MerryHearted

Bandsters do not have malabsorption issues, so we don't need excess Protein intake. US RDA of protein is already pretty high compared to the rest of the world. I believe it's .8 g / kg of your ideal weight. Your goal weight is 135, or 61 kg. So you would aim for around 49 g of protein a day if you are eating a balanced diet. That's pretty easy on a 1200 cal diet, with plenty of room for the other nutrients you need. Were you recently banded? It looks like most of your intake is soft foods right now and not solids. Or are you too tight?

I think what Jack means here is that for many, restriction level varies depending on the time of day, the time of month, stress level, and other biological factors. For example, if I drink something cold -- imagine having a long suck out of a dacquiri or other frozen drink -- forget any food going down. If I drink something hot, like coffee or tea, my band relaxes.

I'm with Becky on this one. Doc should have given you a fill if you are hungry in 3 hrs or less after a meal, even if you are still losing. But I can understand their caution -- he probably sees so many people get too tight and that's when things start to go wrong for people. Increased chance of slippage, chronic vomiting, irritated bands & soft food syndrome, etc. And yes, if you stop losing, make a fill appt without waiting for 6 weeks. I would anyway. If you don't lose for 2 weeks in a row. (1 week with no loss might just be TOM or something)

Sounds like your doctor doesn't understand band fickleness. Many people are too tight in the morning to eat solids, too. Is your doc new to banding? I wonder if he can be clued in by some more experienced doctors - or the band manufacturer - about the tightness some people experience under stress, in the morning, and at that TOM so he understands that solids are not always possible and it doesn't mean your band is too tight the rest of the time.

Could be an ulcer. You could start with your regular doc if your band doc isn't easily available, and get tested for h. pylori.

Here's the Ticker Tutorial With Pictures someone was kind enough to post: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f5/ticker-tutorial-pictures-41782/ My surgery center requires you to attend one of their seminars. They just happen to have them in more than one city around the area, so sometimes you can get in sooner if you are willing to drive a couple hours to one happening out of town that has space.

I think everyone's right here -- the psych eval is mostly to make sure you are aware of what you are getting into and prepared to make the changes you need to make. In mine, they also screen for depression (not as a way to stop people from having the surgery, but so you can also be treated for the depression as it's extremely common in overweight people). They also wanted to talk about whether I was freaked out about the idea of having a foreign object inside me. Good luck! I'm sure you'll do fine.

It varies from doc to doc as to when they want you to get another study done. Mine said to call her once I'm under 200 lbs. I know my pressure is too high right now, but I'll be under 200 soon enough and then I'll schedule another sleep study. I think she said every 30-40 lbs she'd like another study done after that. I'm guessing I'll have a study this summer, after which they'll drop my pressure considerably. Then I'll ask for another study when I hit 150 or whenever I think I might not have apnea issues anymore. [i'd love to just get rid of the dang machine!]

Yeah, the "must attend seminar" thing irritated me too -- I went to one a couple hours away just so I could not have to wait an additional 2 weeks. :wink2: I also got the paperwork in advance and started filling it out so I could turn it in immediately. I was glad I went to the seminar though -- it was good to hear the presentation & the questions people asked, as well as talk to some bandsters about their journey.

Terri - whew! I'm glad you got your fill out and are feeling better now. Sneak up on that restriction once you start getting fills again. And don't worry -- you're not the only fall 05-er who is not at goal.

LOL - me too! Or maybe I'd wait a whole day just to give them time to process it.

I drink a couple cups of coffee a day. My doc doesn't have anything against it. Recent studies have show that it doesn't have any more of a diuretic effect than regular Water does. Notice how when you drink water you pee more? Soda works for some people. For me, it HURTS. BADLY. OW. OW OW OW Imagine the worst gas pains you've ever had. Yeah. I'm glad. There's no nutritional value in most carbonated drinks, and Coke was a real calorie source for me back when I first started gaining. I'd drink like a 6-pack a day. Darn my workplace for having free soda.

You can find a soy-based product instead of whey-based. However, if you are starting the solid food phase, then you need to drop the shakes and other liquid calories. (unless you are too tight in the morning for solids, but that's unlikely until you have more fill in the band) Time to fill up on solid food -- chicken, beef, fish, turkey, veggies, fruits, and whole grains. Take a Calcium supplement since milk disagrees with you, and just avoid milk products altogether. It's easy to get in the US RDA of Protein every day with just regular food.

I'm like Lap_dancer. I just have to avoid the carbs that I know will set me off. I can have small amounts of potato, whole grain bread, whole grain Cereal, brown rice, etc. without having trouble. It's when I start allowing foods like Pasta, white bread, or sugary stuff into my diet that I start to spiral out of control. So that stuff I avoid as much as possible.

