What are the reasons my band would tighten on its own?

Real reasons from banded ladies, in no particular order, other than stress being the most commonly cited reason:

1. Stress
2. Time of month, AKA menstrual cycle or period
3. Time of day
4. Allergies
5. Really hot outside
6. Really cold outside
7. When it’s humid outside
8. Illness
9. Previously food was stuck and it swelled the area up
10. Not enough water – being dehydrated
11. Exercise
12. Altitude
13. Plane travel
14. Rain
15. Out of my ordinary routine – like travelling
16. Gaining weight
17. No good reason

So what can do you do when you feel more restriction in your band area?

1. Chill out – worst case scenario, it will just be a low calorie day!
2. Blend your food, or make mushy food.
3. If that doesn’t work, liquids it will have to be until you de-swell.

As a side note: Your band doesn’t actually tighten, because there’s no more fluid that’s in it, but it’s a different story for the tissues that surround it, which can most certainly cause the band to put more or less pressure on your stomach, causing more restriction that what you’re used to!

If your increased restriction in your band area doesn’t go away, don’t hesitate to call your weight loss clinic, or the doctor that is following you on your weight loss journey.

The good news about the Lap Band

About 76%, or 3 out of 4 people with BMI of 30-40, lose more than 30% of their excess weight and keep it off, according to a recent study (1). The 30% excess weight is a benchmark number that is used frequently by researchers. Researchers found that people that lost more than 30% of excess weight had a noticeable improvement of quality of life and health. Even when you don’t restrict the BMIs from the range of 30-40 and consider people with higher BMIs, it was found in another study that about 65%, or about 6 out of 10 people lost more than 30% of their excess weight (2). So, it’s good to note that most people notice a significant quality of life and health improvement because of being banded.

Stuck!!!

You’re all dressed up in your new pretty dress, sitting across from your husband, or date, or friend. It’s a really nice restaurant and you’ve decided to splurge. A baseball steak with all the luxurious trimmings, veggies and sauces comes steaming to your table and is placed before you. A glass of wine sits ready.

You promise yourself, small bites, small bites!!!

You take the first bite, and then the second, savoring the wonderful flavors. By the third and fourth bite, you feel that feeling, the tightness and pressure above your stomach. You dismally think you might be in trouble.

So what do you do when you feel like you’re getting stuck? Here’s a step-by-step process!

Step 1 – Stop and Wait 

Don’t eat any more! Let it sit for a minute if you can wait. If you feel agonizing pain, it could be the peristaltic movement of your esophagus pushing your food down over your band and it’s possible the food will pass through.

Step 2 – Sip 

If no movement, take a sip of water – not a gulp!!! The sip of water might loosen the clump of food and help it go down past the band.

Step 3 – Polite Excuse 

If still no movement, excuse yourself (you don’t have to say why) and go to the bathroom.

Step 4 – The Restroom 

If the action of walking to the bathroom hasn’t dislodged your food (because sometimes it does), then get to a stall. Stand facing the toilet and bend over close to the toilet. Not too far away from the toilet because you’ll splash on your dress – remember the new dress? Don’t sit down on the toilet and aim for the space between your legs – remember the dress? So, as you’re leaning over the toilet, don’t panic, just let the food come out. If it doesn’t come out readily and you feel like it should be coming out, sometimes tightening your stomach muscles and a gentle pressure from your hands above your belly button helps. Usually just simply bending over does the trick. If you’ve had too much water, you may experience the rather unpleasant sensation of your food coming out of your nose as well. You’ll be OK. Just blow your nose. Wait for a minute until you’re sure it’s all out. Collect yourself and leave with a smile.

Step 5 – Clearance Test

Take small sips of water until you feel the water trickle down into your stomach. Skip the very hard and tough foods and start with very small bites of soft food. Follow with sips of water to see if the food goes down. If you feel the food going down, then keep on eating. You may want to take home the steak.

Step 6 – De-swell

Food getting stuck causes damage to the tissue around the the band and as a result, the tissue swells. On top of it all, your body’s natural pushing movements (or peristaltic movements) is trying to push the food bolus down into your stomach. So, once the food jam is gone, take it easy on that swollen tissue and eat only soft things for a while. You’ll feel that the band is tighter for a while, and that’s normal. Give your body a chance to de-swell.

I hope you can now more confidently navigate this unpleasant experience. It’s so easy to be so hungry before eating and accidently take in too big of a bite, or to just be unlucky and eat something that forms a food clump that gets stuck. It’s in those moments, in the public stalls, that we need to think about, and be grateful for the overall benefit – and may your dress be not splashed in the end.

