Slow Losers - Unite!

[TOOSLOW 2]

How Do You Get Your Ticker Chart To Show Up On Your Responses?

[CathyAles 0]

Hi Julie I could have typed you message except for a couple of things. I had my band 0ct 27 07 and have only lost 25 pounds. I am at 3cc going for fill tommorow and have lost a fill before when I was at 3cc now we have worked back up to it and I will get more tommorow. Losing a fill really set me back about 4 months. I hope this fill works for both of us. I have a couple of friends that have you Dr and really love him. I am in Modesto and my Dr is in Fresno Dr Higa he is wonderful.

[TOOSLOW 2]

Have You Had A Fill Yet.. I Was Ssoooo Hungry Until I Had My First Fill. Even After My 2nd And 3rd Fills I Was Hungry. I Go For My 5th Fill Tomorrow And Can't Wait. I've Only Lost 27 Pounds Since My Surgery On Jan 30,2007. Can Anyone Tell Me What Pb's Are. Im Guessing Its The Same As When food Gets Stuck And You Have To Throw Up If It Doesn't Go Through.

[mommalee 0]

Boy, I didnt know you could lose a fill. How do you know you lost one? I was doing fine until Friday and I was suddenly ravenous! It was wierd. I consumed at least 1800 calories that day but couldnt help it--I felt like I was starving. I had a fill on Tuesday and am back to my normal 1200 calories and feeling like the band is doing its thing. Still, it was sure strange to have that 'out of control hunger feeling' hit me so suddenly. I wonder if its a hormonal change. By the way, if I eat less than 1200 calories I find that the weight doesnt want to come off. I exercise by doing swimming aerobics 3X a week. I hope to add walking but right now my feet are being fitted for special supports as my dr. found out I have a wierd tendon problem because of an extra bone in each foot. If the supports dont work it will mean surgery-ugh! :sick

A really good structured diet to follow is the Duke University diet. They have a book out now and I would recommend it for those wondering what to eat each day. You may not be able to eat ALL the foods with the band but most of them are eatable if you chew well. I am losing about a pound a week now, slow- but it is steady! Since my surgery on May 3, I have lost 23 lbs.--4 lbs pre- op and the rest after-mostly in the first few weeks. I just hope I can maintain losing the 1 lb a week but even if it slows down to 1 or 2 lb a month its a heck of a lot better than gaining!

Starting weight: 257

Current weight: 234

[mommalee 0]

Do you think our bodies go into a stravation mode, then it tries to keep our fat. Do you think we can have to few calories. I know calories in and calories out, but if in our caveman day maybe something was switch on so people wouldn't strave, or die when food was in short supply. Just wondering.

I know you can have too few calories and that can wreak havoc with your metabolism! You need to consume 1200 calories a day- Minimum! Half those calories should be Protein. You also need a little 'good' fat each day, such as a slice of avacado or a tbs of olive oil, etc.

[mommalee 0]

When you get more of a fill, that won't be as much of a problem. When I eat, I am so full I can't even think about eating again for a few hours. It's late at night that I have a problem, because I am not full anymore, but I don't want to eat so close to bedtime.

I save some of my calories for a bed time snack. I usually eat fatfree, sugar -free pudding or ice cream. Its my bedtime snack! I cant sleep if I am hungry.....

[CathyAles 0]

My Dr checks everytime to see how much is in the band. It should be what was put in the last time. I had 3cc in my band when I went for the fill. He then added another half cc. When he did I felt a tightness at my port area. He felt it to because he said this one feels really tight. It felt different from all my previous fills. Well I went home and was on liquids then soft. Then I started on regular food and I felt wide open. So when I went back the next month I said this is not working I can't feel anything. He was joking as he got ready for the fill saying I will put more in and then you will be throughing up and mad at me. And then he stopped talking and said Oh you don't have anything in your band no wonder you are gripping. You may have a leak. He put 1.5cc back in and said come back in a month. Well I could tell there was something there again and when I went back I said I don't think I have a leak and he checked and it was all there. So he has been putting in more each month. I went yesterday and I am now at 3cc again. I don't know what happened when I lost that fill, maybe the needle slipped or something but it happened to me and set me back 4 months in fills which is a bummer. I wish my Dr did floro but he doesn't. He is not a band Dr only he does mostly RNY but is an excellent Dr and does not put bandsters down he just wants what is best for his patients.

