To all those who have been banded do you feel like you are eating foods equivalent to a "normal weight" person? To lose you have to eat and I wonder with the lap band are we taking in enough calories to keep our bodies from going into starvation mode and holding on to every ounce of fat? Or have you noticed that after a certain amount of time your bodies get over the shock and you start losing a small amount regularly?

hi. this was a concern for me early on and one that i asked my surgeon. he said that the ideal restriction on our bands (and of course, that's unique to each of us, right?) was to allow us to consume around 1000-1200 calories a day.

the benefit of the band and following the banding rules was to enable us to consume ONLY that number of calories and not FEEL like we're starving.

if you consume less than 800 calories/day, your body will go into starvation mode and you will not lose well.

i had an experience with this after my latest fill. just couldn't eat much and had to re-learn my eating habits. (my doctor told me that with each fill i might have to re-learn--sometimes we get a little sloppy when the restriction starts to ease with our weight loss...) so i had to use the protien shakes to supplement until i could consume enough protien/calories from solid food.

so, yes, if you make poor choices or don't pay attention to the protien/calories you ingest, you can run the risk of putting yourself in starvation mode--but it's not just the band, it's our choices of what to put in our mouths and taking responsibility for managing that. your band shouldn't prevent you from being able to eat sufficient calories. if it does TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR or FILL CENTER staff.

as always, use what works for you and leave the rest...best of luck.

Thanks for the reply. I spoke with a nutritionalist at the start of my 6 month mandated diet and she spoke about the food intake after band placement. It was such a small amount I had a hard time believing it could add up to 1000 calories. But I guess it does. Right now I'm taking in at least 50 grams of protein a day and if I'm short I have a protein drink. I've worked hard these past six months to prepare and I've lost 15 pounds. Not a lot but I celebrate the victory any way. Today is yet another party to go to but I got the menu ahead of time and I know what I'm going to order. This time I know I can win the battle. Thanks for listening and have a great day.

Anewme--I can just give you my experience. I got the band 7 weeks ago and my first fill a week ago.

I went out to dinner last night and was able to eat 1/2 a piece of grouper and 1/2 a piece of chicken (my friend and I shared our meals). I ate some of the vegetable and had 2-3 tastes of the mashed potatoes. I was not stuffed, but I WAS satisfied.

Normal eating, indeed!

I def. think it is normal. What I was eating before was wayyyyyyy over!! It amazes me now when I see what I once could have ate. How did I get that all in my body? And remember, our stomach is now that of a "normal weight" person so we feel satisfied with what seems like so little.

As far as weight loss....I see that when I do not exercise I stay at a steady so lack of the amount of calories needed with no exercise makes me just maintain. But we are all different.

I've been surprised at the amount of food I'm able to eat while still losing. For example, I can eat fillet of Tilapia, and a cob of corn, (although I hadn't checked ahead of time, beware, corn is very high carb) or a small chicken breast and a salad. I usually can finish most of what I've served up on my dinner plate. I do get full on one taco or fajita, using the small fajita sized tortillas. I think the tortilla fills me up more than meat and veggies do.

That amount has varied just after fills and such, but for the most part, I'm able to eat a good amount of food that I feel is healthful and able to support the nutrition I need. I'm easily able to eat 60-80 grams of Protein per day.

By the way, I've been banded just under five months and lost 71 pounds so far. So it's really working well for me.

For me it's working well to not have my band super tight. I have had two fills and can tolerate anything I eat as long as I'm careful. I have enough restriction that I can handle eating according to my doctor's guidelines and not feel deprived. I love my band!

Thanks to all who responded. What you all described sounds similar to the amounts the nutritionalist stated. It definately sounds like enough food is being consumed to energize the body enough to lose weight. Congrats to you all.

I *LOVE* the chance to answer these ones becuase sometimes it doesnt get well received unless its specifically asked.

I eat absolutely like a normal person. Absolutely. This morning I had some oatmeal with half a banana and a piece of toast with Peanut Butter for Breakfast. I'm planning some baked Beans on toast for lunch. dinner tonight is going to be a nice thai chicken curry that I made yesterday. With rice, but I struggle with rice in the evening.

I eat about 1500 calories a day.I like a glass of wine with my dinner. When I eat out, I enjoy it, have a drink or two, order what I want and stop when I'm full -usually 1/3 of the meal, sigh, but oh, well. I sometimes order dessert just so I can have a bite of it.

I dont count calories or Protein at all.

I run for about an hour four to five days a week.

That's it. Its a completely normal life very like that some of my friends live. Only they werent born with a huge appetite that had to be culled. But what I eat, how much I eat never occasions any comment. Apart from when I really cant join in at Mcdonalds or wherever, I just cant choke a burger down for love nor money.

There's two things I believe help

1. dont be too tight. Allow enough room to eat fibrous healthy food that satisfy you and accept that that may mean you need a bit of willpower in between meals or whatever.

2. exercise as much as you reasonably can as that allows you to eat more normally and still lose weight.