shortgal

I have never heard of this 30% rule the first year. It doesn't make sense to me. If I have 100 pounds to lose and even if I lose an average of one pound a week that would be 52 pounds at the end of the first year and equal over 50% of weight loss. I figured one pound a week because we generally lose a little faster in the beginning due to post op diets and then as we lose it takes fewer calories to maintain our new weight and we start to slow down the weight loss. Everyone will lose differently. We are different ages, have different levels of activity in our daily lives and some exercise harders than other. Others have more to lose and some are more committed to adhering to the band eating rules than others. Also, the schedule of our Dr's fills can have an impact on our weight loss. As long as the scale goes down, we are all ahead!

Kbinaz: I agree, I only want to be filled to a place where I can still eat good healthy food. I was like you before surgery, MOSTLY I ate good foods, but too much of it. I gained the weight years ago from too many bad carbs and then could never get it off, even after I started eating better choices. I still track my calories so that I know how much I've consumed each day and hopefully one day, "normal" portions will just come naturally to me. I do have some lower calorie days. Some are because I am to be on liquids for two days after a fill and I get some initial swelling after the fill and my appetite is lower and occassionally I do a lower calorie day to help the weight loss. I am older, not as active anymore so my calorie needs are less than someone younger and more active in their daily lives, with kids etc. But I do know it is impossible to get the nutrients we should have, on a steady diet of 500 calories a day. And I do not want to trade one unhealthly eating habit of overeating to one of eating like an anorexic. I hope the next fill or two will get me to a place where I can eat 1000 to 1200 (which is appropriate for my age and level of activity for steady weight loss) and feel satisifed between meals. It's the satisfied part that is missing for me at this point. We can acheive this no matter if it's slower than others.

Before I was bandedI considered myself a slow loser. I followed weight watchers a couple years ago and it took me 10 months to lose 30 pounds. And of course, half of it came back on very quickly. I got banded before I could gain it all back! Since I've been banded, I now considered myself an average loser. The band has helped me be more consistent in my daily calorie intake. I learned a lot at weight watchers about tracking my calories and I use those skills now, until I reach a better level of restriction. I rarely get stuck on food and I eat eggs, chicken, salad, beef, tuna, salmon, apples, popcorn, cooked veggies, fish, yogurt, cereal, protein bars and occassionally whole wheat bread toasted. Here's what I've learned since being banded. I track my calories and if the scale doesn't go down, I vary my intake. I'll do an 800 calorie day, followed by two or three 1000 or 1100 calorie days. I track my protein to be sure I get enough. While we sometimes think being very restricted so we can't eat much is the answer, that can work against us. We'll then eat soft "slider" foods that go through the pouch easier and won't keep us full long enough. The more solid the food the better. I have not begun to exercise since surgery (I hope I will get out and walk this spring, like I did last fall before surgery). I'm not perfect and I'm not saying I have all the answers, but for an older, inactive female, I am thrilled with my weight loss since the band and I hope one of the things listed that has helped me, will help one of you.

GBP does not guarantee long term weight loss success nor does lap band without being very vigilant about following post op rules and exercising. Many GBP struggle to maintain their weight loss as do many lap banders. so what's the difference? Lap band: No re-routing of internal organs, no malabsorption of nutrients, less risky surgery and a slightly faster recovery, but slower initial weight loss. Check out forums for GBP patients and check the ones that have been banded over a year and you'll find many that struggle with re-gaining weight, just like you'll find some on this forum among the lap banders. For me, the less risky procedure was the one for me, becasue both require us to work WITH which ever procedure we choose, not work against it. I was very nervous about the long term complications associated with malabsorption. Just offering my two cents. There are other older threads on the forum about this subject. Try typing the subject in an "advanced search" at upper right of forum page. Best of luck in which ever procedure you decide is right for you.

there is a whole thread dedicated to slow losers. It's labeled "slow losers unite". Join us there!

Does your Dr's office have a nutritionist? Maybe you could ask them about maintenance. Or join weight watchers to lose the last 6 pounds and they will suggest a maintenance phase for you. Generally you would look at the average weight loss you've recently had. Is it one pound a week you are losing? If that's your average then you would add 500 calories a day to maintain your current weight. do that for one month and if you stay the same, fine, if not then you adjust the daily maintenance calories up or down. This is an approx amount, everyone has a different metabolism. But since it takes a deficit of 3500 calories to lose one pound a week, you divide that by seven days and you have 500. Then you have to decide how to "spend" your extra 500 daily calories. I would check my nutrients. Could you use more Fiber in your diet by adding some fruit? Or maybe extra Calcium in your diet, so add diary. Spending them on sweets should be an occasional treat. I would go the Weight watchers route for a few months, just to get the routine of a healthly maintenance diet. Hope that helps! Congratulations on meeting your goal!

