I had my band put in Dec 1, 2009. I lost 15 lbs right after surgery.

I have a 10cc band and have had 3 fills so far for a total of 5cc.

I have gained back almost all of my post op weight that I had lost and I am starting to get really down on myself.

I find that I am "graizing" during the day, not eating a lot of food throughout the day though.

HELP, I look at everyone's losses and wish it was me! I feel like a total failure!!

Any suggestions or input would be appreciated!

Is anyone out there in the same boat ??

Thanks,

Marcy

I would say you need another fill. If you are "grazing" you will gain weight. If you are hungry then you will graze. Also, we all must realize that the band cannot do it alone. You must be a willing participant. I started with an empty band and was hungry from the start. I did not graze. I measured my food and chewed a looooot of gum! I counted calories and read on this forum all throughout so as to not give up hope. I was/am a willing participant and did not gain weight during those long months awaiting restriction. I now have restriction and the weight is coming off. Thank God!!! You must be diligent in your ways and get yourself to the doctor's for a weigh in and fill. Then you must follow the rules and you will start to lose. Please don't give up! Hope some of this helps. Best wishes!!

Marcy, I am going to ask the ever present question, Are you journaling your food? Studies show people who journal lose twice as much and keep it off better.

Sounds like you need to be a lot more aggressive with your fills. I was only banded on April 23 and have already had two - scheduled for #3 in 3.5 weeks but have instruction to come back at 2 weeks if I am not losing weight. I don't think anyone can keep up eating tiny portions for six months if you are not getting any assistance from the band. If we had the much will power we would not need the band to begin with.

Go forth and fill - FAST!

I have a bunch of follow up questions:

1. Are you journaling your food? I use SparkPeople.com faithfully, even the "I shouldn't have eaten that" food. Seeing my food and nutritional values tallied up on the screen keeps me aware and honest.

2. What are you eating? Are the carbs piling up? I know I'm eating more than my surgeon recommends and my weight loss slowed down - but it's still coming off, and the carb level is well below what the recommended range is.

3. Are you exercising? It makes a huge difference in how you feel and how the weight rolls off.

Definately go for another fill. I was banded 9-28-09 and have had a fill every month so far. I am at 8cc's in a 10cc band. I feel some restriction now and go for another one on Tuesday. Exercise is my worst enemy and I hate to get sweaty but I do enough to get my metabolism going. It took me 6 months of eating like I used to before the band to realize that it wasn't working for me. I got serious and lost 15 lbs in 2 months since. I could have been the poster child on what not to do after you get the Band. I was doing everything wrong. Then I bought some books on WLS and specifically the Lap Band and if I would have know what I know now, the band would have worked for me in the first place. Don't look at what everyone else is doing as far as their weight loss because we are all different. Just follow the rules and the weight will come off. You have to use the Band as a tool and that is something I wasn't doing. It works just give it a little more time and you may need a few more fills before you have any restriction, I did. Get some books and read them because there is alot of good information in them. Good luck and don't graze. Eat your meal 3 times a day and you shouldn't be hungry. Eat 1 snack to get you to the next meal if you have to. Try some nuts or a protein bar. But any way you do it good luck to you.

While you work on getting your band adjusted appropriately, you really need to pay close attention to what/how much you eat, and how much you exercise.

You CAN lose weight before restriction is achieved. Will you be hungry? Yes--but you will be, anyway, so you might as well be hungry for the good cause of weight loss!

You WILL achieve restriction--and it does get light years easier then.

But until then--what are you eating? How much? What kind of exercise are you doing every day?

I would ditto what everyone else said about getting a fill. I was banded around the same time as you and my fourth fill (which took me to 7.5, then had to back down to 7.0cc in a 10cc band) did the trick for me. One of my doctor's criteria for whether or not you need a fill is if you are getting hungry between meals. I try to eat only three meals per day (about 400 calories and at least 20g of Protein in each). Each meal should last until the next meal (4+ hours). Drink lots of Water in between meals (after the one hour waiting period or whatever you use). If you are still truly hungry in between, you need a fill.

