bambam31

The Lap Band didn't work for me... How many times do we hear this? The fact is the Lap Band DOESN't "work" for anybody... YOU work for YOU... Getting banded and just expecting to drop all of your excess fat is like buying a lawn mower; parking it in the driveway; pulling up a lawn chair; and then complaining that the grass is tall... Fact is if you aren't getting the desired result then have the equipment fine tuned and try a different strategy. If the equipment is functional then you are the key to achieving success... Brad

A heart rate monitor that allows you to enter your individual personal stats to track calories burned is the best 100 bucks you'll ever spend! Brad

Anxiety is normal but it will pass. Progress breeds confidence and new confidence continues to raise the bar... I remember being scared to death to be seen without a shirt and now I have days that I'm allergic to shirts... :-) If you surpassed the anxiety of marketing products you'll whip this no problem! Brad

I want 8 pack abs so bad but the best I may get is a 4 pack due to the excess skin and sag. I won't give up without a huge battle but if all I end up with is a 4 pack - well... I'll take that over a pot belly any day! We have to work hard and make the best of what we have but the perfection of a 20 year old body after what our bodies have endured is likely not a reasonable goal. Brad

IMO wraps are just a temporary illusion. Most of it is Fluid loss which is not the preferred way to lose excess fluid - nor is it good to be (or force) dehydration. Brad

Everyone is a bit different but many, myself included, after being sufficiently restricted, find that they feel tighter and can eat less or have a more restricted choice of foods early in their day. Tissues have a tendency to be firm and tighter at the start of the day. This holds true for many for all tissues - if I look in the mirror in the morning I have more firm muscle tone than later in the day. It's just important to be certain you are getting good nutrition and don't skip eating because you are tighter than the rest of the day. That's one reason why Protein shakes can be a good morning nutrition option... Brad

The working hard part I think is that there has to be a lifestyle change for most. If you plan on just having a surgery and then coasting - 90% will fail to achieve the desired result. Of course there will always be anomalies but for most the ultimate goal requires sufficient exercise and attention to detail. It requires learning and learning and learning with bouts of trial and error. Far too many IMO expect a miracle, give a mediocre effort and then complain they stopped losing and the band just isn't working. Brad

Use one of the online calculators to determine your base metabolic rate (just what it takes to fuel you for a day without activities) then factor in calories burned during exercise. An individual heart rate monitor is a good way to do this. The ones on exercise equipment are generalizations and not that accurate. Then eat accordingly to create the surplus or deficit desired for that day. Brad

I don't know if it was previously mentioned or not but do some research on leptin too... If you cycle carbs a relief day is essential... Brad

Learning is the hardest part of this journey. Learn from our mistakes.... You have received excellent advice from others. Better food choices combined with sufficient exercise and you will get the ball rolling. You should not be able to eat that much at one time so the band as a tool is not yet afforded you sufficient restriction... Do something like the pouch test just prior to another fill and then buckle down and continue with fills until you reach the restriction sweet spot. It takes some longer than others to get to... Brad

I apologize but this is gonna be long... Every pound gained - and every pound lost - is a combination of fat, lean tissue, and fluids. We want to tip the ratio toward maintaining Fluid, maintaining - or even gaining lean muscle tissue, all the while losing fat. To lose requires a deficit and that deficit is best managed with a combination of intake and export. Trying to create the deficit solely on intake will not achieve the desired result. You can lose lots of "weight" but most people want to be healthier, not just lighter. Managing strictly from an intake perspective frequently leads to what many refer to as a "skinny fat person." We want the fat gone - but keep or increase the lean muscle tissue. Here is why I despise low calorie diets and low/no exercise lifestyles. In order to keep as much lean muscle tissue as possible we have to protect it. Our bodies store carbohydrate in the form of fat. We can't store Protein. If we lack required amino acids then our body breaks down lean muscle tissue (protein) to get what it is lacking. To avoid this we have to readily provide Proteins by our food choices. And not just any proteins - complete proteins. There are 10 essential amino acids that need to be supplied by our diet (although some will argue there are only 8). Fail to provide them and essentially your body eats itself to get what it needs. Lean muscle tissue is many fold more metabolically active than fat - so it burns more calories just by its' existence. Any loss in muscle tissue means your body requires less calories to survive - making fat LOSS even harder. Examples of COMPLETE proteins are dairy, eggs, meat, fish, poultry. Grains, nuts and Beans are not bad food choices, however, they are not complete proteins. Now lets put all of this together.... Because we have been fasting while sleeping, our bodies start the day catabolic. We need nutrition ASAP to protect our lean muscle tissue and get the calorie burning machine off to a good start. A Protein shake is a great way to accomplish this for bandsters because it can be difficult for us to eat sufficient solid foods early in our day. Throughout the day we need to do our best to keep well fueled because that is what keeps our metabolism burning and convinces our body it doesn't need to store fuel (fat). A complete protein source every 3-5 hours is important. Never skip meals or go long periods without eating. That triggers the need for fuel storage because your body doesn't know when its' next opportunity for fuel is coming. If you are able to follow those rough guidelines then cycling calories opens up a new world. Cycling calories refers alternating periods of calorie surplus and deficit. This affords you the opportunity to lose some fat during deficit and gain some muscle during surplus. This is a slow but compounding process because the more muscle you add, the more calories you can eat - yet still lose fat. But don't expect to gain 10 pounds of muscle in a year - it's not going to happen. Building muscle tissue is a very slow and arduous process. It is MANY times easier for our bodies to be catabolic rather than anabolic. And for women it is yet even more difficult because of hormonal reasons. Women need not worry developing huge unwanted muscles - most couldn't even if that were their only goal. So just as an example.... Monday thru Wednesday you do moderate cardio and create a 1000 calorie deficit, derived from both diet and exercise each day. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday you do sufficient strength and resistance training and create a 300 calorie surplus each day. Never work the same muscles on consecutive days but push them to the point of failure. Muscle soreness 24 hours later is a good thing... Sunday you rest and have an even calorie balance. Repeat..... You can mix things up for longer periods or shorter, however, I prefer to have no less than 2 consecutive surplus days. If properly applied, this will yield fat loss and slight muscle gain... Over the long term you will end up with a much more toned and lower fat body. Brad

