ElfiePoo

Thank you...that was the whole point of my OP. :thumbup: We are individuals with individual needs and our doctors should be treating us as such. If they aren't, and they refuse to work with us, it is our right to find another doctor who will. .

Before I had surgery, I existed on protein shakes through the day without any problems. They satisfied me and I was never hungry. My problem came when I sat down and actually ate real food. I couldn't stop with a normal amount of food...I'd eat a 2nd or even a 3rd helping. I could...and would...eat enough food for 3 grown people in one sitting and walk away from the table just comfortably full...not stuffed or ready to pop...just 'full'. The worst part was that within an hour or two I was looking for something to eat again. So, for me, the band serves the purpose of stopping me long before I reach that point. Right now I still don't have restriction, so it's all will power...but as we all know, our willpower doesn't last long enough to do something about our weight permanently and I'm hoping I'll have restriction by the time mine caves. .

Depends on the person...depends on how overweight they are...depends on so many factors. Someone who weighs 250 pounds or more can drink 5-6 Protein shakes a day (and nothing else) and lose weight even if each of those shakes are 220 calories because that's still a heck of a lot of calories less than they have been eating. Calories in...calories out. I mix my morning shake with milk and a banana. My mid-morning, lunch and midafternoon shakes are mixed with Water, as is my evening shake. I eat a normal well balanced dinner. .

Lolly, Just curious...the band is on the outside of our stomach. How does drinking carbonated drinks erode the band? Personally, I've taken this as an opportunity to give up on carbonated drinks and I used to buy a 12 pack of sugar free pop every week.

If you want to be sure you're getting your protein without going to all the hassle of counting the grams in everything you eat, just drink two Protein shakes as a mid-meal 'mini' meal. The two together will provide roughly 50 gm of protein, ensuring you're getting your daily requirement and have the added bonus of stabilizing blood sugar levels which lessen hunger and cravings. EAS and Isopure both make protein shakes (the chocolate is good) that are 110 calories, 3 gm carbs and 25 gms of protein per shake. Isopure is actually double that because they make their 8 oz drink with 2 scoops of powder, but I just make mine with 1 scoop of powder. .

Sorry if I offended. It was not my intent. Your inability to eat more than 1/2 cup is due to your fill. It's your choice whether to stay at that fill and only eat 1/2 cup or lessen the fill so you're able to eat 1 cup...or whatever amount. No judgments. Each of us has to decide where that will be. I know that I will lose faster if I continue to get fills until I can only eat 1/2 cup, but that's not for me. No judgment on those who do. I honestly don't care whether or not it takes me 2 years to lose this weight. I just want to deal with food like normal people and get my blood sugar levels down and the weight loss is a bonus. Again...no judgments. :w00t: .

No, I responded to your post. You apparently didn't take my post as someone who has a differing opinion since you felt the need to make a personal attack and accuse me of being neurotic...and 'picking apart' your post. If you don't like it when people disagree with you, this is the wrong place to be. Read the forums. Not just this one, but the many others that exist on the internet. The fact is that you can end up with a too tight band whether you get fills every 2 weeks or every 3 months because it has nothing to do with how often you get fills and everything to do with how your body reacts to them. We are unique individuals with unique requirements and should not be treated by our doctors as if we're little gingerbread men punched from a cookie cutter. The authority over your body and care rests in your hands. If you choose to relinquish that authority to the doctor, that is your choice. Mine was to become an equal partner in my care with my doctor. With his knowledge and experience of the human body and bariatrics...and my knowledge and experience of my own body and bariatrics...we make a good team. My doctor told me he wished all of his patients took such an interest in their own care, but I'm sure (because I've run across them) that there are just as many who want their patients to just shut up and do as they're told and not ask questions. .

I'm just curious as to how many people are 'dieting' (liquid diet, weight watchers, atkins, etc.) vs how many are just reducing what they eat. One poster said there are no good or bad foods. It's what we do with them. For example, one slice of pizza is not bad. Half of a pizza is. Sorry, couldn't figure out how to do a 'poll'.

Apparently a lot of docs are going for the 1/2 cup maximum. Mine says we should be able to eat 1 cup of food. I'm not even going for the 1 cup maximum. I want to be able to eat 2-4 oz of protein, 1/2 cup of cooked vegies and 1/4 c. carbs (rice, etc.) and maybe a small tossed salad. Perhaps I'll lose weight more slowly, but that's ok. I'm not in a race. For me this is about quality of life and it was never my intent to give up food...just control the quantity. :w00t:

A Protein Drink is about 110 calories, 25 protein and 3 carbs...less than the calories you'd get from a meal and more protein as a general rule. They won't keep you from losing weight even if you drink one as a mini-meal between your 3 main meals. They won't, however, give you the same sense of fullness that eating food does so that is something to be aware of. Personally, I rarely have a problem with hunger and I usually drink nothing but Protein shakes for Breakfast and lunch and the 3 mini-meals in between my 'main' meals. .

