bambam31

I don't think most bariatric programs prepare people for the first three months post op - especially considering the endless threads similar to this one.
While everyone's journey and experiences vary, a few things are VERY common (except a rare case here and there). People feel very restricted right after surgery and most experience at least some gas pain/discomfort. When the surgery swelling subsides, the hunger returns with a vengeance. Then satisfactory restriction occurs from fills (1-5). But because of fill schedules, this can be many MONTHS post op, which leaves the bandster demoralized.
Everyones fat loss may vary, but those first few months really require a tremendous amount of will power to achieve results. Extraordinary results will require an extraordinary effort. The band is not much of a helpful tool at first, but once the restriction comes it becomes an invaluable tool.
Keep your spirits up! Keep a positive attitude! And last but not least, KEEP YOUR BODY MOVING and EXERCISED!
Good luck!
Brad

It's a man's milestone when you walk past the mirror and get a glimpse of manland and then look again and say, "Whoa!! That's me?? Seriously??" From that point on it's like a new kid with a new toy... And you just gotta show off your new toys right?

Probably not a problem - but certainly a waste of time and money IMO... Nothing replaces true exercise...

These numbers are likely about where you want to be if you are exercising "a lot"... Of course everyone's definition of exercising "a lot" is going to vary but you should eat more on days of most intense exercise. I would run some calculations before seeking a fill. Eating too few calories will snuff out or at a minimum inhibit your metabolic potential.
Kudos to you for getting good exercise! It will carry you a long ways on your journey!
Brad

It drives me batty seeing all of the posts on LBT using body variations as a crutch... Yes, everyone's body is different - A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT... not elephant Vs. mouse different though... We all still have human bodies - and no human body is best operated at 800 calories while getting sufficient exercise... And no human body operates efficiently without any exercise. The only people that get a pass on that are those bedridden or have such a debilitating disease that there are NO muscle groups unaffected. If that's not you - then you must exercise or you will not reach your full potential. Why would anyone accept less than their full potential?
We are all muscle bearing - and muscles need exercised. It's just the ugly truth that many obese or unmotivated people don't want to hear... And that at one time was a fair description of me - I was obese - I was unmotivated - I didn't understand how the human body was properly fueled or used fuel. But with a lot of hard work, research, and real life trial and error I learned. And I hope that with a reality slap I drag a lot of people with me, because every day life is so much better.
It takes a lot of food and a variety of food to get optimal nutrition (Macro and Micro nutrients) I am convinced that doctors are telling people to eat so few calories because they know that even though they tell the patient to exercise - they aren't going to. So hopefully with that little intake it's their only hope that the patient will lose some weight and get motivated before they completely crash and stall out.
The bottom line is the truth aint always pretty peeps...
Brad

It drives me batty seeing all of the posts on LBT using body variations as a crutch... Yes, everyone's body is different - A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT... not elephant Vs. mouse different though... We all still have human bodies - and no human body is best operated at 800 calories while getting sufficient exercise... And no human body operates efficiently without any exercise. The only people that get a pass on that are those bedridden or have such a debilitating disease that there are NO muscle groups unaffected. If that's not you - then you must exercise or you will not reach your full potential. Why would anyone accept less than their full potential?
We are all muscle bearing - and muscles need exercised. It's just the ugly truth that many obese or unmotivated people don't want to hear... And that at one time was a fair description of me - I was obese - I was unmotivated - I didn't understand how the human body was properly fueled or used fuel. But with a lot of hard work, research, and real life trial and error I learned. And I hope that with a reality slap I drag a lot of people with me, because every day life is so much better.
It takes a lot of food and a variety of food to get optimal nutrition (Macro and Micro nutrients) I am convinced that doctors are telling people to eat so few calories because they know that even though they tell the patient to exercise - they aren't going to. So hopefully with that little intake it's their only hope that the patient will lose some weight and get motivated before they completely crash and stall out.
The bottom line is the truth aint always pretty peeps...
Brad

So... I have found that the old saying is true... you must EAT to LOSE. I was banded back on March 15th and got my first fill about 2.5 weeks ago. Even though I do not have much restriction still, I have been eating like I do. I was only taking in about 800-900 calories a day.....BUT I WAS LOSING NOTHING!! I figured I would TRY uping my calorie intake to see if that would help. I could not beleive the difference!!! I am now eating about 1100-1200 calories a day and I dropping weight like crazy AND im not hungry all day long. I guess I just had to see it to beleive it!
What I learned: Don't be afraid to eat, just make the right choices when you do

That is a new one! Bizarre calculation indeed...

