eat anything.

[cheryl2586 3,053]

Well if you do the research it will surely tell you the band does 10% you do the rest. It doesnt always control everyones hunger no matter how much you get filled. Its a risk like anything else. I am sure there are plenty of banders out there that will tell you that the band did only little for them and they did the rest.

[Getting on Track 0]

I need to ask you (I have been searching for someone with a high fill quantity) how did you finally know it was enough? I am now at 10.3 in an 11cc band. I do feel full much easier but I guess where my frustration comes in is that as much as I have cut back it seems like I can always binge if I wanted to. I eat slowly, have cut out a lot of carbs (not all) and am drinking a lot of Water. I am still not a great eater though, I have to be honest and do like my junk food. When you are saying all this diet info like the South Beach, well couldn't we have just have lost weight following that diet without the band? I am only down about 11 and it has been almost a year. I am pretty sad about it all although I haven't given up. I just want to know what to do! My portions are a lot smaller, I am getting more exercise. I have been told that I can't expect the band to do the work, well then why did I get it? Come on Dave let me in on your secret! Btw congrats on your loss thus far.

Keep in mind the band won't stop you from overeating, regardless of your fill level. The point of fills is to help the band put pressure on the vagus nerve when you eat, which helps to dim your appetite. When you've eaten a proper bandster portion meal and step away from the table, you should feel satiated with the amount of food you ate at that meal. In ten or twenty minutes, you should not be hungry at all. The key is having enough fill to retain that feeling of no hunger for several hours. Some folks make the mistake of thinking the band is supposed to prevent them from eating. It won't do that.

The other point is to examine what you're eating. The optimum (according to my fill PA) is to have ten percent of daily calories be grams of Protein. That is to say, if you are consuming 900 calories a day, then you should shoot for 90g of Protein within that 900 calorie amount. Your carbs should be lower than your protein grams, with fat and sugar even lower. Also, the protein you eat should be a dense protein in a solid form, like grilled chicken. If you eat 3 ounces of dense protein every three to four hours, you probably won't get hungry in between, especially as you get more fill. For ease of comparison, three ounces of protein should be about the size of a deck of cards.

I follow a modified South Beach Diet kind of eating plan. Higher protein, lower glycemic carbs, and avoiding excess fat or sugars. It's working well for me, and I feel great. I'm not strict about it, but I do use common sense and willpower to stay on track. And I find if I eat carb-loaded meals, I get hungry sooner, and my weght loss stalls. Staying on course with my eating plan, exercising regularly, and giving my body time to adjust my metabolism to catch up with the changes I'm forcing on my system really helps keep my weght loss moving forward. The rest of the equation is to drink enough fluids every day, and get enough sleep every night. Everyone is different, and you'll have to sort out how your body responds to your lifestyle, and how you're feeding it.

Good luck!

Dave

[xavier 153]

Dear Getting on track,

Dont get discouraged...it make take some time to kick in or you may need more fill. I have even heard of people getting more fill than the capacity of their band because there is always some Fluid in the port line.

Someone here said the band does 10% and the rest is you...if that were true I would have wasted my 15K because I self payed and have little to no will power. I would say my band does 90% and I do 10%. My 10% is putting Protein first but other than that I eat all regular food, I have never dieted or gone to the gym. My band only lets me eat one piece of pizza instead of the whole thing and I need that. For me its ALL about restriction...not how 'satisfied' I am or how long I stay satisfied.

I eat 5 or 6 tiny meals a day and yes I still eat some junk and I have never given up wine or cocktails! Good luck!

I need to ask you (I have been searching for someone with a high fill quantity) how did you finally know it was enough? I am now at 10.3 in an 11cc band. I do feel full much easier but I guess where my frustration comes in is that as much as I have cut back it seems like I can always binge if I wanted to. I eat slowly, have cut out a lot of carbs (not all) and am drinking a lot of Water. I am still not a great eater though, I have to be honest and do like my junk food. When you are saying all this diet info like the South Beach, well couldn't we have just have lost weight following that diet without the band? I am only down about 11 and it has been almost a year. I am pretty sad about it all although I haven't given up. I just want to know what to do! My portions are a lot smaller, I am getting more exercise. I have been told that I can't expect the band to do the work, well then why did I get it? Come on Dave let me in on your secret! Btw congrats on your loss thus far.

[THEgeorgiaPEACH 3]

When I was at 4 cc's I could easily eat a subway foot long. Now I'm at 8 cc's and I couldnt eat a quarter of a foot long if I tried. Sounds to me like you need another fill.

[oldiebutgoodie2 11]

I just got my first fill if 4cc. I still.feel like I can eat anything. A turkey sandwich on wheat bread is like nothing. I'm hungry 2 hours later. Is this normal? Is it via I need to get more into my band? Any help would be good.

I'm at 4.25 cc's, and can also eat anything (have had 2 fills). What has helped me from the beginning is making sure I have 80 grams Protein per day, and I also count calories (I'm a little over 4 months from surgery and eat 900-1100 calories per day).

What I have learned from this experience is that my dr.'s philosophy is more about eating differently, rather than relying solely on the band to eat less. So she is very conservative on fills, I guess to get us used to making better food choices, and eating less, eating slower, etc etc. But what has help me to do this, and what makes it different than any other diet I've been on, is the 80 grams Protein intake per day that she insists on. I'm still looking forward to that green zone, but til then, lots of protein has been my savior!

Good luck to you!