Is the band really for me

[cckcsharp]

Okay, I don't mean to sound defeated, but that is how I am feeling today. If I can't lose the weight pre op, then what can the band do for me. The band works by restricting calories. Well, I have been on calorie restriction for 2 1/2 weeks and yes, I lost 4 pounds, but this morning due to all this frustration, I weighed myself 4 days early. And surprise. I have gained back the 4 pounds I lost. Starting from 0 again. I talked to Dr. Miranda on the phone this morning and told her about my frustration. She said to increase the chromium picolinate to 2x daily. She said that 800 calories per day was fine even with my 25 minutes a day on the treadmill. But Somehow, I did not feel comforted. She said to eat some spinach each day because the vitamin c would help me burn fat. All in all, I have to say that I am starting to wonder if some peoples bodies just won't give up the weight. I am scared that I am condemned to a life of fat. I am not giving up yet. I took some laxatives because I haven't been moving in that department very well (sorry if TMI.) I am hoping that may be some of the reason for gaining the 4 pounds back. Also, I am taking all of your advices to drink lots of water. I have had to pee alot today because I am drinking only water. No more diet soda. Maybe that will help too. So I will wait another 5 or 6 days to weigh myself again and see if these steps will help. I am so sorry to sound so pessimistic and frustrated. Thanks for listening.

Jessica

[Kittycat]

Oh Jessica, don't feel defeated, losing weight is very difficult...I honestly don't think you are eating enough..800 calories is not enough...your body could be in starvation mode and won't let the pounds go...try eating a bit more and see what happens.

The band is designed to make you feel full after just 3/4 cup of food, it does not count the calories for you. You could eat a 3/4 cup of fries vs 3/4 cup of protein or veggies and the calorie count differs quite a bit. You are required to follow a diet plan of protein, veggies, grains and fruit, in that order when you are banded. The protein rich diet helps promote weight loss.

You can do this...it seems difficult now, because your body is not losing, but you must realize that the hard part hasn't even begun yet...the post-op liquid diet will be a struggle too. Liquids only for 3 weeks, no solid food.

Bump up the protein and the calories a bit and see what happens...I find when I eat more protein per day than anything else and stay under 1200, I lose.

Good Luck Sweetie...you can do this!!!!

[cckcsharp]

Oh Jessica, don't feel defeated, losing weight is very difficult...I honestly don't think you are eating enough..800 calories is not enough...your body could be in starvation mode and won't let the pounds go...try eating a bit more and see what happens.

The band is designed to make you feel full after just 3/4 cup of food, it does not count the calories for you. You could eat a 3/4 cup of fries vs 3/4 cup of protein or veggies and the calorie count differs quite a bit. You are required to follow a diet plan of protein, veggies, grains and fruit, in that order when you are banded. The protein rich diet helps promote weight loss.

You can do this...it seems difficult now, because your body is not losing, but you must realize that the hard part hasn't even begun yet...the post-op liquid diet will be a struggle too. Liquids only for 3 weeks, no solid food.

Bump up the protein and the calories a bit and see what happens...I find when I eat more protein per day than anything else and stay under 1200, I lose.

Good Luck Sweetie...you can do this!!!!

Thanks so much for the encouragement. I am grateful for the forum because I cannot talk to friends and family about this. They just don't understand it. I will add more protein and see what happens. Thanks so much.

Jessica

[Kittycat]

You can do this Jessica....it's not easy, but it's so worth it!!!!!!!

(((((HUGS))))))

[Kim2BSlim]

Jessica~

This is such a hard journey for all of us. Each one of us struggles everyday to eat the meals we are supposed to and not the meals that we are use to eating and think we have to have. You have all of us here to help you. You are not gona be fat forever..the weight WILL come off if you do everything right. Stay strong, girlfriend!!