Acid Reflux and Your Band

According to research, it appears that acid reflux, also called heartburn, or GERD (Gastroesophageal reflux disease), is a fairly common occurrence in obese people and tends to go away after the gastric band is implanted(1, 2, 3). So, if you’re like most people who have been banded, this is a problem that you can expect to get better over time as you lose weight. I personally had never experienced acid reflux before my band, but did afterwards, and found out that this is something that happens about 15% of the time(2). So, if you’re like me, I guess it’s just bad luck. So, rather than dwelling on what we can’t change, let’s go through the ways we can make it more manageable, right?

So how do you make this issue a little less of a problem?

1.Avoid foods that you know cause it for you – especially before bedtime.

On the web, on some medical/health sites, I found a “No-No” food list, unfortunately including some of my favorite foods, including:
-Onions and garlic
-Chocolate
-Alcohol
-Fatty foods
-Coffee (caffeinated and decaffeinated), tea, cola, energy drinks
-Spicy foods
-Tomato and citrus juices

I wasn’t able to find this list in any scientific literature, but you’ll know if for yourself if it’s a trigger. What I did find though that was interesting was that a diet higher in fibre and less sugar seems like it might really help(4).

2.Don’t eat within 3 hours of going to bed.

3.Take medicine in the morning before you eat (If you can).

Regarding any regular medicine that you think may be causing acid reflux, take it in the morning if you can, when you’re more likely to be sitting or standing. The reason why I suggest to take it right before you eat is to make sure the pills go down into your stomach and don’t stick on and burn the esophagus.

4.Take an antacid, like Tums, or an H(2) receptor antagonists H(2)RAs, for immediate relief, available over the counter.

Be cautious about the overuse of antacids though and see your doctor if you have to use them every day for a number of weeks.

5.Raise the head of the bed by about 6 inches.

You can raise your upper body using pillows, or blocks under the head of your bed, so that gravity, your friend, can ensure that acid stays in your stomach.

It’s still bugging me. What do I do?

If these symptoms are still irritating you, see your doctor. You doctor has other options to prescribe such as proton pump inhibitors, coating agents, and promotility agents.

References

For more information on treatment and prevention, I found the eMedicineHealth website to be very helpful:
https://www.emedicinehealth.com/acid_reflux_disease_gerd/article_em.htm#definition_and_facts_about_acid_reflux_gerd

1. Obes Surg. 1999 Dec;9(6):527-31.
Gastroesophageal reflux in obesity: the effect of lap-band placement.
Dixon JB1, O’Brien PE.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10638476

2. Obes Rev. 2010 Apr;11(4):297-305. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-789X.2009.00622.x. Epub 2009 Jun 26.
Effects of adjustable gastric banding on gastroesophageal reflux and esophageal motility: a systematic review.
de Jong JR1, Besselink MG, van Ramshorst B, Gooszen HG, Smout AJ.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=19563457

3. Obes Surg. 2006 Nov;16(11):1469-74.
Does gastric banding for morbid obesity reduce or increase gastroesophageal reflux?
Tolonen P1, Victorzon M, Niemi R, Mäkelä J.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17132413

4. Curr Gastroenterol Rep. 2017 Aug;19(8):38. doi: 10.1007/s11894-017-0578-5.
Can We Use Diet to Effectively Treat Esophageal Disease? A Review of the Current Literature.
Newberry C1, Lynch K2.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28730507

5. eMedicineHealth website, Retrieved April 19, 2018
https://www.emedicinehealth.com/acid_reflux_disease_gerd/article_em.htm#definition_and_facts_about_acid_reflux_gerd

Food Insecurity and Weight Gain

Why would not knowing when you’ll eat next, what you’ll eat, where you’ll eat it or how much food you eat cause weight gain? It seems like a strange thing to talk about because why would these things matter? They haven’t happened yet, so how could they impact us? Hang in there and let’s talk about this and you’ll see some unexpected mind-body interactions that happen even before we get hungry for that next future meal.

I just got home from maybe THE nicest working vacation I’ve ever had in Cabo, San Lucas, Mexico. The property was breathtaking, the ocean was beautiful and the restaurants were very nice and very expensive.

