Going on 8 months banded and just starting to work it!

[2beskinny 4]

It took a lot of adjustments (6-7) and patience to reach the point where the band was really working with me. I attribute a lot of my success to exercise. I think I am in possible need of a small fill. Yesterday, for instance, I was able to eat about two cups of Pasta at lunch and then had an EXTREMELY decadent piece if birthday cake at the office. I was in carb overload! My response? Came home from work, ran 5 miles and had a low carb slimfast for dinner. Dropped a pound today! I have let way more carbs into my diet lately. Im handling them "ok" with all my running, but I have noticed a huge difference in the flare up of the old sweet tooth. Eating more carbs just makes you want to eat more carbs! Back to the drawing board for me. A week of low carb eating usually is enough to put the cravings at bay and get back on the losing cycle. Low carb is the key!

[Yetta2u 3]

Good news story! Thanks for sharing! There is hope for me as well... loosing very slow..

I guess i havent gotten 2 my restriction yet.

I do understand the frustration! I was banded on Aug 13th, and lost about 10 lbs post op on liquids and mushy foods. Between my 1st fill in Sept and my 3rd in January I gained and lost the same 5 pounds. I was hungry all the time, and breaking down and snacking at night. I told myself that since I "could" eat 3 pieces of pizza that my band wasn't working and I kind of gave up a little. I didn't really gain, but I certainly wasn't making losing progress.

I knew as soon as I sipped Water after that last fill that it was different. I could FEEL the Water sip slowly draining from my pouch. I hadn't felt that at all yet.

Also in the past month my fiancee found out his cholesterol was insanely high... so high and off the charts they couldn't calculate it. He's spent the past 8 months thinking he's been supportive of my diet needs, when he hasn't been at all. There was still snack food and junk food in the house. He was still ordering pizza and chinese food and getting ice cream multiple times weekly. Although I wasn't eating as much as I had before I was absolutely having little bits of all of that. I would tell myself the band wouldn't let me eat more than I should... I was deceiving myself. I knew that none of it was OK to have so often. a piece of Pizza once a month.. OK. 2 or 3 pieces of pizza a couple times a week... NO. He's also a big night time eater, and as I struggle the most after 7pm it was killing me. I'd be tired and what little willpower I had through the day had been eaten away. He'd want me to make something at 9 or 10 pm.. basically a 2nd dinner. So I was constantly around food and preparing food and eating food.

Now we're on a very strict diet and he's sticking to it. Bringing his cholesterol down is very important... his dad has had 2 heart attacks. As bad as this may sound, his bad cholesterol has been great for me! He isn't bringing junk food home. He isn't ordering out. He isn't eating all night. I am spending a lot of time in the kitchen preparing healthy meals, packing them for both of us for work, making sure we have healthy Snacks for the kids to eat too... no junk for the kiddoes either... high cholesterol runs in his family, not taking any chances with the girls. He's actually lost 10 pounds in the past couple of weeks and is very excited about it. I'm down almost 10 in that time too....

So... what I needed for success has been the band being at the right place, AND the home being in the right frame of mind. I need absolutely nothing in the house that I can or want to snack on. Even with restriction I'd eat a bowl of ice cream if it was in the house.

Get the junk out of the house. If there are others in the home who really want it, have a chat. They can pig out all they want at school or work or out with friends, but the home is healthy food... and not a lot to snack on healthy or not. Even doing this for a month or two- to get into the swing of it- will help. I know that if I can stick strictly to a diet for a month it's so much easier to say no to the bad foods. I turned down pizza and wings last week at work! from the BEST pizza place in town. No birthday cake either. I know I'm not ready to even have those things in small doses... because I do think I understand now that food is an addiction for some people. I am one of them. I get a taste of chocolate and I'll do what it takes to get more. I would hide it so nobody else could have any. i would eat junk in secret so nobody would see me... if they didn't know it didn't count. Cereal is a HUGE problem for me. Thankfully our girls are strange and hate most cereals so we just don't need them in the house. It makes Breakfast on school days a pain, but it keeps me from ahving 2 bowls of cocoa puffs while watching Grey's Anatomy.

I'm no expert on all of this, but I have lost and gained hundreds of pounds over the past 20 years... ever since I was a 150 lb 5th grader and went to Weight Watcher's camp. I know that food is an addiction. People without this problem can't understand it. Just like I can't understand an alcoholic's need to drink constantly... I don't really care for alcohol much anymore. One or two glasses of wine a month are fine for me. But I accept that some people can't say no to the drink. Can't say no to a bong or crack pipe. I can't say no to my problem foods when they're around. It's how I made it past 300 pounds.

So. If you're feeling frustrated try ridding your home of everything you'd snack on or eat too much of. Others in the home may whine at first, but it actually will be better for them too in the long run! and it doesn't have to be forever... but ask them this. If your husband/wife had a heart attack and you HAD to follow a low sodium/low fat heart healthy diet... you'd do it, right? So why isn't it important enough to support you and your weight loss? The thing you underwent surgery for? I couldn't get him to understand this until he had to change his diet for his health, and he's since apologized for not being as supportive as he thought he was being.

