Help please-to fill or unfill: that is the question

[Drband14 8]

Hello everyone! It's been some time since my last update. I am almost five months post op and have had @ 5 fills. I finally lost 3 lbs. with the last fill. My problem is that I was thinking I may bet too tight since I was vomiting most meals and having a lot of PBing. However, as of 2 weeks ago, I found that if I drink warm tea/coffee with my meals, I am able to keep it down if I eat very slowly. I have only vomited x 2 since and PBing x 1 today. My issue is that I am starving all the time. If I am too tight, why am I hungry so frequently? I have an appt to see my doc in 3 weeks (he's on vacation). Any advice would be greatly appreciated. My weight loss has been very slow but steady; some weeks no weight loss but then most recently lost 3 lbs. I am down from 199 to 178 lbs. Thank you in advance for any assistance.

[Dolores33778 248]

Hi @@Drband14, I don't know if I can be much help, but I can try. What are you eating for your meals?

Are you able to get on the chat room here? That might be easier to communicate. If not, we can reply within your message.

-dt

[Drband14 8]

@@Dolores33778 Thank you for replying to my post. Congrats on your weight loss success!! I've not used the chat room before and at work it makes it diffcult to stay logged in. Typically, I skip Breakfast. lunch is very small portions of chicken with a side (some days I can only eat a few bites), and then dinner I usuallly eat out and choose a meat with either veggies or a baked potato. I can only eat half of the amount of food I used to eat. I've found that if I sip hot tea/coffee with lunch and dinner, it makes eating a much better experience. My long term goal is to get to where I make my dinners and not eat out as much. I've just been so overworked that I have not been good about it. I am working out doing Orange Theory Fitness classes (burns @ 500-600 calories an hour) on a regular basis. Again, thank you for taking time to try and give me some advice.

Oh, and for the last two weeks, I am STARVING all day. I wake up with hunger pangs and they persist until I eat. I go back to see my surgeon on 7/30.

[SweetTeach 17]

Hello, just wondering why you would skip Breakfast? You can at least have a Protein Shake or bar? Because that is what will kick start your metabolism. By starving yourself like that, you are actually slowing down your metabolism. That would probably help with weight loss but I am only almost 2 months post

Op. I never skip breakfast and I either have a shake or lowfat Greek yogurt. Good luck!

[Drband14 8]

@@SweetTeach I typically cannot hold down any breakfast. I will try the Protein Shakes again...before a couple of weeks ago, I just didn't have an appetite until late lunch.< /p>

[Dolores33778 248]

I too cannot eat breakfast, so although it's not ideal, breakfast does not work for me. My doctor says this is normal.

I would try to stick to more Protein and back away from the vegetables and definitely the carbs. You should be getting about 60g of Protein a day. Where are you with that? Do you track it somehow? I use the My FItness Pal app on my iphone and that helped me a lot. Perfect to see what your day consists of and to see where you need to improve.

Happy to help and congrats to you both.

[Drband14 8]

I actually love the My Fitness Pal app but I start off great using it and then slowly let bad habits take over. I need to force myself to make these lifestyle changes so I can see better results. I purchased Protein shots to drink before my workouts and they have 70 grams of protein---they taste awful though. I will try to taper down on the carbs also and see if this helps. I'm still confused as to why I start vomiting again out of the blue but then have days like yesterday where I could eat a fairly moderate amount? Can't wait to see my doc again.

[Dolores33778 248]

The tightness comes and goes with me too, and I love it. I haven't had a fill in over 2 years and I'm happy to still have restriction.

Watch those carbs!

[catfish87 3,471]

I actually love the My Fitness Pal app but I start off great using it and then slowly let bad habits take over. I need to force myself to make these lifestyle changes so I can see better results. I purchased Protein shots to drink before my workouts and they have 70 grams of protein---they taste awful though. I will try to taper down on the carbs also and see if this helps. I'm still confused as to why I start vomiting again out of the blue but then have days like yesterday where I could eat a fairly moderate amount? Can't wait to see my doc again.

Just curious....do you take a 70 gram PRE workout Protein shot? If so, why? I'd be sick to my stomach taking that much protein beforehand too! Thanks!

[Dolores33778 248]

@@catfish87 I was going to say the same. I don't think your body can absorb that much at one time. Check with your dr. and see if that is recommended.

