Jachut

I know that I have tended towards undereating for my needs since being banded (and that's without doing a sub 1000 calorie day, ever) and my body is seven years later showing signs of malnutrition (kidneys, Iron stores, energy and hormone levels, scary huh?) but sheesh, eating like a "normal" person is not an option either! I've been logging my days in an effort to eat more, not less! 1500 calories a day of healthy food (no shakes, all solid) is darn hard work!
Its the end of Term 3 for primary schools here in Victoria, Australia and Thursdays are our staff morning tea (two people put it on every week). Tonight we have a staff dinner to Celebrate end of term and are all going out to a pizza/italian restaurant tonigh
So I've planned out and logged my day - it adds up to 1000 calories for breakie, morning tea, lunch and an afternoon snack - generally my dinner would be sub 500 calories and I need to pad out with a soy latte and something else to reach my dietician set target of 1600 to 1800 (and amazingly I have gained NO weight from upping my intake, but feel loads better).
So I've planned 1000 calories and thought that a glass of wine and a slice or two of pizza will be great, my day will probably end up at 1800 or so. I've just sat in the staffroom and watched people eat with reckless abandon - cakes, Cookies, fruit, meat pies and sausage rolls, crackers and dip and a cheese platter - all knowing they're going out tonight as well! I would never ever ever do that now! It is instinctive that I make allowances today for tonight! Am I the sick one or are they?
These are by and large normal sized people - bigger than me, as I have lost perspective a bit and have gotten very thin and think I eat heaps! They dont exercise like I do either. So how on EARTH do they a) fit it in and not get as fat as a house?
Every now and then you realise just how much the lapband changes your lifestyle and your choices!

If I want chocolate then only chocolate will do. I could eat my way through a bucket of chocolate pudding andI would STILL end up eating real chocolate. I save myself a lot of calories by just having a bit of what I really wanted in the first place.

If I want chocolate then only chocolate will do. I could eat my way through a bucket of chocolate pudding andI would STILL end up eating real chocolate. I save myself a lot of calories by just having a bit of what I really wanted in the first place.

If I want chocolate then only chocolate will do. I could eat my way through a bucket of chocolate pudding andI would STILL end up eating real chocolate. I save myself a lot of calories by just having a bit of what I really wanted in the first place.

I dont actually think its too unreasonable - and not for 3-4 weeks out when your swelling has gone down and you hve no restriction yet. And I refuse to believe a couple of rice cakes is the difference between losing or not losing.
personally, I'm surprised anyone larger who was used to a high calorie diet wouldnt lose quite fast on that sort of intake. I would lose weight now on that and I'm only 145lb these days.
My question would be - did you do a pre op diet and did you lose weight on it? Because when you do that your post op period is not the shock to your body it would ordinarily be, in fact your food intake often increases. Your fast and easy weight loss has already been exhausted in the pre op phase and you've already settled into the slow and steady, so post op is often not as dramatic as you imagine it will be. I think if you keep at it, it will eventually start to drop.
For myself, when I want to lose, I need to up the cardio to an hour at a time and make it six days a week. Four is maintenance level. Even if you keep up your gym routine and add a half hour work early every morning or something like that.
But overall, I think you just need time and restriction.

That's an interesting question. For my first few years as a bandster, I felt like I was actually enjoying my food more because I wasn't shoveling it down - I was eating slowly, carefully, and really tasting it. But gradually I realized that a lot of food had lost its charm for me. It still tasted fine, but I wasn't bothered when I couldn't finish eating a meal. That actually turned out to be a blessing. When I started having problems and all the Fluid was removed from my band, all that food suddenly started tasting marvelous again. I'm not sure if being a bandster so long had re-trained my brain's food pleasure center, or if the pressure of my band against my vagus nerves was interfering with the transmission of pleasure sensations, or what.

