Do I need a fill....or what am I doing wrong

[cynpatt 2]

Hi! I also have a 14cc band (actually thought that I had a 10cc band until my fill this past Monday). I was also very hungry in the begining. I spoke to my nutritionist and upped my portions to 1 cup 3 times a day and 1/2 cup optional Snacks 2 times a day. Once I increased to the 1 cup (8oz) portions, i no longer needed the Snacks. I make sure I drink a lot of Water, and hot tea also fills me up.

My first fill was 2.5 cc (i had an empty band out of surgery) - no restriction. Second fill - another 2.5 cc - again absolutely no restriction. Third fill this past Monday - WOW! I hope that it stays this way, but I am prepared for the fact that once the swelling goes down that I will not be at my sweet spot. I have another appointment already set up for July 12TH. With fills scheduled every 4 weeks until I reach correct restriction, I know that there is an end in sight.

Please don't get frustrated. Just eat healthy and don't drive yourself crazy. It took us all a long time to get to our present weights and it will take us time to get to our goal too. I have a different mind set about this entire process than a lot of the others on this board. I eat regularly. I don't think of this as a diet. I was never a sweets or desert eater - that was never my issue. If I crave Pasta or even chicken nuggets - it is okay - I just limit the portion size to a cup, make sure that I have the calories to spend that day (I try to stay around 1200 cal/day) and just make sure that I don't do it on a regular basis. This is the way "normal" people eat. That is why with a lot of research I had this surgery over bypass. I didn't want to always feel deprived - that is why I failed at so many diets in the past.

I also make sure that I walk every day 2-3 miles. I have a walking buddy and we never miss more than 1 day a week.

This will work for you! It has been almost 3 and a half months and I am now down 52 pounds. Yes I have a lot to loose, but it works.

Please feel free to contact me if you want.

Cynthia

[BetsyB 9]

If I do not eat 2 chicken breats for supper, I will be starving at night and eat something else. !

You can choose not to eat something else. That's what those of us who lose/lost during bandster hell do/have done.

The time before you have appropriate restriction is very difficult. You will feel like you are dieting (you are!) and you will be hungry. It gets better once you have restriction, but I'd be lying if I told you that the mental battles end. You need to work on those NOW.

You can lose, if you choose to do so. Thing is, you will have to modify what you eat.

Two chicken breasts AND potatoes is overeating. It's overeating for a NON-banded individual! A normal portion of Protein for a non-banded individual who doesn't need to lose weight is the size of a deck of cards. Two chicken breasts is too much.

Starches like potatoes can trigger hunger, as well.

You can say you don't think that your portions are of line for someone without restriction---but really, the fact that you required a gastric band indicates that your judgment in this sort of matter is flawed. I don't say this unkindly---we ALL had distorted ideas about foods.

You can choose to change yours---and lose weight. Or you can wait for the band to be adjusted enough that your body rejects more than a certain amount of solid food. But if you don't get past the mental part, there's the very real chance you will find a way to eat around the band, choosing foods that bypass its restriction and prevent loss.

Get your head in the right place. All the rest will follow.

In your shoes, I'd use this opportunity to eat as though you DO have restriction, and get the ball rolling on weight loss.

CONQUER THE ATTITUDE OF ENTITLEMENT TO EAT. Your body has a great deal of energy in reserve; you can feed it less and tell yourself NO MORE.

No bandster in bandster hell has ever died of starvation.

ETA: your day, including 2 chicken breasts and mashed potatoes, comes closer to 1400-1500 calories, depending on the brand of chili used. Be sure you're journaling honestly. Every single BLT (bite, lick, and taste). You can't assess what requires changing without brutal honesty with yourself.

ETA again: i see in a later post that you say that a chicken breast holds you for 3 hours. I think it's important to note that at your stage, 3 hours is a REALLY long time to stay satisfied! If you reframe your thinking, and time your meals carefully, you may find yourself feeling a lot better about the process.

At your stage, I was on 2.5-3 oz. Protein (and NOTHING ELSE YET--veggies came a bit later) 3x/day. By adding 2 protein supplements (either unflavored in broth or something nice and chocolate-y or peanut-buttery---I recommend the Inspire line from Bariatric Eating) REALLY REALLY REALLY helped, without bumping calories up much at all.

Edited June 16, 2010 by BetsyB

[x96oun 0]

I am staying in around 800-900 calories a day, so i do not think Overall I am overeating. I think more or less I am eating too many calories at one sitting and undereating at other sittings.

Your argument on a non banded person not needing to lose weight eating a piece of chicken the size of a deck of cards is correct, but they could also have MORE than 1/2 a cup of mashed potatoes on the side. So this theory is flawed. Also the flaw in this is that we as bandsters should eat a 100 grams of Protein daily, where a non banded person to stay healthy should eat around 60 grams a day.

As for my menu the other day: The chili is 350 calories and 6 grams of fat for the can. Each chicken breast (boneless/skinless) is 110 calories. 1/2 cup of mashed potatoes is 113 calories (made with skim milk at a whole cup of 216 calories). I also had a cup of cranberry juice at 125 calories. And to finish it off I had an iced coffee with some skim milk...so say 100 calories. My daily total was 908 calories!!

