B-52

It all depends on how much restriction you have, how narrow the assuage is..... Think of a funnel....if the passage is large, you can pour Water into it quickly and it will pass right through to the other end...... If the passage is small, and you pour water into it fast, more water will be introduced faster than it can go out the other end.....it then overflows over the top.... I have to take small swallows.....if I forget and take big gulps...it will come right back up and I will spit it out...... You have to learn your band and gauge things like this for yourself..... Same thing with small bites of food.....early on I did not understand this because it did not bother me.....but I had to learn just the same because now there is no other way I can eat solid food..... Also know that everyone had different levels of restriction so everyone's experience with the band is unique....

I'm 180 degrees opposite....dam the torpedoes...full steam ahead!! Get this weight off me now....my life depends upon it.... I used to joke and say if they wired my jaw shut, and promised I would loose all the needed weight, and not feel hungry doing it...sign me up. I have to say, after completing the weight loss journey...I now live a normal life...thin and fit...and enjoy all life's pleasures just as my fit athletic friends do....I can sit in a bar, have a beer or 2, enjoy some wings...play some softball or touch football....I even took up surfing this past summer!......just as my friends do, and I don't ever see them dieting or counting calories..........because it is now a lifestyle...a healthy lifestyle of wise food choices and plenty of exercise....I only deprive myself on the things I know are not good for me....and it's funny...the things that are not good to eat also happen to be things that are not very band friendly.....so it all works out in the end. I often compare it to someone who has had total knee replacement.....the first 6 months was pain and hell.....then came the long term rehab, learning to live with this new thing surgically placed.... and once that is accomplished, then you go back to your normal life, although in the background, there is something different....but you don't think about it all that much..... But then, that's me...good luck on your success...it's important to note that everyone has a different approach, as is evident on these forums....and no one is more right than others....we all want the same thing.....

I don't loose site of the Forrest because of the trees....it's a lifestyle change for me, not a day to day, hour by hour diet..... Of course, a lot depends upon where you're at with your band.....until then......

I work with special needs kids everyday...all of them if you know what I mean......it's what I specialize in....and I know, as does the rest of the staff, all about "Special Needs Moms"....and the extrordinary gifts they have....can put me to shame with no problem any day of the week.... I also deal with some other Moms, well, lets just say it's a shame...

I took the week off.....2-3 days later I started getting cabin fever....didn't put a full day in but went back to the office just to get out of the house...also ran some errands. One week after surgery I had my post-op followup, after which I was released to go back to work full time and allowed to exercise.... BTW, ant Rn will tell you the most important thing to do after major surgery is to get up and do something....

Loosing weight...burning fat...is all about burning more calories than you consume...so the more you consume the more you must burn....for REAL weight loss..

Dialting your pouch is a very real, and potentially dangerous thing to have happen..... Yesterday in the Dr.'s office I looked over pictures of what it looks like..... When it happens the first thing the Dr. will prescribe is a fw days ao liquids only to give it a rest and let the pouch constrict back to normal... If that does not work, then the Dr. will do a complete un-fill.... I will say, if you are recently banded, or do not beleiev in having a tight band...then the risk is very little if at all..... You have to have a good amount of restriction...and you have to know and LISTEN to your Band...many people do not know how to do this, or are not at that stage yet... My band is very tight...I can monitor every swallow.....then there will come a time now and then, that I notice I cannot feel my band, monitor what I am swallowing, and that my portion sizes are larger than usual with no feed back to limit myself.... That is when I know my pouch has stretched, and that is when I know to go 2-3 days of liquid to give it a rest.... Many people will say, myself included....that I am more restricted in the morning, and it gets easier as the day goes on...Why? Because at 5 am, I have not eaten anything for 10-12 hours...giving my slightly stretched pouch a slight time to reset itself.... I know may people will say what they have read, or heard from other people...but this is what I can tell you first hand from experience...

Last Night I was watching one of those discovery channel shows, about Grizzly Bears..........I know, so what.... Anyhow, something interesting caught my attention... A grizzly Bear (mammal) will go into Hibernation for 6 months, and will not eat or drink ANYTHING for the entire 6 months...but will burn up 100 lbs of stored fat to maintain life and all the needed nutrition to do so.... After hibernation, the Grizzly will spend the next 6 months putting that 100lbs of extra weight back on for the next winter... What does this have to do with us? Probably nothing, other than I have always been puzzled about people stating they are not eating enough, or need to eat more when they exercise, scared of the so called starvation mode, etc, etc....I have always wondered...when are we going to use the stored fat we have to cover these things?? Isn't that what it is there for? As a stored energy source so we don't starve? I always go to the gym first thing in the morning, and have always done so on a empty stomach, other than Water and Vitamins, etc, not eating for about 10-12 hours prior..dinner night before... I have done this because I WANT my body to turn on itself and use that stored fat I been saving.....and I have to say it has worked for me...energy is not a issue.. You always hear about marathoners chowing down on extra Pasta the night before a big race...but they have no fat....they would do their bodies harm...but me, I have that extra gas tank to go the additional distance without filling up.....and I'm going to use it! Not save or hold onto it....unless I'm planning on going into hibernation.... Just early morning rambling...off to the gym....

