70% band 30% you???

[nina874 48]

Ok this is a moan, but I am sick of having the same conversation with my surgeons dietician.

When I went for the op I had done what I thought was fairly extensive research, I looked at the bypass and the band, and I had decided that apart from the fact that the bypass scared the living crap out of me, the band was better suited to my eating habits.

Although I do like treats my problem was always Portion Control and the lack thereof. I had a long discussion with the dieticians explained that with such a large family I cook loads of one pot meals ( think coq au vin, spag bol, pot roast etc) I just eat too much and get hungry 1 hour afterwards.

During this discussion she mentioned trying crackers/raw veg etc if that happens as it will stay in the band longer.

Since I had the band I have cut out nearly all the Snacks, I allow myself one low cal bag of chips a day and that is it, BUT I dont eat my food dry. I follow all the rules, take 20 minutes to eat, dont drink with meals or for an hour after, and I exercise.

My weight has stayed pretty static in the last 4/6 weeks even with the fill, and I eat way more than I should be able to. My clinic are telling me that is because of the pot roasts and Tomato sauces (apparently it just slides through the band???) and that if I want it to work I have to eat grilled/steamed meats and plain veg. WTF??????? If I ate that without the band I would lose weight!!!!

The whole point of the band for me was the fact that I could still cook the things that I enjoy cooking, and the vast majority of what I cook is healthy, and have portion control.

She is right, when I do eat the dry food I do get full much quicker,but from what I have read on here I should get full on spag bol just as easily. What gives???? I ended up asking her what I had spent £8,000 on becuase I have already made the healthy choices, started excersing etc, if I have to change the healthy stuff that I eat so radically then to me I just feel like I am on a diet, not that I have changed my attitude to food.

She mentioned me getting another fill, but again I am worried, in surgery he had to put in 4cc as the band was so loose, my first fill did nothing and in order to get any restriction on the 2nd fill I had to go to 9cc in a 10cc band, there is only 1cc left FGS!!! That worked for a couple of weeks but now it seems to have loosened off, I can eat pretty much anything (but not white bread), and if there is any sauce on it I can eat loads! Can the band loosen off if you dont lose weight?

If I cant eat white bread then surely I have restriction, so why am I condemmed to dry foods only in order for it to work?

I feel like I have met the band half way, I have made huge changes and embraced them and it still isnt enough :wink:

At the moment the way I am looking at it it is 70% me, 30% the band :tongue: I just feel like I was missold.

Friends keep saying to me that my diet is no different to their weight watchers only I am not allowed the sauces and that they cant see why I spent all that money, %&)&^(&^%&$!!!!!! I am sooo hacked off.....

Nina x

[Sades 4]

I only have 2 mls in a 10 mls band so I am able to eat pretty much anything I want at the moment. I am trying not to but it doesn't always work. I know that once I get more restriction it will easier but you've got me worried now since yours is almost full. I am not a big meat eater but I do understand that if you have your Protein first, veggies next and then whatever that the protein should make you full. I know someone personally who has the band and has lost all her weight and kept it off in the last 2 years and only eats very small portions because of her restriction. She doesn't seem to have any problems so I'm hoping I end up with that kind of restriction. I am okay on diets but I never last more than 1 year or so before I start putting the weight back on. The impression I get from people on here is that you do have to stick to a certain amount of calories and exercise in order to get the weight off. I guess you might need to start logging your calories to see if you are eating more than you need to lose the weight. I know when I was eating under 1,000 calories, I was losing weight. I'm at a standstill at the moment. Good luck, hope things change for you.

[Kristin1031 0]

I was told no more than 3 ounces at any meal.....and NO snacking in between meals......I have lived by this since surgey. I eat Protein first and then veggies, I have had no room for fruit really.

As for pot roasts I have been living on them.....I just eat the meat first and then the veggies, but I only have 3 ounces of them.

I measure everything that goes into my mouth and I eat with baby spoons that were given to me at the hospital. I take one with me everywhere I go. I also take my special little container that I know is three ounces of food.

If I am not home for a meal it gets measured as if I was.

I log all the food I eat daily, no matter what, and I track the Water and veg servings I am getting as well. I also track all of my exercise. I do this at Sparkspeople.com but there are many sites out there that are free where you can do this.

