Big Monkey

You went the wrong way with respect to calories in my opinion. Your body has obviously adapted to your constant undereating. You should be eating about 10 x your body weight in calories to maintain your current level of weight. Add a 10-15% deficit to that to lose some pounds. A 200 lb person should be eating about 2K calories. 300 lbs = 3K calories. This is an estimate of how many calories it takes just to live day to day, not to increase or decrease. If you've constantly been under eating, and especially bad food choices, then your body has adapted and only expects what you eat every day. Why on earth would it give up its fat stores if it knows you're not going to feed yourself more? Your metabolism has slown to a crawl. You need to slowly increase your caloric intake by 100 calories per week until you reach your recommended maintenance level. Keep it there for about 2 weeks or until you stop gaining weight (yes you will gain a few pounds, but this is what it will take to fix your metabolism in my opinion.) Then, after you've retrained your body to use the calories, start cutting back again...just this time not so drastic. 10% less is plenty. It will be slow...but you'll progress.

^ I'll agree to an extent, alhough I don't totally believe a calorie is a calorie. If it were as simple as calorie in and calorie out, there would never be plateaus...which many people hit at one point. Carbs, for example, aren't necessarily bad for you..unless you eat them in excess. Particularly bad carbs...like processed foods...lots of sugar...juices and other caloric drinks...you all know what i mean. Atkins says you should restrict carbs almost religously. I've learned that some people are more prone to fat storage when they eat carbs. On the other hand, your body craves them and makes best use of them when you exercise. This means that it's ok to have a meal with rice, a sandwich with 100% whole wheat bread (mmm, pizzas), sweet potatoes, a bowl of Cereal like Kashi Go Lean, whole wheat pastas or more healthy starchy carbs (not all at one sitting !!) ...but only treat yourself to those kinds of foods an hour or two after a good work out. Then you're sure to let your body use that for energy and not risk it being stored as fat. If you don't plan to do anything other than normal stuff around the house, or are going to work sitting at a cube all day like me...then keep the meals low carb, but still balanced (meaning don't eat just Protein, or protein + fat etc...eat some carbs, but keep it at about 10-20% caloric value of the meal with those carbs coming from healthy sources like vegatables...and fruits too in 1 or 2 of your daily meals.) The truth is, much of the diet programs actually do work. They fail us because it's difficult to stay on the program for life. It's imperative you find something that not only works for you, but something you can truly say that you can do for the rest of your life. A caloric deficit will only work for so long till your body adapts and stops losing weight. Keep in mind that if you're not working out, most of the weight you're losing is also lean body mass and not just fat. Restricting calories for an extended period of time will make your metabolism slow, and thus you'll hit a plateau. I think it's best to eat healthy foods that are high in volume but low in calories. That will keep your digestive system going. Drink plenty of no calorie liquids like Water and green tea, add some spices like cayenne pepper, and make sure you're getting at least an average of 30% essential fats plus regular exercise to make sure your metabolism is kept in high gear. Essential fats can be found in fish oil, flax seeds or flax oil, olive oil, canola oil, etc. It's good to keep an even mix of polyunsaturated, monounsaturated, and saturated fats in your diet. The combination of the three should equate to about 25-30% of your total calorie intake for the day. This will promote weight loss and keep those blood numbers looking good for the doctor by keeping your cholesterol in check. I like this thread, lots of good feedback. Good show everyone

I think some of this is spot on. It's not any one thing really that contributes to weight loss, but rather a combination of your lifestyle. What types of foods are you eating? Are you eating healthy or do you think that now that you're banded and only eating 1/4 of a snickers instead of the whole thing will help you lose weight? Eat better, lose weight. Stay low carb when you're sedintary, only eat starchy high carb/high glycemic meals after you've exercised. The rest of the day, you don't need all those carbs to function. If you do eat carbs, the excess energy will likely be stored as fat. How often are you eating? Do you think eating only once or twice a day helps your metabolism? Eating more often in smaller amounts helps regulate the blood sugar levels and prevents insulin crashes and speeds up the metabolism. 5+ times a day is healthy. Are you counting your calories? Many people eat less volume, but now eat different foods since they have to decide what to eat per the restriction. Less volume, however, does not mean less calories. You can drink and soft food your way into caloric hell easily with no effort. There's no point in drinking anything that has any calories at all (save for Protein Shakes if you're not meeting your daily Protein requirements.) Water and green tea should be your main focus. Green tea has lots of health benefits. Read up on it. Are you exercising at all? Why would you decide to get surgery without the intent to seriously change your health habits? Exercising also speeds up the metabolism. Much of the initial weight loss is due to loss of muscle tissue along with fat. It's important to do some cardio, but more important to do some weight training to help prevent muscle loss. Weight / resistance training is more effective in weight loss per your body does not stop burning calories after you finish your work out. Cardio on the other hand, stops almost immediately when you're done. As soon as you get off the bike or treadmill, the weight loss winds down. On the other hand, your body has to repair the muscles you just worked, so there is a residual effect going on. Lift weights, it will help your weight loss and also help change your body composition to make you look a lot better. If you're serious enough to get a surgical procedure to save your life, then you should be serious enough to realize that even surgery can't help you if you're not willing to change who you are. The old you had a weight problem. The new you should change your lifestyle so that you can become the new you that you've always dreamed about. Make it happen, you can do it!