I agree...this is very sad......

I have gone 24 hrs with no desire to eat....if I'm busy I forget to altogether....have to remind myself I have to eat most days..... As I started to get in the green zone, my tastes in food also began to change.... Come to think of it, I can't remember the last time I was REALLY hungry, as before the band when I felt I am starving....have to eat or else! Does not happen anymore....he band simply tells my brain I'm full, no need to eat, even though I am not full nor have that feeling...(impossible with the band).

I never had to have my band un-filled, but whenever I feel I can eat more than usual with little effort...I go straight liquids for 2-3 days....some call this the 5 day pouch test..why I will never know... Pouches will dilate..it is normal due to over use....just as the stomach will stretch....drinking while eating will do it also....too much in pouch at one time... I have friends in your situation, and yes, the Dr. completely unfilled their band to give it a rest....then started all over again....

You'll shoot your eye out kid!

I hope this forum works out....problem with LBT is that 98% of the people are still trying to loose weight....still learning their way....dealing with the basics.. Sometimes it's hard to communicate when you know, and they don't know, that the world is not flat... I belong to another site altogether were everyone has been banded for quite some time,( they were all once members here but left) most at their goals....and we very rarely talk about the basics anymore... Mostly about how everyone is enjoying their new lives!! I hope that happens here...not all the negativity, struggles and unhappiness.... There is a life after lapband...like having total knee surgery..sooner or later you get healed, work (struggle) through the rehab, and eventually begin to live your normal life again...be it with something artificial placed by surgery.....

2 years banded.... 100 or more lbs lost....no more weight left to loose..... Gaol weight reached...journey completed, now have a normal, diet free life... Vietnam Vet..1971 Do I qualify to be a veteran??

Sinc being banded, my tatses have changed...things I used to Love...no longer appeal to me and do not have the tatse they used to... Example of this is salads...when I was always dieting, I LOVE salads, and would come up with all different ways to make them...well now, I have no desire to eat a salad, let alone lettuce! I know many people who say the same thing....as the band suppresses your appetitie, it also cahnges your tastes.....and in my case, I simply loose interest in most foods or eating at all....can take it or leave it most times.... Before being banded I could, and would, eat anything you put in front of me whether I was hungry or not..... Now, it does not matter if I ate in the past 12 hours or not...I can grab something like a chocolate bar and just stare at it....then throw it away....no taste or interest...no appeal. THANK YOU BAND!

You're going to have to get to know your band, perhaps the hard way.....I have not eaten Pasta in about 20 months.... It's not that I can't, it's because it gives me so much trouble I simply wrote it off as being a waste of time...same with rice, doughy foods such as bread, donuts, etc.... and for me...Red meat..... When I say I CAN'T eat these foods because of the band.that is not totally true....it really means they are problem foods, very easy to get stuck..... Also, it's interesting the foods that are on my "Do Not Eat List" are really not that good for you in the first place....again, why bother with the risk and hard work with something not that good for you in the first place?? Another thing I consider, the band will let me eat just so much...very limited portions because of the restriction I have, so it is important to concentrate on the good Protein foods first and not waste my allowance on something that has very little nutritional value..... then when I finish the protein, such as fish, I'll then move onto tbhe veggies and mashed potatoes....but find there is little or no room left to have some, if any at all....If I was to start my meal with the veggies and potatos, I would not have any room left for th protein....the most important thing of all for someone with WLS and very limited food intake. Sorry to ramble on, I just rememebered you are only 12 days post-op.....you have a ways to go before you get to what I just said....

I work long hours everyday....cannot go to gym in evenings... That is why I am heading to the gym in about 20 minutes, when they open at 5am....it is now 20 of......having my coffee, I'l have some nourishment after my workout (recovery) This is what I do 5 days a week, and there is a good size crowd there every morning at 5......mostly professionals..... So one can always make time to be healthy and fit....my life depends upon it....

The day I learned to "Let it Go" was the biggest breakthrough in my banded life.....I can now say I live a normal life, never count calories or worry too much about portion sizes... I just eat good healthy foods, and stay active....just like any other "Normal" person does.....TOTAL LIBERATION!!!! Difference is, in the background....I still have the band, always there dictating certain life principles.....but because of the band, I have also learned those new principles.....

When I got stuck, and I wanted to end it quickly, I would go to the bathroom and sip some Water.....if you are truly stuck, the water will only add to the volume - slime in your pouch and up it will come, having no where else to go.... If the water passes through, your not that stuck, and it will pass on through on it's own.... I have a lot of friends who swear by Papaya Enzymes.....they carry them with them everywhere they go....I have never tried it, but I hear positive things.... Also, when I worked in the ER years ago, we used to have meat Tenderizer on hand....stuff everyone has in their kitchen.....mix with a little warm water and sip....again, never tried it myself. I guess papaya does the same...you can get it in any Vitamin store....

