Hello everyone, I'm new to this. This is my first time doing this. I had my surgery 5 months ago, I've lost 35lbs. It has been a stand still for the last 2 months. I'm trying so hard to keep up with this lapband. I make so many poor choices in the foods I eat, even though I can eat that much. I've had 5 fills in the last 5 months, and I'm now at 7cc's. I work 12 hour night shifts, and just don't have the energy to get up and exercise. I have to find something that works for me, and I also have a big sweet tooth problem. Can someone please give me some advise on what I need to do. And some words of encouragment. Thanks:unsure:

Hi Candice x

To be honest it seems to me you have done really well in terms of weight loss.

Banding is not a fast track to weight loss by any means, and some people (like me) need their bands quite full , almost to max, before they hit a good level of restriction.

Especially if they are really addicted to food and sweets.

I very much understand the sweet thing..I try and allow for a little light dessert around 200 cals max a day and one day a week to have treats.

I wrote some tips down for a fellow bander in UK , I'll copy paste it for you.

OK this is what I wrote for her

You want to be eating as much veg, fruit and lean Protein as you can. You can eat some wholegrain cereals and breads in moderation as these give you fibre, energy and help fill you up. I'm saying this because you aren't yet anywhere near decent restriction and you aren't going to be straight away.

Aim to eat every 4 hours in the daytime so that you don't get too hungry. This is what is happening to you at the moment and no wonder you go off and eat a lot of the old foods that got you into trouble in the first place.

Have some Snacks ready prepared for you to have mid morning and mid afternoon so that you can go to them and avoid your blood sugar dropping right down between meals.

This is what is happening when you find you are starving hungry.

Have a bowl of drained tuna (in brine) mixed with a splash of vinegar and black pepper ready in the fridge to dig into. This is really excellent for you, hardly any fat and very very filling. You can eat a whole tin and it will not do you any harm at all.

Also get a pack of almonds or walnuts and have a few of them (half a dozen) to nibble before tea to get the edge off

A couple bananas or apples , or a fat free yogurt

Make sure you have a snack ready for you to grab mid morning and mid afternoon.

At your current weight you can still have quite a nice generous calorie allowance and lose weight so don't be scared to eat regularly as long as you choose a healthy food.

What this is going to do is help you avoid getting so desparate that you eat uncontrollably and damage all your efforts.

Drink as much nice cold Water and sugarfree cordial as you can.

Get yourself some sugarfree lollipops to have when you fancy something sweet..

And most of all, stop running the same old negative thoughts round and round in your head...they are doing NOTHING for you apart from keeping you fat and making you give up every time you make a little mistake.

If you accidently choose something you wish you hadn't, straight away forget it and get back to taking one day at a time.

You can do it , try and stop expecting yourself to fail and remember to take it a day and a pound at a time.

xxxxxxx

Hope some of that is of use x

Hi Candice x

To be honest it seems to me you have done really well in terms of weight loss.

Banding is not a fast track to weight loss by any means, and some people (like me) need their bands quite full , almost to max, before they hit a good level of restriction.

Especially if they are really addicted to food and sweets.

I very much understand the sweet thing..I try and allow for a little light dessert around 200 cals max a day and one day a week to have treats.

I wrote some tips down for a fellow bander in UK , I'll copy paste it for you.

OK this is what I wrote for her

You want to be eating as much veg, fruit and lean Protein as you can. You can eat some wholegrain cereals and breads in moderation as these give you fibre, energy and help fill you up. I'm saying this because you aren't yet anywhere near decent restriction and you aren't going to be straight away.

Aim to eat every 4 hours in the daytime so that you don't get too hungry. This is what is happening to you at the moment and no wonder you go off and eat a lot of the old foods that got you into trouble in the first place.

Have some Snacks ready prepared for you to have mid morning and mid afternoon so that you can go to them and avoid your blood sugar dropping right down between meals.

This is what is happening when you find you are starving hungry.

Have a bowl of drained tuna (in brine) mixed with a splash of vinegar and black pepper ready in the fridge to dig into. This is really excellent for you, hardly any fat and very very filling. You can eat a whole tin and it will not do you any harm at all.

Also get a pack of almonds or walnuts and have a few of them (half a dozen) to nibble before tea to get the edge off

A couple bananas or apples , or a fat free yogurt

Make sure you have a snack ready for you to grab mid morning and mid afternoon.

At your current weight you can still have quite a nice generous calorie allowance and lose weight so don't be scared to eat regularly as long as you choose a healthy food.

What this is going to do is help you avoid getting so desparate that you eat uncontrollably and damage all your efforts.

Drink as much nice cold Water and sugarfree cordial as you can.

Get yourself some sugarfree lollipops to have when you fancy something sweet..

And most of all, stop running the same old negative thoughts round and round in your head...they are doing NOTHING for you apart from keeping you fat and making you give up every time you make a little mistake.

If you accidently choose something you wish you hadn't, straight away forget it and get back to taking one day at a time.

You can do it , try and stop expecting yourself to fail and remember to take it a day and a pound at a time.

xxxxxxx

Hope some of that is of use x

Thank you so much. It's been a struggle for me. I really needed to hear that. I will definetly try those out.