Big Monkey

You went the wrong way with respect to calories in my opinion. Your body has obviously adapted to your constant undereating. You should be eating about 10 x your body weight in calories to maintain your current level of weight. Add a 10-15% deficit to that to lose some pounds. A 200 lb person should be eating about 2K calories. 300 lbs = 3K calories. This is an estimate of how many calories it takes just to live day to day, not to increase or decrease. If you've constantly been under eating, and especially bad food choices, then your body has adapted and only expects what you eat every day. Why on earth would it give up its fat stores if it knows you're not going to feed yourself more? Your metabolism has slown to a crawl. You need to slowly increase your caloric intake by 100 calories per week until you reach your recommended maintenance level. Keep it there for about 2 weeks or until you stop gaining weight (yes you will gain a few pounds, but this is what it will take to fix your metabolism in my opinion.) Then, after you've retrained your body to use the calories, start cutting back again...just this time not so drastic. 10% less is plenty. It will be slow...but you'll progress.

^ I'll agree to an extent, alhough I don't totally believe a calorie is a calorie. If it were as simple as calorie in and calorie out, there would never be plateaus...which many people hit at one point. Carbs, for example, aren't necessarily bad for you..unless you eat them in excess. Particularly bad carbs...like processed foods...lots of sugar...juices and other caloric drinks...you all know what i mean. Atkins says you should restrict carbs almost religously. I've learned that some people are more prone to fat storage when they eat carbs. On the other hand, your body craves them and makes best use of them when you exercise. This means that it's ok to have a meal with rice, a sandwich with 100% whole wheat bread (mmm, pizzas), sweet potatoes, a bowl of Cereal like Kashi Go Lean, whole wheat pastas or more healthy starchy carbs (not all at one sitting !!) ...but only treat yourself to those kinds of foods an hour or two after a good work out. Then you're sure to let your body use that for energy and not risk it being stored as fat. If you don't plan to do anything other than normal stuff around the house, or are going to work sitting at a cube all day like me...then keep the meals low carb, but still balanced (meaning don't eat just Protein, or protein + fat etc...eat some carbs, but keep it at about 10-20% caloric value of the meal with those carbs coming from healthy sources like vegatables...and fruits too in 1 or 2 of your daily meals.) The truth is, much of the diet programs actually do work. They fail us because it's difficult to stay on the program for life. It's imperative you find something that not only works for you, but something you can truly say that you can do for the rest of your life. A caloric deficit will only work for so long till your body adapts and stops losing weight. Keep in mind that if you're not working out, most of the weight you're losing is also lean body mass and not just fat. Restricting calories for an extended period of time will make your metabolism slow, and thus you'll hit a plateau. I think it's best to eat healthy foods that are high in volume but low in calories. That will keep your digestive system going. Drink plenty of no calorie liquids like Water and green tea, add some spices like cayenne pepper, and make sure you're getting at least an average of 30% essential fats plus regular exercise to make sure your metabolism is kept in high gear. Essential fats can be found in fish oil, flax seeds or flax oil, olive oil, canola oil, etc. It's good to keep an even mix of polyunsaturated, monounsaturated, and saturated fats in your diet. The combination of the three should equate to about 25-30% of your total calorie intake for the day. This will promote weight loss and keep those blood numbers looking good for the doctor by keeping your cholesterol in check. I like this thread, lots of good feedback. Good show everyone

