B-52

In my family...I am the pickiest of eaters....thanks to the band, my tastes vary from day to day.... I realized, when my Wife gets together a shopping list, I do not contribute...I do not ask for, and she does not get me anything but the simplest of things.....like coffee, etc... I do my own food shopping, and can get by with just a carry basket...no shopping cart needed....

50 minutes....I'm impressed...really! I'm on the treadmill every day and 50 minutes is great....

I fly all the time, no issues at all....besides...who gets to eat on a flight anymore??? So even if it did make a difference, what would it matter? All I need are one or two gin and tonics and I'm set!

Congratulations...now just Go with it, let it ride..... If I'm not hungry, I don't force it... Since I',m eating so little, the heck with calories...I just make the best of what I can eat by choosing the best foods... Also, I think you can see why I don't worry about portion sizes...measuring...you just know it's right! Again. congratulations on a new lifestyle....add some body toning exercising and cardio, then WATCH OUT!

Ok, a 14ml band is something I know nothing about, and have read the numbers and equations are totally different than someone with a 10ml band...

You say you have 9ml presently in your band...how large is your band? 9ml does sound like a lot....plus, 6ml on your first fill is a large amount, in my opinion...although my first was 4 and did absolutely nothing.... My fills were 1 month apart also....most Dr.'s in the states do not do them any closer, least from what I have heard and read. I'm not sure what you mean by "Choking" but since this is about lap band I will assume you mean through your digestion, possibly unable to get food down. Going from 6 to 9 sounds like a big jump...does not surprise me you are "Choking"..... Generally, from what I know, the first fill can be large, and may not have any effect other than the swelling as you described...after that the fills get much smaller because then the Dr. is "Fine Tuning"...trying to find that perfect balance point...many people only get 1, maybe 2 on their 2nd, and after that it can be as low as .5 increments.... Just my opinion, but after the first fill they should have been more cautious...patience being the key.... The fact you are choking is proof that the band is doing something...but you should have eased into it...not jump head first...going from 6 to 9.... I have also heard, and NOT experienced it, that after getting a band completely un -filled, or removed as in your case, the 2nd time around is never quite the same as the first time.... My OPINION...is get some Fluid taken out, even back to 6ml if needed...then work your way back up gradually from there...and 1 month apart is not too long.... I had 3 fills 1 month apart...4, then 2, then finally 1.....that was all I needed...and the last fill I too was "Choking" for about 2 weeks, until the swelling went down...and the swelling would not go down if I continued to eat solid foods...had to be easier softer foods...even more shakes than usual. This thing DOES work, but it does take a little fitness to get it there between the band adjustments, the foods we eat, and our own behavior modification.......not always an easy thing to do, and takes some understanding as to what is actually happening...and alas, not everyone "Gets it" BTW...I like your attitude in reference to the "Tool"...frankly I get tired of hearing the term, and feel some people use it as an excuse or way out....but that's just me....

Not change my career...but definitely made me more successful....therefore more $$..... I am face to face with patients, (as young as 18 months) and their families everyday, and have to deal with some very tough catastrophic circumstances that can rip the hearts out of some people........ In my position, NEED to be supportive, show confidence in what I'm doing, and a little more optimistic than they are, many of whom feel their lives have been pulled out from under them....in order to have a healthy relationship. Having lost all my excess weight, exercising everyday, etc...my self image, my self confidence, etc, has multiplied! I KNOW it spills over to other people...people are more friendly to me...and in the case of the patients and families i see daily, I can tell by the way they open up to me and talk freely about some very personal stuff.... Eventually it has affected my reputation, much of it by word of mouth....

Who's Goal??? I had my goals, met them, and kept right on loosing.....until my body reached It's goal.... I remember asking my Dr. what happens when I reach MY Goal....he explained it to me this way: This is not a diet that when I reach a goal I can decide to stop/start it...it is a permanent lifestyle change brought on by surgery and not that of my doing....as long as I am living this "New Normal" lifestyle, my body will loose the fat and adjust until it reaches it's "New Normal"...which is exactly as it has done.... I can get a body analysis, and see that all excess body fat has gone, and I am now in a normal range (Little better actually) in other words, there is nothing left to loose....I have "Leveled out" So, Congratulations....but accepting this new life with the band, things will continue whether we want it or not.... I suppose one could get Fluid taken out of their band, allowing them to eat as before....but not me...

AMEN...there it is....

First, you are too new to this to be worrying about these "Green Zone" perks.... Follow your Dr.'s protocol for the post surgery adjustment phase.... I have NEVER felt full after being banded, 3 years ago...as someone has said, if you feel full then something is not correct... For me, I simply cannot, do not want to eat...it is pure MENTAL, nothing physical....for instance, last night we went to dinner...I order twin stuffed lobster tails....I ate the crab stuffing off one lobster tail, and that was it!!! I simply did not want to continue...I did not want to eat...it was a mental block....and as good as I know it is...It was not the least appealing, had no taste...... I have everything from last night in the fridge, I'll warm it up for dinner tonight.... I could go into why that happens to me, but not now.... CORRECTION.....I have felt full....but not from eating...from drinking.... that goes right thru my band and bloats my stomach, like the old days....I should also add, that after 3 years my normal stomach has shrunk considerably and cannot hold near as much liquid at one time, as it used to....but that is not the band, nor food - eating.....and I never drink while eating...before, during or after....always on a empty stomach.