Hungry is no different before or after the band. The problem is most people don't know what true 'hunger' feels like. Most have never been truly hungry a day in their lives. My stomach growls when I'm hungry and there is a sort of gnawing, empty feeling. .

I'd have to leave the 'to go' box behind when I left. Having it in the fridge would be too much for me. As it is, I either make just enough for dinner or I make double and then immediately freeze the left overs in a vacuum seal bag so they're 'out of sight, out of mind' in my chest freezer (for days when I just don't feel like cooking). Generally when I go out to eat, I split a meal with someone. The bonus is that eating out has gotten less expensive. :wink2: .

That is so true! A few decades ago I would go to the county fair with my aunt (only 4 years older than me) and would vow to eat sensibly. We'd leave at the end of the day groaning at the amount of food we ate. Then one year...my ephiphany year...we gave ourselves permission to eat our way from one end of the fair to the other. As we walked out the gate at the end of the day we started laughing because our 'pig out' involved one Italian sausage with green peppers and onions on a roll, one fry and the candy apple we were carrying out with us. Once we gave ourselves permission to eat if we wanted, we apparently no longer 'wanted'. That's how I'm working it now. At Thanksgiving, I didn't go into the weekend with a 'you can't have this list'. If I wanted it, I planned on eating it...and ended eating in moderation just like 'normal folks'. .

Pookie, Congratulations on doing the 5K. That is a tremendous accomplishment! A thought if I may...just because you did it doesn't mean someone else can do it. Look back and remember all the well meaning people who said to you, "Well if I can lose the weight on Weight Watchers (or whatever diet)", then you can too. That wasn't true either, eh? :wink2: Again, congratulations. You should be very proud of yourself! I'm going to have to check and see where you live because the idea of even walking across the field to my mother-in-law's this morning is not very appealing. It's colder than naked chicken in the freezer where I'm at! .

Interesting distinction but if it's working for you then great! That wouldn't work with me. I've said that when it comes to carbs I feel like an alcoholic. If I avoid them completely, I do fine. If I make the mistake of taking that one bite...wham, I can't seem to stop until I'm 'full'. So I need the restriction to stop me...which is the difference between 1 piece of pizza and half of a pizza. .

I don't have a problem with hunger (and I have no restriction) but then I'm 'eating' every 3 hours (6 small meals). Here's a sample of my day: 7 a.m.: EAS Protein shake blended with 1 cup milk and banana OR 1 egg scrambled with 2 Tbs mushroom and 2 Tbs cheese 10 a.m.: Protein Shake 1 p.m.: Protein shake OR 1/2 cup tuna (or diced chicken) mixed with just a bite of lite mayo and celery, served on a whole wedged tomato 4 p.m.: Protein shake 6 p.m.: 3-4 oz protein, 1/2 cup cooked low carb vegies, 1/4 cup carbs (Pasta, rice, potatoes or 1/2 dinner roll) 9 p.m.: Protein shake By doing these mini meals, my blood sugar stays stable and doesn't drop (which will cause hunger and cravings) I also fill up my 20 oz bottle of Water and drink one between between Breakfast and lunch, another between lunch and dinner and another between dinner and bedtime to make sure I get all my fluids in. Sometimes I'll dump a little packet of crystal lite into my bottle for the evening water, but for the most part I stick to water. .

Why do your doctors believe you are at your 'sweet spot' if you can still eat more than a cup of food? You can measure each food out in separate measuring cups, making sure that the total doesn't equal more than 1 cup. For example 1/2 cup Protein, 1/4 cup vegies, 1/4 cup rice or potato. Personally, I don't go by the 'cup' because even a normal person is able to eat more than 1 cup and that's what I'm aiming for since this is a lifestyle change for me. I usually weigh out 3-4 oz of protein, 1/2 cup low carb vegies (meaning no peas or corn) and 1/4 cup carbs (Pasta, rice, potato or half of a dinner roll). Occasionally I'll have a small salad as well (amounts to about 1/2-3/4 cup of baby greens or raw spinach).

Excellent advice. I only put in front of me what I 'intend' eating. When we sit down to dinner, we usually put the food in serving dishes. Since the surgery, the food is left in the kitchen and we dish it out onto our plates and take the plates into the dining room. There's never a second trip to the kitchen. Really important since I still don't have restriction and could still eat what I did prior to the surgery. This has the added advantage of my son and husband also not overeating.

