Mark Evans

I an on a plateau after loosing my first 24 lbs. I am frustrated but I had gotten used to seeing a pound a day melt away. My first fill is next week. I am definitely hungry now. I started working out this week. Personal trainer in 90 minutes! I looked at my log and I haven't been hitting my protein goals for a week. I have to pay more attention.

I buy the two that walmart has. They are awful but you can knock it back. I recommend you do not do the entire 49gram one at one sitting. Your body can't absorb that much at one time. Initially they made me feel dizzy but if I just do half in the morning and half at night I'm ok. Try to get as much protein from your normal food. Remember protein first, veggies second, carbs last. This should also be your portion order.

Typically your band is only "primed" or a little insert to keep the filler tube open at the time of surgery. Your initial restriction comes from the swelling around the band and along your esophagus. People are normally filled 3-6 weeks post op. Mine is next week and I have been post-op for 20 days. Until this week I got a lot of restriction from the swelling. I can't imagine if my band was also filled. This week I have been able to eat a lot more and I get hungry sooner than before. However it has not deterred my weight loss. I am keeping it at under 1000 calories a day and I am down 20 lbs in 20 days.

I'm 4 days post op and I've lost 9 lbs.

Michael, have you considered surgery out of the country? Even though you have to travel you can often have it done much cheaper than in the United States. Mexico or Costa Rica are good options. When I thought I was going to have to self pay I looked into it.

Hello everyone, My name is Mark and I was banded on 4/5/2012. My starting weight was 300 lbs and I'm 5'11". I know that isn't a ton of weight and if you saw me you'd probably think I weigh 250 lbs or less but that is where the secret is. I have hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, insulin resistance, and high blood pressure. My cardiologist and my primary care physician wanted me to loose weight and I tried for a year and lost a total of 15 lbs and gained it all back. The problem with me is that because of my HCM I am exercise restricted and can't work out very much. I "carry" my weight well. That is what people always tell me. The reason is that I have a barrel chest at 65" and all of my weight is in my stomach and inside my chest cavity. So I decided to get banded. I was given the option of gastric bypass but I was a little scared of that. I got the Realize band with Imbrication. So far I have had a pretty smooth recovery. The biggest problem is gas. I have never had so much gas in my entire life. The biggest life savers so far have been Gas X, my heating pad and really hot showers on my back. My doctor was Dr. Tyner in Cary, NC and I had my surgery at Rex Hospital. I was in the hospital for less than a day and went home pretty soon. I got my band one day before my insurance expires. I was relieved I was able to do that! So far so good!