brianb

I do not doubt for one minute anyone whose posts are about their struggles and feelings of failures....when it comes to people who have been banded for a few years, have been 100% succesful, then say they started to fail and gain their weight back.....THESE are the posts I pay particular attention to...perhaps as a warning to me, something I need to be carful of....but speaking for myself, I cannot undersatand how this happens....and I hope that day never comes.
As an example, I have been on cruise vacations where food is everywhere....I have thrown caution to the wind and figured I would get back to it when I get home....but I have found that the band still keeps my habits in check...and no matter what I put on my tray at thre buffet, there will always be a limit set by the band...and yes, my eyes are bigger than my stomach, or pouch as is the case, but it doesn't matter.
I've lost weight on cruises because my activity level increases also...
Sliders fill me up quickly...not the same way regular food now does with the band, but because after a few years of eating so little, my normal stomach has shrunk considerably and my abbs have got tighter...just can't eat the way I used to....it's all changed. Give me a pint of ice cream and I will start to get a good old fashioned tummy ache 1/2 way through! So sliders are not an excuse either.

I was in the same boat I had my surgery Aug 31, 2012 and it really took me 6months and I think 5 or 6 fills to get going. The second last fill I went to I just felt like a failure like I was going to be that girl spent all of her money and I failed. the nurse even said it is not that common to go that long but now I have a little over 6cc in a 10cc band and for the last couple of months I eat every little, I am not that interested in food like I use to be and just naturally stop. My weight has been slower than i thought it would be but today i thought well i have lost 30 pounds and that is a big deal. Also I am glad i didn't tell anyone but I also get the that is all your eating? and I take forever to eat. I am glad that I went through a break up so i just blame it on that "loss of appetite" but I am sure that will get old eventually. When i try to keep up i have to go to the bathroom to PB and i am sure someone thinks I am blimick. haha. Ohh well it is a journey i know it is hard to have faith cause there are many days that i think I failed but you'll get there.

You know I felt the same way for a second, after my surgery but we are losing. We didn't have gastric bypass we have a Lapland and we have to do the work everyone here is talking about.
I am doing it right along with you and I want to say I am ONLY down 23 pounds but there is no only to it.
I am down 23 pounds and proud of it and working hard to get that number to go lower every day.
Sometimes I regret that people know about my surgery because I feel like they are all thinking oh she's still fat what is she eating? Should she have that? Really it's just me being self conscious but it's keeping me honest also.
Some people do pointedly ask me "how I'm doing" but I just say great!

Ok, I'll give you all the info maybe that will help, I had my Sudbury May 16th, my first fill was on June 10, I ave 6cc in a 14 cc band, I weighed 258 lb on the day of my surgery, I am 243.6lb today, I did get down to 241 last week but have not budge since in fact I gained weight. I track everything I eat in my fitness pal, ill include a picture of from my fitness pay of a typical day for me, well i dont typically eat french fries but other then that its a typical day. super frustrated, I just want to lose. I'm kinda embarrassed to because lots f ppl know hat I had surgery and are looking at me like why are u not losing!

wonderful posts... yes the diet industry is making millions or perhaps billions . I am sure there are some statistics that show how successful or unsuccessful each program is... I think overall the weight watchers program has been the most successful as far as teaching correct eating habits.. however, I did the weight watchers and was not compliant.. hunger got the best of me.. like B52 says it's wonderful to be able to control your portions and not be on a "diet" everyday... this is the first time in many years that I feel free .. I can eat out, go to family functions and not stress over what to eat and if I will "fall off the wagon".. I have fallen off of so many wagons in the past and have even eaten the wagon.. so I am grateful everyday for my band...

AMEN!!!!!
The band will change your life....my problem with being fat and unhealthy was because I ate too much and always the wrong foods....
The band has changed all that.....my portions are totally under control, it is IMPOSSIBLE to overeat.....and I am very rarely hungry or have cravings...24/7, not just some of the time like other people, but all of the time.....so all I need to do is choose good foods to eat...and when you loose weight and exercise you want to eat and be healthy....
What can be easier than that? .......Just letting the band do what it is designed to do....I don't need to count calories, measure portions, or do any of those things I used to do in the past. I had WLS and that has made the difference.
I too read all the time about people "Falling Off The Wagon"....and in all respect to them, I personally do not understand how that can happen...I could if we were talking Jenny Craig or Weight Watchers or something....but this is SURGERY....I put all that nonsense that never worked behind me...........it does not matter if I am at a formal dinner....vacation cruise....parties, picnics, ball games....the band is always there...it does not change from place to place.....
This too is how I eat every day, for the rest of my life....I have the same life style today, after loosing all my excess weight, as I did since first starting out in the green 2 years ago...it's not going to change.....
98% Failure rate???? I can believe it!!! I
It has changed me forever.....I have absolutely no fear of ever gaining any weight back again......and "Diet" is just another four letter word.......
YES...IT'S THAT SIMPLE!!!
(and don't use the excuse of "Slider" foods....I can go on about how that is BS also)

Love this quote that I read today: "The dieting industry the only profitable business in the world with a 98 percent failure rate."
Each day I wake up so happy that I followed through with my decision to stop traditional dieting and seek a tool with a better track record and longterm success rate: the lapband. I remember in the days leading up to my surgery last March, I was feeling fearful and a voice in my head said "Hey, give Weight Watchers one last chance." Thankfully I stood strong. Had I not, I would be weighing more today than I did three months ago, I am certain of it. Instead, I weigh almost 30 pounds less.
I don't see my banded life as a dieting life. I eat smaller now, and this is "just the way I eat." It's not "until I get the weight off." I don't "fall off the wagon" on vacation, during a holiday, or for someone's wedding, birthday, etc. I love my mindset with its dimmed appetite, and am grateful to my band for taking me from the status of "dieter" to "this is they way I eat now."

