4crazyboys

Just bumping this post. I am serious about my previous question. Rockbandster, you have obvious opinions about the Realize band, but you have also been sucessful with your band. I would love to hear some tips from you since you have lost your weight. Lets focus on the positives now, give those of us who have some more weight to lose some inspiration!

Rockbandster, since you have reached goal, I would love to hear your tips and tricks that have gotten you there!! How often are you exercising, what are you eating and how much? Do you struggle with inconsistant restriction? Has it been a breeze. Your opinion about the Realize band is obvious, so now, lets change the subject. I would like you to share your other knowledge with me and the others, helping those of us that already have a band be as successful as you are.

Yep, I am having the same troubles. For me it is Pringles. Got to get them out of the house. Seems like these cravings started at Christmas, probably because I got lax about my eating plan. I really need to get back in the swing of things, but it has been a struggle.

My doc said no juice, or drinks with calories in them. Juice really is just sugar water, a few nutrients, but not enough to counterbalance the sugar content.

You know, I have a Realize band. It is in me, I don't plan on taking it out anytime soon. I look at this site for help and support, cause let's face it...every band, every procedure has it's ups and downs. I honestly and truthfully just want to have Realize discussions without it decending into this quarreling. I was excited that this thread was starting because I thought I would be able to share stories with others about my Realize experience but EVERY SINGLE thing I see with Realize mentioned, Rockbandster jumps in and quite frankly RUINS the whole thing. I don't even get on here much anymore because what is said is not helpful, comforting, or enjoyable. I am disappointed in the moderators for not controlling this better. Maybe a sticky should be made at the top that says "Rockbandster's controversial opinion about the Realize band." Then block her out from contributing anything about Realize since she/he has hijacked this. I, along with many others, want this to be useful. ROCKBANDSTER, I have a Realize already, it's not changing, please let me get something out of this, your comments and opinions ARE NOT helping me, they are discouraging, disheartening, and anger inducing. Am I to assume this is your intention, even though you repeatedly say you just want to help? You are doing harm.

Rockbandster wants to have someone post similarities between the two bands. OK here is one, they are both gastric bands that function basically the same way. Both are filled with fluid to cause restriction. I don't think I need to post research to back that up. I would say they are both extremely similar with only minor differences. And yes, I am a medical professional, my husband is a md, and most importantly, the surgeon who did my procedure knows all of the bands inside and out, works with different types and also does bypass, and is a laproscopic surgeon at one of the best hospitals in the country. I trust him when he says that the final results for all bands are essentially the same. And I trust him when he says that Realize is the best choice for me. There may be problems I encounter and another band may work better for other people, but I am ok with that. Everyone is different. I would request that rockbandster post more than one study that supports his theory that Realize performance, not the Swedish band, is worse than lapband and make sure they are from different sources, unconnected to each other. I would also like Rockbandster to give us research of an equal number of studies that show that they all work statistically the same. I wish he would be as open to our discussion as has demands us to be to his.

I have been having the same problem. I have been playing around with the same three pounds for about 8 weeks...very frustrating!! I am at 9cc of fill and have moderate restriction but am going in for a barium swallow to make sure all is ok. My surgereon starting using the Realize in March, I was his third one and has stated that a few others are having the same problem as I am. So we are just taking it step by step to try to solve the problem. But with all of that said, when I compare my results with averages of all bands, I am still ahead of average weight loss. Really the speed doesn't matter because it gives my skin a chance to catch up and this weight loss is very stressful on a body, better to do it slow. On another issue. Rockbandster seems to cause trouble on every thread he posts on. Whenever he shows up it seems as if the discussions spirals downward really quickly. Let's just ignore him and maybe he will go away. WHERE ARE THE MODERATORS TO BLOCK THIS PERSON OUT!!!!!!! We are here for support, so block posts from this person (it is possible but I can't remember how) and maybe we can have a productive chat on this Realize thread instead of everyone being afraid to contibute. I really would like it to become a worthwhile community of POSITIVE input. His last comment is stupid...how may of us are going to run to our doctors and beg to be cut open again? I guess the medical professional ROCKBANDSTER has forgotten that a second abdominal surgery is more complicated that the first and about three times harded to recover from.