It's 5am on a Sunday Morning.....on my second cup of Black coffee...took my Vitamins, Omega's, and 15gm of pure liquid Protein...... It's 11 degrees outside, and icey roads......... Off to the gym in a bit, be there when they open at 6am....I will run y 5 miles, then maybe some weights.....sauna, whirlpool and shower then fresh clean clothes, high protein recovery shake from the "juice Bar" at the club..... Point is, I REALLY don't want to go, what I really want to do is crawl back into a warm bed.....it's still black outside...and cold! But that's how it is...I'll go anyway, and once there I will be glad I did.....just as I have been doing since being banded.... If I did not go, I would feel like s*** all day long..... That's how it works...you got to do what you got to do....and will feel better for it in the end.... It's Addictive!!!!

If I had my band since 2007, and have been normal and successful since then...and all of a sudden out of nowhere I develop the problems you describe......... I would NOT ask those questions here but RUN STRAIGHT TO MY DR...... After all that time with a normal trouble free banded journey...then out of nowhere....something is not normal and should be checked ASAP! (worse yet...there are people on this forum that will actually think they know the answers and tell you what to do....happens everyday from the "Know it alls")

I got mine the 31st of Jan in 2011.....A good Omen! My band has been nothing but a fantastic thing ever since...EASIEST and best thing I have ever done , both for PERMANENT weight loss and a total life changing event..... I hope your journey is as pleasurable as mine is...

I read most of the posts here from all the different people, I like to hear different people's experiences, good and bad.... One thing that is always re occurring, is people saying how they "Fell off the wagon" and "Need to get back on track" Now I know I'm going to get flamed for this by the "Know it all's" But personally, I do not understand how that can happen...(Short of a medical problem).... Either your band is adjusted to where you are in the Green Zone, or it's not!! To me, that is the only thing that is important... Two characteristics of the Green Zone is HUNGER CONTROL, and PORTION CONTROL.....yet I read posts about how people say they were doing fine, then started to eat anything and everything in sight...out of control...Does Not sound like being in the Green to me.... Speaking for myself, When I eat, I eat until I cannot eat anymore...I don't measure or pre determine portion sizes...the band will let me know when to stop eating...it's that simple. The other day I brought home Chinese take-out...sat down and began to eat to where I knew I had to stop...threw the rest away!!! It was physically impossible to eat anymore...even if I wanted to.... IF I were to measure what I ate, I know I would have found it to be VERY LITTLE....some would say way too little.... The 2nd issue is Hunger....I'm sitting here, it's 4 am, and I am having my coffee....thinking about it as I type this, I AM NOT HUNGRY, and I have no desire to eat anything....the last time I ate was around 6 pm yesterday, 16 hours ago? I will take 15gm Protein along with my Vitamins and omega's, and head to the gym when they open at 6am. After my workout I will have a high protein recovery shake......then that will be it until this afternoon....(plenty of Water though) My point is, being in the Green, these things now come natural to me....circumstances such as parties, stress and emotional issues, etc, etc, cannot change what has been surgically done...... I travel all over the country on business, vacations, cruise at least once a year...have had deaths in the family,....my daughter had a big wedding.....everything everyone else experiences, but none of it can change the band....that would take an adjustment.... So when I read these stories about "Getting back On Track" or "Falling off the Wagon", I get a little confused...but out of personal respect I keep my mouth shut...it's not my place to tell anyone they are right or wrong.... But what I can do is type here MY experiences with the band and how it all works for me..... I know I'm in the green....have been for about 20 months now...and from my view point the only thing that matters is whether you are in the green or not...and if not, Why? Didn't mean to step on anyone's toes...just my opinion, now let the "Know it All Police come out of the woodwork"....

I get most of my supplies from a website called "Bariatric Choice" My smoothies start with 1 scoop of 100% whey = 25 gm Protein, then I add 30ml (shot glass) of pure liquid Protein called "Pro-Stat 64" which adds anoth 15gm of protein.... I then add anything to it such as banana, mixed berries, mango, Peanut Butter, coconut, pineapple, chocolate....anything your imagination can come up with.... Mixed with 8 ozs of Water...(I stay away from dairy products so no skim milk) Also be warned....I DO NOT count calories...have not for about 1-1/2 years now.....

Many people do, but it is very risky...especially for people just starting out.... My surgeon tells ALL his patients Absolutely NO... And yet, he knows I like to have a beer (or 2) from time to time, like at a ballgame, picnic, and whenever....etc.... He asked me a few questions regarding it and how I drink it, what am I doing at the time etc, etc, then he said..... "Ok, but Just be careful" He told me why he tells all his patients No, and being in the healthcare field myself, I have to agree....better off just saying No...very risky!