shortgal

If you are eating those foods because you feel like you cannot keep down chicken, ground meat, etc. then maybe your band is too tight. when was your last fill/adjustment? Have you talked to your Dr. about this? But I don't think you should be surprised that you have not lost any weight recently. all high fat foods????

Tomeka, There is no easy answer except to say that until you get your next fill, you will need to "diet" or you could continue to gain weight. This is where some will power is needed to get you through until your next appt. It is the time all banders hate. Try a couple days of "full liquids" to get back on track and try counting your calories and Protein. Stay at 1200 calories or less and get in at least 50 to 60 gms of protein daily. Good Luck.

B'fast: One packet regular instant oatmeal with 1/2 packet apple & cinnamon oatmeal made with Water and topped with 3 tbs of skim milk. Lunch: Lean Cuisine: Ground beef with elbow macaroni. Cup of tea Bottle of Special K Protein water. Dinner: 1/2 slice Turkey meatloaf, 1/2 stuffed shell and 4 tbs rice. I like this thread. It gives me some ideas of foods to try. I am such a chicken and afraid to try out my band on certain foods. Have yet to eat a single nut! FEAR! But it keeps me in check.

Cindy, Thanks for checking back with me. I had a busy day, so hunger in between meals wasn't an issue, as I didn't have much time to think about it. I am trying to learn to "read" my body better and understand that "full" is going to feel different now. It's just so hard to re-adjust and understand these new signals after every fill. We went to dinner at a friend's house. A big group of us got together at their house to support them because it is the one year anniversay of the loss of their son. We all brought food and had a big buffet. ( There were many Desserts and lots of food. I really managed to stay on plan. 1/2 slice of Turkey meatloaf (we brought that) about 4 tbs of rice and 1/2 of a stuffed shell. No dessert. I was ok with that amount but don't know if I was just determined NOT to eat in front of people that know I was recently banded. Now that I'm home and could get something to anything eat, I'm feeling ok with NOT eating so maybe I have a little restriction???? Thanks for the supportive comments, I really appreciate it Where is Kristin? Haven't seen her check in! Tyman: You'll lose soon, hang in there. Look at your weight already, it's great! We still have one month to reach goal. Cindy: your so great for starting so many of these motivating threads. Does anyone know when Easter is? Maybe we can do another challenge from FEB 14 to easter or FEB 14th to St. Paddy's Day?

Banders will generally lose weight slower than gastric by pass patients and as noted in previous post above, how fast one loses, depends on many factors: The persons age, level of activity,starting weight, commitment to band "rules" etc. Banders can sometimes eat too much until their band is properly adjusted so that they feel restricted. The length of the adjustment process can differ from patient to patient and how often the Dr thinks it's wise to fill/adjust the band. Most Dr.s will tell you average weight loss will be one to two pounds a week. And most patients will tell you it's as much about NEVER gaining the weight back as it is about losing it.

Lauren, At your young age, I'm glad you are willing to make more attempts at losing the weight without such a drastic step as surgery. At my age, ( 56) I knew I had made many attempts at weight loss without succeeding, so the band felt like my last/only option. I hope the message in the book is one that resonates with you and you have great success. Good Luck.

I think most shrinks would be happy that you are treating your depression.

I say it depends on your personality. Will it bother you a LOT if you see the scale go up? If you can honestly say NO, then go for it! But I hate to see you regret the fun weekend and beat yourself up for it after.

I think Dr, Watkins has the right idea, from a surgeons point of view, but I would add that from a mental state, a short pre-op diet can boost the inital weight loss and since some patients might not lose much until they get restriction, the inital weight loss can be a mental boost and actually keep them on track until they get some restriction. I also think someone with elevated LFT levels, that might be under 45 BMI and non diabetic, would benefit from a pre-op diet. Just my 2 cents!

Until I have good restriction, I have been keeping track of my calories. I want to know where I stand on intake. Once I get restriction and I feel like I can't finish what I'm eating now, then I plan to track as carefully as I can. Some foods are harder to track than others. Packaged food is easy of course, foods like home made beef stew much harder. I don't think you need to track if weight loss is where you want it to be, but if you're gaining or weight loss is stuck for a awhile then tracking for a week might be helpful.

