Lower BMI Bandsters!

itsuptome · December 14, 2006

Just thought I would chime in here, I am a lower BMI patient starting at 38.4. I am already down to 34.8 so seeing some real progress. I am 9 days post op and have lost 19#, I am sure that will taper off as I add more foods and calories. I am hoping to keep the average to 2# a week until I get to goal of 115 or bmi of 21.7. that should take me about 35 more weeks. August 17th will be the day If I can stay on track the whole time. Wish me luck

christa94 · December 14, 2006

i was 188 when i started this with a bmi of 35 or 34. i have lost 41 pounds since 6/29. the first 5 months i didn't really exercise. now i do at least 3 or 4 times a week. i haven't had a fill. i had 3ccs of saline put in the 4cc band at time of placement

katylady · December 14, 2006

Hello Everyone,

I'll join up with this thread. I'm glad someone thought to start it. I was beginning to think I was the only one that wasn't doing an awesome job losing weight.

I was banded on 10/18/06 and lost 14 pounds the first month, since then I have been fighting to stay at my current weight. I keep gaining and losing the same two pounds over and over. I have a small band and my first fill was at 5 weeks post op and it didn't give me any restriction at all. I waited a week and called to make another appointment for a second fill.

The first fill they gave me 1.7 cc's, when I went back for the second one, the band had absorbed 1 cc, so they put in another 1.3 cc's for a total of 2 cc's. That didn't help either, it's still a struggle and I'm not losing anything. I've made another appointment for my third fill next week. This is the third one in less than a month, and will see if they will give me enough to at least feel restricted. I can eat anything, and could easily overeat without difficulty.

I'm beginning to worry that I won't lose any more weight and I hope I didn't waste my money on this. I'm self pay so that would really hurt, but I've heard that it sometimes takes several months to find your sweet spot on the fills. What I worry about is that since I've got a small band, what happens if they max me out on the fills and it doesn't give me the restiction I need? I also worry that maybe my band has a leak, but I guess I'll find out when they check to see how many cc's it still has in it next week.

Anyways, thanks for starting this thread. I'll be checking back in to see how everyone is doing and to update on my progress.

I want to get this weight off before the summer. My oldest son is getting married in May and I want to look good for the wedding. :grouphug:

BabyGotBack · December 15, 2006

How is everyone doing today?

Is everyone journaling what they eat, drink, supplements, exercise, etc.?

I am not banded yet, but I have read that people that journal have better results since you can look back and see what you did and lost weight and what you did and didn't lose weight.

I feel like I am in limbo, not on pre op yet since my surgery is rescheduled. I do feel compeled to come here at least twice a day and learn as much as possible.

Does everyone followe a low carb diet, eat the Protein first, veggies second, fruit third and carbs last? Everyone that has had really good weight loss tells me that they stick to that kind of eating plan, stay away from sweets and chips completely, drink a lot of Water and exercise. We went through this much trouble, especially the self payers, to not eat they way the doctor tells us to. Why do we self sabotage ourselves?

When I found out my surgery was rescheduled, I was so upset (I was on day 3 of pre op and feeling really good), that I just wanted to eat anything I could get my hands on. Fortunately for me, I had no junk food or junk food, so I had baked chicken, rice and a salad, but more than I shoud have. My husband asked me why was that my first response? People who don't suffer from weight problems don't understand. He just couldn't understand why I just wanted to binge and gulp down my food without tasting it. I felt bad after wards and thought, man, I can't wait till the day that I CAN"T do this to myself anymore. My band won't let me.

Please keep me accountable with the exercise thing. I won't be able to lie to you guys about it. I may just take a walk right now so when you ask me, I can say I did it!!!

Also, why don't we introduce ourselves? Like, I am 33, married, 2 girls, 5 and 7, two step daughters 15 and 19. I live in Rancho Cucamonga, Ca, 5'5 and 185 pounds, highest weight 240.

Audree

Jachut · December 15, 2006

No low carb plans here, I dont believe low carb is a healthy way to eat. Its not really advised in Australia either, its more of an American thing. I think you need carbs as part of a healthy diet and you get good weight loss without them for sure, but you also get good rebound weight gain when you give in to the inevitable. Really low carb diets are not sustainable long term for many people.

