I got my lap band April 23rd, 2010. So far I've had 1 fill, 4cc's, and I've lost 22lbs.

So far I've basically been eating most of the same foods that I ate before the lap band, except for breads and meats that aren't ground (such as steak or pork chops) because those things get stuck and hurt me!

I think that I'm losing weight simply because I'm eating far less than I did before, and what I'm wondering is if anyone has had long term success this way....or am I just kidding myself?

I'm waiting for the idea of a nutritional, structured diet to kick in with me, but so far it hasn't. Before I got the lap band, I thought eating a healthy diet would be easy because I wouldn't be hungry...but I am still hungry. It doesn't take much to fill me up, but the craving for the "old" food is still there in a much bigger way than I thought it would be.

Will this pass? Am I still just getting used to this? That's the excuse I give myself...but I need to hear from others, because I don't know what is normal.

As I read on this forum, it seems like everyone is SOOO into the nutrition part of it all, and they always eat the right things and do exactly what their doctors tell them..and I wonder if they were like that from day 1 or if it took a while for the lifestyle change to really kick in.

I would appreciate any input on this, I want to really know what everyone's experience was in the first 3-6 months..

Thanks,

Debora

I think what you are experiencing is normal. It took me about 6 months for my mentality to change about desiring food, even if I wasn't truly hungry. Desiring to chew, taste, swallow and feel full the old way. The lap band changes your relationship with food in my experience. That change does take some time and you will "challenge" the band and not be able to keep it down. Eventually, you will tire of this and learn to live with your band, physically and psychologically. I had my band put in March 2009. I lost 115lbs the first year and have since maintained that loss (I'm 145lbs, 5'7".) Currently, I can eat just about anything if I eat a bite or two and then wait 15 minutes to eat another bite. That's ok for the taste and act of eating, but I feel it's hard for me to get my nutrition that way. I bought a vitmix blender...IT'S GREAT!! For me, my strategy is to make sure I get my fluids, protien and vitamins in first, then I dabble with eating bites at a time. I feel so much better and more energetic since I've began using my vitmix blender. It will liquify ANYTHING. I really missed my veggies with the lapband. I can't tolerate the skins of veggies. In this blender I can put in any mixture of veggies, skin, stalk and all and always a bit of kale, to make a liquid veggie drink. I add a good quality chicken bullion for taste and my powdered protien and I have a vitamin, fiber, fluid, protien packed tasty drink. I've done yogurt and blueberries as a smoothie and can tolerate that too. I thank GOD for this machine. These drinks don't replace all other foods, but they are the base to my nutrition. Everything else is extra and for the act of eating, chewing, and enjoying a few bites of regular food. For me, this works and it quite satisfying and certainly health boosting. Of course, I still enjoy a dilly bar whenever I want one and haven't had any weight gain what so ever.

I remember the dietitian saying you shouldn't have to puree foods to be able to eat, that you were too tight if you had to do that. But they tell you to stew, or slow cook things until they are mush....whats the difference? The difference is cooking out all the nutrients is not good. The vitamix blender liquifies raw veggies, retaining all vitamins and fiber. I don't have stock in this company, I am truly just very excited to have come across this. It's very expensive 350-400 bucks, so I thought about it for 6 months before I broke down and got one. Best investment I've made since I got the lap band. I love the lap band!! Us bandsters just have to figure out how to have optimal health with the restriction that has allowed us to achieve our healthier weights.

I have a vitamix too and I wouldnt be without it for anything.

You SHOULDNT have to puree stuff to be able to eat and I dont have to but with a blender like this, you can easily get in your two fruit, five veg every single day. Without, I still eat fruit and veg in their natural form, but i cant eat as much of them. I know when i start my day with a green smoothie (usually 2 different fruits and spinach or kale) than I've already had a good start and if I get 3 more vegies in that day - which is pretty easy, I really dont have to worry that I'm not getting enough.

It makes marvellous Soup for lunch too AND cooks it for you!

And I am allergic to nuts & eggs, so getting protein is difficult.

You can use functional foods.

Every one talks about only being able to take 3-5 bites of something how big of bites are you talking about like a normal teaspoon size or smaller like a baby spoon size?

I can eat way more than that. That's starvation, its ridiculous, if that's all someone can eat, they're WAY too tight.

I can eat what would be an normal meal for a small woman with a moderate appetite. What I would eat for dinner for example, would fill a bread and butter plate - I serve it on a salad plate, but it would fill the bread and butter plate.

:smile::iagree:

Brad

One thing I keep thinking about with this "lifestyle change" I'm supposed to have is that if this was a change I was capable of making and sticking to..then I really wouldn't have needed the LAP-BAND®®. My doctor wants me on a diet very close to the Atkins low carb diet, and I know that works because I lost 50lbs on it once. However, if I had been able to stick to it as a lifestyle, I would have lost more and kept it all off.