I make and freeze Soup in small portions for something hot, and usually have with a couple of cruskits or similar. I also bring Snacks.
Today I had greek yogurt with bananau and walnuts (half a cup total) for morning tea, high fibre crisbreads with some tuna, avocado, sliced Tomato and cucumber for lunch and have some carrot sticks and almond butter for afternoon tea. Sounds like a lot but I have a lot of really small containers!

I also felt there was no way I'd settle for "overweight". But for some people that would be fine, those lucky women who are more muscular and can have curves without flab, for example. Me, I'm tall and skinny - my BMi is 20 but I could definitely stand to lse fat and gain muscle. But I have noticed that having a BMi of 20 makes health professionals really nervous, like you're going to suddenly become anorexic - it's simply where I ended up, by chance!
It's a ballpark goal, nothing more. Your body composition is what counts. Skinny fat people like me need to be lighter than stronger, more muscular folks. I was still muffin top, belly roll, Spanx under everything fat at a BMi of 28!

I dont actually think its too unreasonable - and not for 3-4 weeks out when your swelling has gone down and you hve no restriction yet. And I refuse to believe a couple of rice cakes is the difference between losing or not losing.
personally, I'm surprised anyone larger who was used to a high calorie diet wouldnt lose quite fast on that sort of intake. I would lose weight now on that and I'm only 145lb these days.
My question would be - did you do a pre op diet and did you lose weight on it? Because when you do that your post op period is not the shock to your body it would ordinarily be, in fact your food intake often increases. Your fast and easy weight loss has already been exhausted in the pre op phase and you've already settled into the slow and steady, so post op is often not as dramatic as you imagine it will be. I think if you keep at it, it will eventually start to drop.
For myself, when I want to lose, I need to up the cardio to an hour at a time and make it six days a week. Four is maintenance level. Even if you keep up your gym routine and add a half hour work early every morning or something like that.
But overall, I think you just need time and restriction.

I dont actually think its too unreasonable - and not for 3-4 weeks out when your swelling has gone down and you hve no restriction yet. And I refuse to believe a couple of rice cakes is the difference between losing or not losing.
personally, I'm surprised anyone larger who was used to a high calorie diet wouldnt lose quite fast on that sort of intake. I would lose weight now on that and I'm only 145lb these days.
My question would be - did you do a pre op diet and did you lose weight on it? Because when you do that your post op period is not the shock to your body it would ordinarily be, in fact your food intake often increases. Your fast and easy weight loss has already been exhausted in the pre op phase and you've already settled into the slow and steady, so post op is often not as dramatic as you imagine it will be. I think if you keep at it, it will eventually start to drop.
For myself, when I want to lose, I need to up the cardio to an hour at a time and make it six days a week. Four is maintenance level. Even if you keep up your gym routine and add a half hour work early every morning or something like that.
But overall, I think you just need time and restriction.

Funny, but also true! I just wouldnt waste my money on a nutritionist - they're not medically qualified the way that a dietician is - and are prone to giving you advice based on THEIR personal beliefs and current fads and fashion. Ditto your doctor - he's a surgeon, not a dietician and what he tells you will be based on what's given clients good results, and what will get the best results for his clinic - so worth listening to, but definitely not gospel.
I even went to a dietician recently - I was made to by my colorectal surgeon, who was worried that my weight was too low - and what did I get? A photocopied sheet. No personal consideration, no real discussion about what was and wasnt working with my digestive system since my surgeries, just a photocopied sheet of a low residue diet. I didnt even bother to point out I already had that sheet and had done the diet for six weeks following surgery, and that it wasnt proving effective for solving my issues. Why bother?
You dont need a nutritionist to do well with a lapband. We are not idiots, we are perfectly capable of researching various styles of eating/diet and working out what works well for us. There's no magic to it, eat less than you burn and you will lose weight, but for many people, low carb works, and for others its not necessary.
Personal trainers are much the same - get a good one that thinks along the same lines you do and they're a great support. But sifting through all the bad ones is quite a job.
I wonder what your nutritionist would say about me - I eat bread, rice, Pasta, nuts, chocolate, wine. I eat 3 meals a day, not five. A personal trainer would freak that I do heaps of cardio and not a lot of strenght training. I'm open to trying stuff, but I have and a basic diet that is simply reduced in quantity and a lot of running are what work for me and give me the body I want (which is not a muscular one thank you all the same).

