BDS_Geologist

Packing your own food is pretty easy, as long as you remember to not pack any liquids or semi-liquids (I saw some apparently very dangerous yogurt confiscated at the security checkpoint). I usually pack some low-fat lunch meats and cheeses to roll up and snack on. I'll usually have a Protein bar on hand, but I try to stay away from them since even the "low-carb" varieties seem to have 20-30 grams of carbohydrates. I usually carry my food in a soft insulated lunch box, since this doesn't count as either your 1 carry-on, or your "personal item", since you're planning on consuming it on the plane. I just got back from a 10 day trip to Seattle, and it sure was nice to not be packed into an airplane seat, and to not have the tray table in contact with my belly. It was a very different experience not being so cramped. Bryan

I had my third fill yesterday and I'm hoping that I didn't get too much. The NP at my surgeon's office gave me one more cc and I had no problem drinking, then she put in another cc and the belches started. We agreed on withdrawing 0.5 ccs and I could swallow Water just fine. My Protein shake for dinner went down a little slower than usual and it took me about 15 minutes to drink one this morning. I am definitely feeling a significant restriction. I'm going to try eating about an ounce of pureed grouper at lunch. I'm hoping that the band will relax by then and I won't have any trouble getting the fish down. Typically, I've had trouble eating anything in the morning (post banding only). I don't want to be too tight, but my weight loss has stalled for the past month and my portion size has increased. I need to figure out whether I'm too restricted today, since my DW and I are flying off to Seattle for a much needed vacation tomorrow. I'd hate to be stuck with only liquids for the next 11 days, when we return. Bryan

I've been going to the gym about 3-4 times per week. I start off on a recumbent bike for about half an hour and have been gradually working my way up through the intensity scale on the bike. Then I do about 20-30 mins of weight training on machines, followed by 10 mins of core training. I've never considered the spin class, since I've taken a push myself on my own approach. Maybe getting in on a spin class will push me to another level. Bryan

The pureed grouper went down just fine. Phase 3 tomorrow and my first day of Phase 4 on Friday. No worries! Bryan

It's not unusual to feel very little restriction a couple of weeks after banding. Being on a liquid diet probably gave you pretty rapid weight loss and you may have lost some of the fat around your stomach. This gives you even less restriction. Once your stomach has healed from the surgery, you'll be able to get a fill and that may give you more restriction. It's a dynamic process. Lose-fill-lose-fill, and so on. Try not to push yourself by eating testing your limits. Bryan

That's pretty normal. The amount of restriction that you get initially is a factor of the type (size) of band and how much fat you had around your stomach at the time of the surgery. As you lose weight, you'll get less and less restriction. Once your stomach has healed from the surgery, you'll be able to start getting band fills. Hope that helps, Bryan

This morning I was painfully full and sliming. It took about 15 minutes to subside. When I'm full at lunch or dinner, I usually feel satiated for 3-4 hours. If I don't feel full, I drink some hot or cold herbal tea or have some sugar fee Jello. I'm amazed at how satisfying jello can be. I always thought of it as flavored nothing, but it really helps me curb the hunger pangs. Bryan

Before my surgery, I didn't want anyone to know. I told my parents, my brother and sister, and of course my wife knew. I was afraid of being criticized for it and I had so many false starts that I wasn't even sure that I'd get banded. After the surgery, I only told my closest friends and family. As I've seen more success at weight loss, I'm not at all shy about telling people about the road that I'd taken. At 47 years old, I'd been heavy for 47 years. I ate a sensible diet and exercised regularly, but nothing worked that well to help me get and keep the weight off. Now, I proud of my banding and it's changing my health for the better. Bryan

I'm 5 cc into a 9 cc Realize Band at about 2.5 months after surgery. This morning I was able to eat about 3/4 of a scrambled egg and about 1 oz of sausage. It was way too much. At lunch, I was easily able to eat twice as much, but still only about 1 cup of food, in total. Are you staying away from drinking with your meals? Bryan

Banding and weight loss may help your game. For me, losing some girth meant that I needed less rotation to get the club around me. It gave me better control and distance! Bryan

Hey Bengal Fan, You may still be losing fat, but replacing it with muscle now that you're working out regularly. The same thing happened to me, when I got my foot out of a cast. I was able work out more regularly, and it seemed like my weight loss stalled. All I needed for inspiration was to look at the % body fat on my scale and I could see that I was gaining ground (and maybe a couple of pounds). It's just temporary, because the muscle mass will help you burn more calories. Eat right, work out, do the right things and you'll keep losing! Bryan

