2muchfun

The band doesn't stop you from eating anything as long as you take small bites and chew a lot. I eat: Tuna or chicken salad on a 100 cal thin bread. Leftover chicken. Lefover tacos. Leftover meatloaf. Fruit. Deli turkey sometimes on bread. Shrimp, chicken etc on a salad. Eat healthy though. Make smart choices like lean chicken and very lean beef. You'll find that your band does not like some foods so that will dictate what you can eat. And the lapband can be very tempermental and unpredictable. One day it loves chicken and the next day you're stuck and sliming. Slider foods will always go down easily but you will eat too much if you rely on slider foods. tmf

SURPRISE!!! Welcome to "Bandster Hell"!!! I'll bet no one told you about this part of your journey? No one told me. I found out about it at a support group meeting about 7 weeks post op. I'd like to say this is a dirty little secret that doctors neglect to tell us but in reality it's a good thing that we go through this. As you get fills you will try to detect if you are getting any restriction. It's like listening to your band. It helps you to begin to communicate with your body, your stomach and your pouch. The learning curve is long. It may take you 4-6 months to get acquainted with your band and develop that love/hate relationship we all adore. So, I was in BH for about 3.5 months. After I was told about this phase I decided to eat healthy but no deprive myself from being satiated. I probably ate too much but I didn't gain and I didn't lose after the initial 2 weeks. Jen is right so eat light, eat Protein and get those fills. tmf

Out of pocket cost? Hard to say? Depends on your deductible, co-pay etc. My $1500 deductible had already been met so I guess I probably spent $1500 out of pocket? Some wierd costs come up that I didn't plan on? Sometimes the doc will use an assistant and he was out of network so insurance didn't pay for it. That was $400. Fortunately I have lifetime fills for free and all my bariatric doctor visits are free. tmf

I get the toofattoexercise comment. Just don't wait too long to get into that fitness groove. I laid off for many years and now my knees are shot so the only real workout I can get is biking. But I do love my bike trips. And unfortunately, work will always be there eh? tmf

I don't use MFP but I do get plateaus. Don't fret over the weekly ups and downs. You can gain 10 lbs of Water weight in just a weekend if you eat the wrong foods. I know, I gained 7 lbs two weekends ago and it was just because I ate along with my visiting grandkids. As soon as they left I went back to my lapband journey and dropped 9 lbs in 4 days. I know most of that was water weight but I'm positive I lost maybe 2 lbs of fat. This will be a long journey and the weight you lost in the beginning was mostly water weight. Now you're working on fat loss. It will be slower now but oh so satisfying. Keep up the great work. tmf

Plateaus are common and shouldn't alarm you. There are so many reasons why we plateau and most people will advise you to do some of the following: Keep a journal, maybe with myfitnesspal? How many calories are you consuming? How much exercise? Are you eating slider foods? Have you seen your nutritionist/dietician lately?( I did about 4 months into my journey and she changed my direction immensely) Do you get stuck often? Sliming? Or, can you eat as you could before? I lost 12 lbs the first 2 weeks and then plateaued the next 3.5 months until I got a fill that gave me some restriction and my visit with my nutritionist. So, no worries, by my standards you are quite normal tmf

It's not a panacea so be aware that it requires a lot of work. You will be on a diet. The band may help you eat less food but it can't help you if you decide to eat around it. A lot of your success will depend on what kind of eater you are? I was(and still am) an overeater. I always ate too much food. I really didn't binge on sweets or fats, I just ate more than I really needed. Maybe that's why it's working for me? Some bandsters do not feel any hunger once they find their green zone. I'm still hungry most of the time but it's not like it used to be. You will need to get fills after your band is placed. It could take several months before you find enough restriction and begin to really lose fat. Jean McMillan wrote a book about this. Her ads are usually on this page and if not, her magazine articles are on the right side of the page about half way down. Buy her book and read it. I wish I would have before surgery. Read this forum as much as possible and learn from our mistakes and successes. This has been the best thing I've ever done for myself and I do recommend it. But, I went into this blind and was disappointed in the beginning. Good luck and stay tuned. tmf

Sorry to burst your balloon but it's mostly Water you've lost. You may have lost 1-2 lbs of fat but it's mostly Fluid you've retained. Depending on how much weight you have to lose, you could lose up to 30 lbs of fluid the first month. Don't get me wrong, any weight loss is good but the most "fat" any of us can lose is around 2 lbs a week. Congrats! tmf

Twice a day. Morning and before bed. If you understand the way the band works and acknowledge that you may only lose 1 or 2 lbs a week what's the risk? I know when I've been bad and it shows on the scale. Weight fluctuations can occur for many reasons and my mental health isn't so fragile that I would throw in the towel if I gained a few lbs. It's usually only Fluid retention if I've eaten too many carbs. How can you move forward if you don't know where you are? jmo tmf

B-52....Until there's restriction, it's just another diet. I know I'm a little unorthodox, but I decided that until I got a fill that was going to give me restriction, I wasn't going to sweat not losing weight. And I didn't lose weight but I didn't gain it either. I think if you just keep it around 100-1200 calories a day you won't feel real deprived and go off the deep end. Others may suggest you keep it at 800-1000 but you're going to get real hungry as you get further into bandster hell. Don't be real concerned about losing weight until you get some fills and if you do lose weight, it's a bonus. tmf