The reason you cant get a straight answer is because really, there isnt one. There's no such thing as overeating or undereating on one isolated day at a time, your weight is the sum total of your habits over a long periods of time.
And the bald truth is, if you eat less calories than you burn, over a long period of time, you lose weight, end of story. Doesnt matter if you eat carb or dont eat carbs, get 80 grams of Protein a day or not, get 30 grams of fibre or eat a lot or a little fat, or whether you make the deficit up entirely by dieting or by including exercise, if you eat less than you burn for sustained periods of time, you lose weight.
In fact, its probably entirely strange for your body when you DO count calories and eat roughly the same every day since in more normal circumstnaces, some days you eat more than others.
There's no such thing as a "perfect" calorie level for you.

I am not recommending this to anyone, you should follow your Dr.'s directions.
But:
I have not counted calories, or concerned myself about portion sizes since last May.
Reason:
My band is tight enough, and I have enough restriction,that even if I wanted to I cannot overeat. My portions are automatically controlled by the band. Plus, I am rarely hungry the majority of the time.
So, if my portions and appetite are set, all I need to do is make wise food choices. I don't need to refer to a chart or labels to know what is good to eat, low cal, high Protein, and what is not.
I cannot eat anything solid first thing for breakfast in the morning, so I have a high protein smoothie for 40-45 gm of protein. Not hard to make up the difference for the rest of the day.
To me, that s being in the "Groove"' "Sweet Spot" "Green Zone" etc.
I live a normal day to day life, not worrying about being on diets, and loosing weight without even trying.

I'm going to throw this out here just for the sake of proving the point. Cycling carbs and calories while exercising sufficiently is a very effective strategy to strip body fat. Men lose fat more easily than women. Why? Because a man's body consists of more lean muscle tissue than a woman's. And a man's hormonal makeup is more geared toward anabolism.
I like to eat. I don't like to feel deprived - and I like ice cream... No... I LOVE ice cream. I want to eat as much food as I can, while still losing body fat. Here is an example of my last 8 day period. For the first 5 days I ate relatively good foods and stayed in the 2000 calorie a day range - which is a deficit for me. I kept simple carbs to a minimum while making certain I was eating sufficient grams of Protein to protect my lean muscle mass. Then I let myself up off the mat and in the last two days I ATE... and I ATE A LOT... In the last 2 days alone I ate a combined 3000 calories plus of JUST ice cream. That does't include the mexican food at Bandidos or the alcoholic beverages or any of the other intake. I no doubt consumed somewhere around 4000 calories each day. But now I will settle back into a deficit for 5 more days, limiting those simple carbs but still keeping my protein intake sufficient enough to protect my lean muscle mass.
This is certainly too extreme of a swing for most people here, but the general principle still applies. The high calorie days and sufficient exercise keep your metabolism white-hot, yet the lower calorie days keep your lean muscle tissue protected. The end result is a reduction in body fat, while not feeling weak and sluggish or depriving yourself.
I have used this principle for quite awhile and have more and more muscle definition as each month passes. If you don't believe me check out my gallery. My abs are becoming more and more defined as body fat continues to strip away. It's a slow but steady process but it is very effective. When I first started I had to dig through fat to find my port. Now the damn thing sticks out like a tumor because there's so little fat over it.... I have struggled with low fat / low carb / low calorie diets and sedentary lifestyles just like everyone else. I did Atkins and so many other fads... They don't work long term... You must have a permanent lifestyle change to be successful - band or not. The proof is in the pudding as they say... Search LBT and you'll be bombarded with threads and posts about people eating 800 calories a day and not losing weight... There's a new group of them that comes along every few weeks... So many just end up throwing in the towel and declaring the band didn't work for them... This isn't stuff that my surgeon or nutritionist gave me. It's research and trial and error I did on my own to get results. Save yourselves the headaches and struggles and learn from the mistakes of those who've gone down this road before you.
My advice for women trying this technique would be to do sufficient cardio 5 days a week at 40 minutes a session, working all 3 target heart rate zones. Add in two strength/resistance training sessions a week. Continually challenge yourself and increase intensity of your workouts as they become easier. Everyone's activity levels are different, but for the sake of argument I'd increase calories by 100 every 5 days until you achieve about 1200. Then every 5-7 days take 2 days and run that number up to 1800-2000 and then slam back down to 1200 for another 5-7 days. Repeat this cycle and you will strip body fat... and you will have so much more energy and not feel like you are dieting so much.

