bambam31

Be strong and focused. Your surgery swelling is decreasing and monster hunger is fast approaching! It will be that way until you get sufficient restriction from fills. Be tough!

Brad

Hey Everyone! I have a question... I had my second fill a couple of weeks ago, and have just gone back to normal foods a few days ago. I workout 3-4 days a week (1 hour cardio and 1 hour weight training)... Since this second fill I cannot eat after working out. I finished working out last night and waited about an hour and a half to eat. I was only able to eat a single chicken tender and my band felt soo tight that I didn't think that the food was gonna go down( I ate slowly, small bites, chewed, had plenty of moisture, not a lot of breading). Same thing happended on Saturday when I attempted tuna salad about an hour after working out. Am I the only one whose band seems to cinch up after exercise? Is it a mucus thing? Any thoughts or tips would be great!

Exercise doesn't really effect my tightness but the time of day does in a huge way.

Kim,

Between my sister and I we have decided that lapbands are very fickle. Although I'm sure most docs will not agree, we are positive that emotions, altitudes (my sister is a flight attendant), periods and a number of other reasons that our bands would tighten up. I used to work 12 hour night shifts and then on my 3-4 days off I would try to sleep like a normal person. A naturapathic doctor told me that would confuse my body and affect my band also. So in my opinion it's very possible that exercise could possibly do the same thing.

Take care and good luck. WTG on the exercise program!

No doubt all those factors - and many more - effect restriction level throughout the hours, days, weeks.

Brad

Sorry to hear about your injury - they can be very tough to work through. Don't give up on exercise all together! Work areas that aren't injured and watch your energy balance very close until you can get past the injury. You can do it!

Brad

Welcome to Bandster Hell new bandsters!

It is just a phase but one that most, myself included, were not prepared for. It will pass - do the best you can - and don't beat yourselves up too bad.

I assure you it won't be the only bump in the road for your journey. Keep your chin up and focused - it's the long term goals that matter most.

Brad

I'm not much into road biking (cars scare the H-E-L-L out of me), but I do a lot of indoor cycling (spinning) and linear trail riding. My longest duration trail ride has been 66.5 miles. I could not eat as much as I wanted but was able to stay well-hydrated.

Good restriction is a love/hate thing for the stage I'm at. I need to be pretty tight to help keep me honest. But I also need to be loose enough to get the nutrition I need to meet my goals. I cycle my calories anywhere from 1000-3000+ but the high calories days can be difficult to achieve.

Brad

Hi all! I'm three weeks post banding. I'm starting to crave all my old (junk) foods. I thought the longer I went without ~ the easier it would get. But it seems to be getting harder. Also, I'm waiting for my first fill, and it seems like now I'm hungry ALL the time. I try having Protein and it maybe fills me up for an hour. If I have Soup, it now takes 1 cup to fill me up vs 1/4 cup that I should have. Is anyone else in the same situation?

food demons will always have to be managed - banded or not. The band is a tool which does give you a competitive edge to defeat them, but you must still have the will power say "no" or "stop."

This is especially true in the evenings when it's easier to cheat the band. I have to be very careful not to get a "flow" going, but if I do I have to say STOP!

By "flow" I mean that the pouch is well lubricated (mucous and/or beverage - TMI, I know) and you can train food without ever filling the pouch. Many people will tell you that if this is happening you need a fill. Not so fast... Most of the day I'm very restricted (I wouldn't want it any tighter at all!) but by evening I CAN eat far more than I should - I just have to say no. It still takes will power and a close eye on the energy balance.

I will be honest....I am having so much fun watching my scale go down and getting new clothes and hearing fun comments like, "You don't even look like Wendy!" that the food is now a second thought to me and I'm SO THANKFUL. Now, having said that, I had a really tough day at work yesterday and for the first time since my pre op diet, I wanted chips ahoy Cookies with milk. Instead, I just watched some DVR and woke up with a wonderful surprise of another pound and a half lost!

