Health Issues Lap bands and veganism?

[Blobbenstein]

Thanks SquarePeg; it doesn't sound quite like the easy ride I thought it might be.

I must read this thread again, if I start to want it again, in the future.

One thing I would miss is guzzling liquids; just things like tea, or water, or diet coke. I suppose that they became limited as well as food.

Well, I feel more like addressing my diet without a lap band now.

 

[SquarePeg]

The Lap-Band "rules" include no drinking while eating. Usually drinking isn't physically an issue unless you're "too tight" in which case sometimes even water will come back up.

Beverages with calories are nutritionally void of any real benefit and you can drink hundreds, if not a couple thousand, calories before you feel even remotely "full" so they're pretty much a big no-no on any diet, including the Lap-Band.

If I had it to do over again I wouldn't do it. Which isn't to say no one should ever do it. But it isn't a quick or easy fix either.

 

[Ansciess]

Also, I just heard Dr. McDougall on the radio talking about his book The Starch Solution
http://www.amazon.com/The-Starch-Solution-Regain-Health/dp/1609613937

I'm a bit wary of special types of diet. I think for the long term it is just better to just eat healthily, and reduce calorie intake.

It can be done. However, I would strongly urge you to really go on a low-fat vegan diet (like that promoted in Forks Over Knives and the PCRM's 21-Day Weight Loss Kickstart...

If you can't follow the diets outlined by Dr. Neal Barnard, Dr. Ornish, or Dr. McDougall on your own and make those healthier food choices without the Lap-Band you're unlikely to do it with the Lap-Band.

Blobbenstein, for someone who is already vegan, these aren't really "special types" of diets. McDougall, Barnard, Ornish all promote vegan diets, they just guide you a little further in your food choices and (perhaps) amounts if you're trying to lose weight. McDougall probably steers you towards starches for fullness, and low fat - but If you're someone who needs more structure, then I might still recommend that you look into following a program of some kind rather than just more vaguely trying to eat healthier.

 

[Calliegirl]

I haven't known anyone go has gotten a Lap-Band, but I do know two people who have gotten a gastric bypass and both regret it. The first one lost a ton of weight, but she looked and felt terrible all the time. Her hair fell out and she threw up often. Even years later, she still felt awful all the time.
The other person was my roommate, she needed to lose around 200lbs. After a year she had lost almost 60, but then started putting weight back on. She only ate junk food, even though she threw up almost every time she ate something sweet. She was really unhappy that it wasn't the quick fix she was hoping for.