But I do try to stay away from processed carbs, white bread, cakes, muffins, doughnuts etc. Nobody needs those.

deckedout · December 15, 2006

Hi Audree,

Did you go for that walk? I am 41 (ugh) and married with three kids. A 21 year old daughter, and two boys, 18 and 15. I live in Vancouver Washington, which is right across the river from Portland. I teach 6th grade here. I was also banded by Ortiz, great choice, he is fantastic. the whole clinic is great.

Itsuptome: be careful, my DH had made a great plan of how he was gonna lose the weight, he ended up really frustrated when he hit a plateu. He lost 24 lbs in the time I lost 8 and is more frustrated with the process than I am. Finally, he took down the charts. Remember the saying,, it isn't a diet, it's a lifestyle. That is especially true for bandsters.

I have been swimming every day, but not losing any weight. Yesterday, I swam for 45 minutes and then played a basketball game, teachers against our girls' basketball team. I had actually dipped to 165 yesterday morning, but when I got home last night after that busy day I was starving. Plus, my 18 yo who is home from college left out a can of pringles sour cream and onion potato chips. I had consumed 200 calories before I'd even realized what I'd done.

anyway, back up to 167 this morning and really sore from playing bball.

I try to eat as much Protein as I can, and make sure that my Snacks are high Protein. I can no longer eat broccolli because it makes me PB, and most of the lunches I eat have it, but I eat fruit and salad whenever I can. I still love my potatoes and noodles unfortunetly, but I can't each much rice and absolutely no bread.< /p>

becki544 · December 15, 2006

Thanks for responding Jachut. I have to admit that I am pretty nervous. I will have my initial consult tomorrow and surgery in about 2 and half weeks.

becki544 · December 15, 2006

Jane were you nervous about going to mexico for your lapband?

deckedout · December 15, 2006

Yea, I was pretty nervous. Originally, I told my husband NO WAY was he going, cause he was the only one going to get it done. Then, when I researched it, I found out that Dr. Ortiz had TRAINED the doctor who was going to be doing my husband's surgery. And, if we went to the TRAINER it was 1/2 the price of going to the student. So, I decided to have it done too. That way, I do all the research, and I can boss my DH around as much as I want, LOL.

The clinic was great. Much better than where I go here for GP stuff. Everyone was really nice.

christa94 · December 15, 2006

kimberly.31. 1 daughter-8 y/o. newly married in september.

188 to start. now 146. don't do low carb plans. you need a well rounded diet. and i agree with jachut that when you go off, you gain it all back, then some. i see the band as a lifestyle change. could you be on a low carb plan for the rest of your life? i don't eat alot of bread. mainly because i was scared i would pb to my death on it. but, then i was told that bandsters are okay (or some are) when the bread is toasted. so i tried it. it was okay. but, i still only have toast maybe once a week at most. a food log is an awesome idea. i do better when i do that. it is easy for calories to creep on when you are haphazardly going throughout the day. you could aim for 1000 calories a day, but by the end, you have nibbled on this, taken an extra bite of that, and you could be up to 1300! so, i monitor and log it to keep myself under control. i am happy with the choice. i try to take care of myself and my band so that we will both last a while.

bingeing and reacting to food is a process. it is good to get a handle on that pre-banding. people can overeat the band. it is important to deal with the issues that can cause you to overeat. things will trouble you post band, so you have to have a plan for how to cope and deal with issues.i am sure you will do what you will need to do.

JDru · December 15, 2006

Hi everyone! I'm Jessica, 28, single, live in Salt Lake City, I'm a social worker at a non-profit. I was banded on Oct 26 here in Salt Lake and I had a great experience with my surgeon and his office. I've been keeping track of my calories on sparkpeople.com and it really helps keep me in check. I don't do low-carb per se, but I don't eat a lot of bread either. I've only had one fill so I don't have too much restriction. I've been able to eat anything so far with no problem: sushi, bread, spaghetti, popcorn, thai nodles, beef, chicken. I'm going back to the doc on Wed and they might let me get another fill...

