I need some opinions - Page 2 - ThinnerTimes

frantastic_one · 07-08-2008, 10:35 AM

Great job and congratulations! As a lapband patient and knowing others who have hit goal and hearing their stories--I suggest going with a slight unfill and proceed very slowly. Many times even with a partial unfill it is too much and people end up gaining weight--the exact result you don't want. If you can get 1-2 slight unfills you may be able to add the variety you crave to your new way of eating (eg, a hamburger with no bun).

Unfortunately from everything I've read you may need plastics--something I myself am planning on. From what I've read and heard, many PS's want you to wait between 6-18 months from when you reach final goal before getting surgery. I am hoping at some point to "run" into someone who has had successful plastic surgery in Costa Rica as all the procedures I would like to have done would require the GNP $ equivalent of a small country!! It also sounds like a nice place to recover!

Congratulations again and thanks for being such a great inspiration to me!

Nyn · 07-09-2008, 01:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eight91121

I want to learn where I should stop eating, and be able to choose consciously to stop eating, and not be forced to stop by the band, which right now is after 4 oz of food. I have plenty of energy, and I get plenty of nutrition. I eat veggies first, and then the other food second. I figure whether now, or later it is inevitable as to having to learn the new me, and how the new me should eat. I mean the band is great, and it has helped me lose weight quickly by not allowing me to eat as much as I psychologically want to , but I have learned what to eat, and what not to eat, and most the time I prefer veggies, and grains, over everything else, I just want to choose now for myself how much is enough, and apply my good eating habits to a real life environment.

Yep, yep, exactly. It is the same for me, but as a gastric bypass patient it is always "Protein First!" and everything else "maybe." But this is why you lap-banders may be the lucky ones in the long run since you have a tool that you can more easily get re-tightened as soon as you start gaining. It's not quite that easy as a GB patient, though we live with our tools tightened every day, it is also possible to get around them if we really want to. That's what I've spent 10 months training myself to do -- to not ever want to try to get around the tool. Now I guess I just gotta trust myself -- and if my trust in myself turns out to be premature, I hope I'm smart enough to turn to the support here to kick my butt back into gear!

Quote:

Originally Posted by eight91121

There are three levels of satisfaction in food. There is the fact the food is fuel, and that we require it to survive. There is a social level to food, and also a psychological level to food. The last two can be combined into one, but also in many cases are distinctly different. Each person views those two things very differently, and have personal experiences to back each of those items, but I cant discount the the existence of all three, what do you think?

I tend to think about this stuff too much, but the better we understand the eating disorder, the better we can understand ourselves, and coping with it.

Again, I agree with most of what you said. There have been other recent threads here on the Forum about the ability to still gain "satisfaction" with our eating -- which I think applies to participating in social "food rituals", the psychological impact of eating, and the combination of the two that you were talking about. Since a large part of the ability to soothe ourselves with food is taken away by our smaller stomachs, we have to find new ways to cope. It is all a matter of balance -- there is no denying the important role that food plays in social and family interactions. It is a key ingredient to all gatherings and helps us bond to one another in many different ways. So, as is often said here by other members, after we had surgery on our bodies, now we do the longer, drawn-out surgery on our minds. We do need to do the hard work to tear ourselves apart and figure out how to put ourselves back together so we can still eat and gain the proper, "normal" kind of psychological and social satisfaction and comfort from food.

I don't expect to be done with this re-training of myself for years. At least, I may be done with part of it for now, but I can't let up my vigilance for the rest of my life in case I "slip" and go back to old ways of thinking. That's why I love reading posts by people who are years out of surgery, to see what they've gone through and (hopefully!) learn from it.

AlabamaChick · 07-10-2008, 03:41 AM

Dude, you've lost almost HALF of yourself! GRATZ! I think anyone of us would have a problem wrapping our heads around that. This is a psychological battle as well as a physical battle when trying to adjust to our new self. It's VERY hard at times for all of us, so you are no different. I think the ones telling you to go for the full weight loss are right on. I agree. That 30 lbs is not going to make alot of difference in your skin issues, as I share that problem with you too. I will have to have work and wish like everything I could go ahead and hit my goal so I can start planning that procedure to finally get close to the end of my journey. If you are doing this awesome, don't stop now. You have the power, USE IT and enjoy!

Good luck with whatever you decide. Just realize we are all in the same boat with this psychologic battle and we are here to listen.

Tambo · 07-10-2008, 07:14 AM

First congrats on a job well done. I did not have the band and only being a few months post op and many lbs to go my question to you would be "Is that hamburger so important?" At this point you have a lot invested in your journey why change anything now. Wishing you the best.

eight91121 · 07-10-2008, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tambo

First congrats on a job well done. I did not have the band and only being a few months post op and many lbs to go my question to you would be "Is that hamburger so important?" At this point you have a lot invested in your journey why change anything now. Wishing you the best.

Thank you

I Have to respond to the post about Is that hamburger so important... Well... Yes. Now, it isnt so much the hamburger, as much as it is the principle and balance. It could be a Hot Dog, Soft Pretzel, or anything that doesnt provide a good substancial source of nutrition to our body. I could relate this to the consumption of hard alcohol. A shot of Whiskey is not very good for you, it is full of empty calories, and can even shorten your life if used in large amounts. But the shot again isnt the problem. The problem is the mis use of it. It is using the product (hamburger, liquor) to cope with stress, to feed an adiction, or to even use it as a primary source of nutrition. I would say a hamburger a month isnt going to make me put 200 lbs back on. It is if I eat a hamburger, find out that I have no control over what I eat, and how much of it I eat, and start eating hamburgers 5-6 times a day. It is not having a balance of nutrition in your diet.

I am thinking thru this as this thread goes on, but I would have to say -- There are situations in our lives that we ate the wrong things, and maybe even in excess, I sure know I did, and I recall many many examples of time I ate sencelessly, and can really see how I got big in the first place. I definatly lost site, and used food as a copeing mechanism. I would sit home on a saturday and eat all day long, and watch movies. The last 10 months on the other hand, I cant sit and eat all day long, I wont ever be able to do that. I dont like movies now either, they are boring, sometimes I will turn a movie on while on the eliptical machine, but I mean I cant just sit there. I have too much energy. I go out side, and work in the yard, I run errands, I feel like I stay very busy, and it is good. The question I dont think... is (Is the hamburger so important), but maybe it is do I know how to find balance in what I eat, and am I in control of my eating? Perhaps it will be a constant balancing act the rest of my life. I know I do have to pay attention to what I eat, and I much like an earlier post I too track every calorie I eat with a database on my phone. I think it is very possible to fall into old ways, but as long as we keep in mind where we came from, and know the balance, we can have the freedom to choose what to eat, and how much of it to eat.

I might be way wrong.... but I think it comes down to each person and how they see their future in comparison to their past. I not only hope to never fall into old habits, but that the new habits I have been learning will stick the rest of my life. This will allow moderation in the areas that are not that good for me like a shot of Tequila or a hamburger, but my first preference on food is the good stuff, the stuff that will keep me looking how I feel. Good.

eight91121 · 07-10-2008, 09:59 AM

This thread is so very helpfull. I really dont have any outlet for discussing this and sharing my opinions about this stuff, so this is feeling so very healthy for me. I really hope this thread continues.

Paula08 · 07-10-2008, 12:22 PM

At 6'2'' and 230 you might be right were you need to be. You dont want to get to a point that you are unhealthy looking. Maybe you should lose a few more pounds but not more then 10 then have you band unfilled and let your body rest. That way if you gain a few pounds it would hurt. Being healthy is the most important thing. Do what you feel is going to make you happy.
Hugs
Paula