kentx05

I'm curious how Lap Bandsters are approaching low carbing. Atkins (Induction phase) says 15-20 grams of netcarbs from your leafy green vegetables food group. Yet, I find it difficult to even eat one cup of green leafy vegetables because I still have to fit in my protein. How do we adjust being low carbers with a Lap Band? I'm still trying to figure this out. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I've been banded for close to 5 years now and I still don't know when to stop eating. My surgeon told me that I can eat between 4-5 oz of food per meal. I measure out my food and weigh it just like I was taught. However, when I start eating I can't tell when it's time to stop. I'm trying to follow the rule 20 bites in 20 minutes, but it's really difficult to finish my food. I find that I go past the max 30 minutes that I'm supposed to finish my food by. Am I doing something wrong? I know some people say they get a signal when they should stop eating. My worry is that if I do stop at 20 minutes, 20 bites, I won't ever finish my 4-5 oz of food and I'll become malnourished. Any help would be great.

I find them very yummy, sometimes too yummy. What is your experience with them? It seems like it's the only protein bar I can handle with taste. I usually use it as a snack between my 5:30 am breakfast and 12pm lunch. I know the doctor says no eating between meals but I'm a teacher and can't eat just when I want.

My doctor told me that I should invest in a food scale. I did and it has worked wonderfully for me. I measure all my solids on it and it keeps me from overeating. It's harder when I go out, but that's when I stick to the 20 minutes per meal-20 bites rule. I bought a relatively cheap food scale, it's from the Biggest Loser and you can find it at Walmart. Good luck to you.

Hello everybody, A few years ago I was on cloud nine. I had lost almost 80 lbs and I was in the 100's for the first time since I started college. I was following all the rules, staying away from bread, rice, and Pasta during the week with one day of carbs. Then one day I was overfilled and starting having PB's. This led me to make a fatal mistake that I haven't been able to shake since; I ate a ice cream shake. It was a downhill slide from there. I had never been addicted to hard core sugar like candy, ice cream, and Desserts. After that one time I went on a ice cream binge. My favorite stop has been Sonic for their Sonic Reese's Blasts. That led to buying the gallon Snicker's ice cream that I would buy in the dark of the night so my wife wouldn't see. Now I'm back to just feaning sugar. It's been disastrous to my weight loss. I've almost regained all my weight and I hit a new low today. I'm about to start to look for a new job so I need to find myself a dress shirt and tie. After going to the store I found not one shirt that fit me. It's really depressing and disappointing. Now I have no clothes to wear for job interviews and let's face it, employers look at weight. It makes me look lazy and sloppy. I am now ready, once again, to get back on the Lap Band plan. I'm here to see if anybodyelse has gone through what I have been through and how did you get through it. Thanks for any advice you can give me. God bless.

Hi friends, Quick question here. The hardest part of getting back on track for me has been two things, 1. sugar, and 2. keeping my meals within 20-30 minutes. The manual given to patients at True Results-Houston says that we should finish our meals within 20 minutes ideally, 30 minutes max. It also says that what we put in our mouths should be pea sized. I find it very difficult to eat pea size pieces of food and finishing a meal in 20-30 minutes. It would take forever if that was possible. Not to mention that we have to chew our food into it is liquified. How are you guys taking this advice? Do you place pea size pieces of food when you chew and if you do, how do you finish it within that time limit?

I see. I usally try to get 5oz. of food in per meal since my surgeon said that that's the max I can eat when eating. But I see what you're saying. I don't have to eat 5 oz. of food, that's just what I can't go past. All I need to do is to eat until I'm satisfied. How do you know though that you're not eating too little or becoming malnourished? I doubt that would happen to me, but is there at least a minimum a person should eat?

I just went to Google to look for it for my android phone. Stinks, they don't have it.

5-7 bites? That's it? Wow, I don't think there's anyway I can get 5 oz. of food in only 5-7 bites. How is that even possible?

Is there anybody else that gets their fills at True Results? I was checking my insurance claims and realized that everytime I've gone to get a fill, I'm charged $250 for the office visit and $600 for the fill. I couldn't believe it. I'm assuming it's because they're using the x-ray machine each time they give me a fill. Does anybody else that goes to True Results have the same charges. My insurance covered it but it looks like I might have to pay some out of pocket.

Has anyone gone to Dr. Hollis' office for fills? I'm wondering if he'd be cheaper.

I'm still wondering if anybody has gone to True Results Houston for their fills. I have stopped going since they billed me $800 for it. Has anybody else gone and seen how much they got hit with on their insurance claim? Does anybody who got banded at True Results-Houston know of a better place nearby where we can get fills?

