PrincessLK

Hi Girls I've just copied and pasted what my friend sent me with regards to nutrition after the band is fitted as promised. Hope this helps: you really need to be making sure you're getting enough nutrients - your intake may have been excessive before and unbalanced, but you would have been taking in alot of calories,so probably were getting most of the nutrients you needed anyway. now you need to be more careful when you're restricting calories, and when you've had a band. what you want to make sure is that you are getting enough good quality protein. You need 2 portions a day. 1 portion = 2oz lean meat/chicken (size of a deck of cards- about size of a chop or half a large chicken breast) 3oz fish (slightly larger portion that deck of cards) 2 eggs (max 7 per week - but if high cholesterol stick to max 4-6 per week) 9 dessertspoons cooked beans/peas/lentils 3 oz nuts (you could use a good quality nut butter on toast as one of your protein portions - would be very filling, but nut butter is very high in fat, although its a good type of fat, still calorific. so you could do this occasionally) make sure you are also getting 5 fruit and veg daily (can be a mixture of fruit and veg) 1 portion = 3-4 dessertspoons cooked veg (not including potatoes) or 1 tennis ball size of fruit (e.g. 1 medium apple or orange or banana. If smaller fruit, e.g. 2 kiwi/mandarin/plum or 10-15 grapes or 10 strawberries etc..) fruit tinned in juice is fine. try stewing eating apple/pear also - v. nice. or grilled fruit. or homemade smoothie. the other thing you need to ensure you're getting is calcium. You need 3 portions low fat dairy to ensure you're getting your 800mg calcium daily. 1 portion = 200mls milk (1/3 pint) or 125g yoghurt or 1oz cheese (matchbox size - stick to low fat versions, and max 4oz/week while your cholesterol is high). Then for fibre, choose wholegrain carbs e.g. granary/wholegrain bread, porridge, wholegrain cereals, brown rice, brown pasta, potato with skins (if clean). Also try cooking Quinoa (pronounced 'keenwa' - dead easy to cook, lovely with soy sauce and salmon and stir fry). go for 4-5 portions daily. 1 portion = 1 slice bread 1/2 large pitta 3 dessert spoons cooked pasta or rice 1 weetabix / oatabix or shredded wheat biscuit 3 tablespoons cereal 1/2 mug (40g) porridge oats made into porridge 2 oat biscuits 2-3 ryevita use fat sparingly - any fat you do use, make sure is monounsaturated. e.g. olive oil and olive oil spread. Avocado also a good source of monounsaturated spread, so add it to salads etc. Also make sure you're getting 2 servings of fish / week - at least one should be oily (herring, mackerel, sardines, trout, pilchards, salmon, fresh tuna) hopefully that helps. remember to check your B12, ferritin, Haemoglobin and red cell folate at least annually!

Hi All Sorry haven't been in touch in the past week or so. Well I got to see Jan on the day he was leaving, he rang me from Owenstown and asked me to come out before 1pm when he was leaving. I rushed out as I thought he was either gone for ever or the month that they all said he was def going for and he told me that he would be back on 11th Feb! Anyhow, as I still hadn't felt restriction after 5 fills, I asked him to take out what was in my band to see where we stodd and it turns out there was just 1 cc in there. So he put another cc in there and told me to see him when he got back for another one as he'd prefer to do it gradually. That was fine with me, he's so nice. In the mean time I had written to ACS about my concerns regarding after care and being told that Lou would look after us when at the end of the day she's not a surgeon. I got a call back from Kim saying that Jan would be back as he was contractually obliged to look after me as he had operated on me but that in the mean time I should see Lou and that she really is capable and not just a nurse but a gastric band specialist and that Jan would send patients to her that he had difficulty with their ports etc. and that Jerome had fully trained her in.....so I went to see her last Friday, it took her a long time to find the port and she did a lot of pulling back and forth with the needle once it was in the port. She gave me another cc so I now have 3 cc's in my band. I drank a glass of Water before I left and was fine. I felt a little restriction over the weekend, but could not eat bread at all. So I was happy with this gradual development, then, I went for breakfast with my bother yesterday and oh my god!!! I ate half an egg and almost a full sausage (I don't think I chewed properly) and a piece got stuck, I was in so much pain I had to excuse myself and go to the bathroom, on my 3rd visit I had my first experience of PB'ing and sliming!! I was so happy! I had started to think that it was a myth that this band was inside me...it feels so good to know that this tool is there now and will help me lose this dreadful weight. So I am another 3 pounds down since Friday and delighted. My hair has started falling out so I need to make sure I'm getting all my nutrition. My best friend is a dietician and she said that we should all make sure to go to our GP's at least once a year for a check up and ask them for blood tests to test for Iron, B12 and folic acid etc...So I'm going to do that this week. I'm feeling very motivated and positive now, like I'm finally on the road - 4 months later! She gave me a diet sheet of what we should be eating every day for nutrition so I'll copy it and post it up. Oh yeah, about Lou, I was really sore for 2 days after my fill and really sick and nauseous for one day....so I think I might just stick with Jan in future. Hope everyone is getting on well. xxx

