lellow

This is just what I reckon: noodles and rice tend to bloat. If you put noodles or rice and stand them in some hot Water, they double in size. This can happen when you eat it and it will bloat above the band and make you feel stuck. But potato chips are sliced thin and because they've been fried, I guess, they don't seem to bloat above the band, and I reckon the high fat content makes it easy for it to just slide past the band.

Hell yes it tastes good or we'd never have gotten heavy lol. But it tastes just as good with one bite as 20 bites. That's what I figured out over the years. (Except when I have chocolate shhhh)

Even now without restriction I have changed what I consider 'a lot of food' to be. I could probably put away a whole pizza easy before and still have a tonne of dessert, and now if I have 2 pieces, I feel like I have had HEAPS. I was telling a friend that I don't have restriction at the moment and am eating heaps, and she said, ummm no you're not. You still eat like a bird! That's the good thing about the band - with time, it helps you reassess how much food you actually need. For that, I'm glad, because it's helped me maintain my weight despite the band not working as it should right now.

depending on your level of restriction, you may feel tighter for a few days after the flight, so I tend to carry some Optifast (or whatever shakes you use) on the plane just in case. If you do feel tight, nurse your band with liquids for a few days until you are feeling back to normal. It doesn't always happen for me, but it has on occasion, mainly when I was in the green zone.

Try softer Proteins, like fish and tofu or chicken thighs cooked for a long time. Eat slowly, chew well. Take your time. I never counted calories, avoided carbs or made a note of the amount of Protein I ate. I kinda let the band do all the work as far as portion control. And I lost weight. So eat well and maybe don't worry if you're not getting the whole 70g in.

I never even saw this the first time round that you posted. I just had port and tubing revision due to a leak. Mine was slow and it got worse in the last few months. I actually thought this surgery was tougher on me than the lapband surgery. I know it sounds weird but it seemed to me. My tummy got really swollen for 6 days and I looked like an alien was going to burst out of my belly button. But I'm about 8 days post op now and it's almost back to normal, thank goodness. Good luck with your upcoming surgery. I too lost a lot of my weight prior to getting into the green zone but I always say that getting into the green zone was what made maintaining my weight a walk in the park.

I got stuck for the first time at 6.5cc. I could eat anything I wanted. I continued to get stuck on and off from then until I hit my green zone at 8.5cc. At 8.5cc, I literally couldn't eat much even if I wanted to. And I was just about never hungry. Being stuck doesn't mean you have enough fill in. It means you're eating too fast or eating things your band may not tolerate (I could not eat rice but could eat Pasta while in my green zone). Being in the green zone means a little bit of food will keep you satiated for hours. It means you only eat a little bit to get satiated. It means you can't physically eat more than that amount of food. The band has not failed you. You have not yet failed the band. Gets fill(s) and get the band working the way it's supposed to. What you're describing does NOT sound like you're in the green zone to me.

hey Xavier, good you decided to join us here! I love that some of you, who I've become familiar with through the rest of the forum, are finding a home here. How is everyone going? Today, with my tummy down to almost normal, I actually experienced some restriction for the first time since my op. I hardly ate anything today - I was busy, I got out of the house for the first time since my op (that wasn't just going to see my dr) and I forgot to eat pretty much all day. And I wasn't actually hungry. Then I got to dinner, ate about 2 cups of risotto and felt full. Makes me wonder how much of my eating the last few days has been from boredom. But I was healing so I'm disregarding my diet from the last few days. With my partner out of the country for work, my friends have been dropping me food off while I was recovering, or I'd make something quick, and mostly it wasn't a huge consideration for it to be low fat/cal/whatever. I also kinda grazed all day because there was so much food! But after today, I'm going to start paying attention to my hunger signals again to make sure I'm not eating just because. Having you guys around has been really motivating, so I'm so glad you're all here, btw.

The statistics for the band is an average weight loss of 60% of excess weight. This generally includes those who lose more than 100% of their excess weight or more (like me), those who don't lose at all, and everything in between, whether from not doing what they need to to lose weight, or from band failure. Gastric banding surgery still is the most performed WLS in Australia, and automatically covered by most insurance companies (in that you don't have to 'qualify' aside from having a BMI of over 35 with comorbs or a family history of obesity-related disease). This is because, a lot of the time, it works to reduce weight enough to get the patient to the point of being less at risk of obesity related disease. Does it get them to a normal BMI? Not always. Can it? Sure! How much you lose, if you're working your band, and your band is working, is up to you.

