isaviolinist

I track calories pretty anally. I use a combination of calorie tracking and measuring/weighing. 3/2 would never work for me as I do have Snacks at night (Im working on controlling this better through therapy, but its hard) and so if I'm going to have them, I'll at least stop when I run out of calories (the band doesn't help me with the snacks). I also don't eat Breakfast. My first meal is at noon and its a Protein shake because I generally can't eat much that early in the day. So I would have to fit 3 actual meals in starting at noon with 3/2 which I probably wouldn't be able to do. When I don't track calories and just wing it, I go WAY overboard since its easy for me to not think about what I eat when I dont track it. I don't specifically do low carb or anything but when I eat non-grain protein my carbs are usually not crazy high (under 50 a day or so maybe? Sometimes snacks make it higher...Im not overly focused on it but I do try to eat quality carbs/grains) and I usually eat anywhere between 70-100g of protein a day. I do 2 hours of cardio and cross training 6 days a week and some light exercise (walking or 30 minutes on the elliptical) on the 7th day, just to give my body a little break. When I'm really on track and following my plan for calories (850-950 a day), I lose an average of 3.5-3.9 pounds a week. Obviously that will probably change the more weight that I lose as you burn fewer calories during the day the lighter you are, but so far I'm happy with the way its going. I have heard that 3/2 (or at least not eating at night) can boost metabolism. If I start having problems with metabolism or just being tired, I may try to not eat at night (although right now, even if I wake up at 6AM and don't go to sleep until 11 or midnight, I still have trouble falling asleep). As I get a handle on my food addiction, that may become a reality (I would love to be able to really CHOOSE to not to eat, instead of feeling panicked and like I NEED to eat). Interesting thread.

The timeline depends on so many different things including surgeon, office/program, insurance type, how booked up your surgeon is, how fast you can get in for preop testing, etc. I was banded at a "BCBS Bariatric Center of Excellence" so it didn't take anytime for me to get approved. My surgeon had a relationship with BCBS so the approval was almost automatic. I can't remember all of the preop tests/appointments but there were a lot, including 2 sleep studies, dietician, psych, pulmonary/lung, anesthesia, ultrasound, upper gi, group nutrition session, etc. There may have been a few others, but I can't remember now, but as I said, the amount and type of testing varies with each doctor/program. I went to an intro seminar at the end of April I think and had surgery mid-June. So a little less than 2 months? My surgery was also postponed for a week (long story...it was originally scheduled for June 11 2009). I probably could've done it faster but I was in grad school and needed to wait until I graduated to have the surgery. I started my preop diet right after graduation basically. Luckily, you've already taken care of the 6 month diet which some insurance company's require. So that will knock a big chunk of time off of your "wait time".

Congrats on your 2nd bandiversary and your awesome success!! 113 pounds is amazing! Definitely inspirational

Isn't having energy and endurance at the gym the greatest thing? I love it too. Congrats on that awesome NSV!

I joined a fitness center in September which helps me monitor my fat loss vs. muscle loss (every 6 weeks they do a body composition where they take skin folds to determine my body fat percentage, how much fat mass I've lost, how much muscle mass I've lost, etc). Its inevitable that you'll lose some muscle mass as you lose weight because your body doesn't need to maintain all that muscle mass to function. But if you work out and monitor it with a trainer (or some kind of fitness practitioner), they can help you design a plan to maximize your muscle gain (although you'll lose some) and fat loss.

I used to drink Unjury for the first month or two postop, but now I drink Premier Protein shakes (160 calories, 5g carbs (3g of fiber), 30g protein). I drink one for lunch around noon. I still think the taste is good in Unjury shakes but I really like the taste of the Premier Protein (until I started drinking these I also drank Muscle Milk which I also liked the taste of). I think, even more than the taste, its just the convenience of being able to grab the shake out of the fridge and not mess around with blenders and things. Plus I don't need to order it online - I can go to costco and just pick up a case.

I was going everyday but it was difficult and sometimes it was really hard. So I started eating fiber gummies (4 a day approx) and it has REALLY helped. I don't really have problems with BMs lately. 4 days seems long. Maybe try adding fiber (or a supplement lime the gummies) to your diet? With all the focus on protein, sometimes bandsters don't get enough fiber.

You have a great attitude! Stick to your preop instructions and you'll do great the preop diet was not that fun, but I used the weightloss to motivate me to stick with it. Congrats on your upcoming surgery - you're going to do great!

I LOVE bariatric eating. When I can't decide what I want to make for dinner, its my goto website for recipes. I also love reading all the blogs that I follow. Its great hearing the experiences of others.

Glad you found LBT! I've found that it's such a great tool for keeping me accountable (along with blogging and logging all my food). So stick around - this site can be a great tool to aid you in your journey with your band and to better health. Congrats on your upcoming surgery! It'll be here before you know it.

Congrats on your surgery! Glad you are feeling better:) stick around LBT. It's a great resource. Welcome!