[cckcsharp]

Jessica~

This is such a hard journey for all of us. Each one of us struggles everyday to eat the meals we are supposed to and not the meals that we are use to eating and think we have to have. You have all of us here to help you. You are not gona be fat forever..the weight WILL come off if you do everything right. Stay strong, girlfriend!!

Thanks Kim. It helps to hear that everybody else's struggles are just as hard. Then I at least know that I am normal!! Thanks for the support. I am going to keep plugging away at this and hope things get better.

Jessica

[utahmom]

Hey Jessica,

You are starting on a journey to break life long habits! It won't always be easy, but in the end it will be very rewarding.

Which pre op diet option did you choose? I personally went with option #2 and found by filling in with sugar snap peas and other green crunchy vegies dipped in guacamole, I was able to bear it and lost the needed weight. However, everyones body is different. Between surgery and my first fill, I only lost about 6 pounds. I was very upset everytime I got on the scale to see no changes..except I did start losing some inches. After my 2nd fill I began to finally see the scale change. You cannot doubt yourself, just move forward doing the best you can and you WILL succeed......we all are or have been in the same boat...and the results are mind blowing. YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!

[Kittycat]

Keep in mind Jessica, that the pre-op diet is designed to reduce your liver...my patient coordinator told me not to concentrate on the numbers on the scale...because reducing your liver may not necessarily show up there. As long as your diet is virtually fat free, you are doing what you need to do for surgery.

Good Luck!

[mona-camille]

Do exactly as Dr. Miranda instructed you to do. Cathy is right, you need the fat from the liver reduced regardless of what the scale says and by following what she says, that will happen.

[iamworthit]

Okay, I don't mean to sound defeated, but that is how I am feeling today. If I can't lose the weight pre op, then what can the band do for me. The band works by restricting calories. Well, I have been on calorie restriction for 2 1/2 weeks and yes, I lost 4 pounds, but this morning due to all this frustration, I weighed myself 4 days early. And surprise. I have gained back the 4 pounds I lost. Starting from 0 again. I talked to Dr. Miranda on the phone this morning and told her about my frustration. She said to increase the chromium picolinate to 2x daily. She said that 800 calories per day was fine even with my 25 minutes a day on the treadmill. But Somehow, I did not feel comforted. She said to eat some spinach each day because the vitamin c would help me burn fat. All in all, I have to say that I am starting to wonder if some peoples bodies just won't give up the weight. I am scared that I am condemned to a life of fat. I am not giving up yet. I took some laxatives because I haven't been moving in that department very well (sorry if TMI.) I am hoping that may be some of the reason for gaining the 4 pounds back. Also, I am taking all of your advices to drink lots of water. I have had to pee alot today because I am drinking only water. No more diet soda. Maybe that will help too. So I will wait another 5 or 6 days to weigh myself again and see if these steps will help. I am so sorry to sound so pessimistic and frustrated. Thanks for listening.

Jessica

Don't get frustrated Jessica. The pre-op diet is very hard and having the band isn't easy either. You have to be committed to the lifestyle change. You will lose the weight. It is physically impossible for you not to. There isn't one human being on earth who cannot lose weight - and that is a fact. Sure, a lot of us (me included) lose really slow and it takes a lot of work, but it will come off. I started this journey last October (my insurance company required a 6 month diet period). I was on 1200 calories a day, worked out for an hour every morning from 6:00 - 7:00 (I am not a morning person) and it worked. I was able to take off 34 pounds prior to being banded. That sounds great, right? Well if you figure out how long I dieted for and how faithful I was I averaged about 1 pound per week. There were some weeks when I lost weight and some that I didn't. The moral of the story is don't get frustrated - get committed and believe positively that you can do it. We didn't become fat overnight and it won't come off overnight either. You are doing great so just keep at it. I agree with the other ladies too, you need to up your calories and get my protein in. 60-70 grams of protein a day minimum and LOTS of water. Without it your body is going to shut down and you won't drop fat. You may drop some muscle, but not fat and that is what we want, right? I will keep you in my prayers; I believe in you and know you can do it!!! :)

