kelly111

I've been reading a lot of blogs where people are having a hard time with the band and losing weight. I have posted a few other times about this same topic so it may be helpful for people to read those as well. It's been over a year for me and I have been through all of these struggles- from not losing weight, working out ALL the time, to getting filled so tight that I threw up several times a day to eating less than 800 cals...... Ive been there! I went to an X national body builder and licensed nutritionalist and learned what I was doing wrong. Here's the deal: You MUST eat 5-6 times a day and get about 1500-1800 cals in a day depending on your weight and activity level. You can find out what you need by knowing your metabolic rate which you can get off the internet as a guide. You MUST eat a lot of protien or you will lose muslce instead of fat. If you weigh 200lbs you need 200 grams of protein per day. You MUST do moderate cardio 4 times a week for about 40 min ( dont go more or you will go into a catabolic state and burn muscle) You MUST lift heavy weights 2 times a week just to keep the muscle you already have - takes about 20 min You MUST eat a protein, good fat and incindental carb ( berries and veggies) with every meal You MUST have a good "cheat day" every week - it causes our bodies to not get use to the same food day after day and requires the body to work hard ( burn calories) to digest a heavy meal. You MUST limit sugar, starchy carbs and bad fat!! I can promise you that if you do these things you will burn fat. Throw the darn scale away. The scale does not indicate how much FAT you lose. I lose about half of a pound to a pound a week but Im very close to my ideal weight. My weight loss has been very slow the whole time, but thats OK! I got all the fluid taken out of my band a few months ago because I could not eat what I needed to eat in order to lose fat. Please email me if you have thoughts or questions.

Im over a year now and I have lost 50 lbs. I just now hit the plateau but Im at a size 10- 180 lbs. Im strong and fit. Id love to lose another 10 lbs. You need to start lifting heavy weights and eat clean. You will see changes with that!!!

OMG. Are you joking? I lost about a pound a week for a whole year. Losing 10 lbs in a month is really good. I think your expectations are way too high. You have the lap band, not gastric bypass - you chose the slower , safer way.

Like I said, my surgeon told me to eat under 1000 cals as well...and I had a lot of restriction. I barely lost anything. You asked what else to do...? I just listed what you should try. Have fluid removed from the band, eat clean and work out. What you are doing is causing your body to NOT lose weight by only burning your muslce - muscle is your metabolism. Think about it. What a disservice!!!

It's been a year for me as well and I have only lost 50 lbs too. 10 months ago I thought that was bad but after meeting with a nutritionalist and trainer who use to be a national body builder, I learned that losing 50 lbs of fat is very different than losing 50 lbs. If we dont eat enough, especiall protien, we will naturally burn off muscle which looks like we are getting smaller and the scale goes down. For a lot of people they are happy with that. For me, I want to be LEAN. I want to lose the fat and keep the muscle. I have managed to do that now. So, that means, when I have a cheat meal or something that isnt "clean" I have enough muscle to maintain my metabilism and it gets burned off. For the people who are losing their muscle because they cant eat enough food when they have a cheat meal it will probably get stored as fat. Then they come on here complaining that the scale went up. I wish people would research how to lose fat and keep muscle. It would truly change their lives. Oh, by the way, what I did for my bandiversary? I HAD ALL THE FLUID TAKEN OUT! Now, I can eat as much as I need to. And when I have cheat food - its ok

Why dont you just have a little soda? During a conference with 6 bariatric surgeons they explained that having a little soda is perfectly fine. They dismissed the MYTH that the bubbles expand your band. The sugar substitute in soda is what is bad for us. For some reason it makes us crave more food and sugar. Do some deeper research on this topic and you will see. Have a half a cup of soda if you want. It's not going to hurt you.

You want to know how to move past 226? Ill be very clear and tell you. Trust me on this.... I went 10 months doing what the docs told me only to learn I was barely losing weight, killing myself at the gym and not losing fat. I went to an x-body builder and nutritionist and learned everything I was doing wrong. Im eager to share with everyone and if you read my old posts you will see. I got filled to the point of barely being able to eat, worked out 6 days a week HARD and ate less than 900 cals. NOW: I eat 6x a day of CLEAN food and LOTS of protein. Whatever you weigh - you need that many grams of protein a day and sometimes thats hard to get in. I got all the fluid removed from my band so Im able to get my nutrition in. At the gym - you must lift heavy weights to maintain muscle This info changed everything. In just 3 months I lost 20 lbs of FAT! and no muscle loss like before. Im in a size 10. Never hungry. Fit and healthy at 180lbs. Please educate yourself on these topics and you will see results.

