MdGardengirl

I agree even though there are all kinds of studies out there saying we are wrong! And don't forget we aren't supposed to eat after 7pm at night or watch TV while eating. Who wants to sit at the dinner table and stare at their plate for 30 minutes??

Since the band, I eat my first meal mid-morning. As a result, I eat later in the evening which has helped me with my night time snacking! (My nutritionist suggested that one!) I do eat my biggest meal of the day during Meal #2. I also sit in my living room, in my Lazy-Boy with my meal and my laptop while slowly taking small bites, chewing my food to a pulp like consistency and waiting a few minutes before taking the next bite. In between I'm checking my e-mail, Facebook, news and the lapband forums.

I guess the moral of the story is to do what makes sense and works for you and forget about all the rules!

Oh my girls! Good luck to you both! I think nerves get the best of all of us the day before surgery. Try deep breathing and/or go take a walk. Something relaxing. Stay focused on all the reasons you decided to get the band and know that it has been an excellent tool for so many of us. My life has certainly changed for the better.

Will keep you both in my prayers..... Hugs, Marg

I did my yearly bloodwork and found my cholesterol has gone up from a normal (for me) of 230 up to 286! Yikes! And my good cholesterol has gone down... from 70 to 48.... Yikes again! I wonder if it is because I am eating less volume, less Fiber and carbs but more meat Protein? I eat mostly chicken, fish and shellfish. Not a big beef or pork eater.

I have gotten to my Green Zone with my last fll 3 months ago. Since then, I am eating alot less but still eating 4-6oz of Protein, then my salad and/or veggies. Definitely not getting enough Fiber as I don't eat grains anymore and have to work on that. I am thinking of cutting back to 3 oz of animal protein, eat more Beans and salad/veggies. I also had to switch to chewable/liquid supplements and thinking that may have something to do with it also.

All my other stats are good and have gone down to normal levels. Medication is an option but I told my doc that I wanted to figure out the diet first. Will retest in 6 months.

Has anyone else experienced a big change in your cholesterol since getting to restriction? Did you have to make changes to your diet, supplements or medications?

Sounds like he is dragging his feet past the 3 months of free fills to me! I think you should report him. Google his name and find a site where you can leave comments and see if others are complaining about the same thing. Contact your local Medical Board of Physicians. I would be firm but fair and accurate about what transpired. It is your responsibility to diet and lose weight, but it's the surgeon's responsibility to provide adequate fills to get you to your Green Zone so the band can do it's job!

In the mean time, call his office and schedule a fill for August. Tell them what you suspect and let them know that you are going to take action. Hopefully this will get the ball a rolling in the right direction!

Hang in there girls! You are in the "Fill" stage where you are past the operation loss and now waiting for enough fills to get your band to the Sweet Spot. It took me a long time and I was super frustrated as well. I don't know why the surgeons don't prepare us for this stage better. Some people call it Bandster Hell. I just call it Diet 101...... keep yourself in the diet mentality, eat more Protein, a lot less carbs and exercise. Each fill will make a small difference in your hunger and eventually you are there!

Remember my Mantra .... this is not a Race..... it's LIFE!

K6TYX I am in the same boat as you. MFP has me on 1200 cal a day and I am loosing very slow. I am going for my 2nd fill on August 9 so I am going to check with the doc to see if I should lower my daily calories. I had my surgery on June 1 an am down 26 lbs, 12 of that was from my pre op diet. I am going to drop to 1000 till I see him on the 9 th to see if it helps. I will let you know how it works for me. Feel free to add me on MFP eahalstead

I think you have to pay to get access to the SBD recipes and website tools. But it's worth every penny! Or go to the library and get their cookbooks. I loved the one that was Quick and Easy meals or something like that. It's the Gold cover. Great recipes!

I have found the tighter I get with fills, the longer it takes to recover. This last fill, I stayed on liquid for 2 days after and then mushy for another 2 days. It helped a lot and no PBing. But even 3 weeks out, I really have to eat very small bites and chew like crazy when eating solid foods.... meats, apples, etc.

Personally, I think PBing is dangerous... physically and mentally. It's a result of eating too fast, too much at one time and/or not chewing enough. food is stuck! So think about what you just ate and figure out what you did wrong to get stuck. Then adjust your eating behavior to match the restriction in your band so you don't PB again. The band is our life long buddy. You gotta work with it... not against it.

You may be too tight. My doctor said you will know. You will not be able to keep food down and you will probably have indigestion, especially at night. So it would be wise to talk to your doctor.

Good Luck!

So happy for you and congratulations! Your hard work paid off!

Gotta love that band!!!

Gas-X quick dissolve strips helped me a lot! Also walking and moving your arms in circles. You may have Constipation as well. Get some Miralax... it's a tasteless powder and works great! Note: The generic brands at the drug store chain or Walmart works just as well and costs less.

Good Luck!

Concentrate on Proteins and good fats first as these make you feel full longer. Reduce the carbs as they make you hungry. Add Protein powder to your oatmeal. I ate 5 or 6 small meals to get me through this stage. But that should stop once you get to the solid stage.

