Did you lose weight before your first fill?

[ReneBean 3]

I gained a half a pound... Geesh! Better now after the third fill.

[MarcyD 0]

I am dying here in Bandster Hell waiting for my first fill. I lost 29 pounds in the first 6 weeks, but now have gained 3 back as my hunger has returned big time. Struggling with willpower while I wait for my fill....

[cashley 0]

So - being unbanded myself - after reading all of this thread - I guess I have to ask: people who lose with no fill - for months - who lose quite a bit - is it a matter of Head Control? or do some maybe actually have restriction with just the band there? curious.........

Depending on how much fatty tissue is around the stomach area depends on how much restriction you get with the band only. Some people will get restriction without a fill for months. In fact, that is the reason that they created the VanGuard band is due to the regular 4cc band being way too tight for some people.

I on the other hand was starving until the 2nd fill... not an ounce of restriction from the band alone. It was hard to stay on the liquid diet and control myself when I was starving and felt like there was no difference between pre-op and post-op...

Things are good now and I'm losing at a decent rate... (Only about 1.5 per week but much better then before) I'm very happy with what I can and can't eat and hope to stay happy.

[ousooner 1]

Guilty here of being a rule follower I wish I had the will power I have now before I had the surgery. If I had the will power before, I wouldn't have been overweight. I lost 41 pounds before the first fill. I get my second fill this Friday and can't wait because I still feel a lot of hunger. I have been scared to try anything on the bad list because I am afraid if I try it once, I will lapse back into my old habits. I am 2 months out and and have not had a bite of bread, rice, sugar, Pasta, etc. I guess I needed the surgery to "scare" the will power into me.

[juliegeraci 7]

I lost 12 then I quickly gained back 5. So now I am just around 10-11. My first fill is Monday and boy I can't wait.

[PhotoNut 7]

ousooner... I have done exactly what youre saying. I just passed my 6th month bandiversary and have still not touched breads, pastas, rice, or sugars. I feel like an alcoholic who knows she can NOT take that first sip or she'll be right back where she was before. A good healthy fear of PBs and eating around the band has rewarded me with an 85 pound loss so far. Dont anyone take offense to this, its just an observation and not a criticism or judgement.. It seems to me that those who follow the rules have much better (faster) success than those who don't. Those who don't may choose to believe that following rules is a set up for failing because one can only deny themselves for a certain amount of time before they crumble.. BUT I say this... I have rarely denied myself of any foods and I weighed 307 pounds because I have no ability to control myself. I am an over indulger with a love for food (for many different reasons) and if I could have taken a bite or two and left the rest... well, I wouldn't be here now typing this.

[ousooner 1]

Photonut,

Great progress. Your a great inspiration. The alcoholic comparison is exactly how I feel. It may not be quite the physical addiction, but it surely is mental. I don't want to fall off the weight loss wagon. I too did not mean to be judgemental or even cocky. Hope I did not come across that way

[Loving-It 0]

I am 4 and a half weeks post op, just went to regular food on Friday, will have my first fill August 15th and am down 23 lbs. :clap2: I still have another month till the fill so hopefully I will stay on track and continue to lose. My doctor considers anything lost prior to the fill a bonus so I'm very happy.

[mslynn 0]

I'll admit it. I'm a hardcore rule follower. When I set my mind to something there is no other option. I've been called a pitbull a time or two in my life :eek:

I wanna be a hardcore rule follower. I wish I had lost more before a fill (I get a fill in a week).

Mslynn

:wave:

[Born2Lose 1]

I think compulsive eating is EXACTLY like alcoholism. My step father (who is an alcoholic) tells me, "why don't you just quit eating". I say to him, why don't you quit drinking?!

When I finally admitted that I can't control myself, I began to understand him a little better, and now I no longer judge him as much. He criticized me for wanting to go through with surgery, and I told him that at least I could admit I have a problem and need help.

There are so many other parallels. I will eat very little for days at a time, and then I will go on an eating binge for days- he does the same thing, except with alcohol. The longest he has been sober is 2 months. I can stay on a diet for a few months and then, I too, fall off the proverbial wagon. He can't have just one drink. I can't have just one bite.

They are both addictions, but in two different forms.

[Leecelove70 0]

I was 290 at my April 4th 2006 consul. I was put on Optifast for a week before surgery and I lost 7 pounds and was 283 on my day of surgery on June 13, 2006.

I then lost 40 pounds before I had my first and only fill on October 25, 2006.

I had to a totat unfill due to a suspected slippage on Feb. 8th.and I weighted 233 for that, which was my 8 month weight in. That was a 57 pound weight loss!

I have since gained weight since my unfill and Iam now 240 and my next fill is scheduled for March 15th and it also my 9 month follow up.

Lisa

[DebLPN 0]

I lost exactly 30 pounds from teh date of my banding until my first post op check up 5 weeks later. MaranneTN,,I too am pretty ridgid in my following of my physican's guidelines. Sometimes I wonder if it's because I was a self pay,,lol. I was given a nice big booklet outlining exactly what, when and how much of what foods to eat and to avoid, along with tons of how to measure things, what foods are high in what,,,lots of invaluable information.

Banded 01/29/07

331/298/150

[Surby 1]

It took me MONTHS and 4 fills to get really good restriction. Then my weight loss took off! I don't crave chocolate and other junk anymore. My only pitfall now is chips and salsa from a Mexican restaurant. YUM! I still eat them, just a whole lot less!!!!!!

[daizee 0]

I am gettin so distressed over this whole thing. I lost a few lbs before the surgery (like 5) I have followed everything exactly and held once I reached 10 lbs minus. I had my first fill the end of Feb which was 4 months out. Still no restriction. I do have difficulty with exercise because both of my knees are bad - however I do walking exercise in the pool 3 x a week. I just keep hovering around the same weight. I put the @#$$%% scale away for a while because I was obsessing. I went down about 7 lbs but put it right back on. I'm not loosing but not gaining either. I am frustrated. I go in for another fill in two weeks. I certainly hope that it helps b ecause I feel just like I did prior to the fill.

[Vikki 2]

I know how you feel daizee, I too am frustrated. I am four months this Sat. and have lost 25 pounds. The last mth have teedered between the same 5 pounds. I am eating less and feeling frustrated that the weight is not coming off when I feel I am working so hard at it. I need to get a fill but have to drive really far so trying to wait until I absolutely have too. I see others on this post and they have lost up to 50 pounds around the same date of getting the band. I just can't figure out why my body is as stubborn as I am!! Figures!! I am trying to just take it step by step. I just thought I wouldn't feel so darn hungry. The first fill I got I was so tight I could barely get Water down for about 3 weeks so I am scared to get another one.