[cckcsharp]

Thanks for all the great advice and moral support. The part that discouraged me the most is that Dr. Miranda did tell me today that I need to be down 14 pounds by surgery date. Thats 4 1/2 weeks. I am not discouraged at the slow weight loss, I am discouraged at being told that I may need to re-schedule my surgery. I asked Dr. Miranda about upping my calories due to the exercise and she said no. So I am just drinking lots of water and I decided to completely take out the diet soda to see if this helps. I would love to up my protein except Dr. Miranda said I didn't need more calories. So two shakes and one lean cuisine doesn't leave a lot of opportunity to up my protein. I am using herbalife powders for my shakes. I also have this supplemental protein powder from herbalife to add to the shakes. I am doing that to up my protein because it only adds like another 40 calories per shake. Hopefully this will help with the protein. So we will just see how this next week goes. Thanks again for all your support.

[banded4life]

Diet sodas tend to help the weight stay on, so it is good that you stopped having them. Also, keep drinking LOTS of water. That is probably the best thing you can do.

[cckcsharp]

Diet sodas tend to help the weight stay on, so it is good that you stopped having them. Also, keep drinking LOTS of water. That is probably the best thing you can do.

I thought the diet soda might be contributing to the problem and thought it was at least worth a shot to try a few weeks with out it and see if this helps. But what about the diet soda causes the weight to stay on. Being that diet drinks have no cals in it??? Just curious if you know what the reason is. Giving it up is very hard. It is like my daily drug. So 2 days without so far and I am not the nicest person to be around. Hopefully that will fade. Thanks for your help.

Jessica

[doodles]

Okay, I don't mean to sound defeated, but that is how I am feeling today. If I can't lose the weight pre op, then what can the band do for me. The band works by restricting calories. Well, I have been on calorie restriction for 2 1/2 weeks and yes, I lost 4 pounds, but this morning due to all this frustration, I weighed myself 4 days early. And surprise. I have gained back the 4 pounds I lost. Starting from 0 again. I talked to Dr. Miranda on the phone this morning and told her about my frustration. She said to increase the chromium picolinate to 2x daily. She said that 800 calories per day was fine even with my 25 minutes a day on the treadmill. But Somehow, I did not feel comforted. She said to eat some spinach each day because the vitamin c would help me burn fat. All in all, I have to say that I am starting to wonder if some peoples bodies just won't give up the weight. I am scared that I am condemned to a life of fat. I am not giving up yet. I took some laxatives because I haven't been moving in that department very well (sorry if TMI.) I am hoping that may be some of the reason for gaining the 4 pounds back. Also, I am taking all of your advices to drink lots of water. I have had to pee alot today because I am drinking only water. No more diet soda. Maybe that will help too. So I will wait another 5 or 6 days to weigh myself again and see if these steps will help. I am so sorry to sound so pessimistic and frustrated. Thanks for listening.

Jessica

SORRY TO BE A PARTY POOPER BUT I WAS BANDED IN OCT 2007 AND I WAS ONLY ABLE TO LOSE ABOUT 12 LBS PRE OP. THEY STILL DID THE SURGERY BUT GUESS WHAT? IT HAS NOT WORKED. IF YOU DON'T GET A GRIP ON YOUR EATING AND CHANGE YOUR LIFE STYLE I STRONGLY SUGGEST YOU DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY. MY EXPERIENCE WAS A POSITIVE ONE WITH OBC BUT I HAVE NOT LOST ANY WEIGHT AND I NOW AM LIVING WITH MORE SHAME THAN BEFORE. ARE YOU SURE YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO LOSE THE WEIGHT? I HAVE HAD FILLS BUT I HAVE NEVER GOTTEN TO MY SWEET SPOT. I BEGINNING TO THINK I HAVE A DAMAGED PORT. WHICH SUCKS BECAUSE I WILL NEVER HAVE THE MONEY TO GET IT REPLACED. BE SURE THIS IS WHAT YOU WANT TO DO. I WOULD NOT DO IT AGAIN. GOOD LUCK. I HOPE YOUR ARE SUCESSFUL.