Definitely going to vary depending on the person and amount of each fill, but based on the posts I've read, the average seems to be 4 or 5.
I'm in the green zone with 3 fills, but they were pretty big fills. At 4.6 CC, the band was giving me almost no help. At 6.0 CC it has drastically decreased my appetite.

I've had 5 fills for a total of 9cc in a 14cc band and I do not think I am in the green zone. I go next week and I am hoping and praying that my dr will give me another small fill. I think I'm close but I know I'm not there. He's getting nervous about continuing to give me fills, which I appreciate, but I'm still ravenous and battling hunger all the time. Maybe this next time will be the elusive green zone? But I also think that the green zone is ever changing as our stomachs change. Just like this whole weight loss challenge, it's constant work and almost always on my mind. But progress is being made and that makes me so happy!

18 for me. No lie. As I kept losing I kept needing more Fluid in my band.

Definitely going to vary depending on the person and amount of each fill, but based on the posts I've read, the average seems to be 4 or 5.
I'm in the green zone with 3 fills, but they were pretty big fills. At 4.6 CC, the band was giving me almost no help. At 6.0 CC it has drastically decreased my appetite.

Certainly would think so. That said, my first thought was... I wonder if she is actually eating a lot more than a 1,000 calories and doesn't realize it? It's so easy to do if you aren't recording/tracking them.
I don't track my calories, but with restriction, I'm hardly eating so it would be pretty pointless.
I've read several posts that people do feel restriction with only a single fill (and sometimes no fills), but on average it seems to take people at least 3 or 4 fills before they notice their appetite decreasing.

It all depends on how much they are giving you at each fill and what you sweet spot it- you don't know til you get there.
I was banded April 29th with 4cc in the band at the time of surgery, 4 weeks later- May 28th, they added 1cc, then 4 weeks after that, yesterday, they added another full cc. So, I'm currently at 6cc's. My Dr said typically between 5 & 7 should put me in the Green Zone. So, fingers crossed!
Good luck!

Definitely going to vary depending on the person and amount of each fill, but based on the posts I've read, the average seems to be 4 or 5.
I'm in the green zone with 3 fills, but they were pretty big fills. At 4.6 CC, the band was giving me almost no help. At 6.0 CC it has drastically decreased my appetite.

Definitely going to vary depending on the person and amount of each fill, but based on the posts I've read, the average seems to be 4 or 5.
I'm in the green zone with 3 fills, but they were pretty big fills. At 4.6 CC, the band was giving me almost no help. At 6.0 CC it has drastically decreased my appetite.

Hi Peaches, I was banded one day after you and I've had 8 fills. I'm finally in the green zone, but everyone is different as you know. Great job on your loss so far!

Finally hit restriction at 6 CC here. And boy it was obvious.
It started at the doctors office. I walked out feeling like I could barely swallow my own saliva. I walked to the parking lot and stood by the car for several minutes to make sure I didn't need to go back in and have some taken out. After about 10 minutes, I felt okay and could swallow saliva without trouble.
Like you, I could eat 3 pieces of pizza no problem prior to the last fill. Actually, I could eat an entire pizza no problem and possibly go looking for oreos in an hour. Now one piece takes a while to eat and I feel very satisfied. There is no comparison.
I also immediately started dropping weight. First time since the surgery. First 4 days it was a pound a day. Now that the Water weight is gone, it's slowing down, but still dropping. I'm eating about 1/3 or less than my normal diet.
My opinion is that you still haven't hit the green zone.

SHARING IS GOOD, as is Venting Otherwise I heard you'll explode
And I have to agree 100% can I ask what Gym you go to? I wanna avoid that one :ph34r:

Gyms should be over 18. That sounds like a lawsuit waiting to happen. I'd be annoyed, too.

My gym doesn't allow children except in the day care. I think you have to be 18 at mine. I don't blame you Kids don't belong with adults.

So I'm just venting but I'm increasingly annoyed whenever I see children at the Gym.
They're generally loud. The younger ones treat equipment like toys and the teenagers reek of judgment and condescension.
Intellectually I tell myself it's good that they're being active and developing good habits but my emotional self is reminded of a childhood of shame and ridicule at the hands of their predecessors.
As I said I'm just venting but am trying to share more.

Eating too much food does not automatically stretch or dilate your pouch. Seems like some of us have very little feeling in our upper stomach and esophagus. Since food passes through your stoma within a minute or less, you could conceivably eat 2 or more cups of food as long as the food was band friendly and passed through the stoma. If you fail to chew properly and eat too fast you could pack your pouch and esophagus with too much food causing them to dilate. But, for most of us, that would be a very painful stuck episode. That's why I say I believe some patients can't feel that uncomfortable feeling that most of us feel when we eat poorly. I can't imagine I could dilate my pouch without a lot of discomfort and pain. jmo

Mine says no more then a cup. 3-4 ounces of Protein and 1/4 cup of veggies and starches

Hi Steph, my doctor is equally relaxed about amounts. I just had my 4 week check-up and normally would have gotten my first fill (apart from the surgery primer), but we decided against it as I will be vacationing in a very remote area starting next week. When I asked him how to deal with hunger, he said that it was okay to eat more than 1 cup at a meal or alternatively more often. The most important rule is to go SLOW so the band has time to give you feedback.

I know I've seen on here the right amount of food to have at a meal so as not to over eat or stretch your band, but i can't remember. My Dr. does not limit calories or anything. He says to just eat healthy and the band will take care of the rest. But I need a guideline or I'll eat to much. So it was something like 4 oz of Protein, 1/2 cup vegi's and 1/4 cup of starch is that right? If not can you correct me?
~~~Stephanie