I believe it is 50% band and 50% us that make this work......I believe it is ATTITUDE over all that will be the success of my band. If I don't want to change my eating habits and be satisfied on 3 ounces of food, then I certainly will not be. I wrapped my arms around this philosophy before I ever had my surgery. There has been no surprises here, I was told everything that would happen, so far it has been true all of it!!

I know that my mind set will make or break this surgery. I work with two women who had Gastric Bypass over 4 years ago and one has gained all her weight back and then some, the other is on her way to gaining it all back. They did not want to follow the program, they wanted to eat huge portions again, and so.....they find themselves nearly back where they started. No WLS is a cure all for overeating and our addicitons we have to food, and why we overeat. This all has to be addressed by YOU and no one else can fix it for you, you have to come to terms with it yourself.

The BAND is not a miricle cure.......it is a tool to help you achieve a goal!

I hope this helps you some!!

[nina874 48]

Kristin - Are you full after 3oz of Protein? I am just curious as to how big a portion that is in real terms,and if you are satisfied afterwards. Does the fact that the meat is in a gravy mean that 1 hour later you are hungry?

I am concerned about the whole weighing things, most of my friends are naturally thin and they dont weigh their food, what I wanted to get from this surgery was to no longer be obsessed with food EITHER way.

Surely if you can only eat 3oz at a time and you dont eat between meals you will lose weight without having to go into diet mode.

Sades - Thanks hon, I have done so many 1000 cals a day diets!!! I just hate them! I guess that what I was hoping for was that if I made healthy choices the size of my stomach would automatically limit me to 1000 a day or less.Dont worry about the size of your band I had to have 4ml put in in surgery to make it fit!

[twiggyinhiding 0]

i will have to agree with something you said nina....BEFORE surgery i was never told about calorie counting, measuring..avoiding food......at the seminar we were told...you can eat what you want ...in small amounts and you will lose weight... guess what... thats what weight watchers ppl do...and they lose.... so i dont know...i dont get it... now my dr's orders AFTER surgery are...eat meat then veggies then starch.... no where or no way have i ever been told 3oz's. right after surgery i couldnt eat much...now i'm 6 weeks out..no fill till the 15th. its all me right now...i can eat anything...but what makes me wanna answer to ur problem....the dietician i first met with said " EAT UR meats IN GRAVIES ..RED BROWN ETC IT GOES DOWN EASIER" ... so.... are they selling me something?? or providing me healthcare? right now i dont know...but i dont plan on living on diets ...or counting calories.... and as far as the TOOL story goes... please... i have 4 friends with the band who eat as they like and all of them 100 lbs less in a year or so.... its a TOOL i bought and paid for...because i was told it would restrict eating... NOT TO BE ON SOME DIET COUNTING CALORIES?? COME ON

[jfran 0]

I have 5.3 cc in a 10cc band and I have NO restriction. I can eat A LOT and ANYTHING. I would say that my weight loss is 90% me and 10% the band because I choose to eat a healthy well balanced diet and I exercise 6-7 days a week. That being said, I am at a plateau point in the weight loss and I am still doing the same things. I am going to go on Phase 1 of the South Beach diet and see if cutting the carbs will restart the weight loss. Good luck to you all!

[Kristin1031 0]

Nina yes I am staisfied, I have had no hunger since surgery and I have no FILL!!!! Yes I eat meat that was cooked in gravy but still that has not hurt me. I do practice all the chewing and chewing instructions as well, and I try to finish eating within 30 minutes.

There are people who have the band placed and that is enough restriction. My surgeon told me that he has had patients who never needed a fill the first year, and they reached their goal weight.

I have one PB since being banded and it was awful I tried a piece of broccoli because I love it and it was awful pain. I know that the 3 ounces sounds outrageous I thought the same thing. BUt it has not been hard to do and I do not feel starved in the least or hungry. So I do believe what they say. And if you go to the LapBand website that Allergen has it will also talk about very vey small meals.

I did not just have one seminar, I had many many classes and also nutrition classes. This was over a 6 month period. Our Bariatric Program here at OSF in Peoria is one of the Centers for Excellence in Bariatric Surgery in the US and I reasearched that as well before I decided on the operation.

