Jachut

I think it sounds ridiculous. If you're starved to the point of malnutrition now (really? I doubt it) then how are you going to be any better off months down the track with continued weight loss? Surely you'll be MORE starved and malnourished. Because of course eating enough calories to maintain the bits of your body you actually need, whilst burning off a huge pile of extra fat you dont need is starvation! Personally, such stupid logic from a doctor would have me looking for another doctor. I hope you sort this, having back surgery is going to be difficult whenever you do it and if you're in pain, the sooner the better. Needing to get back to your job is a very valid reason to insist on now. I'd be rather insistent, to say the least.

I'm nearly five years out and live a normal life - most people think I have a small appetite, but that's it. I eat from all food groups in all situations. Occasionally, I do vomit if I eat too fast (we had peking duck pancakes at home the other night, any type of food you eat with your hands that falls apart is danger for me, I shove it down to avoid dropping it!). Some days I'm annoyingly tight and have to take it easy, but I dont worry about going out to eat with friends etc, I eat normally, just not a lot. I run almost daily and do boot camp - I love exercise now! I'm training the grade 3 to 6's for cross country at the moment, the only teacher in our small school that a) knows anything about running and :thumbup: can actually do it. I'm somewhat of a hero to the kids, our school has never placed before! That's not the me from my previous life!

Only? 4-8lb a month really adds up over two years! I was thrilled with this sort of weight loss (more the 4lb end after the first six weeks). I lost slowly but very steadily, but I didnt have the downside of new clothes literally every 2 weeks, nor do I have any loose skin. I wouldnt choose a procedure based on the speed of weight loss, I'd choose the procedure that's best for me. The band can be slow loss, its a big factor to consider, particularly with the newer bands which seem to mean that it takes far longer to get restriction than with the 4cc band like I have.

I'm a dedicated exerciser, and I'm fit. I love exercising. But I really notice the difference between my own runs, and boot camp with a trainer. The intensity is way harder! I dont really think its possible to achieve that intensity consistently without someone in your face, pushing you. It hurts and it doesnt feel pleasant (great afterwards though) and its just a normal human instinct not to do that to ourselves, lol. I even ran 3kms with a bunch of 11 year olds yesterday and that nearly killed me too, lol, and I normally run 8kms a day. They were so much faster than my natural pace, you do slow down a bit between 11 and 43! If I ran that hard every day I'd be superwoman, but its just impossible without that additional push. So.... if you had a trainer several hours a day, it would make a HUGE difference. They work out like fiends, at super high intensities AND they walk for hours an hours a day to lose weight like that. It just doesnt compare with what you can achieve at home on your own.

Eating wise, no special strategy or secrets. I just ate/eat less consistently, day in day out, than I did before banding. I eat from all food groups and I have the occasional treat. I dont count Protein, calories, fat, carbs. Today is a typical day - a handful of raw macadamias for Breakfast, I have a yogurt for morning tea, about a cup of vegie and lentil Soup for lunch, when I get home from work is usually when I want something sweet, my son made some great choc chip Cookies the other night, I'll probably have one with a cuppa. dinner tonight is going to be tacos made with home made cilli and salad ingredients. I dont do any products like shakes and bars, I consider them processed foods and not the healthiest choices. I cook from scratch and try to include plenty of fresh produce, I buy organic most of the time. The one thing I think really made a difference to me was running - an hour most days of the week. I wont ever give that up.

In the long run, its not healthy weight loss. It wont "stick" in that when you do begin to eat, band or not, you will probably experience a rebound gain, although with a band this will probably be not too extreme. Living on a diet this low in calories you're not giving your body what it needs and Protein or not, you will be losing a lot of lean body mass. These sorts of diets are for extreme measures - exactly the type of situation you're in pre surgery, you do it for safety, not for health, appearance and long term maintainable weight loss. However, you obviously have good post op restriction still, I dont see the harm in milking that for all its worth - I mean, I lost about 1/3 of my total weight in the 12 weeks after surgery, just had superb restriction and wasnt interested in food. But its important to progress in your liquid to mushy to solid diet, you will find you'll still lose a lot of weight if you choose well, and start to exercise.

Pregnancy isnt so difficult to sustain for us human's, they proceed well in all sorts of circumstances and nutritional conditions. You really only need 200 or 300 extra calories (healthy ones) in your last trimester if you're a normal weight person. For me, in my last pregnancy, I was 80lb overweight, my doctor didnt want me to gain ANYTHING. So I ate healthy, but restricted and I had a bouncing 8lb baby girl - I had no band, but I did Weight Watchers, 27 points per day. If you're banded, its a bit like dieting in pregnancy, same as what my doctor wanted me to do. I'd try for 1400 or 1500 healthy calories every single day, do not waste one morsel of food with unhealthy choices. Like he pointed out, your body has the energy stores, its your job to provide the nutrition. Most people that can eat normally and dont have bands make up those calories in crap your body doesnt need anyway, you're not really at a major disadvantage. Take your Vitamin supplement religiously! You might want to take one or two simple measures like a glass of milk a day and a Protein shake a day as well as your healthy food. If you're still overweight, you dont HAVE to gain weight. You might, its hard not to, but you dont have to meet some statistical ideal just for the sake of it.

