BrandNewDawn

Yes, I knew about that 60% of excess weight loss statistic going in and told myself I would be happy with the 60% weight loss but now that I am there, I am not so happy with the 60% statistic. I have been reading a book by a different doctor about the surgery and his book says that from a statistical standpoint, most studies suggest that a good result is defined as the patient losing at least half (50%) of their excess body weight. He then says that from the surgeon's perspective, a good result is usually measured by improvement in obesity-related health problems. In the patient's viewpoint, a good result can be defined as almost anything. He says that results are determined by perspective. He has many patients who are less than satisfied with their results. He says the reasons range from "I'm not losing fast enough" to "I expected to lose more" to "I thought it would be easier than this" or "No one told me I could not eat the things I like." It is an interesting read, his practice focuses on what he calls a comprehesive program that includes dietitian/nutritional support, importance of exercise, psychological assessment and support, support groups and lifestyle change/changing your thinking. I am not trying to be negative either. But, I read about people on these boards who lose fast and then plateau. I myself have been plateaued around 60% for several months now. I read about the people who lost a ton of weight really fast but then those same people disappear from the boards and we do not hear "the rest of the story", are they keeping off all of the weight? Where did they go? Why? I am not on here very much anymore. Right now I am focusing on eating healthier, walking 45 minutes/3 days a week, and changing my thinking about food. This book has really opened my eyes to an overall program and I know personally for myself, my lifetime of bad habits when it comes to food are not going to be changed quickly. I agree with Sabrina, getting to a lower goal is going to be the hardest part, especially maintaining once I get there. Good luck to everyone, I wish everyone much success. Dawn

Linda, Congratulations on your new grandson! He is very cute. You look so happy in that photo. God bless and protect your son. I hope he is able to be home soon. Dawn

Dana, I know you have heard this all before and that you most likely do not want to hear it again. I cannot understand why you would tolerate being miserable like this and not even be losing any weight. The information below is from another lapband doctor's site, it does not matter which one because ALL of them say pretty much the same thing. " Too tight band DO NOT eat on top of a band that is too tight. Get it unfilled soon. Too tight a band can lead to a band slip. Too tight a Lap-band leads to weight gain When the band is too tight you cannot tolerate meat or vegetables you need to have some fluid removed. You gain weight because you will always be hungry, and only eating soft foods, and never feel satisfied. If you cannot tolerate meat, or vegetables, then we strongly suggest you come in and get some fluid removed. It will make your life easier, and you can lose weight. Lap-band slips Band slips happen when you eat too much food against a tight band. Do not over eat. And if you vomit, do not eat for at least 24 hours after you vomit. If your band is too tight, have some fluid removed." Not being able to drink water is a medical emergency. I wish you the best and I hope you feel better soon. Dawn

Same thing for me, after more than a year, I get the chest tightness when I eat too much. But...I can also get it from eating too fast, taking too large of a bite, and not chewing enought. Even cold stuff will sometimes make my chest ache. I think the cold tightens the band. As to being "too tight," my husband and I both agree that it is when we are struggling with a too tight fill that we "cheat" the most. Although I could not eat at all when I was too tight, when he was, he found things that he could eat that would go down but they were not healthy foods and he was not losing weight even though he was eating very little. So, just be careful about being too tight so that you do not end up sabotaging your weight loss efforts with too little food or all the wrong foods. Dawn

I have a anorexic family member and she does stuff like that. So, you just never know. There is healthy exercise and there is compulsive/obsessive exercise as a means to control weight. So, yes, it does sound a bit over the top to me. I was in better shape when I was younger too but I never spent 99 minutes on any gym machine with the goal of burning calories. When I was younger, I varied my exercise with hiking, dancing and aerobics and it was integrated into my whole social network at the time so it was part healthy and part fun and part social. Who knows, maybe she makes her living by being a model or an actress and needs to be some tiny size. Even dancers (ballet) and gymnasts need to be tiny. So, if your livelyhood depends on it, then I could understand it, otherwise, I would say it is a little bit odd. But, that is just my opinion. Dawn

Sabrina, I too think that for the most part, you should be pain free. You may always experience pain if you try to eat too fast or if you take too big of a bite or do not chew but those are areas within your control We can slow down, take smaller bites and chew more. You may experience pain with certain foods no matter how well you chew them. You will have your own personalized list after a while. I cannot eat rice but my banded husband can. Pretty much all of us experience the "come and go" restriction where one day you can eat and the next day you cannot. But, when you are looking at whether you need an "unfill", you have to use well restricted foods to decide and it sounds like that is what you are doing with the solid protein (salmon, chicken) and the vegies. When I was too tight, I felt just like you wondering what had I done! Like Jenelle, I would rather take two years to lose weight than "suffer" the misery of being too tight. If you are having too many of those "what have I done" days, you might want to think about an unfill. Good luck. Dawn

