B-52

I am so glad you are excited and MOTIVATED! That's the most important thing of all. Just be aware, you hve yet to go through BANDSTER HELL. A period where you are getting byour scheduled fills, butare not there yet, and you have to fight the hunger on your own using willpower and self determination jast as you have in the past before the surgery. But be assured, you will get through it and your life will be changed!

You said 2 fills but you did not say total cc's that you have. My first fill was 4cc, and did not notice any difference. As a matter of fact after my first fill and before my second, I gained weight. Second fill was 4 weeks after the first, for 2 cc. Restriction would come and go, but I definitley could not pig out. I did have a few stuck episodes for the first time, but I was still very hungry. Third fill was 4 weeks after the second, 1cc, for a total of 7. That was the Charm for me. Total green zone. I have since then, complete portion control, I am rarley hungry between meals, and when I do have a meal most of the time I really do not feel lilke eating that much. Sometimes I have to remind and force myself to eat. What you have described, I could not touch with a 10 foot pole. Taco's? I don't think my band would allow more that 2 small bites. Drinking while eating? Forget what they taught you, I learned that lesson the hard way. So, you have had 2 fills...have you ever felt any restricion? In order to stretch your pouch, you would need one in the first place for food to accumulate. Otherwise it goes freely into the stomach. I have had other people tell me their Dr. only gives them very small fills, it it would take them forever to get any restriction.

For mw it only took one week for all bandages to come off, Dr. cleared me at post-op appointment to soak in whirlpool, workout, whatever.

Why did you get a unfil? With a unfil, it is as though everything is as it was when you first started, except you did not learn anything since then. No one can help you, only you know what you have to do.

I have lost weight also just by working out and eating better also....just to have it come back, MANY times. I needed bariatric surgery, perhaps as a last resort. I have met my goal, and still loosing. I have no desire at all to over eat, nor do I have any bad cravings. I say bad, because everyone has "Head" cravings, say for Cookies. But when I pick one up and take a bite, I quickly realize I really don't want it and throw it away. being banded is the best thing I have ever done, don't regret it for any reason. cannot predict the future but the way I feel right now I cannot see this as ever failing.

A few things for you newbies.....they tell you 60-90 minutes because they don't know what else to tell you. It's mostly B.S.! The way it works is this...first you need to have some amount of restriction, which you will not have for a quite a few more weeks, and fills. Burt when you get restriction, food will accumulate in your pouch, passing throgh your band slowly. The pouch can hold just so much food. Overfilling your pouch can be disasterous! So when and right after you eat, adding Water to that volume with immediatley increase it, immediatley having negative results. As you become an experienced bandster, you will learn to "Listen" to your band, and become a good judge as to what is happening. Water, without food, will pass right through the band into the stomach. So I drink whatever and how much right up to the point where I begin to eat. After eating, it all depends on how my band/pouch feels. Most of the time I can begin drinking 20-30 minutes after eating. I may have to take a small sip to see/feel if it is safe first. For all you newbies, you are being taught all sorts of "Rules" to follow, learn. The majority of them do not apply to you just yet, but you need to get them in your hread just the same. The first time you have a negative reaction to swallowing, etc, it is then you are going to remember what and why they told you about this and that little rule, and it is then it will all make sense.

I just don't know how accurate those statistics are, or how they are compiled. I lost 80 lbs in one year, and even though my BMI says I need to loose more weight, being a man I am more muscular and do not feel I can loose much more. So I consider this a 100% success. I am extremely happy with my results. One thing about the lap band, it is adjustable. Which means you can be very aggressive and have your food intake (portions) completely under control and limited, have you hunger and cravings taken away. But it all comes with the risk of stuck episodes, sometimes pain, and definitley a large learning curve by the user. OR You can choose NOT to be aggressive, have your band adjusted loosley, letting you eat more, making you depend upon your own will power more, keeping you safe from the possible "Stuck" episodes, etc. It is this approach where I can see people only loosing 40-60% of weight goal.

Congratulations!!!! I hit my one year in Jan. and had the same success.... IT REALLY DOES WORK!!!! Doesn't it..... What a coincidence...like you, I lost 80 lbs in one year also....

I have been in the Green Zone for some time now. And I have NEVER FELT FULL. Maybe it's a play on words, but feeling full is the same thing as it was after a Thanksgiving dinner, or a trip to the Buffet. it is the "I'm Stuffed" feeling. If that is what everyone is looking for, you're not going to find it. Under the definition of "Green Zone" it never says anything about feeling full. What it does say is you will be "Satisfied" It is more behaviour, a mental thing. Since being banded, have you ever sat down at a meal, taken 2-3 bites and said "I'm finished, I have no desire to continue"? Well, that's what your band does. It sends a signal to your brain that "You are satisfied" Finished...no reason or desire to continue. When this happens, don't force it. Listen to your band! Don't get hung up on "Am I getting enough Calories in?" When the band say stop, you don't want or need to eat, then don't! This is also the signal that takes away your hunger cravings, etc, if you start practicing to listen. It is as though the band sends the signal to you brain that you are full, and you do not need to continue, but physically you're not full. You may not have had anything to eat at all! But your brain says you have.