You dont mention specific back issues or real troubles, just "my back hurts". I'd bet money, its just weight and lack of condition of your core muscles - I couldnt believe the improvement in my back with weight loss and improved fitness, I feel like a different person than i did five years ago. Honestly, start with exercise that is challenging, has you sweating and blowing and you can keep up for at least half an hour - most probably brisk walking at your stage, or something like spin classes. Stick at it, be consistent and be patient (real progress does take a few months to see) and I bet you'll be feeling heaps better. You have youth on your side, your body isnt so far gone, you'll be able to gain good fitness much more quickly than us old farts. At 17 too, you have a huge advantage with weight loss. You'll probably lose well from moderate dietary changes, and you might very well find you dont need to dip anywhere near as low as 1200 a day to lose weight. Make changes that you can sustain - for me personally, I like 3 meals a day, my extra calories ALWAYS come between meals, so If I cut that, I've cut 99% of the problem, and then I give myself permission to eat what I want to within reason for meals. That's a good first step.

You guys are lucky in that if you search this site you will find a lot of info on the various docs in business, and people's experiences with them. Here in Australia, I asked my general practitioner for a referral to a lapband surgeon. He looked it up on the computer. I didnt like my surgeon's name (Gary Crosthwaite). It sounded old and crotchety, not friendly and helpful. I got a referral to another surgeon, based on that, lol. Couldnt get into him for months, so went to the orginal surgeon. He was very nice, very considered,offered a balanced opinion on my choices, so I was happy.

Great poem, and I can identify with a lot of it. Unfortunately, I could write the opposite one I am the one who chose toast for Breakfast I am the one who had that piece of cake in the staff room I am the one who skipped lunch I am the one who then ate more cake because she was hungry And I am the one who is having Pasta for dinner My band is not defective (was a finger press away from dialling for a fill today). My choices are. But I *AM* the one who ran 3kms at lunchtime training the the grade 3 to 6's for cross country and I *AM* the one who just got off the treadmill from doing another 4. Thanks for reminding me.

There is no way that an ordinary bicycle wont support 258lb! Its not that big a weight, many taller men arent even more than a little overweight at that sort of weight. Or are you guys inundated by as much Chinese manufactured crap as we are here?

Its one thing to have annoying difficulty eating and drinking - the odd pb, fear of eating in public because of the possibility of a pb, the need to avoid certain foods completely. That you can ride out. Being unable to eat solids at all, or vomiting most of the time you try to, that's not good. You cant sustain it for the time it would take to loosen. Its just not worth it - its misery, your weight loss wont be what you might think anyway and you could do harm.

Reflux is a big problem with the sleeve because the stomach produces its normal amount of acid for quite a while, but with less stomach, you dont need it. I think that anti reflux and heartburn meds are taken for quite a while after surgery and for some, forever. It seems ironic that many band to sleeve conversions are done to escape horrid reflux. I think you're right, the huge advantage is avoiding the fill issues - the difficulty getting restriction, keeping restriction or regaining restriction you have lost. But I have also read of one or two people who's new stomachs have been made, if not too big, then a size that hasnt enabled the person to lose all their weight - and you've got absolutely nowhere to go from there. I think you'd probably find the sleeve suits a lot of people though becuase without the need for fills, it does take away user error - so many people think they're band failures when really, they just dont have proper restruction - whether this is easily rectified by a fill or whether its one of those mysteries many seem to face is another issue.

Oh, you trouble maker! If any sleevers see this, its going to be on for young and old! I really dont understand why people think their surgery is the only choice and I hate band bashing. There are downsides to the band, but there are pros and cons of everything. And reading that sleeve forum over the past year or so, it has become exceedingly obvious that sleever live with a host of day to day annoyances, discomforts and problems just like bandsters do and many of them similar! I think when it comes down to tin tacks, we all wanted to do something about our lives badly enough that we were prepared to face these consequences, and pretending they dont exist for any surgery is a bit silly.

Oh, I can so identify with this! I think, if I'm completely honest, I make sure I dont see myself how I really am, I'm always that little bit dissatisfied, therefore I can continue trying to lose weight. But I never lose any - why? Because I know that I'm a healthy weight and dont need to lose any so I engage in this pyschological game of pretending I am going to and then not doing it so I can keep having a goal. Works for me. I think I'm lucky to have begun a new career this year which takes up a lot of my mental energy and will continue to do so for a few years yet. I hit goal weight a few years ago now, but still had to focus on getting my degree and a job.

Once in a while, I have popcorn. Real movie popped popcorn with artery filling levels of salt and brain tumour inducing chemicals that give it that wonderful flavour. Most of the time, I have nothing in the movies.

