Longhorn

Me, too! Regardless of the effect on the band, there are a lot of good reasons not to drink soda, diet or otherwise!

I had that question, too, so I asked my doctor. He said there is no reason for me to be hungry and to eat so I do. I follow the rules -- Protein first, chew a lot, wait between bites, and I try to get in 70 grams of protein per day. But he never gave me a limit on how much I could eat. Fortunately, I don't have to eat that much before I'm satisfied. This is how I've avoided Bandster Hell. However, I am not losing weight very quickly in the last couple of weeks, if at all (it's fluctuating.) I think a lot of folks would prefer to lose more quickly so they are limiting how much they eat but end up hungry. I'm not in any hurry. Just different approaches, I think. I chose my doctor because I share his philosophy.

Congratulations!!! What a nice surprise! :clap2: :clap2: :clap2:

There seems to be more and more evidence that obese people have a defective "switch" that lets us know when we've had enough food -- kind of like a faulty thermostat. Some of us have inherited it and some of ours may have gone haywire for a variety of reasons. With obesity becoming more and more of a problem, medical researchers are now finally looking for a cause instead of blaming the victims. I've had the same feeling as you, that NOW my switch is working. It feels wonderful to stop eating and notice that I'm often the first one finished! I had lunch today with a petite, normal-weight friend of mine at our favorite Chinese restaurant. I had Kung-Pao chicken with no rice and a small eggroll. She had pepper steak with steamed rice and an eggroll. I ate about three-fourths of my entree, no more than a cup of food. She ate every bit on her plate, as I would have before my band. But I didn't feel deprived and hours later, I'm still quite satisfied. Thanks for starting this thread and giving us a chance to share our joy!

Thanks for the link and I will definitely check it out! However, I am one of those people who did use fitday religiously. I weighed and measured my food. If a food didn't match exactly, I got the box or can and entered the nutrition information myself. Did I mention I'm also a tad anal? I also went to the University of Texas Department of Kinesiology and was examined and scanned and probed to determine my BMR, with a computer analysis of how many calories I should consume in order to maintain and lose. And I still did lose. So I had my thyroid and everything else checked and found out I am nauseatingly normal in all tests -- practically right on the median value! I was riding my bike 34 miles round trip to work four days a week. No loss. I was working out 90 minutes a day on my elliptical and home gym. No loss. I went back on a liquid diet. No loss. I counted every morsel that went into my mouth and limited my calories to 1600 a day, then 1400 a day. No loss even though my BMR is supposedly about 2200. And I tried these various methods for months at a time, sometimes at the same time (that is, both diet and exercise.) I was even skeptical about whether the band would work for me but I was willing to give it a try and I've lost close to 20 pounds so far (unofficially.) I believe now that I can only lose weight if I take in fewer than 1000 calories a day and that I need the band to help me do that. But theoretically -- burning more calories than I take in -- I should have been able to lose on 1600 calories, not counting the calories I burned via exercise. So I do believe that there's something else going on.

I've had some beer with no problem at the time and no after-effects. There seems to be some disagreement about whether it stretches the pouch. Frankly, it doesn't make sense to me, unless the opening to the stomach plugged up but maybe there's something I'm missing.

I'm eight weeks out and am hovering around 20 pounds lost, but it has pretty much stayed the same for the last two weeks. I have 4 ccs in my 10 cc band and my next appointment is July 18. I'm not miserable by any means -- I'm not that hungry but I don't limit how much I eat. I just take it slow and fill up faster and stay satisfied longer. I haven't had any negative side effects and I've tried a lot of "problem foods" so I don't think I have much restriction. I'm glad for this thread because y'all remind me that low-BMI folks probably won't lose as quickly as others. Thanks!

I've been working out on my recumbent exercise bike. I've been selecting the calorie program and burning 300 calories at a time, which takes me just under an hour. I also have an elliptical and a home gym. I'm going to see the physical trainer who works in my surgeon's office on January 18 when I get my next fill and put together a program that uses all of my equipment. This gal was one of my doctor's lapband patients and she looks amazing!

I was giving tests a couple of weeks ago and, on cue, my stomach started gurgling and growling whenever the room was perfectly quiet during the tests. To my students' credit, not one of them looked up at me, that I noticed. I can only hope that it wasn't as loud as it seemed!

I drank four or five diet sodas a day and really thought I'd miss it but I haven't. I drink Propel, Diet Snapple, Special K Protein water, and (gasp) plain water! Oh, and a little wine and I had some beer last weekend (didn't bother me a bit.)

No, I'm not a saint. I would have eaten more if I could! I just didn't feel like it and that's not me -- it's my band!

Thanks for sharing and good luck!

May I ask how you did it? That is, how did you defeat the band? I certainly understand that this can happen and would like to be aware of what pitfalls to avoid. Thanks!

Frankly, I think the "calories in, calories out" concept is also a myth. It's definitely more complicated than that, involving hormones and who knows what else? I've counted calories consumed and calories burned for weeks and according to the math, should have lost weight and didn't. We've all gained a couple of pounds overnight -- which, according to the math, meant we consumed a net of 7000 calories, right? Of course not! Or we follow the same plan day after day without losing a pound and then lose three or four. I'm sure it's true, in general, that burning more calories than we consume in the long run will result in losing weight but it's not as simple as that. Then there's the whole issue of how, once we've lost weight, we regain weight on fewer calories than someone who has never lost weight! I teach math and I understand formulas but I don't believe there is one formula that works all the time in losing weight.

