bambam31

I would personally like to thank granny for inspiring this art-filled thread. Now... If you have a sliming incident, will the slime show up in your poop?

Hi Lisa, Do some LBT searches for "Bandster Hell." It takes sheer will power to get through this phase. My advice would be to slow down and focus. Most people do not achieve restriction on their first fill. Some do, most don't - it may take 3, 4, 5 or more. You have to be patient. One thing, however, is certain. Exercise, at whatever level you're capable, is a must. Brad

Good luck Heather! I took a look at the body bug too and I would like to have it but the $$$ is too much for me. When you shop for a heart rate monitor make certain you get one that tracks your personal calories because not all of them do. I have a Polar F6 and I love it! I paid about 90 bucks at Dunhams. After a few weeks of working hard (especially intense cardio) you'll be surprised how much cardiovascular progress you've made. You're heart rate recovery and resting heart rate will improve every week. That is so motivating! There are online calculators to also assist you determining your basal metabolic rate so you can find out about how many calories your body burns just existing. It's not exact but it gets you in the ballpark. Right now, I'm using fitday to track all of my food intake and calories burnt (basal, lifestyle, exercise). I bought the program but they also have a free online application. Brad

Ever notice how talk about sex in the ladies room attracts all the men? Anyway... This question has come up a lot on LBT and the most common answer seems to be whenever you feel up to it. I remember one lady who asked her doctor at a follow up visit and he said something to the effect of, "well, at least wait until you've left my office." Just don't make it too rough at first... Good luck! Brad

Lisa, I would start by journaling everything you eat, drink, as well as all of your activities. Then determine your basal metabolic rate (google it) and after a week or so what you're burning vs. what your intaking and make adjustments. Fitday is a great tool for this but there are also many others. In the meantime, it sounds like you're still having trouble eating consistantly. You may want to discuss a partial unfill with your doc. It sounds as though you may be only eating a small amount of calories. That would cause the initial quick weight loss, followed by a plateau. Once your body activates the starvation response your metabolism slows and you burn less and less calories. Some very educational reading is an ebook called "Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle" by Tom Venuto. It will explain in detail what you seem to be experiencing and what to do about it. The problem for you at this point, however, is that you'll need to eat more - a lot more. And exercise a lot more as well, with a focus on intense cardio - not just cardio - intense cardio. Good luck! Brad

:cornut: That solicited a good laugh Jacqui - thanks! So... what your saying is you're not sure what the future holds for you? :ban: Anyhoo... If people post a question like some discussed here and wonder if the sky is falling then I can't help but believe what they're really seeking is a swift kick in the arse... And you'll find it on here that's for sure! If you won't listen to your doctor or criticism then all we're doing is .... Truth is, the tool that some people need applied is... :smash: But when people get the they have coming (and probably seeking) and others complain because all they ever want to read and feel is... :eek: ...then I get all :cursing:... And that is normally followed by... :eek: Tough love is an important component and nobody wants to see people fail. Getting tough is sometimes the only way to get some people back on track. If you can't handle that... well... :dita: We're here to help people through the journey not... :tape2:.... K? :rant: ...See how visual aids help advance the understanding? Brad

I read those when I first started LBT. I agree this is a must read area. The "Bandster Hell" though is what I was directly referring to. Explaining that it's very normal to get VERY hungry as the healing progresses - and what they should do about it. The one about "I'm starving yada yada yada" comes close but I don't think it is descriptive enough. And I think it should also include something the effect of warning people that surgeons food selection covers every spectrum of the rainbow - but it's important to follow what YOUR doctor says - not what some other bandster ate and got away with. Unfortunately though, even with that type of specific content, a lot of people will just post a question anyway because they're too lazy to search. My thought is that it would make things easier for US to just post the link and then they can go research things themselves. Brad

