marfar7

The first 5 month after getting my band were really rough. I thought I had failed yet another diet. I ate just like I did pre band. I lost maybe 5 lbs. Then my 3rd fill, the magic started. I could only eat a few bites of anything. I've never counted anything or measured. I go by what my body tells me to. I've lost 100 lbs with about 15 left to go (and the last 20 are the HARDEST to lose, btw).
As soon as you get to the "sweet spot", you'll start losing more. I promise. I think people with failed bands give up before finding that spot. My insurance only covered 1 yr of fills, so I have to pay $160 every time I go to the dr. My band slipped about 5 mths ago and I'm still working on rectifying it. Haven't lost (but I did gain a few lbs!) in the last yr or so.
Just letting you know that you still have time. Don't give up. Finding that "sweet spot" is a pain sometimes, but well worth it. Good luck!
Marci

The first 5 months after getting banded, I ate just like I did pre band. I had no restriction and I was thru dieting, so I refused to count or measure anything. I lost about 5 lbs in those 5 mths. After my 3rd fill, I finally found mecca.I was done with eating like a trucker.
24-26 lbs in 2 months? That's fantastic! When I was actively losing (like the first year or so), I lost an average of 10 lbs a month. Some months a little more, some a little less. But everytime I weighed in with my gym trainer (every 2 weeks), I lost something. I didn't start working out till I'd lost about 50 lbs. Then I went the expensive route for about 6 mths - hired a personal trainer and saw her every week. I really didn't work out all that hard either. I went 3 days a week, for about 60 mins a session. I still go 3x a week for about 60 minutes (I can walk much fast5er now tho!)
You're doing very well, IMHO. I wish I would've lost more those first few months. Maybe if I had followed the rules, but I can't do it over again...
Good luck!
Marci

The first 5 months after getting banded, I ate just like I did pre band. I had no restriction and I was thru dieting, so I refused to count or measure anything. I lost about 5 lbs in those 5 mths. After my 3rd fill, I finally found mecca.I was done with eating like a trucker.
24-26 lbs in 2 months? That's fantastic! When I was actively losing (like the first year or so), I lost an average of 10 lbs a month. Some months a little more, some a little less. But everytime I weighed in with my gym trainer (every 2 weeks), I lost something. I didn't start working out till I'd lost about 50 lbs. Then I went the expensive route for about 6 mths - hired a personal trainer and saw her every week. I really didn't work out all that hard either. I went 3 days a week, for about 60 mins a session. I still go 3x a week for about 60 minutes (I can walk much fast5er now tho!)
You're doing very well, IMHO. I wish I would've lost more those first few months. Maybe if I had followed the rules, but I can't do it over again...
Good luck!
Marci

It's not easy. Losing weight AND KEEPING IT OFF is hard with or without a band. Like the rest of you I had lost weight countless times before, WW, Hypnosis, pills, injections,gym, weighless plus countless more. The problem is the weight always came back. As I got older it became even harder to lose the weight. Never mind menopause I think once you hit 40 it becomes a lot harder.
So this person has lost weight all by herself - bully for her. Wonder what she will post as her status when she regains it all.
The bit about the Tummy Tuck makes me laugh too. It seems that it is OK to have surgery for vanity e.g boob job, tummy tuck etc but having surgery for your health e.g WLS is somehow a sign of weakness. That really makes a lot of sense doesn't it?!!!!

I am tired of being hungry. 3 years and a couple of months out and I feel like I have no band. It's like being back in the bad old dieting days.
It is 9.30 am , I got up at 7.30 am and had a cup of tea and 2 ginger nuts( cookies), bad I know but lately I have been starving when I wake up. I then had Breakfast at about 8am - homemade muesli with some greek yogurt,cinnamon and stevia. The muesli is full of oats and seeds and should be satisfying.I am now having another cup of tea and trying to fight the urge to eat. If this is head hunger then my head must be starving.
A bit of a back story for those who don't know it. Earlier this year I got stuck on a piece of steak, after a night not being able to swallow my own spit and the worst acid reflux imaginable I went to emergency. I was given a partial unfill and then my Dr started the process of slowly filling me again. I last saw my Dr in June when he filled me to just under the level I was at when I got stuck. He thought that I should be fine and that I wouldn't need to see him again for at least 6 months. I swear that I currently feel as though I have no band. I am always hungry and have fallen back into bad habits. I have gained about 3kg 6.6lb since the beginning of the year and I'm terrified that I am going to gain more.
2 weeks ago I had a consultation with a highly respected nutritionist that specialises in bands. I did this as I thought that maybe I was the problem not the band and I wanted to make sure that I was doing everything that I should be and eating the right type of foods.She confirmed that I need a fill. Apparently with a band one should not be hungry until mid morning whereas I wake up hungry and can eat anything in the morning - not even a hint of tightness or difficulty.
So I phoned to make an appointment to see my Dr but as luck would have it he is on holiday and I can only get into see him at the end of Oct. Yes I could swap Dr's but I really don't want to do that. In the meantime I just need to white knuckle it and try not to gain.I did try going back to Protein shakes for a couple of days but if anything they just made me hungrier - I have no idea how I ever survived the preop diet.
What this confirms for me is that I could not maintain without my band or some other kind of surgical assistance. I often read stories on here from people that are having their bands removed who believe that they will not have a problem maintaining their weight as they have now learned how to eat properly. Well knowing what to eat isn't the issue, I have always eaten relatively healthy food. The issue is the hunger which without help comes back with a vengeance.

