Betsyjane

Update: Oddly, the band is much looser now. I can eat eggs for breakfast and I'm struggling not to overeat from 2 on.... Hmmm. I liked it better the other way.

Congrats Lizrbit. When you're feeling well, you're certainly welcome at any of the support groups around Houston, for some company!

I've been drinking protein shakes for breakfast (restricted), and meat and veges for lunch and dinner. Oddly, I miss regular old raw vegetable salads! My ideal diet for healthy would be mostly raw vegetables, garnished with meat, and raw fruits. Is anybody out there succeeding at a similar diet with the band?

Think of yourself as a rich thin society socialite who never wants to put calories to her lips, but goes to high falutin' social events all the time. She can pull it off with class and so can you.

I had a great 2 weeks after my 3rd fill...feeling super restriction. It's less now. And I'm not gaining or losing at the moment.

The PRes just finished his latest speech. I thought lately he had been giving better speeches. This one was old vintage Bush. Condescending.... The American people who don't agree with me are just stoooopid. He just can't sell it.

I'm pretty new at this, but here goes. After I was banded, I felt good restriction for about a week while my stomach was inflammed post surgery. so I had one week to know what it was going to be like. then no restriction...and none after my first fill, and none after my second fill. But after my last (3rd) fill, it's working, and I can do what was impossible for me to do before! I have lost weight on Atkins and with diet pills, but it came back. With the band, I feel totally different. I'm so happy to have it. In the morning, I have a lot more restriction. I heat up my Protein drink (sometimes mixing in some fruit). Heat helps open the band some. I have to drink it slowly to get the drink through, but I don't feel deprived. Sometime before noon, I start drinking Water and get down at least 20 ounces. Around 1 PM, I have a bit less restriction and can get down a hot homemade Soup filled with meat and veges. As a snack in the afternoon, I often have a Balance 100 calorie Protein Bar. Sometimes a scrambled egg. Mid afternoon, I start slugging down water again...at least another 20 ounces. I have a nice dinner of meat first and then veges. I can usually eat 4-6 ounces total, but sometimes the band is a lot looser and I have as much as 1.5 cups of food. For the evening, sometimes I have a sugar free popsicle. And more water. On bad days, there might also be a few other cheats, like 2 spoons of cottage cheese. I don't crave sweets (I think because of my protein shake-Muscle Milk is so yummy). I don't crave Pasta. I occaSIONALLY DO WANT ICE CREAM, AND IT ALWAYS GOES DOWN WELL, SO i HAVE TO GRAB A BOTTLE OF WATER INSTEAD, AND OCCASIONALLY i HAVE HAD A SCOOP OF ICE CREAM. (Oops...didn't know I hit the caps. Sorry.) Here's the comparison for me. Before the band, I could eat alot of fast food, as often as 6 times a day. I could eat massive amounts of ice cream. I was never satisfied. I was always grazing. Always. Always. I feel like I've been let out of a cage. Now I just have to think about what I'm doing. I don't have to fight insurmountable cravings. It's more like being a normal person deciding to exercise disipline! It's do-able and not impossible. I just get full. And I like good foods better than bad ones. I can be wise now and I couldn't before.

One of the folks who works where I get my fills recently went to a lecture by the MD who brought lap band surgery to this country. He said that the most important rule to be successful with the lap band is not drinking during meals or for 90 minutes after (My Dr. says 30 min). He says it's not worth the money or time to get the band if you then just wash the food on through it.

I'm trying hard to believe that theory that sometimes when we think we're hungry, we're really dehydrated. Sigh.

I'm finding that keeping 4 32 ounce bottles of water in my fridge helps. When I want to binge eat, I grab one of those and tell myself that if I still want something after I finish the bottle of water, then I must be hungry and I'll get something. Then I'm off somewhere with my water and have forgotten about food by the time I finish the bottle.

I have had alot of restriction in the mornings. I do so much better if I have hot water or hot tea to open things up. I even heated my diluted protein shake, and it worked so much better. But if you can't get your water down, you sure don't need to wait weeks! You'll get dehydrated quickly! Try some hot clear liquids and see if that helps...

Yep. I see that my post implied that he is uncaring, and that is not the case. I also believe if I requested him, he would do my fills. I think, though that the Surgicenter plays a big role in this...Spivak as surgeon and Surgicenter as follow up. Before I had the surgery, I checked ourt Spivak alot, but not the Surgicenter. As it turns out, I've been happy with both.

I'm so restricted in the morning and until 2PM. Breakfast-Protein shake diluted with hot Water to open up the band. Sometimes with fruit blended in so I get at least SOME fruit. Lunch-Any kind of hearty Soup. Dinner-Any kind of meat and vege. Then I add up my calories and havbe a snack later.....yogurt, fat free ricotta cheesecake....or if my caloires were high, one or two sugar free popsicles. (I eat dinner early. My snack is well before bedtime so I don't risk acid reflux.