I think some of this is spot on. It's not any one thing really that contributes to weight loss, but rather a combination of your lifestyle. What types of foods are you eating? Are you eating healthy or do you think that now that you're banded and only eating 1/4 of a snickers instead of the whole thing will help you lose weight? Eat better, lose weight. Stay low carb when you're sedintary, only eat starchy high carb/high glycemic meals after you've exercised. The rest of the day, you don't need all those carbs to function. If you do eat carbs, the excess energy will likely be stored as fat. How often are you eating? Do you think eating only once or twice a day helps your metabolism? Eating more often in smaller amounts helps regulate the blood sugar levels and prevents insulin crashes and speeds up the metabolism. 5+ times a day is healthy. Are you counting your calories? Many people eat less volume, but now eat different foods since they have to decide what to eat per the restriction. Less volume, however, does not mean less calories. You can drink and soft food your way into caloric hell easily with no effort. There's no point in drinking anything that has any calories at all (save for Protein Shakes if you're not meeting your daily Protein requirements.) Water and green tea should be your main focus. Green tea has lots of health benefits. Read up on it. Are you exercising at all? Why would you decide to get surgery without the intent to seriously change your health habits? Exercising also speeds up the metabolism. Much of the initial weight loss is due to loss of muscle tissue along with fat. It's important to do some cardio, but more important to do some weight training to help prevent muscle loss. Weight / resistance training is more effective in weight loss per your body does not stop burning calories after you finish your work out. Cardio on the other hand, stops almost immediately when you're done. As soon as you get off the bike or treadmill, the weight loss winds down. On the other hand, your body has to repair the muscles you just worked, so there is a residual effect going on. Lift weights, it will help your weight loss and also help change your body composition to make you look a lot better. If you're serious enough to get a surgical procedure to save your life, then you should be serious enough to realize that even surgery can't help you if you're not willing to change who you are. The old you had a weight problem. The new you should change your lifestyle so that you can become the new you that you've always dreamed about. Make it happen, you can do it!

You should try changing the foods you eat. If you just want to feel full all the time, try eating 1000-2000 calories worth of brocolli or spinach in a day. I assure you it will be a task Seriously though: If you're bent on eating bad foods and a lot of them, then yes I would seek counseling. Sounds more like a mental block or food association you haven't been able to break free from yet. Eating healthy, however, can have a drastic impact on your weight and overall health. Whole foods tend to have quite a bit of volume as compared to processed/packaged foods. Tastes are learned. You can learn to love healthy foods just like you learned to love whatever you ate to get you overweight in the first place. Just start eating them and it will grow on you. None of that "I don't like the taste" crap. Get over it and just eat better. You'll thank yourself later.

I've had one fill since my surgery and next week I'm going to have it all taken out. I've been restricted for 2 months and I don't really like it. I say this only because I've made a big change in my eating habits and I don't think I need a fill anymore. Truthfully, I don't think I needed the band to begin with. On the other hand, had it not been for surgery I probably wouldn't have come to the realization that it was actually my fault for being fat. It's not all genetics, it was me and my relationship with food. I used to tell myself that I ate just like everyone else so i didn't understand why I was fat. The truth is that your daily food choices add up to a lot more calories than you think you're eating. I didn't realize this till I started a food log last month. I'm eating no where near what I used to, and these numbers X 3 to 5 times like I used to eat and wholy cow that's a lot of calories. Not to mention that most of the calories were coming from sugar and other bad carbs plus a lot of saturated fat. I also used to skip breakfasts a lot and sometimes only at once or twice a day. All that is behind me. Now I make it a point to not underfeed myself and I eat no less than 5 meals a day, 6 or 7 when I can. The big difference is now the portions are controlled and I actively manage what I eat. Mostly whole foods that are healthy. I stay away from junk food and I don't drink my calories (save for some protein shakes since I can't eat all the protein I need due to the band.) I drink water all the time, and when I want some flavor I'll drink tea(green tea is ideal) or use those little crystal light packages. Anywho. Now I'm looking forward to getting an unfill so I can eat more. I've lost about 70lbs since last June, 40 of which were in the past 2 months when I changed my eating habits. I'm looking forward to weight lifting in the near future as well. In the end, I don't think I needed the band...but at the same time I'm glad I got it. I always blamed my lack of will power for being fat. The piece that I truly believe now that was missing was education on nutrition. I learned what I know now from body building web sites and forums. I figure, "who better to learn from than from people who dedicate a big part of their lives to changing their bodies?" Trust me...they know A LOT and I encourage anyone who's interested in teaching themselves about nutrition and body composition changes to search and learn from good bodybuilding sites. The wealth of knowledge is staggering.

