bambam31

Like most things, everyone's skin appearance after significant weight loss will be different. Three main areas of focus though are hydration (inside and out), rest, and exercise. Good luck! Brad

Ross, congrats on your success! You should be very proud of the progress you are making! I would focus more on your body composition and less on what the scale says. What do your workouts consist of? (ie: strength, cardio, intervals, etc.?) What are you using to determine calories burned during your workout? For good fat loss I like a variable 500-1000 calorie deficit, derived from a combination of exercise and reduced food intake. I would be focusing most of my exercise on significant cardio, but still completing a couple of strength training sessions a week. I also prefer to stay away from low calorie diets - they are metabolism killers. Don't be afraid to eat a good amount of balanced calories so long as you're exercising sufficiently. They will not only keep your muscles well-fueled but also promote a white-hot metabolism. I eat a variable calorie intake of 1200 - 3000+ Good luck! Brad

Well I'll take a stab at this one... Think of the so-called "starvation mode" simply as your body adjusting it's internal combustion engine to it's available fuel. An anorexic may break this cycle by maintaining such an extreme low calorie intake. Rather than your body breaking you down - you break it down. Problem is, obese people don't fit that mold. Eventually, we break down and when we binge after our body has adjusted to very low calorie intake, we pack on the fat at a much faster rate than ever before. Brad

Ross, you're making great progress so don't get too frustrated. What do your workouts consist of (strength/cardio etc)? And how are you measuring calories burned? Just remember that body composition is more important than scale numbers. For fat loss I like a variable calorie deficit of 500 - 1000 calories derived from a combination of exercise and decreased food consumption. Main exercise focus on significant cardio - but still getting several strength training sessions a week. What this means is you are going to be eating more food than you would likely find reasonable - that's because you are making a lifestyle change and not on a diet. Low calorie diets kill your metabolism. What, when, how you eat is very important too, but a general balanced intake (ie not low fat, carb, etc.) is the best approach. Good luck! Brad

Awesome results LaDawn! Congrats! Brad

A lot of people, myself included, were hopeful that their food demons would disappear with the band - but that is not the case. The band may help to physically impeded them but they must always be mentally managed. Brad

A lot of great posts here and I think the answer lies in the totality of them. You're so frustrated with your body and then you "discover" the band. Then you wait so long (most of us anyway) to get past the whole approval process and surgery that once the operation is done you want the weight to go with it. Then you deal with the hunger and trying to learn a new lifestyle while the old one keeps trying to find a crack in the wall to get back in. It's a very frustrating process until you learn how to control your body and the way it operates. The boards give us a place to blow off steam with people who have things in common (some more than others... :devil_smile:) which helps us get through the bottlenecks in the road. Brad

Congrats on your progress! Keep up the good work! Brad

Getting close to 2 years and have had 6 fills - no problems thus far. Brad

The more restriction I have the more I burp. I just tell everyone, "sorry, it's a medical condition!" :devil_smile: Brad

So... that would explain why my wife was searching for the lunar calendar while asking where the shovel was.... :devil_smile: When only one person in the marriage makes a commitment to improve their health I think it adds a lot of strain. That was a point of discussion by the psychologist I saw as part of the pre-op approval process. My wife and I actually undertook a healthier lifestyle together (she wasn't banded though because she wasn't big enough to qualify) which probably alleviated a fair amount of anxiety. We are both happier and more confident people now and I think that has made our marriage more secure. I wish everyone the best in their own relationships! Brad

You seem to be doing the right things! We basically start out as uneven ice cube - that melts unevenly. Unfortunately, we can't pick and choose where we lose fat. Keep up the hard work and you'll be needing to shop for new clothes very soon - and very often. Brad

WOW! That's pretty much the whole thread summed up in one sentence. :sigh: Brad

Ah... one of my more passionate LBT topics... :tongue: I am in agreement with anglov... :sad: Who cares if you lose "weight?" We want to lose FAT! That's different than just weight! Fluids and lean muscle tissue weigh more than fat - and are the first to go at a higher percentage (relative to fat) if you are starving your body. :frown: Your body's #1 goal is survival. So if you try to starve it, it will shed what is most costly to keep - metabolically active lean muscle tissue. When you eat a set number of calories day after day, your body knows exactly what to expect - and adjust to. If that calorie intake level is 800 - it knows it's being starved. So it goes into survival mode and starts shedding that which takes the most calories to maintain - your lean muscle tissue, and along with it, it's associated fluids. You think your doing great because that scale keeps dropping - but you've actually set in a motion a disaster. As you lose lean muscle tissue, so goes your metabolism. Once you've met the equalibrium - welcome Mr. Plateau. Your in a stall... no more weight loss. Only now your a skinnier fat person with a burned out metabolism. There's an alternative... To lose fat you need a calorie deficit. But don't get that from diet alone! Get some from eating fewer calories and some more from burning more calories. Cycle your calorie intake along with SUFFICIENT exercise (that's 3 - 5 days a week with good intensity). Eat higher calories on heavier work out days and lowest calories on no work out days. Your body does not slip into the survival mode rut and you'll feel so much more energized from the exercise. Oh... and the scale will keep moving downward from FAT LOSS... How many people have you encountered on LBT who eat very few calories or do very little to no exercise and then plateau midway through their journey??? I was one of 'em... But I learned... This theory works! Plateau's, IMO, are not normal... They mean something is not right. You have to listen to your body and what it's telling you and make the necessary adjustments. I saw my surgeon today for the first time in a year. I got my sixth fill. Yet tonights dinner included Ribeye Steak - and it went down just fine! (no my doc doesn't have a fill day diet routine). Life with a band is not a race to see who can eat the least. I eat anywhere from 1000 - 3500 calories a day, depending on the days activities. My body fat percentage continues to drop. Good luck - play hard! Brad