Good for you Kat! You're confidence shines through! Brad

Like Jacqui said - this is only a half-truth. For most all of us it's probably less than that - but there are some examples where this would be true. There is a trainer at my gym who is SOLID... He has 6.8% body fat and his necessary calorie intake is 3500. The more active he is (as in adding significant cardio) then the more calories he will need to intake just to meet the minimum needed requirement. If he goes into a calorie deficit, for any period of days, his body will go catabolic and consume lean muscle tissue - hence muscle loss. That's the reason most people with big muscles shy away from cardio. Most all of us on this site will not be in that situation... We need cardio - and lots of it. That's what burns large amounts of calories. And with that said, I don't buy into the target heart rate "fat burning zone" theory either. While it's not good to STAY WAY above the top end of your target zone for long periods of time, it is beneficial to get up to 85% or a bit more and then let it come back down - just like circuit training. People who only stay in their comfort zone are not advancing to their fullest potential and are missing out on a huge burn of calories. Buy a heart rate monitor that lets you program your own personal details and tracks YOUR calories burnt. Don't go by the calorie burned counter on gym machines - they're normally way off because they don't know your specific criteria. A heart rate monitor is the one of the best hundred bucks you'll spend... Our goal, in order to lose weight, should be to keep our metabolism burning as hot as we can. I don't buy into another myth that every calorie is created equal. If that were true all of us would be able to a diet of strictly Hershey chocolate Bars and as long as we had a calorie deficit, we'd lose weight - give it a try... Just look at the posters here who are burning everything they eat through exercise but still aren't losing. Your body is a well adaptative machine. If it thinks it's starving - it slows the metabolism and sheds more lean muscle tissue than it otherwise would. Lean muscle tissue is metabolically active and it costs calories to keep around. If your body can't afford to keep it - it will get rid of it. The bottom line - eat lots and exercise lots... Get a modest calorie deficit by eating and burning - not starving and slouching... It's true that you can't starve the fat off - your body will not let it happen. With all the diets out there why do you think our society is so fat? Because misinformation abounds - and there's a lot of money to be made in the process... This is also why the scale alone is not the best measure of progress. It's beneficial to monitor your body fat percentage as well to be certain what you're losing is fat, and not lean muscle tissue. The band comes into play here by keeping us who have binging and overeating tendencies from doing those things. Beyond that - it's hard work that pays off! I'm burning 4,000 to 6,000 calories a week in the gym and I've worked up to eating on average about 2000 calories a day. I'm still working to get that up to about 2200. And I keep those calories spread out throughout the day. It seems like I'm always eating. And like Lellow said - look into Spin Classes. I burn 650-900 calories an hour on a Spin bike. Good luck and KEEP MOVING! Brad

I wish the mods would post a sticky explaining what bandster hell is and another explaining the whole double double (cheeseburger) issue... Especially since these types of questions show up almost daily - if not several times a day. It gets tedious answering those posts but it's clear those people need guidance and quickly! It would be much easier to have a sticky to point them to. Brad

Oh look... another quitter... :cool:

Congrats on your results! Wait and see what movement you get when Aunt Flow leaves... Beyond that, change up your workout routine and be certain you're challenging yourself enough. Sometimes increasing your calorie intake for a few days with get things going too. Good luck!

I think that makes Jacqui a quitter.... :grouphug: Brad

Well it's hard to argue with the "Lean Mean banana Machine" because he has the numbers behind him to make his case. But.... Not everyone is the same. Maranda, you may not be as easier of a weight loser as he is... You may have to work much harder to see progress. Personally.... Housework, walking, going up and down stairs, etc. is part of your daily Total Energy Expenditure - your base caloric value - it's not exercise... Now if a person is only capable of walking a few blocks to start then that's ok. You do what you can and work to incrementally increase your fitness level. But most people are going to have to work much harder than a walk here and a bike ride there to achieve success. I would take a look at your nutrition and Vitamin intake. Are you getting enough calories a day? Are you nutritionally deficient somewhere? Exercise breeds motivation. Once you're able to get back on track you'll feel much better. Brad

:grouphug: Mind if I use that line....... LMAO Congrats to you on your success - and to your fiance for his as well! Brad

This band thingy I got inside me from the hospital is great! I used to eat 8 double cheesburgers and now I can only eat 4! Man this thing really works! Hmmm... Yah, can I get extra e-coli on that burger please? Brad