I don't know what you're doctor called you, but I didn't call you a liar (maybe just a bad mathematician? ). If your calories were in the range of 1200-1800 and you were losing less than 2 pounds a week, that would be right on target according to the calories in vs out theory (regardless of what you thought you should be/wished you were losing per week). It seems that YOU feel you know it all (even more than doctors and researchers who have decades upon decades of research and experience behind them). And I'm always open to be further Enlightened on a subject (as I'm sure many others here would be too...because I think the majority of people think the calories in vs out theory seems pretty reasonable). So I guess I'll just hang tight and wait on that list of credible sources/research (your *feelings* on the issue don't count as a source ).

I'm sorry. I was about to go to sleep when this came up on my phone and I really needed to respond. I'm assuming you weren't eating 1800 calories everyday. So based on a 1400 calorie per day diet (as an average) that leaves you with 600 calories per day deficit (again, based on you age, gender and weight you are probably burning 2000 calories a day without exercise and from your other posts you mentioned that you lost 70 pounds without exercise). That's a 4200 calorie deficit a week which is just slightly over 1 pound lost per week (I'm not sure how you came up with at least 2 pounds a week but if I'm missing some math feel free to correct me). Even if you were consistently eating 1200 calories a day, that's a 5600 weekly calorie deficit which is still 1400 calories short of 2 pounds per week. It doesn't matter how much below your pre band calorie intake you are or whether you *feel* in your heart of hearts that weight loss is not about calories in vs out, science says otherwise. If you are sure that you are consuming less than you are burning, and you're not losing, then something else is the issue. If you have other scientific evidence or credible sources that have disproved the science of energy in vs energy out I'd love to see them. I'm the first one to gripe about how difficult losing weight is ( with or without WLS) and how frustrating certain metabolic issues can be for those overweight and the difficulties in dealing with our relationship with food but please, let's not kid ourselves about the science of it all just to get some *warm fuzzies*. There are other ways to support each other besides denial.

Based on your surgery date, I'm assuming your 1st fill was 3ish weeks ago? Based on your sex, weight and age, at the VERY least, not counting exercise, you should be burning 2200-2400 calories a day. So based on that (and an 800 calorie per day diet), you should have an average calorie deficit of 10500 calories per week. That would amount to an average of 3 pounds lost per week (Water weight and other things fluctuate on a daily and weekly basis...so you should look at your loss over a longer period of time, like 4-6 weeks for accuracy...if you've lost 12 pounds more or less in 4 weeks, then you're calorie tracking is correct). Again, thats not counting any exercise you're doing. So if your 1st fill was in fact 3 weeks ago, and you lost 4 pounds in 3 weeks (which is not bad...1.33 pounds a week is great), then either you're not tracking your calories accurately or for some reason you're not burning anywhere near the calories per day that someone your weight, age and sex typically should be. If its the latter, that is probably what is confusing your doctor and perhaps is something you should look into (do you have PCOS or hypothyroid or any other metabolism issue?). Just out of curiosity, how many calories do you burn on the treadmill, what is your daily level of activity (do you sit around or are you on your feet all day at work?), and how do you track your calories (online? notebook? where do you get your calorie values from? do you weigh food? etc)? Weightloss is simply calories in < calories out. You need to have a deficit of 3500 calories to lose one pound so if you can calculate your weekly calorie deficit, it is cut and dry figuring out how much you should be losing (and again, you should look at your loss over a longer period for accuracy).

Congrats on losing 4 pounds! Thats awesome! The gym is a great place I dont love working out all the time, but I often look forward to going (I used to just dread it). And when I am dreading it, I just put on my big girl pants and suck it up - and then its over before I know it! As far as the other thing, I saw the post that you're talking about. On the one hand, there are MANY people on LBT who think that they've got everything figured out as far as diet and what SHOULD be eaten, and what food is "bad" and should be avoided. And I think for a lot of those people, their diets work for them, but they misunderstand that everyone is different and often have a self-righteous attitude about their lifestyle. I don't think they're jealous - I think they just think they're right and most everyone else is wrong. I'm like you in some ways - I don't deprive myself as thats when I get into trouble. I just try to eat my little treats in moderation and also keep treats in the house that are a little healthier so if I do feel the compulsion to go overboard, I can eat 4-5 cups of popcorn and it will only be 100 calories. On the OTHER hand, I personally acknowledge my issues with food and am seeing an eating disorder therapist to deal with my compulsive eating. I also have hypothyroidism, PCOS, insulin resistance, hormone imbalances, low metabolism, yadda yadda you name it, I have it. And yes, all of those issues have perhaps compounded my weight issues (or at least they haven't helped me lose weight), but to gain the amount of weight that I did, so that I was obese and required WLS, was all on me. And I do have "mental" issues (maybe not the way I would phrase it...but I have issues) surrounding my relationship with food. So on that point, I'd probably agree with the poster who suggested you may have issues you that you might want to take a look at (on your own, or with a therapist)...she just didn't phrase it as gently perhaps as she could've. I'm not sure if the medical issues you're referring to are your PCOS and thyroid, but with all due respect, it seems to me that if you're attributing/blaming your weight and the fact that you needed to have WLS on your thyroid and PCOS, you may have some issues that you could look at (but you'll only start looking at them when you're ready...and maybe you're not ready yet?). If you're referring to some other medical issues, my apologies in advance as I don't know your history or situation.

