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

So Brad I need to clarify something I read earlier. Out of seven days of the week, you eat low calories for six of them and then have one high calorie day? I'm curious, what do you consider high and low calorie amounts for you? This is intriguing to me and something I'm considering trying. I'm thinking if that a one high calorie day may be just what I need to not feel deprived so much.

Sorry... I am way behind on LBT... Life sure gets busy...

Interesting information if you research fat loss and leptin levels. That "cheat" meal or day (depending on where you are in the journey) will replenish leptin and help keep your body burning fat. Continuous low calorie approaches crash leptin levels. Once again... how many people do we encounter here who eat 800 - 1200 calories a day but the fat loss stalls... It's not a secret why, but breaking out of that cycle is very hard pschologically because what it takes seems self defeating (eating carb rich food).

Anyway... For me anything above 3000 calories is a high calorie day. For awhile now I've been eating 3 days low calorie (for me about 1500-2000) followed by a recovery day (3000+) BUT... I workout religiously... If you try this without sufficient exercise - you'll induce disaster. But quite honestly if you try to do this journey without sufficient exercise, you'll never get even remotely close to your maximum potential.

Good Luck! Brad

I also agree with Brad you have to increase muscle mass to up the metabolism rate I do not want to lose too much muscle mass while on this journey so the idea of a super low cal, low carb diet that would leave me thinner but weak and flabby is unapealing to say the least. I used to train in the gym 5 days a week (Wife wouldn't let me on weekend's ) I do 3 times a week now and have scaled back my weight lifting to 10 exercises of 3 sets of 15 with no more than 150# and don't rest more than 1 min. between sets. I alternate 1/2 hour on Track or Stationary bike for cardio. Thats enough for a 62 year old man with a bad back caused by nearly 200 pounds I have been hauling around. As I lose weight I don't plan on upping the weight training (except if the weights get too easy to lift ) but I would like to up the cardio by walking around my home on non gym days.

I was eating well over 3500 calories a day and am shooting for 1500 non gym & 2000 on gym days This may sound like a lot but I am 6'5" tall and my goal weight is 200-220 and at age 62 my doctor says that this is a reasonable expectation. Heck I'll be 63 soon and the older we get the less calories we need. I just cannot picture myself as a tall old skinny but flabby dude, Yuk!

Brad, thanks for the great advice and I think you are spot on about mixing it up but we can't have a feast day wo/ a work day attached to it, everythings gotta be paid for somehow.

Cheers,

Tom

Excellent! Very well said!

I also agree with Brad you have to increase muscle mass to up the metabolism rate I do not want to lose too much muscle mass while on this journey so the idea of a super low cal, low carb diet that would leave me thinner but weak and flabby is unapealing to say the least. I used to train in the gym 5 days a week (Wife wouldn't let me on weekend's ) I do 3 times a week now and have scaled back my weight lifting to 10 exercises of 3 sets of 15 with no more than 150# and don't rest more than 1 min. between sets. I alternate 1/2 hour on Track or Stationary bike for cardio. Thats enough for a 62 year old man with a bad back caused by nearly 200 pounds I have been hauling around. As I lose weight I don't plan on upping the weight training (except if the weights get too easy to lift ) but I would like to up the cardio by walking around my home on non gym days.

I was eating well over 3500 calories a day and am shooting for 1500 non gym & 2000 on gym days This may sound like a lot but I am 6'5" tall and my goal weight is 200-220 and at age 62 my doctor says that this is a reasonable expectation. Heck I'll be 63 soon and the older we get the less calories we need. I just cannot picture myself as a tall old skinny but flabby dude, Yuk!

Brad, thanks for the great advice and I think you are spot on about mixing it up but we can't have a feast day wo/ a work day attached to it, everythings gotta be paid for somehow.

Cheers,

Tom

Excellent! Very well said!

THere are a few that lose weight strictly by just eating less, but by far the more successful ones change their eating habits! It's not easy.......but it can be done!

Do not like this approach... We can lose "weight" by eating less - that's true. But are we really healthier? Did we have surgery to just get a bit better or did we do it to change our lives? That's an individual question. The average loss with a band is 60 percent of excess body weight. To me that is entirely unacceptable. I want as close to 100 percent of UNWANTED fat loss as possible. We can't get anywhere near that goal by just eating less, rather, its determining when/how eating less factors into the big picture.

Brad

The answer to the OP's original question is: "It depends on the individual."

I was never much of a junk food person and never a sweet eater. People would look at what I ate and say there was no way I could weigh over 300 pounds eating what I did. Most of these people ate far more than I did and had no weight problem. I once saw a woman on Oprah who was about my same height and build and weighed roughly what I did. The covered a tabletop with what this woman ate in a day. If I had eaten like that, I would've weighed 600 lbs or more. Heck, I gained 12 pounds in a month on WW and told them it was no surprise since it was far more than I ever ate in a day.

I understand now my body does not process carbs like a normal person. For me, it's not just 'how much' but 'what'. I always knew low carb worked best for me as far as losing weight, regulating blood sugar and better lab results but didn't realize that the whole grains and fruit I continued to eat were still the reason I was still not in optimum range on any of these and why I eventually became a diabetic. Then I read Dr. Bernstein's "Diabetes Solution" and it was an eye opener.

