Jachut

But not losing anything in a week is not a problem! Its entirely normal for that to happen. Seriously, people need to have realistic expectations. Weight simply does not come off in nice little 2lb increments each and every week. You are going to drive yourself nuts expecting to see this. You WILL plateau out, sometimes it may be months long. It will happen.Nothing you do will appear to break it and then suddenly, boom, 6lb will be gone overnight. 14lb in a month is a lot of weight, it is absolutely normal for your body to say whoa, I'm just going to hang on a bit here, maybe rehydrate a bit, till I see what's happening. To panic over that and say I'm doing everything right but I'm not losing weight is not accurate, and its just needlessly stressing yourself out. Do what you should be doing for six months or a year, and see where you are. Whether its 50 lb gone or 25, is not entirely within your own control but its only after that long that you know you're really on track. True fat loss is not a week by week proposition that you can judge in that way, its something you can only take real stock of over long time periods. I know you made the point that you are realistic about that, I'm more just using what you' said as an example. There's a lot of panicking going on.

I eat what I want within reason. I dont really agree with the protein/then vegies/then starch mantra. My take on it is that on such small servings (I eat about 3/4 of a cup at a time) we are going to be short on most things. To me, there is no point in the world focussing on Protein and only then vegies. You end up eating a chicken breast and 3 green Beans which to me is not a healthy meal, its a meal of only meat. I say if you're going to be short of nutrients, then try to get a little bit of everything. So I tend to put a tiny bite of everything on my fork - some meat and some vegies at once and eat it all equally. I do leave out the starchy things like rice/potato etc becuase those truly are less valuable to me than protein and vegies. But I get a slice of wholegrain bread or a small serve of oatmeal or muesli most days. Protein foods will fill you and keep you sated, no doubt it is an important nutrient but it is not the ONLY nutrient and it is not magic when it comes to weight loss. And of course, there's times when you want cake for lunch and in my humble opinion as long as that's not all the time, so what? Have it. There's no such thing really as good food/bad food, only poor balance. I refuse to diet ever again.

Well, firstly they pick these people to feature because of their exceptional results - even for bypass, those results arent necessarily typical. And secondly, it comes as a shock to most of us that people dont instantly notice weight loss. I didnt start to look "thin" until I only had about 20 or 30lb to go. Fat is fat is fat, whether your'e 50lb overweight or 150 and when you've got a lot to lose, it takes an awful lot before you really look different to people. What happens instead is that you tend to lose size, but stay the same shape/proportion so people might sort of be able to tell that something's different but cant quite put a finger on it. Heck, I had a BMI of 36 and i had to lose over 30lb before people noticed - and it was only once that chin fat and cheek fat and obvious stuff started to go that they did. Nobody noticed I'd gone from a size 20 to an 18, I still had a big ass no matter what way you cut it. Keep your chin up, you'll get there.

Its definitely true. I for one have a cast Iron stomach, I never vomit, even when everyone else around me is dying of food poisoning and i ate the same meal. I knew going into this surgery I would not be a vomiter. I just had the feeling. I could easily have been wrong, I guess, but I wasnt. My stomach is just very very non sensitive. I can take fills and dont need to do liquids to mushies to solids, I have of course pb'd but I can eat again straight away, I dont swell or react to fills appreciably (other than getting a bit more restriction, which takes about a week to really kick in). I have 3cc in a 4cc band and am not tight and can eat bread etc. My doc made the point he chose the 9cm 4cc band for me becuase I had a smallish stomach and at a BMI of 36, not a lot of internal fat - I sat on most of my weight problem, lol. I never got morning sickness either, lol. Other people just cannot cope with the same sorts of treatment I can throw at my band. Its just the luck of the draw. Or, I call myself lucky but some people would be in despair at being able to eat bread, its all how you look at it.

