HELLO WORLD!
Those of you who know me also know that I have been a chubster for quite a few years now. I was a chubster kid up until late middle school. Then, somehow (I think it was the magic metabolism fairy that I apparently ticked off again later) I wound up a "skinny" girl until about my freshman/sophomore year of college.
Throughout these many past years as a chubster I have taken gargantuan amounts of pride in astonishing my doctors with my perfect health. Perfect BP (117/75), perfect heart rate (55 bpm), perfect cholesterol levels (can't think of my numbers off the top of my head), no diabetes, no insulin resistance. When nurses get me for the first time they always triple check my bp and heart rate because they don't believe the numbers. New doctors always want to screen me for diabetes or insulin resistance. I go along with it because I know that's what they are trained to look for in a chubster.
That being said, I know that I can't go on this heavy for ever and ever, amen without some complications. So, I decided to do something about it:
I decided to get a lap band.
The reason I made that decision was because of my health problems- or really lack thereof. Over the years all of my doctors have come to the relatively similar conclusion that I'm overweight not because I sit on the sofa snarfing twinkies and buckets of fried chicken all day, but because I eat things like salad, hummus, veggie egg bakes, chicken breast, chicken soup, and fruit- but because I eat way too much of it.
So, I started researching my options. I didn't like the gastric bypass surgery, well, honestly, because I'm kinda attached to my digestive system. I mean, it's been with me for a long time. I also didn't like the fact that I would be stuck with said surgery for the rest of my life (read: commitment phobe)! So, when I came across the Lap Band procedure, I loved what I saw. It is done via laproscopic surgery (no huge scars), no removal of any body part is done, and the band itself can be removed!
Being an extreme type-A personality when it comes to research, not only did I read every medical and informational article I could get my hands on, but then I moved on to reading blogs written about their experience and weight loss by people who have the Lap Band. Everything I read made me even more sure that I wanted this procedure. Especially this blog: Lap Band Gal! (SUPER awesome and 100% HONEST look at what it was like to get the band, lose with the band, and now maintain with the band.)
I read her blog from her first post all the way through what she's still blogging about today. Again, it made me 100% certain that I wanted this thing done. Then, about 3/4 of the way through her blog my brain did probably a 90 degree shift in its thought process. I decided I loved the Lap Band process SO much that I didn't want one! Or, at least not right now. You see, she was so honest and transparent about how much work it is to not only be a successful loser with the band, but how all it really amounts to is a tool. NOT the solution.
So, I've decided to become a Faux Bandster. I will be following all of the rules and restrictions that I would have with the band, only without the surgery.
What does that entail?
- Keeping my calorie intake between 1200- 1400 calories a day.
- Consuming 60g or more of protein every day.
- Drinking 100 oz of water daily.
- Exercising 3-5x a week
- Keeping my portions to the size of a cup
- Chewing my food into oblivion
- 2-3 meals a day. NO snacks!
- Avoiding carbonated beverages.
- Avoiding refined flours/sugars
- Tracking/journaling my food
- No liquids for 60 minutes before or after eating
- Daily weigh-ins
I will be using this blog to help keep me honest and accountable, as well as My Fitness Pal (my id on there is lostfairychild if you'd like to follow and/or offer some support). I will be posting daily what I weigh, what I ate, and how I exercised. Wish me luck!
Oh- and here's an official "before" picture.
My friend take awesome photos. He made me look about 50 lbs lighter in that pic than I actually am, but it gives you an idea.
Fake it til you make it!
~The Faux Bandit~
I'm so excited to follow you on your journey! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you! It means a LOT!
DeleteI love this! LBG sent me over! I'll be following your journey! Cheering for you! :)
ReplyDeleteI have the lap band as well! My blog is: http://ijusatemywillpower.blogspot.com/
Come say hi if you want! :) Welcome to bandland... well sort of:)
Thanks- I'm actually loving every minute of it. Tonight for the first time in forever as I was eating supper I hadn't even finished my itty bitty portion and I pushed back from the table with the realization I was satisfied! :)
DeleteI saw Lap Band Gal post the link on her facebook and had to stop in! I wish you luck! I do suggest getting in as much protein as possible, as it is what keeps you fuller longer. A good formula for how much protein you should consume is body weight x 0.3 = grams of protein.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by!