I know that my eating habits before surgery were horrible at best. I ate whatever I wanted to in large quantities and it ballooned me up to 287 pounds and I was headed to heart diesease and other co morbidites that luckily I did not have pre surgery. I belive that my mindset has helped me begin a very rapid weight loss for this surgery, My surgeon warned me up front that lapband was much slower than gastric bypass and that I needed to understand that going in. He also told me that it would be successful if I learned to eat with my band. That is not to say it is not rough in the beginning, the liquid and mushies phase were not fun, but I got through it.

I was told my Band is a tool to lose weight, but if you still continue to eat the quantity of food at one sitting that you did prior to surgery the BAND will not assist you in weightloss. I don't have hunger so it is hard for me to eat til hunger passes or I feel full, it easy to eat only 3 ounces because that is what I was told to do. I was told that will gradullay increase over time, after I reach my goal weight and want to maintain I can increase to no more than 4-5 ounces ever.

Everyone I know who has the band who has reached and maintained their goal weight long term, over 5 years still watches their portion sizes and they still make HEALTHY food choices, limiting bad carbs and sugar.

I decided on banding because if I want to eat a bite or two of cake or pie or a spoonful of hot fudge sunde I know that I will be able too. But honestly when I think about those things, I really don't want them because I know what my body needs to keep me feeling full is lots of Protein and vegtables.

I do not feel deprived at all, like I used to when I was thinking I was dieting, and still eating food choices that were not the right ones.

I am only explaining what is working for me here! And how I believe what I was taught before my surgery. I still go to support groups here locally through my center twice a month. I still see my surgeon regularlly they follow you the rest of your life in their bariatric clinic.

There is no miricle WLS out there. If there are people who believe they had one, I believe that they will be sadly mistaken, when what they lose comes back over time, if they do not change their eating habits and mindset.

FOOD does not control my life anymore at all, I know what I will eat and how much everymeal, there is truly no more concentrating all day thinking oh my god I am starved I can't wait til lunch or dinner or wake up in the morning starving mad after a huge carb laden dinner the night before. I have learned that even though food does cause happy hormones to be released(which has been proven) that food is utlimately NOT what brings me happiness. That eating is for living, not the other way around LIVING TO EAT!!

This has worked for me, I believe that journaling and logging also helps early in the journey because it helps to creates habits. Habits that will last a lifetime. You would be surprised how many calories you eat a day. Even when I log I am still surprised how many I get because I do not feel I eat that much food a day. But it get close or over slight 1000.

I was also told if you eat too few calories your body will go into a plateau mode like starvation, it is crucial to keep your calories and exercise spiced up in variety, so your metabolism stays kicked in.

I know I am 32 pounds lighter and I feel wonderful for it!! Good luck in your journey.

[nina874 48]

i will have to agree with something you said nina....BEFORE surgery i was never told about calorie counting, measuring..avoiding food......at the seminar we were told...you can eat what you want ...in small amounts and you will lose weight... guess what... thats what weight watchers ppl do...and they lose.... so i dont know...i dont get it... now my dr's orders AFTER surgery are...eat meat then veggies then starch.... no where or no way have i ever been told 3oz's. right after surgery i couldnt eat much...now i'm 6 weeks out..no fill till the 15th. its all me right now...i can eat anything...but what makes me wanna answer to ur problem....the dietician i first met with said " EAT UR meats IN GRAVIES ..RED BROWN ETC IT GOES DOWN EASIER" ... so.... are they selling me something?? or providing me healthcare? right now i dont know...but i dont plan on living on diets ...or counting calories.... and as far as the TOOL story goes... please... i have 4 friends with the band who eat as they like and all of them 100 lbs less in a year or so.... its a TOOL i bought and paid for...because i was told it would restrict eating... NOT TO BE ON SOME DIET COUNTING CALORIES?? COME ON

I feel exactly the same way,if I am the one that has to do the Portion Control myself what is the band doing? I accept full responsibilty for making the right choices, but when I AM making them I expect the band to provide the portion control!

[nina874 48]

Thanks Kristin, I am sorry if you thought I was being stroppy I truly wasnt. That is why I asked the question, I can eat waaay more than 3oz, I wish that my band was working that well! I have cut out almost all the bad carbs, no rice Pasta bread biscuits cake god the list of what I wont eat is endless, but I still find that even following the rules I am hungry a lot of the time I workout 5 days a week and I am getting to the point where I feel that I am doing all the work.

