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Isn't this why we chose the band? So we could get adjustments when we felt like it? Wedding coming up this weekend go to Dr get an unfill. Going on holiday get an unfill Girls night out get an unfill Anniversary dinner next week get an unfill Birthday coming up .................................................... I mean this wasn't supposed to be a lifestyle change was it? It wasn't supposed to be about losing weight and keeping it off.

Hormones affect how much fluid you retain and water retention makes you swell, this is one of the reasons that a band can become too tight in response to fluctuations in your cycle.

Trying to post on another thread and it flipped back to this one!

Are you sure that you don't have a blockage?

First fill at 3 weeks

Welcome and well done

Blending after the post op stage is not cheating it is stupid. If anything you are rendering your band useless. Blended foods will pass straight through the band and will not give you any sense of satiety.It is likely that you will consume far more calories than you would if you ate the items in their unblended state. So if you want to be able to eat too much and not feel satisfied then carry on blending.

I was never told I could only eat 1 cup or a certain weight or anything like that. In Aus we tend to be given a more visual estimate sort of approach. Put your food on a small side plate, not a dinner plate. Half of that plate should be your protein, the other half should be veggies and carbs. Note the plate should not be heaped. Eat slowly, listen to your body and stop when you feel satisfied. It should also not take more than 20 minutes to eat as if you are taking longer than that you are probably eating too much.

I drink diet ginger beer or lime and soda , not every day but sometimes when I need something refreshing and different. They have not caused me any problems. I didn't drink anything carbonated for months after my op as I thought we weren't allowed to, then I was told by one of the fill staff at my surgeons that it is an individual thing - if it doesn't cause you discomfort fine. I think it is like most things - moderation is key.

You don't sound like you need a fill.

Well I've never heard of a chee chee before! I assume that is another word for breasts?

I agree but I also disagree. It must be easier than losing and keeping weight off without a band as none of us were successful with that. But there are a lot of things that are/were really hard:- 2 weeks preop on a Meal Replacement program - my record prior to this would have been 2 - 3 days at the most. Going through surgery, nerves, pain,nausea - easy? No way The post op diet - that was hell, especially when you have a husband that decides to bake muffins 1 week post op. Getting stuck - easy? Well yes - getting unstuck maybe not so easy! Going for a fill - the process is easy but the time and everything it takes is a pain. Going to a restaurant and choosing the thing on the menu that will go down the easiest - painfull. Getting stuck when you are around others - embarassing. But the actual weightloss, well that has been far easier than on any diet I have done previously. Maintaining - maybe not so easy. So I supoose it all comes down to your definition of easy and what you are/n't prepared to do.

Even though the FDA have no jurisdiction here I am still surprised that your Dr used what is probably an older band. Nevertheless it works and that is probably the most important thing - lots of people have had great success with the older band. If anything it probably helped to achieve some level of restriction a lot quicker than the larger, newer ones.

The older lapbands were 4ml ( I think) but those are not in general use any more except for in places like Mexico. Where did you get banded? Yes a larger size band will need more fill for you to feel restriction than a smaller size band , however all the new bands are larger so there must have been a good reason for changing the capacity although I don't know what it was. Glad you are doing well, keep it up

I just clicked it again so the number should have gone up.

It is the number of times people have clicked the like this button on one of your posts.

I'm going to give you a different viewpoint. We all know it is hard to lose weight, as you get older it gets harder, especially when you are female, our hormones are not our friend. The way I look at it is that once you reach a certain point then it is unlikely that you will be able to lose and maintain that loss. Every person on this site would have had a BMI of 27 at 1 point. Were they able to do something about their weight then or did they keep going until their BMI hit the 30s, 40s or more? If you do go ahead with the band remember it is a tool not a magic wand. It is not a quick fix. You will have to learn to eat slower as if you don't you will get stuck and that is painful. You probably won't get the full feeling that you are looking for - instead full tends to be a really uncomfortable feeling in your throat or chest. It is possible that there are foods that you may not be able to eat, at least initially and ridiculous as it may seem the healthier foods are the ones that give the most trouble. If you have fully researched this and understand what the band does and does not do then I see no problem with going ahead. If you are looking for a quick fix then it is time to slow down and do more research. If you wish to ask more questions but are worried because of the response you have received here then send me a pm and I will do my best to answer your questions.

If you are able to do that much exercise on the amount of food you eat and have enough energy then I don't see that it is an issue. Your body won't lose every single week, sometimes it has lost so much already that it needs time to stop and catch up. Do not eat the amount of calories recommended on mfp or any of those other sites, they generally overestimate .

I don't mind too much when it's my stomach doing it but when the noises come from my throat that is awkward and embarassing. Sometimes it sounds like I've swallowed a bird and it's trying to get out.

When I look in the mirror (naked) I focus on my fat lumpy stomach and yes I feel fat. When I am clothed then I feel a lot thinner, especially when I am with other people as most of them are much bigger than me. I think the problem is that we are bombarded with images of perfect bodies in the media. Unfortunately most of those bodies are not real and achievable unless you are good with photoshop and an airbrush but we don't realise that and we think that when we have lost weight we will look like that. I think that it is hard to get to a point where we look in the mirror and say " hey I look great".

If you are drinking your calories then you need to stop now. You should stick to Water, tea without sugar and other low calorie drinks. liquid calories are a complete waste, they don't satisfy you and they go down quickly and easily. You are right about the food going from your pouch quickly after your meal. Apparently that is what happens, it does not sit around there for 20 min or longer like we were previously told. But if you eat foods that are the right consistency then it should stimulate the vagus nerve receptors and that helps to give you the satisfied signal.

Generally you drink 1 optifast for breakfast, 1 for lunch and then depending on your Dr's instructions you may be allowed some low carb veg for dinner.

Waking up hungry is generally considered a sign that you need a fill.

Just be careful with scrambled eggs, some people have trouble with them. They are best slightly undercooked so that they are still really moist - whatever you do make sure you don't over cook them.

Although some people recommend using a cup it is not essential that you eat that quantity. Most nutritionists and Drs advise you to stop eating after 20min. So if it is taking you an hour to eat then you are probably eating more than you need to.