Deed2u

Well, I think it has finally happened but I'm not sure.
I'm at a travel convention and normally I can eat whatever I want but am careful of my calorie count. So, normally, I still may feel a little hungry and have to play a head game to tell me I've had enough. Well, two days in a row I have literally had to stop eating after a few bites of food. I feel if I take another bite I'll get sick or stuck. This has happened for two days in a row and I'm not hungry! That's a good thing right?
For all you newbies it does not happen overnight.
I was banded 12/28/12. I have had 8 fills (my doctor is very conservative with his fills). Anyway, I'm hoping this is the green zone because I can honestly say now that about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of food literally fills me up now. I was actually wasting food and that never used to happen. I love it! I love my band but I love the fact that I was patient and it didn't happen overnight. I had a good mental attitude pre-band and made my mind up that it would not happen overnight and that I would be patient with a positive mental attitude! Wishing everyone well on their band journey and to please be patient. It will happen!

Tomorrow has been one year since my surgery. I have lost 70 pounds. I don't regret a thing.

Today I went to my surgeon's office and had a metabolic test. This test measures your resting metabolic rate to see how many calories you burn while you are resting, while you are active and while you are exercising.
I found the whole experience to be very interesting and to be a very worth while test for those that are able to take one.
I learned that you actually burn the most of your calories for the day doing nothing but resting. Simple breathing and relaxing burns off more calories then you burn killing yourself in the gym for hours on end.
If you walk for 30 minutes you are burning a max of 200-300 calories. Resting, I am burning over 2000! Doing simple every day activities like walking to the bathroom or up the steps I am burning over 600!
The key to weight loss is to burn more calories then you consume. For those of us that are banded we should be consuming less then 1000 calories a day.
The key to obtaining a faster metabolic rate is not so much the cardio output as it is the lean muscle mass. So for those of us that can't run the marathons, or even walk very far, pick up the hand weights or just move your body up off the chair or off the couch.
If you sit down and stand up 5 times you are lifting the equivalent of your current body weight 5 times and creating more lean muscle. So the answer really is to just get up and move. As you increase your strength and muscle mass, start adding resistance in the form of resistance bands or weights and you will be well on your way!
I am writing this sitting up straight in my chair, clenching my abdominal muscles and lifting my legs off the floor to pump my ankles a few times! increasing that muscle mass, sharing the info with you all and getting some work done at the same time!
Happy Thursday!

I have been very luck at my local Goodwill.. I have found $200.00 jeans for only $4.50... it is a perfect place for me while I am losing weight and going down in sizes.

I allow myself one fast food meal a week so that I stay motivated and usually it's.....two tacos from taco bell! They are only about 150 cals each, I log them in, and have still been losing consistently. This is a new lifestyle of not eating as MUCH....not of feeling disappointed if you crave Mexican. Don't be too hard on yourself!! Life is too short to never eat a taco!!

would love to know what you ate to lose so much weight! you look fantastic! an Inspiration! My weight loss has been slow... I hope I can look as good as you one day.

You and your wife have valid concerns and something needs to be done ASAP. Of course your surgeon can list your wife as a huge success in his books, but your wife's weight lost is not healthy and is very dangerous as she can eventually end up with Vitamin deficiencies from starvation and other complications.
She has lost weight very rapidly, and it is not in a good way, she is probably vomiting all her meals.
There are many people get the band either too small or too large for their anatomies, usually surgeons are good at identifying which band should fit the patients stomach during surgery, and they usually have the small and large band available to fit the patient based on the stomach size when they get in there.
I've seen MANY over the years suffer from horrible band slippage, frequent vomiting, food intolerance and esophageal damage due to bands too small, and all ended up getting the band removed.
If she can get it removed immediately and replaced with a larger band, she can probably prevent any further damage to her body.
I would personally find another surgeon to remove the band, and get an attorney, and if your wife wants to get another band placed 'correctly' in the future, she probably will have better banded life than she does now.
Ideally a well fitted lap band should allow lots of wiggle room with an empty band, most patients have NO restriction with an empty band and it feel like there is no band, that is how it should be ideally, and with a band that is optimally filled, it should take about 3-7 fills to fill optimally.
When someone gets fully restricted on very little saline, this means their band is almost too small and if anything happens, they are likely to suffer complications too.
Good luck

So you have not lost any weight with the band? I was banded on Mya 6th and have lost about 22lbs. It is been a slow process for me. I have had 2 fills. I have 5.5cc in a 10cc band. I go for another fill on Aug 9th.
I will tell you that I am watching what I eat... no sugar and no carbs. Protein 1st! It isn't easy... and I do feel like I am on a diet BUT I do not get hungry and I do not want any bad foods, (Mcdonalds etc...) to go into me. So I am eating a lot healthier now. I would not say it has been easy but it hasn't been all that difficult either. Having no or very little hungry has helped alot. Good luck to you...remember the band is just the tool WE have to make the right foods choices...the band will never do that for us.