Hi Paulina, tried to call you this morning, sorry didn't see your message until then. I called owenstown and they said Yan isn't around and that was all the info they had. There is no answer at ACS at all now. I've sent you a PM with my mobile number on it too if you want to call me. I hope you're ok, your problem seems to be a lot more serious than mine....I just can't believe the way they speak to us as if we are idiots. I am so sick of them, I was so upset yesterday but today I want answers. So I'll be calling them until I get some. Anyone else had problems getting thru to ACS?

Hi Gerri Thanks for replying, do you have an email address for them? I have jsut called them again to be informed that as of yesterday, Jan is gone and they don't know any more than that. I was told I can see Lou (a nurse) for a fill next Fri. I asked about their plans to replace Jan and they said they have none at the moment and don't know any more than that. I asked to speak to a manager and was told that there are none around, I said that I was really concerned because I had paid out 10K euro for a procedure and the aftercare with a surgeon and that Lou is just a nurse?? I mean, this is ridiculous, I dont' want to be filled by a nurse but by a qualified surgeon like I paid for....they are such cowboys in there. Does anyone know what we can do about this? I mean if I have to go elsewhere to get a fill by a surgeon and pay for it, I wonder will ACS cover the costs? Surely they will have to do something about it, all I got was that I will have to wait until next Fri to see the nurse and that I should leave it with them to find out what's going on, I am livid. I am so sick of ACS.

Hi All, I was sick yesterday so couldn't make it in for my appointment with Jan to see what's going on with my band, had fill last Friday and he told me he didn't think he's been getting the fluid into my band all this time. So called ACS to make new appointment and they said to call hospital. Called hospital and got nurse who said that they weren't taking appointments for fills. Have called ACS back twice and waiting for a call back. Have no idea what's going on with them - anyone else know? Bit concerning, what will we do if they stop the fills? Have we any rights here? xx

Hi Astra - did you have your band fitted recently? Have you found it good or lost must weight? Just wondering as I haven't lost mucu at all and am almost 4 months post op now

Hi Janet Where were you banded? You should insist on discussing all of this with your surgeon and insist on an x-ray jsut to check that all is as it should be and to put your mind at rest. Besides, you should not have pain in your chest so that needs to be investigated whether you are sticking to the rules or not. I have no had 4 fills, none of them have given me any restriction, in fact last Friday the surgeon told me he didn't think he had been injecting my port at all by mistake so when this weekend I still haven't felt any restriction, I've insisted on seeing my surgeon again straight away. So I'm seeing him in the morning. I'm going to ask him to take out all liquid from my band to measure how much is in there and then put it all back in with some extra. 10K and four months later and I'm the same, no weight loss since the initial 2 weeks post-op. This just isn't good enough, we deserve more. xxx

Hi Coco thanksfor your inout - you too Skinny! I will just go along with Dr. Jan as I really like him and feel I can talk to him, also he is a surgeon so he should know his stuff. I'd love to come to the meeting too, when and where is it? Anyone else coming? Coc, good look with your op tomorrow! Feeling very positive these days, really looking forward to fill on Friday! xx