Yay! Isn't it going to be fun to be one of the thin bridesmaids?! I can't wait I'm actually looking forward to the pictures!

Wowza! That is so low. Is there a medical reason why you don't lose weight when you eat 800 calories? I don't know how much you weigh (or how tall you are), but I'm at 204ish, and am only 5'2 and burn (before exercise) around 1750-1850 calories a day. That seems strange that you wouldn't lose eating 800 calories a day as I've never heard of someone only burning 800 calories in a day. And is 470 calories a day something that you are attempting to maintain forever? I agree. Calories in < Calories Out = weight loss.

I used the weightloss on the preop diet as my motivation to stick with it. I loved seeing the pounds coming off so fast. Does your surgeon not require you to quit smoking prior to surgery? I'm definitely not trying to scare you, but smoking can cause complications during surgery especially with anesthesia. Plus you'll need to be able to breathe deeply - they'll probably give you an incentive spirometer to aid in this - in order to ensure your lungs are healthy and not filling with Fluid, and that you are not at risk of getting pneumonia, when you come out of surgery (the spirometer is hard after surgery if you don't smoke...I can't imagine how it would be if you were a smoker). Those who smoke also generally have a more difficult time with recovery. In the long term (aside from the obvious health risks of smoking), you're also making exercise much harder for yourself if you can't breathe. If your doctor does require you to quit smoking, I would tell him that you haven't so he is aware before he performs the surgery.

That seems strange to me. I wasn't rushed through anything (appointments, multiple meetings with my surgeon, meetings with members of his team etc) and felt that I had all my questions answered, my surgeon knew my history very thoroughly, I was familiar with all the members of the surgical team etc... One thing I would think about: Lapband requires so much follow-up. Meaning you'll need to have a longterm relationship with your surgeon, and the members of his staff/office. If you are comfortable with him and his staff despite how hasty/disorganized/disinterested (or whatever else) they have been, then go for it. If you feel the least bit uncomfortable, I would run the other direction and fast.

I think you can mix it with anything you want. I used to mix it with skim milk (I drink more premade shakes now) but I'm sure water would be fine too.

My brother is also getting married in May!! I have to go for my bridesmaid dress fitting at the beginning of April and I'm REALLY looking forward to the dress being huge When they ordered it, they ordered a size 22-24...Hoping I'll be down 8-10 sizes at that point

That scale sounds awesome!! Maybe when my current scale poops out, I'll look into that one. It sounds great!

I realized that I never replied to this but I meant to. I often ask myself how I allowed myself to regain 50 pounds because when I had lost it initially, I remember thinking to myself that I would never go back there. However, I eat compulsively and food is an addiction for me. So when I am compulsively eating, it doesn't matter if my true, authentic self is screaming that I need to be good to myself and my body, and that eating is not going to solve my problems (sometimes its not a problem...sometimes its just boredom or habit). My compulsive self screams WAY louder. For me, compulsively eating makes sense in that it solves something or fills a void that I'm having. I still am not sure what its solving or how its making sense, and its something that I'm working on. I guess for those months where I was gaining weight, my compulsive voice was WAY louder than my authentic voice (who was trying to be heard but with no success). Now that I have relost the 50 pounds I gained, I am going to therapy to try to deal with the underlying cause of all of this. And so in a way, this time around, I am trying to make this not about losing weight, but getting healthy (physically and mentally). For me, my band has helped with many things, but not my compulsion to eat (and if you are addicted to food, there are many foods you can eat that will slide right through the band). So I'm hoping through introspection and therapy, I'll be able to sustain a healthy lifestyle for good. That, combined with assistance from my band, will lead to me being successful permanently.

LOL that was my though too. I was thinking "When I have extra calories left at the end of the evening, I force myself to go to sleep as quickly as possible so I don't start eating again". LOL. I also still have issues with my relationship to food as well RandomRan - I horde my calories too. I'm working on not doing that, but I'm glad I'm not the only one.

For me, when I get into the "Ive failed...I hate myself...this is another failed diet attempt" mode, that's when this really destructive cycle happens. It seems like thats what you might be in. Especially with your doctor being disappointed on top of your own frustration. I initially lost 80ish pounds with the band, and then gained 50 back. When I got to the 50, I was in such a pattern of self sabotage it was hard to face anything. It seemed impossible. Honestly, the hardest part was just calling the gym to make an appointment, facing the scale for the first time, logging back into LBT, restarting my blog...Once I had actually taken the initial steps to do those things, it wasn't nearly as hard. But before I did it, it seemed impossible, and I also thought I have failed another diet. Since doing all those things, Ive lost the 50 I gained back and feel better than I ever have since getting my band. Start with one good thing for yourself TODAY. Go take a walk. Buy a food scale. Plan a meal (including calculating the nutrition facts) and then make it (and dont add that extra tablespoon of butter you think it might need...or the extra half cup of cream that would make the sauce even better....just stick to your plan). I have a lot of recipes on my blog if you need ideas. Just start with one thing today. And build from that.