PrettyThick1

Congrats honey! Fill #3 was my magic number...I felt restriction after fill 2, so you might expect to reach the green zone on this fill or the next one.

I read someone else's post and thought I'd share my experience with newbies: If you're having difficulty keeping food or liquids down, make sure your body is warm and you are in a warm environment before eating or drinking. I am so tight that I'm nearly closed when it's cold outside or cold around me...I have learned that I simply cannot eat or drink unless the temperature around me is at least 70 degrees and I've been in the environment for at least 30 minutes. I've experimented with this over the course of a week and have determined that cold weather affects the tightness of my band; if you are having this issue, it could be your problem as well so try this before going in for an unfill.

I would suggest "testing" your fill by making sure you are completely warm before you eat or drink and avoid cold foods or beverages. Cold weather is DISASTEROUS when I am hungry...I'm better off going without and starving because if I'm cold, my band seems to be completely closed shut! Once the air temperature around me is at least 70 and I've been in that environment for at least 30 minutes, I can eat or drink normally. I've experimented and this is a proven fact for me...it could be your issue as well.

You have an awesome username by the way! i82much! LOL LOL

That was beautiful and fitting. I'm going to keep this in mind for myself, thank you for sharing such an awesome quote!

Take it one day at a time and don't think about the entire period as one big chunk. To do so is intimidating and discouraging, so be gentle with yourself and don't "go over the edge" if you have a slip up here and there. Think about the end result and it will help you get through the preop...this is the time you're paying your dues! Good luck and stay on the boards for encouragement and motivation.

And who wins the DIAMOND CIRCLE AWARD today...YOU DO!!!! Congratulations on your success, I see a drastic improvement and I'm sure you feel much better already. Way to go!

Hi Catfish: I think I'm getting in enough as it is now, but I don't want to continue to lose 10lbs. a month - which is what I'm sure is going to happen if I leave it as is. I really don't want to be much smaller than I am now and would love to drop the last 5 and "hover" there (giving allowance for 3-5 gain/losses here and there). I'm really not sure what to do and I get better advice from experienced bandsters than I do from the clinicians. Do you feel you can't get in ENOUGH nourishment with your band the way it is?? Some health concern? Congrats on the great success BTW!

According to experts, I should weigh about 132lbs. for my height. According to appearance, I shouldn't weigh less than 150. According to guidelines, my healthy appearance is still overweight. According to loved ones, I would look sickly if I weighed What experts said I should. What's a girl to do?

Thanks for everyone's advice! My only issue is that I've never really denied myself anything...I've been eating whatever I wanted, just in band-sized portions and I honestly don't see how on earth I could add any more meals or Snacks to my day without overeating and causing a problem. So...does a TINY unfill in 10lbs. sound like the right thing to do now?

Seeking advice from Hosts, VIP'S and Evangelists: I am 5lbs. from my goal weight and have been teetering in an 8-lb range for 3 weeks now. I'm familiar enough with my band to know that I have about a week to go and the scale is going to reflect another 10lb. loss. I can honestly say that I will be as small as I want to be 5lbs. from now. My question is: how do you enter the maintenance mode? Should I get a slight unfill now or after the next 10lb. loss I'll notice next week? My thinking was that I'd go ahead an lose the extra 5lbs. to give myself a cushion until I can find the green zone again in maintenance. What are your thoughts?

Congratulations!!!

You cannot wait this out. You need an unfill so that you can eat normally for your baby. I lost weight during my first trimester with my daughter and wasn't very concerned, but she was born at 31 weeks. Did the weightloss and lack of nutrition have something to do with it? It certainly didn't help. I should also remind you that your baby will take from your body what it needs to develop. So if you treasure your: hair, skin, nails, teeth, blood counts and vital nutrients, get unfilled and provide adequate nutrition for your baby. The weightloss can wait. Good luck to you.

You sound like I did and if you weren't experiencing these feelings, it wouldn't be normal. This journey is as much a mental effort as it is physical. There are stages in this process that you have to process in your own way, on your own time and you are now in the "second thought" stage, which coincides with the "fear of complications" stage. I must tell you that the fear of complications stage will not go away until after you're on the other side. There will always be something to make you wonder if you're doing the right thing, I know it was a constant nagging thought for me. Now that I'm banded and am successful with it, I only regret that I didn't do it sooner and that I allowed fear to consume me as much as it had. You will be successful. Know how I know? You are asking questions now and getting advice from people who have been where you are. Keep a positive outlook, your life will change for the better in so many ways once you start shedding those unhealthy pounds.

I worry about gaining the weight back, but I don't obsess about it. I notice that if I make bad choices for a few days and the scale responds negatively...I just get back on track with proper eating and hydration and in a couple of days I'm back where I started. As long as you don't overeat and stay below your calorie count, you should be fine. I would suggest digging your heals in and getting closer to your goal before you stray too far off again though.

Too funny! Who would take advice from someone who has had mediocre results from the band?

Congratulations!!! Keep up the good work!

I have a weird pain, but it feels more like the tubing from the port and looking at diagrams, my feeling would fit the area the tube is around. I'm almost to my goal and have very little fat around my midsection anymore, I think the weightloss has it rubbing against something. I plan on getting it checked out soon, I have no other complications.

Congratulations Steph and thanks for checking in to inspire us relative "newbies"!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!

Team Reilly! I love that man...

I've gone from wearing a size 3 in tights/stockings to a size 1. Not since infanthood have I worn anything with a 1 that wasn't followed by a couple of X's. LOL

Nice NSV!!!! I'm glad you got the "you don't need to lose anymore weight" comment. I know it had to be one heck of a feeling!!!

if you're not getting full...go in for a top-off, you can stall your weightloss by getting fills too slowly.

It took me 3 fills to get to the green zone. I was banded with 3cc's and went between fill appointments to get an additional .5cc's to top off my first fill. I am now at 5.5cc's and have been in the green since August 19, 2013.