gentylwind

Yes, it is normal. You will start losing again soon, even sooner if you are or start exercising regularly. I was worried at your stage too. Don't fret. It will start again, though you most likely will not lose at the same pace as you were. 1-2 pounds per week.

Yes, it is normal. Now is the time to heal, not necessarily lose. Be patient.

I am very grateful not to be one of those people.

With each of my three fills I have found it took about a week to ten days to feel the restriction really take hold. I hope it makes itself known for you soon. In the meantime kgloverii sounds like she has good advice.

Hang in there jms and focus on solid protein and vegetables..it will help with satiety until you can get that fill. $380 is awfully steep...my goodness!

WannaB, are you exercising at all? Have you talked to your doctor yet about getting your thyroid checked? Do you have PCOS? I think I asked you these before but you never answered. All can lead to slower than optimal weight loss. I agree with Old Goat...start using www.thedailyplate.com and weighing/measuring your portions to get a grip on how much you are really taking in in terms of volume, fat and calories. If you are doing everything right and still not losing , you need to see a doctor to find out why your metabolism is so low. Either way, you should feel relieved to get some answers, whether its poor food choices and amounts, lack of exercise or a medical issue. Once you have answers you can go forward to get where you want to be.

Lacasst, you look like you are doing pretty darn good to me! I am glad if anything I said was helpful.

I don't know if I am at THE sweet spot, but I am at my first "sweet spot" until I shrink down out of it again. I can eat 2-4 oz of food at a time. 5-6 if I eat a bit too much. I stay full for 4-5 hours. I have 6.5 cc in a 10 cc band. I went from 6 cc to 6.5 cc on the 20th of January and its made all the difference in the world.

I miss being able to eat in large volumes. But my proportion of missing that is far smaller than how much I am enjoying shrinking out of my clothing!

Yes. This. Its a club. Anyone can join. Most people want in. But it does have entry requirements that many are unable to make themselves do. The band is not one of those entry requirements. The band just makes doing those entry requirements a little bit easier, when it is utilized. You don't lose weight from the band any more than you lose weight from buying a treadmill. It takes regular, consistent, proper use.

Never have had a PB. Ever. Never vomited, never gagged, never gotten stuck. I DO get that "full feeling", not just tightness in my chest. I have to eat slowly though to get it. If I inhale my food, I end up too full and miserable, having blown through it completely. I have yet to find any food I physically cannot eat. I have 6.5 cc in a 10 cc band. I personally must control what goes into my mouth. I have not eaten bread since my surgery and probably never will again. I'd like to make the same commitment regarding chips. I mourn those a little more. Potatoes too. Every time I eat chips, potatoes or any kind of sweets, I stall my weight loss completely even though I am eating way less. I am fat. I have an insulin intolerance due to that fact, as do MOST obese people. This causes a hyper reaction to any food that either is sugar already or turns to sugar after ingestion. Insulin promotes the formation and retention of fat. This is why so many doctors stress to eat high protein. Controlling surges of insulin release into the blood stream is vital to weight loss in the obese. I thoroughly believe you will get out of this journey what you put into it. There are exceptions, but the vast majority who come here complaining of not losing since surgery know very well that it is because they are not doing what they are supposed to, because they hoped the band itself would be enough and because they are resistant to give up their drug of choice and change their own behavior. The mantra seems to be "If I could do that, I would not have needed the band!". I always wonder if they told their nutritionist and psychiatric evaluator that prior to surgery. Its pretty well documented by good surgeons that the band itself will not help you until YOU help you. The truth for most people is that until they are ready to change what they are or are not doing, their results are not going to be what they hoped. Cutting portions is not always enough. For people with metabolic syndrome, which most fat people have, its WHAT you eat as much as how much you eat. Controlling insulin surges leads to weight loss. Is it an illness and not a character flaw? I absolutely believe that it is. But until they find the cause and the cure, we have to do it ourselves the really hard way. We have to change, resist, retrain, refocus. Sorry about our luck. Being sorry about our luck doesn't change that reality. Exercise actually has beneficial effects on chronic fatigue. Make yourself take a walk. It doesn't have to be "gym rat" level. Just get outside and move some, stroll, enjoy your life and your surroundings. Tell yourself its not even for exercise, that its just for mental health and pleasure. You may find your spirits and energy level lift. So far my band has been exactly what they said it would be. A tool. And when I do my part, it does its part. My experience has been positive and I encourage you to get a slight unfill, change your food choices, make yourself start walking small distances and become the dream you hoped for when you embarked on this journey. I wish you the best of luck.