Valley Girl, I have lost 50 pounds and I think maybe 2 or 3 people have actually said something to me about it. And, I lost 30 pounds before anybody said anything at all. You look great. Keep up the good work. Dawn

Carrie, I am sorry to hear you are going through a tough time. Stay positive and know that we are here for you. Take care. Dawn

Jennifer, I like your new avatar picture. Very pretty. I remember your post about the protein. Once you have been on the forum for a while, you will realize that the protein bullet/protein shake is pretty much a constant. Someone is always asking how much is enough/too much. I think that there is just so much confusion about how much is enough protein. The other thing I think is that people are supplementing protein in the morning when they are too tight for real food. The last sub-set of posts seem to be from people who are working out 6 and 7 days a week and their trainers are recommending 100 grams of protein a day. We are supposed to be eating our protein, not drinking it. But, people are going to do what they feel is right for them and their particular style of lap band management and that is okay. It is a learn as you go program. Dawn

KatyG, Thank you for your post. Very well thought out and helpful. I am going to have to try that spicy chocolate. Sounds delicious. Like you, I had this surgery to get off the crazy diet/gain/think about food all the time rollercoaster I had been on my entire adult life. Congratulations on your succes. Dawn

Vangirl, First, let me say CONGRATULATIONS on your 35 pounds weight loss. And, you did that over the holidays too. I'm impressed. I did not lose any weight over the holidays (but I did not gain any either). You need to give yourself more credit. And, it sounds like your stress level is through the roof! Dr. Miranda told me that stress releases something called cortisol that makes it really difficult to lose weight. If your scale is causing you that kind of stress, put it away for a month. Sometimes I think our bodies just need a break to get used to a new lower weight. There used to be a diet where you would lose 10% of your body weight and then rest/maintain that loss for a month and then lose another 10% etc. etc. etc. You have lost like 13%. Perhaps your body just needs time to reset before it is willing to give up more. I have experienced three 1 month plateaus in the last year. Also, you need to stop comparing your weight loss to others. It will only make you crazy. It sounds like you are doing everything that you should be doing. I am sorry you are feeling so frustrated. I think it is always a good idea to try to be happy where we are in our weight loss journey instead of being upset that we are not farther along. You will get there. I hope you feel better. Take care. Dawn

Sabrina, My first fill of 1.5 lasted from April until August when I decided I needed more because I had not lost weight in 1 month. So, I got filled up to 1.9 and had to go back two weeks later and have .5 removed. I have been at that fill level 1.4 since last September and there are still some days when I can barely eat until late afternoon. I guess you could call that a "sweet spot" even though I have lost a mere 20 pounds since last September with the holiday months being maintain only (not gaining is good). Because of my "too tight" experience, I no longer go by how much weight I am losing or how fast I am losing. I go only by how much I can eat of well restricted foods (not junk as we can all eat that), especially in the evenings. As I am beginning my second year of being banded and closer to goal, I am shifting my focus to eating healthier and trying to exercise more to lose those last 20-25 pounds. Dawn

Robbynnoel, Thanks for the laugh. I love the one about wearing heavier hair products than usual. I do not have a problem with my scale but I used to so I can relate to those bad old days of weighing every hour and letting the scale dictate how I felt about myself. I am glad to hear you have a scheduled surgery date for OCC. Sorry about your experience with your former doctor. Dawn

Hey Misty, Congrats my fellow St. Patrick's Day band mate. I cannot believe it's been a year either! You rock! Wow, 70 pounds! You look beautiful. I am so happy for you. Dawn

Angela, You did not say where you were banded. At OCC, Dr. Ortiz recommends his patients stay on liquids for 21 days so that the band can "heal in place." Those 21 days are not about losing weight but about the band healing. Dr. Ortiz recommends this in one of his videos. If your band was placed by OCC, it does not have any saline (fill) in it and therefore you will not have any restriction. It was your decision to get the band, it is also your decision to follow your post operative guidelines. If you choose not to, as Travis said, there may be consequences like a stretched pouch or a slipped band. All of us on the forum can encourage you but the decision is unltimately yours to make. We want to see you succeed. All of us have our own way of expressing our concern. Some of us may come across as more blunt than others. I think it has been said before but on here, you have to take what you want and leave the rest. Good luck with your band. I sincerely hope you decide to adhere to your post operative guidelines and give the lapband a chance to work for you. Dawn