It concerns me when people say they are cutting down on food. Its been over a year for me and after 10 months of listening to bariatric surgeons, I finally went to an x-bodybuilder for nutrition and training. Boy, did I learn what I was doing wrong. DONT cut down on food! You need to eat or you will lose your muscle. Key is - eating only clean food- often! After I incorporated this into my life the fat started melting off slowly. Before that, I was killing myself at the gym and eating 900 cals or less..... with little weight loss and certainly no fat loss. I was losing lean muclse because I wasnt eating enough. Please do some research on what Im saying. Truly, this info will help you in the long run!

If you arent already, you need to start using heavy weights in your workouts. It is essential if your goal is to lose fat and maintain your muscle - which in turn increases your metabolism. Many of us have made the HUGE mistake of getting fills to the point of not being able to eat much. This totally slows down your metabolism and causes your body to burn your muscle as its fuel source. VERY BAD!!! This is how people fail. You must eat clean food 5-6x a day and lift heavy weights if you want to change your body.

Im sorry you feel this way. I cant help thinking that the calories you are eating just arent fuel for your body. It doesnt matter how many calories you have, its the way in which your body burns them as fuel that matters. Make sure you are eating 30 grams of protein 5-6 times a day! Also, have a carb ( fruit or veggie) with it and a good oil (nuts, olive oil, flax seeds) If you eat like this every 3 hours I guarantee you will perk up.

Dont stress about the weight loss so much. Its all about the FAT loss. Most of your weigt you are losing now is probably muscle unless you are lifting heavy weights and eating 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. Ive only lost 50 lbs in a year and the first 25 were muscle untlil I learned how to eat. After that the FAT started coming off and the muscle remained. Muscle is your metabilism so you want to keep as much of that as possible. Dont weight yourself on the scale - that really doesnt mean crap, Measure yourself instead!!!

I understand. Just know, the pre-op diet is only for documentation and insurance purposes. It doesnt really affect your sugery at all so dont stress about it too much.

Please dont think its better to be over-filled and you will lose weight. Dont do that to yourself. You weigh exactly what I do. Educate yourself on how to eat clean and get your band unfilled to where you can eat healthfully. You may lose pounds on the scale by hardly getting any nutrition but you will lose your muscle and that has all kinds of detriments. Be very careful!

Be mindful that the liquid pre-op diet is solely for the insurance companies. It does NOT need to be done for your surgery. This was explained to me by 6 bariatric surgeons in a seminar. Dont stress about it. Docs just need to document that you "tried" to lose weight and are able to do so on a liquid diet. Has nothing to do with your surgery.

I just posted something a few days ago that you really need to read. You NEED to eat to lose weight. You also need moderate exercise. I did what you are doing for many months and was incredibly frustrated. Please educate yourself by what you need to do in order to lose fat efficiently. Start by reading my post.

OMG! Please dont drop your calories. What will get you past the plateau is lifting heavy weights 2x a week. Do a full body session hitting all major muscle groups using the heaviest weights you can. Aim for 8-10 reps with that weight. I guearantee it will get things moving but you WILL need to eat more protein and calories in general to do this.

Hi Michael, I have read your blogs before. Your weight loss is wonderul! I use to think it was simple as well. But what I have learned to be true for not only me, but many of us is that calories in and out arent necessarly what creates fat loss and muscle gain. There is much more science involved. I ate the same calories you did for many months but I worked out a lot. Not much was happening on the scale. I did notice, however, that my body fat percentage was not going down but the numbers on the scale were. Thats when I found the bodybuilder nutritionist. Now I have learned how our bodies operate and what it needs to burn fat and gain muscle. I do believe that people who were considerbaly overweight to begin with will drop a bunch of weight just from calorie restriction. I only had 60 lbs to lose from the get-go. So that method would never work for me. Im glad you have found something that is working for you and you are feeling great. Thats what we are all after. Its just, for most of us, this process is much more involved that eating very little food. Best to you!!!!

