Drband14

A hot drink in the morning helps me a ton. I've also learned that if I get really stuck and can't seem to get rid of the golfball in my chest, I can drink something hot and it relaxes enough to move on.

I do the hot tea thing. I have gotten some really strange looks when ordering a hot tea when it's 90 outside. I also do Decaf coffee when we go out. I have even started to carry a tea bag or two with me when I go out just in case they only have crap tea to offer. ~Mandy

Since I started this thread on May 31st, I am watching the scale needle go down... I was stuck for a long, long time (more than 8 weeks).
Being in the Green Zone is great, as there is that constant background of satiety, and even when hunger does come on for me, it does so in a "hmm.. I should eat now" kind of way, rather than the voracious gut twisting way it used to pre-WLS.
That said, I am rigidly sticking to low/no simple carbs, high Protein, and steamed veggies. Haven't touched junk or fast food for months and have just a few days ago given up my #1 vice - red wine.
Being "in the green" has also brought about a change in my desire to MOVE - I have started walking on the treadmill, and burning a delicious 300 calories in 50 minute, 6.5 km sessions 3-4 times a week.
Yay green zone!

Congrats!! What a wonderful feeling to hit that green zone. I hope to be with you with my next fill which is due today at 1:45 pm. I feel like I am so very close! Keep up the great work and the motivation/inspiration for us!

Aw thanks, Letsgetskinny! This is a lot more work than I anticipated but it's not as hard as 'dieting'. A worth every penny.
I have to say I love it when others notice the gradual results - just yesterday I wore a pair of 'slender' (well, slender enough for a size 16, which I haven't been in a decade!) black dress pants and a form-fitting blouse to the College (professional wear for meetings) and a colleague who has no idea I had WLS came up to me and whispered that my ass looked great.
We had a good giggle and she said, "I have GOT to lose some weight, seriously - my knees are giving out me... you are an inspiration...!" and then we giggled some more about the caloric evils of black Russians and red wine, and that if she gave up her BRs and I gave up Cabernet, we'd both be like Twiggy.
I felt like a million bucks for the rest of the day.

I love your post...it is so motivational and inspiring. Thank you for sharing and I think you have done a great job with not only your patience but your persistence to stay strong. What an awesome achievement in such a short space of time always better to be safe than sorry with the small fills ????????????????????

I agree 100% with everything you say....I have no hunger 24/7 also, and I can, and have gone all day without eating when I am occupied doing other things....I have to remind myself to eat, at least look for some Protein....
A word of caution...it may wane after a while as you loose weight, but that is no big deal...normal...you are there now and know what it is all about.
I have been there without any issues or changes for about 3-1/2 years now.
There is one or two little tricks I have learned as far as any maintenance goes, but that can wait....
Congratulations.....I love reading posts like this from fellow banders...

Yippee! So happy for you. By the way, are we married to the same guy? (chips and nuts all evening long....)...... My surgeon was also of the small frequent fills school of thought and I think that was very good for me. He does not share the amount of the fills but I know I have had a couple of super-tiny fill/unfills in my process. I think I'm at 7-8 overall visits now, possibly 8 -- banded November 2013. Could be thinner by now but a little too happy just where I am. Quite fit.
Good luck with all -- you are doing beautifully!