At Costco, they have wole milk with 4% milkfat and reduced fat milk with 2% milkfat. They used to have lowfat milk with 1% milkfat but they stopped carrying it and now I have to buy it at the regular grocery. And, of course there is skim which I agree with Cujo is nothing more than colored water and probably would not make a good substitute for whole milk. I think 1/2 and 1/2 is a mixture and cream and whole milk 4%. I have not tried fat free 1/2 and 1/2. I generally do not like the fat free versions of dairy products, they never taste "right" to me. I hope everything works out with your surgery and I am sorry to hear about the allergy thing. A cooking show, how fun is that! Good luck. Dawn

Ramona, I do not know the answer to your question but I would think it would depend on the overall health of the donor regardless of whether or not you have a lapband. So, I would think co-morbidities before lap band surgery (high blood pressure, diabetes, etc,) would be more likely to exclude someone from the donor pool than having the band in place. I think there are "age" cut offs for some organ donations as well. You could probably call your doctor and ask. Good luck. Let us know what you find out. Dawn

I bought some one-a-day vitamins with green tea extract in them a few years ago. Whatever was in it made me itch something awful. I had to go to the doctor to get something for the itching. Also, I can think of a few times many years ago when I would drink herb tea and be in the bathroom throwing up 30 minutes later. My point being, just because it is natural, does not mean that YOUR body cannot have a bad reaction to it. I do not like taking the drugs I have to take to get better when I am sick. All medicine has side or "other" effects. The dosages are probably so small as to be generally recommended as safe but... I'm with Lisa on this one. Just be really careful what you put in your bodies. We want you all around for a long time, posting on the forum and enjoying your new lapband life. Dawn

Such a serious headshot compared to your funny avatar photo. You must look so different already at almost 80 pounds less. Looking forward to seeing those after photos. Dawn

CONGRATULATIONS! Keep us up to date on how you are doing. Dawn

Lindsay, Welcome to the forum. I saw your post on nutrition as well. Good luck with your band. You will find the topics come and go on the forum. Just because you do not see it today does not mean that we were not talking about it two weeks ago. Dawn

Well, I had to run it with medium frame and large frame and the weight difference was only 6.9 pounds. Then I had to run it with all the different exercise options and the difference there was only about 1 pound each time which I think does not seem like enough. Anyway, the lowest weight it gave me is 149.2 and the highest weight it gave me is 158.1 so my 145 goal may be a little bit too low. I will be happy anywhere within that healthy range (below 25 BMI). Dawn

I lost 11 pounds between surgery and my first fill. Almost all of it on post-op liquids. Nothing the last two weeks before my first fill. My husband lost 14 pounds between banding and first fill (lower BMI patient). I am not a "2 pound a week loser" either. It averages out to about 1 pound a week for me but there have been at least two full months in there with zero weight loss. Dr. Ortiz told me that the six week period between surgery is more about the band healing in place than about losing weight. Most of us have no restriction so our bands cannot really be working for us yet! We are all pretty much on will power alone between surgery and first fill. And we all know where our own will power got us! Patients who started with higher BMI's will lose faster, as will men. Try not to compare your weight loss with others, it will only frustrate you. Take care. Dawn

Rhondasue, That is what I was told also. If you are stuck and PB, you are supposed to stop eating and resume your meal later. I believe the theory is (and someone correct me if I am wrong please) that the PB-ing can cause swelling and irritation to the lining of the esophagus and trying to continue to eat just makes it worse. Dr. Miranda told me to stop eating and not eat again until my next meal. But, you can still drink your protein water after you wait the allotted time. Some swear by those protein bullets, I have never tried them. Dr. Ortiz says in one of his videos to CHALLENGE OURSELVES TO SEE HOW LITTLE WE CAN EAT. Perhaps that helps us re-train ourselves on portion sizes and on the amount of food a human body really needs to function. I totally relate to not wanting to waste food. I was a long time member of the clean-your-plate-club too! Many of us were. Once again, give yourself time to change. If you are preparing your own food as you indicated, prepare less or wrap the leftovers to save for another meal. But there are times when you just cannot take food home or have no place to keep leftovers. Sometimes the trash is going to be your only option! I am almost a year into this and I still have remind myself to slow down and chew my food at times, especially if I have let myself go too long between meals. You take care. Dawn

I heard there was a big crime spree in December but I thought things had quieted down for the time being. Both my husband and I go down for fills during the day. We park on the US side and walk across, get a cab, go directly to the OCC, have our fills down in less than 30 minutes and get a cab directly back to the border and walk back across (time varies). We are usually in and out of Mexico in a little more than an hour. If you want to spend time in Tijuana or you are planning on spending time in Tijuana, just be safe. Do not wander off the beaten path (no back alleys), do not wander alone anywhere after dark. I know they are policing the streets on Revolution (the shopping district) because their tourism has taken a huge loss since all the violence started. Have fun. Dawn