3 Questions For You: Comparing Notes!

1) I was wondering how many of us actually count calories, fat grams, carbs, etc, in order to see any weight loss Vs. how many of us just eat according to band rules and lose weight? (I know different things work for different people.....)

2) I know this question has been asked 1,000 times, but.. forgive me: How do YOU know when you need a fill? Sometimes I have really good restriction and can hardly eat much of anything, then the next day, I can eat a LOT..  and I am talking chicken... one day, hardly anything, the next day, two or three times as much... the next day, back to feeling tighter again. As a result, some days I walk around thinking "No way do I need a fill!" and others days its "Yikes! loose as a goose!"

3) How many of you deal with "First Bite Syndrome?" I have dealt with this almost from the beginning... sometimes, drinking some hot tea before eating helps, and other times, it doesnt help at all. any suggestions?

Thanks!

 

Connie

Hi Connie,

Some days I do count calories and some days I dont .  Im not the best person when it comes to strictness on it lol.  If it seems like I have ate alot that day I will quickly see what damage I have done but  other then that I dont mess with it to much.  I pretty much know now what Im doing calorie wise per day and carb wise per day .

I skipped my first fill and I have my second fill appt the 24th of this month which I think I will be skipping also.
 
To be honest with you I will very leary on fills Im not the type of person that just wants to rush and get a fill because I have this tube in me that I can do that with , I have to do alot of things first before I will even consider not getting a fill.  First not losing my required 7-10 pounds per month .  Even if I lose just seven per month I wont get a fill because technically we are only suppose to lose 1-2 pounds per month so I stay within the range of 7-10 anything less I will get a fill.  If I stay not getting hungry for a good 3 hrs plus right now IM going about 3.5 to 4 hrs .  And to be honest even if I go jut 2.5 hrs and get hungry I probably wouldnt get a fill.   I want to have some will power also in this weight loss.

But like I said right now Im losing about 10 pounds per month right now so why mess with something that is working :o)  

I dont know what the first bite syndrome is to be honest with you.  I just eat till my cup of food is gone .  I have never had problems with any foods.  I can eat breads, pasta and so forth.  I  just chose not to eat the pasta and I watch my breads.   I dont think I have what you said first bite syndrome .

The answer to your questions,

1. I've NEVER counted calories with my band NOR have I DIETED, ONE DAY, I am not good at it. I Iost my weight by using the band rules of protein first, solid protein usually fills me up quickly as long as I am properly restricted, and then I eat green veggies, I love green veggies so that worked out for me well and it has kept my health in top condition too over 5 years with my band. I also ate sweets weekly so I have never "dieted' with my band, but I walked DAILY about 2 miles, this allowed me wiggle room to eat what ever I wanted and still lose weight consistently,  as long as I ate about 2-3 oz of solid protein per meal and ate a small amount of veggies, I am sure it did not equal over 1000 calories daily and I also had room for snacks.

Regarding first bite syndrome it is sometimes tricky I OBEY my band it's finicky, sometimes when I drink something warm my band IS STILL TIGHT, I wait until it loosens up, sometimes it loosens right away and sometimes it takes about 15-20 minutes before it will loosen up, if I try to eat too quickly when my band is still very tight, I will PB...so in order to avoid this, I just wait until my band loosen up in order for me to get a few bites down.  That's life living with the band....I would not trade it for nothing....good luck.


P.S. I forgot to mention that restriction WILL NEVER be the same every single day, the band is filled with saline and depending on where you are and what you eat, and if you have a menstrual cycle, or dealing with stress, or if you are in high elevation the tightness of the band will vary, you just will have to get used to the ebb flow of the band and learn how to deal with it, however if you are having trouble eating solids ALL the time, then you are too tight.

Hi Connie,

Here are my answers:

1.)   I count calories most days. At over a year out, I have a pretty good idea of how many calories are in the foods that I normally eat.  There are occasional meals out and times where I can't really get a good guess of the calories, so I just eat a small portion and don't beat myself up over it.