This post is such an important one for me. I AM FINALLY IN THE GREEN ZONE. Huzzah! Celebrating over here! Wanted to share it with you.
A little patience and my surgical team's insistence on my "creeping towards the green" through small to tiny fills rather than BIG ones has been one that I have fully subscribed to. And now I AM THERE and have nothing but success and wellness to report!
A warm, welcoming HELLO to the Green Zone. My friend, I have been waiting to meet you for 5 months. My history if you're interested:
Banded December 18th, 2014. At that time I had 4.1 ccs of Fluid in the band.
Fill #1: Jan 2, 2015 - .5 ccs
Fill #2: March 18 - .3 ccs
Fill #3: April 9 - .3 ccs
Fill #4: April 29 - .2 ccs
Fill #5: May 28 - .1 ccs
Now here I am, at 5.5 ccs in a 10cc APL band, and I am in the green zone. That tiny .1cc fill a few days ago did the trick. What a feeling!
Here's how I know I am in the much talked about (and celebrated, and elusive to many) Green Zone:
I am not hungry. Period. I have a background feeling of satiety 24/7. I can only manage very small portions of food. (One small chicken thigh, 3 string Beans and a bite of salad. DONE). I have no desire to eat more. Zero. I find myself getting a "soft stop" signal from my body when its time to stop eating. When I've had enough, I sigh and have a 100% "NO MORE FOOD" feeling. I push my plate away. I've not had this consistently before, and now here it is every meal. I can go hours and hours between meals. I was at 3 hours satiation, but now I'm at 4-6 hours. Wow. Like, not even tempted. NO desire to snack in the evenings. No desire to nibble, even as the husband is grazing on handfuls of nuts or chips. Zero temptation. Total disinterest in food. My husband is as astonished as I. I realize now, having had only 1 vomiting episode (my fault - ate too fast!), how important and crucial it was to have patience with these small fills. My first fill I had gone in expecting a 1 cc to be putted in the band. When I shared this with my nurse this (after she gave me what she called, "A BIG FILL" of .5ccs) the horrified look on her face was priceless. "1cc! Are you mad, woman?! We'd never do that to you - that's asking for an emergency de-fill!"
Have to admit I left there a little disappointed. I took a breath and realized that I was in amazing hands. I had to TRUST the process and the team, and abide by the rules. So I did. And now I am here, and feeling terrific! (And smaller!)
The bigger the fill, the higher the chance of the band being tightened too fast. Remember that many bandsters will report that a fill can take up to 2 weeks to 'settle' and take effect, so that's why they are spaced out so much.
I was told to watch out for night cough, heartburn, frequent stuck episodes, sliming and vomiting. With the band too tight too fast, you ultimately gain weight because you develop an Intolerance of regular foods, resulting in maladaptive eating - soft, slippery, slider foods that tend to be fat and calorie-dense. (Ice cream, pudding, cream Soups, etc).
At every one of my 5 fills, my surgical nurse(s) have encouraged me not to get too hung up on the amount of Fluid in the band, nor what 'other peoples' bands are filled to. Every BODY is different. 10% of lucky bandsters never need a fill EVER. Most people need 4-6 fills to get to the Green Zone.
I'm down 46 pounds and feel TERRIFIC. Its taken 5 months, but they have flown.
HOWDY Green Zone, glad you're here! Slow and easy wins the race...!

This statement is right on the money! Your body can not absorb that much Protein at one time and you are going to overwork your kidney's and liver as the body eliminates it. Typically a woman will metabolise Protein at a much lower volume than a man would and the max is about 20-30 grams.
I'm sure the shot you are drinking has calories so just cut that out and opt for Water before, during and after your work out.
Prior to the work out if you are going to have a few carbs that's OK but know that your body is going to burn those carbs off for energy before it is going to tap into the fat reserves that we want it to burn. If you can steer clear of it, and then after repair muscle with some protein even in the form of a Protein shake, and even some amino acids.
As for "hunger" your not hungry in the AM....so your skipping Breakfast. I get that I am usually pretty tight in the morning and I have no appetite until around 10-11 and I am typically up at 5:30-6 am. I start my day with a cup of coffee and around 10 I will either have a Protein Bar or a Protein Shake. It's rare that I will have eggs or some typical breakfast food.
Some of the reason for the hunger pains later in the day could be that your not getting enough through out the day on a consistent basis to fuel your body, and/or your giving it too much at one time that it's eliminating it all and then needing to be replenished.
It should take about 20 minutes no more or less to consume your meals. It's OK that you are eating half of what you used to, most of us are eating much much less than before. Put the rest away and make that lunch for the next day, that's what hubs and I do when we go out to eat if we don't share the entree (most of the time we don't because we have different palates.)
As for vomiting and PBing. When this happens you are actually irritating your stoma and making it even tighter in there. Not necessarily from the "fill" but from the trauma of the vomiting and PBing. What I find helps when I have an episode (and I try to avoid them at all costs) is to take a day or two and go on liquids, and/or soft mushy food to give my stomach a break and the chance to heal and allow the swelling to go down because if I don't the next meal is not going to go so well. I don't "feel" anything in there until I start to eat a few bites of the next meal, so I have learned that when I have an episode I need to stop eating and move to liquids for the next couple of meals.
I hope some of this helps. TGIF!!!

The whole Protein thing PRE workout doesn't work so well for me....sure I might have a little bit of Protein in something, but thats not my goal. If I'm going for an hour or less, usually nothing except water/coffee. More than that, I'll have some carbs about 20 minutes PRE, and every 30-45 minutes during exercise. Then some sort of RECOVERY Protein Drink afterwards....or maybe just some fish! It seems to work for me.

Just curious....do you take a 70 gram PRE workout Protein shot? If so, why? I'd be sick to my stomach taking that much protein beforehand too! Thanks!

@@catfish87 I was going to say the same. I don't think your body can absorb that much at one time. Check with your dr. and see if that is recommended.

The tightness comes and goes with me too, and I love it. I haven't had a fill in over 2 years and I'm happy to still have restriction.
Watch those carbs!

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Thank you for the information. I am going to give it a try!!

I too cannot eat breakfast, so although it's not ideal, breakfast does not work for me. My doctor says this is normal.
I would try to stick to more Protein and back away from the vegetables and definitely the carbs. You should be getting about 60g of Protein a day. Where are you with that? Do you track it somehow? I use the My FItness Pal app on my iphone and that helped me a lot. Perfect to see what your day consists of and to see where you need to improve.
Happy to help and congrats to you both.

