Not feeling the affects from 1st fill

[toveylapgal 15]

Hi all! I had my 1st fill yesterday, 2cc, and I don't feel my eating has slowed down I'm tracking my food and typically eating around 1500 cal a day at my current weight of 292. Am I overeating?

[lisacaron 5,075]

@@toveylapgal Why do you think you are overeating? Are your portion sizes too large? Are you eating again within 2 hours of your last meal?

When you have an adjustment to your band it can take up to two weeks for the effects to be felt. That said, even after a couple of weeks you may still be feeling hungry. Hunger is something we need to identify and understand. If you are hungry for food and your body needs fuel to function then you need to eat. If you are hungry and you don't know why...then you need to ask yourself what is driving the hunger? Try a bottle of Water while you work on that and see if when your done you are still hungry.

Is it head hunger? Coming from boredom or frustration or emotions or anger or worry...? Or is it legitimate hunger body needing some fuel to function? If it's the later then go ahead and eat something. If it's with in only a few hours since the last time you have eaten then you more then likely will need a little more fill put into your band.

It takes a while for the band and you to find your proper adjustment and as life changes so can the restriction in your band. I think of it as an ebb and flow and there are some days where things are a little tighter and days where it is looser and foods move through much faster.

Don't worry, your on the right track. Here are a few helpful guidelines. Take a least 20 minutes to eat your meals. No more and no less. Set up a timer on your phone if you need to to help you get used to that time frame. If you are eating over 20 minutes then you are eating into your next meal. After 20 minutes walk away from the table or food and move on to something else.

If you find that you are hungry in an hour or two after eating then consider speaking to the Dr. about additional Fluid being added at your next appointment but give this fill a chance to settle in. If you are satisfied for at least 3-4 hours then you just might be in a good place and not need another fill.

Try to pre portion out your foods so you eat that and only that amount. These beginning months can be rough, but you can do it!!

[toveylapgal 15]

Thank you for taking the time to share with me!

[sbrown1 10]

How long after a fill do you wait to start on mushy foods

[JustWatchMe 7,117]

Lisa nailed it. This is a learning time. Very few people are at the right level after one adjustment. Portion Control is important now and it will feel like a diet until you reach the right fill level. Be disciplined. You will get there. By learning satiety signals and maintaining portion control now, you'll learn to recognize "enough", and with future fills, sneak up on your green zone. You don't want to go too tight too fast because it can cause regurgitation problems. At four fills and six months post op I believe I hit my green zone. It's wonderful. I still have to watch my portions and types of foods in order to keep losing weight. But I feel the "enough" signals when I eat solid Protein, and I'm satisfied without hunger for four hours between meals. It's a wonderful thing.

[JustWatchMe 7,117]

@@sbrown1 my fill nurse requires 48 hours of full liquids after each fill. Then back to normal solid foods.

[toveylapgal 15]

Sbrown my doc let me eat immediately. He just said slow and easy for the first meal following to make sure I wouldn't get sick

[toveylapgal 15]

I'm just mentally down right now. I didn't realize I would have to still track every bite in order to lose. It kinda frustrating when you realize that even with having surgery you still have to diet.

[JustWatchMe 7,117]

I'm just mentally down right now. I didn't realize I would have to still track every bite in order to lose. It kinda frustrating when you realize that even with having surgery you still have to diet.

For now, yes that is true. It's a stage of recovery. You're not adjusted yet. You wouldn't take your car out of a service bay after the mechanic installed a part but before s/he connected and adjusted it and then expect the car to run efficiently. Same with your band. Until it's installed AND adjusted it isn't working optimally. You got a band. It needs adjustment. During those months you can either count your intake carefully or stagnate on your weight loss or gain. People have done all of these things. My surgeon wanted me to have "maximum weight loss" during my six weeks of liquids post op. It was for a running start, to build discipline, and for morale. It worked for me. By the time my fills started I was ready and had the habits in place. As my adjustments take place I keep the eating measured. Green zone for me now is easier. I'm still losing weight so I track my food. Others in the green zone don't. Personal choice.

Sleevers and RNY patients have faster weight loss but have their own difficult post op eating regimens. WLS is not easy.

Edited October 24, 2014 by JustWatchMe

[toveylapgal 15]

Thanks

[lisacaron 5,075]

@@toveylapgal don't be down. The great thing in my opinion about Lapband surgery is that you get all your learning right up front. You learn to balance your lifestyle and your weight loss and your new band buddy from day one of surgery.

RNY paitents and sleeve patients are forced from day one to modify eating but over time they can start to increase their intake and the result of that can be weight gain. The reason for this being that they did not slowly learn to change their diet and lifestyle but were forced to do it as a result of surgery.

With the band you have a good 4-6 months of solid learning, adjusting and modifying. The band is also adjustable so when you feel you are getting off the rails you can quickly adjust.,

All the learning that I gained in the early months and the first year of banding have helped me to change my entire way of living and associating with food and exercise and overall health.

Recently I had to have my band nearly emptied and all the Fluid removed due to a stomach dilation from medication I was on. Having no restriction it in the past it would have been easy for me to gain 20 pounds in a month. Thanks to all my learning and lifestyle changes the whole month without a fill I actually lost weight and did not gain. The weight loss was not HUGE but it was not a gain.

I just had a fill yesterday to put some Fluid back in. They don't put it all back in at once...so I am still going with the flow until I reach that sweet spot again.

As for eating after fills...every one and every Dr. is different. The important thing is to do what feels right to you. You don't want to go back to solid foods and get stuck. It will take some time for the fill to settle in...so go slow with it. Try liquids for a couple of days, then move to mushy then soft then full solids as you can tolerate it. If you find that you move to a phase or your already in a phase and things are a bit tighter then go backwards and go to mushy etc. Just watch your portions in doing that because when we consume the slider foods it's easier to eat more then it is when you have to work at chewing and swallowing as you do with solids.

[JustWatchMe 7,117]

@@lisacaron, you're doing so well with your band unfill and refill. I'm proud of and inspired by you!

[lisacaron 5,075]

@@lisacaron, you're doing so well with your band unfill and refill. I'm proud of and inspired by you!

Thank you, your a sweet heart!

[Rollo 7]

I'm having the same issue. I got my first fill last month and feel like I can eat has fast and much as I want to. I've had my band for almost 5 months and have been lucky enough never to have been stuck or have any issues at all. I'm still losing about 8 or 10 pounds a month, so I must be doing something right. My biggest fear is stretching my pouch out