Body composition is, IMO, a more important factor than a scale number. If you gained that much weight though, no doubt a significant part of that was fat. I would focus on your eating habits and you'll soon be back to where you feel comfortable. Go back to the basics and determine how your eating habits changed after the unfill vs before the unfill... If you find you cannot manage the hunger to keep from overeating, then it's time for a tiny fill...

I'm going to throw this out here just for the sake of proving the point. Cycling carbs and calories while exercising sufficiently is a very effective strategy to strip body fat. Men lose fat more easily than women. Why? Because a man's body consists of more lean muscle tissue than a woman's. And a man's hormonal makeup is more geared toward anabolism.
I like to eat. I don't like to feel deprived - and I like ice cream... No... I LOVE ice cream. I want to eat as much food as I can, while still losing body fat. Here is an example of my last 8 day period. For the first 5 days I ate relatively good foods and stayed in the 2000 calorie a day range - which is a deficit for me. I kept simple carbs to a minimum while making certain I was eating sufficient grams of Protein to protect my lean muscle mass. Then I let myself up off the mat and in the last two days I ATE... and I ATE A LOT... In the last 2 days alone I ate a combined 3000 calories plus of JUST ice cream. That does't include the mexican food at Bandidos or the alcoholic beverages or any of the other intake. I no doubt consumed somewhere around 4000 calories each day. But now I will settle back into a deficit for 5 more days, limiting those simple carbs but still keeping my protein intake sufficient enough to protect my lean muscle mass.
This is certainly too extreme of a swing for most people here, but the general principle still applies. The high calorie days and sufficient exercise keep your metabolism white-hot, yet the lower calorie days keep your lean muscle tissue protected. The end result is a reduction in body fat, while not feeling weak and sluggish or depriving yourself.
I have used this principle for quite awhile and have more and more muscle definition as each month passes. If you don't believe me check out my gallery. My abs are becoming more and more defined as body fat continues to strip away. It's a slow but steady process but it is very effective. When I first started I had to dig through fat to find my port. Now the damn thing sticks out like a tumor because there's so little fat over it.... I have struggled with low fat / low carb / low calorie diets and sedentary lifestyles just like everyone else. I did Atkins and so many other fads... They don't work long term... You must have a permanent lifestyle change to be successful - band or not. The proof is in the pudding as they say... Search LBT and you'll be bombarded with threads and posts about people eating 800 calories a day and not losing weight... There's a new group of them that comes along every few weeks... So many just end up throwing in the towel and declaring the band didn't work for them... This isn't stuff that my surgeon or nutritionist gave me. It's research and trial and error I did on my own to get results. Save yourselves the headaches and struggles and learn from the mistakes of those who've gone down this road before you.
My advice for women trying this technique would be to do sufficient cardio 5 days a week at 40 minutes a session, working all 3 target heart rate zones. Add in two strength/resistance training sessions a week. Continually challenge yourself and increase intensity of your workouts as they become easier. Everyone's activity levels are different, but for the sake of argument I'd increase calories by 100 every 5 days until you achieve about 1200. Then every 5-7 days take 2 days and run that number up to 1800-2000 and then slam back down to 1200 for another 5-7 days. Repeat this cycle and you will strip body fat... and you will have so much more energy and not feel like you are dieting so much.

