davsil

I had asked this question quite a while ago. I've been filled since and have had tremendous restriction. I can't eat a darn thing most of the time. But I'm also losing weight at a great pace so I'm really pleased. I still have a ways to go to reach my ultimate goal but I have real confidence that I'll get there. Thanks for the support. :scared2:)

I have a Wii Fit. And I find it a great suppliment in addition to going to the gym. But it has no weight training which is also an important part of getting in shape. And I get a better overall workout at the gym (The one I belong to has an olympic length pool and I swim a lot.) I try to get to the gym 3X a week although some weeks I can only get there twice. So the Wii Fit fills in the other days with a little bit of exercise. It sould be one element of an overall program.

I realize this is different for everyone. I was banded on 8/24/09 (4 months) and needed to lose about 200 lbs total. To date I have lost almost 80 lbs. (WooHoo for me!!) Realizing I still have a whole lot of extra weight on my body I have not noticed anything that could be called loose skin yet. (I'm not unhappy about this.) But I'm wondering at what point I can likely expect to see this becoming an issue? I'm doing a lot of exercise which I hope helps a little. And while I am 48 y.o. I actually think my skin is pretty good to begin with. But eventually I have to think I will see this becoming something I need to deal with. So I was hoping those with experience might have a feel for at what point I might expect to see this start to happen. Thanks

I'm sure this has been asked before but I didn't find the answer. When weighing food do you use the pre-cooked weight or the cooked weight? Most things lose weight during cooking. I've been using the pre-cooked weight but would like to know if there is a definitive answer on the right one to use.

You shouldn't be in negative territory between intake & exercise. Remember, just being alive burns calories. There are some great calculators on line that will tell you how many calories you should be eating based on your weight and overall lifestyle to lose a certain amount of weight each week. If you don't get enough food your body can go into starvation mode and stop losing weight because it's trying to preserve itself. On exercise I like the elliptical as well. In about 20 minutes I burn around 300 calories. But then I also follow that with about 20 minutes of weight machines (strength training is very important to prevent muscle loss) and then I swim laps for another 20 minutes or so. Swimming is great exercise if you have access to a pool. It's highly aerobic, low impact, works all parts of the body and is actually enjoyable compared to most exercises.

My Dr. said absolutely no to anything carbonated. Soda, beer (that one hurt), anything. And if that's part of the price I have to pay then that's the deal. I will not drink a carbonated beverage. My nutrishonist went as far as saying she doesn't want me to get any calories from beverages. They will pour right through the band and defeat the purpose of having it. So no fruit juice either. I will have an adult beverage in social situations but never one with carbonation.

I'm sure this has come up before but I wanted to see what people find works best. When doing weight training is it better to use a lower weight and do more reps or better to use more weight and less reps?

I was banded 8/24/09. I had my first fill about 3 weeks ago and amazingly I was restricted. Really restricted. I couldn't eat much of anything for about 10 days. I was struggling getting used to it but really happy at the same time. But over the last 10 days or so I've lost almost all of the tightness that I had. And now I'm back to almost square one. I can eat as much as I want. I saw my Dr this morning and he gave me another 1.5 cc's but even with that I'm only a little restricted. Nothing like I was. My Dr says this is not unusual but it seems odd to me. And he didn't see any leaks. Has anyone else had this - where you feel restricted and lose it that quickly? I did lose about 10 lbs over that time but I don't think that should have been enough to make this much of a difference.

Those first few weeks are tough. My Dr. wanted me on liquids for 3 full weeks. But there are liquids and there are liquids. I found the Isopure protien powders to actually taste good. The banana flavor with skim milk is really tasty. And if you blend it with 1/2 a real banana its almost a treat. If you Dr allows thicker liquids smooth Soups like tomato might be OK. And even something like Farina. But I'm not your doctor - do what he tells you. Its really important to let yourself heal properly or you're risking worse complications down the road. Its hard but everyone here has gone through the same thing. And we're alive to talk about it so you can do it as well. And once you start seeing some weight loss it will all have been worth it. <a href="Weight Loss - Diet Ticker"> <img border="0" src="http://tickers.TickerFactory.com/ezt/t/wNehEyO/weight.png"></a>

I finally got restriction about a week and a half ago. And that is almost as bad as it was being hungry - so be prepared. I have always been a fast eater. No more. I'm learning the hard way. If I eat too much or especially too fast I pay for it. And after about 3 hours or so I get ravinously hungry because I ate very little at the last meal. So I prepare and have small things to snack available for whenever I need them. But here's the silver lining: in 7 weeks since I was banded I'm down just shy of 50 lbs. And I am getting used to the smaller portions and making better choices. I absolutely echo the people emphasizing Protein. It is essential and helps keep the hunger at bay. I also think I'm starting to get food aversions. There are things I just don't want to (or are scared to) eat anymore.

You're very early into this and haven't been filled yet. So it is normal to not have any restriction yet. Most people need several fills before they start to get real restriction. What I did for until I started to be restricted (for me it happened on the first fill but that seems to be unusual) was put myself on a strict diet. No fun and NOT the way I wanted or thought I was going to have to go. But it worked. I'm now 7 weeks out from banding (8/24/09) and I'm down about 48 lbs. ) Now that I'm restricted I can't eat more that I want. As a note: one tool I found absolutely invaluable was to keep a journal. In all the diets over the years (and there have been LOTS of them) they always tell you to do this and I never have. This time I got an iPhone app (I'm using Lose It!) to track my intake and I've kept it religeously. And its been an absolute life saver in keeping me on track. I can't begin to tell how much of a difference that one thing has been for me. Good luck.

When first banded you are not going to have any restriction. This is normal. Until you get filled (and that can take several tries before you really feel it engage) you need to put yourself on a regular, old DIET. (Nasty word - I know.) Until you have restriction you will be able to eat as much as you want. But none of went through this ordeal to continue eating the way we used to. So this calls for a period of hard work - not eating the old way and learning new habits. Once you get filled and get restriction you'll know it and it should become easier. And you have the people here to support you. :thumbup:)