Friday: Tell the Truth: What are you eating today and how will you move your body?

Good morning Lurkers and Lurkettes!  If you screwed up last week, dust off and keep it moving forward

I am down 3 pounds this week and It's Friday -- YAY!! working my band again is paying off, I got to keep this routine up, small pounds will eventually equal getting back down to my size 10s.

 

I will not be posting over the holiday weekend -- have lots of things to do outside.

B: Yogurt

L: Tuna Salad

S: Laughing Cow Cheese wedges (2)

D: Sweet and Spicy Buffalo Turkey Balls w/Blue cheese dressing & cucumber salad - YUM 

 

Have a great Holiday weekend everyone!

Hey Nana,

When you say working your band, do you mean food choice and eating rules, or getting to the right full level?

Well, that just a saying when we follow the rules most of the time, by eating small healthy protein enriched meals, not keeping the band very tight, exercising, drinking water, etc, those things we must to do lose weight with the band. Some people use the band differently, and they may experience different outcomes, no weight loss, complications, etc.

For ME, the ideal sweet spot is what I have now, meaning, I can eat ALL foods, but I get satisfied very quickly, I can eat about 1 oz of fish, or two bites of veggies in the same meal and feel like I had an entire meal, if I pu**** I can eat more to the point of feeling uncomfortable and you never want to push the limits, if you do this repeatedly for a long time it can cause pouch dilation, problem is with band if the pouch gets dilated, it may require another surgery or the surgeon can empty the band for about 6 weeks, and often times the pouch will return to normal size, if caught in time, and usually this is the treatment for pouch dilation, and then the surgeon slowly fills the band.

Also some people don't realize they are at the sweet spot and always want more saline added to the band to speed up weight loss, to reduce their consumption to liquids, THIS IS THE BIGGEST TRAP with the band, I will have to warn you, saline can get addictive...some used to say like crack...lol ...the band can be misused and abused..meaning...some people get the band so tight and KEEP IT THAT WAY, remember most surgeons DO NOT KNOW HOW TIGHT YOUR BAND IS, YOU HAVE TO BE HONEST IN HOW MUCH YOU CAN EAT, it will always be UP TO YOU to either keep your band too tight or remove a little saline.

Surgeons work for YOU, if you ask for more saline, they will give it you, if you have a complication, well that's on you, if you are self pay you need to be mindful of this, it will cost just as much more or more to get the band removed/or replaced.

More saline is never better, some people can get away with a very tight band longer than others, but eventually it comes back to haunt you with either esophagus issues or slippage.

What is the ideal amount of saline that usually does not cause any issues? I would say the happy medium amount is when you can eat small amounts of about 1/2 to 1 cup of solid food which is not much at all, you should always be able to eat some solid food, if you ever get a fill and can't eat solid food you should immediately let your surgeon know, also MANY people do not lose weight when the band is too tight because they end up with not being able to tolerate, solid protein and veggies and they rely on soft food and liquids, candy, milkshakes, protien drinks, chips, etc. and don't lose the weight, and some don't lose weight and they also suffer complications from being too tight, so keeping the band too tight never serves any purpose only misery, heartburn, reflux, frequent vomiting, etc and most end up getting their bands removed after being too tight.

But I caution you, you can also have a complication even if the band is not too tight, if you eat too much food, not chew your food probably, get food stuck all the time and vomit often and purge your food this will constantly put pressure on the band and cause swelling and obstruction and other issues.

So staying in the green zone throughout your banded journey will be the safest, any signs of reflux should never be ignored because reflux and regurgitation is a sign that the band has become damaged, but you can still keep the band with reflux -- it can be managed by PPis and keeping the band loose, but you will never be able to tighten it again without issues.

Here is a chart of the safety zones with the band

The goal is obviously to stay in the green zone.  This zone optimizes weight loss and comfort and minimizes side effects.