Starting over, 5 years after surgery

[HilaryInRC 116]

Hello Ladies, I've been gone for a few weeks I think. I got pretty stressed out with school last month and a health issues popped up and reared its ugly head, but life is less stressful now. At least for a few weeks anyway! Well, the combination of thyroid meds, appetite suppressant, and low-carb diet has been doing me well. On March 30th I weighed 213 lbs. By May 2nd I was down to 202 lbs. Last week was finals and I fell off the wagon there for a few days (Friday - Monday). I ate two pizzas, cinnastix, a box of sugar Cereal, and a mcdonald's cheeseburger with a small fry and a regular coke. After eating all of that crap over the course of week (Friday night - Monday night) I got on the scale and had gone back up to 208! Boy was I pissed with myself. But, I've gotten back on track with my low-carb diet starting on Tuesday and am back down to 204. It might have been Water weight from all the salt in the fast food/pizza. I feel strong though and I'm gonna keep on truckin with my plan! I was supposed to go weigh in on May 15th with my doctor, but I'll have to move that appointment until the following week. I had wanted to do what the doctor had recommended and get down to 199 by then. I think I can do it even though the appointment has to be rescheduled. So, 199 is my goal for next Wednesday! Although, I am happy to say (that after a few hard fights last week - also leading to comfort pizza eating) my boyfriend and I are taking a little vacation next week. I'll be going down to San Diego to see him for a few days. I think we are going to go to the San Diego Zoo which is a great zoo (I'm such a big animal lover)! Plus, we will do movies and dinners and stay in a nice hotel. I'm thinking I'll be having salads with chicken and blue cheese dressing, burgers wrapped in lettuce, or seafood and veggies. For snack, I am going to take a little cooler (if there isn't a fridge in the room) and take string cheese, as well as nuts, and my little nori packs. -Hilary

[Suziecat 379]

Hello. I also have been MIA for a little while. One of the reasons was because I was spending too much time here on this website reading post. Normally that wouldn't be a bad thing as I find a lot of inspiration. But I was also reading a lot of negative post. Unfortunetly I was letting those post affect me. So I had to walk away before I took to heart all of those negative post. Wish there could be two different websites. One for uplift and positive thoughts and then another for the band haters to post.

I'm hanging in there with my weight loss. Pretty much staying the same. I have been geting out more and walking. The weather has been cooperating and making it nice to get out there and walk. Not looking forward tot he humidity starting up. This morning I'm going to be getting ready to head to the suport group meeting. I didn'tmake it last month due to a funeral.But my friend and I are going to go today. I really enjoy going.

I'll check in later and let you know how the meeting went.

[stept04 465]

Hello Ladies, I've been gone for a few weeks I think. I got pretty stressed out with school last month and a health issues popped up and reared its ugly head, but life is less stressful now. At least for a few weeks anyway! Well, the combination of thyroid meds, appetite suppressant, and low-carb diet has been doing me well. On March 30th I weighed 213 lbs. By May 2nd I was down to 202 lbs. Last week was finals and I fell off the wagon there for a few days (Friday - Monday). I ate two pizzas, cinnastix, a box of sugar cereal, and a mcdonald's cheeseburger with a small fry and a regular coke. After eating all of that crap over the course of week (Friday night - Monday night) I got on the scale and had gone back up to 208! Boy was I pissed with myself. But, I've gotten back on track with my low-carb diet starting on Tuesday and am back down to 204. It might have been Water weight from all the salt in the fast food/pizza. I feel strong though and I'm gonna keep on truckin with my plan! I was supposed to go weigh in on May 15th with my doctor, but I'll have to move that appointment until the following week. I had wanted to do what the doctor had recommended and get down to 199 by then. I think I can do it even though the appointment has to be rescheduled. So, 199 is my goal for next Wednesday! Although, I am happy to say (that after a few hard fights last week - also leading to comfort pizza eating) my boyfriend and I are taking a little vacation next week. I'll be going down to San Diego to see him for a few days. I think we are going to go to the San Diego Zoo which is a great zoo (I'm such a big animal lover)! Plus, we will do movies and dinners and stay in a nice hotel. I'm thinking I'll be having salads with chicken and blue cheese dressing, burgers wrapped in lettuce, or seafood and veggies. For snack, I am going to take a little cooler (if there isn't a fridge in the room) and take string cheese, as well as nuts, and my little nori packs. -Hilary

