Discouraged ?

[RoyTN 0]

On April 1st I weighed 338 lbs. I had my surgery on May 11. At the time of surgery, I had dropped to 318 lbs. I have had one fill on June 4th (had to reschedule my second one for next week) in which they put in 4cc and had to take some out cause after drinking Water I felt a little too tight. Today, I am approximatley at 284 lbs. I know I know.. thats 54 lbs.. shut up and be happy.

Problem is this. I feel VERY little restriction. I can eat a lot more than a cup of food which was what I was lead to believe I would be able to eat after the surgery was complete. In addition, I have had ZERO nausea, reproductive burping, sense of food being stuck, basically no "issues" at all.

Is this normal? Yes Im losing weight, but the feeling of fullness eludes me and I am eating more than I should and have no common side effects.. is this normal??

[Rachel412 116]

Can you tell me what a typical meal is for you, and how long after that meal it takes before you're hungry again? I never feel "full", certainly not full like I used to pre-surgery. Instead I feel no longer hungry-- satisfied, or a dimming of my desire to eat. I still COULD eat a huge amount of food, I just have to pay attention to when my body tells me I'm no longer hungry.

[HeatherinCA 10]

There is no such thing.. at least for me. My hunger is gone. It's working, but I still need willpower to do the rest. Which is very hard. You have to learn how to eat the right amount of food.< /p>

[RoyTN 0]

Can you tell me what a typical meal is for you, and how long after that meal it takes before you're hungry again? I never feel "full", certainly not full like I used to pre-surgery. Instead I feel no longer hungry-- satisfied, or a dimming of my desire to eat. I still COULD eat a huge amount of food, I just have to pay attention to when my body tells me I'm no longer hungry.

1) Large salad from Wendys

2) Last night i had 8oz sirloin, 6 grilled shrimp, a veggie skewer, and small salad

[RoyTN 0]

There is no such thing.. at least for me. My hunger is gone. It's working, but I still need willpower to do the rest. Which is very hard. You have to learn how to eat the right amount of food.

No such thing as..??

[Rachel412 116]

1) Large salad from Wendys

2) Last night i had 8oz sirloin, 6 grilled shrimp, a veggie skewer, and small salad

And how long after either of these meals do you feel hungry again?

[Jenn1214 120]

I'm kind of in the same boat as you. I have never slimed, PBd or been stuck, and I have vomited only once since surgery (not due to food issues, just too much Johnnie Walker). I have lost 42 lbs since my surgery on March 14th, including the pre op diet. I find that my success is 50% band, 50% willpower. I eat way, way less than I used to, which was pretty much like a bear storing fat for the winter, but I was never told what kind of volume of food I should be eating. I just do what my nutritionist told me, which is the basic bandster mantra we're all told; small bites, chew it to death, and go slow. You have to really "listen" for the subtle signs of fullness, instead of obvious pre-band fullness: "If I eat one more bite I might explode!" For me, I either get shoulder pain, hiccup, or heave a great big sigh and I know I'm done.

One time, after just getting an adjustment a few days prior, my fiance and I went to his friend's house for a little get together. I wasn't listening to my body and just kept eating, and oh the pain! I thought someone had stabbed me. Not wanting to experience that again, I'm much more diligent about not eating more than the band allows and stopping as soon as I'm satisfied, but not necessarily "full". As you get more adjustments, you will probably have more restriction and feel some of the signs I mentioned earlier. It took about 3 fills for me to get there.

[Phranp 46]

You are doing VERY well for someone with only a little restriction. Congratulations!

Some people (not me), require zero to ... maybe 3 fills before they are at their sweet spot. For me it took 7 fills. I was banded 6-15-09 and got to my sweet spot some time in April 2010. I haven't had an adjustment since. It takes time ... you will get there.

Some people need the dimming of their appetite. I do not. It is good for me to stay on a "food plan" that is condusive to losing weight. If I don't the indicators that I am "hungry" are when I become fatigued, weak, lose focus ... and a little grumpy. So, I am glad that I actually have restriction. If I eat too much (unless it is a "slider" food, and sometimes even then) it backs up into my esophagus and out it goes -- not pleasant, so I try not to do this. I am a "head" hungry person which is very difficult to overcome (I see a therapist ... very helpful to me). The band helps because when I allow emotions (i.e., head hunger) to rule, I am unable to overeat without repercussions (i.e., up and out). But it took time to get to this point.