Tina, So can you eat more? I sure hope so! You have to fuel your body. So glad your pain has been minimal. You're on your way!

First you need proper restriction to feel full and that comes with "fills". Second, your pouch must be filled with "solid" food, not "slider" foods that go through the pouch easily. Then we have to learn a new feeling of "full", becasue it's not our lower belly that gets full anymore. And we can get confused with "head hunger". Head hunger tells your stomach things like, "you can't be full on 3 oz of meat". We are so used to large portions, our head tells our bodies we'll starve if we don't eat more. As you reach restriction, you really have to start listening to the signals, your pouch sends to your brain. It really is a process and it takes time. So my answer to your question... is oh yeah, all the time!

Queen Jane, If I understand right, you've lost 12 pounds in 8 weeks, with no restriction. What's wrong with that? That's 1.5 pounds a week! You've had four fills. I've had five and I still don't have good restriction, either. Remember you've lost fifty pounds and your stomach got smaller , so your band is looser. Maybe your fills just haven't caught up with the weigh loss. We probably just need more fills. I had no liquid pre-op diet, but I am tracking my calories and Protein and really I'm just dieting until I get restriction. Hang in there. 50 pounds is great! Celebrate ( but not with food)!

OMG 1/4 c? How often? That's cruel and makes no sense to me. Once the swelling is down, liquids go right throu your band. how could you possibly be full on that? I used to drink a whole can of a protein shake, slowly, but the whole can. And I had a hernia repair at time of band placement. My swelling took about four or five days to go down. During the swelling, I didn;t have much hunger. No wonder you're struggling and hungry.

Beachcomber: Go to the "food" section on the forum and they have threads for receipes for each stage of the post op diet. Maybe you'll find a good suggestion there.

You need to see ( or get) your primary care physician to refer you to a surgeon. I guess this is what your ins requires. Mine did not require that.

When the scale doesn't budge I do a low calorie day or an all liquid day with lots of protein. That usually works.

Hunger is an issue after the swelling from surgery does down. The best thing to fight the hunger is protein as it stays with us longer and avoiding the carbs. How many carbs in the carnation instant b'fast? You might want to look for one with less carbs and more protein. I used the Atkins shakes. Your lucky to be on full liquids right away, I was on Clear Liquids for the first week and going to full liquids was a relief for me. I stayed on full for two weeks and skipped moving to the pureed phase. I hate real food blended up. I found the Protein Shakes fairly satisifying. Are you tracking your protein? Try to keep the protein intake evenly spaced throughout the day. Not everyone likes it, but I used ( and still do) the Isopure CLEAR drink. One bottle has the same calories as an Atkins shake but no carbs and 40 gms of protein. I had a 1/2 bottle for b'fast today. They have several flavors and are available at GNC stores. The first few weeks are for healing, but I did monitor my calories becasue I didn't have a liquid pre-op diet and I really didn;t want to gain during the first few weeks post op. Hope that helps!

I vary between 800 and 1200 calories and I try to get a min of 60 gms of protein in. When I get a fill, I am on full liquids for two days and I guess I swell a little after a fill becasue I feel kind of tight, so on those days, my calories might be 600. Then I do two days of soft food as I re-discover the foods that agree with my new level of restriction. I see you found the November banders Spring Challenge. Glad you joined in. You might want to also look for the group that was banded on Jan. '08 like you, because they will be at the same post -op phase as you are. I found it very helpful to have forum contact with those that are ahead of me and those that are in the same place.

Agreed. We don't tell alcoholics to just have three small drinks a day and we don;t tell a drug addict to have three small hits a day, but we tell overweight people to just have three small meals a day. We tell other addicts to abstain, becasue we know if they have even one drink or drug, they be back on it full force, but you can't just give up food! It's unrealistic that without some help we can do it alone. It is also the reason that we need to be vigilant after reaching goal, becasue the food demon will always be a monkey on our back. My analogy was more about how people that can control one thing in their life, just don;t understand why other people can't control the same aspect. Much of the food problem and the other issues I mentioned are pyschologically based. And personally, I do think the people unable to control finances or continually pick the wrong mate have a weakness. Exactly the same way they see our weight issue as a weakness. With how hard I'm working at this weight battle, even with the band, I don't feel like I'm cheating at all, but understand that others might. I don;t really care as long as I end up thinner. If the other people hired a professional accountant to handle their finances and got control would I say they "cheated"? NO! If the girl got rid of the bad boys by getting a shrink to help figure out why would i say she cheated? No, we would pat them on the back for getting their life in control! We'll just have to start educating people as much as possible!

