kentx05

Yes, I know, I know, I shouldn't have been eating ice cream in the first place. I received a fill in December and I felt kind of tight and fell into some bad habits that I never had before surgery, ex. eating ice cream. Well a few days ago I go in for a fill because I was feeling less restriction and the fluroscopy showed that I had pouch dilation (the enlargement of the pouch above my band). I rarely overeat, maybe once every 3 months but I did eat a lot of ice cream to the point of bloatedness. I didn't think ice cream would do anything to my band because it's considered a slider food. Yet after remembering what milk does to me I came to realize last night that ice cream had to have been the culprit. I'm lactose intolerant which means I usually have a lot of gas and get bloated after drinking milk. After watching my baby daughter get bloated from her nightly milk intake I put two and two together. It must've been the overdoing it on the Sonic Blasts that dilated my pouch. The nurse asked me to go on a liquid diet for 7 days and I'll see them in two weeks. For now I'm still eating solids until 7 days before I go in for my next fluroscopy. I'm writing this for others who might be lactose intolerant as well and who have addictively eaten ice cream like myself knowing that it's a no no for us bandsters. I can't prove it, but it's the only reasoning that makes sense to me. Ice cream causes me to bloat and have gas; hence dilated pouch. Please be careful out there bandsters. I would hate for you to make the same mistake. The same goes for carbonated beverages. You may not feel that it affects you but it probably does.

Are you eating only 3 meals a day? 1200-1400 calories sounds like too much to me. Dr. O'Brien's book says to aim for less than 1200.

Well I went in today to check out the status of my pouch dilation after two long weeks on liquids that tested every Fiber of my body. The fluroscopy showed that my pouch looked much much better. It totally looked like a normal pouch again. I gave the nurse practicioner my theory on why I believe my pouch dilated and she didn't see to totally agree but she wouldn't rule it out. According to her she wanted to wait 2 more weeks to see if the pouch will shrink even more if I want an adjustment. That would be another week or so on liquids and I'm not having that. The pouch looks great and she said my restriction is perfect. So from now on I will stay away from ice cream, eat using smaller utensils, and eat much slower.

Thanks for asking. I've been doing fine on my semi liquids diet. Honestly, drinking only liquids for 2 weeks is extremely difficult and I've done a few mushies at least once a day. How many times can you drink Protein shakes and tomato Soup? It was really starting to gross me out. Anytime I took a look at soup or that shake it gave me the hebbie gebbies. So I've been eating at least one little can of bannana baby food from gerbers. I hope it doesn't ruin my diet. I'm still coming to grips with how in the world my pouch dilated. I generally never overeat. I measure all my meals so that's why I concluded it had to be the ice cream. If my pouch has not decreased when I go in on Wednesday, I'm going to be so upset. I cannot do this liquid diet for any longer. I'll let ya'll know what happens. Thanks.

Sonic Reese's Blasts. It's the only food that has derailed me thus far. Now with pouch dilation, I've learned my lesson.

Yeah I called two days ago and spoke to a nurse from True Results. It turns out that they want me on this liquid diet until my next appointment which is now 10 days away. I thought one week of solids and one week of liquids would do the trick. I don't know how I'll be able to hold up by only drinking liquids. It doesn't provide satiety. Ice cream, never again.

This morning I went in for a fill for the first time in 6 months. I've been able to eat a lot more lately and thought that some of the liquid in my band had evaporated. When I had my fluoroscopy or x-ray done they noticed that my pouch was now dilated. It looked like a balloon rather than an hour glass. I've been put on a 10 day liquid diet to see if my pouch turns back into it's normal shape. I know that I caused this by eating too fast and not cutting my pieces down small enough. My question is, what are the chances that my dilation will go down with this liquid diet. I go back in 2 weeks and hope it works. I don't want to have a band slippage or an unfill. If you have had pouch dilation before, did the liquid diet bring you back to normal or were you required to do an unfill? Any help or hope would be great.

I definately have learned from this. I'm still confused as to what really did the overstretching. I usually eat the recommended 5 oz. of food for men. I supposed it could've been not eating small enough bites or eating too fast but I'm not sure. There have been times that I've cheated but not too much. My main problem has been ice cream but I assumed it wouldn't stretch my pouch out since it would melt. Could it have been that? I know that ice cream has stopped my weight loss at a screeching halt. Could it have done this too?

