B-52

That's why I stopped eating lunch. I just snack here and there during the day. Who says you HAVE to sit down and have a meal.

Eat less and exercise more!! Works for me. I also stopped counting calories.

If you look at my Profile Pic, I am cleverly holding a bottle of beer in front of it!

I don't advocate it for people starting out or still dieting..... I am at he point, where the band is "Simply There" and I now live, and eat, and do everything else, the same way thin people do. And thin people eat ice cream! Some people may not understand that, but you will. It is the "New Normal" which in fact is not new at all. just to us!

Love Ice Cream....have it a few times a week.

Thank You all.....yes, I feel like a new person. The band definitley changed my life.

Well, your body is a temple......

I have never been able to manage my weight well at all. Over the last 30 years I have been on every diet known. Would start out well, then fail, sometimes gaining back more than I lost. So I needed surgical intervention, that no matter what I may want to do, the band will physically prevent me from doing the wrong thing like over eating. And I have to say that is exactly what it is and has done.....

Just don't mix with food, or after eating. The gas plus the food will really bloat you, even cause pain.

Yes it is, and yes I do. July 4th I had a few....with no food at all of course. I do not advocate it and do not recommend newbies try it. Follw your Dr.s instructions. My Dr. Knows I do and understands how I get away with it. As veteran, it s one of a few things I gave figured out how to do with no side effects (to the band) or any harm.

I just returned from a cruise...I did everything I could to eat, and drink, anything I wanted. However, because of the band, and the restriction I have, it was impossible to do and I lost weight. It was no different than any other day. But sine you are a newbie, you have no alternative but to diet the old fashioned way, counting Calories and good old will power. I don't think you have much of a risk of getting stuck. You have not had a single fill yet, let alone anything near optimal. Don't forget to get your Protein and Water, exercise every day, and use the stairs instead of the elevators. Other that that.......

The only reason to give it up would be if you were counting calories..... I don't and have not cointed calories in over a year, and I NEVER drink anything while I'm eating...even Water.

I started the day with my usual Protein smoothie. Then 1 can of Soup for lunch. After that I did not eat anything for the rest of the day. We were at a cookout where I had maybe 3 beers, and when I drink beer I NEVER have any food with or around it. I did have a protein shot in the evening to get my daily requirement.

I take a bit of Protein before a workout for a little energy boost, then after for recovery. BUT I never confuse eating along with exercising. My goal has always been to burn fat and glycogen, not replenish it. I'm currently working out 2 hrs a day at 5:30am, 5 days a week. Run for 30 minutes, then weights, finished with 20-30 minutes on the elliptical. 30 minutes in the sauna, then 15 minutes in the whirlpool. I go through 32 oz's of Water during this period. Did I mention I am 60 years old and a heart attack survivor?

I'm surprised you have 9cc in a 10cc band in the first place. I read somewhere in a medical journal at work that the band is designed to only be filled 80-85% of it's max capacity. But who knows...I hear all sorts of things on these boards so nthing surprises me here....

I just go with the flow....I'm glad as all heck the band is doing it's job. If I find it hard to eat some day, so what. I don't eat. Simple. It makes up for the days it's loose. But I like knowing it's there with every swallow. I have not been able to eat breakfast for nearly a year now. So I have a high protein smoothie every morning.

Ok, first let me say I have very good restriction and has been so for over a year. I am at my goal weight and beyond. My eating is always under control. I don't count calories or any of that stuff. I am in "maintenance" mode. I say this to make a point..... Today, other than going to the gym this morning, I stayed inside with the air conditioning all day. Sitting here, I realized I have been eating all day, and I have eaten way more than I should and normally do. Where did all the restriction go? Have not felt any all day! It is as though I was never banded. I'm not panicked, this is what "maintenance" is all about. My theory is that the band is not looser. With the restriction I have changes in humidity or whatever could not take it all away. I feel the band remains a constant. So, I feel my pouch has stretched, from all the eating I have done. So starting Monday, I am not going to eat any solids. All liquids. Then I will see how I feel Tuesday. I may need liquids for 2 days to give my pouch a rest and chance to contract. This to me is what the 5 day pouch test is all about. (I don't follow the full 5 day regime, just enough to get restriction back) This is something I go through every now and then to keep things in top working order. Example is why is my band (pouch) tigher in the mrning and looser later in the day? Is it because I have not eaten anything in at least 12 hours, giving the band a rest? And it appears to be looser later in the day because I have been eating, excercising the pouch? Also, if a Dr catches a stretched pouch, the firdst thing he/she will do is instruct the patient to go on full iquids, and maybe do a complete unfill so nothing with accumulate there.