SamieTeacher.... There is a new thread just like this one about every day somewhere on LBT... Just remember, opinions are like a certain body part - everybody has one... Consistantly, in all of these threads, there are people who rationalize or flat out tell the OP that it's alright to disregard your doctors/nutritionists guidelines.... IT IS NOT! They are issued to the patient for a purpose. Yes, there are wide variations in these instructions between different docs. But remember, you are not accountable to someone else's surgeon -you are accountable to YOUR surgeon. I understand your doc/nutritionist gave you conflicting information. Follow the most conservative of the two until you are able to contact their offices for clarification. Best of luck! Brad

Volcano Lady - WOW! I can't imagine getting on an airplane after surgery. Not to mention I've been on a few flights into Hilo that I thought I was gonna vomit... :thumbup: I also did an overnight stay when I was banded. I didn't feel like I needed it and really wanted to go home at the time - but in hindsight I'm glad I had the stay. In fact, even the next day after a barium swallow they wouldn't let me go until I proved I had a ride and was not driving. Good luck in your recovery and at least you have a beautiful island on which to do it! Don't take that place forgranted! Brad

WLS makes the people around us VERY uncomfortable - for different reasons - which have already been addressed by other posters. Validation feels great - but it's not the measure of your success. Only YOU know if/when/how you're succeeding. What I've experienced is that people who don't know I'm banded go out of there way to offer praise. But many of those who know I've been banded (mostly family) won't say a peep. Some think WLS is stupid and dangerous - some think it's cheating - some are jealous - some just don't know if you want to talk about it, especially in front of others. Be proud of the compliments you get, but cherish the ones that are given from yourself. If you've only been banded a very short time - it can feel this way. But as you progress, the "easy" weight loss will be gone and you will have to work your a$$ off to keep the scale going in the right direction. Trust me - you'll lose that attitude. They may be jealous or perhaps just uneducated about the band. They have more in common with their weight loss plan than you do. If one of them were banded it would be a whole different conversation. But I know a lot people, especially those on traditional weight loss plans, look at WLS as cheating. If they only knew.... Brad

What can you do? Contact your surgeon at once! Brad

There are a couple of things that stood out to me... First of all your rate of weight loss is good so I wouldn't fret too much. But remember, what was a slider food at one fill level will not necessarily still be a slider food after a fill. A breaded fish stick should not be a slider food....:tongue2: Most people at sufficient restriction cannot eat bread - period. I myself would not even consider trying at the fill level I'm at. Now, I have had a few fish sticks (mind you it's not the best food choice being breaded and processed) but I have to cut them into very small pieces and chew, chew, chew before swallowing. I would probably have tried to alter my eating habits first before considering an unfill. After all, as you continue to lose weight, the band will naturally loosen anyway - which is why we need to continue getting fills. I would only consider an unfill if I'm doing EVERYTHING right and still PB'ing or vomiting frequently. Good luck. Brad

I think tracking calories until you can get a fill would be wise. You've already identified the problems which is half-the-battle. Now you and only you can fix them. Getting sufficient exercise sometimes requires you just make yourself do it. It's a wonderful appetite suppressant and when you see progress and have worked so hard it helps deter you from wanting to eat foods or quantities that you know are self-destructive. A lot of people say they just can't find the time to exercise. Well... I look at this way - if you can find the time to eat more than your supposed to - you can obviously stop eating and go exercise. You just have to make the decision. Brad

OK.... WTH... 6 weeks until Valentines Day... hmmm... I'll shoot for 2.5 pounds a week. That will be a real challenge for me because the weight loss is sloooowwinnnggg dooowwwnnn as would be expected. Starting: 202 Goal: 187 Brad

My doc doesn't numb anything either. My first three fills were simple. The fourth one was not quite as easy. It seems the port shifted and is now on a bit of an angle. Took doc a bit of prodding around to find it - which hurt like hell! In fact, it's been close to 3 weeks since then and I still have a bit of bruising. I look at it this way - there's going to be some bumps and bruises along the way - but I wouldn't give my band up even if they had to do that everytime. A few minutes of pain is better than the rest of your life with discomfort and health issues. Brad

That's Awesome! Congrats! :biggrin: Make sure we get to see the pics too! Brad