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I've been having issue fainting when I stand up. It started after surgery. I've taken some knots to my noggin, which has been troublesome. After numerous tests the doctor determined it was low blood volume and that I need to increase my sodium intake. I am very happy that I only require about 900 to 1000 calories a day. I don't think I could physically add anymore food volume to my diet. I'm really happy with the healthy food choices I am making and I don't want to add processed food to my diet. Using extra table salt ruins the taste of my food. Has anyone else needed to increase their sodium intake? What are some ideas for increasing sodium in my diet without making unhealthy over processed food choices?

wonder if they sell it in Fla. sounds like a good snack..I like most of the greek yogurts but some don't have the calorie/protein ratio I need. and some have a good amt of sugar which I try to avoid.. My nutritionist says I need to stay 5 gms or less..

Hi all, Been asking a lot of questions here today and getting some really helpful answers. The last thing that's causing me a major concern is I am EXTREMELY dizzy all the time. I was banded 4 days ago, I'm on the all liquid diet so I'm not sure if It's just a matter of not getting enough calories or is something I should be concerned about. Taking my meds or not doesn't really seem to make a difference in terms of the dizziness, but If I try to even just SIT UP for a few hours I have to sleep. It's driving me insane! I know that I need to rest, but I can't sleep ALL THE TIME, and i cant even focus my eyes enough to read any of the great books I bought for recovery. I will be calling my doc first thing tomorrow but wonder if you guys have any idea why that would be happening or anything that might help?

You stopped eating because you "lost interest"? Did you ever lose interest in food before being banded? Because I didn't! The only comment I have about what you ate was the crab cake probably had too much breading ( carbs) and the caesar salad dressing is one of the highest in calories. So chicken over a regular salad might have been a better choice, but quantity wise, I don't think you ate a lot. Try to eat more solid Protein and that will help keep your pouch full longer. I would also asses how long that lunch kept you full in your decision if your restriction is right. If you get too tight, it nots good either.

Hi Kristi I know that there are so many changes we bandsters have to make. I have been forced to make most of them, through the restriction I have. I just CANT overeat, or gobble anything. My challenge is keeping liquid, non nutritional, calories at bay. Often, I don't feel like eating, either, and force myself to make a protein shake. Somehow, you need to not compare yourself, and you have to pick yourself up by the bootstraps and eat/drink what you need to. I know that higher protein, and consistency with it help us lose weight. Do you have any other support at home? I know you can do it! You can make it, you were strong enough to get banded, and you are strong enough to get healthy

For me, I can eat any amoumt of chips, biscuits, ice cream or even Cereal that I want to. I can go out and eat fattening meals too - not much of them, but I can eat Pasta and stuff. But I know I have good restriction when I eat well. When I eat healthy, Protein packed, vegie packed meals, I really struggle to get through 1500 calories in a day. I get my three meals in and that's it. when I eat that way, I lose even now, four years down the track. Good restriction to me does not mean not being able to eat bread or getting full on half a cup. Today I had a huge Protein shake with a banana blended in (took me a while), a chicken schnitzel sandwich (bread, small schnitzel oven baked, baby spinach, tomato) and a bread and butter plate sized dinner - meatloaf, a spoon of mashed potato and some creamed spinach. other days I can get through twice the calories with poor food choices - which doesnt mean I dont have restriction, it means I'm not using my band well.

