Drinking water ? big ol? drinks! Questions?

[AngieB2009 0]

Drinking Water – big ol’ drinks! Questions…

Okay so I had something unexpected happen this morning. I took a big-o-drink of water. More like three consecutive drinks. Swallow, swallow, swallow….you get what I am saying. I actually felt the water being held up. Like not super drastic, but I felt it in my stoma and throat. I felt a mild alert over the situation. Um, never had that happen before! Wow! Until this happened this morning I have been able to chug-a-lug my water at a good rate, any time of day. I know, some don’t understand why people like me drink so fast, but we are all different. I am a fish! Ha! Just kidding but I have a habit of drinking a couple of swallows each drink. Not all the time now as I am working on slowing down….but I am a drinker.

I have been reading on this board for a while now, so there have been many subjects covered. Which I love, by the way, because it feels good to have working knowledge of the band, even if it is not my own working knowledge. : ) So, thank you all for sharing your band experiences! You are appreciated! That being said, I’ve thought it is strange when people talk about having a hard time getting there liquids in. Sipping through out the day….sucking on ice cubes, ect. I’ve read many posts about not being able to tolerate food in the mornings. Even some posts about not being able to eat anything solid until evening.

That being said, I know our bands are fickle. Each person can have there band affected differently. Some talk about weather, flying, stress, their monthly visitor, a bad PB episode, drinking cold liquids, and much more, and how it can affect the bands tightness. What I would really like to know is how tight you prefer to keep your bands’? Do you keep your band snug enough to feel water back up if you drink a big ol’ drink? Are you a sipper? Can you eat in the mornings, or afternoons? Do you have to wait on your band to loosen up before a meal? Can you put into words what band restriction means to you?

I am curious on what the “norm” is and if is varies a great deal from person to person. I am working on getting to my sweet spot or being in the green zone. For me, I can enjoy Breakfast everyday. Depending on the food, I can eat a cup to ¾ cup of food at a meal. I focus mainly on Protein and often feel like I leave out veggies and fruits almost completely. I seem to have better success when I eat steamed veggies vs. fresh veggies using broccoli and carrots as a good example of this. My band tolerates muffins and cake well, wish came as a surprise to me. We had treats at work and I tried these yummies and had no issues. I have no idea if I can eat bread, because I have cut it completely out of my diet. I no longer eat a sandwich or anything like that. I stick to the guts, the insides of a sandwich. Protein, protein, protein…

I am planning on posting this in the forum as well as a blog entry. Please reply and share how you like your band, and what works best for you. Last monthish there were some great posts about a few gals feeling there bands were too tight. I know from your posts that being to tight does not equal weight loss or a safe way to keep your band. So all experience is valuable! I am scheduled for an up coming fill in December and I have been on and off the fence about it. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, and if you don’t feel comfortable posting, please PM me. You guys are the best!

[LilMissDiva Irene 3,280]

Hi Angie,

Good question. I was really tight for a long time and ended up causing me problems with my band. I ended up with bad nite coughs and reflux. My doctor removed some Fluid twice. Now too much has been removed and we are working on finding a happy medium.

I might mention though how very important eating fruits, veggies and whole grains are. They are just as important to maintaining a healthy digestive system as is Protein is for creating the building blocks of our cells. If you are so tight you cannot eat these nutritious foods, then I would think about having some fluid removed.

You can still lose weight by being and eating as healthy as you possibly can. The band was not designed to put us on an all liquid all protein diet. That isn’t really the most healthy way of anything really.

Besides our bodies only process no more than 25g of protein per serving. The rest just turns into fat. Our bodies need more than just protein to survive.

Best of wishes to you!

PS, I drink my Water fast too. It’s the only way to get my minimum in between meals. J

[AngieB2009 0]

Hey LilMissDiva - Great reply. I do still eat fruits and veggies, but have to admit I pry focus to much attention on Protein. I've had a good amount of hair loss, which had me REALLY paying attention to Protein. Since I've found out why I've lost so much hair. I've also had my blood work done as I have passed the 6 months of being banded. All my Vitamin levels came back great. Protein included. I can see more now, where I have really been more controlling the bandster rules so to speak. Being new I have wanted to do things right and I think now, with a bit of time under my belt, I will begin to relax more. Settle in if you will. It took me a while to first get a decent fill, then to become accustom to restriction. What my soft stops were and ya know the general making friends with the band.

I don't have a problem with fruits really, other than apples I peel now. Most everything goes down well. I think my issues with fresh veggies is more of a chewing issue. Anyway, thanks for bringing up a healthy well rounded diet. I really needed to hear that. Now, I need to put some fruits and veggies back in to the mix on a regular basis. Which I am looking forward too.

Glad to hear I am not the only big drinker too. I drink Vitamin Water every day and get in 60 oz on a normal day. I guess it startled me this morning when I couldn't drink like I normally do. Within an hours time, I was back to the normal me drinks. Weird huh....

Finding the right level of restriction is interesting. I've had 4 fills, most of which have been small in comparision to others fills. That is what my body said okay to that day. I love that my body has adjusted nicely to each fill, but have also felt the sting of practicing patients. I am in this journey for the long haul, obviously, and I have to remind myself at times that I am not in a race with my fellow bandsters! It's hard sometimes not to compair myself to others, but I stay focused on me and what I need. Which always brings me back to a happy place. :tongue2:

Long winded.....

Hi Angie,

Good question. I was really tight for a long time and ended up causing me problems with my band. I ended up with bad nite coughs and reflux. My doctor removed some Fluid twice. Now too much has been removed and we are working on finding a happy medium.

I might mention though how very important eating fruits, veggies and whole grains are. They are just as important to maintaining a healthy digestive system as is protein is for creating the building blocks of our cells. If you are so tight you cannot eat these nutritious foods, then I would think about having some Fluid removed.

You can still lose weight by being and eating as healthy as you possibly can. The band was not designed to put us on an all liquid all protein diet. That isn’t really the most healthy way of anything really.

Besides our bodies only process no more than 25g of protein per serving. The rest just turns into fat. Our bodies need more than just protein to survive.

Best of wishes to you!

PS, I drink my Water fast too. It’s the only way to get my minimum in between meals. J