Lower BMI'ers--2008!!!

[BandPrincess 0]

This is a great thread! I'm new to the forum but have been reading for the past few months. I was banded by Dr. Ortiz 9/18/07. I just had my third fill at 2.5cc in a 4cc band on tuesday. I think I need more solid Proteins, does anyone have any suggestions besides chicken (which is hard for me to eat) and fish? :regular_smile:

[Away2me 1]

I do well with meatloaf?

I go back tomorrow for fill #2. My first fill last week, didn't do a thing for me!

Now you have to have birth certs to go across the border or a passport and my passport isn't back yet.

[Longhorn 1]

I love turkey chili!

[Mischievous1 6]

This is a great thread! I'm new to the forum but have been reading for the past few months. I was banded by Dr. Ortiz 9/18/07. I just had my third fill at 2.5cc in a 4cc band on tuesday. I think I need more solid Proteins, does anyone have any suggestions besides chicken (which is hard for me to eat) and fish? :drool:

Beans (not quite as solid as meat) are a great source of Protein, filling and easy to get down...I highly recommend them.:tongue2:

[BandPrincess 0]

Thank you for your responses, I will definately try them!

[biggestloser2be 0]

What is really strange is that my Doctor said that people with a lower BMI (say around 36 or 37) lose weight quicker. He also said that he has seen better results with a lower BMI. So tell me why I am losing weight slower (so it seems)? Anyway, I am pretty tight right now and had to have a little unfill after my second fill because I couldn't even drink fluids. I struggle for a week and then went in for a small unfill. Since then I have had my third fill of .5cc and I am tight now. I can only eat Soups and Clear Liquids. I really don't want to go in for another unfill. It will be two weeks this Monday from that fill. If I am unable to eat by Monday, I will probably go in for a small unfill again. I would love to be able to eat (chew) food (chicken or fish) but I can't. I am definately not getting in my Protein. I would not want to go the rest of my life on soups or clear liquids. I am hoping that I will lose some more weight so the band will loosen up on its own.

[Fluffy36 0]

I did not feel restriction until around the 4th fill. Then it only lasted about 2 months and I was able to eat more. Now....on my 5th fill...another story. Going strong on that fill now for right at a year. I'm down to my last 10 pounds...which is the hardest.

[Mischievous1 6]

All,

I went in yesterday am and got another fill, this puts me at ~3.5 cc's in my 4 cc band-previous to this fill I was eating pretty well and feeling hungry earlier so I was loosened up somewhat and not loosing for a couple months. (for some reason<it's a long story and irrelevant> the Dr. and I both didn't take into account one of my previous fills and thought I only had a total of 2.8cc's total in my band, but when I got home I double checked and realized our mistake)

Well now I am VERY tight, I am able to hold down clear liquids for the 24 hours and no reflux has shown, but this morning I drank a cup of hot black coffee and a couple of sips of a watery Protein Drink. Once I drank the Protein drink I felt like it was going to come back up. So I salivated quite profusely for about 10 minutes then it passed.

So I have to make the decision of whether I want to get a slight unfill today or wait for 2 weeks until I can get back to the Dr....am I being too skittish and this is normal after a tight fill and i'm just still swollen? Can some of you give me your experiences with this and offer a word of advice?

thx.

Renee

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

Fills don't last because you lose fat around your stomach. It's a very fine line between having too much or not enough.

I have been overfilled, and had a tiny bit taken out, and then can eat whatever I wanted. It took me a year to get to where I am at the right spot and have been since Dec. I think that's because I am almost to goal, so I am not losing the fat pad around my stomach.

I can eat better at dinner than earlier in the day. I can eat chickn but I have to chew it very well and cut it all up before I start eating into eraser sized pieces.

If you can only get liquids down, ask to have the tiniest amount taken out. If you want to try to live with his fill, do a few days of Protein Drinks only, to see if you are swollen inside and let things settle down. If you try to eat solid Protein again, and have trouble, then you know you do need a slight unfill.

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

It has been my experience and others with a lower bmi that we lose slower not faster as people who have more to lose.

Exercise is the key to it all. In the beginning we can lose without it, but

when you are at a standstill, exercise will be the only thing I have found to get the scale moving again.