Funny, but also true! I just wouldnt waste my money on a nutritionist - they're not medically qualified the way that a dietician is - and are prone to giving you advice based on THEIR personal beliefs and current fads and fashion. Ditto your doctor - he's a surgeon, not a dietician and what he tells you will be based on what's given clients good results, and what will get the best results for his clinic - so worth listening to, but definitely not gospel.
I even went to a dietician recently - I was made to by my colorectal surgeon, who was worried that my weight was too low - and what did I get? A photocopied sheet. No personal consideration, no real discussion about what was and wasnt working with my digestive system since my surgeries, just a photocopied sheet of a low residue diet. I didnt even bother to point out I already had that sheet and had done the diet for six weeks following surgery, and that it wasnt proving effective for solving my issues. Why bother?
You dont need a nutritionist to do well with a lapband. We are not idiots, we are perfectly capable of researching various styles of eating/diet and working out what works well for us. There's no magic to it, eat less than you burn and you will lose weight, but for many people, low carb works, and for others its not necessary.
Personal trainers are much the same - get a good one that thinks along the same lines you do and they're a great support. But sifting through all the bad ones is quite a job.
I wonder what your nutritionist would say about me - I eat bread, rice, Pasta, nuts, chocolate, wine. I eat 3 meals a day, not five. A personal trainer would freak that I do heaps of cardio and not a lot of strenght training. I'm open to trying stuff, but I have and a basic diet that is simply reduced in quantity and a lot of running are what work for me and give me the body I want (which is not a muscular one thank you all the same).

Any diet that avoids fruit but encourages bacon just isnt healthy! Carbs are not the only thing that defines a healthy food and a healthy diet is about balance even if you like to low carb. Did you know that the association between processed meats like bacon and ham and bowel cancer is so strong that current recommendations recently declared are to not eat those foods at all?
Wheteher you eat carbs or not, fresh and unprocessed is the way to go.

I've had to eat my words, lol! I dont think that's on ANY diet, nor is humble pie!
I got sent to another dietician and she's been fantastic - but my issues are not about weight loss, they're about food intolerances.
I am in fact on a diet that, technically, limits fruit but not bacon (which I dissed back on page 1). No wheat, no lactose, low fodmap (which limits a whole ton of fruit - I've got fructose malabsorption too - some vegies, totally bans wheat, rye, barley, oats, legumes and onions and garlic).
But the point of it is to limit IBS type symptoms and get my damaged bowels back to working somewhat happily. Its not about weight loss or even what's best for health. My guts would be happy if I stuck to bacon, cheese gluten free bread and mashed potatoes but that would be horrible for my weight and health!
So you have to use your brains a bit - the way you interpret your instructions can be really healthy or it can be truly awful. I've managed to still find a good healthful, Protein focussed lower carb lifestyle within my limitations.

Any diet that avoids fruit but encourages bacon just isnt healthy! Carbs are not the only thing that defines a healthy food and a healthy diet is about balance even if you like to low carb. Did you know that the association between processed meats like bacon and ham and bowel cancer is so strong that current recommendations recently declared are to not eat those foods at all?
Wheteher you eat carbs or not, fresh and unprocessed is the way to go.

