shortgal

the best advice I can give is follow weight watchers type diet while you have no restriction. Of course, we've all had a hard time staying on diets and that's why we got banded, but most of us can diet for four to six weeks. At least you'll hold off the weight gain until you get good restriction. Track your Protein and be sure you get at least 60 gms. a day. Give up white carbs, like white bread and potatoes. If you must eat bread, change to low carb, whole wheat or whole wheat pitas. Substitute the bagel and cream cheese for a cup of Kashi go lean Cereal with 1/2 cup of skim milk. or try the Special K low carb cereal or how about the low sugar instant oatmeal. Milk should only be skim, yogurt non fat and if you're looking for easy to cook/microwave meals...lean cuisine and weight watchers are good choices. Look for the lowest calorie, highest fiber choice of any food that you are eating. A couple hundred calories a day really adds up. Restriction could take several fills, so you want to do the best you can during this time, so you don't get frustrated. And making the above changes will help you later down the road when you do get restricted and even later when you're in maintenance, as you'll have replaced a lot of the old bad habits.

I'm going for my fourth fill tomorrow and the only reason I haven't gained is willpower. I am motivated to stay on track b/c my son is getting married in Sept and I'll have to buy a dress! I'm sure your Dr's office have seen other patients that gained during the time between surgery and reaching good restriction. Why don't you mention to the Dr that perhaps the reason you're gaining is because there is so much time between the fills. I go every two weeks for my appts at this point and we determine if I need a fill or not, based on hunger and amount of food I am able to eat. Maybe you could talk to your Dr's office about this. Be assertive and let them know you want to work WITH your band to acheive weight loss success!

http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f17/how-many-calories-do-you-consume-average-day-31389/ That's the thread I was thinking of. The poll results were roughly half of the majority were between 800 and 1000 and the other half were 1000-1200. I try not to go over 1200. Even at that I'm a slow loser. If i see the scale stall, then I'll do an 800-900 calorie day or two and then go back to 1100 or 1200. That seems to move the scale, even if it's just one pound. When i get some restriction, I hope to have more frequent 800 calorie days, as under 1000 seems to work best for me. Tracking Protein also works for me.

Our bodies seem to crave our routines. If we eat X everyday for b'fast, our bodies scream to us every morning "where is my X"! So, we have to replace our old X with a new Y. Pretty soon, our bodies will be saying where is my Y everyday. We just need to make sure that Y is a good choice! You've lost over half your weight, so you're doing a lot of things right!

there was a recent thread with a poll on this subject. Maybe you could do a search and locate it.

What a shame. It could have been any one of us. Really hits home, how precious life is.

I like to "save" some calories for a snack at night. I find if I eat B'fast, I'm hungrier all day long. It seems once I open the flood gates and let food in, I don't want to stop. I try to hold off B'fast until mid morning and then I have a glass of Isopure Clear and many times that does the trick until lunch time. I can then use the saved b'fast calories for after dinner snack. I don't have restriction yet either, but I used this method of eating a few years ago and lost 30 pounds (of course, I gained half of it back before getting the band). I always counted my calories and then I saved calories for a bag of microwave popcorn after dinner. I found the chewing satisfying. Maybe you could save some calories for one or two 100 calorie snack packs, just to fell satisfied before going to bed. The carbs before bed can help us sleep better and I think during menopause, when sleep can be disturbed, there is something comforting about the carbs before bed. I know we need to reduce the carbs, but calories count, too. So if you keep your Protein high during the day, I don't think a carb snack before bed will hurt. I hope all of us November bandsters that don;t have restriction, get some soon! My next fill is tomorrow! Will this be the one?

Everyone can be different. Each time I get a fill, I progress very slowly.After a fill, my Dr. requires two days of full liquids, followed by two days of soft food. This is becasue sometimes the fill can irritate the stomach and it gives it time to adjust. Then I slowly, gradually and carefully try other foods to see what goes down and how much I have to chew it etc. I take very small bites. So I approach it exactly as you described, like learning to eat all over again. The fear of getting a food stuck works in a positive way for me, as the fear keeps me from overeating and I don't attempt to try foods that many people have trouble with like bread. You and your new pouch will discover which foods are ok and which aren't. Good Luck on your next fill and the continuation of your weight loss. My next (fourth) fill is tomorrow. Hoping I get restriction, too!

One fill is usually not enough for most people. There is a lot of info on the forum about how fills work, it might help to read a lot of them to understand the process. Until and unless you have good restriction it will be possible for you to eat more than you should and during that time old fashioned willpower and dieting is needed to avoid weight gain. Counting calories, tracking protein intake and reducing carbs is the key. Exercise and water will boost the above effort.

Maybe they meant protein in the form of meat or solid protein and were not referring to Liquid protein. why don;t you call and ask?

Did your Dr. give you a printed sheet with the pre-op and post op diets you should follow? If yes, please re-read it. broth will give you some Protein, but the Isopure CLEAR drink as mentioned above would help for both pre-op and post op. Please ask your Dr. or nutritionist.

Well you heard from both sides of the fence! Surgery is a big step, should not be taken lightly and should in my opinion be a last resort. It was for me. I had tried everyway to get the weight off without success, so I truly felt surgery was my last hope. I choose the band instead of gastric bypass because it was the option with the least risk.

Ct man: Hope you get your approval soon. At two months out now, I'm still waiting to get a fill that will restrict me. Next appt is Weds (fourth fill) so fingers crossed. One of these fills has got to work soon, right? Until then, I continue to "diet" and watch my calories, count my Protein and drink my Water. Weight loss is slow, but scale is going in the right direction. Don't think there is much they can do about the gas following surgery. It just seems to take time for the body to get rid of it. Others on the forum have said walking and heating pads helped them. It was the worst part of the first few days post op for me, but bearable, so you'll manage just fine.

