valarie kk

Really ? A piece of cake ? Who did'nt cheat on their pre op diet ? Good grief, get a hold of yourself !! How far do you think you're going to get in anything if you give up so easily ? My Dr. said 95 % of the time, eat healthy ! The other 5 % ? ! dont worry about it! Good advice ! You should consider it! Good luck !

You're right...with that attitude you won't make it....
If I was so perfect, then why in the world would I need or want surgery?
I had surgery because I could not stop the hunger, the cravings, and the non stop eating.....
Pre-op diet? What a joke...I don't know why your Dr. wants you to do it...mine did not. It was the insurance co, that wanted it just for the record, I did at least attempt a medically supervised diet, in other words for the record I explored and tried all possible avenues to loose weight, AND FAILED....THEREFORE surgery was my only and last resort.
BTW, I had to do a 6 month pre-op diet, and just like any one of the 100's of diets I attempted, it started out well for the first 3-4 months, then I started to cheat, and finally started to gain all the weight back. Very typical for me, and they should have not expected anything different..........
But again, that was my Dr. and my Insurance co.'s approach...everyone should follow their Dr.'s orders....not mine.
It was the 2 week diet before surgery I stuck out because at that point nothing was going to prevent me from this surgery.
Cake?? I had a fantastic piece of carrot cake just a few nights ago...and generally get some kind of dessert when we go out to eat.
And I by no means consider myself a failure...I have lost every possible pound I can without loosing essential body mass - muscle....and I still enjoy life, and food....just not nearly as much food as before....and I get my daily Protein, Water, Vitamins and exercise.
People look at this surgery in many different ways....to me, I am not on a diet....yet many people here on this forum look at it that way, and carry over the same attitudes and apply the little gimmicks and motivational quotes, etc.
Sometimes, if I did not know any better I would think this was a Jenny Craig website and not a Bariatric Surgery website.
Like catfish87 said, NORMAL people eat cake....and I am NORMAL!!! It is the NEW NORMAL, but I eat what I want, when I want.
Hang in there, and hopefully after a few months or a year after surgery, you will begin to "Get It"...I know it took me a while, but I finally did and it has been HEAVEN ever since. Complete freedom from all that other nonsense other people go through 365 days a year.

Finally made it to onederland!! It's taken perhaps a bit longer then I would have liked, but I'll take 41 pounds in 4 months. I'm snaking up on the green zone and it's only going to get better. Getting my band was the best decision I ever made.

Finally made it to onederland!! It's taken perhaps a bit longer then I would have liked, but I'll take 41 pounds in 4 months. I'm snaking up on the green zone and it's only going to get better. Getting my band was the best decision I ever made.

Finally made it to onederland!! It's taken perhaps a bit longer then I would have liked, but I'll take 41 pounds in 4 months. I'm snaking up on the green zone and it's only going to get better. Getting my band was the best decision I ever made.

Thanks ya'll and for anyone getting discouraged please be patient. I would go weeks without losing but I didn't gain so it was still a victory. Listen to your band and the closer you get to the green zone the easier it is to notice the signals your band gives you. Good luck to everyone on this same journey!!

Finally made it to onederland!! It's taken perhaps a bit longer then I would have liked, but I'll take 41 pounds in 4 months. I'm snaking up on the green zone and it's only going to get better. Getting my band was the best decision I ever made.

Thanks ya'll and for anyone getting discouraged please be patient. I would go weeks without losing but I didn't gain so it was still a victory. Listen to your band and the closer you get to the green zone the easier it is to notice the signals your band gives you. Good luck to everyone on this same journey!!

Wonderful news, congratulations.

That is awesome!

Yaaaay! Congrats!

Yeah!! Congratulations. I'm so happy for you.

Congratulations !!!

Congratulations!

