Desdemona

I use Stevia for a sweetner but I don't really need that much because I'm a Water drinker. I do have 1 cup of decaf coffee in the AM so I use 1 in that. I also buy a Protein drink (Reset) that is low carb and uses Stevia as a sweetner. I am a low carber but from what I read from other people I don't think it's for everyone. There is no question that I feel much better and lose more weight on it. I saw a top neuroendocrinologist in Boston who says that low carb was absolutely the best diet for me. All my blood work is excellent when I stay on low carb. Some people don't find it helpful and some people do. I think you need experiment and find out what works for you.

Now that IS a great story!! Congrats!! I'd love to hear that news myself!

I fully understand the point – and I think we actually all agree on the basic principal but there is absolutely nothing wrong with the statement that “muscle weighs more than fat.” It does---- about 30% more! It’s not a myth. That is how a 225lb weight lifter can have only 18% body fat. I don't know what other mean when they say "muscle weighs more than fat" but I do know what I mean --what a physicist (like Albert Einstein) means -and what my medical team means. It means that all the elements in the universe have unique weights for the same volume. A pint of lead, mercury, helium, oxygen, fat, muscle, and water all have different weights. This law of physics is very important to me as I work my weight loss plan because when I step on my scale and I lose very slowly or even gain a little when I KNOW that I have been eating and exercising well – that I understand that I have been replacing lighter fat with heavier muscle mass. It’s also possible that because of my time in the month or because I have been taking in too much salt, water (which is heavier than fat) is being retained. I also know that certain medications or hormonal changes can explain what is happening to me. I’m also know that if I’m going to be successful I can not use this understanding to kid myself because another reason I may have slowed or gained is because of what or how much I have been eating. When I consider all of this together I realize that I must be honest with myself but that I must also learn to be patient and gentle with myself. One way I can scientifically see if I am replacing heavier muscle with fat is to use a tape measure to see if I am losing inches. Another way is to go to a lab where they can accurately track my fat/muscle ratio.

jjsmiles-- sorry I tried to post a response above to your message from the other day on your words above this. THAT WAS A WONDERFUL STATEMENT!!! THANK YOU!!!

As hokey as this may sound, by believing in yourself, you CAN make your dreams come true . I think many of us kind of gave up on ourselves, and forgot to dream and believe in what we can do and instead invested ourselves in other people, our careers, or in food. I know I did. Do this for you and you alone.

Thanks for all the encouragement. Everyone is great on this forum. I realize that I probably am not getting enough Water either, so I will try to up that more too. Its not easy when all you drink is liquids. alice150 -- I wish I was losing faster too but then when I think back on my struggles over the last several years I have to admit that moving in the right direction is a heck of a lot better than moving in the wrong direction. About 20 years ago I lost 42lbs in 11 weeks from drinking 455 calories of Optifast 4 time a day. After the first significant weightloss in the first 2 weeks I lost about 3.5 a wk. They would weight me each wk and I would lose nothing 1 wk and then 3.5 the next. It was like clockwork. I remember the nurse telling me that I was losing fat out of the cells one week but cells were being filled with Fluid and that fluid weighs more than fat. According to her the fluid retention was just the final phase the cell went through before finally giving up. She said that in the wks that I wasn't losing weight I was losing inches. She took out her measure tape and proved it to me. I find that I'm going through something like that now. I don't know if it's true but it seems to help me get through. I must say that just before I see a significant weight drop after nothing for several days -- I am up several times a night using the bathroom so I think back to what the nurse said. I also find that if I stall -- increasing water helps. I also heard Bob Greene (Oprah's trainier) say that nothing breaks a stall better than increasing movement. I also agree with several people here to say that when our bodies have been through stress (like surg) it just goes into a bit of shock. Hang in there. You are doing very well.

If you're interested in getting a set of nice sterling or silverplate forks --you can get some decent prices on Ebay. I went all out and bought a set of very nice sterling silver 8 oyster forks for about $80 but they have others for significantly less. I'm also thinking of picking up some demitasse spoons to match.

Carol-- Good luck. Keep us posted. At my hospital support group they give oyster forks/cocktail forks to group members when they get there banding dates. I thought it was a great idea and went out and bought myself a set of sterling sliver ones. They are pretty and I use 1 every time I eat. It REALLY slows me down. Someone else suggested using chop sticks.

I'm off that darn CPAP machine-- and I'm thrilled to be without it. I haven't been taking my Protonix but I stopped that on my own.

