too tight or just doing things wrong?

jenf3 · October 19, 2007

HI ALL. I just had my third fill 10-8 at 3cc. was at 2.6 with minor restriction. O.k at times it seems like I cant eat anything solid, and at other times it seems like I can eat quite a bit, but it is usualy foods that arent good that I can eat, like chips, Cookies stuff like that. When I try to eat good food like chkn. or ground beef I cant have more than 2 bites, and I'm slimeing(almost at every meal). Well I'm pretty determined to not getting an un fill because I haven't lost any weight at all since the surgery in june. Am I doing some thing wrong or will things loosen up a bit, why can I eat a lot sometimes and nothing most of the time??

faithmd · October 19, 2007

I'm sorry, this is going to be somewhat abrupt and sound rude, but... you asked if you are doing things wrong, so here goes:

If you are eating chips and Cookies and stuff, then how can you wonder why you haven't lost anything since your surgery????

Many people have difficulty with chicken or ground beef even at their "sweet spot." There are many other choices you could make in good foods to eat. Lean meats, turkey, tofu, greek strained yogurt, you could supplement with Protein shakes, veggies, salads, etc.

Have you tried tracking EVERY SINGLE BITE and EVERY SIP of what you take in on a site like fitday.com or sparkpeople.com or dailyplate.com? To see the calories helps you make better choices.

You have GOT to put down the Cookies and chips. What you wrote has been written countless times, chips and cookies and ice cream goes down the band VERY well. Go back to basics, eat your Protein first, then veggies, then if you have room eat carbs. Stop the white carbs, switch to complex carbs. Don't drink with meals, etc.

Good luck!

juliegeraci · October 19, 2007

Jen, it sounds like you are only able to eat junk. Is that correct? You shoul be able to eat lean Protein. I can only eat a few bites as well with good restriction. I would mix your diet up a bit since you have such a hard time with solids. I would drink a Protein Shake for Breakfast, followed but some more protein in a soft form like cottage cheese or yogurt. You should be able to get in 1-2 oz of solid protein at dinner. Keep your calories to 800-1000 no more than 1200 calories a day. You will lose.

jenf3 · October 21, 2007

I would love to be able to eat some protien, I guess I'll have to do the shakes because I litterly cant eat more than 1-2 bites of anything. I guess I didnt realize thats what the sweet spot meant. I can eat soft foods and Soup but I can only have solids maybe once a day. How big are most portions now for you? thanks-jen

lisah25 · October 22, 2007

I would love to be able to eat some protien, I guess I'll have to do the shakes because I litterly cant eat more than 1-2 bites of anything. I guess I didnt realize thats what the sweet spot meant. I can eat soft foods and Soup but I can only have solids maybe once a day. How big are most portions now for you? thanks-jen

IMHO, you are not at your sweet spot, you are too tight. You should be able to eat more then 1-2 bites of solid Protein. The problem that I found being too tight was that I wasn't eating the good food because I couldn't keep it down, do was eating WAY too much softer foods. Making me not lose weight. Making me think getting an unfill would just make it worse.

I was wrong, and it took an esophigel spasm that put me in the ER, thinking I was having a heart attack to make me realize I was doing damage to my body and still not losing weight.

jenf3 · October 22, 2007

Thanks for your reply. Do you think find the sweet spot could be a matter of .1-2cc? like I was at 2.6 totally unrestricted and at 3.cc I'm too tight, I'm so surprised that such a small amount could make such a huge difference. Also with the last fill it seemed tight for the first 2 weeks and then it loosened up so I was waiting to see if that would happen again.maybe i am eating too fast or not taking small enough bites?? one thing funny I noticed is that if my stomache is empty and I'm starving, I cant eat and if I'm not hungry I can eat, but I do get that full feeling pretty quick. That is why I am soo confused!

juliegeraci · October 22, 2007

Yes .1 or .2 can make a huge difference. I just went from 3.2 to 3 and I can totally feel the difference. You may just need .1 taken out.

mbanja · October 22, 2007

I lost minimal weight after being banded. My problem was liquid calories. I loved sweet tea. Well of course it is loaded with sugar calories. Some peoples sweet tea, depending on how sweet you like it can have more sugar in it than a Coke or Mountain Dew. Well, needless to say, I did away with sweet tea and I am now sweetening my tea with splenda. It did take a while getting used to but hey I am loosing weight!

lisah25 · October 23, 2007

Thanks for your reply. Do you think find the sweet spot could be a matter of .1-2cc? like I was at 2.6 totally unrestricted and at 3.cc I'm too tight, I'm so surprised that such a small amount could make such a huge difference. Also with the last fill it seemed tight for the first 2 weeks and then it loosened up so I was waiting to see if that would happen again.maybe i am eating too fast or not taking small enough bites?? one thing funny I noticed is that if my stomache is empty and I'm starving, I cant eat and if I'm not hungry I can eat, but I do get that full feeling pretty quick. That is why I am soo confused!

The band can be quite fickle, I think that when I'm really hungry, I don't take the small bites and chew well, and I often have problems.

Yes, .1-2 can make a big difference. Also, if you've been PBing a lot, your stoma can be irritated and swollen, so you could try a couple of days on liquids and see what happens?