Well, I didnt have to do one. But I thought I would anyway, for all the reasons you've got running through your head. I did last 3 days. Before i started fainting every time I stood up! Called my doc, he said I was mad to do that to myself if it wasnt even necessary and pointed out that its an extreme measure for an extreme circumstance and NOT a healthy way to lose weight at ALL. He said if it was difficult, made me feel sick and had me passing out, then stop doing it. I knew for a fact my liver was not particularly fatty and not enlarged at all and it wasnt going to be a problem for surgery. So I just ate sensibly in my last few weeks again. Not doing a liquid diet does not mean eating everythign not nailed down either. Cutting out the white carbs, getting rid of carbonated drinks and for me a huge one was cutting down drastically on caffeine (knew I wouldnt have the stomach space for my normal coffee intake afterwards) is going to help enormously. I have renewed respect for those that do do it. I've never done such an awful diet in my life. I couldnt do it now WITH a band.

The scale probably wont budge as a result of exercise alone. But it does help in some indefinable way. Dont stop doing it, or you will make it much harder on yourself to lose weight. Its a HUGE part of weight loss and an even bigger part of maintaining weight loss. And if clothes are "hanging better" something is going on. In the meantime, I would try to follow up on what the actual reasons are for this frustrating lack of progress. You know you're doing the right things, and you probably know that if its going to be a slow process, then that's how it is, but it should come off eventually!

Actually, I found the opposite. After surgery it was all band - I had fabulous restriction for about 12 weeks, didnt ever think about food, wasnt tempted to stray and didnt find the post op liquid to mushies regime in any way hard, I just lost so easily. After about that time, I got fills, and it worked, I still found the first year pretty darn good. Over time since then its become more and more me and less and less band. But its easier to work with things when you're not feeling fat and hopeless! I think I could probably benefit from a fill now, havent had one in about 18 months, but really, I'm not gaining so why?

Its strange isnt it? I dont feel unattractive, but for me, sex is OK but its not like in the movies. I enjoy it, but really only in an "its nice to have a cuddle" kind of way.It just doesnt feel as great as I think its supposed to. I'd jump at a female viagra! My weight has been stable for well over 2 years now and I was never more than a BMI of 36 to begin with, so I dont really think it can be caused by changing hormones. Perhaps I was low on testosterone to begin with - I'm fairly lightly muscled, have very little body hair (can go weeks without shaving my legs), never got pimples at such during adolescence, who knows?

You really dont know how you are going to react to fills or how many fills you will need until you start having them. Some people are way more sensitive than others and you get more and more sensitive to tiny amounts the more restriction you have, too. Thus, there is no "normal" amount of fill. What you had was too much for you at this time, that's all. You might be still swollen a bit from surgery (it lasted 12 weeks for me) or you might just not need a lot of fill for good restriction OR you might be someone who swells a bit after fills and has to proceed cautiously. I'd bet your doctor will give you a bit less when you do get that fill back and see how you go from there.

If you're a gadget person I guess, but for me, I wouldnt spend my money on something like that. To me, its simple. Your body tells the story of where your energy in/energy out balance sits. If over time you eat less than you expend, you will lose weight. I have no interest in obsessing over numbers down to the last calorie on a daily basis. I dont have time to spend plugging numbers into the computer either. I've done fine not weighing, measuring, logging etc so I definitely dont need this tool.

Hmmmmm, yes and no. I had baked Beans on toast for lunch yesterday, I had a slice of wholegrain toast and a small can of baked beans. I ate most of it, I could have finished but thought I was getting a bit close to FULL (try to stop before that). then someone else came into the staffroom, they had the same lunch. Two slices of toast and a large can of baked beans. I couldnt have done that. So it does reduce my portion sizes. I think my band keeps me from feeling hungry but its the head hunger that's the problem. I could/would eat almost immediately after a meal if the right thing were offered to me, its not often that I truly couldnt fit one more thing in. I struggle daily with wanting to eat things like Cookies, chocolate, whatever happens to be there. Its hard work staying on the straight and narrow. I dont think the band fixes that - being physically hungry for me is only a very small part of the equation. Its really NOT what I thought it would be many years ago when I got mine, it was for the first few months but that passed quickly. Yet it works, and I'm very happy and have managed to lose a lot of weight and keep it off. Do you exercise? That was a very large part of the equation for me.

It wasnt my lapband surgery but when I had my wisdom teeth out many years ago that I had my period - I was told the opposite, NO tampons, as they were a huge risk if emergency surgery was required or something awful happened like I ended up in a coma or something and the tampon was forgotten about. So I got some of those lovely huge undies like they give you after you've had a baby and a loaf of bread, sorry, enormous pad,also probably the super duper maternity version.

Well, you do need a blender for mushies. Long term, really I couldnt say anything. I just eat how much my body tells me to eat, I dont need any tools for that. If I dont finish what's on my plate then I dont, I throw it out. Oh, I guess plates! Although we started that long before either of us were banded, we've eaten off salad plates for years and years and years, not huge dinner plates.