You should try changing the foods you eat. If you just want to feel full all the time, try eating 1000-2000 calories worth of brocolli or spinach in a day. I assure you it will be a task Seriously though: If you're bent on eating bad foods and a lot of them, then yes I would seek counseling. Sounds more like a mental block or food association you haven't been able to break free from yet. Eating healthy, however, can have a drastic impact on your weight and overall health. Whole foods tend to have quite a bit of volume as compared to processed/packaged foods. Tastes are learned. You can learn to love healthy foods just like you learned to love whatever you ate to get you overweight in the first place. Just start eating them and it will grow on you. None of that "I don't like the taste" crap. Get over it and just eat better. You'll thank yourself later.

I've had one fill since my surgery and next week I'm going to have it all taken out. I've been restricted for 2 months and I don't really like it. I say this only because I've made a big change in my eating habits and I don't think I need a fill anymore. Truthfully, I don't think I needed the band to begin with. On the other hand, had it not been for surgery I probably wouldn't have come to the realization that it was actually my fault for being fat. It's not all genetics, it was me and my relationship with food. I used to tell myself that I ate just like everyone else so i didn't understand why I was fat. The truth is that your daily food choices add up to a lot more calories than you think you're eating. I didn't realize this till I started a food log last month. I'm eating no where near what I used to, and these numbers X 3 to 5 times like I used to eat and wholy cow that's a lot of calories. Not to mention that most of the calories were coming from sugar and other bad carbs plus a lot of saturated fat. I also used to skip breakfasts a lot and sometimes only at once or twice a day. All that is behind me. Now I make it a point to not underfeed myself and I eat no less than 5 meals a day, 6 or 7 when I can. The big difference is now the portions are controlled and I actively manage what I eat. Mostly whole foods that are healthy. I stay away from junk food and I don't drink my calories (save for some protein shakes since I can't eat all the protein I need due to the band.) I drink water all the time, and when I want some flavor I'll drink tea(green tea is ideal) or use those little crystal light packages. Anywho. Now I'm looking forward to getting an unfill so I can eat more. I've lost about 70lbs since last June, 40 of which were in the past 2 months when I changed my eating habits. I'm looking forward to weight lifting in the near future as well. In the end, I don't think I needed the band...but at the same time I'm glad I got it. I always blamed my lack of will power for being fat. The piece that I truly believe now that was missing was education on nutrition. I learned what I know now from body building web sites and forums. I figure, "who better to learn from than from people who dedicate a big part of their lives to changing their bodies?" Trust me...they know A LOT and I encourage anyone who's interested in teaching themselves about nutrition and body composition changes to search and learn from good bodybuilding sites. The wealth of knowledge is staggering.

I'm coming up on my year in a couple of months. I've only lost about 65 pounds so far. I didn't have my first fill till May though, so meh. The band seems to be working great for you. Kind of wierd to see that you seem to feel cheated or have failed. If you can do that again for one more year, that's 160 lbs. I'm sure everyone that has known you since before the band will call you a failure for losing only 160 lbs in 2 years. OK then. Enough sarcasm for tonight. Carry on!

I can still drink soda if I wanted to. Early on though, it's not a good idea while you're healing. After you've settled in though, should be fine. Follow your doctor's orders of course, but I can drink it just fine. At the same time, I have no desire to drink pop any more. Water works out just fine for me. Sometimes I'll have tea with Splenda, or some Gatorade if I need to rehydrate quickly. Mostly water though.

We may be able to help. What kind of foods are you eating to make those 1200 calories up and when do you eat them? How many meals a day? Do you eat before bed? If you're tracking your foods or have a good memory. List a couple of examples of how a normal day goes for you with respect to food intake. Don't leave anything out

I lasted about 3 weeks like that. Any little thing filled me up. Later on, my appetite was back and I could eat almost as much as I used to if I wanted. It really depended on what kinds of foods. The ones that passed easy, I was inhaling. The others, I ate like a regular person that isn't overweight. If you start eating healthy and start making better food choices now, I think you can reach your goals without a fill ever. Eating clean and eventually incorporating exercise will save your life. Remember, the band is just a tool..not your salvation.

Stats are one thing, being healthy is another. I don't know what my BMI is now, frankly I don't care. I do know how I look and feel and I know I want to change that. The stats I do care about are what my doctor tells me. Blood pressure, cholesterol, that kind of stuff. I really could care less about what somone else says the exact amount I should weigh and the appropriate body fat percentage. At the same time, I'm way over all of those lines and I know I'd be happier when I get close to those numbers. I think I'm rambling now. Point is, do what you think is right for you. Everyone's body is different. As long as you're healthy, do and be what makes you happy.

Agreed ^ Eat healthier, keep eating healthy fats and you won't need any magical pill promises to shed the pounds.

I don't know if I've posted in this thread yet, but I'm fat because I used to grossly overeat, and my daily diet was horrible. Terribly bad food choices + no exercise ever. Know I've researched nutrition and am a lot more informed of why I was so huge, and still am but am fixing that I micro manage my meals daily. Fitday.com is an awesome resource. It's so awesome that it's free. I don't eat any non-planned meals anymore. It's a great feeling to be 100% in control of my daily food intake. There's no reason for me to ever wonder what I'm eating again(nutritionally), and I hope to stay that way for a long time.