I never gave much thought to eating out of a lunch pail? I work from home so it's easy to just open the fridge. Fruit comes to mind. Apples, pears, veggies? costco has some fairly inexpensive Jerky that I rely on for Snacks. Tuna and chicken salad in a can? Add some thin low cal bread or celery? I've been making some lettuce wraps that can be low carb and low fat? Just need to make sure the chicken is kept cool? There's some great recipes if you google them or go down the asian isle and there are some mixes that work well too. I'm sure you do this too but I always try to make about 3-4 days of food each time I make something that I want to graze on for a few days. Stuff like low fat meatloaf and low fat quiche? Good luck tmf

That's impossible to answer since most of us have only had the one band. No way to compare is there? tmf

You're a lucky gal Highland. I'm starting to think that I may never have been in the green zone. I think after my 6th fill I may have been but I'm not sure. I got stuck a lot and I followed the rules. But I'm still always hungry for delicious food. That has not changed for me. I had a small unfill about 6 weeks ago and now I get stuck less but I think the reason I've been losing weight is mostly because I stick to a diet and exercise a lot. And, the band does keep me from overeating and overeating has always been my downfall. So, now I eat less even if it's junk food. But that feeling that i'm satiated after a cup of food, never happened for me. tmf

Jean is right. You also have to take into consideration that of the 151 patients contacted, only 82 responded. And from what I've learned about reviews of products, people who are dissatisfied will respond much more than those who have just moved on with their lives. Read from the study below. "All 151 patients from the cohort were contacted by certified letter and by telephone. Only 82 responded. This low response rate after 12 years is rather deceiving and could be attributed to a general lack of compliance among this particular patient population" "Another limitation of our study concerns the surgical technique. Indeed, there is some evidence to suggest that the more recent “pars flaccida” technique and the use of wider, softer bands provide better overall results than the “perigastric” technique that we used at the time, especially concerning the erosion rate and the incidences of band slippage and pouch dilatation.23 Last but not least, one could object that our results reflect a learning curve among surgeons. However, as mentioned earlier, our department started performing LAGB more than 14 months before the time of the onset of this study and had performed some 50 LAGB procedures at that time. It is generally accepted that the learning curve for an advanced laparoscopic procedure affects some 35 cases" tmf

Your weight loss is extraordinary. Many of us lost less. I know you're just venting here but being cautious with your health is always a good move. It may take many more fills to find restriction, it's not as simple as you may believe it is. This is the way of the band and seems like the Dr's decision was the right one. What if you would have had too much restriction and couldn't even get Water down while on vacation? There aren't many ER's that understand the band and your port, so your Dr was looking out for you and your wallet. I would plead your case to the doctor and push for a fill before your 3 month anniversary. He sounds reasonable and in my opinion competent so no need to worry so much. tmf

Why an unfill?

Calmly tell him what you're going through and if he loves you he'll make some adjustments. tmf

Calories? How many calories do you consume a day? And I agree with some of the others, you should not be vomiting. Your band is too tight or you aren't eating properly. tmf

I agree with the others. But you really should be keeping a food diary of some kind so you know how many calories you're consuming? You confess you may be getting your calories from liquids? How many calories and what kind of liquids? A visit with a bariatric nutritionist could do wonders for you. tmf

Use his A-Holeness as a motivation to lose and shove it in his face. Then when you're a real hottie flirt with cute guys. tmf

No you won't. In time you will find that you can eat most foods with no problem as long as you follow the basic guidelines. tmf

Showoff

I posted an article a few months ago from Dr Michelle May. Your post reminded me of this and it's always a good idea to revisit why we eat or don't eat. It sounds like you stumbled upon the same conclusion and may have mastered the "trigger"? You are not powerless! Our environment is loaded with triggers for eating when we're not really hungry and for continuing to eat past the point of satiety. Learning to recognize these triggers and respond in an effective manner is the key to thriving in this food abundant environment. What is a trigger? Think about the word trigger for a moment… In behavioral terms, a trigger is anything that serves as a stimulus that initiates a reaction or series of reactions. This concept is analogous to a mechanical trigger, defined as a mechanism that activates a sequence. Thinking about a trigger in mechanical terms is helpful because it takes the emotion out of it for a moment. More importantly, it reminds us that a trigger has no effect on its own and must be activated in some way. Similarly, your triggers for overeating are powerless over you—until you choose to act on them. Dismantle the machine The following mindful eating concepts will help you break the automated response to your triggers. (For those who have participated in Am I Hungry? Mindful Eating Workshops and/or read Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat, you'll recognize this as a version of FEAST from Chapter 3): Focus: Whenever you want to eat or continue to eat, that is your trigger to pause and ask, Am I hungry? or Am I still hungry? In essence, you are creating a new trigger for yourself - wanting to eat now triggers you to pause and check in. This pause creates a gap between the stimulus and response, allowing you to respond instead of react. Explore: If you're not hungry, get curious! I wonder why I want to eat right now even though I'm not hungry. What was the trigger? Accept: Don't judge yourself. You wouldn't judge a machine for having a switch! Instead, say, Hmmmm, isn't that interesting? Strategize: Choose how you will respond. I could eat anyway if I want to. For now, I am not going to activate this particular sequence of events. Let's see...what else could I do until I'm hungry? Take Action: Each time you choose not to pull the trigger, you weaken its connection. It's as if the wires rust and eventually break. Further, each time you choose a different action, you create new connections. With practice, you will hardwire these new pathways - like insulating the wiring. Eat Mindfully, Live Vibrantly! Michelle May, M.D.

Smalltown, I only lost 12 lbs the first 4 months. Then I sat down with the Dr's nutritionist. She helped me so much. Have you done this yet? For most of us 20 lbs would be hard to take but you seem to be somewhat comfortable with 20? Or, are there other reasons why your weight loss is slow? I don't mean to pry but we all want to help everyone here. tmf