I was reading this thread and ran across your post about jump starting your metabolism. I was just wondering how it worked. Did you notice a difference? I have sleep apnea and it took a while before I could get used to it. For me it was finding the right mask. Anyway I get banded on the 28th of May and have been doing high Protein low carbs at 1200 calories and can't seem to lose. I'm afraid I'll get the band and be in the same boat so I was going to try what your dietitian suggested. Thanks

[HilaryInRC 116]

I was reading this thread and ran across your post about jump starting your metabolism. I was just wondering how it worked. Did you notice a difference? I have sleep apnea and it took a while before I could get used to it. For me it was finding the right mask. Anyway I get banded on the 28th of May and have been doing high Protein low carbs at 1200 calories and can't seem to lose. I'm afraid I'll get the band and be in the same boat so I was going to try what your dietitian suggested. Thanks

Well, the advice that my physicians assistant at my band doc's office did nothing for me to lose weight. I wish what he said would have worked, but it didn't. Wearing my cpap has made me more energetic, perkier, and I am getting much more restful sleep. My body is thanking me for it. However, it did not cause any weight loss. What I eventually did was go in to see my gynecologist. He put me on thyroid medication, an appetite suppressant (phentermine 37.5), and told me to eat as few carbs as possible. In his words, "This isn't a low carb diet, it is a no carb diet." Well, I took it a step farther and read a book that I think is very good and responsible for the small amount of weight loss I have had. It is called, "The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living" by Drs. Phinney and Volek. While following their approach, I was able to drop 10 lbs very quickly. I need to ratchet down what I'm eating a bit more and add more fat into my diet and I think I'll start losing fast again. I think for me, as soon as I cut out sugar and carbs, I get in control of my eating again. And, for now I'm eating very little. My most recent set-back is a slip up and also my love affair with Atkins candy bars. Jeesh! I need to just say no. I think if I go back to a "cleaner" low carb diet (20g or less net carbs) I'll be back in good shape. Let me know how it all goes for you. -Hilary

[HilaryInRC 116]

I was reading this thread and ran across your post about jump starting your metabolism. I was just wondering how it worked. Did you notice a difference? I have sleep apnea and it took a while before I could get used to it. For me it was finding the right mask. Anyway I get banded on the 28th of May and have been doing high Protein low carbs at 1200 calories and can't seem to lose. I'm afraid I'll get the band and be in the same boat so I was going to try what your dietitian suggested. Thanks

Also, you say you are eating high protein. You should try for a few days eating 75% calories from fat, 20% from protein, and 5% from carbs. Basically, you are going to be eating a lot of fat with a little bit of protein and a touch of very low-carb veggies like spinach, avocado, asparagus. You should aim for 25-30 percent combination of carbs and protein. If you eat any higher than that your body will not go into ketosis. 70% fat is the threshold. Also, if you eat more than that 30% in protein, you body will convert the protein to glucose and burn that as fuel, not ketones. The whole point of low-carb is burning ketones. For more details, check out the book. :-)

[stept04 465]

Well, the advice that my physicians assistant at my band doc's office did nothing for me to lose weight. I wish what he said would have worked, but it didn't. Wearing my cpap has made me more energetic, perkier, and I am getting much more restful sleep. My body is thanking me for it. However, it did not cause any weight loss. What I eventually did was go in to see my gynecologist. He put me on thyroid medication, an appetite suppressant (phentermine 37.5), and told me to eat as few carbs as possible. In his words, "This isn't a low carb diet, it is a no carb diet." Well, I took it a step farther and read a book that I think is very good and responsible for the small amount of weight loss I have had. It is called, "The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Performance" by Drs. Phinney and Volek. While following their approach, I was able to drop 10 lbs very quickly. I need to ratchet down what I'm eating a bit more and add more fat into my diet and I think I'll start losing fast again. I think for me, as soon as I cut out sugar and carbs, I get in control of my eating again. And, for now I'm eating very little. My most recent set-back is a slip up and also my love affair with Atkins candy bars. Jeesh! I need to just say no. I think if I go back to a "cleaner" low carb diet (20g or less net carbs) I'll be back in good shape. Let me know how it all goes for you. -Hilary

Yea I have Hypothyroidism but the medicine although it fixed my numbers never fixed my weight I did not lose anything. I did not lose anything sleeping with my c-pap either,more energy though. I'm going to get the book, thanks for sharing. When I get banded I'm going to go by what my Dr. says, but if I stay stuck, which I'm afraid of. I'll use the books advice. I also bought one mis73 posted about it was called Choose to lose: The 7-Day Carb Cycle solution she says she uses it when she hits a plateau. So, I'll have both of these in my little bag of tricks. Hopefully I'll be able to lose like other people. I'm 47 though and I think my metabolism is shot. Good luck with you. Will see how things go.