I would say that you can have Protein Drinks. It just won't fill you up for too long because it's a liquid rather than a solid food. At least that's what worked for me. When I was in pre-op I would drink 2 protein shakes and one meal. I lost 22 lbs like that and I stuck to a low carb diet which made me feel better. Once you get over the cravings you should be fine. Find yourself a good and tasty Protein shake. My favorite is Muscle Milk Lite chocolate. It's kind of high in carbs about 9 g but it's so tasty and the only thing I could look forward to when I was hungry. Good luck to you.

Great decision. I know that low carbing is the only thing that keeps my weight loss going. Plus it's an easier way of life than low fat. I'm currently eating 20 g of carbs per day. I'm following the Atkins way somewhat. I have to adjust my veggies intake according to what I can take in 5 ounces with my Protein. However, my body fat is definately decreasing. My waist is getting smaller and the cravings go away after a good week of staying on it. I'm about to be bumped off of ketosis though because I'm getting a fill on Wednesday which means the 3 days of liquids, mushies, solids again. Good luck and let us know how it goes for you. I definately recommend getting "The New Atkins" book. It's really taught me about how my body works.

Is there anybody else trying Atkins? I'm trying to do it but I'm wondering if it can be done as a Lap Bandster. I'm not talking about a modified version either.

Are you eating any fruit as well? My doctor says fruits and vegetables after eating your protein is good but Low carbers usually shy away from fruit at the early stage. My thing is that the only vegetable I like to eat is lettuce and onions. So it's hard sticking to low carb if I can't eat much more.

Yeah, I recently scheduled my first fill in close to 6 months and surprisingly there wasn't an appointment available till like a month later. Usually I get my fills done quickly though while at the office. Has anybody noticed the cost of their fills?

Dr. Hollis is a very good doctor. I had no complaints with him. The surgery went smoothly and I've had no complications. Just follow his diet plan and you'll lose weight fast. I did. I fell off the wagon a few months ago but I'm about ready to go back to my low carbing losing weight days.

That is so true. You know what's funny? Before I was banded my biggest problem was Doritos, burgers, and pizza. I never ate ice cream or cake, it was never a problem with a sweet tooth. But now since it's the only way I can cheat, it's become a problem. I had my last fill in December and my band was a little tight after that. So I went to ice cream one day and fell inlove with it. I haven't had a fill since then because I still stay pretty full for quite a while. I might just go in soon though since it's been more than 3 months. What kills me though is the fill price. Since they always do the X-ray I noticed that I was getting charged $800 a visit. Sure my insurance picks some of it up but that's a lot of money for a fill.

I was banded at True Results too, August 2010 by Dr. Hollis. Starting weight 282-pre surgery 260- and now 205. I did get down to 198 but I've fallen inlove with carbs agains, especially ice cream after doing so well. I'm in need of a buddy to get me back in line because I know if get those darn sugars out of my diet, the scale will roll again and fast.

After reading so much on Ketosis I went and bought myself some Ketostix. I'm really into it now and I'm striving to get there, Ketosis that is. My question goes both male and female bandsters. How many carbs do you limit yourselves to a day to achieve high traces of ketones? My doctor recommended one cheat day in order remain in ketosis as well. Anybody else here that?

Low carbing is what has helped me lose close to 45 lbs since August. If it wasn't for the Low carbing with the LapBand, I think my weight loss would've been slow. Plus I find when I eat carbs, especially the bad ones, you crave more carbs. To me carbs are evil. They make you tired fast and they make you hungrier faster.

HIGHEST WEIGHT - 282 LBS GOAL WEIGHT - 165 LBS SURGERY DATE - 08/9/2010 WEIGHT ON DATE OF SURGERY - 262 LBS CURRENT WEIGHT AS OF 01/14/2011 - 203 LBS I HAVE 41 LBS MORE POUNDS TO LOSE

I do weigh my food as well. I was told that a medium framed male as myself should eat about 5 oz of food per meal and to lean heavily on protein. Women on the other hand would eat 4 oz of food. I bought the cheap "Biggest Loser" food scale online. I try to weigh my food every time I eat. I've noticed it does help me to eat just the right amount of food. Sometimes I can't even fit all 5 oz which is fine with me. I do try to count my calories because the info packet I said mentioned a goal of 1200 calories a day. I don't keep count religiously though because I know with my choices of high protein foods, my calories never surpass 1200 calories. Also, my doctor recommended 60 g of protein a day. 90 is kind of high.