dman3998

I suppose if you get technical about it, it's all a "mental thing" most of us are not normal because we have some really screwed up in the head stuff. Unfortunately the band does not "fix" that other than be a physical reminder not to stuff the face at any particular time. We truly have to reprogram our minds to not use food for comfort, boredom and any other reason we can think of to eat. Now it must be eat to live, instead of live to eat! That seams to be the tough one and the most important for long term success. I think developing good habits will be the start of that change. IT"S A PROCESS!

Thanks for your post it go me to thinking and actually do some research, there is ample evidence to debunk the starvation theory here is a good one: Fatty Fights Back: MTYHBUSTERS: Starvation Mode I will have to jump trains and get on the "your just not counting ALL your calories wagon". I cant use it for an excuse to eat more too, Dang!:thumbup:

I can only have contempt for incompetence like that, first off if the port is not prominent she needs to use a fluoroscope to check it out. and that it TOTAL BS to tell you come back in 2 months with no fill what the heck do we need the band for if we can lose weight without it being filled? what's going to change in 2 months? will the port come back? will you suddenly have no eating urges and will power to spare? What a moron, she needs to get her crape together. If it is an option at all, I would go to another doc or fill center.

If this Doc is going to be a moron, next time you go in Lie thru your teeth! tell them anything they want to hear so they will give you a fill and get your restriction to where it belongs! With the right restriction you should not be hungry for 3-4 hrs after eating and unless your eating a ton of high cal stuff you should not have to keep track of every calorie. It is a tool to help with overeating, sure we are on a "diet" but of eating normal food, normally

Not really, there is no way you can eat the volume of food anyone of those tell you to. Actually the plan is Protein first then veggies. at each meal. it seems closer to Atkins than anything else.

I think I like your surgeon, Elfiepoo, mine actually told me 3/4 of a cup! You are right without the band adjusted it is hardly better than before the surgery and if we could do it then we would not have needed it. Of course the "concept" is to get you in the habit of proper eating so when you get the fills it will be an easier transition. like I had to give up pop. Right now it would not hurt anything but after fill it supposedly will expand your pouch. well I am not really convinced on that one but CO2 is not that great for you anyway so bye bye to my Dew. I have to keep telling myself its a Process and its worth it! good luck Sweeetbriar, if you would like the diet my nutritionist gave me send me a PM and I would be happy to email it to you.

It does not sound like your surgeon has his act together as far as the post-op care is concerned. I am only out 4 weeks and this is what I think I know. the band is "restricting" but without fills your opening is still pretty large. food can pass pretty easy and probably will not have much chance of stretching it right now. the pouch is sized for volume so the 1/2 cup is about right it will stretch on its own to maybe 3/4 - 1 cup but that should take a couple years unless you are trying to stuff it all the time. My doc's nutritionist gave me a pretty comprehensive plan for the 5 weeks after banding. it has a lot more specifics but this is the jist of it Clear liquids first week, but can have 1 Protein drink a day. Full bodied liquids the second week 3 Protein drinks a day. pureed stuff the second week nothing you have to chew. at least 2 Proteins a day. basically eat 4 times a day mashed, soft, mushies the 4th week min 1 protein a day for the rest of your life. 4 times a day start trying different foods the 5th week, cut up small and chew the crap out of it. pretty much anything you want that will stay down. 3 meals and no Snacks. When I say protein I mean a drink or powder supplement in addition to the the regular protein you are eating. I need to have a min of 70 grams a day. you need a min Calorie in take per day most women it is 1000-1200 cals per day or you will have a hard time losing weight as you will be in starvation mode and your body will conserve every calorie and slow down your metabolism. not to mention you will be cranky and feel worn out all the time. someone correct me if I am wrong here. but It should be close.

At this point I dont think you could eat enough of any kind of soup to get more than 800-1000 cals per day. which is probably too low anyway. if you keep it too low you will not lose either. If you have been on a LOW cal pre-op diet for 2 weeks and now a week or 2 on hardly anything you body is in "starvation mode" and is conserving every cal it can. I was like that and didn't start inching down again till I got the cals up to at least 1500/day. I looked at it this way, if all I can eat is liquids and puree crap I will be damned if I am going to worry about "fat" that's my outlook anyway. After I am on full program with fills THEN I will worry about exactly what I am eating! I figure if this is too hard or too much BS, I will not do it long term. So as long as the scale is going down I am a happy camper and I will eat what I want - more or less, LITTLE TINY BITS, but what I want. That's my story and I'm sticking with it.

Had my first serious wont go down and ready or not I'm coming back up. That really sucked! I know its all from eating toooo fast, I chew the stuff death but since I was a wee lad it has been speed eating. My tonsils must have thought it was an Indy car race going by. I am on week 4 and eating solids but small and chew chew chew. I just cant get the hang of eating it slow. I know I will be in real trouble when I get my first fill. Right now it's only the band itself. which according to my doc is pretty significant compared to nothing even with no saline. but after the fills.... It's a process I know but teaching an old dog new tricks is well really hard.

Everything else is good, except for Bandster Hell. I did get my first fill SCHEDULED for the 24th of Aug so I am looking forward to getting on with life and the path to thinness. must be patient, took many years to get put it on, so a couple to get it all off will not be too bad.

You didn't say what your diet was but I felt wiped out for the first 2 weeks on soup and liquids. On week 3, I started major protein and perked right up. May not have been related but seemed to correlate.

