Help - Very Discouraged!

[jlpettas 0]

Okay - I had my surgery on July 8, 2009, since then, I have lost a total of 20 lbs. Most of that was in the very beginning. I work out AT LEAST 3 times a week, usually 5 times a week. The only benefits from the band so far is that my back will hurt if I don't chew well enough or if I eat too fast, and I also don't go back for seconds. I am not restricted in the amount of food I eat. I am making better choices then in the past. I am exercising more then I did in the past, and yet I am only able to maintain my weight right now. I know that the band is only a tool, and I am completely willing to work for the weight loss. I am not sure if I was expecting too much from the band in the first place. I have heard that people just aren't able to eat much after the surgery. I've heard that you would only be able to eat one cup of food. I've hear that you would get sick if you ate too much. None of that is the case for me. I do feel full quicker, which is why I am satisfied with smaller portions then before. I feel like I must be me, I must be doing something wrong. Usually 3-4 fills, and you hit your "sweet spot". Can someone help me understand what to expect when I hit my sweet spot? Will I really be able to eat only a small amount of food like I have heard about?

[tarajim 20]

What do you eat? How do you exercise?

You say you eat less and don't go back for seconds. Are your FIRSTs a big plate of high calories? Is you exercise a social event or a work out?

You are doing something wrong. Do you journal your food? Count your calories? Weigh your food?

Are you being honest with yourself or expecting a piece of plastic on your stomach to be a magic wand?

Start by writing down everything you eat. Use a program that counts the calories and Protein. Eat Protein first. Eat vegetables and fruit second. Eat NO carbs until you get in the protein and veggies first and limit the carbs to one serving a day. Get 90 grams of carbs a day.

Exercise 45 min to an hour VIGOROUSLY. That means raising your heartbeat to 130 and SWEATING.

Eat your food on smaller plates. Weigh and measure everything.

Yes this is work. Hard work. You will lose weight if you work at it. You will not lose weight if you eat more than you work off.

The band is not magic.

TJ

[btrieger 21]

I am not banded yet. So, I can't help you with sweet spot question.

You may have been expecting too much from the band but it sounds like you have the right mindset to make it work.

Measuring food to 1 cup, 1/2 cup, 1/4 cup, etc... does not make a lick of sense. It depends what the food is not how much.

In order to lose weight, you have to burn more calories than you are eating. It looks like you are burning plenty of calories. Therefore, you must be consuming more than you should.

You can use this online BMR calculator to calculate how many calories you burn while idle. You'll need to add how many you are burning during workouts to that for your daily total.

Then log everything that passes your gums in order to calculate how many calories you are consuming. I use the Bodybugg site for this but there are plenty of free ones out there. The Daily Plate is one of them.

You will lose 1 pound for every 3,500 or so calories you burn more than you eat. So if you burn 500 more than you eat every day for a week, you lose 1 pound that week.

Steer clear of empty calories in drinks that have calories. Try to drink only Water, coffee, tea, etc...

Drink at least 64 ounces of Water a day. This is important for you metabolism and to wash the waste from your system.

Eat only 3 meals a day 5 hours apart.

Stop eating when you start to feel full. There are no bonuses for clearing your plate.

That's enough for starters.

Good luck!

[Grandma26 1]

I was banded about 2 weeks before you were and I still don't get that "full I've had enough feeling" but I know when too stop. My portion size is 1/2 cup with (2) 2 oz Snacks a day. I do go a little over my 1/2 cup but I am making better choices now. My weight loss is slow and steady which is ok with me.

Do you have a nutirtionist you can meet with? Maybe yoou need to add a few foods to your diet that will kick start you weight loss? Sometimes we get in a rut eating the same food becausse its easier. I find that if I vary my food and occasionally add a treat food I stay on course. Hang in there!!

[HiMow 0]

I am not banded yet. So, I can't help you with sweet spot question.

You may have been expecting too much from the band but it sounds like you have the right mindset to make it work.

Measuring food to 1 cup, 1/2 cup, 1/4 cup, etc... does not make a lick of sense. It depends what the food is not how much.

In order to lose weight, you have to burn more calories than you are eating. It looks like you are burning plenty of calories. Therefore, you must be consuming more than you should.

You can use this online BMR calculator to calculate how many calories you burn while idle. You'll need to add how many you are burning during workouts to that for your daily total.

Then log everything that passes your gums in order to calculate how many calories you are consuming. I use the Bodybugg site for this but there are plenty of free ones out there. The Daily Plate is one of them.

You will lose 1 pound for every 3,500 or so calories you burn more than you eat. So if you burn 500 more than you eat every day for a week, you lose 1 pound that week.

Steer clear of empty calories in drinks that have calories. Try to drink only Water, coffee, tea, etc...

Drink at least 64 ounces of Water a day. This is important for you metabolism and to wash the waste from your system.

Eat only 3 meals a day 5 hours apart.