Cindy, I was hopeful this fill would give me some restriction, but this morning I was able to eat 1 and 1/2 packets of oatmeal. Hope is fading. I will have to rely on willpower for another two weeks! The only thing that helps the weight loss seems to be the two days of liquids following the fill! UGH! Why do we need the magic feeling of being FULL? It's like searching for the holy grail, trying to get restriction. I have been avoiding social situations so I don't over eat until I get a fill that works (even for a bit) but I cannot continue this forever. My life lately is all about the two weeks until the next fill arrives and I was sore after this last fill so in a way I dread them. Hope and despair all within a couple hours!!!

I have no idea on how our body really gets rid of it either, but I found that I wasn't passing it, like food gas. Hang in there. Each new step of the band requires an adjustment period. I'm just over six weeks out and I find that the process is like ten steps forward and five steps back. Each fill requires me to re-evaluate what I can eat and how much.

Once you get some restriction, it can disappear again. As you lose weight the band will get looser and you'll need another fill. I just had my third fill. First two did nothing. I am just starting soft food again after two days of liquids aftet the third fill, so I am just starting to see if I have any restriction with this fill. I know even if I do have some, it won't last. As I lose weight, I'll need another. I have been getting fills about every two weeks and I hope I can start stretching them out to every month. Until we get some restriction, we must really just diet like we used to and use some willpower.

The gas is not the same as food gas, like in your digestive system/colon. It is from the gas they pump into your belly so they can see/work inside during surgery. It takes time. Most people on the forum say they were helped with heating pad or walking around the house. I had the gas pain for four days. It felt like an elephant sitting on my chest and radiated to my left shoulder. On the fifth days I felt better, pain was there but milder.

Please do not abrubtly stop taking your meds. Patients that are ready to go off depression meds should be slowly weaned off them. Don't worry about the evaluation. Just answer the questions and don't add too much more info than just what was asked.

It is totally normal. Your body is just adjusting back to food again. your doing great. Your weight loss is fabulous. You've lost the equivalent of one big turkey in two weeks! Keep following the band rules and you'll start losing again.

name ...............starting# ....... current#.........goal#.......togo# 1. Momto1plus1.......241...............238..............229...........9 2. TxArcher............360........Last week, 357......???...........12 3. Hungryforchange...227.5..........225...............215.5.......10 4 shortgal ............. 198............195................192...........3 I was so excited to weigh in this morning! Last week I only lost 1/2 pound, but I guess the two days of liquids after my fill really made a difference. I had the lowest weigh loss goal for the challenge of everyone and was still worried I might not be able to achieve it. Maybe I can! Can't wait to see everyone post today!

For me, having a sweet snack opens up the door to more. That's how I got fat. One cookie, one snack wasn't enough. I hope the band will curb the amount of everything, including Snacks, I take in and I plan to stay away from having snacks in my house for awhile. That's why the forum is great, you get different opinions and you can try different things to see what works for you. There's a lot of different paths to take to end up at the same destination.

EKGRAY: Are you tracking your calories and protein? Weight loss is harder as we age and as we age we generally are not chasing after kids and we don't have the heavy household activities we used to. I totally relate to the feeling of everyone watching you. You say you have 4cc, but don't say the last time you were filled, maybe you need more? I would suggest you track your protein and calories for one week and then show it at your next Dr.'s appt. Good Luck, you can get back on the losing track.

Yes! I think this recent fill has helped me. We'll see tomorrow a.m. Not sure how long this fill will last. Hoping for a week!

Tomorrow's weigh in day, right? Hollyberries are you starting a new thread for week 2?

I added some whole wheat bread toasted after about the fifth week, just occassionally to get some fiber in. Just had a fill, so I'm going slow trying certain foods again. I'll wait about a week before trying bread. We only use whole wheat at home, we made the switch about a year ago and I found it easy to get used to and really like it now. I've never had the 100 calorie packs, trying to avoid "bad" foods and Snacks like that until I get closer to goal. I don;t want them to be part of my every day diet, right now.

I should be at about 4cc now, since my last fill yesterday.

I think you'll know when it's time for a fill. You'll start to feel hungry after eating the same amount of food you where eating before. As you lose, the fat around your band goes down and the band loosens. Many people need 3 to 5 fills or more along the way. Enjoy your current sweet spot while it lasts!

There have been many posts on the forum about your Dr and how happy people have been with him. Good Luck, the preop diet is tough, but it's meant to shrink your liver before surgery. There are at least two people at my Dr's office that have been banded. It's great,as they really understand what you're going through.