They keep saying the LAP-BAND®® is a tool...but it's only a physical tool, not an emotional one. I guess I was thinking the emotional part would kick in at some point..I'm just wondering where that point is, and where it kicked in for those further down this road...

Debora, I'm with you! I was banded in 2006 and thought the emotional part would be easy and just kick in automagically. But I find myself getting really irritated sometimes that I can't just eat a hamburger or whatever I was eating before being banded. I am starting over with my band. I am visiting my doctor on Tuesday and am going to ask him to let me start over with everything. And this time, I'm going to make sure my head is in it too.

Good luck to you!

What about fruits and vegetables?? I eat meat, meat, &more meat. And some carbs. But how do you get in the healthy stuff? Salsas?? I had coleslaw(3 bites) & I had the only pb bout I have had since I had WLS. Oh, & I eat pickles, but they are so salty. Suggestions?

Pickles is definitely not recommended as it is not good for health if you eat more often. It should be eaten once in 2-3 days. And meat should be regulated as it contains more calories!!:smile:

I was eating meat at every meal and my weight loss was very slow, and I was also very tight. Now, I'm a bit looser and I only eat lean meat once a day. I get protein through beans, nuts, and soy beans. I cut out all dairy and that has helped me, it's a personal thing. I try to eat as natural as I can, with lots of veggies and fruit. I'm back to losing a couple of pounds a week.

Well I agree and disagree with the other posters...

The key to losing fat - (I say fat because even muscle loss = weight loss and who wants to lose muscle?) is understanding and applying the energy balance PLUS understanding how your body uses food as fuel and how those fuels differ (carbs, fats, Proteins, alcohol).

Your body has a strong will to survive. It will not voluntarily give up its' fat stores. You have to coax and burn them off. You do this by creating a calorie deficit created by BOTH exercise and reduced food intake. Creating this deficit by intake alone will not take an obese person down to a healthy body fat percentage - at best, it will create a skinny fat person.

Calories In Vs. Calories Out is a bit too simplistic. 1000 calories of cotton candy and 1000 calories of skinless chicken breast are profoundly different. The difference in insulin response alone (not to mention other body chemistry) is huge! All calories are not equal.

Ponder this... "Joe" eats 1000 calories a day, day after day. He needs to lose 100 pounds. This low calorie diet gives him a deficit of 2000 calories a day. By this calculation he should be able to completely lose his excess body weight in 175-200 days....(Bet he doesn't)... But what if he continues this trend for several years? Does he completely disappear? Of course not. Because it's not just about calories in/calories out - it's about managing your metabolism via your energy balance.

I eat 1000 calories some days - I eat over 3000 other days. I still have challenging food demons, but I manage them. If I'm going to eat cheat foods, I do so on planned high calorie days. By cycling calories this way - combined with a challenging exercise schedule consisting of both strength and cardiovascular training - I keep my metabolism white hot. My body fat percentage continues to fall, while the scale stays relatively stable (small lean muscle tissue gains). This lifestyle allows fat loss on calorie deficit days and muscle gains on calorie surplus days.

There are several scenarios of posts on LBT that leave me grumbling... One of them is very low calorie diets. People who eat very low calories (600-1000) love the weight loss they initially see. But how much of that weight is lost muscle? Your body is a machine. If it's being starved is it going to give up metabolically active lean muscle tissue which is high maintenance to keep - or fat stores which costs next to nothing to maintain? Some of both, but the ratio is going to tip toward the lean muscle tissue. As muscle tissues decline, your body adjusts it's metabolism in a fight to avoid starvation, the weight loss slows and then comes the unavoidable - yet easily predicted plateau. They havn't lost weight in months, but hey, plateau's are normal right? No... they aren't normal - they mean your body has adjusted your metabolism accordingly to try to stave off starvation. It won't give up without a fight. But their doctor prescribed the 800 calorie low carb diet, so that must not be it... :thumbup:

Here's another one... I've read a lot of posts where people are eating 1000 calories and gaining weight and they try to suggest it's muscle gains... Not a chance... It is physiologically impossible to maintain that large of a calorie deficit and gain muscle tissue, which actually requires a calorie surplus. One person is starving themselves eating 800 low carb calories a day, while at the same time I sit here on a high calorie day snacking on Peanut M&M's dipped in Peanut Butter.

"So Brad, if your so damned smart and think this is so easy, then why did you get so fat you needed WLS?" Because I didn't understand the energy balance and how my body used fuel and how those fuel types differ - BUT now I do... And I want everyone else to know too... It may be simple - but it isn't easy... The band is a great tool to help you achieve your goals.

Your body is a wonderful efficient machine when properly understood. Fuel it appropriately and it will reward you!

Good Luck!

