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Your calorie and protein intake is low and it causes you be to sleepy and sluggish. When those improve you will-- I drank some apple juice and got mental clarity and some energy to start feeling human. You are about a week away from the funk clering and being good to go.

If you try to drink anything other than water, drink it out of a cup with a lid (like a travel mug) so you won't smell it. That might help you at least get some calories and nutrients.

I have a hard time believing in starvation mode - especially when I see people thinking their body is in starvation mode after a few days of limited caloric intake. I haven't had over 900 calories a day in six months and I'm still losing weight. Sure, I exercise too and eat very clean and healthy but most days I'm eating 600-800 calories. Its not intentional, mind you, I just seriously have to force myself to eat.

I agre with you Reverie. I am on week 4 post op and I am still really sore around the port area. I was told not to concentrate on the calories and thinking of this as a duet. Think of this new journey as a new lifestyle. It is really hard to change years of bad programing but we can do it. Good luck.

I am getting pretty frustrated because I haven't been able to lose for the past 2 months. I eat very healthy and only indulge on occasion the majority of the time. I exercise 7 days a week sometimes in excess of 3 hours at a time. I know that I am exercising too much, but I don't know what to do. I have tried cutting calories or increasing calories; I've tried it all. Fills DON'T HELP. It's like my body is tired of losing and just wants to stay where I am at. I still need to lose about 15lbs before I have some PS. I feel like I am doing everything right and my body is just not responding. Any suggestions or words of wisdom would be great. Has anyone else experienced this??

Unfortunately I don't have any great advice on the breaking the plateau. Only thing is...have you talked to a nutritionist? Your body might be in starvation mode. You are talking to the queen of too much exercise! Try cutting down on the exercise for 2 weeks (or upping the calories for 2 weeks) I know, I know...easier said then done. However if you notice your weight going up 1 or 2 pounds, you can easily reverse what you are doing. Believe me..I know this is easier said then done. You don't want to do either one because the fear of gaining is always there. I am SOOOOOO with you on that one, but fortunately for me I am just trying to maintain, but I completely understand the fear. I had to do the same thing so that I would stop losing. One other thought... have you started taking any new medication? Now as for the 15 pounds before PS...have you talked to one. I know that one lady on the PS board just had a TT and had a higher BMI than you do. I am having my TT on July 3 and I am still technicall overweight, so often times a PS can do the surgery even if you still have a few pounds to lose. You will want to start shopping around for one about 2-3 months before you want surgery because it can take a lot of time. Good luck! Keep us posted if you find something that works! But you have done amazingly well...I am positive you will find what the body needs.

You need to give your body a break. I remember my trainer pulling me aside one day, saying he's seen me 9 days in a row at the gym (3 w/him + extra days) and I NEED to give my muscles time to recoup the stress I'm putting on it. IndioGirl gave similar advise I would. Change your meals up; Every other wk I give my trainer my "Calorie Counter Mea Plan" and he marks it up like he's grading a test. Add this / Scrap that, almost like our routines - every 2 wks the workout changes. I had to start adding carbs, and was scared - but he was right; you have to have certain fuel if your going to workout consistently & hard. Your also at the end of your weightloss - so it might go at a snails pace, don't be too hard on yourself...You've done amazing.. Good luck w/the PS

You have done so well, but you are also putting incredible pressure on your body (through your non stop exercise) and on your mind (through your frustration and worry). I am wondering if you took some time off, like someone suggested - maybe 3 or 4 days - even a week - eat sensibly, but don't exercise and don't count calories. I don't think it can do any lasting damage to your fitness or weight loss goals and I am thinking your body could use the rest. I also kind of think that our bodies need to adjust to the large weight changes as well. Maybe your body needs to spend some time at 165 getting redistributed - changing some of the Water loss to fat loss. I don't know - I have never been as slim as you (ok maybe when I was 10, but that doesn't count), but I also think our bodies want to hang out at a certain weight and trying to force it to change through excessive exercise isn't helping you at this point. If all else fails, maybe you could try going on a liquid diet for a couple of days (high Protein. low calorie). I know when I do this after a fill, it is usually good for a couple of pounds, but I also recognize that that loss is not fat, but water. Try not to get too discouraged - you have done very well, and your ability to work through a two month plateau (or whatever it is) and not to resort back to eating is a MAJOR victory. Have you ever been able to face weight related adversity like this in the past and not resort to eating? Try and be proud of your achievements and recognize the strong beautiful person you are. :blushing:

One way to give the shakes a frappe/frosty texture is to make "milk cubes" in an ice cube tray. 1/3 milk cup is 2 full size ice cubes. Add 2/3 cup fat free milk. Mix in a blender. Run a search on here to look for low/no calorie add in's that will help make the shake taste better.