You explained what is happening right in your statement....she eats anything, anytime she wants, band friendly or not.....and almost always vomits.... The band is there to CHANGE US...we had bad eating habits, that made us obese and unhealthy, and traditional dieting could not solve the problem for me......I had surgery to turn that around...to do what I could not do on my own....if I do not change my bad ways, then I am FIGHTING THE BAND...and the band will always win...if I continue to fight the band, it will only end in disaster...... The correct term is not vomiting, but I get what you mean....I learned to live with the band, let the band be the boss...not me...that is why I do not call it a tool....and in return I am 100% successful and have not vomited, as you say, in over 2 years....I don't fight it. I adapted and changed.... Of course, I could get Fluid taken out of my band, and then I could eat whatever and whenever I wanted....then I would be in control...but history has shown, over the last 35 years, that when I'm in control of my weight loss, it does not work....

What are you doing to burn `1000 calories? Also, I believe your body will store fat, as you say, but only initially...kind of like "Circling the wagons" as a defense......then it will cave and realize it needs to "give it up to survive".......but then, that's my opinion and I am not a NUT...

I go to red lobster from time to time...there is nothing on the menu I care for....BUT they always have the fresh catch of the day...and can always order fresh fish such as cod, mahi, etc, cooked to order..baked, grilled.... Once I eat the fish I dot have room for the sides....and usually I can't finish the entire fish... I'll also order the live lobster now and then also...that they also have to cook fresh, to order.

I do not understand, nor necessarily agree with the many theories as to why chewing gum is frowned upon by some... I will say, I'm not a gum chewer, and have not since surgery 3 years ago.... BUT the other day, I bought some purely for fresh breath reasons... As I was driving along in my car, chewing away, something strange began to happen...I started to get that feeling I get when I am getting stuck...or more like when you start to "Slime", but I was not stuck, could swallow Water just fine.... Don't know why that happened...perhaps it was some kind primitive reflex response??? Excess saliva??...Anyway, I threw the gum away....did not care for the way I started to feel... Maybe it was too much air...anyway, for me, it was another lesson learned from experience....

Scrubs are not that expensive and you can get them just about anywhere...I wear them around the house like PJ's...

Yep....it's up and down, day to day...even hour to hour sometimes.......just go with it.... Went to dinner last night, did not feel like eating anything....brought it all home and will heat it up later...

I had a appointment with my surgeon exactly 1 week after my surgeon, for him to check my incisions, etc....it was then, 1 week after surgery, he cleared me to go back to the gym, soak in the tub, swim, anything I wanted to do...only to be careful of heavy lifting...only light to mild...

WOW...I love the wisdom in this thread...very practicable and simple indeed...

If I understand you correctly, your weight loss has been very slow over the last 2 years, and then stalled out altogether, and you feel you need to eat more to loose more weight, to the point you will have Fluid taken out of your band, so you can eat more, to achieve your weight loss... I know what you mean about stalling...I have been within the same 5 lb range for 2 years now....I had/have developed a new lifestyle, new habits with eating differently....something I will carry on with for the rest of my life....with that new lifestyle, my body steadily lost weight - FAT, until there was nothing left to loose, in the way of excess body fat...and I have now leveled out at a good place...cannot loose, or gain any more, other that that normal daily fluctuation always within the same 5 lbs... But back to your question.....I am very active...run 5 miles a day, plus weights, etc....I did so to burn calories (and to get healthy)...to use my stored fat as my energy source...I always exercised on a empty stomach, very first thing in the morning....(google it)...and was very careful so as not to replace what I just managed to burn off...so only a low cal high Protein "Recovery" shake.. I'm one of those "Old School" people who believe I have to burn more calories per day than I consume per day in order for the body to be forced to use my fat stores for energy... If I were to eat more, then I would need to exercise more to compensate....thus the old school expression..."I'm need to take a walk to work off that very nice meal" This is VERY UNSCIENTIFIC, but I used to watch movies where they show Prisoners of War, just skin and bones, and very sickly...and I would wonder what they would look like if their captors gave them all the daily protein and Water they needed???

I can see the wisdom in his approach....too often people are comparing what the other person has or is doing...when all that really matters is if you are satisfied with the procedure...loosing weight, hunger, etc....

Sure...why not? I have been banded 3 years, and have went through it a few times....it's good for you...

I agree, it's not something you want to do...

I used to go into the bathroom, and drink some water...does not take much....sure enough, since it has no where to go, it will all come back up and out...may take more than one to clear it all out....I usually felt pretty good afterwards....

Gym at 6am...did not feel like running, and only did 30 minutes on the elliptical, no weights or anything else......then I spent almost an hour in the hot top with my i-pod.....it was one of those days, it felt so good and I needed some down time......back on Sunday morning after resting all day today......

It took me 1 year to reach MY GOAL, but I continued loosing until I hit rock bottom...that place were my body felt was the goal, not me...anything more would be unhealthy because it would not be fat loss...right now I have a very low body fat % in the "Fit" range.... I have not lost, nor gained any weigh in almost 2 years now...everything just leveled out on it's own....