Pppl banded but not losing much weight!?! why?!

[Teacher07 3]

CUREFORTHEEND! You are ready now, I can tell that by just reading your second post. A 2cc band wow yeah that must have been a crazy struggle to live with considering it didnt do what you needed it to do. I wish you ALL the luck and best wishes, this time your gonna get where you want to go!

[ElfiePoo 109]

Is there something these people are doing to hinder the effectivness of the band?

It's not what they *are* doing...it's what they are *not* doing.

The band isn't a magic wand. Its just part of the equation. From my surgery to restriction (8 weeks), I lost about 8 pounds because I was still able to eat to excess. Obviously, since I lost 8 pounds, I was eating less than pre-surgery, but still obviously more than I should have.

I've had restriction for about a week now and have lost 7 pounds just in that week. I can also tell that I'm eating much much smaller quantities than I did before, mainly because I can only eat about 1 cup of food in 20-30 minutes and at the end of that time, I'm actually content and stay content for 3-4 hours. I expect my weight loss will continue *IF* I continue to work with the band.

If someone only loses 25 pounds in a year, post band, then either their band is not working (meaning they most likely need more fills to get to restriction) or they aren't (meaning they're eating slider foods or sweets.

Oh, and by the way, I don't exercise...as in going to the gym or formally working out every day. My 'exercise' is having an active job where I'm moving for 5-6 hours a day (lifting, bending, walking, etc.) and then coming home to housework, gardening, shoveling snow and similar stuff.

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[Acerbia 0]

It's not what they *are* doing...it's what they are *not* doing.

The band isn't a magic wand. Its just part of the equation. From my surgery to restriction (8 weeks), I lost about 8 pounds because I was still able to eat to excess. Obviously, since I lost 8 pounds, I was eating less than pre-surgery, but still obviously more than I should have.

I've had restriction for about a week now and have lost 7 pounds just in that week. I can also tell that I'm eating much much smaller quantities than I did before, mainly because I can only eat about 1 cup of food in 20-30 minutes and at the end of that time, I'm actually content and stay content for 3-4 hours. I expect my weight loss will continue *IF* I continue to work with the band.

If someone only loses 25 pounds in a year, post band, then either their band is not working (meaning they most likely need more fills to get to restriction) or they aren't (meaning they're eating slider foods or sweets.

Oh, and by the way, I don't exercise...as in going to the gym or formally working out every day. My 'exercise' is having an active job where I'm moving for 5-6 hours a day (lifting, bending, walking, etc.) and then coming home to housework, gardening, shoveling snow and similar stuff.

.

from the operation till your first fill, did yuo not have a post op diet to follow? i remember i lost about 50 lbs in the first 2 monthes after my initial surgery date due to the fact i could only have liquids, then mush, then soft foods for 2 week intervals at each time.

has the program changed ? Did anybody else lose next to no weight at all between their surgery date and their first fill????

[FyrEMT 0]

I am going in on the 26th. I am scared to death, but ready to do something for myself...

[goodtimes 0]

Hello Cure; First off, congrats on your journey!!! Secondly, I don't know which ones you've seen but there are quite a few ppl out here that have lost weight quickly. Since the band is only a tool, there are many things you have to do in order to lose the weight and then maintain. Exercise!!!! Whew, I'm telling you, I would probably be one of those ppl you saw on the site saying that they only lost 30lbs in a year. Its very important!!!! Well in my opinion it is and will be my life style until i leave this earth.

[JRFAN88 1]

I'm one of the very slow losers you are referring to. At my 1 year bandiversary I had lost probably 40 pounds. 10 of that was on the pre-diet & 10 in the week following surgery. So leaving only about 20 over the course of the next year. I have yo-yo dieted since I was about 14. I've always been able to lose the first 20 very quickly. But then when I fall off the wagon I can gain 20 back in a week.

My problems have not been because I haven't seen my doctor. I have went every 6 to 7 weeks as they have recommended since I was banded. I've never missed. I have only missed 1 monthly support group meeting since a couple of months before I was banded. I have also followed "the rules" of the LAP-BAND®.

My problem has not been that I haven't exercised. I walked almost daily the first 6 months or so. Then I hired a personal trainer & worked out 4 days a week with her along with my walking for the past 10 months.

