You are so right about the fills!! It took 4 fills and 1 unfill--had to learn somehow-- for me to settle right in at 5cc in my 10cc band to lose 130 lbs in 10 months. It is hitting the sweet spot and identifying it. Portion control. I am swimmer so not a "gym/heavy weight work out type" so I can't say 1500 to 1800 calories but what I will say everyone is different! Mine was 800-1000 and still is. It is what I am comfortable with..on occasion I go over but I eat 5 times a day..this is what works for me. I cook all of my foods...even read an article today that said that those who eat at home are the ones that live to 100 yrs old!!! I wish you the very best on the final leg of your journey!!

Thanks for the advice Kelly! I will definitely keep that in mind. Congrats on the weight loss so far!

Thank you much needed advice for my journey.

Great advice...I'm more than at the half-way mark for my fills, and I must say that with each fill that I've gotten, my appetite is great, eating my correct portions, no hunger and great satiety levels. After those initial two weeks I find myself getting hungrier and eating more. I find that I lose the most weight during those initial two weeks post-fill and I stagnate until my next appointment.

I'm very FORTUNATE that I've never been stuck, never slimmed, and have NEVER thrown up...so what I know for a fact is the band reacts differently for everyone. Mine is so fickle that it changes almost daily sometimes. For instance sometimes I don't have an appetite at all in the mornings, other times I wake up hungrier than a horse. So my advice, fills work differently for everyone, just get to know your body and your band and learn when you're most successful during each phase of your journey.

I'm a personal trainer so you are absolutely right about the 80% diet and 20% working out rule. This has been my problem over the years because I LOVE to workout in a gym, and I like to be active...but the scale won't budge much if my diet is outta wack, protein and complex carbs are definitely keys to success in anyone trying to overcome the battle of the bulge.

I wish you much continued success

i'm glad i saw this post. i have had 3 fills and was thinking about going in for a small one. my scale just will not go past the 20 pound mark(banded may20th) and it's soooooooooooooooo frustrating. on the other hand i have gone from size 20 to size 16 so that's the only thing that keeps me off the ledge! LOL

It is truly all about the diet. I have been studying this for months now. Wondering why I was working out so hard and having 1000 cals a day and nothing was happening. I had it all wrong. I dont need to train so hard; infact that was to my detriment. I just needed to perfect my diet and eat clean!!!! That means good protein, complex carb and a fat in every meal - 5-6 meals a day. You must consume at least 1500 cals or you will end up losing your muscle. Yes, pounds drop - but you would be loing muscle weight. Thats no good because muscle is what keeps your metabolism going. And when you do eat a slice of pizza or have a piece of cake - it will be stored as fat. This can be very complicated - I know! Bottom line:

EAT CLEAN, exercise at a low intensity 3x a week and lift heavy weights 2x a week. FAT will melt away. Who cares about the darn pounds on the scale! Losing FAT is where its AT

Bravo, this is excellent advice for all. Best wishes on your journey. Thank you. imaluckydog

You are so right!!! I am where you are in my journey & I wish someone had posted this a year ago! Great post, thank you!