It's funny. Not all of us had preop diets, I being one of them. But my hubs did. He had 2 weeks of liquids and was perfect on it..until the last day. I ate 'clean' but not liquids etc until the last day as well. The last day was like a grieving process. I had this thought in my head I would never eat x, y, z ever again so I the equivalent of a last supper experience. But 4 years down the road and in hindsight I say binging on any 'lasts' is not necessary. First, you won't even remember what you ate so that rewarding experience only starts and ends the day you eat it. Second, you will eat most foods in moderation in the future etc.
Now with that being said, you are about to succomb to a liquid preop diet and a couple weeks of transitionary feeding which can be a bit of bare. So eat healthy, start some good habits, eat in moderation and treat yourself intermittently. This is afterall, the end goal

I agree and I guess disagree all at the same time. Yes your hunger will return. No you should not over indulge in fatty foods. Change however takes time. Don't be embarrassed that you ate chips. Just limit the amount you eat. Deprivation is the mother of all diet breaking habits. The best thing my mother (who lost over 100 pounds without surgery and has kept it off) ever told me was this: you strive to have a healthy diet as much as humanly possible. But when you truly crave something and you don't eat it, sometimes you over eat other things trying to compensate for the one item you are avoiding. It is not the fatty foods that make us lose control - one chip did not make you gain several pounds over night - it took several chips over a long period of time. So every blue moon if you have to have some chips than do so. Portion Control is the key.

So you have not lost any weight with the band? I was banded on Mya 6th and have lost about 22lbs. It is been a slow process for me. I have had 2 fills. I have 5.5cc in a 10cc band. I go for another fill on Aug 9th.
I will tell you that I am watching what I eat... no sugar and no carbs. Protein 1st! It isn't easy... and I do feel like I am on a diet BUT I do not get hungry and I do not want any bad foods, (Mcdonalds etc...) to go into me. So I am eating a lot healthier now. I would not say it has been easy but it hasn't been all that difficult either. Having no or very little hungry has helped alot. Good luck to you...remember the band is just the tool WE have to make the right foods choices...the band will never do that for us.

So you have not lost any weight with the band? I was banded on Mya 6th and have lost about 22lbs. It is been a slow process for me. I have had 2 fills. I have 5.5cc in a 10cc band. I go for another fill on Aug 9th.
I will tell you that I am watching what I eat... no sugar and no carbs. Protein 1st! It isn't easy... and I do feel like I am on a diet BUT I do not get hungry and I do not want any bad foods, (Mcdonalds etc...) to go into me. So I am eating a lot healthier now. I would not say it has been easy but it hasn't been all that difficult either. Having no or very little hungry has helped alot. Good luck to you...remember the band is just the tool WE have to make the right foods choices...the band will never do that for us.

I was banded on May 6th. I have had two fills a total of 5.5 in a 10cc band. I have only lost 20lbs. I did not have to do a pre op diet. I am however wondering why I have not lost more. After the second fill, I tried to eat rice and got stuck so bad. The pain was unbearable and then I thrwe up and felt fine. It scared me so I chew very well now. (I have not tried rice since) I see in my clothes they are fitting me better or are loose. I am thankful that I have not gained weight... so like you all say slow and steady wins the race... I cannot wait to get to the finish line!!!!!!!

I was banded on May 6th. I have had two fills a total of 5.5 in a 10cc band. I have only lost 20lbs. I did not have to do a pre op diet. I am however wondering why I have not lost more. After the second fill, I tried to eat rice and got stuck so bad. The pain was unbearable and then I thrwe up and felt fine. It scared me so I chew very well now. (I have not tried rice since) I see in my clothes they are fitting me better or are loose. I am thankful that I have not gained weight... so like you all say slow and steady wins the race... I cannot wait to get to the finish line!!!!!!!

So you have not lost any weight with the band? I was banded on Mya 6th and have lost about 22lbs. It is been a slow process for me. I have had 2 fills. I have 5.5cc in a 10cc band. I go for another fill on Aug 9th.
I will tell you that I am watching what I eat... no sugar and no carbs. Protein 1st! It isn't easy... and I do feel like I am on a diet BUT I do not get hungry and I do not want any bad foods, (Mcdonalds etc...) to go into me. So I am eating a lot healthier now. I would not say it has been easy but it hasn't been all that difficult either. Having no or very little hungry has helped alot. Good luck to you...remember the band is just the tool WE have to make the right foods choices...the band will never do that for us.

Try a Gladiator shake from smoothie King 45 grams of Protein, no sugar and no carbs.. it is DELICIOUS!!!!!!!

