struggling

[23kasa]

Hi im Karen I got a gastric band on the 1st march 2013 start weight 14 stone 11 lbs and im now 13 stone 3lbs but im stuck and cant seem to move below this and its so frustrating, is this a good weight loss so far and what can I do to start losing again as its depressing me :-(

 

[top_kat]

hi Karen, I'm also Karen and am a bander too, altho I'm almost 16 months post op.

I too am struggling currently, I'm still battling to find restriction and it's not easy. Much of it is going back to real basics, focussing on protein, trying different things such as limiting carbs, working to limits of calories, exercise and really shaking it up.

Where are you with your fills? And what has your provider said? Approach them for help and guidance but it's often a case of going back to real basics inOrder to move forward

 

[23kasa]

Hi Karen thanks for the reply, im at 9 ml of my infill and have a 14ml band but I do feel i have restriction on alot of foods but can still eat a large plate of veg mash with some meat and gravy, i cant eat bread at all or pasta but can eat rice and struggle with chicken but ok with most other meats. Im going to contact mysurgery for an appointment but just wanted to know if i was on track or behind with my weight loss ive not had an infill since august x

 

[fbscpa]

Hi Karen,

I'm just at the first band stage so not too far along the journey. I just wondered if you're doing any exercise? If not perhaps a new exercise regime would help kick start things (assuming you are eating the right foods/portions).

Don't just focus on cardio though, us girls need to lift weights aswell! Depending on your experience with the gym it might be worth getting a personal trainer or going to a group class like BodyPump - so you learn proper technique before going it alone.

If you give some more details I'm sure some more experienced members on the board will be able to offer you some more advice too.

http://www.wlsurgery.com/members/35280-23kasa.html

 

[sarahrob]

Hi Karen, sorry to hear things are rough for you. Even though you can eat a large portion, if you eat a smaller portion how quickly do you feel hungry afterwards? I can eat a lot of food if I want to, I have to strictly limit myself by following the 20:20:20 rules - not always easy when I'm getting hungry within a couple of hours of eating!
Does your provider have a dietician you can talk to? If so, it might be worth keeping a food diary for a couple of weeks and then asking for advice and feedback - they might come up with some ideas or tweaks that will help.

We've paid a lot of money for this little bit of silicone - we should be able to get some support off our providers when the going gets rough.

Good luck, hopefully things will start to pick up for you x

 

[23kasa]

Hi Thanks for your replies i have just hired a cross trainer to help speed things up so fingers crossed. I do get hungry in between meals was actually thinking of joinng slimmng world im feeling defeated and fed up but i know the band is only a tool and ill need to work more to. Think this is a great site as Ive had no one to talk to and I suppose nearly 2 stone is something to be proud of xx

 

[Julcsi]

Hi Karen,

I'm just at the first band stage so not too far along the journey. I just wondered if you're doing any exercise? If not perhaps a new exercise regime would help kick start things (assuming you are eating the right foods/portions).

Don't just focus on cardio though, us girls need to lift weights aswell! Depending on your experience with the gym it might be worth getting a personal trainer or going to a group class like BodyPump - so you learn proper technique before going it alone.

If you give some more details I'm sure some more experienced members on the board will be able to offer you some more advice too.

http://www.wlsurgery.com/members/35280-23kasa.html

hi
can I ask you what type of weight training you are doing?
Would like to shift the last half a stone and been doing just cardio so far. Would like to shape my body a bit, not just loose weight.
I am 9 weeks after major plastics (TT and breast uplift) but I think it is ok to use weights now.

 

[top_kat]

Hi Karen thanks for the reply, im at 9 ml of my infill and have a 14ml band but I do feel i have restriction on alot of foods but can still eat a large plate of veg mash with some meat and gravy, i cant eat bread at all or pasta but can eat rice and struggle with chicken but ok with most other meats. Im going to contact mysurgery for an appointment but just wanted to know if i was on track or behind with my weight loss ive not had an infill since august x

You can eat a large portion of veg mash and gravy because it's a slider food and therefore passes through much more quickly and doesn't keep you full for a period of time which eating dry, crunchy and band friendly food would do.

If you can't eat meat, pasta, rice bread etc then you have a significant level of restriction and it seems that it's a case of going back to basics, ficspussing on orotein, limiting your portion sizes to 4-6 tablespoons and following wither the 20/20/20 rule or like my provider 30/30/20 to slow down the eating.

There could even be a thought that if there's so many foods that you can't physically eat that the band is actually too tight in it's fill which in turn leads you to eating the soft, mashed, slider foods which are higher in calories etc.

Average losses with a band are 1-2lb per week if you're following the guidelines of food and portions.

Throw exercise into the mix as it will help with the loss, but limiting portion sizes (just because you can eat a large portion size doesn't mean you should and can cause band issues) and going back to basics will hopefully get things moving

 

[23kasa]

Thank u for this information its great to be able to talk about these issues, what is the 20/20/20 rule? X

 

[sarahrob]

Take a small bite of food, chew at least 20 times before swallowing, then wait 20 seconds before taking your next small bite. After 20 minutes, stop eating.
If the band is at a good level of restriction, that should stave off hunger for around 4 hours.

 

[top_kat]

Thank u for this information its great to be able to talk about these issues, what is the 20/20/20 rule? X

It's where you take a morsel of food (no bigger than a 50p piece )and chew for 20 seconds then wait 20 seconds followed by only eating for 20 mins. It gives a good guideline to the portion size but anything left should be thrown away and you shouldn't go on eating after that time.

My provider follows a 30/30/20 guideline and if you find you struggle with foods then this may help you because the food will be chewed more but also have more time to go down

 

[fbscpa]

hi
can I ask you what type of weight training you are doing?
Would like to shift the last half a stone and been doing just cardio so far. Would like to shape my body a bit, not just loose weight.
I am 9 weeks after major plastics (TT and breast uplift) but I think it is ok to use weights now.

Hi, sorry I've not been on here for a while so only just saw your post!

Have you had your post op check for the plastic surgery? If you've got the all clear then you should be fine to start an exercise plan, would start of slowly with weights if you've not done anything before! Start of with bodyweight exercises and work upto weights. Don't be afraid of "bulking" up, it just doesn't happen for women!

Are you part of a gym? If so a good place to start would be bodypump or another toning program. At the moment I'm using this free app called JEFIT, which is really good for tracking progress but I'd suggest you get some proper advice regarding form and how to do certain exercises. You can cause more damage than good if you do exercises incorrectly!

Kettlebells are really good for combining cardio and toning. But again you need someone to show you how to use them properly.

Hope this helps