My doctors are conservative with fills. They believe filling you too much at a time can cause spasms. So it took several months to get to my sweet spot. Everytime I have got to that spot & I think, oh, this is the way it's meant to be.... then WHAM I all of a sudden I tighten up. Not just so much that I can't eat solids but also that I can't keep any liquids down. Dehydration is a bitch! I've tried to tough it out but after a few days your whole body hurts, you are very grumpy, you can't function, you feel like you're going to die. This is the point that I have to go get some unfilled. Then I immediately feel alive again. I can eat & drink. But then I have no restriction. Back to square one. Gain weight back. Gradually start getting fills again.

Last summer I got my usual tightness moment. This time it was manageable but it was accompanied by a night-time cough & reflux. Then it got to where I was throwing everything up & found out my band had slipped. Luckily it went back into place on its own after removing all Fluid. Then I had to start the slow process of replacing the Fluid. My last fill was perfect. Things were great. Until 6 weeks after the fill. WHAM! I couldn't eat anything starting Christmas Eve that didn't come back up. Ended up in the ER about 4 days later getting 1 cc removed. I immediately was better but here I am wanting to eat everything in sight. I wish I could be stronger when I don't have restiction but if I had that kind of willpower I don't think I would have felt the need for the band in the first place.

I'm trying to get some help for these times when I don't have that needed restriction. I have one of the BodyBugg like things ordered along with a new pair of workout shoes. Hoping that helps. It has been very discouraging. I'm still glad I had the LAP-BAND®. It's great when it's working for me.

[Acerbia 0]

I'm one of the very slow losers you are referring to. At my 1 year bandiversary I had lost probably 40 pounds. 10 of that was on the pre-diet & 10 in the week following surgery. So leaving only about 20 over the course of the next year. I have yo-yo dieted since I was about 14. I've always been able to lose the first 20 very quickly. But then when I fall off the wagon I can gain 20 back in a week.

My problems have not been because I haven't seen my doctor. I have went every 6 to 7 weeks as they have recommended since I was banded. I've never missed. I have only missed 1 monthly support group meeting since a couple of months before I was banded. I have also followed "the rules" of the LAP-BAND®®.

My problem has not been that I haven't exercised. I walked almost daily the first 6 months or so. Then I hired a personal trainer & worked out 4 days a week with her along with my walking for the past 10 months.

My doctors are conservative with fills. They believe filling you too much at a time can cause spasms. So it took several months to get to my sweet spot. Everytime I have got to that spot & I think, oh, this is the way it's meant to be.... then WHAM I all of a sudden I tighten up. Not just so much that I can't eat solids but also that I can't keep any liquids down. Dehydration is a bitch! I've tried to tough it out but after a few days your whole body hurts, you are very grumpy, you can't function, you feel like you're going to die. This is the point that I have to go get some unfilled. Then I immediately feel alive again. I can eat & drink. But then I have no restriction. Back to square one. Gain weight back. Gradually start getting fills again.

Last summer I got my usual tightness moment. This time it was manageable but it was accompanied by a night-time cough & reflux. Then it got to where I was throwing everything up & found out my band had slipped. Luckily it went back into place on its own after removing all Fluid. Then I had to start the slow process of replacing the Fluid. My last fill was perfect. Things were great. Until 6 weeks after the fill. WHAM! I couldn't eat anything starting Christmas Eve that didn't come back up. Ended up in the ER about 4 days later getting 1 cc removed. I immediately was better but here I am wanting to eat everything in sight. I wish I could be stronger when I don't have restiction but if I had that kind of willpower I don't think I would have felt the need for the band in the first place.

I'm trying to get some help for these times when I don't have that needed restriction. I have one of the BodyBugg like things ordered along with a new pair of workout shoes. Hoping that helps. It has been very discouraging. I'm still glad I had the LAP-BAND®®. It's great when it's working for me.

hey i know how you feel!

myself having the original, first model band, i am either too tight and cant swsallow my own saliva, or i can wolf down anything i see and in unlimited quantities! i just very surprised that you have a newer model and you are having the same issues! Its amazing how different everybody is!

If i have this surgery again and only lose 20-40lbs frmo the post op diet... i dunno what ill do. I turned down bypass acceptance from a 5 year waiting list, to be rebanded with the new model 10 cc band.

im starting to feel like i am making the wrong choice...

