Zeniada B

I've started using my fitness pal to track my calories and log food. I've noticed that when I exercise it adds calories I've "earned" to my total calories. Has anyone used this app? And if so do you eat back your exercise calories? Since I got an un-fill last week I've gained weight (as can be expected) and don't know if I should eat back the gained exercise calories or not.

When I have gotten my fills each and every one so far has been a barium swallow, and the doctor makes me take a large mouthful so when he fills my band he can see how fast or slow the contrast material is going through my band that way he can give me an exact fill. I have never had to "gulp" or swallow more then one mouthful at a time. I have never had a fill with out barium so I don't know how they know how much to fill you. Do they go off of what "you" say? So if you say your not tight enough they will keep filling you till you say you are? Interesting....

I too am 4 years out, I too gained weight and yes it is hard to get back on tract. I recently went and got a fill lost 7lbs in 1 week felt to tight got an un-fill gained 2 lbs back in 1 week ( I expected this however) I have started to use My Fitness Pal to help me monitor my calories and stuff. According to that app I should eat 1100'ish calories/day to loose 2 lbs a week, 1300'ish calories/day to loose 1.5 lbs a week or 1600'ish calories/day to loose 1 lb a week. But this is based on my height, weight, and and activity level. Everyone is different. I too am confused about how many calories I should really be eating, but I know that I'm not hungry and since I'm monitoring my food intake I can control cravings.

Wow HealthyNewMe and JustWatchMe both of your calorie limits are low. I've just been following what My Fitness Pal suggested in order to lose 1 lb a week. which is 1630 calories per day. I was initially doing 1380 but was advised to go higher since I wasn't losing. I was never told what my caloric intake should be. I've very confused.

I may have posted about this years ago under my other account that I can no longer access. So I'll do it again. Has anyone been experiencing leg cramps? I noticed that after my recent fill I have been getting them more and more frequently. Could my change in caloric intake be causing more leg cramps?

Water is good but if I drink anymore water I'll drown LOL Potassium supplements help (I have a hard time eating bananas they tend to get stuck) I have also been told to add magnesium and calcium. Glad to know I'm not alone with the leg cramp problem. Thanks Everyone!

I have never been a big soda drinker and I too was told no soda. I have had the occasional soda but really I'll take 2-3 gulps and be done. Not because it causes problems but because I don't really enjoy it. coffee is something I do enjoy and have not been told to stop drinking. When I have my coffee I usually use non dairy creamer too keep calories down. But will enjoy the occasional Starbucks frappe when I have extra calories to spare.

Cheese whiz... Yogurt... Ice cream... Chocolate... Protein shakes...

I got a fill 2 weeks ago and it was a really aggressive one ( 0 cc to 2.5cc!) I told the doc I was tight he said to give it some time since I haven't been filled for over 2 ½ years I would experience some inflammation. I have not been able to eat during the day until after 6 or 7pm and even then it has been tough. I get stuck more then eat and slime and I have developed a pain in my chest when I swallow, so I figured it's not inflammation but I'm too tight. Off I go to get an slight un-fill tomorrow I'm just apprehensive because even though I'm too tight and that is not good for me and my band I have lost 7 lbs in 2 weeks!! I guess I'm afraid that if I'm able to eat again I'll just gain the weight back. When I really should focus on eating better (albeit less) and exercise more. I think just saying this makes me feel better. Thanks for listening

Okay…. about a week ago I got my un-fill and feel much better. Sadly I have put some pounds back on, but that is too be expected since gee I can EAT again!! I'm able to recognized my soft stops better now and even though I want to eat everything on my plate I stop myself and push the food away (or hubby eats it LOL). Hoping the scale starts moving in the right direction. On the other hand my pants fit better…

Didisom1 this was me 2 weeks ago. I thought I could wait it out even though I couldn't eat and barely drink even Water in the morning time until after 6pm. Sure I was losing weight but I was getting stuck, vomiting and developed a strange pain when I swallowed. After getting advise from all these fine people I got a small .5 cc un-fill and feel so much better. I was scared about the pain and thought I messed up my band. Luckily no harm. If your too tight in the am and can not drink or eat you should get an un-fill. No amount of weight loss is worth hurting yourself over. Good Luck.

First bite syndrome…. I've never heard of this but WOW that is so me!! When I got banded I was led to believe that the food "sits" in the pouch and slowly passes. I have now learned 3 ½ to 4 years later that is NOT how the band works. ( I guess back then they didn't know???) I'm glad there is an explanation as to why I often get a stuck feeling with the first bite and I just assumed I was eating something I couldn't. Thanks for that wonderful tidbit of information!

Anything that can slip past the band like, shakes, mashed potatoes, Soup, junk food like chips (weird but true) What else? apple sauce, pudding, ICE CREAM… Pretty much all the stuff I lived on when I was too tight! Except the potato chips those scared me….

He is a douche… You know your body better then anyone. Good job on the weight you lost and Good job for knowing when it was too much!

I was banded in Mexico. I stayed one day in the hospital and 1 day in a very nice hotel. The Doctors even came to visit me while I was in the hotel. Take your time if you can, don't rush to get home if you don't have too. I live about 20 mins away but it takes 2 ½ hours to get back so I'm glad I waited and stayed at the hotel till I was feeling much better. PM me if you would like more details. Good Luck!

