Betsyjane

I can gain 4 pounds in a single day, depending when I eliminate what I've eaten and drank.

Anybody want to go to the Thai restaurant just past Walgreens in Atascocita...on the way to Summerwood. It's Nara Thai and it's my favorite restaurant. I love love love their Panang, but I understand if it's not everybody's taste.

Thanks, Suzanne. Missed you guys too! Rule #11: Never eat stringy cooked spinach when you are super restricted from illness, no matter how good it looks.

I only scanned these posts so I may be off base, but have you guys considered less of a fill? If it's too hard to eat the right/difficult foods, and only the easy stuff goes down, you'll certainly eat the easy stuff rather than starve to death! How about a fresh start with a bit less fill and a new resolve?

I found that I started losing intermittently. I'd plateau and then drop. Plateau and then drop. I figure my body is taking time to adjust...or it's waiting for my skin to catch up and shrink. :-) Who knows. I know it's hard not to sweat it, but don't sweat it! Weight loss won't be steadily steady! :-)

I'm going through some grazing now too. Yours may be becasue you don't have enough of a fill yet...don't know. Mine feels more like it's the old issues coming back. Eating when triggered by TV mostly, and mostly in the afternoon. I'm going to be doing my exercise in the afternoon and see if I can break the pattern. I swore when I got banded I'd never do appetite suppressants again! My experience is that the OTC ones don't work, and the prescription ones work great and then stop working and the weight comes back. Overall, I'm doing well, but this recurrence of grazing is pretty annoying!

Hi Everybody. I just read through all this stuff and went to ObesityHelp.com to see if they had a different outlook. The forum there seems to reflect the same wide range of opinions as are presented here. Not sure what all the fuss is about. But Dyslexi's last post says it all. Why give attention to disparaging comments? It only encourages the instigator. And puts you at her level. Let's be helpful to each other instead and let negative posts die of neglect.

I felt very little restriction until fill #3, and then I could truly live the bandster life.

Thanks, Lana. I'm on the mend. Will see how today goes. I don't want to infect anyone, so at this point it's a toss up whether I'll be there tonight. I'm improving well. I think it has to do with finishing my taxes yesterday.

There's a college kids' thread here that talks forever about how to get drunk easily with the band. It bothers me "a lot". I responded with my opinion once, read the responses, and then left it. Seems like the thing to do and then get on with life. Just depends how you want to spend your time. I do think the debate between portion control and dieting will always be ther with the band. For me, I do both at home, sticking with a whole food/raw food healthy diet, and then when I'm out to eat, I order whatever I want and eat a bit of it. Works for me......

I understand. I just think that even if we think we're ready...we've been ready and dedicated in the past, and failed. We might kick the Dr., but I'm not tready to kick anyone who fails at weight loss....

That seems like you might need a fill. 3/4 of a sandwich seems like a lot. Or maybe htere's a bit of pouch dilation (been there). I think I could eat bread if I went slowly. I just don't do carbs. a lot of bandsters have trouble with bread becasue it gets gummy and plugs the port, which is uncomfortable. I doubt if I could handle a cheap white bread, but I could probably do whole wheat....Everybody's different.

I didn't watch the video becasue my audio isn't working, but who are we to criticize someone who fails at weight loss???? These comments sound like ones I've heard all my life. Good grief. I'm sad for people who don't succeed with the band, and I know some folks have more of a struggle with eating disorders than others. Sad....not critical.

Hey! Thanks to you both! I think I'll stick with nonfood solutions since I think the problem is a food habit..... And I've been told we're never supposed to chew gum! Thanks for th dieas. I was also thinking every time I head to the refrigerator at a non meal time, I need to start dancing in front of the fridge....just to break the pattern!

Hey Lizrbit! Miss Galveston yet?

An open forum is open to people with opinions. You are still responsible for your own health and have to decide who and what you believe. Just like in conversations with people face to face. I suppose if one wanted to just hear from "experts" it would be better to read the research, or to just discount the word sof anyone who hasn't been banded. I hope she finds what she's looking for...... I found it here.

Can you eat a whole sandwich?

I don't feel full with protein bars. Here's my usual day... Slim Fast low carb shake for breakfast (too restricted!) Lunch: 4-6 ounces of protein and some vege salad with a few berries sprinkled in Dinner: Same as lunch. If dinner out, I order anything hi protein and eat a small portion of it. It's my treat and my variety. If a carb touches my mouth, I stop losing! But I also didn't feel restricted enough until after my third fill.

Why risk it? I'm happy to have kicked my Diet Coke addiction when I got banded. I'm not switching to Crystal Light or other chemical drinks either. Might as well get as healthy as I can on this journey. So it's water with lemon and er, the occasional Starbucks 150 calorie frappacino light as a splurge.

I fell into the habit of getting liquid calories in between meals (shakes). I stopped losing wieght and stopped feeling full. I was only feeding my head hunger. I found that I had to learn that it was OK not to have something in my mouth all the time, and that when I get bored, there are better habits than grabbing a shake. The good part is that with the band, changing my behavior wasn't impossible! That's new for me. I guess the biggest thing for me with the band is that I'm always learning and modifying me. I get some glipses of being a mature bandster and having my act together, but often still I'm working through behavior patterns or eating choices and upgrading what I do, what I put in my body, or how I exercise. At first, I wanted the band to just release me from food issues and be THE answer. Now I'm actually enjoying the journey and the work.

I do the slim fast low carb, and it seems to keep my blood sugar stable so I don't crave food later.....and gives me 20g protein. I just wish they had more flavors!

Aw. That's very sweet. I don't want to breathe on you, though! I'm feeling to puny to go out, but not puny enough to stay in bed, so I'm slowly cleaning the house. That's my speed for the day.....

Good grief! And we're in the heat of summer most days already in Houston! Yeah, I can't see what the difference would be for us with lap bands. Seems like that article would apply. Lots of interesting ideas.....

Yes, I'm wondering how it might be different for lap band...but I doubt if it's much different. I may or may not be there Monday. I woke up this morning with stuffy nose, sore throat, fever. I'm keeping a good thought that it will pass quickly. Definitely not going to the gem/jewelry show today!

I thought this was an interesting article, especially about long term pouch volume, water loading techniques, etc. http://www.lighterforlife.com/PDF/dummies.pdf