Paula- I had lap band surgery Dec 15th and went thru the same thoughts you are having. I ultimately went with lb becuase if I had any other type of medical problem in life the band could be unfilled and I could receive treatments. The sleeve or RNY both have restrictions I just couldn't handle. I'm probably overly concerned as various cancers run in my family and I just want to be able to 'battle' any disease w/o worrying about a surgery decision I made years ago. My thought is the band can be unfilled or removed if need be and once well, it can be filled or I can have surgery to reinstall one. The vomiting - I am a BIG freaky gagger - I mean freaky as in I can easily start to gag and lord help me if I have to vomit - I totally freak. Here I am 6 weeks post op and I had one episode where I ate to fast, I knew it the moment it happened I stayed calm, had a strange feeling and up the bite came like a big burp. Now that, that happened I am so cautious, the word didn't come to an end but at the time it did hurt - but I did it to my self. as far as food restrictions - what is it you think you'll miss? I have eaten many things and not had issues. I do heed the advice of no soft breads but I haven't missed them. Are they foods that got you here? Now something you didn't address is the amount of work each one involves on your part. The band - it doesn't do it for you- you have to follow the 'rules'- exercise, get 70 - 90 grams of Protein in and 64oz of fluids a day with less than 1k calories. So you have to work at it change your habits. Protein/Produce then starches So its a tool but you have to use, not abuse it and you will be successful. the sleeve- a perm change, an alteration to your body - but you can be lazy - it only restricts your food for you so if you put in poor food choices you can still ramp up the calories (just like the band) and still fail (just like the band) but now you are missing 85% of your stomach. In my research I found that at 5 years out the band and rny have similiar weight loss and maintanence. My reading on the sleeve said altho slightly comparable to band it is equal to RNY. In the end it comes down to what is best for you, be very honest with your medical team especially your surgeon and pysch. They should be able to guide you. My surgeon would not say 'yes do this one, not that one' - he gave me every ounce of info I could get my hands on and answered a lot of questions (I called 2 or 3 times a week for 4 or 5 weeks) Also you may want to post this on the board for gastric sleeve - as I'm pretty sure since most folks on here have the band - they may be slightly biased :smile2: Good luck in your decision. tina

My doctor also said to not count calories, but to do this plan in a book called Eating for Life by Bill Phillips. I'm sorry, but that book confuses me and I read it from cover to cover. I have to count calories. It's easy. I use my bodybugg and all it comes down to is basic math. Sorry doctor! (I don't tell him I'm counting calories though.)

I LOVE LOVE the spaghetti with meat sauce. It has a good amount of Protein and I eat all the sauce/meat and about half the Pasta. I eat that for lunch like, 4 days a week. One day I had a turkey dinner and ended up burping for about 6 hours afterwards. So I have only stuck with the spaghetti. But I do find in general those things don't taste very good anymore. Be careful with the microwaved meat. It can give some people problems. For the cost of the meals it's probably not really worth it, unless there are one or two that seem to have high enough protein and low enough calories AND sit well in your stomach. I have tried a few others and dumped them out... they just aren't that good to me anymore....except that darn spaghetti! I buy like 5 at a time!

So far new problem for me with popcorn. I buy a product called Skinny Pop (Costco) that is 150 calories for 4 popped cups. Often I just go for 2. Add a little butter spray and it takes away any deprivation feelings. It also sneaks into the movies in my wife's purse very easily! We also make our own microwaved popcorn that's fairly healthy Take a brown paper lunch sack Add 1/4 teaspoon healthy oil - I use EVOO 1/4 c popcorn kernels Fold bag over and staple once (no problem in microwave) Cook on high 2 minutes or until popping slows Pour into bowl and top with butter spray and salt if desired

I have never had a lot of restriction and have been able to eat a large volume of food. But, one thing I do is spread the food out over the whole day eating every 3 hours. Also try adding an extra protien shake to up the calories if your stomach can't handle more solid food.

2 weeks ago today I had 85% of my stomach removed. Wow, I really did it. I am still uncomfortable-pain in my left side continues, and even extended around to the left side of my back-like pain through and through from front to back. MD says its normal-don't worry. Ok, sure. My regret is that I ended up telling almost everybody, and now I'm getting those looks-you know the kind-"maybe you shouldn't have done this", "maybe you should have tried harder at dieting/exercising, etc", "so sorry, but you did this to yourself!" . Good grief, I know I should be thankful I have not had worse complications, I'm able to drink just fine, haven't vomited since leaving hospital, no leaks (so far), and I have been able to complete my online college course with an "A" , so I haven't lost brain function due to lack of calories! But I can't roll over in bed without horrible, tearing pain. I can't sit still very long without the burning irritation driving me nuts, and I can't pick up my grandsons or sit on the floor, or bend over.....:wub. Ok, 2 weeks down, 2 weeks till I have to return to work-it WILL GET BETTER , right? I did get some good news, I broke my stall- down 2lbs this morning from last Monday. Of course, 2 lbs is good, but was hoping for more in these early weeks. I suppose it will start going faster once I can work out again. We shalll see what next week brings.....

