incolorado

Hi Ladies, Well the slight restriction and appetite control I had for about a week after my first fill is now totally GONE and I can eat anything and everything, and feeling much more hungry. Very annoying! I just want to get on with it! My next fill is not for another 2 weeks. I am contemplating putting myself on liquids for a couple days just to get a boost in weight loss. Ugh. I have 4 ccs already, but it is doing nothing. How is everyone else doing?

Hi friends, I just had to report I am up to 22.2 pounds lost, with 3 pounds gone since my first fill last week. SOOO happy! I thought the fill would do nothing, but it really has helped with the hunger. Hope you are all doing well!

You have absolutely nothing to worry about. I have had my first fill, have some restriction but not too much (could use a little more), and the band is controlling my hunger. My life is almost exactly the same, but better! I can eat almost everything, just smaller amounts. And not being hungry all the time is just a miracle. I LOVE the band! The time right after surgery is hard, but you need to know that it is not going to stay this way. It is up to you how much you want to change. If you want to go extra slow, you can have a small fill and eat what you want and lose weight more slowly. Take it easy, rest and give yourself time to heal. If you are anything like the rest of us, you did the right thing.

WOO HOO! I knew you would make it to 20 no problem! Congratulations!

Just had to report I've lost another 2 lbs so far this week, so I think that is about 3 since my first fill last Wed. The band is working! I do need more restriction, but I am feeling satisfied with smaller amounts and not hungry all the time. So excited! 21.4 lbs so far, in 5 weeks. Hope everyone is doing well.

Hey Dee, 90 mins of walking is excellent! Good for you. When I saw my Dr. last week at 4 wks post-op I asked whether I needed to wait to start doing ab exercises and weight training - he said "you are totally healed, as far as I'm concerned you can do whatever you want." I was sort of hoping for the 6 week excuse to start abs etc. But I took the plunge and did some sit-ups and a few other exercises. Not easy, but no problems!

Only 30 lbs to go, thats awesome! The first fill helped me, I can still eat more than a cup but hunger is way down.

Sad to say I can eat an entire slice of pizza with zero problems...the only problem is that I LOVE pizza :smile: and I really need to steer clear....But with 4 kids, I have to learn to live with it being around pretty often. If I can actually limit it to 1 slice every time that would be amazing.

Awesome! I lost 1.4 this week, close to 20 total. Slow but steady. Hope it speeds up after this fill.

I guess the full feeling starts up toward my chest. It is not the same as the old full feeling. Not being hungry so much is great! But still, battling head hunger all the time. I sat in front of that pizza for like 3 hours (we had guests over), and finally ate my 3 year old's tiny slice, crust and all. Somewhat sorry to report that it did not cause me any problems at all going down...But thrilled to report that I did not suffer on the scale, and actually went down another .4 the next day. I think keeping up the exercise is really the key for me. Makes me feel like I can afford small splurges like the pizza every once in a while! Yesterday I ate almost nothing all day...1 small protein bar (140 cals) and 1 boca burger (100 cals). Then came dinner. We had friends over (again) and the adults had steak, the kids had tacos. I went with the kids' cuisine, and had 1 taco, 2 tablespoons of beans, and some salad. It was if I had no restriction at all, I ate everything with no problem whatsoever. Still, in the old days I would have had some of the steak AND at least 1 taco, etc....So I am still eating WAY less than I used to. :smile:

Hey, sushi is not so bad! I think it is okay to try different things as long as you don't venture into "trigger" foods (for me, usually salty carbs). I have been more lax, not logging my food lately, and still down 19. I am thinking, this is really a way of life, its not just another "diet", so I am not going to totally deprive myself. At the same time, I am not going to go back to eating junk either. Sounds like you are doing well!

I did feel more restriction today at lunch, and I was less hungry all day. I had a Boca burger and 1/2 cup of that low-fat ricotta...thought I would not be able to finish it all at one point, but I did. I had to eat slower, and I was totally full when I was done. However, I just had dinner - I got a Wendy's chili - but the large size, not small. I was able to eat the entire bowl, so that is like 1 3/4 cups. I feel fine now, not stuffed, not still hungry, but wondering if I am one of those people who can eat a bunch at night but tighter during the day? Anyway, I love that chili! My family is ordering pizza later, so I will have to avoid that entirely! I was down another pound today, bringing me to 19 pounds lost! Yippee! :thumbup:

I just had my first fill yesterday - I got 4 ccs in a Standard (10 cc) Lap Band AP. I can't tell much difference yet...hope this helps! Next fill is in 4 weeks.