BeacheeGirl · December 15, 2006

Hi, I'll join! It has taken me a long time to lose the weight and I just had another fill and the weight is coming off again. I found that also getting off the anti-depressents is really helping the metabolism pick up again.

I need to eat around 800 calories a day to see a 1 - 2 lb a week weight loss.

I also work out 4 times a week with cardio and weight training.

I take Omega 3 Vitamins, pre-natal Vitamins (im not pregnant) Co Enzyme Q-10, Selenium w/ Vit C & Bioflavonoids and also Extra Vit C. I really want to work on my Water intake.

Here's a before of me (on the left) , hubby and best friend

Here's me about a week ago w/ hubby and friends (not much of a difference yet *sigh*)

~Jules~ · December 15, 2006

BeacheeGirl,

You are beautiful. You might be a slow loser, but it is coming off. You are doing great. Keep up the good work.

Big girl banded · December 15, 2006

Hello Everyone,
I'll join up with this thread. I'm glad someone thought to start it. I was beginning to think I was the only one that wasn't doing an awesome job losing weight.

I was banded on 10/18/06 and lost 14 pounds the first month, since then I have been fighting to stay at my current weight. I keep gaining and losing the same two pounds over and over. I have a small band and my first fill was at 5 weeks post op and it didn't give me any restriction at all. I waited a week and called to make another appointment for a second fill.

The first fill they gave me 1.7 cc's, when I went back for the second one, the band had absorbed 1 cc, so they put in another 1.3 cc's for a total of 2 cc's. That didn't help either, it's still a struggle and I'm not losing anything. I've made another appointment for my third fill next week. This is the third one in less than a month, and will see if they will give me enough to at least feel restricted. I can eat anything, and could easily overeat without difficulty.

I'm beginning to worry that I won't lose any more weight and I hope I didn't waste my money on this. I'm self pay so that would really hurt, but I've heard that it sometimes takes several months to find your sweet spot on the fills. What I worry about is that since I've got a small band, what happens if they max me out on the fills and it doesn't give me the restiction I need? I also worry that maybe my band has a leak, but I guess I'll find out when they check to see how many cc's it still has in it next week.

Anyways, thanks for starting this thread. I'll be checking back in to see how everyone is doing and to update on my progress.

I want to get this weight off before the summer. My oldest son is getting married in May and I want to look good for the wedding. :welldone2:

I would think that even with a small band that if you hit max it wold be total close of the band right? So i dont think that it is possible. I could be wrong. you can do it! You can lose this weight with us. It may take a little longer but it will go and by summer you WIll be smaller!!

:success1:

BabyGotBack · December 15, 2006

Hello fellow lower BMI party people!!!

Jane: I didn't go for my walk :welldone2: Why can't I get off my butt and start exercising again? I love the way I feel when I do.

Christa94, JDru, BeacheeGirl, Julestwu and Big Girl Banded (I hope I didn't miss anyone): Nice to meet you guys! I look forward to getting to know all of you, doing this together and helping each other through the different hurdles we will face.

You guys are right about the low carb in the strict form like Atkins. The way I liked to do it was more like a South Beach Diet, having whole grain breads, whole grain Pasta, staying away from white flower products and sugar. I try to eat more organic when my finances allow for it. I think I will try to have a small salad with chicken and some veggies to keep things well rounded.

I just recieved Dr. Ariel Ortiz's book "Lap Band For Life". I started reading it and I am even more impressed with him. There is a section where the inventor of the lapand writes the foreward of the book about Dr. Ortiz. It is a really good book. I am about to start reading about the nutrional section. I will be posting different things I find that I think will be interesting. I also bought a bood that has recipes from a lady that used to write for Gourmet magazine. She got banded and just revised all her recipes for lap band friendly recipes. They sound really good!

I want to go for a walk today. I just feel like I have a mental block and CAN"T do it!!!! I can't figure it out!

I am not on my pre op diet yet, so I am eating regular. Still trying to keep it pretty decent. I am having Protein shakes for Breakfast and usually a quesidilla for lunch. I am taking liquied Vitamins and liquid B complex, cod liver oil pills and a eating suppressant called Green T?

How are the ones that are banded taking there pills? Do you have trouble taking them?

Have a great day!!!!! Audree,