I think that the answer is that I need another fill!!!

[nina874 48]

I have 5.3 cc in a 10cc band and I have NO restriction. I can eat A LOT and ANYTHING. I would say that my weight loss is 90% me and 10% the band because I choose to eat a healthy well balanced diet and I exercise 6-7 days a week. That being said, I am at a plateau point in the weight loss and I am still doing the same things. I am going to go on Phase 1 of the South Beach diet and see if cutting the carbs will restart the weight loss. Good luck to you all!

Respect! Why dont you have a fill though? Whats the point in having the tool if you dont activate it? You have done really well, but I just wanted to break free from the land of south beach diets, I just wanted to have a healthy normal relationship with food.

You look flamin' fantastic babes whatever you are doing it is obviously working for you!

[katys 0]

I know exactly how you feel. I thought the band would force me to give up bread, soda, etc....If I could stop eating bread, soda, and Big Macs on my own - I wouldn't have needed the band in the first place. I'm filled almost to capacity - 3.6cc in a 4cc band. I don't get it either....

[twiggyinhiding 0]

well, the point i'm trying to make with MYSELF is this... i believe there are others who feel the way i do....i didnt have this surgery to be on a diet....i cant diet...and my dr said NO DIETs eat meat ..then veggies then starch...he also said taking one thing out of a diet completely is set up for failure...however, i do think this.....at the seminars and the meetings ..they want you to get this surgery...they want the money... so there were some things i wasnt told ... and the ppl at the seminars who had the surgery werent standing up to say...you'll never eat bread, rice,pasta, cakes etc again... i feel like something was left out! i know this will work with restriction so i'm talking out of shear frustration of spending 6 weeks dieting myself to lose the 30lbs i've lost...and i'll admit if i eat the meat first ..and take out bread i can do it.... its ok...but SOMETIMES I WANT BREAD!! my first fill appt was cancelled and my new appt made for the 15th.... hopefully he'll juice me up and i'll feel that full feeling that i am looking for...i don't have a problem with 1/2 cup of food.... i just need the tightness to hold it

[Foofy 0]

i know this will work with restriction so i'm talking out of shear frustration of spending 6 weeks dieting myself to lose the 30lbs i've lost...

Twiggy, let me get this straight, you are unhappy that you have lost 30 pounds in 6 weeks!?!? That's 5 pounds a week!!!How much did you THINK you were going to lose? The Lap Band literature says to expect 1 to 2 pounds of weight loss a week. You are waaaaaaaaaay beyond that.

I was told that the band was NOT a miricle, but that it would help me lose weight, IF I followed the rules. I eat meat and vegetables first, chew slowly, wait between bites, track my calories, and don't drink with meals. I wish I didn't have to do all that, but I also with I'd win the lottery -and that isn't going to happen either.

I was also told that you should feel "satisfied" with the reduced amount of food - not "full". My stomach growls like a freakin BEAR about an hour before meal times, but I don't care, that's just a sign that my body has to pull fat from the storage areas instead of from my empty stomach. I am eating 1000 calories a day and losing an average of 2.7 pounds a week - and I am thrilled.

You CAN do this. You CAN follow the rules. You have to take responsibility for what you put in your mouth. If you are hungry, distract yourself. Always put good things in your mouth, not junk.

[twiggyinhiding 0]

i'm not unhappy for losing at all i'm just bitchy because i didnt get my first fill it was cancelled so i go on the 15th... and i'm grumpy because i've been dieting and i dont like to diet... so forgive my mean attitude...i just want..or need to get to where i feel like....ok...this is it ...this is what the band does... i'm full or satisfied after 1/2 cup..right now i'm having a hard time dieting ... and it seems all the skinny ppl i work with LIVE ON CANDY!!! i know i cant do that but damn sometimes i want to!!! anyway.....i guess i'm just more upset that my appt was cancelled and i had to wait another week to start the fill process which may take several months to get right! gl everyone.... i will do this ...but i cant gripe to my family.... sorry i griped here :smile:

[PigsRFlying 0]

I think it all lies with the right fill. I ,too, have been slow since I need a fill. i don't think I have lost anything in over a month. However, I did have that good restriction that everyone hears about for approx. 3 weeks after my last fill. So, I am hoping that with this one, it will last a little longer and so forth. I have 3.25 in a 4 right now.