Encouragement Needed Please Share Progress

[sman342 13]

I was banded on 6/14/12.

I lost 12 in first 10 days.

Would you believe I (maybe) lost a pound this week.

I am freaking out. I've been preoccupied and cranky.

I don't feel restriction.

I exercised 4 times this week. I am on soft diet (3 meals 1/2 cup & 2 Protein shakes).

What is happening? It seems like NOTHING is happening!

I need encouragement. Please humor me.

[LadyMaggie 145]

Good post . . . misery loves company and I am right there with you. I had lap band surgery on April 9th; first fill on June 6th and NO restriction yet. People will reply that we are in "bandster he**" until we "get restriction" I am just hoping I get out of HE** on my next fill on July 25th. I have very little willpower and it is fading fast. If I could keep perfect food journals, exercise and eat perfect and I would not need the band. I know it is a tool and cannot do all of the work but this is worse than I had expected. I breezed through pre=op diet and surgery. I should be happy with a 30 pound weight loss but I am mostly just FRUSTRATED>

[RoniB 13]

Hey chin up!! I've been banded since April 23rd. I've lost nearly 50 pounds, but the doctor says the more you have to lose the faster it come off in the beginning, But I will say, I did go 1 week only losing 1 pounds and I too was very bummed.

Have you tried using a journal for what you eat. You may find you're eating a lot of calories, or fats or carbs and not realizing it. everything I eat gets noted in Fitness Pal primarily so I can keep track of my Protein. But you may be surprised.

Supposedly the average weight loss is 1 - 2 pounds per week. So 12 pounds in 10 days is SUPER!!!

I didn't really feel much restriction until my 3rd fill (last week) now I can hardly eat 1/2c of anything. So be patient, restriction is coming like no tomorrow lol

[angelblessed 9]

Hi I was banded May 16th, I have lost a total of 25lbs a couple sizes and about 4-5 inches. Please dont let loosing weight consume your brain like it did mine. My NP told tme to slow down because my skin may sag if I loose too fast. Believe it or not I don't see no difference. I figure 4 scales cant be lying lol. I also noticed that the more I paid attention to the scale the longer it stayed at the same weight AND I really didnt start loosing anything until I went to solids. I walk walk and walk somemore. I find reasons to take an extra few steps. I also drink 3-4 liters of Water w/in a 24 hr period. Hope it helps some.

[sleepyone405 13]

Focus on your eating healthy. Don't weigh yourself every day. You won't really get restrictions until you get fills. The first weight loss which is usually a combination of the preop diet, post op diet Water weight which makes it seems so easy. Let yourself heal. Get a few fills, keep exercising and you'll see that things will progress. While its fun to lose 12 lbs in 10 days, be realistic and realize that the average is only 1-2 pounds a week IF you eat right and exercise. Its also the healthiest way to lose weight and the most effective. Quick weight loss usually means quick weight regain.

Hang in there.

[2muchfun 8,927]

You are normal. This is how it works. I'm not sure what you were expecting but the first 30 days you will lose a lot of excess fluids. Then you may not lose for a while. It depends on how much you eat and what you eat. You won't feel restriction till you get that one fill that does the trick. It could be 0-6 fills. It was 6 for me. Keep reading this forum.

The math behind losing weight means you may only lose 1-2 lbs a week. You may plateau for weeks on end. But if you follow the rules you will lose weight. Right now you need to focus on healing and getting in touch with your body and band. You are not expected to lose a lot of weight at this point. Most of us didn't.

tmf

[waitingpatiently 250]

STAY OFF THAT SCALE!!!! It does you no good to be stepping on the scale everyday in these first few weeks. Your body is trying to heal NOT loose weight. This is a great time to be making new good habits like exercising a few minutes each day, not drinking while eaing and following yur post-op diet. Just stay off until at least the 4week mark....and when you step on the scale it will most likely show a weight loss. It takes time for the body to adjust to what you have done to it....but it will get the message and start giving you what you want. Hang in there these first 6 weeks were the hardest for me.....but it does get better.

[Cazzy 725]

I am always saddened and concerned when i read threads like this. Do surgeons really not explain to people about restriction and fills, what will happen post - op, when it will happen and why etc.

