kelly111

I aksed 3 bariatric surgeons this very question. All referenced the "theory" about the CO2 expanding the band. None of them believed it. They all said it has no nutritional value so its not good for you but they also all said its perfectly fine to have in moderation. They suggested letting some of the bubbles out prior to drinking. So go ahead... enjoy a diet soda from time to time.

Im so glad you posted because until now I have not talked to anyone else who has gone through what I am going through. My doc did give me an aggressive fill with 4 cc's at first... but I couldnt get the water down so he took 1 out. I thought that would be perfect. I stayed on liquids until that evening when I was able to eat whatever I wanted again. What size are you? Have you lost any weight yet? Do you exercize? Do you eat carbs? Im so tired of people telling me that this is a lifestyle change and I need to change the way I eat. Well, no crap! I know that. I thought the band would HELP me! I dont think people understand how frustrating this is because most of them are losing weight as they should be and feeling restriction. Im glad I found you!

Thank you. I love my doc! The place I go is a bariatric place, its all they do. There are 6 bariatric surgeions who do LapBand and Gastric. They have been doing it 20 yrs. I really dont feel like its them... it must be me. I asked about pre-op diet and he said it was not necessary. He said all my labs were good, workout routine was good and I was on the small side ( for this type of surgery). I totally realize I needed to change my ways of eating, which is why I chose this proceedure. Again, I though it would limit the food I ate so that I could lose weight. That hasnt happened. Im still gaining weight. Like I mentioned, Im not snacking on ice cream and cake at all. I feel like I eat pretty well. I do eat carbs though. Doc said that should be ok because of how hard I workout. I dunno....Im stick and feeling like this was a huge waste of money. Im so envious of all of you who say how much weight you are losing and how you can only eat little bits at a time. Im just not there. I think I will call him to see if he can put another few cc's in. He is very confident that I will lose weight and says Im his "star pupil" because of how ell I have tolerated everything so far. Well, thats all well and good.... but I would like to lose some darn weight, ya know?

I feel the same way. I spent a lot of money on this and the only thing that has happened was that I gained 5 lbs! Yep, I gained! I was filled on wednesday and he put 3cc's in and still I am able to eat whatever I want. I have asked others what is going on and if they could advise but, your right, no one seems to be commening any more. I am frustrated beyond belief. I have been told to eat fewer cals and lower carbs....well....I didnt pay all this darn money to put myself on a diet. I was assuming I went through all of this to have the band help me with that part. Right????

To answer your question: I had no pre-op diet. He said that wasnt necessary because Im not that big ( size 16). My post-op diet lasted about 8 days. Since I tolerated everything very well he said it was ok to eat normal food. So now...I eat anything I want. I eat exactly the same way I did before only about 1/2 of the portions. The only reason its 1/2 of the portions is because I WANT TO LOSE WEIGHT. Its not because I cant eat any more. I could eat the same portions as I did before but I realize that is what was making me fat. I do hard workouts 5 days a week. Usually I do the P90X series and if you are familiar with those you know they arent easy. Yes, I am eating too many calories.... which is why I chose the LapBand proceedure. I THOUGHT that would help me restrict my calorie intake. I dont eat milkshakes, ice cream or stuff like that. I eat whatever I make my family for dinner. I guess I will call the doctor. He knows how I feel and felt certain that this fill would do the trick. I did too since I actually felt the water going down. But that changed very quickly. What am I doing wrong? Obviously Im not great on a "diet" and I didnt spend 14K to be on a "diet". I thought this would provide the restriction I needed to cut the calories so that I could eat well, exercise and get back down to a healthier size. Im so disappointed with the band and myself.

So I had my first fill today. Its been 6 weeks since I have been banded. I GAINED 5 lbs in that time! Since I am private pay the doc said he was going to fill me aggressivley so I WILL lose weight. He put 4ccs in my band and had me drink a dixie cup of water. I barely got it half way down and I felt it getting stuck. He had me lay back down and he took 1cc out. That seemed perfect. Oh, for all of you nervous about having fills.... its nothing. The needle was the same size as what they use to take blood. Its not long, nor is it a bigger guage. I felt a small pin prick and then nothing else. Nothing to worry about there. I certainly hope I start losing weight. After all, thas why I paid $14k! I am a workout finatic so I know that isnt the problem. I would admit my portions were a little larger than what they should have been but still way less than per-band meals. I just dont get it!

Has anyone else out there NOT lost any weight after surgery? Im almost 1 month post-op and nothing has happened. I eat what I should ( lots of protein and very few carbs) and I exercise regularly. Whats up with this? Im so disappointed. I read all the posts and so far almost all of the post-op posts talk about weight loss early on. Im so jealous. I realize that everyone is different but this is just nuts!

Nothing to be nervous about. I was banded 6 weeks ago. I wok up feeling tired and some soreness but thats all. I spent the night in the hospital and didnt need any pain meds. I was sore trying to get out of the bed and take my IV tower into the bathroom every 30 minutes. Thats the worst part. The soreness went away in about 5 days. I did have some gas pain in my shoulder. Not that big of a deal. That, too, takes a few days to pass. Since then I have gained 5 lbs. I had a fill today so hopefully I will start losing weight. I had no problems whatsoever , so I was able to eat almost like I did before. You will do fine. Truly, its a simple proceedure. Its just not worth getting nervous about. Really

Im 6 weeks banded and Im eating just the same. I obviously dont do well on diets and I have no restriction so Im eating whatever I want. Hoping that will change after a fill. I know exactly how you feel.