I'm going to throw this out here just for the sake of proving the point. Cycling carbs and calories while exercising sufficiently is a very effective strategy to strip body fat. Men lose fat more easily than women. Why? Because a man's body consists of more lean muscle tissue than a woman's. And a man's hormonal makeup is more geared toward anabolism.
I like to eat. I don't like to feel deprived - and I like ice cream... No... I LOVE ice cream. I want to eat as much food as I can, while still losing body fat. Here is an example of my last 8 day period. For the first 5 days I ate relatively good foods and stayed in the 2000 calorie a day range - which is a deficit for me. I kept simple carbs to a minimum while making certain I was eating sufficient grams of Protein to protect my lean muscle mass. Then I let myself up off the mat and in the last two days I ATE... and I ATE A LOT... In the last 2 days alone I ate a combined 3000 calories plus of JUST ice cream. That does't include the mexican food at Bandidos or the alcoholic beverages or any of the other intake. I no doubt consumed somewhere around 4000 calories each day. But now I will settle back into a deficit for 5 more days, limiting those simple carbs but still keeping my protein intake sufficient enough to protect my lean muscle mass.
This is certainly too extreme of a swing for most people here, but the general principle still applies. The high calorie days and sufficient exercise keep your metabolism white-hot, yet the lower calorie days keep your lean muscle tissue protected. The end result is a reduction in body fat, while not feeling weak and sluggish or depriving yourself.
I have used this principle for quite awhile and have more and more muscle definition as each month passes. If you don't believe me check out my gallery. My abs are becoming more and more defined as body fat continues to strip away. It's a slow but steady process but it is very effective. When I first started I had to dig through fat to find my port. Now the damn thing sticks out like a tumor because there's so little fat over it.... I have struggled with low fat / low carb / low calorie diets and sedentary lifestyles just like everyone else. I did Atkins and so many other fads... They don't work long term... You must have a permanent lifestyle change to be successful - band or not. The proof is in the pudding as they say... Search LBT and you'll be bombarded with threads and posts about people eating 800 calories a day and not losing weight... There's a new group of them that comes along every few weeks... So many just end up throwing in the towel and declaring the band didn't work for them... This isn't stuff that my surgeon or nutritionist gave me. It's research and trial and error I did on my own to get results. Save yourselves the headaches and struggles and learn from the mistakes of those who've gone down this road before you.
My advice for women trying this technique would be to do sufficient cardio 5 days a week at 40 minutes a session, working all 3 target heart rate zones. Add in two strength/resistance training sessions a week. Continually challenge yourself and increase intensity of your workouts as they become easier. Everyone's activity levels are different, but for the sake of argument I'd increase calories by 100 every 5 days until you achieve about 1200. Then every 5-7 days take 2 days and run that number up to 1800-2000 and then slam back down to 1200 for another 5-7 days. Repeat this cycle and you will strip body fat... and you will have so much more energy and not feel like you are dieting so much.

Precisely on target IMO... The bottom line though is no 2 people have the same body, same nutrition needs, same job activity, same exercise patterns, etc., etc., etc., You have to learn your body through trial and error... BUT... basic principles still apply... Your body is an evolutionary masterpiece. Its' will to survive is far greater than we give credit. When that internal engine senses a reduction in fuel - it begins to make adjustments. Not in one swoop - but steadily. So you will be able to trick it for a short while by eating very low calories. That's why people on very low calorie diets lose massive amounts of weight within the first few weeks. But those losses are going to come to a screeching halt as your body successfully adjusts your metabolism. And then you're left with weak, sluggish, undernourished people eating 800 calories a day and not losing - or worse yet - gaining weight. That is what most people mean when they refer to the starvation mode - a crashed metabolism... As an aside - if you lose 5 pounds a week eating low calories and think that's all fat - you aren't kidding anyone but yourself - but that's a whole other discussion.
Catabolism is something different. Your body doesn't have a storage system for Protein as it does carbohydrate. There are 9 essential amino acids. If you fail to provide these - and in sufficient quantity - when your body needs them - then your body will break down lean muscle tissue in order the supply itself with the nutrition it needs. That is a double edged sword for people trying to lose fat because it requires so many more calories to maintain lean muscle tissue than it does fat. The less lean muscle tissue you have - the harder it is to lose fat.

A little bit of info... I just got back from my monthly doc visit, and I saw the nutrionist in the hallway and asked if I could speak to her. She's a lovely woman and of course said yes.
I told her specifically about this thread and the starvation mode debate. She said she hates the term "starvation mode" because that is not what it is at all, it's really a self induced metabolic syndrome by lack of calories. She said when you aren't eating enough calories to sustain your body, it's not a matter of hanging onto calories but more that your metabolism goes "Oh I don't have to work so hard" and slows way down. That is why sometimes even a little caloric increase, 100 or 200, can make a huge difference in waking up the metabolism.
Now, when you TRULY are starving, it's a complete lack of nutrients and your body starts essentially eating it's own muscle tissue, resulting in the skeletal figures we think of when we think of starvation or even anorexia. (this is also why so many anorexics die from heart failure, the heart is a muscle).
So, straight from the expert. We're not starving by eating too little, we're slowing down our metabolism. I think that is where the debate comes in, because we call what is essentially a self induced metabolic syndrome "starvation mode", creating big misconceptions.

Tough topic for sure! We all wanna lose weight fast and furiously but slow and steady is actually best when it comes to your skin as it lets it adjust... Don't think your doomed though just because you have stretch marks. I had lots and some are many are still there but not all that noticeable. Definitely a "YMMV" topic. I wouldn't have been caught dead in public without a shirt on a few years ago but now I really enjoy shirtless summers.



Hydration, exercise, and rest are HUGE factors for your skin - but no two people are going to get the same results. IMO you just have to tip the scale in your favor and do everything you can to aid in skin recovery. Drink lots of Water, get adequate rest and exercise, plus quality lotions and cremes and you'll achieve the best results possible.

