John.P

This came up in my support group tonight and the dietitian said caffein interferes with iron absorbtion and that is why my doctor's office says not caffeine ever. I badgered my doctor enought that he relented and said Ok one cup of caffeine a day so I went to town. After a while, I went back to decaffeine because the reals stuff was making me feel a little queasy so I switched back to decaf. The dietitian said there was not enough acid in your pouch to handle caffeine. John.P

Well, I got to say, I never thought I would be fascinated with a thread such as this but it was instructive, funny and informative. Heck, it took me quite a while ,being new to this site, to figure out just what the heck "pb" meant. My operator errors usually lead to a few pb's not just one, but I do believe one of the commentators is right when they talk about the absence of acid. Thanks for the informative thread. John.P

Well your sticker is showing up now. Good luck with the recovery. It is not as bad as you might expect. I am about 15 months out and had some problems but still I am very positive and dedicated to the work ahead. I go to a monthly support group for lapbanders and gastric by-passses and that is good for the moral support and a pat on the back occasionally. After ignoring protein shakes for awhile, I have come back to them and believe that they are important. Just remember that the band is only a tool and you have to keep at it. There are good days and then some bad days but I am completely sure for myself that it was well worth it. I am about half way through to my goal and I just keep working at it. Again, good luck. John.P

I had been on a plateau for quite a while and I had stopped drinking protein shakes. I started them again and added a exercise that include a stationary bike instead of my usual 2 mile walk and the weight slowly started dropping. The weight loss is slow and it still goes up and down a pound or two so I do not claim to have the perfect solution. Some other threads have talked about the idea of a "set point" where your body gets stuck at a weight it might have been for a period of time, sort of a previous stable weight (though an overweight weight). The thinking is that you need to push past that previous set point and you will start losing again. I don't know if this is an accepted medical theory or not. Just keep trying. I would not stop the protein shakes, however. I do not think you can get enough protein without them. Just my opinion. John.P

I hated protein drinks as they all had that awful aftertaste. I now use Unjury exclusively and just the chocolate flavor which I make less "chocolately" by using decaf coffee and milk together and mix it so it tastes less sweet and like a moca shake.

Maybe try doing the protein shakes again for two of your three meals to get you started. I get the Unjury brand but I am sure anything you use would be ok. At least you would be getting protein and less calories. I too have been on a plateau for many months but have just recently started slowly losing by adding some stationary bike exercise and doing more protein shakes which I had stopped drinking. Good luck.

OK, Ready, Here is my two cents. On the road, take the individual Unjury protein packets. Take a shaker with you and order skim milk or buy some at the local store and have a protein drink before you order any food. This does two things: it gets you some protein and secondly, it may fill you up so you do not have to eat too many wrong things. Concentrate on the protein drinks to get started again with your weight loss. I was on a plateau for 6 months and started the protein drinks. Up to three a day. Also try to get a walk in and later on, when you can do it, try a stationary bike on the weekends or at the hotel if you stay overnight on business. I have started to lose again but it is a slow process. Slow and steady determination gets you started. I was banded in Aug of 2008, down about 50 pounds with 50 more to go. The weight loss is slow now but I keep at it with the protein drinks. I am still getting fills and not hit the sweet spot yet.

Be patient. No one got this way overnight and it won't be fixed overnight. I was banded back in Aug of 08 and lost 40 pounds pretty quick (over a few months) but then hit a plateau for about 6 months and I am still struggling with this plateau. As the fills continued and my exercise ramped up to include some time on a stationary bike, I began to lose again. Right now I am down about 52 pounds and still working at it. Hang in there. ( I was stalled in the process early on by a post surgical infection which set me back a few months with the complications necessitating another surgery to reinsert the port which was removed due to the infection)