B-52

Everyone is different and just by reading the posts on this forum you can see all the differnt approaches people have with the band..... Speaking for myself...my success has come due to the fact that the band FORCED me to change the way I eat, the type of foods I eat, and how much I can eat.... If I tried to fight what the band was rying to accomplish, I would have stuck episodes, (many) constantly spitting everything up, including Water, along with associated pain.and discomfort...... In other words, it made me miserable.....especially in those first 4-6 months, the 2nd phase...... I could have gone for a slight un-fill, which would have let me eat the way I wanted to....but I'm glad I did not...I'm glad I can say it was a lesson in BEHAVIOUR MODIFICATION when it comes to food....and the thing I loved the most, I had to turn my back on and learn to live without....food now is not very interesting...along with the hunger and cravings ( thank you band) It was killing me!

I CANNOT, so DO NOT eat anything in the morning..... I do have a High Protein shake, home made in my blender....40gms of protein.... Been doing this every day for 2 years.... My Surgeon thinks it's great, not because I'm banded, but because of the over whelming health benefits that everyone should have... Yes, they say breakfast is the most important meal of the day....but what can anyone possibly eat (especially a bandster) to match what a smoothie can offer? Believe it or not, I got the idea to do this from my cardiologist who does the same everyday.....and he is not banded....

WAY TO GO "B" !!! WE'RE ALL PROUD OF YOU!

I'm not sure i understand..... Are you concerned, because of the band restricting your food intake, that you are unable to consume enough? Or are you dieting, counting calories and afraid to consume too many calories and gain weight.... I have a few friends that do that sort of thing....one of them sponsored by a international company...and none of them are fat....last thing on their mind.... If I could have done that type of training,,activity, I don't think I would have needed to be banded..... But now, being banded, I would be concerned I would not be able to consume enough....

I use it......

I cannot exactly know what you are experiencing, nor do I know your Hx, when you were banded, any fills, restriction, experience with stuck episodes, etc.... Since you refer to "Gas pains" I can assume you we're banded recently since that is post-op complaint..... I have had pain like that, and have had it linger for a day or 2.... In my case, it was swallowing something I should not have been eating in the first place, probably not chewing enough, and maybe a too,large of swallow...all of the above.... The pain is slight trauma to the band as the food passed through...IF it passes through at all.... Imagine someone punching you in the arm.....it's going to linger for a while.... I have also had food sit there for quite a while also....but my situation is not as everyone else's is, and I doubt yours.... In any event, knowing I made have irritated that area, I am sure to take it easy for a while......not to over use the area and perhaps cause additional damage... But that's me.....again, I cannot actually know your situation.

Ditto on that....excess protein is flushed from the body through the kidneys....too much protein here and there is not to bad, but every day over a period of time......... But remember...banded people have to drink plenty of Water, and kidney health is one of the reasons.....

I'm 2 years in since surgery, and have been at my goal for a year now....... I often winder how I could possibly gain the weight back....I did not do this on my own The very thing that caused me to loose the weight, is still there with the same adjustment...... The way I figure it, something would have to happen to the band, say a medical emergency or something where I would have to get a unfill allowing me to overeat again. Otherwise I cannot understanding it happening to me.... I know there are many people who post here stating how they gained much/most of their weight back....and I do not doubt them....but I also wonder what percentage was their effort and what percentage was the band doing the work.... In my case, it's 90% band....

Got me thinking.....I don't experience hunger, let alone hunger pains....small portions, water and protein keep me satisfied........and of course the band.

Listen to your Dr....... I cannot live without coffee and began drinking it 24 hours after surgery.....but I don't condone it...again, follow your Dr.'s instructions.

There was a thread not too long ago, where the consensus was that liquids will pass right through the band into the stomach......just saying....does it or dosn't it? If liquids do pass right through to the stomach, how can it stretch the pouch?

I NEVER eat anything after 6-7pm......just my little rule......

Panera is one of my favorite places to eat......can't eat bread anymore, but they have great healthy Soups and I like their tuna fish.... (I don't count calories or portions, just healthy choices and Panera is very healthy)

I don't eat Red meat, and that was due to the band so I accepted and went with it since the benefits are obvious...I don't care for dairy products either...but I still eat chicken and fish.... So I'm not sure what that nakes me, other than healthier..... I'm sure, the more I learn and the more I adapt, I will become more vegetarian eventually.....

I have not lost any weight for over a year, my body settling out where it should be, and wants to be, weight wise.....YET within that year I have dropped 2 more clothing sizes!!! My last visit to my surgeon, after I got on the scale, he was looking at my chart ans was "puzzled" He asked a few routine questions, and when we got onto my exercising routine, he then brightened up and said "That Explains Everything" People say all the time how they loose weight with little or no exercise, but believe me....you have no idea what a additional change it will make!

