PB and keep goin??

the best me · May 31, 2005

i dont know what is going on with me.... my scale was broken though.... i am still weighing in at 218.... for about 3 weeks now.
i am ready to give up. this just isnt working for me.... i am very down.

Okay, so I got pregnant with my oldest, and what did I weigh? 208

I had her, lost some weight, gained some weight, then lost, and settled at 208.

I got pregnant with my youngest and weighed 208.

Had him, lost weight, gained wieght, and never saw 208 again.

I weighed 223 when I got banded, and quickly lost some weight. Guess how much? 15 pounds. And that put me at 208. And I have stayed there since day 12 after surgery almost 8 weeks ago.

My body LOVES 208. I HATE it!! So today on the scale I weighed 206.4 I'm still not convinced I'll never see 208 again but at some point I'll get below it enough to know I will never look back.

It has taken me weeks to convince my body that 208 is BAD. Our bodies tend to get stuck sometimes. Keep pressing forward. 8 weeks is a drop in the bucket compared to a year from now. And you can be pretty well guaranteed that you will NOT be in the 200's in a year.

I know you are frustrated. I'm really sorry, but we can do this!!!

With the Band, it's not that you just eat whatever just less of it and lose IF you DON'T have good restriction.

For me, it simply makes the diet possible day after day after day. And THAT is what speaks to my 208.

Angeleyes · May 31, 2005

I too am having problems with food. I had lost 10 pounds in the first month and the scales just sit there. I went for my first fill and sat there. I had my second fill last week and now I seem to be to tight. I have the golf ball feeling after the third bite of food and then stop eating. This is harder than I thought it would be. However I have lost 4 pounds this week.

the best me · June 11, 2005

Hey Dallasdoll, how are you doing? I scheduled a fill. I really need it. Just wondering about you. Give us an update!!

Fauxnaif · June 11, 2005

It takes quite a while to get the hang of this thing!

I can totally relate to your frustration. I think that when you can get another fill, it will be easier. But until then, concentrate on really trying to feel the subtle messages of fullness (burping, hiccupping, runny nose, feeling conscious of your throat, etc.). Use this as a learning experience.

The band has many benefits-one of the greatest is teaching us patience.

BTW, I don't think what you are eating is that bad. Just be sure to emphasize the Protein.

Fauxnaif · June 11, 2005

Here what mental hunger/head hunger/emotional hunger is:

Take your situation below. Mental hunger is: why don't you stop when you are full? Why is it that you are so attached to the feeling of eating, the yumminess that you do it even though it has negative consequences (obesity, obviously) for you? Why can't you get your needs-whatever they are-met in other ways besides eating?

I say this not to be rude or with a know-it-all attitude. I have been dealing with these issues myself-for years. I could even deal with them and NOT overeat but until the band I never could lose significant amounts of weight. The good news is, the band (along with dealing with these issues) has enabled me to finally do it.

And I dont get what Mental Hunger is, I want to eat what I want to eat, when I want to et it.. cuz its yummy.. regardless if I feel physical hunger pains or not.

lljpaisley · June 11, 2005

I am sorry that I came to this discussion so late but I was just banded two days ago! What a great discussion to read. I am wondering though about the golfball feeling - will I know it when I have it? Also, what does PB mean?

dallasdoll · June 11, 2005

update.... well... still 218!!!!..... so it isnt good news...

my mother says i look thinner but the scale is not showing it one bit.

i have been sticking to eating well, and when i dont eat well i eat only a little of that.

my second fill is on tuesday and i am hoping for something better out of this... i thought i was gonna lose some serious weight this summer and start school in august as a thinner version of me... at this rate i am going to be virtually the same.

total downer....

Persimmon · June 12, 2005

If you're getting golfball you have restriction. That means you've either overeaten or you've not chewed properly.

You are looking for the soft stop...which can be something like a burp, a runny nose, a sneeze, hiccup, a little sigh...you are not looking for feeling stuffed, or uncomfortable or golfball. When you hit the soft stop, stop eating and go do something else. If you eat beyond that you get golfball...at that point you are MORE than done. Go do something else.

Meals should take no longer than 20-30 minutes. If you're not done by then, stop eating and go do something else. Chew to mush regardless of whether or not you "need" to...take time now to learn this behavior because at some point you will be tighter and you'll need this to be automatic.