It appeared for me like this:

I skipped the last meal because I didn’t trust the cleanliness of the restaurants around the tourist area. By the time I got back to the resort, I was hangry.
The result: Hangry and stressed

I like to be careful about how much I spend on eating out. I knew we had to eat, but I didn’t want to spend the insane amount of money on breakfast / lunch / dinner. So, when there was a buffet, in the back of my head, I wanted to make sure that I ate enough so it was worth it. I also thought maybe if I ate enough, I could potentially skip the next meal and thus save the money.
The result: Uncomfortably full, stressed and full of guilt

For the trip back, we had just enough time to transfer to the next aircraft. We didn’t have time to look around and buy food. And of course, you can’t pack any food. The aircraft only served little snacks and by the time we got to the next airport, I was a mess. In desperation, I ate some junk food – as it was the only stuff available.
The result: Still hangry and stressed, ate junk and feeling guilty

I was less than thrilled with my attempts to deal with food. I was cycling between being starving hungry and stuffed to the brim. You see, my brain was trying to work in my best interest to make sure my body would live until the next meal. Because I didn’t know the particulars of my next meal, I felt the urge, almost like a compulsion, to eat as much as humanly possible when I got the opportunity. The result was an unhappy body filled with discomfort , guilt and secreting stress hormones, working hard to make sure that all of the calories were efficiently stored in fat, to prepare for the next hungry cycle.

It’s important to notice this when it happens. I was struggling through these cycles, when I realized what was going on and tried my best to get out of it.

Now this is just an example of my difficulties when travelling. On an ordinary basis, like in your daily routine, do you go through the same cycle?
How does this appear for you?

You could be afraid to spend the money on quality, whole foods. Junky foods are cheaper.
You don’t make your lunch/ dinner – instead you either starve at work or eat out. You body never knows what it will get.
You don’t shop on a regular basis. You run out of food and then eat junk food, before feeling guilty about your junk food and go shopping again.
You skip breakfast because you ran out of time before having to leave for work.
You’re taking lunch at different times of the day to work around your busy schedule.
You work and eat at the same time.

If you have any of these food insecurity habits or circumstances, then this is a definite root cause of overeating, eating bad food, being stressed out and priming your body to store as much fat as possible. So how can you break the cycle?

Make the routine of eating as peaceful, regular, healthy and predictable as possible. So how to do it? Have regular eating times. Eat with other people, so that you are relaxed and not gobbling up food. Make time for eating and not for working while eating (if you can). Do groceries regularly. Pack a lunch and/or a snack when you go out. Plan meals ahead of time so that you know what, where and when you’ll be eating. You may get stumped once in a while, but overall, if you’re body knows it has a schedule of eating and you are not worrying about the next meal, then you won’t have to overeat, feel guilty or stressed out. The result of that? Less stress hormones. Less reasons for your body to store fat efficiently.

I hope this gives you an insight into the tricky connection between food insecurity and gaining weight and some ways to avoid this.

Are you still stumped about why you overeat, or eat the wrong things, or simply can’t figure out why you aren’t losing weight? I can help you identify habits that are sabotaging your efforts to use your lap band to lose weight. Set up a time to talk to me about your personal situation. The talk is free and you can be assured you are talking in a safe environment.

Essential Oils and Weight Loss

I had a great get together with my friend Lisa-Marie Roy. She is an essential oils specialist in Ottawa. (www.mydoterra.com/lisamarieroy) I met this beautiful lady in our maternity ward at the General Hospital – she had her baby just a few hours before I did. We had a long chat about the uses of essential oils for everything from snoring, pain relief, mental health and of course weight loss. Like the crazy person I am, before she came, I looked up studies and found lots of evidence that essential oils could in fact help with weight loss. It’s encouraging – although unfortunately most of the studies were done on mice and rats! So what oils seem to be beneficial?

– Grapefruit Oil (The only issue with grapefruit oil is the interaction with drugs, like common antidepressants. So if you’re taking any medication at all, seek advice from your doctor or pharmacist.);
– Peppermint Oil;
– Fennel Oil (smells similar to anise, having a black licorice like aroma);
– Patchouli Oil (smells earthy);
– Lime Oil; and
– Oil of Oregano (A quick search on Google indicates that the active ingredient, Carvacrol, is most commonly associated with oil of Oregano, but can also be found in thyme and bergamot.)

To use these oils, you can use them in a diffuser or on your skin and some you can even eat. I’m so glad that Lisa was able to meet with me and I’m so glad that I can share this with you all. I hope that one or more of these oils you’ll be able to try out. I know that my house is going to be smelling a whole lot better soon!

