I am writing on here to seek some help/advice from you all. I am one of four in my family to have had lapband. One of my aunts is extremely successful, her name is ExitMelanie on YouTube. She does great with little to no sugar, low carbs and lots of Protein and tons of exercise. My other aunt has been extremely successful with just reducing her portions alone. My mother has been somewhat successful again by simply reducing portions. That leaves me...

April 12th was my one year, "sugiversary," if you will and I was the EXACT weight I started at the day before surgery. As of right now I'm roughly 10lbs lighter but I'm chalking that up to the fact that we've just recently moved and I've been swimming a great deal in our new pool, but I digress. Since surgery my portions have been easily cut in half if not more. My diet mainly consists of chicken and drinks. I'm not sure if I'm drinking my calories, perhaps? I have a 10cc band and I believe I have 6.4ccs right now. I was at 7ccs at one point but it was so tight I couldn't get any Water down and had to have an emergency visit with my surgeon, I have an appointment for a fill next week although I'm hesitant because I get stuck so very often.

Anyway, the reason I am writing to you all is to get your opinions. I have tried the exercise, low sugar, low carb, etc. but nothing seems to be working. Have any of you had this issue? If so what did you do? I'm considering getting all of my Fluid taken out and starting over but I'm concerned about gaining weight when I have no restriction. Any helpful tips, meal plans, ideas are greatly appreciated and if I need to clarify anything please let me know! Thanks in advance!

PS - I'm not too familiar with this website so I apologize if I posted this in the wrong place!

I am writing on here to seek some help/advice from you all. I am one of four in my family to have had lapband. One of my aunts is extremely successful, her name is ExitMelanie on YouTube. She does great with little to no sugar, low carbs and lots of Protein and tons of exercise. My other aunt has been extremely successful with just reducing her portions alone. My mother has been somewhat successful again by simply reducing portions. That leaves me...

April 12th was my one year, "sugiversary," if you will and I was the EXACT weight I started at the day before surgery. As of right now I'm roughly 10lbs lighter but I'm chalking that up to the fact that we've just recently moved and I've been swimming a great deal in our new pool, but I digress. Since surgery my portions have been easily cut in half if not more. My diet mainly consists of chicken and drinks. I'm not sure if I'm drinking my calories, perhaps? I have a 10cc band and I believe I have 6.4ccs right now. I was at 7ccs at one point but it was so tight I couldn't get any Water down and had to have an emergency visit with my surgeon, I have an appointment for a fill next week although I'm hesitant because I get stuck so very often.

Anyway, the reason I am writing to you all is to get your opinions. I have tried the exercise, low sugar, low carb, etc. but nothing seems to be working. Have any of you had this issue? If so what did you do? I'm considering getting all of my Fluid taken out and starting over but I'm concerned about gaining weight when I have no restriction. Any helpful tips, meal plans, ideas are greatly appreciated and if I need to clarify anything please let me know! Thanks in advance!

PS - I'm not too familiar with this website so I apologize if I posted this in the wrong place!

It must be very frustrating and disappointing for you knowing that other family members have done well and you are having problems. when you say you are having chicken and drinks... for starters... what sort of drinks? alcohol?

have you done a daily count of calories, fats, carbs etc? it could be that you arent getting enough ? just off the top of my head... i would do this, start a daily diary, put down everything that id eaten and work out the food values. do that for a week.

also.... if you are having drinks that arent alcohol and are sugar free then they arent the issue. If you are having alcoholic drinks and other drinks with sugar, then thats an issue.

am gonna be tough, dont hate me please:

the first thing you need to do is quit comparing yourself to your family. you are not them. you are you. so unless you do that , you will not get anywhere.

start today with eating better. pre banding and post banding, they gave in instructions on what to eat. (Protein first, about 4 oz, veggies/fruit 2-3 oz) and drink fluids (Water crystal light). also you know to cut out the junk food, the high salt, high fat, high calorie processed. you know to eat fresh veggies, fruit and also to drink a Protein shake if you need to.

are you helping the band? or are you expecting the band to work all be itself?

if you want to start over, then start right now. (my helpful hint is to not eat over a cup of food at any time and always protein first and the most of that cup). get rid of sugery drinks, drink sf if at all possible.

you can do this.

all the best.

I agree with the others. But you really should be keeping a food diary of some kind so you know how many calories you're consuming? You confess you may be getting your calories from liquids? How many calories and what kind of liquids?

A visit with a bariatric nutritionist could do wonders for you.

tmf

Agree, Agree, Agree.

1. quit drinking if it contains calories

2. keep swimming... exercise has made all the difference for me.

3. Track absolutely everything you put in your mouth. If you use oil to cook, track it. I use MyFitnessPal but there are many web sites out there for this. It is eye opening and really, really keeps you accountable to yourself.

4. Eat the right foods. Protien first.

It can be very hard but you can do it!!!!

Very wise advice here! I agree with the others completely.

I would strongly suggest tracking everything you eat for a week or two then taking your food log to a nutritionist that specializes in bariatric patients. Most people who don't journal what they eat are shocked at how much they're actually consuming once they do start logging. By taking your logs to a nutritionist they can help you set up guidelines for successful weight loss that are realistic for your life.

I attribute my success so far to two things- sticking to the guidelines my nutritionist gave me and logging everything I eat since the day I got home from the hospital on the Lost It! app for android.

Best wishes to you!

I have to agree with everything the post before me mentioned...it reads that you are not aware of how many calories you are having, nor are following any set patterns with your meals. Consulting with a dietitian would be very helpful to better understand what changes in your diet you need to make.

I believe strongly in the benefits of imposing some structure and time management on yourself to not only keep you accountable but also aware if you have gotten off track with your diet or missed out on your exercise for the day.

To the greatest degree possible, try to have meals at set times...have the meal planned in advance so you will only be looking for the ingredients you need. Get rid of any tempting diet busting carbs you may have in your home, and make them very inconvenient to get. Make it a priority to meet your daily Protein goal, as if you don't this can slow your weight loss.

I allow myself to have a glass of plain iced coffee in the morning...but after that for the rest of the day and evening I only drink Water. There are many calories in beverages we don't always think about. My dietitian referred to drinking fruit juice as the same as drinking sugar water with relatively few nutrients.

food choices should be lean Proteins, carbs should be Fiber ones...i.e. fresh fruit or vegetables. As others have mentioned, don't guess at the actual size of the correct portion, measure it out by volume. Research has shown that those who measure portions are will loose more weight than the "guesstimators".

Try to keep in mind that you are an individual, your weight loss journey will not be identical to others, even relatives. It's negative and discouraging to compare yourself to others.

Just try every day to do your best to remain compliant with your diet, continue to get some exercise, and the results you want will come.

Believe in yourself...and best wishes...

Wow! I cannot thank you all enough for your kind and supportive suggestions. My aunt always tells me, "my pace, my race," as you all did but it is very tough for me as I am so accustomed to putting myself down when I do not succeed at something. However, I am going to make a conscious effort to focus on me and only me.

By, "drinks," I meant beverages. I will occasionally have a drink maybe one every two months, if that. I drink a lot of coffee mainly because I use it to loosen up my band first thing in the morning otherwise I get stuck. I love iced tea which now that you all mention it is probably what's messing me up. I will have to switch to unsweetened - I can't believe I didn't realize this.

I will have to download that app, it sounds great and have heard other people suggest it. I am also going to continue swimming and watching my sodium, sugars and carbs. I'm also going to call right now to see if I can get an appointment with a nutritionist at my surgeon's office!

Thank you all so much again!