2.)  I knew I need a fill, when I wasn't staying full (not the old full, I mean satisfied and not really hungry) for 3+ hours after a meal of dense protein and veggies. And I didn't have any trouble with white doughy bread.  My surgeon uses those 2 things as the main guide as to whether I need a fill or not.  Along with those 2 things, I also felt like I could eat a house more often than not. I could also take larger bites and eat faster. 

3.) I think I do; the first few bites of any meal, I need to take it slow and wait between bites (waiting for me means put the fork down and look around the room for a minute or two:) Of course there are still those times when I feel like I could eat more, and once in a while do, especially if it's more of a water based, slider food like lettuce. But for me to eat 8 ounces of nothing but steak or some other really dense meat would be really hard to do -- unless I sat there working on it for an hour.


This is not an exact science. I am still learning how to work with my band and probably always will : ) Good luck to you.

1. I've counted maybe a handful of time in the last two years. It's just not my thing. I will use the http://www.livestrong.com/thedailyplate/  if I am counting. I will do just a single day to make sure I fall in the caloric boundaries and call it good for another few months.

2. i also get wildly fluctuation restriction. I am of the opinion that my water intake (hydration) levels have a lot to do with this. Also the menstrual cycle when you are bloating and retaining water is the worst time. I'm so tight I have to do liquids for a day.  But on a regular no interference day, I can eat 4 ounces and be totally physically satisfied for 4 hrs no problem. That's how a gage whether I need a fill. It's all about the length of satiety.

3. i have always had a first bit issue. now days I tend to pick at my food for the first few minutes till I know it's all going down. Once i know it is, then I can eat.  It's just one of those things. I don't eat super early before at least one cup of coffee. I try not to drink cold beverages right before a meal.  That's about all that helps.   I just take a bite and hold off a few minutes. 3 is usually enough to know for certain whether you are going to have an issue or not.

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i wanted to share this tid bit with you. Notice todays date, and the date in which I wrote this on my blog LOL!

Dumbass alert! [Edit Post]
on April 24, 2009 7:12 am
Published
I know that I'm new to the band world and the band is new to me, but there are a few things I should have learned by now. One would think I would have anyway....

I seem to not be able to SLLLLOOOOOWWWW down my eating habits. I've certainly slowed, but not yet enough. I know this because when I finally am able to recognize my soft stop, I've still got a mouth full of food. I used to swallow that last mouth full and then it put me over the top. OHHH the pressure, pain, and agony. I was constantly having to ask myself, Am I going to spew ? Is it going to pass? Is it letting up?  UGH!

I'm learning.... now I end up spitting that last little bit in my napkin or I casually make my way to the garbage can. I'm sure with a little more time, I'll eventually slow down enough that this won't be an issue.  At least now my bites are small enough that even when I do feel the pressure, it eventually passes.

1. I keep a running total of carbs in my head. My daily carb goal is 20-30g. I try to follow the band rules mostly. Many days I fail, but on balance I am 75% band rule follower. 25% of the time I am an emotional/boredom/late night eater.

2. I have not had a fill in 2 or 3 months. I don't feel I need it. My free fills run out the 29th and i am debating going in for one last fill, but  as i said i feel pretty restricted most of the time.

3. Dunno. it is a mystery for me. Eating in the morning is an exercise in futility really for me. Liquid barely goes down. (wondering if that is somehow related to cpap machine makes mucus more prevalent?) By lunch and surely by dinner I have more success eating but still get chocked up sometimes. I still eat too fast sometimes.

1. No. Every now and then when i am trying to lose (as opposed to maintaining), i count calories for a couple of days, just to make sure I am not going over 1200. But usually, i don't count or measure anything.

2. When I could eat too much at a meal (again, not measured, just knew it was getting more!) and when I found that i got physically hungry less than about 2 hours after a meal.

3. No!

Kate

To Nazran, Kate, Tiff, SteelerFan1, Nana, and Ilovebeagles,

 Thank you all for your responses. Sometimes I need to see what is or isn’t working for others, so that I might try out your ideas for myself, etc..

Thanks again!