Anytime you feel tightness or golfball, do not sit around waiting for it to go away and start eating again. That is classic eating around your band. That is REAL restriction and you're ignoring it!

Full after banding isn't thanksgiving full...from now on it means "not hungry anymore"...not stuffed, uncomfortable, golfball, or PBing/puking. You don't need to be PBing to have restriction...in fact, we don't WANT PBing to happen if at all possible.

Nancy

394/275/180

my question is about the elusive PB or restriction feeling... i have had the golfball many times... sometimes BAAAAD and sometimes just a minor pain... so i sit there and wait a minute or two (i learned not to drink cuz that makes it soo much worse)... but after a moment i can return to eating.... no problems.. and i am never full so i try to eat to get full... but no dice.

so... am i supposed to stop eating after this pain even though i am hungry? or.... what exactly? usually the pain is cuz i swallowed a huge bite without chewing... i still dont have to chew worth a damn either by the way.

no weight loss.. no restriction.. and no clue about the golfball scenario. any ideas?

Persimmon · June 12, 2005

No, you don't have to do Atkins...you don't have to low-carb it...everyone, banded or not, losing weight or not, should be avoiding simple carbs/sugars/highly processed foods because they have little to no nutritional value. But...you DO need to work on making overall decent choices...part of banding is learning how to eat a healthy balanced diet. Solid Protein first, then produce, then if there's room, something starchier/treat-ier...and yes you can combine things like make a wrap with chicken, lettuce, tomatoe a little dressing, for example. But bologna isn't one of the better choices for protein...if you like deli meats, get sliced turkey or chicken or, if you tolerate it, roast beef...not the overprocessed very fatty types like bologna or liverwurst, etc.

And yes, overall, the banding mentality should be "everything in moderation" with the caveat of eating in a particular order overall. I rarely choose bread...very soft breads clog me up anyhow...if I want tuna salad for lunch, I put it on WASA crispbread made from whole grain...tastes good, chews up nice, is a complex carb and doesn't get stuck.

Just keep in mind the band's actual job isn't to stop you from eating, but to HELP you stop eating...and it will never make our choices for us...that's the part we all have to work on and I'm not gonna lie to you and say it's easy to always choose the right stuff, but if you can make decent choices and follow the bandster guidelines about 70-80% of the time, you can do very well with your band.

Nancy

so basically i should be on Atkins the rest of my life? hmm... why did i get the band then?

Persimmon · June 12, 2005

Sounds yummy but don't expect your band to restrict liquids...sounds like a nice occasional snack or maybe enhanced a bit for Breakfast if you ever have trouble eating solids first thing...and sounds like just the thing for hot days too instead of ice cream...but don't expect the band to restrict it

Nancy

I am gonna have a banana freeze thing..
1/4 banana frozen, 1 cup slow slender vanilla milk and 3 ice cubes.. in a blender,

its 60 calories, 6 carbs and 1 fat gram and 7 grams Protein.

I know I like the taste of this alot (taste like junk food) and its thicker so hopefully the fill will kick in on it, so i wont be downing the milk or juice .. and then I can avoid drinking my calories.

Persimmon · June 12, 2005

You're getting it...good thought process...next step, learn to stop before the hard stop (golfball). See if at some point prior to that you can figure out your soft stop...might be a runny nose, a sneeze, a hiccup, burp, a little sigh, a moment where you sit back for a sec...that's actually where we want to try to stop.

While stopping at golfball is better than the alternative (not stopping and then puking), that can, long term, cause the pouch to stretch out which of course you don't want to happen. So see if you can now figure out what your soft stop is

Nancy

394/275/180

I don't think any of us will ever know what the true meaning of the real word, "full" means. What do "normal" people feel like when they are full? Does that feeling mean they are busting at the seams, or do they still have room for another meal or snack down there? Hard to say because none of us are (or were in the past) normal.
The whole "golfball" thing is where my restriction is. Once I get that tight feeling in my throat, I know it's time to stop. No, that's not how a normal person feels like they are full, but that's how I've learned to stop eating with the band.

The reason I'm here right now is because I got the golfball, and I know I've got plenty of food in my tight band, but my head wants more. Belly is good, head is screwed up, so I come to LBT and write long babbling posts. Sorry, but at least I'm not eating right now!

Persimmon · June 12, 2005

Well, are you tracking in Fitday? Doesn't look like you're eating ENOUGH from what you listed...you can't just live on Protein...you need to be eating a healthy balanced diet and most bandsters should be in the 1200-1500 cal/day range.