I also feel like exercise is one of the most important things we need to embrace on this journey. The more you exercise, the more lean muscle mass you build, the more calories you burn, the more fat you lose. If you don't exercise while losing weight, you lose muscle mass at the same rate as fat and you BMR (base metabolic rate) goes down meaning you burn less calories each day until you plateau. So, if you haven't embraced exercise yet, I highly recommend putting your energy into finding an exercise that you truly enjoy and can do regularly. And, don't worry so much about the scale until you get this accomplished. Best of luck to you!

Thanks, ladies for all of your great advice and input.

Now that I stop and think about what I am eating, it is probably not the greatest, even though the portions are smaller. I am really having a hard time with not drinking during a meal.

I play ball hockey and baseball, but have slowed down recently due to an injury with my foot, so this makes it hard to even hit the treadmill.

I also have PCOS, and struggle to try and stay away from those nasty carbs. I am going to start journaling what I eat.

My next question is: Is everyone counting calories? Or following some other way to track how much you should eat?

Thanks!

Marcy:smile2:

question is: Is everyone counting calories? Or following some other way to track how much you should eat?

Thanks!

Marcy:smile2:

After you get used to measuring food, counting calories, reading food labels over and over again you just know, and you don't have to do it so religiously anymore. But I still read food labels that I'm not familiar with, like in restaurants. I always ask for the menu with the nutritional values of their meals. Best of luck to you!!! You can do this!

My suggestion is to get some counceling to help you through your journey with the band. Most of the time there are issues that are causing you to overeat besides hunger. My counseling has helped me a lot and everyone could benefit with some type of counseling.

Cheri

Thanks, ladies for all of your great advice and input.

Now that I stop and think about what I am eating, it is probably not the greatest, even though the portions are smaller. I am really having a hard time with not drinking during a meal.

I play ball hockey and baseball, but have slowed down recently due to an injury with my foot, so this makes it hard to even hit the treadmill.

I also have PCOS, and struggle to try and stay away from those nasty carbs. I am going to start journaling what I eat.

My next question is: Is everyone counting calories? Or following some other way to track how much you should eat?

Thanks!

Marcy:smile2:

If you journal on fitday.com or livestrong.com or loseit.com they will total your calories for you. Not everyone has to count calories but it helps me. I stay around 800-1000 a day but I am going to start eating 1200 on the day before I run so that I will have extra energy for those days. But you have to find what works for you.

I suggest journaling for a week and see what you are really doing and then tweaking it from there. I found that once I started journaling, I would eat something and then put it in the computer and go "Holy crap! I had no idea that was so bad! I'm not eating that again!" So one thing at a time I cleaned up my eating.

I also plan my meals, I am going to eat 3 meals and 2 Snacks today. So there is no room for grazing. I eat every 3 hours anyway so I dont get hungry, and since I know what I am going to eat its easy to exclude what isnt on the list.

Breakfast:Greek yogurt

Snack: EAS shake

Lunch: Taco

Snack: cheese stick

Dinner: chicken thigh and veggies

I hope this helps

I got my band in August of 2008, in November of the same year I had to have my port replaced due to a leak. Almost two years later I weigh the same (if not a couple of pounds more) than I did the day I got my band. I've had issue after issue after issue with mine and most of it is my own fault.

If I could journal my food I wouldn't have needed the band. That helped me lose a lot of weight in the past (so I suggest journaling your food). I called about getting my band removed today and I can get it done in two weeks. I'm giving up. I can't eat just a 1/2 cup of food at a time. Even if I'm "full" I want to eat. After not smoking for seven years I started back smoking a few months ago. Oddly enough (or not), I did great with the band until August 24, 2009. That day I started a new job AND graduate school on the same day. The stress did me in. I did better with my weight loss when I was unemployed and not in school, LOL.

I wish all of you the best of luck and I just want you to know that if you're struggling, you're not the only one out there. Your head has to be set right BEFORE your surgery or it will never work. My head is not there.