My doctor said 3 small meals a day, no Snacks. I dont know about you guys, but that would NEVER cut it for me! My "meals" are usually 4-5 bites. A fly couldn't live off that I try to have 6 small meals throughout the day. Granted, sometimes a meal will consist of an Oreo and a few Doritos, but, I'm trying. I think it's all about the calories - try to stay around 800-1000 per day and you'll be fine!

I eat 5-6 small meals a day and I swear by it. My metabolism is speeding and I am losing 2-3lbs a week. I really feel great when I am eating this way and I exercise for an hour to 2hours everyday so that helps the metabolism a bunch too. I agree with the dietician about eating something small in the morning to get your metabolism going. If you can't stomach a yogurt or string cheese, try a shake or just simply a glass of milk. Your body needs those calories and nutrition to kick start it for the rest of the day.

To be honest I only walk 1 to 2 times a week. I have had restriction since surgery. I keep my calories below 900 during the week and on the weekends I eat what ever I want, but I still keep my food to 1 cup to 1 1/2 cups. I am getting hungry between meals now and Dr. Snow said I need another fill. I have one scheduled for the 22nd of this month. I expect I will need to up my activity level one of these days. Remember everyone is different when it comes to the band.

I love mfp too! I always come in lower than expected calories. I just keep doing what I am doing. I have a few friends on there now and I have been realizing that they too are coming in too low most days. Sounds like you are doing ok! Keep up the good work!

I don't have the PBing issue but for about the past week, I have one day where I feel like I could eat anything and everything (b/c I am so hungry). Then a couple days later, I can barely get in 800-1000 calories. I have an appt next week.

Why am I so..... hungry at night???? I do fine all... day, but when the sun goes down, LOOK OUT. I am grazing all night till bedtime. I hate it I am eating all my calories between 5-9 pm. Anyone else have this problem???

Thanks Shelby. I am eating about 800-900 calories daily. That's how many fit into the plan I am supposed to follow. I am supposed to have 6 oz. of Protein (from very specific sources listed). 2 veggies, 2 fruits, 1 starch, 1.5 milk. I can oly choose foods on the list for those groups. When all is said and done it equals about 800-900 calories. I am getting about 65 grams of protein a day. The doctor said more than 60-70g for me is ideal. This is hard for me but, I have calmed down a bit. I just hope things work better after the fill. For example. My sample lunch is 2 oz. pureed turkey deli meat with 1/2c pureed carrots. I am NOT FULL after that. My Breakfast is 1 egg and 1 oz. of cheese. Yep, not full after that either. I know I am only 3 weeks out. I will try to be patient.:tired

well spoken. i use the term starvation mode, but i use the term loosely.. ive known that my body shuts down with weight loss very easily. ive never been at that point where i would say i was literally starving, its just that my body kicks into survival mode, whatever you like to call that. i dont lose weight at all when i drop my calorie intake below 1200... i try to move my intake around a lot from day to day. it varies from about 1000 to perhaps 1400-1500 the next day... that does work for me. however, i know that my metabolism is very slow and very efficient. i had so many goes on the Atkins diet that im sure i did something to my metabolism then.

One thing that I've read and also experienced personally is that varying caloric intake -- so long as it averages out over the course of the week -- keeps the metabolism 'on its toes' so it doesn't settle into a rhythm and plateau. Most important is making sure you are getting all the nutrition you need, as Sojourner said, of which is absorbed much more efficiently from foods themselves or -- failing that -- from supplements taken with a meal; it is especially hard to meet these requirements when severely restricting your calories, since it can be difficult even on a high calorie diet. It is imperative that you get enough Protein, both to support your body's muscle mass and because it is needed to maintain all of the body's systems. A weakened, deprived (nutrients, not calories) body has a much harder time fighting off illness, burning fat, and just plain getting around. So while you need to take in fewer calories so that your body uses its fat stores, you still need to take in enough of everything to ensure it can operate efficiently. You just have to experiment a little to (and track your stats to find patterns!) to find what works best for you.