As you can see from the variety of responses in this thread, everyone has an opinion of the best way to lose weight and be healthy...but keep in mind that applies only to that person. If I ate the type of diet recommended by many on this thread, I'd still be taking insulin and struggling to lose even a pound a week (if that) on a 1200 calorie diet...gaining on an 1800 calorie diet.

If you believe just eating less will work, try it. Just for your own information, you might want to use something like Fitday.com to record what you're eating so you have something to look back at if it doesn't work.

.

After reading hundreds of posts over the last few weeks, I think I've come to the conclusion that everyone is different. Whether it's calorie intake or exercise, low carb or low calorie, eating healthy or eating what you want, everyone is unique.

I almost can't stand the suspense of finding out how it's going to be for me. I have read stories of people urking over a sip of Water, and people in a panic because they are always hungry. I have surgery in 9 days, and the only thing I've really learned is that I have to find out how this is going to work on my own body.

I know I have determination, my willpower has never been higher, and my monthly weight loss goals are achievable (10 lbs/mo). Plus I have the support of all of you when I have questions. That's the best comfort of all.

Carlene

Lemonchick I got my band about a year before you got yours. I have had 16 fills and still NO restriction! :-( It is hard limiting food when your hungry all the time!!!

Debora Y - I'm sortof in the same boat. I've been able to eat pretty much anything. I really don't like to eat salad any longer. I try to eat healthy, but I do eat carbs: rice, but not much bread and rarely any potatoes. I try to limit the amount of carbs (rice), but it is hard sometimes. I eat a cup of food at a meal, no matter what kind of food it is. The lady at the center where I get fills, says I should start doing the 3/4 cup of food. I struggle with that. 3/4 cup of food. It barely seems like anything and you want to be able to enjoy what you are eating and if you can only have that amount of food, it is hard. I do way better with a full cup of food. Maybe I need more fill, in order to be comfortable with 3/4 cup of food.

Anyhow, it is something I am working on. I struggle with my idea of wanting more food. It is tough, but I didn't get the band for nothing, so I'm sticking with it. Good luck to you all.

Brad of course you can be healthier just by eating less and losing weight! Not to the extent of if you change to better types of food, but still healthier non the less. If you go from morbidly obese to obese do you not think that is healthier? Or obese to just overweight?

Do not like this approach... We can lose "weight" by eating less - that's true. But are we really healthier? Did we have surgery to just get a bit better or did we do it to change our lives? That's an individual question. The average loss with a band is 60 percent of excess body weight. To me that is entirely unacceptable. I want as close to 100 percent of UNWANTED fat loss as possible. We can't get anywhere near that goal by just eating less, rather, its determining when/how eating less factors into the big picture.

Brad

Brad of course you can be healthier just by eating less and losing weight! Not to the extent of if you change to better types of food, but still healthier non the less. If you go from morbidly obese to obese do you not think that is healthier? Or obese to just overweight?

Thanks for pointing that out... Yes... going from morbidly obese to what is commonly referred to on this site as a skinny fat person would be HEALTHIER... but not necessarily HEALTHY.

Brad

As its been said many times on these forums... we are all different. What works for one won't work for another. For me I eat 1000-1200 calories and work out 5 times a week. I'm losing and shrinking my shape.

Honestly though, if my 1200 calories are coming from burgers/pizza/ice cream I doubt I'm going to become very healthy. I make sure my calories are good choices, having a treat now and then. I didn't have my body cut into to continue to eat crap. I want to feel healthy inside and out.

Its a journey we will never forget!

Sounds like 100% advertisement.

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.

so glad i ran across this post...i will begin my tweaking process today to see what works best for me

I was also wondering about this. I had read about calorie deficit and how it you go over 1000 deficit each day, your body will go into a metabolic slowdown mode. I think this is what is going on with me. I have been working out 3-4 times a week and I usually eat only 1000-1200 each day. When you take the calories I burn during a workout away, my body is only running on like 600-800 calories which isnt enough. It is hard to get it in your mind to eat more to lose weight. I am going to try it and see what happens. I have noticed on days when I work out that I feel weak and I am sure that is why. Thanks for the post about this info! It has helped me alot!

Formerly,

Me, too! I have been worried about the complete lack of restriction. My only saving grace is the reduction in the Ghrelin hormone. I have always suspected my food cravings were chemical. Well, darned if that was 90% of my weight battle. Apparently, the band cut off the production or at least blocked it. I am so grateful for the "monkey off my back!". I had 4 ccs put in about a week ago. NO CHANGE! Only two incidents of "stuckness" in 3 months. But, not having the pangs to EAT EAT EAT is remarkable.

Good luck, Formerly. As my co-worker lovingly tells me all the time as I leave for lunch: Make good choices. Some days I could just slap her! :-)

Lemonchick I got my band about a year before you got yours. I have had 16 fills and still NO restriction! :-( It is hard limiting food when your hungry all the time!!!

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... :tt2:

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

OKAY SO, I RECENTLY GOT BANDED, AND I AM HAVING SOME TROUBLE FIGURING OUT WHAT TO EAT AND IF IT WILL HELP OR HURT MY WEIGHT LOSS. YOUR RESPONSE WAS SO INFORMATIVE BUT I AM STILL A BIT CONFUSED, WHAT SHOULD I LEAN TOWARDS AND WHAT SHOULD I MAINTAIN AWAY FROM? PLEASE RESPOND! I AM VERY LOST!