Ice Cream horror

[Bandana 0]

SMsmith,

what brand of sugar fat free ice cream are you talking about? Thanks

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

Yes, I can totally support you. You need to cut up your meat into itty bitty sliver sized bites before you start eating. It's too easy to take too big of a bite and start eating like you don't have a band.

Take a sliver of meat and chew it until you can't possibly chew anymore. If you do that, I don't think you'll have a problem.

[kandyk115 0]

Bandana,

Try something like pudding. They make low calorie Jello which is good tasting. I have also tried puddings from Focus28 that was low in calories and very tasty. Here's there link if you are interested.

https://www.focus28wellness.com/food-and-diet-products/bariatric-foods/puddings/

Good luck!!!

-kandyk

[bambam31 168]

It's the carbs of any sense. Once they are in your system, all they do is make us crave more carbs. Carbs are evil.

It doesn't even matter if it rice or noodles, they make us crave sugar.

OK... I try not to make it a habit to disagree with moderators...... BUT... I do have to offer another point of view on this. Everyone's carb sensitivity is different. A blanket statement that all carbs are equally bad is about as false of a statement as there is... Foods containing simple sugars are not the same as rice, which is a complex carb. These will most certainly solicit a different insulin response in most people.

We should all try to limit our simple sugar intake - but complex carbs have taken a bad wrap! You should strive to eat healthy complex carbs like rice and oatmeal- they are a necessary part of a well balanced diet. Yes, I understand if you're diabetic - the rules change.

Since everyone's insulin response is different, do some self-research to determine which foods are good for you and which ones aren't. Eat a meal with a serving of full sugared ice cream and an hour later check your blood sugar with a glucose monitor - record the reading. Then the next day do the same thing after eating a complex carbohydrate and note the difference. Not everyone is supersensitive to carbohydrates! Your addiction to simple sugars may or may not be triggered by eating complex carbs - you'll just have to experiment yourself because everyone is different. It drives me insane when people tell you that a certain food group is evil and must be avoided. I eat from every single food group - just some more than others.

You know girls,

I've been digging deep since my ice cream horror episode and to try to see if I need an unfil. I think the problem might be that I don't chew my food enough or slow enough so I bring it back up to get rid of the chest pain. I saw a nutritionist today who agrees that this might be the main problem, among other issues. I am willing to work on my chewing and eating, but can anyone tell me HOW!!!!! I never ate slow or took small bites in my life and as much as I think I'm eating morsels and slow, I think I can do better. I find that I'm on automatic pilot when it comes to food and old habits are hard to change. I need to try this though before I go in for an unfil. Maybe I'm just not working my Lapband right. I realized today that the lapband is like any other "diet"., There are rules and restriction you must follow - just like weight watchers to lose weight. I guess I thought it would be like easy, I'd just eat less than what I did normally and the weight would come off. But if you can't even really eat this is a problem.

Can anyone give me support with this????Thanks

First of all, try to focus on eating when you eat. If you're being distracted, you'll forget the rules. For awhile, try not to read, talk, watch TV, work, etc. while eating - just focus on the task at hand. Do it slowly and methodically. Eat a bite, wait a few minutes (not seconds) to see how you react. Actually put your fork down and wait between bites. It can take a half hour sometimes to eat a meal properly.

Next, the band is not a miracle. You MUST change your lifestyle to succeed. Do not plan on starving the fat off of your body. Your body is too smart to allow this to happen. You must BURN the fat off of your body, meaning you MUST exercise to meet your full potential. You need a calorie deficit to lose weight, but get that deficit by working out and eating more not starving and slouching. Pardon me if I seem militant, but when I say exercise I mean EXERCISE. This is JUST MY OPINION... disregard it if you choose - but MOST PEOPLE (not all... most) will have to do 3+ intense cardio sessions (40 - 60 minutes each) a week to get their metabolism cranking. Instense means getting well above your comfort zone. I do not buy into the low intensity, long duration, stay within your heart rate zone type of exercise. Doing so means your missing out on a huge calorie burn. Look into Spin classes, circuit training, interval training, etc.