I am taking them too as well as a pile of others, I asked my Doc about it and he said the pouch has liquid but no acids. so anything that will dissolve in water will not be a problem but food will only be digested in the normal part of the stomach so it has to be small enough to fit through the restricted band after you get filled.

if your going for protein, the premium protein at costco is 30 grams in a 11,something oz shake and really low carbs. tastes like a watered down milk shake. not terrible.

Have to try the apple cider deal, I get it every once in a while so bad I cant even sleep. drank a whole bottle of Pepto last time and it barely does anything. Thanks

Pretty much will just suck big time for the next 3-5 days. Just have to grin and bare it. Walking helped me the most. Shoulder pain will keep you grumpy for at least a week & a half. banded on the 15th July and totally back to normal in 2-3 weeks. especially when your not starving on Soup. I perked right up when I got some Protein in me. good luck and welcome to the club!

I must have got lucky and got a Doc with his crap together. I asked how they did the first fill, they put in their best guess, then have you stand up with the needle still in and drink Water until you fell restricted then take out a tiny bit. I should get to the sweet spot in 2 or 3 fills pretty easy. cross the fingers anyway. was banded on the 15th of July not getting first fill for 6 weeks. so about the end of August. Bandster hell till then starting on week 4 food and my appetite is coming back with a vengeance. I CAN DO IT! I CAN DO IT! I CAN DO IT! sounds good on paper anyway dman

According to my nutri person, after the proper fills I will not likely be able to get enough protein with just meals so i have been told that I will have to have at least 1 protein shake or supplement per day. The best tasting one so far is the Premier costco brand, chocolate. dman

I can tell I dont want to get on your bad side! I agree 100% there are some real jokers that are masquerading as doctors out there. I think part of the problem is "we" and I mean the general public are more or less conditioned to let the "experts" tell us how what why where and when. I challenge most of what my Doc tells me and make him explain it to MY satisfaction. and I do a lot of research on the internet to get educated on any particular medical subject before I even go see someone. That's how I roll anyway. dman

The WHOLE purpose of getting the band is to not eat too much at one time and not feel like you have to eat all the time. your will power will not last, other wise we would not have needed the band in the first place. You are not going to lose much faster by being more restricted but you will be able to maintain it for the rest of your life. Got to someone else, there has to be some other place that will do the fills. you need to be restricted more so you will feel full longer. If there is no better option you may have to trick her into a fill. if you looked like you gained weight next time you go in you might be able to get a fill. Drink as much Water as you can just before you go in and wear heavy clothing, put a bunch of lead weights in your shoes and pockets so it looks like you gained 10 lbs since the last time. then tell her you cant stand it any more and are eating every hour because your hungry! dman

I have similar problem, when someone I dont really care to explain to tell them I have been banded I just tell them I had an "abdominal" surgery and most of the time they assume it was for a hernia, I dont correct them and let them think it. works good for when I have to tell them I cant lift something too, they just think its the hernia thing. You are correct about the overweight thing, being addicted to food and explaining it to someone that has never been overweight. I rarely even try. kinda like explaining to us guys what it is like to have a baby we just dont get it! Sorry ladies that is just the way it is. dman

I liked the one post that compared it to heart surgery! While I agree we should follow the docs instructions, I would be willing to bet that the instructions given to patents by heart surgeons are all on the same page. like 99% the same. As most of you have noted, there is WILDLY different instructions as to food, fills, ect... post and preop. So it makes it hard to really know if YOUR doc has it right. I would say that following the advice on the conservative side would be safer but I refuse to believe that they are all correct with all the conflicting opins. So what is one to do? The best you can in trying to understand the reasons for the diet, lifting and fill procedures and make the best decision for YOU! YOU are the one that has to live with any consequences NOT THE DOC or anyone else for that mattter. YOU know your body and circumstances better than anyone. Do your own research and use come common sense and do what you think is going to give you the best results with the fewest problems. that's my story and I am sticking with it! dman

If your not eating enough cals to stay out of Starvation mode and get enough Protein at least 60 - 70 grams/day to maintain muscle mass ( and keep your hair BTW) you are not losing fat but mostly Water and muscle. The average woman needs 1000-1200 cals/day to keep your body from thinking its starving and slowing down your metabolizem. Do some research, that is the facts. I do feel your pain, only banded the 15th myself. gets lots better for pain and eating after 2 weeks for sure. Pretty much back to normal except for the hungry part. No fill till I hit 6 weeks so am planning on a LLLLOOOONNNGGG August. dman

My doc said 10lbs for 6 weeks, I think that is BS. I am going easy for 3-4 weeks then limited maybe to 30-40 for the next 2. your body normally heals in 21 days so that's my take. My doc is ultra conservative on everything. not even suppose to eat real food till week 5, I say BS to that too. I am at week 3 and am eating mushies with no problems. I know I should follow the docs rules but there are so many conflicting instructions from all the different Doc's I am taking the median road. Just me. dman

you wont need anyone taking care of you, you should be able to be up and around the next day no problem wont FEEL great but able to move around. A 2.5yo is a whole nuther problem, my doc told me to lift nothing over 10lbs for 6 weeks. He is ultra conservative but I would wait at least 3 weeks. That part for me is harder than the diet. only 2 weeks out and I feel like I am perfectly normal as before the Banding.

I have been a "speed" eater since childhood, so eating slow is almost painful for me and I find my shelf automatically going fast. I found a trick that helps me a little bit. I am right handed but if I eat with my left hand I REALLY have to concentrate on making my hand get the food into my mouth and am forced the think about it and eat way slower.