ElfiePoo

You're doing this for you, yes? Then I wouldn't worry about how your friends and family feel. Just do your research and go into it with eyes wide open. The band is not a quick fix. It will most likely not physically restrict how much you can eat unless you're also willing to have frequent stuck and sliming episodes...which my doctor says are a sign of an overfill. The band works, not by physically restricting how much you can eat, but by putting pressure on your vagus nerves which tell the stomach to quit producing ghrelin, the hunger hormone. It may take months depending on how aggressive your doctor is with fills...and you will most likely be hungry unless you're one of the lucky ones who gets enough pressure with just the band. If you know you're having surgery in March, start making changes now. Eliminate sugar from your diet. If you can eliminate artificial sweeteners too, even better because they cause sweet cravings. After a week or so, try and eliminate wheat products as they're also the source of cravings. If your insurance or doctor requires a month long liquid diet pre-surgery and/or a month long liquid/mushie diet post surgery, elimination of these cravings will be a plus. If you want to lose successfully with the band, then you will have to diet. As you get closer to your goal weight, unless you're willing to lose only a pound here or there, you'll also have to exercise. The band doesn't replace either of these. What it will do is get rid of your 'hunger', although there is a small chance the band won't put enough pressure on those vagus nerves...but there's no way of knowing that ahead of time. .

I don't know about you but sometimes I defeat myself with an all or nothing attitude. I finally got back on track when I did it in baby steps. To start, I just cut out wheat products and sugar since they go hand in hand. Amazingly, after about a week, a lot of my cravings disappeared. I didn't worry about carbs at that point other than to keep them under 200. However, most days my carbs never went over 100. Then I 'officially' dropped my carbs to under 100. About a week after that I dropped them to 60 and eliminated any carbs that came from anything other than vegies. .

Do you want to eat and eat because you're hungry...or just out of habit? The band won't help with the habit. It will help with the hunger. Be patient. Sometimes it takes several fills. Also, give your fill some time. I never feel anything after my first fill. It takes almost 2 weeks to kick in. And yes, I find if I'm not drinking enough Water, I tend to 'graze'. .

I keep seeing posts by people who claim that the failure rate of the band is 50% or some such with the view that it is the band that has failed. I wonder, though, how many of those weren't band failure...but failure by the individual to 'work' the band. What percentage quit working the band when they discovered that after the first 20-30 pounds, it wasn't going to be enough to just eat less...they were actually going to have to diet and "if I still have to diet, why bother getting the band?" What percentage quit working the band when they discovered that the band wasn't physically restricting how much they could eat and that they would have to use some self-control? What percentage quit working the band when they discovered it wasn't going to stop them from eating all the bad foods or grazing all day? What percentage never started working the band and just expected that somehow, by having the band, the weight would just drop off? I have no doubt that the band has failed some...that it never did control the hunger...but I'll bet that percentage is much smaller than 50%. .

I'm very glad you finally found your way and are losing. However, I would disagree with you re: the sweet spot. I am at my sweet spot (cessation of hunger) and can still eat as much as I did preband. Even when I had almost 3cc more than I have now and overfilled, I could still eat as much as I did pre-band. I would also disagree with waiting until you are "really really" hungry to eat first thing in the morning. If I waited until I was really really hungry, I wouldn't stop eating until I'd eaten enough for 3 people. .

I posted this on another thread in response to someone, but I know some of you only read this one so thought I'd post it here. So, this 1 lb a week weight loss has really been bugging me. The math just wasn't clicking for me. If I need 2100 calories to maintain my current weight, then dropping my calories to 1200 and doing Tae Bo should have given me at least a 2 lb loss each week. Then something my husband said a few days ago finally sunk into my brain. The math isn't working because I've been basing it all on the assumption that the calculators were right about needing 2100 calories to maintain my current weight...and it was a wrong assumption! Just as it is a wrong assumption to assume that all women of the same height and age should weigh exactly what the insurance charts say. What a duh moment! I've always had a slow metabolism and, despite what the 'experts' say about increased activity will increase the metabolism, past history says that it 'might' for some, but that's just not the way it ever worked for me. So I went back through my fitday.com history last night and started averaging out my calories on a weekly and monthly basis for the last 10 months and guess what...my caloric need for my current weight is not 2100...it's more like 1800. This explains why I'm only losing 1 lb a month on 1200 calories. It also explains why I've always eaten less than other people with comparable statistics (age, height, weight) and gain, while they don't. So the answer to my mystery is solved, I think. Now I think I'll go drown my sorrows in my morning protein shake. .

