Lower BMI Bandsters!

BabyGotBack · December 24, 2006

I was wondering, I filled out the Ticker from Tickerfactory.com, but how do i get it on my posts?

If I remember correctly, I had to cut and paste the ticker from the ticker factory and paste it on my signiture, where the User Cp is. I think I did the first or second selection, maybe the first one??? Hope that helps!Audree

Angel r · December 24, 2006

I hope the myth is not true. I was banded on Dec19. My BMI was 36. I haven't weighed yet. I'm try to stay on the clear liq diet for as long as I can.

BabyGotBack · December 24, 2006

I hope the myth is not true. I was banded on Dec19. My BMI was 36. I haven't weighed yet. I'm try to stay on the clear liq diet for as long as I can.

The good thing is, it will come off!!! And, it won't sneak back up on us!!!

Audree

deckedout · December 24, 2006

Audree,

You wanted to know how the band works for lower BMI bandsters. I will compare my weight loss to my husband's. His BMI was like 48 when he was banded. Mine was about 35. During the preop phase, I lost 10 lbs and my hubby lost 25. We walked EVERY day, at least 3 miles, and stuck to the liquid diet. We both were able to lose the 5% that we needed for surgery in about 2 weeks. ( I started a little early because I didn't think I could really lose the weight.) We were banded on July 11th.

Since that time, our journeys have been very similar. When I hit a plateu, he usually hits one as well, and vise versa. The big difference is the amount of weight lost, but not the percentage of weight. He has lost, in 5 months, 16% of his weight. I have lost 15% of my weight. However, I swim 5 days a week and he is not really exercising yet. So, I guess that is the biggest difference.

My weight loss has been slow. I do not average 1 lbs a week if I don't count the first few weeks. But, I have lost many inches, and even though I have only lost 4 lbs in the past 6 weeks, I have lost 1 inch in my thigh in just the last 3 weeks, so I believe I am putting on muscle.

I also have lots of energy. I swim every morning, getting up at 510. I work from 730- 4 or so and still have energy to do things after work. Last year when I left work I would need to go home and relax because I was so tired.

As a lower BMI bandster, it is really important not to focus as much on the weight. However, I do think that having lost 32 lbs in 5 months is pretty amazing, since I could never lose any wieght before. It seems I would just put it on. So, I would do it again in a heartbeat!

I hope this helps.

ddee · December 25, 2006

Audree, the nurse told me to keep drinking lots of fluids and throwing up in hopes of casting what she thought was a food plug (food stuck in my band). She should have said, "If you can't keep down liquids, get to a dr.

now!"

I was on vacation from Sat. -Mon., not keeping down liquids. By Tues. morning, even after taking out all of the fill, I was severely dehydrated.

The surgeon who scoped me could not get the scope through the band for blockage. Removing the band literally saved my life.

beachgirl · December 25, 2006

On your ticker factory after you pick out the one you want you copy and paste the first one and only copy from the words img - img and then paste it to your signature on the user cp. This will work I promise.

lavette tye · December 25, 2006

what is a bmi? and how do you change it,and what do your band have to do with it?

BabyGotBack · December 25, 2006

Audree,
You wanted to know how the band works for lower BMI bandsters. I will compare my weight loss to my husband's. His BMI was like 48 when he was banded. Mine was about 35. During the preop phase, I lost 10 lbs and my hubby lost 25. We walked EVERY day, at least 3 miles, and stuck to the liquid diet. We both were able to lose the 5% that we needed for surgery in about 2 weeks. ( I started a little early because I didn't think I could really lose the weight.) We were banded on July 11th.

Since that time, our journeys have been very similar. When I hit a plateu, he usually hits one as well, and vise versa. The big difference is the amount of weight lost, but not the percentage of weight. He has lost, in 5 months, 16% of his weight. I have lost 15% of my weight. However, I swim 5 days a week and he is not really exercising yet. So, I guess that is the biggest difference.