I have found that not allowing myself to fantasize about food has had a very strong impact on my rate of loss. I highly recommend finding ways to interrupt the "craving" thought process. It helps!

I think I am very very close to my sweet spot and am doing really really great. I can eat pretty much anything (but choose not to eat any kind of bread), get full fast and stay full 4-5 hours. And the scale is moving down. I am really happy! My third fill on the 20th definitely helped. I have 6.5 cc in my 10 cc band now. Prior to that fill I was struggling as well and scared I was going to fail. Now I feel much more empowered, am going to the gym three times a week and have started a yoga class. My clothes are all loose and I did my first sweep this weekend of getting rid of things I know I will never wear again because they are too big.

Gas and swelling. It goes away in time. For me it took about three weeks.

Pretty much as often as I want, though he recommends two weeks between. But if really struggling he is willing to do them at weekly intervals.

My doctor mentioned diverticulitis when I was having tummy pain. Have you had a colonoscopy? Also I personally have become gluten and lactose intolerant since surgery. Doc also said its not uncommon for banding to "unmask" those intolerances. Gluten in particular gives me SEVERE stomach pain. I avoid it now completely.

I have given up bread completely. I do eat brown rice and have no trouble with it. Since my surgery bread or anything with gluten in it gives me awful belly pain and gas that makes me wish I would just go ahead and get it over with and die. My doctor feels my band has unmasked a gluten intolerance. I find the more I go without it, the less I miss it. There's nothing bread gives me that I can't get from other sources.

How exciting! I am closer, no doubt about it. I am not getting hungry between meals anymore. Can still eat a little more than I would like to, but I can eat anything I want. This may be the sweet spot and I just really need now to pay attention to what I am eating. My body is changing and I am able to get into clothes that have not fit for a couple of years. I can't wait to get into the 100s!

The only thing I have found I can't eat are french fries and tortillas (wraps). I have not had bread since my surgery and don't intend to try it.

I struggle with the same thing and also have 7 cc in my 10 cc band. Carbs and sweets will always be easier to eat and restriction isn't really going to do a lot to help that. Have you considered doing a 5 day pouch test to help break the carb cycling that your body goes through (spikes your insulin when you eat carbs/sweets, which leads to too much insulin in your blood, which leads you to crave more carbs to give that insulin something to do, which spikes your insulin even more and round and round it goes). I wish you luck. Dropping back to the five day pouch test helped break my carb cravings and I am back to losing now.

I am only two months out, but I am down 25 pounds and really re-learning how to think about food, what I use food for and how I eat. Yes, its hard. Its definitely not a walk in the park or an easy fix. Its a scary, emotional journey. But as one who has had good weight loss and NO complications thus far, I personally would definitely do it again. Would I recommend it to others though? That still remains to be seen. Ask me in three years.

I too was told no exercise for 6 weeks postop and then to expect abdominal muscle pain to some degree. Hope your doc can put your fears to rest.

The longer you wait, the worse the swelling will be, the tighter you will become and the bigger the unfill they will have to do to get you back to center. Call your doc and let us know how it goes.

WannaB, make sure you are eating mostly protein and no simple carbs. Consider having your thyroid checked. Do you have metablic syndrome or PCOS? Both will make it harder to lose.