would be.
To anyone who is considering the band or newly banded: it is NOT magic and it takes 100% focus. Use a calorie counting app and buy smaller plates and utensils. Get up from the table immediately after eating your portion and LEAVE the kitchen for a while.
Ugh! I'm SO looking forward to feeling full longer!!

My doctor said I could drink right up until the time I started eating then 30 minutes after.
However, recent research is proving even that is unnecessary They now know that it takes food less than a minute to pass through the band when eaten properly. It doesn't sit up on the band as originally thought so there isn't anything to "wash through". For this reasons, a lot of doctors are changing their recommendations to small sips while while eating is fine and simply drink as normal any other time.