My family Doc said that if I am for some reason not approved for the sleeve to get back in his office immediately to get on blood pressure meds. I am only 39 years old and I am not going to let that happen. I am trying to start to view food as just something to nourish my body not anything else like something to Celebrate with or something to fill boredom. Ashamed of what I have done to my body. Gotta get my health turned around! So far so good on the pre-op diet today. The plan includes: 3 no sugar added Protein shakes( slim-fast or the like) and 2 "lite" meals (lean cuisine, healthy choice, etc) plus up to 2 cups of low calorie vegetables. Thanks for the support guys! Praying tomorrow I will hear that surgery is approved as the insurance company will have had my information for 2 weeks on Monday.

Medically supervised program refers to some sort of followed program that you check in with your doctors about weekly or monthly. I have the same requirement and for my health care they have what they call a shared medical meeting once a month were its a group of people and you have a leader- usually a dietitian or the weight loss program leader- who discusses ways to help change habits we have learned along the way. During the meeting you are called out of the room and weighed and speak with your doctor to make sure you're on plan and are doing well. It's mainly getting you to make smarter choices and help with changes after the surgery. They have us track food and exercise and bring those along. Most insurances require that along with the medically supervised program you have a steady weight loss before the surgery so it goes hand in hand. I also did a very low calorie diet with shakes and bars which I checked in weekly for but that also qualified as a medically supervised program.its all to make sure a person is set up for success after the surgery so I would check with your health care provider to see what they offer. As far as the insurance accepting the surgery I don't know what to tell you. Every one is different and I would definitely talk to your weight loss doctors about it as well if you haven't already. I also had my primary doctors write recommendation letters for the surgery for bettering my health- which was also part of the presurgery requirements for me- but if you have yours do the same they can always help better your chances and/or counter the denial if that's what the insurance decides. I don't foresee it being a problem though... I called my insurance people and asked lots of questions and focused on the requirements and had them send me a copy. If you qualify for the surgery based on the requirements I don't see why they would deny you. Good luck with everything!!!! Cheryl

Wow, I'm sorry to hear that all this has happened to you. I am with Kaiser and as Jennifer said they are up front about it. When I went to orientation they told us that they would determine how much we had to loose at the first appointment following orientation. Doesn't sound bad except that that appointment was 2 months out. They did tell us that we might have to loose 10% of our body weight so I immediately started on their pre-op meal plan (they had already weighed us so they knew my starting weight). I started on June 6th on the 1200 calorie diet that they gave me (oops pre-op meal plan LOL) and have lost 37 pounds. One of the things they cautioned us on is not eating too little because your body will think you are starving and will refuse to loose weight. Their reasoning behind this is that 1) the instruments are only so long and if you're too big they will not go in far enough without trouble, 2) shrinking your liver, and 3) they want to be sure that you are going to be able to follow the meal plan that bandsters need to follow and will be successful at loosing with the band. I know that it's hard. I've been doing this for 2 1/2 months now. My surgery date will probably be sometime in late November or December so I have a long way to go doing this. They also have the "gain weight and the surgery is cancelled" rule. My line of thought on this is that I've always been able to diet. I believe someone called it professional dieter. That's me. BUT keeping it off is what has been the problem and it always, always brings friends. I want the band to help me keep it off. I have to loose the weight anyhow. I mean that's what the whole thing is about. So why not start now. Don't think of this as a diet just to get the surgery but the beginning of your new journey. Your whole life is going to change and it's going to take a lot more commitment to live the bandster life then it will to commit to loosing 12 pounds. I agree that your doctor should have been up front about what you needed to do. It certainly would have been devastating to me to be all hyped up for surgery and then have the rug pulled out from under me. But use this to find a way to handle stress in the future so that it doesn't derail you when you're happily on the bandwagon. YOU CAN DO THIS. We know you can!

are you tracking your intake and keeping your calories low? If you are doing all you say and keeping the calories low, then there may be something more wrong. You may want to have some bloodwork done.

I am sure most of you remember the good banana pudding!! with the Nilla wafers and banana slices and sweet banana pudding? I just stumbled on to a tasty yet safe way to simulate it!! You'll need: 1 box sugar free Jello instant banana creme pudding 2 cups 1% milk (or whatever milk you can use) Apple Cinnamon Soy chips (I found Revival Soy Oh My Apple Pie in 1 oz bags) Make your pudding according to instructions on box. Than simply layer it with the Soy chips as you would use Nilla Wafers. Or if you are feeling lazy like I do, DIP THEM lol It's simple, it's sweet, and it has about 15 carbs 3 sugars and 140 calories. Plus the soy chips have protien 7 grams per bag!! I hope all enjoy!!

