jason2116

This was horrible...the worst part of the whole thing. Bring someone with you. They went down my throat, I know some doctors do thru your nose. They were training a nurse...and had my with the tube down my throat for an HOUR. I was gagging the whole time. I really wonder how needed this test is for people with no symptoms of esph. problems. That said, I would go thru that everyday to be thin like I am now (thin for me anyway).

I have been a big fan and promoter of Splenda since its release. I think it is the best tasting (I actually prefer it to sugar), and until I heard different, I felt it was the safest of the artificial sweeteners. Well, I have heard different. I know a lot about chemistry and nutrition. When I read the ingredients in Splenda, I knew something was wrong (but didn't research it for years....because I didn't want to know anything bad about his stuff I love). The first two ingredients are maltodextrin and dextrose. Well...those are both sugars. Guess where those sugars come from by the way...corn syrup. I believe corn syrup is the second most dangerous food we eat (the first being trans fats). Those two ingredients make up 98% of Splenda. Sucralose, the active ingredient in Splenda, makes up 2%. What does this mean? Splenda is NOT zero calorie. One pack of Splenda is 4 calories (a teaspoon of sugar is 10). Better than sugar in calories (60% better), but not a free zero calorie food. Who cares about 4 calories anyway? No one if you only consumed one packet of Splenda. But I used to make Kool-Aid with Splenda; that is a cup of Splenda (98% of which is sugar). Splenda is light and fluffy, much less dense than real sugar, but I would guess that cup of Splenda is equivalent to 40% of a cup of real sugar in calories. I would drink the two quarts in 24 hours easy (I thought it was a free food). How can Splenda say this? Well, the rule is...if a serving is less than five calories you can say it's zero (Diet Coke isn't really zero either). Four calories is one less than 5. How did I find all this out? I was farting all the time. When I was obese, I thought I was just a fat pig, so it was normal to fart all the time. But after I was banded, I didn't understand why I was farting all the time still. Then I looked at the huge costco bag of Splenda on the kitchen counter. I Googled "Splenda and gas". I found my answer. And much more. Do some research on the FDA's role in this product. It's too complicated to write about here. Mind you the FDA still has not approved Acomplia, the new weight loss drug approved in many countries already (including the UK)...thank you FDA. In summary, Splenda is not a zero calorie food. It has 40% of the calories of sugar. Also, it causes gas in many people. Finally, I question the safety of this product. 262/206/162?

wavydog...i completely agree with you. I'm at a point in my weight now where I'm starting to think about total health and longevity. What got me pissed about this was the deception about Splenda. Both the hidden calories and the gas issue. I was nervous to spend the night with someone I was dating because of the gas issue. Jachut...I think you are right about how fast you can give up sweetener in tea/coffee. Its been several days now. While I want the sweet, I'm enjoying the taste without it. At first I felt like there was no point in drinking it with out sweetness...like popcorn with no butter.

I also am wondering if I really have lactose intolerance. We'll see. I don't know if surgery itself causes gas or if the use of Splenda causes it. Here are my thoughts on sweeteners: Equal (aspartame) has tons of anecdotal evidence against it. Much of it brain related, headaches. There really has been a grass roots movement against its safety. I never really saw that with saccharin. Though we all know saccharin causes cancer (only how likely it is, is debated). The thing with Equal and weight loss is it has an insulin response to it. So, while it has few calories, it makes your body shoot insulin, and while insulin is working in your body, your body does not burn fat. All the diet gurus are not fans of Equal. It was Atkins least favorite sweetener. Here is what I'm doing. I'm trying to not use sweeteners in my tea and become less dependent on the taste of sweet. I already gave up coffee. In my home I'm going to buy some Stevia. Stevia is a natural plant sweetener. It can't be sold in the U.S. As a sweetener. Blocked by the FDA. Can you guess why? The FDA is controlled by big corporations, none of which wants a natural almost zero calorie sweetener that might actually have health benefits. You can't patent Stevia as it is plant. If you are bored read online about why the FDA doesn't allow Stevia, its amazing. I never used Stevia before, because I preferred the taste of Splenda. Sidenote: You might have been taught that Splenda does not have an insulin response. Not true. Pure sucralose does not have an insulin response, and that is what they used in testing. However, the product they but on the market had two types of sugar added to it. So obviously, it has an insulin response.

see i totally relate to patient. while i have been sucessful with my band (so far), i have the same problems she does. meat and veggies get stuck, carbs go down. if i loosen my band a tiny bit, i have no restriction. as she gets more and more hungry from lack of any healthy food, especially Protein, she is more vunerable to the evil lure of junk food. about the doctor??? i don't know, is he passionate about his beliefs? or is he a money grubing scammer? you know in another video of his, he states that the popularity of the band is going down in europe, and by-pass is going back up. remember, we really just got the band. a huge percent of banders were banded in just the last two years in the U.S. I'm so curious to know if what he says about rates in europe are true.

lisah25, that was my dramatic attention get-er. I actually think that one diet doesn't fit all. Some people do well on high carb diets, thou I think those are mostly naturally thin people...lol. but, just for sake of a friendly debate as work is slow...if you look at the entirety of the Atkins lifestyle, not just the first two weeks, its really not low veg or low fruit. Even in the first two weeks of the diet you are to eat two cups of veggies a day. I know when i was morbid, I rarely ate two cups of healthy veggies a day. So for me, atkins was high veggies. everything is relative. As for high fat, the jury is still out. i suspect the future will show high fat is not unhealthy...we will see. of course this has nothing to do with the thread, and its all my fault.

