Im just curious

 Im almost 3 years off and had a repostion in april. I have gained back over 40 pounds since april up till now. Is there anyone out there that has bounced back after falling off the wagon. I just got  a fill this month since the reposition, I thought I could keep it off, my mistake. Now Im going back for another fill in March because I don't have restriction. Im just looking for hope, if you have it share it please 

Are you being honest with yourself? Why did you need to get your band repositioned in the first place? Did your band slip because you were too tight? If you are expecting the band to do all the work, your band may slip again. Once you get another fill you may want to track your calories with an online tool to help you stay focused.

You may want to get additional help some people get therapy, join weigh****chers, or some other type of support groups to help them stay on track.

Remember it's a 50/50 commitment, are you honestly doing YOUR part, of eating lean proteins, walking and drinking water? You can do this. Good luck.

I had a total Unfill (due to being overfilled) in December.  I"ve gained 20 pounds.  I am in the process of getting fills again.  I'm at 5.5 cc's now - no restriction yet.  Going back on Thurs for another fill. 

It totally sucks...hang in there, we can do it!! 

 I just had a fill after basically having only .50 fill left when I had an infill to try on my own. I did gain and fought off a lot of it, but have hovered over same weight for a little while. The band is helping me again and I think the past experience of having issues has taught me a lot. Yes you can do it. One baby step at a time. Never give up. 

From my personal experience and talking with others, you do gain the weight back rapidly if you aren't filled.  Also, you can gain even with adequate level of fills if you eat the wrong things.

My doctor told me if you eat too much with a tight band, you can stretch the espohagus which is a big problem.  So, keep a food journal, measure your food, and don't fool yourself into thinking you are following a food plan if you really aren't.

Also, I have read that after about two years, the body adjust to the amount of calories you have been consuming and doens't want or need any more.  So maintenance becomes more of a challenge and you will probably need help to conquer those old habits that created the fat in the first place.

On February 27, 2012 at 11:19 PM Pacific Time, Keyakia wrote:  Im almost 3 years off and had a repostion in april. I have gained back over 40 pounds since april up till now. Is there anyone out there that has bounced back after falling off the wagon. I just got  a fill this month since the reposition, I thought I could keep it off, my mistake. Now Im going back for another fill in March because I don't have restriction. Im just looking for hope, if you have it share it please 




You didn't " fall off the wagon " you had a reposition, and that is going to make it very difficult for you to find restriction again. They either repositioned your band higher or lower then what was the optimal position for your band. This was a procedure your surgeon should have never given consideration to.

You should still have some sort of restriction just by the mere presence of the band. You really don't need any more fills, what you need to do is to find something that will motivate you to get back in the program. All you really need is to get yourself past the first three days of getting back into a routine.

Here are a few suggestions.

Buy some natural appetite suppressants or do what I do and buy some Dexatrim Max. I only use it when I need a little help getting my ass back in control. After a few days I usually don't need to take anymore, but if you need to take em a bit longer then go for it.

I know some people will have a different POV regarding pills....I say do whatever you have to do to get your ass back on the wagon. Personally I don't give a rats ass what anybody else thinks, I do what ever I have to do to remain successful.

Disclaimer because SOMEBODY is going to bring this up.

I do not recommend you taking the Dexatrim if you have any heart related health problems and yada yada yada....

I stayed far away from fast food for the first few years. Further out from my surgery I learned that I could eat fast food while out on vacation as long as I adjusted the menu, because lets face it....planning your meals can get old & sometimes it's nice to be able to eat what the Normies eat
( with a slight tweak not tweek  )

Mc Donald's
Cheeseburger without the bun ( ask for a fork )
No fries because fries are evil
No soda, I always carried around Vitamin Water Zero
Side of scrambled eggs
Sausage,Egg, & Cheese Mc Muffin without the sausage and english muffin (ask for a fork)
Chicken nuggets ( Yeah yeah there high in calories but I could only eat 2 or 3 )

Carls JR.
Charbroiled Santa Fe Chicken- ask for it lettuce wrapped instead of bread. I was never able to eat more then 1/4 of one.
No fries they are still evil

Restaurants with salad bars are a great option. Order yours in a to go container with your dressing on the side. That way your salad wont get soggy and the leftovers will last for a couple days.