What you are experienceing is Bandster Hell. You don't have any restriction yet, so your band is probably doing very little, if anything at all. That means everything you are doing is purely on willpower. Same as though you never had the surgery. If you were so good using will power and dieting, you would not have needed the surgery in the first place. So, I know it's frustrating, but know that once you band is adjusted properly, it will start taking over your bad eating habits, if YOU let it. Some people refuse to change with the band, hold onto their old ways, and it is they that generally do not do well. Ask yourself....Whay Did I Choose to Have this Surgery?? To motivate me to be better at Dieting?

You're newly banded....unfortunately you have to eat, make choices, as though you are on any other diet.

I have been in the Green Zone for some time now. And I have NEVER FELT FULL. Maybe it's a play on words, but feeling full is the same thing as it was after a Thanksgiving dinner, or a trip to the Buffet. it is the "I'm Stuffed" feeling. If that is what everyone is looking for, you're not going to find it. Under the definition of "Green Zone" it never says anything about feeling full. What it does say is you will be "Satisfied" It is more behaviour, a mental thing. Since being banded, have you ever sat down at a meal, taken 2-3 bites and said "I finished, I have no desire to continue"? Well, that's what your band does. It sends a signal to your brain that "You are satisfied" Finished...no reason or desire to continue. When this happens, don't force it. Listen to your band! Don't get hung up on "Am I getting enough Calories in?" When the band say stop, you don't want or need to eat, then don't! This is also the signal that takes away your hunger cravings, etc, if you start practicing to listen. It is as though the band sends the signal to you brain that you are full, and you do not need to continue, but physically you're not full. You may not have had anything to eat at all! But your brain says you have.

I have no idea what it is. Just glad I have them. I like to think that since my digestive tract is always empty, when I feed it it gobbles it up like some kind of beast! Hogwash I know.

Who do you see? I go to Centre State in Freehold, but my insurance has changed and I now pay out of pocket. But if I should need surgery that would be too large a cost.

Sorry for not getting back sooner. I'll be honest, the first few months were hell. I stink at counting calories/dieting. It was only after my 3rd fill did I have any permanent restriction. It was then I had to learn to listen to the band, change MY ways and not try to fight the band. If the band won't let me eat, or eat what I want, then I don't. Thre are other things also. Plus I go to the gym as much as possible to burn off more calories than take in.

You're not giving enough detail...when where you banded? Any fills? How Much? Have you ever been in the green zone? makes a big difference.

Wait till your throat gurgles as liquids pass through your band like a drain emptying. Cool!

For now, the best thing you can do is follow your Dr.'s instructions, and remember, the first 4 weeks is all about you healing and getting back to normal after having major surgery. It is NOT about loosing weight. Aslo, I would not take everything you read here too seriously, being a Newbie. It can make your head swim and only add to the confusion. Have the surgery, and listen to your Dr.

I had to do the liver shrinking diet pre-surgery. My Dr. told me if I did not loose the weight, He would postpone the surgery to another date. My surgery was a monday morning. My final appoinment / weigh in was the friday before. So, guess what I did Saturday?? Had my final meal. I went somewhere I knew I would never set foot in again...a Chinese "All You Can Eat" Buffet. Savored every minute. The Sunday, I went on a 24 hr fast for mondays surgery. I had heard stories where people where under full anesthesia in the OR, and the Dr. stopped the surgery because the liver was too enlarged and he did not want to risk it. Also, I take exception to you saying you're a poor candidate for lap band surgery. If you, and we for that matter were so good at controlling our hunger, we wouldn't need this surgery. You're trying to act like someone who has been banded a year and you haven't had the surgery yet. Lighten up on yourself.

It was not until 6-7 months after the surgery, having 3 fills, etc, finding my "groove" and being in the Green Zone, did I honestly say "I am NOW OFFICIALLY a bandster and can now truley start my weight loss journey. Everything leading up to that point was just post-op healing, then a time of adjusting and learning. You have recently just had the surgery. I'm not trying to discourage you, but to be brutally honest, and something all newbies need to know, is that you still have a way to go. All you can do now ids folow your Dr,'s directions, and continue to diet the old fashion way untill that day comes. Hang in there. Take it from someone who succeded and met their goal in 12 months....IT WILL COME.

Watching food commercials is the same as watching people eat at a resturant......REPULSIVE! I won't say I hate food, but I put it way down on my list as things I need to concern myself with.

How much restriction do you have? Not saying this is for everybody, but I have not counted calories or carbs in over 8-9 months. And I am loosing, met my goal,and still loosing. My band is adjusted to the point where my portions are very limited in size, automatically. So all I have to Do is make wise food choices, and I don't feel I need to look at a chart to tell me what's good and what isn't. But that's how it works for me.

Agreed. If it is very tender, like prime rib, it would be better. But would you take hat chance at a resturant?

I start the day with my homemade smoothie concoction for 40 gm of Protein to start the day. After that it is not hard to make up the difference. Today I had black bean chili for lunch, and stir fried chicken and veggies for dinner. I also carry a Protein Bar with me for Snacks. I may have yogurt before bedtime if I have a craving. So getting my daily protein is never a problem at all. Also I should clarify something for newbies...when I say I cannot eat something, like pizza, I is not entirely accurate. I could eat a slice, but it would take me 20 minutes, each swallow being a risk like walking through a minefield. So what's the use. I just don't boher with it anymore. Same with a shrimp I love shrimp. But I have to take a bite, chew then swallow as much as 4 times to get through one shrimp.

When we're you banded.? When I was within my first few months, my bowels went through some change that were not very pleasant. But never had to run immediately after eating.