Thats All Folks

That is dependent entirely on your surgeon and his fill schedule and rules. I see my surgeon every 4 weeks and get a fill if needed.

Unfortunately you'll find every surgeon and every nutritionist have their own ideas what works. The one constant fact among the majority of them (but not all) is the 1 cup of food per meal rule. The reason for this has nothing to do with calories but rather to not stretch the pouch above the band. My nutritionist says 1 cup of food per meal, stay within my daily calorie range, but if I need a snack between meals that's fine so long as I stay within my calories.

Carbs aren't the enemy (contrary to popular trend these days) but the trick is figuring out what works best with your particular metabolism. I'm lucky in the fact I lose great eating carbs, I'm just careful to get in at least 60g of protein daily along with them. This may help you. It's a Carb, protein, fat, and calorie calculator. You put in how may calories you're eating a day and it then gives you options for the type of diet you follow ranging from moderate to very low carb. It then gives you nutrient ranges based on your needs. I use the very low carb range for my low carb days and the moderate range for my high carb/non carb cycling days. (though my carbs do sometimes go above on high carb days) http://www.freedieting.com/tools/nutrient_calculator.htm

That's about twice the daily recommended amount for a healthy person, but yours is low, so it makes sense and sounds right. You can easily find that OTC, btw. Probably cheaper than what I pay too because it's a smaller dose than I take.

I was worried about this too, but it turned out to be a lot easier than I thought. I made small changes to existing family favorites to make them healthier. For instance, 90% lean ground beef, low fat cheese, skim milk, whole wheat bread, and whole grain Pasta. You'd be surprised how easy it is to change up things you already eat. We even still eat Hamburger Helper once in awhile but I only buy the whole grain ones now. There's also a lot of great recipe websites out there healthy but tasty meals, here's my favorites: http://www.skinnytaste.com/ & http://www.emilybites.com/search/label/Main%20Dishes I've been banded a year and I honestly have no trouble making family meals that we can all eat and enjoy. It's been a lot easier than I thought it would be. Best wishes!

I have MS so I take a very large dose of Vitamin D daily- 5000iu. (the recommended dose for a "normal" person is only 200-600iu per day) I buy it at the grocery store. Very often I find it on sale buy one, get one free. I pay about $10 for a bottle of 60. Find out what the dosage is your doctor is recommending and simply compare the OTC price to the prescription price. I found it to be cheaper OTC and neurologist (prescribing doctor) said there's no difference between the two. Best wishes.

I won't lie, I struggle with low carb days. In fact I can't stand them lol. On low carb days I eat a lot of salad with meat and cheese in it, cream cheese mixed with diced chives rolled in deli meat (kinda like ham rolls), chili. Last night I made polish sausage with sauerkraut. I'm a very picky eater and generally dislike most meat so I struggle with it a lot. But pretty much any kind of meat works- chicken breasts, pork chops, a steak, or even fish, etc. Just be sure to keep it in proper band portions. Good luck

Go back to your doctor and your nutritionist. They can help you get back on track as well as make sure everything is still in proper order. Best wishes to you.

Did you just get the fill today? If so, I'd give it 24-48 hours of liquids before deciding if you're too tight. Your stomach swells often during fills and needs time to go down. (just my opinion, I'm no doctor)

Congratulations!! What a great victory!!

After you're healed from surgery and off the post op diet, you can eat pretty much anything you want just in moderation. I would suggest measuring your meals at home so you can get a better feel for the proper portion size when at a restaurant. Then when at the restaurant, eyeball approximately 1 cup of whatever you're eating and push the rest aside. Eat your cup and be done. I also find ordering the lunch portion or a half portion whenever possible very helpful. A lot of places don't advertise you can do this, but if you ask, 90% will regardless of the time of day. I actually eat out a lot. I found the Lose It app for my phone really helpful because it has a lot of restaurants in the food database. It really helps me to make good food decisions when eating away from home. I simply look up what I'm considering on my phone, check out it's calories, and make my decision accordingly. As far as your co-workers, I wouldn't worry. If someone asks why you're not eating a serving food suitable for 3 people, simply say "I'm full" or "I've had enough". I highly doubt anyone is going to care or interrogate you beyond that, you know? Best wishes to you as you start your journey!

Yup I totally fell off for about 10 days and gained a little because of it. But, I got on the scale December 28 and went "Oh crap!", got back on track, and have since lost it all again plus an additional pound. I just look at it as being human. The trick is to catch it early and not to let 5 pounds gained turn into 20 pounds gained. Best wishes

With all due respect, what he was saying isn't correct. There is nothing wrong with veggie burgers. 10g of protein from a veggie burger isn't any less good for you than 10g of protein from a beef burger. Telling her she's "chewing too much" is just plain stupid and that food particles "aren't big enough" is nuts. If she's getting in her protein, even if that means cheese sometimes, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Saying "most banded people don't eat bread or wraps" isn't true either. There are a lot of us that don't do the whole low carb thing and thoroughly enough our bread products. I've lost a lot of weight and I eat bread, rice, Pasta, and potatoes pretty much daily.