I'm 14 months post op and was fortunate enough to have a doctor that didn't torture me post surgery. I did each phase of the postop diet in 2 weeks and was eating solid foods by the end of 2 weeks. And you are most likely going to be hungry until you start getting fills. You may need several fills. The band works by putting pressure on the vagus nerves which then tell the stomach to stop producing ghrelin, the hunger hormone. Some get enough pressure with just the band. Most of us need fills. Don't look for the band to physically restrict how much you eat. It just doesn't work that way for most people...which is why so many people don't lose weight and end up feeling like failures. After a 'reasonable meal' (my doc said 3 oz of Protein, 1/2 cup of vegies, 1/4 cup starch), you should not feel hungry for about 4 hours. It won't stop you from eating out of habit or grazing or choosing the wrong foods. So even if you're hungry and are still eating too much, at least start right now with choosing the right foods. I found that by eliminating wheat products (eating only rice, potatoes, Beans or starchy vegetables like winter squash and vegies for my 60gm of carbs) and sugar *and* artificial sweeteners because they keep that craving for sweets alive, it was much easier to make the good choices which, ultimately, also helped lower my calories. .

Welcome to my world. Have you been tracking what you eat in something like fitday.com? Do you know how many calories and how many carbs you're eating *consistently* every day? As we lose weight that caloric discrepancy shrinks between what we need to eat to maintain our current weight versus what we need to eat to maintain our ideal weight. Plus, some of us just have slower metabolisms and have less caloric needs than others. I've been charting everything I eat (even on the bad days) for about 10 months now. The charts say that if I eat 2100 calories for my height, weight and age, I'll maintain my current weight. The fact is that I will not. I will gain at the rate of about 2 lb per month. That means, for my metabolic rate, my current weight most likely only needs somewhere around 1850 calories per day to maintain. Which explains why I'm only losing 1 lb per week when I'm consistently eating 1200 calories and less than 60gm of carbs per day. It may be worse than that since I do Tae Bo every day for at least 30 minutes, sometimes twice a day...which is 30-60 minutes more exercise than I used to get. Drink Water, record what you eat even on the bad days. You'll either find that you're eating more calories/carbs than you should...or that you have a slower metabolic rate and need fewer calories than others. .

When my son married 4 1/2 years ago, I wrote them a letter on the eve of their wedding and basically told them that in order for a marriage to be strong, communication was key. Never stop talking. Unless this is normal behavior for him (in which case you have bigger problems), I'd tell him in a non-confrontational manner that you need to talk. Some people need a counselor of some sort...some can do it without. Let him know that he appeared to be very supportive prior to the surgery but now he's not and you need to know what's going on. He may just be very insecure about losing you...a not uncommon feeling. You also need to set boundaries...unless you want a warden governing every bite you put in your mouth. Communication...it's where you start. .

Under 60 is generally considered low carb. I eat between 30-60gm per day. My carbs mainly come from vegies and if I do eat starches, it's usually rice or potatoes. I avoid wheat products and sugar, including artificial sweeteners. .

Tuna was always a problem for me. I think it's the texture. .

I don't think I'm going to make 800 calories today. The only way I'm able to do it is to cut the fat out of my diet and ya know...that's what keeps me from being hungry! Guess I'll have to be happy with 1 lb a week. Well, the bad news is that at 1 lb per week I still won't be under 200 for my sons wedding on May 15th. The good news is that I'm planning on wearing the same dress I wore at my oldest son's wedding 4 1/2 years ago when I was 40 lbs heavier. The dress *just* fit. Now it should hang beautifully. Melody

I use EAS chocolate powder from Sam's Club and mix it with unsweetened almond milk. I tried the Muscle Milk and almost gagged. I ended up throwing it out because I couldn't even give it away. .

Your BMI does not indicate whether or not you'll be more successful with other methods of WLS. The reason they're telling you that you may be a better sleeve or bypass patient is because VS and Bypass typically lose their initial weight quite quickly and if you lose 50% of your excess weight, the surgery is considered a success. What they don't do is follow these same people for more than 2 years...and that's where their 'success' statistics fall apart. Talk to both groups of people and they'll tell you that at about a year out, the 'honeymoon' is over and you're in the same boat as the band people. Meaning if you don't 'work' that VS or bypass, you won't continue to lose and it's very possible you'll gain it all back and then some. On paper, bypass and VS look like better options. The reality is that they're all the same. They all require *work* - using self-control, changing poor eating habits, etc. So whichever you choose, understand that it's not better because it's easier. .

Oh and HB...looking good and not at all senior citizen-ish! .

