AZA

I appreciate all the advice. I've always avoided a low-carb diet because I thought it was next to impossible if you weren't a big meat-eater. I still don't understand why it makes such a difference. Why aren't 1200 calories of chocolate, or 1200 calories of apples, or 1200 calories of pasta the same 1200 calories? About the exercise, I only started about 2 weeks ago and it hasn't made a difference yet on the scale. I do feel that my clothes are fitting a bit better since starting to exercise. What are the resources for learning more about low-carb diets? Is it mainly Atkins and South Beach?

I just finished shoveling 2 feet of snow! I'm sore ALL over but my port doesn't bother me.

In terms of exercise, I went from doing nothing (except for working full-time and taking care of my kids) to walking 30 minutes on the treadmill (4x a week) and doing about 45 minutes of Dance, Dance Revolution (4x a week).

Here are some sample menus from the past week (from low cal to high cal). I rarely eat exactly 1200 calories per day. I might do 800 calories one day and 1400 the next. But my weekly average is consistently 1200 per day. I rarely eat Breakfast, I never did prior to being banded and I’m just not hungry in the morning. I’m mostly vegetarian (I do eat fish, dairy and eggs). I might eat chicken breast or ground beef once a month. <o></o> 838 calories, 93 carbs, 34 fat, 25 Protein Breakfast: Small coffee, one cream, one sugar 113 calories Lunch: President’s Choice Indian vegetable biryani rice (0.8 serving), 200 calories Dinner: President’s Choice cheesy macaroni (1.25 cups) 425 calories Snack:<o></o>Orville Redenbacher's Smart Popcorn Mini-bags 100 calories<o></o> <o></o>1213 calories, 161 carbs, 39 fat, 68 protein<o></o> Breakfast:<o></o> Small coffee, one cream, one sugar 113 calories<o></o> Lunch: Slice of cheese pizza 345 calories Dinner: 2 cups of spaghetti with parmesan cheese (no meat) 595 calories Snack: Atkins Advantage Bar chocolate Mocha Crunch (0.9 serving) 198 calories<o></o><o> </o> 1620 calories, 141 carbs, 85 fat, 60 protein Breakfast: coffee with cream 90 calories Lunch: tuna wrap 500 calories (purchased at my work cafeteria) Dinner: President’s choice cheesy macaroni (2 cups) 600 calories Snack: cranberry muffin 350 calories <o></o> I live in <st1><st1:country-region w:st="on">Canada</st1:country-region></st1> so some of the brand names are different. I don’t have any problems health-wise except that I’m chronically anemic. <o></o> Looking at my menus I do see that I still eat a lot of Pasta, breads, and cheese, all of which I used to binge on prior to being banded. I used to be able to eat a WHOLE cheese pizza - now I can only eat 1 slice. I now eat much smaller quantities of these foods. I do recognize that my diet is short on fruits and vegetables (I really don’t like many – I know that’s ironic coming from a vegetarian). I usually have a cup of fresh strawberries 3 times a week and a salad about once a week. I'm still struggling to get to a good fill - I know I probably shouldn't even be able to even eat pizza and rice.

I'm a food addict and will be for life. Prior to being banded I could eat an entire large pizza and still not feel full. I could eat chocolate bars all night long. A bag of chips for me meant the whole bag of chips and I still wasn't satisfied. A bag of Cookies never lasted more than a day. My friends can have a box of chocolates last for weeks in their house. Me - I'd eat the whole thing in one day. It was this never-ending obsession with food - always thinking about what I could eat next. Now that I'm banded, I still struggle with head hunger. This is made worse by the fact that I'm still searching for that elusive proper level of restriction.

Welcome Inky! I don't think the Toronto clinics charge for a consultation (someone please correct me if I'm wrong). I think your best bet is to talk to people who've been operated on by the main clinics, maybe schedule a phone consultation first to get a "feel" for the doctor and his staff.

I'm 5'6 and was around 335 at my highest. I used to wear up to a 5x (size 32). Right now I can wear anything from size 3x to 5x depending on the style.