I can't say how much I could (and can) eat because I've never reached a physical limit. I don't eat as much as I used to but it's because I stop myself and feel satisfied on much less food. But I haven't tried to push it. I've had one fill and don't feel any difference from before the fill. Yesterday I had some turkey, dressing, sweet potato casserole, green Beans, half a roll and a bite of pecan pie and it was probably about 1-1/2 cups of food. I'm almost eight weeks out from surgery and on soft foods. If I'm losing, it's very slowly but as long as I'm not gaining, I'm fine with handling bandster hell this way, though I normally don't eat Christmas dinner every day!

Just got back a little while ago from seeing Enchanted. Out of the six of us, five us really enjoyed it. The other was neutral. There was lots of laughing from us and the rest of the audience. I wouldn't say that we were overwhelmed or anything but we did enjoy our outing and I do recommend the movie. Thanks for all the comments!

We always go to the movies on Christmas Day and are having a hard time deciding what to see. It's my husband and me, both 52, and two of our daughters, both 26, and their husbands, 26 and 31. We don't want to see anything violent or depressing or inane. It seems that the choices are The Golden Compass or Enchanted. The reviews have been kind of split on The Golden Compass but they're pretty good for Enchanted. The guys seem less enthused about Enchanted, though we girls want to see it eventually. Any suggestions? Is The Golden Compass better than its reviews? Is Enchanted too much of a kid movie or would the guys like it? Is there something else we're missing? (We also considered Atonement and Charlie Wilson's War.) Thanks for your help! :clap2:

I didn't really need anyone the first night, though I did have my husband around. I'm sure it will be comforting to you to have your sister but I doubt you will actually "need" her. It's good to have any excuse to get up and walk so you don't want her waiting on you hand and foot. Good luck!

I actually feel pretty good about last night and today but I'm not particularly strict with myself. Mostly, I didn't want to overeat and I didn't. I seem to be able to eat anything without incident but I do fill up easily. If I can lose weight at this level of restriction, I'll be in heaven. I won't have another official weigh-in until January 18. However, I am encouraged that it might not take too many fills to get to a good level for me and I am hopeful that that level allows most foods to be band friendly while taking the edge off my hunger. While I know there are rules for this band that I intend to follow, I didn't "sign on" with the idea that I would never indulge in rich foods again but that I would be satisfied with small quantities and that's what I experienced today.

I hope it's not a struggle to keep it off because that's the main reason I got the band. I've been able to lose weight before as recently as four years ago, though it has certainly been more difficult since then. However, keeping it off was really a struggle and I obviously failed. If all the band did for me is help me lose weight, I wouldn't have had the surgery. I see the way I'm living now as my new "normal" and don't anticipate making any changes once I reach goal. It has certainly been easy so far so I can live with this! :rose:

Well, we've decided on Enchanted and have already bought the tickets in advance. We're going to the Alamo Drafthouse, which is a dinner theater, and they're having a special turkey dinner tomorrow, including leftovers! So it should be fun for the six of us. Thanks for the advice! I'd still like to see The Golden Compass eventually.

No, I honestly can't tell any difference. I haven't really been hungry since the surgery -- not in the way I used to be. And I do feel satisfied on much less food but I've never had any trouble with anything going down, nor have I really felt "full." I've just been eating less food more slowly and I start feeling satisfied. Then I get a kind of soft hiccup but always after I'm done. In other words, it's not like the hiccup comes and I know to stop -- it's the other way around. But then I'm not interested in food for several hours. So I know the band is working but I can't tell any difference from before and after my first fill. It's a little confusing because I feel like it's me controlling how much I eat but that the band is making it easier. I thought there'd be more physical restriction. I keep wondering what's going to happen one of these days when I miscalculate and eat too much since I don't really know my physical limitations. Maybe I stop when I do because I'm afraid to find out! :rose:

I'm glad you started this thread! So far, all I can tell you is that I have 4 ccs (1 from surgery and 3 added during first fill December 14) and I don't feel any restriction. I'll update after my next fill January 18.

Merry Christmas, Kristin! My husband asked me if there's anything off limits for my stocking this year. I know what he was really asking me is if he should get me my chocolate-covered cherries that I get every year. I told him nothing is off limits because I am not changing my life in that way. I need to find out how many calories are in one piece and then I'll figure out how often I can have one but I'm going to have them. I obviously don't have a problem with them because I could buy them any time, yet I only have them once a year at Christmas. I've had bags of chocolate candy in my house for a week to give to my daughters and their husbands when they spend the night for Christmas and haven't been tempted to open them for "just one piece." There's nothing special about them like my chocolate-covered cherries! We're having dinner tonight, brunch in the morning, and then we're going to the movies at Alama Drafthouse, a theater that also serves dinner. They're doing a special Christmas turkey dinner tomorrow. Like you, I'm looking forward to all of it knowing that I will eat much less than in years past. And if I don't lose or even gain a little, I really don't care. I do still enjoy food for pleasure but in small quantities. I think it's important for each of us to figure out what our food issues are and how best to handle them. Isn't it great that, even though we may have different issues, the band can still work for each of us? :whoo:

A diet designed to shrink your liver, such as a high-protein, low-carb diet or a liquid diet. The liver lays on top of the stomach and if it's especially large, it can make the entire procedure more difficult and recovery more painful. It's mainly an issue for people with higher BMIs. My BMI was 35 and my doctor wasn't concerned about my liver.