My weight loss has been slow. I do not average 1 lbs a week if I don't count the first few weeks. But, I have lost many inches, and even though I have only lost 4 lbs in the past 6 weeks, I have lost 1 inch in my thigh in just the last 3 weeks, so I believe I am putting on muscle.

I also have lots of energy. I swim every morning, getting up at 510. I work from 730- 4 or so and still have energy to do things after work. Last year when I left work I would need to go home and relax because I was so tired.

As a lower BMI bandster, it is really important not to focus as much on the weight. However, I do think that having lost 32 lbs in 5 months is pretty amazing, since I could never lose any wieght before. It seems I would just put it on. So, I would do it again in a heartbeat!

I hope this helps.

Wow, 32 pounds in 5 months!!!!! That is amazing!!! Our stats sounds about the same, just a few pounds difference. I have never been able to lose like that even with fasting. I can not wait to begin.

You also were banded by Dr. Ortiz? How was your experience? I am being banded by him too. I bought his book and it is very good.

Audree

deckedout · December 25, 2006

Doctor Ortiz is fantasic! It was absolutely the best experience at a doctor's office that I have ever had. My DH is a cancer survivor so his veins are shot. THe nurse was able to do his blood work and get his IV going both times with just one stick! THat is amazing. Here he always has to ask for the best person with the needle they got and often they still have to stick him 2 or more times to get a good vein.

When I was getting ready for surgery and they were putting my IV in, I had 2 nurses with me. One who did the blood work and the other who was rubbing my other arm and comforting me. It was really nice. When I went the the operating room, I was able to joke with the doctors.

My surgery was before my hubbys and when he was done they came in and told me he was all done and that he did good. A nurse stayed right by my bed while I slept and at one point, when I thought I was wide awake, she told me just to close my eyes and I would fall back asleep, sure enough I did.

Have you gone to Dr. Ortiz's website? Obesityhelp.com is the address, I think. I met a lot of different people on line, then when we were in the waiting room, we all talked. Seeing people in person whom I had talked to on the Internet was pretty cool. You made a really good decision going to Dr. Ortiz.

My hubby had so much scar tissue from cancer surgery, Dr. Ortiz said they probably wouldn't have even been able to band him in the states.

We set up our fills right here in town just because it is so expensive for us to fly back to San Diego plus hubby is really tall and flying is uncomfortable for him, so we haven't been back. However, probably we will go back this summer because our fill doctor doesn't have flora and wants us to have everything checked once a year. It just depends on if it would be cheaper to go there or to do it here or if we can fit it into our vacation plans.

I am much shorter than you, so I really had more weight to lose than you do. I am only 5' 2" and really, when they measured at Dr. Ortiz's office they said I was like 5' 1 1 /2 " and I nearly cried, so I still say I'm 5' 2".

But, with lower bmis

( Lavette Tye: BMI is Body Mass Index and is what the government and doctors now use to determine weight instead of the old weight tables. Normal BMI is 18- 25 Overweight is 25-30. Obese is over 30 but they even go obese 1, obese 2 and obese 3. I was obese 2 when I was banded, dh was obese 3 and has just moved to obese 2. I have just about hit overweight)

it is really important to move every day. We bought bikes this summer, of course it is too rainy now to use them, so that is why I swim. I also took up hiking almost as soon as I got back. Actually, 2 days after surgery hubby and I spent the whole day at Sea World. The worst part of that was smelling all the lovely food smells and not being able to eat.

Hope this helps, If you have any other questions feel free to ask!

deckedout · December 25, 2006

Cool, tickerfactory now lets you add your BMI right to your ticker!

Awesome. Now I don't have to keep searching for a BMI calculator every time I want to know!