First, ...with all the Protein PROTEIN PROTEIN, how are we supposed to get in our vegetables (and the Vitamins they contain) Second, what calorie level are you at?? Thx Se Sent from my iPhone using LapBandTalk

Bypass is where they staple out a small 1-2oz pouch out of the fundus, the elastic portion of your stomach. Then they bypass 120cm of intestine and connect the new end of the intestine to the new pouch in the stomach. In the end you can only eat small quantities and you malabsorb about 1/3 of your calories and nutrition. You do not malabsorb forever, only during the honeymoon period of about 6-18 months. Sleeve they remove the elastic portion of your stomach (fundus) and maintain the muscular portion. End result is that you can only eat a small quantity of food and you absorb everything you do eat. Jacqui.... DSers don't really stretch out their stomach. Their stomachs are usually a 48F, sleeves are a 32/34F. They have a much bigger stomach to begin with. Over the next 4-6 months your stomach does stretch/relax and for sleeves it's about the size and shape of a banana. That's why they call it the banana stomach. DSers are going to end up with an even bigger stomach. So it's not because they stretch it out, it is because it's bigger than a sleeve to begin with. Bands... I had one and hated it. I knew I made a mistake 4 days after surgery. I really really tried to make it work but it wasn't meant to be. Considering the number of revisions being done and unhappy banded folks... I would never suggest a band to your average person. Not a chance. It's a great way for the average person to lose half their weight on a short term basis.

I don't absorb iron so I had no desire to have a procedure that used malabsorption for weight loss. That excluded DS and bypass. I got the band and suffered with it for a little over 3 years. It gave me more problems than I bargained for and did not allow healthy eating (I am speaking for myself only). I got the band out and revised to a sleeve and am VERY happy I did so. You feel restriction the minute you begin drinking fluids and you just can't eat a lot at one meal. With both the band and the sleeve (restrictive weight loss) you CAN gain weight. Low fiber, high calorie foods will slide right down so it's not a be all/end all situation. The sleeve requires no follow-up, no fills, and you don't have a foreign device in your body. Investigate all your options but don't let one surgeon tell you what surgery you should have. Often, surgeonss suggest procedures they can do easily and are expert at over the more difficult surgeries that they lack the skill to perform.

Each person has their own "negatives". I personally had an extensive, exhausting and mentally/physically draining recovery because I was a revision patient with major complications. The negatives for me were: 1) Trying to sip enough early out seemed impossible 2) Taste buds changing 3) Developing a whey protein intolerance and mild lactose intolerance post-op 4) Lack of energy early out, but it was temporary Of course, the positives far outweigh the negatives especially since everything I experienced was over within a few weeks to couple of months, and I have a very normal, active, fun social life. There are plenty of us out here that "get WLS" there's others that don't. Unfortunately, the sleeve only does so much. I still have to be mindful of what I put in my mouth. I can still suck down a 3000 calorie milkshake if I wanted to so the point is making a permanent, and lifelong commitment to better food choices, and to honestly change your relationship with food. The sleeve makes this process much easier. Every WLS has failures even the heavily touted Platinum standard Duodenal Switch. I've read several stories of regain, or DS'ers not getting to goal, and their surgery is far more drastic than even RNY. I take 4 vitamins a day. That's it, nothing major, 2 multis, 2 calcium citrate. Make it a habit, it's really not that big of a deal. To address some of your concerns: 1. Death - huge I know. Ask your surgeon their mortality stats. If it's more than 1% get a new surgeon, and find out the details. 2. A Leak - also very risky. Same as above 3. My head hunger issues will be brought out huge. Start working on it now, get a new coping mechanism in place before surgery, therapy is a great tool especially if you can find someone that works with bariatric patients, along with support group meetings and using online support groups, find a buddy that has surgery around the same time to share ups and downs, get a mentor that you trust, and can talk you off the ledge when you're wanting to take a dive in the pool of caramely goodness of Girl Scout Samoa cookies. 4. My "food to cope" tool will be gone! Same as above 5. possible acid reflux... what's worse being fat or popping a Prilosec or Nexium to prevent reflux? 6. Gaining the weight back Establishing better habits, measuring portions, staying within your caloric intake guidelines is the best options to avoid gain. It's easy to gain weight, I won't lie, but for me, it's still super easy to lose it by following the rules. 7. not really losing anything that's pretty rare, I've read plenty of slow losers, but you have control of how you lose weight. Some do it differently than I did and that's okay, some do not want to give up carbs, I did because I knew I'd lose fast and hard. That's the path I chose, and I couldn't be happier with how I did it. Some have metabolic issues that slow weight loss down, and that has to be taken into consideration as well as activity level, and each individuals needs. One thing you have to remember is that the VSG is not some miracle that is going to cure it all. They operate on our stomachs, not our brains. So, getting ahead of the curve by establishing some good habits NOW will go a long way post-op. Eating slower, chewing your food more, sit your utensil down in between bites, do not drink with your meal, eat protein first, stretch your meal out to at least 20 minutes. Don't sit in front of the TV to eat, focus on what you are putting in your mouth/body and see how your body responds. Best wishes! ! !

