CuriousJ

I don't know what is going on with your body, but will tell you that with mine, loss does not occur at that caloric intake. It's insane--and I spent many years in denial because every authority I ever talked to or read informed me that eating below that level would be detrimental to me.

BUT, after years of journaling my intake--whether doing low-carb or not---I concluded (with help) that my body needs 800-1000 calories/day to lose (when I have weight to lose), and to maintain (when I am at normal weight).

I have the same problem, Betsy. My endocrinologist told me I was lucky to burn 800 calories a day, and that if I wanted to increase my resting metabolic rate, I had to exercise, exercise, exercise ... my endo was the first MD to suggest the band as well, although it wasn't until my second endo said the same thing that my PCP and I really started paying attention.

May I ask whether you have thyroid issues also?

I thought meal sized salads were not good for bandsters? Since you are supposed to eat your Protein first, a salad as a meal wouldn't work with that rule.

I rarely eat salad without some kind of Protein in it -- chicken, tuna, even lean steak (with blue cheese crumbles, yum!). I also add a diced boiled egg to most salads I'm eating as a meal. Taco salad is great, although the main part for me is meat with cheese melted over it, topped by lettuce, Tomato, onion, diced chile pepper ... cobb salad is yum too, but high in calories unless you "Water down" the dressing and eliminate the bacon.

I'm feeling a little better, starting to actually feel like I have some energy, which is a shocking change. I really starting to think there was something wrong with me because I never have any energy.

LOL. I went through the same thing. You'd think that with the 80+ grams of Protein I was getting daily with Clear Liquids that "technically" I wouldn't have had an energy problem, but I really did. It wasn't until I started back on solids that my energy came back.

And as long as I stick to the high protein/low carb diet, I even find myself waking up, refreshed and ready to go, an hour or so before my alarm goes off! That has never happened to me before!

So, good luck to you -- I'm glad to hear that putting more veggies into your diet and worrying less about calories seems to be helping.

Also, If you are committing to a high protein/low carb diet, you may want to pick up some Keto sticks at your pharmacy. You use these sticks each morning to measure whether your body is going into ketosis -- fat burning mode. In ketosis, your body goes into a metabolic state in which it burns its own fat for fuel. The deeper into ketosis you are, the more quickly you are, theoretically at least, burning fat. Thus, even if you hit a weight loss plateau, just knowing that you are in full fat-burning mode seems to help with sticking to the diet plan. In my experience, if you can maintain your metabolism at the third or fourth level of ketosis, you should see sustained and significant weight loss -- although, as with any other diet, YMMV.

As with anything else, check with your doctor before going on a strict Atkins-like high protein/low-carb diet that will cause ketosis and, again, good luck!

I am SO FRUSTRATED!! I was banded May 5th, so I am 18 days post op and on mushies until Wednesday when I start the regular diet. (Really hoping I can eat some salad.)

I basically lost all restriction over a week ago. I try to stick to only 1 cup of food per meal and only 3 meals per day. Sometimes I wind up with about 1 1/4 cups if I'm really hungry. I'm trying to stay with mostly all Protein, but it's hard...I'm craving vegetables. I've never really liked candy or chocolate so that's not an issue.

I feel so lost. I know this is supposed to be bandster hell and all...but I really feel like I'm walking around blinded in the dark.

Could somebody please tell me what I'm doing wrong? Or better yet, how to get this right?

I was banded on May 5 also, and was on Clear Liquids for 2.5 weeks. Metabolism is a strange creature. I lost about 15 lbs, in the first week but then gained back 2-3 lbs. in the second week, while still on the clear liquid only diet. Go figure.

My surgeon didn't want me to go through a "mushy" or "puree" stage; he told me to go straight to high protein/low carb solids. So I did that on May 19, and I'm losing more than a pound a day now on average -- so yes, you may need to increase your calorie intake to trick your body into coming out of "starvation mode."

I am eating WAY less carbs than you. I limit myself to 20 grams of carbs per day, and I get almost all of my carbs from veggies -- you can eat a lot of veggies and salads without exceeding 20 grams of carbs! I'm not watching calories at all at this point, and -- as I said -- I'm losing regularly. I'd definitely add veggies/salads to your diet unless your surgeon is opposed for some reason.

Good luck!

no you don't need to have anything done before you fly. Some people apparently experience extra tightness but this should resolve when you land. You are more likely to experience problems if you are newly banded as then their is air and not saline in the band. The air can expand - saline doesn't.

I flew from Australia to South Africa and back in Dec. 3 flights - 24 hrs each way. No problems. LOL I even managed to eat the plane food.

Thank you so much! I travel frequently for work, and I was having nightmares, thinking I'd have to have procedures done everytime I needed to take a business trip. I couldn't understand why no one had ever said anything to me before I got banded. What a relief!