Post - op is a time to heal, concentrate on what and how u should be eating, you may not feel any restrictions at all for another 4 to 5 fills some feel it earlier some feel it after 6 to 7 fills there is no set pattern here other than patience is the best thing to do right now, after all how long have u been too heavy, these few months it will take for u to get what u need from the band are nothing compared to the years most of us have been heavy.. good luck and any weight loss now is a bonus not the usual

[pink dahlia 2,513]

The reason you're not losing anymore is because you're not supposed to be losing much at this point. The 1st 6 weeks are for HEALING, not LOSING . Your body has had a shock (surgery) , now its in recovery mode. This is all completely normal, and you're right on track for a healthy body, with a healthy weight loss. Big restriction wont come in until you start getting fills. I had steady and slow weight loss since getting banded last December, then I hit the Green Zone with my 3rd fill, that lasted about 12 days. The Tech said that was completely normal, sometimes that happens. I had no restriction with the 4th or 5th fill, but with the 6th ? Muuuuuuuch better !!!! Now i eat smaller amounts, track everything on Myfitnesspal.com, exercise 3x a week, and the weight is coming off, again. Down 45 lbs so far ! I was patient, followed the rules 95 % of the time, got regular fills and watched myself go from 225 lbs to 180, size 18-1x to a size 14. So be patient, and hang in there !

[sman342 13]

Good post . . . misery loves company and I am right there with you. I had lap band surgery on April 9th; first fill on June 6th and NO restriction yet. People will reply that we are in "bandster he**" until we "get restriction" I am just hoping I get out of HE** on my next fill on July 25th. I have very little willpower and it is fading fast. If I could keep perfect food journals, exercise and eat perfect and I would not need the band. I know it is a tool and cannot do all of the work but this is worse than I had expected. I breezed through pre=op diet and surgery. I should be happy with a 30 pound weight loss but I am mostly just FRUSTRATED>

30 pounds since April - I think you are having very good results especially w/o a fill! Thanks for your post.

[sman342 13]

Focus on your eating healthy. Don't weigh yourself every day. You won't really get restrictions until you get fills. The first weight loss which is usually a combination of the preop diet, post op diet Water weight which makes it seems so easy. Let yourself heal. Get a few fills, keep exercising and you'll see that things will progress. While its fun to lose 12 lbs in 10 days, be realistic and realize that the average is only 1-2 pounds a week IF you eat right and exercise. Its also the healthiest way to lose weight and the most effective. Quick weight loss usually means quick weight regain.

Hang in there.

Exactly what I needed. Thanks!

[sman342 13]

I am always saddened and concerned when i read threads like this. Do surgeons really not explain to people about restriction and fills, what will happen post - op, when it will happen and why etc.

Post - op is a time to heal, concentrate on what and how u should be eating, you may not feel any restrictions at all for another 4 to 5 fills some feel it earlier some feel it after 6 to 7 fills there is no set pattern here other than patience is the best thing to do right now, after all how long have u been too heavy, these few months it will take for u to get what u need from the band are nothing compared to the years most of us have been heavy.. good luck and any weight loss now is a bonus not the usual

Thank you for sharing as you are right. I didnt take away that the first weeks are not to lose but to heal. Thanks!

[sman342 13]

The reason you're not losing anymore is because you're not supposed to be losing much at this point. The 1st 6 weeks are for HEALING, not LOSING . Your body has had a shock (surgery) , now its in recovery mode. This is all completely normal, and you're right on track for a healthy body, with a healthy weight loss. Big restriction wont come in until you start getting fills. I had steady and slow weight loss since getting banded last December, then I hit the Green Zone with my 3rd fill, that lasted about 12 days. The Tech said that was completely normal, sometimes that happens. I had no restriction with the 4th or 5th fill, but with the 6th ? Muuuuuuuch better !!!! Now i eat smaller amounts, track everything on Myfitnesspal.com, exercise 3x a week, and the weight is coming off, again. Down 45 lbs so far ! I was patient, followed the rules 95 % of the time, got regular fills and watched myself go from 225 lbs to 180, size 18-1x to a size 14. So be patient, and hang in there !

It's funny bc I don't feel any signs of having had surgery 2 weeks ago and so I failed to see that the healing is on the inside. Thanks for the reminder. I couldn't watch the operation on YouTube until after surgery and it made me want to be gentle on the pouch.

[sman342 13]

Thanks to all who replied.

The big take away is the reminder that this is the healing period not the losing period;

restriction comes from fills not the surgery;

and real weight loss is 1-2 pounds.

I became so scared last night after reading about a poster who had to have band removed because it grew into the stomach, the various people who have been rehospitalized, some poster who had holes in her tube. I panicked about what seems likely to happen, the complications.

I just wanted to hear a nice story about reasonable weight loss that positively affected someone without a rehospitalization or horror story.