I totally get the thin thing - totally. I've regained from a BMI of 19 to 21.5 and feel like an elephant. I hate it. I want to be that thin again.
Its not the first time I've heard of tubing puncturing the skin. But not without infection.
What I'm struggling with is the treatment, in a first world country. Unless I'm seriously misunderstanding. There is simply no way tubing would be pushed back inside in an office procedure - unless you mean just a tiny portion above the muscle. Any bariatric surgeon is going to understand that infection will travel up the tubing and lead to erosion. An removed port and open tubing is so risky!
If that is seriously the truth, your troubles are probably far from over Model. I would even guess the entire tubing should have been replaced and a new port added. And truthfully, from your photos, your port was tilted and half unattached anyway. That's what mine looked like (not as bad) at a BMI of 19 - it was visible all along, right from a BMI of 36. plastic surgeon removed the back off it and sewed it back down at a different location and you can barely see it now.
People arent mean, they just dont like to feel they're being made fools of by a troll. And your story is less than credible, which makes people suspicious. If its all true, then you really do need to face the prospect of losing that band at some stage and need to start getting your head around how you will cope with that. At the very least, you probably need a new port and tubing to save the band and make it functional for the future.

I wasnt objecting to anything you were saying or suggesing that you were bashing th band, merely pointing out a few exceptions to your "data". I would indeed consider a sleeve myself. No need to be so fricking defensive. Jeez.

Whilst its great that you're happy, some of those stats are a bit dodgy. The sleeve hasnt been around for ten years - oh, there might be some early experimental patients but it is almost impossible to state that the sleeve keeps weight off for longer than the lapband - even the band hasnt really been in common use long enough to make that comparison.
That said, lapbands often work and work well but they ARE a pain in the butt. Mine is acting up after seven years, I have no doubt some kind of revision surgery is on the cards for me. I definitely do not feel this thing will be in me for another twenty. I would not change a thing about my journey and I always understood that lapbands didnt last forever. I think I would be brave enough to convert to a sleeve - my initial reaction of reluctance towards that surgery is kind of overshadowed now by the major surgeries I've had since. i live perfectly well without half my bowel so I wouldnt mind saying goodbye to part of my stomach in the name of health and normal weight for the rest of my life.
The only thing about the sleeve is that it IS permanent and it ISNT really known what the long term outcomes are. It probably wouldnt stop me and it shouldnt necessarily mean that you dont do it, I mean so what if something better comes along if its working well for you? But its a bit early to go out shouting how much better than the band it is.
Also, if you only had your band for four months, again, your right to convert and your gut instincts may well have been right for you. But you hadnt even had it long enough to gain proper restriction yet! It may well have kicked in better for you down the track.

I totally get the thin thing - totally. I've regained from a BMI of 19 to 21.5 and feel like an elephant. I hate it. I want to be that thin again.
Its not the first time I've heard of tubing puncturing the skin. But not without infection.
What I'm struggling with is the treatment, in a first world country. Unless I'm seriously misunderstanding. There is simply no way tubing would be pushed back inside in an office procedure - unless you mean just a tiny portion above the muscle. Any bariatric surgeon is going to understand that infection will travel up the tubing and lead to erosion. An removed port and open tubing is so risky!
If that is seriously the truth, your troubles are probably far from over Model. I would even guess the entire tubing should have been replaced and a new port added. And truthfully, from your photos, your port was tilted and half unattached anyway. That's what mine looked like (not as bad) at a BMI of 19 - it was visible all along, right from a BMI of 36. plastic surgeon removed the back off it and sewed it back down at a different location and you can barely see it now.
People arent mean, they just dont like to feel they're being made fools of by a troll. And your story is less than credible, which makes people suspicious. If its all true, then you really do need to face the prospect of losing that band at some stage and need to start getting your head around how you will cope with that. At the very least, you probably need a new port and tubing to save the band and make it functional for the future.