I am not trying to just justify the decisions, I just think everyone needs the facts if they are going to comment!!

Edited June 16, 2010 by x96oun

[x96oun 0]

Also on a side note, when I weighed myself the other day I was using a diffeent scale. I used mine at home this morning and I am actually down another 4lbs....so 28lbs altogether since May 11th!!

[btrieger 21]

I certainly do NOT think 2 chicken breasts and 1/2 cup of potatoes is overeating with NO restriction. I have been fighting to stay between 800-900 calories a day.

I have tried eating one piece of chicken and 3 hours later I am starving again and a cup of sugar free Jello does not cut it...so I usually go to bed!!

What I am saying is that if this is a tool and I paid all this money to have it put in, then it should help out. I feel no better off right now than before the surgery. Saying that, I did have my first episode of being "stuck" last night. It was with a piece of smoked salmon at supper. Must not have chewed it properly. There is some restriction, just not near enough in my opinion.

My first two episodes were fish as well. Not quite as soft as you would be lead to think.

The band is there to help but you have to help it as well. By cutting down the amount of food you are consuming now; it will not be as much of a shock to your system and will be a lot easier to follow the rules.

I am a meat and potatoes guy myself and I lost 95 pounds in the 5 months leading up to my surgery. Almost completely by cutting down the size of my portions.

I would take my usual serving; discard 15 - 20% of it; cut it small and chew like hell. I did this gradually until I was down to 4 ounce servings. I am not lying when I say, I was hardly ever hungry and when I was; I just had a low calorie, low fat snack like fruit, sugar free pudding or baked potato chips.

I am not very active. I walk 30 -45 minutes a day and dare I say, run a little.

Everyone is different and you just have to take a little of what everyone else that has been successful is doing and play with different combinations until something works for you.

I personally don't think that 800-900 calories a day is enough for a large man. Talk to your nutritionist about that. I try and keep mine 1,200-1,400 and dropped an average of over 3 pounds a week for 6 months and am still averaging 2 pounds a week.

The issue I have with the size LAP-BAND® I received is that I was told that I was getting a small, and then I got the large because that is all the doctor had at the time of surgery!!

That is because they can't say for sure which size to use until they have you opened up and see the size and shape of your stomach. At least that is the response I got from my surgeon when I asked which size I would be receiving prior to surgery.

[btrieger 21]

Also on a side note, when I weighed myself the other day I was using a diffeent scale. I used mine at home this morning and I am actually down another 4lbs....so 28lbs altogether since May 11th!!

If whatever you are doing is working, stick with it until you plateau (which we all do). Then, use some of the other ideas that we have mentioned.

[JMinDallas 1]

To the OP - I went to my pre-op class and learned something I didn't realize.

After surgery, you'll have no restriction really until you get a fill (our dr won't do ours until 6 wks post-op). That's the time to have your stomach rest from the trauma it was put through.

So, it is really hard to stay full a long time, and to not be satisfied. It's as if nothing is really done to you yet.

I haven't been there yet (on pre-op diet now) so I can't speak from exp, but from what I'm learning, it's normal to feel the way you do. It's normal to be hungry, and small servings not be enough.

Relax, take it easy, don't stress. Don't feel like the band isn't working. Give it time to work. Wait for your first fills and onwards to give it a chance to work.

This is your time to practice what different eatings habits to have. Go for walks, drink lots of Water, try eating smaller meals throughout the day so you won't be so hungry.

Don't give up yet! You'll be losing soon enough and forgetting about these days!

[x96oun 0]

Let me just say as many people have in the past that being STUCK really SUCKS!!!

Man the pain was terrible and I was hyperventilating. I was trying to throw it up...and nothing came but saliva. The 10 mins seemed like 10 hours!! I will need to be really careful for now on that's for sure!! I guess that's what i get for my post yesterday starting this thread :-)

[BetsyB 9]

Okay, what you're describing are half-breasts of chicken; that's a very different thing. (A whole breast has 220 calories, on average.)

And no, a 'normal' person probably would NOT eat more than half a cup of potatoes. We all have horrible portion distortion! The "right" way to eat (non banded---the "normal" way none of us really mastered) is to have that half-breast of chicken, the half-cup of potatoes, a cup or so of cooked veggies, and then fill up on salad (or another veggie).

If you've been cleared for veggies, you might try subbing out one of the breast halves for veggies and subbing a whole grain for the potatoes to see if you get more staying power.

But really, 3 hours is pretty good staying power---I'm 4 fills in and only get around that much time before I'm ready to eat again! (I have reached the point where I can postpone until mealtime now, though--which is a huge relief. I no longer want to eat the legs off the kitchen table....)

I'm glad you're losing---it will get easier with restriction.

Edited June 16, 2010 by BetsyB

[x96oun 0]

Betsy...you must be an American?? I am not saying that to offend you or anyone else, but I forgot when I lived in the USA and ordered chicken breast it was a whole (butterfly style), and in Canada when we order chicken breast...we usually get a half breast portion!

I knew Canada was bad with portions, but in America it is so true that many believe "bigger means better" with portions!! I got to experience it first hand.

That being said American has a lot more variety with food, and some cool options...like Olestra chips. Some people could not eat them, but I never had any issues!!