I'm coming up on my year in a couple of months. I've only lost about 65 pounds so far. I didn't have my first fill till May though, so meh. The band seems to be working great for you. Kind of wierd to see that you seem to feel cheated or have failed. If you can do that again for one more year, that's 160 lbs. I'm sure everyone that has known you since before the band will call you a failure for losing only 160 lbs in 2 years. OK then. Enough sarcasm for tonight. Carry on!

I can still drink soda if I wanted to. Early on though, it's not a good idea while you're healing. After you've settled in though, should be fine. Follow your doctor's orders of course, but I can drink it just fine. At the same time, I have no desire to drink pop any more. Water works out just fine for me. Sometimes I'll have tea with Splenda, or some Gatorade if I need to rehydrate quickly. Mostly water though.

We may be able to help. What kind of foods are you eating to make those 1200 calories up and when do you eat them? How many meals a day? Do you eat before bed? If you're tracking your foods or have a good memory. List a couple of examples of how a normal day goes for you with respect to food intake. Don't leave anything out

I lasted about 3 weeks like that. Any little thing filled me up. Later on, my appetite was back and I could eat almost as much as I used to if I wanted. It really depended on what kinds of foods. The ones that passed easy, I was inhaling. The others, I ate like a regular person that isn't overweight. If you start eating healthy and start making better food choices now, I think you can reach your goals without a fill ever. Eating clean and eventually incorporating exercise will save your life. Remember, the band is just a tool..not your salvation.

Stats are one thing, being healthy is another. I don't know what my BMI is now, frankly I don't care. I do know how I look and feel and I know I want to change that. The stats I do care about are what my doctor tells me. Blood pressure, cholesterol, that kind of stuff. I really could care less about what somone else says the exact amount I should weigh and the appropriate body fat percentage. At the same time, I'm way over all of those lines and I know I'd be happier when I get close to those numbers. I think I'm rambling now. Point is, do what you think is right for you. Everyone's body is different. As long as you're healthy, do and be what makes you happy.

Agreed ^ Eat healthier, keep eating healthy fats and you won't need any magical pill promises to shed the pounds.

I don't know if I've posted in this thread yet, but I'm fat because I used to grossly overeat, and my daily diet was horrible. Terribly bad food choices + no exercise ever. Know I've researched nutrition and am a lot more informed of why I was so huge, and still am but am fixing that I micro manage my meals daily. Fitday.com is an awesome resource. It's so awesome that it's free. I don't eat any non-planned meals anymore. It's a great feeling to be 100% in control of my daily food intake. There's no reason for me to ever wonder what I'm eating again(nutritionally), and I hope to stay that way for a long time.

I'm not doing any exercise at all right now. I plan to in the future (maybe in 2-3 months), but I first want to get my nutrition down exactly to something I can follow for life. So far I've found lots of good foods to eat and have been keeping my food intake clean. I've started taking a multi-vitamin each day and also L-glutamine. When I start working out, I intend to start buying Nitrean for protein shakes. Start weight was about 378 I believe. Currently at 315. Losing about 3-5 pounds a week ever since I started eating healthier. I've had one fill since my surgery, and I think on my next visit after July 4th I'm going to ask they take some/all of it out so I can eat more healthy food. This getting full off half a slice of bread is ridiculous.

Took an L-Glutamine gelcap when I woke up. This morning I had 3/4 cups of oatmeal made with Water, couple of packets of Splenda, and about 30 blueberries. mmmmm... Took Animal Pak multi-Vitamin about 30 minutes after Breakfast. lunch, I went out with some friends from work and had about 10 chicken wings (nekkid, not breaded) with some hot sauce. I also had an order of carrot sticks and drank some tea also with 2 packets of Splenda in it. Took a second L-Glutamine gelcap after I got home. dinner, not hungry really. Yesterday I ate 5 strawberries, I think I'll do the same tonight and possibly a tablespoon or two of Nature's Own Natural Peanut Butter with Omega 3's before I go to bed.