Gee, no fat at all would be virtually impossible! Every food contains SOME fat. I am a firm believer in a normal diet in reasonable quantity - post surgery of course, for now you just have to stick with what youv'e been told. I think that evidence that fat free and sugar free has achieved nothing is all around us in society, we're all fatter than ever. And I think we need fat, that very low fat diet hasnt cured obesity either. Fatty and sugary foods are sometimes foods, not everyday ones, and removing fat and sugar and replacing it with fake versions so we can eat these foods every day is senseless. We need good fats, a little saturated fat and more monounsaturates - nuts, avocadoes, fish oils etc.

Its not as bad as it sounds, lol. DH does not care one hoot about having a perfect, hard body. He's thrilled to be out of the danger zone health wise and that's all that really matters to him. This weight loss thing is really a personal journey anyway. You can do it alongside someone else, but not truly WITH someone else, if you know what I mean. And to heal yourself, you need to get selfish. I am selfish with my exercise. I dont WANT to exercise with DH anyway, its my time. I'd be thrilled if he wanted to say, come to a circuit class with me (my son does instead) but my running is personal time and a deeply personal endeavour. I dont want to run with anyone else. I want to put my ipod on and get some headspace. I freely admit my kids might go unfed till 7.30 so that I can get a run in. It takes a bit of that. DH is happy enough with the balance and it really took me to curb my expectations of him, once I did that it didnt bother me either. He just sometimes trots out the excuse that he couldnt go for a walk when he got home from work because I was out running. I fail to see the logic in it, its nothing more than a wimpy excuse, lol, but for some reason, a big 43 year old strapping man cant go out for a walk alone!

I think you're being a bit sensitive. If you're going to post food choices on here, you do need to be prepared for a bit of debate. Everyone has different ideas about what's healthy and there's healthy disagreement over the high protein/low carb v "normal" diet thing too. Particularly in Australia, our guidelines are different and high Protein is not pushed, and we all tend to react with a bit of "ooh yuck" at the types of things you guys eat - its a cultural difference. My idea of a healthy breakfast is something like organic muesli, fruit and yogurt, couldnt be MORE different from eggs cheese and meat. I've lost weight, you'll lose weight, perhaps one of us will be proven right in the future but who cares? One hundred people will now predict the dire consequences of my low protein choices and I'll predict their demise from bowel cancer and lack of antioxidants. Dont let it get to you, you have to be true only to yourself. I believe I did make the point that if you spread what you eat food group wise over the day then if you want to eat what you did for breakfast, that's your choice, and that none of us are perfect anyhow. At the end of the day, its your choice what you eat and how you lose weight. Its nobody else's, but if you ask for their opinion, you've got to be prepared that it may differ from yours. Its not a personal attack.

I have never been restricted to half a cup only, I'd starve. I eat more like a cup at a sitting, but not more, its about as much as I can fit in. I find my meals look normal for a small eater, if that makes sense. Nobody notices how little I eat, people just dont pay that much attention.

Hi Marci, I answered you in another thread too. I feel your expectations of "magic" are a little unrealistic. Honestly, magic never happened for me in the sense that you're meaning. I've had a band for four years and I can eat bread, rice and Pasta, and have done all along. There's no "magic" in not being able to eat foods like that. I never suddenly went from no restriction to restriction and I've never 'felt' restriction in that sense, I'm simply satisfied on the right amount of food for my body, and each fill kept me losing a little, rather than suddenly finding some magical level and weight started pouring off. The only time I "feel" restriction is if I eat too fast, or am tight for any reason and sometimes have trouble getting something down. All weight loss really is is calories in/calories out. People have different views of how best to achieve that, but you can low carb it or not, either way you can lose weight. Hoping things will make you sick is not really a terribly functional or healthy thought process, and the weight you lose will be lost because you WANT to lose it, not because the band makes you. You will have to work for this, but honestly, in the long run, that's good. It teaches you how to manage your weight for life, and it rebalances our dysfunctional thoughts and behaviours. You will be proud of what you've achieved and justifiably so. Your results so far are great, I dont know what it would take to make you really happy but that's solid weight loss! This surgery is no miracle and it takes most people over a year to really make a dent in a sizeable weight problem, personally, I lost 70lb first year, and 30 the entire second year - yes, less than a pound a week. But do you think I care about that now, four years down the track? Hardly. Weight gone is weight gone, no matter how fast it comes off. But you do need a certain level of restriction, and that will probably come for you after the next fill or perhaps the next one after that. I will be honest and say I worked DARN hard exercise wise, running an hour a day and doing circuit training too. its a vital part of the equation. Dont lose hope - this band WORKS, without magic and without impossible amounts of hard work, its hard, but its a hard we can do.

