Cat225

I am in the same boat as you! I've had my band for almost 7 months, have lost 50 pounds, but I've been at a major plateau since June. I'm still working towards the green zone. I'm hoping my next fill will jumpstart my weight loss. Do you exercise? Once it cools down outside I'm going to start walking.

I've had my band since January 30, 2014, and have had 5 fills so far, each .5ccs. I'm at around 5 to 5.4 ccs in my band, and it's not keeping me satiated for more than 2 hours at a time. The only time that I can go over 4 hours between eating is if I eat a meal with lots of Protein that's around 350-400 calories. I'm trying to stay below 1,500 calories, and drink between 64-80 oz. of Water every day. I'm writing everything down and counting protein grams, but I'm still at a serious plateau. My weight will not budge. I spoke to my clnic yesterday, and the skinny nurse told me the same thing as always, to eat small high protein meals, and they will eventually get me in the green zone. I'm so frustrated. They won't fill you more than .5 ccs a visit, and you can only get a fill once every 4 weeks. I postponed my July fill to work on eating slower and smaller bites. I'm doing a lot better with that, but I am hungry so much of the time, not just head hunger, but stomach growling. Some days all I think about is food, and what to eat at my next meal/snack, calculating calories, counting protein grams, etc. It's exhausting.

Thanks for your reply. It's so frustrating! Anyone that says getting the lapband is an easy way out has no idea. It is hard work! Hopefully, the next fill will help me. I know it's not a race, but a whole new lifestyle. I just wish I would start losing again!

3457 + 50 = 3507

I started this process on January 17th. From then to April, I lost 41 pounds. Since then, my weight has been up a few pounds and then back down. I'm at around 40 pounds gone, but I can't seem to start losing again. I've had 3 fills, my most recent one was 2 weeks ago. My band is filled to around 4.9-5.0 ccs. All I've noticed from the fills is that I must eat very slowly and chew well, which I have been doing, because after each fill more and more food is getting stuck, forcing me to have to spit it up. The full or satisfied sensation only lasts for a short time. I'm hungry again after most meals. The clinic suggested I try steel cuts oats in the morning for a change, because I am sick of eggs. This morning I had a small pre measured packet of steel cut oats sweetened with Truvia and fresh blueberries. I also had 3 pieces of chicken bacon and black coffee. My whole Breakfast was 320 calories. I was very satisfied afterwards, but not more than an hour later my stomach felt empty again. I am trying so hard to eat small portions, because I know that is the key to losing weight. I thought the whole point of this lapband was that it would make eating small, sensible portions of good food satisfying. What am I doing wrong? I am near tears here feeling like a complete failure once again. This is the same pattern that has happened on any diet I have ever been on in my life. I lose a bunch of weight at first, and then stop losing, and can't start losing again. I have committed this is my new lifestyle, not a diet, but I'm just so afraid that It's not going to work anymore. I have read stories where people never lose weight with their lapband. I spent so much money on this thing and had so much hope just a couple months ago. What happened? I am choosing good foods, a couple sensible carbs and not eating any sugary or fatty junk foods. I'm also limiting my snacking to once a day. I wanted to have energy this summer, but it's starting to get warm out and I'm already uncomfortable and sweaty again. I'm really miserable.

I weighed myself today, and I'm finally losing again! I was so relieved. I've been really careful, and lowered my carb consumption to just 1 or 2 pieces of whole grain toast a day, and focused on eating the bulk of my calories in protein. I feel very good to be on an upswing again! Plus, I'm finally under 300. I NEVER EVER want to see that number again!!!

Thanks so much! I really appreciate it. I will write you back later!!

Thanks @@enjoythetime! I just sent you a message!

Thanks everyone! I feel like my appetite is a beast right now! I'm trying so hard to keep full with Protein and limit my carbs, but it's not easy. I've dropped over a dress size, so that is something to be happy about. I still have so much weight to lose. I just want to be under and stay under 300 pounds for good. It sucks to lose 40 pounds and no one notices. My doctor will only fill .5 every 4 weeks, no more than that and not any sooner. I read about bandster hell before I got my band, but now I really understand it! @@enjoythetime, I think you are right about me preparing/expecting to fail. I've been trying to lose weight for so long, and I'm so used to always failing. Can I ask you a question? I saw in your profile that you lost 142 pounds in 1 year. That is amazing! How did you do it? What were/are your meals like? How did you get through this initial hell stage and keep losing weight?

