Leaderboard

So as my surgery approaches, I find myself more intrigued by the actual procedure! So of course I went to YouTube am found a video! After seeing how the procedure is actually done, it helps ease the fear. Hope it helps someone else. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-K7ZdFW4sc&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Hm. I think I would be pretty upset if someone in my doctor's practice felt he or she had the right to scold me. If I go in having had problems, I want support, not fussing. I'm not a child; I don't need to be reprimanded--but I DO need to be able to discuss any difficulties with my healthcare providers without fear of repercussions. Was the woman who did this your surgeon? A nurse? How did it make you feel? Is it something you want to discuss with the person who did it? From those of us on the list, do you want sympathy or would you like suggestions for how to deal with it in the future? I'm asking all of these questions because if you're just venting, I know it could be irritating to get advice on how to "fix" the issue. On the other hand, if you want potential responses to her behavior, I know it could be irritating to get nothing but sympathy! If you want sympathy, you definitely have it--that's a crappy thing to have to endure!!!! If you also want advice, let us know! We're here to support you!

Down 12 pounds in 11 days. I encourage everyone to look in to south beach. It's tough until you get used to it then it gets easier. And the food you can eat is what bandsters are supposed to be eating anyway. The spinach quiche are very good. I am feeling more encouraged and motivated each day. Removing the carbs and sugars has given me renewed energy and I have started being more active again. For anyone else in my situation, don't give up, do the pouch test and try south beach. Get greedy for the compliments. I am looking forward to people telling me how thin I'm looking and asking me how much I've lost again.

Thanks for the kind words. It's great feeling like I finally have control over my weight. Banding was the best decision I've ever made. As others have suggested, set the goal, and give it your best shot. You have nothing to lose but excess weight, right? Your comments about your eating habits are well taken - I've also had periods when I've gotten off track, and eaten a bit of this and that, only to find I stopped losing. For me, carbs are the enemy. If I eat too many of them, my weight loss stalls, and even stops. When I go back to eating my proper way, things resume within a day or two. So I allow myself occasional periods of not keeping track. (I took the July 4th weekend off, and I attended several parties. I ate what I wanted, without worrying about it. On July 5th I got back to my routine. No problem.) I try to follow a high Protein, low glycemic carb kind of eating plan, patterned loosely after the South Beach Diet way of eating. Being banded, I can't eat as much as SBD would have me eat, so I've taken it down my own road, and figured out how it works for me. It's important for me to keep my blood sugar as stable as possible, not because I'm diabetic, (I'm not even pre-diabetic), but I have a hypoglycemia thing that causes crashes and shaking if I don't maintain steady nutrition. I try to get roughly 10% of my daily calories from protein, and I try to limit my carbs to about half of that. So if I eat 1000 calories a day, I try to get in 100g of protein, and 50g of carbs. It's not exact, and isn't perfect, but it seems to be working well for me. I don't cook much, because for me, it's more hassle to make something I'm only going to eat a small amount of, than it is to just grab something out that fits my eating plan. I work full time and am on-call after hours, so I'm on the go quite a bit, and am not always near my refrigerator. I've learned how to live and eat in the real world, rather than being super-vigilant about weighing or measuring things. A typical work day for me starts with a ready-to-drink Protein shake in the car on my way to work. I like the Premier Nutrition brand, sold at costco and elsewhere, including their website, www.premiernutrition.com. 11 ounces, 30g protein, 5g carbs, 3g fat, and 160 calories. An hour or so later I'll eat something like a "naked" breakfast sandwich - a fried egg, sausage patty, and slice of cheese. (Think "breakfast sandwich" without any bread.) About 300 calories, 20g protein, 1g carb, 25g fat. For lunch, I might have a small cup of chili, like the one they serve at Wendy's. 220 calories, 17g protein, 23g carbs, 6g fat. For dinner, since I'm usually heading home from the gym, I'll often grab a salad, like the new berry Almond chicken Salad they're serving at Wendy's. The half-sized serving they sell has 270 calories, 12g fat, 23g carbs, and 21g protein. I drink lots of Water, Lipton Pure Leaf Unsweetened iced tea (that I sweeten with Splenda), and a cup or two of coffee daily. If I need a snack, I'll eat part of a Premier Nutrion Protein Bar, or some trail mix, or a cheese stick. I don't graze, I don't eat junk food, I don't eat most Desserts, and I avoid fried and sugary foods. At the end of the day, based on the above numbers, I'm looking at roughly 950 calories, 88g protein, 52g carbs, and 45g fat. Some days are higher, some lower, but overall I try to get in as much protein as possible, and keep the carbs down. Everything else is relative. Because I have a desk job, (IT computer support for a busy hospital and medical center), I try to move as much during the day as I can. Instead of the elevator, I take the stairs at work. I park on the far side of the parking lot. When I'm heading off to see someone at work, I take the long way around, so I walk further than necessary. It all adds up. At the end of my workday, I go to the gym on my way home, because I know if I don't make it part of the routine, there is no way I'll make it back once I've gotten home. SO I make things as easy on myself as possible. None of this is written in stone, and everything is flexible. I keep my eyes on the prize, and work daily toward getting there. Life goes on, and I want to be an active participant in mine. Hope this info helps a bit. I'm not an expert, by any means, but it's working for me. I hope you reach your goal, and that come November, you'll be where you want to be. Good luck! Dave

Try eating more. Up it to 1365 and re-assess in a week to 2 weeks. No one here can tell you specifically what's going on. In most cases you're either undereating or overeating. With exercise I'd try 1365 or somewhere around there.

Pre-band, it was not so good, maybe once a month if that. I figured a lot of it had to do with my weight and we have been married for 13 years so I chalked it up to that. Now saying that....post band, it is awesome!!! About a week after surgery we started having relations about 4 times a week and now 7 months post op, we have it 7-10 times a week. It's spontaneous and exciting Good luck to you on your journey!

I have been told by my original surgeon's practice and the new one that I have seen that the food does not stay in the pouch for as long as it was originally thought - that it actually passes through quite quickly. This makes sense to me if we consider how quickly we feel stuck. I could never understand how if the food was supposed to sit there for a while why it hurt so much when you take too big a bite or whatever. But it does not explain how it creates the sensation of fullness. I have read somewhere that it is something to do with pressure on the vagus nerve which the band helps to create but I can't remember where I read it or what the exact explanation was. Also if the food does pass through so quickly then how is it possible to slime and PB food back up for so long afterwards when you get stuck.Surely only the stuck bite should come back not all the ones before it???? It seems that there is a lot about the way that the band works that is not yet fully understood. However I think this is true of many medical things.Yes I would love to know how and why it works but for me it is more important that it DOES work.