Its only 8 December, 10lb since even early November is fabulous! People seem to expect such fast weight loss! And bear in mind what restriction really is. It is not a hard stop on certain foods and an automatic guarantee of weight loss. I can eat bread, Pasta and rice four years down the track and I have restriction. I've also eaten these foods regularly all the way through, as our dietary guidelines are a lot different in Australia, not eating them is absolutely no guarantee of loss either. The band (and restriction) simply helps you to be satisfied on less food. It is not meant to restrict specific foods or make you eat so little that you lose 5lb a week. Many people never lose weight that fast. And if you dont want to eat things like bread and rice, it may be down to your willpower and not the band to avoid them. You have to decide what you consider a healthy diet and consciously follow that. Going too tight often leads simply overeating slider foods like Protein shakes, yogurt, and stuff like chips and ice cream, and often weight loss stops! But you do need restriction for the band to work too, and for many people, that takes several fills to achieve.

Lol, perhaps if you did thousands of squats and lunges in them, your legs would look better. But sad to say, this one's a bit of a gimmick, sneakers alone are not going to make your legs look much better. I have a pair of MBT's and they are BRILLIANT for wearing for recovery after a really really long run (when I was training for my half marathon and runnign 15kms and more), they stretch out the overworked muscles and really help to prevent soreness and pain in my heel, and especially stop my lower back tightening up and getting sore. so they do do something, they certainly change your posture and balance, but to tone your legs, sad to say, you have to WORK, not simply wear particular shoes and walk around.

Both my DH and I were banded but it was very much an individual journey and decision for each of us. I was banded 4 years ago this week, and of course, the family benefitted from my new commitment to healthy eating, although truth be told, i have always fed my family well. I was well down to goal weight by the time DH decided to get banded. However, we have markedly different attitudes towards banded life and weight loss. I think Doug expected to get the same results i did without putting in the same work. He has never exercised and although he's had a fairly good result - 60lb lost and he's now got a BMI of 26, he's just got way too much fat and no muscle (he's a very thin build naturally). So he's still got a beer gut basically. However, he seems to subconsciously think that I'm responsible for his exercise and success - becuase I run and go to boot camp and circuit training and dont wait around to walk with him instead, he *cant* exercise - mind you, he'll more likely than not say he's too tired, when I do wait. He talks about personal training, and I could certainly train him too, but he always finds an excuse to "just walk today" rather than put in any real effort. He has NEVER since being banded been out even for a walk on his own, he will not do anything unless I do it to and unfortunately over the past four years, I've left him far far behind fitness wise. To me walking isnt exercise, its something pleasant to do but no way am I giving up my exercise time to keep him company ambling along. Mind you he comes from parents who spend their lives in the recliner listening to the radio and i come from parents who are off round the country four times a year and always out playing golf, tennis, or whatever. They never sit still. Our parents are all around the same age and you'd swear mine are 20 years younger. We dont fight about this, but I've long accepted he'll never get off his butt and do anything effective, and I've long accepted we'll never exercise together, truth be told, we have entirely different attitudes to exercise. Its just how it is. I also dont resent the boundaries the band places on my eating, to me its a price well worth the result I've had, but I dont think DH really loves his band, I think he finds it restrictive and problematic, even though it functions well and he's never ever pb'd. He doesnt want to actually overeat or eat rubbvsh and he had less disordered eating than I did in the first place, but he cant accept the smaller sized meals, he's obsessed with this idea that he "needs" a bigger Breakfast, lunch and dinner than he can handle. So although we coexist happily and have both lost a lot of weight, we're both very very different in how we approach banded life. Its not a couples journey at all for us, we're just too different although we are united in every other aspect of our lives.

