Am I screwed?

[blackcherry2002 5]

Ok so I've had two fills and I'm at 8cc in a VG band( 10cc?) and I feel a little bit of restriction but....I can still eat a lot...depending on the food. is that same with everyone else?

For instance, I can take a bite out of a sandwich and just feel stuffed but then I can eat an entire family can(serves 3) of Dinty Moore Beef Stew...I'm just wondering what's up and if I need another fill? I dont' want to tell that to my doc though because...well he's kind of a douche:thumbdown:

It's just that my band is pretty full but I'm just not there yet, and I'm still at 239, so I don't know if this is a bad sign or what... I've only lost 26 lbs.

Edited October 4, 2008 by blackcherry2002

[snowbird 2]

Well, two things from me here. One, my husband didn't hit real restriction until 8.6 in his band, so you may just need a little bit more in yours. However, my second point is that you have to find what helps your band work. What foods do you have trouble getting down? That's what you should have on hand to eat. What foods are sliders for you? Those are the ones you should stay away from. Now, don't start with the "if I could control my eating I wouldn't have needed a band!" I've heard it, and I've even said it. But you have to learn what works for you and your band, and do it. I've learned peanuts get stuck after a couple, so when I start to binge on my slider foods, I have a couple peanuts and I don't feel like eating anymore. Just because you have a band doesn't mean you no longer have to really make an effort to eat less. The band helps, and gives you a few new tools to stop eating so much, which is great because without it I have never been able to lose weight and keep it off before. But you still need to understand yourself and how you eat.

[kimmyv 0]

I am a newbie and found out today the hard way that I can NOT handle processed food. I haven't had my first fill and am starting to experience hunger and cravings now. But..... I think the answer may be in your own post. Learning what fills us up and keeps us full is what this journey is all about. If we were all cool with food we wouldn't be in the situation we are. And-if you didn't have the band would you have lost the weight you have?

So this is what I am thinking. Dinty Moore stew is delicious but really mushy for the most part. Plus- it is processed to all heck. A sandwich however--even if you are eating white bread and mayo and cheese etc---has a lot more substance and would expand and fill you faster. What are some other things that really make you feel full quickly and also taste good and are good for you too? What about grilled chicken salad or grilled chicken sandwhich with only 1 piece of bread but with cucumbers and lettuce, bean sprouts etc... What ever you can eat like that with your band.. I know everyone is different with what they can eat. Just NOTHING processed or mushy. Commit to an organic, unprocessed food and I bet you'll find alot more stuff that you can't eat a can of.

Do you weigh/measure your food? How about a journal and also log how you felt when you ate them? Full vs not full etc. I know the biggest thing my nutrionist and doc said was Protein and drinking tons of water/calorie free liquid through out the day. Also- are you working out? In order for me to work out I have to be forced. So I signed up for a 5k run/walk for a charity today. If I don't work out and do the run (ok jog) then I am not helping out some really needy children.

Girl-- you can do this..... What about a different doc? If you don't like him or click it is important to have good communication to get you to that sweet spot.

[Lillie52 0]

I absolutely agree with what Snowbird said. Focus on eating those foods that you have found fill you up.

I can eat slider foods all I want.

It may be a process of trial and error to find out just what those foods are, but you will get it figured out.

meats and vegetables are the foods that fill me up.

[blackcherry2002 5]

See that's the bad thing, I can eat that stuff. It's the bad food that keeps me full and makes me full fast. I can take a bite out of a hamburger and be stuffed. Or 1/2 a slice of pizza and feel stuffed....but I can eat a whole can of beef stew, and half a box of hamburger helper...what is wrong with me?

[ashleyrenee 0]

I don't think anything is wrong with you, but if you know ahead of time that you can eat a whole can of stew or a lot of hamburger helper, you should probably stay away from that. Most likely the reason you can only eat small amounts of pizza and i hamburger is the white bread. I stay away from bread altogether because I dont like the way it feels. But if you want to eat your stew, maybe you should eat a bite of bread first because you know that fills you up, then you probably would not be able to eat so much. I think you just need to figure out what works for you and stay away from eating the things that you know you can eat a lot of! Good luck!

[blackcherry2002 5]

actually when I eat burgers...I eat only the meat. I'm confused...and then a few days ago I started eating a Breakfast biscuit...usually I take one normal bite...then I throw away the biscuit, eat most of the egg and then I'm usually too full to even take more than a bite of sausage...well I got one the other day..took that first bite...and then I was too full...so I really have no clue, this band is frustrating..

[kirafiki 0]

Hi there... different times of the day your band is different. In the morning I tend to be tighter than I am in the afternoon and evening. Also, I have concluded that its going to take quite a while for me to figure out how to work the band the best. I usually don't feel like I have any restriction, and then for some strange reason, totally restricted today. I think it might have been stress or anxiety. Be patient. Everyone's new 'tiny tummy' as I like to call it, acts a bit differently. I think in the beginning it takes A LOT of hard work, a diet like no other you have ever been on. Listen to your hunger, figure out what you want to eat, and be sure to measure. Its been about three months, and oddly I crave fresh vegetables. I never thought I would crave that. One thing I do have to fill me up is oatmeal. It sticks with me for hours. Add some sugar free jam or jelly or some sugar free maple Syrup. Always eat the protiens first, then the veggies, then if you have room the starch. Some people it takes lots of fills to get to the right place. I have had three, and am planning a fourth, since I don't think i have found the right amount of restriction yet. Bottom line is though, I have decided that this is the part of my life where I am supposed to be learning patience. Good luck, keep working at it, its the best thing we could have ever done for ourselves, we will learn how to use it!!!

