Are you “off your lap band diet”? Are you outside of the box? Do you eat things that you know you should not have? If you answered yes to any of these questions, it is time for a lapband “restart”. You have been given a wonderful tool – but just like a hammer, your lapband does not work without some effort from you!
To restart (may be started any day of the week):
Day 1-7 Slim Fast Optima 3 cans/day, protein supplement, chewable multivitamin.
Day 8-9 pureed/mushy foods
Day 12 – eternity: 1/2 cup of food, 1/2 of this from protein food
**REMEMBER: you may feel like you can eat more – but do not test the band to see if that’s true! Follow the rules and allow the band time to work. Just because you CAN does not mean you SHOULD.
15. February 2009 at 2:50 pm
I have only had my lap band since
Dec 19, 2008. I certainly can eat over 4 oz. Do I need a fill? I am really uncertain. I never have that overwhelming full feeling.
15. February 2009 at 3:37 pm
For the majority of patients it will take three or four fills until you feel a difference. But everyone is different. Some patients have lost over 100 lbs. with one fill, and others need five or six fills.
Also, remember that some people may not feel a change until 2 weeks after their last fill.
17. February 2009 at 9:39 am
I have had 7 or 8 fills since my surgery 06/20/08. I can certainly tell a difference following a fill and it usually stays with me for up to 2 weeks but then slowly I begin to feel hungry between meals. I just stop eating before I really feel satisified – because I feel like I could eat twice as much as I know I should. I have lost 80# so far and I feel I have done very well – but the weight comes off very slowly now and I feel like I have to count every bite I take ( I do count every bite I take ).
17. February 2009 at 9:53 am
That is perfect. Remember that the goal with the Lap Band is NOT to see how MUCH you can it. The goal is to see how LITTLE you can eat. Eat until you are not hungry, don’t keep eating until you feel stuffed.
31. March 2009 at 8:00 pm
I had my surgery June 2008 and still have not found my “sweet spot.” The only time I have asked to be unfilled was when I could not drink water. Right now I feel no restriction. At my last appointment I did not get a fill and was told to begin the re-start diet. I was also told again about portion control. My question is, how can you have portion control when you have no restriction?
1. April 2009 at 12:08 pm
Portion control is not only about what you can’t eat, but how little you can eat and not be hungry during a reasonable interval between meals. Your stomach is often a poor guage of hunger since there is a time-delay between when your stomach feels full and when your brain registers that it’s full (i.e. receives the information from your nerves and processes it). Therefore, eyes and measuring cups are a better way to judge portion, or the size of your fist, or the surface area of your open hand. Use those as guides then let your hunger tell you whether or not the adjustment is correct. Remember, the band is not there to keep you from eating too much, it’s there to help you diet without feeling hungry.
1. April 2009 at 10:40 pm
The Lap Band does not work through restriction; it works through satsifying your hunger. You are the one responsible for your portion control. This week I visited with a patient who had her surgery 8 months ago. She lost very little weight and then in the past month finally lost about 6 pounds. She said that finally something clicked in her mind that she needed to eat less. She realized that she had to make the conscious decision to eat less. Remember you are trying to break a habit of eating large and frequent portions. The hunger you had before would make you continue that old habit. With the hunger control of the Lap Band you can control your old habit and create a new habit. Become a conscious eater and think about each bite you take, and the portion size of each meal. After you eat your small portion, get up and walk away from the table. Remove yourself from access to food for at least 15 minutes. Let your brain catch up with your stomach.
22. April 2009 at 4:44 pm
I was told about the Restart diet by a friend…I have been banded for about a year and a half….I am way off track and trying to get back on track… What I am wanting to know is while doing the slim fast what kind of protein supplements would be best to use… In the past I have used Body Fortress… My biggest problem is not getting my protein in… and how often to you use the protein supplement??
22. April 2009 at 5:26 pm
The US RDA calls for about a daily intake of 0.7 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. To get your weight in kilograms, divide your weight in pounds by 2.2. So if you weigh 200 pounds, that is 91 kilograms. Then multiply that by 0.8 grams. So 91 multiplied by 0.8 is about 73. So the US RDA for protein intake for someone weighing 200 pounds is 64 grams of protein per day.
However it gets complicated in two ways. Firstly, the guidelines are for people of an average fairly sedentary lifestyle, and people with active lifestyles who are actively exercising may need more protein. The other confusing factor is that the protein requirements are generally calculated for people of relatively normal body weight and composition. So for people who are seriously overweight, this calculation may overestimate the amount of daily protein required.
