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I think that my approach to increasing fluid is going to be gradual maybe even
fractions of a CC, and I will keep track of what's in there so that I know where
I am at. I'm really watching out for too much restriction, and will simply
monitor food intake.
I'm not going to use a fill to get me past a plateau, if I still feel
restriction in eating. That is NOT the way to approach it. Plateau breakers
are all the typical diet and exercise options that an Un-banded person has to
do.
What I forgot before, and why I got into trouble, was that I was using the band
as a magic bullet instead of a tool. You need food to keep your metabolism
running so that you CAN lose weight. You need food to keep your gym time
productive. The band keeps me from pulling in too much of that useful food, and
that's all it does. It's up to me to make sure that the food I fill my pouch
with is healthier, and that I move my body enough to burn the restricted amount
of intake.
Most of the complaints I see are people that have overfilled, or are looking for
the band to do all the work. But the relationship with food and exercise is
still there in the background to address.
If you aren't moving your body at all, you can't expect washboard abs to
magically appear. If you are filling your pouch with ice cream, chips, and
candy, then -after a certain point- you won't be shrinking your tushy. There is
the magical starting period where weight falls off, but then it's still up to
you to work to finish the job.
If you don't get results, but you can only eat baby food because your band is
too tight, then your body is likely shut down and holding on to every calorie it
can keep. That sounds extreme, but I remember a gal from a meeting way back
before I'd gotten the band that could only eat ice cream. She was not losing
weight, and was only eating ice cream and blended food and complaining. Her
body was in starvation mode, and holding onto every fat cell it could.
So... My approach is to "feel" the effects of the band, and only adjust as
needed to keep the intake at a certain level. I know what too much feels like,
so I'll stay away from that. I need a baseline, and I think I have it. I can
use a Walmart sandwich as a measure. I know exactly how much I should be able
to cut off and eat in a sitting and how long a sitting should last. When that
doesn't fill me up, then I can look at my total fill level and see if I need
some more or if I need a barium swallow test to see if I've been stupid again
and stretched out my pouch...let's avoid that (knock on wood)!
---Bob
Banded: 4/3/2007
By: Dr. "Rock Star" Malley
Started/Current/Goal: 310/258/180
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