For me the biggest positive isn't something that happened to me but rather me learning and understanding what it means for someone to struggle with an undesirable behavior and not succeed at changing it on their own. I have so much more compassion for alcoholics and drug addicts and what they face now than I ever did when I was thin. Not to mention obese people of course! Seriously, I'm ashamed at how judgmental I was.

Well, most of us bandsters are experts at LOSING the weight -- or at least a good portion of it. Can you keep it off, though? If you haven't ever tried diet and exercise before to lose and maintain your weight, then maybe you really should do that first. The % of people who can lose 100+ lbs and keep it off is something like 2%. Ridiculously low. Not really. While the band doesn't completely fix head hunger, I think that once you hit your sweet spot on fill you'll be amazed at how your tastes change. Pizza and cheeseburger aren't particularly appealing to me anymore but I sure loved both before. You have to spend so much time chewing small bites of food that texture and taste start to matter a whole lot more than before. Try doing a poll on here for people banded a year or more -- "Have your tastes in food changed?" -- I'm guessing you'll hear a resounding YES. If I were in a program where I was ridiculed for being unable to stick to a low-cal diet pre-band, I'd switch! Do you really want these people in your life? Are they slender because they are banded themselves? That's another thing -- find a center where most of the staff has the band themselves and UNDERSTAND what you are going through. It will be both an inspiration to you -- hey, they did it! this does work! and a help, to know that they have been through it themselves.

What Jack said. And this is another reason why I like food tracking software so much. My doc said aim for 1000-1200 cals per day (and gave me eating guidelines as well). I track my food on TheDailyPlate.com and I can see that Yes, I'm getting in between 1000-1200 cals per day and Yes, I'm eating a diet that is well balanced between carbs, Protein and fat, and Yes, I'm getting in the nutrients I need (or I am falling short in some area and I supplement). Plus I track my weight loss in Excel on a weekly basis so I can see how the numbers are going down. Cold hard facts can help silence those accusing voices. We really don't do ourselves any favors by eating too little. Hang in there!

I've flown many times and not experienced any changes in my band tightness. It's probably one of those individual things. I think that Fluid retention might be part of it like someone else mentioned. I always drink a ton of Water on flying days. Also, stress can tighten you up, so if you get really stressed while flying then plan on feeling tighter from that.

My doc does it outpatient. We are out the door not too long after waking up from surgery. We drink some Water or juice to show that liquids are going down and then off we go. I was glad, actually. I sleep much better in my own bed. They called to check up on me later, and I had instructions to call in if any of a number of symptoms showed up. (like not being able to drink anything, signs of infection and so forth)

People like Dr. Rutledge really tick me off. :biggrin: I've seen websites by RNY docs that have a lot of band misinformation too, and that irritates me as well. Oh, well. What can ya do? I'm very happy I chose banding, and I think you'll appreciate the choice as well once you're on your way and dropping the poundage. :smile2:

Things might not change with him, but that's about him. If you find him getting weird about it as you lose weight, your best bet is to let him know that you don't have any expectations that he's going to suddenly fall in love with you. That you're doing this for YOU. And yeah, of course you want to meet a hot guy and have a great romantic relationship, but that's not about him. You will meet other men, and they will have no idea that you used to be overweight. They will see you as you are -- slender and beautiful and confident and fun! It will probably take awhile for your own internal self-image to change. Don't be afraid to get counseling if you need it. It's a big change.

I have heard of this happening but I think it is very rare. Has never happened to me.

I'm 5'6" and my doc set a goal weight of 150 for me, but my goal is 140. Even that is 20 lbs above my personal ideal weight for my frame and shape. When not overweight, I am a stick with no hips or breasts, so I look better at the lower end of the weight range. At 140 I'll still have a tummy pooch for sure, and that's not counting the saggy skin from weight loss. My plan is to re-evaluate once I'm within my normal weight range for my height. I don't think you're being overly optimistic or idealistic with your goal!

Yep, sounds like panic attacks. I get them from time to time. No fun. Take a big breath. Just know that the majority of bandsters are glad they did it and don't have regrets. You'll do great!

I've got a big list -- I wrote it out, typed it up, put it in general order of priority and read it pretty much every day to remind myself. At the top of the list are/were: Health Being more attractive Getting to buy cute clothes in smaller sizes Feeling better physically - more energy, able to run around with the kids Happier when I look in the mirror Feel more in control Getting rid of my CPAP Not feel like an embarrassment to my family There's a ton more -- further down the list I start getting into specifics, like not worrying anymore about weight limits on things, being able to borrow clothes from someone in an emergency, go kayaking and not worry about being stuck if I flip over -- stuff like that :w00t:.