You have to have the air taken out when you fly, you can't do certain exercises, blah, blah, blah.

I don't understand. Can you clarify this statement? Are you saying that you have to have some kind of procedure done before you fly? What about on the return flight when you don't have access to your surgeon? This is troublesome ... I've never heard of this restriction before.

Aetna has this rqmt for high bp. They say it has to be 'medically refractory' which basically means that it is still high despite 'optimal medical management'. Luckily for me, I have terrible white coat hypertension (meaning mine always spikes when I go to the doctor anyway) so I have lots of high readings at the doctor's office even if it is pretty well controlled otherwise. I am going for a sleep study as well, though, just in case my high bp is not enough. The silly thing is that if someone wanted to trick the system, they could just not take their bp medicine that morning. Or, take some pseudaphed (sp?). Not that I'm suggesting these things, but for someone w/high bp to begin w/its easy to get a high reading if they need one.

thanks AdaGray -- I do have, I think, two severe co-morbidities -- HBP, which was initially resistant to treatment, but now seems to be working (after PCP doubled starting dosage). I've also learned from my endocrinologist that I was pre-diabetic a year ago. My PBP didn't say anything about that to me, and my endo thinks there's a good chance I'm diabletic now. I get my blood sugars tested next week.

so, taking sudafed spikes HP? I didn't know that ... hmmmm. It's funny, but I was thinking that the stress alone was going to start driving my BP up! I was also desperate enough to think that I could stop taking my thyroid meds for a month and easily gain 20 lbs, which makes the whole point moot, because that would drive my BMI up to 40. I really really don't want to start at any higher weight, though, expecially since my bariactric surgeons are notorious for pushing gastric bypass over the band, and equally notorious for being ultra-conservative with the fills ...

Anyway, thanks so much for the info -- please let me know how your approvals go. I am glad that my insurance doesn't force me to document five years back, as that would really be difficult for me. Good luck to you!

Has anyone here had experience with Calpers Blue Shield HMO? Per instructions at the seminar I attended last night, I called my HMO to ask some questions about coverage of weight loss surgery. The answers were all what I had been led to expect -- BMI of 40-49, no co-morbidities; BMI of 35+ plus one severe co-morbidity, no other documentation.

Here's the catch -- in order for the co-morbidity to "count," it must be resistant to "intensive medical therapies." So, in other words, if I have HBP and diabetes that can be controlled by medication, these co-morbids cannot be used to justify weight loss surgery. This makes no sense to me -- I thought insurances approved WLS to get people off these drugs! The only other approved co-morbid is sleep apnea -- I've never been tested, but I've heard most obese people suffer from it.

At the same time, the member services representative kept stressing that the medical group "knew the guidelines" and would present the "appropriate package" if it recommended WLS. So, I am really confused. Will the medical group "finesse" the package they submit to my insurance? Will they simply have me do the sleep apnea test, with the expectation that I will suffer from that condition? Has anyone else heard of these co-morbidity restrictions for WLS?

If so, could you please share? As I said, I'm really confused ...

I can also tell you having student loans even while still in college ups your credit score, even if it's still being deferred.

O/T, but are you saying that student loans raise your credit score (which is a positive thing)? I'm puzzled because, as far as I can see, my student loans have never had any impact on my credit score (I've run my credit once or twice a year for the last seven years, and student loans don't appear to factor into the score at all, based on the credit analyses that I've received with the reports).

Thanks.

Some more info on this thread. This information is consistent with what I am being told by new patient referral as well ...

http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f11/any-one-form-ca-use-uc-davis-medical-center-40886/

Hey Doc1857,

I asked the same question on the Sacramento thread -- you can try that, and I will also respond once I talk to the UC Davis bariatric new patient referral. I too am wondering if these drs perform lap band, but it doesn't sound promising that they do.

If you've heard anything in the meantime, could you let me know as well? Thanks!

Hi All,

I've been skimming this section trying to obtain some info about lap band surgery and UC Davis. My PCP referred me to the UC Davis bariatric unit with a notation that I wanted to explore all weight loss strategies with the exception of gastric bypass surgery. I'm very interested in the lap band surgery, and UCDMC is my insurance-covered COE, so I thought I'd be fine.

I just got the packet from Dr. Ali et al at UC Davis Bariatrics, and it appears, from the information provided, that they ONLY perform gastric bypass -- no info on lap band or other less invasive surgeries than bypass is provided.

Does anyone know anything about this? I know from this thread that UC Davis used to provide lap band surgery but, based on the more recent entries, it seems that you all are having to go to San Francisco for this procedure. Does anyone have any experience with CA Blue Cross and UCDMC carrier insured lap band surgeries? Or does anyone know if the bariatric team at UC Davis still performs lap band surgeries?

Thanks in advance!