Lap Band Blog

You will see me mention in a lot of my posts that I had my typical lunch, which is tuna salad.  It is Bumble Bee Tuna Salad.

One of the 9 rules after lap-band surgery is not to eat more than 4oz of food.  Well at 3 1/2 oz, this prepackaged meal on the go is perfect and it is about 280 calories.

I’ve never been one for eating breakfast, but would always have a big lunch and dinner, but that has all changed.  Since I now eat breakfast, I don’t like to waste a whole lot of time thinking about what I’m having for lunch, and this makes my life so much easier.  I just rip open one of these, and I’m done.  No cooking, no mess.

Sure I could make a healthier choice, hell I could even eat the fat free version:

Believe me I tried, but I’m not real fond of the taste.  But being that the fat free version is only 150 calories, I should probably try to get used to it.

They also have some other varieties like Chicken, Crab, as well as seasoned varieties like lemon pepper, sun dried basil, and spicy thai.

I have tried them all but the lemon pepper and can say that the chicken is fine, I did not like the crab. The spicy thai is well, spicy and since I can’t drink fluids for at least 20 minutes after a meal is just not well advised. The sun dried basil tomato is good, but I’m not a huge tomato fan, and this is a bit tomatoey for me.

The tuna, chicken and crab are only 99 cents at Wal-Mart, but $1.00 at Dollar Tree and Big Lots, and the seasoned varieties are usually a $1.19.

So, it’s quick, not too high in calories, and cheap.  What else could you ask for?

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As a service to my loyal reader, yes thank you my one and only;).  As I wander through the web, I do come across some interesting posts, and I will share them from now on with you.

1. Stick to your diet during the holidays - this one is very timely.  We currently are going through the triple threat of Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas.  It is during this time that I do my best to avoid the stores, and specifically the candy aisles.  The day after Halloween, I did not go into one single store, for fear of coming across the Halloween candy blow outs.  Like 50% off candy corn, etc.
2.  Calculate your BMI Body Mass Index - Great site, they have other calculators there like a body fat calculator, a caloric needs calculator and so much more.
3. Starr Jones talks about her gastric bypass -  Celebrity gossip pertaining to weight, diet and exercise
4. A weight loss stall is time to celebrate not to mope - This couple puts together podcasts talking about their journey on the Atkins diet, in this particular installment he addresses the 10 week “plateau” he hit when he lost 180 pounds in 2004.
5. Ways to stay full without gaining a new pant size - Some good advice on nutritious things you can do to stay full without eating too many calories.
6. 28 healthy low calories snack foods to go - Of course they mention some Kashi cereal in their list, my personal favorite

Well that’s it for this week, sometimes there will be less, sometimes there will be more.

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I was just going through some other blogs about weight loss, diet etc., when I saw this post title “High-fat diet throws off your body clock.”

I suggest you take a look at it, it brings up some very interesting points.  It’s amazing how much more sleep I was getting after just losing about 20 pounds, now that I’m down to over 75 pounds in my weight loss, and my diet has completely changed, I am getting much more rest, which in turn makes me that much more productive the next day.

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By Andy Keenum
NYT Regional Media Group

Obesity is a nationwide epidemic in the United States.

And it has become a particularly bad problem in the South.

In “F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies Are Failing American, 2007,” a national study conducted by the Trust for America’s Health, states were ranked according to adult obesity rates.

Of the top 6 states on the list, all were Southern states — Mississippi came in first, followed by West Virginia, Alabama and Louisiana. South Carolina tied at fifth place with Tennessee.

Additional heath problems associated with obesity compound the problem. Usually, an improved diet along with regular exercise can reverse this trend. When diet and exercise are not enough to lose weight, however, surgery might be an answer.

Gastric by-pass surgery has been the most common type of weight-loss surgery.

[Full Article]

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Before my lap-band surgery, I was drinking nothing but diet sodas, in particular my crack cocaine, Diet Vanilla Coke.

I was drinking roughly 6-8 12oz cans a day, however before I acquired the taste for diet sodas I was drinking as much if not more of the regular versions.  During my stint as a manager for Taco Bell, which lasted over 5 years, I drank the equivalent of 12-14 12oz cans a day, and I wonder why I got so fat.

About four years ago, I came to the conclusion that I had to switch to slow down my weight gain somewhat.  Although I still did suffer the effects of decaying teeth, restless nights from so much caffeine, etc.

My dad tried to get me to quit because of the aspartame, and the purported health consequences associated with it.  But my argument was that I’m going to die from something, whether it was from old age, or aspartame, and at that point in my life I just couldn’t quite drinking coke.  So I felt it was better that I at least cut down the calories in the meantime.  The amazing thing is, after I acquirred the taste for diet sodas, and specifically Diet Vanilla Coke, I couldn’t drink a regular soda, they tasted horrible.

