LapBand Surgery. The Rules of the Road...Part 1

When you begin the decision making process to have Weight Loss Surgery (WLS), and specifically LapBand Surgery, it is vital that you fully understand the changes you must make in your lifestyle. WLS is never the magic pill. It is something that you must work at to be successful.

There are several rules and circumstances that a "Bandster" must follow and understand to see success and have a high quality banded life.

Drinking Before and After Meals

By far this is one of the most important things to learn and is vital to your weight loss success. It is also one of the most challenging.

You should stop drinking all liquids at least 30 minutes before your meal. This allows all that is in your pouch to drain through to the lower stomach. Therefore your pouch is empty when you eat allowing the food to fill you up properly.

During your meal you want to forgo all beverages. This is one of the hardest habits to break. Drinking during your meal simply flushes the food through your band and the band is unable to function properly.

For most of us we will have 2, 3 or even 4 glasses of a beverage with our meals. Servers in restaurants, trained to keep us happy, will keep our beverage full throughout our meal. As bandsters we need to stand up for ourselves and ignore the strange looks we get when we say, "Nothing to drink for me."

You must also not drink for an hour after a meal. The main reason is the same as drinking during your meal. Liquids wash the food through the band defeating its purpose. Another reason not to drink after a meal is if your pouch is full the beverage might not have anywhere to go?except backwards resulting in a spit-up. Suffice it to say that food and liquids making a return visit is not satisfying.

Start practicing this new behavior today. Start at your next meal. This will get you ahead of the game and help your success instrumentally.

Smaller Bites. More Chewing. Slower Eating.

If you watch most Americans eat, including myself pre-band, we don't chew our food, heck we barely taste it. In my case a big bite, 4 cursory chews, and down it went.

The next thing you need to start getting your mind around and practicing is what a Bandster Bite is. At your next meal look at your bite size. Look at the amount of food on your fork and remember it. Now, cut that bite in half. This is your bite size after surgery. Now, cut that bite in half. This is the size of your bite after your first fill or adjustment. Each fill your bite size will get smaller until each bit is as if for a toddler. The reason for this is so the bite can be chewed completely to a liquid before swallowing.

This brings us to the next point, chewing. It is very important that your food is completely chewed. Before you swallow you want to make sure the food is a liquid. As you progress through this journey the opening from your pouch to the lower stomach will be getting smaller. Therefore you need to chew more thoroughly. If a piece of food is too big to go through the stoma, or opening, it will get "stuck". Let us just say it is painful and you do not want this.

Finally with the smaller bites and the more thorough chewing comes the inevitable slower eating. Just slow down. If you eat too fast the bites get too big, you don't chew properly and we are back to the food being stuck. Over a year in and I still find myself falling into this trap. We get excited, chatting with friends and just forget.

The quicker you create these habits the happier you will be in your banded life.

A Bandster's Eating Order

As a bandster you have a specific order in which to eat your food. It is important that we get enough protein in our diet to keep our bodies moving properly. Therefore, you will need to make sure you are eating your protein first.

As WLS patients we need 40-60 grams of protein every day. We can get this in a variety of ways. Protein shakes, cheese, fish, beef, chicken, soy. The challenge comes when we can only tolerate certain foods. Also, it is important that we get as much "hard" protein (chicken, beef, and fish) as possible. We shouldn't get it all from protein shakes and cheese.

When we sit down to a meal we need to eat our protein food first, vegetables second, and carbohydrates/starches last if there is room. Proteins last longer in the pouch and take longer to process through the band allowing us to feel full sooner and maintaining our satiety longer. As it turns out hard proteins are sometimes the most difficult to work with for a Bandster.

The hard proteins need to be more moist, more tender and chewed more completely than any other type of food. Generally, but not exclusively, the proteins are the foods that get stuck the most and cause spit ups. The reason for this is simple. The bite isn't small enough and/or we haven't chewed it to a liquid before swallowing.

For the record?Beef is generally the most difficult for bandsters. Beef is one of the most difficult foods for humans to digest. It can take several days for a piece of steak to actually work it's way through the digestive track. And that's on an unbanded person! So, if you eat a piece of steak and you don't chew it up completely, which is difficult as steak is so fibrous, it can sit in your pouch for an extended about of time and your stomach acids are not there to help break it down. Eventually, this piece of food can fall over your stoma and get stuck. This piece of steak that you ate two days ago can still be in your pouch and you can still spit it up at this late date.

Remember each and every person is different so you will have to test your own waters. I'm not here to tell you what to eat or what not to eat. Some Bandsters have no trouble with beef whatsoever; others won't go near it. Trust me you will figure out what you can tolerate and what you can't. Trust me too when I say these things change. One day ground beef is fine and the next you realize it isn't any longer. You must be willing and able to adapt to sudden changes.

