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Everything posted by donali
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You want to meet your BASAL metabolism requirements - not all the extra calories you burn with your lifestyle. Of course, this is based on what I've read. At 5'6", 218 my basal metabolism burns (supposedly) 1721 calories a day. It is a struggle for me to get in that many calories on a regular day, and I don't log very often, so I can't say for sure how I'm doing in that regard. I am not what anyone would call a "fast" loser, but I am happy and eat what I want, and unfortunately have not really added any kind of exercise to my lifestyle. I am certainly not losing as fast as my negative calorie intake would imply, so either my metabolism is suppressed, or my not getting in my basal calories really does make a difference, or...??? [edit]: I am actually losing almost as fast as the negative calorie intake implies - my average weightloss per week has not dropped below 1.55 pounds per week in the past year. [/edit] I have read several things, though, that discourages people from dropping their calories too drastically right away, and I have to say the logic makes sense to me. Our caloric needs will continue to drop as we lose weight, so our intake will need to become ever smaller until we reach goal, but it is not necessary to drop to our goal weight's caloric requirements at the beginning of our journey. Most metabolic sites will say it is actually a detriment to drop calories that drastically, and really does not speed weightloss. I have not heard anyone on these boards report that these theories do or do not work for them. So if anyone else is trying to eat their basal caloric requirements and are NOT losing weight, it would be interesting to hear from them. One thing seems sure, though - the concrete reality of math seems to have little to do with the reality of the body and how weightloss occurs. There are many more aspects to weightloss than the numbers on the scale - inches, and internal changes that we cannot measure all take their part in this journey.
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Hi Bam Bam - I still consider my appetite to be "strong", but it is satisfied on much less food, for a much longer time. But when I AM hungry, the strength of that hunger feels the same to me. Please follow Alexandra's advice, and let us know a little more specifically about how much you can eat, how often, what you are eating, what gets stuck and when, etc. How often are you PBing, if at all? It does sound as though your fill is not quite tight enough, if indeed you are eating too much and are ravenous. At the correct fill level this does not happen, honest. Tell us more!
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Hi Teri - Sorry you are feeling sickly. This probably won't help, but what you're feeling is most likely psychological, and not physical. I do not know what your doc has on the list for you to eat at this time, but yoghurt is very smooth, while cottage cheese is chunky (even though it is soft), so in my opinion they are not the same. If you're on yoghurt, then you should be able to do strained cream Soups - I bet that will take away the sick feeling. Tomato Soup would be okay, too. If cottage cheese is what you're dying to have, you should call and ask the doc if it's okay. Good luck, and hang in there!
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Hi Anne - Congrats on your band journey, as well! Sorry you're one of the ones starving afterwards. :confused: But I guess that means your stomach isn't swollen shut, so that's a good thing, right? Keep sucking down those liquids so you're less likely to eat something too early. Heal, heal, heal....
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Hi Megan - Congrats on the 20 pounds gone, and putting it into perspective! I'm crossing my fingers for you on your latest fill. Hang in there, girl!
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Hi Sheila - So glad you're feeling better. It sounds as though your blues are lifting. I didn't feel my surgery was any skip in the park either, but I knew going in that my pain threshold (what's a pain threshold?!?!?) was low to non-existent... lol I do have to admit, though, that my surgery was on a Thursday, and I was back to work on Monday, and did not miss any days afterwards, although I did leave early that first Friday. So even though I was uncomfortable and felt pretty crummy, by 3 weeks out (if I remember correctly) it was all a distant memory. For those of us who have a harder time with the pain, the first two weeks are really the worst of it. After that it just gets better and better. You will probably be hyper-aware of every little thing for the first 3 months or so, so don't think you're going nuts. Things NOT to ignore, though: 1. fever 2. vomiting 3. very intense pain that persists 4. the inability to take and keep down liquids Contact your doc immediately for any of the above four things. Welcome to bandland!!!
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I second Michelle's advice. I'll be 43 in a couple weeks, and if I could have been banded at 17 and saved all those years in between I definitely would have done it. I will say, though, that my real weight started coming on during a very stressful emotional time in my life, and that if I had been able to get the kind of therapy on compulsive eating THEN that I got 2 years ago, it would have made the world of difference to me. I believe that weight problems are almost always due to both physiological as well as emotional issues. The band deals with the physiological part - counseling helps with the emotional part. Good luck to her!
