Men and the Band- Banded 4/1

[Battjr 0]

Hi All:

I am reading, reading reading. I've been lucky in that 2 people I work with are banded and one is going in next week. So, we'll have a mini support group. However, I don't know any men who are banded. They tell me that men can generally eat more, tolerate more foods etc. I don't know if this sounds right. Anyhow. I lost 20 pounds due to pre-op diet and the post-op liquid stage (where you take in very few calories in the first 4 days or so). Since introducing pureed foods, my energy is through the roof and I'm walking a hour a day with the plan of 5 days per week. This week I gained 2 pounds. I'm eating more and more (still at 1/2 to 3/4 cup), but I am getting hungrier between meals. So, I've started snacking.

My food choices are good- lots of Protein. I am eating cheese though too. I'd just like some feedback from some men on whether this experience is like yours. Will I gain / maintain until the fill? Am I screwing up by eating the cheese too? I'm also tolerating all foods with no probs bringing anything up. Only ground beef with salsa pureed gave me some prob. Thanks all for any words!!! Jim :sneaky:

[Boykie 4]

Hey Jim

I also noticed a lack of men on this board - was not sure if it was a tendency of men to not use the board, or the ratio of men vs women in the banding process.

I am right behind you mate - got banded 4/10. Post-op days 3 & 4 were hell for me. Sunday (day3) I found I could not keep any liquids down, so monday 630am i jumped into my car and drove the 2 hours to my doctor, he took 1.2 cc outta the tube ('priming' residue) and I felt immediate relief. so, day 4 was marginally better (managed to keep about a half glass of Water down) and then improved each day since..

I am interested in what you are experiencing, so will follow your discussion. You might also attribute the weight gain to the exercise - assuming you were starting-up. (is that not what they always tell you at Weight Watchers - you are building muscle ?)

Anyway, good on ya mate.

kevin

[HeatherO 7]

I guess I am not a man, lol, but I wanted to chime in. There is a section of this forum called "The Men's Room" . . . I think you might find plenty of testosterone in that location, lol.

I have not only noticed on this forum that it is predominantly women, I also noticed from surgeries scheduled the day of mine that it was all women and the waiting room at my fill office is always 90% + women. I suspect more women are getting banded than men but I am not sure about the actual statistics.

Another thing that I have seen anecdotally on threads concerning men is that one of the biggest differences between men and women is that men tend to lose weight a little faster and easier than women. That sounds like a bit of an advantage to me.

Congratulations on banding, it sounds like you are off to a great start.

[Boykie 4]

Thanks for that.. Looking at your stats, you have done amazingly well. Congrats.

Yesterday I heard of someone who was banded 2 years ago, is at her goal weight, and now her doctor is recommending removing the band. Has anyone heard of this before ? I thought that was a setup for disappointment, but will post next time I get an update from her..

well done.

k

[Brockbabe82 0]

I have also heard of people who get the band removed once at goal, or even have the sleeve. I guess it is based on your comfort level with those decisions. Although I have a long way till goal, I believe that I need the support of the band to continue to be successful.I am sure there are those out there who can do it no problem but at this point, I don't think I could do it. I guess I will see when I get to that point.

[Cingulus 0]

When I saw the title of this, I thought the 4/1 was your observed ratio of men to women who have the band. my initial reaction was... yeah, sounds about right. I don't have the real data, but there are far more ladies on this board than guys. It would be a good survey poll.

[HeatherO 7]

Thanks for that.. Looking at your stats, you have done amazingly well. Congrats.

Yesterday I heard of someone who was banded 2 years ago, is at her goal weight, and now her doctor is recommending removing the band. Has anyone heard of this before ? I thought that was a setup for disappointment, but will post next time I get an update from her..

well done.

k

Thanks :0)

Unless she is having a specific problem with her band like slippage, erosion or just extreme tightness issues, I don't see any reason to remove it. I think it is definitely setting someone up for failure to have gained success and take it back out again.

If anyone chooses to do remove it because they don't think the band is necessary anymore - they can just get all of their fill removed and give it a go. If you can go without a fill for a couple of years and maintain perfectly, then perhaps it might be worth considering. Even then, an empty band is like no band and you can always get more fill if you need it. I think the band is a permanent thing.

I for one have had all my fill removed for pregnancy. I made it to goal and lost 100% of my excess weight to get from morbid obesity to a normal BMI before my unfill.

Now that I have been without fill for a couple of months, it definitely feels like I have no band. Everyday is a struggle with hunger. I still exercise and eat healthy foods . . . but I am HUNGRRYYY and it is rough going. I was a chronic overeater prior to banding and once I hit my sweet spot my hunger was in control.

