Fell off the Lap Band Wagon

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Daisyrn
Daisyrn Posts: 22 Member
I am looking for people to help inspire and motivate me. I had the lap band surgery in 2005. I initially lost 140 pounds and over the last 3-4 years have gained about 60 pounds back. It seems that I have fallen back into my old habits prior to my band. I do believe that I have made the first step by realizing I need to bring this to a stop. I have started back on a 1000 calorie diet and have been measuring all of my food and documenting everything that I put in my mouth. I have also went back to the gym. I am looking for MFP friends to help me so I can stay on the wagon. :smile:

Replies

  • lwoodard1
    lwoodard1 Posts: 1 Member
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    I too have fallen off lap band wagon. I had lap band surgery in '09 & lost 32 lbs. but am creeping back up over the last 5 months. So I started recording all intake in MVP and I need to get back on my elliptical. I was proud of myself last Friday as I walked over 10,000 steps during work at the hospital. I'll be glad to encourage you and help keep you accountable to your plan/goals if you will do the same for me? Liz
  • pal00ga
    pal00ga Posts: 139 Member
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    Hey girl, I'm almost 2 years post op, but I had already fallen off the band wagon... I'm just glad I realized sooner rather than later. About a year ago, I had popped down to my goal of being 160lbs and even popped below that a couple lbs every now and then, but slowly got out of going to the gym and letting old habits seep back into my life. I finally weighed myself and saw that I had let myself get back up to 174. I have been telling myself that bouncing around 155-165ish would be fine as long as I knew my measurements were staying ok, but when I measured myself, I had gained a number of inches (including 2.5 inches in my waist and almost 3 in my hips!)
    There are so many out there who fall off as well. While I haven't discovered a 'trick' to getting back in the swing of things, I have found a few things that help me out. I'm just getting started back on track and already down to 167.4.
    I had RNY, so it may be a little different getting back to your healthy lifestyle.

    Whenever I found myself craving more carbs and having a hard time saying no, I found that forcing myself to do an all liquid diet (full of greek yogurt(blended with sugar free popsicles), chicken broth, and a ton of jello) for a few days really helped me to feel the restriction of my pouch again. I guess I did a sort of modified 5 day pouch test since they usually say to slowly add in solids, but I tend to stick mostly to liquids the entire 4-5 days.

    I like to go shopping with a friend when possible. My best friend eats super healthy, but even on the off-day she might buy a quart of ice cream or something, it's helpful to have her around since she knows I'm trying to stay on track and where I was before. While I know she doesn't judge me, I just feel ashamed to buy junk food when someone is looking over my shoulder at my purchases.

    I also really like playing with my food to find new recipes. It's crazy to think of all the high calorie choices restaurants make when preparing your food. You can usually make the same meal at home with a lot fewer calories and fats. I used to LOVE going to the Flying Biscuit and having their blackened tilapia tacos smothered with sour cream and salsa and cheese and all that.
    Now I make a much healthier version at home using lo carb tortillas (80 calories for the whole thing), greek yogurt in place of sour cream (I honestly can't tell a difference now), a little salsa verde (10 calories), whatever lower fat/calorie cheese I have around, mushrooms, and grape tomatoes. It's one of my FAVORITE meals now and a whole taco generally lasts me for 2 meals, especially since I like to have a small fruit or veggie with it.

    If you ever feel like you are missing a somewhat asian feeling dish (nonfried of course though), I like to make shrimp stir fry. I just get a cheap bag of stir fry veggies from walmart and cook them up with garlic, fresh mushrooms, onions, and any extra veggies I have laying around (usually zucchini or something). Cook up the shrimp and toss them in with the veggies and some stir fry sauce. (The sauce is not super healthy at 40 calories for 2 tablespoons, so I try to focus more on making it taste garlicy), but with the low calorie-ness of the rest of the dish, it really isn't a big deal to add a little extra sauce from time to time.