[HilaryInRC 116]

I'm rooting for you! You CAN do it! You will SUCCEED! Check in here with questions/concerns as you move through the process. Let us know how you are doing and I'll try to answer any questions you have. :-)

[TheCurvyMermaid 51]

Hi folks!

I've been MIA for a bit too. I've had lots going on and not a lot of time for updates. On the weekend of May 4th, I drove out to Anaheim with two of my good friends to do the Orange County AIDS walk at Disneyland. The walk is in the park before it opens to the public, beginning at 6:30am. The only bad thing is that we got in to Anaheim super late, and had to be up hours before the sun to get to the park in time. I only got about an hour and a half of sleep! Ugh! Still, it was totally worth it. I raised $200, and our little team raised over $5600 all together, and I'm already making plans for next year. We met up with a bunch of my local friends who were also walking, and had a blast doing the 5k through Disneyland and California Adventure. So, fast forward a bit to where things got really interesting with my band.

After the walk we figured we'd better get some coffee and Breakfast. We'd already done 5k+ on an empty tank and had about 15 hours of Disneyland ahead of us. I'd decided that the day wasn't about losing weight, it was about getting enough fuel for the day, especially since I'd only slept about an hour and a half the night before. Imagine how frustrating it was to barely be able to eat! We stopped at a little cafe for breakfast, and I got a breakfast entree I thought would be a safe bet, an egg, 3 slices of bacon, sliced potatos and a biscuit. I gave most of my potatos away to my friend, and I barely got down the bacon and two bites of egg before I felt stuck and thought I was going to lose my breakfast.

I had to leave my friends at the restaurant and walk it off, franticly searching for a restroom, but I managed to hold it together and get past it, and even got a little of the biscuit down once I returned to the table, but I knew it was nowhere what I was going to need to fuel an 18 hour day of walking. My friends both know what was up with me and my band, but it was still embarassing and physically painful. That's how the day started and it didn't get much better. We got rootbeer floats around 1:00p, and I didn't even feel bad about it, since I could barely eat. I ordered a chicken salad at dinner, and managed to choke down about half a cup of shredded chicken and a little watermelon around 5:00, but the greens were out of the question. Later, we stopped for beignets and hot chocolate around 7:30. I thought what the hell, gave it a shot and got two whole beignets down without a twinge! WTF, lapband? Either way, I was just glad I got *something* down because I was crashing hard and knew I needed calories, and I really didn't care where they came from at that point. We got out of the park at around midnight and stopped for McDonald's on the way back to the hotel. Normally, I don't eat that crap, but I knew I needed something in my system, or the next morning was going to be rough. I got a tiny regular cheeseburger, tossed most of the bun, and it still took me almost an hour to choke it down. Ugh. Not fun, my friends!

Still, we had an absolute blast at Disneyland and DCA, and we played at the beach for a bit the next day before heading home, and I had the best clam chowder I've ever had at a little pub right off of Manhattan Beach pier. Yay for soup!

That pretty much sets the stage for what all of last week was like for me. I was super tight, barely getting my food down, battling severe heartburn and acid reflux, and even worse, I started aspirating in my sleep and had 4 nights where I woke up choking and caughing. It was NOT a good time. Things finally started to ease up this weekend, thankfully.

The cause of all my misery was simply getting my period. I hope I'm not oversharing, but since this is something directly band related that I know some other women have issues with, I thought I'd put it out there. As near as I can tell, when I get close to starting and get the bloating and Water retention going, it makes me super tight. Makes sense though, right? All of your tissues soak up your water, including your stomach, and it's a lot like having had a fill that's too tight and brings along all of the fun side effects. Yay. So the week was pretty much an excercise in restraint, careful liquids and mushies, managing the crazy heartburn and reflux, and trying not to get stuck or throw up, which I knew would only make me tighter. I got through it, and it's eased up some, but I'm still on the tight side. I hope that if I keep being careful things will calm down a little more. I hate being so uncomfortable, and I don't want to get myself into a situation where I have to go get Fluid taken out. Do any of you other ladies experience this? I'm going to pick up some water pills and give them a shot next time around and see if it helps.