Whilst its great that you're happy, some of those stats are a bit dodgy. The sleeve hasnt been around for ten years - oh, there might be some early experimental patients but it is almost impossible to state that the sleeve keeps weight off for longer than the lapband - even the band hasnt really been in common use long enough to make that comparison.
That said, lapbands often work and work well but they ARE a pain in the butt. Mine is acting up after seven years, I have no doubt some kind of revision surgery is on the cards for me. I definitely do not feel this thing will be in me for another twenty. I would not change a thing about my journey and I always understood that lapbands didnt last forever. I think I would be brave enough to convert to a sleeve - my initial reaction of reluctance towards that surgery is kind of overshadowed now by the major surgeries I've had since. i live perfectly well without half my bowel so I wouldnt mind saying goodbye to part of my stomach in the name of health and normal weight for the rest of my life.
The only thing about the sleeve is that it IS permanent and it ISNT really known what the long term outcomes are. It probably wouldnt stop me and it shouldnt necessarily mean that you dont do it, I mean so what if something better comes along if its working well for you? But its a bit early to go out shouting how much better than the band it is.
Also, if you only had your band for four months, again, your right to convert and your gut instincts may well have been right for you. But you hadnt even had it long enough to gain proper restriction yet! It may well have kicked in better for you down the track.

I totally get the thin thing - totally. I've regained from a BMI of 19 to 21.5 and feel like an elephant. I hate it. I want to be that thin again.
Its not the first time I've heard of tubing puncturing the skin. But not without infection.
What I'm struggling with is the treatment, in a first world country. Unless I'm seriously misunderstanding. There is simply no way tubing would be pushed back inside in an office procedure - unless you mean just a tiny portion above the muscle. Any bariatric surgeon is going to understand that infection will travel up the tubing and lead to erosion. An removed port and open tubing is so risky!
If that is seriously the truth, your troubles are probably far from over Model. I would even guess the entire tubing should have been replaced and a new port added. And truthfully, from your photos, your port was tilted and half unattached anyway. That's what mine looked like (not as bad) at a BMI of 19 - it was visible all along, right from a BMI of 36. plastic surgeon removed the back off it and sewed it back down at a different location and you can barely see it now.
People arent mean, they just dont like to feel they're being made fools of by a troll. And your story is less than credible, which makes people suspicious. If its all true, then you really do need to face the prospect of losing that band at some stage and need to start getting your head around how you will cope with that. At the very least, you probably need a new port and tubing to save the band and make it functional for the future.

I totally get the thin thing - totally. I've regained from a BMI of 19 to 21.5 and feel like an elephant. I hate it. I want to be that thin again.
Its not the first time I've heard of tubing puncturing the skin. But not without infection.
What I'm struggling with is the treatment, in a first world country. Unless I'm seriously misunderstanding. There is simply no way tubing would be pushed back inside in an office procedure - unless you mean just a tiny portion above the muscle. Any bariatric surgeon is going to understand that infection will travel up the tubing and lead to erosion. An removed port and open tubing is so risky!
If that is seriously the truth, your troubles are probably far from over Model. I would even guess the entire tubing should have been replaced and a new port added. And truthfully, from your photos, your port was tilted and half unattached anyway. That's what mine looked like (not as bad) at a BMI of 19 - it was visible all along, right from a BMI of 36. plastic surgeon removed the back off it and sewed it back down at a different location and you can barely see it now.
People arent mean, they just dont like to feel they're being made fools of by a troll. And your story is less than credible, which makes people suspicious. If its all true, then you really do need to face the prospect of losing that band at some stage and need to start getting your head around how you will cope with that. At the very least, you probably need a new port and tubing to save the band and make it functional for the future.

Oh come on model, you've had your fun, but the game's up. Eveyone knows this is bs now.
Tubing coming thru skin is not unique, nor is shortening or trimming. But they are surgical situations. Your description of your treatment has gone over the line. Nobody is going to believe you now!
I would love to give you an award for the most successful troll, but alas, youve buggered itup by getting carried away. Shame, you started out pretty well.

Oh, heaven yes!! I like black and brown just fine, but give me MORE COLOR and LESS UGLY PATTERNS to choose from.

Oh come on model, you've had your fun, but the game's up. Eveyone knows this is bs now.
Tubing coming thru skin is not unique, nor is shortening or trimming. But they are surgical situations. Your description of your treatment has gone over the line. Nobody is going to believe you now!
I would love to give you an award for the most successful troll, but alas, youve buggered itup by getting carried away. Shame, you started out pretty well.