I go in cycles similar to this. You can't be 100% on your game all day every day, and day after day. There are periods when I'm very focused and wouldn't consider eating junk food ; Periods where I eat less than perfect foods in a controlled manner ; Periods where I eat waaaay toooooo much junk food and have to make a conscious intervention. The difference with the band/exercise lifestyle is that the cycle is much easier to control/break than before.

Brad

Bandster hell is tough. By the time we get banded we've been in this fight for many years - or even decades. We want relief from the fat and we want it now! But you cannot subvert the band process. It can take months... yes months... (because most fills are at least 4 weeks apart) to achieve satisfactory restriction.

A lot of people have the attitude, "well I didn't get this band to have to exercise, eat right, and have will power. If I had that ability I wouldn't have needed the band in the first place." This attitude is a one-way ticket to failure in the fast lane.

Restriction will, in time, come. And that is when the band becomes the "tool" to help you. But YOU will still have to do the work. It is not easy - but you CAN do it!

Be determined - let no demons stand in your road to success!

Brad

Ah... You are correct that I am not well versed in PCOS. I understand PCOS complicates the whole process and have some friends who suffer from PCOS as well. I wish you the best in your journey!

Brad

hi friends!:scared2:

ok, so i have a question. i have been following a low carb/low sugar diet since my may 20th banding. doing pretty well...i'm done 37 lbs...and loving it!

so this last weekend (holiday weekend) we had three cookouts and went to a baseball game....i tried to make the best food choices available (even took band friendly/carb friendly dish to two of the the cookouts)..but i def over did it on the carbs and the sugar...the baseball game was the worse i think. I attempted to smuggle in a Protein shake and Protein bar but they were confiscated at the gate :cursing: really? i was ticked...anyways fast forward to the fifth inning and i am so super hungry...went down to the concourse to see what was there for me to eat...and ended up with nachos and cheese:rolleyes: they were yummy (also drank about 60 ounces of Water while at the game...EXPENSIVE! haha)...buuuut this morning, i am just curious as to how much i set myself back after a weekend of carbs and sugar....

woke up this morning, weighed myself...lost two lbs this last week...(the inches loss are exceeding the weight loss!)

so did a shake this morning, and one for lunch...might do shakes a couple days..

just wanted everyones opions...

hope you all had a great holiday weekend!! :frown::confused:

One of the drawbacks to trying to eat very low carb or low fat diets is that they are rarely sustainable long-term. When your body finally breaks you down you can find yourself binging and giving up lots of progress.

Brad

I was a major coffee drinker and I gave it up in August 2009 before my surgery. I thought I was going to die. After about a week I was actually glad that I gave it up. I felt alot better.

The reason that my doctor doesn't want me to drink coffee is not becaues of the appetite stimulant but because coffee is a natural diuretic and it will dehydrate you. The key to LAP-BAND® is that you stay hydrated. My nutritionist said that for every cup of coffee that you drink, it takes 2 cups of Water to replace what you lose. I'm also not supposed to have decaff coffee because even that has a small amount of caffine in it.

Now I can not lie. Since I gave the coffee up in August I have had 1 cup. It tasted pretty good but like I said I am glad that I gave it up. I found that I am not as nervous as I was before when drinking coffee.

Anyway all doctors are different so if your doctor said that you can drink coffee then you should be ok. But I would follow his orders and not drink it before you are supposed to.

As Betsy indicated, this is old information. More recent studies have debunked the myth that caffeine is a diuretic... (see link below)

The Wonders of Water

Fortunately, my surgeon allows coffee, caffeine, and carbonated beverages, so long as the patient tolerates them. And fortunately for me - I do.

Brad

Thanks for the replies...I just hope I will continue to lose weight at this pace...I hope that the weight that I've lost so far isn't just Water weight.

You most certainly will not continue at this pace for very long. The more you have to lose, the longer the accelerated pace will continue, but it won't last. That's ok though because it shouldn't! A vast majority of what you've lost is fluids.