I dont think there's much quicker than some good organic muesli with some fruit (like berries) and greek yogurt.

I just dont think you can compare it, the band relies so much on work from the owner, and not automatic weight loss, but some people have certainly lost staggering amounts of weight on here - like 100lb in six months. I lost 100 lb in 2 years - 70 the first year, 30 the next, starting from a BMI of 36. for the first couple of months, I lost at least 2lb every single weak, after that I tended to go a couple of weeks without losing and then suddenly lose 4lb or so. The second year, it was like two or three pounds a month on average - but in reality no loss for a couple of weeks and then a couple of pounds would go. I was 3 weeks on liquids, 2 on mushies, solid foods after five weeks, I then ate a normal healthy diet and within reason whatever I felt like, never counted calories or worried about Protein, I ran for an hour five or six days a week and this past year (have been banded for 4 years now) have added in circuit training and boot camp to really get as small and toned as possible. I exercised very hard for my weight loss and I tend to think it was more jsut luck and genetics, but I dont really have loose skin and can put on a bikini at 42 years old which is by and large, not a bad outcome for WLS. But that's me. The next person will tell you they cut carbs, strictly journalled everything they ate and walked for exercise. Everyone is different in what they are willing to do and how their bodies respond.

Good point Rachie - biggest loser is a good comparison. THAT's the sort of exercise you need to really shift weight, and shift it at a reasonable rate. How many people do you know who have gone to the gym for years and are neither very fit, nor very slim, in fact many of them remain fat. Early on, walking and moderate exercise is where you need to start. But eventually, you will need whole body, sweat pouring off you, even vomit in the bushes type circuit/strength/cardio stuff if you dont want to have to walk for 3 hours a day. And you need it five or six days a week - maybe four really hard days and 1 or two recovery days where you do just walk or jog. I personally was/am a runner but even running could not quite get me to the body I wanted, I have had to add boot camp and circuit training to my running schedule.

I am usually in the minority with my views on nutrition, but that meal makes me cringe. I call that unhealthy. BUT (and this is a big but!) it depends what you eat for the rest of the day though - if you had say minestrone with a couple of different veg and Beans in it for lunch, some fruit for a snack, and a couple more serves of veg - perhaps an orange and a green one for dinner with some lean meat, then you're fine for the day and can afford to eat a breakfast like that. One meal does not make or break a healthy diet - and I ate pancakes with butter and maple syrup the other day so I'm hardly Miss Perfect either. But to analyse just that meal - no fruit, no vegies (ideally you'd get 2 fruit, five different veg per day), and an overload on animal products - turkey bacon, cheese AND egg in one meal? I would choose just one of those things. All suturated fat too - even if low fat, and no good fat. All those additives and salt too - surely a real egg is much tastier? A poached egg on a slice of toast and some fruit like prunes, half a grapefruit etc would be much healthier, but I totally get that that's how your medical professionals tell you to eat. I just dont get this fixation on Protein, I dont think its worth getting enough protein if you miss out on almost everything else to do it. Its not a healthy diet, even if it does contain enough protein, from what you read on here most bandsters are alarmingly short of general Vitamins, minerals, fibre and antioxidants and those things cannot be totally replaced in pills, which can never ever replicate the chemical relationships and balances found in real food. Not really meaning to be negative here, we just dont approach banded eating in the same way in Australia, and the protein craze just has not taken off here like it has there.

You sound a little like one of the people who eat very irregularly and have very very slow metabolisms. Lots of heavy people are like this, they dont eat that much, and its hard to work out why they got fat. The only way out of this is to begin to eat four or five times a day in small amounts and to exercise - you need muscle - which means an hour or more a day of pretty tough muscle building exercise combined with cardio. What are you doing at the gym? This thread sounds a bit like an inquisition but honestly, there's no accusatioin of you "cheating" or anything, it sounds so odd. But lots of people do really waste their time at the gym - a bit of a trot on the treadmill for 20 minutes and push some machines aroumd, it doesnt really achieve a lot. You need to really SWEAT and find it very hard to make a real difference once you get past tht easy loss. There is so much difference between going to the gym and really working effectively. This probably doesnt matter for most people, any activity is enough, but obviously, you've copped it tougher than some others. You could probably benefit from some personal training? Maybe to really let you know that what you're doing is workign for you? Otherwise, I just dont know what anyone can suggest, obviously you're calorie needs are just way low.