[Karen2539 0]

I am new to this thread, but I am glad it is here. I was banded 3 weeks ago and have not lost a pound. As a matter of fact, I got on the scale this morning and I gained 4 pounds. I will go for my first fill in 2 more weeks and I sure hope that the scale starts going down. This is very discouraging tough. How has anyone else dealt with this? I feel like I can eat just about anything these days and I am really trying hard to rely on will power. HELP

[clynnc 0]

james2539, keep your chin up.. this thing really does work... although I am a slow loser.. I have been banded for nearly 8 mos and only lost 39lbs so far.. I need to make an apptmt for my next fill (i have had 5 so far) everyone's body is different. you can't compare yourself to others.

Remember you have alot of inflamation right now.. you may see some loss @ the end of month 1 or 2.. it just depends.Welcome to the LBTalk..stay positive and wait til your fill.. not always is your first fill tight enough.. believe me gradual is better.

[slikchik10 85]

I am new to this thread, but I am glad it is here. I was banded 3 weeks ago and have not lost a pound. As a matter of fact, I got on the scale this morning and I gained 4 pounds. I will go for my first fill in 2 more weeks and I sure hope that the scale starts going down. This is very discouraging tough. How has anyone else dealt with this? I feel like I can eat just about anything these days and I am really trying hard to rely on will power. HELP

As I read many times after my surgery...."Welcome to bandster hell!" I think it's especially true for those of us that are slower losers. I know for myself, I've only lost 18# since surgery but my Dr. seems pleased. I figure losing is losing. As for where you are on the journey...I would have to agree with previous folks that told me that you really can't judge your weight loss until the fills begin. Besides, I've found that sometimes I gain a lb. or 2 for no reason or I'm losing inches instead of lbs. when the scale isn't changing. Either way...chin up, I know it's discouraging...been there, still there sometimes :rolleyes but you can get through it.

I truly think that the mental adjustment for us is that the band isn't the same in it's after effects as the bypass. We see so many that have had the RNY where their weightloss is quick, and even some bandsters are having similar experiences to the RNY, but there again, loss will be loss. Don't worry about all this until after the fill.

Just check your what you can control. Are you making good food choices? I know that I've got an appointment with the nutritionist at my Dr. so I can evaluate my choices. I want to make the tool work, so I need to make sure I'm using all the possible things to help it work (exercise, food choices, etc.).

Again, give it time. We live in a society that expects instant gratification, but the band isn't that. It's gonna retrain us, which is a good thing. Come here, we're all here to support each other. I love this thread, it's really helped to know that there are others out there that have the band and are having success even though we're losing slower than other bandsters.

Good luck!

Annette

[mis42 0]

I went to the DR. today for a fill. When he aspirated the solution out of the band to make sure how much I had, I had lost 1.5cc in 3 weeks. He is going to recheck the amount next week again. He thinks that I may have a problem with the tube connected to the injection port. Has anyone had this problem? If so, what was the solution for you?:cry

[MELANIE 0]

you got my vote. slow loser right here. and it really hurts ya know.

[mommiranda 0]

Maybe its too soon to declare myself part of this club, but I think not. I am three weeks post-op today and down 13 lbs. That's good, but the last week I've been journaling my foods and really not eating much - not a pound came off for seven days. In fact I just gained two pounds.

I've had a hard time losing on calorie restriction ever since I was 15, and I was kidding myself to think the band will change this. I need support to get through the no loss weeks and I also need to adjust my expectations! For me, its the plateaus that really get me. The band makes it harder to blow it at least.

Things I am doing right: I am journaling carefully and honestly (average ~850 cal/day), 6 out of 7 days making good food choices, and taking Vitamins.< /p>

Things to fix: Protein? Need to get Isopure or something to get the numbers up. Exercise? Good thing I like to do it, bad thing is finding the time. Water? Hard to do since I get so full feeling. Weighing myself? I am addicted to the once a day weigh in - messes with my head though.

Thanks for your posts - always good to know I am not alone and to prepare myself for a long haul change.

MM

[Marimaru 7]

Listen,

In the first few pages of this thread, you'll see that the original 'requirements' for the slow losers club, was that you had to have lost less than 50 lbs in the first YEAR of being banded. The requirements were 2-fold; number 1 you really can't know how well your band is going to work with you (and how well you will work with your band) until you are properly restricted, and that can take a number of adjustments over a number of months. Number 2, the weight loss stats are all based on AVERAGES. Almost no one loses 1 to 2 lbs per week constantly. Even the fastest losers hit plateaus, and a plateau can last weeks or even months at times.

I hope no one thinks I'm trying to say you don't have a right to be frustrated, but for a lot of the people who've been posting on this thread lately, I will say that you are saying you are 'slow losers' but you are in fact losing at or above the average that is expected...

[AshevilleEddie 14]

I will now be unsubscribing from this very exclusive thread to which I was never acknowledged having joined and from which I have received zero support.