2muchfun

Consider your butt kicked!!

There are numerous ways to beat a plateau, not all work of course. I like to change my diet up. If you're taking in very low calories, your body could have gone into a starvation mode and has slowed down your metabolism. Increase your calories for 2-3 days up to 1600 calories to fool your body into thinking it's OK again. Change the types of food you eat. Maybe go low/no carb for weekend or eat only veggies or go liquids and creamy foods for a few days. Just don't do the same thing over and over again. And the closer to your goal weight you get, the harder it is to lose. One to 16 week plateaus are common but stay the course and it will happen. tmf

Learning to eat with this band has been one of the hardest parts of my own journey. It's taken me over a year to get it down right and I still mess up a couple times a week. Give it time, follow the rules as best you can and it will all fall in place. tmf

Maybe I glazed over this in your article(and I realize it's about soft calories due to overly tight bands) but using the "restriction" word again, how else can a newly banded patient grasp the satiety concept? It seems to be such a slow process for many of us. I know for me it's taken a year to finally recognize those signals. In the meantime I've seen other bandsters flounder and even fail due to not being able to find the zone. Restriction seems to be the first signal the band is in our body? This forum is a good tool for many patients who aren't getting the feedback from their support systems(docs) and yes, one must wade through the misinformation to find the truth. Now I've come to the point where I go back to one of your early articles "Restriction, the holy grail" and it seems like the heading is very prophetic. Sorry to ramble, but the green zone, sweet spot or whatever one calls it is illusory and can be non existent for some. Seems like more one on one, mano e mano would surely increase the success ratio? Dan tmf

Well, many if not most of us have experienced plateaus or standstills so you are not alone. If you are getting stuck a lot due to eating too fast you will have to learn to slow down and eat smaller and slower. Learning to eat with the band has been the hardest part of my journey so far. And it seriously took me over a year to accomplish this. But I still have my difficult moments as do most of us. I only lost 12 lbs my first 4 months so you're doing fine but you should sit down with a nutritionist familiar with lapband patients and get educated. jmo tmf

Good idea Hunnie. I was 4 months into my journey and had only lost 12 lbs. I had a nut consult and she pointed out many mistakes I was making. I didn't want to give up all of my food fetishes so we compromised and I started to lose immediately following that visit. I lost about 40 lbs in the next 5 months. I do eat low carb but not no carb. I try to keep the simple carbs out of my diet. So, I'll eat brown rice, occasionally eat flat bread and I eat fruit. I just try to keep my food in the low glycemic range. Stay away from high glycemic foods, they'll slow down your weight loss and cause you to be hungry too often. tmf

And I have no idea how many CC's are in my band but I do have quite a bit of restriction. However, restriction is not really the goal. Read Jean McMillan's "Tighter is not always better" article under the Magazine Articles section on the right side of this page. You could possibly be in the green zone if you are eating properly? tmf

Increasing pressure around the stoma can cause short term edema to the lining in your stomach. This makes the Stoma/hole smaller for a few days and sometimes longer.

Going to need a lot more info if you want an informed answer? Please finish your profile. What are you eating that gives you problems? What can you eat that goes down fine? Are you sipping or guzzling?

Fish and chicken are very low in cholesterol. You seem to be eating far too many slider foods and too many carbs. Every food you list has very little Protein and are loaded with carbs. A more balanced approach could enable you to lose more weight. I can't imagine that you feel satisfied with the foods you eat? Do you get hungry often? If not, good for you? I hope you can lose weight with the diet you've developed but for most of us it would be very difficult. I would suggest adding chicken and fish to your lunch and dinner routines. More vegetables like broccoli, spinach, asparagus, green Beans and other lower carb vegetables. I'm not anti carb, but in my experience a more balanced diet with fewer carbs seems to work better. Oatmeal is OK but again, too many carbs will make you retain fluids and oatmeal seldom provides the satiety you need to be successful.jmo tmf

Why are you on Atkins? You should be able to eat most any foods. I know of no other bandsters who are required to be on Atkins. Do you feel any restriction? Do you ever get stuck? Lots of questions I know but: Have you talked to a nutritionist? What are you eating? Do you exercise? Do you count calories? Have you had any fills? Again, sorry for all the questions but you didn't give a lot of information in your topic comment? tmf