Having my band in a nice spot of restriction has helped. I can't eat very much at one time right now, but having no snacking options has been a Godsend.

[XXXtina 0]

what a relief to read your post. I have had three fills myself now. i was banded on january 13th 2011. I am up to 4 mL. i heard with my band that you can be pretty liberal and fill up to 5mL when they put the band in. My doctor is a bit conservative so i'm just now starting to feel some restriction but i still feel like i can eat too much although i finally did have some problem with foods. no more honey or tapioca pudding for me:( but thanks for the helpul post

[Shelley64 26]

I feel so much better after reading your post! I've been banded almost 4 months and I've never once felt any regret about getting the band but the scale isn't moving and I feel like I'm eating too much. Way way less than before the band but the scale isn't moving. i've had to buy new clothes, people think I've lost a bunch of weight and my blood panel numbers have improved greatly but the scale stil says 210....only down from 232. I will try the divided plate and see if that helps. I too think I'm eating slow enough but I still have sticking episodes. I have a question for you though....What should you do if you get that stuck feeling after say just a couple of bites of your meal? Just bag it and not eat or wait til it passes and then finish? That probably sounds stupid but I get so mad when I eat too quick and get stuck and then don't get to eat at all or finish an hour after everyone else. Advice?

[jingleboob 5]

Still doing well... I have a fill appointment on Friday, but I think I'm still OK and not ready for a fill. It's TOM this week and I'm super tight, forgot about it last night and couldn't eat dinner... Protein shakes it is!

I'm down almost 20 lbs since that last fill and me finally understanding the band! Less than 100 to go!

Shelley- When I get stuck, if it's at the begining of a meal I do wait a few minutes, if it moves down in 5 minutes or so I'll try another couple of bites, but very often if I get truly stuck it causes a little swelling and I will have trouble eating at all for a few hours, so I will opt for a Protein shake at that point. There's a difference between "stuck" and slowly draining from the pouch... Again, something I've learned about my band over the past 9 months... best of luck to you!!!

[lindkind 0]

I have gained back all but 10lbs of what I have lost since my surgery Oct. 3rd. I have a 14cc band and I have 9cc in it. I'm so disgusted with my band i don't know what to do. I feel really restricted during the early parts of the day and can't eat until late evening...then i totally pig out bc i haven't eaten all day! people tell me i look like i've lost about 50lbs and i'm indeed somewhat smaller(2 dress sizes), but i'm still 244 lbs!!! I called to get another fill 4 weeks ago and the office tells me their fluoroscope machine is broken. Called back a week ago and the only man that fixes it lives in ms and is flooded right now(due to great mississippi river flood). so still no fill...but the thing of it is i feel restricted...all day..night time i can eat whatever i want. i joined a gym. i feel better exercising in the mornings, but still no weight loss. I am so frustrated. Can't seem to get the junk out of my house. not getting the support that i need from my husband. i have 2 young daughters that need to eat healthier too, but its hard to make that transition. the surgeon i used is actually 5 hours away, but i'm debating on whether or not to go see him personally or is there something i can try first? i have no insurance. i paid 11k for my surgery and i pay 200 bucks every time i get a fill. i'm thinking what a waste at this point! if anyone has any words of encouragement or suggestions, i'm open to them!

[lindkind 0]

[lakegirl88 13]

Wow Jingleboob that was very inspiring. Thank you

[DRobjohns 3]

Thanks for posting this. I have a husband who is 6'5" and barely 200 lbs...he eats anything he wants, any amount that he wants, any hour of the day and still has to fight to keep weight on himself! However, our kids take after me and they are both overweight. I was recently banded (4/26/11) and I'm currently in "bandster hell"...not feeling full because no fills yet...I'm trying to be good and do everything I'm told, but you are so right when you say that there MUST be support at home. I also find it challenging to have to prepare food for the family...even if it's healthy food...because the amount of food that I have to make in order to fill up my thin hubby is crazy! So it's difficult to limit portions for the kids when dad is eating for 4!!

I also agree with you on the "food addiction" statement. It's all about changing long-time bad habits and the only way to do it is "cold turkey"!! I've gotten all of the junk out of the house...now it's time to remind hubby that I need him to support me and not bring home Bagels and danishes on the weekends...if WE'RE going to do this then WE have to be on the same page. If HE wants pizza and wings on Friday night, then HE will have to go out and get them on his own! I can see that it's time for me to put my foot down and lay down the "new rules"!

Good luck to you and keep us posted on your progress.