BlissfullyBanded, I, too, have been learning what is 'done' and what is 'too much'. I definitely can eat a much smaller portion of food than I did before, and seconds are usually not an option. But, what you said, done, it's a great way of looking at things!

Wow, you are lucky! I've had 2 fills so far, and they've both been .5ccs. My clinic won't do more than that every 4 weeks. Roxy, I love your avatar!!

Congratulations!

It's been two months since I got my lap band. Tomorrow I'm getting my second fill. So far I've lost 37 pounds, 15 during the pre-op diet, and 22 since my lap band surgery. I've been to parties, and dined out at restaurants and I'm still losing. When I went out with friends last week, I brought my own take home container with me, and packed up half my dinner before I started eating it! I've changed the foods that I eat, but generally I don't feel like I'm on a diet. That's why I'm so surprised that I'm still losing weight. In the past, when I tried to eat like a normal person and not diet, I would always end up bingeing and gaining weight. Maybe it's because I've cut out my trigger foods from my diet. I don't feel deprived, though. I eat a lot of protein, and no junk food. I am hungry a lot, but I know that it's going to take a while before my band is in the green zone. I also know that I have long way to go, and a lot of weight to lose. I'm trying to focus on small goals not the the big picture.

The only people who know about my surgery are my husband and my friend. I avoided my mother for over two weeks after I was banded. She lives nearby, and has no idea what I've been through. I don't want to share my secret just yet. Maybe after I lose 100 pounds I'll tell my family. But, other people, I may never tell them. My weight has been a public struggle for me, even when I was skinny and in college. I was always fair game to talk about, "She lost weight", "oh, she gained it all back," as well as people always felt that they had to share their latest diet with me and suggestions. My grandmother was the worst, "You have such a pretty face. Don't you want to be attractive to boys?" I was barely overweight then! I'm not ashamed that I had to get banded. It took me many years of research and discussion before I made this decision. It is SO not the easy way out! I still have cravings, and my band is nowhere near the green zone yet. It's a lot of willpower. Don't feel badly about omitting the lap band from your story to people. It's none of their business. Would you be telling everyone about a personal surgical procedure? That is what this is. You needed this surgery for your health. You have lost an incredible amount of weight using your willpower and better habits! As for your best friend's mother-in-law...I can't write what my response to her would have been in this forum. LOL!

Does adding a protein supplement to your meals help keep you filled up? I've been reading about unflavored protein powder, specifically the Unjury brand. Does that kind of protein work the same way, as chicken in filling you up? I am trying to eat my protein. I haven't had a protein shake since week 2 after surgery. I'm still in the process of getting my band filled to the right amount, and I find that I'm hungry a lot. Would this kind of protein be helpful for me? Thanks!

Thanks for your posts! I bought a new brand of protein shake the other day. It has 150 calories and 25 grams of protein per serving. I'm going to try it tomorrow after I get my fill. I think my real issue is that I still need several adjustments before I'll be in the green zone. Somehow I'm still losing weight! Until then, I'm just going to have to white knuckle it!

WOW! What an amazing accomplishment! Can you give me any tips? I was just banded 2 months ago.

For full liquids, I mostly drank a lot of chicken broth, ate sugar free jello, had my protein shakes, but made them with skim milk instead of water, and had the occasional yogurt drink. I got filled up pretty fast during this stage. After 2 weeks of protein shakes, warm chicken broth never tasted so good!

I quit on November 21, 2001. I became a full fledged smoker when I was 18 and away at college. I smoked around a pack a day, give or take, until I was 25 when I got a sore throat and laryngitis. I quit for around 2 years, but started back up right before I turned 28, and smoked a lot until I was 31. I quit for a bunch of reasons. I always told myself that I didn't want to still be smoking when I turned 30. I had started to really feel the effects in my chest, and I was sick of waking up in the morning and feeling like crap. I decided to quit, and of course, smoked the last one in my pack and never bought another pack. I wasn't physically addicted. I wasn't the kind of smoker that craved one first thing in the morning. I smoked a lot at night after work, and when I was out drinking with friends. I mostly gave up drinking after I turned 30. It took another year to give up my cigarettes. I associated smoking with fun and good times, and being young. I had to get my mind to disassociate smoking with those memories. I had tried quitting several times before, but it finally stuck because I was 100% ready. I also stopped hanging out with smokers. That made it a lot easier. I wasn't tempted by others. My boyfriend, at the time, was also a non smoker. The only bad thing that happened was that I gained around 20 pounds. Smoking curbed my appetite. You have the lap band, so you should be fine! Good luck! I know it isn't easy. Chew lots of gum. Think of how healthy you will be, and how much better you will feel...and smell. Smokers smell gross!