I also love shrimp! Eat it about twice a month (either peel and eat shrimp or fried) with sauce. No problems...
Marci

For the first 5 months following surgery, and until my 3rd fill, I didn't feel any restriction whatsoever. I ate just as much as I did preband. After my 3rd fill, I at a toddler size meal and would feel like I was going to vomit if I ate another bite. After almost 3 yrs of fills/unfills/tweaking (and a slip), I still can only eat a toddlers portions, a bigger toddler. I notice myself eating a little bit more (especially at night) than I did 1 yr ago. I've still got about 16 lbs to goal, and they are the hardest 16 lbs ever. If I just cut out the crap I put into my mouth and go back to eating the way I did 2 yrs ago, I would probably lose it in a couple months.
But yes, a little bit of food satisfies you after you've gotten enuf Fluid in your band for restriciton. Like someone else said, it's different than the "full" feeling you have now. It's more of a pain and knowing if you take one more bite, it'll make you ill.
Good luck!
Marci

I wasn't required to diet pre-op. In fact, I had my "last meal" the nite before surgery (Outback ribs!). But I was on a liquid diet for 4 weeks postop and that was the hardest thing to do. But we all do it. You can do it! Good luck!
Marci

I wasn't required to diet pre-op. In fact, I had my "last meal" the nite before surgery (Outback ribs!). But I was on a liquid diet for 4 weeks postop and that was the hardest thing to do. But we all do it. You can do it! Good luck!
Marci

I wasn't required to diet pre-op. In fact, I had my "last meal" the nite before surgery (Outback ribs!). But I was on a liquid diet for 4 weeks postop and that was the hardest thing to do. But we all do it. You can do it! Good luck!
Marci

About twice a week I eat breakfast. Sometimes I wake up hungry and I'll eat some yogurt, or an egg and a pc of bacon. Most of the time tho I'm not hungry till around 1 or 2. I don't know about you but eating when I wasn't hungry is what got me in this mess in the first place!
My first meal of the day (whether it's 7 am or 1 pm) is only a few bites. If I do eat breakfast, I can always eat more the rest of the day. Like today, we went to Red Robin at 2pm. I can usually eat about 5 fries and 1/3 of my burger (when I eat breakfast). I didn't eat breakfast this morning and managed to eat 2bites of my burger and about 3 fries. A Red Robin burger is usually 3 meals for me. Before being banded, I could've eaten a whole one plus extra fries!
Anyway, you just wanted to know about breakfast, huh?!
Marci

I wasn't required to diet pre-op. In fact, I had my "last meal" the nite before surgery (Outback ribs!). But I was on a liquid diet for 4 weeks postop and that was the hardest thing to do. But we all do it. You can do it! Good luck!
Marci

I wasn't required to diet pre-op. In fact, I had my "last meal" the nite before surgery (Outback ribs!). But I was on a liquid diet for 4 weeks postop and that was the hardest thing to do. But we all do it. You can do it! Good luck!
Marci

And here I thought you were going out on a date with a guy! Silly me. Congrats!
Marci