Yum! do the have sugar or artifical sweetener?

There are no guarantees, in anything. What will help him most is if he is totally committed to the process, with or without you. You can't do it for him. And you can't be disappointed in him if he doesn't lose weight on schedule. Your role in this is to learn as much as you can and then be supportive. His role is much bigger....to struggle through the plateaus, to learn an entirely new way of relating to food, to handle the physiological changes, the frustrations with fills, etc. It's not magic, and living with the band requires a HUGE learning curve. The rate of complications is actually very very low, but if you focus on the complications, you may be looking for a guarantee of success. Weight loss can and should so slow, to give the skin a chance to adapt, to give the body a chance to adapt. It's a marathon, not a sprint. And be sure to let him go to some meetings alone, so he can ask questions without you there. He's the one who has to make the decision and deal with a big change in his life.

Sex...............

Keep your eye on the goal...weight loss. Remember, alcoholics can still have careers in social industries. So can bandsters. I've even been in a few situations where I've held a glass of wine and put it up to my lips periodically and not sipped any. Usually, though, I just realize that people at parties are pretty self-absorbed...

Don't do it! The whole point of the lap band is to feel full before you overeat. If you push the food down with Water, you might as well not get banded! It turns out not to be as hard as you think, though. You can drink your wine or tea or whatever, right up until the food arrives. Then don't drink it. You'll be amazed how people don't notice, or if they do, don't really care. I thought being banded I'd stick out like a sore thumb, with my little mincing eating and no liquids. Nobody cares. And I get to talk more as I eat less. Start practicing a few quick responses if anyone asks. What you'll find is that you start acting like a skinny person...pushing away and saying "I'm so full I couldn't eat another bite"...while 3/4 of the food is still on your plate. Or eating slowly and appropriately while others gorge. That's where you may get a few comments, but surprisingly few!

Just curious... Have you tried drinking hot tea or hot Water in the morning and then eating? some people find that that opens the band. If that works, you would be able to tell your doctor that you are not that restricted in the morning after a cup of hot tea....... I know that's a gimmicky answer,,,,but just a thought.

I'm guessing I could lose .1cc in my band and probably eat better. I can get a protein shake down in the morning if I dilute it with hot water. I'm still pretty restricted until 2pm and then I can eat reasonably, so I have a late small lunch and that keeps me not as hungry for dinner. It's working well, and I figure since I'm losing weight, I'll be losening the band anyway soon...and will have had a nice weight loss in the meantime.

I told my PCP AFTER I got the band, and his only response was "I lost 40 pounds by eating 6 small meals a day." Then he showed me his drivers license with a picture of him 40 pounds heavier. He's an idiot. My care mostly happens through my rheumatologist anyway. I just need him to write a couple of scripts for me.

Thanks. Just needed a bit of reassurance, Lana. Yeah, that's true. My cough and sneeze do happen way north of where a PB starts! Had to cancel a long weekend to Las Vegas, though. Bah humbug. Hubby couldn't go...so I do get to stay home with him! I keep thinking about that jazzercise.... What do you wear, and do they take total klutzes?

I know! I know! I've only had a week of real restriction...after 3 fills...and now I'm cruising! But it's only been for 1 week out of 3 months. I was impatient. I think for me the hardest advice to hear is the "Just Do It" stuff. I've heard that so many times and failed at weight loss that I can't hear it objectively anymore. It's all tied up in the knee jerk prejudices about obese people. But I can hear "Here's how I'm doing it". For me, it's the difference between someone pointing a finger and saying YOU, and someone putting an arm around me and saying "Let me share what I did".

Tom, it's funny that you mention it. I knew one reason I grazed was out of boredom. Not grazing now, I find that I have more time on my hands. It's not cratering me, and I'm not depresses. I just find it interesting. Sometimes I turn toward the fridge, stop, and say "Now what should I do?" and I draw a blank. It's kind of funny. It's certainly not all of the probem, but I think it got worse after I got Lupus and couldn't keep up with my former life, so I spend alot of time at home and with limited energy and brain power. Being crafty is not a strong suit....Maybe I'm replacing some of the noshing with hanging around lapbandtalk.com.... Not a big deal...just an interesting self-observation. Also interestingly, I was a horrible grazer, and the band allowed me to stop doing it. Go figure. I know what you mean PR! If I eat any carbs, I am off my game for hours!

Grumble grumble.... I have a horrible head cold. Went to the store and bought Claritin D. THEN I read the box...do not crush or cut. Grrr. I'll learn. Everytime I cought or sneeze, I worry about dislodging the band. not tha tI can stop doing it at the moment, but somebody please reassure me that the band can take what we dish out in normal life! Sniff.