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Hi DL - Sorry you're disappointed with your progress so far, but it sounds like lack of restriction is not your problem. I'm sure you knew that cream Soups and cheetos were not going to get you to your goal, and that only being able to eat those kinds of foods was a big sign that you were too tight. Good that you had a slight unfill. Now that you're at a more comfortable restriction and can eat more nutritious foods, it's time to take a serious look at what you're eating. The band is only a small part of this journey. Yes, it's a super integral part, but it can't do all the work by itself. No doubt you have read a lot about bandster nutrition, and the "rules" for maximizing the positive effects of being banded. Are you following all the guidelines? Generally men tend to have an easier time losing weight because their muscle mass is greater than a woman's. If you're interested in troubleshooting your specific situation and receiving advice on how to maximize your success, please post details about your eating/drinking and exercise patterns, and we'll try to give suggestions to help you on your journey. Good luck!
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Mary - Congratulations! Whoo hoo! Wow - to be 5 pounds from goal... Totally amazing. Good for you for remaining "conscious" about your eating without as much help from the band. Keep up the great work!
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Hi Sara - I was self-pay as well. I made the decision at the end of December, 2002, and had my surgery 1/23/03. Whheeee! Congrats on being on the fast track, and best of luck!
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Hi Shana - I have read several posts that state anesthesia can leave some people feeling very depressed. I don't know how long anesthesia related depression lasts, but it wouldn't hurt for you to see you PCP about it. It could be that, or you could be suffering regular depression that is coincidental to your surgery. No one should have to suffer with depression - there are many different medications that can help, and being on one doesn't mean you have to take them forever. I was on Wellbutrin for 6 months in 2001 - no meds since, and no relapses. So definitely consult your PCP!
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Hi Tellie - Your theory may not be that far off. My third fill was similar to your experience - a few days before my third fill I starting to have some pains in my back where I imagined the band to be, a pinching like feeling. I couldn't really imagine how much worse it would be going even tighter, but decided not to cancel the fill. I can't tell you the relief I felt as soon as all the saline was drained out - it was like suddenly being able to breathe again, not realizing I hadn't been breathing before. Third fill was given, and I felt much more comfortable than at the end of my second fill, but definitely tighter. My fills don't usually kick in for about 4 weeks. I have only heard a few others comment that they seem to be on that same delayed schedule. As far as why they take time to kick in at all, perhaps the sudden release of pressure relaxes the stomach, and it takes a few days for it to react again to the renewed pressure. (I love making up my own theories - lol) As far as whether you need a tweak now, or not... You really have to use your best judgment. If you're not losing and not having any problems with this fill, you may want to get readjusted. Just promise yourself that if you end up too tight you'll take the time and expense to have some fill removed. Good luck!
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Hi Nancy - Please forgive me that I do not remember you are a vegetarian (I doubt I ever will, so please do not become too exasperated with me! :confused: ) I am 100% with you on the calorie counting thing. I only use fitday to get real with myself. I do not, no way, no how, track everyday. I don't care to be focused on that either. I do have to disagree with you about though. Counting calories without the band does nothing for your hunger level, and would have been unlikely to give you any kind of long term success. Being banded manages that overwhelming drive to eat - the trick is to get your hunger level set at the proper place. Not so low that you're starving your body, even though you don't feel hungry, and not so high that you are consuming too much fuel to lose weight. That is the only reason I occasionally check in at fitday - just so I have a ballpark idea of what I'm consuming so I can judge if my plateaus are regular body resting periods or due to excessive caloric intake. I also am not one to lecture about liquid Protein calories. The volume required to stretch your pouch enough to give you the "full" feeling can be easily obtained with lo-cal veggies and tofu. There are lots of ways to manage your band journey successfully, and I think Protein shakes are a viable addition for many of us. Many bandsters do not agree, but if I am successful in what I'm doing I tend to tune out the naysayers, no matter how experienced they are. The "rules" are only a starting point, a place to touch base when we get into trouble to help give us insight and possible solutions. Aside from that, we all find the way that's best for us as individuals.
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Hi Kelly - To be honest, I have never been so close to goal and tried to lose weight, so I don't know realistically what you could expect. I know that 35 pounds in 6 months is very realistic for me, with 85 pounds still to go. I think your very very best bet is to up your Protein, lower your carbs, and start doing some strength training to build muscle. Aerobic exercise is great, but it's your MUSCLES that burn fat, and the more of them you have, the faster your metabolism will be, because those muscles require more energy to maintain even at rest than fat stores do. You will really have to make sure you are taking in enough calories, though, to build your muscles. Also, as you are building muscle, bear in mind that your weight may not change as quickly at first (muscle weighs more than fat) but you will lose inches (because muscle takes up less volume than fat, pound for pound). Once you have a good muscle base being maintained (and not built) then the weight will come off faster. Please do not do anything unhealthy to meet your goal! Good luck!