I'm sorry, but time to fire him and hire a new doctor. He sounds like an ignorant @sshole. "not big enough food particles" and "chewing too much"? Really? I mean, c'mon, that's the most asinine thing I've heard today. Seriously, the vegetarian lifetyle is very healthy and there is nothing wrong with veggie burgers. In fact, they're a heck of a lot healthier than beef burgers. You need a surgeon with an ounce of common sense. Yours sounds like a first class idiot.

LoveTheNewMe gave you EXCELLENT advice! Not to overly simplify things, but all boils down to basic math. If you're consuming less calories than you burn, you'll lose weight. Unless you have a medical issue that's keeping you from losing weight, the fact you haven't lost in the first 4 months tells me you're likely eating too much. I say this because if even if it were a matter of not eating enough calories you'd still have some weight loss just slowed. My advice would be to log everything you eat and start counting calories. After a week or two of this, make an appointment with your nutritionist and bring them the food logs. They can look at the logs and help you make positive changes in your existing diet as well as help you establish food guidelines specifically for you and your lifestyle. Best wishes.

Most surgeons require meeting with a nutritionist but it doesn't sound like yours does. I would strongly suggest finding one near you, preferably one that deals with bariatric patients. They will help you not only learn how to eat healthy but establish food and calorie guidelines specifically for you and your lifestyle. Best wishes.

My rules remain the same, I am allowed to drink right up until the time I start eating but then wait 30 minutes to eat again after. However, I've been hearing more and more bandsters say their surgeons are now telling them they can sip during meals.

Unfortunately we can't answer that for you. Only you can tell if it's head hunger or real hunger. But don't expect the band to stop you from eating more than a cup of food- that's not it's job. It's your job to stop at a cup of food and the band's job to keep you satiated on it for 4 or more hours. Best wishes.

If you're having chest pains, especially if you're worried about a heart attack, you belong in the ER not on a forum.

I don't mean this offensively in the least, nor do I claim to be an expert because I'm not a doctor. However, I cannot believe your surgeon actually intentionally fills you to the point you can't even swallow your own saliva let alone fluids. If you can't even swallow liquids, he's putting you at severe risk for dehydration, that puts a lot more at risk than just your band. If you can't swallow fluids, you may have to go the ER to get IV fluids. Again this is just me, but I'd speak up for yourself and tell him flat out you do not want to be that tight. It's your body and your band, take control over both and start demanding what you want (or in this case, don't want) Best wishes.

Like others here, in the beginning I found a set of baby utensils to be very helpful. The little fork and spoon helped me to learn the proper bite size. Now that I've banded for a year, I don't use them anymore, but that's only because these days little bites are second nature to me. I say go for it- do whatever works for you!

It's just mind boggling because when I'm not restricting carbs (and I usually don't) I can eat 1200 calories in a day with no problems. When I'm doing low carb (Atkins style essentially) it's a major struggle to get the calories in. Btw, congrats on your new band Honestly though, don't be afraid of fills. Some are lucky and don't need them, others do, however fills don't necessarily mean you're going to be habitually stuck or unable to eat certain foods. I can still eat whatever I want, the difference is, I'm satisfied on very little food for long periods of time. It's very rare I get stuck.

Man I struggle with low carb days. I only got in 934 calories today, and believe me, I was trying hard to get in more. The protein is just so filling! Does anyone else struggle to get in enough calories when restricting carbs?

I think part of the problem is you're expecting the band to physically stop you from eating. That's not it's job. It's job is to keep you satisfied on less food for longer periods of time. "Trying it out" with a big Breakfast won't do anything but result in you over eating. This is exactly why it's so important we stick to band sized portions of a cup or less of food per meal. Have a look at this link, I think it can give you some valuable information: http://drsimpson.net/fills/Lap-band-eating/lap-band-not-restriction/lap-band-and-restriction.html In time, after you have adequate Fluid in your band, you won't be hungry all the time anymore. As a result, you won't have the same preoccupation with food you're used to either. This is a great thing, and believe me, it helps so much. However, it still won't stop you from drooling over them or actually eating them. As Floridays aptly said, the band is around your stomach not your brain. It can't change the way we think or feel about food. Band or no band, we still have to make good choices and have some self control not to revert to old habits. Best wishes

I would strongly recommend seeing a nutritionist. They can help you establish a healthy calorie range specifically for you.