In happier news, I started going back to the gym regularly in the past couple of weeks, and I've met with a trainer a couple of times. She set me up with a fitness gameplan including cardio and weights. Unfortunately, my doc forbids treadmill and eliptical because of some chronic foot issues, and I've been doing a recumbant bike instead. It kind of sucks, because I know I'd be burning a lot more calories with a different cardio routine, but it is what it is, and I'm determined to give it my best shot. I gave myself a couple of days to recover from the walk, and then got back to work. I'm working on toning and building some lean muscle, which should help the scale move along better, I hope. My weight loss has really slowed down in the past 6 weeks. I'm only down 7 lbs since the beginning of April, but at least the scale is moving, even if it's slower than I'd like. I'm hoping that's due in part to my body composition changing some, because my body fat percentage has dropped more than my weight, but it's still alarmingly high at 51.2%

I've been doing pretty well at tracking all of my food and excercise on MyFitnessPal, and I purchased a FitBit tracker last week to help me be more aware of my activity. If any of you want to add me on MFP or Fitbit, my MFP handle is "JustSing" and my Fitbit profile is here. I need more friends and more motivation, so add me! http://www.fitbit.com/user/25YKDP

So, that's me in a very large nutshell. Keeping at it, doing my best a day at a time. Keep the check ins coming and have a good week, everyone!

[Ms.PYT1982 0]

I am so happy I decided to come back to lap band talk because I have feeling discourage dyer having my band since July 2012. I have only lost about 30 lbs. I have feeling very sad and embarrassed about having the band and not the success as others with it. But after reading some of the responses to this thread I feel I can get back on track. I have been dodging my surgeon, I need a feel but I have been afraid to go to him because I haven't lost any weight.

[srussell8 111]

Thanks for pointing me to this thread, Stephanie! I really think that to get back on track I need to become active here. It's so easy to lose sight of the goal and forget the basics. After I got my band 7 years ago, I lost 140 pounds, and promptly met someone and got married. We moved away from all of our family and support to a new state with new jobs and no money. I mean - really - no money. Oh and by the way, I became a mom (for the first time) to my husband's 2 kids from a previous marriage, which we have full time. Can't imagine how in the midst of all that, I lost focus on losing weight.

So here I am 5 years later and I've gained back 50 pounds. I fell back into using food as a means of self-soothing. There's no way around it - I LOVE FOOD! As I read other's posts about what triggers cravings and binges, there is no doubt that mine is simple carbs in any form. Doesn't matter if it's pure sugar or if it's a starch. Once my body gets that quick fix from a carb - we're off to the races. Unfortunately, my brain seems to automatically think "If one is good, two is better!" Nom, nom, nom! The best eating plan for me seems to be South Beach-y. High Protein, low/good fat, low/good carb. The nice thing is that it works well for me with the band. If I'm eating the protein first, I'm pretty much filled up and have no room for the rest.

My biggest problem is that now I know how to defeat the band. "Yeah, I'm done - the pouch is full. BUT if I just have a little drink of Water, then I can have some more of this tasty dinner... Come to think of it, I'm feeling a bit dehydrated and need a drink. After all - it's important to drink enough water, right?!?" I am (as always) my own worst enemy.

So - I just need to re-focus. I'm enlisting my husband and kids to help me NOT drink with my meals and I'm getting active here to keep this a priority.

I just keep telling myself that it's do-able. I did it once, I can do it again! And I'm glad to be stopping the skid before I am totally back to where I started.

Shelly

[srussell8 111]

Wow everyone. I am sitting hear all teary eyed.

HOW I NEEDED THIS THREAD!! Like Purrplelover, I recently gained 37 pounds back. I originally lost 120. I was a size 14 but now need 16 jeans. (at my thinnest but most unhealthy, I could wear some 12's but really I was a 14) I had some troubles earlier this year with being too tight and didn't eat or drink for 10 days. The surgeon had to take over 2 cc's out of my band and wa-la I gained 20 pounds.

I haven't been on this site for over 8 months which in reflection is BAD, very bad for me. I need this support.

I have failed myself and my conviction to my weight loss journey. But I am getting back on track and this thread has helped tremendously. I also admit to needing a fix on my anti-depressent (I have struggled with depression since I was 12) but I am reluctant because as someone mentioned earlier, my PCP is a nasty old fart that constantly criticizes my weight. (even at my lowest he thought I needed to lose much more) So because I am depressed, I am self medicating through booze and food. Bad combination I know. I have a friend that recommended her doctor (very weight friendly) and I will call today to get an appointment.