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Hi Kelly - Sounds like you are too tight. Sorry. :confused: If you are not able to get in enough calories, your weightloss will be slow. Also, you are not that far from goal, so you will not be losing as fast as those who have farther to go. The closer you get to goal, the slower the weightloss will be, because the discrepancy between the calories you need at goal and the calories you need to maintain your current weight gets smaller and smaller. Start sucking down those Protein shakes, and seriously consider whether or not you are too tight. Good luck, and keep us posted!
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Hi Nancy - My advice does not necessarily follow what the general fill advice seems to be. The lack of weightloss is not an immediate signal (in my opinion) that you need a fill. You will experience many plateaus throughout your journey that will resolve themselves WITHOUT a fill. I personally think that MOST people end up too tight - their calories are extremely restricted (less than 1000 a day), and they have a lot of problems eating a wide variety of foods. Usually they PB often, but don't admit it, thinking this is "normal". It is NOT normal to PB regularly. In my year of being banded, I have PB'd 10 times. Period. Some people have never PB'd. I think it is more important to evaluate how you feel, and what you are eating. If you are eating healthy, nutritious foods for the most part, keeping everything down, not gaining weight, and are not hungry 98% of the time between meals, double-check your calorie intake. Are you eating enough to meet your basal metabolism needs? (Check at www.fitday.com - enter your info, then go to activities. Enter any regular exercise you do, and there is a little chart that displays what your basal metabolism should be burning. You should be trying to consume up to 200 calories more than your basal metabolism to keep your metabolism running well.) Are you getting in at least 60grams of Protein a day? Are you drinking .5 oz of Water per pound of body weight? If you're meeting all of these intake goals, chances are you are just on a plateau, compacting. If you're taking in too many calories because of QUANTITY, or are hungry between meals AND meeting your basal metabolism requirements, then you need a fill. If you are taking in too many calories because of QUALITY, then you need to assess why. Getting ever tighter will only make your quality issues worse, as you will be less and less able to get in good solid protein and veggies. If you're not meeting your intake goals, start making an effort to do so. If you are falling short of your basal metabolism caloric requirements, and are unable to eat enough good nutritious food to get there, then you are probably already too tight, and your body may be resisting letting go of weight because it thinks you're in a starvation environment. I will be the first one to say that everyone is different and there is no one magic formula that works for everyone, so the above may not work well for you. I also think that those of us who have been on the diet rollercoaster for many years have severely impaired our metabolisms, and that repairing that damage by getting in enough calories to meet our basal metabolism requirements is an important first step. My personal goal is to be able to eat as much as I can and still lose weight. The amount that I can eat while still losing weight will decrease as I lose weight, because my basal metabolism requirements will get less and less (it takes less energy to keep a 135 pound body alive than it does to keep 219 pound body alive). Good luck, and I hope you find something useful and helpful in the above.
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This is my 70% of the time healthy eating: Breakfast: Large mug of hot tea with half-n-half and artificial sweetner 8oz SF/FF yoghurt 1 cup lowfat cottage cheese (spread out between 6am and noon) Lunch: One of the following: pork chop/chicken breast/hamburger patty/healthy choice dinner (I don't eat the pasta/potatoes) Sometimes salad with bleu cheese or steamed veggies in addition to the meat Snack: Not usually hungry until dinner time - my snack usually will come before noon: 2 oz of string cheese Dinner Same as lunch Snack: an obscene amount of SF/FF Dreyer's ice cream (maybe 2-4 times a month, when I'm in the mood) I try to average about 1700 calories at this weight. As my weight goes down I will adjust my calories down to meet my basal metabolism requirements. For the 30% not so nutritious choices, I may substitute a donut for my usual breakfast, add chocolate/chips as Snacks or with my meals. I find this usually happens every other month in synch with my menstral cycle - I seem ravenous every other month, and have more cravings. I just go with the flow. Hope this helps!
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Hi Birdee - You don't have to "diet", but you do have to be conscious. I do NOT diet - but 70% of the time I eat very healthy and nutritious foods. I do not deny myself anything, nothing is labelled "bad". Sometimes I go on a puffy Cheeto binge, or OD on chocolate. But because these things are not forbidden, I only have them when I really really really want them. Dieting mentality undermines your self-esteem and creates cravings, resulting in binges and self-recrimination. Not necessary. But do evaluate what you're eating, and why. Do you really really need a cheeseburger, or would a chicken breast work for you just as well? Most of the time the chicken breast suffices, so have that instead. For the times a chicken breast just won't do, have the cheeseburger. Just my advice, and it has been working for me. I'm not blazing the weightloss trail with speed, but -84 in a year is respectable. I'll take it! And I'm not unhappy or deprived, and I'm not killing myself with exercise. I'm living what I feel is a "normal" life for me.
