isaviolinist

Charming in for the Premier Protein Shake from Costco. I love the taste - I drink one every morning. And the nutrition facts are great. If your doc doesn't require any particular shake, that's a great one to go with I think.

That's awesome that he was promoting non-GMO and organic. Buying locally is also a really good thing to do, as it reduces the amount of miles your food travels to get the supermarket, thus reducing your carbon foot print. Anyways, even if you don't eat a completely Veg diet, its great to buy organic, high quality ingredients (including meats and fish).

Its starting to help me (I've only been seeing this therapist for about a month, but I love her). Its definitely starting to help me think about things I haven't really thought about before, like the origins of my relationship with food, how binge eating "makes sense" for me (meaning how I use it to try and resolve something that is going on within me). I've also become more aware of the authentic me vs. the binge eater in me and also the other side of me that says I need to restrict what I'm eating completely (which undoubtedly leads to binge eating). Its been helpful so far and I'm looking forward to not feeling like I need to use bingeing as a means of coping. My therapist deals with eating disorder specifically and she runs a division of her eating disorder clinic that only deals with Binge Eating Disorder. This is the BED part of her clinic: http://www.stopcompulsiveeating.com/ and this is the main page for her eating disorder program: http://www.center4ed.org/ Its been helpful to see someone who is specifically focused on eating disorders. For me, the only REAL way that I will ever get a handle on my eating is to improve my mindset and relationship with food. The band has helped me tremendously in getting healthy, but nothing, not even the band, can help me with the head part.

I believe the Cybex Arc Trainer (which I love and swear by) has a weight limit of 400 pounds, so you may be able to get away with that. All of the Planet Fitness' that Ive gone to have the Cybex Arc Trainer. And I believe some of the Precor treadmills have a 500 pound weight limit (although it might be specific models so check on that). You could also just do some walking at a track (indoor if you live where its cold) or even walk laps around the mall. Whenever I feel like walking in the winter (I walk everyday when its warmer, so I start missing it in the winter) I go to the mall. I get to do laps around and get exercise while also doing some shopping too

Hey Everyone - Today I'm at 196.4. I'm glad for a loss, but this weekend was pretty bad as far as eating (totally ate WAY too much of all the wrong things), so I'm not surprised that I only lost .6 of a pound. Oh well. Hoping for a bigger loss next week in order to make my January goal of 193.6. So... isaviolinist Weight: 196.4

I basically agree with you. I LOVE my protein shakes, and sometimes I crave them (especially if I want something sweet at night). But I also advocate for a balanced diet. There are many people on LBT who like to label certain foods as "bad". But I don't think there are bad foods. Food (of any kind) becomes bad when its eaten in complete excess. I maintain a healthy and balanced diet including protein, fat and carbs (yep, even the "bad" ones...Im not giving up ice cream any time soon) and exercise tons and lose weight fairly rapidly doing so. When I was first banded, I cut out all the "bad" foods. And then I broke down (as it was like being on a diet) and went nuts with them and regained 50 pounds (which I have since lost plus more, eating a balanced diet and exercising). What I have been doing, instead of cutting out certain food groups, is going to therapy for my binge eating disorder in order to get my head on straight regarding food. That way, I'll be able to have some cookies in the house or ice cream in my freezer, yet I won't feel the compulsive need to eat everything in one sitting.

I'm a 'pescatarian'. I usually don't say that word because my family makes fun of it (not the diet, just the word). I stopped eat pork, red meat and poultry, long before my band but I'm so glad that I did. That, coupled with eating organic/non-GMO/environmentally sustainable/natural, etc. food, makes feel extremely energetic and just generally healthy. My fiance loves meat as does my family (and his family) but I could never imagine eating it again. And I very easily get in MORE than enough Protein everyday. Sometimes I wonder if its too much (on occasion its over 90 or 100 g a day).

I just got a Polar F11 heart rate monitor which tells me how many calories I've burned during a workout session. I do body composition assessments every 6 weeks at one of the places where I work out and they can also tell me how many calories I burn per day based on various data points.

I was in a similar situation as you (although you're better off at one year than I was). I had lost about 80 pounds initially. And then at my one year, I had probably gained about 30 back (I eventually gained almost 50 back). So at my one year I had really only lost 50 pounds or so. In September (and 50 pounds later), I picked myself back up and got back on track. I've since lost all that I had regained plus more. If I can do this, you can too!! Start tomorrow with baby steps. Track your food or go work out for 30 minutes. If you can't do everything all at once, its fine. Just take baby steps and get yourself back on track 1 step at a time!

I cross train (in a class) 3-4 times a week, use the elliptical and arc trainer 3-4 times a week, and sometimes do a spinning class. When its warm outside, I walk 2-3 miles everyday too. Can't wait for spring - I'm really missing my walks. One of the best parts of my day.