[cckcsharp]

SORRY TO BE A PARTY POOPER BUT I WAS BANDED IN OCT 2007 AND I WAS ONLY ABLE TO LOSE ABOUT 12 LBS PRE OP. THEY STILL DID THE SURGERY BUT GUESS WHAT? IT HAS NOT WORKED. IF YOU DON'T GET A GRIP ON YOUR EATING AND CHANGE YOUR LIFE STYLE I STRONGLY SUGGEST YOU DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY. MY EXPERIENCE WAS A POSITIVE ONE WITH OBC BUT I HAVE NOT LOST ANY WEIGHT AND I NOW AM LIVING WITH MORE SHAME THAN BEFORE. ARE YOU SURE YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO LOSE THE WEIGHT? I HAVE HAD FILLS BUT I HAVE NEVER GOTTEN TO MY SWEET SPOT. I BEGINNING TO THINK I HAVE A DAMAGED PORT. WHICH SUCKS BECAUSE I WILL NEVER HAVE THE MONEY TO GET IT REPLACED. BE SURE THIS IS WHAT YOU WANT TO DO. I WOULD NOT DO IT AGAIN. GOOD LUCK. I HOPE YOUR ARE SUCESSFUL.

So, you had your surgery at the OCC? Have you been back down there for them to do the fills and look at your band under Flouro to check it? Have you talked to them about it to see what they can suggest? I am sorry to hear about the struggles you are going through. I am saddened to hear that your husband and children treat you badly because of your weight. It sounds to me like there is something wrong with your lapband system. Since having the surgery are you always able to eat what ever you want? I am truly sorry for this heart break you are feeling.

Jessica

[julieburns]

SORRY TO BE A PARTY POOPER BUT I WAS BANDED IN OCT 2007 AND I WAS ONLY ABLE TO LOSE ABOUT 12 LBS PRE OP. THEY STILL DID THE SURGERY BUT GUESS WHAT? IT HAS NOT WORKED. IF YOU DON'T GET A GRIP ON YOUR EATING AND CHANGE YOUR LIFE STYLE I STRONGLY SUGGEST YOU DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY. MY EXPERIENCE WAS A POSITIVE ONE WITH OBC BUT I HAVE NOT LOST ANY WEIGHT AND I NOW AM LIVING WITH MORE SHAME THAN BEFORE. ARE YOU SURE YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO LOSE THE WEIGHT? I HAVE HAD FILLS BUT I HAVE NEVER GOTTEN TO MY SWEET SPOT. I BEGINNING TO THINK I HAVE A DAMAGED PORT. WHICH SUCKS BECAUSE I WILL NEVER HAVE THE MONEY TO GET IT REPLACED. BE SURE THIS IS WHAT YOU WANT TO DO. I WOULD NOT DO IT AGAIN. GOOD LUCK. I HOPE YOUR ARE SUCESSFUL.

Are you following the "rules"? How many calories per day? Is it a possible band issue or really your own eating issues not allowing weight loss? You sound defeated but there's a tone that it might just be you are not following the bandsters rules. I hate to give the band a bad name if it is not the band's fault. What were your expectations prior to surgery? Take a long hard look at you "issues" for lack of a better term, and do some soul searching and be honest with yourself about what's really going on. I am certainly not trying to make you feel bad or blame you please understand that, just trying to help yo problem solve this situation from and unbiased viewpoint. Start reading this forum actively every day if you are not and it will give you brand new insight perhaps. Don't give up on yourself by all means, You deserve to let this band help you lose weight. I urge you to cal the OCC even if you can't afford to go there for a check up it's vital you speak to one of the professionals there to help you deal with this. Take care and know I care, as we all do about an unsettling situation for anyone.