This is why I fail

I restarted with my band on 11/8.  I got a fill and did really well.  Lost 8lbs by 12/9 (my last dr. visit).  I have been logging my food, I have been exercising my butt off for almost an hour a day at least 4 days a week sometimes 5.

I have not lost an ounce since 12/9.  I get so discouraged because I'm putting in all this effort and not seeing results.  My fitness pal says I should be eating 1730 calories per day, I don't eat that much, I can't.  I average about 1200.  

Very frustrated right now.

Hi Karen,

Happy Christmas Eve.   First off....there is NO WAY that you should be eating that many calories.   Geez...you eat that many calories and I'm sure you would gain weight.    I personally would even think that 1200 should be the top of your calorie amount unless you are working out like your about to run a marathon or something.   I know I usually do good to get in 1200 calories a day ( now I am not a lapband patient but a gastric bypass ) but I know that if you keep your calories low and your exercise level up you will loose weight.   Have you checked your body measurements?   if you are doing everything right and the pounds aren't coming off you may be loosing inches.    I have a niece who kept her calories under 1000 a day and got in at least 100 grams of protein a day and she IS a lapbander and she lost 130 lbs. in 1 year.    I am proud of you and don't be frustrated....just keep doing what you are suppose to do and it will come off.    I am a support group leader for OH and I do know about all the surgery types.   They all work the same but with the band is is harder to do IMHO.   Try lowering your calories a little bit and increase your water intake....make sure you don't drink with you meals and wait 30 minutes before and 30 after before you take fluids in.   Make wise food choices and measure you foods to make sure your not eating too much.   My niece took my advice and she lost it quickly.    Try not to be too hard on yourself.   Remember we didn't gain the weight over night and it won't come off over night either.    Praying your scale moves in the right direction really soon.    Have a Merry Christmas !!!

Hugs and blessings ~~~ Vivian

Thank you for the encouragement Vivian!  I appreciate it.  I do think I have toned up some, a pair of jeans I wear seem looser on me than they did.  I'll try your suggestions and see if I can't get some movement on the scales.

Enjoy the holidays!

Karen

An average of 1200 sounds good to me, especially with all that exercise. I never went under 1200 and maintain on around 1900 a day.  But at 1200, you should be losing. As you say, your BMR is probably around 17-1800 so if you are eating less than your BMR requires, you should lose, even if slowly. 

a few obvious questions - sorry, sure you have already thought of them all!  You are logging everything you eat- are you actually measuring or are you estimating?  Are you including drinks with milk in them or whatever. Are you taking any meds which encourage weight gain? Has your thyroid been checked? 

The orevious poster's advice to drink plenty is also good - although for banded people it is no longer seen as necessary to avoid drinking with meals.

It must be really frustrating. What does your doctor say?

HI Kate, it's good to see you!  I do log everything I eat but I will say that I do estimate because what usually happens is I put a 1/2 chicken breast and some veggies on my plate and something gets stuck.  I end up with the slimes and don't usually finish my food.  So when I estimate, I put down what was on my plate, when in fact most times I end up eating even less than that.

I do take meds for underactive thyroid but nothing else.  I'm going to see how things go over the next couple of days and see if the scales goes up, with the holidays I don't eat the junk and I don't go to many folks houses, just my mother's and I am taking chili for everyone so at least I'll have a high protein dinner tomorrow.

I go back to my doc on January 24.  I'm thinking of revising my surgery and am doing the 3 month required nut supervised diet.  I will see how it goes....  Thanks again!

Kate,

It's been quite some time since I've been on this site and to be honest, followed my band diet (that's a whole other issue). I am interested in your comment about not drinking with meals? That was a big no-no when I first got banded. Can you expand on your comment more? Where is that information? I do believe you, but would like to get more info about this.

Thanks,

Brittani

I will try and find a link to the info but meanwhile....

back in 2006 when I was first banded, we were taught that to diminish hunger, we needed to retain food in the very small area above th band for long enough to stimulate the vagus nerve. Drinking risks washing food down too fast. In the intervening years, doctors have found this to be inaccurate. Research carried out particularly in Australia (Monash university) has shown that food which is well chewed passes through the band in under a minute and that in fact if we hold food above the band we risk dilating th base of the oesophagus, 

 The diminution of hunger comes because th brain is aware of the movements made by the oesophageal walls as they help gravity by pushing food down. Because of th narrowing caused by the band, more movements are required and so the brain assumes a greater amount of food, I should say that this is not putting a strain on the oesopahgus unless th band is so tight that food backs up and needs to be forced through. 

This means that as long as we wait to allow each mouthful to pass through, there is no reason not to drink. In fact an ability to do is evidence that the band is not too tight and that food build up is not happening.

This new understanding has been the orthodoxy in  UK  and Australia now for about four years. It is taught, so my medical team tell me, at all bariatric conferences; patients of both private and National Health Service hospitals here in the UK  are told this.

Brittani, not really a link! But here is a copy and paste of the info sheet put out by The Hospital Group, the main provider of sll wls in the UK.

Sorry if you got a notification addressed to Britannia! My ipad auto-corrected and I didn't notice!!

It was previously thought that the band worked by creating a small “pouch” that acted as a holding reservoir for food. It was thought that the pouch emptied slowly over a few hours giving you a feeling of fullness for a longer period of time. It was thought that this reduced your appetite and your intake of food thus resulting in weight loss.   However, some extremely influential and break-through studies have been performed over the past 3 years, lead by Dr Paul Burton, that have helped us understand that the mechanism by which the band works is slightly different to what we originally thought.  

We now know that when the band is optimally adjusted, it compresses the cardia (top of the stomach), which sends signals to the brain to generate a sense of satiety (not feeling hungry) throughout the day. Furthermore, when you eat, each mouthful of food is squeezed through the band by the oesophagus (pipe from your mouth to your stomach), which generates multiple additional compressions of the cardia and so multiple signals to the brain to tell it that you are not hungry. After a 20 minute period of eating, enough signals will have been sent to the brain to result in sufficient appetite reduction so that you feel satisfied on a much smaller amount of food, whi*****ombination with the background reduction in appetite, results in reduction in weight.    

People on here say very rude things about the US doctor, Terry Simpson. I have no idea if they are justified! But he gives this info to his patients as well.   

Kate-thanks so much for both replies. I truly appreciate the information. Very different from what I was told when Iw as banded in 2007. Something I will bring up with my Dr. when I do go back in for a fill.

Thanks!

Wish I had great words of wisdom for you but I don't, just big ((((HUGS))))! Remember tho sometimes it takes your body awhile to react to the effort you put out.You also can't go by the my fitness pal because that is based on normal people's stomachs,not ours. I would lower your calories like Kate said and make sure you get plenty of protein, fill up on veggies if still hungry and make sure you get plenty of water. Give it a couple of weeks and then see what happens. Good luck hon!