male only For Just Us Guys

[NowNotSoBigGuy 0]

Six months today since I was banded. Lost ~75 pounds, the majority coming off in the first 3 months. Hit 300 on 12/1 and 290 on 1/1, but have slowed down measurably since joining Lifetime Fitness on Jan 1. Still losing inches if not pounds, but the appetite is still there. Not sure if another fill would do more harm than good; already I'm a champion PBer.

I appreciate all the support I've received at LBT and on my one year Bandiversary, I'm hoping to be at my target weight of 220.

Onward, brothers.

[jbtullis 0]

Bill that is an awesome loss. I will be thrilled if I get 75 pounds off in 6 months. I lost 18 pounds in two weeks between surgery date weight and the 2 week post op. That was encouraging as all get out, but I realize unrealistic to expect ever again.

Funny you mentioned Lifetime Fitness. We just joined the one in Kansas this weekend. Very cool place.

Did you do the nutritional evaluation they try to push on you? I just sort of grinned when the rep was telling us about that part.

[rsbg1 0]

Hey, just got back home from having my first fill :clap2:. It went real good, with no problems at all. I had 1.65 cc . After the fill we went to a restaurant so my wife could have a little some thing to eat, and I have some beef broth soup.:hungry: I told the Dr. that I have hit that Plato and have not been able to lose for two weeks, and she asked what I have been eating:guess . So this is what I told her, I will have a little Gerber oatmeal or a Atkins shake with extra Protein for Breakfast. For lunch some left overs or a shake, and for dinner a little food or a shake.. This was filling me up or so I thought..:nervous

The Dr. then told me that all the shakes in place of real food and not eating real food for all meals was the reason I was not losing the weight. She said the only way to keep full and was to eat real food and no mushie type food. (like Gerber's, shakes, broths etc..)The band only works with real food not liquids..All along I thought I was doing good by not eating all the meals with real food, and have my shakes instead, I was delaying my weight loss..:cry I have to be on liquids for 24hrs and then 24hrs of soft foods, but after that I'm not going to have so many soft food and shakes, and I'll see if that will make the difference..Bring on the real food !!!

[TheCascadian 1]

Bill, Good job!

Ted, glad your doc could help you with your diet, that's good info for me, too!

Man, I've only got one more big appointment before surgery! Gotta start my pre-op diet in 5 more days...

[NowNotSoBigGuy 0]

Jonathan: I skipped all the extraneous offers from Lifetime, except the free smoothie coupon! I did have my Resting Metabolic Rate analyzed at another fitness location to determine what my optimal calorie intake should be. Personal trainers can be great tools for some people, but I'm too damn stubborn to deal with some fitness buff 1/3 or 1/2 my age guiding me through the facility at $60/hour. I do recommend you consider a heart rate monitor if you're planning on exercising. Lifetime offers several, but you can do much better on eBay or Amazon. I bought a Polar F11, then sold it and upgraded to an F55.

Ted: by all means, guy, have some solid food. Enough of the shakes and babyfood. Choose wisely, chew, chew chew and savor every damn morsel. You'll be amazed at how fast you fill up. Use small plates and small utensils; it sounds stupid, but it works.

[rsbg1 0]

THANKS , I will start eating more solid foods after today and hopefully that will work ! It wasn't like soft foods was all I was eating, I just thought maybe I was eating to much food, that's why I was cutting back on the real stuff and going with the shakes etc..OOOPPPSSSS... Live and learn !!!

[jbtullis 0]

:clap2:I had a NSV already that almost had me doing cartwheels this morning. Being only 2 weeks post op but I am thrilled. I know it sounds lame but its big to me. I was acutally able to buy clothes at Wal-mart and they fit. It was the largest size they carry, 3X mens, but none the less it fits.

It has bugged me for years to not be able to buy what I call yard clothes or play clothes like tee shirst and stuff from discount stores like Wallyworld and such. Just seems so unfair I have to go to a speciality store to buy a tee-shirt to mow the yard in and pay like $15; now I can get them for $7. So anyway, it was a huge victory for me this morning!

[Brewa2000 1]

Good for you Jonathan!!

Bruce

[RowdyReptile 2]

Wow Rsbg _ not to be a downer, but it sounds like your Doc didn't really prepare you. I have a DVD, numerous pamphlets and papers, and have heard several times from my Dr and his staff what the eating schedule will be. 2 days post op of Clear Liquids, 2 weeks of liquids, then mushies, then solid food.< /p>

[rsbg1 0]

RR, my Dr. did give me all the info for post op, liquids, and mushies but when I stopped losing weight , I did what I have always done, not eat as much..But this time I had my shakes as a Meal Replacements thinking the old way...Today I had a two egg and mozzarella cheese omelet at 6:45 am and its now 10:30am and I'm still full..

[drtnsnw 0]

Well guys,

Got out on the ATV's for the first time after surgery. It felt really good, but I was kinda low on energy. It didn't take long to get pretty winded. I didn't have ant pain or feeling uncomfortable though.

we are going out on the snowmobiles tomorow, so this was a really good test to see how well I would feel.

On an even better note, I finally got another 2 pounds off:) I know it goes in stages, but it is sure frustrating when they don't come off

Chris

[gatormark91 0]

Here's the secret - CHEW. CHEW. CHEW SOME MORE. WAIT.

You have to eat real food. NO SQUISHY FOOD!!!

Eat real food (protein heavy, no carbs). Take small bites, chew the hell out of them. And wait for it to go down, take a second before you put another bite in your mouth - see how you feel between bites. If you start to feel over-full DO NOT drink anything to 'help it along'. You will feel worse!

If you screw up, like take a big bite of of something, and feel REALLY bad, go to the john and chuck it up - you'll feel better way faster.

Also, do not get your band screwed down all the way on the first fill. You can get to the right point gradually - its adjustable, remember? You didn't put the weight on overnight, so be patient about it coming off. And don't sweat the plateaus - we all get them. Exercise helps.

Want to know how I know this? See my signature, below.

Mark

[marjon9 6]

I've only been banded a couple months, but in my short experience I would say that Mark's advice above is exactly right. It's hard to get in tune with that feeling where if you take just one more bite, it will be a serious problem. It's not like that before banding. If you feel full before banding, and you take another bite, it might add a tiny bit of discomfort, but it's no big deal. Once you have the band, if you feel full, but take just one more tiny bite, it can mean hours of pain.

Do any of you guys remember that Monty Python movie where the fat guy goes into the restaurant, eats 3 tons of food, and then says, "I can't eat another bite!" Then he eats a tiny after dinner mint and explodes, exposing his rib cage and beating heart? Having the band is sort of like that. If you "can't eat another bite," the don't!!

[RowdyReptile 2]

What's up Gatormark. You ready for the tourney? repeat!!!

[rsbg1 0]

WOW this fill thing is great,:clap2: I eat and I'm not hungry at all...I finally broke that hump and lost 5 lbs.:success1: I'm now at 300, only 100 to go !:faint: