Tracy_1day

You are definitely not alone. The band works different for everyone and I really wanted to be one of those people who felt restriction just from them putting the band in....that didn't happen lol. I can eat anything, I do get fuller faster but I can still eat 2 slices of pizza if that's what I want to eat. I try to make good food choices most of the time, I have good days and bad days. I have had one fill and am scheduled for another at the end of this month. I make sure I work out at least 5 days a week, I walk or do strength training. I get hungry in between meals so I try to snack on decent food like string cheese or drink more Water. My doctor says to be patient and do the right thing and it will come. I use this time to work on making good food choices and determining my week points, moments etc. I track everything I eat on myfitnesspal.com. Yesterday I went to the movies and had popcorn and m-n-m's....no my best choice lol. I do my best not to get discouraged and fall back into my old eating patterns though. When I have a bad day like yesterday, tracking it and looking at the choices I made reminds me that the band isn't around my mouth or my brain...so I have to put my effort in too. Not sure if that's helpful or not but just know you aren't the only one that struggles and we are all here for support!! Good luck

Shauna & Kell, I know how you are feeling, I had no weight loss for 3 weeks!! I got my fill last week and really feel no difference but I try every day to keep on track. It's tough with the heat here currently because I'm thirsty a lot so I drink with meals and during the day if I'm out with people I tend to stop and get a mocha frappucino from Starbucks However, I make myself work out every day, or almost every day and I keep reminding myself that eventually I will get my band where it needs to be and hopefully by then I will have gotten used to better eating habits too!! In the mean time I know I'm getting healthier with most of my food choices and my exercising. Try not to let the scale discourage you. Just consider this time an adjustment period. Good luck to all of us, I know if we stick with this we will see those pounds going down on the darn scale!!

Congrats Lydia!

That sounds like a great idea! I wish I was that organized lol

Ok, well I got my first fill today!! Hopefully that will help with the hunger in between meals that I have been having but my Dr said not to stress if it doesn't. It might take more than one fill to get me to my green zone. Sooooo....my doctor doesn't do fills under fluoroscopy, they just stick the needle in there and wiggle it around to find the port lol. It sounds painful but it wasn't at all. Just a tiny little stick when the needle is inserted and then she moved to the center of the port and checked to see if I had any fluid in my band already, I did....2cc's because I have a 14cc band. She says she drains it each time to check for any problems and to confirm how much is in my band. So she added 3cc's to that so I now have 5cc's in there. It sounded like with the bigger bands you have to have more cc's to get the restriction...not positive about that though. So I had to drink while I was still there....it felt fine. I am on liquids for 24 hours then can start back on solids. I go back in next month to see the nut and possibly get another fill. She also told me to step up my work out from 30 min a day to 60 . I hope I see some changes with this fill but if not, I'm just going to stay positive and know that it will work for me if I work with it

I was banded on June 30, 2011 and have lost 20lbs!

Congrats Shauna!! Welcome to all those who got banded this last week!! I go in for my first fill tomorrow....I will let you guys know how it goes. I have been really hungry this week with TOM creeping up on me, the cravings have been awful. Hopefully the fill will help with some of that and a little more will power will help with the rest. I haven't gained any weight since I got back on regular food but I haven't lost any either...*long sigh* I worry about not paying attention to my soft signs when something tastes really good and I don't want to stop eating. I should probably be more careful about measuring. Well we shall see how we progress after the fill, onward and downward (in the weight department at least )

That's the hard part for me right now too. I KNOW that I don't NEED to eat more but my mouth is like...mmmmm we could have some more of that! lol

Well, not having the greatest day. I gained 3 lbs this week...the worst part is that looking back at my food consumption I can see why!! Pizza twice this week *sigh* I wish the band magically took away our desire for food not good for us lol On the up side, I can look back and see why I have gained that weight and hopefully make steps to correct it. I refuse to give up on myself this early in the game!! It does get discouraging though when on most days my calorie intake is between 800-1000 calories and then pizza can screw up my whole week. No loss in the last two weeks for me, although I'm sure if I stick to my guidelines I will drop that 3 lbs, it doesn't count as a loss to me since its 3 lbs I lost already and then foolishly gained back. I started walking this week so I was really hoping that I would lose!! I guess I am gonna be a slow loser, which I keep telling myself is ok....I just need to believe it

Good luck!! Let us know how you did, and I'm sure you are doing great!!