Hi! The previous poster was right - there's no such thing as a dumb question! No, it'sbeen almost 3 yrs since being banded for me and I can't feel anything inside of me. Now, the port is a different story. I can feel it thru my clothes. The more weight you lose, the more it will protrude. No one else ever notices it tho. Cept my husband - he calls it my "contraption".
As for getting stuck - my advice: EAT SLOWLY. For over 2 yrs, I ate too fast. Learned from Army basic training. If you didn't eat in 5 minutes, you didn't eat. I would eat too fast, get stuck, and end up vomiting all my food up. It got to be my normal. Until about 6 mths ago when my band slipped from excessive vomiting. Now I eat VERY slowly, and chew my food VERY well. I've only had 2 stuck episodes since - both I had to vomit to relieve the pain. It's the only thing that works for me. DON'T drink while eating either! That'll just give the food thats in there the "cork effect" and make all that you drank come quickly back up. At least it does for me. I used to time it for 45 minutes after eating, I could drink. Now I can just feel when the food is into my tummy and then drink (usually 30-60 minutes)
The only time my port is tender is for a couple of days after a fill. My PA numbs the area so I don't feel it when he give me the fill, but it turns black and blue and feels like it's bruised afterwards. Other than that, it doesn't bother me to sleep on it. It does feel weird when you press on it, like there's something growing inside. No biggie tho. I'd take them all over my body if I meant that I could lose 100 lbs again!
Good luck to you! Have a fantastic surgery!
Marci

I've been banded for almost 3 yrs now. I can eat about double my daytime portions at nite. No clue why. Except that since my body has been up, bouncing around all day, that it "knocks" it loose somehow (I know that doesn't really make sense). I used to eat my dinner around 9 pm. The past year or so, I've been eating earlier - around 6, so it leaves alot of extra time for snacking. I notice that when I don't eat after dinner, I slowly start losing the last 12 lbs I have to left to lose (which is the hardest to lose, btw!). If I could just keep my hands outa the frig and cupboards....
Marci

I did exactly the same thing almost 3 yrs ago. I ate just like preband for almost 5 mths (after my 4 weeks liquids) after being banded. I could still eat a large Quiznos sandwich, a bowl of broccoli cheese Soup and still have room for Cookies. After my 3rd fill, the magic started happening. I could barely eat 1/4 of s small Quiznos sandwich! The lbs started melting off. I really didn't even try all that hard. I ate the same things - just much less.
Good luck to you!
Marci

I don't think I've ever heard of no popcorn or gum from my dr. I chew gum daily, and I LUV popcorn. Don't eat it very often cuz it's a slider for me. I can eat a huge tub of it without feeling a tad bit full. Ugh. I don't think I've ever accidently swallowed a piece of gum either - even as a kid. Unless you chew like 10 pc's of gum at a time, I don't think the wad would be big enuf to not slide thru. But follow your dr's orders!
Might I add:
BE PATIENT! Thats my biggest word of wisdom. You didn't gain your weight overnite and it's gunna take a long time to get it all off. I went into my band journey thinking that it would just start falling off right away. Didn't happen. Didn't start losing anything till 5 mths post op when I actually got restriction. I guess I could've white knuckled it and weighed and measured my intake during that time and lost, but the reason why I got the band in the first place was so that I wouldn't have to diet again. And I don't.
Good luck!
Marci

I don't think I've ever heard of no popcorn or gum from my dr. I chew gum daily, and I LUV popcorn. Don't eat it very often cuz it's a slider for me. I can eat a huge tub of it without feeling a tad bit full. Ugh. I don't think I've ever accidently swallowed a piece of gum either - even as a kid. Unless you chew like 10 pc's of gum at a time, I don't think the wad would be big enuf to not slide thru. But follow your dr's orders!
Might I add:
BE PATIENT! Thats my biggest word of wisdom. You didn't gain your weight overnite and it's gunna take a long time to get it all off. I went into my band journey thinking that it would just start falling off right away. Didn't happen. Didn't start losing anything till 5 mths post op when I actually got restriction. I guess I could've white knuckled it and weighed and measured my intake during that time and lost, but the reason why I got the band in the first place was so that I wouldn't have to diet again. And I don't.
Good luck!
Marci

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Marci

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Marci

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Marci

I eat all of those things, always have in the 2 years I've been banded.
I am an avid calorie counter and as long as I stay in my 1200 - 1400 I lose. I think logging my food and exercise has been one of the most beneficial tools in my weight loss. Really makes you think and keeps you accountable to yourself.

I think your insurance also looks at your co-morbititiys when accounting for the payment for the lapband. Even tho arthritis isn't listed as one, per se - I'm sure your arthritis gets better at a lower weight. My insurance said "a bmi of >40, or >35 with at least 1 co-morbitity. I have a spinal problem that requires me to take a few different meds everyday. Some of those meds are notorious for making you gain weight. But I think they mean like a lb or 2 - not 100. I don't seem to have any problems anymore with these same meds. I've even cut down on my antidepressants - to 1 a day instead of 3 of them. Cut down on my blood pressure meds too. Thank God!
Just wanted to tell you that I think you have a chance at getting the lapband paid for even with a BMI of <40. Make sure your dr puts in your record how your arthritis would benefit you at a lower weight.
Good luck!
Marci