I had a HORRIBLE stomach virus over New Years and I can attest to the fact that you can vomit with the band. It doesn't feel any different than pre-band but it just sucks. I've also had food poisoning twice with my band and threw up a lot both those times. So yep, vomiting is totally possible, unfortunately.

I don't really believe in starvation mode (and I especially don't believe in it for those of us that are overweight or obese). If you are burning more than you're consuming you will lose weight (a lot of people on LBT disagree with that scientific principal...I'm sure someone is going to voice their opinion about calories in vs calories out any minute ('opinion' being the operative word)....but its science...its just the way things work). How many calories do you consume a day? What is your exercise like? I eat between 800-1000 calories a day. I'm pretty short and somedays (aside from exercise during which I usually burn anywhere from 800-1300 calories a day which gives me the extra weight loss boost that I want) I only burn 1400-1500 calories. I lose anywhere between 1.5-5 pound a week (with an average over many weeks of about 2.8-3 pounds per week). But I log my food pretty anally and I exercise religiously (you don't need to exercise in order to lose weight, but if you do, the weight will come off faster as you're burning many more calories a day than you would without it, and I find that my body looks better with exercise. I'm starting to have a waist, the top of me is pretty narrow, etc). As far as your trainer, she doesn't sound very supportive. I turn in food logs to my trainer every week. He understands that I deal with compulsive eating issues (which I'm in therapy for) and he just wants to help me. And he especially wants to see my logs when they're not as great as they could've been. He's obviously not a therapist, but he wants to support me however he can. So maybe seek out a different trainer. Also, have you changed the balance of macro nutrients in your diet since your unfill? Were you eating no-carbs prior to being unfilled and now have gone back to carbs? I'm not a carb-free bandster (or anything-free...I just eat a balanced diet including Protein, carbs and fat), but if you recently started eating carbs, you may be retaining Fluid (carbs do that). Also, if its only been a week since your weight started going up, I wouldnt worry too much about it. In a period of 7 days, my weight can fluctuate up and down 6-7 pounds. That's what makes scale weight tricky - its not really the entire picture. So if its been 4 months and you're steadily gaining weight, that would be something to look into. But if the scale has gone up a pound or two in the past 7 days, thats pretty normal (especially if you have adjusted your diet differently).

It varies from person to person. Some people have trouble with lettuce, others are fine with it. Personally, I could eat 5 cups of lettuce and it wouldnt effect me in the least. Its true that there isn't really Protein in salads (or lettuce to be exact), but at 6-8 calories a cup, I love it and definitely choose it. And there are always ways to make salad more interesting and protein-packed. Here is a cabbage salad recipe from my blog: http://violinistwithaband.blogspot.com/2010/11/recipe-guilt-free-cabbage-salad-and.html And when I just want something quick, a salad with avocado, carrots, some cheddar and some tuna is a great meal and super healthy. Just measure out your dressings and dip instead of pouring the dressing on top.

Depending upon your insurance, you may need to do a 6 month supervised diet but if your BMI is 50, you won't have a problem if your ins covers WLS. The bariatric surgeon's office can help you. Just make sure you choose a reputable surgeon with an organized and responsive office staff.

Hey everyone, my blog is in my signature I also love following blogs. Its a great way to support one another!

I haven't found any studies that suggest that water aids in weight loss (its something that I'm interested in so I'm always looking for some evidence, one way or the other) but it does help with general bodily functions. And it especially helps BMs, as sometimes that can be a problem for banded folks. I don't think water will help you lose weight, but it will certainly help maintain general health. And its especially important to stay extra hydrated if you're working out a lot.

The above poster is correct. I'm constantly trying to figure out how to lose inches around my lower abs and hips (I'm also pear shaped). Unfortunately, the fat comes off where it wants to, regardless of how you exercise. But if you just continue to exercise it will come off. Since September (which isn't when I was banded, but when I started working out like crazy), I've lost 8 inches around my abdomen, 7.5 inches around my waist and 9.5 inches around my hips. So it does happen. I still have a belly but its reducing. I have about 45-50 pounds to go, and I imagine my stomach will be pretty much gone by then (excess skin is another issue however).

For the period right after my surgery, I just asked that people not bring foods like that into the house. Especially because its just so important to stick to the post op diet. So perhaps you could ask your husband to hold off on those kinds of things that get your taste buds going for awhile? After your post op diet, you should just try to eat things in moderation. I don't cut anything out - I just don't go crazy with it. When I was restricting certain foods, I would eventually break down and eat a ridiculous portion of it (like 4 milkshakes instead of one small one...now, if I want some ice cream, I have some, but I'm able to put it away after a moderate amount and I don't make it a habit of having ice cream everyday). But for now, maybe you should ask that people don't bring those trigger foods into the house.