Oh, I have a LOT to say about this!
I was a WW devotee....I kept all my enrollment booklets over the years and I believe I have 12 of them. I was obviously very good about losing weight for each iteration, but horrible (and human) about regaining.
I finally surrendered to the obvious when, last September, I was reenrolling in WW for the 13th time (lucky 13) and, standing in line shaking my head, I walked away. I had had it. I started deep and extensive research on WLS, met with my surgeon on Dec 11th, and was banded on March 20th, 2013.
Being banded and being a WW are polar opposites in terms of my mindset. With WW, I was on a diet "until I lost my weight". I was always hungry, looking for bulky foods, Water, free fruits, whatever, to fill me up. That never worked. I gamed my points, looking to "save" a few so I could have a "treat" each night. Vacation, wedding, birthday, weekend coming up? I'd veer WAY OFF program, crash and burn, feel like a failure and try to cram in as much off-program foods as I could until my next weigh-in, when I'd start anew. At least for that week.
With my lapband, this is the way I live. I am satisfied on a small portion, so I don't need to save my points for more food, or "tastier" food to "reward" myself with. I never feel deprived, or like I'm sacrificing something really tasty because if I eat it, it will bring on a binge. My lapband is automatic Portion Control for me. I cannot possibly overeat. It also guides me to choose the best option (in terms of healthy eating) because with limited space in my tummy, I won't fill it with fake Skinny Cows or light candy or all the other BS foods I'd work into my WW points.
I don't count the hours until I can eat again, I don't save up points so I can splurge, I don't try and exercise away a bad day of eating, and most importantly, I'm not doing this "just until I lose weight."
There is no "on my diet"/"off my diet" mentality with my lapband. This is for me one of the greatest benefits of my lapband. The way I eat now is so....calm is the word that comes to mind. Clean, calm, delicious and satisfying.

I was very bloated for three weeks after my surgery... all I can say is all your symptoms will go away... patience... things do get better... try Gax x too that helped with the gas for me...

I was very bloated for three weeks after my surgery... all I can say is all your symptoms will go away... patience... things do get better... try Gax x too that helped with the gas for me...

When she starts to notice that you are losing weight and looking and feeling better...she will get it. Just wait... keep telling her and anyone else that you did it for YOU. It is not the easy way out... we want to eat all the bad foods and cant... if you ask me... having the band is a mind game... you have to tell yourself that you are worth losing weight and you deserve the band to help you do it. My daughter has been so negative, but now that she sees me lose weight and feel better about myself she is happy for me.

When she starts to notice that you are losing weight and looking and feeling better...she will get it. Just wait... keep telling her and anyone else that you did it for YOU. It is not the easy way out... we want to eat all the bad foods and cant... if you ask me... having the band is a mind game... you have to tell yourself that you are worth losing weight and you deserve the band to help you do it. My daughter has been so negative, but now that she sees me lose weight and feel better about myself she is happy for me.

SaraJ= BIOTIN for hair loss.. it's over the counter
Stept04= 1 Fill usually isn't going to provide restriction...Sorry but you will be able to eat anything, that is where the reduced calories part of having a lap band comes into play. Is it possible that the First bite is too large?
As banders we have to learn early on to chew, chew, chew until it's like mush. reason for this is because as the band is fuller the stoma is smaller and were unable to eat large pieces of food. So it's better to learn now opposed to later when it might really hurt and get stuck.
It's possible to get stuck on anything one day and not the next, the band is a fickle beast.
Normal fills are done 6 weeks post -op then monthly thereafter ...so it depends where you are in that process...also some Doctor's go by what you tell them in respect to how you have managed your last fill. SO getting your Dr's advise as to whether to have another fill is important.
I believe your too early into your experience to have satiety from 1 cup of food and expecting it to last for 4hrs...BUT you'll get there eventually.

Hello My Lap Band Buddies, I have Been Gone For A Second But I am Back!!! Hope Everyone is Doing Well!!
Just Wanted To Share a Little Laugh with you!!
I Saw a Friend This week whom I have not seen in awhile, He Looks at Me and Says OMG, what happen to you? Are You or were you sick you lost so much weight!!
I Looked at him and said why do you people assume that I was sick to loose weight? Why can't I Be Healthy and Loose Weight?
Unbelievable!! I guess Assuming the worst is better then assuming the best!!
I am at my Goal weight 180!!! from almost 300 and over in one year!! Happy!!!!
Love All of You!! And Missed You!!!

Hello all after lots of complications and pain had to get my bad removed yesterday . It had slipped up way high and was punching up on my lungs and prevented me from breathing . I do regret this happening to me but I am much better now and glad that it didn't go any further then this I wish you all good luck and for future precaution if you feel pain say something and if they say its your gall bladder always get a second opinion and double check your lap band is still in the correct place