2muchfun

You might try egg drop Soup. It's high in Protein and some banders feel like warm liquids loosen up the stoma. Egg drop soup is basically an egg blended into broth. It's yummy, filling and high in protein.

Almost every Bandster seems to find breakfast to be the hardest meal of the day to get down. I've never seen a post by anyone with a rational answer as to why this is? Speaking for myself, it seems like my esophagus doesn't wake up till after 10 am. The esophagus moves food through the esophageal sphincter and ultimately through the stoma by peristalsis. It just seems like the muscles that perform this involuntary contraction are asleep for breakfast? jmo tmf

I'm so happy I have 3 days of liquids. Wait you can chew gum?I was told not to. Once your band is adjusted properly or even if you have a swelling episode, swallowed gum can get stuck in your stoma and will not break down like normal food will.

?

My recommendation is a small unfill of maybe .1-.2 CCs. Your post from 3/26 said you slime a lot? Most lapband failures and complications are a direct result of bands being too tight. If you're hungry at breakfast time and can't find any food that you can consume without PBing, you should go for a small unfill. If you're OK with not eating and the other meals pass OK, then I'd still get a small unfill. It's far too dangerous to live life with a band so tight you can't live a normal life. I backed off my fills a year ago and I've spent a lot of time developing my satiety signal skills. But that's just me. tmf

What do you mean by "nothing stays down"?

The 5-Day Pouch Test was written for Bypass patients. Bailey was a bypass patient. The pouch she refers to isn't exactly like ours(bandster's). But, the concept is close enough the formula works for me. I've done it twice now and although I seem to lose 4-5 lbs, I always gain it back since it's mostly Water weight loss. She doesn't recommend a low calories input during these times but of course, it's hard to get a log of calories in if you're band is adjusted properly. Good luck and for me the 5-Day Pouch Test is a good way to reset my mind and body for losing weight. tmf

So confusing aint it? I share Healthynewme's views. When you see some forum members post failures, GERD, throwing up, slips etc, many times this is due to having a band that is too tight. Losing big weight and being slim is like an aphrodisiac just like eating too much food was for many. Having your band too tight causes so many problems it's just not worth it to me. I like my band a little on the loose side. I'd like to drop lbs quicker, but I also want this plastic ring to last me a few decades. I also enjoy eating some foods that many people who may be too tight cannot eat. Sounds like you've got your thumb on this. Way to go. tmf

I agree, unfortunately, very normal. The initial fill can cause a little swelling in the stoma area but once the swelling goes down you're left with a stoma that is still large and food passes through easily. We call this "Bandster Hell". It can take up to 6 fills before you feel restriction/satiety. My journey really didn't take off till my 3rd fill. That's when I started to feel those satiety signals like hiccups, burping, runny nose. This phase seems to have been left out of the sales pitch during the Surgeon's seminars, orientations and nutrition classes. I thought once I was banded, I'd start losing 10 lbs a month immediately? HA! I got over it and obviously I'm not bitter

Yeah, sometimes that burnt cheese is kinda good and crunchy. Crust, not so much.

I'm in Thornton.

Bandarella is versed in lap band removal with no revision. Why don't you PM(private message) her and see if she can offer any advice. She loves to help so go ahead and pm her. http://www.bariatricpal.com/user/198018-bandarella/

No, the OP, PDXman

So, you feel no restriction and you've been banded for nearly a year? But, you've lose 105 lbs? First, with a loss of 105 lbs why question success? But, it's no fun being hungry. What about satiety/restriction? You must not get stuck often if you can eat 3 pork chops? Do you get any satiety signals like runny nose, burps, hiccups? Is your surgeon giving you small fills? How about any fills under fluoroscopy?

Your surgeon didn't give you any specifics? Were there any complications like dilation, erosion, slips or dysphagia that might affect what you can eat?

Thought you were in Loveland, CO?

Good to see an older fart than me on the boards. Congrats and keep us posted.

Kiss, are you experiencing any of the satiety signals? Burping, hiccups, runny nose are all signals you've eaten enough. And can you explain or describe your definition of restriction? Knowledge of how the band works it's magic has changed since you were banded and satiety signals are what we're asked to look for now.

Many of we bandster's calculate how many calories we need each day to maintain our current weight. For me, that's around 2000. For most women, it's around 1500-1600? If you exercise, add the amount of calories burned for the type of exercise you perform. Let's say you burn 500 calories by walking or jogging or bike riding. So, you need about 2000 calories a day to stay at your current weight. If you track calories and many of us do, you should be around 1000-1200/day. So, let's say you burn 2000 calories a day, and eat 1250 calories. You have a deficit of 750 calories/day. That would be 5250/week. It's estimated that you need to burn 3500 calories to lose 1lb. So, in one week, using this formula, you should be losing 1.5 lbs. I'm not sure how to extrapolate this to stones? I don't see a lot of Protein in your diet? Most of us eat about 60% protein. How the band works is different from what you understand. Watch this video and it will explain a lot. There really is no "pouch" that we fill. It's more of a staging area for food to push through into your lower stomach. Food should only stay in this "pouch" for about 1 minute. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4jYJipQ7vc part 2 Here's the remainder of the videos from this Dr. and they're all very good to remind you how to lose weight with the band. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qa3Lwt6ElIs&list=UL Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wbdhf44ZweI&feature=relmfu Part 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KF3TCKUn3YI Part 4

Did you ever find your DS forum?

I don't know what was wrong with the original premise of the show...seems like they're reinventing the wheel they just reinvented. I miss the old stomping grounds and Grace and Wayne in their old roles.

If you seriously want to jumpstart your journey again, you must go back to your doctor and I'd recommend a visit with your nutritionist. Till then, here are some videos that may help you understand how this all works. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qa3Lwt6ElIs&list=UL Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4jYJipQ7vc part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wbdhf44ZweI&feature=relmfu Part 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KF3TCKUn3YI Part 4

I'm confused? You said above: "no pouch as no restriction , half ml fill put in upper pouch formed" So, you do or do not have a pouch? I see many posts similar to yours. It's hard to advise without knowing what a typical day's food intake would be? Don't sugarcoat it. Can you briefly state what foods you eat for all 3 meals on a typical day? Many doctors and patients believe the tighter the band, the better. IMO, that's just not going to work for many patients. Look forward to your reply? tmf

Terri, I agree, it's a good way to clean out your system and start anew. I like to use the 5-day pouch test. http://www.5daypouchtest.com/ I can drop a quick 3-5 lbs and start anew in 5 days. It's not too painful and works. It's designed for Bypass patients and not banders so don't let the pouch term fool you. This 5 day test is a real shocker for your system and like I said before, we need it sometimes.

How long has it stalled? I agree with Cheryl. Mix it up. Exercise and diet sometimes needs a shake-up. If you lost 2 lbs in one day it's probably not fat, it's fluids you're losing even if you're consuming fluids. I'm not a big fan of liquid diets. It's like not being banded. You're not using the tool at all. The scale may dip for a few days but once you go back to solids, the weight will come back. Are you exercising? Put in some serious exercise and do it consistently if you want to drop some fat. Just remember, you have to burn 3500 more calories than you consume to burn off 1 lb of fat. I've seen many folks here say they were successful in kicking aside their stall/plateau by upping their Protein intake. And, I mean solid Proteins.