Of course that makes sense. Did your surgeon say how much fill they put in? It's likely .25 cc or some minimal amount. It won't cause restriction. What's happening is that the swelling from your surgery is doing down or is gone. You now have the ability to eat what you did prior to surgery. I would go back to your surgeon and explain that fills are not determined by the amount of weight you lose but by whether or not you are hungry and whether or not you can still eat to excess. The band is for restriction. Without restriction you can eat to excess. I asked my surgeon about that. He said it's highly unlikely. If you can eat to excess without the pain in your chest, it means the food is sliding through because there's no restriction. Once you get restriction, if you eat to excess, you're more likely to slime it back up (or vomit it back up) and have serious pain until the food works it's way through...which could be hours. He said it's not likely someone will go through this on a regular basis to the point where they actually stretch that little pouch...although he didn't discount the probability that 'there's always one'. .

Not only a right, but a responsibility. You know, over the years I've been told that I am 'fortunate' to have such good doctors...not just for the bariatric stuff, but my Internal Medicine, pediatrician, etc. I always tell these people, no I'm not just fortunate. My doctor choices are the result of a lot of hard work. When I needed a new doctor because mine retired, I interviewed doctors...made appointments...and came in with a list of questions. First question on the list was "How do you feel about a patient questioning your diagnosis/medication choices and possibly rejecting them or bringing you alternate possibilities?" I did the same with my bariatric surgeon and clinic. I 'interviewed' 6 or 7 of them before making my final choice. I wanted one that would work with me...not dictate my care and give me no say. .

My qualifications are that I am an intelligent human being who ultimately has the total responsibility for any care this body receives. It is my responsibility to do all the research I can (and the doctor is one of those research tools) and make the final decision in what is done to it. Doctor's are not God. Some are very good, yes...but some are very bad. To just accept what they say because "oh my goodness, he's a doctor so he must be right" is asking for some fraud to kill you with his lack of knowledge. Perhaps our 'society' is...but I am not. In any case, getting our band to the point where it's doing the job it was designed to do is not instant gratification. I got this band for it to do a specific purpose. It is apparent from reading the many forums around the web, personal blog spots, etc. that the time you wait for your first fill, and the time between fills, is up for grabs. Some doctors fill at 2 weeks...some at 4...some not for 5 months. Follow up fills are sometimes 2 weeks apart, a month apart or even 6 weeks to 2 months apart. So unless a doctor can give a good reason why he's not doing a fill on one of his patients who is hungry, eating to excess (or struggling not to on their own) and has no restriction, then he should be questioned regarding his reasons. Ding. The reason I wrote my OP is because there are many people that don't realize they can fire their doctor and find another one to do their fills. They're 6-7 months down the line and still have no restriction because their doctors are using the band as a placebo...or as a reward...rather than in the manner it was intended. No...we are not talking about a band being progressively filled either. We are talking about putting total control of your body in a doctor's hands and not questioning him. Ok...so you're never given the hammer, but you're supposed to still build that house because we have to learn to use it 'virtually'? We learn to use our tool when the tool is given to us. Installing the band is just putting the hammer in the box. Can I build my house better just by virtue of that hammer being in my box? No. Can I have any more success at not eating to excess just because that band is in my body? No. If I could lose weight without the band...I would not have gotten the band. Each of us is unique. There are also many people on many forums who were filled 'too fast' and had no problems. I've never denied that we will have to modify our behavior. The band is just that...a tool. We still have to learn to 'step away' from the table when full...but until we are given that tool, full is still 'excess'. .

Yes it's possible to lose inches and not weight. As of this morning (4-1/2 wks postop), I've only lost 5.5 pounds since surgery but I'm down 2 sizes in tops and 1 in bottoms (I had more belly fat to lose than butt). Even my feet have lost a size.

I'm 4 weeks out from surgery and my port is still sore. I'm on my feet most of the day, moving around my warehouse, lifting/bending and for the last few days my port has been so sore, I wanted to cry. I told my doc about it on my last visit and he said it really takes about 6 weeks for that soreness to disappear completely because the port is 'settling' in. Makes sense, but I think I'm going to try that binder idea to help stabilize the area around the port.

The band is not letting you down, nor is it doing the job you want it to do because it hasn't yet been 'activated' aka reached the point where you have restriction. Talk to your doctor. I had my first fill of 3 cc's two days ago. They said future fills will not be so aggressive. Despite the fill, I don't have restriction/am feeling hungry/can eat as much as I want if I let myself and so I made another fill appointment in two weeks even though they originally set me up for a month. I was told most patients don't get restriction until about 6 cc's.

Sounds like common sense to me...on both your part and the doctor's.