thebionicbroad

If you were, I'd love to hear from you and how you are doing. I've lost 40 pounds, have 30 more to go, and I've hit a plateau the size of St. Louis, MO. I've dropped five dress sizes, and all I can see when I look down is my gut. I still crave sweets, I haven't hit my "sweet spot" yet (restriction from fills lasts a week and then POOF!), and I wouldn't trade my band for anything, even world peace. I never see anything on here from people banded when I was, and would love to hear from you.

I use: Half and half ole' green-can store-bought parmesan and ground-up pork rinds, or half and half parmesan and almond meal, or 1/3 parm, almond meal, and soy flour. In fact, just parmesan works well, too. I use these for anything from chicken to eggplant (I fry a lot). Spice it up with poultry seasoning, Italian seasoning, thyme, sage, etc., and you're good to go.

Thanks for posting this. I'll check it out. I use ground-up pork rinds and parmesan cheese, but it would be nice to have a change.

Linda's recipes are lifesavers for me, especially the White Castle Hamburger Pie. My whole family eats low-carb, so I have to make sure that the stuff tastes good, or three males would be on a dietary strike. I'm hoping that this is a safe place to be a low-carb bandster without being attacked by aggressive and uneducated people who love to tear down the research supporting the LC lifestyle with such logical responses as "it's stupid"? Got my test results back yesterday: Fasting blood sugar 78, triglycerides 77, and HDL 85. I'm thinking that low-carb is the way to go for me.

Thank you, Keithf and Corliss. I am also a permanent low-carber, eat fewer than 30 grams a day, and stick with Atkins '72. I eat cream, butter, lard, duck fat, bacon grease, etc., and my lipid panel is better than it's ever been (HDL 85, trigs 77). I love it when people think that our kidneys are going to explode in a fountain of saturated fat, which, by the way, is essential for health and tasty, to boot. And as you said, there's so much documented and valid research out there showing the efficacy of the low-carb lifestyle that there's no excuse for anyone to be so vehemently antagonistic. Well, willful ignorance, maybe?

Protein shake in the morning, because my band is usually too tight. coffee with Splenda and cream. Tuna salad made with oil-packed tuna and mayo. Pork rinds to dip. or Lunchmeat and cheese. or Protein Shake. or chicken salad. or Left-overs from previous night's dinner. Casserole. or meat and veggie. Snacks: Cream cheese and dried beef roll-ups. Protein shake. Pork rinds sprinkled with cinnamon and Splenda. Hot tea with Splenda and cream. Whipped cream and diet Jell-O.

Be prepared. You will have a lot of abuse heaped on you for daring to eat low carb. Many low-carbers think diet alone should do it, and criticize those with the band, and bandsters often criticize low-carbers, saying that if you just follow the banding rules, you don't need to low-carb. I say phooey to both sides. Obesity is a complex issue, just as our bodies are complex organic machines. I am 2 1/2 years post-banding and a permanent low-carber. Personally, I need both to be healthy. Carbage goes through that banded stomach just fine, so I low-carb to keep my cravings at bay.

""PB" is "productive burping," a nice way of saying hacking up stuck food. "Sliming" is when you hack up the excessive amounts of mucus that the stomach generates when something gets stuck in the opening. Neither one is very comfortable or pleasant. I'm not trying to be brutal, but whoever mentioned the juice is nuts. Nothing helps but time. The best thing to do is follow the guidelines. I'm two and a half years post-op and can't eat things like cooked egg, sausage, and starches, but some folks can. Follow your doc's plan, don't try to speed up the healing process, and by trial and error, you'll find out what works for you. The better you are at following the Bandster rules, the happier you'll be in the future.

In 16 months of being banded, I never PBd until I ate a biscuit. I thought that I was going to die, literally. I don't care much about bread, and I eat an occasional tortilla, usually Mama Lupe's Low-carb tortillas. With 2 grams net carb each, I usually make a pan-fried quesadilla, chew thoroughly, and eat slowly. Otherwise, I suffer for it.

I know that the low-carb lifestyle isn't for everyone, and shouldn't be, but between the Band and low-carb, I've lost 70 pounds, and I love the lifestyle. I manage to make a low-carb version of whatever I'm craving - I have a 25-pound box of almond flour in the freezer. I lost 40 pounds in a year with the Band and couldn't get my carcass any lower no matter what I did. My current weight, 174, is the lowest I've been since I was 19 (I'm 51). Let's just say that I'm low-carb for life.