3500 calories = 1 lb of fat 3500 / 7 = 500 calories per day That's 500 calories per day MORE than you consume, to loose one lb per week. So, if you consume 1000 calories, you must burn 1500 calories....OR consume less calories per day. Ideally consume less, and burn more...increasing the gap between the two.... And that is for real fat burning weight loss, not the quick early stages of weight loss which everybody experiences If you want to loose more than one pound per week, you have to up the above numbers.... Also, in my case, I have always found Protein to give me more energy than calories.... Also, since I am no llonger concerned about loosing weight, I find that exercising everyday covers a multitude of sins....with no weight gain...

Off the top of my head....if you did adjust your calories, you would not workout to loose weight...get healthy and fit, but not fat burning... You need to burn more calories than you consume to loose weight, and exercising is a good effiecient way of doing that....actually the best...why eat more to counter the effects you may be looking for? I work out first thing in the morning...on an empty stomach...I do take a shot of Protein, plus my Water and Vitamins, for my energy and metabolism.....but no calories. My theory is I'm there to burn fat, so I want my body to turn to the stored fat I been holding onto when I'm exercising rather than what I have in my stomach..... After my workout I have a high protein recovery shake....satisfying my hunger and nutritional needs, giving me energy for the rest of the day, and low calories....then I go to work, on my feet 8-10 hours a day in clinics seeing patients.....never a problem with energy...as a matter of fact, the more weight I lost the more energy I discovered.... Again, this is not scientific, just the regeime I have found successful for myself....lower calories and more exercising....

After 24 hours of clear liquids, cream soups were my best friend.....

Welcome to the club!

Everybody would look at me and say "You?" All my dr's....endocrinologist, cardiologist, pulmonologist, dermatologist...even my podiatrist tried to talk me put of it!.....all except my PCP who referred me for the surgery in the first place. they all mentioned I should try dieting first....I was not that big.... I was not going to get into the discussion that I have tried diets for 30 years and I stink at it....no self control when it comes to my love for food.... BUT NOW...every one of them cannot say enough good things about how fantastic I look and how miraculous my complete turn around has been with all my health issues..... It's almost as though they want to take some credit since I am one of their patients.....my last stress test I performed way above average for my age....my Cardiologist said I was his best success story patient...What? Where were they 3 years ago when I started all this?

I eat chicken all the time, but it has to be tender....most chain resturants serve their chicken over cooked and hard...I don't order it out anymore. Red meat gave me more problems than chicken, and because of the health benefits, I gave it up altogether...... But chicken and fish are mainstays......free range chicken is much better....

Defintley a warning to stop eating (singultus),.....one more swallow and I will be in trouble.......

That's alway been my approach as well....and it has worked for me.... I let the band take care of portion sizes, and I concentrate on good food choices.. If I'm going to eat so little, make the best of it..don't waste it....

For me, food does sit in my pouch much longer than 1 minute...can be as long as 15 minutes...I can gauge this by sipping Water after eating and can tell how much food is still there, and when the "Coast is Clear" I discussed this with my Dr., and he instructed me NOT to drink anything for 30 minutes after eating to ensure all food has passed. I guess that is why he also instructed me not to eat hours before going to bed...lying flat with food in my pouch....worse yet, being unconscious and lying flat! I have experienced both, the hard way.....it would not have been a issue for me if food had passed in one minute..... But the band is adjustable....some tighter than others, more or less restriction, so I can understand other people's first hand experiences..... Grazing on the other hand, is when I eat one small thing, one bite one swallow...10-15 minutes apart...I can, and have, done this for 8 straight hours.........this is also known as "Eating Around the Band" or just "Cheating" (more info Newbies need to know) Always staying one step ahead of the band..... Nothing to do with classic meals and portions...The band may tell me how much to eat at any one sitting, but it does not tell me how often, how many sittings....... However, being in the Green also has another characteristic...and that is "Hunger" control, or in my case, a "lack of interest" in eating at all....I didn't say "Full" as some people experience, just a "No Reason To Eat" feeling......it was explained to me that this is the band telling my brain I am full, BUT I don't feel full....but if my brain thinks I'm full, then I have no interest in eating....complicated, but it's the only way I can explain it from my own feelings and experience....I also can feel this way 24/7, as opposed to a few hours between meals.... Something no one here talks about, and that is due to eating way less than I used to, over time, my regular stomach also shrinks.....so, if I was to eat around the band - graze all day...I will feel terrible by introducing more food in my stomach than it is used to, and I will get a "Good Old Fashioned Tummy Ache" Super-bowl Sunday is coming up....we are having a big get together....TONS of food and drink....no meals, main courses, just a lot of Snacks of all kinds, all day, and plenty to drink........ I am already planning my strategy for the day....suffice to say I will enjoy myself along with all my skinny friends....not eating any more than they do....just "Normal"

I respect your OPINION, but in my experience, the band DOES stop me from eating (too much) food...I'm living proof! It is physically impossible for me to over eat......unless I like pain and suffering.... As a characteristic of the Green Zone is "Good Portion Control"