honk

I'm a little confused. You mention being able to eat anything; and make is sound like a bad thing. My band does'nt stop me from eating anything except for raw carrots. The band is not meant to be kept so tight as to prevent you from eating certain foods. Even at restriction I have to choose to eat healty foods, veggies instead of french fries, or skinless chicken breast instead of fried chicken.

Another thing to remember is that when someone is having a bad time they are more likely to post about those problems. People that are doing well may stop visiting this site all together. Yes, it's important to look at the good and bad. For me I knew I needed help. I had a stroke at 39. That's pretty scary stuff.

The biggest challenge for me (and it has not been that bad) has been planning ahead for my eating. My doctor does not believe in snacking. However if you really have to have snacks (long time between meals) bring premade protein shakes, apples etc, protein bars (look for no more than 220 cals), or low fat cheese sticks. They are easy to carry. There is nothing worse than being super hungry and not having healthy options available. The next thing you know you are chosing something high in cals/fat/carbs.

I would talk to the doctor's office about maybe adding broth/stock to your "foods"; or more Protein shakes. While pickles are low in cals they are high in salt which causes Water retention. On a serious note. I can not believe anyone on here is recommending ice cream for the liquid diet. SERIOUSLY!!! Yes I am shouting. Liquid diets suck in a big way. But this is a medical perscription. If someone is having weight loss surgery and is told to be on a low cal diet ice cream is the absolutely last thing they should be eating.

How horrible! It is completely normal not to feel the band. You should not feel the band in general. It took me 6 months to get restriction. So While it seems like you've taken a step back you really have not.

You are loosing more than expected; normally 1-2 lbs per week. Usually the more you have to loose the faster the loss. Also if someone goes from eating 3-4000 cals per day (Very easy to do. A big bites hamburger meal with fries at Chilis is 1,000.) to 800 cals (post op liquids) you will loose pretty quickly. At first consult I was 335, at surgery 282 (7.5 months wait). I loose less than 1 pound a week.

I would say below 1200. I exercise 1.5-2.5 hours a day. As previously mentioned the brain survives on carbs. When your carb level is super low the body is forced to do some crazy chemistry to produce a fuel the brain can burn. It is also very important to get your protein in. The body needs protein to build/maintain muscle INCLUDING the heart.

I don't feel the band controls my life. Knock on wood almost two years out no vomitting or PBing. I truely believe a large part of my weight problem is genetic. I have to constantly proactively choose to eat healthy food. Before the band I could go a year or so being super viligent and then eventually I would start eating unhealthy food and larger portions. The band does'nt help me choose healthy food but it does help me eat less food. This is about creating a healthy life style for life. I would recommend meeting with a psychologist that specializes in eating disorders. My doctor required them and found those sessions to be really helpful. It helped me recognize things that triggered overeating. These sessions may also help you identify poor eating habits. I used to eat a lot of low/fat free crunchy snacks: chips, crackers, rice cakes; pirates booty. I would have at least 3 open bags in my house at any time. While they were low in fat they were high in calories. Do you have any similar foods habits that may be higher in cals than you think? Most doctors recommend at least 30 minutes of cardio daily. So while I know you are getting a great work out 3 days a week you probably need to up your days of cardio. Also, on the days you work out do you eat more on those days? Many do since they justify I just burned all those calories I deserve this.

1-2 weeks. One thing to keep in mind. Does your doctor require an amount of weight loss before they will schedule surgery? Mine was 35 pounds but I 've heard everything from nothing to 15 pounds.

When you do something for 30 days it become a habit. Believe it or not you can and will get to a point where if you miss a work out you get very grumpy.

I would ask if they want you to make the shakes with water. Some doctors do. In general though fat free milk while it has carbs also has protein. There is also a difference between carbs from ice cream, cake, candy, even white potato's and fat free milk.

I did not get restriction until 10.6 cc's in 11 cc band. You need to Protein first and then low fat/cal veggies until full. I guess I don't undertand the problem weighing you protein. Do you have a food scale? My doctor says 3 oz of protein for lunch and dinner. What exercise are you doing? Most doctors say at least 30 minutes cardio daily. Personally I have never had the weight just fall off. Every pound has been WORK!

First you need to have Protein for Breakfast. People who eat a breakfast high in protein and has dairy loose weight faster than those who do not. Can you go 4 hours after eating before you are hungry? If not you need a fill. You need to have 3 oz of solid protein at lunch and dinner plus veggies and maybe fruit. At this point of your journey you probably need to cut out anything high in fat. So for protein chicken no skin or fish. Cut out all refined carbs, bread, chips, crackers, rice cakes, Pasta, Cereal, rice. Yes this is a diet. Even at restriction I have to "diet", it's all about food choices. Would I love a plate of nachos or potato skins? YES. I just choose not to. What is your exercise plan? Most doctor's say at least 30 minutes of cardio 7 days a week. I do up to 2.5 hours a day and am a slow looser.

