WASaBubbleButt

Exercise is the key I think. It makes a huge difference for me. You should join in on the challenge, 900 minutes of exercise for the month of July. I was doing 100 minutes daily but that slowed down for a bit but hopefully I'll be able to do it again soon on a daily basis.

Don't let it get you down, you are working on it. Think of it this way, it's a journey, a lesson of sorts. Because you were obese means that you have a complete and total understanding of one of life's journeys that thin people will NEVER understand. It's a wisdom kind of thing. In the end I think it is all worth it. It may not seem like it today but someday when you are a little tiny older frail person, you will be more wise than you realized possible.

Sounds like head hunger to me.

I don't think it is a matter of whether or not you are an athlete, it's more a matter of realizing that fat is stored energy. When you run out of food to burn for the day, you'll burn fat and that really is our goal. We don't eat to feel full, we now eat to feel satisfied. Big huge difference.

Thanks for this, I've never heard of it before. I'm going to try it.

I didn't even realize this section was here! Very cool!

I'll bet you a dollar that the people who claimed to know all these folks that had bypass after banding are people that don't exist. Ask them next time if they know them personally or if they just 'heard' about all these people. Might want to check out the revision forum on ObesityHelp - Gastric Bypass, LAP-BAND® System, DS and Other Surgical and Non-Surgical Weight Loss Options. and you'll see, most actual revisions are bypass to band. You couldn't pay me to get bypass. I'd rather be fat. My port... not sure what's wrong. It just hurts. I've cut back on my running until it either heals or I figure out what is wrong.

I changed everything from my diet to exercise. I don't look for the closest parking place anymore, I don't do any of that anymore. Everything has changed.

I'm just going to throw this out there... A friend of mine had severe problems during TOM. Her LEFT shoulder hurt so bad she couldn't sit or lay in bed. One night she called me and the pain was so bad she was in a hotel leaning against a wall because even sitting was horrible. It was shoulder pain. She went to several docs and nobody could figure out what it was. It only happened during TOM. She went to Mexico to our band surgeon and he removed her gallbladder. Problem totally solved.

Ann... It's a matter of un-doing lots of head games we have played all our lives. Mom always said if we don't eat we will be weak. This is SOOO not true, but we believe it is true thus, it becomes true. Fat is stored ENERGY. When you have no carbs to burn you will burn fat. Fat is energy. The head games are the very hardest part of banding for me. I stick to 600 calories daily and I have all the energy in the world. I "usually" do hard cardio for about 100 minutes daily, but due to port issues I've cut back for a bit. But even with 1.5-2.0 hours of hard cardio daily 600 calories is fine for me.

Whoops, I mean Dr. C wrote on OH about the nerve in the stomach.

Not sure if anyone is interested in this but I just received an email from Dr. Arturo Rodriguez in Mexico yesterday. I was asking about the VSG. Here is the part of his email about that procedure. It is quite different from what I hear from patients, not sure what to think now. Keep in mind, English is not his primary language. >>One thing you have to consider regardless the sleeve is that is also a pure restrictive procedure so at some point the remaining stomach will grow and is not way to adjusted...I was the first one doing sleeves in Mexico and my partner in Brazil started 8 months before me and we both agreed that the patient should know that the sleeve works very well for "metabolic desease" as diabetes, HBP and hypercolesterolemia..Do not work as well as we wish for obesity after couple years because stomach elasticity that permits more food intake and patients regaing some of the weight...In short, I do sleeves in sick patients that wont tolerate the bypass procedure or they have a uncontrolled metabolic desease...<< Also, Dr. Currie wrote on LBT that the nerve that produces ghrelin is not cut or removed as it would mess with gastric emptying. Again, both of these comments are not what I hear from patients at all. I don't know what to think of the procedure. Weight-Loss Surgeries Compared

Yep, sure does. When someone has cake and ice cream I explain that I can't eat either. One nice thing is that non banded folks don't really know what we can or cannot eat. So even if it does work we can use the band as an excuse. Banded folks... you don't need to fib, they already understand. But it does help on a "head" level as well. You come to realize that you simply can't have certain foods. I know that I can't eat anything with a flour/yeast combo so I don't even bother trying something I haven't tried before because I know what happens when I do try. It's not pretty. I was talking to a friend recently and she commented on something I *sooo* agree with. It's true for me anyway. Sometimes eating is just such a chore. I used to inhale it and today I have to chew it to a paste. Sometimes it's just not worth the hassle and it's easier not to eat. Don't misunderstand, if I want it bad enough I deal with the hassle, but it helps me to realize when I am actually hungry vs. when I am not.

Two nights after surgery, standard for my doc in Mexico.

Sometimes if you overeat you can get shoulder pain. Or, if you get stuck.