Docs don't normally do a good job explaining to people that when the surgery swelling subsides the hunger comes screaming back with a vengeance... And it can be overwhelming. They also don't do a good job explaining that you have the tool but it isn't armed yet until you get enough fills for sufficient restriction. Most of us have traveled the bandster hell road and it is hard, frustrating, and depressing. The sooner you focus on lifestyle changes including eating habits and exercise - the more successful you will be long term. Brad

Alcohol, carbonation, and caffeine are always hot button issues and surgeons are all over the map with patients instructions. Mine is a "consume what you can tolerate" guy. I consume all without any real issues, although carbonated beverages require sipping not drinking. I still take issue with the alcohol absorption theory because alcohol effects me no different now than before. With bypass patients I understand the argument but band patients don't have any rerouted plumbing and liquids or other sliders, consumed alone, should not have any change in digestion. I think a lot of people's indications regarding alcohol are anecdotal and perceived. I've seen a lot of non banded friends "think" or "feel" intoxicated just because they know something contains alcohol. If you believe alcohol will affect you differently your predisposed for it to. The real issue for alcohol is it is clearly counterproductive to fat loss... At 7 calories per gram it is the second most dense calorie you can consume. Add sugars in some mixers and byproducts and it can be a bomb... If fat loss is the goal, keep alcohol consumption to a minimum. Brad

IMO stay away from steroids... The whole point of the band is to get healthier and that route is counterproductive. At any rate, to be anabolic while losing fat is no easy task. It can be done in tiny steps through calorie cycling but I would reserve that for a bit down the road and just focus on fat loss at the outset.... Brad

Excess skin is a your mileage may vary topic. There are so many factors in play. You can tip the scale the most in your favor by slow steady weight loss combined with good rest, hydration, and exercise. Brad

The key to success is rest, hydration, good food choices, sufficient dedicated exercise, and learning your energy balance. Brad

There is no question that fruit in moderation is very healthy. However, it can be a show stopper for some people. Juicing that removes the peels and other fibrous material further concentrates the sugar content. Berries are probably the best fruit choice. Brad

Agreed on keeping fruit to a minimum during active fat loss... The fruit you do eat should be in whole form and not just fruit juice. Brad

I would never advocate bad food choices but a white hot metabolism will burn through practically any food choice so long as you don't break the rules of energy balance. The weaker your metabolism the more strict food choices have to be. Focus on export side and continually challenge yourself. If walking is a challenge then that's fine for now but you should progress past the point when just walking no longer provides sufficient challenge and you have to elevate your game to more strenuous activities. Brad

Don't get frustrated! Stress is counter productive to fat loss. If its been weeks with no change then its time to make some changes but not on the export side. Review the fine details of your intake side and increase Water consumption... Brad

If you hate exercise and want to get to a toned goal - you better learn to stop hating exercise... The replacement to exercise is that there is no replacement to exercise...

There'd be no mistaking it if it was stuck. You'd know pretty quickly... But not having any fills I think it would be highly unlikely to get stuck. Brad

Do some searches for "bandster hell" ... Most of us have been there... It's a tough period but lifestyle change is required for long term success. Brad