What are you doing exercise wise? It really does make a difference.

You know, you're right. The band has some serious downsides although touch wood, mine functions perfectly. Some people simply cant cope with the sensations it causes whilst eating either. But one thing it DOES do is make you listen to your body. Even eating when you're not particularly hungry is not pleasurable, even if its not painful, so head hunger can indeed be controlled.

I'm cooking for a husband and 3 kids, 2 of whom are teenage boys. I just eat whatever I cook for the family - healthy food is healthy food and appropriate for everyone. I hate cooking, lol, but I'm glad I have to do it. I think it always kept me somewhat in check. I would never feed my kids crap, would never let them eat take out regularly, or feed them 2 minute noodles, packet macaroni cheese, white bread and rubbish like that, so my base diet was always healthy, it was just all the crap I fed myself on top of it. Cooking for one would be really hard, I even make too much salad for lunch!

I dont personally think regular amounts of artificial sweeteners is a good idea - OK i'm phobic about them in particular - but really, anything like that in quantity is risky in my book. It is just so much easier to train yourself not to need it. Why do you need to sweeten tea or coffee? Its so easy to give it up, you get used to it in 2 weeks, max, its a much easier task than dieting in general. And I also believe artificially sweetening things keeps you with that pesky sweet tooth and makes you overeat sweet foods - things like soft drinks, popsicles, sweets, puddings, cordials, etc are just not foods you need or should be eating daily anyway - eat something natural and healthy instead. When you want something sweet, then have it with the sugar. When you're mindful of the calories/carbs then you're much more likely to eat appropriate amounts of it. That's my major beef with Protein shakes and bars. They are sources of protein yes, but they come with a whole lot of rubbish in them that you dont need and that some people believe are actually dangerous and every one I have ever tried is appallingly sweet. They are not (in my opinion anyway), everyday foods because they are usually artificially sweetened. Maybe a risk/benefit thing given the small stomachs of WLS patients though. Unflavoured protein sounds like a much better deal to me. But after that rather sanctimonious lecture, something's got to kill you anyway and if that's your cup of tea, why not? I can just thing of far more pleasant ways to kill myself, real sugar being one of them, lol. I swear every time I ingest diet coke I can feel a brain tumour growing, I'm really phobic about it, but I'll eat somethign like a hot dog (lord knows what's in THOSE) without a qualm.

I just typed a long post on this very topic, but in brief, I really consider dieting dysfunctional behaviour that hinders your progress towards being 'cured' of obesity. As long as you impose rules on your body and dont listen to it - as in, I really want a sandwich but rules say no bread, so I'll eat chicken instead - I dont think you will ever gain full control of your appetite and hunger. If you want the sandwich, have it! When you give yourself permission to eat anything, and you get rid of the ridiculous notion of good food v bad food, you will probably find that your body directs you to eat in pretty good balance. I've had success with this in the past, there are any number of books on the topic, but I still always ate too much. With a band to control portions, this approach has worked really well for me. Did I always get my recommended Protein in (not that we have "recommended protein" approach in Australia)? No. Did I sometimes eat too much saturated fat? Yep. Did I occasionally binge on white carbs? You betcha, old habits and addictions die hard. But over the years, that sense of panic my body seemed to feel in having foods denied it has reduced. I have mentally accepted I can eat whatever, whenever if I'm reasonable and not gain weight. And these days, I really feel totally free of the hold food had over me. It really is just food. There's certain foods I like and I really do have to say no to them often, because i would overeat them. But I've gotten over the notion of having to eat chicken and broccoli because its 'good' and forego the mashed potato coz its bad. And guess what, sometimes I dont fancy mashed potato and I really DO fancy broccoli. so no, I dont diet, I dont look up how much protein or calories I need in a day, I dont log, I try not to think about it too much (because after a lifetime of dieting I do know the calorie count of everything) and I figure if I dont get enough, say, Omega 3's in my diet, well, so be it, I dont smoke and I dont use sunbeds, so all the risks even out in the end.