Tina: Go to tickerfactory.com or click on anybody's ticker on the forum. Create your ticker and bookmark the page. Copy and paste the actual ticker onto your "signature" under the "my account" page on the forum. Your account is at the top right of the forum page. then anytime you update your ticker, it will update on the forum, too! The first time I followed the directions, I copied the link as the page said to do, but it didn;t work, so I just copied and pasted the actual ticker and that worked.

Hi, Glad you found the Ct group! I was banded by Dr. Ehrlich at ST. V's. It is totally normal to gain some weight back once you go off liquids. solid food in our bodies holds more Water (that's why we lose so quickly on liquids) and this is gross, but our colons will start to hold the solid material as well, until it's, ummmm expelled. Unfortunately, from the time of banding to the time we get good restriction from the fills, if you want to continue to lose or not gain, some dieting might be needed. Be sure to track your Protein intake. I use a glass of Isopure CLEAR if I need to boost my daily intake. 1/2 bottle is 80 calories but 20 gms of protein. An Atkins shake is ok, but twice the calories and only 15 gms protein. Please read the thread on "How fills work" by Wendell. If you can't find it try an advanced search on the web site. The "search" is found at the top of the forum page. Remember your band is not working to it's best until you get to the right fill that tightens it to fit YOUR stomach. Everyone is different. I've had five fills and still don't have good restriction, but the next fill or two should get me there. In the meantime, I count calories and track protein. Even tho' my band is not tight yet, it does give me a little restriction to fall back on.

Kristen: Glad you found the CT group. I'm not in your area, so I can't help with info on your Dr/hospital. My best advice to newcomers to be sure you understand and follow the pre-op and post op diet and then become educated about the "fill" process. There are some good threads on the forum about "how the band works" and "how fills work". They were very helpful to me. The band might give you some restriction after surgery from post op swelling. Once that goes down, you might be able to eat like you did before surgery. Once the Dr. starts the fill process you will start to get restriction. Everyone is different, so it might take several fills before you get there. Good Luck on your journey.

Lisawach: Go to tickerfactory.com ( you can click on the link above any ticker on the forum). Create your ticker and bookmark the page. Then copy and paste the actual ticker you created onto the signature page under your account on the forum. Once you update your ticker it will update on the forum. The link for your account is on the "tabs' at the top of the forum page. Welcome to the November Spring challenge!

I know this can work, but I still have a lot of mental challenges to work on for this to be successful, LONG TERM. Right now I feel the band just helps me slightly to stay on course, my brain is fighting my band. I think the amount I've eaten sometimes is "too little" to sustain a person, so I know some times, I'm head hungry. How do I get enough Protein without too many calories? How do I get enough nutrients/vitamins/calcium in my food without too many calories? How do I get enough Fiber and so on? This is what my brain tells me, in an attempt to get me to eat more. If I am going to be successful, long term, I have to work on this now! I'm trying. I wait the hour after eating and then drink Water and I realize that if I wait a half hour after eating, I am more satisfied than I think, but I know I could eat more, if I allowed myself to. And I am still counting the time to my next snack or meal. I now have a mental image of my brain and stomach arguing over these things, kind of like the images of a devil in one ear and an angel in the other, helping us make a decision. This is not an easy road, for sure.

Men are generally problem solvers, so if we present a problem, like "gee I really want a cheese dog, they logically say "have one"... problem solved. Women are different. What we want someone to say is, "honey, but you asked for my support and you're really looking great since surgery, so why don't you have a little cottage cheese or Protein bar to take the edge off your craving" Mars and Venus!

We need to find these creative ways to help our band, help us. At Halloween, we bought only candy I don't like, in case there were leftovers. We buy extra becasue we never know how many kids we'll get. We bought Starburst and Skittles, I hate those and the leftovers are still in the cabinet. If the only food left in this world were Starburst, Skittles and cottage cheese, I'd be pretty darn thin! Now Twizzlers, ice cream and tostitos, do not leave me in a room alone with those! It would have to be a BIG lock and chain to keep me out! I have not had any of those three since surgery.

Just track your portien for a couple days and you'll know if you're getting enough. If I have a day where I'm worried about getting enough in, I drink a glass Of the Isopure CLEAR. In 10 oz. I get 20 gms of Protein and only 80 calories. Just had a glass for b'fast. Added bonus the protein keeps you satisfied. Perfect choice for that late afternon time, when we crave something.

To want surgery to be a healthier you and a role model for your kids, seems to be a very rational decision. How could a shrink (or anyone else) think otherwise. With the band, hopefully you will feed yourself and the kids, healthly food in healthly size portions.