:tt1:

[btrieger 21]

I'm trying to get some help for these times when I don't have that needed restriction. I have one of the BodyBugg like things ordered along with a new pair of workout shoes. Hoping that helps. It has been very discouraging. I'm still glad I had the LAP-BAND®®. It's great when it's working for me.

The Bodybugg will definitely help. It will tell you how many calories you are burning and then you just need to try and keep how many calories you are eating to 500 less than that.

I am a fat slob and didn't get this way because I had a lot of willpower. I am not banded yet but with the help of the Bodybugg I have been losing 3-5 pounds a week.

I am eating basically everything I always have but have cut my portions down. I walk about 3 miles a day, 45 min - 1 hour. I was walking 3 miles every other day but just moved up. I am NOT dieting, I am NOT hungry, I am NOT killing myself at some gym.

With the Bodybugg and the lapband you should be able to make much better progress than you have.

Make sure to drink at least 64 ounces of Water daily as well. This is needed to wash the waste from your system.

[HeatherA 1]

Im being banded on Jan 18th.

I was looknig through millions of profiles and photos on here.. and a trend im seeing, is people who have only lost between 20-30 lbs in a YEAR or more after being banded!

Is this a normal trend? Is there something these people are doing to hinder the effectivness of the band?

Im wary about surgery ( since im terrified of anesthetic) if the average weight loss is only about 30lbs over a whole year. I can gain 30lbs in a week if i tried hard enough LOL it seems like its not very much at all.

Im getting the pre surgery jitters and havnig the standard second thoughts... but seeing these pictures and profiles has shocked me.....

I was told by my doctor that older patients usually lose weight slower, or less weight in total... whereas younger patients seem to melt before his eyes... and i have seen some young ladies on here who look like super svelte supermodels and find it hard to believe they were ever heavy at all let alone obese!

Im 27 right before my surgery... and am now starting to wonder if all this stress will be worth it if 30 lbs is where people generally seem to stop losing.

Stories and suggestion please :thumbup:

I was banded right before I turned 38 and I lost 85 pounds in my first year. I have two friends that have lost well over 100 in their first year, and several others that are right around where I am... all local. So I'd say if you work it, it will work.

Hope your surgery went well and I wish you luck on your journey!

[greytz 4]

I just wanted to address your statement about the difference between older banded people and younger banded people. I am 51 and feel I have been very successful. I am not sure why anyone particularly a doctor would use age as a measurement of success. I think that is crap. I have hypothyroid and still have been successful.

[ElfiePoo 109]

from the operation till your first fill, did yuo not have a post op diet to follow? i remember i lost about 50 lbs in the first 2 monthes after my initial surgery date due to the fact i could only have liquids, then mush, then soft foods for 2 week intervals at each time.

has the program changed ? Did anybody else lose next to no weight at all between their surgery date and their first fill????

The postop program varies according to doctor. Mine did each stage for only 2-3 days and I was back on regular foods in 2 weeks.

I'm now 3 months postop, have 8cc in my band (still with no restriction) and am down only 14 pounds since my surgery. I don't worry about it. The fact that I haven't gained back the 28 pounds (total) that I've lost says that I am being successful at eating less and making good choices *despite* not having the band working for me yet.

And yes, as we get older, the weight doesn't come off as quickly. I don't understand what the physiological dynamics are but I know it's more than just becoming less active as we get older because I'm actually more active at 53 than I was at 25...and when I dieted at 25, the weight just melted off. Not so once I hit my mid-40's.

.

[Cocoabean 430]

The postop program varies according to doctor. Mine did each stage for only 2-3 days and I was back on regular foods in 2 weeks.

I'm now 3 months postop, have 8cc in my band (still with no restriction) and am down only 14 pounds since my surgery. I don't worry about it. The fact that I haven't gained back the 28 pounds (total) that I've lost says that I am being successful at eating less and making good choices *despite* not having the band working for me yet.

And yes, as we get older, the weight doesn't come off as quickly. I don't understand what the physiological dynamics are but I know it's more than just becoming less active as we get older because I'm actually more active at 53 than I was at 25...and when I dieted at 25, the weight just melted off. Not so once I hit my mid-40's.

.

Elfie Poo, you're doing about a pound a week. That is darned good. Especially for not feeling good restriction yet!

Woohoo!!

I averaged less than a pound a week when I was actively losing.