Hi, I lost weight prior to surgery, not one pound since. I am on my Fitnesspal.com which was an easy way to track calories. I am supposed t be eating 1200 calories a day and seem to be consistently under that. I have no interest in eating any more than I am. And this includes a McDonalds low fat cone whenever I want one. I can't have ice cream in the house. Its a trigger food and I know it. I go to the gym 4x a week for an hour. I'm hoping the pa will have some suggestions to help. This is not easy. Its like a puzzle I can't quite figure out. Good luck, Keep the faith

I had to lose weight, and that was with a sluggish thyroid, and a problem with water retention. So if I can u can. Just commit yourself to it. Calories for me are 800-1200 a day, and exercise 3x a week.

I'm going by their diet and drinking either unjury Shakes or Atkins shakes (both ok'd by nutritionist). I'm eating 1 Lean Cuisine or Smartone which must have under 300 calories and at lest 15 g of protein and eating dinner with my family making my own meals separate from theirs which includes 3oz. of lean protein and non starchy veggies. I haven't cheated at all except for maybe going a little over the 3oz. of lean protein. Being honest here but still, I think I'm doing pretty good. Hoping something is wrong with my home scale! I'm going to email my nutritionist and let her know whats going on. I don't want to show up and then them say they aren't going to go through with the surgery b/c I haven't lost any weight. Thanks for replying!

At 1500 calories your body will not go into starvation made. Most of the people here eat around 1200. Some like 800-1100. I consider starvation mode to be around 600 calories. Your body might stall after some weight naturally just giving itself time to adjust. The lap band will work how you choose to let it, it won't stop you from eating a cheeseburger and fries. In time, once it's adhered right it should tell you, I'm satisfied, I've eaten enough. It won't physically stop you from eating (not unless you have it to tight, which isn't good). When I had good restriction in the beginning (it's seemed to wear off, now I need to get fills to get back to it) I wasn't hungry for about 4-5 hours and then my stomach would grumble and let me know I was hungry. So I've never had zero hunger, but that is what it is supposed to do. Yes you'll have plateaus, also you may not lose much the first 6 weeks due to healing and, in my eyes, starvation mode, since I was only supposed to eat small amounts and it took til week 5 to get my calories back to over 1000. So I hope this helped

OK... I caught up with you on this tread... It's typical for the band to be tight in the morning. Have you tried drinking some hot liquids before eating? Normally a good warm beverage loosens things up. If this isn't working - and you can't get a meal down before mid-late morning - then I would seek an unfill. Your extreme urge to eat in the evening is two-fold. 1) You aren't getting enough calories throughout the day so your body wants food (it's been proven many times over that small frequent meals results in less overall calorie intake than a few large meals)... 2) It is typical for the band to be the "loosest" in the latter part of the day. I would find a journaling program (I use Fitday - there are many different others that bandsters use) and track all calorie intake and expenditures. It will help you pinpoint the trouble. Brad

I did the 6months of dr supervised diet. I was getting Lipotropic injections which is basically B12 shots with other vitiamins in them too. It supposed to help you have more energy and burn your stored fat. I also quit the sodas but i still had a problem with bread and potatoes. I started the program at 285 lbs and finished the 6 months at 274 and it fluxated up an down each week. About 6 weeks before mine was up i got really serious about this thing and started doing the replacement shake for my lunches and eating a normal dinner at night. I also started using www.myfitnesspal.com to help me keep up with how many calories i was consuming thru out the day. I am now at 272 and i have been approved by the insurance company i am just waiting on a date. I can tell you that when i started this in April it feel like it was so far away but really it goes by pretty quickly. Good luck and be honest with the dr when you guys talk about your weaknesses during the monthly consult and weigh in.

I'm scheduled to be banded May 30. Going to start tapering my diet next week (less calories/more protein) and then 1 day of liquids before surgery...then 2 weeks liquids after. I'm sorta having my last hurrah right now if you know what I mean!