OK, so this is a bit off topic, and you've got to just get through the post op phase and follow your instructions, its difficult but the long term outlook can be yes, you can eat very very normally, in ways you'd never imagined. I've worked very very hard to eat like a normal person. That meant strictly banning myself from calorie counting, Protein obsessing, fat avoiding, good food/bad food, logging, following programs - any of what I consider dysfunctional dieting behaviour that in the long run does more harm than good. Instead, I ate what I wanted, practiced asking myself each and every time what did I want and was there a good choice or healthier version or did I *really* want that just now or could I have it later if I still wanted it and eat something healthy instead now. Most of the times I chose better, sometimes I didnt. When I didnt, I didnt care, I enjoyed it and moved on. I eat whatever the heck I want to basically, and my appetite does direct me towards fairly healthy foods most of the time. What I've noticed about myself is that I need to include some fat and protein in my meal. I didnt REALLY want crap like muffins for lunch, but I chose that because I felt like I ought to eat some boring, unsatisfying salad. There's a happy medium, and you need the protein and fat (good fats of course) to satiate you, when you achieve that, the stupid head hunger stays down a lot longer. the only thing I am strict on myself is white carbs like biscuits, cakes, muffins, donuts. Those are my real problem foods and best just avoided. And I like a glass of wine, but try not to drink daily. More like a glass 2 or 3 times a week. I added in exercise, didnt have to obsess there, I absolutely love hard hard exercise, so that helped enormously. Nowadays, I eat like a normal person. I skip Breakfast if i'm not hungry and dont then obsess about how that will slow my metabolism, nor do I give myself permission to make up the calories later that day. I eat 3 meals, I'm not really naturally a snacker. I eat all foods, I count nothing. I dont fuss about holidays like Christmas, everyone eats a bit more than and if you gain a pound you can lose it again. I can eat whatever anytime I like so why do I need to go crazy on Christmas day? I feel completely free of my former food shackles and totally normal. I'm not afraid of any food, my weight stays steady and because food no longer has such an important part of my life, I dont want it inappropriately as I dont feel deprived. For me personally, getting banded and then following a diet or unreasonable rules (I mean, there are some band rules that must be followed) would never have worked. Oh, I would have lost but I wouldnt have been "cured". I didnt want to diet ever again.

Oh, we're definitely tough on ourselves. I think if I could really see how small I am - at five foot 10, I'm an 8 in American sizes, I'd be thrilled. Instead I think I cant wear this or that becuase my muffin top is showing. On other women, I find tiny little love handles, or a little bit of a roll on the lower tummy not at all unattractive - it's real! It makes them look like normal but attractive women. But I cant tolerate it on myself. Women far bigger than me go around in tight clothes and I am completely pedantic about never showing bra straps, vpl etc. I always always always check my outfits for bulges, visible underwear etc. Cant stand VPL!!

I just have to chime on on this muscle gain thing. You just dont gain 10lb of muscle from what is a couple of weeks of pretty mild exercise - and only cardio at that. By the way, its a FANTASTIC effort to get started in this way, its goign to have great fat loss benefits and its what you need to be doing. But to gain 10lb in a short period of time, you'd have to be doing some pretty heavy duty lifting and as a woman, you probably STILL couldnt gain that much. 10lb in an entire YEAR would be good going! When we start working out, our damaged muscles can hold onto Water, leading to small weight gains. But cardio will only build muscular endurance, and tone you up, you will not gain a lot of muscle, although it will help to protect your muscle during weight loss. So it has to be a combo of other reasons - not realising what you're eating, carrying some extra Fluid, rehydrating, hormonal fluctuations. Hopefully it was just a blip and you've lost it again by now.