I'm also a single parent and was worried about leaving my children without a parent. I was also terrified of dying during surgery - especially when I started reading the experiences of gastric bypass patients. On the other hand, that reaffirmed that i was making a sensible choice by choosing the less-risky lap-band surgery. I knew that without the surgery I was going to die prematurely from morbid obesity - and I didn't want my kids to only have memories of a fat and unhealthy mother.

Same here - I'm only just starting to lose weight - better late than never!

I was starving all the time after my first few fills - I felt hungrier than prior to being banded (maybe it was all in my head). It was extremely frustrating and instead of just dieting - I continued my bad eating habits. I've only recently started having good restriction and beginning to lose weight. So hang in there! Try to limit your calorie intake if you can. Whatever you lose now, you won't regain later.

I'm losing so slowly that I still fear it's not going to work. I do finally have proper restriction so hopefully I'll start losing faster.

Prior to being banded I would wolf down my food quickly. I don't time myself now but it takes long enough that my food is getting cold. I'd say at least 15-20 minutes.

That's too bad it didn't work out for you. It's really important to have trust in our doctors and if you weren't feeling it... Personally, I figure that if fills can be done by nurses, then I'm confident an experienced surgeon can handle it. I view his years of experience as an asset. So far he's always found my port so I'll keep going back. I disagree with you about how we shouldn't question a doctor's ability. I want to feel total trust in my doctor. In fact, I turned down an earlier lapband surgery (I was on various waiting lists) because that doctor gave me a bad feeling. I was questioning his ability, lack of experience, professionalism... I'm glad I waited a little longer for a surgeon I had complete trust in.

I'm interested in meeting again - I could use the support and inspiration to make it through the holidays LOL! My coworkers have already started bringing in Christmas goodies - I feel like I'm surrounded by yummy food all day long! It's so hard to resist grazing all day - a little nibble here and there goes down way too easily and adds up fast.

I also had it done by Dr. Miller in Drummondville. I highly recommend him.

On the subject of the arm massaging, I remember seeing a segment on 20/20 or Dateline (or a similar show) a few years ago. From what I remember, the whole show was about different ways to lose weight. Anyway, it showed a woman in Florida (I think) who did these aggressive massages to reduce fat (I think they showed her massaging someone's stomach). This wasn't just something for cellulite - it was really about reducing the size of the stomach. I've tried googling it but I can't find any reference to it.

It's actually quite normal for your size of band. I didn't feel any restriction at all until 7.5 cc's. Check out this thread for more info on achieving good restriction with a 10cc band: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f13/vg-10-cc-bandsters-only-23184/

Well I'm glad you found the site. You should check out the Lapband complications section for information concerning band slips. Hopefully that hasn't happened in your case!

Hi Cathy! We posted at the same time! Was it you I just met in the doctors waiting room?

This afternoon I met another bandster at a doctor's office and directed her to this site. If you've found us - Hi! The next Ottawa group meeting is on January 5th, 10:30 am at Denny's on Merivale.

It was great meeting everyone today! A big thank you to Chris for organizing the lunch.:whoo:

French fries are painful and no longer hold any appeal for me. I see them as fat sticks now. Cold Water (from the fridge) first thing in the morning, can be painful if I drink too fast. Tuna salad goes down fine for me.

I've only lost 13 pounds. I lost a bit on the pre-op diet but gained it all back before my first fill. I got my third fill 10 days ago and I finally feel restriction and am eating a lot less. I do admit that I haven't started exercising.

Cheese! Which is fine since it's one of my biggest binge foods. I can't seem to chew it enough to go through.

Thanks for sharing your experience with us. Your words really resonate with me because I just had my third fill this week and I'm finally feeling restriction. I've been banded for over 3 months and it was getting discouraging hearing about others quick weight loss when I didn't even like I was banded. As sick as this sounds, yesterday while I was in exteme pain, PBing up a piece of cheese, I couldn't help but be happy that this band was finally working! And no more cheese for me :biggrin1: