FloridaGal

just an FYI I didn't really start to lose weight until I had several fills. Everyone is different (one of the ladies that was banded the same day I was lost 48 pounds in the first 3 months) - during the same period I lost 10 pounds.

It seems some people lose their appetite simply by having the band in place. I am one of those people that actually need to feel restriction. I needed to be reminded daily tiny bites, eat slowly, small quantity. - the band does that for me. I saw a great quote on here... "I control the quality - the band controls the quantity"

Stay very in tune to your body, talk to your doctor and keep going back until you start meeting your objectives. 2 pounds a week is great. Remember the food you put in your mouth is fuel to help you be healthy and have energy.

hang in there... dont get discouraged and most importantly GO BACK TO YOUR DOCTOR until you hit the green zone!

I bought myself two new pair of pants for every 10 pounds lost... I knew I would "shrink" out of them soon, but I figured with all the money I was saving on food it was a little treat that I could afford and would show my progress... It also felt REALLY good to give away those clothes when I could no longer fit in to them...

If I could give you one piece of advice (besides warm clear broth) it would be to just stop eating bread. It ultimately is one of the reasons we are in need of a band to begin with... and it usually doesn't go down very well any way .

I had the same issue... just once in a year. Was after a lot of stomach exercises. I made a doctors appointment but the pain went away long before the appointment.

Yep... sounds like classic signs! Time to call the doctor

NOT even a moments hesitation... ABSOLUTELY!

I'm going to have to call a big fat BS on this author....

Although it is helpful to get advice from this forum, I would definitely NEVER EVER go against the advice of your doctor (unless your doctor is a complete bonehead and then you need to change doctors).

No one on here knows your exact situation, we do not know the details of your surgery or any complications etc. PLEASE PLEASE never take advice on here that is a direct contradiction from what your doctor said. But by all means if you are getting advice that is different, call the doctor and ask if it is OK to modify his/her instructions.

Kimmy, honestly dont stress - you sound just like me. I really really didn't start dropping weight with the first 3 fills. I lost 1 pound a week. I was so annoyed because I felt like I was doing everything right.

Every person is different. I actually am one of those people that need to feel restriction... some people dont, just having the band makes them lose their appetite.

It was my fourth fill (I believe) that really made the difference. It was fairly snug and I had to be very very diligent with my eating. SMALL bites... chew chew chew.... I cut out ALL rice, grains, potatoes, starch, etc. I lived on 80 grams of Protein and green leafy veggies and the weight finally came off. It took nearly a year but i'm with in 10 pounds of goal weight and feeling very good. I ended up having to have the band loosened just a bit but now I dont have the old cravings i used too.

just stay in tune with your body and in good communication with your doctor and keep the faith

It is kind of a Ceviche. I made this recipe up, but there are a ton of variations, most of them use quite a bit more raw sea food. I love mine with just shrimp though... It is very fresh and tangy .

Hi there,

this happened to me... the band was already fairly snug (and i like it that way) but I got sick with the flu... I coughed a LOT it caused swelling around the band and then I started having problems coughing at night, acid reflux... the whole bit. It was horrible.

My doctor loosened my band and said I needed to let the swelling go down. The same day he loosened it I stopped having problems.

I have heard others with the same solution. You might try going on liquids for a couple of days just to see if it helps... but I would definitely call your doctor.

I can't believe I'm about to say this because I had a pretty serious Diet Coke habit before the band.... BUT I LOVE Water NOW....

It took about 6 months though

Hi there,

I read a ton of blogs before my surgery and it seemed that a lot of people did great just by getting the band... some people never even had a fill.

I was NOT one of those people. I didn't really even lose any weight for the first few months after the surgery and my appetite didn't really go away.

I went in for my first fill, and then another and still really wasn't losing much weight.... I finally realized that i'm a grazer. I was never really eating big meals but kind of grazed all day long on things that weren't the best for me.

It was my third or fourth fill and granted it was probably a little on the snug side... when I FINALLY started to lose weight. I completely cut out ALL bread, ALL rice and ALL potato and wheat type products... finally the weight started to peal off. After about 3 months my doctor and I agreed that my band was a tiny too tight and he loosened it. I can eat more, but luckily my appetite has not returned and I've stayed away from the carbs. I am near my goal weight and am actually really comfortable where I'm at but seem to be loosing about a pound every two weeks now... Good enough for me

I guess what I'm trying to say is every person is different.... but I would suggest talking to your doctor and tightening your band. Without restriction it is just another diet, and clearly none of us are very good at staying on those

My doctor is very fit. HOWEVER, the nurses are all over weight. I found it encouraging in the beginning but I've lost more weight than most of them now (they are all banded) It is odd to me... Why isn't the band working for them.

I bought a miracle suit and it was great... the only thing is it was 125.00 and I "shrunk" out of it fairly quickly.

I guess I could sell it on craigslist

Best thing I ever did for myself. I have been controlled by food my whole life. Now I eat to fuel my body... I can ENJOY a nice dinner with my husband... and even have a little treat now and then and still feel good about myself.

congratulations and good luck on your journey... (sometimes it really sucks )

I make a fist with my hand and never ever eat more than a "fist" size. but the best trick is just use a very small plate.

However, I will say that if you can comfortably eat more than that you may want to look in to having your band tightened. I did not start loosing weight at a good steady pace until my 3rd fill.

Portion Control is the key to everything... but I also cut out all bread, rice, potatoes and starch.

I have one recipe that i'm obsessed with. It is the staple of my diet I am near goal now so I've added a little more natural sugars and fats to my diet but you could cut the papaya and avocado in half if you wanted.

ABOUT….

2 pounds of raw deveined shrimp

Cup of Lime juice

¼ lemon juice

2 mango’s ripe but still fairly firm

2 avocados

½ cup Sam’s club Italian Rose Fresh Salsa with cilantro

A handful of cilantro

½ small purple onion finely chopped

Cut everything in to small bite size pieces.

Start with the raw shrimp, add the lime and lemon juice over it until it is completely covered. Add the remaining ingredients and stir. Let it marinade overnight. (I just continue to add ingredients until they are well coated in the lime juice but it isn’t a Soup.)

I don’t, but you could drain any excess juice in the morning so that it isn’t quite as tangy if you wanted.

The lime juice cures the shrimp so it is “cooked”.