You are feeling the effects of the band, the effects of surgery. We can't feel the band. It's normal to be sore, swollen, full of gas, and sometimes miserable. It gets better, honest. You will go through about a month of wondering what the heck you did. You will question if this was the most stupid thing you have ever done. But when pounds start to melt away, you'll know you did the right thing. Just remember, you will question your banding decision for a good month or two.

I had surgery in December and I lost 70lbs by May. I increased calories in June (plastic surgeon requested I stop losing weight for a while) and started losing again last month. I was at 252 and now I'm STUCK at 172.

I like Calorie Counter, Diet Tracking, food Journal, Nutrition Facts at The Daily Plate for that because it also tracks calories consumed, calories burned, emotion journal, daily diary, etc. I only use the weight loss graph and calories burned but lots of people like the other features as well.

I 2nd everything Marimaru wrote. I wouldn't even dream of eating bread or potatoes in public. Between those being common foods bandsters don't do well on and new restriction, it was just a bad combo. But that doesn't take away from missing food either. I'm pretty much used to it now but it takes time.

That's standard for anyone having surgery for a couple reasons, one being that surgery causes a hormone that produces inflammation and you don't want your stoma swelling up.

I can empathize with what you are saying but there is one point I have to disagree. When I see someone with a high BMI I don't think of them the way you think I do. When I weighed 250 I didn't see a higher BMI and think, "Wow! That person is *really* fat!" I didn't think any such thing and I still don't. It is actually a humbling experience. I realize that others have it worse because sometimes it doesn't seem like that at all. When I was 252 and now that I am 172 I do think of myself as a heifer. It's my problem, it is my issue. I think a greater majority of us have the self loathing feelings and looking in a mirror simply grosses us out. Just because you are bigger than me doesn't change how I feel about myself. When I feel like a fat cow it isn't a comparison to bigger people or smaller people, it is an issue I have where I really *do* feel like a fat cow. Your being bigger or knowing others are bigger than me doesn't take away from my personal issue of how I feel about myself. It doesn't make me feel better, it doesn't give me a better opinion of myself. I understand how you feel about 40 BMI'ers saying they feel fugly but I think you need to keep in mind that it isn't a comparison issue. It's a very personal issue that we all need to overcome. Thank you for the post, you did give me a great deal to think about and consider.

Question... I was previously 252lbs. I have noticed that super sized bandsters refer to us as lower BMI folks. While that does wonders for my ego, I also realize that means you merely have farther to go than we do. We don't typically consider ourselves lower BMI, we consider ourselves higher BMI, regardless of comparisons. So my question... do you take us seriously? Do we have the same/similar issues to you? What can you teach me about higher BMI folks? What differences are there? Please understand, I am a nurse. I am ALWAYS looking for ways to relate to my patients and I suddenly realize, I may not relate to my fellow fatties the way I thought I did. So, I need an education. Do you feel like the fat girl/guy walking in a room? Do you feel like people stare at you because you are a fattie? Do you not fit in an airplane seat either? Do people turn their noses up at you too? I guess I need an education in HOW it is different. Yes, different on a scale... I get that. But I really, sincerely, want to understand HOW it is different for you vs. me. I think some issues are similar, I assume some are not. I want to understand so please teach me. I swear with all my heart, this is a sincere question. I value my skills in being able to step into the shoes of another, feel what they feel, I am a fantastic nurse because I can do this. Anyone with clinical knowledge can do that clinical stuff, I want to be good on a human level. Maybe I'm missing something this time and I want to know and fully understand what I am missing. If I am missing something, I need to learn. I answer lots of questions on these boards but I ask just as many questions as I answer because I want to understand. What can you teach me that will benefit me and my patients?

You can do this, there is a trick to it. Cut out ALL sugar and keep carbs below 20gms daily. Keep your Protein to an adequate level and you really won't be hungry. You'll have tons and tons of head hunger but you won't have stomach hunger. Head hunger + stomach hunger = failure, but if you get rid of the stomach hunger you CAN do this. Even a little sugar will ruin this and you'll be so hungry you'll want to chew on your right arm the way a dog chews on a squeaky toy. But cut out sugar and carbs and this is totally doable.

Okay, you wrote that you are supposed to be drinking CLEAR liquids. THAT would suck. But the above isn't clear liquids, it's full liquids. Full liquids is doable, clears for a month would be horrible. The above doesn't sound bad. I get that much Fluid in daily. Not a biggie. You just have to drink all day long. Something to verify with your doc is that most docs want you getting a TOTAL of 64oz of fluid in daily. After drinking the juices and Protein drinks then finish off the remaining 64oz with water. But your doc may mean 64oz water in addition to the rest of the liquids. But if you can't get it in throughout the day then at least you know you will survive the month of liquids.

How much liquid are you supposed to drink daily?