I got banded 9 days before you and I am also low energy most days. I drink 2 low carb (6g) protein(22g) drinks a day and get about 4 tablespoons of egg or cheese 3 times a day. So I'm doing about 54-500 calories. Tonight I decided to have 4 tablespoons of refried beans to get a bit more carb. My MD allows them but I didn't have any before this becasue I didn't want the carbs. But I'm thinking that I do need them. I do well on low carb and I still want to keep them as low as I can.

Wow! Yes! I just went for my first post-op on Tues and then back again on Weds to see the nutrition and the same exact thing happened to me! I took it today and it seems to be down. So I guess this not unusual. I'm going to monitor it for a bit to see if it settles down.

Wow --Steve----Terrible!! Please keep us posted.

Hi Diva-- Yes. I started feeling that way when I was around your age. I'm now 56 and much more over weight (from all those times I lost and regained and added more weight). I also have several weight related medical conditions. Fortunately most of them can be reversed with my current weight reduction and the lap band. The spinal disc disease can't be reversed. After many years of learning about obesity I have finally come to realize that it is a very complicated thing. I also can see that getting a lap band does not mean that I don't have to exersise restraint or change habits. It's just a tool that helps me to change. We DO have to put a lot of effort in if we are to reach our goal.

zsflower-----I'm just banded and found your post. Thank you SO much for sharing your advise and experience. You are making some very important statements here and I will remember them. penny

Hi Jalilsaunite-- Congrats on the 20lbs. I was banded on 3/19 and will be going to see my surgeon for the first post-op on Tues. I'm pretty sure I've lost on all these clear liquids I'm drinking but won't know until I get there.

mail mom-----I'm with you-----I got banded 3/19/08 and I'm sick of popsicles, broth and skim milk. Since I don't like milk --- I only choke down about a cup of that a day. The only good thing I can think about this method is that my MD claims that this will be produce a faster weight loss. I guess we have that to hope for. Even in my next stage (to begin next Thursday) I can only add cream soups, and 2 tablespoons of eggs, cottage cheese, yogurt, soft beans 3 times a day. It will take a month before I will be able to move to 8 tablespoons! I SURE DO hope this gives me a great weight loss!!!

BJean--I thank you for your post. I take your point. There is a rich philosophical approach to this however, I think I'm now passed it. I have 3 degrees (despite the fact that I type so fast I leave typos!) and have (unfortunately) "philosophized" and "religionized" with the best of them. But---after all those fancy papers, I have seen enough to conclude that nothing----no conversation---no political position---no action---no dogma-- is more important to me than doing whatever is possible to stop suffering. I understand that that many people would argue that the unborn fetus is a person with rights and that many believe there is an unborn soul that has rights or that God has made the life. What can I say? That is a belief and people who do NOT believe that have every much of a right to their belief. My own particular personal belief is that I am here to care about those around me. I have gotten past the philosophical stuff. I just want to stop the suffering of the 1 child who happens to be sitting in front of me at the moment. I think it was Mother Jones who said --"pray for the dead and fight like hell for the living." Rugman

babs0101---I just got banded 3/19/08. I live in the same place you do. I initally wanted Dr. Fiallo but had to have it done in Albany because of my ins. I'm stunned by your results! This is wonderful and I hope I can keep up with you! I'm going to check your other posts to read about your progress. You GO girl!