Well since my lap-band surgery, the advice given to me was no sodas, nothing with carbonation in it because it could stretch out the pouch.  I will say this in all honesty, if I had known about this before the money was laid out for the surgery, this could have been a deal breaker, and I’m being completely serious.  This is how much I enjoyed my sodas, even the diet ones now.

So I started trying out different drinks, and one that was suggested was Crystal Light, sorry I just couldn’t do it.  I even tried making K00l-aid with Splenda, but in both cases it seemed all I could taste was the Splenda, and it began to bother me.

I was shopping with my dad at Sam’s one day when I came across these Tropicana Fruit Squeeze drinks.

I bought a 12 pack, took them home, and at first I thought I wasted my money.  But within a few days I was hooked.

They come in four different flavors:

• Tropical Tangerine

• Summer Lemon

• Pink Grapefruit

• Lime Raspberry

Now in the 12 packs I bought Lime Raspberry wasn’t included, I just happened to come across some of those the other day and that flavor is growing on me.

Now what is great about these is not just the taste, but they have only 20 calories per 8oz serving, and there is roughly 38 calories per 15oz bottle.  Of course I don’t drink as much as these as I would a soda, because we all know to be careful about “drinking our calories.”  So I limit myself to 2-3 per day, and most days if I approach 3, I will usually water it down and not drink the whole bottle, so it’s more like 2 1/2.

I do also drink just regular water, and I have tried adding some fresh lemon juice to it, but I find after a few days due to the high acidity levels, I end up with canker sores.   So along with a regular glass of water, this helps me to keep hydrated, and feeling full much longer.

It also helps to stave off some of those feelings I get for a soda.

I suggest you give them a try, they’re not everyone’s cup of tea, but they do give you yet another option.

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Family Defends Decision to Let Teen Get Gastric Lap-Band Surgery

A Texas family that attracted national attention — and controversy — for letting its overweight 12-year-old daughter undergo liposuction has gone one step further.

Brooke Bates, 13, has gotten a gastric lap band surgically placed around her stomach to shrink it and reduce the amount she can eat.

Brooke has lost 15 pounds since the lap-band procedure and hopes to lose 50 more. She told “Good Morning America” today she feels “wonderful.”

Brooke said she has always struggled with her weight. At her heaviest, she weighed 220 pounds. By early 2006 she lost 40 pounds through liposuction and a tummy tuck. But, in less than a year, she regained 35 pounds.

After the liposuction and tummy tuck, which cost $25,000, Brooke said she “went from the big, fat girl to the popular girl.”

“Then I gained weight back and it was depressing,” Brooke said. “But now that I had the lap band done, everything is just working out great.”

[article]

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I honestly wish my parents could have done something like this for me when I was younger. I think my quality of life both physically and emotionally would have been much better.

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A fellow lap-bander suggested to me a couple of months back that I needed to add more fiber to my diet she suggested some cereal from Quaker Oats, which I used to eat until I happened to come across some Kashi Cereal while perusing that particular aisle.

I currently have three different varieties in my cupboard, and I figured I’d just share my thoughts on these delicious cereals.

Kashi Go Lean Crunch

• 500mg Omega-3
• 9g protein
• 8g fiber
• 15g of whole grains

What I love about the Go Lean crunch Almond honey flax cereal is it’s taste, and the fact that it is packed with all that fiber and protein.  At times when I’m just in the mood for a sweet snack, I grab a handful off this cereal, and it taste just like you’re eating Cracker Jack and it’s only 200 calories for a 1 cup serving.

 Kashi Go Lean Cereal

• 13g protein
• 10g fiber
• 7 g of whole grains

A 1 cup serving of this cereal is enough to meet “40% of your daily fiber needs and 20% of your daily protein needs.”

I usually take a 1/2 cup of this cereal and add it to 4oz of sugar-free, light vanilla yogurt, and 1/4 cup of fat free milk for Breakfast.  My total caloric intake is 180 calories, and this keeps me more than satisfied until lunch.

Last but not least, I just recently added this cereal to the list.

Kashi Autumn Wheat

• 50g Whole Grains
• Excellent Source of Fiber
• Low Fat
• Sodium-Free
• USDA Organic—Certified Organic by Quality Assurance International

While this particular cereal is not packed with as much fiber and protein as the other two, it does add variety to breakfast on the few days a week, I substitute this for the Kashi Go Lean cereal.

It also makes for an excellent healthy snack when for some reason I get hungry late at night and don’t want to succumb to more sinful temptations.

