[lovingme4me]

i had lap-band surgery in april of last year and still struggle with eating meat and certain veggies (unless they are cooked to death.) my band is currently filled at 6cc's and has been for about 4 months or so. i have no desire to get another fill as it was such a huge struggle to eat after my last fill of .25ccs. trying to eat healthy has been an issue for me. before surgery i would often eat too much, but it was mostly good stuff...chicken, fish, salads, veggies, fruit. now i can barely get the majority of that stuff down. i live on soup on my bad days. protein for me comes mostly in the form of shakes, low-fat dairy, and thin sliced deli meats. raw veggies are almost impossible, so i eat steamed veggies that are way overcooked, so that they are soft and manageable. i really hate eating them this way. fruit for the most part is a thing of the past. can't seem to process anything acidic and then there are the pesky skins (oranges, grapes, etc). i eat some berries and a tiny bit of banana from time to time, but they both fill me up for hours and hours. while this sounds good in theory, i am not getting enough nutrition and calories to allow my body to let go of the weight i am carrying when i do this. i am working with a trainer once a week and working out on my own 2-3 times. it has only been in the last month or two where i have been able to eat more frequently (small meals) that i have had the energy to exercise and have seen results again.

has anybody else experienced anything like this? my surgeon seems to think that everything is normal and if i'm taking my multi-vitamin that i am not malnourished. but this does not resonate with the way my body feels. i don't regret my surgery. i have seen great results, but i have never felt more weak in my life. it is getting better, but i feel this is due to my band becoming more loose and allowing me to eat more and thus allowing my to workout more vigorously.

for now this is my weight loss plan...no more fills...try and eat well (keep trying to add foods...chicken, salad, etc), and exercise. any and all support, ideas, feedback is greatly appreciated.

[trafficjambooty]

Thank you for posting this. I am considering being banded by the end of this year so your journey was very insightful and helpful. If you don’t mind I have a few questions. How do you feel energy wise? And how much weight have you lost? Any other discomfort? Thanks and good luck!

[jiffypop]

hmmm. you're more than a year out. i don't have a band [had gastric bypass] - but i'm sure someone who's had one will jump in. however, my big Q is whether your food is staying down - and getting through your system. and if you're also having trouble getting water down. if so, you might need to see your surgeon to take a couple of drops out.

as leenie would say, you need to find that sweet spot - the one where you can accomplish your weight loss goals and be comfortable at the same time.

[Leenie]

Good Morning,

Feeling week? I would suggest you getting a full blood work up. You need to get your vitamin level checked, you could be low on b's and d. Lots of people don't think this is necessary after WLS but it is critical.

I have the same issues with veggies, they need to be cooked really well, but then I like them like that. I have noticed with time, meat consumption is getting easier, as is bread and rice (although rice will some times kick my butt lol). I think you will find the same thing happening to you.

I think the culprit in your case could be that you are not eating small enough bites. Did your nutritionalist go over the size of bites you should be eating? Babyspoon, teeny tiny, if you think its small.. make it smaller. Also you need to chew chew chew until its mush in your mouth before swallowing it. When I eat meat I have to make sure its VERY moist or in some sort of sauce or gravy, that helps greatly.

If your band is getting looser its because you are losing weight YAY YOU !!!!!!

If you feel your not getting enough nutrition then I would suggest having a protein shake in between meals, maybe a V8 for the veggies, etc. Do you have a juicer? You can make some pretty neat stuff with a juicer.

Don't get frustrated, just listen to your body, be gentle and go with the flow. It takes time but it is so worth it.

[jency]

Loving.. I know exactly where you are coming from. I recently had all the saline taken out of my band because I was so tired all the time. Eating had become incredibly stressful because I never knew which food would go down and which one would get stuck. Of course all the crappy food goes right down and the healthy food gets stuck! I had my band put in 2 1/2 years ago and lost 75 lbs the first year but have been going up the same 10 pounds since then. So last month I had the saline removed and started Ideal Protein. It's been a godsend! I have so much more energy now and I've lost 22 lbs in 3 weeks. I'm not stressed about food getting stuck anymore!

I think the lapband is a great tool in teaching us portion control... but even my doctor told me to expect to lose about 50% of the weight I wanted to lose with the band. So the lapband has done its job and now I need to lose the rest of the weight with something else.

[lovingme4me]

thanks to everyone for the feedback.

leenie- i wanted to let you know that i recently had my doctor do a full blood work up and everything is looking great. i was always healthy, even before losing weight (i wasn't pre-diabetic and didn't have high blood pressure or cholesterol). At my recent check all my vitamins were good, especially my b's and d. i was a bit dumbfounded when my doc told me that. i thought they'd be low based on how i'd been feeling. however my blood pressure was pretty low for me so we are watching that. i know that at times the culprit for me is chewing enough or taking small enough bites. this usually only happens when i am really hungry and have gone too long without eating. i have a handle on this most of the time though.

jiffypop- i have had issues with food staying down in the past and this was most often the case after a fill. however, i haven't had a fill in over 4 months, and my band is looser. i don't have a problem with soft foods or liquids going down and staying down, and i do supplement my diet with protein shakes and blended drinks. however, i wish this wasn't the case. it seems extremely limiting to always choose the soup, never the salad...or turn down a lovely healthy meal because i can't get down a very small piece of grilled chicken or some steamed veggies. i am learning different ways to cook my food and this is helping me during this period. as i said, my band is loosening somewhat and i am trying to reintroduce some healthy foods into my diet ( i am seriously craving a spinach salad! lol).

trafficjambooty- i am glad i could provide some insight for you before your surgery. i am not one to try to make up someone's mind for them, but i do think that there are some things that are "glossed over" with the lapband and that we overlook them because we are desperate to lose the weight. my energy level with the band is improving, but it has been a very rough year. i didn't have too much discomfort post surgery. just a bit of port site pain for about a month or so. i exacerbated this with too much walking too soon. i have lost approximately 60lbs with the lapband. i had lost close to 80lbs pre-surgery with changes in my diet and exercise. i hurt my shoulder and then my elbow and was forced to stop working out at the level i had been and put on about 20lbs in 6 months. i was so afraid of just going back to where i'd been that i decided to have surgery. altogether i am down just over 120lbs...its an amazing feeling but it was a lot of very hard work, and i feel like the band has been some of the hardest.

jency- thank you, thank you, thank you....i am glad i'm not the only one. i was beginning to feel like some sort of band freak. i have contemplated having the saline removed from my band, but i am just not there yet. i have decided to stop the fills and just try diet and exercise again. it worked once, right? LOL i am so glad that you found a new method that is working for you and enables you to feel full of energy, healthy and happy. good for you!!!