Well, 1000-1200 is also my target range for calories. I also end up with a bit of constipation from not getting in enough fiber, and I usually deal with that by mixing a little bran Cereal into some yogurt. Right now I'm not really targeting a certain protein/fat/carb ratio. I always choose lowfat or nonfat foods & lean meats, so I let it take care of itself. Same with carbs -- most of my carbs come from fruits, veggies, Beans and dairy. When I do choose to eat a bit of bread or rice, it's whole grain. Prior to banding, I had a doc tell me I should be aiming for 40/30/30- 40% carbs, 30% Protein, 30% fat. That's essentially The Zone diet, I think, and there are proponents of that ratio all over the place. At 1200 cals, though, that puts us at 90g of protein a day, which is a tad high I think. US RDA is more like 50g, at least for my height and target weight. For your height & target weight, it's about 58 g. With those workouts you might find 1200 cals a day is even too low. I'm pretty close in height & weight to you and dropping 2 lbs a week eating between 1000-1200, and I only get in about a half an hour of moderate exercise about 4-5 times a week.

I go to Sparkpeople.com and plug in my food there. They count the calories for me so all I have to do is throw the info at them. Some people don't have to count calories. Others only need to count until they get pretty used to what a decent portion size is. For me though it really opened my eyes to what I was eating. When I started I figured out pretty quickly that I was taking in 2500 calories a day. I was pretty shocked honestly. I keep at it now and try not to go more than a day without inputting my stuff so I know what damage I did or if I was a good girl!

i use my fitbit and myfitnesspal...though I have stopped logging in my food diary. Mostly because my calorie intake is always the same. I average between 1200 and 1600 calories. Which is good considering I havent had a fill yet.

Well let's see. I am a wife to a wonderful husband for 21+ years and mother to 3 children (17,15,13). I didn't really have much of a weight problem as a child. I mean I remember being a little chubby around the age of 10, but it didn't last long. If anything, as a teenager I was a little on the too skinny side. I remember being 14 and my now mother in law wouldn't let my now husband take me to the mall unless a had something to eat....I guess I was smaller than I thought.....That is NOT a problem now-haha. It seemed my issues came from having children. I gained large amounts of weight with each child. I was able to lose it in between kids until the last one. With 3 kids under 4 1/2 and a husband in the ARMY....there just wasn't time for me. I sometimes felt like I didn't have time for a shower, let alone an hour a day to exercise...I was just too tired!!! It just seemed like my body changed. When I would lose the weight in the past, it would stay off....until I got pregnant again--haha. But the third time was different. I worked so hard....eating right and exercising almost every day....almost excessively. And a would get 30 or 40 lbs off and be a decent size 10/12, but the day I would start to return to a normal food intake (and by normal, I simply mean about 1400 calories)and drop back to exercising 3 days a week....suddenly I would start slowly adding on the weight again. About a pound a month. So six months in I would be 6pounds heavier....a year later I would be 12 pounds heavier. you get the picture. Before I knew it I would be 30 pounds overweight. I would get serious again!!!drop back to 900 calories start exercising everyday and would get myself down again. and you know the rest. Repeat-above cycle two or three more times over 10 years, then just give up. That’s where I have been for the last 4 years...refusing to repeat the cycle anymore. As a result, that 12 pound a year weight gain is now 50 pounds. Add that to the 15 pounds I could never get off in the first place, and here we are... needing to lose 65 pounds (really to be ideal weight that would be 80 pounds)---but I'll be happy with the 65 pounds.....Honestly, I'd be happy just to be able to return to a life of camping, hiking and swimming like a used to do all the time....regardless of what the scale says. So now I'm playing the waiting game. I will have my last appointment on Tuesday February 21 (my 40th birthday) and from there everything heads to insurance for approval. I have Tricare North and have heard they are pretty good about approving the surgery. I didn't want to get this far in the process and have the insurance company decide they wanted me to do the supervised diet for 3 months, so I went ahead and did it voluntarily with my GP (lost 12 pounds for good faith effort). Just being proactive!! So hopefully on Tuesday I will get a surgery date; the sooner the better. I would like to have it done by the end of March. We are taking my oldest daughter on a cruise for her graduation present the first week in May and I want to be nicely healed from the surgery before I put myself on a boat in the middle of the ocean for a week Well that’s it. If you can offer any insite into how long it takes for tricare to give approval or if you have tricare and can educate me on anything, please let me know. Or any other advise is more than welcome too. This is such a lerning process. Thanks, Tina