Optimally, you'll settle into a 1-3 pound per week long term loss.

Good luck!

Brad

Way too simplistic of an approach IMO... Some people tolerate sweeteners fine - others do not.

And since it was raised - same thing with carbonated beverages - some surgeons will tell you that you'll explode on contact - while others say go ahead if you tolerate it well.

I just drank two beers and was able to type this... :thumbup: (my surgeon does not outlaw carbonated beverages)...

Brad

Sorry to hear about your ordeal.

This does raise an awful lot of questions to me though... Why would your body all of the sudden start absorbing the materials and what test did they do to pinpoint that it was the band materials causing your condition?

Brad

Determination is as good as cash in the bank! :thumbup:

Brad

Congrats MsFab you have earned that smile for sure! Imagine how much wider it's going to be next 4th of July!

Brad

Liquid diets and mushies are a temporary thing while healing. Pb'ing and sliming occur because the bandster is either overfilled, made an error while eating, or tried a new food that isn't playing nice.

Everyone's experience with foods is different. Personally, there is not one food I can't eat...

Good luck and gather as much information as you can so you make the best informed decision for yourself.

Brad

I think you should try out what she has to say. I eat between 1000-1200 cals a day. I aim for 1500 but its hard. My trainer told my I am eating for someone half my size and that my body is using my muscle because I am not eating enough food. He told me I need to eat more! Its hard with the band because I get full pretty quickly. I am usually eating every 2-3 hours even though I am not hungry but it is boosting my metabolism.

Kudos to your trainer! It is often overlooked that very low calories over a period of time is self defeating behavior! Our body can store carbs (fat!) but the only way it can store essential amino acids is lean muscle tissue. So if your aren't nourishing your body with complete Protein sources then guess where it's going to get them instead...

Brad

A lot of people find that a warm liquid relaxes their pouch enough to be able to get the ball rolling so to speak. I almost always start the day with a cup or two of coffee.

I agree with btrieger that you should start your day with a meal, even if it is only big enough to qualify as a snack. Make it a Protein and complex carb.

Brad

Good luck on your re-journey.

For the benefit of all, what led you to regain the weight?

Brad

Beedo- you're so right! I had my first fill on Friday and am disappointed regarding how much I can still comfortably eat. Is this normal this soon after a fill? I want to be full after maybe four bites of food but can easily eat at least ten bites... I'm starting to realize even the band isn't a magic fix, it's still going to take a lot of hard work...

Missy MS- you were right- I cut my salt and drank more Water and those four pounds I gained just slipped back off- thanks.

You want to be full after FOUR BITES OF FOOD? Really?

Brad

Silly question......is there such a thing as drinking too much Water?

Actually yes... A healthy kidney can process about a liter or Water an hour, but you're expelling electrolytes (salts) in your urine. If you expel too many salts you can develop a serious condition called hyponatremia. This would result from drinking a huge amount of water but not replacing the electrolytes. Pretty rare for a bandster I reckon.

Brad

Hi there, I was just banded 6/29/10 and I am wondering how soon you all started exercisin after surgery. I am anxious to get started, but don't want to jump the gun. If any what should or can I be doing right now just a little under 1 week out?

Congrats on your new companion!

You should consult your surgeon as to the what/when/how of exercise post op because they vary in approach. I was turned loose after about 4 weeks, but was encouraged to start walking right away.

Good luck!

Brad

Everyone's precise sensations are going to vary somewhat, especially depending on the degree of the situation.

Basically if you eat a banded persons normal serving you should feel satisfied - not stuffed, but not hungry.

If after eating something you have pain/pressure that is constant you may be stuck. Nothing is moving in either direction. I can tell for sure by trying to force a burp - if no air moves - you're stuck.

Getting stuck is either the result of being overfilled or having made an eating mistake that you will not soon forget. :thumbup:

Brad

You look great Ruth! Thanks for sharing your story!

Brad

Great motivating thread! Keep moving people! :thumbup:

Brad