I'm down about 19lbs to include 6 lbs from the pre-op. I'm happy with the loss but I haven't lost anything in the last week which makes me sad. I'm hoping this week picks up again. Anyone else have that problem?

I know some of you are having trouble being hungry. I don't have that so much but I have trouble knowing when to stop eating. I guess I need to measure my food or something because the last two nights I have eaten what I thought was a reasonable amount and been really really full feeling after. I'm worried that I'm going to stretch my pouch out, anyone know if thats something that can happen quickly?

I'm in Texas also, I bought the zumba for the playstation move, hopefully I will like it cuz this heat makes it tough to walk in!!

Hey April, I'm about an hour away from you in Copperas Cove I craved ice cream too, this heat is killer for that. What I did was get some lemon juice and ideal (I don't like splenda) and mixed up some lemonade and froze it and ate it later. it's great for the heat, plus it counts as part of your liquid intake for the day! Hope that helps!! Congrats on the 10 lbs, thats awesome

Shauna & Jenny, Congrats!! All I did for 2-3 days after surgery was rest and drink lol My port incision hurt so bad even the pain meds didn't stop that and sleeping was done in 2 hour increments but by night 4 I was feeling pretty good and could roll over on my sides without much pain. It's tough the first few days but at two weeks out I feel I had surgery months ago instead of weeks. I'm excited for all of us, we are gonna do so great!!!

I weigh daily and I like the suggestion of picking one day a week to record because we all do fluctuate. I had a war going on with the scale this week, it was frustrating but I read so many peoples stories on here going through the same thing that I didn't let it get me down! I had lost 20lbs the since the pre-op diet started (one month ago) and then the beginning of this week I put on 2lbs....I have been not happy with the scale every morning this week because it hasn't moved, then this morning....that 2lbs was gone. I am happy with 20lbs on one month and that is what I am focusing on, not the fact that it was actually gone in three weeks and this week we have been playing yo-yo with the last 2 lbs lol. Positive thinking right!!

Good luck, I hope they can figure out what's going on!!

It would be nice if the lapband also took away cravings!! I wanted chocolate yesterday so bad I was ready to scream I know exactly what you mean about listening to your body. It's definitely a learning experience, figuring out when you are actually hungry or when you just "feel like eating", knowing when you are satisfied vs. full...but I am happy to learn new things and this is an important step that I have taken for a healthier me so bring it on body, I'm paying attention!!

Congrats and welcome to everyone who got banded this past week!! For those of you who feel miserable, it gets better!!! I am 2 wks and 2 days post-op and I feel great! No discomfort at all and my little band is working wonderfully. I eat about 1/2c to a cup of food, depending on how hungry I am...I try to remember to stop when I feel satisfied and not full but that's a learning process for me. I did have a bit of a stall this week....but I finally dropped 1.5lbs today so I feel ok with that for the week...although I would like it to be more, I think we all feel that way lol. Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!!

I did the pre-op diet and didn't lose any weight the first week. Some people say its because I was eating so much less than normal that my body was in shock and didn't want to give up any weight in case we needed it later! lol Point being that you were only banded a few days ago and your body is adjusting to some big changes as well as using its energy to heal. I wouldn't worry right now, the first few weeks after surgery should be focused on healing. I am sure the weight loss will come for you

Great idea!! Thanks for sharing

I had soreness when I would breath for about 4-5 days, but I would probably still just call your dr to make sure everything is ok

Congrats everyone who got banded this week!! Don't forget to look up the July Bandsters in the post op section!! Good Luck to those getting banded today and friday! Have a great day

Yeah, around my 4th day post op I was so hungry I couldn't stand it. I started mushies early also, although I am not recommending that. I didn't have any trouble, but you should always follow your dr's recommendations. My friend who has had the band for over a year says its common to get hungry while you are still on liquids...it eases up a lot once you start mushies. From my own experience I have to second that.. Drink as much as possible though and drink your protein shakes and that helps a lot.

Congrats!! That's really awesome