niki

I eat bread, rice, pasta, and occasionally a burger with bun and fries. Never got any problem of being stuck or something like that (had 9 fills already). Of course I try avoinding all of those as much as possible, but occasionaly they won't harm me. I guess everyone is different and somedays we feel more restricted than others. niki

I love popcorn and eat them regularly, no problem. niki

Nine fills here, no fluoro and no numbing agent. My doc always gets it right at first try. niki

It would be much worse if you were craving for carbs :thumbup: proteins will help you feel «full» and satisfied, they won't harm you or your diet. Go for those chicken breast (no skin), canned tuna, hard boiled eggs - that is all highly recommended healthy stuff. niki

Xann, You probably heard it before but the band is not a miracle worker just by itself. I've been banded for over 3 yrs., had 8 fills, do correct food choices (most of the time), work out 4 or 5 days/week, and yet I'm loosing weight like a turtle or spend several months in a row on a stupid plateau not loosing at all - yes, I fully understand how frustrated you feel, I know exactly that feeling. But there's no way we can turn back now, we have to keep on going and along the way in this journey with our band, we learn there are some good days and some bad days. Giving up is not an option. This will take a little more effort from us than for most other bands, but we'll get there. Hang in there, niki

The idea with the band is to avoid mixing water and food at the same time. I've been banded for over 3 yrs. and always allow approx. 40minutes (before and after). When there's food in the band it is supposed to stay there for a while, without water, so that it makes you feel full and satisfied. If you add water, that will only help to «wash» the food out and you will feel hungry sooner than you're supposed to. This is valid even for people who don't have the band, plain dieters should not drink with their meal. niki

My doc says I shouldn't cut out carbs completely. I try to avoid them on the evening period, if I can manage, dinner usually is just protein+veggies, but every now and then i'll have rice or pasta. I eat allbran, oatmeal, and some other complex carbs, as it helps me avoidind compulsive eating and those terrible cravings. niki

Yep! went to the gym today and exercised for approx. 70 minutes (arms, legs, squats, ellyptical). Spent last 3 days without moving my butt, so it was high time I did something for myself. No pain, no gain! niki

Great information, Sunshine2! very helpful. the band will work, even if differently for each one of us. I guess we all have to find how to bet cope with it and work with it, not against it. niki

Guess we've all been there. You'll just have to face your fears and start learning how to better control yourself and head hunger. You've taken the first step, now it is time to put one foot after the other and proceed with the journey. Come here to LBT for support or whenever you're feeling down. Give yourself a chance. You'll be fine, best of luck, niki

Hey, Mike Congratulations! Good for you, you've taken the first step for your new life! I've been banded for over 3 years and no regrets here. I think most of us bandsters have all heard some of those stupid «easy way out» stories at some point on our journey, but it just doesn't really matter because most people that say such a thing they are probably not well aware or informed of what the band is or means, even if they are our loved ones. You seem to be pretty well informed and that's what matters. best of luck, niki

I try replacing carbs for veggies (lots of it!) but i still have carbs (complex ones, not hollow) I eat dark bread, wholegrain pasta/rice, oatmeal. Beans are good (all sorts, garbanzo beans, peas, lentils, etc) they're good source for healthy protein.

Many interesting advices here. I agree with lots that has been said previously. Keeping busy is the key for me, but sometime it simply doesn't work. Eating/drinking something cold (big glass of cold water or tea) or something frozen (low fat yogurt, bits of frozen banana) sometimes helps. niki

I've been banded for 3 years and 3 months now. Still didn't reach my ultimate goal. I've been loosing very slowly, even though I've been doing my share. I know that if I didn't have the band, it would have been impossible to loose any weight at all (I would have probably keep on gaining weight...). The band has been a tremendous help in changing my life style. I now pay attention to correct food choices (every now and then I still eat some «wrong» stuff, but I'm pretty aware of it and try to compensate afterwards), I exercise a lot, I have a goal and I keep saying to myself I'll get there someday. It takes effort and we can't rely on the band to do it by itself, it's not a miracle worker, but even so I still believe it's the best thing I ever did for myself. best of luck, niki

That's great! You go, girl! Exercising will give you an extra boost, you'll see. niki

You look wonderful! Go for it! niki

It's curious how guilt works, isn't it? I sometimes feel the same whenever I get off the track... I wouldn't worry too much. With that workout and what you ate afterwards that chocolate probably will never turn to fat, your metabolism will take care of it if you keep it high, pumping and burning. niki

I usually take a whey protein shake to which they say it can be mixed with water or milk. I usually do it just with water as most people I know that take up exercising seriously keep telling me not to use milk with the protein. There are so many different brands of protein available on the market, I think it's just a question of finding one with a flavour that suits your taste. niki

It seems ok, even though I would take more protein and veggies, and less carbs. Or at least try eating some «good carbs», not «refined» ones such as white bread or rice. Dark bread and wholegrain cereals are a good option and will make you feel satiated. niki