I wonder this also, because my husband is in afghanistan and will be home in 23 days and I know I will want to Celebrate and drink with him and his friends

I am 5yrs banded and still trying to get 80-100grams of protien per day...my dr. told me post op that should be my goal everyday post op. But to get that n a day go to GNC or Walmart has them now too actually, an get the 3oz. tubes of liquid protien, they have about 42grams of protien per 3oz bottle...its an awsome way to get the protien in you fast:) ope this helps:)

(Re-printed from my Surgeon's website)
1. Your co-worker heard a strange noise and doesn’t bat an eye…knowing it was your stomach.
Patients often ask me why their new pouch makes odd gurgling noises. It could be too big of bites or eating too quickly. It could also just be your stomach moving around and making noises for all to hear
2. You have a space heater under your desk in the middle of July.
It may be in part to losing some “insulation” but many postop wls patients are colder than they’ve ever been using more blankets at night and space heaters to keep warm.
3. Your alarm just went off for the third time today to remember your next Vitamin.< /b>
While bariatric Vitamins have become much more simpler in recent years, it still takes reminders to get in your vitamins. Your family might even hear the alarm and hand you your calcium!
4. Protein is always first on your mind at your meals – it might as well be plastered inside your forehead.
Protein…protein..where’s the protein? Protein is what fills you up and keeps you full! You get the most out of your surgery when you focus on lean and solid protein sources.
5. Your waitress keeps asking if the food is okay. And if you’re sure you don’t want a drink.
When you can only eat an ounce or so, the wait staff may think something is wrong with the food. And what do you mean you don’t want anything to drink??
6. Your pants are barely holding on but you’re still holding off to go shopping.
Just make sure you don’t carry a heavy object and walk up a flight of stairs. At least not around anyone
7. Speaking of shopping, you still go to the plus sized section first out of habit.
It’s hard to wrap your mind around your new body. Leave plenty of time and stay patient with yourself as you find out what size your body is. Take a good friend to be your “runner” and someone to talk it out with.
8. You get overjoyed at the release of a new Protein Bar flavor…or a sale on your favorite Protein Bars.< /strong>
Quest® has a new flavor?!?!??! Ahhhhh!!!!!!
9. You rejoice at the small things like crossing your legs or getting a pair of boots that zip up your calves.
Some things you’ll never take for granted again. It may seem like nothing to others, but to you it’s something big.
10. You use lingo like “wls”…”bariatric friendly”…”pouch”…”vsg”…
You gotta know the lingo to be in the club!
11. You smile as you think of how far you’ve come and get excited to think of where you’ll be soon.
Patients wonder why they didn’t have their surgery sooner.

It is amazing how everyone is different in regards to the fills. I've had four fills and I think I am finally at the sweet spot. For some reason when I get a cold my band seems to be tighter and I really feel the restriction. That's what I wanted to feel so that's what I aimed for with my fills. A feeling of restriction is hard to describe to a person. Once we feel it, it is like a light bulb came on and we understand! We also have to keep in mind that not everyone has the same size band so we can't compare our fill amounts to somebody else's. Drink plenty of fluids to help with the hunger until your next fill. Before you know it you will be at your green zone

Hi I had my first fill last week Monday. I was so excited to get the adjustment.. I feel like I'm finally on my way. I got 3 ccs put in my band, but still not feeling any restriction at all. I know some people say that they only feel the effects of an adjustment up to two weeks after the actual fill. Its only been 10 days since my fill, but I'm pretty sure I'll have to get another.
I'm 6 weeks post-op (had my surgery on 9 Feb) and have lost 10kgs (22 pounds) so far, but I've been white-knuckling it... Looking forward to my next fill and ultimately feeling supported by my band, but I like the idea of creeping toward the green zone. As much as I want to feel some restriction (anything to let me know my band is actually there), I'm petrified of being too tight!
Good good luck!

I totally agree with you @@Keeper! Slow and steady wins the race. We all know from being life-long dieters that the slower rate the weight loss is (1-2 lbs. a week) will stay off longer than if we lose a ton of weight at one time too fast. @@Mands15, it gets a little frustrating but take it one day a time. We are all here to support each other. Some days are better than others. I have already lost 3.5 lbs since my fill (3 days!). But today my hunger was cray cray again. Just trying to use my will power!

chocolate to me is like crack. made brownies for my husband at his request. I did eat a little of one to make sure it was okay (lol) but I did not eat the whole pan which In the past I would have done. so I think I can overcome my addiction if I put my mind to it..

Once I start, I can't stop. It's easier for me to stay away than to have to stop (again). I'm sadly in a chocolate phase right now and know that I have to Just. Stop. I'm one of those people who can't moderate chocolate.< /p>