I don't see how not exercising would cause your band to tighten. If anything I know my band loosens when I lose weight it never tightened on it's own unless I was sick and had inflammation. I know I tend to be a little tighter when I'm ill or on my cycle. Plus if your sick you may not want to eat a lot anyway. If your having problems with keeping food down I would suggest do liquids, broth is always good when your sick anyway. As far as your work out routine, YOUR SICK! Give your body a brake, let yourself heal. I don't think you would gain a ton of weight for taking a few days off, especially if your on liquids. Good luck, go easy, get rest!

Yes I know the feeling. I was banded in Aug 2010 lost about 60 lbs then started finding ways "around" the band. I gained weight about 40 lbs and recently went back to get a fill. After over filled and then an un-fill I think I'm finally back on track. I'm eating better logging my meals and exercise and am determined to lose again. It's difficult to start again but I'm going to start nursing school and am not gonna fall into the 25 lb average weight gain I hear about. I found that I do better eating 3 meals and 2 Snacks a day. I make sure to drink my Water and most of all I don't deprive myself. If I want some chocolate I eat some (not the whole bag like before ) Good luck!

Lap band, Slim band…. If they are the same thing why wouldn't any bariatric doctor fill it? Do they have Fill clinic's in your area? I know here they are few and far between. Is there another doctor that you could go to? Good luck!

Sorry RoseIvy… I guess since I don't know what a slim band is nor do I live anywhere near Toronto I have no assistance to offer. Good luck hope you find someone to offer assistance.

It's been 2 days since my un-fill. I'm feeling so much better now that I can eat and drink. No stuck episodes, sliming or PB'ing. I still get a strange pain when I swallow but it passes once the food goes by. (maybe a small hernia?) I am definitely not as tight as I was and could possibly use more restriction but am good for now. I limit my portions even though I could easily eat A LOT. Since I got used to eating later in the day I now have to make sure I STOP eating after dinner now that I can eat again throughout the day. I've been logging my calorie and fat intake and have been able to stay under 1200 cal and still be satisfied. Retrain the mind, retrain the body…..

I can breathe again!!! It's amazing how a slight .5 cc un-fill can make you feel so much better. I didn't realize that being too tight was causing me difficulty breathing! Not like short of breath but I just wasn't inhaling as deep as I used to. Before we started the doctor had me do a barium swallow, he felt that it flowed adequately through the band. I said yes at this time of the day (after 4pm) I am just starting to be able to drink, I'll be able to eat around 6 or 7pm. But anytime before that I can't even drink Water so essentially I am getting dehydrated throughout the day until after 7pm then I chug water and am up all night going to the bathroom. NOT FUN! Plus who wants to eat at 7 or 8pm and go to sleep less then an hour later because they have to be up at 5am! It took a while for the Doc to find my port (he wasn't my normal Doc). He had a short needle, I laughed and asked if he really thought he could access my port with that. (I still have a good amount of tummy bulge). Of course being a doctor he said sure. He couldn't, and came back with a huge long needle. I said that'll do the trick. He looked at me like I was crazy. I have no phobia of needles. I am a trained phlebotomist and I knew that needle was too short. LOL So after 4 pokes he finally got my port, and was able to withdraw some Fluid. He had me do another swallow and said .5 cc's looks good. (I said before we started that I'd probably only need .5 removed). It's funny how we know our bodies best yet doctors think we don't. He was nice so I'll stop bashing him. My son was there (he is 10) and thought it was super awesome to see the inside of me! So I will see how I do in the morning. Will keep my portions in check, especially now that I don't have to depend on slider food to get nourishment! Oh, funny when I got home and stepped out of the car I stood up I let out this gigantic burp! My husband looked at me and said "Your feeling better huh?" I hadn't been able to burp like that in over 2 weeks! To be able to breathe and burp, wonderful things!!!

I am not new here even though my profile says I am…. I couldn't access my old account and thus had to open a new one my old account was under Zeniada. So my info can be found under that (hopefully ) I have been banded since Aug 2010 and lost 60 lbs the first 1 ½ years but got over filled once and after getting an unfill I stopped trying. And of course I gained 40 lbs and decided to finally go and get filled. On Wednesday (last week) I got a fill of 2.5cc (I have a 4cc band) Doc said there was no saline in my band at all. (no wonder I could eat a horse!) I have noticed that I am extremely tight in the daytime hours but am able to sip Water and the occasional Protein shake, around noon I am able to have some both or a creamy type Soup. But when 6 pm rolls around and later I am able to eat solid foods and I am able to eat about ½ cup of food. (more if I really wanted LOL) I'm hoping that things will loosen up over time as I have to go to Mexico to get my fills/unfill and that is time consuming even though I live 10mins away. I also have noticed that I got my fill 1 week before my TOM so that may have something to do with it. I have lost 4 lbs though since my fill. I know people may say be careful it's not about loosing fast and your right. But since I am able to eat and drink with out much problems I'm gonna wait it out. No PB'ing or stuck episodes since I have set my mind to doing liquids during the day and a good meal at night. I did a 10 day juice fast and I lived Wish me luck and if there are any other "August Rusher's" still on this site message me, I'd love to see how your journey has been.

I agree TMF!! I can't afford to take chances with possible complications.

try this. I've used this before…. http://www.tickerfactory.com/ezticker/ticker_designer.php

I don't eat pork but that looks good! ​I could do beef ribs…. Ok hungry now LOL.