[bonnie51 4]

I have gained back all but 10lbs of what I have lost since my surgery Oct. 3rd. I have a 14cc band and I have 9cc in it. I'm so disgusted with my band i don't know what to do. I feel really restricted during the early parts of the day and can't eat until late evening...then i totally pig out bc i haven't eaten all day! people tell me i look like i've lost about 50lbs and i'm indeed somewhat smaller(2 dress sizes), but i'm still 244 lbs!!! I called to get another fill 4 weeks ago and the office tells me their fluoroscope machine is broken. Called back a week ago and the only man that fixes it lives in ms and is flooded right now(due to great mississippi river flood). so still no fill...but the thing of it is i feel restricted...all day..night time i can eat whatever i want. i joined a gym. i feel better exercising in the mornings, but still no weight loss. I am so frustrated. Can't seem to get the junk out of my house. not getting the support that i need from my husband. i have 2 young daughters that need to eat healthier too, but its hard to make that transition. the surgeon i used is actually 5 hours away, but i'm debating on whether or not to go see him personally or is there something i can try first? i have no insurance. i paid 11k for my surgery and i pay 200 bucks every time i get a fill. i'm thinking what a waste at this point! if anyone has any words of encouragement or suggestions, i'm open to them!

I would encourage you to NOT give up. Go back to the basics. You obviously lost weight, lost your motivation and the weight came back. You have a wonderful tool inside you, use it. It is not easy, I have to make choices every day many times a day. Do I always make the right one? no i do not. But I do most of the time. I never give up. if i can lost 66 pounds so can anyone, really.

[54Shirley 105]

I have gained back all but 10lbs of what I have lost since my surgery Oct. 3rd. I have a 14cc band and I have 9cc in it. I'm so disgusted with my band i don't know what to do. I feel really restricted during the early parts of the day and can't eat until late evening...then i totally pig out bc i haven't eaten all day! people tell me i look like i've lost about 50lbs and i'm indeed somewhat smaller(2 dress sizes), but i'm still 244 lbs!!! I called to get another fill 4 weeks ago and the office tells me their fluoroscope machine is broken. Called back a week ago and the only man that fixes it lives in ms and is flooded right now(due to great mississippi river flood). so still no fill...but the thing of it is i feel restricted...all day..night time i can eat whatever i want. i joined a gym. i feel better exercising in the mornings, but still no weight loss. I am so frustrated. Can't seem to get the junk out of my house. not getting the support that i need from my husband. i have 2 young daughters that need to eat healthier too, but its hard to make that transition. the surgeon i used is actually 5 hours away, but i'm debating on whether or not to go see him personally or is there something i can try first? i have no insurance. i paid 11k for my surgery and i pay 200 bucks every time i get a fill. i'm thinking what a waste at this point! if anyone has any words of encouragement or suggestions, i'm open to them!

I just want you to know that I actually understand what your talking about, and life this way is not livein at aii.

I gained almost all mine back, maybe 15 lbs.. Mine was because of a screwed up surgeon when it comes to aftercare. He told me it was blown, and there wasn't a damn thing wrong with it. He emptied me, and I thought I was never going to get fixed,

So I got a new surgeon, and they said we will do fluoroscope (ONLY WAY TO GO) They can tell were your fill line is. One fill, and I was set. So now I am back to the basics eating around 1200 calories or less a day, That is helping the weight come off. I did 1200 calories for 1 year prior to the band, and lost 120lbs. So you know what you need to do, You already joined a Gym, now do the calorie counting, Protein, and Vitamins. Then be patient, and when you can go in for fluoroscopy, you will realise that it was well worth the Wait.

Also keep a journal on your intake. Go to myfitnesspal.com it's free, and you can even record your workout, and it will tell you how you are doing. Same with the food, and it stores everything in memory. Has a nice chat site. I'm losingintime on that site. Look me up, We could help each other, since we understand what we been through. So get back on track, it's really that easy.

[natashad 0]

Things are still going well... actually down 8 more pounds since last week. In 2 more pounds I'll be smaller than I've been in 15 years!

Yay! Thanks for sharing. I need to be reading more of these positive experiences.

[shelyshely 0]

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, for this post. I don't feel so alone anymore.

I got my lapband last July, lost close to 20lbs but have slowly gained 10lbs back. My doctor is a real jerk, he loves to hear himself talk, if I get to ask a question I am usually called down for the way I'm asking it. The words I use are always in question, such as "Should I..." was how I started to ask about bite sizes, he stopped me and started into some spill about the word "should". I never got to ask my question, I gave up. He is always very reluctant about adding more to my band, he won't tell me how much I have, he says that is not important. After my appointment with him this past Wednesday I have decided to find another doctor, I left there feeling so beat down.

I'm sorry I wasn't here to complain about him, I was here to thank everyone who has posted here. It has given me hope. I had my 6th fill Wednesday, I had my usually two scrambled eggs this morning but had a hard time finishing them. I made myself eat them because I knew I would be getting hungry about an hour before my lunch. I was soooo wrong, I felt so yucky all morning and when lunch time came at 11:30 I couldn't eat. If I put anything in I felt like it might come back out. So at 1:30 I finally starting feeling hungry and had something. I hope this is the beginning of my sweet spot. But even if it is not I feel so much better after reading everyones stories and I feel like it is so close.

Again I can not thank all of you enough!