That's great! You're on the right track, marineliebe. The band won't do it alone, you have your share, too. But it will be a good help to remind you that you're on a journey for a new life. There are so many things we have to learn or re-learn again: making correct food choices, taking our time to chew, chew and chew some more everytime we eat, exercise, taking better care of ourselves, etc. best of luck, niki

Try staying on liquids and really soft food for a couple more days. A 3cc fill is quite aggressive and your stomach might need some extra time to adjust to it. These post-fill recommendations vary a lot from one doctor to another. I've had 9 fills over the past 3 yrs. and usually do 1 week of liquids and mushies after each fill. niki

I had my band in January 2005. I still have approx. 40lbs to loose. After 9 fills and almost at the limit of my full capacity (this band of mine takes 11cc and I currently have 10cc) I still have to make a big effort in terms of self control and not overeating or making correct food choices. I've been learning that the band doesn't work by itself, it's not even a fair split of 50/50, it's up to me most of the effort in staying on the right track. Exercising and going to the gym 4 or 5 times a week has been very helpful. No pain, no gain, and most of all, no loosing weight! niki

Hi Nanaof5, Go ahead, you can ask me anything, no problem. yes, this has been a hard struggle these past 3 yrs with my band, I mean I never had any problems (reflux, PB, blockage, etc), the only thing I felt was that even after many fills (always small ones, my doc is very conservative with fills) I never really felt much of a restriction. I know I've been doing everything correctly: exercising a lot, making correct food choices, and so on, but I just did not loose weight as I was expecting to or as I've seen so many other people loosing - and that's very frustrating as you know. I started with a BMI of 35 (with 100Kilos = 221 pounds) and today I'm with 88 Kgs = 195 pounds more or less. I still need to loose some 20Kgs (44 pounds) which is a lot, and what scares me is that I'm almost at the capacity limit for my band (I have 10cc in a 11cc band). My doc says there is no problem whatsoever with my band, no leakage, it looks perfectly fine. That's how I came to the conclusion that the band I got is most probably too big for my stomach particularly now that some of the fat around it is gone (there are two other smaller sizes on that same brand) and I guess that that was the only size available at that time at the hospital where I had the surgery (it's like a «one size fits all» as long as you keep it well tight, but now it's really very tight and even so it allows too big a quantity of food through my stoma, that's why I don't feel restricted). I did have several plateaus (period of time when your weight stands still). There's a useful link somewhere here at LBT with that information and what to do to get out of a plateau. I know that it is important for me to eat 5 or 6 small meals per day to keep loosing (starvation IS NOT the solution, it will have the opposite effect) and always making sure I'm eating correct food stuff (good solid food, forget liquids and mushy stuff if you want to keep your metabolism pumping). Basically, I believe that this band was an opportunity to re-learn how to eat and how to take better care of myself. Enough of feeling sorry for myself because I'm fat. I'll get there, it will take time, but I'll get there. Try having a look at one of the threads about slow losers. There are others like us, of course there are. best of luck to you, niki

Hey Marillon and Nanaof5, I fully understand what you're feeling and going through right now. I have my band for 3yrs now, had 9 fills (last fill was last friday) and I'm with 10cc on a 11cc band. I'm very far from reaching my goal (still have some 20kgs, 40pounds to loose). This week I'm still on liquids/mushies after that last fill so I did not try any solid food yet but for all this time - 3 yrs. - I never felt much of a restriction with other fills. I usually feel restricted 1 or 2 weeks after a fill (maybe due the swelling effect) but it soon fades away and afterwards I get to eat everything: Pasta, bread, rice, all types of fibre, etc - nothing gets stuck and I know I'm eating too much, too big portions. Evidently I try to make correct food choices with good solid Protein and veggies, and avoid all the bad stuff. After researching and reading a lot, I came to the conclusion that I might have got a band size too big for me (I started with a low BMI of 35) but I guess that it was the only one available at the time here locally at the hospital so that's what my doc used... This means that I'm loosing at a very slow pace and I'm almost at the limit of the band's capacity and still have a long way to go. It's quite frustrating, it takes a lot of effort from my side (lots of exercise at the gym, correct food choices, etc) to compensate the fact that the band is not doing it's share completely, but that's just the way it is for me right now. I can't afford to be self-pay at this stage of my life. Maybe it will work better with this recent fill and I'll loose a bit more. I can't afford to think that this band is not working, I've put too much of myself into it. This is just to let you know that there are other bandsters just as you and feeling the same as you around here, you're not alone. hang in there. niki

Hi Drkel, Do you have any idea why you had a slippage after 5 yrs. with that band? what did you feel when the slippge started/happened? I've had mine for 3yrs. and even though I'm still far from reaching my goal it never gave any problems (clockage, slippage, erosion, etc). It's quite scaring to think that something like that can happen even when you're an «experienced» bandster. best of luck to you and your new band! niki