I had surgery on Dec. 2nd, 2010....I had my first fill on January 18th. I am scheduled for another fill on Feb. 18th. I have lost 34lbs so far.My question is when does this become a lifestyle change and not just another diet? I have a size 14 band with only 6cc's in. My surgeon will only add 2 cc's at a time because I live 5hrs from his office. I have no restriction at this time and have to measure and weigh all my food. It really sucks because I feel like I am on another never ending diet. Is this a normal feeling or am I just whinning! I know that I should be greatful for the weight loss so far....but I was just hoping for a little more help from the band.

Jani:wink2:

It does take a while for the band to assist most people. My surgeon was also very conservative with my early fills, and I only live a half an hour away.

Regarding it becoming a lifestyle... that is different for everyone. I still weigh and measure, over a year and a half later. Still getting fills, just had one today. I hadn't had one since last March, so I was unrestricted since at least October. That meant weighing and measuring for the last six months or so. I kind of look at weighing and measuring as part of the lifestyle. I don't call it a diet though. It took me a while to not look at it as dieting, since that terminology had been pounded into my head since I was six years old.

It will get easier, I promise. Just be good to yourself, and follow the new rules that came with your new lifestyle, even if it looks a lot like dieting right now. Keep up the good work!

I vowed I would never diet again. But I was very very lucky.

I didnt have to wait for my band to work, it worked from day one. I didnt have to get several fills to get restriction, every fill gave me the right restriction for me at the time. Over time, obviously I needed to eat less and be tighter to keep losing but what I mean is that fron day one, I ate what I wanted, in the quantities that satisfied and my restriction was such that that quantity caused me to lose weight.

I never ever limited or cut out any foods at all, I always had moderate treats and occasionally had a donut or something and i never ever ate "diet foods" like shakes, artificial sweeteners or bars.

So my eating habits changed only in that I chose healthy more often and had treats less, and my band took care of portion size.

That said, my eating habits pre band were not entirely bad, just too many treats on top of good food and too large quantity. For someone else, what I eat daily would be the torture diet from hell.

I have NEVER in my life gone through a drive through for Breakfast, for example. The only time I would ever enter a Mcdonalds for breakfast is once a year on holidays when we leave home at 4 am. I just didnt and dont eat rubbish like that, or have those sorts of habits. I dont do liquid calories and never did - no milkshakes, confectionary coffees or soft drinks. So I didnt have vices like that to give up and suffer for int he first place.

I started out after surgery saying this is not a diet this is a lifestyle change. I obeyed all of the rules..liquids to mushies and so forth but when I was able to move on to regular foods I ate and still do everything I want. I have a 10cc band and have had 2 fills for a total of 5 ccs. I do have restriction but I also get hungry sometimes. My indicator is I get the hiccups when I am full. I also watch my portions to a point..I just can't eat that much..so no weighing or measuring. I do make sure I get a minimum of 60 grams of protein in a day. I am not a huge breakfast eater and I am at work by 6am in the morning so I do have a protein shake for breakfast..other than that no one would know that I am "watching" what I eat besides I eat very slowly, I do not drink with my meals and I do not eat much (compared to them). I have a family of 6..we all eat the same meal..I don't cook differently for me. I was afraid that if I "dieted" now that when I reached goal and changed the way I ate..I would gain my weight back. My dr knows my "plan" and thinks I am doing the right thing and he is very restrictive. I do not eat sweets. I did give up coffee..I only had one cup a day..my taste buds changed and I don't like it any more. I drink SF hot chocolate instead. Fast Food..I will eat Wendy's chili but I prefer homemade chili. This is what works for me..