We find that many lap band patients have a tough time getting enough protein from meat prodcuts that they were accustomed to before surgery. As a result, many choose to supplement protein with protein supplements such as those that can be found on the Estore No Scales Estore. Lately the most popular seem to be the Nectar protein in cherry flavor, and the 100% Any Whey protein powder which is tasteless and can be added to either liquid or food products.
1. May 2009 at 5:31 pm
On the lap band restart, drinking only slimfast 3xday, should you be hungry, because I’m starving. Just like when I did the liquid diet prior to having the lapband. Does this mean something is wrong with my lapband?
21. May 2009 at 10:56 am
I was banded in June 2007 and lost 80 pounds. I have another 15 to go to meet my original goal, and about 30 to meet the goal Dr. Hekier suggested pre-op. I then gradually started sliding back into my old ways. I stopped exercising and started eating a little more, and then a little more. It was after I gained 5 pounds that I finally woke up. I went back to support group in May (had stopped doing that too!) and then began the restart. I finished the 7 days of liquid and the 2 days of mushy foods. I did it!!! I’ve lost some weight this past week, but that’s not the major accomplishment. My head is now back in this thing!
In the past, every time I fell off the wagon (diet-wise) I seemed powerless to stop the slide; I’d regain all I had lost and then some. But the Lap Band has given me the tool I need to regain control. Thank you!
21. May 2009 at 1:56 pm
Yes,
You will feel hungry on a liquid diet because liquid goes through the Band quickly. You can’t stay on a liquid diet forever. Ask Oprah.
17. August 2009 at 1:47 am
I have had the lapband for over a year and a half. I have lost very little weight but I have lost inches. I try to exercise when I can but back and feet problems tend to make this alot harder for me. I try to make my portions small but I feel so hungry when I am finished its almost like I have not eaten and I will say this I am always throwing up. I could not figure out why and then i realized only having 6 teeth on top makes it harder for me to chew my food as tiny as I should. I have bit my lip so many times that I have permanant scars. I recently lost my job to layoff and I am feeling as though I am depressed and I tend to eat stupid things when I feel this way. I want to get back on track. I need a fill it has been so long. But I do not want to feel as though you are angry at me when I step on those scales and only weigh the same or a pound less or more. I need a fill and I need to get back on the bandwagon. What do you suggest?
17. August 2009 at 8:45 pm
See my reply to your other comment. If you are throwing up you DO NOT need a fill. You need fluid taken out. Take a look at the blog and you will find several posts by either myself or Dr. Keilin on the importance of not being too tight.
21. August 2009 at 2:45 pm
I recently visited the dr.s office. I have been eating all wrong and all the wrong things (this i knew) but boy did i recieve a reality check, i did not understand at first why i had to do the restart diet at the time. In my mind i just figured a fill would do the trick, i learned something that day, it was time to get back inside the box so i had a good look in the mirror and realized i had been all wrong, now i am back inside the box have done the liquid diet again and walking. But i am loosing wt. slowly and some weeks not at all. Do i begin again? i’m on a diet counting calories but sometimes i slip but no ice cream ( which use to be the regular on my diet) now i eat the lowest calorie yogurt i can find. Thanks Sandra and Dr. Heikar i realize now what I must do. Stay inside the box.
21. August 2009 at 3:39 pm
Glad to hear you are getting back on the right track. Remember we try to give you multiple avenues for support so that you can succeed. We mean it when we say that “your success is our success.”
As I type this I am sitting here with my family and in-laws on vacation in Bedford, NY. Our dedication to your support means that wherever and whenever we can help, we will strive to be there for you. And of course we say it a million times “If you aren’t losing weight, a fill is not necessarily what you need.”
6. May 2010 at 9:01 pm
I got the band in 2006. I llost almost 70 pounds. I then got pregnant. They never took out the fluid. My child is now a year old and I have not lost any of the 60 pounds I put on. I think my band will only allow for 2 more fills. I do not feel ANY restriction and am really frustrated. It worked so well the first time and now it seems like it is not working at all. Should I go back in for a different band? They removed all the fluid in the fall and started over. It hasn’t helped. HELP
11. May 2010 at 10:51 pm
There is no such thing as “my Band will only allow for 2 more fills.”
Work with your surgeon to see if you are near your sweet spot. Don’t focus on restriction, focus on the lack of hunger.
Take a look at the dozens of articles on this blog.
Good luck!