It's called pre-syncope, basically all the symptoms of fainting, but you don't lose consciousness. I have had this most of my life. My first one was when I was 10. I actually fainted during that one at school. I fainted two other times. Once as a teenager and once as an adult. On the occasions where I've had a particularly bad one, I can't stand up for a while, and I am freezing cold for a few hours. It is so unpleasant. Medical situations and medical descriptions set me off. I had a little one on the day of my surgery, but I was able to mentally stave it off. I had one in front of my doctor a few years ago. It was full blown, but it was good because she was able to observe me. She made me feel better about it. I hope you are feeling better, too. Next time maybe tell the nurse about how it might set you off, and ask her if she could be quick and gentle. I have found in situations where I'm at the doctor or hospital, the faster they are, the easier it is for me to stop it before it gets really bad.

Hi Nancy, Sue, one of the nurses at SWLC, mentioned this in a webinar last week. She said that they were supposed to taste better. I've never used the new ones. I thought the previous versions of the Slim Time shakes were gross. After the first week 2 weeks post op, I stopped using them. I did have a couple combinations I used to flavour them that helped to hide the taste, but only discovered them towards the end of my using them. As soon as I was able to eat soft food I stopped drinking the shakes. I'm looking for a good Protein shake now to give me some variety at Breakfast time.

Thanks everyone! It is a new experience to actually feel hungry. I was stuffing myself so much before that I rarely felt real hunger. I'm trying to eat a Protein and Fiber snack when I'm hungry in between meals, like string cheese and raw veggies. I already eat eggs for Breakfast, so having an egg for a snack would be too many eggs for me. Cutlass, I guess we are pretty similar in what stage we are at! The nurse told me, too, that it might take 2 weeks to feel anything. I don't understand why. With my band being filled so little, .5 is barely anything! I guess I'll definitely be going back in 4 weeks for another .5. Lol! I like the clinic, though, I just wish it was closer to my house! The staff are so nice and caring, and the webinars I've done have been great. So far my weight loss has been pretty steady, but I'm worried that it might stop if I have to wait so long for the "green zone." My husband got me a Fitbug. I'm going to start wearing it and start walking. This surgery wasn't cheap. I don't want to fail.

So, I had my measly .5cc fill on Friday, and now I'm hungrier than ever! I figured out that if they only fill me .5 every four weeks, it's going to be the middle of summer before I feel satiated again! I am eating a lot of protein and drinking a lot of water, but I'm only staying full two hours at the most. It's not head hunger. I wish I didn't have to eat something, but my stomach is empty and growling. I'm not eating out of boredom, and frankly, with my new diet, there is nothing I could pig out on even if I wanted to. What can I do? I feel really discouraged.

I had terrible, intense pain from the gas inside my stomach after my surgery. It was very bad for the first few days, and did not completely go away for almost two weeks. My left shoulder feel like I was being stabbed. I remember how bad my stomach felt, but the only thing that helped me was time. I ate Gas X and walked around, but they didn't help much. Even the painkillers I was prescribed did nothing to help. I even called my doctor's after hours line thinking there was something wrong with band. I'm sorry, I know this isn't what you want to hear. I was also surprised at the severity of the pain post op. Hang in there! Call your doctor just in case it's something else!

Thanks everyone! My first fill was pretty painless. I've lost 30 pounds since January 17th, when I started the pre-op diet, and 17 pounds in the 5 weeks that I've had my band. The nurse was happy with my progress. She filled me .5. I am now at 3.4 cc. She said they like to do their fills conservatively, and have learned from experience that it's better to increase it slowly. I don't pay per visit, everything is included, so I'm fine with taking it slow. On the other hand, I wish it had been a little higher. Lol! I know the weight will not fly off me overnight.