Popeyes Chicken
Small side of Red Beans & Rice
Small side of Cole Slaw

Burger King
Garden Salad with side of dressing
Six Piece Chicken Fries ( again I normally ate only 2 or 3 )

Wendy's
Cheeseburger no bun ( ask for a fork ) nom nom nom

Burritos from anywhere can be opened up and eaten with a fork. Don't eat the flour tortilla or you will die of severe stuckage.

Pizza toppings can be scraped off the crust. nom nom nom I could scrape and eat two of these suckers.

If you're jones-ing for some crunch try these Garden Veggie Straws made by Sensible Portions they're only 130 calories for 38 straws and I spread out the 38 straws into two separate servings. They taste great and you get to get your crunch on Mmmm delish !
Potato, carrot, and spinach seasoned with a touch of salt


 

How to eat with a LAP BAND.

• A “half a cup" of food should be placed on a small plate.
• Take a small bite and chew well.
•  Use a small fork or a small spoon to eat.(an oyster fork or baby spoon)
  
• A single bite of food should be chewed carefully for 20 seconds. This provides the opportunity to reduce that bite of food to mush.
  
•  After chewing the food until it is mush, the patient should swallow that bite. 
• Swallow, then wait a minute. The patient must wait for that bite to go completely across the band before swallowing another bite. Normally, it will take between two and six peristaltic waves passing down the esophagus, which can take up to one minute.
• A meal should not go on for more than 20 minutes. At one bite per minute, that is just 20 small bites. The patient probably will not finish the “half a cup" of food in this time. The patient should throw away the rest of the food.
  
• It takes between two and six squeezes to get a single bite of food across the band
  
• The patient should not be hungry after 20 bites or less.
  
• After undergoing LAGB, the patient should never expect to feel full. Feeling full means stasis of food above the band and distension of that important part of the LECS above the band. This destroys the LECS, the mechanism that enables optimal eating behavior and appetite control. A patient should always keep this process in mind.
  
• If the patient finds that after eating the “half a cup" of food he or she is still hungry, he or she should review his or her eating practices, correct the errors, and consider the need for further adjustment of the band. If this is occurring, it is usually an indication that the patient is not in the green zone. 

There are three common eating errors:

1.The patient is not chewing the food adequately. Food must be reduced to mush before swallowing. If it cannot be reduced to mu**** is better for the patient to spit it out (discreetly) than to swallow it.

2. The patient is eating too quickly. Each bite of food should be completely squeezed across the band before the second bite arrives.

3.  The patient is taking bites that are too big to pass through the band.

Each of these errors leads to a build up of food above the band where there is no existing space to accommodate it.  Space is then created by enlargement of the small section of stomach or by enlargement of the distal esophagus, both of which can compromise the elegant structure of the LECS. If the LECS is stretched, it cannot squeeze. Without the squeezing, satiation is not  induced. When satiation is not induced, hunger persists, more eating occurs, and stretching continues. If our patient continues this each day for a year, it is inevitable that chronic enlargement will occur, the physiological basis for satiety and satiation is harmed, and stasis, reflux, heartburn, and vomiting supervene.

Esophagus

After food is chewed into a bolus, it is swallowed and moved through the esophagus. Smooth muscles contract behind the bolus to prevent it from being squeezed back into the mouth. Then rhythmic, unidirectional waves of contractions will work to rapidly force the food into the stomach. This process works in one direction only and its sole purpose is to move food from the mouth into the stomach.^[2]

In the esophagus, two types of peristalsis occur.

AA simcplified image showing peristalsis

• First, there is a primary peristaltic wave which occurs when the bolus enters the esophagus during swallowing. The primary peristaltic wave forces the bolus down the esophagus and into the stomach in a wave lasting about 8–9 seconds. The wave travels down to the stomach even if the bolus of food descends at a greater rate than the wave itself, and will continue even if for some reason the bolus gets stuck further up the esophagus.
• In the event that the bolus gets stuck or moves slower than the primary peristaltic wave (as can happen when it is poorly lubricated), stretch receptors in the esophageal lining are stimulated and a local reflex response causes a secondary peristaltic wave around the bolus, forcing it further down the esophagus, and these secondary waves will continue indefinitely until the bolus enters the stomach.

Esophageal peristalsis is typically assessed by performing an esophageal motility study.