BabyGotBack · December 26, 2006

Doctor Ortiz is fantasic! It was absolutely the best experience at a doctor's office that I have ever had. My DH is a cancer survivor so his veins are shot. THe nurse was able to do his blood work and get his IV going both times with just one stick! THat is amazing. Here he always has to ask for the best person with the needle they got and often they still have to stick him 2 or more times to get a good vein.
When I was getting ready for surgery and they were putting my IV in, I had 2 nurses with me. One who did the blood work and the other who was rubbing my other arm and comforting me. It was really nice. When I went the the operating room, I was able to joke with the doctors.

My surgery was before my hubbys and when he was done they came in and told me he was all done and that he did good. A nurse stayed right by my bed while I slept and at one point, when I thought I was wide awake, she told me just to close my eyes and I would fall back asleep, sure enough I did.

Have you gone to Dr. Ortiz's website? Obesityhelp.com is the address, I think. I met a lot of different people on line, then when we were in the waiting room, we all talked. Seeing people in person whom I had talked to on the Internet was pretty cool. You made a really good decision going to Dr. Ortiz.

My hubby had so much scar tissue from cancer surgery, Dr. Ortiz said they probably wouldn't have even been able to band him in the states.

We set up our fills right here in town just because it is so expensive for us to fly back to San Diego plus hubby is really tall and flying is uncomfortable for him, so we haven't been back. However, probably we will go back this summer because our fill doctor doesn't have flora and wants us to have everything checked once a year. It just depends on if it would be cheaper to go there or to do it here or if we can fit it into our vacation plans.

I am much shorter than you, so I really had more weight to lose than you do. I am only 5' 2" and really, when they measured at Dr. Ortiz's office they said I was like 5' 1 1 /2 " and I nearly cried, so I still say I'm 5' 2".

But, with lower bmis

( Lavette Tye: BMI is Body Mass Index and is what the government and doctors now use to determine weight instead of the old weight tables. Normal BMI is 18- 25 Overweight is 25-30. Obese is over 30 but they even go obese 1, obese 2 and obese 3. I was obese 2 when I was banded, dh was obese 3 and has just moved to obese 2. I have just about hit overweight)

it is really important to move every day. We bought bikes this summer, of course it is too rainy now to use them, so that is why I swim. I also took up hiking almost as soon as I got back. Actually, 2 days after surgery hubby and I spent the whole day at Sea World. The worst part of that was smelling all the lovely food smells and not being able to eat.

Hope this helps, If you have any other questions feel free to ask!

Thanks Decked Out!

That is very reasuring to me. I have a problem with them finding my veins where ever I go for some reason. I hate having people digging into my arms. They sometimes do a butterfly needle on the back of my hands.

I am so excited about doing this! I can't wait to see "me" emerge. What a difference just every 10 pounds lost makes. My face totally changes and so does my outlook. When I am heavy I don't really want to go out and go anywhere. When I have been thin, I just want to go out even if it is to walk around.

Thanks for all the support everyone is giving me. You all have made all the difference to me, to have the courage to take this journey. Thank you for being willing to share your stories with me.

Have a beautiful and blessed day,

Audree :clap2:

BabyGotBack · December 26, 2006

I just wanted to borrow this information that I found on another thread. I thought it would be helpeful for us "slower losers" with lower bmi's. Some could use this as a new way of doing things or to blast past our plateuas. I really like finding good advice and posting it here so we can have new ideas.

Does anyoone else have anything they'd like to share? Any new tips, etc? Sometimes something someone says gives us those "aha" moments, new ways of doing things.

I plan on doing this and maybe sometime we can have a group challenge!

Audree

‘How to Lose 22lbs or 10kgs in 28 Days Without Starving or Training Like an Olympic Athlete!'

By Stephen Smith BSc

If you seriously want to lose 22lbs or 10 kilograms in 28 days then you must perform all of the principles exactly as recommended. Unlike the recommendations in my book, ‘Look good, feel great!', where you can pick the principles you want to use and ignore the rest and where you can even modify the principles to suit your lifestyle, these principles must be followed exactly as they are outlined. If you want extraordinary results, then you must be willing to put in an extraordinary effort!