I started working out again and am tracking my food via Lose It. So, I am on my way again. But emotionally I am a wreck. That's why this thread really impacted me. I'm not alone. I'm not a failure. I'm not isolate--I have help at my fingertips. Many thanks folks.

Don't despair - I could have written your post myself! I was down to a solid size 14 with an occasional size 12 thrown in. Now - I'm working on staying in an 18. Since I have battled the scale since I was about 10, I have a real problem with the numbers on the scale. For some reason, I do better if I measure things by the size of clothing.

I will never forget the joy of going into a store that was not plus size and finding things that fit! Probably the biggest blow and most discouraging thing for me was having to go back to Lane Bryant to find clothes.

I will do this!

[Suziecat 379]

Well, talk about neglect. I bet you all feel I abandoned you. It's called life and some times it takes my free time away. More specific would be two sister and my Band Doc firing people I need.

I started back and was losing slowly. But I was losing. So the first thing that happens is there was a shake up at the Doc's office and I no longer had my support person. They worked things out and brought her back but that lasted about a month and now she is gone. And on top of that, they have cancelled the support group meetings. Crap. I still have other ways of getting support though. I'm not out on a limb.

Kept myself busy this summer with my 8 year old grandniece. We had a ball and she kept me moving. And since I was so busy with her, I had good eating habits and wasn't bored to were I would snack all day long.

Then August came and I started to get hit with a lot of stress. My husband was admitted to the hospital with an infection from a cat bite. Who knew? He was petting my sisters cat and after a few minutes she turned to tell him no more and her fang hit the back of his hand. We didn't think much of it as we have 3 cats and are always getting scratched or bit. No 3 days later his hand was so swollen and a red streak running up his arm.

October didn't get any better. My older sister was diagnosed with breast cancer for the second time. She will be fine. It was barely stage 1 and had not spread anywhere. They even at first questioned that it was cancer. She did good for a little while and then got an infection and has been in and out of hospitals and assisted living since.

The week after her surgery my younger sister went in to have more hardware attached to her spinal column. So I had two sisters in the hospital at the same time and yup, not even the same hospital. So back and forth I went.

But the good news through all of this is that at my last appointment on Monday, I've managed to be down 30 pounds. Each appointment would be a 5 here and 4 here and 5 there. It all adds up to 30 pounds. Now to get through the holidays without to much damage.

And also, our gym that we used closed down in June. Hubby and I have been trying to walk everyday, but winter is here and it's not so easy to do. So yesterday we went and joined Planet Fitness and had our first workout this morning. WooHoo.

I certainly hope that all of you are doing well.

Have a Merry Christmas, Happy Holiday and a Happy New Year.

Suzanne.

[arose 16]

So happy I found this post! I just came back from my first clinic visit in over 3 years. It was sooo hard to pick up that phone and make the call, but they were all sooooo nice!

The PA gave me .5 CC fill and a visit in 4 weeks for a type of group visit with her and the dietician. I decided the less said the better on my part, except explaining that I lost my insurance and now I want to get back on track.

I gained 30 lbs. and decided to just fess up and look ahead. I had my blood work done, got a B12 shot.

I'm so thrilled to be here on this post!

I hope we can keep this post going! So nice to have something in common with you!

[Suziecat 379]

Arose, it was very hard for me to also pick up the phone and call them. But I found the courage after reading some post here. I did go back and even though my weight loss is slow right now, at least it's a loss. I'm down 30 pounds and very happy about it.

Now I'm just trying to make it through the holiday with out over doing it. I told my husband this morning that there will be no more backing done here. I haven't made a whole lot but what I have made, no one is eating. I have ended up bagging some of it and freezing it. If I didn't, it was either going to be eaten by me or thrown out.

Good Luck to you. I hope your returning will help you out a lot.

Suzanne.

[MandyrHart! 6]

I here that everyone is different and every loses differently. I have 4 members plus me ( I recently have been banded). All of my family has had success some faster than others but the lowest amount of weight is 60. I see how my family eats and no one does everything perfect. I don't expect to be perfect. I also know the band is the slowest way to loose. I am here for support as I am newly banded but have seen the transformation of my family. For each person it took a different fill number for the weight loss to begin. Also a different cc to start losing. I will continue to stay positive.