Atkins is not high protein, and anyone who puts it into that category hasn't read the book. Atkins is high fat, medium protein, and low-carb, which does too many good things to list here. And no, I'm not selling anything. I've lost 70 pounds with my band and low-carb, and I hate to see people who haven't read the books or the CURRENT research defame a diet plan that has lowered my bad cholesterol, blood sugar, blood pressure, and triglycerides, and raised my good cholesterol. High protein diets are dangerous. Atkins is not a high-protein diet.

Carol, I've been banded since 2006, and I started putting weight back on like crazy, because I kept indulging my 50-story-high sweet tooth. I realized that if I didn't give sugar the boot, I was going to be in real trouble. I went back on a low-carb diet, I've slain the sweet-tooth, and I've never felt better. For me, low-carb is the way to go. I'm losing weight again, eating better, sleeping better, and I have more energy. Most high-carb things like rice, bread, Pasta, crackers, biscuits, popcorn, and tortillas, still give my band lots 'o' trouble. No problem with that now, since I'm a low-carb bandster.

Hey Kaboom, I'm right there with you. I hit a major plateau when I got my calories down to practically zilch, and even exercise didn't help. It's like my body has a setpoint of 180, and nothing, not Medifast, Weight Watchers, Phen-Fen, NutriSystem, nada, got me past 180. I felt like crap, decided to eat, and gained back almost 20 pounds. Finally, I decided that enough was enough. Since I can't eat Pasta, bread, rice, tortillas, corn, or peas, I finally turned to a low-carb diet, and I'm down to 183. I'm holding my breath to see if I can slip by 180. We'll see. I know that I can finally eat, my skin is pretty good (I am old, after all), my nails and hair aren't crispy, and cutting the carb and increasing the fat is helping me a lot. It's not for everybody, but I was freaking starving to death and not losing. What good was the band? I've lost the 17 pounds in eight weeks, I have enough energy to work out again, and for me, the combination of low-carb and the band is perfect. I'm no doctor, but you sound malnourished to me.

Awesome possum! My food intake amount has stayed constant for over a year without needing another fill (7.5 in an 11cc band) because the low-carb lifestyle has "pulled" my sweet-tooth and has kept my appetite in control. For me, the band and low-carb keeps me happy and healthy.

I wish she'd come back. She's my hero.

Hey, I'm slow. I was banded in December of 06, and am still 25 pounds from goal. Whenever I read about someone dumping weight quickly, I get jealous, but I yam what I yam, I guess.

To put it plainly, Nutrisystem food is enough to gag a maggot!

I chose the band because, God forbid, if I developed a disease or condition that required more nutrition, the band could be removed. Certain types of cancers do run in my family. Morbid, maybe, but just a thought.

I keep to fewer than 20 carbs a day, and I exercise 3 - 4 times a week (weights and cardio). Low-calorie and low-fat make me hungry and cranky, crave sweets, and sport a pot belly that won't go away. Some people do fine on low fat and calorie diets, but they make me sick, shakey, and gain weight. Pat

That is so cool that you are so close to goal! I belong to Low Carb Friends, and some of the people there are so reactionary about the Lap-band. It's always the ones who haven't had the band that are so vocal about how dangerous it is, and there's such a high risk of complications, and no long-term studies have been done. Rubbish. You are to be commended! (the sound of loud applause) Pat

How about "you" instead of "yo." Some English teacher I am.

Hope you December bandsters are still out there. My surgeon's support groups are at times that I can't make easily, so this board and Low Carb Friends have turned into my support. BubbleButt, I love your posts. Have you made goal? I was completely off track for a year, gained 17 pounds (yikes), but am back to my lowest weight post-banding (181) and still dropping. I started out at 220, and my goal is 155. I'd love to hear from any Dec. 06 bandsters and how yo are doing.

Vicky, I needed seven (7!) fills before I had the level of restriction that I needed, and that level has been steady for a year. My surgeon chided me for waiting so long in between fills. Don't make my mistake. Get thy hind end to the surgeon!

Chelsea, Everyone is different. I wasn't hungry at all post-op for about a week and a half. Then I started trying to lick the TV screen. I would suggest following to the letter the eating plan that your surgeon has given you. You may be hungry, but I bet that you can't eat as much as you think. God bless.

I'm game, too. Long before being banded, I used Atkins, and lost a crazy amount of weight. Now, 14 months after banding, I'm only halfway to my goal, because I'm making stupid choices. I have to kick the carbs, and Atkins, for me, is the best way to do it.