I was banded one month ago today. I have had no weight loss at all. I believe I am doing all the right things with food and exercise, however today......I cant say that is true. I have been limiting carbs and eating protein all the time. I have been so hungry for something sweet and carb loaded. So I had whatever I wanted.... and 1/2 cup of diet pepsi. I feel like such a jerk. I spent A LOT of money on this proceedure and now I feel like maybe it was a waste. Im very hungry and without a fill I can eat whatever I want. I dont really over-do it. I stop when Im full. Except for today. Has anyone else felt this way? Any suggestions or comments?

Yes, things change. I am 6 weeks post op and I have no restriction until next week. I can eat exactly what I did before surgery. It is very difficult at this point. I have not lost any weight at all but I feel certain that will change after I have a fill.

I hear a lot of people talk about eating too fast or not chewing well enough. I am 5 weeks post op and so far I have had no discomfort with anything. Is this something that happens after a fill? What does it feel like?

I wont be much help. Im 5 weeks out and I havent lost a pound. I, too, work out 5 days a week and try to eat pretty well. I can eat anything I want. I have a fill next week. Im hoping that will help me. I know how you feel. Im impressed with the 17 lbs you lost. Obviously you are doing something right!

What are some good suggestions for protein bars that taste good, have low carbs and low sugar. I cant really seem to find anything like that.

Hi everyone. I am 5 weeks post op. I have an appointment with my doc in 2 weeks. My question is: when can I start doing hard core workouts? He told me to hold off for "a little while" but I negled to ask him how long. When is it safe to do pilates and core strengthening? Since I have not lost weight yet and Im able to eat anything I feel like I really need to get back into my hard workouts. I dont want to end up with a hernia ( doc siad that was possible ).

Thank you. The thing is...Im a super healthy person. I wear a size 16 now with no weight loss. My doc said he could not have done the surgery if I had not been private pay. I work out very hard ( usually 1.5) hrs a day and I have always eaten fairly well. Of course, in the past, I ate too much of it. I have a degree in nutrition so I know all about that sort of thing. I dont understand why Im not losing weight. I have not completely cut out carbs. My doc said not to do that because my body will miss too many nutrients if I do that. But maybe that is what I need to do. When/if I do that Im afraid I will become so deprived that I will have days like I did yesterday that all I wanna do is eat carbs. This process, for me so far, seems very strange. Even my doc has no advise as to why I cant seem to lose weight. Im young, healthy, educated, strong and willing to do whatever I need to do. Anyone else relate?

My doc moved me to real foods after 2 weeks. You are fine. Youre right.... eat real foods but keep it to high protien high nutrient food. He clearly told me that many docs keep patients on soft foods way too long. So youre fine. He said as long as you are keeping the food down without any problems it is ok to eat whatever you want ( healty, of course). I have no restricion 1 month after surgery. I know how you feel. It is very hard keeping to 1100 cals, but I do. I have not even lost 1 lb through this though. Thats disappointing. Youre doing ok, keep us posted.

I completely understand. It has been a month for me and I have lost nothing. I always eat protein first and eat little sugar or fat. I exercise for an hour 5 days a week. I feel like Im doing what I should be doing and when I read all these posts, I get so down. I wonder why I cant lose weight too. I spent 15K on this and did my homework for a year before hand. I am an ultimate optimist and fully believed that I would be successful because of my work-outs and knowledge of nutrition. Still, I am exactly the same weight;. I have a fill in 3 weeks. I assume I will see a difference in my eating then. Im only at 1100 cals now while burning 700 in workout. I too, wish that there would have been more posts by people talking about how they didnt lose as opposed to all the posts with big numbers every week. Please keep us posted as you go thru this journey. I feel like I finally heard from someone going thru what I am.

I was banded a month ago and I have not lost one pound! My doc says not to worry, that it will eventually come off. I dont quite understand this since for the first 2 weeks I was only on liquids and now Im eating about 1100 cals a day. Seems like the body should be responding. I hope you have more success than I have. I understand your disappointment. After 14K and 2 weeks of liquid I really expected more. I have decided to trust my doc that it will come off in the months to come. I wish you all the best and Im sorry I dont have better advise for you. But hey, if you get any good advise....please post it.

I was banded 3 weeks ago. The gas pains go away in about 4 days. I still have not lost any weight. After 2 weeks my doc said I was doing really well and he told me to go to a regular diet but to consume as much protien as possible. I hope you have more success than I have so far.

You should be very grateful that your size is getting smaller. I am one month post-op and nothing has happened. Im exactly the same size and weight that I was before. Its so disappointing. Keep us posted on when the scale moves for you.

I was so itchy too. It comes off in about 7-10 days on its own. Once I knew the incision was healed I picked at the glue to get it off and everything was fine.

Does anyone have a few sips of diet soda in between meals from time to time? Why is it such a no-no?

I eat a few carbs like 4 crackers with a can of tuna or one slice of toast. I take in about 60 grams of protein in the form of powder, fish, cheese and yogurt. I have no restriction now at all and I feel hungry all the time. I feel that I have been eating more lately but still a very small amount compaired to what I was eating before. My doc only lets me walk at this point. So I usually do 5 miles 5 days a week. Im scheduled for a fill the day before thanksgiving. Truthfully, for 2 1/2 weeks I had less than 500 calories since it was all fluid. I dont understand how even during that time I didnt lose any weight. So having a fill may not necessarily change anything. Im so confused. Im doing everything he says and listening to what people say on here but nothing seems to be working. I havent lost hope. I was just wondering if any one else encountered this and when they started to lose weight.

Im so jealous of all of you! Im almost a month post op ( 2 weeks of full liquids) and I have lost nothing but I did manage to gain a pound. What the hell? Im soooooo disappointed!