I realise that some people may be thinking, ‘But it is impossible to lose 10 kilograms of fat in a month!' I agree- it is! However, the truth is, it is impossible to only lose fat on any type of weight-loss program. You will always lose a combination of fat, Water, stored carbohydrate and some muscle.

Furthermore, most people who want to lose 10 kilograms in the first place are generally retaining excess Fluid anyway, so a system that helps get rid of the excess Fluid is certainly going to accelerate their results.

Perform 30-60 minutes of aerobic exercise morning and night.

Yes, you read that correctly, morning and night- 2 sessions a day… every day! No excuses. We're all busy, we all feel tired some mornings, but if you're serious about getting amazing results, then you must be willing to do everything necessary.

When we talk about aerobic exercise, we're talking about exercise! Not walking around the shops, doing the gardening or doing housework. It must be exercise, which means your breathing rate increases, your face goes red, you sweat, you get tired- simple!

Some examples of aerobic exercise include: walking (pounding the pavement at a brisk pace- not dawdling), cycling (stationary bike is ideal), swimming, rowing, stepper, cross-trainer, aerobic classes, boxing, etc.

Use ‘thermogenics'.

There are several very effective thermogenic supplementson the market that can accelerate your progress towards your goal. Those containing caffeine, green tea extracts and an extract from a plant called coleus forskohlii are the most effective. They will boost your metabolismand promote the release of fat from the fat stores. ‘Scorch' by MAN Sports is a good example. It contains a combination of 7 powerful herbal ingredients specifically designed to boost your metabolism, burn body fat and increase your energy.

Unfortunately though, thermogenics are not ‘magic pills'. You can't expect to take a couple of thermogenic capsules and then go home and eat pizza and drink alcohol and expect to get results. Thermogenics only work when their use is combined with a good nutrition and exercise program.

Take 1-2 capsules twice a day; once prior to your morning exercise session and once with your lunch. Don't take them later than 4:00pm in the afternoon because they may keep you awake at night.

Before using thermogenics, see your doctor first and obtain their approval.

Do not eat anything for 30 minutes after the completion of any exercise.

As a result of using the thermogenics combined with the exercise, your metabolism will remain elevated for some time after the exercise session is finished. This means your body will burn fuel at a faster rate than normal.

Any exercise causes the body to use carbohydrate (muscle glycogen and blood glucose) as a fuel source. This means that after the exercise is completed the carbohydrate stores in the body are low and the body will be forced to use fat as its fuel.

If a meal is eaten immediately after the completion of the exercise session, the blood glucose level will rise, inducing the secretion of insulin from the pancreas. One of the effects of insulin is to stop fat burning in the body. Therefore, wait 30 minutes (but no longer because cortisol will rise) before having your next meal.

Perform a weight training workout 2-4 times a week.

Lifting weights is the most under-estimated way to lose fat fast! Now, before you start saying, ‘But I don't want to get big muscles!' or ‘I don't want to look like a man!', consider the following.

The main purpose of lifting weights when your primary goal is to lose body fat is to preserve the muscle massyou already have. You see, muscle is the ‘engine' within which the fat, or ‘fuel' is burnt and maintaining or even increasing your muscle mass slightly will help ensure your body fat is burnt off efficiently.

If you don't lift weights, your body will quite happily lose both fat and muscle as you drop the kilos. Lifting weights forces your body to maintain your muscle mass, therefore keeping your metabolism elevated and turning your body into 24-hour-a-day fat-burning machine!

Incidentally, it only takes two 30 minute sessions a week to obtain the muscle preserving benefits of lifting weights.

Have 5-6 small meals a day.

One of the most common strategies people use to lose weight is to skip meals. Whilst reducing food intake is certainly an effective way to lose weight, having fewer meals is not the way to go. Many overweight people say, ‘I don't know why I'm overweight, I only eat once or twice a day!' Unfortunately, this is exactly why they are overweight.