I got my first fill yesterday! The doc put 4 ccs in my 10 cc band. Sooo easy, he got to the port on the first try, and I barely felt a pinch. So far, not noticing much difference...but I am on liquids and mushies tomorrow. I hope this thing will kick in soon! My next fill appt. is not until Oct. 28. So who has had a fill already - how much, and did you notice a big difference or no?

I was self-pay. Included in the price ($9900) are 3 free months of fills, then $50 per fill.

A little update...I am on my way to Denver for my first fill. Excited! Almost 1 month since banding and I am SO close to hitting 215...almost 19 pounds down! In a huge NSV, I fit into size 16 Gap jeans now, you can see pics on my blog! Never thought I would post public pics of me in jeans! Hoping to get that "not hungry" feeling back soon! Good luck to all who have surgery these last few days, and best to those still healing!

Sounds like it went well! 2 weeks of liquids/soft is a long time! I think I have 3 days liquids and 3 days soft after a fill? Have to check again. My first fill is today, just hoping they are not tooooo conservative!

First fill day after tomorrow! Counting down the hours. I can't wait to start losing again!

My Dr. was Thomas Brown at CBSI. Who is yours? Three days of Clear liquids was the only pre-op diet I had to do. The Jello did not do much for me, but the broth helped keep the hunger at bay. Try different flavors, I actually found one chicken broth that was Thai lemongrass flavored. Awesome but very high sodium. Good luck! Stick to the diet! :smile2:

If you really need to do it, you have to go hard core. I would recommend the clear liquid diet, which sucks, but is very effective! I lost 8 lbs in 3 days. All I was able to have was: clear broth sugar free popcicles sugar free ocean spray or crystal light sugar free Jello decaf tea Thats it! You can do it. If you are desperate, add 1 Protein shake per day, but if you can stick to the clears, you will definitely lose that 5. Good luck!

Funny, I made chili last week and ate it almost every day! Tasty! I have not been keeping track of fat grams, and I am not tracking at all on the weekends (not the best strategy). I have my first fill this Wednesday, just hoping for that restriction!

Have you tried creamed soups? Campbell's has a low-fat broccoli cheese soup that is pretty good and helped with the hunger. Can you have yogurt? That might help too. It is rough, gets better once you start mushies. Hope you feel better. Eat some soup!

I am almost 1 month post-op, and now exercising about 5 days a week - I run/hike for 30 to 60 minutes at a time. I look forward to doing some ab exercises! And I would love to start doing Pilates again (after a 4 year break). I love to exercise (running, specifically), but I really, really like to do it outside. I sort of dread the winter because I know it means more time either at home on the treadmill or at the gym. Or braving the elements! Maybe this winter I will try snowshoe running/hiking again. Talk about a workout! :seeya:

My doctor's list of "mushies" was very liberal. It included soft meats (like meatloaf, fish) and many other things that are not strictly mushy. So I started this stuff at 2 weeks post-op. It does feel more filling, for sure. But not quite enough (hence the need for a fill!) Seems like two really key parts of getting the weight loss going is exercise and drinking lots and lots of water/fluids. I am not great at the Water thing, but just today drank a ton of water and lost a pound! I think my body retains water when it is not hydrated enough. How are you doing?

You need to get the "Low-Fat" Ricotta, not part-skim. I was just at the store today and noticed the calorie difference! I started exercising at 12 days post-op, hiking/running for 45 mins. I do it at least every other day, but would like to do more. You can see what a difference exercise makes when you log your calories. I started using thedailyplate.com today (got sick of SparkPeople not having as many items in their calorie database). It said I consumed 1100 calories, but my "net" calories, after exercise, was 616! :mad: That is a huge difference when you are already eating so few calories (compared to the old days I mean).