You're what, 7 weeks out? You're not allowed to give up because your band still probably needs some fine tuning as does your eating behavior. There should be no expectation of weight loss with the band right off the bat. It's a tortoise game, not a hare race...I'd actually recommend staying away from the scale for a while and just concentrate relearning how to eat properly. Use a structured menu/plan that you lay out if that sort of thing is helpful to you. Are you working with a nutritionist? If not, you probably should be...most folks should be at least in the beginning.

Now, if you've lost 6 pounds and you're a year out, then we have a problem...but this newly out, nope...it just takes time and patience to get it all working...

Nancy

this sounds reasonable right? i mean i do not eat alot... im not eating terribly badly either i dont think... and i drink ALL of my Water and even exercise.. i have always been a big Water drinker...but the fact of the matter is simply that my parents paid over 10 grand for me to weigh the exact same as i did weeks ago... i shoulda just bought some big freakin diamonds.... id be happier than i am now. sooooo frustrated.

i am ready to give up. this just isnt working for me.... i am very down.

Persimmon · June 12, 2005

Nykee, gonna give you some tough love here...

The band is ALL about controlling portion size and hunger/satiety issues...PHYSICAL hunger/satiety. Most morbidly obese people have either physical satiety disorders OR they've responded so overwhelmingly to head/mental "hunger" that they've trained themselves to ignore physical sensations of hunger/satiety. Regardless, part of losing weight and the whole banding journey is to RELEARN this with the band's help once it's properly adjusted. The band will not do it for us...we have to do our part.

As is said: "Just because you can, doesn't mean you should." And that has to do with choosing what you put in your mouth and when. Do not be looking for the band to STOP you from eating but to help you stop by giving you clearer physical signals.

Most of us have to deal with mental hunger...it's one of the many reasons we ended up morbidly obese. If it means getting counselling/therapy, then we need to add that to our arsenal of tools in this battle.

I know I'm new to this board so I don't know folks very well, but I've read a lot of your posts, and my sense is that you are really fighting change. And I'm gonna spell it out really clearly: If you cannot work on changing, if you cannot commit to really trying, this isn't going to work.

Right now you're struggling...make it less complicated...for a while, plan your meals...give yourself some structure, abide by bandster eating guidelines...if you're really not sure what those are, we'll help you with that. But just because you CAN eat something, doesn't mean you should...the band will never make your choices for you. And you have to be at least willing to try to change your eating behaviors that got you to the point of needing surgery...

I'll tell ya something...I'm the world's worst dieter...I have the trophy to prove it...prior to banding I was never able to lose more than 35 lbs and only managed that once when I was on Jenny Craig before I got totally bored and went off-program. And I've lost about 120 lbs so far. If I can do that, I swear, anyone can because I totally SUCK at dieting...but the reason it's been working for me is that I knew what I needed to change, and I knew what was primarily wrong (I have a physical satiety disorder paired with a lot of emotional/boredom eating) and I just kept going back to the basic premise: solid Protein first, then produce then, if there was room, something starchier or a little treat on special occasions...like what "normal" people do...

Bottom line...there's no such thing as a WLS procedure that allows you to eat whatever you like, whenever you like, still lose weight and keep it off. That technology doesn't currently exist...WLS is merely a tool to help us change so we have to buckle down and deal with that part of it...

Nancy

394/275/180

Its gonna have nothing to do with Fullness for me.
I dont need a golfball feeling to tell me when I am full, just to tell me when to stop at times I otherwise wouldnt have. Thus leading to weight loss.

Dexatrim can make you almost never feel a hunger pain... so I dont get where the feeling of fullness comes in..

And I dont get what Mental Hunger is, I want to eat what I want to eat, when I want to et it.. cuz its yummy.. regardless if I feel physical hunger pains or not.

If thats mental hunger, than oh well... with the band restriction tuff titties.

I was sick and I had the golfball thing and I even slimed alittle a few days ago.

it was on half of one of those cheap chicken pot pies..

NOTHING in that thing could of made that happen, it MUST of been becasue I was sick for a few days.. (real sick, phlem, coughing, weezing)

I stopped immediately terrified of a full blown PB and didnt eat much until I felt better...

I went camping last night and I ate tons of food, no problem, not one ounce of restriction..

I cant wait for that golf ball feeling with my new fill, get this started!