2muchfun

Doctors are reluctant to add too much saline to your band at any one time. It could cause excessive swelling if they were to squeeze your stomach so quickly. It took me 3 fills to find some restriction and a total of 6 to get to the green zone. There's also a learning curve with eating with the band. It takes time to adjust to the eating slow, eating small and chewing big routine. It's not something we've all practiced for many years. It's frustrating of course because you want to get this train rolling on the way to losing weight. I really bugged my doctor and went in every 3 weeks for a fill. Don't be shy with the Doc and let him know that you are ready for another fill but give it a few weeks. tmf

Guys need more calories than the gals. It might be OK to go on a 3 day diet of 900 calories, but to make it a monthly target won't work. I'm speaking from my own personal experience of course so I have no scientific evidence to back this up. I've found that 1200-1400 calories a day works best for me. I lose slower than some but it's been consistent. I work out hard though. I spend 3 days a week in the gym and add another 5 days of bike riding to that gym workout. I average about 800 calories burned per day. Try not to compare your future weight loss to how much you lost the first 6 weeks. Pre and post op weight loss is mostly Water. You may have lost 5 or 6 lbs of fat but most of that loss is Fluid. Just remember that it takes 3500 calories burned to lose 1 lb. So kick up your metabolism with foods that are harder to digest, high glycemic index foods work best for losing weight. tmf

I was on a recumbent bike and my elliptical trainer a week after surgery. Only 10 minutes for each one, 20 min total for a few weeks. I really feel like a couch potato if I don't get some kind of workout. Of course, I wasn't setting the world on fire and even Richard Simmons would have laughed at me but you do what you can. tmf

Easy to understand the tension we feel at these clinics. I had to bail on my first doctor due to his lousy staff. So glad I did. Had I gone through with my first doc I know I would have been at odds with the office. I think they're competent but it took weeks to get a simple return call. I'm much too impatient for that kind of crap. Your situation may be different than most of us. I don't know anything about true results except I just googled them and I see they have many clinics. Most of us went to a sole physician so if we leave that doctor it's very difficult to find other doctors who will treat us since they didn't make any profit off the original surgery and they're reluctant to accept any responsibility if the surgery was botched. tmf

Egg drop soup was so wonderful when I was post op. First soothing food I had for days. tmf

They can take a beating. Made of a soft silicone. I would think it would take placing the port on a hard surface and hitting it with a hammer to destroy it. But the most dangerous part is the fact that the port is sewn into the muscles of your body with sutures and those sutures are still very fragile only 3 weeks out. Better check with your doctor and maybe mend that conflict with the nurse. Otherwise, you're going to pay a small fortune to get another doctor to advise you? tmf

Once you start on solids you shouldn't be drinking your meals. This is the time where you begin to learn how to eat a proper lapband friendly diet. Not a diet as we once were all on, but a diet of nutritious food, protein, veggies and low glycemic index type of foods. You may be able to drink that gatorade after you have a fill but I wouldn't consume it in place of real food. Liquids will pass right through your stoma and will not give you the satiety you seek. tmf

It's just a commitment you have to make if you want to lose weight. Try biking, join a marshall arts class, spin classes, gyms etc. tmf

Nope. Never heard of anyone this hungry this soon either. You need to stay the course and just have fluids at this point. Your band is sutured into the lining of your stomach and your stomach could be swollen. Eating anything solid could damage the sutures at this time. tmf

My apologies to those who have seen this post before but it seems to fit several folks on this topic. I found this comment somewhere and can't recall who it is or where I copied it? "In my case, the most fearful thing I had to do in order to succeed with my band wasn't switching to skim milk, surviving a liquid diet, or giving up bread. The most fearful thing was giving up my emotional attachment to food. In the nearly 5 years since I was banded, I've made a lot of progress with that, but the attachment is still there. It forms one of the innermost layers of my turtle shell. Working on that layer will probably be a lifetime job for me. At times I'm not even sure I truly want to get rid of it altogether. At times I'm afraid that if I shed my shell completely, I won't be able to survive. On the other hand, I seem to be doing fine without that thick old b***h layer. So I'm going to pay attention to my dreams rather than my fears and pray for a miracle. And why not? It can't hurt to try!"

Think about all the good things that will come from being healthier. I know it's hard to imagine, so many of us don't remember what it was like to be able to walk 3 miles and break a sweat. Or, bend over and tie our shoes and put socks on without our heads exploding. Sitting in an airplane and not piss off skinny people around us. Once that band is placed around your stomach, you won't miss the food. Your focus will turn to eating right, losing weight and being there for your family. Only one more day. tmf

It happens. Some people feel a lot more restriction in the mornings and have to drink a hot/warm Fluid to loosen up some. tmf

And quacamole! I just added up a chicken fajita bowl. And for me it was 490 calories. Not bad and very good for you. http://www.chipotle.com/en-us/menu/nutritional_information/nutritional_information.aspx

First, please fill out your profile so we can advise you better? How much have you lost since surgery? Many of us, including me, lost very little till our first fill. I lost 12 lbs the two weeks post op and then nothing for 3.5 months. I would also advise you to speak to your nutritionist when you get your fill. tmf

And sometimes they don't consider fructose or corn syrup as sugar and we all know it's sugar by another name. tmf

Give it time. You have to relearn how to eat with each fill. tmf

Sounds like a good question for your surgeon or nutritionist? tmf

Oh, you big baby It's just like baby food ya know? Didn't you try some for your kids to show them how yummy it was?LOL tmf

Who knows? Not as long as it continues to deliver results. The band has evolved over the last 15 years and is a better product now than 10 years ago. Surgical techniques have improved as well. It is true that more revisions, replacements and outright removals have taken place with the band. But, you can't really remove a bypass or sleeve can you? Once they cut out your stomach, it's all over with. tmf

$10K for me.

Your body or mind is asking for pure sugar. Try switching to a fruit you like. There are still carbs in fruit but they're not empty calories like candy. Try melons, bananas, peaches, blueberries are awesome. This is a great time of the year to shop for fruit. Lots of fresh local fruit almost everywhere. tmf

I'm absolutely sure it tastes the same but it's too gross for even me to try it so you go first tmf

The broth in egg drop soup was really filling for me. You might also try some cream Soups or take some soup you like and blend it? I love the progresso soups, had a southwestern chicken soup today. shakes worked for about 30 minutes on me and then I was hungry again. tmf

Lucky you! I can't imagine never wanting to eat. I got no answer for you. Just a lot of envy. Are you taking Vitamins and counting calories? tmf

Yeah, you're in bandster hell my friend. Most of us visited that place and didn't like it. No one tells you about this before surgery do they? Well, the advice I got was to just eat enough to take away those hunger pains. So I did. You must be 9 days post op so you're in the liquid or mushie stage I would imagine? This is no time to be a hero. Don't worry about losing weight right now. Maybe drink more shakes, or consume more tomato soup? Whatever phase you are in, don't get so hungry you make a mistake and eat a sandwich or something dangerous like that. If you are trying to get by with a cup of juice or mushie, increase it if you can. Just stay away from solids for now. Maybe get some egg-drop soup? That always filled me up. tmf