Right now I don't know if I have lost or not. I am at my dad's out of state and his scale says I have lost. I won't believe it until I see my own scale.

[Away2me 1]

Renee,

I'm in the same boat as you! I had my second fill yesterday and I don't know if it is too tight or not. I could hardly get milk down last night. Things are a bit better today so I think I'm going to give it a week or two before I consider an unfill.

I think I've irritated the lining near the stoma, cause every bite hurts, anything, even liquid hurts right now. Doc said to drink Mylanta twice a day and I'm going to prescribe myself bland foods for awhile and see if that helps. He told me it should NEVER hurt to swallow if you chew your food well.

Getting used to not gulping liquids is going to be a learning curve for me.

[Mischievous1 6]

Fills don't last because you lose fat around your stomach. It's a very fine line between having too much or not enough.

I have been overfilled, and had a tiny bit taken out, and then can eat whatever I wanted. It took me a year to get to where I am at the right spot and have been since Dec. I think that's because I am almost to goal, so I am not losing the fat pad around my stomach.

I can eat better at dinner than earlier in the day. I can eat chickn but I have to chew it very well and cut it all up before I start eating into eraser sized pieces.

If you can only get liquids down, ask to have the tiniest amount taken out. If you want to try to live with his fill, do a few days of Protein drinks only, to see if you are swollen inside and let things settle down. If you try to eat solid protein again, and have trouble, then you know you do need a slight unfill.

Thanks Denise,

I have to be honest with you-I think I psych'ed myself out when I realized how FULL my band actually was once I got home and checked my notes-and then I was WAITING and WATCHING for anything to happen. All day I have had NO issues since this am and have stuck to Protein Shakes, hot tea and for dinner I had french onion Soup (sans the bread and cheese of course) and I feel great. I've gotten my Water in and I think once the initial swelling goes down I am going to be pleased with the restriction so I'm going to quit counting numbers and just be sure to baby my band and not irritate the stoma to be sure I know what is real and what may be imagined!!

Away2Me,

Thanks for your post and sympathy. It is always good to know we are not in this alone and even though I thought I was a "pro" at this by now, I was not losing very fast and I think an aggressive fill is going to help....for instance the night before I got this fill - my husband took me out to a restaurant to Celebrate our Anniversay-I had half of a salad-half a steak, a few bites of garlic mashed potatoes and ALL of my asparagus! That is tooooo much food and I didn't feel stuffed! I also started to feel hungry again within two hours after eating (sometimes sooner depending on what I ate) so I was desperately in need of a fill! I'm going to baby my band this week and see what happens...thanks again!

Im actually really excited to see where this fill takes me!!!!:thumbdown:

Renee

[StephC 0]

Does anyone know the lowest BMI you can have to get the lap band done in Mexico?

[slcmommy4 0]

Well I have my surgery next week. And my consult is tomorrow. I have a BMI of 35 at 210 pounds and I am a little worried that I wont lose the weight like I'd like. If any of you have before and afters and had a low BMI I'd love to see them. Even if I lost just two pounds a week I'd be happy. I love to exercize and I don't have a problem with sweets. By biggest problem is just feeling hungry all of the time and being able to put away a lot of food and still not feel full. So I'm excited to being able to feel full with very little food. Anyway, I look forward to hearing your experiences with the band.

1 week before surgery

210/210/130

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

If you don't have a problem with sweets, you should do fine. My biggest problem is sugar. I can lose very well and be invited somewhere over the weekend where there is a lot of sugary sweet foods and I have no will power. I wish that those foods were the ones that got stuck and don't go through the band.

I love to exercise too, and that is what saves me. I am sure I couldn't have gotten this close to my goal if I didn't exercise nearly every day.

You might not lose 2 lbs every week, but you should lose consistantly if you don't eat sweets, and exercise regularly. I will sometimes go on a plateau for as long as a month, and then all of a sudden drop 5 lbs.

Just make sure you stay on top of your fills. It's the fills that make it so you aren't hungry, and stay full on small portions. But when you lose weight, you lose fat around the stomach, and the band gets looser. Then you need another fill. This will keep happening until you are close to goal.

I hope you don't have to drive a long way to get a fill. That is a lot of people's problem. When you need a fill, and have to wait to get one, it's hard. I am lucky that I only live 5 min from my doctor.