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Meet Katy, an amazing young lady on her Gastric Band Reset Plan - Feeling physically and mentally ready to make her dreams a reality You've got this!

Meet the lovely Katy 35 years old had band fitted 18/10/21 after hitting her highest weight and admitting that she needed help Had Nic as her nurse originally - lost 5 stone - great progress! A few personal bereavements early on in Katy’s journey set her off track regaining 2 stone Back feeling mentally and physically fit, well and stronger than ever, seen Nic advertised on Facebook and reached out COME BACK MISSION IS ON ! 1st Assessment Full ‘RESET PLAN’ and Fluid check completed, band functioning no issues - 1ml of saline added to help with portions and hunger Band total 6.5ml Weight 175.2kg Katy was advised to work on : Planning and prepping Increasing textured food Upping hydration Observing Protein Challenge late night snacking and skipping meals Encourage movement Review in 1 month planned 2nd Assessment No issues since our last assessment. Great to see band now helping with portions and hunger more. Katy was glowing and feels like she has regained control again, almost like when she had the band - accepted mentally that she has to work with it and not against it Taken on board all what was discussed and excited by the possibilities that the future holds Weight today 170kg Portions, less that what there were but still over side plate, hunger variable Great to see the efforts in challenging snacking, being consistent with meals and batch cooking Reporting more energy, up earlier, restarted gardening again, walks Small adjustment today advised 0.5ml added taking band to 7ml Fluids observed - 2 days fluids then soft diet before weaning back to textures To continue to work and progress with 20+ rule, monitoring portions and hunger, to continue to set realistic goals, take small steps and enjoy the ride Review in 1 month planned - keep up great work ! Keep tuned in to see next months progress :-D

🤔 Are your meals textured enough to challenge your band? 🤔OK so what exactly are textured foods? They are foods that you have to work a bit harder with to get them through the band. Ones that require the oesophagus to really squeeze them through the band, not ones that just slip straight through with not much effort. These foods should be: Solid/ Hard – not soft and sloppy Chewy – lots of chewing required Dry – harder to get through the band Crunchy – a bit of a crunch can make them harder to manage Look at your meal overall, at least one item should be of the above. 🤔But why? Surely you want to have foods that go through the band and not cause you any problems? Well the second part is true – you don’t want foods that cause you problems but textured foods shouldn’t be a problem if you follow the 20+ rule properly. If you still can’t manage them then your band is likely to be too tight - seek advice ! 🤔So why have textured foods? Basically you need to have the textured foods to get the most out of your band. There are nerve endings in your stomach wall and as food passes through the band these nerve endings are stimulated. This then sends a message to your brain to say you are full. The harder something is and the more you have to bite and chew it the more “ squeezes” it takes your oesophagus to get it through the band. The the more times these nerve endings are stimulated the fuller you will feel. So TEXTURED FOODS = FEELING FULL! If you carry on just having soft, sloppy foods or liquids then there w asn’t much point in having the band put in the first place.

Nobody likes bland, boring food but adding salt isn’t good for your heart and blood pressure. Adding lots of sauces can liven up meals but unfortunately they are no good with the band. So what’s the answer? Something as simple as adding fresh herbs to meals can really make a difference to the taste often transforming a meal from bland to fabulous!! The trick is knowing which herb to add to which type of food can make all the difference. Try our guide below to get you started: Basil – great for adding to tomato based dishes or those with garlic, olive oil and lemon – Mediterranean style cooking!! Chives – Goes lovely with onions. You can add them to cheese or egg dishes. Try sprinkling them over soup or chop finely and add them to salads Dill – Excellent with fish especially salmon. It is also fabulous chopped over scrambled eggs. Again add at the last minute to keep the flavour Mint – Good with fish, lamb and fruit. This has a strong, fresh flavour and you really can’t beat it with a roast leg o f lamb Parsley – Mostly used as a garnish and can be added to most things – soup, salads, fish....... Rosemary – Good with lamb, pork, oily fish and tomatoes. This herb has an aromatic flavour This is also lovely with roast beef or lamb Coriander – Compliments chicken and fish very well. They are also super tasty with roast vegetables. Add at the last moment to keep in the flavour Tarragon – B est with chicken. This has a strong flavour (often an acquired taste) Its flavour develops over time when cooking. It is lovely mixed in with a little low fat mayonnaise and added to chicken. Try in a pitta with the chicken and salad

