FFF

[Jess55 97]

When you're hungry, drink drink drink. It helps me a lot. I'm almost 7 months out and I've had one small fill. Fills do not make you lose weight. Only you can do that. Am I hungry between meals, yes I am. But I'm still not sure if I want another fill. I'm losing weight fine, because I know what I have to do and I know I have to do it. Am I gonna Lise 100# in a year, no. But Water can keep me satisfied to an extent, so I'm wondering if I really should get a fill.

So drink when you feel hungry. I know this may seem hard since you may still be on liquids or mushies, but it helps. Though I wasn't hungry during my liquid stage, so I can't say for sure if it will help on that stage. But remember fills do not equal weight loss. Only you can control that.

[Catherine55 43]

Kaydin, please don't worry!! You are in the phase called "Bandster Hell!" I'm always surprised that our doctors don't really explain that phase at the beginning. I gained 5 pounds back between the time I got on solid food and had my first fill. But... guess what?? That weight and much, much more all came off once I got to good restriction. The same will happen for you!

Just hang in there and try to eat moderately and not to gain weight. It's OK if you aren't losing -- right now you're supposed to just focus on healing. I actually took some comfort in Bandster Hell once I figured out what it was all about. The idea that I could still eat "normally" if I didn't have a fill made the surgery a lot less scary to me. Even though (and I'm 2 yrs & 9 mos out) I've never wanted to get my fill out so that I could eat more, knowing that's a possibility was kind of comforting to me at first (now I don't care -- I love my band!)

I hope that helps! Feel free to check out my old posts on my blog -- if you go back to 2010, you can see all about my shameful gain during Bandster Hell and how I lost after that.

Best wishes for lots of success for you!

Catherine

[nurse535 30]

When I was at about that same stage post-op (I'm 4 wks out now) I told my sister that the hardest part at that point was that I was going thru all the bad parts of the surgery/eating restrictions without any benefit to show for it. So even though I knew eventually it would pay off, it was frustrating to get through that first part. Kinda like when you're first pregnant and feel sick and tired all the time, with no baby to snuggle to make it seem worth it! And some of my problem really was just the head-hunger thing along with anxiety about how my body would react once I was eating "real" food again.

[mauraclegg 29]

right now you should be all about healing and getting your abdomen back to healthy. As far as dieting - don't think of it as dieting - think of it as change in your lifestyle. I do count calories, but I didn't start unti I was on "real food" again - and I still count now 13 months later

Everyone has set backs and frustration, it's what you do it that makes your experience your own