2muchfun

To answer your topic question, yes, plateaus are very common and it's not really a plateau unless you go 4 weeks with no weight loss and your clothes fit the same? If your clothes are looser, you're probably replacing fat loss with muscle and it's not a plateau.

Sorry, I don't understand "net calories"? Just need to know total calories in per day?

"I finally left the second surgeon and signed on with the top bariatric surgery in the state. It means I travel 2.5 hours one way for all my appointments but she is great. She won't please lap band because she says there's a50 percent failure rate. Some resurgent and some bands intolerance (which is what I developed with Mr second band because my first band was slipped for so long). She also said most people with a band suffer psychological trauma as well as physical trauma. She was the first to acknowledge to me what I was suffering. I am now having the band out Dec 6th and if all looks good inside she will do the bypass at the same time. She offered too do the sleeve but with my band issues there's a chance I wouldn't tolerate the restrictive feeling of it plus many people have too be revised from sleeve to bypass so I opted to stick with bypass which is the gold standard procedure. If I was you I would stick to your guns. If something doesn't feel right it probably. Don't be afraid to find another surgeon either. Best of luck to you. Dara" There is not a 50% failure rate with the band! Your current doc sounds like a money grubbing quack!

How many calories do you consume? How many do you burn a day? What is your personal daily caloric needs to maintain your current weight?

Who is your doc? Mine is Frank Chae at Skyridge Highlands Ranch?

Show off!!

RE: Foreign objects in our bodies I totally respect everyone's WLS decision but let me point out something. Very few of us ever make it through our lives without some kind of foreign object being placed within, or on our bodies. Here's a short list of medical contraptions many of us will endure before we assume room temperature: False teeth Dental implants Fillings and caps Joint replacements, knee, hip Metal plates and screws for broken bones and spinal fusions Artery stints Heart valve replacements Organ transplants Silicone or saline implants Ligament transplants(Cadaver and man made) Penile implants Ink(Tats) Body piercings Pacemakers Defibs Hearing aids I'm sure the list can go on and on but if you're researching the band, take this into consideration as you check off pros and cons. There are certainly other issues with the band that might dissuade someone from the band but foreign objects in the body shouldn't be at the top of the won't do list? tmf

Butterbean, I like the link to the 3 week stall. Do I have your permission to re-use this for bandster's who stall shortly after surgery? I had a vague idea why I always lost weight on a diet or with the band initially but this scientific explanation is better than anything I can come up with? tmf

Good point! I still know very little about the sleeve, bypass or DS as far as maintenance, side effects, unintended consequences etc. The band certainly has a learning curve and demands a lot of attention to be successful. I think this is why many fail with the band. They just weren't up to the task of eating correctly and obeying the band. Education may be the key to prevent or screen out the psychological profiles that may fail with the band. But, I know if someone could have painted the picture of how difficult this was going to be, I may not have gone through with it. In this case, ignorance is bliss. tmf

Butterbean, my wife is in the medical industry and has seen many patients come in who had bypass surgery. Several died due partially because they couldn't absorb medications and food via tubes. This option is clearly a radical step but may also be a necessary one for those who choose it. I don't make judgments for those who choose this option as I'm sure they and their surgeons have looked at all options. When I first started my research the sleeve wasn't popular and was not widely recommended locally here. I did very little research on the sleeve and looking back with what I know now I still would have gone with the band simply because I still had the option to remove the band and go with the sleeve if I failed to be compliant with my band or the band was rejected by my body for some reason. The advantage, unless there was a catastrophic failure with my stomach and band, I could always return to my old 36 BMI or look at other surgeries. That was not the case with the other options. I also believed I had researched WLS as much as possible but looking back I knew very little compared to what I know now.

Short answer: I prefer to keep my current stomach but I'd opt for the sleeve if my band didn't work out. So, for me, starting with the band was the logical choice. Starting with any other WLS was permanent, the band, not so much.

My doc told me the same thing. He said he could feel the Fluid pushing back and felt like the band may be as full as it might ever become. But, he was wrong. I got two more fills(6 total) before I found the green zone.

I highly recommend you schedule a consult with your nutritionist. He/she can help you a great deal. Mine sure did for me.

How long did it take to digest before and now? It should always take 3-5 hours for food to break down in your stomach before passing into your small intestine. I had sushi a few nights ago and as usual it probably took 3-5 hours to digest. But it's a process that occurs without our knowledge or awareness. tmf

What he's saying is, he feels the band pushing back through the syringe as he inserts Fluid. It's not the same restriction we look for when eating. It means that the lining in your stomach is tight against the band. The restriction we speak of is when the band starts to give us some early signs of satiety. Another signal of restriction is when food has difficulty passing through the band may get stuck temporarily. Taking smaller bites and chewing more can mitigate some of the stuck episodes but that doesn't seem to be your problem. It can take up to 6 or more fills before you feel enough restriction to feel satisfied longer and with less food. In this case, restriction has two definitions. tmf

1500 calories and no exercise should give you about a 2 lb/month loss so you're just about where you should be. If you're not tracking calories you might want to start? It's very easy for we obese to overlook a few indiscretions here and there which can sabotage any weight loss. And Missy is right. Vomiting is not good. Why do you vomit and is it a real vomit or PBing?

How about 20 lbs "After" Xmas?

I still maintain that I love the taste of some foods and even though I'm not hungry, the flavor just feels good. Although, most/many of these foods don't taste as good as before thanks to the band and I eat so much less than before so it's much easier to just maintain. tmf

You won't have to eat rabbit food after you're banded and beyond your mushie stage.

Micki, How did the port revision go?

My doctor filled slow too. I was 7 months out and had my 6th fill before I found the green zone. I was aggressive with my fills and called or emailed within weeks of each fill to speed up the process. If you feel like you're ready for another fill, why not request it now. It will be 2-3 weeks before they get you in but be assertive that you need this? tmf

This really isn't a diet that a Bandster would follow for most of us. You can eat whatever you want. Once you get enough fills to be in the green zone you will be satisfied with less food. That's how the band is intended to work. Of course, eating healthy foods like salmon, chicken, salads, veggies is always a good idea. I eat the sandwich thins with deli turkey a lot. I sometimes add a thin slice of cheese. I use mustard and light mayo/miracle whip. Sometimes it's just the deli meat and some fruit. dinner can be salmon with veggies. Chicken stir fry with veggies. Hamburger patty with a side salad or vegetables. Small tenderloin with spaghetti squash. I try to stay away from anything white, like milk, refined sugar, flours, Pasta, potatoes. I don't cut them out entirely but I eat much much less now than before.

It's always OK. But, if you want to lose fat you need to count those calories and burn more than you consume. What you're experiencing is called "Bandster Hell" and most all of us have gone through this phase. Until you get the fill that gives you enough restriction to feel satisfied for 4 hours this will be just another diet. I was in BH for 4 month before I started feeling enough restriction to go 2-3 hours without being hungry and 7 months before I found the green zone. tmf

GW, Just remember all the great advice you've given to so many others and realize this is just a very small bump in the road. tmf

Re: Vomiting.....If you've ever had a stomach bug/flu or a bad drinking binge/hangover where you feel like you're hurling your insides into the toilet, that is vomiting. And PB'ing is a simple little regurgitation of food at the bottom of your esophagus or top of your stoma. It's like a burp with food expelled instead of air. Vomiting/hurling is a total contraction of your stomach as it expels food back up your esophagus. Since the stoma is so small, the violence of the food being expelled can cause the band to slip up the stomach and tear away the sutures holding it in place. A PB is a rather innocent little burp that causes very little harm. tmf