    I also make tortilla pizzas a la eggface pretty often.
  • sleepingarby
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    As a lap band newbie, (one month out) 2 things come to mind. First, TRACK YOUR PROTEIN! My nut says that gives you more bang for the buck. Meaning you will feel satisfied longer. Also if possible contact your old nutritionist to get a plan going again. In short back to basics boot camp. I am proud for all of you that you are working to get back on track. I suspect I will need that kind of support someday myself. I can get into a junk funk if I don't stay vigilant. In the meantime :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:
  • csmccord
    csmccord Posts: 272 Member
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    When I first started the consult and education part of my journey before I was even approved for my RNY surgery, one thing was pounded into my head from the staff at the surgical center. WLS is NOT a quick fix. It is simply a tool that forces/allows you to change your lifestyle. They told me that 50% of weight loss surgery patients gain it all back within 5 years. Even with the RNY it's possible to become accustom to eating sugar/carbs again and gain it all back. For those us that are big, and always have been big, this will a battle we will wage for the rest of our lives. We always have to be vigilant. Many of have issues with food addiction and we must work on our "head problems" as well as our physical issues. The surgery only helps with the physical part.

    I never hit my official goal weight, however I've gotten down to a weight where I'm happy. I mean, who wouldn't be happy with losing as much weight as a whole person?! Anyway, I stalled there, and I was okay with it. I was still going to the gym regularly, however I started to let old habits fall back in over the period of a few months. I picked up 5 lbs between 10/13 and 12/13 last year. So, I started tracking again, and quickly dropped the 5, plus another 5 more. The important part is that you keep vigilant and notice when you start picking up weight or inches. I personally don't think fluctuating over the same 5 lbs is all that bad, however when you see a continual gain for a few months, then it's time to get back to business. Really, I think this is just part of maintenance.
  • psychokatt
    psychokatt Posts: 13 Member
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    I am a little over 2 years post-op with the lap band. I lost around 160 pounds with only the initial adjustment, and only half of the amount of fluid they usually administer in my doctor's office (2cc's). Recently I had to have that removed because the pouch dilated and it was too restricted. Now I am out to continue to lose weight without fluid in my band. I guess my motivation is to prove to both the doctors and myself that I can do it with minimal restriction now that I have learned what it takes and my stomach has shrunk with 2 years of eating very little at a time. I am pushing myself to exercise more now than I did when I had the fluid in there. I'm sure part of me was relying on it to do most of the work..and it did. But it's all in the mind I am finding out. We have to find what motivates us, why we want to lose the weight..and ultimately keep it off..and realize that it's not a 'diet' or a 'quick fix' but a true lifestyle change.

    I will be happy to be a cheerleader for you in this journey. We all need cheerleaders in our lives to help us through the times when we struggle. Feel free to add me as a friend. You can do this..just take it a day at a time. If that is too much, take it an hour at a time. Whatever works for you..find it and do it. You got it in you.

    Kerri
  • Daisyrn
    Daisyrn Posts: 22 Member
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    Thanks for all of the support everyone. I think that I am gong in the right direction. I am being accountable for everything that I put in my mouth! I went back on my maintenance diet, which means I weigh and measure all of my meals and make them ahead of time. I have also been back to the gym. AND so far this week I have dropped 4 pounds :smile: I just need to keep myself in this frame of mind. I think I did what I really needed to do and that was to forgive myself and just move forward. I can not wait to get healthy again and how good it felt. I have added everyone that responded as friends and may need some extra support at some time and some shoulders to help boost me back up. Thank You for making me feel welcome to your group.
  • minibandit
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    You can do this daisy! I've been keeping an eye on your diary and you're doing well. Remind yourself you are working with the band.
    I have to say, although I'm very new to this, one thing I have come upon is people getting problems with their bands, especially dilatation and slippage but, when you look at what they've been eating and posting it's clear they have not been working with their bands at all and over eating for quite a while etc. And then they wonder why it's all gone wrong!

    You've got this, you know what was happening and you're correcting it. Well done!
  • dolphintattoo
    dolphintattoo Posts: 33 Member
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    What I have learned 15 months out is I need to keep going back to my surgeon even if it's just for a pep talk. I was so upset in Dec when I hadn't lost anything since May when I lost my initial 40lbs. He gave me a fill but also reminded me of the rules and told me that just owning up to the fact I was slipping and making the appt. to come in for an adjustment was a huge step. I have been going back every 4 weeks since, no fills but I am close to the green zone and almost another 10lbs gone. He gave me a great pep talk last week that has really given me new motivation.