Not being able to eat early in the day is VERY common. In fact sitting and eating any meal for me is really a rare thing... I'm a grazer now... I eat a bite or two and then walk around doing other things and then return for a few more bites. It's more comfortable for me to eat standing and I frequently stretch too... There's no way I could just eat three meals a day in the 20 minutes or so I used too.
That being said... It is VERY counterproductive to outright skip consuming any nutrition in the first hour after rising. coffee and Water, of course, have no nutritional value. And waiting until lunch or afternoon to eat will cause long term problems, both in fat loss and everyday performance. This will kill your metabolism and fat loss efforts. Simply put, your body - like your car - runs on fuel - and it won't run well on crappy fuel or no fuel. Get some carbs and Protein even if it requires a Protein shake for breakfast everyday.

I have worn my port loud and proud for several years, and not let it stop me wearing a bikini. But i know what you mean, it does diminish the pleasure, mine was freaky. I also had a small but weird draping of loose skin over my belly button, but never enough to justify a tummy tuck.
Events transpired that i had a medically necessary tuck a few weeks ago to fix damage and scarring from recent surgery and my port was moved, and the back taken off it to reduce the profile. I eouldnt have believed that it coulf be hidden on my abdomen which had very little fat on it. But it is right ny my navel now in that natural pad of fat, instead of on the hollow sides of my belly.
It is really worth moving the port. All you cn see now is a very light mound and my new belly button is ever so slightly off centre, youd only notice if i stood still while you looked for it.

My friend was banded about a month before I was. She was very succesful at first and then (like most women do) decided she lost weight so she could cheat. When she started gaining and couldn't stop then her mentality was I eat a lot of ice cream because that is all I can get down. When I would say why can't you get a sugar free popsicle down she would shut down. Now she says she can't get anything but liquids down but I go to lunch with her and she eats the entire plate of food. One of her problems is she thinks the band is her miracle and she will go get filled but she is using slider foods and probably overfilling the band. I try not to say anything but I have suggested she just get it deflated and when she is mentaly ready start over because she is just torturing herself. I have had success but it isn't fast (I started with a low BMI) and it hasn't been easy. I have a short list of foods I can eat comfortably and my band is very touchy. You can be very successful but you have to be the one to do it and not expect the band to do the work for you.

What I have found from reading people's stories, 90% of the time people say "Lap Band didn't work for me" it should really read "I didn't work with my Lap Band"
Too often go into this surgery thinking it's some magic bullet that will make them lose weight without any work or change on their part. They don't follow up on their fills so they don't have any restriction and can eat as if they weren't banded at all. Or they eat small amounts but unhealthy foods, high in fat and calories. Some even eat around their bands, washing food through with Water so they can eat more or eating slider foods like crazy.
You must change your eating habits for a life time and work with your band. It's a tool and just like all tools if you don't use it correctly then it's not going to work.
It is pretty rare the band to truly fail someone, usually it's a matter of the person failing themselves.

@ bambam Just wanted to tell you.. you look amazing! Your an inspiration! I can tell you ahev really worked hard and it has definetly paid off

Low carb intake day after day has a cumulative effect and can greatly impact leptin levels which will hamper fat burning. If I have 3-5 low carb / reduced calorie days I will follow it up with a hi carb / hi calorie day. On that day though I don't cram slider foods in at once, rather spread the calories out. This is also a great strategy to break plateau's or even avoid them in the first place. And on a high carb day I'm not at all above including ice cream and chocoloate... lol Ice cream is probably something I'd die without... lol

I eat no less than 1200 a day thats with or without exercise... even though i exercise 4-5 times a week.. initially after surgery I had the eating less is best mentality and i finally convinced myself to eat the reccomended 1200 a day rather than the 600- 800 calories i was eating...and i went from losing 2 pounds a week (eating less) to losing 4-6 pounds a week (eating 1200 calories a day. Sometimes i do things to trick my body.. like not exercise for two days in a row and have a cheat day occasionally (no sweets though) by upping my card intake for one day.. i really dont do it often enough.. maybe once a month. once a week is reccomended. I do alot of reading up on fitness and have had personal success with tricking my metabolism into more weight loss by using some of these techniques on occasion. I personally do it rarely because i love to exercise and thrive on it..and because i am very set on my 1200 calories and very persistent in sticking with that (no more and no less). anyway...ill stop rambling now lol

Im so happy to see this thread and to know Im not alone. I too have coffee in the mrnings, Im going to add a protein shake to the mix now.... That way I not skippin meals!