One thing I quickly learned to do is to be very picky. I picked all the meat and cheese off sandwiches (because they were pre-packaged) and didn’t eat the bun – I know it sounds weird, but skipping the bread really does work for me. Well, maybe not so weird – as I was attending a business conference and guiltily shaking the meat contents out of a wrap, I noticed a professional baseball player beside me, who had the most amazing physique ever, doing the same thing. If you can order the sandwiches, like at McD’s,  you can often ask for no bread and get the sandwich contents on a leaf of lettuce. At Subway, you can get the meat, cheese and toppings in a box.

Make a vision board for your weight loss journey

What is a vision board?

A vision board, or dream board is a tool that helps keep our focus on our goals and dreams. A vision board is a collection, or collage of pictures, words, or videos that is displayed in a prominent area of our homes. It can physically be a Bristol board with pictures and words on it. It can even be a background for your computer, tablet or an app on your phone that you look at often.

Why do we need a vision board? How would it help us?

By making a vision board, it forces us to think about the things that we want to be, to do and to have in our lives. Not only does it help us identify and clarify these visions and goals, but by looking at it daily, it reminds us of what our goals are on a regular basis. It stimulates our emotions. We become more motivated. What happens is that we are plugging in those dreams and goals into our subconscious brains. A little like putting in a destination into a GPS. Throughout the day, our brain remembers these images, words and emotions of our vision board and will be silently and creatively working out ways that you can accomplish these dreams, just like the computer inside the GPS will work out a path to the destination. You’ll notice that you start to do things differently, surprising yourself sometimes.

What kinds of goals or dreams should I put down?

They should be very specific. To narrow things down to really focus on your weight loss journey, you could post pictures and words, where you are at a weight or size goal. Remember, these images and words are what you will use to represent what you want to Be, Do and Have. For example:

BE: Maybe you can now be healthy enough so that your doctor reduces or eliminates the medication you’re taking, perhaps now you can start your own business, or move into a new job because you now feel more confident about yourself.

DO: such as riding on a roller-coaster, flying in a plane without a seat-belt extender, go swimming with a brand new bathing suit, starting to date again, go horseback riding, travelling to China

HAVE: a new outfit, a new hairdo, a special dinner, there are so many options!

So right now, while we get ready to do our vision boards, I want you to really focus on what it is you really want when you are at your goal weight. Have a pen and paper handy. Go into a quiet room where you won’t be disturbed. You’re going to close your eyes and imagine for a few minutes. How will your life be different?  What kinds of things are you going to be doing on a day to day basis? How are you feeling? What are you doing? What are you seeing when you look in the mirror? How do you feel when you put on that brand new outfit. What does it smell like. What can you feel when you sit into the chair, now being a smaller size? What do the healthy foods are you now eating taste like? Write all of the visions, dreams and goals you have imagined. There’s no right or wrong ones. Put the ones that are important to you.

Find the right pictures and words

Now, find pictures that represent these things. You can get them from old magazines or by printing them out. The picture should be representative and speak to your heart. For example, if you want to be healthy to run after your kids, the picture could be of a running kid. If you want a slimmer figure, get a picture of a role model that has the same type of figure as you (don’t put a pear figure if you have an apple figure!). The words or sayings or sentences you choose should be words of affirmation, or words that describe how you will feel, like “joyful”, “bold”, “healthy” and “confident”, when you have reached that goal.

Making your vision board

You can use a big magnetic dry erase board, so you can add photos quickly and write your words or sentences on the board. You can also use a cork board.

What kind of pictures, images or words should you have?

You can paste your pictures on using a poster board which will bring back all of your science project school memories! There are many ways to get creative. One interesting weight loss vision board that I saw used 2 rows of clothespins, one row for weight lost, one row for weight left to go and where you move the clothespins from the “weight to go” to the “weight lost” as you progress. If you look closely at the one below, you’ll see that the creative maker, Autumn O., has rewards written on the clothespins for when she moves those clothespins to the “weight lost” row. Be fun, colorful and creative. A quick search on google images for “weight loss vision board” shows some pretty neat designs that you can use.

You can also use an app – there are many you can choose from. You can go to the app store and type in “vision board” and see the ratings and prices.

Putting it somewhere visible

Now put it somewhere you’ll see it daily. Take a minute or two to look at the pictures and feel emotional and inspired again. You don’t have to know exactly how you’ll get there right now. Just feel it and let your brain do the work. Whenever you have an idea about how you can achieve that vision or goal, how do you know if it’s right? Well, if it brings you closer to your goal, then do it!