DeleteJust a thought, the not drinking liquids before and after eating is only a rule specific to the band, as liquids help flush what you eat through the band, and thus wil not allow you to feel full. If you do this without the band, it doesnt mean anything. It might help if you actually filled up on water before and after eating, as you don't have a small 'pouch' like banders do.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I tried doing this for a year while I was waiting to get my insurance for the lapband. IT DIDN'T WORK. Because without the band, your hunger is still there, and its really really really hard to hold back when you're hungry.
Having said all that, what you're doing is just a diet really, with a different name. With the band, what you're eating has to get through a hole as wide as your thumb. That is the purpose of chewing (although eating slowly helps with ativating the hunger signals). You could practice chewing as much as you want, but if you can still gulp large bites, you will eventually end up doing that, because, well, you can. With the band, you just physically cannot. You HAVE to chew.
I started off writing this in a very positive way, but I realise just now how annoyed I am by your blog (and I feel really bad about that fact. I came to your blog excited for you but now feel a little ... upset) I actually don't think you should call it the faux band. You have no idea what its like. You don't know what it entails, regardless of how much you have read. I thought I knew it all, until I awoke from the surgery and I realised I knew nothing. The band physically restricts hunger and physically restricts the amount you can eat. You can't get that with a 'faux band'. You will not get stuck on food, you will not fear eating the food that you normally get stuck on. You can wake up one day and decided to throw in the towel, give up on your faux band. With the band, you can't do that.
I am not trying to convince you to get the band. Please don't see my words as that. I am just trying to explain why pretending to have a band may not work out for you.
wow, I sound like such a bitch! Not my intention, I promise!
Would love to see how you go!
Hey hon- I want to thank you for your honesty. If I made it sound like I'm "pretending" to have a band- that was not my intention at all! All I am doing is adopting Lap Band habits.
DeleteYou are right- I DON'T have any idea what it's like to have a band. I'm not trying to pretend that in any way. I do realize that I don't have the restrictions and fears that would come with having one- which is actually a huge reason that I'm trying it this way first. I actually cook and eat for a living. I am a food critic/columnist. That being said, I was afraid the Lap Band would inhibit my ability to earn income (I can't refuse to try a food when I'm supposed to be critiquing it!). I also won't lose as quickly as I would if I actually had a band- for the very reason that my stomach will take more food to feel full.
You are very right in that I can wake up one day and decide to "throw in the towel". I do, however, know from the people I have talked to that have the band that it is a tool- not a solution. They have all said that a majority of the work is on you. That the band only does 10-20% and the rest is mental. That being said, it seems that for some reason adopting these habits works for me mentally. I don't know why, but it does.
I want to sincerely apologize for having upset you. It was never my intention to take away from the courage it takes to get a Band and know that it is with you for the rest of your life. My hat is off to you.
Who knows- maybe my hunger will over come me and I will make the decision to forge ahead and get banded myself! Until then, I'm going to give this a whirl.
I can see where you were coming from. I hope that you can try to see it from my perspective as well.
By the way- are you in the losing or maintaining phase?
Love, always
~TFB~
Thank you for not taking my comment the wrong way. You have my full support and I can't wait to see your progress. I am currently in the losing phase and I am struggling a fair bit. You are right that it takes a lot of work and that the band is only a tool. I can still eat junk food just like you would be able to. But I have to admit that I eat a lot less of it than I used to, because with the band I get to a stage where I really cannot fit a whole lot in. Before the band, I could eat continuously with no problem.
DeleteAnd I understand your concerns about critiquing food. Up until I had 7 mls in my band, I could eat ANYTHING. But it was also the stage that I lost more weight. Now, I can't eat everything (like some bread and sushi and anything that is generally too dry: but even these things I can still eat with small bites and chewing well) but I seem to not be losing as much. One of my fears before being banded was that I would not be able to eat normally ever again. Over-all I still can, as long as I eat slowly. The minute I take a large bite, its all over!
I hope that your journey is a successful one. I am sorry for being so ... bitchy I suppose! My issues come from my difficulties at the moment. While I understood that the band is just a tool, I was kind of hoping it would be more. And it isn't. Without exercise and without making the right food choices, I am bound to fail the band. Like I said, I knew this before getting the band, but having it and living these issues are 2 different things.
Btw: I blog at year2band.wordpress.com. I blogged about my year before getting the band and all of my issues.
I wish you all the best! I promise, I do! :-)
LBG sent me over and I can't wait to follow your journey. I'm on myfitnesspal too (vickyd205) if you'd like to friend me...
ReplyDeleteYay! Glad to have you along. Friended you on MFP. So excited!
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