I'd like to remind you all of a doctor who for 30 years everyone said was crazy. Now you ALL follow his advice, if not to the letter, his main idea. His name was Robert Atkins. Anyone still thing bagels and spaghetti are health foods out there??? By-pass is a valuable and successful surgery. Over time we will see which surgery is better in the long haul. That he does a variation of by-pass is great. That is how science moves forward. Maybe his variation is not an improvement, maybe it will be the only surgery done in ten years. I don't like the blaming of the patient here. We all got to be morbidly obese. We all tried many things that didn't work. You know there are complications with the band, it isn't a fit for everyone. I personally have had a much harder time with my band than most of you do. To the woman who asked the original question...learn what you can, do a pro and con chart, and make your best decision. What is important is that you have surgery (assuming you have tried all the other blah blah). To me, which kind of surgery is a toss up.

do you all mean BMI? from the 30's to the 20's?

I know there is no miracle for loose skin, but I was wondering if anyone had any tricks they thought worked. I don't think I need surgery, but my stomach is getting pretty wrinkley. I have lost almost 50 lbs. I do work out. Just want to write down that...I am grateful for this problem (but vain enough to ask the question:) ) banded 9/13/06 fill in oct (a double) fill in nov (the one that worked) 262/214/162

I just found these spinach nuggets in the store. High protien, low carb. I try and do Snacks at 100 calories, so i fry two of them in a couple drops of olive oil and eat them with a teaspoon of hummus. They are really good, and tons of nutrition in them. I'm not a veggie person at all. Check them out: http://www.veggiepatch.com/contentmgr/showdetails.php/id/272

bulldog...would you please report on what you think of NutriSystem. I am considering doing a month. thanks

In the process of my having the band surgery, and even now with reading this thread, i'm disappointed in how hard it is to get information. Why doesn't the Inamed site give any technical information.

Bulldog....lol...I'm just one month ahead of you. I thought I could kinda do what I wanted and I would still lose because I was eating so much less. Worked for a while, then I stopped. Now (starting less than a month ago, about the same time from surgery as you) I do South Beach and work out intensely. All that "the band is just a tool" BS was all true (dammit).

i have used nioxin for ten years, most of my friends do to due to me. I absolutely believe it works. I started using it when I lost alot of hair using Phen-Phen. When I stopped using it for a year, hair loss came back, and stopped and reversed when I got back on it. I don't take the pills thou, I just use the shampoo.

I was all about Atkins shakes.

i just broke a plateau with South Beach. I was getting back into old eating habits. I don't cook so I use frozen dinners. Wednesday B-fast South Beach Breakfast Burrito Lunch South Beach Chesse Pizza, I added six circles of pepperoni (I ate the whole rest of the bag of pepperoni the two days before) Snack, sugar free, fat free yogurt Dinner South Beach Frozen Dinner Snack sugar free, fat free yogurt --I lost five lbs in two days, broke my plateau. Hunger? Yes. but i'm happy to be losing again right now.

yes, I found a site that site the same things... http://www.droakleymd.com/index.php?page=debate i have a lap band, and it is slowly working for me, just trying to put out this info...it wasn't around for me.

I had a lap band and it's slowly working. but i often wonder if the bypass would have been a better option. i just saw this... http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3935926914857694794&q=lap+band to late for me to investigate the claims, but if i was considering surgery, I would check it out

I think it's all about setting a series of goals. But I'll tell you how I set my pre-surgery goal. I read that a ballpark expectation of lap band is to lose half your excess weight. I had almost reached when I did Atkins (I still believe in that diet, thou I'm doing South Beach right now for a change). I remembered what that weight looked and felt like and then being morbidly obese, it seemed great. So I took 50% of my excess weight and rounded down to an even ten number. I have hit that (for one day...lol). then gained a couple back. I was really happy when I just lost that weight and thought i looked good enough, but now that I have plateaued for a time, I'm starting to look in the mirror and feel fat again. Its only been 3.5 months, and only a month of real restriction, so I'm still hopeful.

in general, nutritionists working with the morbidly obese is like a jew working with a nazi. these people (mostly women) choose this profession because they LOVE healthy eating. they love it so much, they want to tell everyone how they should be eating. the first one i went to was a total bitch. i could see the disgust in her face. so judgemental. the second was nice, but robotic. just spent five minutes (10 at most) going over a handout. i found most of the handout completely useless, obviously written by someone without a band. Wheetsin...your weight loss is amazing. the band most really be the right tool for you. i sometimes think i should have gotten RNY

my wisdom teeth, and my nose job were both a harder recovery than my lap-band. I have lost 40 lbs in 3.5 months. changed my life. i have dates now. people talk to me.

So i have had good restriction for three or four weeks now. I'm starting to notice i can eat quite a bit...at night. I know this has been covered before. I just can't believe that during the day I can't eat but a few bites, even then i often PB, but at night (the last couple nights) I have been able to eat a full meal. I JUST had lunch, only at a few bites, and was afraid i was going to puke in the restaurant. The unfortunate thing about this AM/PM thing is...most of us really need the support at night. It's just like the band allowing you to eat Cheetos, but not meat (i can eat meat, just making a point). When I have bad scale days (like today) I wonder if I should have gone by-pass. Also, are hot liquids death to the band? I admit I had hot tea with dinner last night as I was so cold.

if i could have not eaten after 6:30...i wouldn't have needed the band in the first place...lol

I don't want to unfill. I'm happy when the band is tight, unhappy when it lets me eat a full resturant meal. I know I am not supposed to drink with meals, I was cheating last night...as the scale reflected this morning. I know some people don't believe in daily weight-ins, but I need to be punished when i'm bad.:eek:

I struggle with questions like this often, but I think this one is clear cut. He needs to replace the lost item in kind. Pick out a modern equivalent cam and tell him that is the one you want.