For Linda O – and anyone else :)

Linda O posted about living with no restriction and asked about how to maintain or continue your weight loss during that crazy phase between surgery and getting restriction (sometimes called Bandster Hell).  Since my comment started getting really long I thought I would make it into a post instead. 

Of course, I am not an expert and anyone reading this should follow their doctor’s recommendations – especially since every surgeon seems to have a different approach. However, I been actively working on making it through this phase successfully and hopefully my experiences will give someone ideas that may help them.

Things that have helped me:

1. Eat six meals a day.

This is what my doctor recommends and it is really helping me. If I skip a snack (or meal) it is almost guaranteed that I will have challenges that day. Eating 3 small meals and 3 snacks is a key way to help keep your blood sugars level through the day. This will help you from getting as hungry – especially if you suffer from carb cravings.

No mater how often you are supposed to eat DON'T skip meals – even if you are busy. If you are going out shopping take a snack with you. There are many snacks that pack really well (ex. String cheese, a ready to drink protein shake, etc…)

2. Keep your meals balanced.
Your breakfast should be the same size as your dinner. When I first heard this from the nutritionist I didn’t believe it. I am not hungry at all in the morning, and I get very hungry in the evening. However, once I started to balance out the calories I noticed that I didn’t get as hungry in the evening. I still don’t understand, but honestly I see a huge difference when I follow this and when I don’t.

If you are on a 1200 calories “plan” you should aim to have 400 calories and 20g protein morning, afternoon, and night. I am not a big breakfast eater (food doesn’t even sound good to me until I have been awake for hours) so I normally have a meal replacement high protein shake. Even though it is a slider food it works for me right now. Another tip I was given was to eat "dinner" foods for breakfast if you have issues getting the right balance.

3. Drink, Drink, Drink.

Getting plenty of water is KEY. People recovering from major surgery can have issues with dehydration. I have also read that Bandsters are also prone to this longer term (but I can’t remember why). In addition, drinking lots of water will help your skin bounce back and lessen the chance of having saggy skin.

Also, water helps keep you FULL. First, your body can mix up the feeling of thirst and hunger. Second, it gives you something to “do”. I have found the simple act of “sipping” (ok… I don’t really sip yet) water helps trick my mind and helps with some of the mental hunger that plagues us. Third, it adds something to your stomach. Even though it flows through the band I feel like I have a full stomach by the time I am done. If I get hungry before I am supposed to eat I typically will drink something first. Most of the time it works – at least long enough to get me to a meal

Ok. Many of us know WHY we need water, it is HOW that seems to trip us up. In the beginning, I had issues with getting enough. This really surprised me since prior to the surgery I was drinking something ALL the time and have ever since I was a baby. However, after I had to separate food and drink I found that it got much harder since I stopped keeping something to drink with me.

To help I started using a refillable 24oz water bottle. I keep the bottle out of reach during meals and the prescribed ½ hour before and after, but otherwise I try to keep it with me all the time – even in the car when I go out. I try and drink a full bottle between each meal and snack. Normally at the end of the day I finish up whatever is remaining and typically get 74oz of water (flavored with crystal light) – and sometimes more. My goal for the day is breakfast, water, snack, lunch, water, snack, dinner water, snack (and a little more water).

4. Measure and Count

Although most of us don’t want to count our calories and stick to that strict diet mindset, I think that doing this during periods of no restriction is important. That doesn’t mean you have to do it all the time. However, the more problems you are having the more essential it will be.

I firmly believe that spending a week measuring food, counting calories, and journaling will help “reset” your mind on what a band serving size is and what a 1200 (or 1400, 1600 etc…) calorie day looks like. The farther we get from this the larger our serving sizes tend to get and the less accurate our mental estimates get.

I personally don’t always want to be in this diet mindset since I am approaching this more as a lifestyle change. I have started skipping days in my journal, and I don’t regret it. My plan for the future is to do at least 1 week a month. Also if I think I am changing my behavior because I am not writing it down I plan on going back to journaling for a while. I don’t want to get to the point that I think I can add something just because I am not writing it down today.

5. Mindset

Bandster Hell is hard. I won’t lie. It gets harder each day. Even though I have my “tricks” to help make it easier for me - I know that it is much easier to do things wrong. When I am out and forget to bring something with me it is really really tempting just to stop and get a small something from McDonald’s. When I am hungry between meals, I know I could feel full by eating instead of drinking my water.

However, I am determined to make it. I want this really bad. This “hell” won’t last forever. Since I am able to do almost anything for a day I am trying to take this phase a day at a time. I don’t know what tomorrow will bring, but I do know what I want and I know what I can do to help myself.