It's usually liquids in liquids out. If you are not going at all I would add benefiber to your drinks to help things along.

Sounds to me like you are too tight. Can you eat 3 oz of solid protein +veggies? If not get an unfil. There have been many people on this site who write in to say "I kept my band really really tight so I would loose weight fast and now the band has slipped!" NOT WORTH IT.

I've read that clenses are not very good for you since it flushes out the good bacteria in your digestive system. Also most doctors tell you not to take herbal remedies two weeks prior to surgery as they may interact with perscription meds that are administered.

I have lost 170 pounds (100 preband) and have little to no loose skin. The place I notice it is under my chin where my 2/3 chins used to be. I do have another 60 to go. I would explain it like this: if I needed a hip replacement or heart surgery would you tell me to just think myself well? Of course not. I had a stroke at 39. I was eating better and doing an hour of cardio 7 days a week. I was however still 335 pounds. I saw this as a do or die situation. I know how to diet. I have been very successful in the past (lost over 100 lbs several times) I just can't keep if off.

I really don't think it's helpful to refer to people who are working really hard to loose weight and break down and have a brownie fatso's. What is this high school?

I chew gum all the time. No problems knock on wood. I do not recommend chewing gum while working out and then trying to drink from a water bottle. I was close to restriction and the gum got washed down by accident. I drank losts of water, and took papaya pills and things were fine.

How many fills have you had. If you are vomitting it sounds like the band is too tight. The bad contrary to popular opinion is not mean to STOP you from eating anything. If you band is so tight you can't keep down solid protein. Get a small unfil. This will allow you to eat healthy food and not realy on ice cream for your calories.

You are in Bandster Hell and you are hungry. My question for you is are you supposed to be on solids? I was not allowed solids until week 5. I will say you should weigh your protein. My doctor says 3 oz. 5 eggs is going to be more than that. Yes this is a white knuckle diet until you get restriction. Also remember each egg has 5-7 g of fat and a lot of cholesterol.

My first fill was also 3 cc's. About 6-7 fills got restriction at 10.6 CC's in 11 CC band. I recommend a food scale if you haven't bought one yet. This is really essential during bandster hell; because you CAN eat more; but you should'nt.

At your weight most insurance companies will not cover the surgery. FDA has approved lap band down to 35 BMI. So you need to be prepared that you would have to pay for this surgery out of pocket. Question about your food habits. When I had my consult I told the therapist I was the healthiest eating fat person I knew. I tried not to eat fried foods or hamburgers. I also was doing an hour of cardio daily. What I was not recognizing was the fact that I had at least 3 open boxes of crackers/chips/rice cakes in my house at any time. Are you weighing your Protein? Traditionaly doctors say to have 4 oz of protein per meal (with lap band it's 3 oz). If you are not measuring you are guarenteed to be over eating. Are you eating just 3 meals a day? Many people read that they should have small Snacks through out the day. Problem is they eat enough for a meal instead of a 100 cal. snack. So in reality they are eating 5 meals a day. Who would'nt gain weight eating like that. Not sure if you are eating WW foods? They usually are really high in carbs with really low levels of protein. I used to diet (and was very successful) eating realllly low fat. My problem was I ate lots off carbs (you can find lots of low fat carbs), and not enough protein. You mention exercising 6 days a week. For how long and how intense? I am at restriction, do 1.5-2.5 hrs of moderate cardio daily and loose less than 1 lb a week. Can you switch up your exercise? Do you belong to a gym? If you could do a different cardio machine every other day that migh help jump start your weight loss. Not trying to be negative just want to give you some ideas.

I agree with previous poster it's hard to define what they consider furniture moving: a 300 pound dresser or a 10 pound coffee table. I recently cleaned my carpet and was moving furniture around all day. I was EXHAUSTED.

Have you also been tested for sleep apnea that will make you really tired. Could you a couple days a week go to the gym and let your husband feed the kids? This way you could work out after work and get home to put your kids to bed. I have to work out before I drive home and have dinner or I will NEVER go back out to exercise. Another option if you have the room is a home eliptical machine etc. You can set it up in front of a TV. My other issue with eating before working out is that we can't drink for an hour after eating. I drink a lot during my work out so I would have to delay the workout even longer until my hour was up.