This is a tough journey for all of us, even with the lap-band.  It’s a great tool, but that is all it is in the end it is up to us to make better choices in life when it comes to what we are putting into our bodies.  Just a bit over 6 months ago, my breakfast would be two huge bowls of Fruity Pebbles, or something just as healthy like 4 waffles with tons of butter, and gobs of syrup.

Now granted, we can’t live a life feeling as though we are punishing ourselves by not splurging every now and then and partaking in one of those sinful temptations. But that’s the great thing about this cereal, I don’t feel like I’m missing out on those things.

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The weight-loss procedure is currently only approved for adults in the U.S.
(SOURCE: New York University Medical Center, news release, Jan. 23, 2007)

FRIDAY, Jan. 26 (HealthDay News) — Stomach banding, commonly called lap band surgery, is a safe and effective method of helping obese adolescents lose weight, U.S. researchers report.

In lap band surgery, an inflatable silicon ring is placed around the upper portion of the stomach. This creates a smaller stomach, which makes people feel full sooner and reduces the amount they eat. In the United States, lap band surgery is currently only approved for adults.

This study of 53 morbidly obese patients, ages 13 to 17, found that the teens lost an average of 50 percent of their weight a year after their surgery. Morbidly obese people have a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or above and are usually about 100 pounds overweight.

According to researchers at New York University School of Medicine, none of the patients had complications requiring readmission to the hospital. Two patients did experience slippage of the bands, two developed hiatal hernias, and one patient had a wound infection. All these conditions were treated by outpatient procedures.

A few patients experienced mild hair loss and iron deficiency. They were treated with nutritional counseling and vitamin supplementation.

The study, published in the January issue of the Journal of Pediatric Surgery, is the first to evaluate lap band surgery in patients this young, the authors said. All of the study participants (mostly girls) had a history of obesity for at least five years, and many had conditions found in obese adults, such as diabetes, high blood pressure and sleep apnea. The participants had made previous unsuccessful attempts to lose weight, using diet and exercise regimens.

“This study suggests that the lap band provides a safer and equally effective weight loss strategy compared to the gastric bypass,” study lead author Dr. Evan Nadler, director of pediatric minimally invasive surgery and assistant professor of surgery, said in a prepared statement.

In gastric bypass surgery, the stomach is divided and reshaped into a small pouch, which is connected directly to the middle portion of the small intestine. Side effects of gastric bypass included intestinal leakage and bleeding, blockage of the intestines, and severe nutritional deficiency, Nadler noted.

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I’ve begun to wonder if I’m getting enough protein in my daily diet, and in particular exactly how much should I be eating.

As a lap-bander there’s a reason you should be eating protein, and one of those is because it helps to curb your appetite.

“ScienceDaily (Sep. 6, 2006) — The amount of a hunger-fighting hormone can be increased by eating a higher protein diet, researchers report in the September issue of the journal Cell Metabolism, published by Cell Press.” (link)

I find that personally when I eat something of substance, something that sticks to the ribs like chicken, or beef, I am full for a much longer time than if I have something high in carbohydrates like pasta. Even if it is covered in a meat sauce.

Sometimes I supplement my meals with a protein shake, but I still wonder if I’m getting enough protein.

According to a number of sites that I have read the general rule of thumb is 1 gram of protein per kilogram of body weight (a kilogram, or Kg., is equal to 2.2 pounds). This would be about 50 grams daily for a 110-pound person, and about 70 grams for a 154-pounder.

So according to this, I should be eating 113 grams of protein per day, yikes. I know I’m not getting anywhere near that. I guess it’s time to buy some protein powder that I can sprinkle on some of the foods I am eating.

According to the nutrition labels, I am only getting roughly 51 grams of protein a day. This might explain why I am constantly hungry.

Other interesting links I found while researching this topic:

• How Much Protein Do You Need?
• How Much Protein Should You Eat?
• How Much Protein Do You Need?
• How Many Calories Per Day? (this article focuses on body building)

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Weighing in this morning at my home scale, it is the 2nd day in a row, that I came in under 250 pounds at 249.50.

Each and every pound that drops is exciting, but when you start bypassing those big numbers like 300, 275, and 250, it’s really quite unbelievable. I’m afraid that when I break 200, I may party so hard, that I’ll gain back a pound or two.

I am still having hunger pangs all day long, I’m going to call tomorrow morning and see if I can get an appointment for a lap-band fill this Saturday. I am at that point now where each and every little drop of saline that goes into my port has drastic effects on my restriction, or so I hope.

I had my standard fare today:

Breakfast: Yogurt mixed with milk and Kashi cereal

Lunch: Tuna Salad

Snack: 1 oz string cheeze

Dinner: Chicken Caesar salad

As always, I hope tomorrow is a better day.

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