I consider walking a daily activity - not exercise. Now, if walking is all you can do right now, that's OK.... Start there and keep increasing your distance. Keep progressing your fitness level until you can do more strenuous exercise. You must keep challenging yourself to be successful.

Now, if you're going to burn all of these calories through exercise, your going to have to eat more. Low calorie = slow metabolism. So if you need an unfill to be able to eat more healthy food - do it.

The band is a great tool to keep you from OVEREATING and BINGING. It was not intended to be cinched down to the point that you can't eat.

Good luck - we're all here to help you because we want you to succeed. Nobody would spend the time to type a response if they didn't care about you. There is, however, as they say, more than one way to skin a cat. This journey is tough - it's hard work - but we get through it together - day by day.

Brad

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

I thought white rice was a simple carb. I thought only brown rice was considered a complex carb. I do know the difference between complex carbs and simple. I follow the glycemic index . Most junk food is simple carbs which makes me crave more junk food.< /p>

You can disagree with anyone you choose to. Just because a moderator says something, does not mean everyone has to agree to it. We are only supposed to

talk to the other moderators if someone starts name calling, etc. You were very polite.

[bambam31 168]

I thought white rice was a simple carb. I thought only brown rice was considered a complex carb. I do know the difference between complex carbs and simple. I follow the glycemic index . Most junk food is simple carbs which makes me crave more junk food.

You can disagree with anyone you choose to. Just because a moderator says something, does not mean everyone has to agree to it. We are only supposed to

talk to the other moderators if someone starts name calling, etc. You were very polite.

It's all good!

Whole grain white rice is still a complex carbohydrate - allbeit not as good for you other complex carbohydrates.

The glycemic index (GI) has quickly become antiquated because it does not consider food volume. The latest and greatest is the glycemic load (GL). Most all rices remain high on the GL and GI, but one must remember that these numbers are generalities - they will vary from person to person. The only way to know how different foods affect us is trial and error. And a testing with a glucose monitor may be necessary for carb sensitive people to avoid the huge spike and subsequent crash of blood glucose levels. And of course diabetics should avoid high GL foods all together.

For those who are carb sensitive and need to watch carbs closely - this link is a good reference.

http://www.mendosa.com/gilists.htm

IMO our information sources are constantly bashing groups of foods and it annoys me. Any complex carb is better than a simple one. My concern here is just that newbies find this stuff and alter their eating based on flawed information. There are actually bandsters who's doctors refuse to allow them dairy products or any kind of nuts/seeds. That's insane if you ask me. Remember the war on fat? Then it was the war on carbohydrates. That only leaves one other macronutrient - so when will the war on Protein begin? People focus too much on trying to eat too little food and not nearly enough on increasing their calorie expenditure. So what they see is a big weight loss-followed by a slowing metabolism - followed by a plateau. Then they can't figure out why they havn't lost any weight in the past 6 weeks... Doesn't surprise me at all.

Brad

[Bandana 0]

Thanks for all the info Brad.

I haven't had ice cream at night for about a week, but I find that the nighttime is still a horror because I'm still eating alot. I did buy the diet Jello. I eat that, Protein bars, ceral and milk and I can't stop thinking about food at night. Can anybody help. I'm not exercising so these extra calories are killing me. I don't know how to get control of this night eating. Thanksk for any support.

[bambam31 168]

When were you banded and what fill level are you at in what size band? Did these problems start after the offending regurgitation or were then ongoing prior to?

I don't know your lifestyle, but in my case I had to get moving. Exercise is an absolute must - it's not debateable. And when exercise is done, we have to keep moving and busy.

I would start by trying to determine your Basal Metabolic Rate and other calorie expenditures - and then start journaling everything you eat. It will help pinpoint the problems.

And you're exactly right - the band will not cancel out the need for proper nutrition and exercise. Anyone who said the band was the easy way out was never banded!