Having a mild calorie restriction is effective because if you consume less calories than you burn each day you will lose weight- simple! However, skipping meals forces the body to invoke its ‘Starvation Mechanism' because it thinks it is entering a famine. As a result, the body slows the metabolism to preserve energy. It also increases cortisol output and cortisol is the most powerful catabolic hormone in the body, which means it goes around the body breaking down lean tissue, particularly muscle. A loss of muscle slows the metabolism even further. Skipping meals also results in an increase in appetite, which forces you to eat larger amounts of food when you do eat. In addition to all these factors, the body also increases the activity of fat-storing enzymes, lipoprotein lipase (LPL) and fatty acid synthase (FAS), so when you do eat the food gets stored as fat. All of this results from simply skipping meals!

By having a small meal every 2-3 hours throughout the day, your metabolism stays elevated and your body will happily burn fat all day long. Unfortunately though, most people are conditioned to having large meals and they automatically assume they will put on weight if they have 5 or 6 meals a day. The fact is, the ideal portion sizes for most people are actually quite small and in order to lose weight fast it is essential that you never feel full from a meal but you do feel satisfied.

Also, most people find it difficult to have a meal every 2-3 hours throughout the day because they are so busy with work and/ or family commitments. Here are some suggestions to ensure you get your 5 or 6 meals a day.

• Plan and prepare your meals the night before

• Use Meal Replacements (Protein shakes or bars)

• Select foods that are quick and easy to prepare and consume

Ensure each meal contains Protein.

Protein is a component of all cells and makes up over half the dry weight of the human body. Furthermore, the human body is a dynamic structure, which means it is constantly building up and breaking down tissue. Just imagine a bath full of Water. At one end of the bath the plug is pulled out and at the other end the tap is turned on full. The water level in the bath doesn't change but there are ‘new' water molecules entering the bath and ‘old' water molecules leaving the bath all the time. The human body is exactly the same. If the body breaks down more tissue than it builds up, then it is said to be in a catabolic state. This results in the metabolism slowing down due to the loss of muscle tissue.

Having a portion of high-quality protein every few hours throughout the day provides the body with a constant supply of amino acids- the building blocks of the body. This prevents the catabolic state, promotes an anabolic state (tissue building) and therefore keeps the metabolism ‘fired-up'.

If only carbohydrate or fat is consumed for a meal, for example a piece of fruit (carbohydrate) for the mid-morning meal, then the body will still enter a catabolic state because it doesn't have the building blocks (amino acids) to re-build body tissues. Protein, as its name suggests, is of primary importance.

Reduce your intake of high-density carbohydrates.

Most high-density carbohydrates like bread, Pasta, rice and cereals cause a rapid rise in blood glucose. This invokes the release of insulin from the pancreas, which in turn stores the glucose. The body stores glucose in the muscles and liver as glycogen and once these sites are full, the remaining glucose gets stored as body fat. Not only this, but insulin also stops the body from mobilising and utilising fat for fuel (burning fat).

So if you want to maximise fat loss, you need to keep insulin to a minimum and the best way to do this is by reducing your intake of starchy carbohydrates without cutting them out altogether. Cutting them out totally is a philosophy of many low-carb diets on the market. However, these are very hard to sustain long-term and may lead to nutrient deficiencies.

Each day, have a small amount (1-2 serves) of high density carbohydrates (bread, Pasta, rice, cereals); a moderate amount (2-3 serves) of medium density carbohydrates (starchy vegetables and fruits); and a large amount (5-6 serves) of low density carbohydrates (fibrous vegetables). [For a complete list of carbohydrates, see pages 136-138 of the book, ‘ Look good, feel great! ]

Do not have a Treat Day.

Since you are expecting an extraordinary result, it is essential that you put in an extraordinary effort. Accordingly, for the next 28 days you must follow the plan exactly as it is outlined without deviating. This means you can't allow yourself to indulge in any ‘forbidden foods'. This also means avoiding alcohol for the entire 28-day period. I know this may be hard for some people but let's face it, it is only for 28 days!