Morning folks! Y'all must have more interesting lives than I do since I'm here every day. Today is a test of my willpower. My son asked if I would make some fried chicken (dipped in ranch dressing and then breadcrumbs and fried, then finished off in the oven) as he likes to slice it up and wrap it in a small tortilla. Two chicken breasts lasts him for lunch all week...which is cheaper than his usual method of dropping in at burger king, so how could I say no? Plus I bought a couple turkey legs the other day to make the filling for the tamales my sister and I will be making this weekend. We're having a 'tamalada' and freezing bunches of them. My house will be smelling yummy and very 'Viva la Mexico'...quite funny since we that's one ethnic group we don't have in our family history. My genes may be Scots Irish and Central European, but my taste buds are multi-ethnic! Not that I'm going to get to eat any of the chicken or tamales. I managed my 800 calories yesterday and feel pretty good. I was a bit hungry but then I've been dealing with a bit of hunger even when I was eating 1200 calories. I'm just shutting it up with warm homemade chicken broth and hot decaf tea and going with the belief that a 'little' hunger is good for the soul...or so my grandmother used to tell me. Lots to do today and I've promised myself another mid-day nap if I get at least half the things done, so better get moving. Hope you're all doing well! .

Zen, Most likely just natural muscle soreness from throwing up. As others said though, I'd go to mushies (no thicker than a milkshake) for a day or two to allow any swelling around the band to go down. .

Ditto...she needs to take a serious look at what is causing her to get stuck because that should be a rare occurrence. Long term stuck and throwing up episodes can lead to erosion. .

Charmin, Yes, my doc said the food I swallow should be no bigger than a pencil eraser. I think it's probably smaller than that but I definitely don't chew to mush. I do take much smaller bites of things like chicken and steak because their fibrous nature makes it difficult to go down even when chewed to mush. .

Fay, Don't look for the band to physically restrict how much you eat. It just doesn't work that way for most people unless they're willing to be overfilled and constantly stuck and sliming (but still able to eat all the bad slider foods). Look for cessation of hunger after a reasonable meal. I can eat 3 oz of Protein, 1/2 cup of vegies and 1/4 cup of starch (usually rice or potatoes because I avoid wheat products), I'm not hungry for 4 hours. Yeah sweet spot. .

Morning folks! You notice the 'good' is missing? Yep...only another pound down *despite* doing Tae Bo for 30 minutes every day...some days twice. No I'm not building muscle. *Despite* being consistently good. I think I'm going to try and shake things up this week. Since 1200 only gets me 1 lb a week, I'm going to 'speriment and see what 800 calories gets me. I seem to be hungry most days now and I'd love to go in for a fill tomorrow, but hate driving in winter weather and it's over an hours drive one way. Some days the hunger is there but not enough to bother me too much. Others, like yesterday, I was ready to chew my arm off. So maybe I'll go another week. Ahhh...the joys of having food issues. I know some people actively work at staying slender by working out a few times each week, or jogging, etc...but I know *many* people who are just as inactive as I am and who seem to eat more than I do who've *never* had a weight issue! So much for calories in = calories out. Yeah...that's a bit of grumpy whining. Oh well, at least today I won't have time to think about being hungry. I have 3 clients to see so that's 3 hours and a bunch of orders to take care of for my other business...and maybe a nap. That usually takes up an hour or two. Have a good one y'all! Melody

I have 6cc in a 14cc band and was banded 14 months ago. If they put 6 in all at once, just my .02...I'd wait a month for another fill or you may find yourself overfilled with all the joys of sliming and stuck episodes. I never had a reaction for 2 weeks after a fill. Then BAM...instant tightness. Unfortunately before I discovered this, I was getting fills every 2 weeks and then dealing with constant stuck and sliming episodes. At some point I was up to 8.75cc, overfilled, getting stuck on everything (except the bad things), not losing and completely miserable. Now at 6cc I'm in a happy place although I think I may go in for another .2cc or so 'tweak' since I seem to be a bit hungrier this last week. YMMV. .

I'm sure I eat more than a 'cup' of food. My doctor never did the volume thing. He said 3 oz of Protein, 1/2 cup vegies, 1/4 cup starch. The risk of being overfilled increases when attempting to limit physical restriction to 1/2 cup...and even then may not limit the physical volume of food except by causing stuck episodes and sliming which may cause band area swelling and more stuck and sliming episodes. .

My doctor discourages chewing food to mush. He said the food should be the size of a pencil eraser. If the food gets stuck at that size, then he suggested smaller bites...the amount you'd feed to a toddler. .

The reality is that the FDA has nothing to do with it. Anyone can get a lapband no matter what their bmi is, as long as they are self-pay. Insurance companies could cover the surgery now for low bmi patients if they wanted but it won't be until they finally understand that you don't have to wait until the person has a high bmi to do something about it. Then again, insurance in the U.S. has never been about preventative care. I wish the band had been available when I was 25 years old and 180 pounds. .