Ive been meaning to post this for a long time but I decided to wait until my 1 year bandiversary. One year ago today I truly thought the band was the best thing for me. I was working out a lot and eating what I thought was a good diet most days and still I was gaining weight. I was 231 on my surgery day. I spent the next 10 months doing what my doctor told me. I did not need to be on a liquid pre-op diet because I was paying out of pocket and those diets are primarily for the insurance companies. I worked out 12-15 hours a week - hardcore stuff too! I ate very few calories and kept getting fills until I could barely eat and I was throwing up all the time. I was sure with the calorie restriction I would drop the weight and then I would have an un-fill later. I lost weight on the scale VERY slowly. It was disappointing but at least I was losing. In ten months I lost 40 lbs...working SO hard at it and doing what the doc said. Then, I started doing some research and went to a very reputable nutritionist / trainer in my area. She was a former national female body builder and if anyone knows how to lose fat and gain muscle... its a body builder. She reviewed my diet and exercise regime and schooled me on how WRONG I had been doing things. She gave me a plan. Now, in just one month, I have lost 10 lbs of FAT and maintained my muscle. Before, I was losing a lot of muscle since my body didnt have the "fuel" it needed to burn during the day and my workouts. Im writing this to save many of you from the agony that I went through. Dont keep getting fills thinking you are doing the right thing. You may lose pounds but very little fat. You must keep muscle as that is what keeps your metabolism going so that when you arent working out or when you have a piece of cake it will burn it right off. I found out that I needed to eat about 1700 cals a day and cut way back on workouts. She demanded only 40 min of moderate cardio 4 times a week and 2 days of full body weight training. My meal plan was eating 5 times a day. All whole, natural foods. Protein, carb and fat in every meal. I was unable to do this due to my band. So I went to talk to the doc who happens to have a body builder as a wife and who also happens to be trained by my trainer. I had ALL of the fluid taken out of the band so Im able to eat again. He told me most bandsters wont do the diet that I just described above and that is why he advocates for the band. He agreed that the DIET is 90% of FAT loss and doing that diet would not only get the FAT off much quicker than the band but also while keeping muscle. With the band and restricting your food, you will likely lose muscle. He also agreed that the band is great for people who refuse to diet and also the amount of money they make off of people like us is enourmous. These are the facts people. Make your best decision. Feel free to email me for more tips if you like. I am currently in a size 10 - I weigh 180 lbs and I will soon be in an 8. Im strong and healthy thanks to the nutritionist, not my surgeon.

Sounds like most of us only had a few days off. I took 3 days off. The surgery was really no big deal. I had a little gas pain and some soreness at the port site. I never took pain meds in the hospital or at home. Just really didnt need it. Oh, and dont stress about the pre-op diet - the purpose of that is for insurance - has nothing to do with your actual surgery. Its just a documentation thing for insurance.

Be careful about not eating enough. Its been a year for me and I was consuming about 700-900 cals because I was too tight. I thought it would help me lose the weight. No. Now, after seeing a nutritionist and trainer, I have learned that I MUST eat the right foods in the right combinations and the fat melts off. Sometimes I wish I had never had the band put on- and I would have saved 15K. Just be very careful what you do to your metabolism. Do some research on that. I eat 4 oz cottage cheese with a few strawberries or blueberries and about 10 almonds. That is a perfectly balanced breakfast. I eat 4 more small balanced meals after that. I will be posting a blog sometime about diet and fitness with the band in the near future. I have had all of the fluid taken out of my band - thats what I did on my bandiversary! Best thing I did all year! Now, I can eat and lose this FAT!!! (not lose my muscle)

Its been almost a year for me too and I have only lost 50 lbs. I agree, its slow and at times I was discouraged. Im in a 10 now and by next month I hope to be in an 8. Ive learned how I need to be eating from seeing a nutritionist and trainer. In talking with surgeons and a few other lap banders - I learned what NOT to eat. I was doing all the wrong things. Now, I had my band disabled - I got all the fluid taken out. I was tired of losing all my muscle because I couldnt eat enough to lose FAT and gain MUSCLE. Im on track now and feeling like I wasted 15K on the band. Live and learn! Best to you.

I would never have done bypass for several reasons. 1- I was paying myself and its more expensive 2- malabsorption - I have an extreme need to be healthy with propper nutrition and that just isnt possible with gastric 3- I was only 60 lbs over weight and the gastric bypass is for people who need to lose a lot soon 4- its much more invasive and a more serious surgery 5-you can adjust the band as you need it... none of that with gastric bypass. For me, Ive been filled completely and now that I learned the truth on how to eat to burn fat, I have disabled my band. I have no fluid in it at all and I will pay the money to have it taken out next year. My belly is flat now and my port really protrudes

I totally agree with your doc! The band isnt for you. Im not at 30 BMI yet and Im wearing a size 10. Research what it means to eat clean and how body builders shred their fat before competitions. My surgeon's wife is a fitness competitor and he informed me about this. Learn how to eat - its A LOT of food- and your fat will melt off! YOU dont need this band. Unless someone is terribly overweight anyone can do this on their own. Oh, the things I wish I knew before I spent 15K !

Dont stress out. You are not filled enough yet. You will know it when you are. I did the same thing you did at first. Its been a year for me and I have only lost 46 lbs total. Im now back to a size 10. When you are filled about half way - stay there!!! Dont go tighter. You need to learn HOW to eat and when you do that the fat will come off. I still occasionally have the foods I like but mostly I eat clean. Research what eating clean means and follow that diet. If you are serious about losing the fat you will stay on track.

I went through this for many many months. Its horrible. Now, after a year, I have decided to get ALL of the fluid taken out. I learned how to eat and in what combination and the fat is dropping off. DO NOT limit your calories - all you will do is creat a muscle loss and metabolism to come to a hault. Eventually you will gain a bunch of weight back. I advise you to go have an un-fill done so that you can eat again. Believe me, I know exactly how you feel. Im telling you, the only thing to do is get that fluid mostly taken out.