I don't. Why? Because we're all ready to do this when the time is right for us. Society, culture all around us tells us that we can do this on our own and we're just lazy. Just read Cassandra James article below? The point is, you're doing something about it now. I see obese people everywhere. I can see that most of them aren't trying and I want to shake them into knowing what I know now. But we can't do that. No, never. But then you see the guy or gal in the gym or on the walking/biking path and they're making an effort to get in shape. I love to see that. I respect and admire those people just like I'm proud of myself for doing this. You have people around you who admire what you've done. Soak it in. Embrace it and love the new you. Sorry to be so sappy but I was overwhelmed for a minute there http://voices.yahoo.com/why-not-adjustable-gastric-band-6696774.html?cat=51 Cass James

Unfortunately, it can take months and maybe years to finally get in touch with your needs and cravings. Is it a craving or is it really hunger? Took me over a year to figure that one out. I actually have to physically stop, and try to get in touch with my stomach to determine if my stomach is empty and my body is asking for food, or is it my head saying put something in your mouth, anything, but preferably something with cheese and/or bacon on it? That's when I know! When a craving doesn't come from hunger, eating will never satisfy it...Dr. Michelle May

You know, there's a couple of generations of bandsters who were told they could eat anything on the band as long as the band would allow it. They're not going to like what you just said? I see it often where people claim that the reason they got the band was that it would keep them from eating too much or eating the wrong things. We all try to re-educate of course. But, did they hear that from a professional or was it some off the cuff remark made by someone on a forum somewhere? Probably both? Anyway, I couldn't agree more. I find myself opting for soft calories when we go out so that I don't get stuck. Not a lot of fun sitting at a table with 8 people while everyone is gobbling and I can't even sip my Water. tmf

Don't know what Farina is? My take is you can have equal, saccharin, stevia and most all no calories sweeteners. At this time it sounds like your doc wants you on a low carb diet and sugar is mostly carbs. Sweeteners are not. Not to say that artificial sweeteners are good for you but then neither are simple sugars. tmf

I started at 225 and went down to 213 in two weeks and stayed there for 4 months before my 4th fill gave me enough restriction to eat much less. In between those 4 months I cleared the house of most non nutritious foods and ate very healthy. I ate more than I do now. Usually around 1600-1800 calories a day. I've never liked that deprived feeling when we diet so I just filled up on good foods. tmf

I read one post a month or so ago of someone whose band slipped up. They call it something different? I don't recall what that was. "Esophogeal something?" It can happen for many reasons. Vomitting is a big reason. Poor band placement or attachment etc. tmf

Janice, you should start your own thread if you want feedback? This is an old thread and very few people will see it. What you've done is called hi-jacking. Sounds awful but I think we're all guilty of doing this occasionally. Many people will un-follow a thread after a few weeks so that they are not bombarded by notifications. Hi-Jacking means that you've taken the original topic in your own direction. I know you didn't mean to do this so I'm just offering you some advice. You'll get more feedback and help if you start a new thread with your own topic. tmf

LOL..I don't mean any disprespect to Kathy who has accomplished a HUGE victory, I was really hoping to see a bandster who had lost 500 lbs. She'd be the poster child for this and every lapband forum on the net. Again Kathy, HUGE SUCCESS and you are such an inspiration. tmf

"so FORGIVE ME for needing for the FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE some compassion and support" You have a very odd way of seeking compassion and support. A little more humility and understanding would go a long ways. tmf

Michelle May is a great resource for folks who eat when they may not be hungry. I like this quote from Dr May and it fits most of us who find it hard to differentiate between being really hungry or just wanting to eat for reasons like boredom, stress or just because we love the taste and feeling of food in our mouths. "When a craving doesn't come from hunger, eating will never satisfy it." It's taken me over a year to be able to tell the difference between the two and it's still a struggle. I often find myself in the kitchen with a handful of nuts chewing away, and not because I'm hungry, because I'm not. Just because I like that feeling of food and the taste. So, I've been able to keep nutritious and low calorie foods readily available in case I have one of these mindless events. Two years ago I would have slapped 2-4 tortillas in the microwave filled with cheese and consume them in 10 minutes. Not anymore. tmf

Ah yes. I recall my first meltdown! It was about 3.5 months after being banded and no weight loss for the last 3 months. I didn't want the band out but I remember being very disappointed and wondering WTF did I get this thing for. So Betsy, don't be a Veruca, be a Charlie. Or, just be fat. Your choice. BTW-Many, if not most of us, also experienced wild weight fluctuations the first few months until we became one with the band. Good luck with that insurance request. tmf

How long have you been at a plateau?

Do you mean PB'ing or vomiting at every meal? Is this where your lower stomach is ejecting food you've eaten or are you just regurgitating stuck food? tmf

I was craving something sugary last night. I settled for a peeled apple(peeling is important, it keeps you busy and the peels won't clog the band). 90 calories later I was fine.