Hi, I am getting banded on August 13th, in Mexico and I have a few questions.

What is up with the Protein? I know that you need 60g in a day and that the body can't absorb more then 30g at a time (please correct me if I am wrong!). But why do we need so much?

Will I be able to eat anything spicy after this?

The low down on fills. I know that every person is different. But, I am trying to plan financially for the amount of fills I will need in one year. Ball park. So how many did you have in one year?

I am a size 32 right now, and I am just wondering how quickly did you go down in sizes? I am a little worried about the expense of buying clothes. How fast was it for you? ANy tips of ideas.

Thanks!

--

Lindsey

Protein - not sure how much is absorbed at a time, but you dont eat 60g of protein in one setting ... break it out throughout the day. protein will help initially with the healing. i generally get 75-90g protein a day.

spicy - yup, no problems. but, once filled properly, depends on what kind of spicy food. some people have problems with chicken, some with beef, etc... depends.

fills - i think i received 1 and 4 weeks, then another 4 weeks. waited about 6 weeks then was at a good spot for awhile (2-3 months). went in for another fill then another a couple months after that. as you lose weight, your inner stomach shrinks so you may need more restriction.

i was a snug 5-6X so it initially took awhile to start dropping sizes to where i NEEDED new clothes (started falling off)... after i hit 30/32, it was a rapid descent and then i was stuck in 22/24 for 3-4 months, then 18/20 came. i was banded in October 2006 and was in 18/20 by January 2008. had a tummy tuck and was able to fit in 14s, but am now pregnant and have an increasing tummy again.

i know there is a clothing exchange on this board, you may want to try there.

best of luck to you.

Hello,

I'm being banded on August 21 and have had most of my questions answered, either by my surgeon or via this website so I can try to help in some areas. The protien is important to eat first at all meals so that you don't loose much hair, and it also gives you the "full" feeling much sooner than eating veggies, fruits and starches. I'm not sure of the absorbtion amount but I have been told by my dietitian that 45-60 grams should be aquired in the run of the day, so if you have about 20 per meal then you should be fine. I know the protien powder I got is 23 grams of protien per scoop, which will make a nice breakfast shake or I can sprinkle some on other foods, or add some to other recipes like making pudding - it all adds up throughout the day. I'm not sure about the spicy foods, luckily for me I loooove very mild stuff. My surgeon told me that I should expect about 3-6 fills to achieve my "sweet spot" and get that sense of full after each meal/snack. Then he said it's normal that a very small amount would seep out of the port over a long period, so to maintain an adequate fill of say 7cc, you would go back once every year/two years to get it topped back up to the 7cc. When it comes to loosing the weight, from what I have seen experienced by others on this site, if you follow the dietary requirements (ie. eat protien first, chew slowly, stop before full, excercise, etc.) then there is great potential to loose about 100 pounds in the first year to year and half. I would reccommend going to places like Frenchy's or Value Village or other discount clothing outlets until you are closer to your ideal weight, then splurge on the really "nice" wardrobe. Good luck to you :smile2:

Just wanted to add that although you will still be able to tolerate spicy foods, if your doctors rules are the same as mine you aren't supposed to drink during meals and will have to wait 30-60 minutes to have a drink...I didn't think that through when I had some spicy Kung Pao chicken. :cursing:

The Protein builds muscle which in turn will lose the weight. I am seriously not getting in all my protein and still only down about 1 lb since surgery because of it, but I am just now on mushy foods and its hard to eat enough at first to get in your protein. I lose weight faster,as do all people, with higher protein intact. The more muscle you build with the protein the more fat you will burn.

Im newly banded, but have lost weight before, and can tell you protein works to take off those lbs. As far as how fast you lose, everyone is different. I came home from surgery up 3 lbs from where I started. I went to Mexico and it could be the liquids from the IV or just swelling they said. At least Im finally down a tad.

Iv been looking at a lot of tickers and looks like many can shed 100 lbs pretty easily in 10 months or less if they work their band.