Ahh, well then I take Universal's Animal Pak multi-Vitamins. I also take L-Glutamine and High Lignan Flaxseed Oil. When I start weight lifting, I intend to start buying Nitrean for Protein.

Egg whites for breakfast Starkist Tuna salad kit for lunch. Some almonds and a valencia orange for Snacks. Not sure if I'm eating dinner, not hungry. Possibly some more egg whites, or a few strawberries

I thought about that too because I miss eating all the food with family at Thanksgiving and Christmas time. I'm still considering whether I'll eat any junk food, but I've decided that I won't be getting an unfill. It would be way too easy to ruin so much you've worked for just to have a little while of overeating pleasure. I would rather be able to take a great picture with my family next year than eat like crap for a few days and knowingly contribute to slowly killing myself as I've done my entire life.

I use fitday.com and I keep my healthy carb intake level at about 50-60% of my daily intake. Nothing wrong with carbs. It's healthy to have a good balanced diet DAILY. As long as you eat healthy and watch those calories, the pounds will come off. I tried Atkins too, low carb is not a way of life I can follow. It's easier for me to just pick healthy foods I like.

I eat between 700-1000 calories a day. No reason for that number, just foods I like and i get full pretty quickly. Some things I've read about weight loss: Multiply each pound you weigh currently by 100. That's about how many calories you should be eating to maintain your current body weight. A safe way to lose some pounds is to cut your calories by about 10-15%. Slowly and gradually losing weight until you meet your goal. Along the way, hopefully you'll try new foods that are better for you, healthier, and fill you up more instead of junk. Personally, I'm eating a lot less calories than is recommended to cut out, but that's only because I'm banded and filled. Here's some of the foods I enjoy: Breakfast: oatmeal - half a cup of oatmeal cooked with Water in the microwave = 150 calories. I add a couple of Splenda packets and sometimes some strawberries or blueberries. It tastes good. I also bought some Sturm's whole grain oatmeal (Cranberry flavor is pretty tasty) and that has about 120 calories per packet...also made with water. Other times I'll microwave an egg(scrambled) and get a piece of Pepperidge Farm's 100% whole wheat bread. 170 calories for both. On the weekends when I can cook at home in the morning, I make some egg white omelettes(sp?.) A cup of egg whites is about 4 eggs. I use about 3/4 cups of the stuff, add in some diced tomatoes, spinach sometimes, onions, and sprinkle a little salsa on it and have myself an awesome omelette. It tastes great. Less than 200 calories for the whole thing! I'm thinking of buying some ground turkey and try adding some of that in there. I used to love eating ground beef and egg tacos or sandwiches in the morning. I wouldn't be able to finish it with bread or a tortilla, but I bet I could pass the ground turkey. Yum. Lunch: Microwaveable Soups. I buy those 2 cup servings of Progresso, Campbell's/Campbell's Chunky, and my favorite is Healthy Choice because they're low in sodium. 2 cup serving of Healthy Choice Country Vegetable Soup is 200 calories. Starkist Tuna salad lunch kit is 210 calories total. It's pretty good too. I like mayo and relish in my tuna. The crackers are meh. I like melba toast better, but whatever. Dinner: A can of Campbell's Chunky Beef Barley soup is 340 calories. Sam's Club sells these potstickers. 6 of those are 240 calories. Comes with some yummy sauce too. I love chicken wings, so now and then I'll have 4-9 chicken wing drummettes with no skin. I guess it's more like 2-4 whole wings? I dunno. I don't know how many calories those are, but I'm guessing probably between 200-400 calories. As long as I don't eat the skin, I eat till I'm full because I love them and their mainly Protein. Snacks: Celery with Peanut Butter is sooo good! I never tried this before my surgery. I buy Nature's Own Natural Peanut Butter (with Omega 3) and have about 3-4 celery sticks with 2 tablespoons of peanut butter (about 170 calories of healthy fats) around 30-45 minutes before I go to bed. It's delicious. I've also learned to love fruit and fat free cottage cheese. The cheese has about as much flavor as air, so I always add Splenda. Half of cup of cottage cheese is 70 calories, and full of protein. Each strawberry is about 8-10 calories, each blueberrie about 1-1.5. I add 6-9 strawberries and 20-25 blueberries and go nuts. It's very good too. Planters make a brand called NUT-rition mixed nuts. It's got a South Beach diet label on it or whatever, but it's healthy and I love the variety of nuts in there. I buy those regularly and some almonds too. Apples, Grapefruit (I can only eat it with Splenda, it tastes too bitter alone), and Oranges are other fruits I enjoy by themselves. If you like carrots and can eat them without ranch dressing, or very little, then that is also a great snack. Personally, I love to drown them in dressing so I try to stay away from them.