Stop eating when you start to feel full. There are no bonuses for clearing your plate.

That's enough for starters.

Good luck!

great advice, but don't drink tea of coffee unless it is caffeine free~ otherwise, it is an appetite stimulant and a diuretic.

My advice would be to keep on your protein! your muscles will help you burn more fat if you feed them instead of eating themselves

[jenriley 2]

Jl...

Please dont get discouraged...It will get better, I promise! You sound like you just dont have enough restriction right now but you will. Just keep getting your fills. I have 7 in a 10cc band and have just started loosing consistantly. I was banded 8/10/09 and up until my last 2 fills had lost only around 25 pounds. I think I have lost right around 40 right now. Restriction will come but as you loose more belly fat, it will become looser. Dont grieve too much over who eats a half a cup and who eats a whole, its going to be different for everyone. Eat what you need to be healthy and satisfied and what allows you to loose consistantly. I have been too tight in the past, and believe me I would rather figure out what works for me than be miserablly tight to eat only 1/4 a cup of food. I think there will not be one sweet spot for me. I loose good awhile and then have to get filled a little more to find it again. Just do your best, like it sounds like you have been, and it will come off even if it is slow at times. I wish you the absolute best of luck!

[jlpettas 0]

What do you eat? How do you exercise?

You say you eat less and don't go back for seconds. Are your FIRSTs a big plate of high calories? Is you exercise a social event or a work out?

You are doing something wrong. Do you journal your food? Count your calories? Weigh your food?

Are you being honest with yourself or expecting a piece of plastic on your stomach to be a magic wand?

Start by writing down everything you eat. Use a program that counts the calories and Protein. Eat Protein first. Eat vegetables and fruit second. Eat NO carbs until you get in the protein and veggies first and limit the carbs to one serving a day. Get 90 grams of carbs a day.

Exercise 45 min to an hour VIGOROUSLY. That means raising your heartbeat to 130 and SWEATING.

Eat your food on smaller plates. Weigh and measure everything.

Yes this is work. Hard work. You will lose weight if you work at it. You will not lose weight if you eat more than you work off.

The band is not magic.

TJ

As far as what I am eating - I know I am not being perfect. I am eating much less fast food. When I do eat fast food, it's kids meals instead of super size value meals with Desserts afterwards. We have pizza once a week and I limit myself to one slice and one breadstick. During the week, we have leaner meats with veggies. This may come in stew form, chili form etc. The problem is - I can still eat 3 bowls of chili or chicken stew if I want. I knew that the band wasn't going to be magic, and that I would have to work and change my habits, but shouldn't the band be HELPING me by restricting how much I can eat? Isn't that the point? Am I really expecting too much? I go to support groups, and people who have had much fewer fills than I have a hard time eating normal portions - I WISH I HAD THOSE ISSUES! I am not that good at controlling my portions - that's one of the reasons I am where I am today. I know I need to focus on my protien, I need to drink my Water, and other things that a typical dieter would do. I am tight in the mornings and often start the day off with a protien shake, then I find myself still wanting to eat a little more.

Excerise is my strength right now, definately not social hour. As I said earlier, I go 3-5 times per week. I do mostly cardio with an avg heart rate of 150 - 157 for A LEAST 45 minutes. One thing I do need to work on is strength training. I find the cardio motivating because I can see numbers that = results (calories burned, heart rate, steps climbed, miles walked, etc.) I can jog on the treadmill without holding on - I couldn't do that at the beginning of the year. I can go 45 minutes on an eliptical - could not have even dreamed that when I started. Now, I stick mostly with the eliptical with a high cross ramp and good resistance to help with the calorie burn.

Food is the problem. I know food is the problem, even though I am making better choices, and trying to make myself eat less (and train myself NOT to finish everything on my plate). If it is not a reasonable expectation to believe that the band would help restrict the amount of food I can eat (and I do avoid sliders), then what IS a reasonable expectation for me to have for the band?

I am going to continue to work on the items I know need more work - drinking more Water, avoid snacking, making sure I get enough protien, limit my carbs, work on strenth training, but I think I am going to call my surgeon tomorrow and let him know how little restriction I really have. Any thoughts on realistic expectations are welcome!

Edited January 3, 2010 by jlpettas

[btrieger 21]

Stay away from fast food. It doesn't matter whether it is a kids meal or not. It is poison! It's loaded with MSG, sodium, saturated fat, carbohydrates, etc...

If you want to grab something fast, go to Subway and get one of their 6" subs that has less than 6 grams of fat. Eat the contents of the sub first and if you finish that and are still hungry start eating the bread a little at a time.

Soups and stews including chili can be considered sliders and unless they are homemade, they are usually loaded with sodium.

Drink plenty of Water but not within 30 minutes of a meal.

This is not a race, this is for the rest of your life. So, if it takes you a while to get on the right track, it's ok but keep heading in the right direction.