Hang in there! It gets better.

I just passed the year mark and got a small fill, so it does take time to get to the sweet spot. You don't want to rush it. You could cause problems with band slippage or other complications. I had 7cc's in my 11cc band before I could really feel restriction. But everyone is very different. Some can be half full and do just fine. So stay in the "diet" mode. Pay attention to your band. Don't eat too fast, chew, chew, chew , don't drink fluids during meals and stop eating when you "start" to feel full. Stay away from slider foods as they don't stick with you. Eat more Protein and less carbs. They make you hungry. Do the best you can until you get restriction. Strive to lose, but if you can maintain at this point, that's good too!

It does get easier but never effortless!!

First off.... congratulations on a successful surgery! The gas and Constipation will stay with you for a while since you are not eating solids.

The fill is a piece of cake! You may feel a little pinch from the needle and a tingling from the Fluid going in but certainly no pain to speak of. So relax and concentrate on recovering from the surgery.

That's great Jolly! You are on the lapband road to success with your attitude. Stick to the guidelines, pay attention to your body and the band. Once you start to get restriction, it will talk to you! So listen!

You may not (probably won't) get restriction right away. It took me 4-5 fills before I really felt enough to curb my hunger. So hang in there!

Hi Allison.... congrats on your surgery! You did it! I looked at your profile, and you don't have that much to lose which is good because once you start taking off the weight, you will feel better about yourself and have the motivation to keep going! I did not have any symptoms of depression, but I have read where some do. It could be just effects of the surgery, but keep an eye out for it. Especially if you have not had symptoms prior to! Stay connected to people here on the site. Nobody knows what you are going through better than other lapbanders! Support is key throughout the whole process.

You will start feeling hunger shortly afterwards. And you will be even more hungry once the swelling from the surgery goes away in about another 2-3 weeks! It surprised me and I wasn't prepared. So keep your head in the game and keep motivated to diet, diet, diet until you get enough fills that you start to feel restriction. It's different for everybody, but it took me 4-5 fills (about 5 months out) to even start to have restriction! I plateaued in the 180's for 6 months! But I wasn't discouraged. The band made itself known when I ate too fast, took big bites, didn't chew well, etc.

Right now, just concentrate on the liquids/very soft wet foods with protein! Protein and fat which will keep you from getting hungry too fast. Stay away from carbs as much as possible as the body turns them to sugar and then you want more a few hrs later. That's how most of us got fat to begin with! So do those Protein shakes and puddings, cream Soups, etc. Put your Protein powder in coffee or tea, whatever you can figure out how to get it in. For fat, I use coconut oil. Just a tsp up to 1 tblsp helps. But not all day obviously! So you don't get constipated.... lots of Water obviously and then most use Miralax (Clearlax at Walmart!). Works great until you can start eating solid foods.

Start moving around.... walk, walk, walk! Eating the right foods, at the right time and exercise will be your standard routine from here on out. So get your head in the game! If you need more help with nutrition, dieting and exercise, try joining SparkPeople.com. There are 2 Lapband teams out there. Great bunch of people. And Spark has some great diet, nutrition and exercise info. Love Spark! Look me up.... Mdgardengirl!

Hope this helps. Keep in touch!

I have BCBS of Maryland and I had to do 6 mos of supervised diet, psych test, pulmonary, sleep study and my doctor's blessing! Quite a bit involved, but it's all good because you have time to get into the diet mentality you are going to need for the rest of your life living with the band.

The supervised diet can't just be you saying you are on a diet. It has to be something like Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, Medifast. I did Medifast. I just kept a graph of my weight and inches lost. They accepted it. Also, I had to stay on the same diet for at least 3 months and then could change to another one for 3 months, or stay with the same one for 6. But not 4 months/2months. Weird, but make sure you call your insurance company and get as much info as you can about their rules.

My surgeon's office coordinated pretty much everything. But don't depend on other people. Follow up with BCBS just in case! From my first visit with the Surgeon to surgery date was 8 months.

Good Luck on your Journey!

Good question Sissy!

I just celebrated my 1yr bandiversary last week. More than anything, I wish I had known how long it would take to feel restriction after you heal from the surgery. At about week 6, I became very hungry and for 4 months it was like I was not banded at all. Come to find out, this is normal and you will be this way until you get enough fills to start feeling restriction. I started eating more, but the right things, so I didn't gain any weight.

I always share this with new people because I think we are so inundated with information, that we don't hear all the little details. This was a BIG one for me!

The second thing would be to keep your head in the game. This is not Gastric Bypass where you lose a lot of weight all at once. The Lapband is a tool. Hopefully, one of many that you have in your toolbox. You still have to do the work of eating right and exercising. Don't get fills too fast. Most problems start after being too tight.

Remember..... this is Life, not a Race!!

Hello Lapbanders! I have been banded for a year this month. Went for my yearly check up and got a small fill. Things are really going well and I am very happy with my band. I am always looking for information about the band because I firmly believe that knowledge is the key to success. I am very active on a few other lapband sites and this one gets mentioned a lot! So here I am. Look forward to meeting new friends!