By committing to the plan and disciplining yourself to see it through, you are ensuring that the results will follow. Plus, the disciplines you create to help you achieve your physical goal will have a ‘carry-over benefit' to other areas of your life as well.

I wish you the greatest success in achieving outstanding results!

* Before using any nutritional supplement, speak with your health care professional.

Dreikalina · December 26, 2006

I was banded on December 1st 2006. I weighed 217. (BMI 36) After the operation, I was faithful for 3 weeks, but with the holidays, I have eaten (and chewed the hell out of) some real food. I did not feel any discomfort,but felt satisfied an awful lot earlier than I normally would have. Currently I weigh 203.5, which is probably due to being on a liquid diet for 3 weeks. I wonder what it will feel like after I am filled on January 10th. I hope I can sense some difference, because right now, it would be nothing to eat garbage food, if I wanted it. I am hoping the band gives me an uncomfortable feeling if I cheated, or just ate too much. Does it do that?

deckedout · December 26, 2006

Dreikalina,

I have had 3 fills and will try to let you know what my experience has been like.

With my first fill, I had some restriction for the first few weeks. I did notice that I felt full up on the top part of my stomach, but sometimes my lower stomach would feel empty. I spent this time practicing bandster rules like not drinking while I ate and eating my protien first.

When my portion size got bigger, I got my second fill. With this fill I PB'd for the first time. I would have this problem usually at lunch when I was busy talking with my coworkers and rushing to eat at the same time. I could get full on a lean cusine meal, but many times had to throw it away if I got stuck. I also gave up eating chicken breast because it was too dry and started eating thighs. When I noticed that I was still hungry after eating lunch, if I hadn't PBd, and was needing to eat a snack in the afternoon, I scheduled my next fill. I used this time to figure out what made my PB. I figured out that it was broccoli, rice, and any bread, along with eating too quickly.

With this fill, I am finally feeling what everyone is talking about when they say look for Protein first. I find it difficult to get 1200 calories a day. There have been days where I only eat 500 and I have to search for something to eat in the evening to bring my calories up.

Now I usually drink a Water in the morning because I am too tight to do anything else. When I loosen up, I eat a cottage double they have 11 grams of Protein and about 1/3 cup of food or so. This usually keeps my full for about 4-5 hours, especially if I am busy. If I am just sitting around I'll think about food which makes my "head hungry" so I'll eat earlier. For lunch lately, since I am on winter break, I have been cooking up a piece of roast or prime rib, about 2-3 oz and eating that slowly. When I go back to work I will probably do the cottage doubles for lunch so that I don't have to worry about getting stuck.

For dinner, I am usually not as tight, so I eat some meat (1-2 chicken thighs, 2-3 oz steak or roast, or 6 hot wings) about 2 tablespoons of veggies, and about 1tablespoon of a carb.

In between every meal I drink Water. Usually, if I start thinking I might be hungry, I ask myself If I have had water last or food last. If it was food, I drink bottle of water. If it was water, I'll eat something.

If I eat too much, I really feel uncomfortable. If I keep eating past that point, I might PB. Usually, if I stop at feeling full, I'm fine. I don't like the feeling of being too full and it lasts, for me, about 30 minutes to an hour so it is torture.

The bad thing is, some of the awful foods go down great and don't make you feel full at all. Christmas candy and Cookies will go right down, no matter how tight I am they slide right past the band. Cheetos wont get stuck either. And, those foods make you very hungry fast! So, I really try to stay away from them if at all possible. I am not good at moderation, so once I eat one, I've ate a dozen.

I hope this helps.

ser123 · December 26, 2006

Audree this is a good thread.... I don't know where I have been because I have been addicted to LBT since I found it. You and I have the same surgery date, woohoo! My BMI is 33, although it is probably 34 now with the holidays and "Last Supper Syndrome"

I have learned so much on this forum and everyone is very helpful. Happy holidays all!