No question alcohol works against you for fat loss. At 7 calories per gram it is the most dense fuel choice short of fat (9 grams) and nearly double that of carbs and Protein (4 grams). Occasionally consuming alcohol though for some (me included) is a reward "food." When I'm focusing on a goal I stay away from it. When I'm on vacation or easing back a bit, I may "tie one on." After all, how relaxing is a campfire next to a cooler full of ice cold beer? :frown: Education and moderation are the key... Have the alcohol if you desire, but clearly understand the consequences of it - both inside the body and out. Brad

It seems to me that I've read here in the past of someone (or plural) who had some Fluid put in at the time of surgery and then got to - or at least near - goal without any additional fills. This is very uncommon though. Most people have little to no fluid in the band at the time of surgery. After all the healing from surgery is done you'll know - because the hunger will come screaming back and try to bowl you over.... Good luck! Brad

Welcome Juliana! Study hard and work hard and you will be successful! Good luck, Brad

Sorry.... I can't let this one slide by without comment... First the disclaimer... the following is my opinion only... You know what they say about opinions... Okay... that part is done... Now... I don't want anyone to think that you can just get banded, eat chips, drink alcohol, and full sugar soda and lose weight so long as you just walk around the Home Depot all day... :eek: Oh if it were only that easy... She was just banded in March? She may be losing weight right now... Well guess what, come along August or September she's going to be due for a big a$$ wake up call... She'll be complaining that she's plateau'd and stalled out and this damn band thing isn't working at all... that'll be followed by "maybe I should go get a fill." If she isn't exercising, but has a good calorie deficit from intake alone (diet), then the weight she's losing is, percentage-wise, far larger Fluid and lean muscle tissue when compared to someone who is sufficiently exercising. What's the difference? The exerciser is maintaining a healthy metabolism by keeping as much lean muscle tissue as possible, which will keep the FAT loss going. The other is slowly but surely crashing their metabolism, losing lean body mass, and when the equalibrium is met - the plateau arrives. And walking around the home depot, or anywhere else for that matter, is a part of a good active lifestyle, but that aint exercise. Ok... I'm done... Brad

Wow, starting a thread like this is like jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire! It's either incredibly gutsy - or stupid... I'm in the group who's surgeon pretty much uses the trial and error method, because everyone has different tolerances to begin with, not to mention adding endless variables (stress, sleep, exercise, hydration, restriction, etc, etc etc,)... I drink beer and soda from time to time - and coffee many times EVERY day. For me it's not cheating because my surgeon allows it if his patients have tolerance for it. BUT... it would be a mistake to come here looking for justification to break your doc's rules. If you disagree with them, take them up with your doc and hash it out.... When it comes to progress there are much bigger "rules" that will effect your success than drinking soda or beer. Success doesn't mean weight loss because that's not accurate - it's more like fat loss that we desire. After all, what good is starving yourself and losing pound after pound of lean muscle tissue? I am curious, however, that several people have inquired when you were banded and how much success you've had - but I havn't seen the answer..... Brad

Stuffed crust from pizza Hut - Awesome! :thumbup: Brad

I would like to thank one and all for the slice of entertainment...:thumbup: Brad

WOW! You really have bad luck! Save your money - no need to buy lotto tickets! :tt2: In all seriousness, I hope this turns around for you promptly - you've suffered enough for a four-dozen bandsters! Brad

My journey, like most everyone's on here, has had it's fair share of pitfalls. You fight through them - you learn from then - and you move forward. By cycling calories I mean that I don't eat a set number of calories day after day. I don't do the same exercise day after day either. By varying your intake and export you keep your body from adjusting to a set routine. This keeps your metabolism burning, and fat decreasing. Your body will not give up it's fat stores without a fight! Oh, don't get me wrong, the first six months or so people lose significant amounts of weight without much effort - but then the REAL battle begins. You have to put your game face on and go to war! This site is littered with threads just like this: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f178/worth-116227/ Brad

Oh I had this problem too! We had purchased a house with a swimming pool and moved in just weeks before surgery. My doc let me start swimming five days after surgery. I never experienced any difficulties. That said, always follow the advice of your own doc. Brad

One word.... NEITHER! Brad