I'm sorry to get on a rant but I'm heartsick over many of the comments I have read here and I'm going to say my peice although I'll probably regret it. I have just seen too much to keep my mouth shut. I have been going back and forth to Africa working with genocide victims, women who are constantly raped in war (in case you don't know --there are MILLIONS of them!), hungry orphans whose parents have died from hunger, war, poverty, illness. There are thousands and thousands of CHILD-Headed households all over the world which have 9-15 children in them. I go into places where 12 year old sick, hungry girls are raising 15 orphans with little help! Very few people are adopting these children! They are hungry, vulnerable to preying adult men, and without hope. Men come around and snatch them and sell them in the U.S. and all over the rest of the world as sex-slaves or house slaves. Have you any idea how many women and children are being held right here in the U.S. as slaves??!! If adoption is such a simple and wonderful little alternative to abortion then I want to know why is this all happening? Even here in the U.S. people ignore thousands of American born children who need shelter and protection. I travel around the U.S. and I see suffering children who are orphans---or just plain neglected and abused ---brought into this world under TERRIBLE conditions and left abandoned. MANY of them were born badly hurt (birth defects, crack addicted, malnurished etc). If adopting these poor innocent babies is so easy --how many of the pro-life people reading this have stepped forward and taken one into their homes? Not a lot! That's because either these wonderful Christians don't want to have a "child of color" in THEIR house----or---in other cases it's because there are potential problems and most people, Christian or otherwise, understandably don't want to take the financial, lifestyle and safety risks that are involved. The TRUTH is there are no easy answers to this question. I'm a Chrisitian --- and I believe that bringing human beings into a world where they can't get food, protection, and love is a terrible thing to do. And I'm NOT just saying it's wrong to be the party bringing the child in. I also think it's equally wrong to tell someone who is trying to stop someone who needs to get an abortion from getting one. I loved to just shake my finger at a rapists, a war monger, a drug addict, 2 immature teenagers, a woman (or MAN) who is emotional, developmentally, or intellectually impaired, or a woman who just had an "accident" and tell them, "no, no,no" -- but I can't. How, In _OD's name - can we just keep sitting here watching millions of women/children beg for their lives and offer them nothing more than our personal spiritual beliefs --which by the way-- none of us can actually prove. I wouldn't even let a pet DOG have pups if the pups couldn't be cared for. As a Christian --- I'm am so profoundly heartbroken that we argue over the rightousness of abortion and never even discuss the rightouness being idle (or sitting around pontificating) when we can do things to prevent suffering. Until the day come that the human race becomes responsibile enough to stop these out-of-control conceptions ---I am in favor of any and all methods needed to stop this unspeakable suffering.

My throat still feels that way but it's getting better. They have to stick a tube down your throat. I didn't have diareah but certainly ---- shall we say----liquid in is liquid out. And it was with a lot of gas/bloating so I felt pretty darn bad. They said to get in about 64 oz and the first/2nd day of that was just plain terrible. One thing I have really noticed on this board is a vast diff in post-op stage diet. I have talked w/my MD about this. He is quite conservative about it. I'm only taking Clear Liquids and I will do that for 2 wks before moving to a conservative soft diet. He says --there are other ways of doing it that are also fine. It's just that a conservative diet will produce the fastest weight loss which is what I'm after----at least for the first few months. I am a researcher and also read all the medical studies that have been published in the last 5 years on gastric banding. I'm staying as conservative as I can on my diet because I want to do all that I can to avoid complications. I think tomato juice is really a nice idea providing it doesn't make you feel sick. I have read that it works very well for some and not for others. Try it.

Thanks StLouisGal! I'm feeling a lot better just understanding why I feel the way I'm feeling and knowing that it's normal and OK! I was really worried the other night-----afriad something was wrong. Now I have wool socks on underneath leather sole sock slippers and still really cold. The only thing that helps is a hot pack under a blanket. I'm also putting a warm pack across my back which feels nice.

Thanks Ejmdiva! Will try the lemon! I'm better too but over did it yesterday and I'm low energy today. I'm also much older so maybe that's part of it. jrg1979 --- you can get those test strips at Wallmart or any drug store. MAJOR HINT: when you get them - cut them in half the long way so you will have twice as many. As I recall -- they cost 7 or 8 dollars and this way you they'll last quite a while.

hnladue-- I'm at a univerity too. Albnay Med requires 10% (teaching hospital) and I'm OK with that becasue it's just is 10% less that I would have to lose post-op anyway. . . .althought it is not fun waiting for the surgery. Glad your Mom is coming around. Of course I don't know her but this could very well be her way of worrying about her child. If your Dad passed from surg a year ago -- she could be afraid for you.

I have spent quite a lot of time (off and on) Atkins so I really relate to this. I also did a 12 week Optifast liquid diet a number of years ago and now that I remember it --I was cold. I guess now the cold is mostly in my feet ---maybe because I'm older (and heavier). I have REALLY researched this topic a LOT (and I am a researcher). Whatever you do --don't believe anyone who tells you there is something wrong with ketosis for people who are getting very limited carbs. It is perfectly normal/safe. The only thing that is important to remember is to get PLENTY of Fluid. People who are losing fast need to stay hydrated to help prevent kidney or gall stones. :wink: Penny

I also meant to add -----What a GREAT thought about the cold feet! This makes perfect sense! It's nice to think that I may be in ketosis and actually losing weight even though I feel like an over-stuffed pinata! Penny