Brad

[Bandana 0]

Thanks for asking,. I was banded 1/28/08. I know I have a 14cc band and I think I'm at 11. Im not sure because I've had so many fills and a couple of unfills b ut I think I'm at around 11. I'm going to check next time I go to doctor.

last time I saw the doctor was 12/9 I had a .25 unfil because I couldn't keep things down. But now I'm really hungary at night. I have more "dietetic and healthy" foods in the house but you know if you eat too much of that it's not too hellpful either for a weight loss.

I can't seem to push myself for the exercise right now, I hope its just a phase I'm going through. But honestly, I haven't been too good with the exercising all year long.

Nice to know that you care. Thanks and it's good to see that you know what your doing and you're doing it well. 60 lbs in just 5 months is great.Keep up the good work

Edited January 18, 2009 by Bandana

[bambam31 168]

Thank you for the kind words. I have lost a big chunk in a relatively short amount of time but in all honesty I pushed too hard. Early on I had way too large of a calorie deficit and I'm certain, ratio wise, that I lost a fair amount of lean muscle tissue along with the fat. Don't get me wrong, I've lost a lot of fat, but my body fat percentage is about 24% so I know a good chunk of what I lost was also lean tissue. Fortunately I don't have any hanging skin or Jello-type areas, but I think the gym has helped keep that at bay.

Keep fighting the good fight!

Brad

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

Yeah, there is no doubt about it. Building muscle makes a huge difference. It's very satisfying to find muscle where there was once none. Plus I think I just read today that

every pound of muscle burns 50 calories. I could be wrong on the pounds of muscle.

All I know is that I love that my thighs no longer stick out farther than my hips. That is from weight training. All my life, even when I weighed 110, I had thunder thighs that stuck out farther than my hips.

[bambam31 168]

Yeah, there is no doubt about it. Building muscle makes a huge difference. It's very satisfying to find muscle where there was once none. Plus I think I just read today that

every pound of muscle burns 50 calories. I could be wrong on the pounds of muscle.

All I know is that I love that my thighs no longer stick out farther than my hips. That is from weight training. All my life, even when I weighed 110, I had thunder thighs that stuck out farther than my hips.

The most common numbers I've seen floated are 30-50 calories for every pound of fat - but these numbers are in high dispute. Some claim it's really as low as 6 ! Others claim it's as high as 80. Some latest discussion is suggesting it's likely somewhere in the 10-20 range. At any rate, there isn't much argument though that a pound of fat only requires between 2 and 4 calories per pound for maintenance! That alone tells us how important it is to retain as much lean muscle tissue as possible in order to keep our metabolism as high as possible!

Brad

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

I am not getting you. They say muscle burns fat . how many pounds of muscle does it take to start burning calories?

[Just Banded 0]

Bandana- I can totally relate to the ice cream addiction!

I have been there done that with eating sweets and saying "I don't care- this is so worth being fat for" Then, I hate myself the next day. I need electric shock therapy! What flavor were you into? Sometimes substituting the flavor helps but with a lower calorie treat. I found sugar free fat free chocolate popsicles- my problem is clearly that if it is a "forbidden food" aka something I never could have on previous diets- I want it more. That is why ice cream is such a big deal. I don't think there will ever be a time in my life I could truly enjoy sweets without feeling like I shouldn't have them!!! I'm horrible!

Brad- you have some great insights that I would love to continue talking about. For instance, my Dr. was telling me 800 cals a day and I never ever followed that because Gd forbid something happened and I had to lose my restriction- I know the weight would pile back on. So I try to stick with the 1200-1500 route. I also am an angel about getting my Protein in every day- at least 60 g. Also excellent Water drinking! Went from walking 3 miles once a week to ellipitcal machine 4-5x a week for 30min-45min getting sweaty, 5-6 level resistance. I also started working out with a trainer doing weights for an hour 3x week for the past 3 weeks. I have been up and down from 161, 164, 166, my weight is different every day and has been since November. I feel like my only resort to get to the next level is to out carbs completley. I know you might object to that- but can you explain why I am not dropping some major lbs?

Should I start working out for 2 hours a day? I really don't think my trainer understands the band- but at least he gets me in the gym and forces me to do things I would never ever do on my own!