Hello fellow bandsters, ex-bandsters, and bandster wannabes. I am not posting this to beat anybody up or anything like that so please don't take it that way, but I'm just writing because I can't understand why so many people feel as though the band has fell them. So I'm ranting basically. I have been reading many posts in which people who have had surgery around the same time as myself and even after me are having or has had complications with their band and I can't understand that. Grant it, I do understand that many have had success and because of other issues with their body they had to have their fluids removed for either pregnancy or other surgeries and for whatever reason, the band is selfish. It doesn't apparently want us to have babies or other surgeries that we need for our continued overall good health. Okay, I get that and the band stops working and needs to be removed. Okay, cool. However, I have read other peoples stories and apparently funds were not available for aftercare to get the proper adjustments needed to stay restricted. I keep reading posts that state they never achieved the "sweet spot" and all I can say is I'm sorry. If you are self-pay, again, I'm sorry that you weren't able to keep getting your fills because proper fill capacity is the key. Yes, I realize many of you also have to drive miles and hours just to get that and believe me, I understand gas and money these days. But at the same time, you should have been given the guidelines to follow in order to successfully lose weight (types of food to eat and avoid and amounts) and if your bariatric team did not do that, then shame on them. The band can't say, however, "Don't put that ice cream in your mouth. Don't drink this or eat that." Only you have total control of what goes in your mouth. I have also read many people's journeys in which they didn't even need fills and have lost impressive amounts of weight. To you I applaud and congratulate you because I was not that fortunate. I had to get my fills and unfills when I was too tight. That's another problem I keep reading about over and over. If you are too tight, you will not lose weight you are in the red zone and are setting yourself up for failure. I hated that I had to get an unfill or two or three because I loved that tightness and I wanted to lose weight so bad, but I'm so glad that I listened to my professionals because it paid off in the end. So what am I saying, the band does not fail. YOU FAIL, I'm sorry. There are some unfortunate souls that well your body just doesn't want as you say something "foreign" in you. Well, God bless you and I hope you have found another way to lose weight. For you new people, IT IS NOT EASY!!!!!! Even in maintainence, it's not easy. Again, if you have the proper restriction YOU WILL NOT OVER EAT PERIOD. Can you eat anything you want? Yes for some of us but not everything. After being banded, some foods and drinks we just can't do and that is a plus for many of us because we don't need them in the first place. Why is it still hard in maintainence? Because you have to still be careful about not eating too fast and chewing your food really good so that you don't get stuck. For me and I'm sure for a few others, that is a daily struggle. So all in all, the band is a great tool to help you lose weight if YOU REALLY WANT TO, but YOU have to do the work. The band is just placed around your stomach and that's it. It doesn't think for you. Again, I'm not trying to disrespect anyone but just clarifying the fact that the band doesn't fail by itself. Best wishes to all of you.

Finally made it to onederland!! It's taken perhaps a bit longer then I would have liked, but I'll take 41 pounds in 4 months. I'm snaking up on the green zone and it's only going to get better. Getting my band was the best decision I ever made.

Finally made it to onederland!! It's taken perhaps a bit longer then I would have liked, but I'll take 41 pounds in 4 months. I'm snaking up on the green zone and it's only going to get better. Getting my band was the best decision I ever made.

Finally made it to onederland!! It's taken perhaps a bit longer then I would have liked, but I'll take 41 pounds in 4 months. I'm snaking up on the green zone and it's only going to get better. Getting my band was the best decision I ever made.

Finally made it to onederland!! It's taken perhaps a bit longer then I would have liked, but I'll take 41 pounds in 4 months. I'm snaking up on the green zone and it's only going to get better. Getting my band was the best decision I ever made.

Finally made it to onederland!! It's taken perhaps a bit longer then I would have liked, but I'll take 41 pounds in 4 months. I'm snaking up on the green zone and it's only going to get better. Getting my band was the best decision I ever made.

I'm really trying to be sympathetic here but come on, you're only 3 weeks post op? Did you think the band would go on and presto, you're skinny?? This might take years to lose all the weight. That's the tough love.
Your journey does not start till your band is adjusted properly. That could be no fills or 10 fills. Many and I mean many people do not lose weight at this stage of their journey. Some gain and if you're watching the scale every day it might go up and down for several months. Nothing to worry about and you're not a failure till you give up.
Your weight will never go down every day or every week. It just doesn't work that way. Good luck.
tmf

The band will tell you when you've eaten enough once it's adjusted properly. And you'll need to look for the soft stop signals like burping, hiccups, sighs, runny nose etc. Of course, feeling like you've eaten enough is the big signal, or, when a meal begins to look unappetizing is a good time to stop.
You're in the beginning stages now so you can probably eat much more but that doesn't mean you should. Until your band is adjusted this is just a diet and my recommendation is to try to eat healthy but try not to feel deprived.
Your picture seems a little anemic. Looks like 1/3 cup of brisket? That's fine if you're feeling satisfied. If not, maybe a little more.
And there's no reason not to eat bread and potato salad unless you're trying to avoid carbs? This shouldn't be about dieting or feeling hunger and deprivation. There are some members here who weigh and measure every bite they eat. I'm not one of them and they may have a different take on this.
tmf

Thanks for the input guys. My next fill isnt for 4 more weeks. I figure that will give me time to see if a fill is needed or if I'm good right where I'm right. Wow what a difference it makes to finally have your band talk to you and tell you to stop.

Sounds like you're getting there. Might need some tweaking. I have found that it takes a couple weeks for my fills to settle in

Sure sounds like it. Some of us prefer our bands a little on the loose side, I do. Some like it tight. But, be careful if you go for tight? Now's the time to look for all those soft satiety signals and it sounds like you're feeling them now. Your most recent adjustment could settle in just as it is or, get a little tighter or looser. 2 weeks will tell.
Also, your esophagus and stomach become more efficient machines in massaging food through the stoma which can give off the appearance of your band loosening up when in fact the muscles that control peristalsis are gaining strength.