For me, banding is permanent or I know I will stop maintaining a loss and start the slow creep back up in weight.

[BearSpiritGuide 0]

I am not sure what diet your doctor put you on, but mine is different.

First of all I am a man 44 in June. I am 6' 3" tall and have a massive frame. When I started my Pre-Op Diet 6 months ago I weighed 350, The day I checked in for surgery I was 321 and this morning - 8 days after surgery - I weigh 296.

Grand Total so Far: 54lbs - 25 lbs in just 1 week

I know that my weight will not continue to fly off like that and it will eventually slow.

The diet my doctor gave me always had a limit of 1/4 to 1/2 cup of food at any one sitting. and those would be limited to 3 or 4 times a day. Some of that is supplemented - in the initial liquid phases - with Protein shakes. I am still in these phases.

One of the things that has been fascinating to me is the "HUNGER". I have "FELT" hunger for about the last 4 or 5 days. But when I go to drink, even Water, I am so over full that I cannot get anything down. It has really made me look at what this "HUNGER" means.

I have tried to catagorize some:

1 - The Gee that sounds good hunger: Generally accompanies Carl's Jr., In-and-Out, Taco Bell, <fill in your favorite fast food> commercial. This is an easy one to recognize in context. Just disregard and change the channel. Drink some Water.< /p>

2 - The Gee I wonder if I can tolerate that food hunger: more of a curiosity than a hunger, but it is devastating (or possibly could be in my case). You want so bad to get back to eating normal that you try a little of this and try a little of that and when you find you can tolerate it you just add it back into your staple diet without any regard to if you should. Remember, you needed the lap-band because you made bad food choices in your OLD LIFE. This one is kind of a pet peeve of mine. I see a lot of posts here asking if banders can tolerate this food or this food and almost every one is something that had got them into the mess they were in before they decided to do something about it. DON'T CHEAT YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENT.

3 - The Gee I should probably eat something hunger: You are not sure if you have eaten enough calories today. You should be keeping track of the calories you have taken in and KNOW if you have taken in enough for the day. Don't try to fool yourself into thinking you are hungry and NEED to eat. If you have to justify it you are probably not hungry.

There are more that I have not quite figured out yet, but I will add them when I do.

The thing that you need to remember more than anything, is that you made a huge decision to do something about your weight and get surgery, use that momentum to change everything about your life for the better.

Be a better eater, be a better exerciser, be a better employee, be a better father, be a better husband.

These are the things that I plan on focusing on whenever I "THINK" I am hungry.

-BSG

[silvers320 12]

See Jim what happens is the guys start a tread and then the women take it over - the next time you know there are flowers all over the place and we are taking about periods!

There are men here, different the minority - both because we are mostly likely banded in smaller numbers and a society believe that weight is a woman's issue.

As far as the cheese - you will find most people on here will say - check with you doctor. So say no cheese, only low fat cheese etc. I eat cheese, when I was doctor shopping it was important that I found a doctor who was on the mind set that you should be able to eat anything you want - just in much smaller amounts.

I used the liquid phase to really learn about food, portions, intake etc - I wasnt eating so I had time on my hands. Like they say A little knowledge goes a long way.

[Jaffa 5]

The "Men's Room" is where a lot of guys hang out.

I eat cheese almost everyday. I like it, and as long as I'm watching my Protein to carb ratio, I'm usually going to lose weight.

It isn't "Manly" to need or want help, and a lot of posts are about getting help, so many men don't post.

[ckoon73 0]

There's a Men's social group on here as well, just joined it, bringing membership to 5...search "Guys"

[MADE IT 2 MY GOAL..OH YEAH 0]

Thanks for that.. Looking at your stats, you have done amazingly well. Congrats.

Yesterday I heard of someone who was banded 2 years ago, is at her goal weight, and now her doctor is recommending removing the band. Has anyone heard of this before ? I thought that was a setup for disappointment, but will post next time I get an update from her..

well done.

k

Removing the band? I thought that once you get the band, you have it the rest of your life. I actually thought that once you hit your goal weight, they take the band out and place a smaller one in. Correct me if I'm wrong but, once you hit your goal weight and they take the band out, don't that just set you up to regaining the weight back? HUM?

[beskild 0]

It is good to see that here are some guys on here... I was begining to think that I was alone.. I was banded on April 16.. I have not liked the liquid diet, I was always hungary. Today was the first day of "mushies" much better.. I actually felt full at super! When I do feel hungary between meals I take to the Water bottle... it seems to fill me up and I dont think about all the junk in the house(I have a 4 and 6 year old, there is a lot of snack food!). I have lost almost 12lbs in the last 4 days. I hope it gets easier for you! I am going to check out the "guys" group as well!