I don't think that's what was said. I agree with everything and I believe the point was that there comes a time when you have to stop relying on the band as your salvation with weight loss. The band will help control the hunger and prevent one from overeating (easily the biggest reason I'm fat), but it is not the answer to weight loss...only a tool to help. Losing weight and keeping it off takes a lifestyle change including eating right and excercising. In the end, Artale is pretty much confirming my new found belief that you can still lose weight without any fills in your band. Good stuff, Artale. Thanks for posting this!

Personally, I think if you truly want to...you can still eat terrible all day and the band will do zero good. It's easy to eat junk food all day and still keep intaking the calories. I'm torn between believing that I needed this surgery to lose weight. I would agree, however, that the biggest reason I did it was that I had lost all hope and had no desire to put any effort into losing weight and since my insurance covered it...this was too easy to pass up. In hindisight, I think it would be best to just give up on expecting quick diet fads or waiting for miracle pills. Exercise is important, but the true test of losing weight will be your eating choices and habits. It saddens me that it took a surgery for me to come to terms with that. ! Fat loss - Weight loss diet tips, programs and pills. FitDay - Free Weight Loss and Diet Journal CalorieKing - Diet and weight loss. Calorie Counter and more. Calorie Counter Database - Free Online Diet Program These are some great web sites to read that helped motivate me and put some things in perspective. Once I know exactly what I'm eating, it's hard for me now to just pop in sugary and fatty foods. It's just not worth it. Good luck!

I don't think it's a good idea to look to pills for weight loss. I take a multi-Vitamin, but a lot of people do despite their weight. Eating smart for life is what will help us drop the pounds and keep them off.

70-90 grams? I use Fitday as well, and I average 100-120 grams of carbs usually, and that still usually doesn't meet my goal of 55-60% carb ratios. Most of my carbs come from Soups and oatmeal. I also eat fruit (strawberries, blueberries, apples.) My carbs are clean/healthy so far as I can tell. Nothing wrong with carbs, as long as you're balancing your diet and watching your caloric intake...which should be easy with the band helping control the hunger.

