Fasting

[keepingfaith08 0]

I think that I'm going to fast for a week. I'm almost 4 months out, and I'm not losing weight. I'm not going to eat for this week (I will drink Water so don't worry) and I'm going to start losing weight again. I'm tired of waiting. I shouldn't have to wait, this is why I got the surgery. To lose weight. So I'm going to take matters into my own hands. Does anyone have any fasting tips?

[Carrie_C 9]

I don't think that's a good idea. Your body will go into starvation mode and you won't be able to lose at all. Have you tried upping exercise? Or maybe you need a fill?

[Jachut 487]

Not necessary, not healthy, not effective.

Plateaus are a fact of life with big weight loss, it is going to happen no matter what you do and it will break eventually no matter what you do.

Dont send yourself into a starve/binge cycle by not eating. It achieves nothing.

[keepingfaith08 0]

I just got a fill, and I still don't feel restriction like I'm supposed to. Sure, I cannot eat things as fast as usual, but I still want food all of the time. Sometimes I even make myself sick, but I still want food. I just thought that by fasting, I can break this addiction to food, and then turn over a new leaf.

As for exercise, I'm not really good at sticking with it. I don't see results when I do it. I need to do something that will give me results for me to keep doing it.

How do I figure out how to stop wanting food all of the time. I know I'm not hungry, but I want food anyway. That's actually one of the reasons I got the band in the first place - so that I would feel full and not eat all the time. What do i do?

[Jachut 487]

First, take a deep breath, this isnt an easy journey and nobody starts out perfect. In fact nobody ends up perfect either!

You need realistic expectations - at first, before you get good restriction - and this can take quite a few fills - you may indeed be very hungry physically particularly since the band tends to restrict how much you can eat more quickly than it restricts hunger. So you eat a litte and are hungry again in an hour. Know that that is ENTIRELY normal, you've only been banded a couple of months.

Also, head hunger is a big factor. I still want food all the time, and I've been banded 4 years. Over my 37 years of life before I got banded, I learned many ways to use food apart from to satisfy hunger, it punctuates the day for me, it provides relief from boredom, it gives a focus to certain situations. I dont think that ever changes for most of us and most normal weight people do this too. But over time, as you get more restriction, your tastes change, you may not be able to eat at certain times, you may not want to anymore, whatever happens for you, it doesnt have to be a 180 degree turnaround, a slight change in the balance can be all it takes to see the excess weight dropping. You work on it bit by bit. Counseling can help some people, reading books can help others, some of us arent into any of that stuff.

Now, exercise. Its a very BIG factor in successful loss with the band. You cant afford to make excuses for it. How hard is it really to make just half an hour a day? (more is better!). I mean you have to be on your guard EVERY WAKING MINUTE for your eating behaviour, but you cant find a minute's willpower to start that walk? You CAN do it. You really can. It took me six months for it to really become habit, but I just pushed day after day. I'm nothing special willpower wise, but I just figured I'd taken this step to be banded, now the exercise was a part of the bargain. Non negotiable. I chose something easy that I could do from my front door - no excuses of not having time, or the gym being closed. I just go out the front door and run.

I also never saw results from exercise, but once I combined it with being banded and DID see results,wow, I was hooked.

I cant divulge any secrets there, I just had to dig deep and find the determination to find it. But everyone DOES have it, you just have to kind of fake it till it becomes routine.

[willowcat 93]

I know you feel desperate. You want the weight to be gone--yesterday! I want that too. I don't know how many times I have wished that I could magically turn into the person/shape I wanted to be.

But even though you're feeling desperate, I don't think you should fast. Your body's metabolism really will come to a halt--nature designed it that way to save you in the event of a famine. In my youth, I fasted for at least a week (I don't know if you know this, but it can be very dangerous to come off a long fast if you don't do it correctly). The only thing that fasting jump starts is your ravenous appetiite.