When it comes to reaching your goals and starting to think about making some healthy changes to your diet, 'Consistency is Key' Give yourself realistic goals, small steps if consistent get you to the finish line! Don't forget y our diet , over time , is more important than aiming for that ‘perfect’ diet every single day. No diet is perfect. Our bodies are designed to cope with the odd takeaway or dessert. A reminder as we are stepping into Spring, maybe some people have set some new year resolutions and trying very hard to stick to them - Don't forget 'Consistency is Key'. Completely restricting yourself of your favourite foods probably wont stop you from eating them ever again but it will stop you from enjoying the moment when you do. Having a celebratory meal or the odd treat will not impact your overall health or weight loss as long as you’re eating well most of the time.  Use your band/tool to it potential and enjoy everything in moderation

Gastric Band CliNIC - now offering mobile adjustments and urgent defills - within a 30 mile radius of LIVERPOOL Message me to check availability info@gastricbandclinic.co.uk Nic, Bariatric Nurse 10+ years experience, supporting and adjusting bands for 1000,s of patients on their weight loss journeys

F ollowing your gastric band surgery you will have several incisions on your abdomen. They will vary in size and around w here your port-site is positioned will be the largest of the incisions. Your wounds can be closed using different methods – these include steri strips, surgical glue and sutures. You can be discharged with or without dressings depending on the status of your wounds and your surgeon. A clean dry wound generally is a good sign that your wound is healing well. It is very important to look after your wounds after your surgery to minimise the risk of infection , s o following the advice your provider has instructed is paramount Initially, more often than not, you will have been advised to keep the area clean and dry, then normally around day 3-5 if your wounds remain dry you can have a quick shower. Do not apply soap direct to your wounds, you should apply the soap to your shoulder area and let the soapy water cascade over your abdomen, this will be enough to clean your wounds. Ideally you should use an antibacterial soap to minimise the risks of irritating your wounds also. Pat dry with a nice clean towel and redress if required. If you have scabs in-situ or some scratchy surgical glue it maybe wise to cover these incisions over with a dressing to avoid them catching on your clothing and dislodging the scab or glue prematurely. Wounds should not be fully submerged until you are scab free and your scar line is smooth. You don't want to risk the chances of any micro-organisms burrowing and infecting the site. So it is important to o bserve your wounds everyday, the status of a wound can change at anytime and it is so important that any concerning symptoms are treated swiftly and in the correct manor. Observe for any changes I.e Additional swelling/redness/pain to the s ite You might start to feel generally unwell Develop a raised temperature – above 38*c You develop a discharge/pus/smell from your wound At the first sign of any of these symptoms you need to get into see your nurse urgently for an assessment – if there is an infection to the site it is best to be treated as early as possible , especially if it is your port site wound as you don't want to run the risk of any infection spreading to your band. Some health conditions can impact on the healing process, these include diabetes , lymphedema, heart disease and high cholesterol – something to bare in mind. Also if you are a smoker you will have been advised to stop prior to your surgery due to the increased risks of infection and blood flow. It is important that you refrain from smoking after your surgery also as the harmful chemicals in cigarettes can effect the healing process and the nicotine may decrease the blood flow that can also compromise the healing. Good nutrition is essential for healing. After your surgery you will be on fluids only, so it is essential that you make sure your fluids are high in vitamins and minerals, and that your are taking in sufficient amounts of protein , approximately 50-60g minimal daily Happy Healthy Healing to you all

A fter a Band this is the big question! The one that everyone asks and the one that’s the most difficult to answer! So, let’s try and make sense of it: First of all, portion sizes can differ depending on what stage you are at within your journey, and what types of food you are eating. If you are fairly early post op and your band isn’t optimally adjusted yet, then your portion sizes will be larger. Even If you are further down the line your band can loosen over time through to dispersion, and you will find your portions increasing. This is an obvious sign you may need a band adjustment so look out for this change in portions. If you are eating soft , sloppy foods or liquids like protein shakes then again, your portion sizes will be larger as these foods just slip straight through the band. So if you are back established on a normal diet then make sure your foods are textured – that mean’s crunchy, chewy, dry or solid, or all 4. So, let’s assume you are further down the line with your band, past the early post–op phases of the diet and back on a normal diet. Next let’s assume your band is optimally adjusted – so what should a portion size look like? Again, this can vary because everyone is different – some people post pictures of miniscule portions of their meals and say they can’t manage it all, making others worry when they can eat far more than that – maybe their band is too tight, maybe there’s something else going on so try and concentrate on your own journey and your own meals. At this stage your portions should be small – basically your whole meal should fit comfortably on a 6 inch plate. That should be around – 4-5 tablespoons of food in total . So it ' s not about how much of one particular food you can manage but how much of your whole meal you can manage. That makes it very difficult to give set portion sizes but it also makes it easier for you to manage. Forget how many grams of this and how many grams of that you can manage and simply go by your plate or a small bowl approx 5" in diameter is a good place to start.