Hi there, do you mind if I ask some advice. I'm due to have my 4th fill this Friday, was operated on by Dr. Jan and have had 3 fills with him so far and am yet to feel restriction. There are slots free for both Lou and Dr. Jan at the same time for a fill so I have a choice. I've never met Lou but you all seem to speak highly of her, Dr. Jan is very nice but I don't know if the fact I can't feel restriction is jsut normal and to see how this one goes? Decisions, decisions, I really want to hit my sweet spot or at least get a few weeks restriction from this fill this time, feeling positive and motivated so want to get it right. Any advice is much appreciated, thank goodness I foudn this site, it has been a source of much positivity and encouragement since I found it last week!

Thanks so much for the advice Coco, I need to start being honest with myself and I have been drinking with most meals...no wonder I'm not feeling restriction and not losing like I expected. I suppose there's an element of me just wanting this to be the magic potion to being slim and fit without having to do any work for it but I think any thing that's worth having doesn't come that easy. Head down now and stop making excuses and get my money's worth from this band. I want to be down 75% of my weight that I need to lose by my year anniversary, that's 37 weeks away and if I lost an average of 2 pounds a week and I would be more than happy with that. My best friend is a dietician and she says that the slower and steadier it comes off, the healthier you will be and the stronger your chances are of it staying off for life as you're slowly but surely changing your bad habits of a lifetime. Time to stop this self destruction now and start looking after myself. I have a beautiful little boy to do this for so I can run around with him!! I am really inspired by your success and your story, I was thinking about what you said about you all in Dundrum just looking like a healthy group of people having coffee and I couldn't ever imagine me being like that but now it's getting closer!

Thanks so much for the advice Coco, I need to start being honest with myself and I have been drinking with most meals...no wonder I'm not feeling restriction and not losing like I expected. I suppose there's an element of me just wanting this to be the magic potion to being slim and fit without having to do any work for it but I think any thing that's worth having doesn't come that easy. Head down now and stop making excuses and get my money's worth from this band. I want to be down 75% of my weight that I need to lose by my year anniversary, that's 37 weeks away and if I lost an average of 2 pounds a week and I would be more than happy with that. My best friend is a dietician and she says that the slower and steadier it comes off, the healthier you will be and the stronger your chances are of it staying off for life as you're slowly but surely changing your bad habits of a lifetime. Time to stop this self destruction now and start looking after myself. I have a beautiful little boy to do this for so I can run around with him!! I am really inspired by your success and your story, I was thinking about what you said about you all in Dundrum just looking like a healthy group of people having coffee and I couldn't ever imagine me being like that but now it's getting closer!

Thanks Justjules, I suppose it's not the worst. Just booked another fill with Dr. Jan for tomorrow week. Hopefully this will help. do you mind me asking if you have been able to follow all the rules ie. no drinking before or during meals? I keep forgetting this and before I know it I have drank a glass of Water with my lunch, I'm sure this can't be helping, was considering hypnotherapy to help me with thsi habit - worse than smoking!!! anyway, glad you're feeling better and can eat a little, must say I look forward to feeling some restriction soon though

Hi there, great to meet you all, I was banded by ACS in October last year but haven't lost much since, a lot of my weight loss was pre-op, have yet to experience restriction and have had 3 fills so far. Dr. Jan did my op and fills - who is Lou? I am so glad to have found this site as was feeling so lonely and like a desparate failure, whilst I'm not gaining, I still don't feel like I'm losing the weight I should be after spending 10k on this. My DH knows and a couple of BF's, one who is v. knowledgeable (she works in nutrition) and v. good to talk to and the other I totally regret telling as I think she might have told others plus she's constantly on my back about the lack of results and that I should sue ACS etc, she goes on about it being BS that I have to keep on having fills etc to find my sweet spot (is that the spot after so many fills that you finally start losing? - just picking all this up today). Anyway, hoping to make some friends here so we can all give each support/info/tips etc. Nice to meet you all. ps - what's pb'ing?