Brad

I like my physicians assistant even more then. Everything you say makes sense. People need to realize what your saying because otherwise they, myself included, had no way of knowing how to lose weight properly. Everyone focuses on the results they see when they step on the scale which isnt always the best indicator of body tronsformation. I went to have a fill today and was upset to see I only lost 2.1# since the last visit about 2 months ago. I explained to my PA that I dropped 2 pant sizes(actually I keep my big belt and keep putting more holes to make it smaller), Ive made 2 holes since last visit. Anyway, he asked me whether I wanted a fill because cutting food consumption to the point of starving myself of the proper cals is not the Idea. In my case it is more that my diet (times I eat each meal) fluctuates too much. I usually get up at about 5:30 each morning, I might not eat until 1, 2 or 3:00 in the afternoon because Im busy but when I do eat I am so hungry but because I cant get volume I starve myself of the proper cals so my body goes into starvation mode! Then I might not eat again until 7-8:00 pm, then Im hungry at night also. He told me to keep protien bars or some light snack with me to help because its easier to make bad food choices when your hungrier(very true in my case). He explained what I always hear, the band is a tool, this is a lifestyle change but today it makes more sense to me that diet alone wont get me to where I want to be. Then it was also good to see this post by you Brad. Thanks for the info, I dont question why your so up on this topic. The way I usually learn is by experiencing it myself. I would be so bored in school during this subject but Im very interested now. I appreciate your knowledge and most of all your input.

Sounds like you are achieving great results Bob! Keep up the hard work!

And yes, the scale is only one measure of progress - and likely not the best one! A lower measure of body fat is always better than a lower scale number.

I agree with your PA that you should fill the gap on your meal plan. Your body has gone all night without amino acids so refueling in the morning is very important to protect your lean muscle tissue.

This becomes more of a concern the deeper you go into the journey. When starting off it is less likely to lose lean tissues, however, the closer you are to goal the more of a concern it becomes - as very well explained by Tom Venuto in his recent book "Holy Grail of Body Transformation."

Most banded people experience heaviest restriction in the morning, and this eases as the day wears on. Unfortunately, that early day significant restriction greatly reduces the variety of tolerated foods. That is why I tend to supplement with Protein powders during the first part of the day.

Good luck and keep up the hard work!

Brad

I'm contemplating an in fill so I can eat more veggies salads etc. I'm worried about doing this right before our winters here. I am grateful beyond words for the 45-50 lbs I lost at the beginning of the fat decade( 50s). I can exercise better than I ever had bit when I'm not exercising I am really feeling week and tired, Wish I knew if it was age, hormones or my poor diet of late. I'll report my progress...

I follow the meaning of this post, but seem to be the exception so far. I eat 800-1000 cal/day, with 80-100 Protein. In the last month I have lost nothing. I walk on the treadmill 40min 4/week at a 2.5-3mile average. And yet I still an not losing weight.

I had the same problem in the past when I worked out in a personal training group. We rotated cardio and weight training and read our food every day so there was no room to cheat. I lost 35lbs at first and then it stopped. I continued with this plan for another 4 months and finally gave up.

I am beginning to fear the lap band hasnt done anything except give me a vacation from work. As you can see I am very frustrated.

I follow the meaning of this post, but seem to be the exception so far. I eat 800-1000 cal/day, with 80-100 Protein. In the last month I have lost nothing. I walk on the treadmill 40min 4/week at a 2.5-3mile average. And yet I still an not losing weight.

I had the same problem in the past when I worked out in a personal training group. We rotated cardio and weight training and read our food every day so there was no room to cheat. I lost 35lbs at first and then it stopped. I continued with this plan for another 4 months and finally gave up.

I am beginning to fear the lap band hasnt done anything except give me a vacation from work. As you can see I am very frustrated.

Actually you might not be getting enough calories. My dr. wants me to be around 15-1800 a day. Everyones different and not everything works the same for everyone. The first few weeks I had around around 1000 calories a day, I lost 37# in the first 3 weeks because of the liquid low cal diet(without exercise) then it quit working. My dr said I needed to up my cals because now my body was in starvation mode. Im not losing much on the scale but I notice my clothes getting looser. Most importantly though, I think what Brad and others are saying is that you need to change it up because your body gets used to routine, you need to "trick" your body by fluctuating diet and calorie intake along with exercise routine, keep your body guessing so to speak and you'll see results.

Now with that being said, I know what to do for the most part, its just hard for me to find the motivation most of the time!

Actually if your concerned or not sure you might want to consult with a nutritionist. Since thats their area of expertise I would think they know better than a dr or surgeon.

Good luck. The good thing is this is a long learning process and the mistakes you make now arent as serious as before being banded. You can adjust your band, see dr. see nutritionist. We all have that at our fingertips now.