MommyJD

Terrible time sticking to the diet when the band wasn't restrictive. . .that was the whole problem. Unless the band is tight enough, everything feels the same as pre-op so you are as hungry as if you had no band. Once you have restriction though, its like magic. . .

Try not to get frustrated. . .your band WILL eventually work, you might just need a fill or two (or three) to get to the right level, but once its right the weight will come off. I went almost three months post surgery without losing a single pound and cried thinking that I'd had surgery for no reason while everyone else on the forum seemed like they were losing like 5 pounds a week. I had no restriction at all until I'd had four fills and got 10ccs into a 10cc band. Once it worked, though, I lost 80 pounds before my first band anniversary and have kept it off for three years with no further fills. Hang in there!!

Welcome and good luck! I am four years out, lost 80 pounds my first year and have maintained for the last 3. Let me know if you have any questions I can answer. I can tell you now that my bottom line will be that it is totally worth it.

Im 3 years post band, and didn't drink soda for about the first year mostly because I thought something terrible would happen. I wound up drinking a fresca somewhere because it was the only option, and it was fine. Now I probably drink a can of diet soda every couple of days and have had no problems. I have more problems keeping my weight down if I dont get enough total water in a day, so for me if having a diet soda here and there encourages me to keep drinking then its a net positive. Lately I've gotten kind of hung up on these Mio things that let you squirt flavor into bottled water. I actually like it better than soda, so soda may wind up back out of the picture if I remember to keep a Mio in my purse.

Happy Bandaversary everyone!!!

Good luck Rachel! Im almost exactly a year ahead of you (banded 12/9/08), and can honestly say it was the best thing I've ever done for myself. Still have a little way to go, but my BMI has dropped from 41 to 29 in less than a year and I feel amazing. Dont panic about the stories of food getting "stuck" etc. Eating with a band takes some getting used to, but its not painful. There will be some things (like untoasted bread) that you are likely to have problems with, but you will actually get to a point where you just dont crave the things that dont work well for you. I know thats hard to believe. Honestly. I think its like having an allergy to those foods. . .after a few times of reacting (which basically consists of feeling like you want to throw up) your head starts to tell you that you dont like those things anymore. As far as I can tell it unfortunately never tells you that you dont like ice cream anymore. . .so its not like you start to just crave carrots. :cursing: Recovery from surgery is way easier than you imagine. . .just stay calm and ease into trying new foods. Best of luck!!

Zero change for the past six weeks, so that's not good. On the other hand, that is exactly the point where it got too cold to ride my bike to work anymore (18 miles round trip daily) so its not like I'm shocked that when the biking stopped the weight loss "coincidentally" stopped too. Feeling OK about at least holding steady, but will have to find something to replace the exercise until May. My BMI is down to 29.1, so I'm feeling pretty healthy in a size 12.

You might need a real jolt to your band, Sue, since it sounds like you are deep in the "yellow" zone. I am in my sweet spot now, but have more than 10ccs in a 10cc band. I didn't have any restriction at all (even initally) until I was over 9ccs, and have had to have a few .5 cc adds since then as the weight has come off. My doc does a drinking test after adding to the band and if fluid doesn't flow right down she backs off until it does. Ask you doctor if he'd be willing to let you try to swallow with a bigger add to the band and then work backwards until you feel like there is proper restriction. Good luck!

I'm overweight! Yeah! I officially hit BMI of 29, so have moved from morbidly obese to severely obese to regular obese to my new category of "overwieight". Only five more BMI points to go until I hit the holy grail of "HEALTHY". Seems almost possible now. . . Hope all is well for everyone