[catfish87 3,471]

The whole Protein thing PRE workout doesn't work so well for me....sure I might have a little bit of Protein in something, but thats not my goal. If I'm going for an hour or less, usually nothing except water/coffee. More than that, I'll have some carbs about 20 minutes PRE, and every 30-45 minutes during exercise. Then some sort of RECOVERY Protein Drink afterwards....or maybe just some fish! It seems to work for me.

[lisacaron 5,075]

@@catfish87 I was going to say the same. I don't think your body can absorb that much at one time. Check with your dr. and see if that is recommended.

This statement is right on the money! Your body can not absorb that much Protein at one time and you are going to overwork your kidney's and liver as the body eliminates it. Typically a woman will metabolise Protein at a much lower volume than a man would and the max is about 20-30 grams.

I'm sure the shot you are drinking has calories so just cut that out and opt for Water before, during and after your work out.

Prior to the work out if you are going to have a few carbs that's OK but know that your body is going to burn those carbs off for energy before it is going to tap into the fat reserves that we want it to burn. If you can steer clear of it, and then after repair muscle with some protein even in the form of a Protein shake, and even some amino acids.

As for "hunger" your not hungry in the AM....so your skipping Breakfast. I get that I am usually pretty tight in the morning and I have no appetite until around 10-11 and I am typically up at 5:30-6 am. I start my day with a cup of coffee and around 10 I will either have a Protein Bar or a Protein Shake. It's rare that I will have eggs or some typical breakfast food.

Some of the reason for the hunger pains later in the day could be that your not getting enough through out the day on a consistent basis to fuel your body, and/or your giving it too much at one time that it's eliminating it all and then needing to be replenished.

It should take about 20 minutes no more or less to consume your meals. It's OK that you are eating half of what you used to, most of us are eating much much less than before. Put the rest away and make that lunch for the next day, that's what hubs and I do when we go out to eat if we don't share the entree (most of the time we don't because we have different palates.)

As for vomiting and PBing. When this happens you are actually irritating your stoma and making it even tighter in there. Not necessarily from the "fill" but from the trauma of the vomiting and PBing. What I find helps when I have an episode (and I try to avoid them at all costs) is to take a day or two and go on liquids, and/or soft mushy food to give my stomach a break and the chance to heal and allow the swelling to go down because if I don't the next meal is not going to go so well. I don't "feel" anything in there until I start to eat a few bites of the next meal, so I have learned that when I have an episode I need to stop eating and move to liquids for the next couple of meals.

I hope some of this helps. TGIF!!!

[Drband14 8]

Thanks everyone for the helpful tips. I only do the Protein shots when I am going to have an intense workout and have not been able to get in sufficient amounts prior to the workout. I could not stomach that much everyday. I'm also well aware of how the kidneys work as I do hold a doctorate in nursing practice and work as a nurse practitioner. I try to ensure I drink enough Water on those days to help adequately flush what needs to be flushed. I'm going to my appt Weds to meet with the nutritionist as well. Happy Monday everyone. Keep up the great work!

[meggs353 118]

@Drband14 - tell us how things go with your Dr appt next week.

I am in a similar situation as you. I can't eat breakfast, can barely eat lunch, and am usually okay by dinner time. My band is pretty tight. Some days I can eat everything and some days I can't anything. On those bad days I'm throwing up every bite I eat. It's really discouraging and embarrassing in public (luckily I haven't puked on anyone, but constantly going to the bathroom during a meal makes people wonder what's going on). Also, like you, even though my band is tight, I still get intense hunger pains. If I wasn't hungry, I wouldn't worry about the high level of restriction since I wouldn't need to eat anyways. But, I get upset sometimes because I'm soo hungry, but I can't eat! I have been losing weight regularly though, so it was easy to put up with.

I finally decided to go back to the docs and get a tiny unfill. I just need a little bit of relief and breathing room. I was okay dealing day to day (getting stuck a few times a week, and maybe only having 1 bad day in a week where I really couldn't eat), but I had a vacation last week, and out of my element and normal habits I just kept getting stuck and sick all the time. I lost 2lbs, but I couldn't eat anything, and most nights I went to bed hungry. I also have a hard time eating fruits and veggies, and drinking enough Water, so I want to make sure I can physically eat and drink a balanced diet.

Talk to you doc about where you are, and see what he or she says!