Keep getting fills ... you'll get there. Either dimming of your appetite or restriction. I have no clue why some people have actual restriction and others do not. I do believe that the band dims my appetite, it's just hard for me to notice because I didn't get fat because I was hungry all the time. I got fat because I ate too much -- I didn't have to be the least bit hungry.

With the lapband (for a lot of us) patience is a true virtue.

All the best to you on your journey.

~Fran

[stateofzen 46]

For me, it's not an issue of "can" I eat it, but more of an issue of do I "need" to eat it. It's a tough mental adjustment to make.

Right now, your battle seems to be in learning to serve yourself only the recommended amount of food ( half that 8 oz steak and either the salad OR the veggies) and after finishing, assessing your hunger level. Look for not hungry instead of full. If you're still truly hungry, maybe have a little more but always assess actual hunger separately from just wanting to eat.

When you get to a good fill level, your band should help with this but there is definitely a learning process surrounding portion size and understanding the difference between true hunger and head hunger. Don't look for the band to force you to stop-- it may never do that and anyway, who wants to PB I have never gotten stuck, vommited, or otherwise had a negative result from my band (other than discomfort/gas when I overeat), and I hope never to experience those things myself. I would encourage you not to gauge your band's success by these markers but instead by it helps control physical hunger.

[Jess55 97]

First of all congrats on your weight loss so far! Second, you say you've never PB'd, gotten stuck, slimed, had any issues. Well why do you want to? I've been banded 6 months, had one fill at 5 months of only 0.75 cc, I've never had any issues either, never been stuck or slimed or anything and I'd rather not. I do have some restriction, but a lot of this I'm doing on my own and I'm fine with that. I'm portioning my meals, eating mostly the right stuff (do cheat at work when there's junk around, which I gotta improve on that). I am going to get another small fill when I go back just to help me a little more since I'm still kind of hungry.

I say if you're losing weight, keep doing what you're doing, then when you slow change it up.

[TKW 501]

I was EXACTLY like that. Was losing 10 pounds a month but was eating way more than 1 cup of food.

I ate healthier and exercised and drank my Water, I had restriction but just did not get full on 1 cup of food. I just went with it cuz I was losing. Then all of a sudden I had a month where I only lost 2 pounds. It had been a few months since I had a fill so my Dr. gave me one. WOW!!! There I was, could barely eat a cup. As a matter of fact I had to have some taken out a couple of weeks later.

Now I am so at my "Sweet Spot".

I really thought I had great restriction all along and would just be a person who ate more than a cup of food. I was never really concerned about it cuz I was losing but I was worried the weight loss would stop. It really was just a matter of waiting to get to the right fill level. It will happen. Keep eating healthy and making good choices. The 1 cup will come! Anyway it did for me.

Good Luck!

[sdmck 0]

First of all, congrats on your weight loss so far. It has been almost 3 years since my lap band surgery. In the beginning, I was able to eat alot more food than they told me I would be able to. I had to learn to tell my body no. After a few fills in my lap band this issue was eventually resolved. I still have issues with still being hungry but have learned not to push. As soon as I am full I quit otherwise vomiting is in the near future. Be patient, after a few more months and fills you will find you won't be able to eat as much. As for now, you need to discipline yourself not to eat as much. Many people feel they should have alot of weight loss after the surgery. I am still losing after almost 3 years. I still have 20 lbs to go before I reach my goal. It was frustrating at first that I could not lose the weight faster but the slow weight loss allows you to discipine yourself to your new lifestyle. Hang in there...more rewards are ahead of you!

[brbm6 6]

You are doing so well! Congratulations. I did not feel anything until the 3rd fill. That being said, I do not want to feel a lot of restriction. I tend to believe I need to use my self control. I calculate every calorie going into my mouth. It sounds like you have a lot of self control. Wouldn't you rather not PB or slime? I promise it is not fun at all!