I have a skirt hanging in the closet that I bought a while ago and by the time I was ready to wear it, it was too tight. Well, it fits now. Funny thing tho'... it's white and who wears a white skirt in winter in New England??? By the time spring comes, I'm hoping it's too big. Oh well, it still felt good to get it on!

Hollyberries, are you going to the gift show in NY? I've been a few times, reason....long story! but it's a lot of walking if that's where you're going! I hope I can post at least one pound down since last week, we'll see. Still struggling with no restriction. Next fill appt is Weds. Fingers crossed!

I enjoy a glass of wine with dinner once in a while or if we go out, but since surgery I've only had 1 glass on two separate ocassions. In the summer when it's hot, I dont always enjoy wine, so we make a drink with crystal light, vodka, a splash of cranberry juice. Gotta look for ways to cut the calories!

I've had three fills and still do not have good restriction. Next fill is Weds. and I'm hoping this one will get me to the first level of restriction. I try to confuse my body with changing up the amount of calories. If the scale doesn't move, I'll do one or two days of 800 calories and then follow it with 1100 to 1200 calories per day. Are you tracking your Protein? And getting in your Water? I try to be careful to do both when the scale is stalled! Waiting for restriction is the HARDEST part of being banded!

I asked myself where I would be weight wise in another 5 /10 years if I didn't do something and the answers were not good. Walking uphill or walking up mulitple flights of stairs took my breath away and I already had surgery on one knee. I was lucky I had dodged the high blood pressure or diabetes bullet so far, but when would my luck run out? I wasn't getting any younger and I knew I had made real honest attempts to lose and keep off my weight and was failing. I knew I needed the help that modern medicine could offer. Would I refuse help if I had a different medical disease like cancer or diabetes? NO. So why not take the help of weight loss surgery. Just like modern medicine can help diabetics get better control, the band can help me get better control of my weight, but in both cases we have to work with the medicine and or surgery to help ourselves. It has not been easy, but I feel I made the right decision.

Have you seen an endrocrinologist? If your primary care Dr is unable to help you get good blood sugar control, then He/she should refer you to a specialist to help you figure out the insulin levels that will work best for you. Now that your banded and your diet is different, your insulin intake might need frequent adjustment as well. I would think a diabetes specialist could help. Maybe you should ask your pirmary care Dr. If you want to eat bread, you're on the right track as low carb is better of course and low carb whole wheat would be even better. Glad you're feeling in better control today.

My post op diet was to include a high Protein CLEAR liquid drink. I used Isopure CLEAR drink. It has 40 gms of protein in one 20 oz bottle. I still drink have a glass a couple times a week to be sure I get all my protein. some people don;t like the taste, but they have several different flavors. GNC stores sell them.

I'm willing to bet most of the people with the band have had many of the same thoughts you're having, I did, too. Then I just got sick and tired of trying to lose the weight without a tool that modern medicine could provide. Do I still fear failure? Heck, yeah! But at two months post op, I am a few pounds away from weighing the least I have in over 20 years. The first step is getting this weight off and then the second step will be keeping it off. At least I have real hope now since being banded. If I follow the band rules of eating/drinking etc. I hope to be a success story. By the time you wait for the next "best new band" to come out, they will be working on the next new best one, so when does that thinking ever end? For me, the most frustrating part of the process so far, are the fills and waiting until I get restriction. In spite of not having good restriction, the scale has slowly but consistently gone down. I am 100 % positive that would not happen without the band, because I tried that for so many years. Good Luck with your decision. P.S. How do you know the "new" band will be better than the current ones, since it will be new and not have a track record yet. Life is a carefully calculated risk!

Hello, there are age based threads on the forum where you can meet other banders your age, under the support section. And also threads for the amount of weight you need to lose. It's a great support to talk to people who need to lose a similar amount or those that are the same age. Good Luck in your journey.

There are many threads on the forum about "how the band works" and it would be worthwhile to read through them to get a better understanding of how the band helps us to eat less. No weight loss surgery is "fool" proof and any addict is a "fool". Since liquids flow right through the band, we can overeat on high calorie drinks or foods that easily pass through the band like ice cream. If we follow the band rules of Protein first, veggies second and carbs last and not drinking for about an hour after meals, we will have greater success, but we have to help our bands, help us. It will not necessarily do it by itself and neither will other methods of weight loss surgery. Men seem to have great success with WLS becasue men lose weight in general easier than women. You have more muscle mass and that helps and in general you're taller than women, so your ideal weight might be higher. It is NOT an easy fix, but so far I have found it a lot better than not having a band. I tried to lose weight without one for too many years and now I am five pounds away from weighing the least I have in over 20 years. I also believe in tracking calories and protein daily. If you are not currently doing that, then starting the habit now could help you be successful if you get the band. Many of the people with good weight loss on the forum, track their calories and protein.

I was told it didn't matter, but I don;t eat because I know they'll weigh me first. I know that's a dumb reason, but I just can't stop myself from changing that. My appts are in the a.m.. After the fill, they do want me to stay on full liquids for two days and then soft food two days.

All I can say is a person that is an insulin dependent diabetic, should not be eating 2 hot dogs with buns and chips at one sitting. So the bad carbs have to go, if not for weight loss, but just to get better control of your blood sugar levels. The post op banding diet of Protein first, veggie second and small amount of carbs last is the perfect diet for diabetics. Definitely read up on the effects of different carbs and the gylcemic index values. Three fills are obvioulsy not enough for you yet, when you get better restriction, I'm sure it will be easier. I've had three fills so far as well and have yet reached good restriction. I don't know how often you are getting fills, but maybe you could talk to the DR about a different schedule for fills, if you feel they are spread too far apart.