[flowers 0]

See that's the bad thing, I can eat that stuff. It's the bad food that keeps me full and makes me full fast. I can take a bite out of a hamburger and be stuffed. Or 1/2 a slice of pizza and feel stuffed....but I can eat a whole can of beef stew, and half a box of hamburger helper...what is wrong with me?

I mentioned this on your other thread, but the choices you are making that you say are the good choices arent ones I would make to lose faster. You say the good choices here are a can of Dinty Moore stew or hamburger helper. Anything with gravies like these is full of bad calories. Even hamburger isnt something to eat often to me. The potatoes in the stew are high gi foods, I stay away from corn and potatoes. You should be having green type veggies. I know you are in college, can you prepare a bag of frozen veggies, there are several blends that are low in calories that will fill you up. Do you have access to a oven, where you can bake chicken breast (no skin) and dump a can of tomatoes on them for taste?. tomatoes on top are much better calorie wise than anything with gravy.

I know I lost over 80 lbs with eating low gi foods last time. I admit I put it back on eating fast food when my dad got sick and I didnt take the time to fix what I knew I should be eating. But I know eating that way works and can fill you up. I think the band in place will help from putting the weight back on, but for now you still should be eating as if you are on a diet and help that weight go away faster.

Im swearing to myself this will be the last time to lose this weight. I know its the pot calling the kettle black, I know how to eat, just would rather eat more junky foods. The rule is anything green is good to pick for veggies. I truly believe you cant just count calories, some calories will help you build muscle and lose the weight, some will spike your insulin. If not now, when you get my age the problem will be worse. If I didnt love junky foods, then we all probably wouldnt be here though right?

If you eat foods like baked potatoes that spike your insulin, the insulin will be produced and store as more fat, you dont even need to eat the extra calories to put on the extra weight. Its important to eat the right foods. Once you lose the weight or for a treat now and again later on, then you can have a treat like corn on the cob or baked potatoes, but not when you are trying to lose. Try eating plain ole food without the gravies or anything deep fried like those chicken nuggets, which are breaded. Cut the carbs and sugar as much as you can, and grab a piece of lite laughing cow cheese for instance or a hard boiled egg.

[blackcherry2002 5]

well those aren't my good choices lol...But for instance, I can eat a whole can of green Beans, and a salad. So that's still more than I should be eating. And the green beans were drained and the salad was with no croutons, added carrots, and a quarter of the dressing (it was a caesar salad mix) So I'm going to test things out and really keep track of how much I'm eating and if it's still this way, I'm going to go for another fill...

[BethFromVA 5]

See that's the bad thing, I can eat that stuff. It's the bad food that keeps me full and makes me full fast. I can take a bite out of a hamburger and be stuffed. Or 1/2 a slice of pizza and feel stuffed....but I can eat a whole can of beef stew, and half a box of hamburger helper...what is wrong with me?

If I had to choose between a couple bites of hamburger or pizza and entire cans of stew or heaps of hamburger helper, I would personally go for the thing that fills me with small bites. Granted, it would be more ideal to make good food choices, but the way I look at it is I am taking in way fewer calories with a few bites of pizza than I would be with an entire can of stew. :tongue2: (not to mention the SALT content in the stew that will keep a lot of Water weight on!)

[BethFromVA 5]

Let me also share this: Though I won't use the surgeon who did the seminar, I DID hear something that sounded good. He said a man who had the band was asked about what he eats, and he said that, since he is restricted and can only eat so much, he's going to make sure it is the best (healthiest), tastiest, good food for him. That made a lot of sense.

[flowers 0]

Well I know each person is different, but I know Im not going hungry. I did find on low gi eating that I could eat 1700 calories in a day and weight would drop fast if it was a big piece of salmon I was nibbling on throughout the day.

I was on a nutrisystem diet message board and I am over 50, insulin resistant and all the reasons to be a slow loser, yet when I cooked certain foods and didnt count calories I was the biggest loser on the site two months in a row. I did walk a lot too, but I also gave up any dressing on my salads and ate them plain, there is a lot of fat and sugar in salad dressings. The ones with 0 calories taste like cardboard, so I ate plain salad. fruit too has a lot of sugar, so I mostly gave that up too, a few berries and SF Syrup in a Protein shake I would make for lunch to sweeten it up.

I also have a box of SF popsicles I keep on hand and grab one if I want to snack or eat some toasted soynuts, high in Protein, when I need something. I know the proof is in the pudding and i put it back on. I did lose 9 lbs pre surgery, I was hitting 248 on my home scale before my surgery in July and even with the one week cruise Im hitting 201 now. So food choices matter more than counting calories, Iv proven it to myself over and over. I want to reach for that candy bar as bad as anyone so I put something else in its place, I dont go hungry and I dont nibble on salads, I nibble on protein. A piece of lean ham I keep a package of. You can have fat free hot dogs, 2 of them are considered a snack of 100 calories and they are filling. I cut them in half and brown them in a skillet with pam.

I think with some new food choices, and more protein and get rid of noodles and potatoes and gravy you might lose like I do when I eat right? Im not pushing as hard as I did last time I dieted, this time Im taking my time and having more foods I like, so losing slower, but when I get impatient, I bake up some salmon to nibble on for a day and a day or two later, my weight drops. I want to get thru that 200 lbs number. 8 days ago I weighed in at 204, so Im already down in about a week, one more lb though, gotta make Onederland.

[dl2418 0]

Let me also share this: Though I won't use the surgeon who did the seminar, I DID hear something that sounded good. He said a man who had the band was asked about what he eats, and he said that, since he is restricted and can only eat so much, he's going to make sure it is the best (healthiest), tastiest, good food for him. That made a lot of sense.

That is the same logic I used when I was taking phentermine (under a doctor's supervision). I knew I wasn't getting much calorie-wise and wanted to make sure what I did eat was giving me the nutrients I needed. I am hoping that I will carry that same mentality with the band.