Your ticker says you have lost 51 bs in 3 years??? hmmmmmmm.... Everything you stated, I am the complete opposite. I do not count calories. I don't cook that much at home because it is waste of time to do all that work to eat just a few oz's of food. I love caffiene..drink coffee all day long. I used to use an I-Phone app but like I said, I gave up on counting calories. Sugar and soda are a thing of the past so I'm not a splenda fan either or any sweetner. I am old school.....which means I beleieve the less I eat, the more I loose. I also excercise every chance I get. Only thing I am careful about is making wise food choices. When I'm at a resturant, and have to choose between chicken fried steak or fish....it's not rocket science. I don't give much attention to the "Starvation" mode. If it was accurate for Bandsters, I would have been in trouble a long time ago. I skip meals entirely sometimes, and have even gone full 24 hrs without eating at all because I just didn't feel ike it. I'm at 7.5cc in a 10cc band. I do not ever want another fill either so I do a little maintence every few weeks by going on full iquids for a day or 2 to keep my band tight. So for me, I eat less, excercise more, making sure I get my daily reequirements of Protein, Water, Vitamins, supplements, etc. I have never felt better, and healthier. My PCP, cardiologist and endrocologist are thrilled with my progress and tell me whatever I'm doing, don't stop.

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No no no that's not the attitude.... In the beginning it's tough, with very little rewards. But eventually you start having accomplishments and victories, small at first, but enough to make you feel real good about yourself. So much so that you want to do it more to relive those small victories and aim for bigger ones, which will make you feel much more prouder about yourself. Those are the endorphins. Then you are hooked. I feel so good about myself after every workout, that when I miss a day it's almost depressing. But you have to stat somewhere. Everone's victories are not the same.

Phase #1 - Pre-op Phase #2 - Post op (healing) Phase #3 - Band adjustment Phase #4 - good healthy, steady, effortless weight loss.....Go and live your new "Normal Life" Everything else in between is just....what? Too often many people express dissatisfaction, frustration, anxiety because they are expecting Phase #4 when they are not even out of Phase #2 or #3 even. I wonder, did their Dr.'s tell them this would be the case 2-3 weeks, or months, right after surgery? Do people understand how the band actually works? Are they confusing corrective, invasive bariatric weight loss surgery with good old fashioned dieting?

Sorry you having to struggle....for me it is the most easiet, successful thing I have ever done. And I have tried and failed at every diet under the sun over the last 35 years. Don't give up. Once you get there you will see how wonderful and easy it can be. It truly is a permanent lifestyle change. But you have to get through that band adjustment (Bandster hell) phase first. It took me 6 months. After that it is all 2nd nature and I do not even think about it all that much anymore.

Diets such as opti-fast are temporary. I have done it twice! Surgery is forever! And not a diet at all.

I will change that up just a little....many people experience restriction for the first time, and automatically think they're in that "Green Zone" only to find 4 weeks later they're complaining how they are always hungry. When I had my last fill, I was getting stuck left and right, 2-3 times a day. It took me at least 4-6 weeks after that to get things straightened out, like my eating techniques, types of food, learning when to stop eating, listening to my band if I am truly hungry or not, and if I should or should not eat, and most of all...Am I satisfied!!!! If you are not pleased with what is happening, then you are not there yet. Anyhow, even though I had good restriction, it did not mean I was automatically in the zone. It took a while to find that "Groove". Then I was happy, then I was in the Green Zone and have been for some time now. I will never need another fill. The journey is complete and I am now in an entirely new phase.

I have always done things like you describe. You have just hit a plateau which is very common. After a year with no fills, and doing just fine, I came to a point where nothing changed for 2-3 months, kept gaining, then loosing the same 5 lbs. The Dr. gave me a additional 1/2 cc fill and that licked me off the cliff so to speak and the weight began coming off again. After a while it slowed down again, but I changed (intensified) my workouts at the gym. Things began to move again. Things have since slowed down yet again, but I am not sure if there is any more weight I can loose that is not muscle. I still do not care about calories, how much or how little I eat. I just "Listen" to my band and live a normal day to day life, like all normal fit people do.