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Whooo hooo Mary!!! Congrats, congrats, congrats!! I am so happy for you, and so glad you are not feeling deprived. You are doing great, and have a great attitude!
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Hi Birdee - First of all, it is never too late to put your tool to good use. However, you are going to HAVE to make some major changes in your lifestyle. You HAVE to make time for yourself. Really. If you are overcommitted and honestly do not have time to even get in your Water, then you need to find a way to get out from under some of those commitments. I know for myself, one of my biggest problems was saying "no". I just could NOT say no to anyone or anything - except for myself. I was ALWAYS last, if at all. Please take a few moments and think about your day. Legally your job is required to give you a 15 minute break every five hours, and at least 1/2 hour lunch. That should be a 15 minute break in the morning, 15 minutes in the afternoon, and at least 1/2 hour lunch. Set up a routine that is reasonable, and schedule your needs in there. Keep your appointments with yourself - YOU ARE WORTH IT!!!. Without more information about what you are eating, when, how often you PB if at all, it is hard to give you more specific advice. But even the tone of your post translated to me as frantic and overwhelmed. I think you need to look at that. Once you have some routines in place you can up your commitments, but until then you are "never going to have time." It is up to you to make the time - you are the only one who can do this. Good luck, and remember - it's never too late!
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Whoo hooo, Babs!! Congrats! I'm down 84 pounds, and am having a hard reconciling my new size with my mind's image. I'm wearing size 20 pants now - down from 28/30+. Mom said she wears 20's, too, so Saturday I made her take them off and I put them on.... they FIT, and they were 18's!!! They had stretchy sides, but still... Regular 18's are still too small, but I can't believe I had Mom's pants on and they fit comfortably (tighter on me than her, of course). Plus I'm still 25 pounds heavier than her. But in my mind, NO WAY am I the same size as my Mother... Not even close. :confused:
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Hi Lulu - You obviously are not very restricted in the mornings if you can eat those kinds of things for breakfast. Don't worry, it is very likely that you will eventually be at the point where you're on liquid breakfasts or nothing, too... Enjoy your real breakfasts while you can! :confused:
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Congrats, Jennye! Good call on keeping the doc's math honest! :confused:
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Hi Alexandra - I work 6am-3pm, so am up by about 5am to get ready (ugh - I am SO not a morning person! lol) I've never been much of a breakfast eater anyway, but I know some people can't function without a little something at least right away. There is NO WAY I can eat so early in the morning - stomach just can't do it. I used to try to drink a quart of Water on the way in, but it won't do that anymore, either. So, when I get to work, I have hot tea. By about 7:30/8:00, my stomach is ready for something more challenging, and I usually have a non-fat/sugar-free yoghurt or a cup of cottage cheese. Soup sounds like a good idea, too, and you could probably skip the hot tea part of my routine in that case. For people with no soup who MUST get their metabolic fires going right away, they could do apple juice or the like, watered 1/2 down with water. That should get the blood sugar up but not be too challenging, as long as it's not too cold. Even tomato juice would probably help with the blood sugar thing. Good luck!
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just had first fill, feeling anxious...
donali replied to Lindaloo's topic in LAP-BAND Surgery Forums
Hi Linda - Good for you, following your Dr.'s instructions even though it is difficult. If you are hungry, up your intake of the allowed liquids/foods. Blend chilis or other thick Soups (split pea, lentil, etc.) to help stave off the hungries. By now you are about back to your normal eating regimen. Do not despair - although the band cannot do all of the work for you, it makes it much easier for you to do the work that YOU need to do. You need to honestly analyze your emotional attachment to food, and find ways to substitute something else during those times when you are not physically hungry but want to eat. It is a long emotional process, and one that can be made a lot easier with professional help. If you can find a counselor/therapist in your area that specializes in compulsive eating disorders, I would highly recommend you look into that. In the meantime, there are lots of good books out there that can help as well. "Intuitive Eating" is one that comes to mind right away. The important thing is to be gentle with yourself - treat yourself as you would a beloved child or pet. When you are clamoring on the inside for something to eat, ask yourself if you are physically hungry, or if you're bored, anxious, lonely, depressed, etc. If you are not physically hungry, try doing another activity that might make you feel better. If you must eat (in addition to/instead of), do not berate yourself, but know that your subconscious is doing the best it can to take care of you. You are just trying to alter your behaviours a little bit at a time. Know you are getting better everyday. Choose to be happy and joyful. Know that you deserve a better life. Accept that you are worthy of success, and your journey and struggles are worthwhile, not just in this, but in all areas of your life. Eventually with practice you will start turning to other activities to soothe and nurture yourself besides food. Hang in there, and keep us posted!