Lisa, I think that you should get in to see your band doctor right away. It sounds like you've still got too much restriction and maybe some inflammation from having too much restriction. What you've been experiencing is definitely not normal. Bryan

I've had no problems with liquor or wine, but beer is tough for me to drink. I split a beer with my wife a couple of weekends ago and I could only take small sips 10-15 minutes apart. I enjoyed my beer, but it took me almost 2 hours to drink 6 ounces. Bryan

Yes, it's pretty normal to have diarrhea early on. You're only taking in liquids, so most of what you eliminate will be liquid too. Also, you've likely also had massive doses of strong antibiotics which wipes out the naturally occurring bacteria in your digestive system. Without those little bugs to help regulate things, your system will be torn up. Try mixing in some probiotic containing yogurt (activia or another brand). It helped me out. Bryan

Landed right where I took off last week. 10-17: 240.5 10-24: 240.5 The previous week was my best ever (7.5#), but I went up and down over the week. Big party with too much to drink and too much to eat and not enough restriction (or restraint). I got up to 244 on Sunday, had a fill on Tuesday, took it down to 239.5 on Thursday, and I back at 240.5 again. Hopefully, with the new fill I'll be back on a losing track. Bryan

Even though I've been losing weight, I wasn't feeling any restriction. I could pretty much eat however much and whatever I wanted to. I was just controlling my portions, but the lack of restriction left me open to a couple of bad food choices like a handful of Fritos and sharing some popcorn with my wife. These are things that I shouldn't have been able to eat easily, but they were no problem. Rather than let my couple of bad choices snowball into a string of bad choices, I elected to have my second fill today, 4 weeks after my first fill. I've got a 9 cc Realize band and already had 4 cc of saline in it from fill #1. The NP didn't have any trouble locating the port or hitting it with the needle. She drew out 3 cc of the existing saline then added it back with 1 more on top. I guess that brings me to 5. I was burping when I swallowed Water at the Dr's office and she thought that she might have me a little too tight. I am drinking OK now (4 hours later), but still burping a little and I can really feel the restriction. Hopefully this will get me to my "sweet spot", if I can ever figure out where that actually is. I know that it's a moving target, but hopefully I'll know it when I get there, so I can gauge when I need how much of a fill. Bryan Banded 8-26-08

Unless you are feeling weak from working out, don't increase your calories. The difference between the calories that you burn minus the calories that you consume is the fat that you will burn for fuel. If you increase your caloric intake, you'll reduce your ability to lose weight. There may be instances where you need to have a snack before working out, though. I'm a diabetic, and if I work out without having a snack before hand, I end up at risk of having a low blood sugar incident. I typically try to keep my snack to less than 100 calories and avoid sugar or simple carbohydrates. Bryan

It's been a banner week for me 7.5 lbs lost. 10-10-08: 248 10-17-08: 240.5 This has been my best week so far. Last week, I only lost 1 pound, but I worked out hard all week. I think that I was adding more muscle mass last week which slowed the weight loss. Even though I didn't drop pounds that week, my body fat dropped 1%. Bryan

The Knoxville Lap-band support group meets on the 4th Thursday of every month at the Church Street United Methodist Church in Knoxville. The meeting runs from 6:30-8:00 PM. This month's meeting will be next Thursday the 23rd. The size of the group varies, but it's a very friendly and helpful group. No need to call ahead, just show up. Bryan Lap-Band: It is held at the Church Street United Methodist Church in downtown Knoxville at the corner of Henley street and Main street. Meet in room 124 in the Church Life Center (the building with the gymnasium.) For more information please contact Marc Gamble, moderator, at 865-604-8239.

Just walking is probably your best option for now. The Exercise Physiologist at my surgeon's office said that we should avoid lifting anything heavier than 10lbs for the first month. He said the emphasis should be on "activity" during the healing process and save the "exercise" for later. Since I was already working out before the surgery, he gave me clearance to do "light" workouts at the gym, starting 2 weeks after the banding. This meant no straining and keeping in mind that it was activity and not exercise. Basically, I used really light weight on the machines and did a billion reps. It was good to have the activity, but I never came close to hurting myself. Early on, you should really focus on recovery and start really exercising after a month has past. Bryan Banded 8-26-08