Thanks so much mimi!!! I'm routing for you! I never thought I would get here, yet it came so fast!! You'll be in onederland before you know it!

The formula for losing weight is pretty simple. Consume fewer calories than you burn. If you do that, you will lose. If you consume the SAME amount of calories as you burn, you will maintain your current weight. If you consume MORE calories than you burn, you will gain. So OP, if you have not lost and have not gained, then you are eating the same amount of calories as you are burning on a daily basis. It really doesn't matter if you cut your portions in half, and cutting portions in half does not necessarily mean weight loss. If you were consuming 6000 calories daily previously, and now you are consuming 3000 calories daily, you won't lose weight (unless you spend your entire day at the gym....doesn't sound like that's the case for you). It is, in fact, possible to lose weight eating hamburgers or whatever other thing you feel like you want to eat. However, if you eat more than what you burn, you won't lose. That's the story. Simple answer to your query. Track your food, see how many calories youre consuming, and adjust it. (And if you do track your food and you find your eating 1600 or 1700 calories or day, and you're not losing, it means that your body burns that amount per day...I'm 5'2, and despite my crazy workouts, my body only burns 2300-2600 calories daily where others would be burning 3000-3200 doing the same activity...sucks for me, but just means I have to eat fewer calories).

Sometimes you can get maki that is wrapped with thinly sliced cucumber and no rice instead of traditional nori. When we go to a restaurant that serves this type of maki I always get a roll. Its pretty band friendly. There is also something called mamenori which is soy paper. Not many places serve it but I do much better with mamenori (and rice isn't generally a problem for me) so I also get a roll if that option is available. I also make my own maki at home which is a little better in terms of ingredients - and I can use cucumber or mamenori if I want.

Hm - I have 2 views on this. I don't think doctors should guilt their patients. It is part of the cycle of compulsive overeating and isn't productive. So you should talk to your doc about that. Its good to have constructive criticism. But just making a patient feel bad is counterproductive. As far as doing your part, the above poster is right. Its apparent that you must be cutting calories as you have lost. However, its easy to predict what you will lose based upon your calorie deficit. If you have a deficit of 3500 calories a week, you'll lose 1 pound a week. You can tweek that number via exercise and daily calorie intake. So if you're goal is to lose 2 pounds a week, arrange it so you'll have a 7000 calorie deficit and you will lose 2 pounds a week (if you weigh weekly, it won't be 2 pounds everytime since the scale fluctuates, but if you average your loss over a period of 6-8 weeks, it will come out roughly be 2 pounds a week). It sounds like right now you have a calorie deficit of 1700-1900 calories a week (if you're losing roughly 2 pounds a month). Eat fewer calories (track this on some place like fitday.com...you'll be surprised how much you're actually consuming) and exercise more and you'll lose weight. If there are other factors (head issues, compulsive eating etc), its definitely worth it to talk to someone about it. I've found that the band doesn't help me with my head issues surrounding food - that's 100% on me.

A lot of people go back to liquids for awhile. I usually don't eat anything solid until dinner (my band is too tight for solids until 6 or 7 pm), so I essentially do liquids for 24 hours or so, and that usually remedies any irritation that may have occurred.

Strange advice in this thread. Please follow your doctor's orders. And please don't substitute feel good advice from people who are not lap band surgeons for your doctor's prescribed plan. Sure, every doctor is different re: the preop diet, but just do what your doc says. Maybe some of the people on this forum who didn't get their band the first time around because they didn't follow preop diet instructions will chime in. Anyways, 3 bites of chicken isn't going to sabotage you, but just do what you're doctor has told you to do.

I can relate to what you are saying. My band was too tight after a fill and I started resorting to sliders like milkshakes. But even when I wasn't tight, I was still drinking milkshakes. Well, I gained almost 50 pounds back doing that. In September, I resolved to get my head back in the game. I started working out like a maniac (and chose a fitness center with a comprehensive program which includes classes, nutritional counseling, body composition assessments, rehab for injuries, etc), changed what I was eating, started getting creative with cooking etc. Since I started that in sept. I have lost all that I gained plus more. And I feel better than ever. It is hard to turn things around, and we get stuck in a vicious cycle of beating ourselves up for our choices, eating to comfort, beating ourselves up etc. Round and round we go with that. But the only advice I can give is get back on track before it gets out of control - you will be so thankful you did later. And honestly, he hardest part is initiating the process. Once you've gotten back to the gym that initial time, logged into your food tracker, etc it becomes MUCH easier. So just do it today. Don't make an excuse. Trust me. You don't want to be looking at the scale 50 pounds later saying, "wow, wish I would've gotten back on track before It got this out of control".