It is hard to figure out how much exercise is too much. Usually your body will let you know. If you start having lots of aches, pains, injuries, fatigue, etc., then you know you are doing too much. Exercise is really a balancing act. You may be able to do cardio for a extended period of time, but you really need to pay attention to your heart rate to know if you are doing what you intend. What I mean is, if you aren't getting your heart rate up, you may be only 3-5 calories per minute, but if you really work up a sweat, you may be burning 10-12 calories per minute. A calorie burned is a calorie burned, we need to get rid of them however we can. But you can work harder for a shorter period of time and burn the same amount as you may be doing in 150 minutes. If you are trying to do your heart some good you really need to be somewhere between 60-75% of your max heart rate. You need to stress that heart muscle to make it stronger. You can find charts listing your heart rate everywhere in the gym and on the internet. I'm sure I have made this clear as mud and haven't helped much. I do have a degree in kinesiology (similar to exercise physiology ) so I have done alot of study of this and I don't think there is a simple answer to this question.

I lose in spurts, too. I am strange though, because I lose the week before TOM, then lose nothing for the following 3 weeks. I have heard that metabolism increases before, which makes sense since that week before I am always HUNGRY!! I usually lose about 4 pounds per month.

My nutritionist told me to avoid soup and chili at all cost, even if the chili is thick. She said it is just the same as drinking with your meal, a big no - no. Well, I was eating a lot of soup and chili so I took her advice and started eating only solid protein...chicken, beef, fish etc. Just that small change made a world of difference!! Now I fill up and stay filled up after only 4-6 ounces. As for chips, food without much nutritional value seems to go down like a charm. Just try to avoid them as much as humanly possible. I was really shocked at the soup/chili thing. Just dropping those from my diet got me off of my plateau.

I am close to the point where you are. I have lost about half of the weight I need to and now fight for every pound that I lose. I can relate to the tiredness. I just took a week to be nice to myself. I worked out but slowed the pace down from what I normally do. I didn't pig out but didn't journal every bite I put in my mouth and ate what I wanted when I was hungry. I went to Walmart and bought a pair of jeans that are pretty tight now, but will losen up in a few weeks. I also bought a 3/4 sleeve tshirt. None of the clothes are fancy and I spent about $25, but it feels good to wear something that fits, won't be falling off of me for a few months, and didn't break my savings account. Give yourself a mini vacation and treat yourself. You'll probably even lose a few pounds without noticing!!

Your post made me smile! I was banded on 3/28/2008, only a week or so before you, had the same start weight and weigh the same now. I have the same experience as you, I drop a few pounds then the scale bounces up a down a little until it settles in. I do get into the gym 5 days a week and spend about 1hr 20 minutes but could do much better with my food. I would probably do better if I could manage to stay strict but I think I have some restriction issues. I have the Realize band and am at 9cc, which is the max it can hold. While I have good restriction, I can still overeat, probably because I am not making the best choices. Anyway, way to go and keep up the good work.

I don't think we are close minded. I just think you seem so militant about hating the Realize band, that you show no one any grace if they disagree with you. We don't mind your input, but you seem to want us to listen to you but won't listen to anyone else. This site is to offer support and friendly discussion, not to tell people how wrong they are. Most of us listen to our doctor's who have had 9 years plus of education past medical school, and while they are not perfect they have much more experience than in judging what is best for us on an individual basis than some person on an internet site that hasn't seen our medical charts

At first, I really enjoyed the Realize web sight but after I started eating "real" food again I quit using it and started using the daily plate. Daily Plate's nutrition information is more complete and easier to use. I still use the Realize sight to track my weight loss. My opinion is to ignore the fact that Realize offers this web site when making decisions about which band to get.