Robin McCoy was banded on February 3,2004. She has reached her weight loss goal of 110 pounds. Robin is Vice-President and Senior Writer for Lapband Lifestyle, a resource and support group for LapBand patients. http://www.lapbandlifestyle.com http://www.lapbandlifestyle.com

cheap limo service Lombard .. Lockport Chicago limo O’Hare
In The News:

Recent reports show many common passwords can be cracked in literally seconds. Kurt the CyberGuy explains how to strengthen your passwords.
Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.
Iron, a robot that stands 5 feet, 8 inches tall and weighs 154 pounds, combines advanced artificial intelligence with human-like movement and exceptional vision.
Hertz, the rental car giant, recently confirmed that customer information was exposed through a cyberattack on one of its software vendors.
There are a number of features with AirPods you may or may not know about to take your listening experience to the next level. Kurt the CyberGuy explains.
These 35 Chrome extensions have privacy and security concerns. Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson says to delete them now.
Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson says 329,000 mph fusion rocket promises to be fast, disruptive and enable deep-space missions.
Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.
Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson says a new autonomous AI is a game changer that also raises privacy risks. Is your data safe?
Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson says robots and drones are revolutionizing fruit farming with faster picking and smarter handling.
Landmark Admin revises May 2024 cyberattack scope to show twice as many people were affected. Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson gives tips to help stay safe from an insurance data breach.
Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson talks about how Yamaha’s hydrogen outboard motor could revolutionize boating with zero emissions.
Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson reveals how to memorialize or remove a deceased loved one’s Facebook account and protect their digital legacy from misuse or scams.
Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson says an Apple Watch saved psychiatrist Amanda Faulkner by detecting deadly leukemia early.
Scammers and fraudsters are increasingly targeting the most vulnerable, especially nursing homes and the personal data of their residents. Kurt the CyberGuy has safety tips.
Infected USB flash drives can spread malware among multiple organizations in ways that can easily bypass traditional security systems.
With a fully automated warehouse system and AI-powered robots, Ocado's Hive picks, packs and delivers grocery store orders in just a few minutes.
Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.
Recycling robots are using artificial intelligence to learn how to sort recyclables by recognizing patterns in colors, textures, shapes and logos.
The Reachy 2 robot is designed to be friendly and approachable, inviting natural interaction and is perfect for research, education and experimenting with embodied AI.
Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson shares several easy ways to keep your credit cards safe from digital thieves while you're traveling this summer.
Arcturus sets up cameras around the edges of baseball stadiums to capture real-time action and generate a 3D digital clone of the game.
Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.
The CyberGuy explains why healthcare organizations are vulnerable to hackers after there have been a half dozen data breaches this year.
Developed at two California universities, the innovative technology combines brain-computer interfaces with advanced AI to decode neural activity into audible speech.

Mexican Living: Too Dang Fat!

I thought I could avoid this when we moved to... Read More

LA Weight Loss Secrets ? High Profile Personal Trainer Shares the Magic Formula!

In the early nineties I had the opportunity to work... Read More

Fitness Wars: Revenge of the Girth

As of the writing of this article, May 16, 2005,... Read More

Why You Must Eat Before Going to Bed?

You have probably heard the old myth, that you should... Read More

Eat Out and Lose Weight -- 25 Easy & Healthy Tips for Dining Out

Diners have become more health-conscious the last few years, and... Read More

The True Weight Loss Approach ? Five Step Common Sense Plan!

Some of you will not like what I have to... Read More

Top 10 Questions and Answers on Atkins Diet

1. What is Atkins Diet? Dr. Atkins diet, first introduced... Read More

Best Weight Loss Strategy

If you want to reduce your body fat, focus on... Read More

Weight Loss and Exercising Staying Power ? Three Magic Words!

My name is Greg Ryan. I am a best selling... Read More

Dash Diet -- Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH)

Hypertension is another name for high blood pressure. Blood pressure... Read More

4 Tips for Fast Fat Loss Part III

Fat Loss Tip #3) Proper Meal FrequencyMeal Frequency (i.e., the... Read More

Slim Hips and Thighs: Tips to Lose Weight from Hips and Thighs!

Losing weight on hips and thighs has always been a... Read More

All Natural Weight Loss Secrets Revealed

There are tons of fad diets and weight loss schemes... Read More

Weight Loss Fads that Dont Work

No matter what the reason, successful weight loss and healthy... Read More

7 Tips to Help You Beat Your Sugar Habit

Are you often overcome with an urge to splurge on... Read More

Aerobics Imposters

In health clubs, they run classes that call themselves "aerobics".... Read More

Action Plan to Take the Weight Off This Year

Addicted to Restaurants Are you addicted to restaurants? So are... Read More

How to Find Your Ideal Body Weight Part II

Body Mass Index (BMI)Body Mass Index is an accurate indicator... Read More

Fun, Fun, Fun: The Best Exercises for Quick Weight Loss

The best exercises for quick weight loss in my opinion... Read More

Conquer Those Carbohydrate Cravings

Are you a hopeless carbohydrate addict? Let's conquer these cravings... Read More

Pediatric Obesity and Vitamin Deficiency - Developments to Fight Future Disease

Obesity, especially in children, is a matter of rapidly growing... Read More

Lose Body Fat by Choosing the Right Diet Plan For You

If you are overweight and searching for the diet program... Read More

Weight Loss Problems? - Why The Gastric Bypass Surgery Does Not Stick!

Gastric bypass surgeries are temporary physical fixes to a long... Read More

Avoid Commont Fitness Pitfalls

While exercising isn't complicated, it's very easy to make mistakes.... Read More

The Ultimate Weight Loss Product Guide

Are you one of the many who may be tempted... Read More

limo O'Hare Glen Ellyn ..