On a fast, you may lose weight, but when you go back to eating you will eat like you'll never eat again--because that's what your body thinks--and to top it off you will have a slower metabolism trying to deal with all of those extra calories. Guess what happens then? Weight GAIN! :thumbdown:

Trust the experience of those who have gone before you. Exercise even if you don't see results--exercise and muscle gain actually speed up your metabolism. Finally, let me suggest that you try therapy (or even OA--it's basically free--I went to Overeaters Anonymous for three years. I didn't lose weight, but I did learn a lot about how I used food for so many things other than nourishment).

You'll want to learn and understand how it is that you use food. Every person has different ways/reasons that they use food (boredom, anxiety, control, protection, sadness, stress relief...). Do the work to find out what's unique to you and your relationship with food. Good luck to you.

[Cate18 0]

There's really not much I can say that wasn't said above, but I just wanted to add--these are the things you should talk about with your doctor. Tell him exactly what is going on with you and have a frank discussion with him.

I would also recommend food journaling for a week before you meet with him (if not always food journaling), and even asking if you can see a nutritionist. It's not always necessary to see a nutritionist, but it may be that the foods you're eating are sabotaging you. I also agree about exercise, though. Food control alone won't make you the ultimate success you can be.

Best of luck !

[Carrie_C 9]

I agree with what jachut said. I also have a huge problem with head hunger. The band doesn't help with that, so you just have to deal with it the best you can. I also agree with what everyone said about exercise. I honestly don't know how people lose and keep the weight off without it.

[keepingfaith08 0]

Thank you so much, everyone! I'm glad I posted on here, and I'm glad I didn't act before I talked to you guys. I guess I've just been under a lot of stress lately, and it was wearing down on me. I plan on starting an exercise plan this Thursday, which is the first day in over 2 months that I don't have to work in the morning! I'm going to start walking because my university has this trail that encircles the campus and it can be used for walking, running, biking, and pretty much anything in general. It's about 2.5 miles long, and it takes me about 45 min to go around it once. I think I want to start training - not for anything special, but just for myself so that I know I can run a 5k. I've always wanted to be able to run/jog the whole time, but I've always had to stop and walk for about half because of my knees. I figure that if I train, I'll build up my strength, and I'll be able to do it. I weighed a lot more back then anyway, and I think that with my current weight loss, I'll be able to do at least a little better. Thank you for helping me, I really appreciate it, and I'm glad that you guys were kind and caring with your answers. Thank you!

[janesays 2]

hey keepingfaith, glad you posted and are now listening to all the GREAT advice jachut, willowcat, and others gave you. the best way to boost your weightloss is to boost your metabolism, and exercise is an awesome way to do that (circuit training-- if keep your heart rate up REALLY high the whole workout, you really only need to workout for 20-30 minutes!) fasting is, as everyone else has said, the WORST thing you can do for your body.

i just wanted to give my 2 cents and encourage you after your last post. before my surgery over 7 months ago, i could hardly run for 20 seconds straight. my feet would start to get numb, i was out of breath and just felt like giving up.

soo glad i didn't! yesterday i ran my first 5k, and today i did it again! took my 35 minutes and 30 seconds to run 3.1 miles, but now my goals are to drastically improve that speed. my weightloss is significant, BUT it was only after it slowed that i decided to really kick my workouts into high gear. the weightloss is still slow, but it is coming OFF and my muscles are coming OUT! take it slow and don't worry about the numbers on the scale, because likely when you are working out more you will be losing less because you are gaining muscle. don't let it get to your head, or else you may be tempted to stop the workouts. dont-- trust me-- it's working.

also, definitely take advantage of your university while you still can. im about to graduate at the end of the summer, and i KNOW i am going to miss my university's rec center.... oh man! i will never find one as amazing AND free in the entire world! but the best part is that the more you keep exercising, the more confident you will get and pretty soon, the rec will be a good place to make friends (who knows, maybe even start talking up some guys? its a big confidence booster!)

let me know if you have ANY questions!

[mary1959 0]

I echo what everyone else has said; HOWEVER, if you are truly stuck in an eating rut, try the 5-day-pouch-test and use that as a jumpstart.

[keepingfaith08 0]

I actually started the 5-day pouch test yesterday! (Monday) and I'm doing really well on it! I feel like I'm actually in control now, and I haven't felt like that for a while!

[Jazzly 0]

Can someone tell me what is the 5-Day pouch test?