[bambam31 168]

I am not getting you. They say muscle burns fat . how many pounds of muscle does it take to start burning calories?

Muscle doesn't burn fat... That's a bunch of hoooey...

Fat is nothing more than a calorie bank - it's stored calories. To burn that, you have to create a calorie deficit - so that your making a withdrawal from the bank.

Lean muscle tissue is highly metabolically active - fat is not. So it takes a lot more calories a day to sustain that muscle tissue than it does fat. (Say for the sake of example... 50 cals a day for a pound of muscle and 4 cals a day for a pound of fat) So the more lean muscle tissue your body carries, the higher your daily basal metabolic rate. And the more active you are, the more calories that lean muscle tissue will burn throughout the day.

Where I think a lot of bandsters go astray is they cinch their bands down to the point that they can barely eat. And many make this even worse by only eating a few meals a day. By doing this they create TOO LARGE of a calorie deficit, which triggers the starvation response. The human body has evolved over thousands of years and still remembers the days of famine. So it has adapted to learning how to survive these periods. By invoking the starvation response, your body begins to slow your metabolism. And since your creating such a large calorie deficit, it has to get it's energy to survive from somewhere. Is it going to burn just fat which only costs 4 calories a day per pound? Or muscle which is costing it 50 calories a day per pound? No doubt is going to burn some of both, but it's going to burn a higher ratio of lean muscle tissue because it's too costly to keep. So bandsters see a huge weight loss initially (remember, muscle weighs more than fat), but once the body catches on, it slows your metabolism and continues to do so until it's adjusted to what your intaking. The result? A much lower basal metabolic rate and no calorie deficit - which equals no weight loss.

Things won't get moving again until you eat more to get the metabolism burning hotter. That's why there are so many people who can't figure out why they're only eating 700 or 800 calories but aren't losing any weight. And what about the weight they did lose. How much of it was lean muscle tissue (which we all know weighs more than fat) and how much was actual fat? No way to know for sure, but the ratio definitely swings toward lean muscle tissue during a starvation response. Why on earth would we want to lose muscle tissue? It's totally counterproductive. Who wants to lose most of their fat to see bones and flabby skin? Hell, I want to see muscle! And women worried about being too muscular - DON'T... Except for a few genetic anomolies, you couldn't get huge disproportionate muscles even if you wanted to because you don't have the chemical makeup - especially hormones - to produce them.

My approach? I use the band to keep me from bingeing and overeating, but I keep a constant flow of nutritious food throughout the day. (A secretary at work just can't figure it out... she keeps saying, "how on earth do you lose weight? All you do is EAT!" She probably thinks I'm on drugs...lol)

I do intense cardio sessions, 45-60 minutes each, 5-7 days a week. I also aim for 2-3 weight training sessions a week, although cardio is my main focus. And I mix it up week to week so my body doesn't permanantly adjust. I'm burning 4000-6000 calories in the gym a week (as tracked on a heart rate monitor). Remember, it takes a calorie deficit to lose fat... IMO, it's better to create a calorie deficit by intense exercise/eating more than starving/slouching.

Same thing for calories. I zig zag my calorie intake. I may have a 1500 -2000 calorie deficit on a day of hard training, but a 500 calorie surplus on another day. By doing this I'm creating the needed deficit to lose weight, but my body doesn't think I trying to starve it, and my metabolism isn't just hot - it's on fire. How on fire? I have some 3000+ calorie intake days - and I continue to lose weight. And since I have the band I physically can't binge or insanely overeat and sabotage my progress. Balanced nutrition and copious amounts of Water are important parts of the equation too.

Now I would NEVER suggest that this is what everyone should be doing. We're all different and have to find success by trial and error. This is just another option. If someone were to try this with a skewed component (especially the exercise component) the result could be a disastrous weight gain.

Bandsters shouldn't be afraid to try different approaches though. If you've had low calorie diets in the past that failed, what makes you think eating low calorie with a band is going to get a different result? Isn't that the definition of insane? You know, doing the same thing but expecting a different result?

food for thought...

Brad

Edited January 19, 2009 by bambam31