Hi lapbandsters, I need your help. I am so disappointed in myself. I had my surgery in Aug 10 and had gone from 282 to 198 lbs. Then I tasted one ice crea, Reese's Sonic Blasts, and now I'm hooked. It's been more than a year and half now and I've regained much of my weight. I'm at 235 now and climbing. I made a fool out of myself in front of everybody who now think the Lap Band doesn't work. I know it does work, but my addiction to ice cream, which I never had pre band, is causing me to go down fast. Has anybody else struggled with this? I need to cleanse my body of all this sugar and get back to my low carb eating ways. Any encouragement or advice would be greatly appreciated. God bless.

Thanks. I'm there with you. We can beat this thing. My problem is when I get bored I think of food and then I eat. That's when it gets bad. Still, I know I can do it. It's time to go back to the way I was eating before.

Well the problem is that I'm not getting just a few scoops of ice cream. I'm eating the whole shabang of Breyer's Snicker ice cream. Or I'll go to Sonic and get myself two large Sonic Blasts. Since it is a slider food, all those calories just slide in. Not good. It definately feels like an addiction.

I'm in desperate need of a fill but I don't want to go back to True Results-Houston because their fills have costed $600 a pop. I had my surgery with Dr. Hollis. Has anybody gone to his place to get fills, how much are they? I know it's called Baychoice Bariatrics. I'm on a health fund and my fills will eat it all up after 2 fills. Any help would be great.

I agree. I have a Health Fund with Aetna that I share with my daughter. Because True Results charges so much I'm left wondering where I can get a fill for cheaper but equally as safe. I live to the west of Houston.

These bars are very addicting and serve as a sugar craving for me.

I'm on Day 4 and feeling much better. I found my pouch again. This is going to sound weird but I was eating my ground beef for lunch. I don't know if I didn't chew it well enough, I swore I did, but I felt I was having a stuck episode. I've haven't been stuck in months. I had to have a PB for the first time and got myself unstuck. I know, kind of gross, but it proved to me that pouch is back to the size I had it when I got my last fill in December. Unfortunately, with the amount of Cookies and ice cream I ingested in my body in these last few months I'm still feeling the urge to go out there and buy myself a gallon. I'm eating Atkins bars right now to satisfy my sweet tooth but I'm eating one too many. Still, I'm going to use these to get me through until I can kick the sugar cravings. Once I'm done with this pack though, I'm gonna stick to nuts for my Snacks. Atkins bars can be very addicting too.

Thanks Desdemona! I just completed Day 2 of the pouch test. I did very well. I'm still having some cravings but not nearly as bad as a few days ago when I finished off some Oreos and half a gallon of Snickers ice cream. That's when I decided to come back to this forum and found your response. I've tried the 5 day pouch test before but failed by Day 2. So far I am doing great. liquids left me a little weak but I could tell my body is getting rid of all that sugar. Drinking only liquids for 2 days means a lot of trips to the bathroom. I can't wait for tomorrow. I miss eggs. I already prepared my tuna fish for tomorrow. Hopefully I'll feel my pouch a little bit more. Thanks again. I'll keep you updated.

I feel like we are struggling through similar things. I've been set back by an sudden addiction to ice cream which I never had before Band Surgery. I've been binging on ice cream since the beginning of this year. Now I've put back 20 lbs of the original 82 I'd lost. I'm starting the 5 day pouch test today. So far I've been getting through this first day well. I really want to detox my body off all this sugar so my cravings go away. I'll let you know how it goes.

Hi friends, I also live in Katy and was banded last summer. I've fallen off the wagon this year and have reput on 20 lbs again. I'd like some online support. Hopefully we can keep each other honest. I'm hoping we could all support each other.

I agree. I've been struggling this past summer, actually this whole year with an addiction to ice cream. I got banded last August and came down to 200lbs and finally 196. My goal is 165. Unfortunately, I've become addicted to ice cream. Once I eat one, I begin to binge every night. I even have to wait till my wife falls asleep so I can go out secretly to buy some. I feel like I've let myself down. The lap band is wonderful but it won't stop me from overeating on these type of foods. What it does is keep my hunger in check. However, what happens if you eat when you're not hungry. I have to get over this ice cream addiction. Not to mention that I get so confused on how to eat. I figure low carb is what works for bandsters but then my doctor says eating fruit is okay too. I'm just so frustrated and in need of a pick me up.