I didn't think it did either. But I think coz of my skin colour, he was really working that needle to make sure the ink 'took'. Plus it appears the surgeon who did my body lift put my port and tubing very close to the skin because, I guess, i didn't really have much fat by then. So it was waiting to happen, I guess.

Pfft. That definitely sounds like insecurity. My ex used to say much the same thing, but funny no one else seemed to think I was a bag of bones...

I didn't get restriction until I had over 8cc in a 10cc band. I started feeling it only at about 7cc. I currently have 5cc after port/tubing revision and I hardly feel a thing. It's like I don't even have a band. I know it will take a while for me to get restriction, but I have the benefit of my previous experience so I know not to be worried. I can see how not achieving restriction yet might be frustrating for some of you though, because you don't know when that will be for you. But don't assume you've wasted your money yet. You just might be someone (like me) who takes more fill to get there. It doesn't mean your band won't ever work.

My ex was ok about me losing weight. To a point. But once I got to a normal BMI he wanted me to stop, and he started harping on about me losing too much. When we split he admitted that the weight loss and increased attention from other men made him insecure, but it wouldn't admit it at the time. So it happens, but you can work through it if you're both able to be honest with each other.

I won't lie. When I was well restricted, I ate less than what you described. Quite a lot less. What you're describing is probably what I eat now when I have no restriction (and to maintain my weight) And I didn't feel hungry between meals. I rarely had breakfast beyond a cup of tea, and then if one of my team didn't remind me to have lunch, I'd often forget that too. So I would say you could probably use a little more fill if you're eating all that and are still hungry. You can still eat healthy (I couldn't eat chicken breast but I could eat well cooked, softer chicken thighs) even while well restricted. You just learn to eat differently.

My ex was skinny and tall. I used to joke that we looked like a small letter 'b' if we stood side by side. I had 50lbs on him, even though he had over a foot in height over me, but then lost that and more, and suddenly he could pin me down and I couldn't breathe! And suddenly he didn't seem so skinny anymore! Plus he gained some as I lost some so in the end, he looked big and hulking next to me. The most excitement I had when I was losing was when I weighed less than him. I'd never weighed less than him, ever!

I was scared of failing too. I thought, if anyone is going to fail this band, I bet it's me. But then I pulled myself up and thought, stuff this, I am so NOT going to fail this. I just need some help, a little push, to control the hunger, and I'll be fine. And I was. I recently sprung a leak and I have no restriction and I can tell you now, fighting with hunger again is no picnic. The band took away my hunger, and with some readjustments to the way I thought, I tackled the head hunger while the band tackled the physical hunger. It IS easier to work on the head hunger when the physical hunger isn't derailing you. So make the decision - you are NOT going to fail this. Set yourself mini goals that you'd like to achieve. Remind yourself of the prize that awaits you. You can make up your mind to do this. You just have to believe it. And no, I didn't fail. I lost all the weight plus some. And even now, with no restriction, I'm maintaining my weight on my own. If I can do this, someone who was overweight all my adult life, so can you. I'm not special, trust me. So make the decision.

AB, no tattoo over port. NOOOOOO. Today I'm feeling 80% better. The Alien Baby Belly is started to disappear, hallelujah! There is still some swelling but nothing last the last 5 days. I was starting to get scared that I was gonna have to live with it forever! I have another appt with Peter Nottle next Friday and I will probably ask for another fill. The 5cc is doing nothing. Hope everyone's going great!

It's horrible that you received such disgustingly bad aftercare. The band only really works if you get real aftercare and appropriate fills. I don't understand why your dr would even bother with fake adjustments - I mean, it's just a syringe and saline to fill your band! Why would you even WANT to fake those? And it actually doesn't sound like band failure at all, but failure of the people who put in your lapband. Your band didn't even have a chance to function properly.

Yep it is prodigy. Prodigy has a great beat for exercise.