Hey everyone! I've read this forum a few times and enjoyed the great threads. I got banded in late June of 2006. On my initial consultation, I weighed in at 376lbs in April of 2006. From April to June 23rd on surgery day, I got down to 357lbs after doing the liquid diet thing and a little low carb now and then. It is August 30th, and I'm now down to 318lbs! The band is doing it's thing and I'm eating about half as much as I used to. Less calories so naturally the weight loss. I've had one fill so far and am going for a second at the end of this month. On the first fill, there was a screw up and I got too much and I couldn't swallow anything (what a nightmare). Even my own saliva didn't go down. My fault I suppose. The doc told me to make sure I could pass a small cup of Water he gave me, but I didn't give his request the attention it required. The next day, I had an unfill and they took out like 2.4ccs. I think they took out a bit too much because I was eating pretty much the same amount as before the fill. I didn't want to go back right away, so I stuck with the 2 month check-up/fill date. Instead, I wanted to see if I had the will power to lose weight on my own without as much help from the band. I started walking in the park, eating low carb, you know the regular things you try and don't work without the band (in my case at least since I never stuck to it.) However, I recently found a combination of dieting that works amazing and wanted to share it. I am glad the pounds are coming off, but I was stuck between 325-330 for a good two weeks with no progress. The doc told me to come back after the unfill if I felt I was eating too much or not losing quickly enough, but I did this instead. The Super Diet isn't official, just a name I stuck to it since I think it is so awesome. In all honesty, I didn't stick with phase two for more than 2 days. As of the morning on the 3rd day, I had lost 10lbs! I started on a Sunday at 330, and ended up at 318 on Wednesday evening as I type this. It was a bit quick for me and I got scared. Now I'm doing like a lemonade drink in the morning to curb my appetite, a lite lunch, and a USANA shake in the evenings. Anywho, here is what I did. If anyone tries this, post here so I know this wasn't just a fluke! The Super Diet Phase One: The first phase of this diet is to get your body in to a state of Ketosis. Once you’ve reached that level, then you can incorporate the Master Cleanse fasting. Our bodies use energy that is supplied in the form of sugar. Once you run out of this reserve, your body switches energy modes and starts drawing from your fat reserves for the energy it needs to expend. It normally takes about 2-4 days to force this transition. All you have to do is eat foods that have no carbohydrates in them. This means no sugars, breads, full flavored sodas, juices, fruits, or sauces. If you read the labels, check out the carb counts. If it isn’t zero, don’t eat or drink it. What you can have is all the Protein you can eat. This includes any meats (beef, pork, chicken, fish, and turkey,) eggs, cheese, lettuce, mushrooms, and full fat salad dressings. You can drink water, diet sodas, crystal light, or other water based fluids. The drinks can be sweetened with Splenda. So eat your fill of bacon, turkey legs, chicken wings with hot sauce and ranch dressing for several days. You will know when your body has switched stages because your breath will begin to smell and taste bad, and your urine will start to be darker. Phase Two: Once you’ve reached this stage, you are now ready for phase two. The second step is to start a short fasting period. You can lose a tremendous amount of weight in as little as two days. It is not recommended to extend this phase for more than 4-6 days. In this step, you will give up solid foods altogether for a while. You will drink only water or the lemonade mix. The lemonade mix contains ingredients which will help cleanse your system of toxins, curb (practically eliminate) your appetite, and help you shed those pounds. The suggested amount of lemonade to drink is calculated by your current weight. Take your weight, divide it by two, and drink that number of ounces of the drink mix per day. Total Weight / 2 = Oz of drink mix per day Once you start this phase, you cannot deviate at all. Otherwise it will do you no good, not even a vitamin! Your stomach has to cease any digestion which will also cause it to contract as a result of the fasting. When you are finished with the fast, don’t immediately start eating solid foods again. If you do, it will hurt. Slow back in to it over a 3 day time frame. The first day off the lemonade, drink liquids such as crystal light, water, tea, orange juice (not too much OJ, it is extremely high in sugar,) or those diet drinks such as the V8 splash and so forth (they are actually very tasty.) On the second day, eat cream Soups and soft foods such as macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, etc. It would also be a good idea to try Meal Replacement shakes such as USANA Nutrimeal, Slim Fast Protein Shakes, etc. Keep an eye on your carb count…this is a quick way to gain your weight back if you overdo it. On the third day, start incorporating solid foods back in. It is highly recommended to eat meals comprised mostly of protein. Eat as much fish and turkey as you can (watch the breading and sauces) and you will be on the road to keeping the weight off. Lemonade Drink Mix This drink mix is awesome. It doesn’t taste fantastic, but it’s not completely gross either. Mix the following: 2 teaspoons of lemon or lime juice (freshly squeezed, nothing already prepared) 2 teaspoons of maple syrup (grade B preferred, grade A dark amber as a supplement if you can’t find grade :huggie: 1 / 10 – 1 / 4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper Now add 8 – 10 ounces of distilled water and mix it up good then drink. Don’t prepare this ahead of time and drink it throughout the day. It has to be fresh every time. That’s it. If you follow all of these steps, you are guaranteed to see some amazing results faster than you’ve ever experienced. Good luck!

Yep, sure is. I'm trying to stay fairly low carb. I'm going to try this again on Tuesday after Labor day to see if I can lose another 5-10lbs with little effort.